[Final report]   [Semifinal reports]   [Heat reports]   [Preview]  

Polish delight. Marcin Lewandowski beats Michael Rimmer and becomes European champion. Adam Ksczot adds to the Polish success by taking bronze.

The entire stadium was waiting for another Spanish success. The national anthem had just been played for last night's heroes on the 1500. And the participants of the 800 final all knew: allow the Spaniards to control the race from the front and their speed on the final straight will make them very dangerous.

Nobody expected a very fast race, and the initial pace was modest, but even when Marco was in the lead, Rimmer was on his shoulder, making sure that he was ready to make his move. Lewandowski and Okken were in close behind, followed by Holusa and Kszczot. They reached the halfway stage after 53.28, not too quick but still a recently decent pace. For a while the positions remained unchanged, but down the back straight Rimmer gradually accelerated. Lewandowski stayed close, Okken, Marco and Ksczot were right behind while Holusa, López and Oualich were having trouble to keep in touch.

Coming out of the final bend Rimmer was still leading and going strongly, but Lewandowski and Ksczot were very close and Okken was still hanging on as well while Marco was fading. Lewandowski managed to get himself right next to Rimmer and the two dashed for the finish side by side until a few strides out when Lewandowski managed to just edge ahead. At the finish the Polish champion took the gold with Rimmer having to settle for silver. Kszczot couldn't quite join the battle for gold and even had to fight of a spirited run by Okken but managed to stay ahead of the Dutchman and take the bronze. To the disappointment of the crowd the Spanish runners could only manage 6th and 7th place.

After the race Marcin Lewandowski just commented that he had had confidence all along, that he thought Rimmer would be his main rival but that he felt strong all the way and that his tactics had come right. Both Kszczot and he were obviously delighted as together they went on a lap of honour.
On the other hand a disappointed Michael Rimmer said he found it hard to be happy with the silver as it was really the gold he had been aiming for. His tactics all went according to plan, before the race he had specific times in his head when to do what and all that worked out fine. Well not quite, he had hoped for just a little bit more in the tank on the final straight. But fair play to him, I guess he just was the strongest on the day Rimmer concluded rather gloomily.

  Result:
1 Marcin Lewandowski    POL 1:47.07  
2 Michael Rimmer        GBR 1:47.17  
3 Adam Kszczot          POL 1:47.22  
4 Arnoud Okken          NED 1:47.31  
5 Jakub Holusa          CZE 1:47.45  
6 Kevin López           ESP 1:47.82  
7 Luis Alberto Marco    ESP 1:48.42  
8 Hamid Oualich         FRA 1:49.77 

From both semifinals the first three would qualify automatically with two fastest losers to go through to the final as well.

• Semifinal 1
  

  The first semi appeared to be the stronger one with Lewandowski, López, Bustos, Holusa and Okken. As in the heats no one wanted to really set the pace. Rifesser and Okken were almost pushed into the lead but the 400m took all of 55.60 showing that the second lap was going to be faster. Nothing changed for a while, Okken was in the lead with Rifesser and Vorovenci close behind and everybody else bunching up. Into the final bend Okken accelerated a bit, but neither Rifesser nor Vorovenci was able to follow, effectively blocking the rest of the field. Okken couldn't believe his luck and dashed away to the finish. Behind him Holusa was the first to get past followed by Lewandowski. At the back Scapini and Bustos had nothing left to offer, but López found a late burst of speed. Over the last 50 metres Okken was fading, Lewandowski went past, then López flashed past as well and finished first. Holusa was closing all the time but Okken just managed to just stay ahead and take third place. As it turned out Holusa's time was fast enough to qualify as well.

