jueves, 17 de enero de 2013

2009-12 REVIEW. Women 400m, 4x400m


Sanya Richards-Ross anchors the USA 4x400m team to win gold
at the 2012 London Olympic Games
Michael Steele/ Getty Images Europe
www.zimbio.com

         If we can name the event the United States has dominated the most in one century of Olympic history, it is arguably the male 400m. However, in the last four years, the biggest track and field powerhouse has failed to keep its traditional stranglehold at the distance, succesfully challenged by a number of talented quartermilers, mainly coming from several countries of the Caribbean area. We have assisted to the rise and fall of LaShawn Merrit, eventually overcome as number one in the distance for teen prodigy Kirani James, and also to the historical defeat of the US 4x400m squad in London Olympic Games, well beaten by the Bahamas. As a result, the 400m is not anymore a one nation affair but instead has become an open one in which it is even possible the victory in global championships of athletes coming from such exotic countries as Grenada or Botswana. And indeed the acclaimed victories of Kirani James and Amantle Montsho were the first ones in any sport for their remote homelands at a major competition of Olympic or World level. On the other hand, in female category the nations with the greatest depth for many years have been Russia, United States and Jamaica but often global champions have come from other disparate countries as it is the case of Amy Mbacké Thiam (Senegal), Ana Guevara (Mexico), Tonique Williams-Darling (Bahamas) and Christine Ohuruogu (Great Britain), before Amantle Montsho and Botswana’s biggest day in Daegu. Besides, it was equally notorious in these years the struggle of the most talented quarter miler of the last decade, USA’s Sanya Richards-Ross to triumph at last in a global championship, which she eventually accomplished at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and then repeated at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. 

          The women’s 400m event has become lately an almost exclusive three-nations club, yet with two special guests as Christine Ohuruogu and Amantle Montsho. In the last three major championships, Berlin and Daegu Worlds and London Olympics, all finalists came from either United States (Sanya Richards, Debbie Dunn, Allyson Felix, Francena McCorory and Dee Dee Trotter), Russia (Antonina Krivoshapka and Anastasiya Kapachinskaya) and Jamaica (Novlene Williams, Shericka Williams and Rosemarie Whyte), with only the Briton and Botswanan quartermilers daring to mix up in the party. Also if we check our 2009-2012’s top-20 ranking there are no less than 7 athletes from Russia, 5 from the United States and 4 from Jamaica. Interestingly Russia was as usual the country which scored more points in the event but the United States was clearly this time the one which accomplished more number of victories (2) and medallists (4) in global major championships to only two Russian bronze medals. Besides, the United States also won both World indoor championships held in this Olympic cycle: Debbie Dunn in Doha and Sanya Richards-Ross in Istanbul. North American quality faced to Eastern European quantity resulted in an almost draw in the final global score (558 to 542 for Russia), which meant a big improvement for the United States, which had lost to their archrivals 527 to 388 for the period 2005-2008. In both occasions, Jamaica ended up a distant third.  COMPARE NATIONS RANKING  in  2005-2008  and  2009-2012.
          This capacity of the current North American stars to perform big when it matters most explains also their superiority at the 4x400m global competitions. The United States team gapped Russia and Jamaica in nearly four seconds in Berlin and London Olympics. Only in Daegu, with Richards-Ross not at her best and a tired Allyson Felix, Jamaica and Russia were able to challenged them and run the distance in less than 3:20.00 in the process, the only time in four years they accomplished so. In the other occasions Russia and Jamaica were content fighting for the silver medal which the former nation achieved in London and the latter in Berlin and Daegu (here in a national record). Russia, had been really close of a victory at the 4x400m relay at the Olympic Games in Beijing and had upset the North Americans to win gold at the 2006 and 2008 World indoors. This time around, the United States also beat their archrivals at the 2010 World indoor championships, being the next edition in the contest in Istanbul, the only one they lost an important race between 2009 and 2012, when the Great Britain quartet of Shana Cox, Nicola Sanders, Christine Ohuruogu and Perri Shakes-Drayton produced a shocking victory. Russia even lined up only two quartermilers at the single event in Daegu and London Olympic, reserving the others for the 4x400 relay battle. This decision did not pay off; they were defeated the same. The matter of the fact is the Eastearn European powerhouse has not found a world beater quartermiler since Olga Wladykina-Bryzgina (incidentally an Ukrainian but running for the USSR) retired.   
  
