News01 Jun 2008


Nigeria's dash double; Buckland takes revenge over Mpaung in Brazzaville

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Ene Franca Idoko and Uchenn Emedolu of Nigeria after their 100m victories in Brazzaville (© Louisette-R. Thobi)

A month since the 16th African Athletics Championships, Stephan Buckland took revenge over the man who beat him in Addis Ababa, African champion Mpaung Thuso, when winning the 200m at the 4th edition of the CAA Grand Prix Series in front of 14,000 spectators on Sunday afternoon (1 June) at the Alphonse Massamba Debat Stadium.

Mauritian Stephan Buckland, 31, clocked 20.74 seconds, so beating South Africa’s Thuso Mpaung (20.95), the man who had beaten him to continental gold.

The Brazzaville meet is one of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, to be held on 13-14 September in Stuttgart.

With a time of 45.76 secs in the 400m, Zimbabwean Nyongani Talkmore, following on from his win at the Dakar IAAF World Athletics Tour meeting again beat Addis Ababa bronze medallist James Godday of Nigeria (45.85).

“I need 4 more races before the Olympics,” confirmed Talkmore. This is my second race and I am improving myself: In Dakar, I won in 45.97, today I clocked 45.76. I will continue working so that I’ll be ready for the Olympics.”

In the 100m, the African silver medallist Uchenna Emedolu of Nigeria was the winner but the whole field was disturbed by the noisy crowd at the start. very often crowned in Africa rendez-vous, was there again even if the time was not very famous. Emedolu finished first in a lowly with a poor 10.40 sec beating South African Leigh Julius (10.51). Third place went to the meeting record holder from Burkina Faso, Idrissa Sanou, 10.54.

In the women’s dash, Idoko Franca who is the meeting record holder, took a second consecutive victory in 11.35 secs but the time was slower than her win last year (11.25). In second came the 2006 African champion Vida Anim of Ghana who clocked 11.57. Gloria Kemasuode of Nigeria came third and then one the 200m in 23.40 sec, again beating Vida Anim.

The Ghanaian is struggling since Addis Ababa with pains in her legs but she remains happy to continue her training and confident about the future.

By contrast Chad’s Nadjima Kaltouma, who finished seventh here but who had won the 200m and 400m at the last Francophonie Game in Niamey (Niger) in 2005, is back competing after having a baby boy 11 months ago. After the race, she said: “Coming here in Brazzaville, was first to perform well and make my comeback after two years of absence”.

Only four field events were scheduled in Brazzaville. The most interesting one was the women’s Shot Put, where Nigeria’s Vivian Chukwuemeka, the African champion, was beaten into third by Anca Heltne of Romania. After two attempts, the Nigerian led with 17.17m but in the fourth produiced a PB of 18.19m. At the end she promises: “I came here to win because last year, things goes bad for me, now I am happy and I will be ther next year!”

Louisette-R. Thobi for IAAF

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