Consider this an odd week.
With all due respect to the Arcadia High School Invitational, and such meets as the Sun Angel Classic, this past week didn't have any real standout meets, like the Texas and Florida Relays were recently, or the Drake and Penn Relays are expected to be soon.
Also, field events continue to dominate the marks and records deluge in the early 2014 Outdoor season.
But since the London Marathon just ended, let's begin our report with that.
It was interesting to watch, and the results offered a few marks I'm about to lay on you.
But the MOST sociological significance came from its PRE-race hype!
It went on for weeks.
It seemed to never end!
Hell, it went on DURING the race!
(If I hear the name "Mo" one more time, I'll scream!!)
In the end, the declarations of an onrushing tsunami turned out to be a comparatively minor basement flooding, easily mopped up!
Wilson Kipsang and Edna Kiplagat were the winners, respective times of a Course Record 2:04:29 and 2:20:21, a NON-PR.
The mega-overhyped Mo Farah ran a sluggish 2:08 and change. Hardly worth remembering.
The mega-UNDERhyped Tirunesh Dibaba, meanwhile, had a great debut, finishing 3rd in 2:20:35.
While not spectacular, it was FAR better than the other 2 debuts, Mo's, and Kenenisa Bekele's first in Paris in 2:05:03. (See last week's blog!)
Here's the marks that came from the London race.
Kipsang's time is a new Age 32 record.
Edna Kiplagat's time is an Age 34 record.
Stanley Biwott, 2nd behind Kipsang, ran 2:04:54, putting him in 24th place on the World list, tied with 1 other.
(One item: The times I'm reporting may not be right. These are UNofficial times. I've seen a couple of different times so far on Twitter, but any changes will be either edited in, or reported later.)
As for Dibaba's 2:20:35, she moves into 23rd place A-T World.
A bit more interesting than Dibaba's time was who she moved OFF the DDD list!
Before London, two women were tied in 24th place with times of 2:20:43.
Both were eliminated by Dibaba's entry!
One of them was the legendary Tegla Loroupe, whose time was run in 1999.
That was the LAST time on the World DDD from the 20th century!!
Now the oldest times date from 2001.
Before I leave this week's road action behind, one brief comment.
Of the 3 debuts (Bekele's in Paris, Farah's and Dibaba's in London), I rate them as follows:
1. Dibaba by a couple of large noses (or behinds, breasts, or EGO's!!!).
2. Bekele. Not bad. Ran close to even pace, and WON!!
3. Farah. UGH!! What a disaster!! This guy needs to run some TRACK WR's, then return to the roads! Vastly overhyped AND overrated!!! (But he gave a good interview post-race, so kudos for being a good sport about it!)
As the title of this post indicates, field events continue to dominate the 2014 outdoor season.
For the most part, the runners have been a bit slow (Pun intended!! LOL) in getting revved up.
There were 2 REALLY good marks this week.
Raven Saunders is for real, folks!
She slaughtered the INdoor SP record at NBIN with an incredible 56-7.50.
That improved Michelle Carter's INdoor HSR by about 22 inches!
Well, she's done it again....OUTdoors!!
She again smashed a Michelle Carter SP record to pieces!
This time, it was her OUTdoor record, and Saunders's new HSR is even better than her INdoor mark...by a half-inch!!
She reached 56-8, getting Carter's mark by about the same amount, 22 inches!!
Besides the new HSR, it's also the new Senior Class record, obviously!
This girl is AMAZING!!!
Coming from virtually nowhere in 2013 (Best of 42 feet last spring!), she SHOT (Heh!) forward by 11 feet INdoors in December, then.....well, if you read my blog, you know the rest!
What's NEXT?????
Another fantastic athlete isn't "new", like Saunders is.
Just 18, Multis Master Kendell Williams shattered another of her PR's!
She scored 6018 points in the Heptathlon, setting a new Collegiate Frosh Class record!
(The record she broke dated from 1983!!)
She's now 14th A-T Collegiate!!
