Liu Xiang after his come-from-behind win in Shanghai (© AFP / Getty Images)
class fields, clear skies and pleasant temperatures, and a thrilling victory by the city’s most famous son, Liu Xiang, worked perfectly to make the second annual Shanghai Golden Grand Prix a great success at Shanghai Stadium on Saturday (23) evening.
Liu overcomes slow start to capture thriller over Johnson
The marquee matchup was of course the men’s 110m Hurdles, and Liu Xiang is sending the message over and over to his rivals that he is just about unbeatable when he runs in China. Despite the absence of Americans Dominique Arnold and Terrence Trammell, the race lived up to its expectations as a continuation of the classic rivalry between Liu and 35-year-old veteran Allen Johnson of the U.S.
After a slow response to the starter’s fast gun - a 0.201 reaction time - Liu played catch-up with Johnson, his friendly rival who unexpectedly got the better of him last week in Athens. Liu caught Johnson by the ninth hurdle and by the time he cleared number ten, he was out in front. Liu clocked 13.07, just 0.02 seconds slower than his stadium-record 13.05 set in last year’s meet, to Johnson’s 13.09.
The rest of the field was far behind these two Olympic gold medallists: third place went to Aries Merritt of the U.S. in 13.34. As expected, Liu was swarmed by photographers after the race and did a live television interview on the track that was broadcast nationwide directly following his victory. The hero of Chinese track and field had delivered once again in front of his hometown crowd.
Afterwards, Liu was whisked away from the mixed zone without offering comments to the assembled media. He left the media show to Johnson, who answered “Sure!” with a smile when asked if he would like to run against Liu again in the future. Asked whether he slowed down on purpose at the end to give Liu the win, Johnson just smiled again and said “No…Liu Xiang’s a great competitor.”
Whether Johnson can put another two years on his legs to make it to another Olympics in 2008 remains to be seen, but his friendly rivalry with Liu and his tremendous sportsmanship should make as many headlines as Liu’s utter dominance in the hurdles when the address of the competition stadium is anywhere inside the boundaries of the People’s Republic of China.
Event-by-event rundown…
Men:
100m: It was a sweep for the U.S. despite the absence of Tyson Gay, a late scratch. Marcus Brunson took the win in 10.03, followed by Leonard Scott in 10.09 and Wallace Spearmon in a PB 10.11 seconds.
400m: Lashawn Merritt set a new stadium record en route to winning in 45.10. Alleyne Francique was second in 45.34 and Michael Blackwood took third in 45.36. Jeremy Wariner, who has dominated the 2006 outdoor season in this event, did not finish. Afterwards Wariner told reporters that he’d been nursing a tight hamstring all day. “I knew there was wind on the backstretch, so I wanted to save some energy for it,” he said. “I was trying to make a move on Merritt and I just felt [my hamstring] tighten up. The more I ran, the tighter it got, and I just didn’t want to take a chance.” For his part, Merritt was happy to have made the long trip to Shanghai. “I had a little reservation [about coming to Shanghai] because it’s so far away, but actually it’s been one of the best meets this year.”
1500m: Kenenisa Bekele’s younger brother Tariku won World Junior gold in Beijing last month in the 5000m, but big brother wasn’t as successful in Shanghai, placing second in the 1500m to Kenyan Augustine Choge. Choge set a new stadium record of 3:33.01 with his winning effort, just ahead of Bekele’s 3:33.13 in a rare appearance over the distance for the Ethiopian. Further back Nicholas Kemboi was third in 3:34.61 and Bernard Lagat fourth (3:34.97). “I was in good form,” Choge said. “I knew I had a strong team behind me, and I had the reserve energy coming down the stretch.”
High Jump: After the field thinned dramatically at 2.24m, four remained: Sweden’s Linus Thornblad, Tora Harris of the U.S., and Russians Andrey Silnov and Yaroslav Rybakov. Thornblad and Rybakov cleared 2.29; Harris and Silnov both missed their first two attempts at the height before passing to 2.31. Harris cleared to move into first, tying the stadium record, while Silnov missed, finishing fourth. Rybakov the cleared 2.31 on his second try while Thornblad missed all three at 2.31 to finish third. Rybakov cleared 2.33 (a new stadium record) on his third attempt, clinching the title over Harris, who missed all his three attempts.
