David Rudisha eased to gold yesterday in the world 800m, giving a stark reminder of Kenya’s domination of distance events as Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva failed dismally in the women’s pole vault.
Elsewhere, on a fast-paced night of action, Russian Tatyana Chernova stole the world heptathlon crown from Jessica Ennis and Grenada teenager Kirani James snatched 400m gold from defending champion LaShawn Merritt.
World record holder Rudisha’s impressive gun-to-tape victory banished the heartbreak of his failure at the 2009 Berlin worlds and comes after stunning medals sweeps for Kenya in the women’s marathon and 10,000m.
The 22-year-old claimed victory in 1min 43.91sec, half-a-second quicker than Sudan’s Abubaker Kaki, who won his country’s first ever World Championships medal of any colour.
The physically imposing Rudisha opened up with 200m to go, putting on an extra spurt to see him safely home.
Last summer, Rudisha, who failed to make the 800m final in 2009, broke the record at the Berlin Olympic stadium, the same arena where he had flopped a year earlier.
Rudisha then bettered that mark of 1:41.09 a week later to 1:41.01 in Rieti, Italy and he went on to become the youngest runner in history to win the prestigious IAAF World Athlete of the Year award.
Ominously for their rivals, Kenyan distance runners said after heats in the men’s 1,500m and women’s 5,000m that team tactics would be employed as they look to tighten their grip.
Defending women’s 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot, who won the 10,000m on Saturday, coasted into Friday’s final and looks well set for a double.
In the women’s pole vault Isinbayeva managed just one successful vault, finishing a disappointing sixth in a competition won by Brazil’s Fabiana Murer with a best of 4.85m.
The 29-year-old Russian came in at 4.65m and sailed over. Passing at 4.70m, she then bumped the bar off at 4.75, but rather than re-trying at that height went up to 4.80 but failed at that height too.
After finishing only fourth in last year’s world indoor championships in Doha, Isinbayeva’s years of dominating the event seem well and truly over.
Ennis struggles
In the heptathlon, a woeful display of javelin throwing by Britain’s Ennis cost her dearly.
Chernova crucially threw 52.95m to leapfrog the Briton, chosen by London Olympics organisers as the face of next year’s Games.
Ennis could only manage 39.95m, leaving her with an impossible task in the final 800m event.
“It was the javelin. The hurdles were average, but yeah, it was just the javelin. That’s what lets me down. Every time I did it I felt like my foot was slipping,” said 2009 world champion Ennis.
In the men’s 400m final, reigning Olympic champion Merritt, returning to the world stage after a doping ban for testing positive for anabolic steroid DHEA, could only look on in horror as 18-year-old James out-dipped him.
“I hope to see more and more Grenada folks,” beamed James, who won the world youth title in 2009 and the world junior title last year.
It was Grenada’s first ever medal at the worlds.
Also yesterday, Russia’s Yuliya Zaripova coasted to victory in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase run, setting a world lead time of 9 minutes and 7.03 seconds and Germany’s Robert Harting won the men’s discus.