{"id":550,"date":"2011-08-12T06:12:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-12T13:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=550"},"modified":"2011-08-12T06:12:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-12T13:12:00","slug":"world-championships-preview-800-meters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=550","title":{"rendered":"World Championships Preview \u2013 800 Meters"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h4>\n

The 800 meters will be exciting in Daegu. On the men\u2019s side because of the presence of World Record holder David Rudisha. On the women\u2019s side because the event is potentially wide open.  <\/p>\n

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\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/h4>\n

Men\u2019s 800<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
World Record<\/strong><\/td>\n1:41.01<\/td>\nDavid Rudisha<\/td>\nKEN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Meet Record<\/strong><\/td>\n1:43.06<\/td>\nBilly Konchella <\/td>\nKEN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2009 Gold<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n1:45.29<\/td>\nMbulaeni Mulalaudzi<\/td>\nRSA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/h3>\n

2011 Best<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
 <\/td>\n1:42.61<\/td>\nDavid Rudisha<\/td>\nKEN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:43.13<\/td>\nAbubaker Kaki<\/td>\nSUD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:43.15<\/td>\nAsbel Kiprop<\/td>\nKEN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:43.83<\/td>\nNick Symmonds<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:43.99<\/td>\nYuriy Borzakovskiy<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:43.99<\/td>\nDavid Mutua<\/td>\nKEN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The MAN in this event for the past two seasons is WR holder David Rudisha (KEN). Last year he twice lowered Wilson Kipketer\u2019s WR that had lasted some 13 years, clocking first 1:41.09, then 1:41.01. He was undefeated and ranked as the Athlete of the Year. He leads this year\u2019s list, and has been just as dominant in his wins as he was last year. <\/p>\n

His chief rival is Abubaker Kaki (SUD) \u2013 himself the WJR holder. Kaki has run well this year, and has dropped his 1500 meter PR this summer to a very competitive 3:31.76. He recently tested this improved strength against Rudisha, coming just short in London as the Kenyan won 1:42.91 to 1:43.13. The big question is whether or not Kaki can get closer than that, or ahead of him, in Daegu?<\/p>\n

Though #3 on the yearly list, Kenyan Asbel Kiprop, will be contesting the 1500 in Korea. In his stead Rudisha will be joined by Jackson Kivuva (1:44.40) and Alfred Yego (1:44.55). Perhaps opening the door for a non Kenyan to step up on the podium. Veteran Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS) could be a candidate. Sixth in Sydney, he was Olympic champion in Athens, silver in Helsinki, bronze in Osaka, and 4th in Berlin. He\u2019s raced sparingly this year, but is he too long in the tooth to reverse his current trend of finishing a position lower in each successive Major? <\/p>\n

Another potential candidate for the podium is Nick Symmonds . Sixth in Berlin he is #4 on the yearly list \u2013 but only has one 3rd place finish on the circuit to show for it. Symmonds has a fierce kick, but is rarely in range for it to be successful. The question with Symmonds is always just how long will he languish in the back of the pack. If he will stay with the pace, which should be hot with Kaki and Rudisha going at it, he could make a medal run. If not it could be another sixth place finish. <\/p>\n

The man who could make the pace, should he make the final, is American Charles Jock, my potential wild card in this race. Jock is a front runner who is guaranteed to be near the front of the pack and in the thick of the race as he has the potential to go out in the mid 49 to mid 50 second range. That would put him somewhere between Rudisha and Kaki on the first lap. My question of Jock is what has he been doing since Nationals as he has yet to race this summer. If that time ahs been spent working on improving his strength, a la Kaki, he could be dangerous \u2013 a serious threat to improve on his 1:44.67 best. <\/p>\n

All said and done this is really a two man race between Rudisha and Kaki \u2013 though Alfred Yego called for a Kenyan sweep after their Trials race. While Kenya does have a storied history in this event, I have to disagree with Yego \u2013 I\u2019m not feeling a sweep \u2013 though realistically only half the field in the final should really be in contention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Gold<\/td>\nDavid Rudisha<\/td>\nKEN<\/td>\n1:42.20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silver<\/td>\nAbubaker Kaki<\/td>\nSUD<\/td>\n1:42 85<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bronze<\/td>\nAlfred Yego<\/td>\nKEN<\/td>\n1:43.05<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Just Missed<\/td>\nYuriy Borzakovskiy<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n1:43.30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Women\u2019s 800<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
World Record<\/strong><\/td>\n1:53.28<\/td>\nJarmila Kratochvilova<\/td>\nCZE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Meet Record<\/strong><\/td>\n1:54.68<\/td>\nJarmila Kratochvilova<\/td>\nCZE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2009 Gold<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n1:55.45<\/td>\nCaster Semenya<\/td>\nRSA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/h3>\n

