Olympics 2012 - Women's 400m final

Charles Van Comenee cannot in his wildest dream have believed that he would have surpassed his Olympic targets – sets since the moment London took control of the games from Beijing – in just one night, but Ennis, Farah and Rutherford see Team GB with 3 medals, all of them gold, which has far exceeded a target of just 1 gold and eight medals so far.

Whether Christine Ohuruogu can add to the three golds remains to be seen, but the signs are good for the defending Olympic Champion, famous for being Britain’s only medal on the track four years ago, made safely through to the final of the women's 400m after she crosses the line in second spot with a season's best time of 50.22 in her semi-final, putting in a strong late finish but fails to overtake American winner Sanya Richards-Ross in the home straight.

With just one loss in five competitions over the distance and two of the year's four fastest performances, Richards Ross is the strong 4/6 favourite for gold, but that price looks short based on the fact that she’s lost three of her four major finals (ass as a strong favourite) trying up late on to be caught by Ohuruogu on two occasions – the 2007 worlds and the 2008 Olympics – and then Botswana’s Amatnle Montsho on the other at least year’s worlds. She has a big chance, but the gold rests on her being able to maintain her speed in the last 100m.

Montsho and Ohuruogu are two big contenders for the gold if Richards Ross ties up late and picking between the two is hard. Bagging victories in Kawasaki, Oslo, and Paris, the latter on the heels of her successful African title defense, Montsho is clearly in good shape for an assault on the Olympic title here and her fifth best time in the semis – where she cheekily stole it in the last stride from McCory-  should be much improved in the final.  She was beaten by Ohuruogu in the Crystal Palace Meet and reversed that form in the heats, so the battle will be fierce. Even from the outside lane, she’s got a big chance, although Montsho looks to be a smart bet for a medal.

To get to a medal, they will have to beat World Bronze medallist and season's fastest Antonina Krivoshapka who sped to a 49.16 victory at the Russian Championships. The Russian won her semi in the fastest time – she was one of only 3 to go under 50 seconds, the other two being in heat heat – and she should take some beating too, although she looked ragged in her semi and might be vulnerable late on to the finishing kick of the others, although she has an exceptional cruising speed. The two behind her – Novene Williams and DeeDee Trotter – look vulnerable late despite having a good turn of foot.

Advice

1 pt Amatnle Montsho to medal (11/10 general)