The first Diamond League meet, in Doha (Qatar) started slow.
Valerie Adams won with a below average (for her!) throw.
The Men's LJ was far under 27 feet!
Blah!
Then the track portion opened up!
Without further ado, here's the MASSIVE amount of marks I culled, mostly from one race!!
It was the final race of the meet, and that's where I'll start.
Helen Obiri of Kenya beat Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia (and everyone else!) in a record-smashing Women's 3000.
Athlete by athlete:
Obiri won in 8:20.68, which is the fastest NON-Chinese outdoor time in history!!
With 4 Chinese ahead of her, she is now 5th A-T World.
It's the new Kenyan National record.
It's the new Doha Meet record.
It's the new Age 24 record.
The latter beat Sonia O'Sullivan's 8:21.64 from 1994. (More about O'Sullivan a bit later!!)
Also, Obiri's times of 3:59.68 (1500) and 8:20.68 makes her the 6th fastest Combined 1500-3000 runner ever!! Her times add to 12:20.36.
BTW, look for a blog post sometime soon which will detail my Combined Runners section of my T&F Record Book.
Second to Obiri was Mercy Cherono.
Her 8:21.14 ranks her 6th A-T World.
And it's the new Age 23 record! (She turned 23 just 2 days ago!!)
Faith Kipyegon was 3rd in 8:23.55.
She's now 14th A-T World.
And on that Combined 1500-3000 list, she's now in 8th place, with a combined time of 12:20.53 (just 0.17 behind Obiri), her times being 3:56.98 and the 8:23.55.
She did NOT get the Age 20 record! That belongs to.....Wang Junxia's 8.06.11 WR!!
Viola Kibiwot was next, in 8:24.41.
This makes her 15th A-T World.
It's also the Age 30 record!
Now, remember me mentioning earlier that Sonia O'Sullivan lost her Age 24 record to Obiri?
Well, poor Ms O'Sullivan lost ANOTHER Age record in this race!!
Sonia held the old Age 30 record, an 8:27+ from 2000!!
She lost TWO individual year Age records....in less than 8.5 minutes!!
Following Kibiwot, in 5th place, was Almaz Ayana, whose 8:24.58 ranks her 17th A-T World!!
And she just missed breaking Meseret Defar's Ethiopian National record by....0.07 seconds!!
Then came Indoor TRIPLE WR holder Genzebe Dibaba!!
She was leading for awhile, but faded on the last lap to an 8:26.21, which was still her Outdoor PR!!
She's in 23rd place on my World DDD list!
And her time is the best 6th place time ever!
Irene Jelagat's 8:28.51 is the best-ever 7th place time!
Finally, Mimi Belete's 8:30.00 is the best-ever 8th place time!
Quite a race, eh?
Well, all these women moving ON my list meant that six women were REMOVED from my list!!
And what a group of women they are!!
Gone are:
Tatyana Samolenko's 8:26.53 from 1988. She was 19th.
Svetlana Ulmasova's 8:26.78 from 1982. She was 20th.
Lyudmila Bragina's 8:27.12 from 1976, which had rated 21st.
Paula Ivan's 8:27.15 from 1988, which was 22nd.
Geta Wami's 8:27.62 from 2001, which was 23rd.
And Maricica Puica's 8:27.83 from 1985, which was in 24th place!!
Another deep race was the Men's 1500.
Asbel Kiprop won in the Meet Record time of 3:29.18.
Ayantah Souleiman's 3:30.16 is the new Djibouti National record.
He broke his own record!
James Magut ran 3:30.61, for the best 5th place mark ever!
The best-ever 6th place mark was Aman Wote's 3:30.86.
It's also the Ethiopian National record!!
Sort of surprising that no one in Ethiopia had run faster, but I guess they're mainly longer distance runners!
Bethwell Birgen ran 3:31.22 in 7th place, the best-ever for that place!
The Men's HJ also had depth.
The winning jump of 7-10.75 made Ivan Ukhov 3rd A-T World. (tied with 2 others).
He moved up from 11th, where he was tied with 3 others.
It's also the new Age 28 record!
Derek Drouin, Eric Kynard, and Mutaz Barshim all jumped 7-9.25.
Drouin's wasn't a PR, while Kynard's tied his PR from last year.
Barshim's 7-9.25 is, however, the best 4th place mark ever!!
He beat out Patrick Sjoberg's 7-8.75 from 1988!!
