“In a world championships final, you don’t expect to compete against nine other guys,” Symmonds said several hours after finishing a disappointing sixth in 1 minute, 45.71 seconds.
Symmonds did not speak to reporters at the stadium immediately after his race.
In an unprecedented World Championships final, 10 men were allowed to compete in the 800 instead of the usual eight. Bram Som of the Netherlands and Marcin Lewandowski of Poland, who toppled over Abubaker Kaki of Sudan when he tripped and fell in Symmonds’ semifinal, were allowed to advance to the final when officials ruled that Kaki had unfairly interfered with them.
Symmonds objected.
“I’m actually very, very upset that there were 10 guys on the track,” the Oregon Track Club Elite runner said.
While both Lewandowski and Som bounced up after falling and continued running in Friday’s semifinal, only the former was able to finish. That, according to Symmonds, was the rub.
“I read the rulebook, and you have to finish a semifinal to get to be in the final,” he said. “Why Som was in the final I’ll never know. No excuses, but I blame the IAAF and USATF for that.”
The final, where two men started in lanes one and eight so everyone would fit on the track, had a slow start and more than the usual amount of pushing. The eventual winner, South Africa’s Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, gave a hard shove to Morocco’s Amine Laalou just before the race reached the 400-meter mark in a slow 53.44 seconds.
“I expected that,” Symmonds said of the aggressive tactics.
Symmonds kept out of traffic, and his race plan was unfolding perfectly. He surged out of the final turn and was just off the South African’s shoulder with a clear shot at the finish line and his first world championships medal.
“I was in perfect position at the bell and perfect position with 100 to go,” Symmonds said. “But I didn’t have quite enough left in my legs after three rounds.”
Going full throttle, Symmonds had to watch as four men went past him in the last 20 meters. Six athletes finished in a span of just 0.42 seconds, the second-tightest top-six finish in world championships history. Kenya’s Alfred Kirwa Yego, the defending world champion, got the silver medal, and this championships’ 1,500-meter gold medalist, Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain, got the bronze.
“Looking back, I wouldn’t do anything different,” Symmonds said. “I ran well tactically today. I just didn’t have my signature last 100.”
Sunday was even more difficult for marathoner Kara Goucher. Her hopes for a medal were dashed when she had stomach problems and couldn’t respond to a hard mid-race surge by Russia’s Nailiya Yulamanova that broke up the race, launching China’s Bai Xue to her first world marathon title in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 15 seconds.
“I had a lot of problems keeping my fluids down,” Goucher said after finishing 10th in 2:27:48. “After the second personal fluid station, I started throwing up what I took in. I would start taking it, then a mile later, I’d throw up.
“When the field made their break, my body wouldn’t go.”
Sunday’s action closed the 12th edition of the nine-day championships. The next IAAF World Championships are scheduled for Daegu, South Korea, in 2011.
