Diamond League - Monaco

:00:48. > :00:55.Good evening from Mr Jackson and May and a very warm welcome. It is

:00:55. > :00:58.warm here, I tell you. We are in Monaco for Diamond League athletics

:00:58. > :01:01.and the state could not be any higher for the athletes competing

:01:01. > :01:05.as they have their preparations before London, the last big

:01:05. > :01:09.athletics meeting before the Olympics. One athlete who is not

:01:09. > :01:12.here is Usain Bolt. He may be on every single poster in his

:01:12. > :01:16.principality but he is not here after that shocking double defeat

:01:16. > :01:19.to Yohan Blake in the Jamaican trials. But still plenty to look

:01:19. > :01:23.forward to after we focus on the first raised, the Women's 400m

:01:23. > :01:28.hurdles. A great racer to start off with with a defending Olympic

:01:28. > :01:32.champion, but all thoughts on that bread performance last weekend from

:01:32. > :01:35.Perri Shakes-Drayton, she has rarely throws herself into medal

:01:35. > :01:40.contention. There is no doubt about contention. There is no doubt about

:01:40. > :01:46.that, nobody expected her to be so dominant in that race. It was great

:01:46. > :01:50.to see. She has shown that now she has a right into the serious world

:01:50. > :01:54.class. We all knew she had amazing potential, but what we wanted to

:01:54. > :01:58.see was her deliver the performance we knew she was capable of and what

:01:58. > :02:03.a time to do it, have very last competition before she got to

:02:03. > :02:07.London. The celebrations were amazing, but it gave UN insight

:02:07. > :02:13.into the fact that it took her completely by surprise -- it gave

:02:13. > :02:16.you an insight. She will be at the training camp back in London and

:02:16. > :02:20.will ask herself where it came from and can she reproduce it?

:02:20. > :02:24.hurdles are all about a rhythm and when you hit it, you get into the

:02:24. > :02:29.groove and it tends to stay with you, so I am hoping that she is

:02:29. > :02:34.just whacking and embracing the new found rhythm and can reproduce it -

:02:34. > :02:38.- just practising and embracing. you were doing it again, would you

:02:38. > :02:42.be tempted to come here and find that with them again, kid yourself

:02:42. > :02:46.confidence? If you are happy with the way you while performing, there

:02:46. > :02:51.is no two ways about it, she set a sensational personal best and she

:02:51. > :02:57.is happy with that, so why waste her time? If she doesn't feel like

:02:57. > :02:59.she needs to, go and prepare, get confidence. Let's focus on the

:02:59. > :03:06.athletes that are here. Melaine Walker, the defending Olympic

:03:06. > :03:11.champion. Not quite in that form this year. Not at all. -- but she

:03:11. > :03:15.has got a sensational Sir -- personal best. This is young lady

:03:15. > :03:20.we have got to look out for. She is from the Czech Republic, she can

:03:20. > :03:25.produce when it really matters. This event is a really complicated

:03:25. > :03:30.events, because there is so much talent in its and as Perri Shakes-

:03:30. > :03:35.Drayton demonstrated, you only need to get your group at one time and

:03:35. > :03:41.you are there, so it will be a very close race. Admission that the

:03:41. > :03:47.masses want to look out for as well. We can join -- Le Sho Endo Demus is

:03:47. > :03:57.one to look out for as well. We can join Steve Cram in the commentary

:03:57. > :04:07.

:04:07. > :04:11.Shakes-Drayton ran a 53.57 in London to we have up to third place

:04:11. > :04:21.in the world rankings -- to move up to third place in the world

:04:21. > :04:31.

:04:31. > :04:38.gone off very quickly into the last stride. She is already up on to

:04:38. > :04:45.Melaine Walker. Williams's going strongly. Demus is about one metre

:04:45. > :04:50.down. Their approach 200m. It is very even between Melaine Walker

:04:50. > :04:57.and Demus. Right on the outside, Tiffany Williams, who might find it

:04:57. > :05:01.tough from now on. Demus slightly in the lead. There is a former, and

:05:01. > :05:09.it is Tiffany Williams, she has gone. And here comes Demus, under

:05:09. > :05:13.pressure from Melaine Walker. Zuzana Hejnova going well as well.

:05:13. > :05:19.She may have the momentum. She is going to take it. Zuzana Hejnova

:05:19. > :05:25.takes it, Demus in second place, Melaine Walker in third. What a

:05:25. > :05:31.good run by Zuzana Hejnova, who really ran at a very even pace. She

:05:31. > :05:36.was so steady at 200m, but between 203 hundred, she put herself into a

:05:36. > :05:46.great position and that the home straight, she really attacked --

:05:46. > :05:50.between 203 hundred. 54.14 is the unofficial time. An interesting

:05:50. > :05:54.race for all sorts of different reasons. Demus is not the athlete

:05:54. > :05:59.that she was, not showing the sort of form she will want before the

:05:59. > :06:02.Games. She ran well as the American trials but has had one or two

:06:02. > :06:06.problems. She was saying how much she was looking forward to this but

:06:06. > :06:12.this won't give her that much confidence. Melaine Walker, I

:06:12. > :06:15.expect her to go well at the Games, but you would expect them to be

:06:15. > :06:19.running 53.5 fairly consistently and they are not, they are

:06:19. > :06:26.struggling. So that opens the door for the likes of Perri Shakes-

:06:26. > :06:30.Drayton, we saw that the other night, and tonight, Zuzana Hejnova

:06:30. > :06:36.and Denisa Rosolova, out in lane six, I think she is a huge talent

:06:36. > :06:40.at this event. So a big opportunity here. And Zuzana Hejnova took it.

:06:40. > :06:44.She wasn't fazed by the big names outside her and she was strong over

:06:44. > :06:50.the last hurdle. She didn't have a very good European Championships

:06:50. > :06:53.but that is a very big win for her. So the two younger ones, Perri

:06:53. > :06:58.Shakes-Drayton and Zuzana Hejnova, it is over to you, because Demus

:06:58. > :07:02.and Walker are not showing much. many ways, it is not the sort of

:07:02. > :07:06.time we would expect going into an Olympic Games or a major

:07:06. > :07:16.championship, but Championships to bring out the best in athletes, and

:07:16. > :07:20.

:07:20. > :07:27.from Zuzana Hejnova. We can see the times there. A season's best for

:07:28. > :07:34.the winner. I guess Perri Shakes- Drayton will be watching that at

:07:34. > :07:38.home and thinking, nothing too much to be scared off. We are being

:07:38. > :07:42.British centric, but that is the reality. That is it on paper, it is

:07:42. > :07:46.about what you do on the track, that is all that matters. It is

:07:46. > :07:50.warm here, cold and wet in London. But some people performing

:07:51. > :07:55.different conditions better. You never can say. Women can get into

:07:55. > :07:59.the groove, it is demonstrated by Perri Shakes-Drayton and Zuzana

:07:59. > :08:03.Hejnova, she has run a season's best. They do not give medals away

:08:03. > :08:13.easily. So we are under way in Monaco, and here is what we have

:08:13. > :08:20.

:08:20. > :08:25.got to look forward to over the to be super quick as Jason Richard

:08:25. > :08:35.Sterne takes on his team-mate. LaShawn Merritt Eggers Kirani James

:08:35. > :08:38.

:08:38. > :08:45.and Martyn Rooney are the 400m. Chris Tomlinson in the long jump,

:08:45. > :08:49.and plenty other Brits tonight. Here is the timetable, pick out

:08:49. > :08:52.your favourite. As normal with the Diamond League coverage, we don't

:08:52. > :08:58.control the pictures, so we cannot guarantee how much we will see of

:08:58. > :09:03.the likes of Chris Tomlinson. But there will be a great chance to

:09:03. > :09:10.assess Holly Bleasdale's chances in the pole vault of a gold medal.

:09:10. > :09:15.A lot of expectation, I think, to see what Yelena is an by ever can

:09:15. > :09:18.do this evening. -- Yelena Isinbayeva. She may not be in the

:09:19. > :09:23.world record breaking form that we are used to, but will she challenge

:09:23. > :09:27.in London? This is the warmth of Monaco but a week ago, we were in

:09:27. > :09:37.the cold and wet of London, but it didn't deter many of Britain's

:09:37. > :09:43.

:09:43. > :09:48.Palace, Mo Farah getting the best of send us as he hopes to repeat

:09:48. > :09:55.this sort of victory in the Olympic Stadium -- send offs. Storming away

:09:55. > :09:59.to take the win. Christine Ohuruogu it is coming, she is charging. The

:09:59. > :10:09.world champion cannot hang on. Christine Ohuruogu it is going to

:10:09. > :10:13.

:10:13. > :10:23.new British record. Perri Shakes-Drayton has taken this

:10:23. > :10:26.

:10:26. > :10:30.well, two days in London, despite the weather and some great

:10:30. > :10:35.performances. And perhaps the most surprising one was Kristina have

:10:35. > :10:38.rued the. Four years ago, Olympic champion and world champion --

:10:38. > :10:42.Christina Ohuruogu. Then form disappeared, loss of motivation and

:10:43. > :10:46.injury and then in the final race, she defeats the world champion.

:10:46. > :10:50.was breathtaking for everybody to see and if you weren't there, you

:10:50. > :10:54.missed an incredible moment, because the whole atmosphere in the

:10:54. > :10:58.stadium was electric. She finished off the whole competition and it

:10:58. > :11:01.was great to see a defending champion coming down and passing

:11:01. > :11:05.the world champion to take the victory, in have fastest time of

:11:05. > :11:09.the year. This is what we are talking about, athletes coming to

:11:09. > :11:13.these competitions and delivering great performances, which gives

:11:13. > :11:17.them so much confidence for the major games, which luckily for

:11:17. > :11:21.Christie is the Olympics. And one thing we know from experience is

:11:21. > :11:24.she will run a lot quicker when she gets to London. She always gets

:11:24. > :11:29.through quicker through the heats - - always gets quicker through the

:11:29. > :11:34.heats, you think they can almost be three-quarters of a second added on.

:11:34. > :11:37.I am sure she can do that. She will be someone who will be looking at

:11:37. > :11:41.it continuously over the events and seeing where she has improved and

:11:41. > :11:46.now she can go even better here and the next thing you know, she is on

:11:46. > :11:49.the shoulder of the favourites. Another athlete not quite in the

:11:50. > :11:56.shadows in the way Christine Ohuruogu has for the last four

:11:56. > :12:00.years, Goldie Sayers in the Jacquelin. Her personal best dated

:12:00. > :12:04.back to Beijing. She came back with another British record. And a big

:12:04. > :12:09.smile, which was wonderful to see. She has been throwing well all

:12:09. > :12:14.season, very consistent, but she has just been beaten by some great

:12:14. > :12:18.javelin throwers, and to come to Crystal Palace and throw a British

:12:18. > :12:22.record, and then to back that up with her third best throw ever, it

:12:22. > :12:27.really showed that she was gaining momentum and going in the right

:12:27. > :12:33.direction at the right time. As far as I am concerned, the field

:12:33. > :12:37.inventors are looking very strong. Goldie will have to throw further

:12:37. > :12:40.to get in the medals, that is the reality. Absolute the, she has to

:12:40. > :12:45.work hard but a little bit of consistency is the most important

:12:46. > :12:51.thing -- absolutely. If the young lady is throwing around her had a

:12:51. > :12:55.bad day, there is their medal. Chris Tomlinson coming back to

:12:55. > :13:01.something like his form. Yes, he has a great rivalry with Greg

:13:01. > :13:11.Rutherford and he managed to do their 8.26, it is a good sign.

