 Heptathlete Kelly Sotherton had been set to captain the Birmingham team |
The inaugural Super 8 event in Cardiff was marred after Kelly Sotherton, Hannah England and Greg Rutherford were withdrawn over a sponsorship row. The trio are sponsored by Nike, who wanted their athletes to wear branded kit, but the Super 8 vest carries just the event logo and team name. London South won with 117 points, one ahead of Birmingham and London North. Their captain, Olympic bronze medallist Natasha Danvers, won the 100m hurdles but then injured her hamstring. UK Athletics said it hoped to resolve the sponsorship issue before the next event, expected to take place next year.  | BBC COMMENTATOR'S VIEW ">Without the obstruction of blinkers, it is possible to witness an attempt to deliver the pure appeal of athletics to a different, wider audience |
Earlier this week, Olympic 400m gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu - who was set to captain London North - pulled out because of a schedule mix-up, as she was also booked to race in Montreuil, near Paris, on Thursday. Heptathlete Sotherton, who won bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics, had been due to captain the Birmingham team in the two-hour, city v city contest. England has been in impressive form in the 1500m this season, while Rutherford qualified for the long jump final at the Beijing Games. A statement issued by UK Athletics said: "There are more than 140 athletes competing tonight in the inaugural Super 8. "Personal sponsorship obligations have led to three athletes having to withdraw from the competition. "However, we believe we can find a workable solution with all interested parties for the future of Super 8." | It's either a pull or cramp and it felt like a pull to me but I don't want to assume the worst |
The competition aims to emulate the success of Twenty20 cricket and boost falling attendances at athletics meetings in Britain but got off to an inauspicious start. A crowd of around 2,500 saw winning performances from the likes of Chris Tomlinson and Craig Pickering. In the absence of his rival Rutherford, Tomlinson won the long jump with a best of 7.96m, while Pickering won the 100m in 10.24 sec ahead of Seyi Smith and local favourite Christian Malcolm. Three-time Olympian Malcolm captained Cardiff but home advantage proved of little use as they finished eighth and last with 82.5 points. Danvers, as one of the remaining star attractions, duly delivered on the track. | 606: DEBATE |
Having starred in the 400m hurdles in Beijing, she dropped down to the 100m hurdles to record an impressive win, made even more so after being nominated as the team's "joker" so her result would count double towards the points tally. Her win in 13.40 seconds secured her side 16 points rather than eight in the team competition. "I really enjoyed that," said Danvers, who is based in California. "I've been looking forward to this competition for quite some time now. "It's very similar to what I'm used to with the collegiate system in America, it's how the dual-meet system works there with USC against UCLA and you have a very quick programme. "It's a brilliant idea, a lot of people have been really begging for something to happen in the UK as far as athletics is concerned, and here it is." However, Danvers' evening ended on a sour note when she pulled up with a hamstring injury in the relay. She had looked on target to run both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles in the European Team Championships later this month - the team is announced on Friday. She added: "It's either a pull or cramp and it felt like a pull to me but I don't want to assume the worst."
| 
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?