IAAF 2007 World Athletic Championships - Osaka, Japan

We've got a thread for the Olympics next year, but no thread as yet for this event which has just started.

Here's some links to get you going.

Official Site
Wiki Page
BBC Coverage

Is anybody looking forward to this? Admittedly we aren't exactly in a golden period of Athletics, but there are some things to look forward to. The face off between Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell for example.

 

I saw a bit of it while I ate lunch. I can't say that I will watch the live coverage every day though - it's an awkward time zone.

 

Should be a good form guide for the Olympics this year.

A few Australians should do well here, which is a different . So I'll be looking out for Mottram in the distance events, Jana Rawlinson in the 400 hurdles and John Steffenson in the 400m.

 

The men's 100m was a bit of a let down in the end. Powell seemed to crumble under the spotlight yet again. Perhaps it's because he only runs at full pace for 70m throughout all of the rounds, and then can't produce a full race in the final because he hasn't worked up to anything. The women's 100m was far better, a photo finish for the win.

The 10,000m was the best of the lot. Shame for the bloke from Eritrea though, he ran so hard for 75 per cent of the race only to be blown away by the rest. Bekele proved he is one of the best sportsmen in the world though, outsprinting his team mate at the end.

I'm not sure if any of these performances are good markers for the Olympics next year. It seems rare in Athletics that athletes, with notable exceptions like Carolina Kluft) dominate events anymore. So many injuries, and so many nobodies.