At the end of the Paris meeting, the second leg of the IAAF Golden League, four athletes, one male and three female athletes, remain in the hunt for the jackpot. After their wins in Oslo, Tero Pitkamaki, Sanya Richards, Yelena Isinbayeva and Michelle Perry were successful in securing victory in their respective disciplines again. In the javelin, Finn Pitkamaki produced an impressive series of throws beyond the 87 metre mark, winning with 89.70. The most consistent athlete this year beat his main opponents by a big margin. Andreas Thorkildsen and world season leader America's Breaux Greer finished the event in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
After her defeat in Indianapolis, Sanya Richards' thirst to win is back. In the women's 400m, the American of Jamaican origins had a great race with a quick pace and none of her competitors were able to challenge her during the competition. Finishing with a time of 49.52, the world's best performance this year, she remains a strong contender to win all six meetings of the 2007 Golden League. Behind her are Novlene Williams and Natasha Hastings.
In the 100m H, the American Michelle Perry won in 12.56. Taking advantage of the mid-race fall of her strongest rival and compatriot Virginia Powell, she finished the race ahead of Sweden's Susanna Kallur (second in 12.65) and Lolo Jones (third in 12.71).
Yelena Isinbayeva's pole vault competition was perfect. Although her attempts to break her own world record were unsuccessful, Isinbayeva reigned supreme in the discipline claiming victory with 4.91. Both Monica Pyrek and Svetlana Feofanova placed second with 4,71.
The Paris night offered other interesting events starting with the men's 1500m. Alan Webb, America's rising athlete in the middle distances, clocked a time of 3.30.54, setting the world season's best and his personal best. This victory is much more meaningful for him having beaten the local champion Mehdi Baala at the finish line.
During the men's 3000m steeplechase, something incredible happened for the first time in a Golden League meeting. Due to an embarrassing mistake by the lap counter in indicating the last lap, Kenia's Paul Kipsiele Koech believed to have won the race one lap early. After crossing the finish line, he stopped running. As he realised the event was still going on, it was too late. He finished second in 8.12.73 behind French Tahri, who sportingly didn't exult in the victory.
It's worth mentioning the great performances of Christian Olsson in the men's triple jump (17.56), Derrick Atkins in the men's 110m H (13.13) and Blanka Vlasic in the women's high jump (2.02), in which Italian Antonietta Di Martino took the fifth place.
Next appointment for all is at the Olympic Stadium in Rome within one week.
Photo: Javelin's winner Tero Pitkamaki
