These last 3 days of the WOMEN's side of the Beijing World Championships began with a WALK, but ended with a wild mad SPRINT kick in its closing moments!
Let's take a look.
The 20000 Meters Walk led off Day 7 of this 9 day extravaganza, and even this mostly criticized, and even ignored, event gave up some truly interesting moments.
Like at the finish line??
YES!
Two Chinese women Walked into the Bird's Nest, for their final few hundred meters---TALKING to each other!!
Which they'd BEEN doing for a few hundred meters before that!!
Seems they were negotiating WHO should get WHICH medal!
Well, turns out China respects its elders, so the younger (21 years old) Xiuzhi Lu told the older (28) Hong Liu "It's yours, Oh Ancient One!", and let her take Gold, though both were given the same time--1:27:45.
The 2 American's Walked better than ever, place-wise, in a Major Championship situation.
Maria Michta-Coffey took 20th (though she had the same time as the woman in 19th!), while Miranda Melville ended in 26th.
Michta (She was still just Michta then!) ended in 34th in Moscow!
Young (just turned 20) Anezka Drahatova was up with the leaders, but faded in the last half, finishing 8th.
There were 42 finishers.
The Q'ing for the Javelin Throw had one good mark.
Christina Hussong's 216-3 throw rates her 20th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Brittany Borman led her Flight with 210-8, close to her PR!
What happened to the American 100 Hurdlers in the Semi's??
TOO MUCH!!
Picked by about 99.9% of "experts" and "average" fans alike to SWEEP the medals, the WRECKAGE of these Semi rounds left US hopes in the same condition you see many of the actual hurdles after a race---DOWN and CRUSHED!!
Dawn Harper-freakin'-Nelson was a--a---a DNF!!
Kendra Harrison didn't even get to run---She False-Started!!
Sharika Nelvis made it through, ending 2nd to the fastest time of 12.58, run by Jamaica's Danielle Williams!
Nelvis ran 12.59.
Another "sort of" American--newly transported to Great Britain to join her OTHER former American sister, Tiffany Porter--Cindy Ofili--also failed to advance to the Final!
One who I'd HOPED would make it through--I wanted to see her wild dance routine again!--but didn't, was Australia's Number Two High Hurdler, Michelle Jenneke.
But she ran a decent 13.02.
The Long Jump had some great back and forth competition between the eventual top 3.
Ivana Spanovic took an early lead, hitting the sand at 7.01, or 23-0.
Then came Shara Proctor, who edged ahead with her 7.07 leap, the English measure being 23-2.50.
But it was Tianna Bartoletta who had the final say, hitting 23-5.25 (7.14) on her last attempt!
Bartoletta becomes 24th A-T World, tied with 1 other.
She remains 4th A-T US.
Proctor broke her own National Record of Great Britain!
And Spanovic also got an NR, her's from Serbia.
It breaks her own mark.
Then came the 200.
How to describe it?
The best Women's 200 EVER?
(One argues that the Flojo explosion in 1988 was maybe on the same level as what happened with the Chinese distance runners in 1993!!)
Whatever you call it, it was utterly MAGNIFICENT!!
What a RACE!!!
Elaine Thompson, with a best of 22.10 coming in, blew up the curve, entering the straight a bit ahead of Dafne Schippers, who also had yet to get under 22 seconds.
Then the long legs and torso of Schippers accelerated a la Usain Bolt, gaining on ET with every long powerful step she took, finally moving JUST past her right before the tape.
Their times of 21.63 and 21.66 were almost unbelievable!
Yes, Allyson Felix had run 21.69 recently, but she'd run sub-22's before, so it didn't shock much to see her run another one!
These blew our minds!!
Not only that, but 3 others ran very fast--even if their times belonged to the group called "mere mortals".
Veronica Campbell-Brown continued her strong 2015, ending in 3rd with 21.97.
Then came Candyce McGrone, hitting another PR, time of 22.01.
And 19 year old Dina Asher-Smith also PR'ed, running 22.07.
Let's break down the destruction done to my T&F Record Book.
Thompson got the best-ever 2nd Place mark!
Asher-Smith nabbed the 5th Place record.
Both Schippers and Thompson are 23.
So it's Dafne who gets the Age 23 record--by 0.03 seconds!
Dina gets yet another Age 19 record--and this one makes her the fastest teenager---whether at altitide or sea level!!
Schippers's Age record broke Lorraine Moller's mark, which had stood since 1987!
Of course Schippers gets the WC Meet Record.
(BTW, the MR was also held by Moller!! The same record she broke in the Age Record department!!)
She also lowers her own National Record of the Netherlands.
Asher-Smith is the new National Record holder of Great Britain!
But Thompson JUST missed the venerable Merlene Ottey's Jamaican NR--by 0.02 seconds!!
Both Schippers and Thompson are now on my 100-200 Combined Events list, in 4th and 5th, respectively, although Thompson is tied with 1 other!
Schippers's 10.81 and 21.63 add to 32.44.
ET's 10.84 and 21.66 come to 32.50.
Finally (in this ONE event!!), we have some movement on my World DDD list.
Dafne is now 3rd A-T World!
Elaine is 5th A-T World.
(Remember, neither was even ON the list prior to this day's race!!)
Oh yes, Ms McGrone moves from 12th to 10th, tied with 1 other, on the A-T US list!
Moved OFF my World list was Sherone Simpson--who just happened to finish 8th in this race!!
Irony!
From one mind-bending event to another!
Yes, I speak of the Final of the 100H.
A US Sweep??
HA!
Not only was the US of A itself shut out of the medals, but so were those 2 FORMER Americans, the sisters Porter-Ofili!!
What a day!
Danielle Williams repeated her Semi's "win", taking Gold with her 12.57.
Cindy Roleder of Germany took 2nd.
And Alina Talay of Belarus took the Bronze.
Talay's 12.66 is the National Record of Belarus.
The 2 surviving (an appropriate word!) Americans, Brianna Rollins and Sharika Nelvis, finished 4th (12.67) and 8th (LAST!!--13.06).
Oh man!
In the 4X400 Relay Heats, the US team of Phyllis Francis, Jessica Beard, SRR, and Fran McCorory had the fastest time of 3:23.05.
The 4X100 Relay Heats produced several Records.
While Jamaica had the fastest time--41.84--and the US, in a separate heat, ran 42.00, neither set any new standards.
Trinidad did.
Their 42.24 breaks their National Record.
The Netherlands 42.32 gets their National Record.
And Canada's 42.60 breaks their NR.
On the World Top 24 list, Trinidad is now 10th, tied with 1 other.
The Netherlands is 13th A-T World.
And Canada is now 17th A-T World.
The HJ Final was close.
In fact, all 3 medalists jumped 6-7, or 2.01.
But they were separated by misses, so Maria Kuchina was 1st, Blanka Vlasic 2nd, with Anna Chicherova getting 3rd.
Chicherova tied the Age 23 record.
Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch, who jumped 6-6.25, got 6th.
AND the best-ever mark for that Place!
Remember that 3rd heat of the 800 Semi's?
The one where Melissa Bishop destroyed the Canada NR (and her PR!), and all eight finished in 1:59.33 or faster!
Well, talk about anti-climactic happenings!
This race, the FINAL, was won by Marina Arzamasova in 1:58.03.
Bishop took Silver in 1:58.12.
And much-favored Eunice Sum took 3rd, running 1:58.18.
Eighth was run in 1:59.70.
Can we please exchange that SEMI race for THIS one??
(BTW, Sum led at 400 in 59.10! Where's Alysia Montano when you most need her??)
Then we had the Final of the 4X100 Relay!
The SHOWDOWN!!
HIGH NOON!!
After MUCH speculation---and loud grumbling!--about who would make up the American team, the race itself became so much easier to prognosticate.
The US squad would be English Gardner, Allyson Felix, Jenna Prandini, and Jasmine Todd.
That's right, folks!
75% of that US team would have DEEP roots in the University of Oregon, past and present!
And THAT may have been the reason why they lost to Jamaica's brilliantly executed 41.07, anchored by the green-braided SAFP, who EXPLODED past Todd like Todd was standing still!!
The US was timed in 41.68.
Jamaica's time is the new Meet Record.
It's also their new National Record!
But they remain 2nd A-T World.
Trinidad, who took 3rd in 42.03, got an NR too.
They move from 10th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 7th.
Great Britain's 4th place time of 42.10 is yet another National Record!
But they remain in 10th on the A-T World list, tied with 1 other.
The Netherlands, with Dafne Schippers running a strong 2nd leg (against Felix!!), was DQ'ed!!
Russia was a DNF.
The Marathon started off the 9th day of competition with a GREAT sprint finish inside the Bird's Nest!!
Yep, it wasn't truly decided until the FOUR leaders---Yes, I said FOUR!!--were on the track INSIDE the stadium, listening to the tremendous roar of the happy crowd!
In the end, it was a DIBABA (Mare) who won, hitting the tape in 2:27:35, one second (!!) ahead of another famous name, Helah KIPROP!!
And sorry, but neither is related to their more famous namesakes, Tirunesh/Genzebe, or Asbel!!
Eunice Kirwa took the Bronze, running 2:27:39, while 4th--in 2:27:42--was Jemini Sumgong.
Fifth was the renowned Edna Kiplagat, who ended her run in 2:27:48..
Two Americans ran good races.
After Heather Lieberg became a DNF somewhere between 5 and 10K, Serena Burla and Esther Erb continued on, ending finally in 10th (Burla's 2:31:06) and 24th (Erb's 2:38:15).
Erb moved up gradually throughout the race, gaining a few spots each 5K, starting at 40th at the 5K mark!
Burla was right up front with the lead group through halfway, before falling back---though not disastrously!!
There were 52 finishers.
Dibaba's splits were 1:15:17 and 1:12:18.
The Javelin throw was won with a mark of 222-1 by Kathrin Molitor.
She becomes 8th A-T World!!
Second was China's Huihui Lyu's 216-11.
It's the new National Record of China.
She moves from 24th to 21st on the A-T World list!
Kara Winger finished 8th, throwing just under 200 feet (199-9).
Christina Obergfoll, one of the favorites, finished 4th.
This has been a World Championships wherein the distance races have been dominated by AMAZING within-the-larger-race---for want of a better term---Time Trials!
Think of Genzebe Dibaba's 1:56.9 800 in her 1500 Final.
Or Mo Farah's final 1000 of 2:19.19 in his 5000 Final!
Well, here, it was Almaz Ayana who did the honors.
After a snail's paced opening K of 3:02, the pace actually SLOWED to a 3:04, as they came through 2000 in 6:06.92, barely on par with a good Collegiate race!
Then the fun began.
Ayana and Genzebe were playing games, along with a gang of stalkers, at that point.
(Those "stalkers" included Mercy Cherono, Sembere Teferi, Viola Kibiwot, Susan Kuijken, and lone American, Nicole Tully!)
As soon as they hit 2K, Ayana moved.
After a lap in 66.0, she upped the ante to 65.03, and THAT was the decisive move AWAY from Dibaba, who just, after three 1500's and a 5000 Heat, maybe didn't have enough fuel left in the tank to take up Ayana's daring challenge.
Suffice to say, Ayana's final 3 K's were run in 2:48.71, 2:43.62 (!!), and an eased up near the finish 2:47.58!
Her total time for that last 3000?
Would you believe 8:19.91?
You BETTER believe it, baby!!
She RAN 8:19.91 for her LAST 3000!!
If that segment could somehow be extricated from the race, and legalized as acceptable by the IAAF, it would rank her FIFTH All-Time World--behind just those 4 Chinese women who ran those sensational times in 1993.
And I'm not counting Dibaba's own INdoor time of 8:16.60!!
In contrast, Dibaba's final 3000 was 8:37.47.
Teferi's was slightly faster--8:36.14.
BTW, Ayana's last 2000 added to 5:31.20!!
That's ALSO a mind-blower!!
Ayana's final time of 14:26.83 is the new World Championships Meet Record!
Teferi's time was 14:44.07.
Dibaba finished 3rd, just 0.07 seconds behind Teferi.
She was followed by Kibiwot, who ran 14:46.16.
They were the only ones under 15:00.
Mercy Cherono's 15:01.36 led the back-seaters.
Tully finished in 13th, running 15:27.42.
What could stand as a better closing event to this sensational meet than a fierce duel between the teams from the United States and Jamaica in the 4X400 Relay??
And they delivered.
On the opening leg, it was Christine Day vs SRR.
The Big Money was on Sanya.
HA!
Clearly NOT in the same 49+ shape she was in 2-3 months ago, she struggled through a 51.5, while Day opened a full second faster!
And the attack continued on the 2nd leg, with Jamaica's Shericka Jackson running 49.4, ALSO a full second faster than the American, name of Natasha Hastings, who is normally more reliable on relays!
Then came Stephanie McPherson against the 400 open winner, Allyson Felix!
At the hand-off's, Jamaica was about 25 meters ahead, with Felix having a LOT of track space to make up.
But she ran this the same way she ran the open race---sprinting the first 200 HARD!!
By the 200 point of her leg, she'd narrowed the gap to 5 meters!!
And she didn't let up---much!
By the final straight, she had caught McPherson (who would run a decent time of 50.19!!).
By the time she handed off to Fran McCorory (whose opponent would be Novlene Williams-Mills), everybody was AGOG, and trying to figure just how fast Felix had run!
General consensus---supported by the IAAF's "official" leg times--was that she'd split a---47.72!!
You heard me, I said 47.72!!
That's only the fastest Relay 400 ever recorded!!
And if run in an open race, would be second only to the WORLD RECORD of Marita Koch!!
(And yes, I KNOW Relay splits are NOT too reliably acceptable as fact!!)
But still, 47 freakin' 72!!
In the real world, McCorory became stiff in the last 70 meters, finally losing to W-M's 49.14 closer.
McC had run 49.93.
Jamaica's time was 3:19.13.
The US ran 3:19.44.
Great Britain was over 4 seconds back.
Canada's 3:27.69 rates as the best-ever 8th Place time!
WHEW!!!
One can't overlook the incredible SEGMENTS of full races as being some of the true highlights of the Women's side of these last 3 days.
Ayana's 8:19.91.
Felix's 47.72.
They trumped the rest of the goodies, which included the tight finishes in the HJ, Marathon, and the Walk.
The worst "segments" have to include the FIRST parts of that self-same 5K race!
Also considered should be the contrast between the 800 Semi and Final, with the Final coming up with the losing numbers.
Not to mention the almost complete MELTDOWN of America's Sprint Hurdlers!
But one can't deny that this meet---and here I'm talking of BOTH genders!!---was one of, if not THE best of all 15 of them!!
Speaking of the best and the worst, my NEXT post will delve into just that question!
Yes, there's going to be yet ANOTHER post about this WC!
That should be posted in the next 48 hours---BEFORE we get back to the DL's and some other smaller meets still on the schedule!
Hope you liked my coverage of these Championships!
I enjoyed putting it together!