Antonina Krivoshapka on the way to win the 400m final at
the 2009 European indoor Champs in Torino
Michael Steele/ Getty Images

http://www.zimbio.com

   By 2009, the most intriguing quartermiler was without a doubt Sanya-Richard-Ross. A Jamaican emigrant, US naturalised in 2002, Sanya had been the most accomplished quartermiler since 2005 and also IAAF athlete of the year in 2006, when she had remained unbeaten at the 400m distance during the whole season, and had also broken in stellar fashion the 18-year-old national record of Olympic glory Valerie Brisco-Hooks at the Continental Cup in Athens to set it in 48.70. When everybody else was struggling to break the 50 seconds barrier, Sanya was the only runner in activity with a PB under 49.00. Indeed in 2009 at the Golden Gala she had overcome world record holder Marita Koch as the athlete who had run more times the distance in less than 50 seconds, for a total which now reaches 46 races. Notwithstandind, Sanya Richards-Ross had never won a gold medal at the World Championships or at the Olympics. She had been unable to hold the pressure or she just had been out of the blocks too fast as it happened in Beijing Olympics. On the other hand, the winner of that last race Christine Ohuruogu had showed how to run the distance cleverly, in a controlled effort to finish in the strongest fashion, as she had done in Osaka and Beijing to win two superb gold medals. Yet the 2009-2012 Olympic cycle was not to be ideal for the British quartermiler stars, as Christine Ohuruogu struggled for several seasons with injuries to recover her best, while her compatriot the silver medallist in Osaka Nicola Sanders succumbed to them, never getting back to her past shape.

          For the World Championships in Berlin, Richards-Ross was again the favourite and this time she would enjoy her chance, running a much more measured race than she used to, to cover the distance in a 49.00 flat, something out of reach for any of her rivals, in spite of the effort of Shericka Williams, who snatched her second straight global silver medal, after the one achieved in Beijing, in a more than remarkable time of 49.32. A pity Shericka would stagnate afterwards. In bronze position ended up the revelation of the year, Russian Antonina Krivoshapka, who had won at the European indoors and then had run the distance in 49.29, the best mark in Russia since 1988. The young Krivoshapka left out of the podium the second Jamaican Novlene Williams-Mills and the Olympic champion Ohuruogu. Finally it was a dream coming true for Sanya Richards-Ross who also led the USA to gold at the 4x400m relay. Notwithstanding, injuries would slow the new champion, who would be fighting all over 2010 and 2011 to be back to her best physically speaking and besides to recover her always fragile confidence.

       With Sanya Richards-Ross struggling, the main actresses in the following campaigns would be Amantle Montsho and Allyson Felix. Montsho was the natural succession in African stardom to the shocking World Champion in 2001 Amy Mbacké Thiam, winner in Edmonton in a final with no less than four African quartermilers. Nigerians like Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya and Chioma Ajunwa had opened the door with their Olympic successes to female sprinters and long jumpers in the continent but now the centre of the stage was Senegal. The IAAF had created its first High Performance Centre in Dakar in 1997 to help African youngsters develop a track and field career. One of the 12 athletes chosen to launch the HPC was precisely Mbacké Thiam, who would go from there to stardom. Some years later it was the turn for a young Amantle Montsho to make the trip in order to train in Dakar. Montsho’s homeland Botswana had produced many reputed male quartermilers as California Molefe and Isaac Makwala but eventually it was going to be a woman who would bring glory to the country.

Amantle Montsho and Allyson Felix battle to the line the 400m gold medal
at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu
Andy Lyons/ Getty Images Europe
www.zimbio.com

  Montsho’s breakthrough came in 2007, when she won at the All Africa Games in Alger, beating Amy Mbacké Thiam. After a second continental title the following year she made the Olympic final, where she finished 8th and last, the same placement she would get in Berlin. Yet it was clear she could get much more and in 2010 she took a big step to stardom, winning everything in sight, from African Championships to Continental Cup and Commonwealth Games, besides several Diamond League meetings and even reached the 4x400m Commonwealth final with Botswana. She was now ready to face the best at the upcoming Daegu World Champs and London Olympics. Only one athlete had done better during the year: three times 200m World Champion Allyson Felix, who had defeated Montsho four times at the 2010 Diamond League. No less than a black beast to her, Felix was dominating Montsho 12-0 in their head-to-head matches at the end of the 2010 campaign. Allyson did not lose any 400m race all through the year, accomplishing an awesome overall double victory (200m-400m) at the inaugural Diamond League. This success and her outstanding performances with the US 4x400m relay, made Felix take the ambitious decision of trying in Daegu the unusual 200m-400m double. 

