Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
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LetsRun.com's 2009 IAAF Berlin World Championships Preview Women's 800m - Let The Showdown Begin! When: August 19 (finals), 17 (semis), 16 (prelims) What a year for the women's 800m. Top entrants from around the globe are going to fly, drive, train and bus their way into Berlin with the hope of somehow being the one to come out on top of this peculiar field. World leader Caster Semenya of South Africa put the finishing touches to a wild pre-Worlds 800m splurge as she ran 1:56 at the Africa Youth Games. Never before dipping under 2:00, Semenya nevertheless smashed through the barrier in winning by 4 seconds. Now throw in the fact that she's 18 and the rumor that she was born a hermaphrodite (a person having organs of both sexes) and we've got ourselves one interesting tale. Semenya is trying to keep her expectations low heading into the games, which we think is a wise decision for a teenager facing this field. Just a few days before Semenya's barnburner, America's 2009 sensation Maggie Vessey shocked the world with a 1:57 world leader from Monaco. Running in June without a sponsor, trailing the field by 20m with 200m to go, Vessey started mowing down world-class runners at meets like the Prefontaine Classic and USATF Championships. Before we knew it, she was competing all over Europe and then, after one mighty performance, was on top of the world. Vessey will be joined on the American squad by Hazel Clark and Michigan's multi-time NCAA champion Geena Gall. The fun doesn't stop there. Next we'll go to Kenya, where 2008 sensation Pamela Jelimo has been putting the finishing touches on her tumultuous preparations for the WCs. Never has the world seen a more dominant performer than Jelimo in 2008. She won every race she ran with ease. The Olympics, the 6 Golden League meetings. Everything in between. She almost had the world record, and to think Jelimo is doing drugs while living in a 1-room shack on a mountain in Kenya is pretty cynical. She was the best women's 800m runner to ever set foot on a track. 2009 hasn't been so easy for the millionaire, but she's rounding into form. Her teammate Janeth Jepkosgei is also looking good and this duo will be amazingly tough to beat in Berlin. They are the WC/Olympic champion 1-2 punch. Much like the 1,500m, the 800m leaderboard got a shake-up at the Russian Championships. Now 4 Russian women stand in the top 6 in the world this year. Svetlana Klyuka has a 1:56 PR and was 4th in Beijing. Other dangerous competitors include Hasna Benhassi of Morocco (check out her bio below) and Mayte Martinez of Spain (ditto). At big competitions with rounds, they tend to grab medals. LRC Predictions: Women's 800m Statistics By LRC Coaching Guru John Kellogg 1:56.72 Caster Semenya (RSA)
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Runner's World &
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