Kemi Adekoye, who recently became a Bahrainian, set a National record of 54.59 in the 400H.
The old Bahrain record?
Would you believe it was 61.14??!!
Caterine Ibarguen won a pedestrian (for her!) TJ with a jump of 47-4.25.
But it's the Doha Meet Record!
A new Czech National record was set by 400 runner Pavel Maslek, with his 44.79.
He broke his own record.
Wrapping up Doha, I want to give credit to Chanelle Price, who FINALLY broke through the 2 minute barrier!
But her 1:59.75 (for 2nd behind Eunice Sum) is still 0.68 seconds from reaching 24th place on my US DDD list!
There's a few more marks I'll throw in here, some several days old.
Meref Bahta's 14:59.49 from the Payton Jordan meet is a Swedish National record.
I had no idea she was Swedish!!
There's yet one more HS girl over 14-0 in the PV!!
Serena Streich vaulted 14-0, making her 5th A-T HS, tied with 4 others.
She is the 9th High School girl to reach that barrier outdoors!!
Nijel Amos (who finished 2nd to Mohammed Aman in Doha in a 1:44+) ran a 45.56 400.
With his 800 PR of 1:41.73, this makes him the 2nd fastest Combined 400-800 runner in history!!
(Behind Guess who?...!!)
His total time is 2:27.29.
Bobby Colantino got a HT mark of 228-0, making him 23rd A-T HS.
He's just a sophomore!!
Stamatia Scarvelis continues to progress in the SP.
She PR'd with a toss of 53-9.25.
This moves her from 7th A-T HS (tied with 1 other) up to 5th.
Nyla Woods threw the Hammer 180-4, making her 21st A-T HS.
The inimitable Kim Collins ran 10.22 in the 100, breaking the Age 38 mark of Linford Christie (10.38 from 1998)
He should be able to SHATTER that mark this summer!!
Finally, there's HS Sophomore Kiana Phelps.
She threw the Discus 179-7 for 14th A-T HS.
But more importantly, she broke the Soph Class record with her throw!!
BTW, the girl who was sent OFF the DDD list was none other than Natalie Kaalawahia of Hawaii, with her 174-9 throw from 1983!!
This weekend isn't done yet!!
There's still the Texas State HS meet, with Desiree Freier going for a new HSR tomorrow.
(Not to mention whatever else ensues from that meet!!)
Also, tonight is the Oregon Twilight.
I might have another post on Monday, if there's enough new results of worth!
Also, look for an "extra" post about those Combined Time lists!!
Great post, as always, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI think Sonia O'Sullivan lost two age records in a mere 3.73 seconds! :-)
I hope Desiree Freier can ride a big Texas wind and vault 15'!
If she can do this, she might become the shortest vaulter -- male or female -- to ever vault 15' (though I'm not sure about this). At 5'0" she may already be the shortest vaulter ever to vault 14'6". Do you know of any way to check this?
Thanks....again!
DeleteAs for Freier, she vaulted just 13-6 today!
Don't know what caused her "poor" performance.
Maybe the weather....or just an off day.
I'm 99% certain she'll reach 14-9 this year.
She has until August 31st to do so, unless she's already started classes at college, or started competing for her college.
But I don't think she'll be running CC (LOL), so unless she plays another sport, she'll have most of the summer (and the rest of spring!!) to break her record!
About her height---don't know if anyone's been shorter over 14-0, but I strongly doubt it!!
Only way to check is to google each 14 footer in all of history (!!!), and hopefully find their vital stats!!
Have fun!! (LOL)
BTW, have you heard about that BLIND vaulter, another Texas girl, I believe, who's reached 11-9??
AMAZING!!
Saw a video about her, and apparently she has a beeper at the plant box which tells her when to plant!!
You MUST see that video!
(But sorry, forget where I found it!!)
Just google "blind pole vaulter" and you'll probably find it!
Yes, I saw that amazing story. Her name is Charlotte (?), I think. The fact that she's a blind pole vaulter is incredible, but the most impressive thing about her was her completely intrepid attitude towards life. A most remarkable person!
DeleteFreier a full foot below her best today -- but you can't have your best day every time out. She's the best HS pole vaulter ever and I'm hoping she'll make a goal of pushing her record as high as possible this summer.
