Diamond League - Paris Athletics


Diamond League - Paris

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the ninth Diamond League of the season. Many French people were

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locked indoors today watching their girl, Marion Bartoli, win Wimbledon.

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They have come out tonight. It is a few hundred tickets short of a

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sellout. It is quite a majestic arena when it is setup for

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athletics. It promises be fantastic. There is a stellar line-up. Many

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global stars. Nobody bigger than a certain Jamaican who happens to be

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at ten minutes to nine. Plenty more to see before that. It is worth

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having a quick nod in the direction of that race. It is his compatriots

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from Jamaica will be the biggest competition? Absolutely. There is a

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little vicious rumour going around that he manipulated the lane draw,

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so he is outside his main rival, Weir. He may be a little bit

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worried. But he is the main man. guess you can pull rank when you are

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against your team-mates. When you are trying to be the fastest man in

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training as well, that can be tricky! He did not look too rusty

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lately but every race he is going to be getting quicker in the build-up

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to the World Championships? Absolutely. He looks very lean. He

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looks like he has toned up a little bit. We have got the 400 metres

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hurdles up first. Perri Shakes-Drayton won in Birmingham

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last week. Another person looking better and better. Yes. Perri

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Shakes-Drayton was a little clunky over the barriers earlier in the

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year. Now that she has made the decision to focus on her hurdling,

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now you see the difference. Birmingham, under 54 seconds.

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Hejnova will have seen the result and said, OK, she has arrived.

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Seeing your main rival quite regularly, is that a good thing?

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Absolutely. You need to raise them more and more and more. Get used to

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their patterns. What I love to see is that this absolutely suits Perri

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Shakes-Drayton. She is in lane three. She can watch Hejnova around.

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And kick when she feels she is strong enough. We have not seen the

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best of Spencer for a few seasons. Will she get back to her best form?

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I have been watching and hoping. She is probably the most talented

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athlete in this field. Injuries have cost her her progression. You have

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just got to watch out. She can be dangerous. They are now revealing

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the athletes to the stadium. It is a fantastic arena in the sunlight. How

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quick will they go? It is reasonably warm. There is Perri Shakes-Drayton,

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smiling away. Lets see how she gets smiling away. Lets see how she gets

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on and join our commentary team. Hejnova is having a superb year this

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year. Moilne was second in the European Championships. -- American

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Championships. Spencer did not run in this event in the Jamaican

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Championships because she has a wild card being the Diamond League

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champion from last year. And in lane seven, Tracey, who took advantage of

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Spencer's absence in those championship. -- Championships.

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Rosolova of the Czech Republic on the outside. The question is,

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Hejnova continues to improve all the time. She has won six races out of

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six this season. Looking to make it seven. Shakes-Drayton inside her in

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lane three. Hejnova is in four. Moilne, the very good American, is

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in five. Those three women take up three of the top four spots in the

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of the blocks pretty quickly. Moilne has started the fastest through the

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first flight. Not much to choose between them. Moilne with a slight

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advantage perhaps. Hejnova putting the pressure on. Shakes-Drayton is

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going with her. Hejnova just fractionally ahead of the British

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athlete. These two pulling away from the others. Perri Shakes-Drayton can

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be strong in the home straight but so is Hejnova. It looks like it is

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going to be seven out of seven for Hejnova. Shakes-Drayton will have to

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fight to hold on to second place. Hejnova wins it! A new personal

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best, just outside the world lead. This woman keeps getting faster and

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faster. It would be difficult for Shakes-Drayton. It is a new national

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record as well as personal best. How much better? How much quicker can

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she get? Perri Shakes-Drayton just inside 54 seconds in second place.

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The American held on for a third. Perri Shakes-Drayton tried to match

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your stride for stride but she lacks that fluency over the barriers that

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Hejnova does. Hejnova is so powerful than the home straight. She is just

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about on catchable in this discipline. A national record. There

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is no shame in losing fur Perri Shakes-Drayton. Another solid run

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after her win in Birmingham last week. At the moment this lady is

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winning by many metres. Very impressive. Looks pretty comfortable

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as well. Good technique and a well-balanced, well judged race.

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53.23. Maximum points. Hejnova, a personal best and national record,

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she is the athlete in form. Perri Shakes-Drayton, we will give you a

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couple of seconds. Hejnova was the lady to beat. How was your race?

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was OK. It is a good thing this is not the World Championships. I need

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more races. I'm curious to know what more races. I'm curious to know what

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time I ran. 53.OK. I thought you were going to say 54. You could have

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been more fluent, perhaps. But the reality is that if you're still

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going under 54 seconds and not happy, that is a good sign?

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Definitely. It is about pacing it in the next five weeks, isn't it? How

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much racing do you need to do? think I have got two more races. I

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have got my trial next weekend. That will be important for me. Then I

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have London. The anniversary games. Look forward to seeing you at both.

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Well done. She felt she had run slower. That is actually a positive,

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isn't it? She's just outside of her season's best. I am really happy

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with that performance. Deep down I know she would have wanted to run

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better. It is a solid performance. Going under 54 seconds, not at your

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best, feeling there is work to do, that is good. Let's show you what

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else is coming up this evening. Greg Rutherford is going in the long

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jump. Nobody really stamping their feet into the sand so far this

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feet into the sand so far this evening. The men's 400 metres coming

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up in a moment. Tirunesh Dibaba looking to post a world leading time

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in the women's 5000 metres. Will Marilyn Okoro go under two minutes

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in the women's 800 metres? The 110 metres hurdles is world class as

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well. A good 1500 metres field in the men's event. And then Usain

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Bolt, amongst others, in the 200 metres. The men are out for the

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men's 400 metres. LaShawn Merritt is catching the world champion. He

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is storming away! James is going to is storming away! James is going to

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take Olympic gold! 43.94! It is hard to look past these two.

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The only time either have been beaten this season is by the other

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one. It is a head to head? It is an interesting head to head. Former

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Olympic champion Merritt, James, we would describe him as the pretender.

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He is still very youthful. He enjoys running. That is the most important

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thing. He enjoys the competition. Even though they have got titles

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under their belt... The important thing is for him to go out and enjoy

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himself. And why not, when you are so young and so good? He is an

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absolute hero back home as well. The main road in grenade named after

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him. He is a champion of the island. People hero worship him. Yes. And

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they enjoy his success. He is like their ambassador. He announces to

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the world where they are. It is good to see this. Quite a few American

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athletes in the field. They are done with their trials. It is a very

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simple straightforward system. Maybe we will get onto the other systems

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later. They know who is going to the World Championships. Does that

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release you in a way because you can race in the build-up to a

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championship, not chasing a place? It is cut and dried. Swings and

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roundabouts. If you've made the team, yes, you can sit back and

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relax. If you have not made the team, you can go out there and make

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money. Also, you are slightly depressed because you really want to

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be at the championships. Ultimately that is where you want to be. It is

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great to run fast, yes. But you need to be at the championships. This

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track is not known for the quickest times. It is below the level of the

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same. -- of the River Seine. It affects the spongy nurse of the

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track? They say that. Some athletes track? They say that. Some athletes

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will do really well This track is not so good because you had a slow

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time on it? ! We will see this evening if we get some world leading

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times. Christopher Brown was recently third in the Bahamas

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Championships. He will be nearly 38 in Rio, but says he wants to keep

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in Rio, but says he wants to keep going. David Furber was the world

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number seven this year, but he ran on the 45 years. Very high standard.

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This man has turned the tables on the champions, , only 20 years old,

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world junior champion back in 2010, and the fastest man in the world

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this year. Merit goes out in Lane number five. He is only 27, and had

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to hand over the mantle of world number one to the young man from

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Granada. Tony McQuade second in the US Championships three weeks back.

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The European champion from last year, who won the European indoor

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Championships in January. Has not been in great form this year in the

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Diamond League. Completing the line-up Anne and he was a bronze

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medallist in the games last week. 45.7, his lifetime best this season.

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A nice rematch between James and Shawna merit -- Shawn Merritt. They

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are 1-1 at the moment, James won in Doha, each defeated by the other in

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the last two races. Those are the only losses they have recorded. They

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share the lead in the Diamond League race as well. One of them or get

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macro -- four points from this. Although Moscow was a few weeks

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away, this matters. They will care about who takes this one. Conditions

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glorious, slight breeze. James, Neolithic champion -- the Olympic

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champion in Lane four. Away they go, in the centre of the field, the

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almost black stripped James, he tends to finish well as does

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Merritt. A similar running style. James and the light blue, centre, a

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bit of work today. James has run aggressively through the first 200

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metres. Karami James looks like he is coasting. Now James starts

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pumping hard with the arms. He is coming through. Easing away, keeping

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that one metre gap. Not enough to catch him. And look at the time,

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43.96, the first sub 44 of 2013, and that was a comprehensive run from

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the youngster. The maturity of his racing form technique, strategy,

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that belies his age. Merritt was outraced. It might have done better

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if he had not been on the outside of the American, and that was an

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absolutely textbook run from the young grenade in. - Granadan.

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agree wholeheartedly. He wants to let him know he is there. Had to

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work really hard round the top bend. And then was expected to come again

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and really pushed past him, but look how strong he is in the last 50

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metres. If anything he might have moved away another 30 or 40

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centimetres. Getting below 44, very close to his personal best. This guy

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has to continue to get better, but the fact he is right there with him

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and is pushing him so hard, that augurs well for a good year. McQuay

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back in third. A solid run from him, but what a run from the Olympic

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time or a personal best. James has the leading time in the world this

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year, he is on fire. Absolutely on fire. Below 44 is very special. You

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don't see it very often. This really proves the shape using, to do it in

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a head-to-head. He took the race on early, and he could have relaxed,

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but he decided to take it with him at his own game. -- the shape he is

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in. When you have got the main protagonist on your shoulder as

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well, that is the time to do it, especially in a world championship

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season, to show the kind of form you are in. It is always good to do it

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at the big meetings when no one is hiding. They are the top two 400

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metre runners in the world and it's great to see it. This is what the

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Diamond League is about. It gives the guy is the opportunity to go

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head-to-head and sort out who will be number one in the world going

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into the championships, but it might be a different story coming out. We

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talk about where you pick your race, and where you tail off, on the one

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hand the Americans know where they are because they have the selection

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criteria sorted out, but you run the risk of peaking early because you

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have to do the trials. Let's bring him in. Congratulations. Obviously

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going under 44 second, the leading time in the world. How good did it

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feel? It is a great feeling. I have come here, competing, the atmosphere

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is nice. Overall it was a good meeting for me. Talk us through the

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race, because you seemed to take him on. How much does it bring out

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having him there? It is all of those guys. They are very competitive as

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well. I have to give them credit as well. I think my win only looks good

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because of the other guys in the race. You are under 44 seconds. How

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much quicker can you go? We will have to wait and see. You have the

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world championships in five weeks time. Thinking about your programme

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before then, how many times will you race? We have to wait and see and go

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back to the drawing board and see what we have to work on and improve

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from there. Thank you very much indeed. It really sets a meeting

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like this light when somebody posts a time like that. What a cool guy.

