Day 4 Daegu Distance Previews: Men's 800 Final, 1500 1st Round Highlight Busy Day

Nick Symmonds Has Best Chance For World Medal

By LetsRun.com
August 29, 2011
Daegu, South Korea

Men's 800m Final: Rudisha and Kaki Headline, Symmonds Poised For Medal Strike, Poland Qualifies 2

Alfred Kirwa Yego is the reigning Olympic and World Champion a guy who has medalled at 3-straight global championships including having won gold in 2007, but most people would not list him as among the biggest favorites in the 800m final. But it's the 800m final at a major international championship: anything can happen!

Kirwa Yego's world record-holding countryman David Rudisha is the clear favorite, having not lost an 800m since his 2009 world semifinal (a span of 30 competitions). Rudisha likes to front-run almost as much as rival Sudanese Abubaker Kaki. Kaki looked vulnerable in the semifinal where he was passed late by two competitors and had to get lucky to advance as a time qualifier.

Major question: who will assume pace-making duty, Rudisha or Kaki? Assuming he's fully fit, expect Rudisha to make an early push to the front to avoid traffic. Kaki, the only man in the field with a 2011 performance within 2 seconds of Rudisha's 1:41.01, is also the closest to Rudisha in terms of 2011 PB's (1:42.6 for Rudisha and 1:43.1 for Kaki), has an interesting tactical decision to make in the final. The physical competition for the first spot should be a key to this race. Kaki will start in lane 4 with Rudisha in lane 6.

Major question: Can Nick Symmonds medal? Quick answer: Yes. See Symmonds' interview with reporters below for more, but basically he knows he has the 3rd-fastest time in the world this year, he has been through this event a few times already, and he can kick with most of the best 800m runners in the world. In his semi-final he ran even with Yuriy Borzakovskiy, and told us after the race that he had another gear.

How Symmonds could medal: Kaki is beatable, as is Kirwa Yego (they both finished out of the top-2 qualifiers in the prelim, a place no athlete wanted to be. Mohammed Aman is dangerous but he's only 17, and neither of the Polish qualifiers are as fast as Symmonds. Back in 2009 Symmonds was in perfect position to medal in the Berlin world champs but he came up short. 2011 Symmonds is better than 2009 Symmonds in all categories, and we think he's got a very good shot of medalling.

And remember we don't think Rudisha is a lock for the win. This is the 800 and a lot can happen.

1	364	Mohammed Aman	ETH	1:44.57	1:44.57
2	837	Marcin Lewandowski	POL	1:44.60	1:43.84
3	1125	Nick Symmonds	USA	1:43.83	1:43.76
4	962	Abubaker Kaki	SUD	1:43.13	1:42.23
5	905	Yuriy Borzakovskiy	RUS	1:43.99	1:42.47
6	664	David Lekuta Rudisha	KEN	1:42.61	1:41.01
7	834	Adam Kszczot	POL	1:44.30	1:44.30
8	667	Alfred Kirwa Yego	KEN	1:44.55	1:42.67

Men's 1500m Heats: 24 of 38 Will Advance; Centro, Wheating, Manzano Draw Different Heats

With over half the field advancing to round 2, we think it's likely all three Americans can advance. Below see their heat startlists and our highlighted contestants.

Heat 1, Centro's Heat: East coast Americans need to stay up to 10:20 PM to catch late-race speedster Matt Centrowitz Jr and the rest of the men's 1500m qualifiers race for semi-final spots. Centro drew the first heat and may benefit from a slow pace. He faces veterans Nick Willis and Daniel Komen and youngster Ryan Gregson.

Heat 2, Wheating's Heat: Andrew Wheating will make his first world's appearance lined up next to the likes of Olympic gold medallist Asbel Kiprop, Mekonnen Gebremedhin and Mehdi Baala.

Heat 3, Manzano's Heat: Leonel Manzano, based on past performance against top internationals, is the American most likely to medal. Reigning world champ Yusuf Saad Kamel returns to 1500m action in this heat along with 2011 top performers Silas Kiplagat and world indoor champ Deresse Mekonnen. Kamel won two medals in Berlin in '09 but has only run 3 800m races this summer, his best being a 1:46 on 22 July.