In a personal parallel, I set my national HS record on June 22 of my senior year. I knew I had until Aug. 31 to push it as high as possible and that was my goal for that summer (1963). But I sustained a pretty bad injury in my first practice session after setting the record, and was not able to vault again all summer. I wish Desiree better luck!
Finally figured out who you are!
Delete(Sherlock Holmes at your service!! LOL)
But won't say your real name, in case you don't want it known!
Pretty easy to guess after I looked at my old copy of the 1963 HS Track.
After I saw your name, I googled it, and saw a few articles about your career!
And yes, I remember you!
1963 was the only year that Track & Field News published "High School Track" as a separate magazine. There were several issues during the regular season, then an annual edition at the end of the year. Which of those do you have? Or are you referring to the high school reporting in the regular Track & Field News?
DeleteDon't know about the magazine called HS Track!
DeleteWas talking about the Annual BOOK, now done by Jack Shepard.
I own the 1961, 62, and 63 editions of the annual.
Didn't buy another (or maybe lost some??) until the 2001 edition.
Besides a sub to T&FN, sold by a guy that came to our school in January 1962, I also bought the HS Track book and The Little Black Book by H Archie Richardson.
That's a GREAT book!!
He autographed it for me (and the whole T&F team at North Hollywood HS!!).
I still have it!!
P.S. Probably saw your name in those 63 and later issues of T&FN too!!
I knew H. Archie Richardson. He was a close friend of the Buchanan family in Claremont, who were friends of mine. Their son Dallas Buchanan was one of the first HS fourteen footers, in 1958. Another son, Tim, was a vaulting companion of mine at Claremont HS. Tim won the vault at the Golden West Invitational in 1964, the year after I won the same meet. I met Archie several times when he visited the Buchanan family. He was already quite old then, but a spry and inspiring personality as you can tell from his wonderful "Little Black Book". I had several editions. Archie especially featured the pole vault in the book. As I recall, his motto was "Don't be discouraged (if your progress is slow)." He was a very positive person.
DeleteI had a huge collection of old track and field memorabilia from the fifties and sixties, including all the issues of T&FN, Archie's book, Dick Ganslen's classsic "Mechanics of the Pole Vault", and much much more. I had all of this stored with my parents. On one of their moves, my mother threw away all my stuff without telling me. I still have a few good things that I had kept myself, but most of the collection is gone.
Is the 1963 "annual book" that you have the one with several athletes pictures on the cover, with Randy Matson (AOY) in the center and several other athletes surrounding him? If so, I'm one of the "surrounding" athletes on that cover. That annual also lists my HS record.
Used to own the '64 edition of HS Track (the book), but lost it somewhere along the way.
DeleteThat was probably the one with Matson and yourself, et al on the cover.
I remember that cover!
Great that you knew Archie!1
I agree---very positive guy.
When he came to NHHS in early '62, he WAS old (close to 80??_, but lively, like you said.
I remember he wore a suit jacket and a fedora (like most men did in those days!!).
I also remember him being short....maybe 5-6 or 5-8??
(I'm 6-2.50!)
But I still love his book, and recently recommended it to a young girl on Twitter who runs track in HS, but was feeling down about her times!
I looked it up (when I was tweeting that girl) on Amazon, and they HAVE copies for sale, BUT not the '62 edition, which I own.
They had earlier editions, like '57 and '59.
Ever buy stuff on Amazon?
I buy TONS of stuff---mostly DVD's, CD's, and books, but just last week ordered 24 cans of a soda I like, a Baja Hoodie, and a new microwave!
Anyway, go to Amazon, then go their books dept, then type in "track and field", and you'll come up with pages and pages of books listed for sale!!
Including---probably---some or all of the stuff your mom threw away!
BTW, my mother threw out all my old comic books from the 50's (Archie's, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, all different kinds, 100's of them!! Plus all my old baseball cards.
This was BEFORE those items became really valuable.
Damn, she probably threw away many $1000's of dollars worth of comics and baseball cards!!
Alas, eh??!!
Anyway, if you want that stuff back (Archie's book and the other books), try Amazon.
Also try the forum on T&FN message board where you buy and sell stuff!!
I've seen old track books, old issues of T&FN, and even posters, programs (from meets) for sale there!!
Oops!
DeleteOrdered the microwave from Walmart, not Amazon.
The other stuff listed WAS from Amazon!
(The soda is Dr Brown's Cel-Ray soda, which I drank LOTS of in Jewish deli's in NYC in the 50's, but which is not sold in stores here!
