MANCHESTER, July 30: Namibian legend Frankie Fredericks ended the men’s 200m Commonwealth Games final here Monday in tears, but for the first time in two years they were of tears of joy as he won the 200m.
The 34-year-old quadruple Olympic medallist had undergone two Achilles operations in the past two years and many had thought the game was up on one of the greatest ever 200m runners.
He wasn’t the only one to prove the doubters wrong as England’s Chris Rawlinson showed he could handle the big occasion at last by taking the men’s 400m hurdles.
Darren Campbell then showed that he was worth his place despite two years of injury problems himself when he took bronze in the 200m.
The smaller nations also hit the target as the Bahamas took two titles, led by Debbie Ferguson sealing a golden double in adding the 200m to the 100m and 37-year-old Laverne Eve ended 14 years of medalless competition with gold in the women’s javelin.
Mozambique took the women’s 800m title, courtesy of their great runner Maria Mutola and there were minor medals for India, for whom Anu Bobby George hit the target with bronze in the women’s long jump, and Namibia’s Agnes Samaria won bronze in the 800m.
South Africa had come come into the Games wracked by injuries and with star 800m runner Hezekiel Sepeng suspended after going absent without leave, but 21-year-old Mbulaeni Mulaudzi made light of his absence to take the title.
Aussie pin-up girl Tatiana Grigorieva as expected won the pole vault, in a competition which saw a three-way tie for the bronze.
Canada claimed a 1-2 in the men’s high jump as Mark Boswell finally returned to the form that saw him take silver in the 1999 world championships by winning gold.
However it was the elegant and graceful Fredericks who stole the show as he ran 20.06secs to see off two of England’s finest in Marlon Devonish and Campbell.
Fredericks, the second fastest ever over 200m when he took silver behind Michael Johnson in the 1996 Olympics, was overcome with emotion after the race and entered the dressing-room area crying.
“I’m so happy because it has been two years of misery and two Achilles operations.
“Everybody wrote me off and only my family and my agent knew what I went through,” said the four-time world silver medallist.
Fredericks declined to say if he would still be around for the world championships in Paris next year such has been his record with injuries over the past few years.
“I am not thinking about them now. I am just enjoying a very special moment in my career and in a way it ranks right up there among the 1993 world title and even sp;astome of my Olympic silvers because I really never thought once I had to withdraw from the 2000 Olympics I would ever taste a final let alone a medal again.”
Ferguson put up a performance that was every bit as dominant as those of the previous Commonwealth grand dame Merlene Ottey as she took her second title in a Games record time of 22.20sec.
The 26-year-old beat home Jamaica’s Juliet Campbell (22.54) while Lauren Hewitt of Australia was third (22.61).
Ferguson, the 2001 world silver medallist at the distance, never looked in trouble powering away from Campbell - who also won silver in 1998 - off the bend and drawing away.
“I was amazed at my time because I haven’t been training for the 200m but I ran the perfect race,” she said.
“This means a lot to me because it gives me the confidence to mix it with Marion Jones more often,” added Ferguson, who could win a third gold in the 4x100m relay on Wednesday.
While Fredericks had wondered whether he would ever reach a final let alone win a medal Rawlinson had started to think he would never even break his maiden medal status — particularly after losing several kilos from a bout of food poisoning 10 days ago.—AFP