                  Elsewhere the surprising Indian 4x400m team achieved a groundbreaking victory at the Commonwealth Games held at home, thanks mainly to their new national star Ashwini Akkunji, who had started the third leg more than 20 metres behind, but managed to catch Nigeria’s Bukola Abogunloko, to deliver to Mandeep Kaur, who held 400m hurdler Olympic finalist Joke Odumosu and the anchors of the strong English, Canadian and Australian teams, the latter with an extenuated Sally Pearson, who had to be helped off the track. India repeated success with about the same scenario one month later at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, against the best teams in the continent, Kazakhstan, China and Japan. Sadly, the next year, when they were training to win a medal at the Olympic Games at their training camp in Patiala, IAAF officials uncovered no less than seven doping positives among Indian quartermilers, including all their foremost stars. Good luck for the comeback to competition.  http://moti-athletics-4x4-w.blogspot.fr/2011/03/after-commonwealth-and-asian-games-breakthrough-indian-athletes-aim-for-olympic-medals.html
     
            Meanwhile, Russian quartermilers were proving they had no match at continental level. Although Krivoshapka was not at the same impressive shape of the past year, she could still managed a bronze medal position at the European Championships in Barcelona, in a race won by her experienced compatriot Tatyana Firova in 49.89, just holding that year revelation Kseniya Ustalova. The closest challenge to the Russians was Italian Libania Grenot. As expected, the Russian 4x400m squad finished a world ahead of the other medallists Germany and Great Britain. However, Russian invincible quartermilers were upset in following area contests: Czech Denisa Rosolova, a former long jumper and heptathlete (and future hurdler), produced a flawless race at the 2011 European indoors to defeat former World indoor gold medallist Olesya Krasnomovets and former European champion Vania Stambolova of Bulgaria. Still more shocking and marvellous indeed for the future of athletics was the victory at the 2012 European outdoors in Helsinki of up-and-coming athlete Moa Hjelmer, over favourite Kseniya Zadorina, smashing her PB and setting a new Swedish record of 51.13 in the process. In Helsinki, with most Russian stars absents, the Ukrainian quartermilers made amends for the mistake of their more fancied 4x100m compatriots, winning the gold medal with Olisevska, Zemlyak, Pyhyda and Lohvinenko. This new generation of Ukrainian 400m runners, along with their hurdler mates Yaroshchuk and Titimets are called to do great things in the future. Helsinki’s 4x400m final marked the changed of guard in the continent with France winning the silver medal with also young standouts as Guei, Gayot and Guion Firmin and the Czech Republic, in bronze medal position,with its hurdlers Hejnova, Rosolova and Bergrova, who had already accomplished another bronze the past year at the World indoors. On the other hand, Belarus, who had challenged the best during the previous Olympic cycle, was not anymore a factor, once the Usovich sisters had past their prime, and neither was Poland. Romania, still on the way, is also expected to recover its past glory in a near future with the coming of age of Mirela Lavric and Bianca Razor and a fitted Morosanu.      

      The Daegu World Championship final really fullfilled the expectations of the most demanding fan, it was a battle for the ages. Amantle Montsho and Allyson Felix entered the homestretch well in advance of the rest, with the Bostwanan one stride ahead. Running side by side for a long time, Felix pushed to overcome Montsho but the latter managed to hold until the finish line to win narrowly 49.56 to 49.59, both times huge PBs. Allyson was visibly dissapointed: she had done her best, she had run to her limits and still had been defeated. On the other hand, Amantle was understandably in extasy, after her first global victory which was also the first for her country. Well behind, the 200m World champion back in 2003, Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, won the fight for the minor of the medals for Russia, ahead of Francena McCorory and Krivoshapka. The defending champion Richards could only manage a seventh place, splitting Jamaicans Shericka and Novlene Williams. It was an excellent result, which confirmed her progression for McCorory, the woman who had set an area record (50.54) to win the NCAA indoor final the year before. On the other hand, other collegiate champions at the distance were more unlucky: Jessica Beard, who won the prestigious Bowerman award to the best female athlete of that year, after having run the best split ever in an NCAA 4x400m race to give Texas A&M the overall title, did not go further than the semi-finals for the second World Championship in a row. Natasha Hastings and Joanna Atkins, former NCAA stars, did not even reach the target of qualifying for Daegu.      

