On form for the World Athletics Trials
The starts in four weeks from this weekend, in Osaka. The event returns to Japan for the . Tokyo will always be remembered for the greatest long jump competition of all time as . Powell took the honours with his fifth round jump of 8.95m, smashing Bob Beamon's 23-year-old record set at the Mexico Olympics in 1968. That night also saw the first of Britain's two gold medals when triumphed in the 10,000m.
Overall, it was a successful championships for Britain - fifth in the medal table with a haul of two golds, two silvers and three bronze. Do you remember who got the other medals? A couple of clues for you: one athlete got Gold two years later in Stuttgart and four Britons were not content with winning just one medal in Tokyo but won two each! (Answers at the end).
With both feet firmly planted on the ground, I don't think that any of our experts would suggest that we are likely to match that performance this time around but nevertheless the first step this weekend is crucial - gaining selection for . The pressure and spotlight is firmly on our senior athletes, particularly after an encouraging few weeks at youth, junior and under-23 level for our younger athletes who have had successful major championships at World and European level. Could be good news for !
The selection criteria for the Worlds are complex. The straightforward first three past the post, which is the norm in the USA, is not for UKA. Understandable, because of the relative lack of strength in depth in Britain. At its simplest this weekend, you need to be in the first two, have the qualifying 'A' standard and demonstrate genuinely competitive form and fitness.
Some events such as the Men's 100m & 200m and Women's 800m will be very competitive and others may not see any British athletes selected. The team is likely to be smaller than in the past because is focused on sending athletes with either the clear ability to achieve a podium finish or who have the potential to benefit from the experience, leading to a podium finish in future Worlds or Olympics. UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins has set a target of three medals, the same as achieved at the with an accompanying target of getting 14 athletes into finals.
In particular in Manchester this weekend, we'll be watching out for athletes such as Nicola Sanders and Andy Baddeley who both looked so impressive a fortnight ago in Sheffield. Both Craig Pickering and Marlon Devonish will be looking to qualify in the sprints and there will no doubt be a fierce battle in the men's long jump with Chris Tomlinson and Nathan Morgan both seeking selection. Hopefully we'll also see the rapidly improving Jessica Ennis, who along with Kelly Sotherton will be challenging for Heptathlon honours in Japan and it will also be a real test for athletes such as Tim Benjamin who has struggled with his form recently. It should be a fascinating weekend which will no doubt throw up several dilemmas for the selectors, ahead of their meeting and subsequent first team announcement early next week.
begins on Friday night at 8.00pm with Darren Campbell and Five Live Track and Field. Radio Five are there all weekend with their commentary team of Mike Costello, Alison Curbishley and Steve Backley. Sonja Mclaughlan is the reporter and the programmes will be presented by Arlo White. There will be reports and coverage on the too with TV coverage from 4.35pm to 5.55pm on Saturday on ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE switching to ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO on Sunday from 5.15pm until 7.30pm. Hazel Irvine will present the shows with Colin Jackson giving his expert views. Steve Cram, Paul Dickenson and Jonathan Edwards will be in the commentary box and Phil Jones will be interviewing athletes trackside.
One more clue for you before I finish - none of the famous names working for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ this weekend won a medal in Tokyo, 1991!
Answers:
Gold: Women's 10,000m Liz McColgan
Men's 4x400m Relay Roger Black, Derek Redmond, John Regis and Kriss Akabusi
Silver: Men's 400 Roger Black
Women's 400 Hurdles Sally Gunnell
Bronze: Men's 110 Hurdles Tony Jarrett
Men's 400 Hurdles Kriss Akabusi
Men's 4x100 Relay Tony Jarrett, John Regis, Darren Braithwaite and Linford Christie