3:26.00 El Guerrouj Hicham (MAR) - Roma, 14/07/1998

Heat 1

Tuesday 30 August 2011 - 11:20

Order	Bib	Athlete	Country	2011	PB
1	411	Yoann Kowal	FRA	3:33.75	3:33.75
2	363	Zebene Alemayehu	ETH	3:34.59	3:34.59
3	700	Sang-Min Sin	KOR	3:42.38	3:42.38
4	1068	Matthew Centrowitz	USA	3:34.46	3:34.46
5	751	Mohamed Moustaoui	MAR	3:33.59	3:32.06
6	810	Nicholas Willis	NZL	3:31.79	3:31.79
7	350	Diego Ruiz	ESP	3:33.18	3:33.18
8	715	Mohammed Shaween	KSA	3:31.82	3:31.82
9	458	James Shane	GBR	3:36.22	3:36.22
10	132	Ryan Gregson	AUS	3:36.64	3:31.06
11	959	Chaminda Indika Wijekoon	SRI	3:44.01	3:40.78
12	656	Daniel Kipchirchir Komen	KEN	3:32.47	3:29.02

Heat 2

Tuesday 30 August 2011 - 11:30

Order	Bib	Athlete	Country	2011	PB
1	371	Mekonnen Gebremedhin	ETH	3:31.90	3:31.57
2	1141	Eduar Villanueva	VEN	3:38.29	3:38.29
3	998	Ribeiro Pinto de Carvalho	TLS
4	103	Tarek Boukensa	ALG	3:34.70	3:30.92
5	870	Charles Delys	PYF	3:58.49	3:49.55
6	1133	Andrew Wheating	USA	3:34.39	3:30.90
7	398	Mehdi Baala	FRA	3:33.69	3:28.98
8	346	Manuel Olmedo	ESP	3:34.44	3:34.44
9	140	Jeffrey Riseley	AUS	3:33.42	3:32.93
10	720	Dmitrijs Jurkevics	LAT	3:37.35	3:37.35
11	646	Asbel Kiprop	KEN	3:31.76	3:31.20
12	748	Abdalaati Iguider	MAR	3:33.50	3:31.47
13	173	Jeroen D'Hoedt	BEL	3:36.07	3:36.07

Heat 3

Tuesday 30 August 2011 - 11:40

Order	Bib	Athlete	Country	2011	PB
1	1143	Nabil Mohammed Al-Garbi	YEM		4:80.00
2	750	Amine Laalou	MAR	3:31.92	3:29.53
3	1096	Leonel Manzano	USA	3:33.66	3:32.37
4	151	Andreas Vojta	AUT	3:37.82	3:37.82
5	223	Geoffrey Martinson	CAN	3:37.56	3:37.56
6	402	Florian Carvalho	FRA	3:33.60	3:33.60
7	645	Silas Kiplagat	KEN	3:30.47	3:29.27
8	205	Yusuf Saad Kamel	BRN		3:31.56
9	558	Ciaran O'Lionaird	IRL	3:34.46	3:34.46
10	376	Deresse Mekonnen	ETH	3:32.90	3:32.18
11	336	Juan Carlos Higuero	ESP	3:35.80	3:31.57
12	107	Taoufik Makhloufi	ALG	3:34.40	3:32.94
13	872	Hamza Driouch	QAT	3:35.73	3:35.73

Women's Steeplechase Final: Milcah Chemos Cheywa the Big Favorite; Colorado's Coburn Gets a Taste of the Finals

8:20am Eastern USA. Milcah Chemos Cheywa on paper should run away with this one, but you can't totally overlook Russian silver medallist Yuliya Zaripova who had not run a lot of steeples ths year. However don't be shocked if Chemos doesn't come close to rivalling the sub-9's being clocked a couple years ago. There aren't a lot of other stories in this race, other than Kenyan women possibly picking up a couple of medals in this one. If the Kenyan women somehow sweep this event... we don't know what we'll say but perhaps they'll start getting some more respect in their national culture.

Emma Coburn's pr of 9:37 puts her 150m back of the ultimate winner in this one. Perhaps Coburn, who looked phenomenal in the first round, can manage the race in such a way as to get a PB to end her long and fantastic campaign as a Colorado Buffalo and US team member.