Ashley Spencer gets an emphatic victory at the 2012 World junior championships in Barcelona, while
defending champion Shaunae Miller finishes out of the medals
David Ramos/ Getty Images Europe
www.zimbio.com
          Prior to the Olympic Games, we lived a high exciting opener at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona. Bahamian hope Shaunae Miller had won the World junior gold medal in 2010 in Moncton, aged 16, that was one year younger than the male champion at the distance Kirani James. She had completed the distance in 52.52. Then, one year later at the World Youth Championships in Lille, where Miller triumphed as well, no less than three U-18 athletes had run faster than the winning time in Moncton and two others had been inside 52 seconds as well. Yet, in 2012 in Barcelona, the great Shaunae Miller could only handle a fourth place, despite running near her best (51.78). It is a good indication of the huge level of the contest, which was won by that year’s NCAA champion Ashley Spencer in 50.50! ahead of Kadecia Baird of Guyana (51.04) and the second USA representative Erika Rucker (51.10), all three well inside the London A standard, although for different reasons they did not go to the Games. With such outstanding talent and depth in youth and junior categories, we can expect a true revolution in some years time in the 400m event, when these youngsters will take over.   

                  Teenage sensation Ashley Spencer declined to try her chance at the US Olympic trials, stating she would rather go step by step and Allyson Felix decided to focus in shorter sprints for London.  Sanya Richards-Ross proved she was back to her best, winning that competition in 49.28. After some lacklustre years, former Olympic and World finalist Dee Dee Trotter made also a remarkable comeback, booking her ticket to London in an excellent 50.02, while McCorory got the third spot for the Games. However, the answer to Richards-Ross world lead came from Russian national championships, where Antonina Krivoshapka won the title in 49.16! beating Yuliya Gushchina (49.28) and Tatyana Firova (49.72). Nazarova, Kapachinskaya, Vdovina and Livinova also ran the final in less than 51.00. In Jamaica, the results where not as impressive. Novlene Williams won the trials in 50.60, ahead of Rosemarie Whyte and Christine Day, who left Shericka Williams out of the 400m Olympic team. On the other hand, Montsho improved her PB to 49.54, when winning the African championships in Porto Novo. 

           All three US quartermilers, Jamaicans Williams-Mills and Whyte, Krivoshapka of Russia, World champion Amantle Montsho and defending Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu qualified for the final. Krivoshapka, the fastest in the semi-finals decided to go for the gold medal, running as someone explained as if it was a 200m race. She just committed the same tactical mistake than Sanya Richards in Beijing. The Russian champion entered the homestretch ahead of the field but soon her legs ran out of lactic acid and she faded to sixth, being overcome first by Dee Dee Trotter, then by Richards-Ross, who went straight to win the elusive Olympic title in 49.55, just 28 years after Valerie Brisco-Hooks, the only other USA athlete who had climbed to the top of a 400m podium. Christine Ohuruogu ran her usual smart race, progressing to an excellent silver medal in 49.70, while Dee Dee Trotter grabbed the bronze in 49.72. On the other hand, a dissapointing Amantle Montsho had a day off and ended up out of the medals. At the 4x400m, Sanya Richards-Ross won a second gold medal, with her mates Trotter, McCorory and Allyson Felix, who ran 47.8! in her leg, although the USA squad was not as lucky as the 4x100m team, for their winning time (3.16.87) was one second off the old world record of the USSR. Russia won silver and Jamaica bronze and the best of the rest was Ukraine, who finished ahead of Great Britain, France and Czech Republic. Nigeria was also in the final, but Belarus, Germany and the Pan American champion Cuba, among others, failed to qualify.


Women400mWomen4x400m
1
Sanya Richards-Ross
USA
1
United States
USA
2
Amantle Montsho
BOT
2
Russia
RUS
3
Allyson Felix
USA
3
Jamaica
JAM
4
Antonina Krivoshapka
RUS
4
Great Britain
GBR
5
Christine Ohuruogu
GBR
5
Ukraine
UKR
6
Novlene Williams-Mills
JAM
6
Germany
GER
7
Anastasiya Kapachinskaya
RUS
7
France
FRA
8
Francena McCorory
USA
8
Czech Republic
CZE
9
Shericka Williams
JAM
9
Nigeria
NGR
10
Dee  Dee Trotter
USA
10
Belarus
BLR
11
Tatyana Firova
RUS
11
Cuba
CUB
12
Rosemary Whyte
JAM
12
Italy
ITA
13
Yuliya Gushchina
RUS
13
Brazil
BRA
14
Amy Hastings
USA
14
Canada
CAN
15
Kseniya Ustalova
RUS
15
Ireland
IRL
16
Libania Grenot
ITA
16
Romania
ROU
17
Nataliya Nazarova
RUS
17
Poland
POL
18
Lyudmila Litvinova
RUS
18
Australia
AUS
19
Vania Stambolova
BUL
19
China
CHN
20
Kaliese Spencer
JAM
20
Turkey
TUR