This surpassed her previous best of 5578 (Her HSR from 2012!) by a mere 440 points!!
Don't forget, this past INdoor season, she broke her old Pentathlon best (4068 from 2013) by a total of 567 points!! (Over 2 separate Pents!)
What's next for HER???
Garrett Scantling also had a good Multi.
He scored 8169 in the Dercathlon, good for 16th A-T Collegiate.
More good Pole Vaulting.
Kaitlyn Merritt, who holds the HS 9th and 10th Grade OUTdoor records (13-3 in 2012 and 13-8 in 2013), got a one inch PR last week, her 13-9 moving her to 10th A-T HS, tied with 2 others.
And Sandi Morris, an Arkansas Collegian, also got an OUTdoor PR, her 14-7.25 giving her 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 6 others.
She'd been 17th on that list!
She also is 23rd A-T US, tied with 3 others!
Arcadia had a good field event mark.
Vashti Cunningham, just a HS sophomore (and holder of the Frosh Class OUTdoor record at 6-0.25!!), PR'ed at 6-2, moving her into 11th place A-T HS, tied with 4 others.
BTW, speaking of HS High Jumpers, whatever happened to Gabrielle Williams, who jumped spectacularly in 2012, but then pretty much disappeared soon after??
The throws produced 3 good marks.
Felicia Johnson went 60-7.25 in the SP.
She's now 17th A-T US, tied with 1 other.
Her previous best rated her 23rd A-T US!
Shelbi Vaughan continues inching (REALLY "inching"!!!) towards the 200 foot barrier in the DT.
Her latest "inches" improvement, to 199-3, keeps her in 12th place A-T Collegian, but she's now NOT tied with 1 other, like before!!
Freya Jones had a Javelin Throw of 181-7, giving her 22nd A-T Collegian, tied with 1 other.
The final field event mark is Julia Ratcliffe's 228-4 Hammer Throw.
It's a new National Record for New Zealand.
It moves her from 10th place on the A-T Collegiate list into 8th.
And it narrowly misses the Collegiate Soph Class record of 228-11.
ADDED A FEW HOURS LATER: I discovered another noteworthy field event mark AFTER posting this. Didn't want to wait until next week!
Tim Glover threw the Javelin 275-7 at the Sea Ray Relays.
(How did I miss that?? I'm not TOTALLY blind...yet!! LOL)
That makes him 5th A-T US.
He had been 17th!!
There were a few track marks worthy of note.
The "major" one was a SORT OF World Record!!
Here's the deal.
In 2009, the University of Tennessee's Women's 4X1500 team (3 members of which were now-pro greats Sarah Bowman-Brown, Phoebe Wright, and Chanelle Price!!) ran 17:08.34 for a "World's Best".
I'm not certain if it's considered a WR, and if so, by whom!!
But it IS......or rather, WAS....the best-on-record in the entire world!!
Well, no more!
It was bitten into by a Kenyan National team (!!!), which included Eunice Sum and Helen Obiri (!!!).
Their time of 17:08.17 is the new WR....or World Best.....or whatever you want to call it!!
Wait until the World Relays meet next month!
It will be DESTROYED!!!
Simon Magakwe set a South African National Record in the 100, time of 9.98.
I somehow overlooked a Stanford Invitational 10000 mark.
Elinor Kirk's 32:17.05 from there ranks her 8th A-T Collegiate!
Finally, Jasmine Quinn ran the 100H in 13.33 for 18th A-T HS, tied with 2 others.
Next week are two iconic events
The Boston Marathon and the Mt SAC Relays.
(Among much else!)
Stay tuned!
And stick around, too, for another "extra" post.
It's sure to incite arguments, high blood pressure, and maybe even a death threat or two!!
Why?
I'm taking on those ABOMINATIONS, the US High School 1600 and 3200 meter runs!!
(Using Mary Cain and Alexa Efraimson as my "Guinea Pig" examples!! That's one reason I didn't tell you what happened with Alexa at Arcadia! But you'll soon find out, and much much more!!)
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