Contrasting Events Duel--NACAC defeats Lausanne DL

 Huh, what??
A few days past the last of 2022's several Championship meets, the long-anticipated return of the Diamond League arrived in Lausanne Switzerland!
And that Championship was the LEAST known and LEAST expected to take our eyes off the upcoming remaining DL's!!
Yet the North American Central American and Caribbean Championships--in only its 4th edition--provided a scary amount of Meet Records (maybe not so shocking, considering how new the meet is!) and strong performances by many elite athletes.
Thus, the 2022 NACAC dominates this past week!!
(Although, to be fair, the NACAC's August 19-21 dates overlapped the European Championships's last 3 days!!)

After El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Canada, the Bahamas was this year's home for the NACAC!
(The past meets were in 2007, 2015, and 2018!)
What better athlete to tag here than the Bahamas own Shaunae Miller-Uibo?
And she came through, her 49.40 searing the track for the Meet Record, and 2nd fastest time of the year!
Sadi Williams ran 49.86 in 2nd!
Andrew Hudson, now representing Jamaica, also burned up the track, his 19.87 beating the 20.00 by Tyree King!
Freddie Crittenden's 13.00 shocker in the 110H would've stood up in most other meets this year!!
It's the Meet Record, and ranks him 23rd A-T World, tied with 4 others, and 14th A-T US, tied with 2 others!
Jamal Britt also surprised in 2nd, his 13.08 making him 23rd A-T US, tied with 1 other!

Sarah Mitton threw the Shot Put 66-1.50 for a super MR!
Thea LaFond's 47-6.50 prevailed over Keturah Orji's 46-11.75 in the Triple Jump, as she also got an MR!
Kara Winger let the Javelin fly 212-2 for an inspirational Meet Record, as this was the veteran's last Championship meet before she retires!
Lagi Tausaga also got a Meet Record in the Discus Throw, her best measuring 207-3!

The Distances gave up some Meet Records too, despite the heat and humidity!!
Eric Holt led a speedy field of 1500 guys, his 3:37.62 emerging the winner and MR holder!!
Sean McGorty jogged to a 10000 win in 29:23.77, but when the old Meet Record is horrible, it's not difficult to smash it by 26 seconds, as McGorty did here!!
Evan Jager also cruised to a Meet Record, his 3000SC time being 8:22.95!
Natosha Rogers and Fiona O'Keeffe dueled for most of the 5000, until Rogers took off for a 15:11.68 Meet Record win over O'Keeffe's 15:15.13.
Stephanie Bruce is also retiring--at least from elite racing--, so her victory in the 10000 in 33:12.42 (another MR!!) was another sentimental favorite!!

Other NACAC Meet Records---
Ackeem Blake's 9.98 MR took the 100!
Christopher Taylor just eeked out an MR with his 44.63 in the 400!!
Kyron McMaster has been mostly invisable recently, so his 47.34 blazer over the 400H was a bit surprising!!
It's the Meet Record, of course, and beat the 47.59 by Khallifah Rosser!
Rosser's time makes him 13th A-T US!

There were a pair of first time events at the NACAC--the 20K Walks on the track!!
So the winners got automatic Meet Records!
Jose Ortiz won the Men's race in 1:26:21 over the 1:27.17 by Evan Dunfee!
The Women's race was led most of the way by Robyn Stevens, but Mirna Ortiz overtook her with 8 laps to go!
Her 1:40:04 is the MR, while Stevens ended 2nd in 1:40:47!
A note on Stevens--She was not initially named to the team by USATF!!
It took the intervention of the NACAC President to put her on the starting line!
Another incident of psychological and political warfare against Robyn, led by certain elite walkers once close to her!!
It's a delight for me to note she EASILY beat ALL of her "enemies" on the track, where it counts!!
(Including American MEN!!)
Maybe now they'll show her some respect!!

It wasn't really a "High" Jump, but Vashti Cunningham's 6-3.50 took the win and the MR!!
Rudy Winkler took down the Hammer Throw MR with his 256-10!
As did Curtis Thompson's 276-4 in the Javelin Throw!
In the latter, Keshorn Walcott came close with his 275-5 spear chuck!
Shericka Jackson's 10.83 is a Meet Record in the 100!
As is Brittany Brown's 22.35 in the 200!
Heather MacLean used a speedy 59.7 final 400 to top the 1500 field with her Meet Record time of 4:04.53!
And the USA's 4 X 400 Relay team got a Meet Record with their time of 3:23.54!

Some events did NOT break an MR, but deserve mention---
Ajee and Allie Wilson--it was hilariously pathetic that the announcers didn't know who was who, despite Allie being white, and Ajee being black!!--had quite a race in the 800!
In the end, Ajee nipped Allie by 0.01 seconds, 1:58.47 to 1:58.48!
The MR is 1:57.52...by Ajee!!
The US won both Men's Relays--the 4 X 400 in 3:01.79, and the 4 X 100 in 38.29!
In the shorter race, Trinidad and Jamaica timed 38.94's, with Trinidad given the Silver!
In the Shot Put, Roger Steen's 68-2.25 edged Tripp Piperi's 68-1.50!
The US Women';s 4 X 100 squad also won, time of 42.25!
Quanesha Burks Long Jumped 22-1.75 for the win, but no MR!
Shiann Salmon took the 400H in 54.22, while Alaysha Johnson won the 100H in 12.62.

While it was shown via YouTube livestream in its entirety (except for the Walks!!), the announcing and camera work were extremely poor, amateurish, and lacking even fundamental basic knowledge of what was going on, or who was who!!
That said, the beautiful countryside vistas, and the joyful smiling enthusiasm of the athletes makes this the Gold medal winner here!!

As for Lausanne....!!!
The uber-hyped Women's 100 fell totally apart...BEFORE the actual race even began!!
First, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce withdrew because of a niggle during warm-up--which she was gracious enough to explain and apologize for later!!
Then Elaine Thompson-Herah false started!!
So it led to the winner being Aleia Hobbs, in a not-so-shabby 10.87!
Shericka Jackson (the only Jamaican left!!) took 2nd in 10.88!
Marie Josee Ta Lou was right behind in 10.89, while 4th went to 19 year old Tamari Davis in 10.94!!

Jakob Ingebrigtsen took control early, and his 3:29.05 was the victor over Abel Kipsang's 3:29.93, and the 3:30.18 by Stewart McSweyn!!
Yulimar Rojas keeps fouling her Triple Jump attempts, but also lets fly a couple!!
One of those flyers--50-2.75--took the win here!!

Tobi Amusan proved to be mortal in the 100H, as Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won in 12.34, a Lausanne Meet Record!
Amusan took 2nd in 12.45, while Tia Jones PR'ed again, her 12.47 in 3rd making her 18th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
It was a street Pole Vault held the day before the main meet, but Mondo Duplantis's 20-0 3rd time clearance is said to have broken his own Meet Record!!
BTW, the crowd surrounding the downtown pit was HUGE!!

It was a battle of the Cubans in the Men's Triple Jump!
Andy Diaz's 57-11.75 won over the 57-5 by Lazaro Martinez, and the 57-2.75 by Jordan Diaz!!
As at the NACAC, there was a somewhat shocking, and speedy, winner in the 110H!
Rasheed Broadbell improved from 13.08 to 12.99,making him 22nd A-T World, tied with 1 other!
But look at who he beat!!
Second went to Trey Cunningham's 13.10, with 3rd being Grant Holloway's 13.11.
Coming in 4th was the 13.13 by Hansle Parchment!

Femke Bol cruised a 52.95 in the 400H, but it broke her own Meet Record!!
And she beat her "main opponent" Delilah Muhammad easily, as Muhammad ended just 7th in 56.03!!
Khallifah Rosser's 47.68 took the Men's version!

Wilma Murto couldn't match her European Championship performance, as her 15-1 was just 3rd in the Pole Vault!
Tina Sutej's 15-5 won over Nina Kennedy's 15-5!
Neeraj Chopra won the Javelin Throw with his 292-3!
Renelle Lamote won the 800 in a PR 1:57.84!
In 2nd came Allie Wilson--fresh from her NACAC race--her 1:58.09 PR making her 24th A-T US!
Jemma Reekie took 3rd in 1:59.00!
Sent OFF my US list was the venerable Suzy Favor Hamilton, her 1:58.10 dating from 2000!!

Joe Kovacs has been HOT lately, as his 74-4.25 win over Ryan Crouser's 72-4.25 proved here!!
Soufiane El Bakkali took the 3000SC with ease, his winning time being 8:02.45!
Marileidy Paulino sped 49.87 over a lap to beat the 49.94 by Sada Williams!
Like the Women's 100, the Men's 200 was another much-hyped race!
However, even without any false starts or last minute withdrawals, it didn't quite live up to expectations!
What does??!!
Anyway, Noah Lyles won it in 19.56 over Michael Norman's 19.76, and Jereem Richards's 19.95.
The other "star"--Erriyon Knighton--wound up 6th in 20.13!

I'm gonna skip the Lausanne Women's 3000 for a moment to report a few marks from Russia---
Anzhelika Sidorova PV'ed 15-5!
Valeriy Pronkin threw the Hammer 258-10.
Danil Lysenko HJ'ed 7-8!!
And Mariya Lasitskene HJ'ed just 6-2, but won.

Did you watch the meet, or see the video of the race?
Especially the final 40 meters or so??
After the pacers left the track, Alicia Monson was left leading--as she's often not afraid to do!
As the laps progressed, the announcers were saying they were waiting for (Laura Muir, Beatrice Chebet, Sifan Hassan etc) to make their move---all the time ignoring Monson, except to acknowledge she was still leading!
It was as if they just expected her to be passed by the "real" contenders!!
Yet there Monson was, with less than 40 meters left, still in front, with Muir, Chebet, Hassan behind and not advancing!!
 At that point, Francine Niyonsaba, the high-testosterone whatever-"she"-is, was 12-15 meters back in 4th!!
While most admitted Monson "gave" the race to Niyonsaba by celebrating a tad too early, if you'd seen the way Niyonsaba sprinted, just in the final 5-8 meters--when she was still 3rd or 4th--you'd agree with me that "she" does NOT belong in an all-WOMAN race---at ANY distance!!

Thus, I'm going with my long time policy of IGNORING all marks made by high-testosterone women, and declaring Alicia Monson as the WINNER here, and as the Lausanne Meet Record holder!!
Her 8:26.81 now ranks 2nd A-T US!
Chebet ended 2nd in 8:27.14, with Hassan ending 3rd in 8:28.28!
Margaret Kipkemboi was 4th in 8:29.05.
Elise Cranny PR'ed by 0.35 seconds, her 8:29.95 making her 5th A-T US!!
Muir ended with a small PR also, her 8:30.53 giving her 6th place!

Monson's 8:26.81, 14:31.11, and 30:51.09 adds to 53:49.01, making her 5th A-T US on that Combined Events list!
Cranny's 8:29.95, 14:48.02, and 30:14.66 adds to 53:32.63, making her 2nd A-T US!

See you soon with...something good!!

2022 European Championships

 Munich put on a GREAT show for the European Championships, but in a year when we've had OUTdoor Champs in just about EVERYthing, I hesitate to measure one against the other!
So let's just see what this one had to offer!

