Bolt, Fraser-Pryce restore pride

Jamaicans' performances light up Moscow event; Isinbayeva enlivens home competitions

 From the giant Usain Bolt to the little bundle of energy called Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaicans did their best to erase the blots on their sport as the 14th World Championships in athletics ended in a blaze of glory for the island nation.

Never in history had a triple sprint crown been achieved by athletes from the same country in both the men’s and women’s events. But Moscow’s sporting showpiece, the Luzhniki Stadium, witnessed history being rewritten as the best sprinters of our times joined forces.

The triple-triple, achieved on the final day, stood out amidst a clutch of fine individual performances in the Russian capital, as the championships, hit by withdrawals and a spate of positive dope tests in the build up phase, battled to match the excitement of London 2012.

There were no world records -- for the first time since 2007 – but three championship records were rewritten and several individual achievements entered the books with Mo Farah leading the way; still the buzz was missing for most part, with the fans not turning up in big numbers.

Bolt and Fraser-Pryce stood out in the achievers’ parade. They both claimed the 100-200 and 4x100 gold medals – in Bolt’s case, for the fourth time on the global stage including the Olympics – to push the doping stories from their country to the background, at least for the time being.

Bolt might have already attained legendary status after his achievements in the past but he revealed that he had reset his goals after London. “The aim is to win two more championships, Beijing (next World Championships in 2015) and Rio (Olympic Games),” he said. “I want to do something that no one else has ever done – defend my titles for the third time.”

Thunder, lightning and rain accompanied the Bolt show in the 100M – nature’s way of greeting his return to the top after the false-start fiasco in 2011 at Daegu. Bolt brooked no challenge in the 200M either but there were to be no world records, with the big man not in the best of shapes physically. Still, the fact he could time a world-leading 19.66 in the 200 underlined his calibre.

Fraser-Pryce, who was once suspended for six months for a doping offence, showed size did not matter when it comes to running fast. Just five-feet tall, the Jamaican’s quicksilver strides outwitted her bigger rivals as she won her events with huge margins. In the 200, a hamstring injury to three-time champion Allyson Felix made Fraser-Pryce’s path easier but there was no doubt that she was the woman in form.

Farah was the man in form in the distance events as he outfoxed his Ethiopian and Kenyan rivals with well-planned races. The Africans failed to test him and the result was another 5000-10000 double for the Briton -- only the second man after Kenenisa Bekele to hold the Olympic and world titles in these events at the same time.

“No one sees the hard work behind these successes. No one sees you running a hundred miles week-in and week-out,” Farah said, revealing the effort he has put in to achieve these feats.

In terms of achievements, French triple jumper Teddy Tamgho ranked high on the list, with his 18.04M leap for the gold on the final day landing him in an exclusive club. Jonathan Edwards, looking on from the stands, saw his world record of 18.29 surviving but Tamgho looked good for a big one in the future.

Isinbayeva’s glory

Pole vault legend Yelena Isinbayeva prepared for the future with a gold in what was supposed to be her farewell Worlds. The championships finally came alive with the Russian champion putting in a show that once made her almost invincible. A 4.89M clearance fetched her the gold, and she said she will try to return, after having a baby.

Close contests were witnessed in the women’s 400M and the men’s 400m hurdles, with Briton Christine Ohuruogu and Trinidadian Jehue Gordan winning by the narrowest of margins.

Ohuruogu dethroned Amantle Montsho by four-hundredths of a second with the Botswanian failing to dip at the finish. Gordon, a former world junior champion, was among the clutch of new stars to emerge, edging out American Michael Tinsley by a hundredth of a second while another youngster, Ukrainian Bohdan Bondarenko, demanded notice in high jump with his victorious 2.41M leap.

The young achiever prize in the women’s section went to Brianna Rollins after she ousted another champion, Sally Pearson in the 100M hurdles. Rollins showed her blazing run in the US trials was no fluke with a 12.44-second run in the final while for Pearson, recovering from injuries, silver was a good result.

Moscow was also witness to four champions extending their winning streaks. Valerie Adams, the queen of shot put, made it four in a row before taking a customary dig at the dope cheats while Brittney Reese shook off a lacklustre qualifying round show to nail the women’s long jump title for the third straight time. Robert Harting’s three-in-a-row dominated the discus ring and on the track, Ezekiel Kemboi ruled the steeplechase for the third straight time.

The inexplicable fall of defending 400M champion Kirani James delivered the shock result of the championships, with American LaShawn Merritt storming back to the top. In contrast, there were no surprises in the longest event on the track, with Tirunesh Dibaba embellishing her reputation with her third world title in the 10000M. Quiet achiever she was, in a largely quiet championships.