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Absolutely. He just smiled when you asked how fast he could go. Perhaps

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we are going to see something very special at the world Championships.

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It is a competitive race, and that is what the crowd have come to see.

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No doubt about it, and they have already delivered. Two good races to

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kick the Diamond League. Giving the crowd what they want, and he also

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said it was about the rest of the field. And it shows you how strong

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the field was. Only two people Mr season 's best. That tells us the

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conditions. -- missed their season 's best. We could see an electric

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200 metres. Let's hope so. We still have some great field events, and

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like the long jump, Greg Rutherford, the Olympic champion is taking part.

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There were signs in Birmingham last week he was getting back to his

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best, but it's all worth -- always worth taking some time out to learn

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a bit more about Greg. Greg Rutherford, he leads at the moment,

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8.21. It is big. That will take some beating. And Greg Rutherford is the

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Olympic champion exhibition -- Olympic champion! . Winning the

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Olympic Games was the biggest thing ever. I will struggle to top that.

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So, for me, winning the Olympics. Sweet things, bad food. I love food.

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I don't think I've found anything I have disliked. I can juggle. I am

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pretty good with Coffey. I chucked all my eggs into one basket with the

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jumping, so I can't comprehend having other talents at the moment.

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Not that I can speak, anyway. It is probably my first sporting moment,

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watching Linford Christie with my dad and my brother winning in 1992

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in Barcelona. We were all getting really excited and jumping around.

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Then he won, and it was an incredible moment. A great bonding

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moment, and that got me so interested in track and field and

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sport in general. After that I think I was destined to be involved. I

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should have checked these beforehand. This is a tough one.

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That is a really tough one, actually. I can't think of anything.

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It is like picking your favourite film, and if it is that, I will be

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useless. How did I know? I genuinely don't think. I clearly don't like

:24:46.:24:56.
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the evening. Tirunesh Dibaba going in the 5000 metres. Looking for a

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really quick time. Worth pointing out that these pictures are not from

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the BBC, we take the host broadcaster 's pictures, which is

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why it seems we might be jumping about from event to event. Let me

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tell you that Steve Lewis in the pole vault has got 5.60, a season 's

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best, and you will see that a bit later, I am sure. A strong field in

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this 5000 metres. They are looking for a quick time, a world leading

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time. Let's join the commentary team the world championships, and this

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ever, and if you want to wind the clock back to 2003, and what was a

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brilliant world Championships in this stadium, there were a lot of

:26:07.:26:13.

new, young gay Nash Dames -- and names coming around, and one of them

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was Tirunesh Dibaba, 18 at the time, and she became the world champion at

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the event. We had not heard much about them, but goodness me, she

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announced herself on the world stage. With a big, loud bang. Ever

:26:25.:26:31.

since then, to Olympic titles at 10,000 metres, and she's always been

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a good athlete to watch. As she gets older it's not surprising she wants

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to do every race flat out. But every now and then, with the crowds at the

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Diamond League, we see what the men do, you get a better depth in the

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5000 metres. It is much greater. I am not sure there is anyone in the

:26:51.:27:01.
:27:01.:27:02.

field here who can give her too much to worry about. This will be a case

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of what Tirunesh Dibaba once. That is exactly right. Interesting see

:27:07.:27:15.

Gabriele Anderson -- to see. I had a chat with her, and she had a

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disappointing US Championships, only 11. This is her first-ever

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pacemakers role. She needs to be going round around 69 seconds per

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lap, and she went through pretty spot-on. About 68.5 at 400 metres,

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so a good job. But you are right, when Tirunesh Dibaba has a racing

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head on, no one in the field can trouble her. I wonder if she will go

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to the QuickTime, if the 10,000 is going to recover -- if the quick

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time. Maybe she could let the pace amble along and then test herself

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over the last 400 metres. We have seen her run 58 for the first 400.

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Meanwhile, the track starts, and Greg Rutherford, the Olympic

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champion in the long jump. A first-round effort from him. About

:28:08.:28:14.

7.7, there will thereabouts. Not too good on the board either. The wind

:28:14.:28:17.

speed affecting the jump so far, but only fairly modest. Not strong

:28:17.:28:27.
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winds. Greg, on his day, the best in the world. Like Chris Tomlinson, his

:28:28.:28:31.

British rival, who is in the competition, he does not have the a

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standard for the world Championships, and Britain can only

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select Rutherford or Tomlinson for Moscow. Unless they both get the a

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standard. Yes, people mentioning that standard. Somebody was

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mentioning it during the week, as an interesting fact, that in the men's

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distance events, in the whole of Europe, there are only about macro

:29:00.:29:06.

-- for teams who can do it. It was very few men who had the a standard

:29:06.:29:13.

-- macro for teams. It does not bode well. Slightly different in the

:29:13.:29:23.
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women's, but not that much by the world junior champion, in the

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yellow vest. I think the point you are making is that the a standard is

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incredibly difficult in some events, and in the men's long jump, that is

:29:40.:29:43.

8.25, and that would get you a medal in the world Championships because

:29:43.:29:46.

it's not an event going through a vintage period at the moment. I

:29:46.:29:56.
:29:56.:29:59.

think some of those standards are significantly too hard. I agree. In

:29:59.:30:06.

significantly too hard. I agree. In the women's it is 15.15. You could

:30:06.:30:11.

argue that should not be too difficult to achieve. But in the

:30:11.:30:14.

World Championships we want as many athletes there competing. They

:30:14.:30:23.

should be competitive heaps in the 5000. Mauro that as we get closer to

:30:23.:30:29.

the championships. Anderson doing a great job here. She has done a

:30:29.:30:37.

sterling job as pacemaker. Clicking our watch as she goes through. Spot

:30:37.:30:42.

on through the first 1000 metres. She is maintaining that pace. Dibaba

:30:42.:30:49.

has slotted in behind her. Whether she keeps this going once Anderson

:30:49.:30:59.
:30:59.:30:59.

drops out is another matter. So far, Anderson is setting the pace.

:30:59.:31:04.

It makes such a big difference when you get a good pacemaker. Nice,

:31:04.:31:14.
:31:14.:31:26.

steady tempo. 69.25, metronomic competition in this poll vault. He

:31:26.:31:31.

is the only German here. The former world junior champion and an Olympic

:31:31.:31:41.
:31:41.:31:41.

medallist in London last year. -- pole vault. No trouble at all. The

:31:41.:31:47.

story behind this young man is that this weekend is the German

:31:47.:31:51.

championships. He is going to get into a car late tonight, as soon as

:31:51.:31:59.

this competition is over, drive five or six hours to Germany and compete

:31:59.:32:03.

in the German championships tomorrow. He is pretty much

:32:03.:32:08.

confirmed for a place in the team. But to go to the World

:32:08.:32:10.

Championships, he has got to compete in the German national

:32:10.:32:17.

championships. Renaud led MLE, one of the great darlings of French

:32:17.:32:27.
:32:27.:32:39.

athletics. -- Renaud Lavillenie. Add a bit of a disaster in laws and a

:32:39.:32:46.

couple of nights ago. That is much better. No problem at all. A good

:32:46.:32:51.

little opener from the Olympic champion. He is world indoor

:32:51.:32:58.

champion, Olympic champion, twice European champion. He said he had no

:32:58.:33:01.

excuses whatsoever for his performance in laws and the other

:33:01.:33:06.

night. On his behalf I will make one. It was windy and it was cool.

:33:06.:33:16.
:33:16.:33:19.

The winning height was 5.72. It was not a great night for pole vaulting.

:33:19.:33:22.

Valid until the felony. This is his younger brother. -- Valentin

:33:22.:33:32.
:33:32.:33:39.

Lavillenie. He came fifth in the Mediterranean games a few days ago.

:33:39.:33:47.

I bet that makes for some interesting dinner conversation. His

:33:47.:33:53.

second attempt at 5.60. No. Not quite as polished as his brother

:33:53.:34:03.
:34:03.:34:09.

yet. He cleared 5.30 first time. He certainly gave that quite a platter.

:34:09.:34:19.
:34:19.:34:23.

-- Quetta thump. Earlier on this evening we had the men's discus.

:34:24.:34:28.

Canter from Estonia opens slowly. Initially struggled to break 60

:34:28.:34:38.
:34:38.:34:40.

metres. He was good enough for a third place. He is the third longest

:34:40.:34:49.

throw in history. Narrowly ahead of him was Hadadi. Last year's Olympic

:34:49.:34:53.

silver medallist, he only had three valid throws. The best of them came

:34:53.:35:01.

in around four. 65.53 was respectable will stop this, of

:35:01.:35:04.

course, is the Olympic and twice world champion, Robert Harting from

:35:04.:35:14.
:35:14.:35:16.

Germany. A towering figure. Has lost two of his last three competitions.

:35:16.:35:23.

He threw good enough for the win. The smile is back. He is the man,

:35:23.:35:28.

remember, who famously likes to clear hurdles and rip his best to

:35:28.:35:33.

pieces when he wins those world titles. Four Diamond League points

:35:33.:35:43.
:35:43.:35:45.

for Robert Harting. That keeps him in front of Canter and Malakoff ski.

:35:45.:35:55.
:35:55.:36:04.

-- Canter. An interesting night for a French pole vault fans. Mess Neal

:36:04.:36:14.
:36:14.:36:20.

will be retiring tonight. -- Mesnil. He has already gone out. This is the

:36:20.:36:30.
:36:30.:36:44.

track. -- Dutra. Mesnil did a season's best. He is struggling as

:36:44.:36:51.

well. That is his second failure. Not happy at all. We can go back to

:36:51.:36:59.

the high jump. McPherson, the American. That is her second

:36:59.:37:04.

attempt. She goes through without any trouble. She is the fifth

:37:04.:37:14.
:37:14.:37:25.

athlete clear. Barrett has had one failure. This is her second attempt.

:37:25.:37:29.

