Two Meets: a WR in Berlin, big final DL in Brussels

Lots of folks have been saying today's DL in Brussels ends the 2014 track and field season.
Hardly!
It only ends the Diamond League group of meets!

In the ISTAF meet in Berlin, Anita Wlodarczyk set a World Record in the Hammer Throw with her toss of 261-1.
While the Women's HT is a relatively new event, thus slightly deflating the worth of a WR, you can't deny the value of a WR!

In addition, she set the ISTAF Meet Record.
Also got the Age 29 record.
And the National Record of Poland. (She broke her own mark!)
She moves from 2nd A-T World into 1st.

Gia Lewis-Smallwood broke the American Record in the DT in the DecaNation meet with her throw of 226-11.
She moves from 4th A-T US into 1st.
This improved the old US record by 4 feet 8 inches!!
However, she missed the Age 35 mark by over a foot!

Bernard Lagat didn't win, but his 13:06.68 5000 at ISTAF shattered the Age 39 record by about 20 seconds.
That record was set by Lagat earlier this season!
Seems like the Age 40 record of 13:43.15 should be a stroll for him next year!

Both Bogdan Bondarenko and Mutaz Barshim cleared 2.40 in the HJ.
But only Barshim was able to jump over 2.43.
That height of 7-11.50 is a Van Damme Meet Record.
It also nabs him the Age 23 record.
He's number 2 A-T World, tied with no one!!

Evan Jager didn't win, but his 8:04.71 in the 3000SC broke his own American Record by over 2 seconds!!
And he finally moves onto my World DDD (Top 24 Performers list) in 23rd place!

The winner of that race was Jairus Birech.
His 7:58.41 moves him from 16th A-T World up into 10th!

Barbara Spotokova and Val Adams dominated their respective throwing events.
Spotokova's Javelin throw of 223-1 got the Meet Record.
As did Adams's 67-7 Shot Put.

Missing Usain Bolt's Meet Record (9.76) by 0.01 was Justin Gatlin.
His 9.77 broke his own Age 32 record.
(He doubled back in the 200, running a fast 19.71, but that mark didn't break any records!)

A race over 1000 meters yielded two National Records.
Adam Kszczot's winning 2:15.72 nabbed the National Record of Poland.
And Mohammed Aman's 2:15.75 broke his own National Record of Ethiopia.

Galen Rupp finished back a ways in the 1500, but he PR'ed at 3:34.15.
This makes him 23rd A-T US.

I'll finish this post with the Women's 3000.
2014 has been a VERY strong year over the 3000-2 Mile distance for women!
(See my detailed reports from earlier this year!)

And today's race was right up there with the earlier races, showing high quality and super depth!

Sixteen runners went 8:39 or faster today!
Mercy Cherono won it in 8:28.95, with Sifan Hassan 2nd, Genzebe Dibaba 3rd, followed by the 2 Americans. (Details to follow!!)

Hassan's 8:29.38 broke the National Record of the Netherlands.

But it was Jenny Simpson and Shannon Rowbury of the United States who made the big headlines today.

Mary Slaney's venerable AR of 8:25.83 survived.

But Simpson shattered her former (outdoor) best over the distance by some 18 seconds!
Her time of 8:29.58 makes her number 2 on the A-T US list.

And it also makes her the 3rd best woman in the WORLD on the Combined 3000-3000SC list!
Her times of 8:29.58 and 9:12.50 add up to 17:42.08.
(If Emma Coburn ever runs a flat 3000 in just 9:08, she'll make that list!)

Avoiding their football tackle-style contact from the Zurich DL, Rowbury finished a few tenths back in a PR of 8:29.93.
No, Rowbury didn't crash to the track at the end of today's race.
But she did FALL!!

Prior to this race, Rowbury's 8:31.38 from 2010 had ranked her 2nd to Slaney's AR.
Not any more!
Because Simpson beat her--thus becoming number two on the US list!!--Rowbury FALLS from 2nd into 3rd place on that list!!
How's THAT for "There's good news and there's bad news!"??!!

Check back to my previous post for some news on upcoming events.
But as a reminder, upcoming is the Continental Cup, the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half-Marathon, and the Fifth Avenue Road Mile in New York City.

The CC meet could produce some good marks, as quite a few top athletes will be there.
Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher will run the Philly Half as tune-ups for their fall marathons.
And it's been announced that the elusive Mary Cain will face Jenny Simpson and a deep elite field on 5th Ave.
This will be Cain's first-ever road race of any distance!!

One more news item.
Remember my early blog (from December or January) where I asked about the status of Natasha Rogers, Cayla Hatton, and Wesley Frazier?

Well, the question about Frazier has been answered, with several of my infamous exclamation points attached!
After a fantastic senior year of HS in 2013, and after finishing 4th in her first race as a Duke frosh a year ago, she basically disappeared, forced out of action by illness and injury.

Well, she's back!
In a tri meet against Florida state and Virginia, Duke won easily, and so did Frazier.
She ran 14:01 for the 4000 meter distance.

So forget those pre-season polls wherein Duke's women (and Frazier) weren't given any respect.
It appears Frazier is ready to REALLY begin her college career at the same level she ended her HS years!

(Wouldn't it be ironic if the NCAA XC meet came down to a duel between Frazier and Michigan's Erin Finn??  Remember their Indoor 5000 race at 2013's NBIN, when Frazier nipped Finn right at the tape by a razor-thin 0.01 seconds?  Would love to see that happen again!)