26th August 2013 11:32
When the IAAF World Championships ended in Moscow just over a week ago, the 'if' word might have been high on the agenda of javelin throwers Maria Abakumova and Tero Pitkamaki.
A long summer of toil had ended with a place on the podium, but perhaps not the position they both wanted.
Russian Abakumova, one of the home favourites and the defending champion, had finished third while Finland's Pitkamaki, the champion in 2007, had won silver in the men's event.
Abakumova's bronze came with 65.09m as great rival Christina Obergföll, of Germany, won with 69.05m, inflicting another defeat on the Russian who had talked about how the nerves of the occasion had had the best of her.
Not in qualifying though, where she had thrown 69.09m, which had taken its place as the second best throw in the world this year behind her mark of 69.34m which had not been threatened all summer.
But 'if' only she had thrown that in the final …
Eight days on, you suspect there is fresh enthusiasm in the Abakumova camp on Monday after a weekend which would also have given Pitkamaki new encouragement.
Not only did Abakumova beat Obergföll for the first time this season at the DN Galan meeting in Stockholm on Thursday night, when the pair met in Elstal, Germany, on Sunday, the Russian sent out another marker which could last all the way to next year's European Athletics Championships in Zurich.
In the opening round, competing in the new world champion's own country, Abakumova won the event with a first round throw of 69.75m.
The best in the world this year, even at this latter stage of the summer, and an effort which would surely ease some of the frustration at not delivering better in Moscow.
Obergföll could not respond, finishing with a best throw of 65.85m, and then the Russian launched a fourth round of 69.35m just for good measure.
Two brilliant throws which will not make up for missing gold at the World Championships but they will surely stay with Abakumova into 2014 and might just ease the pain of 'if' when she thinks back to Moscow and how far she knows she can throw.
Pitkamaki had seen Vitezslav Vesely, of the Czech Republic, take the lead in the first round with 87.17m at the World Championships and hit back with 87.07m but could not pass him.
At the age of 30, the silver was his fifth major medal in a season where he sat third on the world rankings with 87.60m behind Russia's Dmitri Tarabin with 88.84m and Vesely with 87.68m.
But 'if' only he had thrown further in the final and can he still achieve such distances to be the No 1 again?
Had those thoughts swirled through his head, he was given the answers on Sunday, also in Germany, at the 18th throwing meeting in Bad Kostritz.
There was no sign of what might happen when he started his run-up for his third attempt before Pitkamaki launched the spear 89.03m - by far the best throw in the world this year.
And as the only man to pass 89m, having that in his mind entering next summer will mean the events of this weekend could be among his most