Almost scrapes over that one. Does just enough. Olympic silver

:37:29.:37:39.
:37:39.:37:39.

medallist. That is 1.89. The sixth athlete clear. Now all eyes will

:37:39.:37:49.

focus on Jungmark. It has been interesting while we've been away.

:37:49.:37:57.

Anderson did a really good job as pacemaker. Dibaba then took over.

:37:57.:38:01.

Burka, the next most experienced athlete, tried to pick the pace

:38:01.:38:11.
:38:11.:38:16.

began. Without really being able to, she was slipping to 70s and 70 ones.

:38:16.:38:26.
:38:26.:38:26.

Iannone is the one who is left, the 21-year-old. -- Ayana. She has been

:38:26.:38:33.

dabbling with the steeplechase as well. She is the former world junior

:38:33.:38:42.

steeplechase record holder. I wouldn't imagine she thinks she can

:38:42.:38:50.

make the world 3000 metres steeplechase for the Ethiopian team.

:38:50.:38:57.

This is a big night for her. She could put herself in the frame for

:38:57.:39:04.

the Ethiopian 5000 metres team. She is doing well, hanging on Dibaba.

:39:04.:39:12.

Look at the splits. It has been a very quick race. The fourth

:39:12.:39:18.

kilometre was the slowest. Significantly. Dibaba gathering

:39:18.:39:22.

herself as she hits the bell. Guess what is going to happen now? Well,

:39:22.:39:32.
:39:32.:39:34.

we expect anyway. Dibaba stretching away. There is not that

:39:34.:39:39.

scintillating burst of speed that we are used to. Remember when she first

:39:39.:39:44.

did this back in 2003, when she was just 18 years of age, at the world

:39:44.:39:52.

Championships in Paris. That was a real sharp intake of breath, with

:39:52.:39:56.

what she produced on the last lap. It doesn't look as if she is moving

:39:56.:40:00.

as quickly and as smoothly as she can do at her very best. But enough

:40:00.:40:05.

to beat this field. Just giving a nod to one of her young team-mates

:40:05.:40:13.

as she passes. It will be a pretty good time for Tirunesh Dibaba. Ayana

:40:13.:40:23.
:40:23.:40:25.

behind. Dibaba takes the win. The fastest in the world this year. --.

:40:25.:40:35.
:40:35.:40:35.

Ayana finishes second. Dragged along by Tirunesh Dibaba. But as quick as

:40:35.:40:38.

the time that had initially been suggested. I think Dibaba would be

:40:38.:40:44.

happy. She could easily have backed off. She tried to back off. Burka

:40:45.:40:53.

kept the pace going. Not a really big fast last lap. Well done to

:40:53.:40:59.

Ayana. She held on for as long as she could. She did not have the pace

:40:59.:41:07.

that Dibaba still possesses. Fastest time in the world this year. Most of

:41:07.:41:12.

the hard running coming in the last 200 metres. Not quite the zip there.

:41:12.:41:16.

I just wonder if that is because she did not want to crank it open any

:41:16.:41:26.
:41:26.:41:28.

more than was necessary. -- crank it up. Not bad at all. Nine days after

:41:28.:41:38.
:41:38.:41:44.

a pretty tough 10,000 in Oz B. -- Strabo. Three Olympic gold medals, a

:41:44.:41:51.

mass of world titles. She has pretty much done everything. Just watching

:41:51.:41:56.

others coming in behind. Watching the clock tick away. The likes of

:41:56.:42:06.
:42:06.:42:12.

Twell just missed out. The top two were a long way ahead in the end.

:42:12.:42:15.

Only four women, just to underline the point we made at the beginning,

:42:15.:42:24.

under 15 minutes. Yes. And for me, 15 minutes is the benchmark of

:42:24.:42:31.

world-class. Strength in depth in women's running nowhere near as

:42:31.:42:41.
:42:41.:42:55.

strong as the men. A new world leader for Tirunesh Dibaba. Ayana in

:42:55.:43:02.

second place. Burka in third. Utura, the only other athlete to get

:43:02.:43:12.
:43:12.:43:13.

under 15 minutes. Molly Huddle will be delighted with her time. One or

:43:13.:43:23.
:43:23.:43:24.

two others behind not able to pick it up the three laps. -- on the last

:43:24.:43:34.
:43:34.:43:36.

it up the three laps. -- on the last three laps. When it is so

:43:36.:43:39.

competitive, you know you have got to post a great time to even

:43:39.:43:44.

qualify, you may be Olympic champion multiple times, but you still have

:43:44.:43:52.

got to get the times? It is certainly looking that way. I think

:43:52.:43:58.

the fact that she loves beating her old rival, she was enjoying the

:43:58.:44:02.

doing that. She will have at the clock and thought, it is not quite

:44:02.:44:06.

as quick as I had hoped but it is world leader. Establishing the

:44:06.:44:16.
:44:16.:44:17.

pecking order in the Ethiopian distance running camp. Marilyn Okoro

:44:17.:44:26.

is in the 800 metres. She was beaten last week in Birmingham and was --

:44:26.:44:29.

by Jessica George, who went under two minutes for the first time in

:44:29.:44:39.

her life. What a prospect she is. What at chance for Okoro as well, to

:44:39.:44:45.

have a challenge. When you get a new fresh face involving Eurosport that

:44:45.:44:50.

does so well and burst onto the scene, yes, it can refocus you very

:44:50.:44:59.

quickly. With people dropping on the wayside, she would have thought she

:44:59.:45:04.

might have a clear run of qualifying and getting to the Championships,

:45:04.:45:14.
:45:14.:45:17.

but along arrives Jesse J, to do her race, but it's a good opportunity

:45:17.:45:25.

for her. She can actually be in the pack can be towed around for a

:45:25.:45:28.

change. Last week in Birmingham, she did all of the hard work, pushing

:45:28.:45:33.

out everybody around her. She enjoys doing that and that is where she

:45:33.:45:37.

gets the majority of good times from. As we get into the season a

:45:37.:45:42.

bit more, she races more, gets into the groove, I think we will see her

:45:42.:45:51.

go under the two-minute barrier. They have got a pacemaker, but the

:45:51.:45:59.

girl from Bermuda, she is the quickest in the world this year.

:45:59.:46:04.

is the lead contender in this race. And with that in mind, where there's

:46:04.:46:08.

Marilyn pitch herself? Does she go with the pace from the beginning?

:46:08.:46:13.

She should go with the pace, but not lead it. These athletes are better

:46:13.:46:17.

than her, even though she was at her best, she would struggle to compete

:46:17.:46:22.

with these guys. At the best you should think about being there or

:46:22.:46:25.

thereabouts. She should be a bit more cautious with the first lap and

:46:25.:46:33.

use her strengths. Her coach is an experienced 800 metres runner, so he

:46:33.:46:37.

would have had a word to say to Marilyn, last week was one thing,

:46:37.:46:42.

get it out of your mind, enjoy racing, but race wisely. Let's hope

:46:42.:46:49.

she does that in this very strong field. There is the pacemaker, the

:46:49.:46:59.
:46:59.:47:04.

Bulgarian, leading the pace. We week, third in Lausanne a couple of

:47:04.:47:13.

nights ago. And an Olympic finalist. Marina Arzamasova, the

:47:13.:47:16.

bronze medallist last year in the European Championship, she went a

:47:16.:47:22.

long way under two minutes in 2012. Kate Grace of the USA, fourth in the

:47:22.:47:26.

championship, won the New York meeting a few weeks back. She has

:47:26.:47:35.

never gone under two minutes. A 10th of a second off it, her best. Malika

:47:35.:47:41.

Akkaoui, for Morocco, she was due to be in the first line. She won the

:47:41.:47:44.

Mediterranean 800 metres title. A strong Moroccan pairing in this.

:47:44.:47:50.

Sharing the lane with her is Ajee Wilson. The world junior champion

:47:50.:47:56.

over the last three years. Third in the US Championships a couple of

:47:56.:48:03.

weeks back. Alysia Montano, she loves to run from the front, goes

:48:03.:48:11.

out hard. And there is Francine Niyonsaba. Just 20 years old. Her

:48:11.:48:14.

last defeat was in Berlin in September last year, on a wonderful

:48:14.:48:23.

streak. Svetlana usage has been asked to go out in 56 seconds, which

:48:23.:48:31.

is mighty quick. The world best was in the 1st of June is under threat

:48:32.:48:40.

today. Francine Niyonsaba, dawdling away when the gun goes, the slowest

:48:40.:48:45.

by several metres already. I wonder where her racing brain has gone.

:48:45.:48:50.

Montano, how Tim Lane number seven, she has gone off hard. She likes to

:48:50.:48:55.

push it through the early stages, and so does Marilyn Okoro. Quite a

:48:55.:49:05.
:49:05.:49:13.

big field, 11 starters. Usovich Has gone out bouncing along, and you can

:49:13.:49:19.

see neon Saba -- Francine Niyonsaba coming into third, but she did start

:49:19.:49:26.

slowly. She did, but that's not so bad. She went off very slowly, but

:49:27.:49:30.

you can tell the others are watching her. Montano was in a good place,

:49:30.:49:35.

because she is so strong. She likes to get off her marks, so she will

:49:35.:49:39.

not necessarily be running hard. They both have clear air, but the

:49:39.:49:42.

others have not got into it as much as they should have done. Francine

:49:42.:49:45.

Niyonsaba looks as though she will have to start moving to close the

:49:45.:49:53.

gap on the American. 300 metres to go and do good pacemaking job.

:49:53.:49:58.

Montano went through in about 50.6. Still six or seven metres on the

:49:58.:50:02.

rest of the field although they are closing down. The pacemaker should

:50:02.:50:07.

move aside as she is not doing any good. Montano leading from Francine

:50:07.:50:12.

Niyonsaba. Then the Moroccan pair looking like twins in third and

:50:12.:50:17.

fourth. Marilyn Okoro coming round the outside in fifth at the moment.

:50:17.:50:22.

There is Kate Grace for the USA. Montano holding the lead. It comes

:50:22.:50:28.

Francine Niyonsaba, pumping hard, under threat from Malika Akkaoui.

:50:28.:50:38.

Montano losing ground. A big win, and the winning time, 1.57.26. It

:50:38.:50:42.

was perhaps a slightly smarter race from Francine Niyonsaba. Good

:50:42.:50:48.

running from Montano. Malika Akkaoui coming through second. There will be

:50:48.:50:57.

some good place times there. Her time confirmed at 1.57.26. A bit

:50:57.:50:59.

like one or two of the other Africans at the moment, dominating

:50:59.:51:07.

their events. A win by only a few tenths of a second ahead of a

:51:07.:51:13.

personal best for the Moroccan. A huge run for her. Montano, 1.57.75.