:13:11. > :13:46.

:13:46. > :13:51.to the men's 1,500 metres. Back to am sure, will be doing their best

:13:51. > :13:56.to encourage the 1,500 metres runners to go with the pace. We

:13:56. > :14:00.have seen a few good runs this year, but you just suspect that the likes

:14:00. > :14:04.of Asbel Kiprop might want to make a statement here. Although the

:14:04. > :14:10.early signs are not good, the early pace is a little quick and it is

:14:10. > :14:20.essential they get an even pace through the first 800. They have

:14:20. > :14:20.

:14:20. > :14:27.asked for around 250. This first 300 metres, that is too quick for

:14:27. > :14:35.the leading pacemaker. He has just got to check back a little bit,

:14:35. > :14:41.were together, James Magut with Andrew Kiptoo. 53.69 through the

:14:41. > :14:46.first 400. Asbel Kiprop is probably spot on around 55 seconds. He gets

:14:46. > :14:51.his tactics wrong sometimes. He was a little bit, well, not fortunate

:14:51. > :14:54.in the Kenyan trials, but it was a slow race and he finished third

:14:54. > :14:57.behind James Kiplagat and Andrew Rotich, so sometimes he can

:14:57. > :15:05.tactically get it wrong. It shouldn't be so much of an issue

:15:05. > :15:11.today. The pace is just dropping a little bit here. Andrew Kiptoo the

:15:11. > :15:18.little ahead of Asbel Kiprop. Tauofik Makhloufi is there behind

:15:18. > :15:23.Asbel Kiprop. We have one or two people as well up there. We are

:15:23. > :15:27.looking at the 800 tired and they would ask for 150, which is very

:15:27. > :15:34.quick for... They are closing down on the pacemaker at the moment,

:15:34. > :15:44.that is good. It was ominous that the start. He has gone and the race

:15:44. > :15:47.

:15:47. > :15:53.is on. The second pacemaker now has keeping a good consistent place --

:15:53. > :16:03.James Magut. The main guys there, really you would have wanted to

:16:03. > :16:09.

:16:09. > :16:17.outside now, Kiprop is in a good spot and he is taking the

:16:17. > :16:25.initiative and moving ahead of Nixon Chepseba. Lots of pushing and

:16:25. > :16:30.shoving behind. It is Kiprop setting his stall out here. He is

:16:30. > :16:35.not kicking hard yet but he will want to control this. He feels

:16:35. > :16:39.Nixon Chepseba behind him. These two know each other very well

:16:39. > :16:42.indeed and Kiprop did not do so well with the slow pace of the

:16:42. > :16:52.Kenyan trials but this looks better. The Olympic champions stretching

:16:52. > :16:53.

:16:53. > :16:57.out on the top bend. Amine Laalou staying close as well. Nixon

:16:57. > :17:01.Chepseba it looking like he has not got much to give. Kiprop kicking

:17:01. > :17:07.away and this is what he was hoping for, a real confidence booster. He

:17:07. > :17:17.looks so serene when he moves this quickly. Kiprop wins it, look at

:17:17. > :17:17.

:17:17. > :17:24.that, three: 28.89. That last lap was deceptive. Really deceptive. He

:17:24. > :17:29.is capable one-day somewhere of running Derry, fast and no wonder

:17:29. > :17:33.he should be happy. He has come home with a very quick time and

:17:33. > :17:39.third place. There will be some massive personal bests here and

:17:39. > :17:45.Monica delivers again. Something about this track that delivers, up

:17:45. > :17:52.1500m love it. Certainly they came here. Kiprop said he would go with

:17:52. > :17:59.the pace and right from the start, there was the intent. Amine Laalou

:17:59. > :18:09.was there as well. But Nixon Chepseba are chasing Kiprop and

:18:09. > :18:09.

:18:09. > :18:15.keeping him at pace. That is a world-leading time and a very fine

:18:15. > :18:18.performance to take into a major championship. Asbel Kiprop as

:18:19. > :18:26.people were saying, sometimes he is all over the place but when he gets

:18:26. > :18:35.it right, he does so very well. The time is a bit special. He is serene

:18:35. > :18:39.looking at times. I love watching him run. He doesn't really generate

:18:39. > :18:48.bursts of acceleration, he just wants it up and look at that, the

:18:48. > :18:54.most comfortable looking through 0.28 I have ever seen. There are

:18:54. > :19:04.all getting personal bests behind them as well. A very happy changing

:19:04. > :19:12.

:19:12. > :19:16.confirmation, Asbel Kiprop with Nixon Chepseba behind and Nick

:19:16. > :19:26.Willis behind him. A few problems with commentary sound there so

:19:26. > :19:28.

:19:28. > :19:32.No problem with Asbel Kiprop bow. No panic, just a cool, calm and

:19:32. > :19:36.correct performance. The stadium was erupting and applaud him

:19:36. > :19:40.because when he puts his foot down and the acceleration takes place,

:19:40. > :19:43.it was gentle, it was an ease of movement and that is what you

:19:43. > :19:49.always see from the best runners in the world, they tend to collide and

:19:49. > :19:55.it was wonderful to see it. Like Steve Cram said in commentary, it

:19:55. > :19:59.was like he doesn't try. He put his hand up, took his flowers very

:19:59. > :20:07.happily indeed and went on his way. Like it was another day at the

:20:07. > :20:12.office. Exciting way to start, it a good set of two track events so far.

:20:12. > :20:15.The 400m is next on track, the Olympic champion against the world

:20:15. > :20:23.champion and it also features Martyn Rooney from Great Britain

:20:23. > :20:28.and he has been speaking to our team. Martin, not a bad place to

:20:28. > :20:32.come, does it help us get the hype around the London Olympics? Monaco

:20:32. > :20:35.is an interesting place to come. A completely different world to what

:20:35. > :20:40.we are used to. Beautiful weather which is probably the most

:20:40. > :20:44.important thing at the moment. I have got up a bit of a cold at the

:20:44. > :20:49.moment from Crystal Palace so it is nice to be out here and to come out

:20:49. > :20:54.and do a job. Where does this race in Monaco fit into your

:20:54. > :20:59.preparations this close to the Olympics? It has been on my plan

:20:59. > :21:08.since the start of the year, and for me, Monaco is important. A

:21:08. > :21:12.quick track to run him and it will be pretty much the same line-up as

:21:12. > :21:22.before. It could be a good confidence booster and it can turn

:21:22. > :21:24.

:21:24. > :21:26.it round and I will always look at Martyn Rooney looking relaxed ahead

:21:26. > :21:30.of the Games and the head of the performance. You can't help feeling

:21:30. > :21:37.he is an athlete who has not quite fulfilled his potential. You can

:21:37. > :21:42.imagine how frustrating it must be. He knows how close he was in 2006,

:21:42. > :21:47.that is when he got our attention on the Melbourne Commonwealth Games

:21:47. > :21:53.where this long legged man and Steve Cram said was always going to

:21:53. > :21:57.be an 800m runner, but we knew he had huge potential. And then injury

:21:58. > :22:02.sets in, lot of added pressure because huge expectations set in

:22:02. > :22:11.and he will be frustrated. If he can get 100% fit and deliver the

:22:11. > :22:15.performance well, he can get right down into 44, 45 territory. He

:22:16. > :22:20.would be on the rostrum at there. It is a bit frustrating for him but

:22:20. > :22:27.he says he is healthy now and he is in the Olympic team, anything can

:22:27. > :22:33.happen. The defending Olympic champion, Lashawn Merritt is

:22:33. > :22:38.running here tonight. He will be looking to defend his title. Yes,

:22:38. > :22:46.he looks confident. Last year when he returned, we thought what could

:22:46. > :22:52.he do and this time it seems completely different. It was a

:22:52. > :22:56.surprise, he had his positive drugs test time out. Yeah, I think that

:22:57. > :23:03.is the background on the timing that gave him something. You have

:23:03. > :23:09.got to get into a groove in athletics. Want to get into it, you

:23:09. > :23:19.are there. He has been haphazard but now he has been more consistent

:23:19. > :23:27.

:23:27. > :23:31.lost his way a bit. Yes, he has got married... That certainly does not

:23:31. > :23:37.mean he has lost his way! He is searching for his form there but

:23:38. > :23:47.this young man has run 44 point 45 this year. Many events on the

:23:48. > :23:48.

:23:48. > :23:57.circuit this year. I am pretty sure the Lashawn Merritt would love to

:23:57. > :24:07.get the world-leading time. A great contrast between the shore merit

:24:07. > :24:22.

:24:22. > :24:29.European Boys', Kevin Borlee, and there is his brother, Jonathan.

:24:29. > :24:39.Sensational group. And there's Martyn Rooney out there on his own

:24:39. > :24:42.

:24:42. > :24:52.in lane eight. He knows he is up 45 seconds for the British champion

:24:52. > :25:00.

:25:00. > :25:10.world champion versus the world junior champion versus former

:25:10. > :25:34.

:25:34. > :25:43.Martyn Rooney has got away very quickly. The Borlees are already

:25:43. > :25:48.catching him. The world junior champion, Luguelin Santos coming up

:25:48. > :25:51.well. Jonathan Borlee coming very strongly here and it will be a big

:25:51. > :25:56.battle between the Olympic champion and a world champion as they come

:25:56. > :26:00.into the home straight. Into the home straight but poorly is going

:26:00. > :26:05.very well and Martyn Rooney going well as well. Lashawn Merritt has

:26:05. > :26:08.gone, he is out of it. Into the home straight it is and this is

:26:08. > :26:12.Jonathan Borlee going very strongly, tied up a bit at the moment but

:26:12. > :26:20.here comes Kirani James but Jonathan Borlee will Getty, but I

:26:20. > :26:26.think Kirani James just get it, it is very close. What a run by

:26:26. > :26:32.Jonathan Borlee but what about the reigning Olympic champion? What

:26:32. > :26:37.about Lashawn Merritt palled up right on the top bend and he is

:26:37. > :26:41.limping off. To Stewart, it is really interesting. In the hotel

:26:41. > :26:45.this afternoon, at about 30 minutes, Lashawn Merritt was doing strides

:26:45. > :26:49.in the corridor and it was a bit of an odd thing to see. You

:26:49. > :26:55.occasionally see athletes do that occasionally and I passed in a

:26:55. > :27:04.couple of times, he looked a bit concerned there. But is the result.

:27:04. > :27:14.Poorly just hanging -- Borlee just hanging on to Kirani James. Plenty

:27:14. > :27:15.

:27:15. > :27:19.to watch for here. Both of the Borlees, and moving well. Kirani

:27:19. > :27:26.James, you sometimes want to get hold of him and pull his shoulders

:27:26. > :27:30.back, he leans forward so much for a big guy and it looks like he will

:27:30. > :27:34.fall over. Then Lashawn Merritt just stops running, he does not

:27:34. > :27:38.pull anything, he stopped running. Whether he felt some cramp or

:27:38. > :27:44.Tina's, we will have to find out but it looks bad news for him.

:27:44. > :27:47.Jonathan Borlee storming away after that that here comes Kirani James,

:27:47. > :27:52.the world champion full of power and strength but not quite getting

:27:52. > :27:57.there. Watch this, does he stepped out of his lane. I think he stepped

:27:57. > :28:05.on the line there. His actions almost put him off balance. He

:28:05. > :28:11.leans so far forward. He was disqualified in the Eugene but

:28:11. > :28:16.Jordan Borlee, a big win and a season's best for him. Kirani James

:28:16. > :28:21.just behind him. What a dramatic race and Lashawn Merritt has just

:28:21. > :28:31.walked in front of us. Is it a pull or Crump? He doesn't look that

:28:31. > :28:32.