Subjectively or objectively, no one was more brilliant than Femke Bol.
Just her finals races alone have to make her the star of the show!
She runs 49.44 to take 0.31 off her own Netherlands National Record!!
Add 10 hurdles, and while there are no records (not even a PR), she wins by well over a second!
(Actually, she got the Meet Record with her 52.67!)
Finally, she comes from behind in the 4 X 400 Relay, her 48.52 winning it for her Nation, again in a National Record!
In the flat 400, Natalia Kaczmarek ended 2nd in 49.94, with Anna Kulbasinska following in 50.29.
In 5th came Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke, whose 50.53 became the National Record.
In the Relay, the Netherland's 3:20.87 makes them 9th A-T Nation!
Poland was 2nd in 3:21.68 (Kaczmarek ran 49.28), with Great Britain 3rd in 3:21.74.
In 4th came Belgium's 3:22.12, making them 14th A-T Nation!!

Antigoni Mtrismbioti of Greece took BOTH Walks, the 20K in 1:29:03, then the 35 in 2:47:00!!
Mondo Duplantis nipped his own Meet Record by a quarter inch, clearing 19-10.50 for an easy win over Bo Baerhe's 19-2.25!

Karsten Warholm ran his best 400H time of the year---47.12---enough for an easy victory!
Also enough to break Harold Schmid's 40 year old Meet Record of 47.48!!
It's also the Age 26 Record!!

So, what about Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the one who was SUPPOSED to be the show's star??
Well, he did win the double---5000 in 13:21.13, and the 1500 in 3:32.76.
And the 1500 is the new Meet Record, and beat Jake Heyward's 3:34.44 rather substantially.
But the 5000 MR is only 13:10, while Inge has run 22 seconds faster!!
So, a partial disappointment!!

The Discus Throw Meet Record went down in the Qualifying round!
Kristjan Ceh's 226-7 became the new Meet Record!
But in the Final, Ceh could reach just 224-0, leaving it to the teenager (He turns 20 on September 18th!) Mykolas Alekna to win in 228-11, beating Ceh's MR!!
Lawrence Okoye was 3rd with 220-3.

Wilma Murto had her Day of Days at the right time!!
When she cleared 15-7 in the Pole Vault, it broke her own National Record of Finland.
She broke it again by topping 15-9.
That Vault also gave her the Gold over Kat Stefanidi's and Tina Sutej's 15-7's (with Stefanidi taking 2nd).
But then she got yet another PR---and Finland NR--with her 15-11 clearance!!
She first moved to 21st A-T World, tied with 2 others, then to 12th A-T World!!

There were some close battles also!
Ivana Vuleta finally prevailed over Malaika Mihambo in the LJ, 23-2 to 23-0.75!!
Mihambo just couldn't pull off a 6th round winner!
Sandra Perkovic's 222-11 edged out Kristin Pudenz's 222-8 in the Discus Throw.
It was a PR for Pudenz!
Despite falling off 7000 point pace in her 2nd day, Nafi Thiam still managed to defeat Adrianna Sulek, 6628 to 6532 in the Heptathlon.
Annik Kalin took 3rd with her 6515, but getting the National Record of Switzerland!!
Noor Vidts was 4th with 6467, while Xenia Krizsan scored 6372 in 5th!

Talk about close battles, none were closer than the Men's 110H and the Women's 100!
It came down to photo finishes and thousandnths of a second!!
Asier Martinez got the 110H win over Pascal Martinot-Legarde, both getting rounded off 13.14's!
In the 100, German star Gina Luckenkemper shocked everyone--including herself!!-- by winning in 10.99!!
Mujinga Kambundji was given the same time in 2nd, with Darryl Neita just a hair back in 3rd, but given 11.00 as her time!

Other Men's events---
Lamont Jacobs took the 100 in 9.98 over Zharnel Hughes's 9.99!
But Hughes won the 200 in 20.07.
Matthew Hudson-Smith's 44.53 won the 400, as expected!
Mariano Garcia's 1:44.85 beat out the highly hyped Jake Wightman, who ran 1:44.91!
The 3000SC, the 10000, and the Marathon all missed Meet Records, despite the 10K's being from 1978, and just 27:30!!
It's weird, but they began at sub-27 pace, then slowed.
Tapi Raitenen won the Steeple in 8:21.80, while Yemani Crippa took the 10000 in 27:46.13.
Richard Ringer pulled out the 26.2 for the Germans, his time being 2:10:21 off a strong finishing kick!!

Great Britain got the Meet Record in the 4 X 100 Relay with their 37.67.
They beat France's 37.94.
Poland's 38.15 in 3rd makes therm 20th A-T Nation.
In 5th came Switzerland's 38.36, making them 23rd A-T Nation.
Germany's 37.97 in the heats makes them 12th A-T Nation!
Miguel Angel Lopez's 2:26:49 in the 35K Walk became an automatic Meet Record, as it was the 1st time that distance was included in the program!
He beat Christopher Linke's 2:29:30!
Alvaro Martin's 1:19:11 took the 20K Walk over Perseus Karlstrom's 1:19:23.

Milt Tentoglou Long Jumped 27-11.50 for the Meet Record!
Great Britain (2:59.35) beat Belgium (2:59.49), and France (2:59.64) in the 4 X 400 Relay!
In 4th was Spain's 3:00.54, making them 24th A-T Nation!
Pedro Pichardo had an easy time of it in the Triple Jump, his best measuring 57-5.

After Kevin Mayer left the Decathlon after the first event, Niklas Kaul's 8545 overcame the 8468 by Simon Ehammer, who broke his own National Record of Switzerland!
His 8.31 in the LJ would have taken 2nd in the open event!!
Janik Oiglane took 3rd with 8346 points, beating Marcus Nilsson's 8327, and the 8234 by Maicel Uibo!!
Filip Miheljevic took the Shot Put with 71-9.50.
Gianmarco Tamberi was flashy as ever in winning the High Jump with a modest 7-6.50!

Julian Weber won the Javelin Throw for the home team, his 287-7 prevailing over Jakob Vadlejch's 286-4.
Wojciech Nowicki took the Hammer Throw with a solid 269-0.
Second was the 265-6 by Bence Halasz.
Pawel Fajdek's 259-8 was relegated to 4th!!

Other Women's events---
Some "expected to win" folks came through as, um, expected!
Laura Muir set off a strong change of gears just before the bell rang in the 1500, her 4:01.08 beating the 4:02.56 by Ciara Mageean!
Keely Hodgkinson ran just to win, so her 1:59.04 maybe wasn't too impressive, but it did the job, as Renelle Lamote took 2nd in 1:59.49.
Mujinga Kambundji took the 200 in 22.32, beating the 22.43 by Dina Asher-Smith!
Luiza Gega took the race by its neck, setting off at 9 minute pace in the 3000SC.
She held on to win in a Meet Record 9:11.31.
Lea Meyer took 2nd in 9:15.35.

Aleksandra Lisowska beat the heat, humidity, and everyone else in the Marathon, her time being 2:28:36.
The track distances were interesting.
Not-so-voluntary rabbit Eilish McColgan led both the 5000 and 10000 for a bit!
However, Yasemin Can's 30:32.57 beat McColgan's 30:41.05 with relative ease once she took off!
Lonah Salpeter ran 30:46.37, good for the National Record of Israel!
Konstanze Klosterhalfen--the local hope--was 4th in 31:05.21.
But in the 5000, after McColgan led for awhile, Can went ahead and looked invincible!!
Then KoKo went!
And kept going!
She kicked hard over the last lap, her 14:50.47 taking the Euro title!
Can ran 14:56.91, while McColgan ended in 14:59.34!

Pia Skrzezowska wasn't the best known 100H'er before the meet began, but her 12.53 was more than enough to hold off everyone else!
Lirca Kozak was 2nd in 12.69, beating Mujinga Kambundji's younger sister Ditaji, who ran 12.74, just nipping the 12.75 by Nadine Visser!
The German Women's 4 X 100 team made up for their Men's team's fiasco by winning in 42.34!
Poland came 2nd in 42.61, making them 21st A-T Nation!!
Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchukh wasn't at her top game, but still won the High Jump, her 6-4.75 beating the same height by Marija Vukovic!!

Another popular athlete--Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk--found 15 meters (15.02) for the 1st time in the Triple Jump, her 49-3.50 making her 23rd A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Kristina Makela's 48-0.50 was far behind, but good for the National Record of Finland!!
Jessica Schilder broke her own National Record of the Netherlands, her 66-5 in the Shot Put beating Auriol Dongmo's 65-0.50, which broke her own National Record of Portugal!
Getting "just" a PR was 3rd placer Jorinde Van Klinken, who reached 62-1.75!
Bianca Ghelber's 238-7 was an UNDERwhelming victor in the Hammer Throw, missing (among others) Anita Wlodarczyk!!

Finally, we have an interesting scenario in the Javelin Throw.
Super veteran Barbora Spotakova was going good---for age 41!!--and wound up taking Bronze with her 199-1.
The Silver went to Adriana Vilagos, who threw 203-5!
And Gold went to phenom Elina Tzenggo, who reached 215-11.
As noted, Spotakova is 41.
Tzenggo is 19, and Vilagos is just 18!
Add their ages together, and their 37 years is 4 LESS than Spotakova!!

Overall, an excellent meet, but we'll wait for another time to measure it against the recent Commonwealth Games and World Championships, not to mention the NACAC, USATF, and NCAA!!

See you soon with results from that selfsame NACAC meet, as well as the Lausanne Diamond League!!

World Junior Championships & a bit more!

 Readers of this blog know I don't do groupings such as "juniors", "youth", or "masters"!
One reason I don't refer to this meet as "U20" is because of how they define "UNDER 20"!!
If Athlete X turns 20 after the meet, but before the end of the year, he/she is NOT eligible for the meet!
You'd have to turn 20 no earlier than January 1st of the following year to be eligible!
So even though you're 19 on meet day, you're still not "U20"!
Say what??!!

Enough!
There were some great marks by athletes still 19, or 18, or 17 etc on meet day!!
Let's review!

Letsile Tebogo is one to watch, for sure!
He won the 100 in the Meet Record time of 9.91!
And he practically tied for the 200 Gold, but it was given to Blessing Afrifa's 19.96, not Tebogo's!
Afrifa represents Israel, so that's their National Record!
Teboga, from Botswana, had a heat time of 19.99 also!

Jaydon Hibbert Triple Jumped 56-8 for the Meet Record!
Melkanah Azeze ran the initial 3000 meters in 7:44.06 for another Meet Record!

The Women got some Meet Records also!
Roisin Willis beat her rival/friend/future Stanford teammate Juliette Whittaker in the 800, her 1:59.13 missing Whittaker's HSR by just 0.09 seconds!
She ranks 2nd A-T HS!
Switzerland's Audrey Werro took 2nd in a quick 1:59.50, while Whittaker ended 3rd in 2:00.18!!
Birki Haile took the 1500 in the MR time of 4:04.27!
Brenda Chebet's 4:04.64 also was under the old mark!
Addie Wiley ended in 5th, but her 4:11.43 makes her 6th A-T HS!!

Kerrica Hill sped the 100H in 12.77 (after a semi of 12.87!), getting the Meet Record and the Age 17 Record!
Alexis Jones ran 12.87 in the Silver position!
Tina Clayton's 10.95 was another Meet Record, leaving Serena Cole (11.14) and Shawnti Jackson (11.15) far behind!
However, Jackson time makes her 9th A-T HS!
She ran 11.16 in her semi!

