Courtesy IAAF, WK RACE FOR GOLDEN LEAGUE JACKPOT BEGINS TO HEAT UP IN MONACO 9 July 2001 MONACO - Monte-Carlo - The last Golden League meeting before the World Championships, takes place tomorrow night in the Stade Louis II, Monaco. In the men’s programme, we can expect especially tight contests in the 800m, which sees the return of Switzerland’s Andre Bucher and Russia’s Yuriy Borzakovskiy, both missing last week in Oslo, the 110m hurdles, which sees Allen Johnson take on Colin Jackson, Olympic champion Anier Garcia, Terrence Trammell and Larry Wade, and in the 3000m, where Paul Bitok will need to hold off Belgium’s World Cross Country Champion Mohammed Mourhit, as well as a phalanx of rival Kenyans, if he wants to repeat his Oslo win. In the women’s events, the 1500m and high jump have excellent fields, with Violetta Beclea-Szekely aiming to extend her win streak on the track, and Inga Babakova hoping to add another victory to the ones she achieved in Stockholm and Oslo in the past week. The women’s 800m may lack the in-form Stephanie Graf, but Olympic champion Maria Mutola will face the bronze medallist from Sydney, Kelly Holmes, making a rare pre-Edmonton appearances. But as well as a useful pre-World’s form guide, the Herculis Meeting will also sort out the wheat from the chaff with regard to the contenders for the Golden League Jackpot. On paper, there are 27 athletes who could “theoretically” win a Jackpot share, but many of these have already written off their own chances by missing Monaco. For example, among the men, 100m runner Tim Montgomery, long jumper Ivan Pedroso, 1500m runner Ali Saidi-Sief, 3000m/5000m runner Hailu Mekonnen and steeplechaser Reuben Kosgei each have one Golden League victory, but by missing Herculis will not be able to notch up the necessary five wins. Among the women, only 400m hurdler Nezha Bidouane, who won in Rome, will be absent in Monaco. The real pressure will be on those athletes who have just one victory to date and must now win at each of the remaining Golden League meetings, starting tomorrow night. For the men, this includes Wilfred Bungei in the men’s 800m, Colin Jackson in the 110m hurdles, and Peter Blank in the men’s javelin. Among the women, three high jumpers have a victory each - Kajsa Bergqvist, Venelina Veneva and Inga Babakova - but only tomorrow’s winner can remain in contention. In the 3000m/5000m, Edith Masai must repeat her victory in Oslo to keep her hopes alive, but this task will be made easier by the absence of Olga Yegorova and Gabriela Szabo. But some some athletes are already closing in on the Jackpot. Marion Jones (100m), Graf (800m) and Beclea-Szekely (1500m) all boasting “3-3” win records. Yegorova (3000m/5000m) and Tatyana Tereshchuck (400m hurdles) have also notched up two victories to date. Among the men, Maurice Greene (100m), Johnson (110m hurdles), Wilson Boit Kipketer (Steeplechase), Kevin Dilworth (long jump) and Kostadinos Gatsioudis (javelin) are also on course with two wins apiece. Hicham El Guerrouj has also won twice in the 1500m, but since he will run the 5000m in Zurich, the Moroccan has effectively dropped out of the Jackpot race.