:51:13.:51:15.

In third, getting the reward for her. Montano, 1.57.75. In third,

:51:16.:51:19.

getting the rewards were brave run. Just waiting to see what Marilyn

:51:19.:51:22.

Okoro has run, because she was not far behind in fourth and it might

:51:22.:51:29.

have been a personal best. No, Kate Grace in fourth. 1.59.47. A season

:51:29.:51:37.

's best for Marilyn Okoro. 1.59.76. She gets the standard. Some good

:51:37.:51:42.

steady runs behind the big names. Francine Niyonsaba has maybe only

:51:42.:51:47.

had ten big races in her career. She is learning her craft. With 300

:51:47.:51:52.

metres to go, you have to be careful, Montano is good. Neon Saba

:51:53.:51:57.

has just got so much humility. A bit more to offer than everyone else.

:51:57.:52:03.

She had to work hard down the home stretch. Malika Akkaoui running the

:52:03.:52:08.

race of her life in second. Montano, strong performance from the

:52:08.:52:10.

American. But Francine Niyonsaba, don't think anyone will find a way

:52:10.:52:14.

to beat this year because she can be so good on the second lap. As her

:52:14.:52:19.

experience grows, the race crafty were talking about, she has to

:52:19.:52:22.

develop that a bit more. She can make mistakes and still come away

:52:22.:52:29.

with a win will stop she can run 1.57 easier than most. They are flat

:52:29.:52:39.
:52:39.:52:44.

out, but she can do it in different ways. Good running from Kate Grace.

:52:44.:52:47.

Francine Niyonsaba can win in any way, pretty dominant in the 800

:52:47.:52:57.
:52:57.:53:08.

quick race, and maybe nobody more delighted than you, Marilyn, under

:53:08.:53:14.

two minutes. Thank you. I'm really happy. It has been an interesting

:53:14.:53:20.

few months for me. The coach said I was ready, just go out there, get

:53:20.:53:24.

faster in every race, and I've raced three times this week, and that was

:53:24.:53:27.

the plan, to race myself to fitness. I am happy to have got under two

:53:27.:53:33.

minutes. A bit of a bumpy ride, but it is coming. What changes your mind

:53:33.:53:37.

when you attack from the front? You go to the front and dominate and

:53:37.:53:39.

then you struggle up the home straight. What was the difference

:53:39.:53:45.

today, what was the decision? key thing is to run your race, your

:53:45.:53:50.

race plan. A fast pace is my rhythm. I come from a sprinter 's

:53:50.:53:56.

background. Some of the other girls are more endurance based, and it

:53:56.:54:03.

looks ridiculous sometimes when I overcook it, but even 52 seconds

:54:03.:54:07.

running at 400 is fine for me. Today there were a lot of girls are back

:54:07.:54:12.

and run at a faster pace. So the coach was like, just use them, let

:54:12.:54:19.

them pull you along. Next week there are the trials in Birmingham. What

:54:19.:54:22.

kind of pressure does it take off, and how does it change your mindset

:54:22.:54:29.

going into it, having run the a standard? A tremendous amount of

:54:29.:54:32.

pressure. You get the standard and you can focus on what is left to do

:54:32.:54:36.

to qualify, which is finishing in the top two. So after that Ultra

:54:36.:54:40.

three months I have had, I didn't know if I was running at all, but it

:54:40.:54:47.

shows I made the right decision -- tumultuous three months. My coach

:54:47.:54:53.

has mastered this event, so I can only listen to him. It seems to be

:54:53.:54:57.

working, so carry on, keep racing well. Isn't it great when a plan

:54:57.:55:04.

comes off? Yes, and it was good that she told us from her own mouth about

:55:04.:55:08.

why she runs the 800 metres in that way. She did it articulately and

:55:08.:55:11.

beautifully. We can pay her a lot of respect because we know how she runs

:55:11.:55:16.

and races. Macro white it is so interesting to hear why she attacks

:55:16.:55:22.

the races in these way. As she said, sprinter 's background, different

:55:22.:55:26.

from a distance background or cross country. Let's move to something

:55:26.:55:30.

that is definitely a sprinter's race, the women's 100 metres, and

:55:30.:55:33.

another strong field. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, English Gardner, they

:55:33.:55:42.

are the two outstanding women in the world. It certainly is a strong

:55:42.:55:47.

line-up. Let's join the commentary to this one and see who is nudging

:55:47.:55:57.
:55:57.:56:04.

ahead as a likely candidate for gold beaten in Birmingham over 200

:56:04.:56:10.

metres, and she knows she has got her work cut out here, because

:56:10.:56:14.

English Gardner surprised everybody with a 10.85 clocking in the US

:56:14.:56:24.
:56:24.:56:24.

championships. She also ran 10.87 in the heats. And Blessing Okagbare, in

:56:24.:56:29.

the shape of her life this year. Doing well in the long jump and with

:56:29.:56:32.

her sprinting. The big 200 metres victory over Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

:56:32.:56:39.

in Birmingham last week. That was a confidence boost for her. Murielle

:56:39.:56:45.

Ahoure it, she did well from her silver last year. And the surprise

:56:45.:56:52.

winner in the Diamond League was this woman, Maria Rimini and. She is

:56:52.:56:56.

in lane number nine. Nine athletes. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce inlay number

:56:56.:57:04.

five. Ceri Ann Baptiste -- Kelly-Ann Baptiste to her left. English

:57:04.:57:10.

Gardner to her right. Conditions are pretty good. It has been warming

:57:10.:57:14.

Paris all day. Hardly a breath of wind in the stadium. Maybe they

:57:14.:57:19.

would have liked a slight following wind, but really good conditions

:57:19.:57:23.

here. It has not been this way in Paris for two or three years, I can

:57:23.:57:32.

tell you. The women's 100 metres. Blessing Okagbare could be a danger

:57:32.:57:42.
:57:42.:57:54.

best start. Kelly-Ann Baptiste is there. Blessing Okagbare might get

:57:54.:57:58.

there. No, she doesn't, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce hangs on. Just when you

:57:58.:58:04.

saw Blessing Okagbare might get in, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce shows why

:58:04.:58:07.

she is the Olympic champion. Just enough in the end. 10.91 on the

:58:08.:58:13.

clock. She got a good start. Baptiste tried to get back involved

:58:13.:58:19.

and then faded towards the end. Blessing Okagbare was coming hard

:58:19.:58:21.

and chasing Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and you thought the momentum would

:58:21.:58:26.

just carry her through. But in the last five metres the Olympic

:58:26.:58:34.

champion found something. Blessing Okagbare coming through strongly.

:58:34.:58:37.

She towers over Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She leans a little bit

:58:37.:58:41.

too early, almost stumbles. She is beginning to lean about 15 metres

:58:41.:58:47.

out. She misjudges it. Fifth from left, right in the middle in the

:58:47.:58:49.

black, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, absolutely keeps going all the way

:58:49.:58:53.

through to the line. Funnily enough, doesn't really bother to dip, but

:58:53.:58:57.

she didn't need to. She knew she had the victory and I'm not sure if she

:58:57.:59:01.

was aware. I don't think she was aware the Blessing Okagbare was

:59:01.:59:08.

coming through. But disappointment for her. She just leaned into early.

:59:08.:59:11.

Watch as she comes into view on the other side. I hope she comes into

:59:11.:59:16.

view. The leaning forward was way too early, and Butler that she would

:59:16.:59:19.

have found the extra couple of inches, I'm sure. -- and but for

:59:19.:59:25.

that. She was coming and coming, and then doesn't quite get there.

:59:25.:59:30.

just ahead, and that angle isn't exactly right, but she looks for the

:59:30.:59:35.

line just a bit too early. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, just

:59:35.:59:39.

carrying on through. She maintained the speed. She almost stopped five

:59:39.:59:49.
:59:49.:59:54.

metres, not stopped, but put the metres, not stopped, but put the

:59:54.:00:04.
:00:04.:00:07.

brakes on by dipping too early. the top three running season's best.

:00:07.:00:12.

An hour ago you talked about how this track wasn't very well --

:00:12.:00:16.

wasn't running very well. Maybe it was you who wasn't running very

:00:16.:00:23.

well! Some really good times this evening. That man always seems to be

:00:23.:00:27.

the one to beat. He is having his rubdown ahead of his 200 metres

:00:27.:00:31.

later on. I think I would quite like to be lying down there having a mass

:00:32.:00:36.

eyes right now. He looks as though he hasn't got any worries in the

:00:36.:00:41.

world. No worries but I am sure he is a little bit anxious about his

:00:41.:00:48.

competition. We will try to get hold of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. We are

:00:48.:00:53.

not in control of these pictures. If events pop up and we are not talking

:00:53.:00:58.

about them, that is because the host broadcaster is playing in field

:00:58.:01:05.

events which we cannot see. In the long jump, Greg Rutherford is behind

:01:05.:01:10.

Chris Tomlinson. Let's bring Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in. What a

:01:10.:01:20.
:01:20.:01:20.

race that was? No thank you. Your fastest time in the world this year?

:01:20.:01:25.

It is not, actually. It is my fastest time. I am excited about

:01:25.:01:31.

everything that has happened so far. This season I am healthy. I was

:01:31.:01:35.

looking forward to racing and competing against the best.

:01:35.:01:41.

Hopefully I can deliver my best. you think blessing had it?

:01:41.:01:47.

really. I was not even looking. I knew it was not a great execution

:01:47.:01:50.

but it is a win and it is something to go back and look at and see how

:01:51.:01:59.

well I did, or how bad. How you feel compared to this stage last season?

:01:59.:02:02.

To be honest, I'm pretty -- I'm feeling pretty good. Training has

:02:02.:02:07.

been going good. No injuries. That is the most important thing as a

:02:07.:02:12.

sprinter. When we line up here, nobody knows if you are injured or

:02:12.:02:17.

not. They just want to see you compete. I am 100% healthy. I'm

:02:17.:02:21.

looking forward to competing against the best. I know you have got a

:02:22.:02:27.

salon back home. Will the hair change colour through the season?

:02:27.:02:32.

Yes, it will. I am going pink for the World Championships! Thank you

:02:32.:02:42.
:02:42.:02:45.

very much. I just had to ask. will want to get that world title.

:02:45.:02:48.