Brianna Lyston won the 200 in 22.65, with young American Mia Brahe-Pedersen 4th in 23.06.
However, B-P's 22.95 in her semi makes her 19th A-T HS, tied with 2 others!
Jamaica won the 4 X 100 Relay in 42.59, which is listed as the World Junior Record!
The US ended 2nd in 43.28!
But the American 4 X 400 squad won in 3:28.06, with a big help from Roisin Willis's anchor of 51.34!!

Other WJC marks---
Reynold Kipkorir won the 1500 in 3:35.83.
Anthony Ammirate isn't Mondo yet, but he cleared 18-10.25 to take the Pole Vault!
Malik Mixon ran the 110H in 13.27, making him 5th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
Betty Chelangat ran the 3000 in 9:01.03, while Faith Cherotich ran the same distance, but with hurdles and water pit, in 9:16.14!
Medina Eisa won the 5000 in 15:29.71.
Akala Garrett won the 400H in a PR of 56.16, making her 6th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!

Hana Moll's 14-3.25 topped the PV field, which included her sister Amanda!
Agur Dwol finished in just 12th place in the Triple Jump.
But she had a Qualifying mark of 42-11.50, making her 19th A-T HS!!
Jaicieonna Gero-Holt couldn't match her Frosh Class Record of 5401, as her 5212 Heptathlon score left her in 17th place!!
The winner was Saga Vinninen's 6084!!
The High Jump featured some great youngsters!
Karmen Bruus emerged the winner with 6-4.75, while Angelina Topic topped 6-4 in 3rd!
And Adrianna Vilagos threw the Javelin 208-5, giving the Serbian the Meet Record!

Lots more to report!!
A bunch of ATL Meet Records were set at the Ed Murphey version in Tennessee!
Twanisha Terry sprinted the 100 in the MR time of 10.82!!
She ranks 13th A-T US, tied with 3 others!
Tamari Davis was right behind, her 10.83 making her 17th A-T US, tied with 2 others!
Shania Collins ran 10.92 in 3rd!
Davis ran 10.87 in a heat!!
Andrew Hudson's 20.03 in the 200 was also an MR!

Yared Nuguse's 3:34.95 in the 1500, and Morgan McDonald's 7:49.26 in the 3000 were also Meet Records!
Sage Hurta continues to impress--her 4:01.79 is a Meet Record.
So is Elly Henes's 8:48.06!

In the 800, Nia Akins ran 1:58.78 for another MR!
She beat Olivia Baker's 1:59.44, and Heather MacLean's 1:59.80!
Alaysha Johnson broke her own Meet Record with her 100H time of 12.43.
Tia Jones ran 12.52 in 2nd!
Joe Kovacs won the Shot Put with 71-9.50!
Jonah Koech took the 800 in 1:44.95!
And Kaylin Whitney won the 400 in 51.17!

Other marks from around the world---
In North Carolina, Nikki Hiltz won a Mile in 4:21.89, making her 9th A-T US!
Apologies to Nikki for using the "wrong" pronoun, as she prefers they/them!
However, after a lifetime of being a writer, I'm unwilling to refer to one person as "they or them", which to be redundant, refers to multiple people!!
While I understand Nikki's (and others) choice, to use a term meaning multiple when speaking of an individual, it's just too confusing for the "average" reader!
Thus, it's MY choice to stick to the "old fashioned" terms I grew up with!!
Behind Hiltz came Eleanor Fulton's 4:23.65, which makes her 13th A-T US!
Elly Henes ran 4:27.66 in 3rd!

Yared Nuguse won the Men's Mile in 3:53.34, with Festus Lagat (3:54.02) and Sean McGorty (3:54.51) following!
In a California meet, Hiltz ran the 1500 in 4:04.12.
Sabrina Southerland won the 800 in 1:59.63, while Dan Michalski took the 3000SC in 8:22.56.
Jonathan Davis PR'd at 1500 in 3:33.81.

A good Discus Throw battle took place in Sweden--Simon Pettersen's 231-0 just beat Daniel Stahl's 230-7!!
Anzhelika Sidorova had a pair of top notch Pole Vaults in Russia--15-11.25 to beat Polina Knoroz's 15-5---and then 16-1.25 for a World Leader and the Age 31 Record, not to mention beating Knoroz again, but this time Knoroz's best was 15-3!
Also in Russia, Mariya Lasitskene cleared 6-6.75 in the High Jump!

Finally, we end with several marks from Hungary---
Wojciech Nowicki lobbed the Hammer out 262-4!
Joe Kovacs had a SP of 75-1.25 to beat the 71-11.50 by Tom Walsh!
Marvin Bracy won the 100 in 9.97!
Erriyon Knighton took the 200 in 19.88!
Shericka Jackson sped 22.02 in the 200, while Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a now-average 10.67 in the 100 to wallop the 10.92 by young Tamari Davis!

Kristjan Ceh let go of a long one in the Discus Throw---233-8!
And Sydney McLaughlin cruised the 400H in 51.68, getting the Age 23 Record one day after turning that age!
She now holds SEVEN Age Records OUTdoors--and they're consecutive, from age 17 to age 23!!
And she almost certainly holds more, but my Age Records begin at 17!!

The European Championships begin tomorrow morning, and the NACAC begins August 19th!!
See you soon!

Skolimowska Memorial and Herculis

 aka (in dumb ass circles) as a pair of Diamond League meets taking place in Chorzow, Poland, and Monaco!
But being these "pretenders" do attract some great athletes, let's look at what they did!
Chorzow first!

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce once again broke her own Age 35 Record by winning the 100 in 10.66.
Aleia Hobbs was back a ways, but ran 10.94 in 2nd!
Shericka Jackson's 21.84 in the 200 whacked Shaunae Miller-Uibo into relative obscurity, as SMU could only manage 22.35 in 2nd!

Femke Bol showed her quick relay legs weren't fake, as she got the National Record of the Netherlands with her one lap of 49.75!
Her Combined Events of 49.75 and 52.03 adds to 1:41.78, making her 3rd A-T World!
She had a worthy opponent, as Natalia Kaczmarek PR'ed with 49.86 in 2nd!
Candace McLeod's 50.22 was 3rd, and Stephanie Ann McPherson took 4th in 50.31.

Chase Ealey won a good Shot Put with 66-10.50!
Jessica Schilder's 65-1.25 in 2nd breaks her own Netherlands National Record!
Fannie Roos's 63-8.75 in 3rd also got an NR, as it broke her own from Sweden!
Joe Kovacs's 71-6 beat the 71-2.50 by Tom Walsh!
Andy Diaz Triple Jumped 57-6.25 to win over the 56-8.75 by Pedro Pichardo!
Pawel Fajdek sent his Hammer Throw out 266-7 for the win, while Mondo Duplantis casually soared over 20-0...again!!

Michael Norman ran the 400 in 44.11, winning over the 44.55 by Kirani James.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn's 12.34 took the 100H from Kendra Harrison's 12.37!
Tia Jones ran 12.49 in 3rd, making her 20th A-T US!
Ajee Wilson's 1:58.28 won the 800, defeating Sage Hurta, who ran a solid 1:58.40!
Diribe Welteji took a fast 1500 in 3:56.91!
Gudaf Tsegay was 2nd in 3:58.18!
In 4th came Heather MacLean's 4:01.38, making her 20th A-T US!

Sifan Hassan's outkicked the other joggers in a slow 3000, time of 8:39.27!
Alicia Monson was 4th in 8:41.61.
In other Chorzow events---
Trayvon Bromell sped 9.95 for a Century win.
Brooke Andersen won the Hammer Throw with 248-7!
Hiruka Kitaguchi won the Javelin Throw with her 213-7!

On to Monaco!!
Just watched CNBC's belated (by days!!) "coverage" of the Herculis meet, and I became so sick of them repeatedly talking up Noah Lyles and his American Record in Eugene, and his upcoming race in Monaco!
I think I stopped counting after the SIXTH replay of that WC race!
(And I think the guy is GREAT, but come on, TV, enough is enough!!)

Anyway, Mr Lyles did perform up to standard, as his 19.46 got his own Meet Record, and defeated the 19.84 by Erriyon Knighton, and the 19.95 by Michael Norman with dispatch!

The Women's 100 was actually much better, and far deeper!!
Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce once AGAIN proved being a 35 year old mother does NOT slow a woman down!!
She rammed through the tape in 10.62, breaking the Meet Record and her own Age 35 Record!!
She needed it, as Shericka Jackson PR'ed a bit to 10.71, making her 6th A-T World!
On a pair of my Combined Events lists, her 10.71 and 21.45 adds to 32.16, making her 3rd A-T World!
Add to that her 49.47, and you get 1:21.63, for 5th A-T World, tied with 1 other!!
Marie Josee Ta Lou walloped her own National Record of the Ivory Coast with her 10.72 in 3rd!
She is 7th A-T World, tied with 1 other, and it's the best 3rd Place mark!
Aleia Hobbs's 10.81 now serves as the best 4th Place mark!
TT Terry took 5th in 10.90, with Darryl Neita's 10.91 giving her the best 6th Place mark!
Tamara Clark was 7th in 10.96!

Faith Kipyegon wanted Genzebe Dibaba's World Record in the 1500, and she went after it!
A rabbit ran 2:01.64 through 800, with Kipyegon right there!
She held it pretty tight through 1200, but her full fledged kick wasn't all there, so her 3:50.37 must stand as "just" 2nd A-T World!!
She improves on a trio of World Combined Events lists---
Her 1:57.68 & 3:50.37 adds to 5:48.05 (3rd A-T World).
Add her 1500 to her 8:23.55 and it comes to 12:13.92 (4th A-T world)
Add it to her 14:31.55, and her 18:21.92 makes her 9th A-T World!

Same race (but not really!!), we saw a couple of Americans dip into sub-4 waters!
In 2nd (!!!) came Heather MacLean's 3:58.89, making her 8th A-T US!
Right behind came Elise Cranny's 3:59.06, making her 9th A-T US!!

Another WR attempt---but maybe a crazy one!---was in the Men's 3000!
They went through the first K in 2:26.30--or 7:18.90 pace!!!
They slowed to a more human pace, but Thierry Ndikumwenayo's 7:25.93 outkicked Berihu Aregawi's 7:26.81, after Aregawi's deadly pace caught up to him!
Ndikumwenayo gets the National Record of Burkina Faso (mistakenly I.D.'ed by CNBC as Burundi!!), and it makes him 7th A-T World!
Aregawi gets the Age 21 Record (Komen's WR is the Age 20 Record!!), and it makes him 11th A-T World!
In 3rd came the fast-charging (from 6th) Grant Fisher, whose 7:28.48 nailed the American Record, held by Bernard Lagat!!
It also makes him 24th A-T World!
Woody Kincaid ran 7:38.81 back in 8th!

Grant Holloway needed his 12.99 in the 110H to defeat the 13.03 by Trey Cunningham, and the 13.08 by Hansle Parchment!
It took a jump-off to determine the Men's High Jump winner!
Mutaz Barshim and Sanghyeok Woo both cleared 7-6.50, with Barshim winning the jump-off!
The Men's LJ was a close one, finally won by Maykel Masso's 27-4.75!
In 2nd and 3rd came the 27-3.25's by Milt Tentoglou and Marquis Dendy!