                 Women400m                                               Women4x400m

Check out the whole TOP-50 RANKINGS and complete STATISTICS for every event above/*

jueves, 24 de marzo de 2011

After Commonwealth and Asian Games breakthrough, Indian Athletes aim for Olympic Medals




Preeja Sreedharan kisses Kavita Raut after their extraordinary 1-2
 at the Asian Games 10.000 meters final.
(Adam Pretty/ Getty Images AsiaPac)
http://www.zimbio.com/

      Recently (1), Indian long distance runner Kavita Raut has made one of the bravest statements we have heard in the athletics world for a long time: along with mate Preeja Sreedharan, she feels capable of breaking the 30 minutes barrier in the 10.000, in order to win a medal at next year’s London Olympics.
       Pushed to the limits first by Lornah Kiplagat and, in the crucial stages of the race by Elvan Abeylegesse, Tirunesh Dibaba had to run an almost unbelievable Olympic record of 29:54.66 to beat the field and achieve her Olympic dream in Beijing. It was the second time ever a female athlete had dipped under 30 minutes, after Wang Junxia from China did it at the National Games in 1993. Abeylegesse, the silver medalist, also achieved this feat, setting a new European best.  Two more women have joined this exclusive club since:  Meselech Melkamu, who improved Dibaba’s brand African record, after running 29:53.80 in Utretch in 2009, and Meseret Defar.  Long distance legends as Derartu Tulu, Paula Radcliffe, Fernanda Ribeiro or Ingrid Kristiansen could never manage those magical figures. Tirunesh Dibaba is precisely cited by the Indian athletes as her inspiration for running.  Yet, now they look forward to competing against Ethiopian and Kenyan runners in order to beat them. 
        Raut is not the only one Indian athlete feeling optimistic about her chances for the Olympics.  Akkunji Chidananda Ashwini, one of the leading heroines of the marvelous Indian team who shocked the athletics world at last Commonwealth Games and Asiad, claimed last December she expects to improve enough in her technique to be in contention for the gold medal in London in the 400 meters hurdles event.(2) Besides, along with her 4x400 mates, Mandeep and Manjeet Kaur and Sini Jose, promise to work hard to shorten the distances between the Indian relay and the best teams in the world such the American, Jamaican or Russian.  She believes they have a good chance of climbing on the podium, provided everyone in the “awesome foursome” can cut down her PB to a timing under 51 seconds. (3)
Dreaming is free of course but the question is as follows: 
How seriously can be taken Kavita Raut and A.C. Ashwini self-assertions?  
      

               Apart from Field Hockey, India’s curriculum in the Olympic Games is not really what you can expect from a nation, which population surpass one billion people.  Since their independence in 1947 they have not won a single track and field medal. Their only one at global level was obtained by long jumper Anju Bobby George at 2003 Paris World Championships.  However, India happened to be host of the XIX Commonwealth Games and, suddenly, their athletes, who have carried for decades a deserved reputation of complexed underperformers where it really mattered, have radically transformed themselves  into fearsome opponents no matter who the enemy is. The 101 medals overall tally, including 38 gold, are eloquent enough. In athletics, only surpassed by shooting and wrestling in results, a 52 years drought was broken by no less than a clean sweep of the medals in the female discus throw, followed by the groundbreaking exploit of the four girls who ran the 4x400 meters relay. 
       The Asian Games, held in Guangzhou one month afterwards, ratified and increased the sensational impression the Indian athletes had produced between amateurs and specialists. Three out of four individual champions demolished their previous PBs to beat effortlessly an on paper superior field, and the relay closed again in apotheosis a brilliant collective performance, which placed them ahead a powerhouse as Japan in the final ranking. All the athletics world was wondering about the secret of this amazing progression.  "Systematic training, hard work and strong support from the government", stated the brand 10.000 meters Asian champion Preeja Sreedharan. (4)