She is obviously feeling good and looking good, and she is in great

:02:48.:02:53.

shape. There is a really high standard of competition taking place

:02:53.:03:03.
:03:03.:03:14.

over there in the women's high jump. started off this season with an

:03:14.:03:19.

encouraging win in cold, windy, wet New York. It is great to see her a

:03:19.:03:23.

month or so later still in good form, gradually regaining that

:03:23.:03:28.

critical quality for a high jumpers, and that is confidence. I think she

:03:28.:03:38.
:03:38.:03:45.

may yet be a force to be reckoned with. The three big names all clear.

:03:45.:03:52.

This was for clearance a few minutes ago. Those three starting to show

:03:52.:04:02.
:04:02.:04:03.

why they are top of the pile this year. Simic still as one attempt

:04:03.:04:13.
:04:13.:04:16.

left. Vlasic and Chicherova have yet to fail at any height. This is

:04:16.:04:25.

Chicherova. She passed at 1.92. She is just languid. She is a lovely

:04:25.:04:35.
:04:35.:04:37.

technician. A little bit of a tough comeback for her. She is a mother

:04:37.:04:42.

now. Getting her life organised so she can train how she wants to.

:04:42.:04:52.
:04:52.:04:55.

next event on the track is the men's 3000 steeplechase. Kemboi likes this

:04:55.:05:03.

venue. He won here in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. We are looking for a

:05:03.:05:13.
:05:13.:05:33.

steeplechasers is good form on the flat. The vast majority of them can

:05:33.:05:36.

really handle flat racing as well. That is probably what is lacking for

:05:37.:05:41.

the majority of female steeplechasers, which I think is

:05:41.:05:47.

really in the doldrums? Yes, I would agree. The depth has not appeared in

:05:47.:05:57.
:05:57.:05:58.

the women's steeplechase. The time is getting nowhere near the world

:05:58.:06:04.

record at the moment. Not that you'd should be getting near the world

:06:04.:06:14.
:06:14.:06:45.

know what pace they are doing. They have done this well in the past.

:06:45.:06:52.

Mekhissi-Benabbad not hanging about. He has got his coaching setup the

:06:52.:06:55.

way he wants it. He has been really preparing for this. This has been

:06:55.:07:00.

the target for a good few weeks. And you can see why. Let's hope he can

:07:00.:07:07.

get a bit of help. Kemboi likes Mekhissi-Benabbad as an athlete. He

:07:07.:07:13.

wants to try to help them. You'd think she could help them get a fast

:07:13.:07:23.
:07:23.:07:28.

race tonight. They are coming into the straight. 2.39.60. Brilliant

:07:28.:07:38.
:07:38.:07:40.

pacemaking. Five laps remaining. Co-edge just shadowing

:07:40.:07:50.
:07:50.:08:15.

Mekhissi-Benabbad. -- kips allay he will be strong in the last 1000

:08:15.:08:23.

metres. Mekhissi-Benabbad will want a good race. He will want to be

:08:23.:08:27.

picking up the pace. The pacemakers have done a good job. Let's not

:08:27.:08:33.

forget, the European record he is after belongs to his big rise in --

:08:33.:08:41.

rival. We are told he will no longer steeplechase, which is sad. He has a

:08:41.:08:47.

stress fracture. That is the record. That is the target for

:08:47.:08:57.
:08:57.:08:58.

Mekhissi-Benabbad. Kipsiele Koech moves in behind the two pacemakers.

:08:58.:09:02.

He is in third place behind the two pacemakers. The first pacemaker

:09:02.:09:12.
:09:12.:09:27.

moves aside. Arab Taney has to get man at this distance this year in

:09:27.:09:33.

the world and the third fastest man in history. Three laps remaining.

:09:34.:09:43.

Even Kemboi has gone past McKenzie Ben Abad. The world record attempt

:09:43.:09:49.

may be going for the Frenchman. -- Mekhissi-Benabbad. He needs to dig

:09:49.:09:55.

deeper. Coming up towards 2000 metres. The Frenchman needs to hang

:09:55.:10:05.
:10:05.:10:18.

on to the two Africans. 5.21.1. Pretty good pacemaking. Not bad.

:10:18.:10:24.

They should be able to clock up something below eight minutes.

:10:24.:10:30.

Certainly the front to because they have done it before. This is Vlasic

:10:30.:10:38.

in the high jump. This is two metres and one. No. Back to the

:10:38.:10:44.

steeplechase. Mekhissi-Benabbad is doing a great job. He will have to

:10:44.:10:49.

finish strong. He is probably not necessarily thinking about winning

:10:49.:10:55.

this race. But if he tries to race these two, he has got a better

:10:55.:11:04.

chance of getting the time. Kipsiele Koech still leading. Maybe there is

:11:04.:11:09.

a slowing in this penultimate lap as they gather themselves physically

:11:09.:11:15.

and psychologically for the charge on the final circuit. I don't think

:11:15.:11:24.

Mekhissi-Benabbad is going to break that European record. He is looking

:11:24.:11:29.

tired. One of the problems in running a big personal best in a

:11:29.:11:34.

middle-distance race is that the race is in your legs. It trains you

:11:34.:11:38.

a little bit. Maybe because he want to have the legs in the final

:11:38.:11:47.

circuit. Kemboi is now moving clear. They have slowed down. The Frenchman

:11:47.:11:54.

hits the front. There is a roar from the crowd. The race is on. He has

:11:54.:11:58.

got every opportunity. He is attacking this last lap. He knew the

:11:58.:12:06.

time was there. It is a race with Kemboi. I think he has got every

:12:06.:12:13.

opportunity. Look at the acceleration from Kemboi.

:12:13.:12:18.

Mekhissi-Benabbad needs to get his head down and drive on. Kemboi is so

:12:18.:12:26.

quick. He is so consistent, this man who came back last year and regained

:12:26.:12:31.

the Olympic title he had won in Athens. He has a little pitter

:12:31.:12:37.

patter stride as he hits the barriers. He clears it well.

:12:37.:12:41.

Mekhissi-Benabbad is going to run fast here. It will not be inside

:12:41.:12:47.

eight minutes, or is it? Kemboi is under it. I think he has done it! He

:12:47.:12:55.

might have done it! The winning time 7.59. My word, did they care around

:12:55.:13:04.

that last 200 metres? ! He embraces McKenzie Ben Abad and gives a wave

:13:04.:13:13.

to the crowd. -- Mekhissi-Benabbad. He had to chase so hard. He has run

:13:13.:13:20.

himself into the ground, the big Frenchman. Waiting for confirmation.

:13:20.:13:29.

It is the first soap eight minute time of 2013. I am pretty sure

:13:29.:13:34.

Mekhissi-Benabbad's time has beaten the European record. He may even

:13:34.:13:39.

have gone under eight minutes. The first European ever. It'll be so

:13:39.:13:46.

tight. We don't know yet. We will tell you as soon as it comes up. He

:13:46.:13:56.

is just outside eight minutes but it is a European record.

:13:56.:14:00.

Mekhissi-Benabbad. There aren't too many European records these days. It

:14:00.:14:06.

is quite a special occurrence, particularly on the track. What a

:14:06.:14:13.

great race. I have said that Kemboi likes this guy. He hoped he did it.

:14:13.:14:21.

He wanted to help them. He really only helped him on the last lap. The

:14:21.:14:25.

Frenchman got his head down. He realised he had a chance. Kemboi

:14:25.:14:30.

does not have the pace tonight that he does have. Even at this point, we

:14:30.:14:35.

know how good Kemboi is on the last two barriers. He finishes better

:14:35.:14:42.

than anybody. Mekhissi-Benabbad just needs to get his head down. Keep

:14:42.:14:47.

striving, keeps running hard. Yes, Kemboi is going to take the win.

:14:47.:14:51.

That is impressive. But Mekhissi-Benabbad has got the

:14:51.:14:55.

record. He is the 11th fastest of all time in the steeplechase.

:14:55.:14:59.

Goodness me, when he lies in his bed tonight, you will be thinking, I

:14:59.:15:07.

wish I run quicker. He could have got under the magical eight minutes,

:15:07.:15:17.
:15:17.:15:18.

but a great run,. There is not a lot of love lost between the team-mates,

:15:18.:15:26.

we understand. Kemboi Enjoying that race, and topping the rankings for

:15:26.:15:32.

the time -- the time being. That is a world leading time and leading

:15:32.:15:39.

record. As I pointed out earlier, his fifth victory in this French

:15:39.:15:49.
:15:49.:15:52.

meeting, at this stage of. An area record, a European record. -- this

:15:52.:16:02.
:16:02.:16:04.

stadium. Renaud Lavillenie, a great one there, he loves this home crowd.

:16:04.:16:09.

Not so good in Lausanne, that is 5.77, and he leads in the pole

:16:09.:16:15.

vault. Only three men still left in this, Steve Lewis, in fifth, Brad

:16:15.:16:24.

Walker, he took fifth. Raphael Holzdeppe is out already and after

:16:24.:16:27.

the German championships. Blanka Vlasic, we saw her first failure at

:16:27.:16:34.

2.01. This is it. Her third attempt. Blanka Vlasic has had a good night

:16:34.:16:42.

already. She already has a season 's best with 1.95. Just looking, 1.98,

:16:42.:16:51.

she cleared that for third place at the first ask. One attempt left

:16:51.:16:59.

each. The crowd loving it. They are so close to her. She begins this

:16:59.:17:05.

long, long run-up. The acceleration on the curve. That was close -- not

:17:05.:17:10.

even close. That looked a little tired, that jump from Blanka Vlasic.

:17:10.:17:14.

I can tell you that Greg Rutherford has injured himself in the long jump

:17:14.:17:18.

and has a hamstring injury, which looks to have been pretty nasty. He

:17:18.:17:27.

has retired after three jumps. His best, 7.79 in the second round, but

:17:27.:17:31.

he has aggravated his hamstring injury and he could be in doubt for

:17:31.:17:36.

Moscow. Horrible news. This was a few minutes ago. The pressure was

:17:36.:17:42.

on, because that was a first-time clearance. She took to efforts to

:17:42.:17:46.

get over 1.98. But the Russian looks like she is coming into really good

:17:46.:17:56.
:17:56.:18:10.

for just the right time. Gliding over 2.01. Smooth as you like. So

:18:10.:18:16.

Chicherova has got it won. The first time below eight minutes this year,

:18:16.:18:26.
:18:26.:18:28.

ahead of the European record. Good pace and letting -- good pacesetting

:18:28.:18:32.

managed to set that up. I was kind of hoping when they rounded the

:18:32.:18:36.

times down that it might have just snuck under eight minutes. It is a

:18:36.:18:39.

