Jamaican Usain Bolt will have the opportunity to take the sprint double when he lines up at the Men’s 200m final on Wednesday, August 20. The Women’s 400m Hurdles finals and the Women’s Hammer Throw will also take center stage at the National Stadium.
Men’s 200m – Final
Bolt cruised to the finish line in semifinal two with the fastest qualifying time of 20.09 seconds.
No athlete has won the Men’s 100m and 200m in Athletics in the same Olympic Games since Carl Lewis of the United States achieved the feat in Los Angeles in 1984.
However, Bolt’s gold may be threatened by Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles, who set a national record of 20.11s, Wallace Spearmon of the United States who clocked 20.14s and defending champion Shawn Crawford of the United States who recorded 20.12s.
Women’s 400m Hurdles – Final
Sheena Tosta of the United States led home the first Women’s 400m Hurdles semifinal in 54.07 seconds taking her into Wednesday’s final.
She will be joined on the start line by Melaine Walker of Jamaica, who won the second semifinal in 54.20s.
Medal challengers Tiffany Ross-Williams of the United States, Anna Jesien of Poland and Tasha Danvers of Great Britain also advanced.
Women’s Hammer Throw – Final
Seven women surpassed the automatic qualifying mark of 71.50m to progress to the final.
Amongst those is Athens 2004 Olympic Games silver medallist Yipsi Moreno of Cuba, who had the best throw of the competition, a throw of 73.92m.
Reigning world champion Betty Heidler of Germany and world championships bronze medallist Zhang Wenxiu of China will also be strong competitors.
Men’s 110m Hurdles – Semifinals
With reigning world and Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China absent due to injury, world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba has now been elevated to the outright favorite of this race. Robles comfortably won his heat in 13.19 seconds and still has plenty left in the tank.
David Oliver of the United States was the fastest through to the semifinals with a time of 13.16s.
World championships bronze medallist David Payne of the United States was the third fastest sprint hurdler through in 13.24s.
Women’s 200m – Semifinals
The results from the first heat of Round 2 might very well resemble the line up on the medal podium come Thursday night’s final. Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica took the lead in 22.64 seconds defeating Allyson Felix of the United States and Debbie Ferguson-Mckenzie from the Bahamas. All three automatically advanced to Wednesday’s semifinals.
Sherone Simpson of Jamaica was the fastest qualifier through in 22.60s.
Men’s 800m – Round 1
In a battle of the ages, junior world record holder Abubaker Kaki of Sudan will take on veteran and defending champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia in the Men’s 800m.
Athens silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa and 2007 world champion Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya will also put up a strong fight.
Men’s 5000m – Round 1
Kenenisa Bekele is aiming to win the 5000m – 10000m double and deny Bernard Lagat the chance to win yet another international title.
Lagat, the reigning world champion, is hoping to add another gold medal to his collection and make up for not getting through to the 1500m final.
Kenenisa’s younger brother Tariku Bekele, the reigning world indoor champion, will also be in contention for a medal. Beijing was the site of his 2006 world junior championship victory.
Eliud Kipchoge will be flying the flag for Kenya. Kipchoge won the world championship gold in 2003 and the silver in 2007.
Men’s Pole Vault – Qualifying Round
World champion Brad Walker of the United States will battle long-time rival Steve Hooker of Australia in the Men’s Pole Vault.
Evgeny Lukyanenko of Russia has emerged as a medal contender after a season where he improved his personal best by 20cm.
In their last meeting prior to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Lukyanenko defeated Hooker and Walker in London.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)