    Result:
  1 Kevin López           ESP 1:48.11 Q
  2 Marcin Lewandowski    POL 1:48.15 Q
  3 Arnoud Okken          NED 1:48.25 Q
  4 Jakub Holusa          CZE 1:48.27 q
  5 Cristian Vorovenci    ROU 1:48.88
  6 David Bustos          ESP 1:49.08
  7 Mario Scapini         ITA 1:49.13
  8 Lukas Rifesser        ITA 1:49.75
  

• Semifinal 2
  

  Semifinal number two had Rimmer, Marco and Kszczot as the most likely contenders. Even a modest pace would see five athletes qualify but no one was interested in real pace although they reached the bell in 54.76 with Rimmer leading and Marco and Kszcot following. Down the back straight Rimmer stretched them out, Marco and Kszcot behind him. McCarthy tried to get closer and almost bumped Oualich from the track as the Frenchman drew up alongside of him. Rimmer looked very comfortable in front, Ksczot and Marco were never really threatened. McCarthy faded into the final straight as Oulich finished as fast as he could and saw his effrots rewarded with the final qualifying spot as the second fastest loser.

    Result:
  1 Michael Rimmer       GBR 1:47.67 Q
  2 Luis Alberto Marco   ESP 1:47.79 Q
  3 Adam Kszczot         POL 1:47.84 Q
  4 Hamid Oualich        FRA 1:48.06 q
  5 Anis Ananenka        BLR 1:48.41
  6 David McCarthy       IRL 1:49.14
  7 Giordano Benedetti   ITA 1:49.33
  8 Brice Etes           MON 1:49.52
  

So the final has two main favourites in Rimmer and Lewandowski. The two Spaniards, López and Marco looked confident as well though and they are certainly to be reckoned with. Especially in a slow race the fierce sprint finish of López could be a factor. Ksczot, Holusa, Okken and Oualich would appear to be outsiders for the title although a minor medal could easily be possible.
No one in either the heats or the semifinals has been setting any kind of pace, so it appears likely the final will be slow and there could be a lot of pushing in the early phases. And in such a rather physical and tactical affair anything could happen and the favourites can't take anything for granted.

There were four heats. From each heat three runners would move directly into the semis, with the four fastest losers also qualifying. Unfortunately defending champion Bram Som was in bed with high fever and had to pull out.

• Heat 1
  Lewandowski, Oualich and Bustos were among the favourites in this heat, which started very slowly. Claesson and Oualich were reluctant early leaders with most of the others very close behind. The bell was taken at a slowish 56.38. Vorovenci and Bustos moved forward and accelerated on the back straight with Lewandowski close behind. Into the final straight Lewandowski went past and made sure of the win. Oualich had a late sprint finish and Bustos edged out Vorovenci for third. The Rumanian was lucky because no other heat went really fast and he qualified as the final fastest loser.

    Result:
  1 Marcin Lewandowski    POL 1:49.78 Q
  2 Hamid Oualich         FRA 1:49.92 Q  
  3 David Bustos          ESP 1:50.01 Q  
  4 Cristian Vorovenci    ROU 1:50.05 q   
  5 Jozef Pelikan         SVK 1:51.29    
  6 Jan Van Den Broeck    BEL 1:51.79    
  7 Mattias Claesson      SWE 1:52.53    
  8 Christophe Bestgen    LUX 1:52.64   
  

• Heat 2
  Holusa and López were in this heat. Scapini took the early lead and set a reasonable pace which saw them clock 54.22 after 400m. The Italian faded after that while McCarthy moved forward. After almost 600 m Lathouwers saw space on the inside but collided with McCarthy, was pushed well inside of lane 1, almost crossed the long jump pit, evaded a few obstacles and rejoined the race in front, bumping into McCarthy as well. Around the bend he kept good pace and even finished first, ahead of fast finishing Holusa, López and Etes, but was obviously disqualified. McCarthy was clearly very unhappy, but ironically though this turned out to be the fastest heat so three more athletes, including McCarthy, managed to get into the semis as fastest losers.

