July 22, 2004
Monte-Carlo –
The Meeting Gaz de France Paris Saint-Denis, the third of this summer’s six TDK Golden League meetings takes place in the Stade de France this Friday July 23.
All five of the remaining candidates for the TDK Golden League Jackpot have declared they are ready to continue their quest in Paris despite the demands of a busy Olympic summer. Those five include USC graduate and former SEC champion Tonique Williams-Darling who competed for the Bahamas in 2000 and will again compete in 2004. See the story that follows on Williams-Darling from earlier this month.
Here are the famous five who remain in the running for this year’s one million dollar TDK Golden League Jackpot –
Women
400m – Tonique Williams-Darling (BAH)
The World Indoor bronze medallist Tonique Williams-Darling of the Bahamas who flew to a 49.78 personal best in the first TDK Golden League meeting of 2004 in Bergen on 11 June, continued to improve in Rome (2 July) beating World champion Ana Guevara in a time of 49.25 (national record) to the Mexican’s 49.74.
High Jump – Hestrie Cloete (RSA)
Cloete, the double World champion who was Athlete of the Year in 2003, has continued in an equally good vein of form this summer. She won in Bergen with 1.98 and then set her current season best of 2.03 when winning in Rome. Outside the TDK Golden League she took an unexpected defeat in Lausanne (IAAF SGP) on 6 July (1.95 – 3rd=) but bounced back with an African Championships win (1.95) and then to a 2 metres victory last weekend in Madrid (IAAF SGP).
Men
400m Hurdles – Felix Sanchez (DOM)
Sanchez is also a double World champion and despite not quite hitting the heights in terms of speed during his early season he has been untouchable in all races. He clocked 48.54 to win in the first TDK Golden League meeting and then a 48.43 to take the tape in Rome. Most recently he blasted to a season’s best in Lausanne of 47.86.
Triple Jump – Christian Olsson (SWE)
Sweden’s World and European outdoor and indoor champion respectively jumped 17.58 and 17.50 to take victory at his TDK Golden League outings this summer. Dominant performances as usual but one feels Olsson has yet to come to the boil, which of course could be quite sensible during a long Olympic summer. Olsson’s season’s best remains his 17.61 jump in Turin (IAAF GPII) on 4 June.
Discus – Virgilijus Alekna (LTU)
World and Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna has an aura of invincibility about him at the moment. His victories in Bergen (69.21) and Rome (68.42) were of the highest quality. The 32 year-old seems to have the measure of his opponents. Significantly, when the stakes were raised to 70m in a smaller meeting in R?thimno, Greece on 23 June he won with 70.97m ahead of his main rival Hungary’s European champion Robert Fazekas (70.83), who he also beat in both TDK Golden League contests.
Tonique Williams ends Guevara’s winning streak
July 2, 2004
One of five athletes still in contention for the one million dollar TDK Golden League Jackpot after the MGK Vis Golden Gala in Rome Tonique Williams-Darling of the Bahamas ended World champion Ana Guevara’s winning streak of 28 successive races.
The World Indoor bronze medallist from Budapest, Williams ran a superb 400m tonight leading from gun to tape and clocking a World season’s leading time and national record of 49.25.
Running in lane 5, Williams made the fastest start of the field and was well ahead of all her opponents as she entered the back straight. By the 200 metre mark she already had an impressive margin over Guevara who was running in lane four and was expected to kick and make up the ground in the finishing stages of the race.
But if Williams seemed to be fading, with Guevara trying her best to close the gap, it was only illusion as the Bahamian found the energy to accelerate again and she left Guevara nearly half a second behind.
“I feel overwhelmed,” said Williams. “To win a race and defeat Ana Guevara is something really big for me. She is such a good and strong competitor that just the fact of coming home ahead of her is a fantastic result.
“I think it will take some time for it to sink in.”
A World Championships finalist in Paris last summer, Williams’ outing in Rome was only her third outdoor race of the year. Yet, the 28-year-old seemed a lot more confident than in the past.
“I definitely ran differently than in the past. I am psychologically fit and a lot more aggressive. Last year was my comeback season (from injury) but this year I am back at my best. Technically the races are good. I know what I have to do and I know I can execute what I do in training. Now, it’s more a question of performing mentally.”
“When we got to the 200m, I couldn’t see nor feel anyone with me. I expected Guevara to be there with me but she wasn’t. I kind of thought ‘where is everyone?’ but given that she didn’t seem to be anywhere near I just kept pushing.”
Tactically Williams ran the race she had planned to execute before stepping on the track, knowing that if she got to the 200m point ahead it would be very difficult for her opponents to close the gap.
“If I am in the lead at 200m I know the race is mine. Tonight’s was only Ana’s second race of the year and she still has a lot to give. She will improve and will still be the one to beat. But this is only my third race of the season and I too have room for improvement.”
Williams couldn’t be more right in saying she still has room for improvement, as she practically ran the race on her own and when pushed she definitely will have what it takes to respond.
“I feel blessed. I felt very strong and yet I felt very lonely tonight. You know, when you have people pushing you it’s a whole different story, it helps when others are battling it out with you.”
And Williams certainly expects her road towards the TDK Golden League Jackpot to become more and more complicated as the season unfolds and performances improve. Although she explains the Jackpot in itself is not her number one objective, she does not deny that the one-million-dollars is in the back of her mind.
“I haven’t really thought about the Jackpot too much. I came out here to perform well and prepare as best I could for the Olympics and so if I can get the six wins together that would be like a bonus for me.”
Curiously, just minutes after Williams dominated the 400m her Virginia-based training partner Aziz Zakari of Ghana won the 100m in a season’s best 10.10.