As with Noah Lyles, lots of TV noise about Shaunae Miller-Uibo's chances for a fast time!
Yet, in the end, her 49.28 seemed kind of ordinary!
Yet she easily defeated Candace McLeod's 49.87, and Sada Williams's 50.10!
Yulimar Rojas was lucky there were just 8 competitors in the Triple Jump!
Because her first 3 fouls would have DQ'ed her from the final!
On a "bad" day for her, her 49-3 5th round prevailed over Shaneika Ricketts's 48-11, and the PR by Tori Franklin--48-9--which keeps her 2nd A-T US!
Kelsey Lee-Barber's 211-7 won the Javelin Throw!

A solid "non-DL" 800 saw Natoya Goule win it in a quick 1:56.98!
Sage Hurta keeps improving, as her 1:57.85 in 2nd makes her 16th A-T US!
In 3rd was Olivia Baker's 1:58.05 PR, making her 22nd A-T US!
Jemma Reekie was a solid 4th in 1:58.68!
The Women's Pole Vault was rather lackluster, despite Nina Kennedy, Sandi Morris, and Kat Stefanidi all clearing 15-3.50, and finishing in that order!

For some reason, Monaco ended with the Women's 3000SC!
I must make note that Werkwuha Getachew's "winning" mark doesn't count in my book, due to her probable high testosterone levels!
So I see Zerfe Wondemagegn's 9:06.63 as the winner!!
It makes her 17th A-T World!
The British 3000SC record has been traded off a few times this season, but Lizzie Bird's 9:07.87 should dispense with this back and forth for a while!
Besides her NR, she ranks 23rd A-T World!
Emma Coburn led a lot of the way, but her brave 9:07.93 left her in 3rd!
Jackline Chepkoech ran 9:09.72, ending just ahead of new Pro Courtney Wayment's 9:09.91, which makes her 3rd A-T US, just ahead of Colleen Quigley!!

Kudos to Monaco for holding the rarely run 1000 meters for Men!!
It was one of the best races of the day!!
Jake Wightman's 2:13.88 gets him the Meet Record (1st time run??) and the Age 28 Record!
He ranks 10th A-T World!
Marco Arop's 2:14.35 DESTROYED Canada's NR by over 2 seconds, and makes him 18th A-T World!
Clayton Murphy's 2:15.73 actually makes him 2nd A-T US---behind Rick Wohlhuter's now-legendary 2:13.9 from 1974!!
Wycliffe Kinyamel's 2:15.78 was 4th!
Bryce Hoppel's 2:15.99 took 5th, and makes him 4th A-T US!
Josh Thompson ran 2:16.38 in 6th, and ranks 9th A-T US!
Luke McCann's 2:16.40 is Ireland's NR!
In 8th came Hobbs Kessler's 2:16.46, making him 11th A-T US!

Then there was Sydney McLaughlin!
In the stands with new hubby WATCHING as Rushell Clayton's PR of 53.33 won the 400H!!
Janieve Russell took 2nd in 53.52!
Yes, Syd the Kid was in Monaco--in the stadium!!--but didn't run!!
Oh well.

More soon!!

2022 Commonwealth Games--17 Meet Records!!

 If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you know it's all about Records and Marks!
When the "average" fan thinks of Records, they automatically think WORLD Records--or at least American Records!!
Well, this post is about the recently ended Commonwealth Games, held in Birmingham, England!

Sorry, but no WR's this time, and no AR's either, though the latter is for the obvious reason we're not part of the Commonwealth!
(More like the Common POVERTY, but that's a story for another time!)
This year's version brought with it 17 Meet Records, with 11 of them coming from the Women!!

The most famous MR came in the Men's 1500, where Ollie Hoare led a string of followers past the 1974 then-World Record set by Filbert Bayi, time of 3:32.16!
Hoare's 3:30.12 barely beat Tim Cheruiyot's 3:30.21!
World Champion Jake Wightman was 3rd in 3:30.53, with Abel Kipsang (3:30.82), Jake Heyward (3:31.08), and Sam Tanner (3:31.34) also under Bayi's MR!!

Jacob Kiplimo won the 5000 and 10000, but only his 27:09.19 nabbed an MR!
His time in the 5000 was 13:08.08.
Samuel Simiyu took 2nd in the longer race, time of 27:11.26.

Muzala Samukonga had his best meet ever, PR'ing in his 400 heat in 44.89, then getting the Zambia National Record, his 44.66 beating the 44.81 by Matthew Hudson-Smith!

Jereem Richards had the 200 all to himself, as his 19.80 got the MR!
But he misses the World list by 0.04 seconds!!

The Walkers were limited to the 10K Track Walk, so Evan Dunfee's 38:36.37 became an automatic MR!

Rasheed Broadbell tied the MR with his 13.08 in the 110H!

It was Arshad Nadeem's day in the Javelin Throw final, as his 295-10 sailed past Anderson Peters's 290-10 for the Gold, and the MR!
Nadeem also gets the National Record of Pakistan, breaking his own mark!
He ranks 21st A-T World!

Other Men's CG marks of note---
The 3000SC was close, with Abe Kibiwott's 8:11.15 nipping the 8:11.20 by India's Avinah Sable!
But his time broke his own India National Record!
England's 38.35 beat Trinidad's 38.70 in the 4 X 100 Relay!
Kenya ran 38.92 in a heat, and broke their NR!
Trinidad took the 4 X 400 Relay in 3:01.29!
Tom Walsh easily won the Shot Put with 73-0.50!
Jacko Gill ended 2nd with a PR of 71-10.25!
Matt Denny took the Discus Throw with a solid 220-8!
Lindon Victor's 8233 was victorious (Sic!) in the Decathlon!

Aside from Jemima Montag's 10K Track Walk Meet Record of 42:34.30, there were 10 others for the Women!!
(The Walk distance was a first time event at the CG's, so an obvious MR!)

Tobi Amusan took part in a pair of records!
She won the 100H in the MR time of 12.30!
She also ran the first leg of Nigeria's 42.10 in the 4 X 100 Relay, which gave them a new National Record, making them 13th A-T Nation!
England took 2nd in 42.41.

Elaine Thompson-Herah doubled, taking the 200 in the Meet Record time of 22.02, after her 10.95 beat the 11.01 by Julien Alfred in the Century!

Sada Williams's 49.90 took down the 400 MR!

Mary Moraa opened up in front, then went to last (!!), then moved back up and passed Keely Hodgkinson to win a wild 800 in the Meet Record time of 1:57.07!
Hodgkinson ran 1:57.40 to hold off Laura Muir's 1:57.87 and Natoya Goule's 1:57.88!!
What a race!!

Eilish McColgan did most of the work, leading both the 5000 and 10000 for quite awhile!
She won the 10 in 30:48.60, getting the Meet Record by holding off Irene Cheptai's 30:49.52.
But in the 5, Beatrice Chebet's 14:38.21 defeated McColgan's 14:42.14!

Two other distance MR's fell, but one of them needs some explaining!
The 3000SC MR went to Jackline Chepkoech's 9:15.68.
Liz Bird was 2nd in 9:17.79.
In the 1500, Laura Muir won in 4:02.75!
But a few years ago, Caster Semenya ran much faster, and was given the "MR"!
However, as you know, I do NOT accept any marks by Semenya, among others, so never counted her time as the MR!
Thus, Muir's time beats the MR that I DO honor!!

Both Horizontal Jumps got MR's!!
The Long Jump was pretty exciting, and close!
In the end, Esa Brume's 22-11.75 prevailed, and gave her the MR!
Brook Buschkuehl slipped past Deborah Acquah to take Silver, her 22-9.75 beating Acquah's 22-9.25!!
Shaneika Ricketts's 49-0.25 had no problem giving her the Meet Record and the win in the Triple Jump!

Camryn Rogers's 243-0 walloped the Hammer Throw Meet Record held by a fellow Canadian!!

Other Women's marks from the CG---
Of sentimental value was seeing Katerina Johnson-Thompson stay on the recovery trail (from injuries) by winning the Heptathlon with her 6377 score!!
Kate O'Connor's 6233 took 2nd!
Sarah Mitton threw the Shot Put 62-5.25 for the Gold!
Janieve Russell timed 54.14 in the 400H for the win!
Nina Kennedy's 15-1 took the Pole Vault!
Canada won the 4 X 400 in 3:25.84, beating Jamaica's 3:26.93!
Lamara Distin's 6-4.75 High Jump missed the MR by a quarter inch, but she defeated World Champion Eleanor Patterson, among others!!

I'd been planning to include the best from Chorzow's Diamond League meet in this post, but ran out of room!
Coming soon, however!!

Monaco's DL is tomorrow, and there's a ton from the World Juniors (aka U20) to come also!!

See you soon!!

World Championships 2022--A Critique

 Four days past, and still vibrating with memories of those 10 days!
What did it all mean, Alfie?
Well, I'm here---for better or worse---to tell you!

Some facts---
Including the inaugural 35K Walk, there were two Men's World Records (35K Walk & Pole Vault), with three from the Women (35K Walk, 100H, 400H).
The Men broke 6 Meet Records (35K Walk became a MR--Marathon, 400H, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Discus Throw), while the Women nabbed 7 (35K Walk, Marathon, 100, 200, 100H, 400H, 3000SC).
The Men broke just one American Record--the 200!
The Women also got one--the 400H!

The weather was mostly very good, and the crowds became fairly large and always loud and passionate!!
The Mascot was enjoyable, especially when she/he took a swim in the steeplechase pool!
There was that TV cameraman who stood ON the track as the Men's SC field came around--and didn't move!
(Was he ever arrested, and/or banned from Hayward Field forever--or will he become yet another You Tube mega-star for simply being an idiot??)

Speaking of television, I watched NBC and USA, and the Marathons on You Tube.
The 26.2's were shown intact, with ZERO ads!
And since they were run separately, the Women's race got shown in its entirety!!
But NBC/USA made dog shit of their telecasts!
Features & interviews & other events & ads shown during the 5K's, 10K's, and SC's!!
WHY??
Do they think viewers like just sprints?
Will we get bored and switch channels during longer races?
T&F fans watch this crap because they're fans!!
It's pathetic that, after decades of the same old, we serious fans expect them to change!

I always use baseball as a comparison, which is inane, I know!
But even in mid-season, stations show every pitch & swing of the bat, and stay on beyond their 3 hour schedule if it goes to extra innings!!
Yes, there are tons of ads, but NEVER do you lose a second of the action!!
Why can't NBC etc do the same for one lousy T&F meet??

And one more idea--as baseball games always have pre-and post game shows (30 to 60 minutes each!), why can't the best T&F meets do the same?
Use the PRE-meet show for the features and speculations, leaving the meet to cover the ACTION!!
And use the post-meet show for all the interviews!
I'd better end this rant before I SCREAM!!!!!

Did anyone use the results page to keep track (Sic!) of what's going on?
Even while watching the meet, I flipped to the World Athletics results page for more complete results!
What did I get?
NO series in the field events!
NO lap splits during races--or they were late in being posted!
Or the results were late--coming in minutes after the event was done!
In the Walks, you'd have to reload the page to get newer finishers, or athletes splits at all the 5K points!!
That this garbage came from WA, and in its biggest meet of the year is preposterous!!
Do better!!

Did the United States send its best team??
And what does that have to do with the way we select our team?

