News archive of 2006
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Mulaudzi is the world leader after an excellent win in Rieti
In one of the best 800m races of all time Mbulaeni Mulaudzi took an early lead and stayed ahead of all his rivals. Bungei came close but had to settle for second while a strong late run by Som earned him third place. After four straight wins in Helsinki, Zürich, Monaco and Rieti Mulaudzi can now consider himself as the current number one on the 800m. The race featured extraordinarily depth: Robinson and Yego ran personal bests, and for the first time in history seven runners went below 1:44 in a single race. Rieti often shows exceptional circumstances for middle distance races: even in the B-race did the winner break 1:44 as Gary Reed set a new Canadian record. Result: 1 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi RSA 1.43.09 2 Wilfred Bungei KEN 1.43.31 3 Bram Som NED 1.43.52 4 Youssef Saad Kamel BRN 1.43.61 5 Khadevis Robinson USA 1.43.68 6 Amine Laalou MAR 1.43.84 7 Alfred Kirwa Yego KEN 1.43.89 B-race: 1 Gary Reed CAN 1.43.93 2 Florent Lacasse FRA 1.44.75 3 Eugenio Barrios ESP 1.44.84 4 Andrea Longo ITA 1.44.86 |
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi crosses the line in a new world leading time of 1:43.09, Wilfred Bungei and Bram Som will finish as second and third |
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Kenya breaks 4x800 relay world record in Brussels
Kenya set a new world record on the rarely run 4x800m relay in Brussels. Their time of 7:02.43 was well over a second faster than the previous world best time. The first leg was run by Joseph Mutua in a modest 1:46.3. That was slightly below par, since an average of just below 1:46.0 was needed to improve the 24-year old record of 7:03.89 set by four renowned British runners: Peter Elliott, Gary Cook, Steve Cram and Sebastian Coe. On the second leg William Yiampoy had to respond to an excellent challenge by US champion Khadevis Robinson, who ran a leg of 1:44 and a bit. Yiampoy set the team right back on course with a fast leg of 1:44.6. Youthful Ismael Kombich then had to run most of his leg from the front and recorded a commendable 1:46.1. After a dodgy exchange Wilfred Bungei, very much used to front running, managed 1:45.5 on the final leg, holding off a fierce challenge by David Krummenacker. The US team (Harris, Robinson, Burley and Krummenacker) came home in 7:02.82, also well below the old world best mark. |
Wilfred Bungei, William Yiampoy, Joseph Mutua and Ismael Kombich celebrate their world relay record |
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Mbulaeni Mulaudzi wins in Zürich
Mulaudzi showed excellent form in what many would consider the most important meeting of the 2006 season: The Weltklasse in Zürich. He was also the last winner of the 800 at the world famous track, since it will be renewed right after this year's meeting. In an exciting race Mulaudzi and freshly crowned European Champion Bram Som both managed to overtake leader Bungei with their final strides. For Som a dream came true as he finally broke the 21 year old Dutch record by Rob Druppers. Result: 1 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi RSA 1.43.38 2 Bram Som NED 1.43.45 3 Wilfred Bungei KEN 1.43.67 4 Amine Laalou MAR 1.43.91 5 Mehdi Baala FRA 1.44.04 6 Youssef Saad Kamel BRN 1.44.05 7 Khadevis Robinson USA 1.44.61 |
Som, Robinson, Baala, Mulaudzi, Laalou, Kamel and Bungei all dash for the line in Zürich |
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Bram Som snatches the European title
An irresistable final dash through the narrowest of gaps and a desperate dive to
the line brought Bram Som the title of European Champion, just three hundredths
ahead of David Fiegen. Sam Ellis made a late run for bronze, thereby depriving
pre-race favourite Dmitrijs Milkevics, who had been in the lead for almost the
entire race, of a medal.
Result: 1 Bram Som NED 1.46.56 2 David Fiegen LUX 1.46.59 3 Sam Ellis GBR 1.46.64 4 Dmitrijs Milkevics LAT 1.46.70 5 Miguel Quesada ESP 1.46.91 6 Florent Lacasse FRA 1.46.95 7 Andrea Longo ITA 1.47.11 8 Michael Rimmer GBR 1.47.66 |
A final effort brings Som the European title, Fiegen and Ellis have to settle for silver and bronze |
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Alex Kipchirchir wins 800 at Commonwealth games
Admittedly the Melbourne 800m didn't exactly attract many star athletes. The best Kenyans were missing, Mulaudzi was injured and there were even less than 24 entries, meaning that the first round was also the semifinal. All three Kenyans qualified for the final in superior fashion. Moreover John Litei was the only finalist to have a PB below 1:45. Indeed it was Litei who took the lead. Canadian Achraf Tadili took over on the second lap, Litei then came back on the final bend, but both were completely left when Kipchirchir sped by on the final straight and finished more than a second ahead of them. Tadili managed to steal the silver after Litei weakened during his final strides. None of the other participants was able to seriously challenge for a medal position. Result: 1 Alex Kipchirchir KEN 1.45.88 2 Achraf Tadili CAN 1.46.93 3 John Litei KEN 1.46.98 |
Cosmas Rono, Alex Kipchirchir and John Litei celebrate another Kenyan success |
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Bungei celebrates first international title success
Wilfred Bungei finally won a well deserved first major international title when he became World Indoor Champion in Moscow. After leading through the final lap he finished one hundredth of a second ahead of a fast finishing Mulaudzi, who only just failed to defend his title succesfully. Bungei almost gave away his win by celebrating two paces too early but in the end just held on to first spot. Home favorite Borzakovskiy looked ready to strike on the last lap but lacked the power for his final dash and had to be content with bronze. Result: 1 Wilfred Bungei KEN 1.47.15 2 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi RSA 1.47.16 3 Yuriy Borzakovskiy RUS 1.47.38 4 Dmitrijs Milkevics LAT 1.48.01 5 Juan de Dios Jurado ESP 1.48.44 6 James Watkins GBR 1.48.56 |
Bungei strikes for home, Borzakovskiy is unable to respond |