2011 Best<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
 <\/td>\n1:56.95<\/td>\nMariya Savinova<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:56.99<\/td>\nYuliya Rusanova<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:57.19<\/td>\nYekatarina Kostetskaya<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:58.08<\/td>\nSvetlana Klyuka<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:58.04<\/td>\nYelena Kofanova<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n1:58.12<\/td>\nSviatlana Usovic<\/td>\nBLR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Russians are dominating the top of the yearly list, but mainly due to the fast national championship race in Cheboksary. Outside of that race the only Russian to really perform well has been Mariya Savinova with three races in the 1:58 range and a second in Oslo.<\/p>\n

The winner in Oslo was Halima Hachlaf (MOR) who did so in a PR 1:58.27. She was also the runner up in Paris (in a slow race), but well back in 7th in Stockholm. One of the workhorses in the event has been Kenia Sinclair (JAM) with wins in Kingston, Eugene, and Stockholm, and a runner up in London. The other workhorse has been Jenny Meadows (GBR) with wins in Shanghai, Birmingham, and London, a second in Stockholm, third in Paris and fifth in Oslo. She enters Daegu on a three meet winning streak and a win over Sinclair in London.<\/p>\n

After this grouping things get a bit shaky. Defending champion Caster Semenya (RSA) has only one win in a major race \u2013 a 2:00.18 victory in Paris \u2013 while finishing second in Eugene, third in Oslo, fifth in Reims, and eighth in Stockholm. U.S. champ Alysia Montano has only a fourth in Paris and a sixth in Stockholm and has yet to break 2:00 since Nationals. And Ukrainian Lilia Lobanova has run the majority of her races in smaller meets \u201coff the grid\u201d. On the clock, no one else outside of those Russians not headed to Daegu, merit mentioning. <\/p>\n