:28:32. > :28:35.concerned. He is just easing off the muscle. When you look at the

:28:35. > :28:39.Kirani James performance, he looked good in 200 metres but he was a bit

:28:39. > :28:44.lazy between 200 metres and 300 metres. And the really have to work

:28:44. > :28:54.hard in the straight. We know he is a solid finisher but not good

:28:54. > :28:59.

:28:59. > :29:03.speak to Martyn Rooney. He was disappointed with his time.

:29:03. > :29:08.absolutely was. But I would not be so disappointed because coming into

:29:08. > :29:13.this race, you would expect him to finish there. Virtually everybody

:29:13. > :29:17.except one person got under 45 seconds this year. It is about the

:29:17. > :29:23.race, not the time. And the winning time, yes it is a season's best but

:29:23. > :29:28.it is not sensational. But he would have hoped to have been closer

:29:28. > :29:32.because that has thrown the 400m wide open in the Olympics. Lashawn

:29:32. > :29:37.Merritt hope he will recover, Kirani James getting beaten and

:29:37. > :29:44.Martyn Rooney thought he should be in the mix. He knows he should be

:29:44. > :29:50.in the next but we have said this time and time again, you need to be

:29:50. > :29:56.able to compete in these conditions. These runners have run some very

:29:56. > :30:00.tight competitions, and they are not fear for any more. We what did

:30:00. > :30:03.you make of Lashawn Merritt? He went out and was almost on Kirani

:30:03. > :30:09.James' shoulders and then pulled back a little but and then pulled

:30:10. > :30:13.off. I was watching in the close-up and he did not jump in the air so

:30:13. > :30:17.the interesting thing will be to see what he says in interviews. To

:30:17. > :30:23.get a statement on the condition he is in. A great performance from

:30:23. > :30:24.Jonathan Borlee. And absolutely. A sensational performance. No two

:30:24. > :30:29.ways about it. He has also ways about it. He has also

:30:29. > :30:36.signalled he is ready to go in London 2012. The 400m wide open in

:30:36. > :30:38.London. At first we will look back into the middle distance British

:30:38. > :30:48.archive would be great Olympic moment and was this the most iconic

:30:48. > :31:00.

:31:00. > :31:07.has got himself in trouble right at the back. 320 metres to go, Warren

:31:07. > :31:12.Leeds for Britain. Steve Ovett is in 4th place. Those blue eyes like

:31:12. > :31:18.chips of ice. Getting knocked about. Sebastian Coe coming up, trying to

:31:18. > :31:23.make his run. It is the Russia now. Steve Ovett in second place and

:31:23. > :31:27.Sebastian Coe has an awful lot to do. They have been all over the

:31:27. > :31:32.place in this race, it has been a running battle. Sebastian Coe is

:31:32. > :31:37.beaten, surely. Steve Ovett hits the front. Steve Ovett coming home

:31:37. > :31:46.to take the gold medal for Great Britain, to beat Sebastian Coe, who

:31:46. > :31:51.gets the silver. In Steve Ovett looks up in triumph. That was a

:31:51. > :31:58.race about experience. Sebastian Coe leaves the arena in

:31:58. > :32:03.disappointment, as his great rival Steve Ovett celebrates.

:32:03. > :32:07.It was certainly a great 100m. We will go back to 400m, LaShawn

:32:07. > :32:14.Merritt is here, tell us what happened. I was feeling good.

:32:14. > :32:22.looked good. I was feeling good. I kind of got a grabbing my leg. I

:32:22. > :32:27.felt it, and then I felt it again, so instead of pushing through it, I

:32:27. > :32:31.have the Olympics coming up, so I will get some treatment, the USA

:32:31. > :32:37.has a great medical staff, so we will take care of it. That first

:32:37. > :32:41.100 Comedy went out like a train. Hey, I am ready. I came here to get

:32:41. > :32:45.a good race in. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish the race but I have

:32:46. > :32:49.to take care of my body. And you are smiling, so hopefully it is not

:32:49. > :32:54.too bad. The best of luck for London and thank you for speaking

:32:54. > :33:00.to us. That is every need for LaShawn Merritt, perhaps not

:33:00. > :33:06.porous! -- a relief. He has pulled up two weeks before the Games and

:33:06. > :33:10.he is smiling, he feels ready to go. And I am really interested to see

:33:11. > :33:15.the start he gets. There may only be a few days to go, but the

:33:15. > :33:21.reality is the athletics is a long way away, and this is a red hot

:33:21. > :33:31.events as well, the men's 800 metres. The world record holder is

:33:31. > :33:33.

:33:33. > :33:43.not here, great things expected, but his major competitor in London

:33:43. > :33:43.

:33:43. > :33:49.is Abubaker Kaki. And we have saying that the British athlete is

:33:49. > :33:54.mixing with the world by as -- well's best, he has no fear. He No

:33:54. > :34:01.he can run fast, he can run well and compete wealth -- he knows he

:34:01. > :34:04.can run fast. Just that little bit more work that he need that comes

:34:04. > :34:10.with the years and there we will see the best of them. Right now, he

:34:10. > :34:14.is looking good, but in the future, plenty more to come. Didn't Wilson

:34:14. > :34:19.Peter break the world record in Monaco? Your memory is very good

:34:19. > :34:24.indeed. Nick Symmonds of the United States, we know he has run well at

:34:24. > :34:31.world championships. Andrew Osagie is looking nice and comfortable and

:34:31. > :34:37.confident. So it is a good day. At the cat at lackey only finish 4th

:34:37. > :34:45.in London, he didn't look that good -- Abubaker Kaki. I am hearing that

:34:45. > :34:48.the meeting record is 1: 42.57, up so I am hearing that he probably

:34:48. > :34:58.didn't break the world record. Steve Cram knows a bit about the

:34:58. > :35:25.

:35:25. > :35:34.pace. For to ban 0.5, the pacemaker and find a position behind Kawecki.

:35:34. > :35:38.Matthew Scherer steady through 200. Advocate that happy was

:35:38. > :35:48.disappointing in London -- at the car Cath Mackie. He was poor,

:35:48. > :36:03.

:36:03. > :36:10.we mentioned only arm. For tonight 0.55. And -- 49.55. A book of --

:36:10. > :36:16.Abubaker Kaki looking vulnerable again. He is really struggling. It

:36:16. > :36:20.is the 17-year-old Leonard Kosencha at the moment. Abraham Rotich is

:36:21. > :36:24.holding second place. Abubaker Kaki is nowhere and the rest are looking

:36:24. > :36:29.like they will attack. Lookout for the likes of Nick Symmonds and the

:36:29. > :36:34.home straight. Here we go, the 17- year-old and the 19-year-old first

:36:34. > :36:38.and second. And Duane Solomon having a cracking run in Monaco.

:36:38. > :36:42.Nick Symmonds will finish quickly but the youngsters are heading this

:36:42. > :36:49.said. It is a real battle between the Kenyan teenagers and Abraham

:36:49. > :36:55.Rotich WinZip. 1: 43.13. He has just smashed the Kenyan junior

:36:55. > :37:01.record again -- Abraham Rotich wins it. But this may, where do they

:37:01. > :37:07.turn next, if you like? They have world junior champions, they have

:37:07. > :37:13.the world record holder in David Rudisha, and he has do have one eye

:37:13. > :37:15.over his shoulder when he sees what these youngsters are doing. Abraham

:37:15. > :37:20.Rotich and Leonard Kosencha eyeball-to-eyeball down the home

:37:20. > :37:25.straight, a superb race and some fast times behind them. It was

:37:25. > :37:30.perfect pace by Matthew Scherer, he is getting a reputation for getting

:37:30. > :37:36.it absolutely right. He is in the blue on the outside. Certainly,

:37:36. > :37:40.when you look at the quality of the two Juniors, first of all Abubaker

:37:40. > :37:45.Kaki is no longer the force. Leonard Kosencha and Abraham Rotich

:37:45. > :37:49.have both had the junior record this season, now it is with Abraham

:37:49. > :37:57.Rotich again. Duane Solomon also coming through, he was third in the

:37:57. > :38:02.US trials with 1: 44.65. But that was a very good run indeed and as

:38:02. > :38:09.Steve said, where on earth do they come from in Kenya? It really is a

:38:09. > :38:12.whole field of talent from start to finish. Here they go. Look at the

:38:12. > :38:19.look of determination on Abraham Rotich's face, furthest away from

:38:19. > :38:29.us. Leonard Kosencha had that the junior record and then it went to

:38:29. > :38:41.

:38:41. > :38:46.Abraham Rotich, and now Abraham metres. Andrew Osagie is alongside

:38:46. > :38:50.me. Just talk us through the race from your perspective. I think that

:38:50. > :38:54.is close to my personal best, so it is not a bad race but I want a bit

:38:54. > :39:01.more, to be honest. I have been training ready well, I thought I

:39:01. > :39:05.could try something different. But I missed a few opportunities, I was

:39:05. > :39:10.going on the outside a lot, not the inside lane. It was a great race,

:39:10. > :39:14.an amazing stadium and an amazing atmosphere. People often don't

:39:14. > :39:19.realise how tactical the 800 metres is. You can be in fantastic shape

:39:19. > :39:23.but the way you judge it can make a big difference. Eban apace like

:39:23. > :39:27.this, you have to be in the right position. -- even at a pace like

:39:27. > :39:32.this. You have to work out what it is, but it is difficult, it is our

:39:32. > :39:36.job. I was saying that the most important thing for you is to get a

:39:36. > :39:39.couple of years consistency behind you and get into these big races,

:39:39. > :39:45.and that is when you will really shine, because you are not

:39:45. > :39:50.frightened of anybody, are you? am not frightened of anybody, even

:39:50. > :39:54.eight, my worst performance in the last couple of years. And it is a

:39:54. > :39:58.personal best, it doesn't get much better than that! A great track, a

:39:58. > :40:03.great atmosphere and I wanted to raise well before the Olympics,

:40:03. > :40:08.which is what I am aiming for. to Portugal now. Yes, a bit of sun

:40:08. > :40:16.for a change. I am really looking forward to it. And when you go to

:40:16. > :40:20.London? On August 3rd, and I race on August 6th. I am keeping my hair,

:40:21. > :40:23.I look like Colin Jackson otherwise. A great way to finish you needed to

:40:23. > :40:28.London, all the very best and trained well for the next couple of

:40:28. > :40:33.weeks. I will try my best. That is the way to go into an Olympic Games.

:40:33. > :40:38.Brilliant. Slightly disappointed, but when he sees the results, it is

:40:39. > :40:44.outstanding. But Abraham Rotich perhaps, with that performance,

:40:44. > :40:51.putting something other? Adam Mynott David Rudisha. Not quite, it

:40:51. > :40:57.is still a long way. -- but in something other question mind of

:40:57. > :41:01.David Rudisha? Four years ago, she was the darling of Beijing.

:41:01. > :41:04.She was the female counterpart to Usain Bolt, and has been in the

:41:04. > :41:08.shadows since then by choice and through injury, but she is back and

:41:08. > :41:13.she has been speaking to us. Do you feel you are back to your

:41:13. > :41:19.best after a difficult couple of years? Yes, I think I am back in

:41:19. > :41:22.top shape. I feel like they did before, confident and strong.