Sudha Singh, in fierce battle against Chinese Yuan Jin for the 2010 Asiad gold
(Mark Dadswell/ Getty Images AsiaPac)
http://www.zimbio.com/
       Certainly, no one can blame Indian athletes about their effort and sacrifice.  In a preparation based in exhausting long stages at training camps, Ashwini said she could not meet her family for one year, Raut for two and so on. Commonwealth champion Krishna Poonia had even to be far away from her 8-year old son for a long period.  The discus thrower had to pay by her own means her training in the US since the authorities did not approve her petition of assistance. This negative fact, not at all the only one, calls into question the strong supportive government actions which Preeja talked about.
At least, the AFI (Athletics Federation of India) had finally agreed to engage some prestigious foreign coaches as Belarus Nikolai Snesarev and Ukrainian Yuri Ogorodnik.  Much of the credit for recent Indian Athletics victories must be given to them.  Snesarev, a former assistant in the Soviet Union national team for more than ten years, arrived in 2005 to take in charge Indian athletes. Also a man with good knowledge in therapeutic massage and sports medicine, his plight to improve the chaotic and deficient conditions in which his trainees have to function has not really work out, but his committed dedication and tough discipline have contributed enormously to the steady progress of national middle and long-distance standards. Yet, the Indian performances at Osaka and Beijing Olympics were still poor, but he had stated time was needed for a visible improvement. Now, six years after his first  lessons, the time to reap the fruits has come. (5)   
Among the three Indian long distance medallists at 2010 Asian Games, Preeja Sreedharan was the one who started working with Snesarev since the very beginning.  In her first international outing she already had established a new 10.000 meters national record of 33:48.45 for fifth place in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.  Then, she improved to 32:04.41 in 2008, and competed in the Olympic Games, where she finished 25th.  Kavita Raut, followed on her steps, winning medals at the 2009 Asian championships in both 5000 and 10.000 distances, before grabbing a remarkable bronze in the Commonwealth Games, after experienced Kenyans Momanyi and Changeiywo, while Sreedharan finished 7th.  Then came the exciting race where they revealed themselves to the world. 

Harwant Kaur, Krishna Poonia and Seema Antil,
on the podium, after completing a clean sweep of the discus throw medals
for India at the Commonwealth Games.
http://www.najbrzazarada.ws/
In a superbly executed strategy, really a Tirunesh-Dibaba-like one, Preeja and Kavita left the Japanese and Bahraini athletes lead. Running effortlessly in the bottom they always seemed, though, in full control of the race, and this impression was confirmed when, with just 200 meters remaining, Sreedharan started a long sprint which ended in a devastating kick, romping home unopposed in 31:50.47, with Raut in her wake.  they were too much to handle for the likes of Kayoko Fukushi, 9th the year before at Berlin Worlds, Shitaye Eshete, Bahrain biggests hope for the future and a creditable 12th at last week World Cross Country  Championship, and current world marathon champion Xue Bai.  The two Indian runners looked so fresh and confident all over the race, she probably could have won the same had they been forced to run one minute faster. In the 5000 they proved again their gigantic progression, being able to hold a 15:15 pace, which meant snatching half a minute from their previous PBs.  However, this time around, they surged too late and Mimi Belete had the better of both of them. 
   Althought not as impressive in the Asiad as her 10.000 meters mates, steeplechaser Sudha Sing has earned a solid reputation, with her victory over consolidated specialists Yuan Jin and Minori Hayaraki, climbing one step on the podium from her first international outing, last year on occcasion of the Asian Championships, held in the same venue. Besides, she placed herself a splendid 5th in the Commonwealth Games, in front of a strong field. Next year, she might perfectly be in contention for a place of finalist in Daegu.  Sreedharan and Raut, after their high quality showing, will try to challenge the best, but they will need much more international exposure out of Asia if they expect to succeed in the next World Championships and Olympic Games.

