OSAKA 2007: A Spectator's Guide to the Women's 1500m

Battle of the Eastern Europeans - Learn Your Names & Faces

Heats: August 29th, 2007 @ 10:00am, Find Results Here; 
Semi-Finals: August 31st, 2007 @ 7:30pm, Find Results Here; 
Finals: September 2nd, 2007 @ 8:10pm, Find Results Here.

This year's World Championships 1500m has all the elements in place to make it one of the most exciting races of the meet: a battle between tactical and fast-paced 1500m specialists, a battle between the Russian hegemony and the rest of the world (Russia currently has 6 of the 10 fastest performers so far this year), and also a battle between cagey veterans such as Tatyana Tomashova and Poland's Lydia Chojecka and young up-and-comers like Natalya Pantelyeva and Mariam Selsouli .

Most intriguing about this race is that it is a veritable rematch of the drama-filled 2005 World Champs final in Helsinki. In that race, four Russians controlled the race into the bell with Bahrain's Maryam Yusef Jamal in tow. With 300m to go, Russian Yuliya Fomenko tried to get past Jamal on the inside and in the process bumped her off balance. Jamal, one of the heavy favorites, stumbled out of medal contention and finished fifth. Fomenko was disqualified and any hope of a Russian 1-4 sweep was put to an end. Regardless, the Russians took first (Tomashova), second, and fourth (Yelena Soboleva), and Jamal went on to later run the year's fastest time and rank #1 for the year by Track and Field News.

This year, nearly all of the 2005 cast has returned for a rematch of that final. Jamal, who has been ranked #1 the last two years, is once again pitted against Tomashova, Soboleva and Fomenko, all of whom have improved since that 2005 race. In addition, they are likely to be joined in the final by championship veterans Chojecka and Australian Sarah Jamieson, and the young Russian Pantelyeva.

The following is a spectator's guide to the top athletes expected to contend for a medal in the 1500m in Osaka. After the bios you'll find statistics about each athlete (personal best times, age, etc.) and a listing of the top 10 performers so far this year. For more information on the 2005 World Champs final, go to the IAAF site for a race summary report.

Yelena Soboleva
Russia - 3:56.43 (2006) - 5'6/119lbs

With her 4:15 Mile victory (third fastest time ever) and two more 1500 wins over the top contenders for Osaka, all in the space of 9 days in July, the 24-year-old Soboleva stamped herself as one of the favorites for 1500m gold. She broke out into the elite ranks in 2005 when she dropped her 1500m PR from 4:11.98 down ten seconds to 4:01.14 and then followed that performance a month later with a fourth place in the World Championships. 2006 started off on an excellent foot with a world indoor record in the 1500 (3:58.28), making her one of only two women ever to break 4:00 indoors. At the World Indoor Champs, she lost to teammate Fomenko on the last lap, but held off Maryam Jamal for the silver.

The outdoor season continued with a solid victory at the Russian Nationals in 4:00.47 and then three consecutive 1500m marks under 3:59 with one being her PR of 3:56.43. However, the long indoor and outdoor season may have taken its toll because she finished a listless fourth place at the European Champs. After taking the indoor season off, Soboleva has come back better than ever, turning in the fastest 1500 and Mile times of the year so far, and being undefeated over her three forays over the 1500/Mile, the most promiment being Athens, where she beat out many of the top Osaka contenders such as Jamal, Tomashova and Fomenko. If the pace is fast in Osaka, she will be very hard to beat.