:41:22. > :41:28.were the best female pole vaulter the world has ever seen. Did that

:41:28. > :41:32.take its toll on you mentally? course, it was difficult, because I

:41:32. > :41:37.have to always perform at the top level and the crowd always expect

:41:37. > :41:41.at least world records from me, at least. Under course, a victory

:41:41. > :41:45.without world records becomes boring for them -- and of course.

:41:45. > :41:50.And it hurts me a little bit and I felt all of the time pressure when

:41:50. > :41:53.I was competing, but for the moment, I am fine. When you have been the

:41:53. > :42:00.very best and you are twice the Olympic champion, how tough was it

:42:00. > :42:06.to struggle as she did at the World Championships in 2009 and 2011?

:42:06. > :42:10.was really difficult, it was their big sadness for me, because I used

:42:10. > :42:16.to be on the top of the time -- all the time, I used to victory, and at

:42:16. > :42:22.that moment, I had to explain what went wrong, while I was defeated.

:42:23. > :42:28.That was difficult, but at the same time, I got very good lessons and

:42:28. > :42:33.experience that even if I am on my very top level, I shouldn't be

:42:33. > :42:39.relaxed. Because my rivals are also trading, always trying to beat me

:42:39. > :42:42.and trying to get the top position -- training. It shows me that no

:42:42. > :42:46.one is sleeping, everyone is training hard and never to relax.

:42:46. > :42:54.You are going for a third successive gold medal in London.

:42:54. > :42:58.How much would it mean to achieve that? It will be historical in

:42:58. > :43:05.athletics and all time, and of course, the gold medal is always

:43:05. > :43:09.special. And for me, the more I do it now with more experience, I

:43:09. > :43:16.value more these victories than before, maybe. Now I realise the

:43:16. > :43:23.value of each night -- medal. It is certainly good to have Yelena

:43:23. > :43:26.Isinbayeva back, I think the sport has Mr. I think so. Sometimes she

:43:26. > :43:30.has to take a deep breath and reassess what she has to do and she

:43:30. > :43:35.seems ready confident, I am happy to see her. We will go back to the

:43:35. > :43:39.pole vault later, we have Holly Bleasdale in that, I think she is

:43:39. > :43:49.open -- over have opening height which is good news. This is the

:43:49. > :43:53.

:43:53. > :44:03.Women's 100m. Blessing of could Bari, a surprise winner in London.

:44:03. > :44:08.

:44:08. > :44:16.and has returned to some kind of form after she ran that sensational

:44:16. > :44:21.10.77. Kerron Stewart has run at 10.75 in had time, not so quick

:44:21. > :44:26.this year. This young lady has had a traumatic time. Dead-heated with

:44:26. > :44:31.Allyson Felix in the US trials, she pulled out, isn't going to go to

:44:31. > :44:40.the Games apart from the relay. Myriam Soumare is a big crowd

:44:40. > :44:45.pleaser from France, a talented athlete. And little Lauryn Williams.

:44:45. > :44:49.She was world champion in 2005. Unfortunately, not in that type of

:44:49. > :44:59.form now, but again, this will be a hot race, hopefully below 11

:44:59. > :44:59.

:44:59. > :45:56.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 57 seconds

:45:56. > :46:04.mother-son going very strong with Okagbare and it Okagbare will take

:46:04. > :46:10.it, at Madison get second and it is 10.96. No win whatsoever. I have to

:46:10. > :46:15.say that really women's sprinting developing -- no wind whatsoever.

:46:15. > :46:23.She took the scalp of Carmelita Jeter as she has taken a few more

:46:23. > :46:28.scalps today. This woman is only 23, 10.99 was her best in London and

:46:28. > :46:34.she is getting better and better, personal best at 10.96 and what a

:46:34. > :46:41.performance that was, a terrific run. Pretty even looking half way

:46:41. > :46:49.down but my goodness, as the race developed,... Lalova is a good

:46:49. > :46:56.start, but Okagbare is a little ungainly at times but right at the

:46:56. > :46:59.end, it is strength that gets her there. Jeneba Tarmoh took a

:46:59. > :47:05.terrible fall across the line incidently. Maddison is impressing

:47:05. > :47:12.a lot of people with her sprinting. You saw what Okagbare did to

:47:12. > :47:17.Carmelita Jeter the other day. You have to take the conditions. It is

:47:17. > :47:23.about somebody in great winning form and Okagbare now is. Two very

:47:23. > :47:27.good feels that she has beaten now. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pulled up

:47:27. > :47:33.in London with the cold air a bit. Really impressed with Okagbare, she

:47:33. > :47:38.has got herself into shape at just the right time. She is not bowed

:47:38. > :47:48.out of the blocks and Lalova is always a good start of. Mother-son

:47:48. > :47:58.

:47:58. > :48:07.was away well. But it was a there from Okagbare, she is in

:48:07. > :48:10.great form going into London. There was the men's 4x100m and the

:48:10. > :48:20.women's racers whelk involving Carmelita Jeter. This is what

:48:20. > :48:27.

:48:27. > :48:31.Madison got of a very well at on the outside, the USA, two teams...

:48:31. > :48:38.Benevolence team run out a bit, they did not get the baton -- the

:48:38. > :48:44.Netherlands team. A very poor changeover from the inside for the

:48:45. > :48:50.USA. Jeneba Tarmoh to Carmelita Jeter is the last changeover on the

:48:50. > :48:56.outside, it will be Gardener to Duncan. Coming down the straight,

:48:56. > :49:05.USA coming away with this, the B team. Laws have changed over

:49:05. > :49:15.problems. USA, Kimberley Duncan, 48.24 -- 42 point 24. When you talk

:49:15. > :49:16.

:49:16. > :49:19.about the team of Madison, Felix, Carmelita Jeter and to neighbour

:49:19. > :49:22.Timo, you cannot get better than that.

:49:22. > :49:32.We can also catch up with another event happening earlier on, that

:49:32. > :49:39.

:49:39. > :49:47.not performing to the best of his performance as we have seen. Salad

:49:47. > :49:57.Dino, the defending Olympic champion trying to get some form as

:49:57. > :50:06.

:50:06. > :50:11.the heads into London to defend his competition so far and this... Look

:50:11. > :50:14.at that. He is a lovely looking long jumper, whatever state of

:50:14. > :50:18.fitness he is in. He starts to get it right and the others might start

:50:18. > :50:26.as well. They have not been considering him too much but that

:50:26. > :50:36.could well already be a season's best. Perfect on the board.

:50:36. > :50:38.

:50:38. > :50:42.Fantastic height. A bit of a ragged day the rigour -- day for Olga

:50:42. > :50:50.Rypakova. She finally got it all together in the 5th round and

:50:50. > :50:53.jumped 15.46. She was not reckoning with this young lady, Kimberly

:50:53. > :50:58.Williams of Jamaica who has been getting better and better this year.

:50:58. > :51:02.She has already added three personal bests. Formerly from

:51:02. > :51:06.Florida State University and at the very last round having seen second

:51:06. > :51:13.place taken away from her, almost jumped her personal best and was

:51:13. > :51:22.behind on the board but went out to 14.50, two centimetre shy of the

:51:22. > :51:32.best which she set back home in Kingston. And her National

:51:32. > :51:49.

:51:50. > :51:56.moment. The wind conditions were pretty stale all the way through

:51:56. > :52:01.the competition and so strong, she is. Really athletic figure, jumping

:52:01. > :52:11.out to 40.85 in the second round. She back put up with a 14.80 in the

:52:11. > :52:13.

:52:13. > :52:17.final round but she did not need that. And Kimberly Williams very

:52:17. > :52:20.impressive in second place and Olga Rypakova having to settle for third

:52:20. > :52:30.place. Catching up with the result of the

:52:30. > :52:34.

:52:34. > :52:41.discus which finished some time ago. Third place, it occur three rounds

:52:42. > :52:49.to get into her form. It was good enough to take a third place for

:52:50. > :52:55.goalless barrier us -- Yarelis Barrios. And Nadine Muller, the

:52:55. > :53:01.second place in Daegu, big personal best for her but 64 point 64 in the

:53:01. > :53:05.first round was her best performance just short of the 65-

:53:05. > :53:10.metre line and her next best was 64 point 60 in round two but overall,

:53:10. > :53:17.it was not an impressive series and that at point she was in the lead

:53:17. > :53:22.but then came Sandra Perkovic of Croatia who is a Diamond League

:53:22. > :53:29.leader with a first-round throw of 65 metres and 29 centimetres which

:53:29. > :53:33.was good enough to win, the very first throw she took. She was

:53:33. > :53:36.consistent but not a great series but that was good enough to take

:53:36. > :53:44.the lead and establish the target for the rest. It was never

:53:44. > :53:50.surpassed. Her series featured three a no throws. Not quite the

:53:50. > :53:53.series she wanted but good enough to win and once again she is at the

:53:53. > :54:03.helm of this event internationally. She goes forward to the Olympic

:54:03. > :54:11.

:54:11. > :54:18.bit more beside and you can see one week to go until London 2012. And

:54:18. > :54:27.there will be unprecedented coverage on the BBC. And to tell

:54:27. > :54:30.you more about it, my lookalike We want to make sure you have get

:54:30. > :54:34.the best out of this event and so we have invented a live interactive

:54:34. > :54:38.video player that allows you to watch every moment of the game.

:54:38. > :54:41.Imagine you're watching the 5,000 metres live and you decide you want

:54:42. > :54:45.to see the triple jump that was on earlier. All you do is click and

:54:45. > :54:52.you instantly rewind back to the moment you want to watch. Was to

:54:52. > :54:57.have caught up, jump back to the here and now by clicking on a live.

:54:57. > :55:00.your straight back into the action and you can deliver the action in

:55:00. > :55:04.high-definition and then the extras button. Click on this and you'll

:55:04. > :55:07.find lots of great information. If you're watching the track cycling

:55:07. > :55:11.and are wondering what the different events are, the sport

:55:11. > :55:15.guide will tell you. And then there's Olympics leave. Turn it on

:55:15. > :55:19.and it will alert you to the key moment around the Games so you

:55:19. > :55:23.never miss anything that matters. And with the athletes panel if

:55:23. > :55:29.you're watching the running and want in-depth information about one

:55:29. > :55:31.of the row was, the information is there. 24 live events can take

:55:31. > :55:36.place at one time so we have arranged everything to make it

:55:36. > :55:40.easier for you to find the best of the action. In short with the BBC's

:55:40. > :55:47.new lip interactive video player, we are giving you complete control

:55:47. > :55:55.of what you want to watch and when. Go to BBC .co.uk/Sport 2 never miss

:55:55. > :55:58.a moment of the Olympic Games on JONATHAN EDWARDS: One week to go

:55:58. > :56:03.until the Olympics ceremony, we have been waiting a long time but

:56:03. > :56:09.the Olympics kicks off a few days before that with women's football

:56:09. > :56:13.with a Team GB against New Zealand on BBC One on Wednesday at 3:30pm.

:56:13. > :56:17.On BBC Three Monday and to step from 7pm, another chance to see the

:56:17. > :56:23.best of British Olympic dreams following our hopefuls on their

:56:23. > :56:31.journey through to London. Certainly something to look forward

:56:31. > :56:37.to. Just a week to go almost and we can hardly believe it. I also can't

:56:37. > :56:41.believe that it is in my home town of Cardiff. It starts there.

:56:41. > :56:51.have talked about Holly Bleasdale in the pole vault and we can catch

:56:51. > :56:59.