Been ordering 24 can lots from Amazon for several years now!!)
Thanks for your chatty message. I think Archie may have been more like 5'4", but I'm not sure -- definitely a little guy. He gave me a lot of encouragement in my vaulting.
DeleteI had a lot of comic books too -- Archie, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, Superman, Superboy, etc. Also gone before they got valuable.
I've placed some 2,000 orders on amazon since 1997! All kinds of stuff. I don't think I'll try to restore my old T&F memorabilia collection. If I still had that stuff I'd probably try to sell it instead. I do still have some stuff that manage to escape. Mostly associated with my own career in some way. My mother kept a couple big scrapbooks of newspaper articles (there was lots of T&F coverage in the Los Angeles Times and other Southern California papers in those good ol' days!) and meet programs of meets I competed in. I still have those scrapbooks.
You're right -- the "High School Track 1964 Annual Edition" is the one that has my picture on the cover. It was published in January 1964 and covers the 1963 season. I may be mentioned in your 1963 edition (covering the 1962 season). I was a junior then and I don't remember if I made the cutoff to be listed for that season. I don't have that one. The marks are pretty pathetic by today's standards, but we were vaulting in what would today be considered very primitive conditions, with very inferior poles. We were also in the early stages of inventing an entirely new vaulting technique that has now been massively refined and perfected.
As for this season's vaulting, the pros have yet to show much outdoors. It's hard to know what to expect from Isinbayeva in the future. I think her career may be over. And Jenn Suhr is also probably on the downslope of her career. The Cuban vaulter Silva is probably the best of the currently active women. On the men's side it's going to be fun to see what Lavillenie can do outdoors this year. It would be great if he can get another twenty footer, and also beat Bubka's outdoor record!
Yes, it was the '63 book, with the '62 year stats.
DeleteI know all about the vaulting (and track!) conditions back then ('62 forward).
Remember, I started competing in '62!
In a Pierce College All-Comers meet---'66??----saw Bob Seagren run an 800 in 2:00 or 2:01!!
You went to UCLA.
My fave UCLA athlete back then was Bob Day.
Side story:
Only frat party I ever went to was on Gayley St on UC's campus!!
I was 20, and met a girl named Molly Nelson there.
She was just 15, and from Pacific Palisades.
We made out some, and I drove her home.
I think (but not 100% certain) we went out once or twice after that.
But since that day, I've always loved the name "Molly"!!
(Probably why I like Molly Huddle so much!! Although I did have an Aunt named Molly too!!)
Just like today, the early '60's were also a time of a "pole vault renaissance" of sorts.
You had the first 15 footer for a HS'er, the first 16 footers (Uelses, Pennel, Sternberg, etc etc).
The records were going up rapidly back then, but with several people involved, not just one like with Bubka or Isi.
It was exciting.
I remember all the speculation about how high one could go with the fiberglass pole!
(Or even whether the fiberglass pole should be banned!!)
As for this season, as you know (by reading my blog!! LOL), the indoor season was phenomenal, with the WR, CR, and both hSR's being broken.
And so far, the outdoor HSR too.
Suhr opened up at 15-3.75 this past week (will have that mark in my next report!!), and stopped vaulting ONLY because of heavy winds!!
I think she'll go 16+ later on.
Isn't Isi still pregnant??
Due in a month or 2 or 3.
Silva's good.
Lavillenie will be at Pre.
It's early.
Several elites (in EVERY event!!) haven't really opened up yet.
Give 'em time!!
Bob Day was a good friend at UCLA. He was a very nice guy, and of course a great runner. He died a few years ago. His marks from those days hold up a lot better than mine!
ReplyDeleteI had a young "Molly" in my life too, and I've also always loved the name because of her. I am also a big Molly Huddle fan, and have followed her career since her high school days. She was a good runner at Notre Dame, but didn't really improve much over high school. (Just the same as Mary Saxer at Notre Dame -- though this pattern applies to lots of girl high school stars in their collegiate years.) Then since college she has blossomed into one of America's best-ever distance runners, much to my delight! And Mary Saxer has also recovered from her collegiate doldrums to become one of the best U.S. vaulters, though always in Jenn's shadow.