Leaving us with a very difficult race to call. Semenya (1st), Meadows (3rd) and Savinova (5th) were all in the Berlin final, and have an advantage in experience. Competitive nature is going to have to drive the rest. Montano is a front runner, so the pace should be decent \u2013 making for a fast race. I\u2019m throwing the dice on this one and coming up with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Gold<\/td>\nMariya Savinova<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n1:56.20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silver<\/td>\nCaster Semenya<\/td>\nRSA<\/td>\n1:56.60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bronze<\/td>\nJenny Meadows<\/td>\nGBR<\/td>\n1:57.40<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Just Missed<\/td>\nKenia Sinclair<\/td>\nRUS<\/td>\n1:57.60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 800 meters will be exciting in Daegu. On the men\u2019s side because of the presence of World Record holder David Rudisha. On the women\u2019s side because the event is potentially wide open.      Men\u2019s 800         World Record 1:41.01 David Rudisha KEN Meet Record 1:43.06 Billy Konchella KEN 2009 Gold 1:45.29 Mbulaeni Mulalaudzi RSA   2011 Best   1:42.61 David Rudisha KEN   1:43.13 Abubaker Kaki SUD   1:43.15 Asbel Kiprop KEN   1:43.83 Nick Symmonds USA   1:43.99 Yuriy Borzakovskiy RUS   1:43.99 David Mutua KEN The MAN in this event for the past two seasons is WR holder David Rudisha (KEN). Last year he twice lowered Wilson Kipketer\u2019s WR that had lasted some 13 years, clocking first 1:41.09, then 1:41.01. He was undefeated and ranked as the Athlete of the Year. He leads this year\u2019s list, and has been just as dominant in his wins as he was last year. His chief rival is Abubaker Kaki (SUD) \u2013 himself the WJR holder. Kaki has run well this year, and has dropped his 1500 meter PR this summer to a very competitive 3:31.76. He recently tested this improved strength against Rudisha, coming just short in London as the Kenyan won 1:42.91 to 1:43.13. The big question is whether or not Kaki can get closer than that, or ahead of him, in Daegu? Though #3 on the yearly list, Kenyan Asbel Kiprop, will be contesting the 1500 in Korea. In his stead Rudisha will be joined by Jackson Kivuva (1:44.40) and Alfred Yego (1:44.55). Perhaps opening the door for a non Kenyan to step up on the podium. Veteran Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS) could be a candidate. Sixth in Sydney, he was Olympic champion in Athens, silver in Helsinki, bronze in Osaka, and 4th in Berlin. He\u2019s raced sparingly this year, but is he too long in the tooth to reverse his current trend of finishing a position lower in each successive Major? Another potential candidate for the podium is Nick Symmonds . Sixth in Berlin he is #4 on the yearly list \u2013 but only has one 3rd place finish on the circuit to show for it. Symmonds has a fierce kick, but is rarely in range for it to be successful. The question with Symmonds is always just how long will he languish in the back of the pack. If he will stay with the pace, which should be hot with Kaki and Rudisha going at it, he could make a medal run. If not it could be another sixth place finish. The man who could make the pace, should he make the final, is American Charles Jock, my potential wild card in this race. Jock is a front runner who is guaranteed to be near the front of the pack and in the thick of the race as he has the potential to go out in the mid 49 to mid 50 second range. That would put him somewhere between Rudisha and Kaki on the first lap. My question of Jock is what has he been doing since Nationals as he has yet to race this summer. If that time ahs been spent working on improving his strength, a la Kaki, he could be dangerous \u2013 a serious threat to improve on his 1:44.67 best. All said and done this is really a two man race between Rudisha and Kaki \u2013 though Alfred Yego called for a Kenyan sweep after their Trials race. While Kenya does have a storied history in this event, I have to disagree with Yego \u2013 I\u2019m not feeling a sweep \u2013 though realistically only half the field in the final should really be in contention. Gold David Rudisha KEN 1:42.20 Silver Abubaker Kaki SUD 1:42 85 Bronze Alfred Yego KEN 1:43.05 Just Missed Yuriy Borzakovskiy RUS 1:43.30   Women\u2019s 800         World Record 1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvilova CZE Meet Record 1:54.68 Jarmila Kratochvilova CZE 2009 Gold 1:55.45 Caster Semenya RSA   2011 Best   1:56.95 Mariya Savinova RUS   1:56.99 Yuliya Rusanova RUS   1:57.19 Yekatarina Kostetskaya RUS   1:58.08 Svetlana Klyuka RUS   1:58.04 Yelena Kofanova RUS   1:58.12 Sviatlana Usovic BLR The Russians are dominating the top of the yearly list, but mainly due to the fast national championship race in Cheboksary. Outside of that race the only Russian to really perform well has been Mariya Savinova with three races in the 1:58 range and a second in Oslo. The winner in Oslo was Halima Hachlaf (MOR) who did so in a PR 1:58.27. She was also the runner up in Paris (in a slow race), but well back in 7th in Stockholm. One of the workhorses in the event has been Kenia Sinclair (JAM) with wins in Kingston, Eugene, and Stockholm, and a runner up in London. The other workhorse has been Jenny Meadows (GBR) with wins in Shanghai, Birmingham, and London, a second in Stockholm, third in Paris and fifth in Oslo. She enters Daegu on a three meet winning streak and a win over Sinclair in London. After this grouping things get a bit shaky. Defending champion Caster Semenya (RSA) has only one win in a major race \u2013 a 2:00.18 victory in Paris \u2013 while finishing second in Eugene, third in Oslo, fifth in Reims, and eighth in Stockholm. U.S. champ Alysia Montano has only a fourth in Paris and a sixth in Stockholm and has yet to break 2:00 since Nationals. And Ukrainian Lilia Lobanova has run the majority of her races in smaller meets \u201coff the grid\u201d. On the clock, no one else outside of those Russians not headed to Daegu, merit mentioning. Leaving us with a very difficult race to call. Semenya (1st), Meadows (3rd) and Savinova (5th) were all in the Berlin final, and have an advantage in experience. Competitive nature is going to have to drive the rest. Montano is a front runner, so the pace should be decent \u2013 making for a fast race. I\u2019m throwing the dice on this one and coming up with: Gold Mariya Savinova RUS 1:56.20 Silver Caster Semenya RSA 1:56.60 Bronze Jenny Meadows GBR 1:57.40 Just Missed Kenia Sinclair RUS 1:57.60<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-8S","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":338,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=338","url_meta":{"origin":550,"position":0},"title":"NCAA Championships \u2013 Final Predictions","author":"CHill","date":"June 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019re just days away now from the start of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. With no World Championships or Olympics on the slate this year, this meet could be the best championship meet on the schedule this summer.Both indoor team champions \u2013 Florida for the men and Oregon\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=338#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":280,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=280","url_meta":{"origin":550,"position":1},"title":"David Rudisha – Next Super Star ?","author":"CHill","date":"March 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This past weekend was a very busy one, with lots of selection meets for the upcoming World Indoor Championships. But as I was scanning the results there was one result that stood out to me from the others - from an outdoor meet in Sydney Australia.In the men's 400 in\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=280#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"David Rudisha & Sean Wroe Media Session","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/1\/6\/9\/c\/David_Rudisha_8c3e.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":933,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=933","url_meta":{"origin":550,"position":2},"title":"World Indoor Predictions","author":"CHill","date":"March 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"After\u00a0 much back and forth, here are my predictions for the World Indoor Championships. I had lots of internal debate, especially in the 60\u2019s and the men\u2019s field events \u2013 competitions that I expect will be very close. Actually, looking over the start lists, with the exception of a handful\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Flags","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Flags_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Flags_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Flags_thumb.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":593,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=593","url_meta":{"origin":550,"position":3},"title":"My 2011 #1\u2019s Rankers by Event","author":"CHill","date":"October 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Time to start wrapping up the season. The Pan American Games are still on tap for the end of the month, but I don\u2019t see them changing anything here \u2013 or with most of the post season awards yet to be distributed. So I will start with event #1\u2019s, move\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=593#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/-nlfPbKjmChI\/TpOMUaQojSI\/AAAAAAAAAiI\/u4jfwfxb0pw\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":506,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=506","url_meta":{"origin":550,"position":4},"title":"Nationals Preview \u2013 Men & Women\u2019s 800","author":"CHill","date":"June 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The middle distance events have become very exciting over the last couple of seasons as we\u2019ve had an emergence of talent over both 800 and 1500 meters. 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Winning time of 48.38 was close to the yearly lead but still a bit from the 47 second range that we would expect from this level of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}