    Result:
  1 Jakub Holusa          CZE 1:47.94 Q  
  2 Kevin López           ESP 1:48.13 Q  
  3 Brice Etes            MON 1:48.54 Q  
  4 Anis Ananenka         BLR 1:49.29 q   
  5 David McCarthy        IRL 1:49.53 q   
  6 Mario Scapini         ITA 1:49.67 q   
  7 Mikko Lahtio          FIN 1:51.76    
    Robert Lathouwers     NED DQ 
  

• Heat 3
  Ksczot and Marco were among the favourites but nobody really wanted to set a pace and they strolled in a very close bunch towards the bell at 55.18. Into the final bend still no one was really takng charge and so almost all runners ran side by side, but then Benedetti sprinted away and took a fair lead before anybody else reacted. Marco and then Ksczot eventually went after the Italian and were able to close the gap. The three athletes finished close together making sure they stayed ahead of Kazi's final dash thereby ensuring qualification. Because of the slow pace all the others went out.

    Result:
  1 Luis Alberto Marco    ESP 1:49.96 Q  
  2 Giordano Benedetti    ITA 1:50.00 Q  
  3 Adam Kszczot          POL 1:50.08 Q  
  4 Tamás Kazi            HUN 1:50.21    
  5 Jozef Repcik          SVK 1:50.51    
  6 Andreas Rapatz        AUT 1:51.55    
  7 Vitalij Kozlov        LTU 1:52.18    
  8 Anton Asplund         SWE 1:55.23   
  

• Heat 4
  This heat featured Rimmer, Okken and Koldin. Nobody was ready to take the lead, although a reasonable pace (1:48) might have seen five or six athletes qualify. Okken and Koldin led at the bell, in a modest 55.29, after which Okken found himself in the lead. Okken accelerated going into the final bend. Initially most athletes followed but into the final straight most faded and just Rimmer and Koldin stayed close. Rifesser made a late run though and managed to sneak past the tiring Russian. Rimmer won the heat very easily, Okken and Rifesser both qualified but the others were eliminated.

    Result:
  1 Michael Rimmer        GBR 1:49.99 Q  
  2 Arnoud Okken          NED 1:50.13 Q  
  3 Lukas Rifesser        ITA 1:50.40 Q  
  4 Yuriy Koldin          RUS 1:50.64    
  5 Joni Jaako            SWE 1:50.93    
  6 Dustin Emrani         ISR 1:51.51    
  7 Andreas Hjartbro Bube DEN 1:51.91    
  8 Andreas Smout         BEL 1:52.04   
  

It has to be admitted that the European 800 m runners look a bit outclassed by the rest of the world this year. While Rudisha and Kaki are making all the headlines none of the Europeans is currently inside the top 10 of the season. Most great champions of earlier years have retired or are otherwise absent. Yuriy Borzakowski would be a huge favourite, but he is injured and will not take part. All that means a great chance for several young talents who can hardly wait to make a name for themselves.

So who do we need to look out for? Well...

• Marcin Lewandowski (POL)
  The young Polish runner is the fastest European so far, and he would have been even faster in Monaco if he hadn't tried to slip through the inside using the grass. He looks very strong.
• Bram Som (NED)
  Defending champion and in good shape recently. He seems to get faster with every race.
• Michael Rimmer (GBR)
  Already a finalist four years ago, but with a lot more experience he looks well set for a medal.
• Luis Alberto Marco (ESP)
  He knows how to get through the rounds, as he already won a silver medal at European Indoors last year. Running in front of his home crowd will motivate him even more.
• Kevin López (ESP)
  Young and talented Spaniard. Not very experienced yet, but the combination of youth and home advantage could bring him far.

Who else could be a medal contender? Jakob Holusa (CZE) is a youthful talent. Jozef Repcik (SVK) has been around for a few years and could do well here. Mattias Claesson (SWE) is an ambitious runner who took a bronze medal at European Indoors but said he felt like he lost the gold. David Bustos (ESP) is the the third runner from the host nation. Hamid Oualich (FRA) is the latest French talent. Arnoud Okken (NED) was the 2007 European indoor champion and made the final as long ago as 2002, although he hasn't been that impressive lately. Finally Yuriy Koldin (RUS) has the burden of defending the Russian honours in the absence of Borzakovskiy.