:56:59. > :57:03.who has really come to the fore this year she faltered a little but

:57:04. > :57:11.now coming back into really good form. That is very good pole-

:57:11. > :57:21.vaulting indeed. The best this season of 4.71 but that is a

:57:21. > :57:22.

:57:22. > :57:26.clearance of 4.62. It took a two Really good to build confidence and

:57:26. > :57:34.the pole vault there. Yes and you need to be competitive in an

:57:34. > :57:39.environment where you should be belonging. Holly is in a

:57:39. > :57:42.competition where the seven women have gone over 4.70 metres so this

:57:42. > :57:45.is what it will feel like at the Olympic Games. These are the people

:57:45. > :57:49.she will be rubbing shoulders with and it is great to come to an event

:57:49. > :57:54.like this and getting into a groove. Yelena Isinbayeva is yet to start

:57:54. > :57:59.but given the lack of jumpers she has had, also questions in her mind.

:57:59. > :58:03.Yes, but she is always confident. She has the confidence of going

:58:03. > :58:07.over five metres more times than anybody else, she has gone over

:58:07. > :58:12.4.75 metres in her first competition this year. All the

:58:12. > :58:22.women will be prowling around looking at her as she hides as

:58:22. > :58:22.

:58:22. > :58:26.usual under her towel, an occasional glance to look at the

:58:26. > :58:32.competition. We have seen her prepared before. She is jumping

:58:32. > :58:37.with the best and she does not change her way of preparation so

:58:37. > :58:41.with that in mind, she will still be quite anxious of what she can do.

:58:41. > :58:48.Also interesting hearing her talk about the pressure. Not just the

:58:48. > :58:56.gold medal but able to record. But that is what got to her, she said

:58:56. > :59:01.she needs a break. You have a support mechanism that expected to

:59:01. > :59:05.do the book. It is not easy to do that. She has done well to take the

:59:05. > :59:08.break off and she has come back still like a champion with that air

:59:08. > :59:12.of being an Olympic champion around her and that is always nerve-

:59:12. > :59:17.wracking for your opponents. Realistically what should we expect

:59:17. > :59:24.for Holly Bleasdale? Back to the beginning of this year, jumping

:59:24. > :59:28.indoors with 4.87, third all time indoors, her world has changed.

:59:28. > :59:33.no two ways about it. She is focusing on the Rio de Janeiro but

:59:33. > :59:37.she has opportunity here. You should never put age on an

:59:37. > :59:47.athlete's ability. If you can do that the unique time performances,

:59:47. > :59:47.

:59:47. > :59:55.do not worry if you won 19 or 20, deliver what you are capable of. We

:59:56. > :00:05.are not talking about various things we are talking about the

:00:06. > :00:06.

:00:06. > :00:12.gold. It is always great to see these. Track events with 3000m, it

:00:12. > :00:22.as an event which is a bit confusing because once the women

:00:22. > :00:39.

:00:39. > :00:49.step up to this, you do not see run 2.54, the group, then the 2.5

:00:49. > :00:50.

:00:50. > :00:56.seven, and have decided to slow down. -- 2.57. Sylvia Kibet getting

:00:56. > :00:59.closer to Shannon Rowbury. Simpson is in a great place, and if you

:00:59. > :01:06.remember the world championships last year, great pace on the last

:01:06. > :01:11.lap for her, and the pushing and shoving starts. It is the young

:01:11. > :01:15.Ethiopian Azemra Gebru who comes up on the outside. And since then,

:01:15. > :01:23.from being in a perfect position, is now in a terrible place. It is

:01:23. > :01:29.still be a cadet, Mimi Belete watching her. -- it is Sylvia Kibet.

:01:29. > :01:34.Still anybody's race. Emebet Anteneh are moving into third place.

:01:34. > :01:38.Jenny Simpson of the USA, when really she should have been coming

:01:38. > :01:42.to the fore at this point, is disappearing. And Shannon Rowbury

:01:42. > :01:52.looks as if she can't do anything to hold the African challenge. It

:01:52. > :02:00.

:02:01. > :02:05.is Kenya won and two. Mercy Cherono Shannon Rowbury trying to get back

:02:05. > :02:09.trouble, but nobody is going to catch Mercy Cherono. She is

:02:09. > :02:16.starting to tie up a little bit. Shannon Rowbury finishing very

:02:16. > :02:24.quickly. Mercy Cherono When Sid from Sylvia Kibet. Buze Diriba get

:02:24. > :02:28.their it. -- Mercy Cherono wins it. 60.4 for the last lap. Impressive

:02:28. > :02:33.as that what, at -- impressive as that was, or the rest of the race

:02:33. > :02:39.was forgettable. Shannon Rowbury did OK getting through, but if you

:02:39. > :02:43.come to Monaco and you want a big blow-out, Mercy Cherono and Sylvia

:02:43. > :02:47.Kibet are not going to the Games, they were not interested with going

:02:47. > :02:57.with the pace. It was pretty pedestrian. A personal best for her,

:02:57. > :02:58.

:02:59. > :03:05.too much to do. She was in the wrong place as Mercy Cherono took

:03:05. > :03:11.off. She looked like she might fade, but not so in the end. Buze Diriba

:03:11. > :03:16.coming in third place behind Sylvia Kibet. Finishing strongly in front

:03:16. > :03:20.of Azemra Gebru, who is only 20, but is the third fastest in the

:03:20. > :03:28.world this year on time. And once again, it is an African domination

:03:28. > :03:36.of that race, as is often the case these days. Mercy Cherono is a

:03:36. > :03:43.5000m specialist. She had strength and speed endurance and did the job.

:03:43. > :03:53.If you think how easily Mercy Cherono was allowed kick to the

:03:53. > :04:21.

:04:21. > :04:31.other night in a 5,000, you can see the way down, he got it with his

:04:31. > :04:34.

:04:34. > :04:41.calf muscles as he drifted through just for the British viewers back

:04:41. > :04:51.home. He is clear at that height. The Irving Saladino still leading

:04:51. > :04:57.

:04:57. > :05:04.himself go for it here. It is such an open event. And you get the

:05:04. > :05:11.feeling if he could pull something together, they will all start

:05:11. > :05:18.thinking about him again. Mitchell Watt has moved into second place.

:05:18. > :05:22.That lovely smooth action. Not as good. When you look at that, when

:05:22. > :05:26.he took off, there was backward rotation. He didn't really get

:05:26. > :05:30.forward enough and the backward rotation... He was OK on the board

:05:30. > :05:40.but he didn't quite control it. He was leaning backwards all the time

:05:40. > :05:50.when he landed. So technically, not that good for a man of his quality.

:05:50. > :06:08.

:06:08. > :06:18.looking at the competition thus far -- the javelin. 82.57, R Alexander

:06:18. > :06:28.

:06:28. > :06:32.Piat Niazi their is the leader. -- to prevent them from measuring that.

:06:32. > :06:36.Roman Avramenko is in the lead at the moment. Sometimes there is no

:06:36. > :06:41.wind here, so there is no help whatsoever, so I don't expect the

:06:41. > :06:48.distances to be really high. As Steve was saying, at the early

:06:48. > :06:53.point of this competition, there was a really big withdrawal.

:06:53. > :06:59.Good to see Irving Saladino coming into some form. Chris Tomlinson is

:06:59. > :07:04.not up to that 7.26 he did in London and Robbie Grabarz failed

:07:04. > :07:14.his first attempt at 2.33. Next it is the 110 metres hurdles for the

:07:14. > :07:15.

:07:15. > :07:22.men, this year it has been very good. It has been Electric. It has

:07:23. > :07:27.been incredible, he is just a majestic runner. He has got a real

:07:27. > :07:32.liquid action. The back leg comes over, it hits the floor with a nice

:07:32. > :07:37.rhythmical timing and that is what propels him forward. I have seen

:07:37. > :07:41.him prove so much this year. He will love running here. It is very

:07:41. > :07:46.still air, there is nothing to crush him in any shape or form. So

:07:46. > :07:50.Aries Merritt is going to compete against the world champion.

:07:50. > :07:56.Absolutely, Jason Richardson. How far away is he from running

:07:56. > :07:59.something close to the world record of Dayron Robles? It is about that

:07:59. > :08:04.cushion with the time. He has got long legs and that can sometimes be

:08:04. > :08:08.a problem for you. Especially towards the back end of the race,

:08:08. > :08:13.because you can't get them out of the way. So he may slightly

:08:13. > :08:21.struggle if there is too much curtailment. Dimitri Bascou, he is

:08:21. > :08:26.one of the developing athletes from France. Garfield Darien had an

:08:26. > :08:31.incredible European Championships in Helsinki, he ran 13.15 in the

:08:31. > :08:37.semi-final, and he chased all the way to the gold medal. Jeff Porter

:08:37. > :08:43.is in the US team. He is Tiffany Porter's husband, so we will see

:08:43. > :08:47.lots of him. The world champion, Jason Richardson, he has run 12.98

:08:47. > :08:51.this year, always been competitive. It surprised many others last year

:08:52. > :09:00.to see his rise to form. Aries Merritt, the man I was talking

:09:00. > :09:07.about, what a talent he is. here is the man you feel sorry for,

:09:07. > :09:15.David Oliver. He is the US record holder. When you think of all the

:09:15. > :09:21.greats there have been in the past and he has just missed out. Sergey

:09:21. > :09:27.Shubenkov, at he is the European champion. And this young man from

:09:27. > :09:32.Jamaica, he is the Jamaican champion also. So this is a really

:09:32. > :09:42.competitive race. Stuart Storey is competitive race. Stuart Storey is

:09:42. > :10:14.

:10:14. > :10:18.He is already ahead of the field. Jason Richardson chasing him Dad.

:10:18. > :10:25.These two ahead of the rest of the field. Sergey Shubenkov are going

:10:25. > :10:31.well. Aries Merritt takes it, 12.94, another terrific run. It is below

:10:32. > :10:36.13, below 13 and again, below 13. A new meeting record takes David

:10:36. > :10:41.Oliver's record away from him. Those seven strides after the first

:10:41. > :10:48.hurdle, before this season it was eight. Now like they'd run Rovers

:10:49. > :10:55.and David Oliver, they are all- night seven strides now -- they are

:10:55. > :11:01.all their seven strides. Aries Merritt is very strong now. He

:11:01. > :11:06.could well they have become a favourite. -- well they become a

:11:06. > :11:12.favourite. If he keeps running like this, he will be. So quick to that

:11:12. > :11:19.first hurdle. Jason Richardson trying to run him down, almost

:11:19. > :11:23.loses it on the penultimate hurdle. He almost went. That cost him. I

:11:23. > :11:27.think he would have been below 13 seconds as well. And the young

:11:27. > :11:35.Russian is improving, he has run a personal best, and he may well be a

:11:35. > :11:40.threat. But if this man continues to be as consistent as this, then

:11:40. > :11:46.events if they run Rover has comes back, etc, it is going to be tough

:11:46. > :11:50.to beat him -- even if they run Rob Myers comes back. His season's best,

:11:50. > :11:56.he just looks so as mood. Richardson, though, I do think was

:11:56. > :12:00.getting there. He definitely on the penultimate hurdle was bought

:12:00. > :12:04.because of hitting back and then he hit the last hurdle as well. But it

:12:04. > :12:11.is really shaping up to be one of the events at the Olympic Games.

