The
New Zealanders are on fire.
It's hard to pick a stand out
from their performances. They
won races tactically and by
pure speed. Their biggest problem
was choosing which race to enter
as some of them were in 2 finals
only a short period apart as
they have such a small team.
Nicole Begg followed in her
mothers footsteps by becoming
a Senior Women world Champion.
She won the 10,000m points and
then backed it up with a Bronze
in the 1000m just a short time
later. If the opposition saw
Nicole take an early break in
the 10k, then they didn't learn
from it because they let her
countryman Scott Arlidge do
exactly the same thing in the
next race to win the 10k for
the men. Then there is Kalon
Dobbin who after being the bridesmaid
for so many years in the 300m
on the track, donned a high
tech suit to win the 300m and
backed it up with the 500m as
well. If he hadn't done so many
500m he was in the prime position
leading the relay with a lap
to go but his legs locked in
the final straight or they would
have had one more.
The
host nation have really shone
this year with 6 gold, 6 silver
and 4 bronze they are second
only to Colombia on the medal
tally. Their skaters have matured
over the years. Previously they
would have been bumped to the
back of the pack, but now they
fight hard for position and
they don't let anyone ush them
around.
Colombia
is leading the medal tally.
Berenice Moreno and Cecilia
Baena have unbelievable speed.
Bere has a huge amount of power
and Ceci has an abundance of
leg speed. Together they are
unstoppable. They went 1 2 in
the 500m and 300m. The Italians
who are usually very strong
in the sprints have not been
seen anywhere near the podium.
If it wasn't such a joy to watch
them skate, we might as well
give them the road medals now.
France,
Italy, Spain, and Argentina.
Traditionally, they are always
very competitive nations but
this year they have been shut
out on the track by Colombia,
Korea, and NZ. Can they improve
on the road? Some say they can.
These countries will have a
lot of thinking to do about
their track campaign this year.
The
Korean facilities are second
to none and the organization
has been fantastic to date.
These world championships will
be the benchmark for future
world championships to come.
The only criticism is that the
public seating is too far away
from the track. For the road,
spectators will be right alongside
the action. The marathon will
take place just down the road
in front of city hall and it
will be a loop so that will
be good for spectators. It is
midday and the track is empty
as skaters rest. They are expected
to arrive at the track at about
2.30 this afternoon for a light
roll. Racing kicks off tomorrow
with the 200m time trial. Thank
you to everyone who has been
sending us nice emails about
our coverage, we had 9 million
hits on the site yesterday!
Today
is the rest day so we have a chance
to reflect on the competition
to date. One of the stand out
performances for me has been Catherine
Peñan of Chile. She was
a star a few years ago, then she
seemed out of shape for a period
of time, but this year she has
come back with a vengeance. She
is in the best shape of her life
and the performances speak for
themselves. She dominated the
10k and 15k junior races and it
looks like there will be no stopping
her on the road either. Joey Mantia
is the unluckiest guy on the circuit.
He looks a million dollars but
he has been team skated and had
some bad calls but to his credit
he has taken it pretty well. He
was reluctant to take to the podium
and look at the Colombian flag
after the 1000m but who can blame
him.