1	584	Mercy Wanjiku Njoroge	KEN	9:16.94	9:16.94
2	588	Lydia Chebet Rotich	KEN	9:19.20	9:18.03
3	725	Sara Moreira	POR	9:35.11	9:28.64
4	337	Sofia Assefa	ETH	9:15.04	9:15.04
5	402	Barbara Parker	GBR	9:35.46	9:35.17
6	574	Milcah Chemos Cheywa	KEN	9:12.89	9:08.57
7	762	Lyubov Kharlamova	RUS	9:29.39	9:29.39
8	853	Habiba Ghribi	TUN	9:20.33	9:12.52
9	791	Yuliya Zaripova	RUS	9:23.82	9:08.39
10	346	Birtukan Fente	ETH	9:28.27	9:28.27
11	427	Gesa Felicitas Krause	GER	9:35.83	9:35.83
12	646	Hanane Ouhaddou	MAR	9:25.96	9:22.12
13	334	Birtukan Adamu	ETH	9:20.37	9:20.37
14	867	Binnaz Uslu	TUR	9:24.06	9:24.06
15	927	Emma Coburn	USA	9:37.16	9:37.16

Women's 5000m Heats: 15 out of 23 make the final, Cheuiyot the huge favorite as Defar lurks

This first round is somewhat bothersome, as you have a number of runners who would be ecstatic to run 15:10, and a number of runners who will actually compete at the front of the final that will be run in the 14:40-1425 range. Add to that there are only 23 starters and 15 spots n the final. A runner could finish 10th in their heat of 11 and make the final.

Masai Out, But Kenyan Women Still Poised To Strike In Another Distance Event
News to report includes the non-entry of Linet Masai, the day 1 bronze medallist over 10,000m and reigning 10k outdoor champ. Masai had initially planned on joining reigning world champion Vivian Cheruiyot in the 5000. Kenyan women won the first 6 distance medals of the meet, and may add another 1-3 in this evening's steeplechase. With Cheruiyot on top of the world (she solo'ed a 14:20 national record in Stockholm a few weeks ago), people are looking ahead to a deeper medal haul for Kenya's women.

Though they'll miss Masai, Kenya still may win multiple medals in the 5000m. The other Kenyan entrants are 2009 world 5000m silver medallist Sylvia Kibet and 20-year-old world junior champion Mercy Cherono. Cherono is a huge talent but only ran 14:58 in the Stockholm race where Cheruiyot ran 14:20, so that leaves the sweep in at least some doubt. 14:12 runner Meseret Defar would be Ethiopia's biggest hope had she not dropped out of the 10,000m final a few nights ago after a year that had, thus far, gone off without a single loss. Perhaps Defar, who ran 14:30 this year, thought to save her body for a better medal chance in the 5000m. Ethiopia's Sentayehu Ejigu is another definite medal contender, and with Cheruiyot fatigued from a hard 10,000m effort, could steal some glory from their rivals.

Fleshman the US's Best Hope For Final
The entries are below including three Americans: Amy Hastings, Molly Huddle and Lauren Fleshman. Based on entry times, it's conceivable, though unlikely that all three will make the final. Huddle has a 14:44 best, but has been hurt recently. Hastings has a 15:14 best, and that time will be borderline for final round qualification. If Fleshman, with her 15-flat credentials is in her best shape, she might represent the US's best hope for a final round entrant.

1	948	Amy Hastings	USA	15:14.31	15:14.31
2	343	Meseret Defar	ETH	14:29.52	14:12.88
3	813	Sabina Fischer	SUI	15:38.25	15:19.80
4	137	Pauline Niyongere	BDI		16:33.77
5	871	Alia Saeed Mohammed	UAE	15:31.21	15:31.21
6	790	Yelena Zadorozhnaya	RUS	15:05.24	14:40.47
7	383	Helen Clitheroe	GBR	15:06.75	15:06.75
8	345	Sentayehu Ejigu	ETH	14:31.66	14:28.39
9	576	Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet	KEN	14:45.31	14:31.91
10	553	Kayo Sugihara	JPN		15:15.34
11	570	Mercy Cherono	KEN	14:35.13	14:35.13
12	548	Hitomi Niiya	JPN	15:13.12	15:13.12

Heat 2

Tuesday 30 August 2011 - 10:44

Order	Bib	Athlete	Country	2011	PB
1	344	Genzebe Dibaba	ETH	14:37.56	14:37.56
2	583	Linet Chepkwemoi Masai	KEN	14:32.95	14:31.14
3	590	Viktoriia Poliudina	KGZ		15:29.28
4	756	Elizaveta Grechishnikova	RUS	15:02.38	15:02.38
5	573	Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot	KEN	14:20.87	14:20.87
6	838	Zakia Mrisho	TAN		14:43.87
7	950	Molly Huddle	USA	15:10.01	14:44.76
8	544	Megumi Kinukawa	JPN	15:09.96	15:09.96
9	937	Lauren Fleshman	USA	15:00.57	14:58.48
10	181	Tejitu Daba	BRN	15:22.48	15:22.48
11	857	Alemitu Bekele	TUR	15:18.85	14:36.79