:12:11. > :12:14.certainly is. Basically, the basic speed of Aries Merritt has improved

:12:14. > :12:18.and Richard Stanhope is coached by John Smith and is getting his basic

:12:18. > :12:24.speed up as well. -- Richardson is coached by John Smith. That was the

:12:24. > :12:28.pressure coming, he hit it with his legal aid. But he has got such a

:12:28. > :12:35.trail leg, he comes through. And once that comes through, but lead

:12:35. > :12:41.leg comes down. But Aries Merritt is chop, chop, chop, beautiful lead

:12:41. > :12:46.leg. Look how quickly it can stand and in to bat first stride of the

:12:46. > :12:53.hurdle, it is so important to get that first strike off the hurdle.

:12:53. > :13:03.We had a terrific demonstration. The added problem is a fit Daily

:13:03. > :13:13.

:13:13. > :13:19.Jang is strong over the first part just having a 110 metres hurdles

:13:19. > :13:23.Congress. Normally, we are behind the barrier and we are the other

:13:23. > :13:26.side of where the athletes are. We have the computer of there, we have

:13:26. > :13:33.the monitor, and they were all gathering around it. It was very

:13:33. > :13:41.amusing. It was. I have got to apologise, I am absolutely showing

:13:41. > :13:44.my age, you said... USSR. What am I doing? It is Russia. And he set a

:13:44. > :13:48.new national record, a very talented young man. And he

:13:48. > :13:53.absolutely smashed one of the hurdles, which cost him an even

:13:53. > :13:56.faster time. Watch that young man. I know the hurdlers at home know

:13:56. > :14:03.him very well, they beat him when he was a junior, so they know what

:14:03. > :14:12.they can achieve. And how good is Aries Merritt? Three runs below 13

:14:12. > :14:17.seconds. This man has just repeated it time and again and delivered

:14:17. > :14:22.under pressure, so for me, we are talking about who is the favoured?

:14:22. > :14:27.It is this man, because he is the most consistent. And if he runs

:14:27. > :14:36.like that, I think everybody else will be chasing. Liu Chang is

:14:36. > :14:41.capable, assuming that the issue is a minor thing. We know he can run

:14:41. > :14:44.under pressure, how can a Aries Merritt run under pressure?

:14:44. > :14:48.good thing is Aries Merritt gets out of the blocks very well indeed

:14:48. > :14:52.and if you can establish the rhythm of the race quickly, then everybody

:14:52. > :14:56.else is chasing. Everybody will say he has run to 12.93, everybody

:14:56. > :15:01.knows he can do it time and again, so you have got to get out of the

:15:01. > :15:06.blocks with him, otherwise he will lead from front to the end. Going

:15:06. > :15:10.back to my question beforehand, you have got a 10th of a second, how

:15:10. > :15:15.different is the rhythm? It doesn't sound like very much, but how

:15:15. > :15:18.different does it feel? It doesn't sound like much but it is about the

:15:19. > :15:22.speed over the barrier and that is what alters your whole timing. I

:15:22. > :15:27.keep going on about these tiny things, but they are crucial that

:15:27. > :15:31.you get into this rhythm. You mix it at the highest level, you

:15:31. > :15:41.deliver performance. Consistency will always win the day. Another

:15:41. > :15:45.

:15:45. > :15:51.great race in prospect at London. has got and that looks a little

:15:51. > :16:01.better, that is going to take him in the lead by the cupboard. At

:16:01. > :16:16.

:16:16. > :16:26.Hickey is in the lead any way with attacked it. He has won ed. That is

:16:26. > :16:30.

:16:30. > :16:33.the last throw of the competition. to one of the great Olympic Games

:16:33. > :16:38.in all time, we will do exactly the same for the women's 800m, not

:16:38. > :16:48.quite so far back, that was 2004 I do not think I need to go any

:16:48. > :16:59.

:16:59. > :17:05.the right thing, sitting off the pace. Kelly Holmes goes past...

:17:05. > :17:12.Kelly follows in the wake of Maria. Remember Kelly Holmes was leading

:17:12. > :17:19.in the Olympic Games of Sydney and can she do a bit better this time?

:17:19. > :17:26.Kelly isn't a great place there. -- is in a great place. She wants to

:17:26. > :17:33.control this, Kelly Holmes is running on the outside but what

:17:33. > :17:37.about Miles Clark? Kelly Holmes fighting for the gold medal Kelly

:17:37. > :17:42.Holmes bringing it home for Great Britain, can she get there? One

:17:42. > :17:52.more, Kelly, it is gold! She has got the goal for Great Britain!

:17:52. > :17:59.What a race, what a performance... You have won it, Kelly! Yes, you

:17:59. > :18:03.have won! The gold medal, Kelly Holmes is the Olympic champion.

:18:03. > :18:08.JONATHAN EDWARDS: I love the commentary. Steve Cram was telling

:18:08. > :18:13.her that she had won it. It was a real shock. The start of the

:18:13. > :18:23.women's 800 now, lane one interesting, still a massive

:18:23. > :18:31.

:18:31. > :18:38.disappointment that she did not but here's Yelena Isinbayeva, her

:18:38. > :18:43.opening height in this women's pole vault but she has had warned

:18:43. > :18:48.failure and I am assuming this is her second attempt -- she has had a

:18:48. > :18:55.1 failure. And another failure, and mess that was recorded as the first

:18:55. > :19:01.failure, we are not sought. Silke Spiegelburg has unclear at 4.72

:19:01. > :19:05.metres and Holly Bleasdale has chosen to pass that high it, two

:19:05. > :19:13.failures for Yelena Isinbayeva. Let's get back to the women's 800m

:19:13. > :19:23.and joined our commentary team. COMMENTATOR: If you have not heard

:19:23. > :19:38.

:19:38. > :19:43.of the new African champion from Beckwith, the American

:19:43. > :19:52.championships, despite a big win in London the other night. Irina

:19:52. > :20:01.Maracheva who represented Russia in the European Championships. The

:20:01. > :20:05.Cuban athlete who has been very good, Yuneysi Santiusti. Not so

:20:05. > :20:12.much good form shown by Caster Semenya this year. A real up and

:20:12. > :20:16.down season. And then the American champion, Alysia Montano. She wears

:20:16. > :20:25.a colourful flower in her hair and they will be chasing the pacemaker,

:20:25. > :20:35.Yuliya Krevsun. The questions here. His Semenya in the sort of shape to

:20:35. > :20:38.

:20:38. > :20:46.take on the big rivals at the been set for and I am really

:20:46. > :20:56.excited to watch this new Burundi talent. Francine Niyonsaba, the

:20:56. > :21:00.

:21:00. > :21:05.first raised outside Africa. She wants to get up with the big names

:21:05. > :21:12.and it is she is a heck of a tired but all over the place. Yuliya

:21:12. > :21:20.Krevsun taking them through the first 200 metres and Francine

:21:20. > :21:28.Niyonsaba close behind. Alysia Montano is also beside. Yelena

:21:28. > :21:34.Kofanova as well but a big gap opening up. This is quick. Alysia

:21:34. > :21:37.Montano. She is leading them through. The Russian looking

:21:37. > :21:45.comfortable and the young Burundi athlete with the first ever big

:21:45. > :21:55.race is right up there, Marilyn Okoro has gone with the pace. The

:21:55. > :21:58.

:21:58. > :22:03.person no where near this is Caster dangerous. They will have to really

:22:03. > :22:10.push through -- Yelena Kofanova is pushing through. Marilyn Okoro

:22:10. > :22:20.looking strong. The young bull run the athlete is not finished yet and

:22:20. > :22:27.

:22:27. > :22:34.she is coming back as well. -- book this up, she is a raw talent. I

:22:34. > :22:42.promise you she will be a bit big name in the future. Francine

:22:43. > :22:50.Niyonsaba absolutely all over the place but you lane eight --It could

:22:50. > :22:57.find other. We might seek Caster Semenya cuts a disconsolate figure,

:22:57. > :23:03.we might just have seen our first glimpse of a new name at 800m, a

:23:03. > :23:13.big thing for me to throw that on at her but you look at the lender

:23:13. > :23:16.

:23:16. > :23:24.this would Lady could run very well. Would have to go back to 1996 to

:23:24. > :23:28.get a book on the athlete -- a athlete from Burundi. Uninhibited

:23:28. > :23:32.running and a bit of an elbow nudged. She really got stuck into

:23:32. > :23:41.this but look at this, she is ahead of Alysia Montano, and ahead of the

:23:41. > :23:49.rest of them but the Russian athlete ran well indoors so one

:23:49. > :23:56.would expect her to be up there and that was pretty good, pretty good.

:23:56. > :24:06.National record in second place for Francine Niyonsaba, and our winner

:24:06. > :24:43.

:24:43. > :24:48.involved, he is in second place. -- champions are made of. Look at that,

:24:48. > :24:56.the determination there and he needed that badly to stay in the

:24:56. > :25:06.competition. He has taken the lead without with Robbie Grabarz in

:25:06. > :25:09.

:25:09. > :25:13.second place at the moment. And Robbie Grabarz has seen that and he

:25:13. > :25:19.is in second place. By Stuart Storey said, we have not

:25:19. > :25:24.seen it but Robbie Grabarz clearance on the second jump. He

:25:24. > :25:31.came here for a conference boozed and that is pretty much it. Yes, he

:25:31. > :25:35.has delivered it. Another performance of over 2.30. We talked

:25:35. > :25:42.about the women's pole vault been strong but this high jump every

:25:42. > :25:52.single person in the field has gone over 2.30 metres. This is how

:25:52. > :25:52.

:25:52. > :25:57.strong the competition is. No 800 - - no-man's 100 metres but we will

:25:57. > :26:07.see another event shortly but before that week spoke to Tyson Gay

:26:07. > :26:11.Are you fit and well? Here, I still have time to work on my endurance.

:26:12. > :26:17.You have had some well-documented problems with your hip, it required

:26:17. > :26:24.surgery. The you still get troubled by it? So lightly. But it comes

:26:24. > :26:31.with the territory now. A figure will be OK. Has that injury

:26:31. > :26:38.effectively ruin your chances in Beijing, you went out in the semi-

:26:38. > :26:44.finals. How difficult was it to take? In it was very tough. It was

:26:44. > :26:50.pretty tough so I just want to redeem myself. That failure in a

:26:50. > :26:56.sense to fulfil your potential at the Olympics, does that make you

:26:56. > :27:01.doubly determined in London? I do not want to walk away from this

:27:01. > :27:07.with a sad heart. Is it almost the race going over and over in your

:27:07. > :27:14.mind, this close? It does sometimes. Sometimes it does and I try not to

:27:14. > :27:20.think about it too much. Sometimes I can't sleep. You get images of

:27:20. > :27:25.Usain Bolt in your head! No, no. It is nothing like that. It is just

:27:25. > :27:29.the race in general. I just try to put it together. Do you believe

:27:29. > :27:34.that Usain Bolt, despite being beaten in the Jamaica trials, do

:27:34. > :27:40.you believe he is still the man to beat? Yes, I do. Yohan Blake, you

:27:40. > :27:49.have to go with the favourites. They have got the harder work to

:27:49. > :27:59.prove it. How much will it mean to you to get on the podium? It's

:27:59. > :28:21.

:28:21. > :28:26.to a good start and get them down the back, they are hoping he can

:28:26. > :28:31.turn on the burners. The changeover is pretty good. Also going well on

:28:31. > :28:36.the outside, the American second team, the Canadians going well and

:28:36. > :28:45.Gatland to Tyson Gay, Gatland had to really hold on there but Tyson

:28:45. > :28:48.Gay into his stride now. It is wavering around again but Ryan

:28:48. > :28:58.Bailey has got the baton, it will be close but he will run it down

:28:58. > :28:58.

