(ATR) The rain ends in time for the opening of the 13th IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, but the reign of Usain Bolt is still very much alive.
There were no signs of Daegu's rainy season as the nine-day event began with the women's marathon in the morning and included the opening ceremony Saturday night before a capacity crowd of 44,618 spectators.
The President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung Bak declared the World Championships open. Earlier in the day, he had received the IAAF Golden Order of Merit from IAAF president Lamine Diack as a tribute to "Korea's outstanding contribution to the world athletics movement." It is the highest honor which can be awarded to an individual by the IAAF.
The ceremony included a tribute to 1936 marathon champion, Sohn Kee-chung, who was forced to compete for Japan because of the Japanese occupation of Korea. It featured a dance number that revolved around the laurel Berlin winners wore on their heads during the victory ceremonies. Sohn and bronze medalist Nam Seung-yong both bowed their heads on the podium.
Prolonged fireworks ended the ceremony, which was the second big event in a row in Daegu. Festivities on Friday night had attracted 30,000 people and some of Korea's top singers and pop bands.
Wasting No Time
Bolt, the reigning world and Olympic champion, kissed the Jamaican flag on his warm-up jersey as he made his first appearance on the Daegu track. He waved his index fingers when he was introduced to the crowd, then promptly gave spectators their money's worth.
Bolt surged to a 7-meter lead, then coasted in with the best time in the field of 10.10 seconds. "I had a great start and I'm happy with that," he said after the race.
Some people have said that Bolt, whose best time this season is 9.88 seconds -- well off his world record of 9.58 -- is vulnerable. "People are going to say what they want," he said. "I'm focused on what I want. My focus is to go out and execute and win and show the world that I'm still the best." And is he still the best? "Of course," Bolt said. "Nobody has beaten me all season and nobody has broken my world record."
Kenya, Kenya, Kenya
In a remarkable show of distance running dominance, Kenya swept the women's marathon and the women's 10,000 meters, in which the African powerhouse actually took the first four places. It will take a few days for any other country, including the U.S. and Jamaica, to match Kenya.
In the first gold-medal event, Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat led the 1-2-3 sweep in the women's marathon with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes, 43 seconds.
Then on Saturday night, Vivian Cheruiyot led a 1-2-3-4 sweep in the 10,000m with a personal best of 30:48.98.
Diack Praises Daegu
On the eve of the championships, Diack raved about the preparation for the meet by Daegu, which has the motto of "Sprint together for tomorrow."
"All conditions have been fulfilled so that the athletes can perform to the highest level of the potential," he said.
Diack added that that he visited the Athletes' Village and met delegation members.
"They told me, "I've taken part in Paris, Helsinki, Osaka and Berlin, but the conditions offered here are absolutely perfect and even better at all levels of sports facilities. The stadium is brand new and has the best possible track, a Mondo track.
"All we need now is an agreement with the gods in order to have sunshine tomorrow and until the end of the championships."
Apparently, he got his wish -- at least for the first day...
Powell Speaks
Bolt's main rival, Asafa Powell, who withdrew from the meet on Thursday because of a groin strain, held a press conference at the stadium to explain what had happened.
"I was thinking, every time it comes to the big one, there's always something that keeps me from getting it," said Powell, who admitted he "panicked" in losing at the 2007 World Championships. "It's just like I have to live with it and hope for the best."
Powell, who has run the fastest time in the world this year of 9.78 seconds, said he hopes to compete as part of the Jamaican 4x100m relay on Sept. 4 -- the last day of the event -- and vowed to be ready for London.
"I trained 21 months to come here. To not be able to compete, I'm very disturbed about it," Powell said. "I'm motivated to really come back and prove to the world that I definitely can run fast -- and run fast under pressure -- and really prove to the world that I'm here and I'm here to stay."
He held the world record before Bolt rose to prominence.
"Definitely if I don't finish my career with a gold medal, I retire as one of the best sprinters that has ever touched the track," Powell said. "That's still something to be happy about."
Powell offered no predictions on who would win the 100. "It's a quite open field," he said.
False-Start Claims Famous Victim
Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain was the first major victim of the false-start rule that is being used at the World Championships for the first time. The rule allows no second chances. Ohuruogu false-started in the heats of the women's 400, an unusual mistake in a race longer than 200 meters.
"I'm broken," she told reporters when she finally had composed herself.
Ohuruogu, who was raised in London's East End, has wilted under the pressure to live up to the expectations of her countrymen. She sat on the steps leading to the mixed zone for about 15 minutes while she was consoled and her fellow runners walked around her.
Written and reported in Daegu by Karen Rosen.
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