Yes, the early- to mid-sixties were a fun time to be a pole vaulter in Southern California. I had always wanted to be part of the "pole vault fraternity" since I began vaulting in 1958, and getting to do that was a great pleasure. I knew Bob Seagren since we were little kids, both growing up in Pomona, though we went to rival junior high schools there. Bob's older brother Art Seagren was a HS pole vault star in the late fifties, and a huge early influence for me and Bob. I didn't move to Claremont until I began high school in 1960.
Yes, the indoor PV was great this year, my favorites being Lavillenie and young Desiree Freier. That's not a bad outdoor debut for Jenn, and maybe she will go 16' again this year. But though Jenn has been a big favorite of mine, she also frustrates me. In spite of some big wins (Olympic gold and silver!), she has terrible competitive strategy. Silva beat her several times in Europe last year simply by outsmarting her. Silva is a very savvy vaulter and knows how to compete. Jenn, by contrast, constantly defeats herself with dumb starting heights and bad passing strategies. Even when Jenn won her Olympic gold medal in London, it was mostly due to dumb-dumb moves by Isinbayeva, who had hardly ever had to concern herself with strategy during her career. Jenn has cleared 16' or more several times, but never once in a meet where she had any competition. She won the Olympics with a low vault when the other vaulters did poorly.
Yes, I think Isinbayeva is still pregnant. She is the event's GOAT by far, and though I don't think she's announced her retirement, I'm not so sure we'll ever see her in action again. Or if she does return, I would not expect her to reach her former levels. But she's had a long, illustrious career and will be as much a symbol of the event as Bubka has been on the men's side.
Silva is not only a good vaulter, as you said, but she's smart. I can be very critical of the way some vaulters manage themselves in competition (e.g. Jenn!, and several others) but I've never seen a bad move from Silva. She understands how to manage herself and the various competitive situations that arise in the event, and as a result often finishes higher than might otherwise be expected on the basis of sheer ability. Jenn is the best physical specimen the event has ever seen, has had a great career, especially for a late starter, but has had many unnecessary let-downs. Jenn has also been among the most-injured elite field eventers ever. In that category, I rank her on a par with Breaux Greer -- massively talented, often injured.
Breaux Greer has the best name of any elite athlete that rhymes with what he does:
Breaux Greer = throw spear (can you think of a better one?)
Wow, this is turning into a longggggggg conversation!!
DeleteBut gotta go somewhere, so will answer briefly.
You're far too critical of Jenn!
Maybe she's made some mistakes, but starting at age 23, and having done all she's done, is amazing!!
Isi's been vaulting since she was a teenager!
So did Bubka!
Suhr (& her unspellable earlier name!! LOL) had reached 15 feet within ONE year of first touching a pole!!
As to her choosing bad opening heights, I might agree, but that's a fault of MOST elite jumpers....both HJ'ers and PV'ers!!
I've always advised to get a low height in----even as low as 13-6 14-0 for an elite female....or 16-8 or 17-0 for an elite male.
Then at least you HAVE a height.....and you'll avoid an NH.
Especially in a decathlon!!
How many times has a decathlete started at a higher height----so as to avoid having to jump too many times------and then no- heighted??
Far too many!!!
Get a height----then take a nap while you wait for the higher heights!!
And yes, I know the criticism of that----that you can't get "up" twice in one meet!!
But yes you can!!
Runners do it who have to run heats and semis to get to the final!!
Consider the lower height a "heat"!!
I disagree on Isi also!
She wants another OG Gold.
Especially if, as one article stated, they have to move the Rio Olympics, and Moscow becomes the replacement!!
IF she comes back----and it's almost a certainty she will----she'll want to come back all the way!!
Women get stronger, in many cases, after giving birth.
Look at how Chaunte Lowe has come back this year after pregnancy!
She's up to 6-5.....and one of the top 3 or 5 in the World so far!!
As for names, I'd pick Waverly Neer......if she were a surfer!! (Wave---near! HAHA)
But speaking of Jenn, her name is one to have fun with, as I've done in early blogs here!!
SUHR-ly you jest!!
I'm not so SUHR about that!!
She's a SUHR bet to win!!
Etc, etc etc!!!
Bye.....gotta get going!!
Before I leave, I'll addf one thought.
DeleteAll that said about Suhr, I'd have to pick Dragila as America's best-ever female vaulter!!
It's sad she never reached 16.
But she was at least as dominant in the US as Suhr has been.
And she was a pioneer....like Joanie in the marathon---of being the first OG winner!!
I follow both of them (Suhr and Dragila) on Twitter!