|
In 2000, a new threat to Mutola's dominance of the 800m emerged in the
form of Austrian Stephanie Graf. Leading up to the Olympic Games in
Sydney, Mutola and Graf had singled themselves out as the only two
contenders for the Olympic gold medal. Graf had seemed to have the
upper hand during the indoor season when she beat Mutola at Ghent on 11
February, but the balance of supremacy swung more towards Mutola in the
outdoor season, although she raced sparingly, only contesting the 800m
at four meetings prior to the Olympics. Mutola and Graf had two good
races in the last month prior to Sydney, both of which were narrowly won
by Maria, providing her with a psychological advantage over her
opponent at just the right time.
Firstly, at Stockholm, on 1 August,
Mutola won in a very fast time of 1min 56.98sec compared to Graf's
second-place time of 1min 57.32sec. Ten days later in Zurich, Mutola
was even quicker, recording 1min 56.90sec, with Graf a close second in
1min 57.34sec. At Sydney, Graf and Mutola won their respective
semi-finals on 23 September, setting the scene for their expected clash
in the final two days later. Following a fast early pace in the final
set by Czech Helena Fuchsova, Kelly Holmes (Great Britain) took the
field by surprise when she grabbed the lead with 200m to go and sprinted
for home with Mutola and Graf in pursuit.
Holmes finally succumbed to
her pursuers 50m from the tape, as Mutola, at 27 years of age but
competing in her fourth Olympics, won the gold medal from Graf in a time
of 1min 56.15sec (see photo above). The whole of Mozambique
stopped to cheer Mutola when she returned home following her victory,
naming her old school and a street after her. (Ron Casey)
|