Allen Johnson by Kirby Lee/WireImage.com
The IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships got underway Friday morning in Valencia, Spain. Versus has significant coverage — by track standards, at least — with two hour-long recaps Saturday (March 8, 3 pm/ET and 7 pm/ET) and two hours on Sunday (March 9, 6 pm/ET). In addition, World Championship Sports Network is offering free live streaming video at wcsn.com.
With the Summer Olympics just five months away, this will be a big test on the road to Beijing. One key event to watch is the men’s 60-meter hurdles. Defending Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China, who is going to be the poster boy for the Olympics, is making his season debut in Valencia. He won’t be the favorite for Saturday's competition — and that’s fine with him. “It would be a great achievement if I could be in the top three," he says. The man to beat is Cuba’s Dayron Robles, who has torn up the indoor circuit this winter, including a haulin’ 7.33 clocking in February, the second-fastest in history.
The x-factor in the race is American veteran Allen Johnson, a three-time world indoor champion (1995, 2003 and 2004) and the 1996 Olympic gold medalist. Johnson just turned 37, but looked very fit at the U.S. championships two weeks ago, finishing second to David Oliver (who could also wind up on the podium in Spain).
UPDATE: Bad luck for Robles, who didn't advance out of the heats. Thinking there was a false start, he stopped running briefly, losing too much ground on the field to qualify for the next round. Liu went on to win the gold easily, in 7.46. Johnson took the silver medal in 7.55.
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