Susanthika back on track - Daily Mirror

Heart-broken Susanthika back on track

Channaka de Silva reporting from Osaka, Japan

Susanthika Jayasinghe still recovering from the shock of an unexpected exit from the 100 metres second round, will take the field today in the first round of the 200 metres event at 7.10 a.m. Sri Lanka time here at Nagai Stadium, to take a probable final shot at a world championship medal.

Ranked 19th in the world, Jayasinghe has not been in great form in the 200m in recent times but should make it to the second round in the event where she has failed to post even one of the top 50 times this season, though she claimed the Asian championships gold last month in Jordan.

However known for her ability to pull off the unexpected, Jayasinghe still harbours a hope in her pet event which has earned her medals at world championships and Olympics.

"I still find it hard to understand what happened in the 100m. It is a real shock to me. Though I did not claim it in public, I had a secret hope of a medal in the 100m," Jayasinghe revealed yesterday. She however said that she will give her best in the 200m despite the odds in what is likely to be her last appearance at the world championships at the age of 31.

"I always feel a strange strength when I am running for my country. I will give my best tomorrow because I want to give something back to all Sri Lankans who put faith on me," said Jayasinghe but stopped short of predicting a medal.

Jayasinghe will run in the first heat of the first round, where first four of each of the six heats and the eight fastest qualifiers will enter the quarter finals to be run this evening at 4.10 p.m. Sri Lanka time.

Drawn with Jayasinghe in the same heat is one of the favourites, Allyson Felix, the defending champion from United Sates. Felix who is in red hot form this season has been the fastest runner over the distance this year with her 22.18 clocked in May. Having skipped her favourite 100m to concentrate on 200m, Felix, who is also the Olympic silver medallist, will be the hottest prospect for the title.

Four runners out of the seven in the first heat have posted better times than Jayasinghe this season, while running in lane eight will put Jayasinghe at a disadvantage as she will not be able to see the rest of the field to adjust her speed.

The 200m will be one of the most tightly contested events of the championships with several top names vying for honours.

The other hot favourite will be the freshly crowned 100m world champion Veronica Campbell who is also the reigning Olympic champion in the event.

Another American runner Sanya Richards, the reigning 400 metres champion who skipped the 400m event to concentrate on the 200m, will be an equally threatening force. Richards who was adjudged the World athlete of the year in 2006 by the IAAF, has been in brilliant form over 200m this season.

World number one ranked Kim Gavaert of Belgium, world number two Debbie Ferguson of Bahamas and former 100m world champion Torri Edwards of US are the other top contenders.

Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that the official winning margin of Jamaica's Veronica Campbell over American Lauryn Williams in Sunday night's breath-taking 100m final was an amazing three-one-thousandths of a second.

Due to technological advancement, there was no need to crown joint champions "It was close, but you can differentiate," said Paul Hardy, the IAAF events and competitions director.

Five athletes finished in a bunch in the tightest of finishes, and it took more than five minutes for organizers to announce the final official result on Sunday night.

As everyone waited, first the name of Torri Edwards appeared on scoreboard to baffle everyone including athletes. Even Edwards did not take it seriously as it was obviously a mistake. Lauryn Williams was then displayed on scoreboard as second and a little later was moved to top position though number 2 remained against her name.

Then the scoreboard went blank to put everyone in suspense again. After a while, finally the correct finish order came on the scoreboard, ending the nerve-wracking drama that lasted nearly ten minutes.

The times of both Campbell and Williams are listed at an identical 11.01 seconds.

However it is still not the closest finish at the world championships. At the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart, American Gail Devers edged Jamaica's Merlene Ottey by one-one-thousandth of a second to win the 100m gold.

At a press conference yesterday, IAAF's top medical official Dr. Juan Manuel Alonso said there's a connection between sports doping and mafia.

"It's clear today that doping has become a business for the crime industry. People involved in the drug business are investing in doping because it's a very profitable business and the police from several countries are realizing that" he said.
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Decisive day for Lanka as Susanthika runs in pet event
-Daily News

Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from Japan

ATHLETICS: It will be a decisive day for Sri Lanka as Olympic medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe launches her women’s 200m campaign on the fifth day of the 11th IAAF World Championship at Nagai Stadium here on Wednesday morning.

The women’s 200m has always been her pet event and the event in which she gifted Sri Lanka with two rare medals - a silver at the IAAF World Championships in Athens, 1997 and a bronze at the Olympic Games in Sydney, 2000.

Hence, the 31-year-old veteran Lankan sprint queen now gets ready for one of the biggest challenges in her life in what looks like her farewell World Championship.

Despite her false start debacle in women’s 100m quarter finals, Jayasinghe is ready to put aside all those setbacks and have a go.

She looked calm, but confident as she completed her final work out today.

“Honestly, I have a dream, a dream of any athlete competing in the big league. But the talent and determination may not work all the time. It has to be your day.

If tomorrow is my day, I could couple my talent and courage and achieve those dreams,” Jayasinghe said.

She added that the summer weather at Nagai Park looks ideal. “The conditions are good and I am looking forward to do something.

I can’t say what that would be. I want to do something that will make my country proud of,” she added.

Jayasinghe has been drawn to run in the first of the six women’s 200m first round heats due to start at 10.40 a.m. on Wednesday (29) - 7.10 a.m. SL time.

She will run in the outer lane eight with Cuban Roxana Dias on her left. Of the eight sprinters down to run in this heat, only the defending champion American Alyson Felix (22.11 seconds) has a better personal best timing than Jayasinghe (22.28).

Jamaican Veronica Campbell, who emerged the fastest women in the 2007 World Championship, will be launching her campaign for that elusive sprint double - a dream of any short distance runner.

The women’s 100m gold medallist in Osaka will run in heat six which also features American Torri Edwards. Of the 43 competitors in women’s 200m heats, Campbell who was placed fourth at the last World Championship, accounts for the best personal timing of 22.05 - which helped her to win the Olympic gold in Athens three years ago.

Felix has the best 2007 season’s timing of 22.18 seconds out of all 200m runners. Coming even somewhat closer to that this season are Muriel Hurtis -Housairi of France (22.38) and Campbell (22.39).

In contrast, Sri Lanka’s Jayasinghe’s best feat in 200m this season has been her 22.99 in winning the gold at the Asian Championship in Jordan. Hence, on current form, Felix stands way ahead but she is bound to face stiff competition from Hurtis -Housairi, Campbell, American Sanya Richards and Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of Bahamas.

All in all, it is going to be a keenly contested affair as the women’s 200m quarter finals are scheduled for 7.40 pm (4.10 pm SL time) on Wednesday.