The Electronic Telegraph Tuesday 12 June 2001 Tom Knight KATHARINE MERRY looked every bit a world champion in waiting here last night as she demolished a world-class field, smashed her personal best and came within a whisker of breaking the British record. In only her second race of the summer, the Birchfield Harrier won the Athens Grand Prix 400 metres in 49.59sec, more than a tenth of a second quicker than the time she ran in Sydney, where she won the Olympic bronze medal. After crossing the line in the stadium which will stage the Games of 2004, she stared at the clock, unsure whether to laugh or cry. She could barely believe she had come so close to lowering the British record of 49.43, set 17 years ago by Kathy Cook in the Los Angeles Olympics. It was an outstanding performance which left the 27-year-old reeling. "When I saw the time, I was ecstatic," Merry said. "I'm still in shock. I came here to win in whatever time it took but I didn't expect to run almost a second quicker than I did in Milan last Wed nesday. "Early season races are about winning and beating people, psychologically getting a step above them. Where this came from, I don't know. I woke up this morning feeling lousy. I've had a bad tummy since Milan and I came to the stadium with a headache. But this proves I can deliver." First into the home straight and still cruising, Merry finished more than 10 metres clear of Heide Seyerling, the South African who finished sixth in the Olympics. Sandy Richards, the Commonwealth champion, was back in fourth place, Michelle Collins, the American, came fifth. Excellent though it was, however, Merry's race was not without its faults. She was hesitant from the blocks and too cautious running into the first bend. The crucial moments lost may have cost her the British record and she said: "I will look at the race again on video and analyse what happened. I didn't run it properly. If I'm going to run 49 flat I'll have to be quicker into my running." But this was not a night for quibbling. Merry's outstanding start to the year, in which she also set two British records in her only two races indoors, merely underlines what was apparent in Sydney. In an event already missing the Olympic champion after Cathy Freeman's decision to take a year off, Merry can succeed the Australian as world champion in Edmonton in eight weeks' time. The question for Merry now is what she should do next. Already planned is a 400m race in Nuremberg, Germany, on Sunday and she will captain the British women's team in the European Cup in Bremen on June 23-24. But there are already extra demands on her time. Organisers of the Helsinki Grand Prix want her to run there on Thursday. Colin Jackson continued his improvement after a winter spent struggling with a serious Achilles injury. The Welshman clocked 13.36sec for third place in the 110m hurdles won by Anier Garcia, the Olympic champion from Cuba. Maurice Greene, back in the arena where he won his first world title and set the world record, won the 100m in 9.91, the fastest time in the world this year. GP MEETING (Athens).- Men, 1500m: 1, A Sief Saidi (Algeria) 3-30.78; 2, N Ngeny (Kenya) 3-31.94; 3, L Rotich (Kenya) 3-33.66. 110m hdls: 1, A Garcia (Cuba) 13.30; =2, C Phillips (US), C Jackson (GB) 13.36. 3,000m steeplechase: 1, J Kosgei (Kenya) 8-16.28; 2, A Cherono (Kenya) 8-16.57; 3, S Kibiwott (Kenya) 8-16.62. Women, 400m: 1, K Merry (GB) 49.59; 2, H Seyerling (S Africa) 50.36; 3, N Kaltouma (Chad) 50.59. 800m: 1, Z Calatayud (Cuba) 1-59.00; 2, F Dos Santos (Brazil) 1-59.07; 3, L Mendes (Brazil) 1-59.46. 400m hdls: 1, D A Parris (Jamaica) 54.55; 2, I Tirlea (Romania) 54.98. 3, S Febbriao (S Africa) 55.03. Triple Jump: 1, T Lebedeva (Russia) 14.91; 2, M Martinez (Cuba) 14.50; 3, T Marinova (Bulgaria) 14.48. Discus: 1, N Grasu (Romania) 68.31; 2, N Sadova (Russia) 67.18; 3, F Dietzsch (Germany) 63.63. Eamonn Condon www.RunnersGoal.com
