{"id":40083,"date":"2017-08-11T05:29:27","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T05:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=40083"},"modified":"2017-08-11T05:29:27","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T05:29:27","slug":"track-field-still-waiting-next-usain-bolt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/track-field-still-waiting-next-usain-bolt.html","title":{"rendered":"Track and field still waiting for \u2018The Next Usain Bolt\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Track and field still waiting for \u2018The Next Usain Bolt\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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If track and field\u2019s wildest fantasy \u2014 \u201cThe Next Usain Bolt\u201d \u2014 really is out there somewhere, he most certainly was not in the vicinity of the world championships on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eight men lined up for the final of the 200 meters, trying to become the first sprinter other than the Jamaican great to win the world title at that distance since 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among them was Isaac Makwala, the Botswana runner who became a celebrity of sorts with his soap opera-like story of being barred from the track meet with an alleged case of stomach flu, only to be readmitted for his shot at glory.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was Wayde van Niekerk, the South African who has a 400-meter title under his belt from earlier in the week and certainly possesses the running credentials to be touted as the next great sprint champion.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then, there was the winner: Ramil Guliyev, a 27-year-old who competes for Turkey but hails originally from Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guliyev, who finished last when Bolt won the 200 at last year\u2019s Olympics, crossed the line in 20.09 seconds. It was the fourth-slowest time to win this race in the history of the championships. But Turkey\u2019s second gold medal of the week had its perks. Moments after the win, Guliyev was on the phone with his country\u2019s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hours later, he was still wearing the Turkish flag around his shoulders \u2014 and making no apologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was competing against some of the best athletes in the world, so it didn\u2019t bother me that the attention was on them,\u201d Guliyev said. \u201cMaybe at the next competition, everyone will look at me instead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Give him his due. Guliyev made up two steps on Van Niekerk over the last 20 meters to squeak out a .02-second victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

Van Niekerk, who holds the world record at 400 meters, was trying to become the first person since Michael Johnson in 1995 to complete the 200-400 double at the worlds. How difficult that quest really is became evident the night before when Van Niekerk, coming down from the high of his 400 win, struggled in the 200 semifinals and barely squeezed into the final.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though many are looking to him to occupy the mantle Bolt is leaving \u2014 and Van Niekerk says he\u2019ll try Bolt\u2019s specialty, the 100-200 double, in the future \u2014 the runner himself got a crash course in how hard it will be to take it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey made me realize it\u2019s not going to be a walk in the park,\u201d he said after capturing silver in a photo finish over Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Makwala, meanwhile, could have put an exclamation point on his drama with a medal, but was never a factor. A week full of uncertainty and being hounded 24-7 by TV cameras, to say nothing of the illness he may or may not have had (he claims he was never sick), clearly took its toll. His time, 20.44, was .67 seconds slower than his season best.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I will ever face this again,\u201d he said. \u201cI will always pray to not face this again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Seven days into this most expectation-defying of track meets, fans of the sport must be growing used to seeing their world turned upside down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bolt finished third in his 100-meter finale to open the festivities. He\u2019s already shut things down in the 200. When asked if he wished he could still run that race, he insisted \u201cit would have been worse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A few things did go to form on a crisp, cool night at the stadium that hosted the Olympics five years ago \u2014 most of them involving the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christian Taylor and Will Claye repeated their 1-2 finish from the last two Olympics. Taylor won with a jump of 17.68 meters but was a bit disappointed because he didn\u2019t hit the 22-year-old world record that he\u2019s had his sights on for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I\u2019ve just been chasing this number, this magical 18.29,\u201d Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 400-meter hurdles, Kori Carter started outside in Lane 9 and never saw a soul on her way to gold. She crossed ahead of the Olympic champion, Dalilah Muhammad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back to the madness.<\/span><\/p>\n

After her would-be gold turned into an inexplicable fourth-place finish Wednesday in the 400, Shaunae Miller-Uibo returned to win her 200-meter semifinal heat. She looked much better than when she limped down the homestretch the night before, and explained that things weren\u2019t quite what they seemed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people thought I got hurt with my hamstring or something along that line,\u201d said Miller-Uibo, the 400-meter Olympic champion. \u201cI took a look at the screen and lost my balance. I ended up (stubbing) my foot into the track.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019ll get her second chance for gold in the 200.<\/span><\/p>\n

And good news, track fans: Bolt will get another chance, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

He returns Saturday as the headliner for Jamaica\u2019s 4×100 relay team \u2014 to serve up one final glimpse of what this sport is going to miss once he\u2019s gone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe finished his career, and of course he\u2019s king,\u201d said Guliyev, the new 200-meter champion. \u201cThe time is coming for us. We made it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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