European best time, but he will be kicking himself if he could have

:18:39.:18:45.

just gone that tiny bit quicker and gone under the magic eight minutes.

:18:45.:18:48.

It was only nine hundredths of a second, but a phenomenal

:18:48.:18:52.

performance. What a race, and the atmosphere here, you cannot put into

:18:52.:18:56.

words what it means to the home crowd. Just when one of their

:18:56.:19:01.

athletes produces, even though they were second. They understand a good

:19:01.:19:07.

race. They have seen a good, competitive race. The PA is keeping

:19:07.:19:11.

the crowd very informed, so they would understand how close he was to

:19:11.:19:18.

the record, and of course, he is French, they wanted him to do it.

:19:18.:19:28.
:19:28.:19:29.

Never fails to disappoint. -- Kemboi never fails to disappoint. As soon

:19:29.:19:33.

as we can get a word with Greg Rutherford and how serious we think

:19:34.:19:39.

it is, it won't be for a while because he has to stay. The field

:19:39.:19:42.

competitions have been rich today. Let's catch up with the women's

:19:42.:19:52.
:19:52.:19:56.

occasionally into the face. For a lot of the jumpers it was with them,

:19:56.:20:02.

and Olha Saladukha could not take advantage of the conditions. She is

:20:02.:20:09.

the world leader this year, but tonight she could only muster 14.55.

:20:09.:20:19.
:20:19.:20:25.

Anarchy as the Ava -- Knyazheva, she added eight centimetres to her

:20:25.:20:30.

record in the very first round. That shook things up. For while it looked

:20:30.:20:36.

as though the unbeaten Caterine Ibarguen might struggle as well, the

:20:36.:20:39.

Olympic silver medallist. She came close in the second round, just a

:20:39.:20:46.

centimetre down, but then in the third going out to 14.69. That was

:20:46.:20:53.

into the worst of the headwind. But when it counted, she managed to pull

:20:53.:20:57.

out a pretty decent effort of 14.69 to record her sixth win of the

:20:57.:21:05.

season. That new national record, not a personal best, but an Israeli

:21:05.:21:15.
:21:15.:21:18.

record at 14.58. Olha Saladukha long jump. This has been jumped

:21:18.:21:22.

quite well by him recently. Just starting to find a bit of

:21:22.:21:29.

consistency. It can be erratic, of course. In second place tonight.

:21:29.:21:32.

8.08 in the second round. He will be delighted with his position, but he

:21:32.:21:38.

will be after the a standard, that is 8.25 for the world Championships

:21:38.:21:41.

beckoning. Tim was talking about Greg Rutherford, and if he does have

:21:41.:21:45.

a serious problem which might rule him out of those world Championships

:21:45.:21:51.

then Tomlinson might find himself able to go on the B standard, but it

:21:51.:21:57.

is so far eluded him. The leader, Damar Forbes, since the second

:21:57.:22:02.

round. Two times over eight metres, there's only been four of those

:22:02.:22:12.
:22:12.:22:22.

looked at the start list, he would have known there were some good guys

:22:22.:22:29.

in here, for the Louisiana State University man. He represented

:22:29.:22:32.

Jamaica, went back there, won their championships. That was his last

:22:32.:22:41.

competition. He ran a new 100 metres personal best. That is the secret

:22:41.:22:44.

with the long jump, get the speed right and transfer it into distance

:22:44.:22:54.
:22:54.:22:55.

on the board. Still a bit ragged. When you see these jumps, the

:22:55.:23:00.

majority of the field, the majority struggling to get over eight metres.

:23:00.:23:03.

Only three so far, you realise how difficult the a standard ease of

:23:03.:23:09.

8.25. You must feel as though you might as well say they will take the

:23:09.:23:16.

first 12 in the world rankings. it is not Greg Rutherford's day, but

:23:17.:23:22.

Chris Tomlinson, we had a little chat with him on a little street

:23:22.:23:26.

outside the hotel and he walked by and said he felt on good form. But

:23:26.:23:31.

still not with the a standard. is very tough. The boys mentioned it

:23:31.:23:38.

in commentary. We think that the Federation know what they are doing,

:23:38.:23:43.

we hope. But the world record mark is only an 8.3, so that is a tough

:23:43.:23:46.

standard. It is an interesting event. Incrementally, the other

:23:46.:23:52.

events push on. But it almost seems to go in peaks and troughs, the long

:23:52.:23:57.

jump. We have not had a really strong era for a while with people

:23:57.:24:05.

pushing those distances. You used to have them coming out of America,

:24:05.:24:08.

like Dwight Phillips from America, he used to jump 8.6, and since he

:24:08.:24:15.

has been injured nothing has come close to him. The Panamanian he was

:24:15.:24:19.

jumping over 8.5, so it has been one of these events where we have not

:24:19.:24:24.

really seen it, live yet. I will be honest, I am pretty pleased to say

:24:24.:24:31.

that it is a Brit who won that. He is making the most bit. You can only

:24:31.:24:38.

beat what is in front of you. 8.35 is there or thereabouts. Let's

:24:38.:24:44.

hope the boys keep it healthy. will try to find out what has

:24:44.:24:48.

aggravated Greg Rutherford now. Not long now. It is nearly Usain Bolt

:24:48.:24:55.

time. He is running the 200 metres at about 9:50pm. We saw him run his

:24:55.:24:59.

personal best in the distance in Oslo. He has a lot of athletes on

:24:59.:25:05.

his coat-tails this season. He is not stretching his lead and looking

:25:05.:25:10.

unbeatable. This is a pivotal time. It is a good time for him to pick

:25:10.:25:14.

and choose where he races. We came to Rome and lost the 100 metres to

:25:14.:25:19.

Justin Gatlin, but he said then it was an awful race. He said that if

:25:19.:25:23.

you go under ten seconds running like that, your opponents have to do

:25:23.:25:27.

watch out. His next race would be the 200 metres in Oslo and we await

:25:27.:25:34.

it with bated breath. It came down the home straight, took it with

:25:34.:25:40.

19.79. He has not run the 200 cents. Today will be a real interesting way

:25:40.:25:47.

to see he will run it. -- he has not run a 200 since. It does feel good

:25:47.:25:56.

for him. It depends what he feels like. I hope he gets around in 19.6.

:25:56.:26:01.

We will see hopefully another fast race, a metres hurdles, Aries

:26:01.:26:06.

Merritt with the world record at the end of last season. And an injury in

:26:06.:26:10.

Shanghai this season has slowed down his progress. Perhaps he was a bit

:26:10.:26:12.

disappointed with the time last week. But is it more important in

:26:13.:26:16.

terms of the form and coming back from injury and building up slowly

:26:16.:26:21.

as we head towards the world Championships. I said to him, how do

:26:21.:26:25.

you feel, under pressure from yourself? He said he feels it more

:26:25.:26:31.

from other people. He needs to switch off and just do what Aries

:26:31.:26:37.

Merritt can do. It is always good to learn a bit more about our stars, so

:26:37.:26:45.

here is a bit more about Aries. 110 meter hurdles final. The number

:26:45.:26:49.

one in the world, Aries Merritt. Forging ahead. Goal for Aries

:26:49.:26:57.

Merritt excavation mark 12.94. -- gold for Aries Merritt! . Winning

:26:57.:27:06.

the gold in London 2012. Dedicated, determined and dependable. That

:27:06.:27:16.

would have to be salt and vinegar. My mum's sweet potato pie. It is the

:27:16.:27:21.

best food on the planet. I really shouldn't be eating it. My hidden

:27:21.:27:27.

talent is that I can play the violin, but no one knows. When

:27:27.:27:32.

coming across the line, I just went crazy, that is my favourite moment

:27:32.:27:36.

ever. My favourite Olympic city would be London, the only one where

:27:36.:27:46.
:27:46.:27:51.

season, and that taxes main protagonist will be David Oliver --

:27:51.:27:56.

perhaps his main protagonist. think you are right. He has the

:27:56.:28:03.

lead, in the world, and David Oliver ran 12.89, his personal best on this

:28:03.:28:07.

track. He will know this well indeed. People wanted put one over

:28:07.:28:12.

on these guys yet again. Let's not forget Ryan Brathwaite and Jason

:28:12.:28:15.

Richardson are reading -- leading in the Diamond league race. A really

:28:15.:28:25.
:28:25.:28:29.

over the line in Lausanne, a real tragedy for him. It is busy going to

:28:29.:28:32.

take a lot of coming back from. Jason Richardson, Olympic silver

:28:33.:28:39.

medallist, struggling to find his form this year. Ryan Brathwaite,

:28:39.:28:42.

starting to rediscover some of the form that saw him win the world

:28:42.:28:47.

championship in Berlin. A bit of a surprise, wasn't it? And then Andrew

:28:47.:28:57.
:28:57.:29:05.

Riley. The Jamaican champion this year. We have not seen Rob Les --

:29:06.:29:12.

Robles for a while. The 110 metres hurdles, nobody under 14 seconds

:29:12.:29:17.

this year. Oliver last night, 13.03, the fastest in the world.

:29:17.:29:23.

Oliver, in the light blue. Richardson next to him. Aries

:29:23.:29:33.
:29:33.:29:45.

Merritt in the darker strip to his white shorts, does not have a kit

:29:45.:29:55.
:29:55.:30:15.

deal with anybody. He tends to wear got a good start. Oliver are

:30:15.:30:20.

starting to come. This is going to be a blanket finish. Merritt gets

:30:21.:30:30.

it! Goodness me, he is back with a bang. It was very tight, very close.

:30:30.:30:39.

12 people may be thinking they got this. I said he would need a few

:30:40.:30:46.

more races to get anywhere near world record. That will delight him.

:30:46.:30:56.
:30:56.:31:05.

Season 's best. Merritt takes the win. It was a blanket finish. Pascal

:31:05.:31:10.

Martinot-Lagarde finished second. He has been hovering for a while. He

:31:10.:31:14.

has been improving but in small increments. That is a big jump

:31:14.:31:19.

forward for the Frenchman. What about the scalps he has taken? That

:31:19.:31:26.

is probably more important. What a race. David Oliver won in Lausanne

:31:26.:31:34.

the other night. I thought Brathwaite was go to take it. Look

:31:34.:31:37.

at Merritt in the centre. His final running of the barrier absolutely

:31:37.:31:46.

brilliant. He is beginning to round into shape. If the timing is rather

:31:46.:31:51.

fortuitous -- the timing is rather fortuitous. Five weeks to go. He has

:31:52.:31:57.

won 's first big race of the season. After such a wonderful unbeaten

:31:57.:32:01.

season last year, he has had a difficult. There is Merritt, easing

:32:01.:32:11.
:32:11.:32:13.

ahead of the rest. That is ominous. The times are starting to come up.

