Friends ... but fierce rivals - Walker, Spencer hunt 400 hurdles gold

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

DAEGU, South Korea:

They laugh together, train together and suffer disappointments together, back in Kingston. But here in Daegu, Melaine Walker and Kaliese Spencer are rivals, two fierce competitors going for the same prize - an IAAF World Championship in Athletics 400 metres hurdles gold medal.

It was the fabled Chinese general and war strategist, Sun-Tzu, who encouraged, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Even though they are certainly not enemies, the philosophy still holds true for Walker, the effervescent Olympic and World champion and Spencer, the bright-eyed world leader and heir apparent.

Both members of Stephen Francis' MVP Track Club, the two, along with American Lashinda Demus, are expected to wage a battle for the 400m hurdles crown over the coming days.

As far as Walker is concerned, there is little surprise that Spencer has managed to fly through the ranks so quickly and forcefully.

Anticipating clash

"I have been looking forward to this clash for years," said Walker. "I have been training with Kaliese for over three years now and I know within myself all along that she was a strong competitor.

"I was beginning to wonder to myself when was she going to step up, but she has got better and is now more mature, so it should be a good contest," Walker added.

Walker, though not doing much to impress on the circuit this year, isn't too bothered by her form coming into the Daegu championships.

That is nothing new, Walker's has never generally appeared to be in top form going into a major meet.

"The World Champion-ships is an event that is important for the entire world, so of course, it is a big event. The entire world is watching and everybody wants to do well here and I am looking forward to going out there and do well for my country," Walker noted.

For Spencer, Walker and her other team-mates at MVP are a source of daily motivation and inspiration. No wonder she takes great pride in bettering her teammate's one-time national junior record mark with one that has since been eclipsed by another MVP fast-riser, Ristananna Tracey.

"My fellow clubmates at the MVP Track Club do tend to push me to work harder," Spencer stated. "It is only natural that my competitive side would see and admire the work of my many outstanding and hard-working fellow Jamaican athletes and would want to aspire to be like them."

Spencer has set the world alight over the past two seasons, winning the event on the IAAF/Samsung Diamond League circuit, while closing last year as the fastest Jamaican over the distance with a best of 53.33 seconds. She returned this year to post the fastest time so far with 52.79.

Spencer a favourite

The former Mannings School athlete is actually the only woman in the world to have gone below 53 seconds this year, a fact that makes her the favourite going into the event.

Walker, on the other hand, has not done much since her victory at the IAAF World Championships in 2009 and has had her fair share of setbacks since.

She is currently ranked number four in the world with 53.56 and could only manage 55.33 in 2010, before an Achilles injury brought her year to a premature end in June.

However, poor build-ups are nothing new to the former St. Jago star, who entered the Berlin World Championships clocking 54-second times before exploding at the championships, gradually improving before racing towards 52.59 on her gold-medal run - the fastest time posted for the year.

The previous year, Walker entered the Olympics with a 54.18 best time, but she seemed a different athlete as the competition progressed, and ended with a 52.64 mark in the final.

So once again Walker, the defending champion, will be looking to deliver when it matters most, while Spencer is hopeful that she will be able to improve on her fourth-place finish last time around.

Either way, it's setting up to be an intriguing showdown as, beginning tonight at 10:20 (Jamaica time) the friends get set to compete fiercely for the same prize.