Where Your Dreams Become Reality
|
Where Your Dreams Become Reality |
|
Unheralded Lisa Dobriskey Surprises in Commonwealth 1500m Kenyans Finish 1-2 in 10,000m Final By David Monti (c) 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved MELBOURNE (21-Mar) -- England got their first athletics gold medal at these Commonwealth Games tonight and it came from the athlete they would have least expected. Twenty-two year-old Lisa Dobriskey, whose previous best accomplishments were a victory at the 2005 U.K. Inter-Counties Cross Country meeting and a fifth place finish at the World University Games last year, came from deep in the field to snatch the 1500m title from favorites Hayley Tullett of Wales and Carmen Douma-Hussar of Canada. The Ashford athlete was lying in sixth position as she rounded turn-3 on her way to the finish, her teammate Helen Clitheroe at the lead. Douma-Hussar, Tullett, and Australia's Sarah Jamieson were all still in contention. "It was anyone's race, really," said Suzy Walshman of Australia who finished sixth. Dobriskey swung well wide and literally ran around the entire pack, getting to the line first in 4:06.21. "I thought, 'just go for it'," said a giddy Dobriskey who admitted her tactics were terrible. "I'm just trying to get used to using my head in racing," she explained. Running in lane two down the finish straight, Tullett was looking to her right while Jamieson was closing on the inside. The Australian got by the Welshwoman to get second in 4:06.64, while Tullett held on for third in 4:06.76. Clitheroe finished fourth in 4:06.81, while Douma-Hussar, finished fifth (4:07.48). KENYANS GO 1-2 IN 10,000M FINAL Kenyans Lucy Wangui and Evelyne Wambui went 1-2 in the women's 10,000m final, sizzling the last five laps to shake off home country favorite Benita Johnson and Englishwoman Mara Yamauchi, who was the surprise bronze medalist. Off of a slow early pace, the Kenyans took turns leading and kept the race under their control. Johnson stayed tucked in third place, with Yamauchi and Hayley Yelling were running fourth and fifth. "As soon as we started I knew it was slow," said Yamauchi, who now lives in Japan. The Kenyans ran the 10th and 11th laps in 74.10 and 73.80, respectively, and that was enough to drop Yelling and reduce the pack to four. The pace slackened again as the Africans waited until there were five laps to go before really turning the screws. On the 21st lap a 74.27 sent Yamauchi off of the back while Johnson struggled to keep in contact. Then Wambui stepped on the gas, reeling off a 72.49. That put Johnson out of contention. "I ran really well up to the last four laps," Johnson said later. "I just couldn't go with that last move." With the 19 year-old Wambui now leading, the hammer was dropped: 72.01 for lap 23 and then 71.20 for lap 24. Wangui wasn't sure she could hang on. "For the last 300 meters I felt I can't go anymore," Wangui said after the race. But at the top of the homestraight, she felt newly energized as she saw the finish line ahead of her. "I was seeing it as far, but then I decided to go," she said. Swinging wide on the outside, she passed Wambui and grabbed the lead with about 30 meters to go. She sailed over the line in 31:29.66, only two seconds off of the Games record, with Wambui finishing only a few meters behind in 31:30.86. Farther back, on the 24th lap, Yamauchi was able to catch Johnson and take over third place. Finishing in 31:49.40, a personal best, Yamauchi was shocked that she had medaled. "I could see she was tired so I just went for it," Yamauchi said of Johnson who finished fourth in 31:58.08. Her training had gone very well, and she struggled to understand what had happened. "Unfortunately, that's the best I could do today," she told reporters.
|
Cross Country Spikes 10% off Injured?
|