:32:13.:32:19.

Riley on the far side comes through almost beating Oliver. We have got

:32:19.:32:23.

national records, personal bests galore. Three hundredths of a second

:32:24.:32:30.

separating six athletes. Five of them, probably. Look at that. The

:32:30.:32:36.

ones missing out our Richardson and Rob Liz. You can excuse blows. What

:32:36.:32:46.
:32:46.:32:49.

great race. -- Rob less. Merritt back. The hamstring injury now looks

:32:49.:32:59.
:32:59.:33:07.

as though it has healed. He can only through. He has got the competition

:33:07.:33:17.
:33:17.:33:19.

won. Way, way clear. Renaud Lavillenie. That is a replay of

:33:19.:33:29.
:33:29.:33:33.

5.92. Our computer showing 6.02. He is about to go at 6.02. He passed

:33:33.:33:43.
:33:43.:33:44.

5.97. That was a lovely clearance. The confidence is back. He had a

:33:44.:33:54.
:33:54.:33:54.

terrible time in Lausanne two nights ago. He was still going boards when

:33:54.:34:04.
:34:04.:34:05.

he passed the bar. No, that was all over the place. Very untidy. He

:34:05.:34:14.

knows it. Perfect setting, Steve, home crowd, great conditions, just

:34:14.:34:22.

easing into fine form. His season had been going well until Lausanne.

:34:22.:34:32.
:34:32.:34:32.

That was a real hiccup. Very unusual for him. He did say no excuses. What

:34:32.:34:38.

an exciting 110 metres hurdles. Merritt takes the win. Pascal

:34:38.:34:41.

Martinot-Lagarde, big personal best for the Frenchman. That was a

:34:41.:34:47.

surprise. Oliver, Riley and Brathwaite. Ryan Wilson was just

:34:47.:34:57.

behind him. The French crowd enjoying the pole vault. Aries

:34:57.:35:03.

Merritt, a season's best. What kind of form are you in? Still not in my

:35:03.:35:08.

best form, obviously. But I am trying to run myself into shape. You

:35:08.:35:12.

will see me drop my time or as the season progresses. It has been a

:35:12.:35:15.

long road for me this season but I am determined to get back to the

:35:16.:35:23.

form I was in last year. He looked very in control. Around the eighth

:35:23.:35:27.

hurdle you started to press. I could see you grimacing. What you

:35:27.:35:33.

thinking, bring on the line? I was feeling myself getting tired. I was

:35:33.:35:38.

like, no! I need more training. I'm not as disciplined as I was this

:35:38.:35:43.

point last season. It has been a long, long road this year. I am just

:35:43.:35:46.

happy to make my team and to come out here and continue to drop my

:35:46.:35:50.

out here and continue to drop my time. You told us your nickname last

:35:50.:35:56.

week. The hurdles magician. The tricks didn't seem to come off last

:35:56.:36:00.

week. You looked more comfortable today. You said last week you were

:36:00.:36:07.

going to run under 13 seconds but it was a few weeks away? Yes, they call

:36:07.:36:10.

me the hurdling mused -- the hurdling magician these days. I

:36:10.:36:15.

don't know where they get it. I am just going to run with it. I'm still

:36:15.:36:18.

breaking down the last two hurdles. With more training it will smooth

:36:18.:36:25.

itself out. Hopefully by London. Colin said at the beginning of this

:36:25.:36:32.

meat that this was not the quickest track. We have seen 20 of best

:36:32.:36:36.

times. Was it just Colin who did not run well year? I could not quite

:36:36.:36:46.
:36:46.:36:49.

here you! Go! Go! That was tactical. He saved you there! Brilliant. It is

:36:49.:36:54.

lovely to see him return like that. It is true. You do feel a little bit

:36:54.:36:59.

stressed when you know you have not quite the work in you. Normally by

:36:59.:37:04.

hurdle six or seven he would pull away. Unfortunately, because he has

:37:04.:37:14.
:37:14.:37:18.

missed that crucial training racing, he can go back and do ten

:37:18.:37:22.

days of real punishing -- polishing. That'll be enough. Let's head over

:37:22.:37:26.

to Renaud Lavillenie, pleasing the home crowd with a good performance

:37:26.:37:33.

home crowd with a good performance in the The wind has been pretty

:37:33.:37:43.
:37:43.:37:46.

straight all night. Shades of the indoor season in Gothenburg. Over

:37:46.:37:54.

six metres. That was better. He is not getting up there. He's not

:37:54.:38:03.

getting the height, obviously. One more to come. There is Lagat. Three

:38:03.:38:08.

times world indoor champion at 3000. I was talking to his agent last

:38:08.:38:14.

night and he thinks he is in about 3.33 shape. Nobody has broken 3.31

:38:14.:38:24.
:38:24.:38:31.

this year. The record is 3.28. Taree is in good form. -- tar free. Wote,

:38:31.:38:41.
:38:41.:38:56.

they get it right? The pacemaking is so important when you are at the

:38:56.:39:06.
:39:06.:39:09.

edge of the envelope. There is Monsanto, a tiny figure. -- Manzano.

:39:09.:39:19.
:39:19.:39:27.

Away they go. This promises to be fast. Manzano is a very quick

:39:27.:39:37.
:39:37.:39:44.

finisher. It is single file already as they come around the top bend.

:39:44.:39:54.
:39:54.:40:16.

Souleiman in third. Lagat is in I was Souleiman... Wote is going to

:40:16.:40:22.

be a big danger. Lagat is letting those to chase the pace early on. --

:40:22.:40:30.

two. I would like to see it nice and relaxed at halfway rather than push

:40:30.:40:38.

this first lap. You can see what has happened there is Lagat, with

:40:38.:40:48.
:40:48.:40:49.

letting those two go, there is a big gap. This looks already as though it

:40:49.:40:52.

is Souleiman and Wote will have taken it with the pacemakers. The

:40:52.:40:58.

others have a lot of work to do to get back on terms. Rono doing a good

:40:58.:41:02.

job. Maybe the first lap was a little bit too enthusiastic. The

:41:02.:41:06.

runners behind enough to trust his pace judgement. They were looking

:41:06.:41:16.
:41:16.:41:28.

for 1.52. It is very quick. I wonder if the pack are just going to close

:41:28.:41:38.
:41:38.:41:39.

these two down? Now they are isolated. The pacemaker is 12 or 14

:41:39.:41:44.

metres in front. He is not doing any favours. He might as well start of

:41:44.:41:51.

the track and let them race. They hit the bell. Steve, it is

:41:51.:42:00.

anybody's race. It is bizarre. Carvalho has done a good job. It is

:42:00.:42:04.

anybody's opportunity. I am surprised Lagat has not come through

:42:04.:42:08.

with the others. Souleiman will try to fight them off. When you have

:42:08.:42:12.

expended as much energy as he has done, yes, he has saved something,

:42:12.:42:19.

but he completely ruined the race by going with the fast early pace.

:42:20.:42:26.

have got a great race. Souleiman leading. Carvalho having a heck of a

:42:26.:42:34.

run. Amazing running. Second in the European Championships last year.

:42:34.:42:41.

Now Wote, a long stride. He eases among Souleiman. Manzano finishing

:42:41.:42:51.
:42:51.:42:52.

strongly. What's the clock. Quick times. Probably the first 1003.35,

:42:52.:43:02.
:43:02.:43:03.

World Championship qualifying. -- the first ten hundred 3.35. The

:43:03.:43:13.
:43:13.:43:13.

first 800 metres ruined it. The third lap of 59 seconds. 53, 56, 59.

:43:13.:43:23.
:43:23.:43:24.

That tells the story. To hold off the chasers, Wote in particular,

:43:24.:43:29.

Souleiman deserves that win. Let's take a look at the place times.

:43:29.:43:39.
:43:39.:43:44.

There were men they're looking for a sub 3.35. Among them, Manzano.

:43:45.:43:49.

Souleiman and Wote first and second. It was an interesting race if not

:43:49.:43:56.

quite one that goes by the textbook. Hats off to them, as I said. You

:43:56.:44:02.

have to talk to the pacemakers. You see how strong these two guys are on

:44:02.:44:06.

the last lap. They ran a shopping third lap but they came back and

:44:06.:44:10.

hung on. Lots of good performances behind them. Manzano came on

:44:10.:44:20.
:44:20.:44:27.

brilliantly. Lalang, big personal best for him in fifth. The pole

:44:27.:44:36.

vault continues. One final attempt at 6.02. It was set up for him

:44:36.:44:40.

tonight, and that was his best effort at 6.02, a couple of minutes

:44:40.:44:48.

ago. Undoubtedly totally dominant again, as he has been this season.

:44:48.:44:54.

Not too many low points, although Lausanne was one on Thursday. 5.92,

:44:54.:44:59.

looking good until that point. 6.02 a stretch too far. Definitely his

:44:59.:45:09.
:45:09.:45:11.

best effort. Renaud Lavillenie keeping the crowd pumped up here. A

:45:11.:45:15.

cracking Diamond League so far. Fantastic performances, but

:45:15.:45:20.

everybody here knows it's all about to crank up that little bit more,

:45:20.:45:24.

because this man, Usain Bolt, is entering the arena. This is his

:45:24.:45:30.

Diamond League so far. The men's 100 metres. Usain Bolt has come back and

:45:30.:45:37.

we shall see how good he is. Justin Gatlin is going to take it. Justin

:45:37.:45:47.
:45:47.:45:48.

Gatling gets it. Bolt is beaten. Well, he just wasn't very good. His

:45:48.:45:53.

first 200 of the year, beaten over 100 in Rome last week. He has gone

:45:53.:45:58.

well and is already. He now gets into his run in, into his stride.

:45:58.:46:06.

Further and further clear. Winning by six or seven metres. 19.80, and

:46:06.:46:10.

indeed he has delivered and he is back in his winning ways. Usain

:46:10.:46:16.

Bolt's season gets underway properly. Usain Bolt running in the

:46:16.:46:22.

