Moscow Challenge

[tafnut]

Don't know what to make of this yet. Details at

http://moscowchallenge.ru/page.phtml/eng/

"Men will be competing in 100 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1500 m races and in triple jump. 100 m, 400 m, 800 m races, high jump, long jump and pole vault are on the female athletes’ agenda."

There's no start lists yet, but the site certainly makes it look like they are trying for the world's best. Will this live up to the hype, or be an afterthought to the season?

[sl]

Re: Moscow Challenge

I hope it lives up to the hype, but the format (no appearance money, last I heard) means anyone who doesn't feel like they have a great chance to win will skip it.

[dl]

Re: Moscow Challenge

It should be a helluva meet. There's BIG prize money.

[Hersey]

Re: Moscow Challenge

what is the prize money for 2nd place and so on

[Powell]

Re: Moscow Challenge

If big money equalled great athletics, the Toronto 150 meters would have been the greatest race of all time.
The meet comes at a time when the season is supposed to be over. Even with major stars competing, it will just be a bunch of tired guys running on their last legs. The weather will likely be crap as well at this time of the year in Moscow. Totally pointless.

[dl]

Re: Moscow Challenge

Wish I could find the original release which had some prize money figures, but I know there's at least $100K for the winner of the men's 100, perhaps more. Other events have less, but still quite a bit. I believe the men's 800 has $50K to the winner, since Bungei said after not being named to the Kenyan team that "Moscow will be my Worlds."

[dl]

Re: Moscow Challenge

I checked, and the prize money for the winner of the men's 100 is a cool half-million. Considerably less for other events.

[tafnut]

Re: Moscow Challenge

This meet will be interesting if for no other reason than to see what some hefty monetary prizes can due for performance. I assume they have tried to tie some money to marks instead of just places? Otherwise we're gonna get some pretty lackluster results.

Re: Moscow Challenge

The half-million dollar figure was quoted in TFN back in the spring, as I recall, as partof a big Monty-Mo showdown. With neither of them in the picture (even if they're running), could they really still be offering that kind of money? Seems hard to believe.

Re: Moscow Challenge

A posted comment on the forthcoming Moscow meet, said that "The meet comes at a time when the season is supposed to be over."
-----
Please note that the current USA schedule, empasizing the Northern Hemisphere's spring season, is not the model everywhere else. Here are some examples of meets, expected to host 50 to 100 nations, yet to be held in 2003:

Oct 11-15: All-Africa Games - Abuju, Nigeria
Oct 26-29: Afro-Asian Games - Hyderabad, India
Dec 05-13: SE Asian Games - Hanoi, Vietnam

Further, the Southern Hemispshere spring begins soon and there will be considerable competition until next March in such countries as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

James Fields

[Powell]

Re: Moscow Challenge

Oh, OK, then - let's just get together all these African and Asian sprinters and give the 500 grand to the best of them. The HJ will be even better :-p

[tafnut]

Re: Moscow Challenge

Excerpts from the start lists

100 m (men)
1. Tim Montgomerie USA
2. Dwain Chambers GBR
3. Kim Collins SKN
4. Bernard Willams USA
5. Justin Gatlin USA
6. Frankie Freddricks NAM
7. Jhon Capel USA
8. Joshua Johnson USA
800 m (men)
1. Yuiry Borzakovskiy RUS
2. Andre Bucher SUI
3. Wilfred Bungei KEN
4. Bram Som NED
5. Michael Rotich KEN
6. Joseph Mutua KEN
1500 m (men)
1. Hicham El Guerrouj MAR
2. Paul Korir KEN
3. Vyacheslav Shabunin RUS
4. Alex Kipchirchir KEN
5. Ivan Heshko UKR
Triple Jump (men)
1. Christian Olsson SWE
2. Leevan Sands BAH
3. Kenta Bell USA
4. Dmitriy Valyukevich BLR
5. Walter Davis USA

100 m (women)
1. Kelli White USA
2. Zhana Block UKR
3. Chryste Gaines USA
4. Christine Arron FRA
5. Marina Kislova RUS
6. Elve Goulbourn JAM
7. Muriel Hurtis FRA

800 m (women)
1. Maria Mutola MOZ
2. Jolander Ceplak SLO
3. Mina Ait Hammou MAR
4. Diane Cummins CAN
5. Natalia Khroutcheleva RUS
6. Jo Fenn GBR
7. Tatiana Tomashova RUS

Long Jump (women)
1. Tatyana Kotova RUS
2. Elva Golbourne JAM
3. Tatiana Lebedeva RUS
4. Olga Rublyova RUS
5. Eunice Barber FRA

[Natasha]

Re: Moscow Challenge

I'm interested if anyone knows about the results. It's already getting late in Moscow.

[gandalf]

Re: Moscow Challenge

The KGB knows, but if they told you, they'd have to kill you.

Re: Moscow Challenge

Bad taste humor.