:28:58. > :29:04.and bring it home for the USA team. That is 36 quick with a couple of

:29:05. > :29:10.very dodgy changeovers. If they get the changeover is correct, how fast

:29:10. > :29:20.the Baker? To be honest, but is not impressive in terms of the changing

:29:20. > :29:22.

:29:22. > :29:26.over, particularly the second and the US team. It happened a bit

:29:26. > :29:36.earlier on that this happened just now on, Yelena Isinbayeva with her

:29:36. > :29:41.

:29:41. > :29:45.Isinbayeva, look at that, past all the way through, decided to come in

:29:46. > :29:52.at 4.70, this is a test of her character. She has come here

:29:53. > :30:02.expecting to go Clear and expecting to go way beyond 4.80, and saving

:30:03. > :30:09.

:30:09. > :30:19.the strength and power for later on everything is right. A firm grip is

:30:19. > :30:35.

:30:35. > :30:38.important. The rehearsal going on. And no, at no! That is not the

:30:38. > :30:45.competition that she need to go into an Olympic Games wet.

:30:45. > :30:52.Isinbayeva goes out and. That is not the result she wanted at all.

:30:52. > :30:58.Robbie Grabarz in the high jump. So close. This man is definitely going

:30:58. > :31:02.to get to these heights again. He has done 2.36 this season, but I

:31:02. > :31:06.think he will go better than that. He has the quality, he has the

:31:06. > :31:10.confidence, he is the European champion. He gets the height, he

:31:10. > :31:16.just comes down on the bar. His coach will want to look at that and

:31:16. > :31:22.will be offering some words of advice. Jesse Williams will have

:31:22. > :31:26.taken him yet again, but it was only on countback. Because all

:31:26. > :31:36.decided at 2.26, when Robert Grabarz took three attempts and

:31:36. > :31:39.

:31:39. > :31:44.2.36, just to underline his victory. He is trying to get the crowd

:31:44. > :31:51.involved. It is a really good crowd here in Monaco. A lovely evening,

:31:51. > :32:01.great conditions, they have since the great performances. Can Jesse

:32:01. > :32:06.

:32:06. > :32:10.Williams, already won the in good form. The two of them now

:32:10. > :32:13.they have a real job on their hands with the Russians. They have sent

:32:13. > :32:20.their 4th string of Russian up today and he has finished in 5th

:32:21. > :32:28.place. A win for Jesse Williams, Robbie Grabarz in second place.

:32:28. > :32:36.Holly Bleasdale in the pole vault. She passed that 4.70. But wasn't a

:32:36. > :32:46.bad effort. And in -- that wasn't a bad effort. She is in joint third

:32:46. > :32:46.

:32:46. > :32:51.Robbie Grabarz, a great performance, but for Isinbayeva, the reigning

:32:52. > :33:01.Olympic champion, at more questions than answers. The 200m there, we

:33:01. > :33:05.are expecting to see the man, Usain Bolt. How worried should we be?

:33:05. > :33:09.They would have announced if there was anything drastic that would

:33:09. > :33:14.affect his performance, so I am pretty confident, but this 200m is

:33:15. > :33:22.the real race of the meeting when it comes to sprint racing. Wallace

:33:22. > :33:30.Spearmon, we know what he is capable of, 19.65 seconds. He is a

:33:30. > :33:38.sensational talent. Martine that ran Christophe Lemaitre right to

:33:38. > :33:42.the line in London -- Martina. So many people have gone close to the

:33:42. > :33:50.22nd barrier. Maurice Mitchell from the United States, an Olympic

:33:50. > :33:55.banned. Second in the US Championships, 20.13 this year.

:33:55. > :34:01.Calesio Newman is just missed out, that position we all hate, 4th. It

:34:01. > :34:05.means to stay at home. He is in lane eight, the favoured track for

:34:06. > :34:15.200m running. Wallace Spearmon has got a very

:34:16. > :34:19.

:34:19. > :34:29.good lay in, in the 5th lane. His best this season, 19.95, but he is

:34:29. > :34:53.

:34:53. > :34:58.gone off a very fast. -- Nickel Ashmeade. What a good then he has

:34:58. > :35:04.had. What a transition as well. Wallace Spearmon are coming through

:35:04. > :35:14.but Nickel Ashmeade has a big lie in. -- lead. ChurandyMartina came

:35:14. > :35:14.

:35:14. > :35:19.through. I think it is between Martina and Wallace Spearmon for

:35:19. > :35:25.second place. Nickel Ashmeade, what about that. He was seconded New

:35:25. > :35:28.York in 1994, proved himself there, but that was a terrific end there

:35:28. > :35:31.and his transition into the straight was very good. And just

:35:31. > :35:37.for once, Wallace Spearmon, who we have seen catch people have been

:35:37. > :35:44.the final stages, just couldn't do it, couldn't get close and the

:35:44. > :35:49.awkward ChurandyMartina. -- nor could. Wallace Spearmon cannot

:35:49. > :35:54.start like this, he is slow out of the blocks and the men either side

:35:54. > :35:58.of him, Nickel Ashmeade and Martina, they get a yard on him straight

:35:58. > :36:04.away, which turns into two in the home straight. Ben Wallace Spearmon

:36:04. > :36:09.start running but Nickel Ashmeade is away. He starts to tire,

:36:09. > :36:14.ChurandyMartina comes through, and they hold for second place. Wallace

:36:14. > :36:19.Spearmon is coming into good form at the right time, with a win at

:36:19. > :36:24.the American trials and getting in the American team, perhaps a little

:36:24. > :36:30.bit of a surprise in some respects, but Nickel Ashmeade, of course,

:36:30. > :36:36.surrounded by superb talent in his country. At this point of the race,

:36:36. > :36:40.Wallace Spearmon, you can't Treacy in super slo-mo, he holds his form

:36:40. > :36:45.a bit better. There she can't really see. Nickel Ashmeade is

:36:45. > :36:49.tightening up, he is putting his shoulders back. Wallace Spearmon it

:36:49. > :36:53.anything is trying a little bit too hard. When he is flowing more

:36:53. > :37:01.smoothly, he might come through a little more. He put himself under

:37:01. > :37:09.so much pressure with that bad start. Martine that as ever --

:37:09. > :37:19.Martina as ever... It was poured over the first 10 metres. His bend

:37:19. > :37:27.

:37:27. > :37:30.was appalling, and he paid the five Jamaicans who have done that

:37:30. > :37:35.and he is not even in the team, which puts into context the

:37:35. > :37:40.challenge for the guys behind him. There is no doubt. He ran a bit of

:37:40. > :37:43.a clumsy race at the championships, he went off way too hard, ran

:37:43. > :37:48.really hard around the turn in the Jamaican championships and paid the

:37:48. > :37:52.penalty. Today, he ran a good, quality bend, saved a bit for the

:37:52. > :37:56.home straight and just hung on. But ultimately, he will take this

:37:56. > :38:00.victory and think he did well and one in Monaco, but it is no

:38:00. > :38:04.consolation of not starting the Olympic Games. Let's talk about

:38:04. > :38:08.Usain Bolt. There was a documentary on BBC Three last week about who

:38:08. > :38:14.can beat him. We know who can, it is Yohan Blake. It changes the

:38:14. > :38:19.dynamic of both the 100 and the 200. It adds some excitement. Only these

:38:19. > :38:23.two guys No honestly had a man in charges. They both trained very

:38:23. > :38:26.hard, they know each other very well and are very much friends, so

:38:26. > :38:34.they enjoy the camaraderie and the building process. I can imagine the

:38:34. > :38:39.banter that will go on beforehand. It's hard to kind of believe that

:38:39. > :38:42.happens, contenders for two Olympic titles, and yet they do seem to be

:38:42. > :38:46.genuine friends, which only stops what is almost a call to their

:38:46. > :38:51.marks. One thing that Yohan Blake is known as is the beast, and every

:38:51. > :38:55.time he goes on the line, everybody is there to be beaten. Friend or no

:38:55. > :38:59.friend, he wants to the first, and that is the right attitude. If you

:38:59. > :39:03.can train with somebody and still have that killer instinct when it

:39:03. > :39:07.matters, then it makes a big difference to your overall

:39:07. > :39:11.performance. So I think, of course, a Yohan Blake is going to be very

:39:11. > :39:17.dangerous, but I still think the fact that Usain Bolt has all of

:39:17. > :39:24.those titles behind him and has run faster this year, we saw him run in

:39:24. > :39:28.Rome, he has still got to start as the favourite. We saw them in the

:39:28. > :39:35.relay earlier run as we watch Usain Bolt now, we have Justin Gatlin

:39:35. > :39:39.with a lot to prove since his drugs ban, we have Tyson Gay, double

:39:39. > :39:46.world champion over 102 hundred metres, and both of them believe

:39:46. > :39:50.they can beat Usain Bolt as well -- 100m and 200m. Lots of people have

:39:50. > :39:54.beaten Usain Bolt in circuit races like this, when it matters a little

:39:54. > :39:58.bit but not that much. If you think about how he lists his performance

:39:58. > :40:01.when he goes to championships, you have not seen any of his world

:40:01. > :40:05.records at side of championships. That man can raise his game when it

:40:05. > :40:09.comes to the magic of the championships, so just because he

:40:09. > :40:13.loses the Jamaican championships and is not running 9.6, when it

:40:13. > :40:20.comes to the competitive spirit that he can show, he will be there

:40:20. > :40:23.or thereabouts. He lost the 100m and is thinking he needs to put

:40:23. > :40:27.Yohan Blake in his place ahead of their games. And what you would

:40:27. > :40:31.think it is stronger distance, he struggled. I am going to say it

:40:31. > :40:35.again, he hasn't run any 200m this year, he struggled with the rhythm.

:40:35. > :40:39.It is crucial if you are going to go up against the world leaders. If

:40:39. > :40:44.you can remember going back to the surprise and Usain Bolt's face when

:40:44. > :40:48.Yohan Blake ran the second-fastest 200m ever. Like, where did he get

:40:48. > :40:53.that from? Now he knows exactly what his training partner can do.

:40:53. > :40:57.Yohan Blake hasn't produced anything that scintillating yet,

:40:57. > :41:00.but he is still the world leader and knows that if he goes into the

:41:00. > :41:08.race and Usain Bolt's shoulder, he will keep working and it might be

:41:08. > :41:14.enough to tighten Usain Bolt up. That is a strange thing for me,

:41:14. > :41:19.because you did see that he watched the Brussels raised for 1926 and it

:41:19. > :41:25.would give him the motivation, and he hasn't -- Brussels race. He has

:41:25. > :41:29.struggled with his start, he should run more 200m. When you run at the

:41:29. > :41:33.bend, you get into that pitter- patter stride length very early on

:41:33. > :41:37.in the race to go around the corner. You can adapt that pitter-patter

:41:37. > :41:40.stride in the 100m, which again is pretty crucial when you are looking

:41:40. > :41:45.for ground and speed at the beginning of the race. That is

:41:45. > :41:49.where it may have made a difference for Usain Bolt, but he has nailed

:41:49. > :41:54.some good starts and when he does that, he runs good times. We saw

:41:54. > :41:58.him they lit when he ran at 9.76. Everybody has got to fear, because

:41:58. > :42:02.if he does get out, and he only needs to do it once, the title has

:42:02. > :42:07.gone. But it is absolutely the case that it is much more interesting

:42:07. > :42:11.when it is not a procession. We shall see in a short period of time.

:42:11. > :42:17.Let's get back out to the field and catch up with the men's javelin.

