Translated material
Hundred with Bolt
Jamaican sprinter sets new world record
At the Grand Prix track and field tournament in New York, Jamaican sprinter Bolt completed the 100-meter dash in a record 9.72 seconds. with an acceptable tailwind of 1.7 m/sec when registering the highest achievements. The islander improved the previous world achievement of his compatriot Asafa Powell by 0.02 seconds.In May of this year in Kingston, Bolt covered 100 meters for the first time in 9.76 seconds. Although before this he had never run out of 10 seconds and specialized in the 200 m distance. He is the silver medalist of the World Championships in the 200 m. And he always kept in the shadow of his more famous countryman Powell.
Powell himself did not take part in these competitions. A head-to-head duel between the new champion and the former record holders is scheduled for the end of the month. On June 27-29, a qualifying national championship will be held in Jamaica, in which both athletes will compete. According to Powell's manager Paul Doyle, Bolt's stunning result did not come as a surprise to him, since this athlete has been progressing very much in recent years. “A new world record in the 100m will be a good irritant for Powell and will add motivation to him,” Doyle added. “This season, Powell has fully recovered from his injuries and is in optimal shape.”
The world record in the men's 100m, which is always an event in athletics, happened on the eve of one of the main starts of the season - the first stage of the Golden League commercial series, which took place late yesterday evening Moscow time. However, this circumstance did not at all reduce interest in the upcoming tournament; on the contrary, it only increased it. The main difficulty of the American competitions was the vagaries of the weather. Due to rain, the start of the race was postponed to a later date. The organizers of the Berlin stage of the Golden League faced much more serious problems. On June 1, the largest anti-globalization demonstration was supposed to take place in the city; 250 thousand of its participants on bicycles actually blocked all the main arteries of the city. As a result, it was quite difficult for fans, especially those living in the suburbs of Berlin, to get to the stadium. However, the organizers of the league stage assured journalists that a few days before the competition, 65 thousand tickets were sold, with a stadium capacity of 72 thousand seats.
Indeed, spectator interest in the stages of the “Golden League” is fueled by the composition of famous participants. And the participation of titled athletes is guaranteed by a substantial prize fund. The winner of all six stages of the league, which are held in Berlin, Oslo, Rome, Paris, Zurich and Brussels, ultimately receives $1 million. The same athletes who won five stages receive half as much. This season, four stages will take place before the Beijing Olympics, and the remaining two after the Games - on August 29 in Zurich and September 5 in Brussels. The schedule, as well as the list of qualifying disciplines in the Golden League, varies every year. The main program of this season includes ten disciplines - six for men and four for women. The strong half measures strength in the long jump, javelin throw, 100m, 400m and 1500m, as well as the 400m hurdles. Women will compete in the 200m, 800m, 100m hurdles and high jump.
The main contenders for the million-dollar jackpot were two current world champions - Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic and long jumper from Panama Irving Saladino. Theoretically, Finnish javelin thrower Tero Pitkamäki is also capable of diluting this company. But at the league stages he will have a difficult duel with the Norwegian athlete, Olympic champion Andreas Torkildsen, who is also counting on success. In Berlin, the Finn won the first stage, sending the javelin to 85 m 20 cm, while the Norwegian's result was a centimeter worse.
As for Saladino, a week ago in Hengelo, Holland, at the IAAF series stage, the long jumper demonstrated an outstanding result - 8.73 m. After the end of the competition, Saladino admitted that he did not expect such a far jump from himself, he was counting on an attempt of 8.60 m, and then I issued this. Given such a successful start, the Panamanian jumper planned to seriously compete for the million-dollar prize, because two years ago he confidently performed at the stages of the Golden League. He won five league tournaments and only came second in Paris. But yesterday's German start was unsuccessful for Saladino. The leader of the season was only seventh with a result of 7.92 m, and therefore dropped out of the list of contenders for the main trophy. The winner of the Berlin stage of the league was Hussein Taher Al Sabi from Saudi Arabia, whose best attempt was 8.21 m.
Thus, Blanca Vlasic has become the main favorite of the current Golden League. This season, the Croatian has already won the World Indoor Championships in Valencia. And at the beginning of May, she excelled at the tournament in Doha. “The beginning of the season is always somewhat intriguing and nervous. But this also has its advantages. My technique and training haven't changed this year, yet I've been training differently. Take everything more seriously,” Vlasich said. According to her, the main priority this season is the Olympic Games in Beijing, but winning the Golden League would also be nice.
Let us remember that last year Vlasic also participated in this commercial series, but missed the starting stage and joined the participants only in Oslo. One of the main competitors of the Croatian jumper is world championship silver medalist Anna Chicherova. True, the Russian woman told reporters that she does not set herself the task of winning this prestigious tournament. The most important thing for Chicherova is the progress of her own results. At the first stage of the league, Chicherova closed the top three, stopping at a height of 1.97 m. Vlasich confidently won with a result of 2.03 m.