/ 25 July 2008

SA track star guns for gold

With injuries behind him, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi is confident of making an impact at the London Grand Prix at the Crystal Palace Stadium on Saturday. Mulaudzi will start as a favourite for the 800m title.

The two-lap specialist takes on a classy field of middle-distance runners in what could be a thriller because, as with Mulaudzi, most of the competitors are fine-tuning themselves for the Beijing Olympics that start next month.

”After a below-par performance in 2007, I am happy that my injury is almost gone. I feel I am now ready for the Olympics,” said Mulaudzi while in Madrid.

One man likely to stand in Mulaudzi’s way is Ugandan Abraham Chepkirwok, a rising star who has made some of his elite challengers play second fiddle.

The Ugandan, who is medal hopeful for his country in Beijing, had a tough encounter with Mulaudzi in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Tours in Madrid early this month, where he narrowly lost to the experienced Mulaudzi by a mere eight-hundredths of a second.

Mulaudzi held off the intense challenge to win in a world-class time of one minute and 43,64 seconds.

Their London head-to-head clash seems poised for an exciting duel that could see changing tactics, pace and speed eventually decide the winner.

Mulaudzi (27), the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games champion, 2004 Athens Olympic Games silver medallist and 2004 IAAF world indoor champion, carries the best running credentials of the field of 10 competitors. Some of the other runners gearing up to upset Mulaudzi and Chepkirwok are Richard Kiplagaat of Kenya, Christian Smith of the United States, Michael Rimmer of the United Kingdom, Rene Herms of Germany and Bram Som of The Netherlands.

Three other Southern African athletes competing at the London meeting are the Namibian duo of Stephan Louin (long jump) and Agnes Samaira (1 500m) and long jumper Ngoni Makusha of Zimbabwe.

Ethiopia and Kenya have many of their athletes taking part in long track events. Running for Ethiopia are Olympic and world champion Kenenisa Bekele (5 000m), reigning world cross-country junior champion Ibrahim Jeilan and Genet Markos (3 000m), while Kenya has Mark Kiptoo (3 000m), Mercy Njoroge (3 000m steeplechase) and Veronica Nyarwai (1 500m).

Another big draw card for the events will feature the world’s best men’s 100m sprinters — world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica, his countryman Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay of the United States.