Osaka 2007 Review

A couple of weeks ago I gave some predictions on the GB medallists at the World Athletics and here's the results

My predictions for Osaka medals were:
Jessica Ennis - Heptathlon (4th)
Chris Tomlinson - Long Jump (DNQ)
Philips Idowu - Triple Jump (6th)
Men's 4x100m - Relay (Bronze)

Also watch out for:
Marlon Devonish - 100m (6th)
Nicola Sanders - 400m (Silver)
Jemma Simpson & Marilyn Okoro - 800m (Semi Final)
Kelly Sotherton - Heptathlon (Bronze)
Goldie Sayers - Javelin (DNQ)
Jo Pavey - 10,000m (4th)
Women's 4x400m - Relay (Bronze)

Apart from Chris Tomlinson and Goldie Sayers who were below par and Philips Idowu who was coming back from injury - these athletes performed to their expectation or better.

I did miss out Christin Ohurougu who I really didn't think would be sharp enough after 12 months out of competition but coming into the championships fresh and with added determination (that and world no 1 Sanya Richards running in the 200m) enabled her to win the gold.

Here's a run down of all the British athlete's and how well they performed. + means I thought they performed better than expected and - means I thought they did worse.

EVENT   ATHLETE             POSN   PERFORMANCE  +/-
100m    Marlon Devonish      6th     10.12s
        Craig Pickering       SF     10.21s
        Mark Lewis-Francis    SF     10.17s SB   
400m    Tim Benjamin          SF     45.44s
        Andrew Steele      Heats     45.54s
        Martyn Rooney      Heats     45.47s SB   
800m    Michael Rimmer        SF   1:45.66
1500m   Andy Baddeley        9th   3:35.95
5000m   Mo Farah             6th  13:39.13  SB
3000mSC Andrew Lemoncello  Heats   8:58.93       -
110mH   Andy Turner           SF     13.27s PB   +
400mH   Dale Garland       Heats     49.98s
High J  Germaine Mason       DNQ      2.19m      -
        Tom Parsons         10th      2.29m PB   +
        Martyn Bernard      14th      2.29m PB   +
Pole V  Steve Lewis          DNQ    No Mark      -
Long J  Chris Tomlinson      DNQ      7.89m      -
        Greg Rutherford      DNQ      7.77m
Trip J  Phillips Idowu       6th     17.09m
4x100m  GB                   3rd     37.90  SB   +
4x400m  GB                   6th   3:01.22  SB   

EVENT   ATHLETE             2007   PERFORMANCE  +/-
100m    Jeanette Kwakye       QF     11.26s PB   +
        Laura Turner          SF     11.32s
        Montell Douglas       QF     11.39s
200m    Joice Maduaka         QF     23.22s
        Emily Freeman      Heats  Disqualified   –
400m    Nicola Sanders       2nd     49.65s PB   +
        Christine Ohuruogu   1st     49.61s PB   +
        Lee McConnell         SF     51.07s SB   +
800m    Marilyn Okoro         SF   1:59.63  PB   +
        Jemma Simpson         SF   2:00.47
        Jenny Meadows         SF   1:59.39  PB   +
1500m   Lisa Dobriskey        SF   4:08.39
        Abby Westley          SF   4:09.67
5000m   Jo Pavey             9th  15:11.83  SB   + 
10000m  Jo Pavey             4th  32:03.81
3000mSC Hatti Dean         Heats   9:43.23
        Helen Clitheroe    Heats   9:45.59
400mH   Tasha Danvers-Smith  8th     54.08s SB   +
Pole V  Kate Dennison        DNQ      4.20m      -
Javeln  Goldie Sayers        DNQ     57.23m      -
Hept'n  Jessica Ennis        4th    6469pts PB   +
        Kelly Sotherton      3rd    6510pts SB   +
4x100m  GB                   4th     42.82s SB   +
4x400m  GB                   3rd   3:20.04  NR   +

Key: SF–Semi final, QF–Quarter final,
     DNQ-Did not qualify
     NR–National record, PB–Personal best,
     SB–Season best

Osaka 2007

With the Athletics World Championships coming up in just a weeks time, the GB team have set themselves fairly lofty targets of 3 medals and 14 finalists.

We really don't have that many world class athletes at the moment but there is definatley potential and you can see the selectors having one eye on London 2012.

My predictions for Osaka medals are:
Jessica Ennis - Heptathlon
Chris Tomlinson - Long Jump
Philips Idowo - Triple Jump (if he's fit)
Men's 4x100m - Relay (fingers crossed)

Also watch out for:
Marlon Devonish - 100m
Nicola Sanders - 400m
Jemma Simpson & Marilyn Okoro - 800m
Kelly Sotherton - Heptathlon (until the javelin)
Goldie Sayers - Javelin
Jo Pavey - 10,000m
Women's 4x400m - Relay

Here is the squad with their position according to season's best performance (2007) and current world ranking (RANK).

EVENT   ATHLETE             2007  RANK
100m    Marlon Devonish      17    11=
        Craig Pickering      39    11=
        Mark Lewis-Francis  >50    31
400m    Tim Benjamin         29    22
        Andrew Steele        31    32
        Martyn Rooney       >50    48
800m    Michael Rimmer       22    21
1500m   Andy Baddeley        26    16
5000m   Mo Farah            >50    27
3000mSC Andrew Lemoncello   >50    26
110mH   Andy Turner          30    14
400mH   Dale Garland        >50   >50
High J  Germaine Mason       11=   18
        Tom Parsons          29=  >50
        Martyn Bernard      >50    30
Pole V  Steve Lewis          39=   42
Long J  Chris Tomlinson       8    15
        Greg Rutherford     >50   >50
Trip J  Phillips Idowu        9=    6
4x100m  GB                    2     -
4x400m  GB                    6     -

EVENT   ATHLETE             2007  RANK
100m    Jeanette Kwakye     >50    28
        Laura Turner         33   >50
        Montell Douglas     >50   >50
200m    Joice Maduaka       >50    33
        Emily Freeman       >50   >50
400m    Nicola Sanders       16     6 (56*)
        Christine Ohuruogu  >50   >50
        Lee McConnell       >50   >50
800m    Marilyn Okoro        20    15
        Jemma Simpson        34    24
        Jenny Meadows        37    17
1500m   Lisa Dobriskey       33   >50
        Abby Westley         50   >50
5000m   Jo Pavey             28     5 (45*)
10000m  Jo Pavey             11     5 (45*)
3000mSC Hatti Dean           28    18
        Helen Clitheroe      46   >50
400mH   Tasha Danvers-Smith  22    11
Pole V  Kate Dennison       >50    39
Javeln  Goldie Sayers         4     9
Hept'n  Jessica Ennis         3     4
        Kelly Sotherton      11     3
4x100m  GB                    5     -
4x400m  GB                   11     -

* World Ranking over all events.