YorickBrown
09-12-04, - 04:20 PM
28-year-old Tonique Williams-Darling of Bahamas grabbed a share of the TDK Golden League Jackpot this afternoon following a superb win in a star studded 400m race in Berlin.
It took Williams-Darling a new national record of 49.07 which was also a meeting record and World leading time to maintain her invincibility and extend her winning streak which started at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest last March to ten consecutive races.
In a race which counted five Olympic 400m finalists in addition to Williams-Darling and the 400m Hurdles Olympic champion Fani Halkia of Greece, fast times were expected but to see the Bahamian clock the fastest time in the world since Ana Guevara’s World Championships win (48.89) at last year’s World Championships was more than what the 60,000 spectators had asked for.
Following a relatively cautious start, Williams-Darling took command of the race coming into the last bend and was leading Ana Guevara by a couple of strides as they entered the final straight. Wearing a full body suit, Guevara pulled aside Williams-Darling and it briefly looked like the Olympic silver medallist would take her revenge on the Bahamian but that was without counting on Williams-Darling’s final surge.
The Olympic champion pulled away again and secured her share of the TDK Golden League Jackpot. She became the 12th female athlete since the creation of the Golden League in 1998 to win a share of the jackpot and the second 400m runner after Guevara’s memorable winning streak in 2002.
“I am definitely very happy with the outcome,” said Williams-Darling. “It has been a hard season and this has been a hard race. But this is what I prepared for, I knew what I had to do.”
“I am always nervous at the start of a race. I guess I was just a little more nervous today. Everyone came back running harder after Athens and this afternoon’s race was faster than Athens, it was harder than the Olympic final.”
“When Ana Guevara pulled up by my side, I thought ‘Oh my God, I might lose this.’ I got so nervous when she pulled aside me but I thought to myself that if I managed to stay focus I would probably e successful. And that is what I did.”
“I guess we ran a fast race today because there was a little less pressure than at the Olympics. I mean I had pressure to win the Jackpot but all the others ran a much more relaxed race. They went out there to have fun and I had a lot of motivation to go out there and win that race. I guess that is why the times were faster this afternoon.”
“The competition was very good and with the other athletes running so well it forces you to run at your best. With me, Ana and all the other finalists from the Olympics in the race season’s bests, national records and World leading times just fell.”
“To come out and set a National record after the Olympic Games, to actually go out there and have that kind of time after the Games is great.”
“With the 500,000 dollars I just won I am certainly going to help my family and all my siblings back home. I am going to take care of some personal stuff and achieve some goals that I have.”
“To be totally honest I haven’t really thought about it that much yet though so I don’t know what to do with all that money.”
Williams-Darling now heads to Monaco where she will take part in the second World Athletics Final.
“I definitely hope I will run under 49 seconds in Monaco next week. I know what I have to do and I will go out there and try and remain undefeated.”
Williams-Darling coach Steve Riddick who had predicted 24 hours before the race that her protégée would run a “low 49 seconds” race was understandably very proud of his athlete.
“People may say she came out slow and just responded to Guevara’s move but Tonique in fact just ran the race which was planned. She ran her own race.”
It took Williams-Darling a new national record of 49.07 which was also a meeting record and World leading time to maintain her invincibility and extend her winning streak which started at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest last March to ten consecutive races.
In a race which counted five Olympic 400m finalists in addition to Williams-Darling and the 400m Hurdles Olympic champion Fani Halkia of Greece, fast times were expected but to see the Bahamian clock the fastest time in the world since Ana Guevara’s World Championships win (48.89) at last year’s World Championships was more than what the 60,000 spectators had asked for.
Following a relatively cautious start, Williams-Darling took command of the race coming into the last bend and was leading Ana Guevara by a couple of strides as they entered the final straight. Wearing a full body suit, Guevara pulled aside Williams-Darling and it briefly looked like the Olympic silver medallist would take her revenge on the Bahamian but that was without counting on Williams-Darling’s final surge.
The Olympic champion pulled away again and secured her share of the TDK Golden League Jackpot. She became the 12th female athlete since the creation of the Golden League in 1998 to win a share of the jackpot and the second 400m runner after Guevara’s memorable winning streak in 2002.
“I am definitely very happy with the outcome,” said Williams-Darling. “It has been a hard season and this has been a hard race. But this is what I prepared for, I knew what I had to do.”
“I am always nervous at the start of a race. I guess I was just a little more nervous today. Everyone came back running harder after Athens and this afternoon’s race was faster than Athens, it was harder than the Olympic final.”
“When Ana Guevara pulled up by my side, I thought ‘Oh my God, I might lose this.’ I got so nervous when she pulled aside me but I thought to myself that if I managed to stay focus I would probably e successful. And that is what I did.”
“I guess we ran a fast race today because there was a little less pressure than at the Olympics. I mean I had pressure to win the Jackpot but all the others ran a much more relaxed race. They went out there to have fun and I had a lot of motivation to go out there and win that race. I guess that is why the times were faster this afternoon.”
“The competition was very good and with the other athletes running so well it forces you to run at your best. With me, Ana and all the other finalists from the Olympics in the race season’s bests, national records and World leading times just fell.”
“To come out and set a National record after the Olympic Games, to actually go out there and have that kind of time after the Games is great.”
“With the 500,000 dollars I just won I am certainly going to help my family and all my siblings back home. I am going to take care of some personal stuff and achieve some goals that I have.”
“To be totally honest I haven’t really thought about it that much yet though so I don’t know what to do with all that money.”
Williams-Darling now heads to Monaco where she will take part in the second World Athletics Final.
“I definitely hope I will run under 49 seconds in Monaco next week. I know what I have to do and I will go out there and try and remain undefeated.”
Williams-Darling coach Steve Riddick who had predicted 24 hours before the race that her protégée would run a “low 49 seconds” race was understandably very proud of his athlete.
“People may say she came out slow and just responded to Guevara’s move but Tonique in fact just ran the race which was planned. She ran her own race.”