Vikas Gowda, the discus throw  silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games
http://sports.in.msn.com/ 
       Yuri Ogorodnik, also an erstwhile Soviet Union coach, is the main responsible of the extraordinary relay team who made the highlights in both Commonwealth Games and Asiad.  He has been working for Indian Athletics for about a decade and his trainees praise his knowledge and ability to motivate the runners. Ashwini Akkunji has pointed to him as the main responsible of her progression. The Karnataka girl, almost an unknown athlete until last year, made a huge improvement in the Ukrainian training camp, where the group of quarter milers prepared the Commonwealth Games, and so gained her place for the 4x400.  In Delhi, she ran an astonishing third leg, catching the Nigerian athlete that had an advantage of more than 20 meters, and delivered the baton ahead to Mandeep Kaur, who could hold the 400 meters hurdles champion of the Games, Muizat Ajoke Odumosu to win the race. In Guangzhou, Ashwini also ran the decisive leg and got a second gold medal in the 400 hurdles, a discipline she had only entered some months before.  Despite her poor technique between and over the hurdles, she covered the distance, thanks to her powerful long strides, in a good timing of 56.15, not very far away from legend P.T. Usha's 55.42 national record.  This uncut diamond, is in her very beginning and has still plenty of room to improve.  Well oriented, she might become the best Indian athlete ever. 
       Her mates in the relay, thanks to the excellent direction, enjoyable team spirit and the huge boost of confidence after their feats, should all got PBs next year.  As an indication, their timings in the Commonwealth Games were: Manjeet Kaur 52.86, Sini Jose 52.09,  Ashwini Akkunji 51.67 and Mandeep Kaur 51.15.  Manjeet's 51.05 national record is likely to be beaten by Mandeep or Ashwini soon.  The record holder is the only athlete among the team, who is not progressing (the last time she dipped under 52 seconds was in 2005) but her experience is a bonus.  Althought the 3:26.89 Indian record by Manjeet, Chitra Soman, Rajwinder Kaur and K.M. Beenamol back in 2004 Athens Olympic Games is affordable, they will need at least a 10 seconds improvement to be in contention for the medals in London.  Almost a miracle is needed, but all the AFI dedication and investments are going to be fully focused in the quarter milers chances, so who knows...
  
A.C. Ashwini takes the baton from Sini Jose to kill the race in the 4x400 Delhi Commonwealth final
(Michael Steele/ Getty Images AsiaPac)
http://www.zimbio.com/
       In spite of her triple medal at the Commonwealth contest, the female discus throwers are not expected to shine in London Olympics.  In the past, neither Poonia nor Harwant Kaur lived up to the expectations in major championships, when the discus discipline was in its biggest crisis ever. Antil could not even qualify for Beijing. Now, a young generation has renovated at last the event and the standards are getting up again, making much more difficult than before the way to the medals.  Sandra Perkovic, Nadine Muller, Yarelis Barrios, Dani Samuels or the top Chinese are out of reach for the Indian discus throwers, as the Asian Games contest proved. Nor seem to be consistent enough Prajusha or Mayookha Johnny to take the relay from Anju Bobby George, and the Combined Events are languishing lately.  
       Among the men, veteran Joseph Abraham did his job right at the Asian Games and, as consequence, beat the Japanese favourites, who underperformed.  However to ask him for more than a semifinal in Daegu and London seems too much. Asian Championship winner last year, Om Prakash Singh, a 20 meters shot putter, could not grab any medal this time; neither did new hope, Saurabh Vij.  On the other hand, Discus thrower Vikas Gowda, after many dissapointing finals, showed consistency in 2010 Commonwealth and Asiad, delivering in both contests a good 63 meters throw for second and third respectively. He will try to keep the streak.  Also recovering from some horrible years is triple jumper Renjith Maheswary, back to 17 meters, and bronze medallist at the Commonwealth with a new national record.  He is right now the most likely male Indian candidate for an Olympic final. Watch out also for the progression of the 4x100 relay, third at the Commonwealth with a national record, and one of the five Asian teams, who have already achieved the Daegu standard.

P.T. Usha with her protegee Tintu Luka at the Athletics school she owns
 in Koyilandi  (Photo H. Vibhu)
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/athletics/article440512.ece?viewImage=1

        The great Pillavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha would not forbid us if we forgot the apple of her eye, the brave Tintu Luka.  Usha can easily be considered the best Indian athlete all time.  She is claimed to have won more than 100 international titles, including four 400 meters straight titles in the Asian Games and a record five golden medals and  one bronze at 1985 Jakarta Asian Championships.  Yet, she is best remembered  for the bronze medal she missed by just one hundredth of a second at 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games in the 400 hurdles event.   
         The same sheer determination which brought her to the top in her career as athlete is present now in her new task of manager and coach in the Athletics school she had  created in 2002 in Koyilandi, Kerala. With the intention of producing the Olympic champion she could never be, Usha is nurturing the new talents from her region, with little help from government and private foundations, finding the same obstacles she had to overcome as a young runner. (6) Yet, one of her protegees is already making an impact in the international scene:  Tintu Luka, who she still remembers coming for the first time to her school "a fragile and undernourished girl, yet aggressive." (7) The new pupil resulted as hard-worker and determined as her coach was, and steadily became the best 800 runner of the country, as she overshadowed Sinimole Paulose. 
      This one, from Snesarev stable, was the Indian middle distance reference between 2006 and 2008, along with sadly untimely retired Pinki Parmanik, with several medals at Asian level.  She had won the winter Area championships in both 800 and 1500 distances and thus made the standard for Doha world indoors, but was not selected, shifted instead to a regional championship.  During the summer, Paulose could not qualify for Beijing and from then on she is not delivering what was expected from her.  Luka will be perhaps luckier. Usha got her to compete in several European meetings last year and she did it in a bold front running.  In the second of them, the Continental Cup, she finished in a well-deserved 5th place,  timing 1:59.17, to beat Shiny Wilson's old national record. 

