The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Bolt and Kenyans beam as Ohuruogu sobs Posted: 27 Aug 2011 09:45 AM PDT  Usain Bolt leads Dwain Chambers of Britain and Angel David Rodriguez of Spain to the finish line in their men's 100 metres heat. — Reuters pic Bolt, the world's fastest man, left the rapidly emptying stadium all smiles after posturing his way through a simple 100 metres heat. His grin was matched by the joyful Kenyans, who swept all six medals on offer on day one. Britain's Christine Ohuruogu was left sobbing on a stairway in Daegu's cavernous arena as rivals tried to console her after she was disqualified. "I false started, people false start all the time. I wasted all that hard work. I am broken, you can all see I am broken," the 400 metres Olympic champion told reporters. "I have nothing else to say, I false started . . . I worked really hard." World and Olympic champion pole vaulter Steve Hooker was equally disappointed. Having declared himself fit but undercooked after injuries had delayed his start to the season, Hooker failed three attempts to clear 5.50 metres. "I had no confidence in what I was doing out there. It's tough to try and get a good jump when you feel that way," the Australian told reporters. "No excuse for what happened today, I would expect more of myself." While confidence was in short supply in some quarters, ebullient Jamaican Bolt exuded it as he gestured to the crowd, fashioning his hair with his hands and using his fingers as pretend guns to fire at television cameras. He was never tested in his heat, easing up after 60 metres yet still finishing the fastest qualifier in 10.10 seconds, 0.02 ahead of young compatriot Yohan Blake. "I feel great. My goal is to go out there and execute, I came out and I did what I wanted to. I got my great start and I'm happy with that. "My focus is to go out there and win and show the world I am still the best . . . nobody has beaten me all season and nobody has broken my world record." Skinned knee Allyson Felix kicked off her campaign for 200m and 400m double gold in the heats of the 400 metres, and looked comfortable. "It felt controlled. I just wanted to establish 150 and go from there," the American said. "It was a little quicker than I would have hoped for but I was trying to make it as easy as possible. I feel good and am excited to finally get started." Policewoman Edna Kiplagat was left with a skinned knee but the broadest of smiles when she survived a late fall to lead a Kenyan sweep in the women's marathon. Daegu's spectacular stadium set against a backdrop of mist-covered mountains came to life as heats kicked off the 13th championships, but it was on the streets of the South Korean city that the first gold was won. Kiplagat, with her long, languid style, broke clear of compatriots Priscah Jeptoo and Sharon Cherop over the last two kilometres of the race to win her first world title in two hours 28 minutes 43 seconds. "This is my first championship . . . I did not have any special strategy," the 31-year-old grinned. "I fell down at the . . . refreshment station — my teammate Cherop hit my leg by accident. I was afraid I had hurt myself but I am okay." Today's only other medals event also resulted in a Kenyan clean sweep when Vivian Cheruiyot won gold in the women's 10,000 metres ahead of Sally Kipyego and Linet Masai. Another Kenyan, Priscah Cherono, finished fourth, making it the first 1-2-3-4 sweep in a women's 10,000 metres at the world championships.  Vivian Cheruiyot waves as she walks with her compatriots second-placed Sally Kipyego (right), third-placed Linet Masai (second right) and fourth-placed Priscah Cherono after their clean sweep of the women's 10,000 metres final. — Reuters pic |
| Vettel pips Hamilton for Spa pole Posted: 27 Aug 2011 09:31 AM PDT SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, Aug 27 — Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel charged to pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix today after denying McLaren's Lewis Hamilton the top slot in the final seconds of qualifying.  Sebastian Vettel (left) celebrates his pole position with second-placed Lewis Hamilton. — Reuters pic Vettel's Australian teammate Mark Webber, celebrating his 35th birthday with a new one-year contract, will line up third alongside Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa. "Not an easy session with the conditions changing . . . tomorrow they say it is dry but I think here anything is possible," said Vettel, who leads Webber by 85 points with eight races remaining but has been beaten in the last three. Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, who made his debut at the circuit 20 years ago, had a nightmare afternoon and failed to set a time in the first phase after a rear wheel worked loose and he skidded his Mercedes into the wall. Hamilton, winner at Spa last year, found himself in the middle of another controversy after clashing with Williams' Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in the second phase of qualifying. The Briton went past Maldonado on the inside of the last corner as the seconds ran out and then, after completing the final lap, appeared to be chopped by the Venezuelan with the McLaren damaged by the contact. "It was done deliberately," Hamilton said over the team radio of the rookie's actions. McLaren fitted a new front wing and patched up the car for the final phase. "I think it was quite serious and just fortunate that neither of us, particularly him, was flipped into a big crash," Hamilton added later. Both drivers faced possible sanction from stewards, with Hamilton's compatriot and former world champion Nigel Mansell making a guest appearance this weekend. The two racers had also clashed at Monaco earlier in the year, with Hamilton tipping Maldonado into the tyre barriers when the Venezuelan was heading for his first points finish. McLaren misunderstanding Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button, winner in Hungary before the summer break, was left in 13th place on the grid after a McLaren "misunderstanding". The 2009 champion was told to pit, an order he questioned by saying "Are you sure? Are you sure?" during the second session, and then had to watch as his time proved too slow to make the cut. "That is massively disappointing and a huge shock," he said. "A big mistake on our part. In every practice session we've been in top three. Tough being back in 13th but we've got to deal with it." Schumacher's hopes of a first podium since his comeback last season suffered a major setback, with the 42-year-old facing a back-row start. "I've had some experience on three wheels before but to lose a rear wheel is a bit more difficult to handle," he said. "Initially I didn't know I'd lost a rear wheel. There is no reason to blame anybody; we all try our best but at the end of the day we are all human. I've had some interesting races from the back so it's going to be entertaining." Brazilian Bruno Senna made an impressive start to his first race weekend with Renault, qualifying seventh and ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in eighth place. Senna's Russian teammate Vitaly Petrov qualified 10th. "It will be a dream come true to finish in the points tomorrow," Senna, nephew of the late triple champion Ayrton, told reporters. Force India's British rookie Paul di Resta was another casualty of the first session after spinning on his flying lap. Both the HRTs and Virgin Racing's Belgian Jerome d'Ambrosio were at the mercy of the stewards after failing to meet the 107 per cent qualifying threshold, along with Schumacher. The second phase of qualifying was halted briefly after Force India's Adrian Sutil spun and skidded into the tyre wall at the top of Eau Rouge. — Reuters |
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