200 metres here. He has only won one more of these competitive events,

:46:22.:46:27.

the 200 metres in Oslo. What would you expect his time to come down by

:46:27.:46:31.

tonight, if it is going to come down? He has been training hard,

:46:31.:46:34.

that is the story coming out of Jamaica. When we spoke to him

:46:34.:46:38.

beforehand in Oslo we asked him how the 200 metres would go and he said

:46:39.:46:45.

he had no idea. He goes to Oslo and it took all of the pressure off his

:46:45.:46:48.

shoulders because he started to believe in himself again. He

:46:48.:46:53.

thought, OK, I have the speed in my legs, the 100 metres was down to bad

:46:53.:47:00.

execution and now I can focus on running the race again. It will be

:47:00.:47:05.

interesting if he charges out of the blocks. Once he gets down the home

:47:05.:47:08.

straight and kicking out his long legs and turning them over with the

:47:08.:47:12.

speed we know he has he could go around 19.6 which would be

:47:12.:47:19.

sensational. He knows so much about it, training together, you know

:47:19.:47:22.

everything about each other, your weaknesses and strengths and where

:47:22.:47:25.

you would like to pitch yourself against them in the race. Is that

:47:25.:47:29.

help when you are trying to improve your time through the season, or a

:47:29.:47:35.

hindrance to know the opposition? You have to add in the unknown

:47:35.:47:37.

situation, how do they compete. When you are training, you are just

:47:37.:47:44.

training. How do they respond to competition? Their pressure is

:47:45.:47:49.

something different to Usain Bolt's everybody has huge expectations on

:47:49.:47:54.

him delivering, but they just run freely and they will try to get hold

:47:54.:48:01.

of him as quickly as they can and hang on as long as they can. Even in

:48:01.:48:04.

training he can wave a little bit, and they will think if they can get

:48:04.:48:09.

to him, they can shake him up. But either way they will have to do

:48:09.:48:12.

something sensational. I think he has really got it in him to do that

:48:12.:48:19.

19.6 today. The Jamaicans have had their trials for the world

:48:19.:48:22.

championships, and those done and dusted. While I have a couple of

:48:22.:48:29.

minutes before come out and get ready, would you improve our trials

:48:29.:48:34.

by going to the American model? Is it better to do it earlier in the

:48:34.:48:37.

season are you happy with the way things are, that level of

:48:37.:48:43.

uncertainty? This is what happens, because the selection policy is

:48:43.:48:46.

difficult. Everybody you choose will always be wrong to someone. You have

:48:47.:48:54.

to make it the simplest and clearest so the athletes understand. Let's

:48:54.:49:04.
:49:04.:49:10.

just pause and hear this. Usain Bolt wherever he goes. This is all part

:49:10.:49:14.

of the build-up. It almost takes the pressure off him, taking him into

:49:14.:49:19.

the state of competitiveness. is the way he prepares, and you

:49:19.:49:22.

heard a loud roar for him, but what about this young man, Christophe

:49:22.:49:30.

Lemaitre. He has not been at his best. No, he has been struggling on

:49:30.:49:36.

many levels. We are used to seeing him running consistently but he has

:49:36.:49:44.

lacked that a little bit. There's Mikael Ashmead -- Nickel Ashmeade.

:49:44.:49:49.

If you asked me who the European top 100 metres runner was at the moment,

:49:49.:49:56.

and no respect -- this respect, I think Jimmy Vicaut is the man. The

:49:56.:50:00.

200 metres is not his territory. It will be interesting to see how he

:50:00.:50:06.

can lower his best. Might that be a bit political to get another French

:50:06.:50:12.

athlete in the meeting? There was no hundred metres there, so they wanted

:50:12.:50:21.

to get the stars on show. It is a brilliant line-up, Mikael neighbours

:50:21.:50:31.
:50:31.:50:35.

youngster, and this man certainly did. The big athletics fans will

:50:35.:50:41.

remember him running at about 15 years of aid at the world union

:50:41.:50:43.

Championships -- world Junior Championships. A long time this was

:50:43.:50:47.

considered the best event, and I think it still is for Usain Bolt. He

:50:47.:50:50.

has been brilliant at the 100 but had to develop that in the second

:50:50.:50:54.

half of his career, but for much of his younger career this was the

:50:54.:50:59.

event on which everybody thought he was going to be best at. 19.19 back

:50:59.:51:06.

in Berlin four years ago now. He has work to do here. Christophe

:51:06.:51:16.
:51:16.:51:28.

Lemaitre, Warren Weir, Nickel does Christophe Lemaitre. He has got

:51:28.:51:33.

Warren Weir outside to work. Nickel Ashmeade right alongside him. The

:51:33.:51:36.

Jamaicans not too far away. Now Usain Bolt will have to find

:51:36.:51:40.

something extra. Being pushed by Warren Weir. He has to keep working,

:51:40.:51:50.
:51:50.:51:51.

but he will take it. 19.73. Warren Weir pushed him really hard. Every

:51:51.:51:57.

time he comes out, as good as he is, as brilliant as he is, and that

:51:57.:52:02.

win is so important, but he is going to have to be on his best as he

:52:02.:52:06.

approaches Moscow. He has got Warren Weir for company, and he is yet to

:52:06.:52:13.

meet Tyson Gay, but he keeps getting going -- better as 2013 goes on. The

:52:13.:52:17.

little problem seemed to be settling down, and this was him not at his

:52:17.:52:20.

best, but that's the quickest we have ever seen in Paris at this

:52:20.:52:26.

meeting. The quickest in the world this year. Once more, the big man on

:52:26.:52:30.

top. Christophe Lemaitre finished third, close to 20 seconds, but he

:52:30.:52:34.

could only watch as Usain Bolt disappeared around the top end.

:52:34.:52:38.

Goodness me, he had to be on the top game to hold off Warren Weir and it

:52:38.:52:45.

was only in the last 20 metres as he moved away by a couple of tenths.

:52:45.:52:48.

That is exactly right, but he delivers again and again. With five

:52:48.:52:52.

weeks to go, I think he will sharpen up, have another couple of races and

:52:52.:52:56.

be right on song for Moscow. Year after year, and this is the third or

:52:57.:53:00.

fourth year running, when people have been a bit previous with

:53:00.:53:04.

writing him off and their worries about his early-season form. He is a

:53:04.:53:10.

big, big fellow. He has to get the peak right. He cannot hold the top

:53:10.:53:13.

form through from June to September. He gets the peak right again and

:53:13.:53:18.

again. Credit to his coaches and his support team for that. Come the

:53:18.:53:22.

really crucial period of the summer, and that is for any athlete of his

:53:22.:53:26.

calendar, that has to be about one month. He does get it right. He

:53:26.:53:33.

starts well. Moves up on Warren Weir. Looking really strong, and

:53:34.:53:37.

great Ben by Nickel Ashmeade. Really struggling, Christophe Lemaitre, in

:53:37.:53:41.

this company. This is his better event. What was impressive about

:53:41.:53:45.

Warren Weir is that Usain Bolt does not get away from him much down the

:53:45.:53:49.

home straight. I expected him to open up another metre or two, but

:53:49.:53:52.

Warren Weir was chasing hard, and that is a very impressive run for

:53:52.:53:58.

the Jamaicans, all of them. Christophe Lemaitre, did he come

:53:58.:54:05.

through for third? What are run over the last 50. He finished strong, but

:54:05.:54:09.

not a good event for him. You cannot give Warren Weir and Usain Bolt

:54:09.:54:14.

something like that. But he does finish strong, we know he does. But

:54:14.:54:21.

the race is gone, it is finished. It is cap -- Usain Bolt and Warren Weir

:54:21.:54:25.

who produce these times. Let's put this into perspective, apart from

:54:25.:54:29.

himself, only eight men have ever run quicker than 19.73. You are

:54:30.:54:36.

right, he will keep getting better and the standard here, 19.19, that

:54:36.:54:42.

would be unbelievable out there. But he could run 19.5. Can anybody else?

:54:42.:54:46.

That is the question. We know Warren Weir is getting better. 19.97

:54:46.:54:53.

tonight. Jacob Young was OK on the outside lane. At the end of the

:54:53.:54:58.

day, this man is bossing it, still on top, still the best, not at his

:54:58.:55:08.

best, but still the best. Isn't he just? Maybe the loss to Justin

:55:08.:55:11.

Gatlin in Rome a month or so ago was just what he needed. It woke him up

:55:11.:55:16.

a little bit. He did talk very honestly, very frankly, a few weeks

:55:16.:55:19.

back about being lacking in motivation in the weeks and months,

:55:20.:55:23.

perhaps not applying and being as focused as he has been in the years

:55:23.:55:30.

gone by, but these people are not machines, they are human beings.

:55:30.:55:32.

Most of them are human beings, not completely sure about the guy who

:55:33.:55:37.

won it. A brilliant run from him. A world leading time. Warren Weir

:55:37.:55:47.
:55:47.:55:53.

pushed him hard. Christophe Lemaitre hundredths of a second off his

:55:53.:55:56.

earlier time in Oslo. What did you see there that you liked or that he

:55:56.:56:03.

needs to improve? What does he need to do? I liked the fact that he

:56:03.:56:07.

won, but I'll be interested in what he said about it. His start was

:56:07.:56:10.

great. Aggressive out of the blocks, just what you want to see, but

:56:10.:56:16.

coming off the turn, the transition, it was not smooth at all. He is too

:56:16.:56:20.

wide coming off that lane. He needed to have the inside bit more. I think

:56:20.:56:23.

that would have really thrown him into the home straight better, and

:56:23.:56:29.

when the commentators were saying about can we get him going,

:56:29.:56:32.

expecting him to be a metre in front, that is where he got it

:56:32.:56:38.

instantly. So, breaking it down, you would be working about the

:56:38.:56:43.

transition? Yes, after then, off the home straight, just run it a bit

:56:43.:56:48.

more. He is lapping up the interview -- attention. We will get an

:56:48.:56:51.

interview with him, but it will go on to the website and the news

:56:51.:56:55.

channel. And we will put that question to him, of course we will.

:56:55.:57:05.
:57:05.:57:13.

Just away from the race, your Merritt comeback. It has been a

:57:13.:57:16.

really good meeting, fantastic atmosphere, lots more athletics to,

:57:16.:57:22.

as well. It is the trials next weekend. Who are going to get those

:57:22.:57:25.

important places for the British team for the world Championships in

:57:25.:57:30.

Moscow in about five weeks time? We are in Birmingham next weekend for

:57:30.:57:34.

you on Saturday and Sunday afternoon heat wave set to continue.

:57:34.:57:39.

Temperatures will be soaring and competition is high. We can also

:57:39.:57:43.

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