Joseph Abraham, the 400 hurdles Asian gold medallist
(Adrian Dennis/ AFP/ Getty Images)
http://www.sportskeeda.com/
          A hot favourite for medals in both Commonwealth and Asiad, she fell a little short, paying her suicidal pace (57.49 mid race) in the end, to finish only sixth in Delhi; while in Guangzhou (a bit slower, 57.82) she grabbed a bitter-sweet bronze medal.  As a comparison, Semenya was timed in a 56.86 first lap at Berlin World Champinships, to achieve an ultra fast 1:55.45. Indeed, the day Tintu Luka will be able to control her explosiveness and maintain the pace until the end, she will be no more "the rabbit" of the race but a terrific outsider.  
      P.T. Usha's lifetime experience is the most evident example that succes in athletics has always been achieved in India thanks to the tenacity of some commited individuals, athletes and coaches.  Furthermore, the same lacks have been blocking athletics progress for decades, due to the government and sportives authorities weak dedication to overcome them. (8) Usha or Snesarev athletes are still forced to train on muddy tracks. There are very few sport nutritionists or sport doctors availaible. Coaches are not specialised enough and take wrong decisions (Usha makes them responsible of not winning an Olympic medal, because they discovered too late her athletics byotipe fitted best for the 400 hurdles). The top athletes are rarely sent out of Asia to face the best world specialists and they do it for the first time at World championships and Olympics level, where they pay the price of this wrong. Meanwhile, their agenda is filled with uncountable and strenous local meetigs they can not avoid. Finally, improvisation dominates it all.
        Poverty is cited as main reason for these pitiful conditions in which coaches and athletes must work.  Yes, we know Kavita Raut, as a child, had to walk 2 kilometers out of her village to fetch water for her family  and she just entered athletics "to get to see big cities", before setting more ambitious targets as "beating Tirunesh Dibaba at the Olympics". (1) And we also know the amazing story of A.C. Ashwini's parents, who could not see her daughter victory at the Commonwealth, because they were too busy trying to keep their house safe from flood danger.  But there is not poverty in Ethiopia and Kenya?  However, in those African countries, athletics is the number one sport and, in India government, private sponsors and audience seem to just worry about cricket. (9) Only the railway, police and army are commited in investing some money in our sport, through employment.  No wonder many talented runners quit athletics once they have secured a job in one of the three institutions above. (8)   

Indian athletes training in Kochi under the supervision of Nikolai Snesarev
www.thehindu.com        Photo: file
       And, now that the athletes have become some sort of national heroes after their exploits last year, are things up for a change?
      Ashwini Akkunji,  is used to interviews lately.  In one of them, she hurried in  pointing at the necessity of improving sports infraestructure in the country, comparing its precarity with the excellent equipment and facilities China could provide for the Indian athletes training in Guangzhou, prior to competing in the Asian Games.(10) She also said how important would be for them to participate in global meetings as the Diamond League ones, in order to acquire experience and competitiveness for the Olympics.  On the other hand, Sudha Singh profited her chance to chat with Congress President Sonia Ghandi to promote Nikolai Snesarev renewal as national coach. 
             Just a couple of months afterwards, Ashwini is again in the spotlight but this time is to talk about her big troubles to find sponsorship for her meetings abroad next summer. Also Sudha Sing says she is not competing anymore for Uttar Pradesh because she has been ignored by the local authorities and "enough is enough", in similar terms to P.T. Usha last year, when she complained about not being invited to assist to the Commonwealth Games.  Besides, there is the ridiculous situation of the athletes, already concentrated in their training camp of Patiala, waiting for more than one month for their foreign coaches, who also are in their countries waiting for a new contract and new visa. (11)
        Then, in the middle of this craziness, the sports minister Ajay Maken, unveils an ambitious program to bring more medals in the Olympic Games called "Operation excellence London 2012". (12)  The efforts will be focused in 16 disciplines, among them Athletics.  Travels to compete abroad will be scheduled and, of course, foreign coaches Nikolai Snesarev and Yuri Ogorodnik, who helped India to achieve historic performances at the Commonwealth Games will be engaged again...