Osaka JPN - Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia did it the hard way, providing a dramatic scenario in the successful defence of her 10,000m title, in the first track final of these 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka.

Dibaba’s dramatic defence

When four Ethiopians assumed the lead after two kilometres, it looked as if we were going to get a scenario like in the men’s race in Paris 2003. But just after 6000m, the 21-year-old Dibaba and colleague Mestawet Tufa were involved in a fall, which left Dibaba winded, adrift and rubbing her stomach, while Tufa had to stop and put a shoe back on. Tufa eventually dropped out, but Dibaba didn’t panic, and it took over a kilometre to get back in touch with the large group, before challenging for the lead again.

There she found former compatriot, Elvan Abeylegesse, long running for Turkey, who took off with a kilometre to run. But back into her wonderfully fluid and elegant style, Dibaba ws not going to relinquish her title. She eased past Abeylegesse just before the bell, and sped away to victory in 31:55.41. Abeylegesse was second in 31.59.40, and in something of a departure from recent tradition, Kara Goucher added to the revivial of US long distance running, by outwitting Jo Pavey of the UK and Kimberley Smith of New Zealand, for bronze, in 32:02.05.

Hoffa dominates

Reese Hoffa of the USA had a wonderful series while winning gold in the Shot Put. Four puts, of which 22.04m was the best, were better than the 21.61m which secured colleague, training partner, and defending champion, Adam Nelson the silver medal. Hoffa’s best came in round three, but he had led from the start. Nelson put so much into his remaining four attempts in a bid to dislodge Hoffa and retain the title that he fouled on all of them. But he sportingly led the clapping for Hoffa’s final put, which landed just three centimetres short of Nelson’s best. Andrei Mikhnevitch of Belarus, champion in 2003 was third with 21.27m.

Kibet defies the heat

The men’s Marathon set the tone for the weather conditions expected throughout the nine days of the championships. The race began at 7 am in 28 C and 81% humidity, and although the humidity relented, falling to 67% by the end just after 9:15, that was more than offset by the air temperature of 33 C. Luke Kibet coped best with the conditions and the opposition, putting in a surge at 31 kilometres, and running away to victory, with two very even paced ‘halves’ in 2:15.59. Thought to be a member of the weakest ever national team at these championships, Kibet, aged 24 was the first Kenyan winner since Douglas Wakiihuri in 1987.

Klüft ahead of Paris pace after Day 1

Propelled by career bests of 13.15 in the 100m Hurdles and a 1.95 clearance in the High Jump, Carolina Klüft pieced together a 4162 point tally after the first day of the Heptathlon, 19 points ahead of the pace that carried her to a personal best 7001 in Paris four years ago. In terrific form, the Swede's 14.81m effort in the Shot Put and 23.38 in the 200m were season's bests for the 24-year-old who appears well on her way to an unprecedented third consecutive title. Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska is a distant second with 4014, with Britons Kelly Sotherton (3989) and Jessica Ennis (3942) in spots 3 and 4.

No problems for Powell, Gay, Mutola, Sanchez – qualifying round action

Co-favourites for the 100m title, to be decided Sunday evening, Asafa Powell of Jamaica and Tyson Gay of the USA looked the business in both first and second rounds, managing 80m at close to full tilt, before throttling back and making it look easy, albeit both finished second in their first round heats. In the evening, the Jamaican was perspiring as much as prior to the Athens Olympics. And look what happened there! He ran far below expectations, and finished fifth. But that was three years and a lot of sub-tens ago, including three times 9.77, the World record. Despite the waterworks, Powell clocked the best time of the quarter finals, 10.01sec, with this season’s revelation, Derrick Adkins of the Bahamas just behind him in the first round of the quarters, with 10.02. Gay tip-toed across the line in 10.06sec in the second of four second round heats.

Principal casualty was Francis Obikwelu of Portugal, who was eliminated by a false start in the first round, after a yellow card, provoked by Gibrilla Pato Ngura of Sierra Leone. Obikwelu will know better than anyone that, as reigning European champion at 100 and 200m, he could have strolled out of the blocks and still qualified in a first round heat.

The women’s 800m was classy from start to finish of the six first-round heats. Pride of place must go to Maria Mutola of Mozambique, competing in her ninth (of 11) world championships, of which she won three (and seven indoors). She took her heat in exactly two minutes, while the statuesque Russians, Svetlana Klyuka and Olga Kotlyarova won heats one and two, and Olympic and world silver medallist, Hasna Benhassi of Morocco won heat four. But the best came last. Sviatlana Usovich of Belarus led the whole way, to win heat five in 1.59.95, a season’s best. Commonwealth champion, Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya produced a carbon copy, but even more dominatingly, winning by close to ten metres in a season’s best of 1.58.59, and dragging three pursuers under two minutes as well. Notable non-winner, and proven tactician, defending champion, Zulia Calatayud of Cuba was third in heat two, in 2.01.81.

Biggest roar of the evening went, inevitably to national hero, Olympic hammer champion, Koji Mirofushi, who qualified for Monday’s final with his second throw of 77.25m. Libor Charfreitag of Slovakia led the Group A qualifiers, with 80.61m. Another Slovakian, Miloslav Konopka, led Group B with 79.83m.

Felix Sanchez came back with a bang, which was the virtual door he shut on defending champion, Bershawn Jackson of the USA in the final heat of the quarter hurdles. Sanchez, who has barely competed, due to injuries, since winning the Olympic title during an unbeaten series of 43 races between 2001-4, clocked an impressive 48.70, easing up ahead of Jackson in 48.87. James Carter, also of the USA was so far ahead in his heat he was able to throttle back twice, and still cross the line first in 49.52.

Twice European champion, and world silver medallist in Paris 2003, Mehdi Baala of France was fastest qualifier in the men’s 1500m first round, held later in the morning. Baala clocked 3.38.65, just ahead of defending champion, Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, having his first race of the season. World junior Cross Country champion, Asbel Kiprop of Kenya was an impressive winner of the first heat, edging fastest man of the year so far, Alan Webb of the USA, 3:40.65 to 3:40.73. Webb’s new colleague, Olympic silver medallist Bernard Lagat, formerly of Kenya, finished third in the final heat, behind Arturo Casado of Spain, who won in 3:41.33. Eunice Jepkorir of Kenya was by far the fastest qualifier for the women’s 3000m Steeplechase final on Monday with 9:32.27.