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December 2009
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2008 In Review: Women's Sprints |
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22.12.2008 |
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Belgian stalwart Kim Gevaert calls it a day.
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An era ended in the women's sprints with 30-year-old Kim Gevaert (BEL) retiring at the end of the season. The Belgian won a 100/200m double at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg and is also the reigning European Indoor champion in 60m from Birmingham 2007.
In Beijing, Gevaert advanced to semi finals in 100m and got the silver medal with the Belgian team in the 4x100m relay.
Only one European made it to the final in Beijing 100/200m sprints.
25-year-old Jeanette Kwakye (GBR) crowned her breakthrough season with a 11.14s personal best and sixth place.
In 400m, the 24-year-old reigning World champion Christine Ohuruogu (GBR) did the unthinkable and won the Olympic title. The Briton had done very little before the Olympics, but again timed her form to perfection.
Kim Gevaert ran her European leading 11.05s result in early May missing Belgian national record from 2006 only by 0.01s, but since that result her form was not what it used to be prior to Beijing. She did however got back to more familiar times with her fifth place finish in Monaco, the last competition before the Olympics where she clocked 11.13s.
In Beijing, she ran 11.10s in the second round, but in the end got no chance of advancing to the final. 22-year-old Montell Douglas (GBR) enjoyed the perfect conditions in Loughborough in July first running a 10.95 wind aided time in the heats followed by an 11.05s national record and European co-leader with Gevaert.
Douglas however got stuck in the second round in Beijing with another Briton going all the way to the final. Jeanette Kwakye had made her name known at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia where she won the silver medal with a 7.08s national indoor record in 60m.
Kwakye didn't come to Beijing as a favourite for the final, but 11.18s personal best in the second round, 11.19s performance in the semi final and 11.14s PB in the final were enough for the sixth place as the top European. Kim Gevaert competed once more since winning the silver in the 4x100m relay in Beijing winning the Brussels meeting in 11.25s and a farewell to aa wonderful athletics career.
200m really wasn't the best event for European women during the 2008 season. In Beijing there were no Europeans in the final with Yuliya Chemoshanskaya (RUS) reaching a personalbest 22.57s in the semi-final where she was the fastest loser. Muriel Hurtis-Houairi (FRA) was the next best athlete not making the final with her 22.71s result.
The 29-year-old who was third at the 2003 World Championships inthis event had run 22.50s earlier in the season. Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (RUS) had the European leader in this event with her 22.48s result in early June, but she opted for 400m in Beijing.
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British Christine Ohuruogu Europe's golden girl at
Beijing. |
When Christine Ohuruogu came from nowhere to win the 2007 World Championships in Osaka with a 49.61s personal best, most people were ready to say this was a once in a lifetime victory.
And even more so because her 2008 season was nothing special, she wasn't the first pick to win at the Olympics. Although the Briton was unbeaten in the four finals before Beijing,her season's best 50.80s was hardly good enough for someone with a medal chance.
But in Beijing she again showed that she can time her form perfectly to major championships.
If people were doubting her ability before the competition, the semi final performance 50.14s which gave her the win in the heats clearly showed she possessed the same form she had last year.
In the final American Sanya Richards started way too fast with the Briton running a much more even race and using her trademark final straight surge to take another gold medal home to Britain.Yuliya Gushchina (RUS) just missed tiring Richards finishing fourth with a 50.01s personal best just 0.08 seconds behind the American.
Fellow Russian Anastasiya Kapachinskaya was fifth in 50.03s and Tatyana Firova, also from Russia, sixth with a 50.11s season's best result for a great European 400m final. Another British favourite Nicola Sanders didn't make it this time, she set a season's best 50.71s in the semi final but that was not enough for her to advance.
European Athletics stats:
100m
2008 headto head between Europe's best:
Kim Gevaert BEL - Jeanette Kwakye GBR 3-1
Kim Gevaert BEL - Christine Arron FRA 2-0
Jeanette Kwakye GBR - Montell Douglas GBR 4-1
Career headto head:
Kim Gevaert BEL - Jeanette Kwakye GBR 5-1
Christine Arron FRA - Kim Gevaert BEL 10-3
Jeanette Kwakye GBR - Montell Douglas GBR 7-3
Christine Arron FRA - Yulia Nestsiarenka BLR 6-2
200m
2008 head to head stats between Europe's best:
Yuliya Gushchina RUS - Muriel Hurtis-Houairi FRA 4-1
Career head to head:
Yuliya Gushchina RUS - Muriel Hurtis-Houairi FRA 6-2
Muriel Hurtis-Houairi FRA - Kim Gevaert BEL 13-7
400m
2008 head to head between Europe's best:
Christine Ohuruogu GBR - Tatyana Firova RUS 2-1
Christine Ohuruogu GBR - Nicola Sanders GBR 3-0
Yuliya Gushchina RUS - Anastasiya Kapachinskaya RUS 3-1
Yuliya Gushchina RUS - Tatyana Firova RUS 3-1
Anastasiya Kapachinskaya RUS - Tatyana FirovaRUS 2-1
Career head to head:
Christine Ohuruogu GBR - Tatyana Firova RUS 2-1
Christine Ohuruogu GBR - Nicola Sanders GBR 6-1
Yuliya Gushchina RUS - Anastasiya Kapachinskaya RUS 3-1
Yuliya Gushchina RUS - Tatyana Firova RUS 4-3
Anastasiya Kapachinskaya RUS - Tatyana Firova RUS 6-4
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