Sunday, August 30, 2015
WR takes Men's WC to Finish Line
A GREAT way to end a GREAT meet!
Ashton Eaton's Decathlon World Record didn't EXACTLY end this 9 day meet---not literally!---but it sure puts it in the "one of the best" category!
So let's start this final results post with that event, since its first of 10 parts led off the August 28th schedule for the Men.
9045 points.
World Record, beating his own mark!
United States National Record, also beating his own mark.
Age 27 record.
World Championships Meet Record
Remains 1st on both World and US A-T lists!
What more can be said?
Oh yeah, how about his 400 in 45.00, which is ALSO a WR of sorts, as it's the fastest-ever 400 during a Decathlon!
(And a PR for Eaton by "just" 0.55 seconds, beating the time he ran at the American Track League meet a few months ago!)
He was simply phenomenal, and probably better than his 9039 WR was, simply because of the weather, the more elite stage, and because he wasn't top notch in a few events---which leaves one to speculate what he could do in better weather, and with better performances in his "weak" events!
Damian Warner took 2nd with yet another National Record for Canada, scoring 8695 points.
He beat his own mark, set at the Pan Am Games!
He also moves from 23rd to 19th on the World Top 24 list!
Two more National Records fell.
Larbi Bourrada scored 8461 for the Algeria NR.
Kurt Felix improved his own Grenada National Record with 8302 points!
Eleven scored at least 8200 points, and 15 were over 8000.
The HJ Qualifying went pretty much by the book, although a few "names" didn't make the Final.
They included Robbie Grabarz, Jesse Williams, JaCorian Duffield, Andriy Protsenko, and Ivan Ukhov.
The Semi's for the 1500 were Standard Brand--meaning one was slowwww, another FAST (relatively speaking!).
The first Heat went in 3:43 and change, the 2nd in 3:35.00, led by Elijah Manangai.
Non-Q's included Chris O'Hare and Ikham Ozbilen.
All 3 Americans advanced to the Final.
A man who will be receiving his sister's kidney in a few days won the Bronze medal in the 110H, running his fastest time of the year--13.04.
Amazing human being, that Aries Merritt!!
All wishes for a healthy future to him!!
The race was won with a BIG PR of 12.98 by Sergey Shubenkov!
Hansle Parchment took 2nd, edging Merritt by 0.01 seconds!
Shubenkov's time is the new Russia National Record.
He becomes 17th A-T World, tied with 2 others.
David Oliver, the nominal favorite, stumbled over an early hurdle, and finished in 7th place!
The 50000 Meters Walk was NOT going to be a Record breaker.
Too hot.
But the expected winner--won!
Slovakia's Matej Toth Walked the 50K in domineering fashion, leading almost from start to finish, timed in 3:40:32.
Jared Tallent, a perennial medal favorite, finished close to 2 minutes back, Walking 3:42:17.
John Nunn, the lone American, did okay----for an American!
He finished 37th of 38, timed in 4:09:44, one of his 4 or 5 faster times!
The 4X400 Relay Heats were pretty fast!
The United States won their heat easily, timing out at 2:58.13.
Two National Records went down!
Botswana ran 2:59.95 for theirs.
They become 17th A-T World, tied with 1 other.
The Borlee's----err, I meant Belgium!---got their NR with a time of 2:59.28.
They remain 13th A-T World.
Taken OFF the World DDD is Italy, their mark dating from 1986!!
Ireland finished 8th and last with their 3:01.26, but it now stands as the best 8th Place mark!
The 4X100 Relay Heats ALSO produced a few Records and Marks of note!
In separate heats, the US got the fastest time of 37.41, while Jamaica ran 37.91.
China---always a crowd favorite here---broke their NR with their 37.92.
They're now 8th A-T World.
Antigua's 38.01 time makes them 11th A-T World.
Brazil and South Africa (with all their Record-breaking runners!) were DNF's!
I almost don't even want to REPORT on the 5000 Final!
I fucking HATE these CRAWL, then SPRINT affairs, several of which have been fomented by---and won by---Mo Farah!
No, he's not the inventor of this "strategy", nor probably is any one coach.
But somewhere in T&F's long history, someone began believing that the best way to medal was to have a fierce kick fiercer and faster than anyone else's!
Once they saw it WORKED, future generations have retained---and maybe even "improved" on that method of madness!
Anywayyyyyyy, Mo WALKED the first 4000 in 11:31.19, then went into his 1000 meter Time Trial mode.
And it wasn't bad, as 1000 meter Time Trials go.
He was timed in 2:19.19!
His overall 13:50.38 snuffed out the dreams of Caleb Ndiku (2nd in 13:51.75), and Hagos Gebrhiwet (3rd in 13:51.86).
The Americans finished all in a row---5th (Galen Rupp), 6th (Ben True), and 7th (Ryan Hill).
Imane Merga was even worse---He finished 13th in just 14:01.60!!
The first K was a sickly 3:02!!
2K was reached in 5:58+.
Aaaaah, forget it!
As I noted in my Preview post, the DT wasn't going to be very exciting, Marks-wise.
And it wasn't.
Piotr Malachowski won it with a throw of 221-1.
But 2nd placer Phillip Milanov's 219-6 garnered him Belgium's National Record, which had already belonged to him!
Hate to say it, especially after such an exciting year this event enjoyed in 2014, but the High Jump SUCKED!!
Okay, so it had a Jump-Off, which sort of made things exciting---like Overtimes in football and basketball do!---but the Marks??
BLECH!!!!
Derek Drouin won that J-O, clearing 7-8 for the Gold!
(That's 2.34 Metric!)
Tied for Silver were the 2.33's (7-7.75) of Huihui Lyu (China's own!!) and Bogdan Bondarenko.
Just 4 made that height of 2.33.
In 8th place was Erik Kynard, who jumped just 2.25!!
The 1500 was good.
Somewhat fast, and a GREAT finish!
Aman Wote led off with a 59.20 opening lap., with the whole gang right there.
Matthew Centrowitz found himself leading through 800 in 1:59.01.
But "leading", in this context, is maybe a misnomer.
Everyone was still in it, spread out 3 and 4 wide across the track.
The 1200 point was reached with the crowd intact, led by Elijah Manangai in 2:55.68, just one tick in "front" of Centro et al.
But Asbel Kiprop--he of 3:26.69 in Monaco fame--was "back" in 10th, hitting that mark 0.70 in back of Manangai!
That didn't last!
Running the final 300 in a blazing 38.02, he won by 0.23 over Managai, 3:34.40 to 3:34.63.
The Americans had spent their wad by the time the kicking started, and ended in 8th (Centro), 10th (Leo Manzano), and 11th---and last!--(Robby Andrews)!!
Aman Wote was a DNF, possibly with an injury.
The final event of the whole 9 days---literally the final event!---the 4X400 Relay provided one moment of glory for the United States that had, for the most part, been missing from these WC's.
Sometimes having the fastest split gets you to the finish line first.
Not in this case.
Javon Francis's 43.52 finished off Jamaica's 2:58.51, but they ended in 4th!
But it was the steady 44's (and one 45-low) that brought America it's final Gold in Beijing.
They won with the time of 2:57.82, beating Trinidad's 2:58.20, and the 2:58.51's run by Great Britain and Jamaica.
Yes, both teams were shown with the same 2:58.51, but the Brits were 4-thousandths of a second faster!!
Jamaica's time is the best-ever 4th Place.
And Trinidad's 2:58.20 is their new National Record.
However, they remain 7th A-T World.
So what were the highlights---and LOWlights---of these final 3 days?
ASHTON EATON--9045--WR.
Enough said!
The worst?
The idea that Mo Farah is God's gift to Distance Running!
IMHO, he AIN'T!!
I'll have my full WOMEN's report posted in a few short hours!
See you soon!
Ashton Eaton's Decathlon World Record didn't EXACTLY end this 9 day meet---not literally!---but it sure puts it in the "one of the best" category!
So let's start this final results post with that event, since its first of 10 parts led off the August 28th schedule for the Men.
9045 points.
World Record, beating his own mark!
United States National Record, also beating his own mark.
Age 27 record.
World Championships Meet Record
Remains 1st on both World and US A-T lists!
What more can be said?
Oh yeah, how about his 400 in 45.00, which is ALSO a WR of sorts, as it's the fastest-ever 400 during a Decathlon!
(And a PR for Eaton by "just" 0.55 seconds, beating the time he ran at the American Track League meet a few months ago!)
He was simply phenomenal, and probably better than his 9039 WR was, simply because of the weather, the more elite stage, and because he wasn't top notch in a few events---which leaves one to speculate what he could do in better weather, and with better performances in his "weak" events!
Damian Warner took 2nd with yet another National Record for Canada, scoring 8695 points.
He beat his own mark, set at the Pan Am Games!
He also moves from 23rd to 19th on the World Top 24 list!
Two more National Records fell.
Larbi Bourrada scored 8461 for the Algeria NR.
Kurt Felix improved his own Grenada National Record with 8302 points!
Eleven scored at least 8200 points, and 15 were over 8000.
The HJ Qualifying went pretty much by the book, although a few "names" didn't make the Final.
They included Robbie Grabarz, Jesse Williams, JaCorian Duffield, Andriy Protsenko, and Ivan Ukhov.
The Semi's for the 1500 were Standard Brand--meaning one was slowwww, another FAST (relatively speaking!).
The first Heat went in 3:43 and change, the 2nd in 3:35.00, led by Elijah Manangai.
Non-Q's included Chris O'Hare and Ikham Ozbilen.
All 3 Americans advanced to the Final.
A man who will be receiving his sister's kidney in a few days won the Bronze medal in the 110H, running his fastest time of the year--13.04.
Amazing human being, that Aries Merritt!!
All wishes for a healthy future to him!!
The race was won with a BIG PR of 12.98 by Sergey Shubenkov!
Hansle Parchment took 2nd, edging Merritt by 0.01 seconds!
Shubenkov's time is the new Russia National Record.
He becomes 17th A-T World, tied with 2 others.
David Oliver, the nominal favorite, stumbled over an early hurdle, and finished in 7th place!
The 50000 Meters Walk was NOT going to be a Record breaker.
Too hot.
But the expected winner--won!
Slovakia's Matej Toth Walked the 50K in domineering fashion, leading almost from start to finish, timed in 3:40:32.
Jared Tallent, a perennial medal favorite, finished close to 2 minutes back, Walking 3:42:17.
John Nunn, the lone American, did okay----for an American!
He finished 37th of 38, timed in 4:09:44, one of his 4 or 5 faster times!
The 4X400 Relay Heats were pretty fast!
The United States won their heat easily, timing out at 2:58.13.
Two National Records went down!
Botswana ran 2:59.95 for theirs.
They become 17th A-T World, tied with 1 other.
The Borlee's----err, I meant Belgium!---got their NR with a time of 2:59.28.
They remain 13th A-T World.
Taken OFF the World DDD is Italy, their mark dating from 1986!!
Ireland finished 8th and last with their 3:01.26, but it now stands as the best 8th Place mark!
The 4X100 Relay Heats ALSO produced a few Records and Marks of note!
In separate heats, the US got the fastest time of 37.41, while Jamaica ran 37.91.
China---always a crowd favorite here---broke their NR with their 37.92.
They're now 8th A-T World.
Antigua's 38.01 time makes them 11th A-T World.
Brazil and South Africa (with all their Record-breaking runners!) were DNF's!
I almost don't even want to REPORT on the 5000 Final!
I fucking HATE these CRAWL, then SPRINT affairs, several of which have been fomented by---and won by---Mo Farah!
No, he's not the inventor of this "strategy", nor probably is any one coach.
But somewhere in T&F's long history, someone began believing that the best way to medal was to have a fierce kick fiercer and faster than anyone else's!
Once they saw it WORKED, future generations have retained---and maybe even "improved" on that method of madness!
Anywayyyyyyy, Mo WALKED the first 4000 in 11:31.19, then went into his 1000 meter Time Trial mode.
And it wasn't bad, as 1000 meter Time Trials go.
He was timed in 2:19.19!
His overall 13:50.38 snuffed out the dreams of Caleb Ndiku (2nd in 13:51.75), and Hagos Gebrhiwet (3rd in 13:51.86).
The Americans finished all in a row---5th (Galen Rupp), 6th (Ben True), and 7th (Ryan Hill).
Imane Merga was even worse---He finished 13th in just 14:01.60!!
The first K was a sickly 3:02!!
2K was reached in 5:58+.
Aaaaah, forget it!
As I noted in my Preview post, the DT wasn't going to be very exciting, Marks-wise.
And it wasn't.
Piotr Malachowski won it with a throw of 221-1.
But 2nd placer Phillip Milanov's 219-6 garnered him Belgium's National Record, which had already belonged to him!
Hate to say it, especially after such an exciting year this event enjoyed in 2014, but the High Jump SUCKED!!
Okay, so it had a Jump-Off, which sort of made things exciting---like Overtimes in football and basketball do!---but the Marks??
BLECH!!!!
Derek Drouin won that J-O, clearing 7-8 for the Gold!
(That's 2.34 Metric!)
Tied for Silver were the 2.33's (7-7.75) of Huihui Lyu (China's own!!) and Bogdan Bondarenko.
Just 4 made that height of 2.33.
In 8th place was Erik Kynard, who jumped just 2.25!!
The 1500 was good.
Somewhat fast, and a GREAT finish!
Aman Wote led off with a 59.20 opening lap., with the whole gang right there.
Matthew Centrowitz found himself leading through 800 in 1:59.01.
But "leading", in this context, is maybe a misnomer.
Everyone was still in it, spread out 3 and 4 wide across the track.
The 1200 point was reached with the crowd intact, led by Elijah Manangai in 2:55.68, just one tick in "front" of Centro et al.
But Asbel Kiprop--he of 3:26.69 in Monaco fame--was "back" in 10th, hitting that mark 0.70 in back of Manangai!
That didn't last!
Running the final 300 in a blazing 38.02, he won by 0.23 over Managai, 3:34.40 to 3:34.63.
The Americans had spent their wad by the time the kicking started, and ended in 8th (Centro), 10th (Leo Manzano), and 11th---and last!--(Robby Andrews)!!
Aman Wote was a DNF, possibly with an injury.
The final event of the whole 9 days---literally the final event!---the 4X400 Relay provided one moment of glory for the United States that had, for the most part, been missing from these WC's.
Sometimes having the fastest split gets you to the finish line first.
Not in this case.
Javon Francis's 43.52 finished off Jamaica's 2:58.51, but they ended in 4th!
But it was the steady 44's (and one 45-low) that brought America it's final Gold in Beijing.
They won with the time of 2:57.82, beating Trinidad's 2:58.20, and the 2:58.51's run by Great Britain and Jamaica.
Yes, both teams were shown with the same 2:58.51, but the Brits were 4-thousandths of a second faster!!
Jamaica's time is the best-ever 4th Place.
And Trinidad's 2:58.20 is their new National Record.
