By Bob Ramsak
(c) 2008 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved
STUTTGART -- Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova broke through the 72- meter barrier in the women's javelin with a world record 72.28m to highlight the first day of the season-capping World Athletics Final on Saturday.
"This is strange because I did not expect it," said the Czech who shattered the previous mark of 71.70m, set by Osleidys Menendez of Cuba at the 2005 World championships in Helsinki.
With many of the 18,500 on hand at the Mercedes Benz Stadium still settling into their seats on a somewhat gloomy day, the mark caught many by surprise coming on her first throw of the competition.
Spotakova's previous persona best of 71.42, a European record, came in the final round in Beijing which brought her the Olympic title.
"I was thinking today about how I can throw a personal best, but I never really think about the world record. I was really shocked, I didn't expect it so much. It's just unbelievable."
Spotakova, also the reigning world champion, will receive a $100,000 bonus for the world record, in addition to her $30,000 first-place prize. She said the unexpected windfall will go a long way towards a new home she's planning to build with her boyfriend.
- Powell's Late Season Roll Continues
The unseasonably cool and damp conditions precluded a world record assault in the 100m but Asafa Powell prevailed with a dominating performance, clocking 9.87 seconds to easily retain his World Athletics Final title. It was the Jamaican's sixth sub-9.90 performance in the last 14 days.
"First I was a little afraid to get hurt today," he said, referring the chill that enveloped the Stuttgart today. "But I knew I was going to run really fast. I just went out of the blocks and I did it."
Powell led a Jamaican podium sweep, with Nesta Carter (10.07) and Michael Frater (10.10), both members of Jamaica's world record-setting 4x100m relay squad in Beijing, finishing a distant second and third.
Powell will conclude his season after one more 100m race in Warsaw next Wednesday.
The cool conditions affected many of the performances on the first of the two-day competition, with seven Olympic champions prevailing.
- By the Narrowest of Margins, Merritt Takes Wariner
In the afternoon's most dramatic race, Olympic 400 meter champion LaShawn Merritt defeated Jeremy Wariner by a scant 0.01 seconds in 44.50. Behind heading into the final straight, Merritt gradually ran down Wariner before tumbling across the line. It was Merritt's fourth victory in seven races against Wariner, the two-time defending world champion, giving him the edge this year in the sport's fiercest rivalry.
"I won all the major races," said Merritt, whose 43.75 from Beijing paces the world this year. "I won the Olympic trials, I won the Olympic Games, and I won the Grand Prix final. I made it tough on myself, I didn't run the first part of the race very well. The last 100 I had to really go for it."
"He got me this time," said Wariner, who beat Merritt this year in Rome, Paris and Zurich. "It brings excitement into the race. When we go out there we always go out to compete. Win or lose, we're always going to work harder in the next race."
"The rivalry, I mean the competition, it's great. But it didn't come down to getting him again," Merritt said. "It's more that I won again. I had a great season, my plans were to have a great season. I'm happy."
- Elsewhere
Beijing winner Andrey Silnov of Russia won the high jump with a 2.35 meter leap, defeating Swede Stefan Holm, the 2004 Olympic champion, who ended his storied career this afternoon. The Swede, a four-time world indoor champion who has cleared 2.30 or better in 132 meets, topped out at 2.33 to finish second.
"I'm disappointed that I lost today," Holm said. "But overall the day went well."
Other Olympic champions to produce victories included Gerd Kanter of Estonia who handily won the men's discus throw with a solid 68.38m effort, and front-running Gulnara Samitova-Galkina of Russia who won the 3000m steeplechase in 9:21.73, a meet record. As in Beijing, she beat Kenyan Eunice Jepkorir.
Nelson Evora of Portugal won the triple jump with a leap of 17.24 and Poland's Tomasz Majewski took the shot put with a best of 20.88, again defeating top Americans Christian Cantwell (20.73) and Reese Hoffa (20.37). Dan Taylor, who didn't make the Beijing squad, was third, beating Hoffa by a mere centimeter.
With Olympic champion and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva sidelined due to illness, the surprise victory in the pole vault went to Silke Spiegelburg who cleared a personal best 4.70m, the only victory by a German. She took the win after a jump-off with Olympic bronze medallist Svetlana Feofanova.
Elsewhere, Portugal's world leader Naide Gomes made up for her Olympic disappointment with a victory in the long jump, leaping 6.71. Josephine Onyia of Spain upset Olympic champion Dawn Harper and Lolo Jones in the 100m hurdles, winning in 12.54.
Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and American Sanya Richards, who won the 5000 (14:53.82) and 200 (22.50) respectively, will be chasing double victories on day two as they contest the 3000 and 400.
Other day one winners included American Bernard Lagat in a tactical 3000 (8:02.97), Cuban Yipsi Moreno in the hammer throw (74.09); Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain the 1500m (4:06.59), and American Kerron Clement in the 400m hurdles (48.96).
Why is it that Asafa always does good following the big meets. We saw it last year at the world championships, he finished 4th and following that meet he went out and ran a new world record. This year in Beijing, his head got to him...again, and he didn't perform as he should have, (Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay are the only two sprinters who can challenge Usain Bolt when they are healthy). Now he comes out and dominates a race running under 9.90. I really like Powell but he (along with the majority of sprinters) lets his head get to him.
