ATTENTION TURNS TO OSTRAVA TODAY By David Monti (c) 2010 Race
Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission
The attention of the
athletics world turns to Ostrava in the Czech Republic today for the
49th Zlata Tetra - Golden
Spike meeting, part of the IAAF World Challenge series. In addition to
the 300m race which will feature Usain Bolt, meeting director Alfons
Juck has also put together several good middle and long distance races.
On
the men's side, the 800m field boasts eight men with sub-1:46 personal
bests, including last year's fastest two-lap specialist, David Rudisha
of Kenya (1:42.01 PB). Rudisha has already run the year's two fastest
800m times: 1:43.15 at Melbourne on March 4 and 1:43-flat in Doha on May
14. Look for Kenya's Boaz Lalang, this year's IAAF World Indoor
Championships silver medallist (1:44.68 PB); Canada's Gary Reed, the
2007 IAAF World Championships silver medallist; and Poland's Marcin
Lewandowski, a finalist at last summer's IAAF World Championships
(1:43.84 PB).
There is also a very good field in the 3000m led by
American Bernard Lagat, whose multiple world titles include this year's
indoor 3000m. To get the
victory Lagat, who has a 3000m personal best of 7:33.15, has to
overcome reigning world cross country champion Joseph Ebuya of Kenya
(7:34.62 PB), and Kenyan speedsters Isaac Songok (7:28.72 PB) and Sammy
Alex Mutahi (7:33.15). Lagat has said before that he would like to
surpass Bob Kennedy's USA record of 7:30.84 set in Monte Carlo in 1998.
Meeting director Juck has arranged three pacemakers to led the field of
16, so times should be fast.
The women will also do battle at
800m, and six competitors have sub-2:00.00 personal best times to their
credit. The field's fastest runner is Russian Yekaterina Kostetskaya
(1:56.67 PB), but Russia's Yevgeniya Zinurova (1:58.04 PB), and
Ukraine's Tetiana Petlyuk (1:57.34), should also contend for the podium.
Finally,
a small field has been assembled for the women's 10,000m in what may
turn out to be a world record attempt by Ethiopia's Meselech Melkamu,
the African record holder for
the distance with a 29:53.80 personal best. Juck has arranged for
Hungary's Anikó Kálovics, the woman who paced the Virgin London Marathon
last month, to pace Melkamu. Also entered are Portugal's Jessica
Augusto and Kenya's Pauline Korikwiang, both making their 10,000m
debuts. The South African twins Dina Lebo and Lebogang Phalula are also
entered.