However, they remain 7th A-T World.
So what were the highlights---and LOWlights---of these final 3 days?
ASHTON EATON--9045--WR.
Enough said!
The worst?
The idea that Mo Farah is God's gift to Distance Running!
IMHO, he AIN'T!!
I'll have my full WOMEN's report posted in a few short hours!
See you soon!
Friday, August 28, 2015
Big Women's Stars shine over past 3 days of WC
For the WOMEN over the past 3 days of Beijing action, it wasn't so much the Records and Marks that made those 72 hours so special, but the ATHLETES who ran, jumped, and threw!
Yes, there WERE some Records set--including an ALMOST World Record---but it was the collective set of elite NAMES that made those days so great.
Genzebe, Allyson, Anita, Yarisley.
Even better, a few "unknowns" broke through those daunting barriers that normally stand between the "women and the girls".
Let's take a peek, shall we?
Maybe 2 or 3 years ago, I'd call the Discus Throw's results shocking, or an upset!
But Sandra Perkovic has proven to be NOT as formidable and "perfect" a competitor in her event as, say, Valerie Adams was in her's---before her injury and multiple surgeries, that is!
And maybe Cuba's Denia Caballero is the "new Perkovic"!
She punished Perky with a solid 227-3 to 221-1 beating.
She got her winner on her 1st throw, while Sandra got her best on her 6th.
A US woman who had beaten Perkovic twice in 2014--Gia Lewis-Smallwood--finished just 11th here, while teammate Whitney Ashley ended in 9th..
The 400 Semi's saw Allyson Felix break 50 seconds, her 49.89 being the fastest time.
Natasha Hastings was the lone American to not make the Final!
The 1500 Final featured WR holder Genzebe Dibaba, but with the now-institutionalized strategy of Walk and Kick being set in motion by Ms Dibaba to its utmost degree--it made for nothing more or less than an 800 meter time trial for the Ethiopian.
But what a Time Trial it was!
Several solid sources say she ran 1:56.9 (!!!) for her final 800!!
That's right, I said 1:56.9!
Her final time was her slowest of the 3 rounds--4:08.09--but that ending scene called for some serious encores---including talk by many of her breaking the WORLD 800 Record--possibly in a meet following Beijing!
I don't have her official split at the 700 point, but I do have the "normal" splits of a 1500.
First 400 in 77.85!!
Then a pick-up to 67.80, for an 800 of 2:25.65.
Then the next 400 in 57.22!!
Her final 300 was 45.22.
But I like that 1:56.9 better!!
Oh, almost forgot.
Faith Kipyegon was 2nd in 4:08.96.
(What was HER final 800??)
Then came Sifan Hassan in 4:09.24.
The Americans had a FOUL day!!
Shannon Rowbury ran sluggishly to a 7th place finish.
Even worse, contender Jenny Simpson lost a shoe about halfway through, and ended in 11th place with a fairly bloody right foot!!
No Records were broken in the HT qualifying.
But WR holder Anita Wlodarczyk led them all with her 248-8.
Next best, though, was France's Alexandra Tavernier, whose 244-0 PR misses my World DDD by just 11 inches!
Non-qualifiers included Jenny Dahlgren, Sultana Frizell, DeAnna Price, and Martina Hrasnova!
Amber Campbell and Amanda Bingson made it to the Final for the United States!
The 800 Heats were led by Marina Azhanasova's 1:58.69.
There were 7 Women faster than 2 minutes, all in the first 2 of 5 Heats.
Some names that didn't move on were Anita Hinriksdottir, Natoya Goule, and Janeth Jepkosgei Busieni.
But the worst "loss" was new Mom Alysia Montano, who fell to the track after being clipped.
After a futile protest and appeal, she wasn't advanced!
The Pole Vault Final lived up to its advance billing as one of the "Feature Attractions".
Even though Yelena Isinbayeva wasn't here--though she's back in training for Rio!!--and even though "Rookie of the Year" and new Mother Demi Payne had one of her off-days--relatively speaking!--the DEPTH of this field made for a fantastic competition!
All 12 Finalists went at least 15-1 (4.60).
Four of them reached 15-5, or 4.70.
But the Medalists went even higher!
Bronze winner Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou soared 15-9 (4.80).
Silver went to Fabiana Murer's 15-11 (4.85).
And the winner was Yarisley Silva, who went over 16 feet for the 2nd time this year, ending at 4.90, or 16-0.75!
No records were set by Silva, who had a 16-1.25 Vault not long ago.
But the 34 year old Murer broke her own Age Record.
She also tied her own National Record of Brazil, first set a few years ago.
Add to that the best 2nd Place mark!!
Now, as to other Place Records, there's just a wee bit of confusion.
Even though one of my loyal readers explained the tie-breaking rules of vertical jumping, I'm not quite sure what to do about my Place Records!
You see, the 15-5's by Angelica Bengtsson, Sandi Morris, Jenn Suhr, and Holly Bradshaw (formerly Bleasdale!) WOULD break THREE Place records---IF they could somehow be divided!!
But my friend explained to me---in GREAT and WELCOMED detail!---why they can NOT!
So what to do with my "potential" 5th, 6th, and 7th Place Records---all of which those 15-5's surpassed??
Well, I had to make a decision--and I did!
Thus, I'm "giving" the best 5th Place mark to Morris, the best 6th Place mark to Suhr, and the best 7th Place mark to Bradshaw!
(Of course, that means that--by default--Ms Bengtsson--was relegated to 4th, where NO Records were broken!!
Jeez!!
However---Bengtsson gets a Consolation Prize of sorts---as she broke her own National Record of Sweden!
And Mini Nikkonen's 15-1 tied her own National Record of Finland!
After that, I need a break!!
Two soft tacos, please!
The next event was the 200 Heats.
Dina Asher-Smith, age 19, ran 22.22 for the fastest time.
It's a PR for her.
All 3 Americans made it to the Semi's.
But Blessing Okagbare was a DNS, for unknown reasons!
The 400H Final was just a BIT topsy-turvy.
Meaning, the favored Kaliese Spencer finished dead LAST!
And two fairly new American stars finished 2nd and 3rd.
The winner was a vet--Zuzana Hejnova--whose 53.50 took down Shamier Little's 53.94 and Cassandra Tate's 54.02.
(Spencer's time was 55.47!!)
The 3000SC Final was also a little weird.
Emma Coburn, one of the medal favorites, allowed the pace to crawl along at close to 9:30 tempo, setting the stage for a burning final kilometer.
She'd become somewhat known as a tough cookie, who doesn't let the pace dawdle.
Well, here she did!
And it cost her, even though most blamed it on a slight stumble off the final water jump.
She finished 5th.
Hyvin Jepkemoi won it in 9:19.11, out-sprinting Habiba Ghribi and Germany's surprising Gesa Krause, both of whom were also sub-9:20.
The other 2 Americans finished 9th and 12th.
Four notables failed to make 6-3.50 (1.92) in HJ Qualifying.
Out of the Final were 41 year old Venelina Veneva-Mateeva, comebacking Mom, Chaunte Lowe, and Brits Isabel Pooley and young Morgan Lake, who is normally a Heptathlete!
The 5000 Heats were won--separately--by the 2 co-favorites, Almaz Ayana and Genzebe Dibaba.
I said "CO" favorites, even though most have already emblazoned Dibaba's name on the Gold!
Actually, Ayana ran faster here---15:09.40 to GD's 15:20.82.
Nicole Tully squeaked through on time basis, running a sluggish 15:41 and change.
The other Americans--Marielle Hall and Abbey D'Agostino--faded badly, running several seconds south of 16 minutes in Ayana's heat.
LJ Qualifying saw multiple medal winner Brittney Reese go down!
Some believe she's Queen of the HUGE Fouls, but still, her loss shocked believers!
Jasmine Todd also failed to Q.
Ivana Spanovic led the way with 22-8.50.
KJT jumped 22-3.50.
The 100H Heats went as expected.
Fastest was the 12.67 of Brianna Rollins.
But Cindy Billaud didn't make it through, while Michelle Jenneke did, running 13.02.
The Hammer Throw presented just one question.
Would WR holder Anita Wlodarczyk extend her already-phenomenal World standard of 81.08, or 266-0?
Well, the answer is---Not quite!!
Her massive throw of 265-3 missed her WR by just 9 inches.
And she had two other throws of 263-4 and 260-2.
She nabbed the Age 30 Record!
(Her WR--set a few weeks ago, when she was 29--set the Age 29 Record! Thus, she got TWO different Age Records in just a few weeks!!)
She also broke the WC Meet Record.
Sophie Hitchon destroyed the National Record of Great Britain with her throw of 242-4.
The 200 Semi's sped things up a little.
Dina Asher-Smith again led the way, running 22.12.
Her time erased Allyson Felix's Age 19 record by 0.01 seconds!
But Felix ran 22.11 at Age 17, for the fastest time by a Teenager--even if it was at Mexico City's altitude and had a much stronger backing wind (though legal!).
In a separate heat, Elaine Thompson ran 22.13.
Asher-Smith is still 0.12 seconds from getting on my World DDD.
While her time of 22.64 didn't advance her to the Final, Mujinga Kambundji broke her own Switzerland National Record with that time!
Jenna Prandini also didn't advance.
But she "graduated"---in a manner of speaking!
You see, with a year yet to go at the University of Oregon, she announced she'd signed a deal with Puma, and has turned Professional!
Yes, I said PUMA!!
NOT Nike--which practically---no, DOES!!--own the U of O--not to mention USATF!
But let's save THAT discussion for another day!
The 800 Semi's were FAST---and DEEP!!
And offered up a few shockwaves!!
Where do I begin??
(And remember, I'm talking about the SEMI's, not the Final!!)
There were 3 heats, with the first 2 in each moving to the Final, with the next 2 fastest also going.
Let's start with Semi Number 3.
It was won by Canadian veteran Melissa Bishop in an incredible 2 second PR time of 1:57.52.
This is also the new National Record of Canada!
But following her came 7 more runners, ALL of whom ran under 2:00!!
(Lynsey Sharp was the "caboose", running a good time of 1:59.33.
Between Bishop and Sharp came....
Marina Anzamasova--1:57.54
Eunice Sum (!!!)--1:57.56
Joanna Juzvik--1:58.35
Sifan Hassan (!!!)--1:58.50
Malika Ahkaoui--1:59.03
and Lucia Klocova--1:59.14!
Sum's time made it to the Final ONLY on a time basis, as she was 3rd.
From all 3 heats, there were 17 times faster than 2 minutes!
And 23 of the 24 athletes ran at least 2:00.81.
Only Caster Semenya was slower, running just 2:03 and change.
WOW!!
Last, but definitely not least, came the much-anticipated 400 Final, featuring that 200 specialist, Allyson Felix.
Missing, of course, were Sanya Richards-Ross and Fran McCorory.
But, in the end, that didn't really matter!
Felix SPRINTED out from the gun through the first 150 to 170, before moving into cruise control, preparing to do battle with dangerous Shaunae Miller, who was in lane 4 to Felix's 5.
Feeling a bit of Shaunae's presence coming off the final curve, Felix changed gears again, jetting her lithe form away from the hard-driving Miller like a rabbit from a tortoise.
Felix set a new PR of 49.26, while Miller also destroyed her PR by a good chunk, running 49.67.
Sherika Jackson also dipped under 50 with a PR, running 49.99.
Felix moves from 7th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 4th.
And she becomes 17th A-T World!!
She also improves her place on my Combined Events list for the 100-200-400.
Her times of 10.89, 21.69, and 49.26 add to 1:21.84.
This moves her from 8th, tied with 1 other, up to 6th on that list!
Christine Ohuruogu sadly finished last, but still ran an okay time of 50.63.
Sooooo, what to make of these past 3 days of Women's action?
As I noted in the beginning, it was the NAMES that set the Track and Field afire, not so much the marks, despite Wlodarczyk's big toss, Felix's great 400, and many new Records of one kind or another!
For me, of equal worth was that incredible set of fast 800's in the Semi's!
And at least that last PART of Genzebe's 1500!
As with the Men, there were countless upsets and shocks.
Bishop winning that 800.
No Americans getting through to the 2 lap Final.
Coburn finishing 5th.
Well, I've no doubt the NEXT (and sadly, the last!) 3 days will provide more of the same!
And this blog will be there to provide ALL of the Records and Marks that happen along the way!
Hopefully, in an entertaining way!
See you sometime on the 30th (Remember that 15 hour time difference!) with two more Results posts!!
Yes, there WERE some Records set--including an ALMOST World Record---but it was the collective set of elite NAMES that made those days so great.
Genzebe, Allyson, Anita, Yarisley.
Even better, a few "unknowns" broke through those daunting barriers that normally stand between the "women and the girls".
Let's take a peek, shall we?
Maybe 2 or 3 years ago, I'd call the Discus Throw's results shocking, or an upset!
But Sandra Perkovic has proven to be NOT as formidable and "perfect" a competitor in her event as, say, Valerie Adams was in her's---before her injury and multiple surgeries, that is!
And maybe Cuba's Denia Caballero is the "new Perkovic"!
She punished Perky with a solid 227-3 to 221-1 beating.
She got her winner on her 1st throw, while Sandra got her best on her 6th.
A US woman who had beaten Perkovic twice in 2014--Gia Lewis-Smallwood--finished just 11th here, while teammate Whitney Ashley ended in 9th..
The 400 Semi's saw Allyson Felix break 50 seconds, her 49.89 being the fastest time.
Natasha Hastings was the lone American to not make the Final!
The 1500 Final featured WR holder Genzebe Dibaba, but with the now-institutionalized strategy of Walk and Kick being set in motion by Ms Dibaba to its utmost degree--it made for nothing more or less than an 800 meter time trial for the Ethiopian.
But what a Time Trial it was!
Several solid sources say she ran 1:56.9 (!!!) for her final 800!!
That's right, I said 1:56.9!
Her final time was her slowest of the 3 rounds--4:08.09--but that ending scene called for some serious encores---including talk by many of her breaking the WORLD 800 Record--possibly in a meet following Beijing!
I don't have her official split at the 700 point, but I do have the "normal" splits of a 1500.
First 400 in 77.85!!
Then a pick-up to 67.80, for an 800 of 2:25.65.
Then the next 400 in 57.22!!
Her final 300 was 45.22.
But I like that 1:56.9 better!!
Oh, almost forgot.
Faith Kipyegon was 2nd in 4:08.96.
(What was HER final 800??)
Then came Sifan Hassan in 4:09.24.
The Americans had a FOUL day!!
Shannon Rowbury ran sluggishly to a 7th place finish.
Even worse, contender Jenny Simpson lost a shoe about halfway through, and ended in 11th place with a fairly bloody right foot!!
No Records were broken in the HT qualifying.
But WR holder Anita Wlodarczyk led them all with her 248-8.
Next best, though, was France's Alexandra Tavernier, whose 244-0 PR misses my World DDD by just 11 inches!