Long Jump: Ghana’s Commonwealth champion Ignisious Gaisah secured the win with a fourth round jump of 8.16. He was followed by Fabrice Lapierre of Australia (8.02m) and Aarik Wilson of the United States, who moved from eighth to third place with his last-round leap of 8.01. Dwight Phillips, who won this competition last year with a jump of 8.39 meters, fouled on all of his three attempts.
Shot Put: It didn’t take long for stadium records to fall in this event: Rutger Smith’s first heave of 20.27m took care of that to surpass the stadium standard of 19.48m set by Chinese Wen Jili in 1997. The rest of the field answered the challenge; by the time the dust settled, the new stadium record was 21.08m and the winner was Christian Cantwell. Poland’s Tomas Majewski set a personal best of 20.66 en route to his runner-up finish. American Dan Taylor put up only two legal marks in six attempts, but one of them, his fifth-round throw of 20.48m, was good enough for third place. Olympic champion Yuri Bilonoh was never in it, throwing 18.83 through three rounds and not qualifying for the final three throws. Cantwell said afterwards that this is just a prelude to what he plans to do in 2008. “I can’t wait to take down in Beijing,” he said.
Women:
100m: American sprinters took four of the top five places, with Allyson Felix winning in 11.17 seconds. Torri Edwards was second in 11.27 with Jamaican Aleen Bailey well back in third (11.41). 46-year-old Merlene Ottey was seventh in 11.59 and was disappointed. “For me this was a bad year,” she said.
100m H: The showdown between Americans Michelle Perry, the 2005 World champion, and Joanna Hayes, the 2004 Olympic gold medallist, went Perry’s way with a clocking of 12.60, another stadium record. Fellow American Damu Cherry slipped into second in 12.64 with Hayes well back in third (12.90). In one of China’s best performances this evening, Liu Jing placed fourth with a season’s best 13.07. Canadian Perdita Felicien, slated to compete, did not start.
400m: Stadium records and personal bests fell as Jamaica’s Novlene Williams set the new Shanghai Stadium standard of 49.63 to take the win. DeeDee Trotter set a personal best with her 49.80 for second, while Bulgaria’s European Champion finished third in 50.04. Olympic champion Tonique Williams-Darling ran a season’s best 50.11 to finish fourth.
400mH: Russia’s Yevgenia Isakova nabbed the win in 53.98, upsetting world number two Tiffany Ross-Williams, who ran 54.26. China’s Huang Xiaoxiao set a season’s of 54.69 to place third. Pre-race favorite Lashinda Demus, who has dominated this event in 2006, was a late scratch.
5000m: Tirunesh Dibaba won a screamer of a race over Gelete Burka – the winning time was 14:55.63 and the margin of victory was just 0.01 second. Mestewat Tufa was third in 15:00.68. World record holder Meseret Defar, slated to compete, did not start.
3000m Steeplechase: Alesia Turava of Belarus won in 9:29.68 over world leader Wioletta Janowska, who was second in 9:31.30. Kenya’s Salome Chepchumba rounded out the top three, clocking 9:38.97.
Pole Vault: Asian record holder Gao Shuying and 2005 world outdoor silver medallist Monika Pyrek remained tied for first through the first four heights (to 4.41m) with Germany’s Nastja Ryjikh in third. The deciding height was 4.51m, where Ryjikh moved into the lead with a first attempt clearance while Gao and Pyrek bowed out. 2006 World junior champ Zhou Yang was far off her best, managing only the opening height of 4.00m. Former world record holder Svetlana Feofanova, slated to compete, did not start.
Of the fourteen events contested, seven resulted in new stadium records: the men’s 400m, 1500m, High Jump and Shot Put; and the women’s 100m Hurdles, 400m, and 3000m Steeplechase.
Full meet results can be found at http://www.shggp.com/liveresults/index.html.
Mary Nicole Nazzaro for the IAAF with Arthur Kao in Shanghai