Over the past few months, I've become online chat friends with Racewalker Robyn Stevens!
She was in excellent shape, and would have represented the US better than anyone!!
But because of trickery & deception & outright manipulation, she didn't race the USATF 35K Champs, where the team would be chosen!
Some of those involved were her key opponents--and her ex-partner, Nick Christie!

But personal considerations aside, the US left its best Walker behind--even though she did get named to the 20K squad!!
She filed a lawsuit through her lawyer.
Ken Stone wrote at least two articles in a San Diego newspaper detailing the machinations and deceptions that kept her from walking the 35K in Eugene!
(The last article included a link to the official press release by her lawyer, shown intact!!)
So what happened there??
With all of this on her mind, she still finished 24th in the 20K, with the other American (Miranda Melville) ending in LAST place!!
And the 35K??
Well, if Robyn had merely tied her AR time, she would have finished in 11th place, 9:22 ahead of Maria Michta-Coffey, 12:26 ahead of Stephanie Casey, and 16:02 ahead of Melville!!
(BTW, I was predicting Robyn would break her AR again--in a time of 2:45 or faster!!)

There were other cases where we didn't send our best team!
The Women's Long Jump was missing Tara Davis, our best current LJ'er!!
Why?
She fouled out of the qualifying round in the USATF meet!
Instead, a woman with a best of 21-11.50 made the team!
Days after USATF, Tara won a LJ with a wind-aided 23-9--almost two feet better than the one we sent to the World's!!
And guess what?
That woman bombed--she didn't make the cut!!

We need to abolish the way we choose our team!
People have bad days (Davis), or are injured or sick on the day!
Yet, as Tara proved, she'd just had "one of those days" at the USATF!
But she was our very best in the LJ!

We need to do away with the Wild Card system also!
Just because an athlete won the last WC's (in this case, it was the 2019 version!!) doesn't mean they're in the same shape!!
Diamond League Champions are also given W.C.'s!!
So what if they won the frigging DL??!!
I'm all for abolishing THAT set-up also, as I've often mentioned!!

Also, Wild Cards should have to put in an "honest effort" AND complete their event, not just show up!!
This is both to prove their fitness AND to give the paying & viewing fans what they deserve from Professional elite athletes!!
It's not enough to sign autographs and pose for selfies!!

More weird shit!
Even if it turned out to be for a good cause, that guy who ran onto the track after the Women's 5K and bodily lifted two Ethiopians up (with his hands inappropriately on their rears) should have been arrested for assault and trespassing!!\
How the hell did he get past security in the first place??
What if he had violent intentions??

And the 110H's!!
First, Hansle Parchment gets hurt while WARMING UP!!
Then both Shane Brathwaite and Devon Allen are DQ'ed for false starts--having too fast reaction times!
Allen was 0.001 too fast!!
After arguing with the officials (seen by millions on TV!), his DQ was held up!!
We saw a final with FIVE athletes--three lanes empty!!

So what was best about the meet?
Mondo ending the meet with a World Record--even after the last race had finished!!
Tobi Amusan shocking all with her win, and her incredible times!!
The "unknown" and unexpected winners--Bin Feng, Wang Jianan!
And the ones known, but still shocking--Jake Wightman, Amusan, Eleanor Patterson, the USA Women's 4 X 100 and Canada's Men's 4 X 100 teams!!

So many National Records, especially in the inaugural 35K Walks--which was to be expected, of course!!
But so many others, in almost every event!
And Place Records & Age Records!!

Great duels--Mu vs Hodgkinson, The Jamaican sprinters vs the Americans in the Women's sprints, Wightman and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Gebreslase vs Korir in the Women's Marathon!

The stunning Records---Mondo's 20-4.50, Syd's 50.68, Tobi's 12.12 (and wind-aided 12.06), Yulimar's 50-9.25, Ceh's 233 & change, both Crouser & Kovacs over 75 feet, MR's rarely seen in the longest races (both Marathons!!), the DEPTH of both 35K Walks, 10.67, 21.45, 8:53.02, 46:29!!

The best & worst coming from one athlete--Karissa Schweizer PR'ing by 29 seconds in her 30:18.05, then DNF'ing in the 5000!!
Nia Ali being DQ'ed!
Those "strategic" distance races--the Men's 3000SC being the worst, but their 10000 not far behind in utter boredom!!
Even the Women's 5000 (3:14 first K!!)!!

Overall?
A fantastic 10 days, with ups & downs to challenge the world's craziest roller coaster!
But knowing it could have been even better!!
And hoping/wishing/praying that Budapest's World's next year will "take a sad song and make it better", to quote the Beatles!!

Thank you for following the meet via this blog!
Now on to the rest of the 2022 season!!

See you soon!!

World Championships 2022--Days 9 & 10

 It's over!
But the ending was akin to the sprint finish at the end of a race, or a 6th round Gold winner in a field event!
(And yes, there were some of each!!)
Here are the last two days!

DAY NINE
The opening event was the Women's 100H heats!
Tobi Amusan showed up, indicated by her 12.40 National Record of Nigeria, beating her own!!
She's 20th A-T World, tied with 2 others!
Alia Armstrong timed 12.48, with Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ending at 12.52!
Nia Ali and Alaysha Newman were DQ'ed, ending US hopes for a sweep!

Quanesha Burks surprisingly led the Women's Long Jump Q round at 22-6.25!
Malaika Mihambo was one inch back!
Lorraine Ugen, Jasmine Moore, and Tyra Gittens were among those not moving through!

The US team of Talitha Diggs, Allyson Felix, Kaylin Whitney, and Jayde Stepter-Baynes were the quartet winning the 4 X 400 heats in 3:23.38!
Felix's split was 50.71 in what was probably her last race of her Professional career!
Great Britain ran 3:23.92, with Jamaica running 3:24.23!
The Bahamas DNS'ed, while the Netherlands was DQ'ed!!
(The baton was dropped in the hand-off to Femke Bol, and it was Bol, not the 3rd runner, who picked it up, so the "hand-off" wasn't completed!!)

The US Men led the 4 X 400 heats, their team consisting of Elijah Godwin, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, and Trevor Bassitt running 2:58.96!
Japan was far behind in 3:01.53, followed closely by Jamaica's 3:01.59!
The Czech Republic's 3:02.42 in 5th tied their National Record!

Once again in a field event, it took just one attempt to know who the winner would be!
When Pedro Pichardo sailed 58-10.75 in the TJ final, it was game over for all intents!
Hughes Zango's Silver measured 57-7, with the Bronze going to Yaming Zhu's 56-9.50!
Two Italians were next--Andrea Dallavalle, followed by Emanuel Ikemeje!
Donald Scott finished with 56-2.75!
Will Claye ended 11th, while Lazaro Martinez went XXX!

The Men's 800 final began sluggishly, first lap in the 52's!
But Emmanuel Korir is also great at 400, so he negative split (52.29 & 51.42) to win in 1:43.71.
Djamal Sedjati's 1:44.14 took 2nd, with Marco Arop running 1:44.28 in 3rd!
The youngster-Emmanuel Wanyonyi- was 4th in 1:44.54!

The Women's 5000 began with a 3:14 (!!) first 1K!!
So when Gudaf Tsegay used a 59.95 last lap to win in 14:46.29, it wasn't shocking!
Beatrice Chebet (14:46.75), Dawit Seyaum (14:47.36), Margaret Kipkemboi (14:47.71), Letesenbet Gidey (14:47.98), and Sifan Hassan (14:48.12) all were within 1.83 of the winner!!
Elise Cranny ran 14:59.99 in 9th!
Emily Infeld was 14th, and Karissa Schweizer DNF'ed with about 800 to go, a bit hurting!
She was seen crying afterward, being consoled by her teammates!

Anderson Peters won the Javelin Throw with 297-0!!
Neeraj Chopra was 2nd with 289-1.
Jakub Vadlejch took the Bronze with 289-0.
Julian Weber was 4th at 285-0.
Curtis Thompson ended in 11th, about 30 feet off his recent PR!

The Women's 4 X 100 final had a shock finish!
The US team of Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini, and Twanisha Terry ran 41.14, JUST ahead of Jamaica's 41.18!
And they had Kemba Nelson, ET-H, SAFP, and Shericka Jackson!!
But it was Terry who held off Jackson, even though SJ was gaining on her!!
Germany ran 42.03 in 3rd, with Nigeria's 42.22 and Spain's 42.58 getting NR's!
Nigeria is 13th A-T Nation, while Spain is 19th A-T Nation!
Italy's 42.92 is the best 8th Place mark!!

The US team of Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Elijah Hall, and Marvin Bracy DID finish, and they were NOT DQ'ed, but they nonetheless lost!!
Canada's Andre De Grasse on anchor was just too good!!
He & they ran 37.48 to the US's 37.55 for one of the shock upsets of the meet!
Great Britain was 3rd in 37.83, while Jamaica ended in 38.06!
A tick behind came Ghana's 38.07, making them 18th A-T Nation!
South Africa's 38.10 gets them the best 6th Place mark, and makes them 19th A-T Nation!!
France got a DQ!

DAY TEN
The Men's 35K set off day 10 in fine fashion!
Massano Stano had the best finish, and his 2:23:14 gets the Meet Record (1st time held!), and Italy's NR!
Masatora Kawano walked 2:23:15 for Japan's National Record!
(There were tons of NR's!!)
Perseus Karlstrom's 2:23:44 got Sweden's NR!
Brian Pintado's 2:23:47 got Ecuador's NR!
Xianghong He walked 2:24:45 to get China's NR!
Evan Dunfee ended in 6th, his 2:25:02 nabbing Canada's you know what!
There followed National Records for Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Mexico, Finland, France, Peru, Australia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Greece!!
WOW!!
Nick (the traitor) Christie ended 36th out of 40 finishers!
There were 5 DQ's and 5 DNF's!

When I relate the following, think of Aries Merritt shocking the world with his 12.80 WR in the 110H!
Because Tobi Amusan did essentially the same, except the shock was heavier, as her previous best was the 12.40 run in the heats!!
She ran fairly even with the field for the first 50 meters, but then the separation began, and when she and we saw the time, she and we were astounded!!
12.12!!!
She gets the WR, the Meet Record, her own NR, and the Age 25 record!!
And this was her SEMI!!
All of the semi times were phenomenal!
While not all in one semi, Kendra Harrison ran 12.27, with Brittany Anderson's 12.31 getting Jamaica's National Record, and making her 9th A-T World!!
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ended in 12.32, with Danielle Williams timing 12.41.
Alia Armstrong's 12.43 makes her 11th A-T US, tied with 3 others!
Devynne Charleton timed 12.46, breaking her own NR of the Bahamas!
And Cindy Sember's 12.50 gave her Great Britain's NR!
Nadine Visser didn't advance!

The Men's Pole Vault started here, but wound up being the event to end the meet!
Why??
Because Mondo Duplantis AGAIN broke his own World Record!!
After leaving Chris Nilsen and Ernest Obiene behind--both clearing 19-5.75, with Obiene again breaking his own NR of the Philippines--Mondo then cleared 6.06, breaking the Meet Record.
But as he almost always does, he asked next for a WR height!!
NOTE: This is the OUTdoor WR, and has NO connection to his INdoor WR--there is NO "absolute" WR!!
Thus, by breaking his old OUTdoor Record with his 20-4.50, it became the biggest margin ever, as far as I know, as he broke it by 2 inches!!
He gets his own WR, MR, Swedish NR, and Age 22 Record!
In celebration, he did a no hands cartwheel style flip before his adoring fans!!
Thiago Braz, Oleg Senikel (sp??), Renaud Lavillenie, and Bo Baerhe all cleared 19-3!