Non-qualifiers included Jenny Dahlgren, Sultana Frizell, DeAnna Price, and Martina Hrasnova!
Amber Campbell and Amanda Bingson made it to the Final for the United States!
The 800 Heats were led by Marina Azhanasova's 1:58.69.
There were 7 Women faster than 2 minutes, all in the first 2 of 5 Heats.
Some names that didn't move on were Anita Hinriksdottir, Natoya Goule, and Janeth Jepkosgei Busieni.
But the worst "loss" was new Mom Alysia Montano, who fell to the track after being clipped.
After a futile protest and appeal, she wasn't advanced!
The Pole Vault Final lived up to its advance billing as one of the "Feature Attractions".
Even though Yelena Isinbayeva wasn't here--though she's back in training for Rio!!--and even though "Rookie of the Year" and new Mother Demi Payne had one of her off-days--relatively speaking!--the DEPTH of this field made for a fantastic competition!
All 12 Finalists went at least 15-1 (4.60).
Four of them reached 15-5, or 4.70.
But the Medalists went even higher!
Bronze winner Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou soared 15-9 (4.80).
Silver went to Fabiana Murer's 15-11 (4.85).
And the winner was Yarisley Silva, who went over 16 feet for the 2nd time this year, ending at 4.90, or 16-0.75!
No records were set by Silva, who had a 16-1.25 Vault not long ago.
But the 34 year old Murer broke her own Age Record.
She also tied her own National Record of Brazil, first set a few years ago.
Add to that the best 2nd Place mark!!
Now, as to other Place Records, there's just a wee bit of confusion.
Even though one of my loyal readers explained the tie-breaking rules of vertical jumping, I'm not quite sure what to do about my Place Records!
You see, the 15-5's by Angelica Bengtsson, Sandi Morris, Jenn Suhr, and Holly Bradshaw (formerly Bleasdale!) WOULD break THREE Place records---IF they could somehow be divided!!
But my friend explained to me---in GREAT and WELCOMED detail!---why they can NOT!
So what to do with my "potential" 5th, 6th, and 7th Place Records---all of which those 15-5's surpassed??
Well, I had to make a decision--and I did!
Thus, I'm "giving" the best 5th Place mark to Morris, the best 6th Place mark to Suhr, and the best 7th Place mark to Bradshaw!
(Of course, that means that--by default--Ms Bengtsson--was relegated to 4th, where NO Records were broken!!
Jeez!!
However---Bengtsson gets a Consolation Prize of sorts---as she broke her own National Record of Sweden!
And Mini Nikkonen's 15-1 tied her own National Record of Finland!
After that, I need a break!!
Two soft tacos, please!
The next event was the 200 Heats.
Dina Asher-Smith, age 19, ran 22.22 for the fastest time.
It's a PR for her.
All 3 Americans made it to the Semi's.
But Blessing Okagbare was a DNS, for unknown reasons!
The 400H Final was just a BIT topsy-turvy.
Meaning, the favored Kaliese Spencer finished dead LAST!
And two fairly new American stars finished 2nd and 3rd.
The winner was a vet--Zuzana Hejnova--whose 53.50 took down Shamier Little's 53.94 and Cassandra Tate's 54.02.
(Spencer's time was 55.47!!)
The 3000SC Final was also a little weird.
Emma Coburn, one of the medal favorites, allowed the pace to crawl along at close to 9:30 tempo, setting the stage for a burning final kilometer.
She'd become somewhat known as a tough cookie, who doesn't let the pace dawdle.
Well, here she did!
And it cost her, even though most blamed it on a slight stumble off the final water jump.
She finished 5th.
Hyvin Jepkemoi won it in 9:19.11, out-sprinting Habiba Ghribi and Germany's surprising Gesa Krause, both of whom were also sub-9:20.
The other 2 Americans finished 9th and 12th.
Four notables failed to make 6-3.50 (1.92) in HJ Qualifying.
Out of the Final were 41 year old Venelina Veneva-Mateeva, comebacking Mom, Chaunte Lowe, and Brits Isabel Pooley and young Morgan Lake, who is normally a Heptathlete!
The 5000 Heats were won--separately--by the 2 co-favorites, Almaz Ayana and Genzebe Dibaba.
I said "CO" favorites, even though most have already emblazoned Dibaba's name on the Gold!
Actually, Ayana ran faster here---15:09.40 to GD's 15:20.82.
Nicole Tully squeaked through on time basis, running a sluggish 15:41 and change.
The other Americans--Marielle Hall and Abbey D'Agostino--faded badly, running several seconds south of 16 minutes in Ayana's heat.
LJ Qualifying saw multiple medal winner Brittney Reese go down!
Some believe she's Queen of the HUGE Fouls, but still, her loss shocked believers!
Jasmine Todd also failed to Q.
Ivana Spanovic led the way with 22-8.50.
KJT jumped 22-3.50.
The 100H Heats went as expected.
Fastest was the 12.67 of Brianna Rollins.
But Cindy Billaud didn't make it through, while Michelle Jenneke did, running 13.02.
The Hammer Throw presented just one question.
Would WR holder Anita Wlodarczyk extend her already-phenomenal World standard of 81.08, or 266-0?
Well, the answer is---Not quite!!
Her massive throw of 265-3 missed her WR by just 9 inches.
And she had two other throws of 263-4 and 260-2.
She nabbed the Age 30 Record!
(Her WR--set a few weeks ago, when she was 29--set the Age 29 Record! Thus, she got TWO different Age Records in just a few weeks!!)
She also broke the WC Meet Record.
Sophie Hitchon destroyed the National Record of Great Britain with her throw of 242-4.
The 200 Semi's sped things up a little.
Dina Asher-Smith again led the way, running 22.12.
Her time erased Allyson Felix's Age 19 record by 0.01 seconds!
But Felix ran 22.11 at Age 17, for the fastest time by a Teenager--even if it was at Mexico City's altitude and had a much stronger backing wind (though legal!).
In a separate heat, Elaine Thompson ran 22.13.
Asher-Smith is still 0.12 seconds from getting on my World DDD.
While her time of 22.64 didn't advance her to the Final, Mujinga Kambundji broke her own Switzerland National Record with that time!
Jenna Prandini also didn't advance.
But she "graduated"---in a manner of speaking!
You see, with a year yet to go at the University of Oregon, she announced she'd signed a deal with Puma, and has turned Professional!
Yes, I said PUMA!!
NOT Nike--which practically---no, DOES!!--own the U of O--not to mention USATF!
But let's save THAT discussion for another day!
The 800 Semi's were FAST---and DEEP!!
And offered up a few shockwaves!!
Where do I begin??
(And remember, I'm talking about the SEMI's, not the Final!!)
There were 3 heats, with the first 2 in each moving to the Final, with the next 2 fastest also going.
Let's start with Semi Number 3.
It was won by Canadian veteran Melissa Bishop in an incredible 2 second PR time of 1:57.52.
This is also the new National Record of Canada!
But following her came 7 more runners, ALL of whom ran under 2:00!!
(Lynsey Sharp was the "caboose", running a good time of 1:59.33.
Between Bishop and Sharp came....
Marina Anzamasova--1:57.54
Eunice Sum (!!!)--1:57.56
Joanna Juzvik--1:58.35
Sifan Hassan (!!!)--1:58.50
Malika Ahkaoui--1:59.03
and Lucia Klocova--1:59.14!
Sum's time made it to the Final ONLY on a time basis, as she was 3rd.
From all 3 heats, there were 17 times faster than 2 minutes!
And 23 of the 24 athletes ran at least 2:00.81.
Only Caster Semenya was slower, running just 2:03 and change.
WOW!!
Last, but definitely not least, came the much-anticipated 400 Final, featuring that 200 specialist, Allyson Felix.
Missing, of course, were Sanya Richards-Ross and Fran McCorory.
But, in the end, that didn't really matter!
Felix SPRINTED out from the gun through the first 150 to 170, before moving into cruise control, preparing to do battle with dangerous Shaunae Miller, who was in lane 4 to Felix's 5.
Feeling a bit of Shaunae's presence coming off the final curve, Felix changed gears again, jetting her lithe form away from the hard-driving Miller like a rabbit from a tortoise.
Felix set a new PR of 49.26, while Miller also destroyed her PR by a good chunk, running 49.67.
Sherika Jackson also dipped under 50 with a PR, running 49.99.
Felix moves from 7th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 4th.
And she becomes 17th A-T World!!
She also improves her place on my Combined Events list for the 100-200-400.
Her times of 10.89, 21.69, and 49.26 add to 1:21.84.
This moves her from 8th, tied with 1 other, up to 6th on that list!
Christine Ohuruogu sadly finished last, but still ran an okay time of 50.63.
Sooooo, what to make of these past 3 days of Women's action?
As I noted in the beginning, it was the NAMES that set the Track and Field afire, not so much the marks, despite Wlodarczyk's big toss, Felix's great 400, and many new Records of one kind or another!
For me, of equal worth was that incredible set of fast 800's in the Semi's!
And at least that last PART of Genzebe's 1500!
As with the Men, there were countless upsets and shocks.
Bishop winning that 800.
No Americans getting through to the 2 lap Final.
Coburn finishing 5th.
Well, I've no doubt the NEXT (and sadly, the last!) 3 days will provide more of the same!
And this blog will be there to provide ALL of the Records and Marks that happen along the way!
Hopefully, in an entertaining way!
See you sometime on the 30th (Remember that 15 hour time difference!) with two more Results posts!!
Best Ever (??) WC Goes on for Men--Days 4 to 6
Don't ask me to choose my Performance of the Meet yet.
Seems with EVERY event a new contender emerges.
Or make that contenderS--as in multiple!!
As I did with my initial 3 day reports, these are divided by gender, with ALL of the MEN's events---Finals, Semi's, Heats, Field Event Qualifying--here, with my complete WOMEN's report from August 25th, 26th, and 27th set to follow a few short hours after this one's posted.
Also, as with my initial reports, I'm presenting the events in the basic order they were held---NOT by how great and/or shocking they were!
Onward!
I really sympathize with you young folks who missed the great LJ battles of the last decades of the 20th century!
This event seems to be in a real slump.
While a few good marks happened here, the years of multiple 28+ footers (and a few 29+ ones!!) seem to be over.
That said, Greg Rutherford continues as the dominant LJ'er of the past few years, winning in Beijing with a leap of 27-7.25.
A surprise 2nd was Frenchman Fabrice LaPierre, who leaped 27-0.50.
The nominal pick for Gold, Jeff Henderson, finished 9th!
Mike Hartfield never got a legal jump--fouling 3 times!
The 200 Heats--unlike the 100 Heats--started this event off quietly.
Ramil Guliyev led the Q's for the Semi's with 20.01.
BTW, that's the National Record for Turkey!!
The Big Boys?
They "jogged" their Heats in 20.28 (Usain Bolt) and 20.19 (Justin Gatlin).
Isaiah Young didn't qualify, and Wallace Spearmon was a DNS.
As with the LJ, another weak event of late has been the 400H.
But Kenyan (!!) Nicholas Bett may be ready to lead a resurgence.
He won with the first sub-48 time in a couple of years (3 years??), hitting the line in 47.79.
Bett misses my World DDD list by just 0.07 seconds!
But it was 2nd placer Denis Kudryavtsev's 48.05 that set a new National Record for Russia!
And 3rd placer Jeff Gibson of the Bahamas also got a National Record, running 48.17.
(He broke his own mark set in the Heats!)
Favored Michael Tinsley finished dead last, running just 50.14.
Kerron Clement was 4th in 48.18.
The 800 Final was one of those bloodless (and IMHO, boring!) tactical affairs.
It isn't often you see 800's run with heavy negative splitting!
But here, David Rudisha split 54.17 and 51.67 for an easy 1:45.84 win over Adam Kszczot's 1:46.08 (54.34 and 51.74)!
What happened to the Rudisha of first laps in 48.5??
The 5000 Heats were a classic study in Heat running.
The first of 2 was won in a flat-out sprint, with everybody surrounding the winner, who won in 13:45.80.
That set the stage for Heat 2, who knew EXACTLY what they needed to run to qualify, and COULD have jogged THEIR race too.
But for some unknown reason, they decided to get in a solid tempo workout, with the leading time being 13:19.38.
All 3 Americans moved on to the Final, but NOP Canadian Cam Levins didn't!
The TJ Qualifying went mostly according to the guidebook, with PPPP having the leading mark of 57-2.25.
But the real shockers came with both Will Claye and Marquis Dendy NOT making the Final!
Not much to sweat about in the 110H Heats either, with David Oliver leading the Q's with a workaday 13.15.
Ronnie Ash, however, False Started out of the race, and Eddie Lovett failed to move on.
You've heard the term "the calm before the storm"?
Well, those "calm" events I just reported led us into a quite STORMY one in the Javelin Throw!
Julius Yego made us all go---WHOA!!!---when he unleashed his spear, letting it fly through the majestic Bird's Nest 304.2, missing the WC Meet Record by a mere 3 inches!!
BTW, that's 92.72 metric!
Yego nabs his own Kenya National Record.
And he gets the Age 26 record as well.
Not to mention becoming 3rd A-T World!!
Antti Ruuskanen's 285-10 becomes the best 5th Place mark ever!
The 200 Semi's fueled the lively (and much over-extended!!) debate of who would win the Final, Bolt or Gatlin.
Though they ran in separate heats, Gatlin "won" this round with his 19.87 over Bolt's 19.95.
Both eased up well before the line.
They ran the only sub-20's in this round, but Femi Ogunode's 20.05 broke his own National Record of Qatar.
Among those not making the Final were Churandy Martina, Warren Weir, and Chris Lemaitre.
If the JT Final was a "storm", then the 400 Final was a Level 5 Hurricane!!
We talk of the "Year of the Vault", but for the Men, this may well be the "Year of the 400".
Remember those wild Heats, with those sub-44's?
Well, 3 more happened here!!
THREE!!
And when the smoke cleared, it was Wayde Van Niekerk holding his South Africa flag proudly!
His 43.48 clocking blew away LaShawn Merritt's PR of 43.65, with Kirani James's 43.78 getting Bronze.
Left behind was a not-so-shabby 44.11, run by Liguelin Santos!
Van Niekerk broke the South Africa National Record.
He misses Jeremy Wariner's Age 23 record by just 0.03 seconds!
He moves from 13th to 4th on the A-T World list.
(There's more on this guy to follow shortly!)
Merritt's 43.65 is the best 2nd Place mark.
It's also the Age 29 record, beating venerable Michael Johnson's time of 43.75 from 1997.
However, he remains 6th A-T World, and 5th A-T US.
Kirani James's 43.78 becomes the best 3rd Place mark!
Sent OFF my World DDD was Samson Kitur's 44.18 from 1992.
But 4th placer Liguelin Santos also did some damage to my Record Book!
His 44.11 is the best 4th Place mark!
He breaks his own Dominican Republic National Record--set earlier in the Heats!
