Bucher hits the jackpot
Just weeks after winning gold at the world championships in Edmonton, Switzerland's André Bucher has grabbed himself a share of the Golden League jackpot with a convincing 800 metres victory in Berlin.
In what has become almost his trademark, the Lucerne runner broke away on the back straight before crossing the line in first place with a time of 1’43″82.
It was Bucher’s fifth win in the Golden League series, guaranteeing him a share of the event’s jackpot, worth the equivalent of 50 kilograms of gold. He is the first Swiss athlete to achieve the feat.
The prize money will be divided among six athletes. Romania’s Violeta Szekely and American superstar Marion Jones had already made sure of their share before Friday’s final stage.
American hurdler Allen Johnson, Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj and controversial Russian runner Olga Yegorova all joined Bucher with their fifth win each in Berlin. Yegorova, who tested positive for the banned substance EPO earlier this year only to be escape a ban for technical reasons, recorded a new European best time of 14’29″32 in the 5,000 metres.
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