Records hard to come by in Daegu despite favorable conditions

By Yoo Jee-ho
DAEGU, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- In sports, numbers often can tell a lot about athletes and their accomplishments. So far at the World Championships in Athletics here, there haven't been enough numbers to paint proper pictures.
Records have been hard to come by here so far, despite the track surface that has yielded hundreds of world records and the presence of in-form athletes gearing up for the London Olympics about a year away.
Through the women's 20-kilometer race walk Wednesday, no world records have been broken. Only one, shot putter Valerie Adams, has tied a championship record. Five athletes have put up the season's best records in their disciplines, though only two of them, Pawel Wojciechowski in men's pole vault and Yuliya Zaripova in women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, walked away with a gold medal.
These stats pale in comparison to those from the previous world championships in Berlin two years ago, when three world records, six championship records and 16 season-best records were established.
Conditions here have been ripe for some record-breaking performances. Aside from the marathon and race walk that took place in mornings on the road, all finals at Daegu Stadium have been scheduled in the evening hours, away from the scorching, humid conditions of a typical late summer afternoon in Daegu.


The world championships, once held every four years, are now biennial. That means every other event falls a year before the Summer Olympics, and the Daegu event should have benefited from athletes using this competition as part of their preparations for the London Games next year.
Organizers spent more than 1.8 billion won (US$1.7 million) to replace the urethane track in Daegu Stadium with Mondo, a popular surface that has been used in a series of Olympics and world championships. Known for giving a more consistent bounce and traction, Mondo has yielded more than 230 world records.
But none have come here so far, and no one has really threatened.
After world record holder Usain Bolt got disqualified for a false start, Yohan Blake won the 100-節?eter race at 9.92 seconds, an ordinary mark that is tied for 10th best this year. Bolt ran the current world mark of 9.58 in Berlin.
In women's long jump, Brittney Reese took the gold with 6.82 節?eters, more than 30 centimeters shorter than her best mark this year, 7.19 節?eters. The trend held up in the men's 10,000 節?eters and women's discus throw.
The absence of some big names has watered down the competition and will likely do so in upcoming disciplines. Even before Bolt's disqualification, the 100 節?eters had lost its luster with Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, first and second this year, out with injuries. In marathon, the men's and women's world record holders, Haile Gebrselassie and Paula Radcliffe, are skipping Daegu, having instead opted to run the Berlin Marathon in September.
In men's triple jump, Frenchman Teddy Tamgho, a favorite to break the world record, has withdrawn with an ankle injury.
Almost invariably, medalists and contenders said they mostly cared about winning, not records.
Before his ignominious exit from the 100 節?eters, Bolt had repeatedly said he was in Daegu to defend his 100-節?eter and 200-節?eter crowns, not set world records. And what Jason Richardson, the 110-節?eter hurdles champion, said after reaching the semis aptly sums up the mentality of many athletes here.
"I don't even worry about the time; it's all about crossing that finish line first," he said. "If we all hit hurdles, nobody's going to care. It's who actually put the gold medal around the neck."
The current athletics world lacks superstars who have enjoyed a prolonged dominance in their discipline. Bolt has really been dominant for only three years. Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva won the world titles in 2005 and 2007 but didn't even clear the bar in 2009 and flopped here again Tuesday. Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, a four-time world champ in the men's 10,000 節?eters, pulled out in the middle of the 10,000 節?eters and won't start the 5,000 節?eters.
Gone are the days of sprinters Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson and pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, all with at least six world championships titles.
Former South Korean sprinter Chang Jae-keun, a photo judge during the championships, said athletics are going through a "transitional phase" in which no one athlete can dominate for more than five years at a time.
"If we get past this stage and have new stars emerge, then the world records should follow," Chang said.
jeeho@yna.co.kr