He becomes 19th A-T World!
Merritt and Van Niekerk both made inroads on my Combined Events list for the 100-200-400.
Merritt's times of 10.47, 19.98, and 43.65 adds to 1:14.10.
He moves from 6th to 5th on that list.
But then we add Van Niekerk's times of 10.15, 19.94, and 43.48, and his combined time of 1:13.57 moves him into 2nd, thus moving Merritt back down to 6th!
WHEW!!
After that Records blitz, we needed sedation.
And we got it with the Discus Throw Qualifying!
Fedrick Dacres led the Q's with his 215-9.
Zoltan Kivago and Ehsan Hadadi didn't make the Final, nor did the 3 Americans.
But that's not really news!
The 1500 Heats were DEEP, but not spectacularly fast.
Silas Kiplagat's 3:38.13 led the troops.
And what an Army followed!!
There were 11 times under 3:39.
And 18 under 3:40!
Which means less than 2 seconds separated a total of 18 runners!
Those included all 3 Americans.
But they did NOT include Henrik Ingebrigtsen.
Neither did it count in Ayanleh Souleiman, who was hurt, and was carried from the track as a DNF!
The 110H Semi's showed that needing an immediate kidney transplant doesn't necessarily slow one down!
Aries Merritt, who will receive his sister's kidney soon after this meet is over, had the fastest time, a 13.08.
In a separate heat, Sergey Shubenkov ran 13.09.
Aleec Harris and Andrew Riley didn't advance!
You know how one Hurricane is soon followed by another?
Well, that 400 storm was soon followed by the Triple Jump!
Or maybe I should give a NAME to this Hurricane!
Let's call it Christian Taylor!!
And his GIANT 6th round Hop, Step, and Jump measuring 59-9 (18.21) left the massive Bird's Nest crowd in utter stupefaction!
It not only left behind ANOTHER huge "storm", Senor Pedro Pablo etc Pichardo, who measured out to "only" 58-2 in 2nd, but he also destroyed the old United States National Record, Kenny Harrison's 59-4.25 from the Atlanta Olympics of 1996!!
He also broke his own Age 25 Record, set earlier this summer!
He moves from 2nd to 1st on the US A-T list.
And from 4th to 2nd on the A-T World list!!
Nelson Evora (57-5.75) and Omar Craddock (57-0) also reached 57 feet.
The final event of this 2nd three day period was maybe (one of) the most anticipated!
Surely, after the 100, it was probably the most TALKED about (Make that ARGUED about!!) Men's events of the entire meet!
Usain Bolt, the Good Guy, vs Justin Gatlin, the Ne'er-Do-Well!!
Yep, it was The Lone Ranger vs the Cattle Rustler.
Clint Eastwood against the whole freakin' city of San Francisco!!
Well, you get the picture!
(If you don't, you haven't been reading Twitter, Facebook, Let's Run, the T&FN MB, and probably anywhere else controversy lives and breathes!)
The Race!
Mr Bolt CLEANED Mr Gatlin's CLOCK!!
Times were 19.55 for the rejuvenated Jamaican, and 19.74 for the steady-as-she-goes American.
Who really cares about the 19.87's run by both Anasa Jobodwana and Alonso Edwards, or the 20.02 PR of Darnel Hughes?!
Edwards's 19.87 got him the best 4th Place mark.
(Nickel Ashmeade's 20.33 nabbed the best 8th Place mark!)
Jobodwana's 19.87 broke Wayde Van Niekerk's National Record of South Africa!
But he misses my World DDD list by a mere 0.02 seconds!!
Bolt?
He gets the Age 29 record!
Well, friends, that's a wrap for my 2nd of 3 MEN's results reports from the Beijing WC's!
But before I go, let's review those 3 days---briefly!
Obviously, the 400 stands alone on the Track, DESPITE the antics and talents of Monsieur's Bolt & Gatlin!
What a race that "quarter" was!!
And even the one-,lapper-with-hurdles wasn't bad, letting us see the first sub-48 time in awhile!
Of course, on the Field, one man stood alone---Christian Taylor.
(Can't remember exactly what he said, but paraphrased, WR holder Jonathan Edwards tweeted Taylor, saying something like "WHEW!!".)
There were a few upsets, a few "sure bets" NOT making it to the next rounds!
But overall, these past 3 days continued offering us fans a steady supply of thrills and chills, and whetted our appetites for the NEXT 3 days!!
I'll have my WOMEN's report up in 2 to 3 hours!!
(Meanwhile, check out my MEN's Preview posts to see how close to the mark I've been so far!)
Seems with EVERY event a new contender emerges.
Or make that contenderS--as in multiple!!
As I did with my initial 3 day reports, these are divided by gender, with ALL of the MEN's events---Finals, Semi's, Heats, Field Event Qualifying--here, with my complete WOMEN's report from August 25th, 26th, and 27th set to follow a few short hours after this one's posted.
Also, as with my initial reports, I'm presenting the events in the basic order they were held---NOT by how great and/or shocking they were!
Onward!
I really sympathize with you young folks who missed the great LJ battles of the last decades of the 20th century!
This event seems to be in a real slump.
While a few good marks happened here, the years of multiple 28+ footers (and a few 29+ ones!!) seem to be over.
That said, Greg Rutherford continues as the dominant LJ'er of the past few years, winning in Beijing with a leap of 27-7.25.
A surprise 2nd was Frenchman Fabrice LaPierre, who leaped 27-0.50.
The nominal pick for Gold, Jeff Henderson, finished 9th!
Mike Hartfield never got a legal jump--fouling 3 times!
The 200 Heats--unlike the 100 Heats--started this event off quietly.
Ramil Guliyev led the Q's for the Semi's with 20.01.
BTW, that's the National Record for Turkey!!
The Big Boys?
They "jogged" their Heats in 20.28 (Usain Bolt) and 20.19 (Justin Gatlin).
Isaiah Young didn't qualify, and Wallace Spearmon was a DNS.
As with the LJ, another weak event of late has been the 400H.
But Kenyan (!!) Nicholas Bett may be ready to lead a resurgence.
He won with the first sub-48 time in a couple of years (3 years??), hitting the line in 47.79.
Bett misses my World DDD list by just 0.07 seconds!
But it was 2nd placer Denis Kudryavtsev's 48.05 that set a new National Record for Russia!
And 3rd placer Jeff Gibson of the Bahamas also got a National Record, running 48.17.
(He broke his own mark set in the Heats!)
Favored Michael Tinsley finished dead last, running just 50.14.
Kerron Clement was 4th in 48.18.
The 800 Final was one of those bloodless (and IMHO, boring!) tactical affairs.
It isn't often you see 800's run with heavy negative splitting!
But here, David Rudisha split 54.17 and 51.67 for an easy 1:45.84 win over Adam Kszczot's 1:46.08 (54.34 and 51.74)!
What happened to the Rudisha of first laps in 48.5??
The 5000 Heats were a classic study in Heat running.
The first of 2 was won in a flat-out sprint, with everybody surrounding the winner, who won in 13:45.80.
That set the stage for Heat 2, who knew EXACTLY what they needed to run to qualify, and COULD have jogged THEIR race too.
But for some unknown reason, they decided to get in a solid tempo workout, with the leading time being 13:19.38.
All 3 Americans moved on to the Final, but NOP Canadian Cam Levins didn't!
The TJ Qualifying went mostly according to the guidebook, with PPPP having the leading mark of 57-2.25.
But the real shockers came with both Will Claye and Marquis Dendy NOT making the Final!
Not much to sweat about in the 110H Heats either, with David Oliver leading the Q's with a workaday 13.15.
Ronnie Ash, however, False Started out of the race, and Eddie Lovett failed to move on.
You've heard the term "the calm before the storm"?
Well, those "calm" events I just reported led us into a quite STORMY one in the Javelin Throw!
Julius Yego made us all go---WHOA!!!---when he unleashed his spear, letting it fly through the majestic Bird's Nest 304.2, missing the WC Meet Record by a mere 3 inches!!
BTW, that's 92.72 metric!
Yego nabs his own Kenya National Record.
And he gets the Age 26 record as well.
Not to mention becoming 3rd A-T World!!
Antti Ruuskanen's 285-10 becomes the best 5th Place mark ever!
The 200 Semi's fueled the lively (and much over-extended!!) debate of who would win the Final, Bolt or Gatlin.
Though they ran in separate heats, Gatlin "won" this round with his 19.87 over Bolt's 19.95.
Both eased up well before the line.
They ran the only sub-20's in this round, but Femi Ogunode's 20.05 broke his own National Record of Qatar.
Among those not making the Final were Churandy Martina, Warren Weir, and Chris Lemaitre.
If the JT Final was a "storm", then the 400 Final was a Level 5 Hurricane!!
We talk of the "Year of the Vault", but for the Men, this may well be the "Year of the 400".
Remember those wild Heats, with those sub-44's?
Well, 3 more happened here!!
THREE!!
And when the smoke cleared, it was Wayde Van Niekerk holding his South Africa flag proudly!
His 43.48 clocking blew away LaShawn Merritt's PR of 43.65, with Kirani James's 43.78 getting Bronze.
Left behind was a not-so-shabby 44.11, run by Liguelin Santos!
Van Niekerk broke the South Africa National Record.
He misses Jeremy Wariner's Age 23 record by just 0.03 seconds!
He moves from 13th to 4th on the A-T World list.
(There's more on this guy to follow shortly!)
Merritt's 43.65 is the best 2nd Place mark.
It's also the Age 29 record, beating venerable Michael Johnson's time of 43.75 from 1997.
However, he remains 6th A-T World, and 5th A-T US.
Kirani James's 43.78 becomes the best 3rd Place mark!
Sent OFF my World DDD was Samson Kitur's 44.18 from 1992.
But 4th placer Liguelin Santos also did some damage to my Record Book!
His 44.11 is the best 4th Place mark!
He breaks his own Dominican Republic National Record--set earlier in the Heats!
He becomes 19th A-T World!
Merritt and Van Niekerk both made inroads on my Combined Events list for the 100-200-400.
Merritt's times of 10.47, 19.98, and 43.65 adds to 1:14.10.
He moves from 6th to 5th on that list.
But then we add Van Niekerk's times of 10.15, 19.94, and 43.48, and his combined time of 1:13.57 moves him into 2nd, thus moving Merritt back down to 6th!
WHEW!!
After that Records blitz, we needed sedation.
And we got it with the Discus Throw Qualifying!
Fedrick Dacres led the Q's with his 215-9.
Zoltan Kivago and Ehsan Hadadi didn't make the Final, nor did the 3 Americans.
But that's not really news!
The 1500 Heats were DEEP, but not spectacularly fast.
Silas Kiplagat's 3:38.13 led the troops.
And what an Army followed!!
There were 11 times under 3:39.
And 18 under 3:40!
Which means less than 2 seconds separated a total of 18 runners!
Those included all 3 Americans.
But they did NOT include Henrik Ingebrigtsen.
Neither did it count in Ayanleh Souleiman, who was hurt, and was carried from the track as a DNF!
The 110H Semi's showed that needing an immediate kidney transplant doesn't necessarily slow one down!
Aries Merritt, who will receive his sister's kidney soon after this meet is over, had the fastest time, a 13.08.
In a separate heat, Sergey Shubenkov ran 13.09.
Aleec Harris and Andrew Riley didn't advance!
You know how one Hurricane is soon followed by another?
Well, that 400 storm was soon followed by the Triple Jump!
Or maybe I should give a NAME to this Hurricane!
Let's call it Christian Taylor!!
And his GIANT 6th round Hop, Step, and Jump measuring 59-9 (18.21) left the massive Bird's Nest crowd in utter stupefaction!
It not only left behind ANOTHER huge "storm", Senor Pedro Pablo etc Pichardo, who measured out to "only" 58-2 in 2nd, but he also destroyed the old United States National Record, Kenny Harrison's 59-4.25 from the Atlanta Olympics of 1996!!
He also broke his own Age 25 Record, set earlier this summer!
He moves from 2nd to 1st on the US A-T list.
And from 4th to 2nd on the A-T World list!!
Nelson Evora (57-5.75) and Omar Craddock (57-0) also reached 57 feet.
The final event of this 2nd three day period was maybe (one of) the most anticipated!
Surely, after the 100, it was probably the most TALKED about (Make that ARGUED about!!) Men's events of the entire meet!
Usain Bolt, the Good Guy, vs Justin Gatlin, the Ne'er-Do-Well!!
Yep, it was The Lone Ranger vs the Cattle Rustler.
Clint Eastwood against the whole freakin' city of San Francisco!!
Well, you get the picture!
(If you don't, you haven't been reading Twitter, Facebook, Let's Run, the T&FN MB, and probably anywhere else controversy lives and breathes!)
The Race!
Mr Bolt CLEANED Mr Gatlin's CLOCK!!
Times were 19.55 for the rejuvenated Jamaican, and 19.74 for the steady-as-she-goes American.
Who really cares about the 19.87's run by both Anasa Jobodwana and Alonso Edwards, or the 20.02 PR of Darnel Hughes?!
Edwards's 19.87 got him the best 4th Place mark.
(Nickel Ashmeade's 20.33 nabbed the best 8th Place mark!)
Jobodwana's 19.87 broke Wayde Van Niekerk's National Record of South Africa!
But he misses my World DDD list by a mere 0.02 seconds!!
Bolt?
He gets the Age 29 record!
Well, friends, that's a wrap for my 2nd of 3 MEN's results reports from the Beijing WC's!
But before I go, let's review those 3 days---briefly!
Obviously, the 400 stands alone on the Track, DESPITE the antics and talents of Monsieur's Bolt & Gatlin!
What a race that "quarter" was!!
And even the one-,lapper-with-hurdles wasn't bad, letting us see the first sub-48 time in awhile!
Of course, on the Field, one man stood alone---Christian Taylor.
(Can't remember exactly what he said, but paraphrased, WR holder Jonathan Edwards tweeted Taylor, saying something like "WHEW!!".)
There were a few upsets, a few "sure bets" NOT making it to the next rounds!
But overall, these past 3 days continued offering us fans a steady supply of thrills and chills, and whetted our appetites for the NEXT 3 days!!
I'll have my WOMEN's report up in 2 to 3 hours!!
(Meanwhile, check out my MEN's Preview posts to see how close to the mark I've been so far!)
Monday, August 24, 2015
Shocks swirl around WC Women--Days 1 to 3
Yes, SHOCKS did indeed swirl around the heads (and FEET--more on that in just a minute!) on the WOMEN's side of the initial 3 days of the Beijing World Championships.
See my NOTES from my MEN's report for the format I'm using.
But briefly, I'm reporting on EVERY event--whether Qualifying for Field events, or Heats, Semi's, and Finals of Track races!
I will NOT repeat the word "WOMEN's" in front of every event, as EVERY event here is from the Women's side!
Those "FEET" I mentioned?