Two Women broke through the 7 meter barrier, with Malaika Mihambo's 23-4.50 Long Jump beating Ese Brume's 23-0.50!!
Previously, it had been a major battle with a few women in the 6.80's!
Letitia Oro Melo took 3rd with 22-7.25, followed by Quanesha Burks's 22-7!
At 22-6.50 came Brooke Buschkiehl and Khaddi Sagnia!
Ivana Vuleta reached 22-5.25, while Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk's 22-4.50 being the best 8th Place mark!!
After the meet, Vuleta--formerly Spanovic--announced her retirement after a long and wonderful career!!

In the Men's 5000 final, Jakob Ingebrigtsen made up for his 1500 loss, using a last lap of 53.93 to win in 13:09.24!
Jacob Krop was 2nd in 13:09.98, with Oscar Chelimo getting 3rd in 13:10.20!
Luis Grijalva (13:10.44) and Mo Ahmed (13:10.46) followed!
Grant Fisher was in 3rd when he stumbled or tripped, and fell back to 6th in 13:11.65!
Josh Cheptegei ended just 9th, with Abdi Nur finishing 11th!!

THE race of the meet was said to be the duel between Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson...and it fully lived up to expections!!
Mu led Hodgkinson 57.16 to 57.32 at the 400 mark!
And she continued to lead, in fact expanding it as she wove her way around Hayward Field's oval!
But Keely remained fairly close, in Mu's shadow, just off her left shoulder, on the rail!
In the final 50 meters, she edged even closer, with Mu sensing her!!
So Mu did what she does in these situations--goes even faster!
Her 59.14 2nd lap wasn't as fast as Hodgkinson's 59.06, but her 1:56.30 beat Keely's 1:56.38 nonetheless!
Mary Moraa's PR of 1:56.71 took the Bronze!
But the other Americans didn't do so well!
Raevyn Rogers ran 1:58.26, but ended 6th, and Ajee Wilson finished dead last in over 2 minutes!!

When the clock in the 100H final read 12.06, we thought--WHAT??  ANOTHER WR???
But alas, Tobi Amusan's time was wind-aided!
The 2.5 wind is said to be worth a loss of 0.14 seconds by The Big Gold Book!!
So you could say her "real" time was 12.20--but I don't fully buy what that T&FN book says!!
Whatever, she simply amazed!!
And whatever the wind, the following times were incredible!
Brittany Anderson and JCQ running 12.23's in 2nd & 3rd, and Alia Armstrong timed in 12.31.
Cindy Sember ran 12.38, with Danielle Williams doing 12.44, and even 7th placer Devynne Charleton timing 12.53!
All windy!
Kendra Harrison was DQ'ed after crashing a hurdle and falling into the next lane!!

Unlike the Heptathlon, where the top finishers ended in the same places they were in after the 1st day, the Men's 1st day leaders weren't all the same!
Especially the winner!
Just 6th after his 1st day of 4372, Kevin Mayer scored 4444 on day two to total 8816 for the Gold!
It's rare to have a better 2nd day!!
Pierce LePage's 8701 (4485 & 4216) took the Silver, with Zach Ziemek's 8676 (4469 & 4207) getting 3rd!
Ayden Owens-Delerme sped the 2nd fastest Dec 400 (his 45.07 2nd only to Ashton Eaton's 45.00) to end his 1st day in the lead with 4606 points!
But his 2nd day was just 3926!!
He ended with 8532 points!
Kyle Garland's days were 4413 and 3760!
Lindon Victor (8474) and Niklas Kaul (8454) finished ahead of Maicel Uibo!
Damian Warner ended his Dec after 4 events, with Ash Moloney doing only 7 events!

The Men's 4 X 400 was the penultimate event of day 10!
The US team of Elijah Godwin, Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon, and Champion Allison ran 2:56.17 to wallop Jamaica's 2:58.58!
Belgium--with 2 Borlee's!!--ended 3rd in 2:58.72!
Japan broke through the 3 minute barrier in a big way, their 2:59.51 making them 17th A-T Nation!
Trinidad & Tobago ended in 3:00.03, with Botswana close in 3:00.14!
The Czech Republic's 8th place time of 3:01.63 is their National Record!!

Except for Mondo's extended PV session, the Women's 4 X 400 ended this World Championship!!
With a team consisting of 3 Collegiates and Sydney McLaughlin (who at 22 is basically a Collegiate, albeit a Professional one!), the US team clocked a fast 3:17.79!
After Talitha Diggs led off, Abby Steiner and Britton Wilson continued with sub-50 legs!
Then McLaughlin took the stick and left the field FAR behind, running 47.91, many said!!
That's one of the fastest ever splits by a woman, and bodes well for her potential in the flat 400!
Jamaica ended 2.95 seconds back, in 3:20.74!
Great Britain ran 3:22.64, while Canada was far back in 3:25.18!

What a last day, what a meet!!
My analysis, critique, editorial, and other stuff comes in a follow-up post...hopefully soon!!

World Championships 2022--Days 7 & 8

These 2 days produced some amazing marks (as you'll soon read about), as well as upsets and shocks.
I hope you're enjoying these reports, and I apologize for the day or so delay in getting them to you!
But as a huge fan of our sport for the past 60 years (I began my interest in January 1962 when I joined my High School track team!), I've been following the meet night & day, and have been as thrilled and invested as I'm sure all of you have!
To do these posts takes some work, and this blog is mine alone, so I do ALL that needs done--no help!
That said, here's what happened on days 7 & 8!!

DAY SEVEN
The Men's Javelin Throw Q round found Anderson Peters continuing his solid year, as his 294-11 led the field!
Neeraj Chopra also hit 290-0--exactly!
Julian Weber reached 286-4!
Keshorn Walcott, Julius Yego, as well as the trio of Americans, didn't move on!
Andreas Hofmann had 3 fouls!!

The Women's 800 heats saw some sub-2's, but not many!
Diribe Weltaji ran 1:58.83, with Jemma Reekie following in 1:59.09, and Adelle Tracy running 1:59.20.
Catriona Bisset fell hard after a spiking, and was left with bruises from a hard fall!
But she was moved on to the semi's!
Rosemary Almanza didn't pass through!

Jacob Krop (13:13.30) and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (13:13.92) were fastest in the Men's 5000 heats!
Six ran 13:15.17 or faster!
Not moving on were Telehun Bekele, Adel Mechaal, and Will Kincaid, who fell, but got up and finished!

PPPP (my acronym for Pedro Pablo Pichardo!) led the Triple Jump Q round with 56-3.75!
Hughes Zango was very close, as he reached 56-3.25!
Max Hess, Chris Benard, and Christian Taylor didn't survive and advance!

Simane Moula led the Men's 800 heats parade with 1:44.89, the lone time under 1:45.
But Marco Arop timed 1:45.12.
Jesus Lopez, Mark English, and Benjamin Robert couldn't make the final!

Day 8 ended with the two 200 finals, the Women going first!
Shericka Jackson's 2022 has been progressively better and better, and Eugene became its culmination!
Coming off the curve already in front, she merely expanded her lead.
Her unreal 21.45 is 2nd only to Flojo's questionable 1988 WR!
It's the Meet Record, and breaks her own Jamaica National Record!
She is of course 2nd A-T World!
Her 10.73 added to this totals 32.18, making her 3rd A-T World!
Add in her 49.47, and her total time is 1:21.65, which ranks her 6th A-T World!
Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce was 2nd, and her 21.81 breaks her own Age 35 Record!
Dina Asher-Smith was 3rd in 22.02.
Abby Steiner took 5th in 22.26, while Elaine Thompson-Herah was 7th in 22.39!
The so called 4th place finisher is one of those testosterone high ineligibles I've mentioned before!

The Men's 200 followed, and Noah Lyles essentially played the role of Shericka Jackson!!
He exploded off the tutn already well in front, then kept his pedal to the medal, so to speak, crossing the line in 19.31.
This took 0.01 off Michael Johnson's 1996 then World Record!
It's the American Record, and ranks him 3rd A-T World!
In my Combined Events category, his 9.86 and this time adds to 29.17, ranking him 1st A-T US, and 3rd A-T World!!
Kenny Bednarek's 19.77 took the Silver, while Erriyon Knighton timed 19.80 for the Bronze, and a USA sweep!
For Knighton, it ties the best 3rd Place mark!
Joseph Fahnbulleh's 19.84 is the best 4th Place mark, while Alex Ogando's 19.93 is the best 5th Place mark!!
Jereem Richards's 20.08 is the best 6th Place mark!!
Speed AND depth!!

DAY EIGHT
The Women's 35K Walk, as did all the longest races, began at 6:15 a.m.!!
Forty one Women toed the line, including 3 Americans, none of whom was the newly crowned American Record holder, Robyn Stevens!
(More on that, and more post-meet analysis and critique, will come soon after the meet is over!!)
This being the initial WC 35K, Kimberly Garcia Leon's 2:39:16 becomes the Meet Record.
It's also Peru's National Record!
(NOTE: I've just begun--inspired by Miss Stevens--to create lists for the Walks!  They are small, but will soon be expanded to my usual Top 24 for the Americans and the World, Men & Women!  I'll have lists for the 20, the 50, and the 35!  Thus, any Records announced here are tentative, pending my further research!!)
Katarzyna Zdzieblo's 2:40:03 is the National Record of Poland!
Shijie Qieyang walked 2:40:37, giving her China's NR!
The Greece NR goes to the 2:41:58 by Antigoni Ntrisompioti!
Racquel Gonzelez's 2:42:27 becomes Spain's NR!
Laura Garcia-Caro was 6th in 2:42:45!
Maocuo Li timed 2:44:28.
Viviane Lyra's time of 2:45:02 in 8th is Brazil's National Record!
Serene Sonoda of Japan walked 2:45:09, and attained her National Record!
Lamei Yin timed 2:46:02!
Here's where Robyn comes into the picture--even though she wasn't physically there!!
Her AR of 2:49:29 would have placed her 11th here!!
(I was predicting a 2:45 for her in this race, if she hadn't been tricked and selfishly manipulated from the team!!)
The "actual" 11th placer was Olga Niedzialek, who timed 2:49:43!
In 12th came Magaly Bonilla of Ecuador, whose 2:50:39 is the National Record!!
The 3 American tricksters??
They finished from 9:22 to 16:02 SLOWER than Robyn's AR!!
Yes, USATF, send the very best!!
What a frigging JOKE!!

The Men's Pole Vault Q sessions went mostly by the book, with most of the players Q'ing at 18-10.25!
Emmanuiel Karalis and Piotr Lisek couldn't make it, while Valentin Lavillenie No Heighted!

The Women's 4 X 100 heats were led by the United States team of Melissa Jefferson, Aleia Hobbs, Jennifer Prandini, and Twanisha Terry!
Their time was 41.56!
Jamaica timed 42.37, but without their big guns of SAFP, SJ, and ET-H!!
Germany's 42.44 finished ahead of Spain's 42.61.
The latter was their NR, and makes them 20th A-T Nation!
Italy ran 42.71 for another National Record, making them 23rd A-T Nation!!
China, Canada, Poland, and Japan didn't make the final!

