By Nick Mulvenney
LONDON Aug 11 (Reuters) – Usain Bolt’s attempt to win a
sixth sprint gold medal in two Olympics as part of Jamaica’s
4×100 metres relay team will be the climax of the last night of
athletics at the London Games on Saturday.
Before the biggest name in track and field takes centre
stage at the Olympic Stadium, however, Mo Farah’s bid to add the
5,000m title to the 10,000 crown he won last weekend could give
the host nation the perfect end to the meet.
There are eight titles up for grabs on the ninth day of
competition with gold medals also being awarded in the men’s
javelin, women’s 800m, 4x400m relay and high jump, plus two race
walks.
After successfully defending his 100 and 200 titles in some
style, Bolt will be expected to ram home his sprint supremacy by
leading his Jamaican team mates to gold in the relay.
Jamaica had a one-two in the 100m and swept the podium in
the 200m so should be too strong for main rivals the United
States, even if the Americans manage to hold on to the baton for
the first time in four major championships.
Farah is world champion in the 5,000m but looked tired in
the heats and challengers like Ethiopians Dejen Gebremeskel and
Hagos Gebrhiwet, Kenya’s Isiah Kiplangat Koech and American
Bernard Lagat should be fresher.
Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo won the 800m gold in Beijing and is
back in good form for the London Games, where world champion
Mariya Savinova of Russia and South African Caster Semenya are
likely to be her main challengers.
Andreas Thorkildsen will be going for a third straight gold
in the javelin but Czech Vitezslav Vesely has by far the biggest
throw of the year and has beaten the Norwegian in all four of
their meetings this year.
Continued…