Well, it was ONE foot, actually, and then just a centimeter or two of a "foot" that caused the probable WINNER of the Heptathlon to get ZERO points in the Long Jump.
Katerina Johnson-Thompson (KJT) was down to her last of 3 jumps in the Hept's 5th event, after fouling twice.
She sped all-out down the runway, leapt into the air, landing at what everyone says was either 6.85 or 6.90 long, which would have been worth 1122 or 1139 points.
That total would've put her either a point behind Jessica Ennis-Hill, who was then leading, or ahead of her by about 15 points!
BUT it was ruled another foul, as the judges ruled she touched the plasticine.
She finished the final 2 events, but JUST to finish, NOT to really compete!
(She jogged the 800 in 2:50!!)
And the new Mom is BACK!!
Ennis-Hill was strong throughout in her then-3 way battle with KJT and Ashton Eaton's wife, Brianne Theisen-Eaton.
While the event didn't end until the 2nd day, it really was the first FINAL, as all 7 of the events in the Hept are "finals".
Thus my reporting it first!!
JEH's total was 6669.
BTE was 2nd with 6554.
(KJT ended with 5039!)
Laura Ikauniece-Admidina had 6516 points, for the National Record of Latvia!
Nadine Visser led the 1st event, the 100H, with a PR of 12.81.
Sharon Day-Monroe was the top American, in 14th.
Barbara Nwaba DNF'ed the 100H, but continued on, scoring 5315 in 27th place.
Erica Bougard DNS'ed the 800, but scored 5140 points for 6 events.
Seems the Men weren't the only ones running quick times in Heats.
Genzebe Dibaba cut loose for a 4:02.59 in her Heat of the 1500.
It's reportedly the fastest-ever 1500 Heat ever run!!
Faith Kipyegon was right behind her, running 4:02.77.
All 4 Americans (one Wild Card) passed through to the Semi's.
The Triple Jump Qualifying went as expected.
Caterine Ibarguen led them all, and the lone American, Christina Epps, didn't qualify!
(She jumped just 43-10!)
Another event that went almost EXACTLY as expected was the Valerie Adams-less Shot Put.
In her absence, her arch-rival Christina Schwanitz took the Gold with a good, but "average" toss of 66-10
But it was Li Gong of China who led the first round with her 66-7.25.
Schwanitz got her winner in round 3.
Michelle Carter, Bronze winner, got her 64-10 best in round 2.
Anita Marton's 63-11 is the National Record of Hungary!
Nothing strange happened in the 400H Heats.
Cassandra Tate had the fastest time, running 54.27.
All of the Americans made it to the Semi's.
As with the Men, the 100 Heats were quick.
In separate Heats, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce (SAFP) and Tori Bowie got the fastest times, both running 10.88.
Mujinga Kambundji broke her own National Record of Switzerland with her 11.17.
She advanced.
But Verena Sailer did not!
Yawn.
Genzebe Dibaba had the fastest 1500 Semi time--a 4:06.74.--about 4 seconds slower than her Heat time!
Most of the "players" made it to the Final, except for Laura Weightman, who fell and bruised herself at the finish line, and was unable to continue.
She wasn't hurt bad--just enough to cause her to withdraw from the Final!
Americans Kerri Gallagher and Lauren Johnson missed making the final also, although both came fairly close, missing Automatic and/or time advancers by slim margins!
That amazing new Mother--Demi Payne--missed 3 times at 4.45 (14-7.25) in the Qualifying for Pole Vault!
(She said she might continue competing in the last DL's or other meets after the WC's!)
Meanwhile, 3 other good Vaulters also didn't make it through.
Failing were Ekaterina Stefanidi, Silke Spiegelburg, and Tina Sutej.
The other 2 Americans advanced.
Fourteen (instead of the normal 12) advanced to the Final!
Two of the 3 Americans--Shelbi Vaughan just missing!--moved on to the Final of the Discus Throw.
As expected, Denia Caballero and Sandra Perkovic led the Q's.
The 3000 Steeplechase Heats made news---of a sort.
For the first time in the VERY brief history of either Olympic Games or World Championship Steepling, ALL of the Americans moved on to the Final!!
However, a "former" American--and now Jamaican--Aisha Praught got DQ'ed!
She apparently took a step or two on the infield.
Habiba Ghribi had the fastest time, a 9:24.38.
All of the Qualifiers ran sub-9:30's!!
One of those was India's Lalita Babar, whose 9:27.86 is the new India National Record!
While not as spectacular as the Men's, the Heats of the 400 brought quite a few speedy times.
Stephanie McPherson led the way with her 50.34.
But TEN women ran under 51 seconds!!
In the HEATS!!
All 3 Americans moved on--all running under 51.
One other who did was Kenya's Joyce Zahary, whose 50.71 is her nation's new National Record!
(Imagine if she decides to move up to the 800!! An instant 1:56??)
The 400H were also fast, except these were the Semi's, not the Heats!
Zuzana Hejnova led the group with her 54.24, just 0.03 faster than Cassandra Tate's leading Heat time!
But here, EIGHT women got under 55 seconds!
One of those who didn't--in fact, she DNF'ed!--was Kori Carter.
The other Americans made it to the Final.
The Triple Jump Final went almost as expected.
Caterine Ibarguen won a close battle with Hanna Kryazyeva-Mininko and Olga Rypakova.
Their jumps were 48-10.75, 48-6, and 48-5.50.
K-M's (Silver winner!) 48-6 is the National Record of Israel.
The 100 Semi's produced more fast times.
(China should try to use the Bird's Nest for more big time meets. The wind factor is almost non-existent, and it's a beautiful stadium. I'm sure many athletes would LOVE to return there!!)
Anyway, SAFP--with her gaudy GREEN hair and other decorative accoutrements--had the fastest time with her 10.82.
Five women ran under 10.90.
Nine were under 11.00.
Dafne Schippers---and let's remember, she a "former" STAR Heptathlete!!--sped 10.83 for a new Netherlands National Record.
And Mujinga Kambundji keeps getting better!
I don't know how many times she's set new Switzerland NR's, but her latest came here.
She sped 11.07 for the latest NR!
Three major names didn't make it through--English Gardner, Murielle Ahoure, and Jasmine Todd.
(Todd will be in the Long Jump, however, later in the meet! And maybe the Relay too??)
BTW, Gardner and Todd not making it means that two DUCKS aren't all they're QUACKED up to be!!
(Sorry. Couldn't resist! LOL)
As I said in my MEN's report, hang in there, we're almost finished!!
The 10000--especially one without the Dibaba sisters (Tirunesh or Genzebe) or Meseret Defar--wasn't SUPPOSED to be maybe the most THRILLING race for Americans to watch--but it became that!
(And maybe thrilling for EVERYONE, no matter their nationality!)
Given props as the most likely Gold medalist was the woman who indeed WON the Gold medal!
Vivian Cheruiyot was making a comeback of sorts, not having raced for a year or two.
But she (and the rumor mill) said she was ready--and she was.
It started at a tempo that Mo Farah would've loved---slow---tactical---with everyone bunched together, and "Mo" (in this case, Vivian!) sitting somewhere back in the pack biding her time.
A Japanese runner led the entire first half, reaching 5000 in a time Collegiates in the US run everyday--16:11.99.
And she had a PILE of women right behind her.
I believe the first 15 or so were within 2 seconds of her.
At that point, Molly Huddle, the "STAR" American (She's the 5K American Record holder, and has run 30:47 for twice that distance!) was 6th, with Shalane Flanagan just 0.23 behind Huddle, and Emily Infeld another 0.11 back in 15th.
Cheruiyot was then in 14th, just ahead of Infeld!
By 8000, reached by the leader (at that point, Cheruiyot--though that soon changed!!) in a snail's pace 25:43.61--the previous 3K run in just 9:32!--it saw Huddle in 4th, Flanagan in 7th, with Infeld back in 11th--but still VERY close---a couple of seconds back, maybe.
Molly then started to throw it down, taking over the train's engine, reaching 9K in 28:52.55, after a 1000 in 3:09---STILL too slow for an already-slow 10000!!!
(By this point, you can bet Meseret or Tirunesh would be hitting 64's!!)
Infeld had moved up to 4th, with Cheruiyot biding her time in 5th, followed by Flanagan in 7th.
When Huddle started her kick, so did Cheruiyot.
And as often (ALWAYS???) happens, when an African starts her kick, it's faster than any of the Americans!
Huddle tried, and even SEEMED to have 3rd locked up just a few meters from the finish!
In fact, she got so giddy that she was about to MEDAL that she began dancing a jig and downing a few beers in celebration.
While Molly was busy imitating Ezekiel Kemboi, Miss Infeld happened to be SPRINTING on the inside rail!!
And we all know what happened.
Infeld, not Huddle, took the Bronze.
Infeld was in tears of unbelievable joy.
Huddle was in tears of unbelievable SHOCK!
A bittersweet moment for America's finest distance runners of the moment!!
Americans took 3rd, 4th, and 6th (Flanagan), by far the best EVER team performance by ANY American distance squad in a Major Championship--men OR women!!
They negative split the race, running about 16:11 and 15:30.
And then the crowded Bird's Nest changed gears---going from the longest track race to the shortest!
The Final of the Women's 100 was ALMOST as anticipated as that Bolt-Gatlin affair.
Except here, the focus was on one woman---who ALSO happens to be Jamaican!---SAFP.
The question wasn't if she'd win.
That was pretty much a given.
It was--How fast?
Well, it turned out to be fast--but not THAT fast!
(She said--maybe not all jokingly!--that she's tired of running 10.7's--she wants some 10'6's!!)
And yes, her time WAS 10.76.
But it wasn't as easy as most thought!
And it wasn't Tori Bowie who provided her stiffest competition!
Bowie finished 3rd in 10.86.
But Dafne Schippers broke her own Netherlands National Record--set just hours earlier in the Semi's--with a 10.81.
This also makes her 18th A-T World, tied with 2 others!!
(It's the first time she's on my World DDD!!)
Veronica Campbell-Brown ran very well, finishing 4th in 10.91.
Well, what about these past 3 days of WOMEN's events?
The standout--for me, at least--has to be the 10000!
But that's because of the RACE, not the Records or Marks aspect of it!
(In fact, normally, I would HATE such a slow race!!)
But for Records & Marks, the 100's (all of them--Heats, Semi's, and Final) stood out, as did the 400 Heats, to a lesser extent, the 400H Heats and Semi's--and on the Field, the Shot Put and the Triple Jump.
But it was the SHOCKERS---both good and bad---that MADE these first 3 days.
KJT's foul in the LJ.
Demi Payne not making the Final of the PV.
Kori Carter's DNF in the 400H.
Then there was the GREAT American finish in the 10K.
Sandi Morris showing her LONG season isn't done yet!
Allyson Felix easing through a 50.60 400 Heat!
The great runs by Dafne Schippers AND Mujinga Kambundji!
All in all, a GREAT first 72 hours of Track and Field!!
See you three days from now with (hopefully!) much more of the same!!
See my NOTES from my MEN's report for the format I'm using.
But briefly, I'm reporting on EVERY event--whether Qualifying for Field events, or Heats, Semi's, and Finals of Track races!
I will NOT repeat the word "WOMEN's" in front of every event, as EVERY event here is from the Women's side!
Those "FEET" I mentioned?
Well, it was ONE foot, actually, and then just a centimeter or two of a "foot" that caused the probable WINNER of the Heptathlon to get ZERO points in the Long Jump.
Katerina Johnson-Thompson (KJT) was down to her last of 3 jumps in the Hept's 5th event, after fouling twice.
She sped all-out down the runway, leapt into the air, landing at what everyone says was either 6.85 or 6.90 long, which would have been worth 1122 or 1139 points.
That total would've put her either a point behind Jessica Ennis-Hill, who was then leading, or ahead of her by about 15 points!
BUT it was ruled another foul, as the judges ruled she touched the plasticine.
She finished the final 2 events, but JUST to finish, NOT to really compete!
(She jogged the 800 in 2:50!!)
And the new Mom is BACK!!
Ennis-Hill was strong throughout in her then-3 way battle with KJT and Ashton Eaton's wife, Brianne Theisen-Eaton.
While the event didn't end until the 2nd day, it really was the first FINAL, as all 7 of the events in the Hept are "finals".
Thus my reporting it first!!
JEH's total was 6669.
BTE was 2nd with 6554.
(KJT ended with 5039!)
Laura Ikauniece-Admidina had 6516 points, for the National Record of Latvia!
Nadine Visser led the 1st event, the 100H, with a PR of 12.81.
Sharon Day-Monroe was the top American, in 14th.
Barbara Nwaba DNF'ed the 100H, but continued on, scoring 5315 in 27th place.
Erica Bougard DNS'ed the 800, but scored 5140 points for 6 events.
Seems the Men weren't the only ones running quick times in Heats.
Genzebe Dibaba cut loose for a 4:02.59 in her Heat of the 1500.
It's reportedly the fastest-ever 1500 Heat ever run!!
Faith Kipyegon was right behind her, running 4:02.77.
All 4 Americans (one Wild Card) passed through to the Semi's.
The Triple Jump Qualifying went as expected.
Caterine Ibarguen led them all, and the lone American, Christina Epps, didn't qualify!
(She jumped just 43-10!)
Another event that went almost EXACTLY as expected was the Valerie Adams-less Shot Put.
In her absence, her arch-rival Christina Schwanitz took the Gold with a good, but "average" toss of 66-10
But it was Li Gong of China who led the first round with her 66-7.25.
Schwanitz got her winner in round 3.
Michelle Carter, Bronze winner, got her 64-10 best in round 2.
Anita Marton's 63-11 is the National Record of Hungary!
Nothing strange happened in the 400H Heats.
Cassandra Tate had the fastest time, running 54.27.
All of the Americans made it to the Semi's.
As with the Men, the 100 Heats were quick.
In separate Heats, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce (SAFP) and Tori Bowie got the fastest times, both running 10.88.
Mujinga Kambundji broke her own National Record of Switzerland with her 11.17.
She advanced.
But Verena Sailer did not!
Yawn.
Genzebe Dibaba had the fastest 1500 Semi time--a 4:06.74.--about 4 seconds slower than her Heat time!
Most of the "players" made it to the Final, except for Laura Weightman, who fell and bruised herself at the finish line, and was unable to continue.
She wasn't hurt bad--just enough to cause her to withdraw from the Final!
Americans Kerri Gallagher and Lauren Johnson missed making the final also, although both came fairly close, missing Automatic and/or time advancers by slim margins!
That amazing new Mother--Demi Payne--missed 3 times at 4.45 (14-7.25) in the Qualifying for Pole Vault!
(She said she might continue competing in the last DL's or other meets after the WC's!)
Meanwhile, 3 other good Vaulters also didn't make it through.
Failing were Ekaterina Stefanidi, Silke Spiegelburg, and Tina Sutej.
The other 2 Americans advanced.
Fourteen (instead of the normal 12) advanced to the Final!