In the Men's 4 X 100 heats, the US ran 37.87, with a team of Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Elijah Hall, and Marvin Bracy!
France ran 38.09, just ahead of Canada's 38.10!
South Africa's 38.31 just edged Jamaica's 38.33!
Not making the final were Spain, Italy, Germany, and China!
As well, Japan and Nigeria were Disqualified, and Denmark was a DNF!

Kelsey-Lee Barber whipped her Javelin spear out to 219-6 early, offering what became an unbeatable challenge!
For most of the rounds, Haruka Kitaguchi's 207-7 led the fight for Silver, followed by the 207-6 by Shiying Liu, and Mackenzie Little's 207-5!
Then, in round 6, America's super veteran Kara Winger came up for what might be the final throw of her Professional career!
With the crowd's rhythmic clapping surrounding her, she let it fly!
210-2!!!
She got the Silver!!

Athing Mu (Who else??) led the Women's 800 semi's with 1:58.12!
Diribe Welteji's 1:58.16 was a PR.
Keely Hodgkinson ended in 1:58.51, with Natoya Goule's 1:58.73 ending just ahead of Raevyn Rogers's 1:58.77!
Renelle Lamote, Jemma Reekie, and the wounded Catriona Bisset didn't make it through!

The 400 finals were relatively un-noteworthy!
Maybe because they went off pretty much as expected, with times good, but not Record Book quality!
The Women's race found tall and day-glo hair colored Shaunae Miller-Uibo cruising to an easy win in 49.11.
I really do mean "cruising", as she has this really smooth fluid running form!
Marileidy Paulino took 2nd in 49.47!
Sada Williams sort of surprised in 3rd, her time of 49.75 breaking her own National Record of Barbados!!
Leike Klaver's 50.33 edged Stephanie Ann McPherson's 50.36 for 4th!

Michael Norman--white headband in place as always--timed 44.29 for a dominating win!
Kirani James was just as dominant in 2nd, time of 44.48!
Third went to Matthew Hudson-Smith's 44.66!
Champion Allison ran 44.77 in 4th, with Wayde Van Niekerk timing 44.97 in 5th!
A relatively quiet year for the one lappers!

Except when you're talking about Sydney McLaughlin, and you add 10 hurdles to the mix!!
Then you're talking World, American, Meet, and Age 22 Records--all except the Meet Record breaking her own!
Let me rephrase that--I meant to say SMASHING, SHATTERING, UTTERLY OBLITERATING etc etc all of the above Records!
We saw it happening early--earlier than ever before when comparing racing strategies of Syd the Kid!
But she was already ahead at 50 meters, and at 200 was in a distinctly clear lead!
This was turning into a historic race...if she kept steaming ahead!!
As did Karsten Warholm in Tokyo, Syd was on her way to making 400H---no, Track and Field--history, something no one will ever forget!!
At the line, with her main opponents far behind, the clock read a simply stupifying 50.68!
Oh, Message Boards and Twitter folk were saying she'll run in the 50's, maybe even what she DID run!!
But these predictions were pooh-poohed as futuristic hyperbole!!
Yet there it was, the finish clock showing 50.68!!
McLaughlin took awhile to get up off the track, where she sat in stunned silence!!
Her opponents?
Femke Bol ran a solid 52.27, yet finished 1.59 seconds behind!!
Delilah Muhammad's 53.13 broke her own Age 32 Record!
Shamier Little waas 4th in 53.76, while Collegiate leader Britton Wilson ran a good 54.02 in 5th!!
In both of my Combined Events categories involving McLaughlin, she moved way ahead of all others on both the World & American lists!
Her 50.07 flat 400 combined with this 50.68 adds to 1:40.75!
First on the US and World lists!!
Her 12.65 for the 100H added to her 50.68 becomes 1:03.33, again way ahead of the World & US lists!
Yet this might be her last 400H race this year, as she's talking of doing the 400 flat--and again the armchair observers are predicting anything from a World Record (now 47.60!) to somewhere in the 48's!! 
No one's even mentioning the 49's!
We're all assuming she'll bypass that number entirely!!
Do NOT laugh or shake your head!!
Not after this race!!

See you soon with my last results report from Eugene, that to be followed by my promised critique & analysis and editorial nonsense!!

World Championships 2022--Days 5 & 6

 Hello again!
Enjoying the meet--and my coverage of it?
Hope so, because I have 2 more days of results to give you!
Format is the same as on the other posts!

DAY FIVE
The Women's 400H heats didn't reveal too much!
Femke Bol (53.90), Sydney McLaughlin (53.95), and Delilah Muhammed (54.45) all cruised through, as did all the other main players!

With the Russian war on Ukraine still ongoing, there's been tons of love and support going out to Ukraine athletes here--by the fans, and by other athletes.
But that didn't stop the rest of the world's athletes wanting to defeat Ukraine's best!
So when Australia's Eleanor Patterson tied her nation's NR with her 6-7.50 clearance, and defeated Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchukh in the process, the first person she hugged was Mahuchukh!
It was a touching moment!
Mahuchukh also cleared 6-7.50.
Elena Vallortigara and Iryna Gerashchenko both topped 6-6.75, with the Italian getting the Bronze!

She didn't need to, but Shericka Jackson still sprinted 21.67 in her 200 semi!
She had a wind of 2.0!
Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce's 21.82 gave her the Age 35 Record!
Tamara Clark sped 21.95, with Dina Asher-Smith at 21.96, and Elaine Thompson-Herah running 21.97!
Mujinga Kambundji's 22.05 broke her own National Record of Switzerland!
Favour Ofili and Jenna Prandini didn't make the final!

When Kristjan Ceh's Discus hit the ground at 233-4, the contest was over!
He had a better throw awhile ago, but this one was enough for the Meet Record!
Mykolas Alekna took 2nd with 227-3!
Andreas Gudzius was 3rd with 221-7, while Daniel Stahl was 4th with 220-2.
Simon Pettersson was next with 219-10
And Matt Denny's 218-1 stands as the best 6th Place mark!

The Men's 200 semi's were quick, and deep!
Noah Lyles sped 19.62, with teen wonder Erriyon Knighton cruising a 19.77, and Kenny Bednarek backing them up with his 19.84!
Jereem Richards clocked in at 19.86,while Alex Ogando's 19.91 breaks his own National Record of the Dominican Republic, and is their first sub-20!
Joseph Fahnbulleh ran 19.92, but Fred Kerley stumbled to a 20.68 and no final!!

Upset of the meet?
Not quite, but one of them!!
Heir apparent Jakob Ingebrigtsen played it cool for much of the Men's 1500 final!
The pace was fast, but not stupidly so, with Abel Kipsang at or near the front!
Inge stayed clear of the traffic towards the back.
But when the bell rang, it was war!
Inge and the UK's Jake Wightman went side by side around the last curve, with Jakob pushing to pass!
Coming into the straight, he couldn't do  it, and Wightman just beat him, 3:29.23 to Inge's 3:29.47!
Wightman's last 400 was 54.84, with Inge timing 55.24!
Mohamad Kotir timed 3:29.90 in 3rd, with Mario Garcia next in 3:30.20!
Josh Kerr took 5th in 3:30.60, with Tim Cheruiyot 6th in 3:30.69!

One guy who was considered a favorite--maybe even a lock--was Karsten Warholm in the 400H!
But his season has been brief and un-noteworthy, so it wasn't too shocking when he faded bad after about 300 meters, and wound up 7th in 48.42!
Alison Dos Santos, however, had been having a VERY strong season, so his PR-pounding 46.29 wasn't that shocking either!
He got the Meet Record, and broke his own National Record of Brazil and his own Age 22 Record!
He ranks 3rd A-T World!
Rai Benjamin ran a solid 46.89, but was well back!
Trevor Bassitt continued his fine season with another PR--his 47.39 making him 18th A-T World, and 10th A-T US!
In 4th came Wilfried Happio's 47.41, making him 19th A-T World!

DAY SIX
In a wide open event, the Women's Javelin Throw Q round was led by Hiruka Kitaguchi, who reached 211-0!
Sara Kolak (Remember her??) had 3 fouls and was out!
Also not qualifying were Arianna Ince, Maria Andrejczyk, and American Record holder Maggie Malone!!

The Women's 5000 heats were relatively quick, as 11 ran under 14:54, and 16 were at 15:02 or faster!
Letesenbet Gidey led the way with 14:52.27, then was followed by Caroline Kipkirui (14:52.54),Gudaf Tsegay (14:52.64), Sifan Hassan (14:52.89), Dawit Seyaum (14:53.06), Karolina Grovdal (14:53.07), and Elise Cranny (14:53.20)!
Not moving to the final were Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Laura Galvan!

Marco Arop led the Men's 800 heats with 1:44.56!
Jesus Lopez (1:44.67) and Mark English (1:44.76) were also sub-1:45!
Bryce Hoppel, Donovan Brazier, and Brandon Miller all didn't make it through!
Max Burgin was a last minute DNS, while Jonah Koech was DQ'ed for an unknown reason!

The Women's 400H semi's produced some significant revisions to my Record Book!
Sydney McLaughlin ran 52.17, and appeared to be well within herself!
That was just 0.01 seconds from the Meet Record!
Femke Bol stutter stepped one of the late hurdles, but still timed 52.84.
Delilah Muhammed's 53.28 is the Age 32 Record!
Shamier Little ran 53.61, with Rushell Clayton right there with 53.63!
Gianna Woodruff's 53.69 breaks her own NR of Panama!
Britton Wilson timed a good 53.72.
Back in 10th came Ayomide Folorunso, her 54.34 being Italy's National Record.
In 13th came Vivi Lehikoinen, her 54.60 being the National Record of Finland!
Janieve Russell didn't move on!

Bin Feng had been formcharted 5th by T&FN just prior to the meet!
But I'd never even heard of her!
That said, her first round Discus Throw in the final of 226-9 shockingly stood up to all challengers for the Gold!!
As for the two favorites, Sandra Perkovic had a better average day than Valarie Allman!
Perky hit 224-7, while the Dance Queen wound up with 224-1.
Jorinde Van Klinken was 4th, but far back, with 213-2.

SMU (aka Shaunae Miller-Uibo) led the Women's 400 semi's with a cruising 49.55 and some long pretty blue hair!!
Marileidy Paulino also got under 50, with 49.98.
Candice McLeod ran 50.05.
Sixth best was the 50.18 by Leike Klaver, which broke her own NR of the Netherlands!
Talitha Diggs, Natalia Kaczmarek, Lynna Irby, and Charokee Young all failed to make the final!

The Men's 400 semi's also went according to Hoyle, pretty much!
Michael Norman led them all with a 44.30.
Matthew Hudson-Smith seems stuck in the mid to high 44.30's, as he ran 44.38!
Champion Allison ran 44.71, followed by Kirani James's 44.74, and Wayde Van Niekerk's 44.75.
Not advancing were Isaac Makwala and Michael Cherry, who was way off his game with a sluggish 45.28!