:42:17. > :42:22.Vadims Vasilevskis was eventually in second place, he went into this

:42:22. > :42:26.role in 4th place as you can see. This was his 5th round the row. A

:42:26. > :42:33.very, very solid, very strong and no Fagnes about it at all, but the

:42:33. > :42:43.end result, 81 pts 90. -- no finesse about it at all, but the

:42:43. > :42:51.

:42:51. > :42:54.throw -- no throws. 82.95, and that was good enough to win the

:42:55. > :42:59.competition. It wasn't a great competition, but there is no wind

:42:59. > :43:05.out there at all and they really had to work for the distances today.

:43:05. > :43:15.Just short on that one, didn't quite get enough range on the ball

:43:15. > :43:21.

:43:21. > :43:26.on that the and the end result, it We have had some great races down

:43:26. > :43:34.through the years. The French have a great tradition in this race.

:43:34. > :43:42.There is the man. You think he is unbeatable. He has run with a lot

:43:42. > :43:48.of excitement. Look at that, 7 1: 54.31, and there is a vicious

:43:48. > :43:54.rumour he wants to get close to that -- 7.5 4.31. There is no wind

:43:54. > :44:04.at Old today. We saw a great 1,500 metres, I think we will see a great

:44:04. > :44:24.

:44:24. > :44:29.Benjamin Kipruto who came alive in the last two laps and then already

:44:29. > :44:34.fast race turned into an almost world record. The promoters rather

:44:34. > :44:37.laughingly said they were hoping for a stadium record today, because

:44:37. > :44:44.Kipruto was one hundredth of a second of the world record last

:44:44. > :44:49.year. If Paul Koech was to go faster than that, or anyone else

:44:49. > :44:54.was to go faster, we would be in for something and it would be a

:44:54. > :44:59.world record, or at least equalling it. He could run 100 better and

:44:59. > :45:04.equalled the world record. This is interested -- interesting, because

:45:04. > :45:08.if anybody had the chance to watch the world junior championships, the

:45:08. > :45:12.new Kipruto, Conselus Kipruto, he is such a lovely looking runner and

:45:12. > :45:18.someone who is an exciting talent. He is tucked in on the inside at

:45:18. > :45:26.the moment behind Paul Koech. And young Jairus Birech, some great

:45:26. > :45:32.young names to perhaps one day take over from Kipruto. Just a word on

:45:32. > :45:36.Paul Koech, the rumour is that the Kenyans are considering... He is

:45:36. > :45:39.the world No. 1 in terms of times this year and Diamond League

:45:39. > :45:44.performances, but he just cannot produce the performances he needs

:45:44. > :45:48.to have at altitude and that is what happened at the Kenyan trials

:45:48. > :45:53.again and he finished in 7th place in that race. I thought his chances

:45:53. > :45:57.had gone, the chance of the Olympics, but they have named four

:45:58. > :46:07.and you can put a reserve in and he has been named as the reserve, so

:46:08. > :46:10.

:46:10. > :46:13.and he finds it very difficult to compete at altitude but on sea

:46:13. > :46:20.level, he is absolutely dominant in many respects. He is a man who

:46:20. > :46:28.could break the world record, the schedule they have set up tonight

:46:28. > :46:36.is a 2.38 for that place, but 20 of barriers, Severn water jumps in

:46:36. > :46:41.this race and it is rhythm-sapping, it is tough on the physiology.

:46:41. > :46:45.others have decided to go with the pace, rather interesting. I am

:46:45. > :46:54.doing a calculation, but this does not look quick enough. It is lower

:46:54. > :47:01.than they were asked for. They will be way off the target. The

:47:01. > :47:11.pacemaking, you can see 2.44. They can get quicker and sometimes

:47:11. > :47:23.

:47:23. > :47:28.Vasilyeva's had fast -- Koech has Koech realising that the other

:47:28. > :47:34.Koech had not done a good job. Looking behind us we break off,

:47:34. > :47:44.Silke Spiegelburg. Yes, you can see she has had one failure at 4.82.

:47:44. > :47:45.

:47:45. > :47:50.This is a second attempt, two attempt at 4.70. Good speed. Oh,

:47:51. > :47:57.yes, it stayed there! She has got it. Silke Spiegelburg, that is a

:47:57. > :48:02.terrific vault. Her personal best cent this year and now she has got

:48:02. > :48:09.another one, 4.82 going into the Olympic Games and the European

:48:09. > :48:14.silver medallist back in 2010, four German indoor record between 2009

:48:14. > :48:19.and 2012, three European silvers and that is the sort of form as she

:48:19. > :48:22.takes into the Olympic Games. She tapped it on their way down but

:48:22. > :48:28.nevertheless it's stayed there and that is what matters. Yelena

:48:28. > :48:34.Isinbayeva came here as the favourite, failed her opening

:48:34. > :48:43.height of 4.73 times and this woman has set a personal best -- 4.703

:48:43. > :48:47.times. The All Koech will be left leading because the pace has been

:48:47. > :48:57.slow in the first 1000m and then it picked up again but Hillary Kipsang

:48:57. > :48:58.

:48:58. > :49:04.Yego has been unable to pick that up. The familiar figure of Richard

:49:04. > :49:09.Mateelong there. Some other athletes looking tired at this pace.

:49:09. > :49:18.And Bernard Nganga, and the American looking very good, Evan

:49:18. > :49:26.Jager. Only three Americans have ever run under 8.10 here. Using a

:49:26. > :49:36.sort of territory. Hillary Kipsang Yego, they were supposed to go

:49:36. > :49:39.

:49:39. > :49:46.through the next marker at 5.16. The pace has not been good enough.

:49:46. > :49:52.Coward will have to decide what he can do you over these last two laps.

:49:52. > :49:57.The youngster Conselus Kipruto moving up but watch the American in

:49:57. > :50:01.the green. A great run from him. You do not often see Americans this

:50:01. > :50:11.close to this sort of place. Are absolutely not but I wonder if

:50:11. > :50:22.

:50:22. > :50:28.Koech will get Jairus Kipchoge United States is now about 30

:50:29. > :50:32.metres behind and now Koech has got a lot of work to do. The first

:50:32. > :50:37.1,000 not so quick and that may well cost him in terms of time but

:50:37. > :50:41.you cannot fault the dominance that this man has. He really attack the

:50:41. > :50:44.barriers and off the early pace, I wonder if he will be able to put

:50:44. > :50:52.together a faster 1000m to bring him close to the sort of time that

:50:52. > :50:57.he will want. Anything around eight minutes would be good. I cannot

:50:57. > :51:03.really emphasise what a great run Evan Jager is having for the USA,

:51:03. > :51:10.he is in 4th place at the moment. The American record is about that

:51:10. > :51:14.time, a good battle for second, the two young Kenyans there. Paul Koech

:51:14. > :51:20.takes the bell right on the seven- minute mark. It will be close and

:51:20. > :51:26.the American is moving into second place and is giving chase. This

:51:26. > :51:30.will create all sorts of excitement across the Atlantic. Have the

:51:30. > :51:35.Americans unearthed a steeplechaser here? Is Koech doing enough to

:51:35. > :51:42.persuade the Kenyan selectors that he is worth a spot? The junior

:51:42. > :51:45.champion is chasing him down. Koech is looking tired and Conselus

:51:45. > :51:49.Kipruto moves ahead of the American and with every stride gets closer

:51:49. > :51:55.to Koech. That gap is a big one boat and Koech has been here before

:51:55. > :52:00.so many times. It is only about five metres out of the water jump.

:52:00. > :52:04.Here comes Conselus Kipruto. Koech looks around again and the

:52:04. > :52:08.youngster is coming, the world junior champion, terrible hurdling

:52:08. > :52:16.technique but he can sprint and here he comes, Conselus Kipruto

:52:16. > :52:20.will get there! He picks himself up, takes the wind and Evan Jager of

:52:20. > :52:29.the USA, that has got to be an American record. What a run from

:52:29. > :52:36.him. Prince Albert must be delighted with what he has seen

:52:36. > :52:39.here. Conselus Kipruto was a brilliant winner, one of the big

:52:39. > :52:43.highlights of the World Junior Championships in Barcelona. He is a

:52:43. > :52:47.lovely looking run and needs to work on his hurdling technique but

:52:47. > :52:52.he did not give this up. When it look like he should have because

:52:52. > :52:56.Koech is so experienced. Absolutely great finish. Look at the stumble

:52:56. > :53:01.at the end, he just cut across a little bit in front of Koech and I

:53:01. > :53:05.am glad they didn't fall but once again, the African dominance is

:53:05. > :53:09.maintained with the exception of Evan Jager. 11 seconds faster than

:53:10. > :53:14.his personal best, he has not 11 seconds off his personal best and

:53:14. > :53:19.that is absolutely brilliant. Good to see a commitment to the race and

:53:19. > :53:28.attack from these two but in the final stages, here's a youngster,

:53:28. > :53:38.17 years old. Mature be beyond those years. Taking a man on who

:53:38. > :53:43.

:53:43. > :53:53.really has the credentials of 7.54, a little stumble. So pleased he did

:53:53. > :54:05.

:54:05. > :54:08.enough. Koech is spent, the youngster almost stumbles but stays

:54:08. > :54:13.on those feet and that was an absolutely super, super finish.

:54:13. > :54:18.Great stuff, it really was. He did not get the record we thought but

:54:18. > :54:23.my goodness me, we got the race in the final stages. The pace a little

:54:23. > :54:29.bit erratic, not quite what was asked for but then again, thoughts

:54:29. > :54:34.on going into an Olympic Games in mind and Koech must now wait and

:54:34. > :54:38.say, has he done enough? JONATHAN EDWARDS: A great

:54:38. > :54:40.performance there from Conselus Kipruto, but not a great

:54:41. > :54:45.performance from Yelena Isinbayeva and I spoke to her earlier about

:54:45. > :54:52.her disappointment. I don't know exactly what was going wrong

:54:52. > :54:57.because the run up, I take off, the physical conditions were very good.

:54:57. > :55:02.The weather conditions, the stadium, the crowd were amazing. And now I

:55:02. > :55:06.am surprised about my result because all three jumps were

:55:06. > :55:11.completely different. By an unstable yet. That is making me

:55:11. > :55:16.worried. It makes you wonder how important it is to defend a title

:55:16. > :55:20.in London. You have missed lots of competition since 2008. The Olympic

:55:20. > :55:26.Games in London are very important for me. The award to fight for the

:55:26. > :55:30.victory there for the gold medal. It is very important. You'll be

:55:30. > :55:38.watching our new athlete, Holly Bleasdale. I know who she is but I

:55:38. > :55:46.did not watch her jumps. I just got the results. Good luck for London,

:55:46. > :55:49.we look forward to watching you. thank you for stopped the next, in

:55:49. > :55:54.a week's time, it will be the opening ceremony of the Olympic

:55:54. > :56:00.Games. You can watch that live on BBC with the programme starting on

:56:00. > :56:04.BBC One at 7 o'clock but the ceremony itself will begin at 9pm.

:56:04. > :56:08.Huge, huge excitement for that. Colin, the countdown is almost

:56:08. > :56:13.finished. What are you looking forward to from a British point of

:56:13. > :56:19.view? Do you think we can get the 8th medal tied it? I don't think we

:56:19. > :56:29.will be far off. -- 8 mobil target. Strong and enthusiastic about

:56:29. > :56:30.

:56:30. > :56:33.London 2012. Top tips for gold? Farah and plenty to watch elsewhere.

:56:33. > :56:37.Next stop, London and we are not sure what they weather could throw