Two of the 3 Americans--Shelbi Vaughan just missing!--moved on to the Final of the Discus Throw.
As expected, Denia Caballero and Sandra Perkovic led the Q's.
The 3000 Steeplechase Heats made news---of a sort.
For the first time in the VERY brief history of either Olympic Games or World Championship Steepling, ALL of the Americans moved on to the Final!!
However, a "former" American--and now Jamaican--Aisha Praught got DQ'ed!
She apparently took a step or two on the infield.
Habiba Ghribi had the fastest time, a 9:24.38.
All of the Qualifiers ran sub-9:30's!!
One of those was India's Lalita Babar, whose 9:27.86 is the new India National Record!
While not as spectacular as the Men's, the Heats of the 400 brought quite a few speedy times.
Stephanie McPherson led the way with her 50.34.
But TEN women ran under 51 seconds!!
In the HEATS!!
All 3 Americans moved on--all running under 51.
One other who did was Kenya's Joyce Zahary, whose 50.71 is her nation's new National Record!
(Imagine if she decides to move up to the 800!! An instant 1:56??)
The 400H were also fast, except these were the Semi's, not the Heats!
Zuzana Hejnova led the group with her 54.24, just 0.03 faster than Cassandra Tate's leading Heat time!
But here, EIGHT women got under 55 seconds!
One of those who didn't--in fact, she DNF'ed!--was Kori Carter.
The other Americans made it to the Final.
The Triple Jump Final went almost as expected.
Caterine Ibarguen won a close battle with Hanna Kryazyeva-Mininko and Olga Rypakova.
Their jumps were 48-10.75, 48-6, and 48-5.50.
K-M's (Silver winner!) 48-6 is the National Record of Israel.
The 100 Semi's produced more fast times.
(China should try to use the Bird's Nest for more big time meets. The wind factor is almost non-existent, and it's a beautiful stadium. I'm sure many athletes would LOVE to return there!!)
Anyway, SAFP--with her gaudy GREEN hair and other decorative accoutrements--had the fastest time with her 10.82.
Five women ran under 10.90.
Nine were under 11.00.
Dafne Schippers---and let's remember, she a "former" STAR Heptathlete!!--sped 10.83 for a new Netherlands National Record.
And Mujinga Kambundji keeps getting better!
I don't know how many times she's set new Switzerland NR's, but her latest came here.
She sped 11.07 for the latest NR!
Three major names didn't make it through--English Gardner, Murielle Ahoure, and Jasmine Todd.
(Todd will be in the Long Jump, however, later in the meet! And maybe the Relay too??)
BTW, Gardner and Todd not making it means that two DUCKS aren't all they're QUACKED up to be!!
(Sorry. Couldn't resist! LOL)
As I said in my MEN's report, hang in there, we're almost finished!!
The 10000--especially one without the Dibaba sisters (Tirunesh or Genzebe) or Meseret Defar--wasn't SUPPOSED to be maybe the most THRILLING race for Americans to watch--but it became that!
(And maybe thrilling for EVERYONE, no matter their nationality!)
Given props as the most likely Gold medalist was the woman who indeed WON the Gold medal!
Vivian Cheruiyot was making a comeback of sorts, not having raced for a year or two.
But she (and the rumor mill) said she was ready--and she was.
It started at a tempo that Mo Farah would've loved---slow---tactical---with everyone bunched together, and "Mo" (in this case, Vivian!) sitting somewhere back in the pack biding her time.
A Japanese runner led the entire first half, reaching 5000 in a time Collegiates in the US run everyday--16:11.99.
And she had a PILE of women right behind her.
I believe the first 15 or so were within 2 seconds of her.
At that point, Molly Huddle, the "STAR" American (She's the 5K American Record holder, and has run 30:47 for twice that distance!) was 6th, with Shalane Flanagan just 0.23 behind Huddle, and Emily Infeld another 0.11 back in 15th.
Cheruiyot was then in 14th, just ahead of Infeld!
By 8000, reached by the leader (at that point, Cheruiyot--though that soon changed!!) in a snail's pace 25:43.61--the previous 3K run in just 9:32!--it saw Huddle in 4th, Flanagan in 7th, with Infeld back in 11th--but still VERY close---a couple of seconds back, maybe.
Molly then started to throw it down, taking over the train's engine, reaching 9K in 28:52.55, after a 1000 in 3:09---STILL too slow for an already-slow 10000!!!
(By this point, you can bet Meseret or Tirunesh would be hitting 64's!!)
Infeld had moved up to 4th, with Cheruiyot biding her time in 5th, followed by Flanagan in 7th.
When Huddle started her kick, so did Cheruiyot.
And as often (ALWAYS???) happens, when an African starts her kick, it's faster than any of the Americans!
Huddle tried, and even SEEMED to have 3rd locked up just a few meters from the finish!
In fact, she got so giddy that she was about to MEDAL that she began dancing a jig and downing a few beers in celebration.
While Molly was busy imitating Ezekiel Kemboi, Miss Infeld happened to be SPRINTING on the inside rail!!
And we all know what happened.
Infeld, not Huddle, took the Bronze.
Infeld was in tears of unbelievable joy.
Huddle was in tears of unbelievable SHOCK!
A bittersweet moment for America's finest distance runners of the moment!!
Americans took 3rd, 4th, and 6th (Flanagan), by far the best EVER team performance by ANY American distance squad in a Major Championship--men OR women!!
They negative split the race, running about 16:11 and 15:30.
And then the crowded Bird's Nest changed gears---going from the longest track race to the shortest!
The Final of the Women's 100 was ALMOST as anticipated as that Bolt-Gatlin affair.
Except here, the focus was on one woman---who ALSO happens to be Jamaican!---SAFP.
The question wasn't if she'd win.
That was pretty much a given.
It was--How fast?
Well, it turned out to be fast--but not THAT fast!
(She said--maybe not all jokingly!--that she's tired of running 10.7's--she wants some 10'6's!!)
And yes, her time WAS 10.76.
But it wasn't as easy as most thought!
And it wasn't Tori Bowie who provided her stiffest competition!
Bowie finished 3rd in 10.86.
But Dafne Schippers broke her own Netherlands National Record--set just hours earlier in the Semi's--with a 10.81.
This also makes her 18th A-T World, tied with 2 others!!
(It's the first time she's on my World DDD!!)
Veronica Campbell-Brown ran very well, finishing 4th in 10.91.
Well, what about these past 3 days of WOMEN's events?
The standout--for me, at least--has to be the 10000!
But that's because of the RACE, not the Records or Marks aspect of it!
(In fact, normally, I would HATE such a slow race!!)
But for Records & Marks, the 100's (all of them--Heats, Semi's, and Final) stood out, as did the 400 Heats, to a lesser extent, the 400H Heats and Semi's--and on the Field, the Shot Put and the Triple Jump.
But it was the SHOCKERS---both good and bad---that MADE these first 3 days.
KJT's foul in the LJ.
Demi Payne not making the Final of the PV.
Kori Carter's DNF in the 400H.
Then there was the GREAT American finish in the 10K.
Sandi Morris showing her LONG season isn't done yet!
Allyson Felix easing through a 50.60 400 Heat!
The great runs by Dafne Schippers AND Mujinga Kambundji!
All in all, a GREAT first 72 hours of Track and Field!!
See you three days from now with (hopefully!) much more of the same!!
It's Track AND Field for WC Men: Days 1 to 3
Hard to believe there's 6 more days of action for the Men of the World in Beijing's Bird's Nest!
There's already been enough startling upsets, fast Heats & Semi's (Yes, I said HEATS!!), and even a few Records and Top 24 Marks to make it seem like this is a report of the FULL meet, not just one-third of it!
Lots to report, so I'll begin with a few Notes.
1. This post is about the MEN! The WOMEN's post will come a few hours later.
2. This covers ALL of the events from August 22nd through 24th, including Field event Qualifying and Finals, and Heats, Semi's, and Finals of races.
3. I won't repeat the word "MEN's", since this post covers the guys ONLY! (Same with the WOMEN when I do that post later!)
4. I'll wrap things up at the end.
It all started with the Marathon.
With the hot weather (73 temp at the start!), I didn't expect a fast race.
But come on, just 2:12:28??
That's all it took for 19 year old Ghirmay Ghebreslassie to win over the WR holder, Dennis Kimetto, and former WR holder, Wilson Kipsang.
In fact, those 2 didn't even finish the race!!
Ghirmay won by 40 seconds!
The Americans didn't fare well, their best being Ian Burrell's 25th place in 2:23:17!!
Jeff Eggleston was another DNF.
The 400 Heats were INCREDIBLE!!
In fact, noting these were HEAT times, I'd say the results here were the best so far on the track!
Never before has anyone run so fast in the 1st of 3 races!
Yousef Masrahi and Rasheen McDonald were both timed in 43.93, with Masrahi "winning"--although "winning" a heat is more about Qualifying for the next round than winning a race.
Masrahi had become a known quantity, but McDonald was a shocker.
Masrahi's 43.93 is the Saudi Arabia National Record.
It makes him 12th A-T World, tied with 1 other (who happens to now be McDonald!).
McDonald's 43.93 also places him 12th A-T World, tied with Masrahi!
It's the National Record of Jamaica.
He officially finished 2nd, but he just missed the 2nd Place record by 0.02 seconds!
Because of these 2 times, three men were removed from my World DDD!
They are Charles Gitanga with his 44.20 from 1996, Ian Morris, his 44.21 dating from 1992, and Antonio Pettigrew, his 44.21 dating from 1999.
Chris Brown Qualified for the Semi's, but his 44.68 did NOT break his own Age 36 record!
In the Heats of the 3000 Steeplechase, all 3 Americans qualified for the Final!
The fastest time was 8:24-plus.
But NO Americans qualified for the Hammer Throw Final!!
Pawel Fajdek---Who else??--led the Q's.
In the Qualifying for Pole Vault, Jake Blankenship and Brad Walker didn't make it, but Sam Kendricks did.
All of the "players" made it through.
The 100 Heats proved a couple of things--
The Bird's Nest has a FAST track!
And Bolt is ready!
It also proved that Justin Gatlin almost NEVER runs slow.
While his 9.83 was aided by a slight wind (2.1), it was the fastest Heat time!
Usain Bolt eased through with a 9.96, while just-turned-20 Trayvon Bromell ran 9.91.
James Dasaolu and Ancient Kim Collins didn't advance!
Mo Farah KNOWS how to win races--at ANY pace!!
And the 10000 Final proved this yet again!
But the Kenyan TEAM---and yes, they worked AS a TEAM!!--did what they believed was necessary to try to remove SOME of the sting from Farah's kick.
However, to do that, they learned you need something faster than a first 5K in 13:40+.
By that point, it had come down to the Kenyans, Farah, and his NOP teammate, Galen Rupp.
Every time Farah went to the front, Geoffrey Kamworor sprinted ahead.
This happened a few times, making people believe Mo MIGHT lose!
(Okay, maybe not LOSE--just have to do a little bit of real RUNNING!!)
But a 2nd 5K of just 13:21 (Remember Ken Bekele's final 5K of 12:57 after a first 5K of 13:52 some years ago??) didn't stop the MoBot!
He chugged a 54ish final lap to win Gold yet again--time of 27:01.13 over Kamworor's 27:01.76.
As for Rupp, he fell apart in that final lap, finishing just 5th in a still decent time of 27:08.91.
Farah's exact 5K splits were 13:42.01 and 13:19.12.
Americans finished 5th, 15th, and 16th.
Cam Levins finished in 14th.
Imane Merga DNF'ed!
The 20000 Walk had a surprise winner in Spain's Miguel Lopez, who Walked 1:19:14.
China's Zhen Wang was 2nd 15 seconds back.
But it was the Bronze winner who was the shocker!!
Canada's Ben Thorne, just 22, Walked a Canada National Record time of 1:19:57!
There were no US entrants, and 50 Walkers finished the race!
(NOTE: I made a mistake!! I said I was presenting these reports in chronological order of when they happened. The 400 Heats were SUPPOSED to go HERE----NOT where I put them! Sorry!! But I do NOT want to type the whole thing again!!)
The Hammer Throw Final was a Coronation for Pawel Fajdek, as everyone predicted.
While his winning throw of 265-4 was almost 8 feet ahead of 2nd, it was a mere lob in comparison to his recent 275-4!!
That 2nd place toss of 257-8 was actually accomplished by TWO athletes, with the places decided by 2nd best marks!
Kriszrian Pars, a medal favorite, finished in 4th.
No Americans were in the Final!
The 400H Semi's produced a trio of NR's, and a few surprise non-Finalists!
Javier Culson, Johnny Dutch, and LJ Van Zyl didn't make it to the Final.
Jeff Gibson beat his own Bahamas National Record with his 48.37.
Yasmine Copella nabbed Turkey's National Record with a 48.46.
And Abdelmalik Lahoulou is the new National Record holder of Algeria, time of 48.87.
But it was Denis Kidryavtsev who ran the fastest Semi time of 48.23.
The 100 Semi's were just as fast as the Heats.
Gatlin again had the fastest time, but this time his 9.77 was legal!
Bolt again ran a 9.96.
But he had some company at the line, as Andre De Grasse ran the same time!
Bromell and China's Bingtian Su ran 9.99's in 3rd and 4th!
In fact, Su's 9.99 ties his own National Record of China!!
As noted, this is a FAST track!
This was proven here, as the 10.00 by Femi Ogunode did NOT qualify him for the Final!!
The Shot Put was a GREAT competition!
And the Marks were good too!!
A rousing 4-way battle saw Joe Kovacs emerge on top with his 71-11.50 throw.
David Storl took Silver with his 71-4.
O'Dayne Richards tied his National Record of Jamaica with his 71-2 in third!
And Thomas Walsh took 4th with his New Zealand National Record of 70-9.75, breaking his own mark!
Walsh's mark also becomes the best-ever 4th Place!!
Reese Hoffa was 5th, followed by Tomasz Majewski in 6th.
Young Jacko Gill finished in 8th.
Christian Cantwell didn't start!
I don't know the reason!
The 800 Semi's tossed a few NAMES overboard!!
NOT moving on to the Final were 2 guys picked by many for a medal, including a probable Gold!!
Gone were Mohammed Aman and Nijel Amos--but for different reasons!
Amos just didn't qualify--running in the slowest section, and depending on a kick that just wasn't enough!
But Aman pushed someone, and was handed a DQ!!
Other non-qualifiers were Erik Sowinski and Marcin Lewandowski!
Clayton Murphy, who was a last-minute replacement for BROOKS runner, and USATF CHAMPION Nick Symmonds, couldn't qualify either.
I hope USATF is happy with their decision to KICK mud in the face of their own meet's CHAMPION!!
NO Americans in the Final, and the BEST American is forced to stay home!!
Amazing.
Okay, my little RANT is finished!
Let's continue with the Results!
And here we go!!
The 100 Meter Final!!!