The Women's 3000SC final was HOT from the start, and brought with it some controversy--although said controversy came from me reading the lengthy Let's Run forum's discussion!
I know what you're going to say, but they often offer some serious ideas on subjects other message boards are wary of talking about!
It all centers on Workuha Getachew, the woman who ran 8:54.61, the time given to her 2nd place finish!
There is a strong sentiment that she is yet another woman with illegal high testosterone levels, and thus not eligible for all-woman races!
However, there's not any "final" agreement on this, so for the moment, my blog will include her final time, but NOT enter it into my Record Book!!
That said, Norah Tanui (also referred to as Norah Jeruto) won it in 8:53.02!
She gets the Meet Record, and breaks her own NR of Kazakhstan, as well as her own Age 26 Record!
It ranks her 3rd A-T World!
Then came Getachew's 8:54.61.
Mekidu Abebe ran 8:56.08 for the best 3rd Place mark!
It ranks her 4th A-T World!
Winfried Yavi's 9:01.81 is the best 4th Place mark!
Then there was a long way back to the 9:10.04 by Luiza Gega.
Courtney Frerichs topped the Americans with 9:10.59 in 6th.
Aimee Pratt broke her own NR of Australia with 9:15.64.
Emma Coburn was 8th in 9:16.49!
And Courtney Wayment faded to 12th, time of 9:22.37!

Next Eugene results post coming soon!!

World Championships 2022--Days 3 & 4

 NOTE: Those of you familiar with this blog and its author's opinions know what I'm about to say.
There are certain athletes in the WOMEN's events who I firmly believe shouldn't be there, and whose marks shouldn't count, and who should not collect medals, or even mention by TV announcers!
They are the "women" who have high testosterone levels, and include Caster Semenya, Christine Mbomo, Beatrice Masilingi, Francine Nyonsaba, (1st name??) Seyni, and Margaret Wambui!  I will add other names as they become known!
My reasons have been given many times, and are agreed with by many on social media and elsewhere!

Enough!
There's a great T&F meet going on!
All the format "rules" already posted are good here also!

DAY  THREE 
After the Men's Marathon (in my previous post!), this day began with the Men's 400 heats!
Bayapo Ndori was fastest, and the only sub-45 (44.87).
Wayde van Niekerk was the next fastest with a 45.18!

North Americans swept the Women's Hammer Throw, an anomaly made easier by the absence of Anita Wlodarczyk!
Brooke Andersen was favored, and came through, her 259-1 way ahead of Canadian Camryn Rogers's 247-9.
Completing the sweep was the US's Janae Kassanavoid, who reached 245-7!

The Women's 400 heats were led by Stephanie Ann McPherson, whose 50.15 beat Natalia Kaczmarek's 50.21, and the 50.24 by Leike Klaver!
Klaver's time got the National Record of the Netherlands!!
Kendell Ellis didn't advance!

As happens too often, the Men's 10000 was what is politely called a "tactical" or "strategic" race!
I call it simply boring!!
Josh Cheptegei won the slugfest (meaning banana slug!!) with 27:27.43, after a yawning 14:01 first 5000!
Stanley Mburu took 2nd in 27:27.90, while Jacob Kiplimo followed in 27:27.97!
Grant Fisher took 4th in 27:28.14, with Selemon Barega timing 27:28.39 in 5th.  
Their last lap was in the 53's!

The 110H semi's saw Grant Holloway time 13.01, with Hansle Parchment next in 13.02!
Trey Cunningham ran 13.07, with former Duck Devon Allen timing 13.09.
Parchment and Allen had a 2.5 aiding wind!
Pascal Martinot Legarde didn't move on!

Mykolas Alekna led the Men's Discus Throw qualifying with a good 226-1.
Kristjan Ceh reached 223-10, while Simon Pettersson was close with 223-5.

Katie Nageotte overcame many problems in the past year or more, while Sandi Morris stayed consistent---by taking yet another Silver!!
The US duo battled all the way, even while it remained a competition between friends!
They both cleared 15-11, with Nageotte getting Gold via fewer misses.
Three attempts at 16-0.75 all failed!
Nina Kennedy cleared 15-9 for the Bronze!
Nina Sutej and Kat Stefanidi were stopped after topping 15-5's!

The Women's 100 semi's were speedy throughout!
Elaine Thompson-Herah's 10.82 was faster than Shericka Jackson (10.84), Marie Jose Ta Lou (10.87), Dina Asher-Smith (10.89), Melissa Jefferson (10.92), Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.93), Aleia Hobbs (10.95), and Mujinga Kambundji (10.96)!!

In the Men's 400H semi's, Alison Dos Santos was fastest at 47.85, with Karsten Warholm running 48.00!

The Men's Shot Put final was filled with Record Book changes!
After a good see-saw battle, Ryan Crouser emerged the winner, his 75-3.25 setting the Meet Record!
Joe Kovacs was very close, his 75-1.25 giving him the Age 33 Record!
Josh Awotunde PR'ed at 73-1.75 to give him the Bronze.
This made him 11th A-T US, and 17th A-T World!
Tom Walsh was 4th with 72-5.25!
Darlan Romani's 71-11 gave him the best 5th Place mark!
And Filip Miheljevic's 71-7.25 is the best 6th Place mark!

Abel Kipsang's 3:33.68 was fastest in the Men's 1500 semi's.
Mohamed Katir was next with 3:34.45, while Jake Wightman was close with 3:34.48!

There was controversy galore in the 110H final!!
First, Olympic Champ Hansle Parchment crashed a hurdle during his warm-up and became a last second DNS!!
Then both Shane Brathwaite and local hero Devon Allen false started, reacting the tiniest amount too quick!
Allen in particular was incredulous, and argued with the officials for awhile, delaying the race!!
Once they got off--with just five left on the starting line (!!)--Grant Holloway showed his psychological balance in winning, time of 13.03!
Trey Cunningham was 2nd in 13.08, while a surprise 3rd was Asier Martinez's 13.17!
Then again, maybe NOT so surprising, given the circumstances!!

The women's 100 final closed off Day 3 with pizazz!
FAST pizazz, as SAFP "shellacked" (Get it??) the classy octet in a Meet Record 10.67!
It also tied her own Age 35 Record!
Shericka Jackson took 2nd in 10.73!
This ranks her 7th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
ET-H completed the Jamaican sweep with 10.81.
Despite a PR, Dina Asher-Smith's 10.83 is the new National Record of Great Britain, and ties for the best 4th Place mark!
Mujinga Kambundji took 5th in 10.91, with Aleia Hobbs's 10.92 tying her for the best 6th Place mark!
Marie Jose Ta Lou was a quick 7th, time of 10.93!

DAY FOUR
The women's marathon got a record-breaking start at 6:15 a.m.!
But it was too quick for the Americans, who all backed off a bit after less then 5K!
Running a very even pace (halves of 69:01 & 69.10), Gotytom Gebreslase emerged the winner with a last K dash, her 2:18:11 smashing the old Meet Record by 2:46!!
She ranks 15th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Judith Korir ran alongside Gotytom, only falling back in the final meters, her 2:18:20 making her 18th A-T World!
Lonah Salpeter took 3rd with 2:20:18, not far ahead of Nazret Weldu's 2:20:29!
After the Americans fell off the hot early pace, they ran together for much of the rest of the race!
Sara Hall ended in 2:22:10, giving her the Age 39 Record!
(Note that the Age 40 Record is sub-2:20!!)
Hall passed Angela Tanui near the finish, with Tanui clocking 2:22:15.
Emma Bates took a minute off her PR, her 2:23:18 giving her 7th!!
She ranks 10th A-T US!
And Keira D'Amato--only added to the team 2 weeks before because of Molly Seidel's saying she couldn't run it!--ran a solid 2:23:34 to take 8th!
Ruth Chepngetich DNF'ed!!

Noah Lyles's 19.98 led the Men's 200 heats!
Erriyon Knighton timed a wind-aided (2.1) 20.01.
Timing a wind legal 20.01, Alex Ogando broke his own National Record of the Dominican Republic!
Andre De Grasse was a DNS!

Valarie Allman led the Women's Discus Throw Q round with 224-3!
Jorinde Van Klinken hit 215-5!
Rachel Dincoff didn't advance!

Mutaz Barshim didn't need his home nation support here, as he again became the World Champion, clearing 7-9.75 in the Men's HJ final!
Sanghyeok Woo "wooed" (HA!) the crowd with his Silver measuring 7-8.50!
Andriy Protsenko and Gianmarco Tamberi both cleared 7-7.75, with Protsenko getting the Bronze!
Shelby McEwen's 7-6.50 took 5th!

As stated at the front of this post, certain women are not (or should not be!!) eligible to compete in all women's races!
Thus, the "leading" time in the "Women's" 200 heats doesn't count, by MY rules!
So the best time--22.24--was run by Favour Ofili!
Abby Steiner and SAFP both timed 22.26!

After an opening 14.60 in the Women's Triple Jump, Yulimar Rojas exploded out to 50-9.25, missing the 1987 MR by just one inch!!
But she gets the Age 26 Record, her fifth OUTdoors!!
She has Age Records at 20,21, 23, 25, and now 26!!
Shaneika Ricketts's mark was a solid 48-10.25, but still almost two feet behind Rojas!!
Tori Franklin was the best American, her 48-3.50 taking 3rd!
Leyunis Hernandez was close, her 48-2.75 missing the podium in 4th!
Keturah Orji's 47-6.50 got her just 6th!

The Heptathlon began yesterday, but concluded on the 4th day!
And it was exciting!
After Day 1, Nafi Thiam was the leader with 4071 points!
Anouk Vetter had 4010, while Anna Hall had a big 3991!!
Close behind were Adrianna Selek's 3982, and Noor Vidts's 3921!
Interestingly, their order remained the same at the finish!!
Thiam's 6947 gave her the Age 27 Record!
Vetter's 6867 makes her 13th A-T World!
And she destroyed her own National Record of the Netherlands!!
Hall was very solid throughout, but ran "only" 2:06 & change in the 800--3 seconds slower than her 2:03.11 run earlier this year!!
That said, her 6755 makes her 3rd A-T US!!
And she misses the World list by a mere 10 points!!
Sulek ended with 6672, while Vidts scored 6559 in 5th!
Annik Kalin scored 6464 in 6th, with 7th going to the 6440 of Emma Oosterwegel!!
Katerina Johnson-Thompson wasn't close to her high standards, scoring 6222 in 8th!
Kendell Williams was hurting, and DNF'ed!

Reminders of Matthew Centrowitz's embarrassing Rio 1500 win, the Men's 3000SC final takes the "worst" event prize here!!
They walked the first 2K, then decided to have a 1000 footrace over hurdles!
Soufiane El Bakkali won the best ONE K Steeple in 8:25.13!
Lamecha Girma was 2nd in 8:26.01.
Consesius Kipruto was 3rd in 8:27.92!
I guess Evan Jager isn't a very good sprinter, as he ended in 6th!

Then the Women's 1500 final started, and the front trio gave those male Steeplers (& other tacticians)
a lesson in how to race a final!!
FAST!!
After a 58.8 (!!!) first 400, things slowed a bit to a 2:03 800!
By this time, it was down to Gudaf Tsegay, Faith Kipyegon, and Laura Muir, with the rest in a whole separate race!
Tsegay was leading, but when Kipyegon started her rush home, it was soon over!
She passed Tsegay on the backstraight, and kept going!
Her 3:52.96 beat Tsegay;s 3:54.52, and Muir's 3:55.28!
Freweyni Hailu "won" the back-up race with 4:01.28!
She beat Sinclaire Johnson's 4:01.63, and Jessica Hull's 4:01.82!

See you soonish with the next 2 days!!