Preview: Spain, Russia, Mexico, China eye first gold of athletic worlds
( 2003-08-23 14:51) (null)
Preview: Spain, Russia, Mexico, China eye first gold of athletic worlds An intense fight among Spain, Russia, Mexico and China in men's 20km walk will highlight the first day competitions at the 9th world athletic championships to be held in Paris on August 23-31. The walk race will produce the first gold medal in the championships, and the clear favorite is Spaniard Francisco Javier Fernandez, who stamped his authority on the 2002 season, firstly by recording the fastest-ever road walk time of one hour 17 minutes and 22 seconds, and secondly by becoming European champion a few months later with 1:18:37. However, a posse of other athletes might stand between Fernandez and the world title. Leading the opposition will be the Russians, keen to reproduce their performance in the 8th athletic worlds in Canada's Edmonton two years ago. In Canada, the trio of Roman Rasskazov, llya Markov and Viktor burayev cleaned up the medals of the discipline. Though quieter so far this season, they are likely to be a formidable threesome in the streets of Paris. The Chinese too are coming to Paris with a strong hand, led by ace Zhu Hongjun, whose 1:18:43 is the best time so far this year. Zhu was followed by compatriot Yu Chaohong, whose personal best is 1:18:56. Finally, Mexican Bernardo Segura, who had held the world record for the 20km track walk of 1:17:25.6 since 1994, posted the world' s third-best performance this year with 1:19:05. Disqualified after seemingly picking up the Olympic gold at Sydney in 2000, the Mexican then missed out on the world athletic championships in Edmonton. He will be looking for revenge in Paris.
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