And yes, DA MAN came through when it counted most.
He squeaked by Justin Gatlin at the line, running a quality 9.79 to Gatlin's "average" 9.80.
But that doesn't tell the whole tale!
You see, Gatlin was so desperate to beat Bolt, he threw himself forward---but did it too early!
This caused him to stumble, flail his arms, and APPEAR to be falling apart---whereas he just dipped too soon, and didn't have time or room enough to recover his momentum!
Thus, Bolt "won"!
Bolt might have won anyway, but Gatlin's mistake cost him whatever chance he had to at least TIE the GREAT ONE!!
Speaking of TIES---and I ain't talking NECKties!!---it was impossible to separate the next two runners, so Trayvon Bromell and Andre DeGrasse got to share the Bronze medal, both running 9.92.
Mike Rodgers was 5th in 9.94.
Three guys ran 10.00, but they WERE divided---into 6th, 7th, and 8th places---the order being Tyson Gay, Asefa Powell, and Jimmy Vicaut.
China's Su was 9th in 10.06.
Vicaut's 10.00 is the best 8th Place mark.
And Bolt's 9.79 is the new Age 29 record!
(The old Age 29 record was Gay's 9.80 from 2012!!)
The Long Jump Qualifying went according to plan, except that Marquis Dendy fouled a BIG jump, and lost the appeal, so didn't Qualify for the Final!
The other 2 Americans made it through, with Jeff Henderson leading everyone!
The Javelin Throw Q'ing also went by the book, pretty much.
No Americans qualified for the Final, which WAS a bit surprising, as we had a fairly decent threesome!
Braian Toledo's 273-4 throw is the National Record of Argentina!
Want a SHOCK??
You probably already know this, but Monsieur Renaud did NOT win Pole Vault Gold!!
But he did win A medal---or PART of one!!
Akron University's, and Canada's National Record holder--Shawn Barber--upset the INdoor World Record holder, taking the top podium spot with a jump of 19-4.25 (5.90).
He attempted 6.00, but missed.
Raphael Holzdeppe took the Silver with the same 5.90 height.
Tied at 5.80 were Mr Lavillenie, Pawel Wojcieckowski, and Piotr Lisek!!
One brief comment (and question).
Why do Vaulters (and High Jumpers too!!) wait so long to enter the competition--especially one so important as a World Championship??
I've always believed that PV'ers should try a lower height---one that's even kindergarten level for them!--so as to get A height!!
Then they can skip a few heights before going again.
That would help prevent NH's (No Heights), and get them loose for future attempts!
I think Renaud just wasn't sharp enough when he got to 5.90, having just entered at 5.80!!
Second RANT completed!
LOL
Hang in there, folks--just two more events to go!!
After those incredible times from the Heats, there was much anticipation for what those 400 meter speedsters would run in the Semi's.
Turns out they mostly ran slower---some a LOT slower!!
There were no sub-44's here, but Isaac Makwala ran 44.11 to garner bragging rights as fastest in the Semi's.
But it was Liguelin Santos who maybe surprised a few with his Dominican Republic National Record time of 44.26.
He misses my Top 24 World DDD list, however, by 0.08 seconds!
Last, but definitely NOT least, is the 3000 Steeplechase Final!!
Where Evan Jager was supposed to show those damn Kenyans who was who, and what was what!
Except "those damn Kenyans" did the showing, not vice versa!!
The race went out slow, in around 2:49 for the first 1000.
There were FOUR Kenyans (one a Wild Card) and....Jager?
Well, not exactly.
You see, Donn Cabral and Dan Huling decided to keep their American comrade company.
The pace hadn't picked up by 2K, so CABRAL (!!!) took the lead---temporarily.
VERY temporarily!!
The Kenyans, led by Ezekiel Kemboi, but solidified by Jairus Birech, and Bramim and Consesius Kipruto, again took control, and Jager tried to go with them.
He just didn't have enough gas in the tank.
He not only didn't medal, but he was BEATEN by Huling for 5th, Jager finishing 6th!
(Cabral ended in 10th.)
Kemboi's winning time was 8:11.78, with Huling at 8:14.37, and Jager running 8:15.47, about 15 seconds slower than his latest American Record!!
Before closing, a brief comment on these first 3 days.
The STARS were, obviously, Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Shawn Barber, Joe Kovacs, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, and Pawel Fajdek, as they all won Gold.
But there were other names who maybe made more interesting news.
Like the 2 who ran 43.93 in a HEAT!
And young guys like De Grasse and Bromell, who shone, even after LONG Collegiate seasons!
Then there were those HUGE upsets!
Lavillenie finishing "just" 3rd---and then only in a TIE for 3rd!
Jager being not even the fastest American!!
Marquis Dendy, Mohammed Aman, Nijel Amos, and Javier Culson not advancing to their respective Finals!
There WERE a few Records---mostly National Records--and some new Top 24 placers--but not enough for a meet of this caliber.
(And yes, I realize this is just the first 3 days, and most of the Finals are yet to come!)
Anyway, there was enough GREAT action---and marks---to warrant calling this a solid meet.
One of the best World Championships?
Let's wait 6 more days to make THAT decision!!
Well, folks, that finishes my FIRST report about the first 3 days of the Beijing WC's.
As noted, the WOMEN's report will (or is expected to!!) follow in 2 or 3 hours!
The next MEN's report is planned for 3 days from now, to cover the 4th, 5th, and 6th days of the meet!
See you soon!
There's already been enough startling upsets, fast Heats & Semi's (Yes, I said HEATS!!), and even a few Records and Top 24 Marks to make it seem like this is a report of the FULL meet, not just one-third of it!
Lots to report, so I'll begin with a few Notes.
1. This post is about the MEN! The WOMEN's post will come a few hours later.
2. This covers ALL of the events from August 22nd through 24th, including Field event Qualifying and Finals, and Heats, Semi's, and Finals of races.
3. I won't repeat the word "MEN's", since this post covers the guys ONLY! (Same with the WOMEN when I do that post later!)
4. I'll wrap things up at the end.
It all started with the Marathon.
With the hot weather (73 temp at the start!), I didn't expect a fast race.
But come on, just 2:12:28??
That's all it took for 19 year old Ghirmay Ghebreslassie to win over the WR holder, Dennis Kimetto, and former WR holder, Wilson Kipsang.
In fact, those 2 didn't even finish the race!!
Ghirmay won by 40 seconds!
The Americans didn't fare well, their best being Ian Burrell's 25th place in 2:23:17!!
Jeff Eggleston was another DNF.
The 400 Heats were INCREDIBLE!!
In fact, noting these were HEAT times, I'd say the results here were the best so far on the track!
Never before has anyone run so fast in the 1st of 3 races!
Yousef Masrahi and Rasheen McDonald were both timed in 43.93, with Masrahi "winning"--although "winning" a heat is more about Qualifying for the next round than winning a race.
Masrahi had become a known quantity, but McDonald was a shocker.
Masrahi's 43.93 is the Saudi Arabia National Record.
It makes him 12th A-T World, tied with 1 other (who happens to now be McDonald!).
McDonald's 43.93 also places him 12th A-T World, tied with Masrahi!
It's the National Record of Jamaica.
He officially finished 2nd, but he just missed the 2nd Place record by 0.02 seconds!
Because of these 2 times, three men were removed from my World DDD!
They are Charles Gitanga with his 44.20 from 1996, Ian Morris, his 44.21 dating from 1992, and Antonio Pettigrew, his 44.21 dating from 1999.
Chris Brown Qualified for the Semi's, but his 44.68 did NOT break his own Age 36 record!
In the Heats of the 3000 Steeplechase, all 3 Americans qualified for the Final!
The fastest time was 8:24-plus.
But NO Americans qualified for the Hammer Throw Final!!
Pawel Fajdek---Who else??--led the Q's.
In the Qualifying for Pole Vault, Jake Blankenship and Brad Walker didn't make it, but Sam Kendricks did.
All of the "players" made it through.
The 100 Heats proved a couple of things--
The Bird's Nest has a FAST track!
And Bolt is ready!
It also proved that Justin Gatlin almost NEVER runs slow.
While his 9.83 was aided by a slight wind (2.1), it was the fastest Heat time!
Usain Bolt eased through with a 9.96, while just-turned-20 Trayvon Bromell ran 9.91.
James Dasaolu and Ancient Kim Collins didn't advance!
Mo Farah KNOWS how to win races--at ANY pace!!
And the 10000 Final proved this yet again!
But the Kenyan TEAM---and yes, they worked AS a TEAM!!--did what they believed was necessary to try to remove SOME of the sting from Farah's kick.
However, to do that, they learned you need something faster than a first 5K in 13:40+.
By that point, it had come down to the Kenyans, Farah, and his NOP teammate, Galen Rupp.
Every time Farah went to the front, Geoffrey Kamworor sprinted ahead.
This happened a few times, making people believe Mo MIGHT lose!
(Okay, maybe not LOSE--just have to do a little bit of real RUNNING!!)
But a 2nd 5K of just 13:21 (Remember Ken Bekele's final 5K of 12:57 after a first 5K of 13:52 some years ago??) didn't stop the MoBot!
He chugged a 54ish final lap to win Gold yet again--time of 27:01.13 over Kamworor's 27:01.76.
As for Rupp, he fell apart in that final lap, finishing just 5th in a still decent time of 27:08.91.
Farah's exact 5K splits were 13:42.01 and 13:19.12.
Americans finished 5th, 15th, and 16th.
Cam Levins finished in 14th.
Imane Merga DNF'ed!
The 20000 Walk had a surprise winner in Spain's Miguel Lopez, who Walked 1:19:14.
China's Zhen Wang was 2nd 15 seconds back.
But it was the Bronze winner who was the shocker!!
Canada's Ben Thorne, just 22, Walked a Canada National Record time of 1:19:57!
There were no US entrants, and 50 Walkers finished the race!
(NOTE: I made a mistake!! I said I was presenting these reports in chronological order of when they happened. The 400 Heats were SUPPOSED to go HERE----NOT where I put them! Sorry!! But I do NOT want to type the whole thing again!!)
The Hammer Throw Final was a Coronation for Pawel Fajdek, as everyone predicted.
While his winning throw of 265-4 was almost 8 feet ahead of 2nd, it was a mere lob in comparison to his recent 275-4!!
That 2nd place toss of 257-8 was actually accomplished by TWO athletes, with the places decided by 2nd best marks!
Kriszrian Pars, a medal favorite, finished in 4th.
No Americans were in the Final!
The 400H Semi's produced a trio of NR's, and a few surprise non-Finalists!
Javier Culson, Johnny Dutch, and LJ Van Zyl didn't make it to the Final.
Jeff Gibson beat his own Bahamas National Record with his 48.37.
Yasmine Copella nabbed Turkey's National Record with a 48.46.
And Abdelmalik Lahoulou is the new National Record holder of Algeria, time of 48.87.
But it was Denis Kidryavtsev who ran the fastest Semi time of 48.23.
The 100 Semi's were just as fast as the Heats.
Gatlin again had the fastest time, but this time his 9.77 was legal!
Bolt again ran a 9.96.
But he had some company at the line, as Andre De Grasse ran the same time!
Bromell and China's Bingtian Su ran 9.99's in 3rd and 4th!
In fact, Su's 9.99 ties his own National Record of China!!
As noted, this is a FAST track!
This was proven here, as the 10.00 by Femi Ogunode did NOT qualify him for the Final!!
The Shot Put was a GREAT competition!
And the Marks were good too!!
A rousing 4-way battle saw Joe Kovacs emerge on top with his 71-11.50 throw.
David Storl took Silver with his 71-4.
O'Dayne Richards tied his National Record of Jamaica with his 71-2 in third!
And Thomas Walsh took 4th with his New Zealand National Record of 70-9.75, breaking his own mark!
Walsh's mark also becomes the best-ever 4th Place!!
Reese Hoffa was 5th, followed by Tomasz Majewski in 6th.
Young Jacko Gill finished in 8th.
Christian Cantwell didn't start!
I don't know the reason!
The 800 Semi's tossed a few NAMES overboard!!
NOT moving on to the Final were 2 guys picked by many for a medal, including a probable Gold!!
Gone were Mohammed Aman and Nijel Amos--but for different reasons!
Amos just didn't qualify--running in the slowest section, and depending on a kick that just wasn't enough!
But Aman pushed someone, and was handed a DQ!!
Other non-qualifiers were Erik Sowinski and Marcin Lewandowski!
Clayton Murphy, who was a last-minute replacement for BROOKS runner, and USATF CHAMPION Nick Symmonds, couldn't qualify either.
I hope USATF is happy with their decision to KICK mud in the face of their own meet's CHAMPION!!
NO Americans in the Final, and the BEST American is forced to stay home!!
Amazing.
Okay, my little RANT is finished!
Let's continue with the Results!
And here we go!!
The 100 Meter Final!!!
And yes, DA MAN came through when it counted most.
He squeaked by Justin Gatlin at the line, running a quality 9.79 to Gatlin's "average" 9.80.
But that doesn't tell the whole tale!
You see, Gatlin was so desperate to beat Bolt, he threw himself forward---but did it too early!
This caused him to stumble, flail his arms, and APPEAR to be falling apart---whereas he just dipped too soon, and didn't have time or room enough to recover his momentum!
Thus, Bolt "won"!
Bolt might have won anyway, but Gatlin's mistake cost him whatever chance he had to at least TIE the GREAT ONE!!
Speaking of TIES---and I ain't talking NECKties!!---it was impossible to separate the next two runners, so Trayvon Bromell and Andre DeGrasse got to share the Bronze medal, both running 9.92.
Mike Rodgers was 5th in 9.94.
Three guys ran 10.00, but they WERE divided---into 6th, 7th, and 8th places---the order being Tyson Gay, Asefa Powell, and Jimmy Vicaut.
China's Su was 9th in 10.06.
Vicaut's 10.00 is the best 8th Place mark.
And Bolt's 9.79 is the new Age 29 record!
(The old Age 29 record was Gay's 9.80 from 2012!!)
The Long Jump Qualifying went according to plan, except that Marquis Dendy fouled a BIG jump, and lost the appeal, so didn't Qualify for the Final!
The other 2 Americans made it through, with Jeff Henderson leading everyone!
The Javelin Throw Q'ing also went by the book, pretty much.
No Americans qualified for the Final, which WAS a bit surprising, as we had a fairly decent threesome!
Braian Toledo's 273-4 throw is the National Record of Argentina!
Want a SHOCK??
You probably already know this, but Monsieur Renaud did NOT win Pole Vault Gold!!
But he did win A medal---or PART of one!!
Akron University's, and Canada's National Record holder--Shawn Barber--upset the INdoor World Record holder, taking the top podium spot with a jump of 19-4.25 (5.90).
He attempted 6.00, but missed.
Raphael Holzdeppe took the Silver with the same 5.90 height.
Tied at 5.80 were Mr Lavillenie, Pawel Wojcieckowski, and Piotr Lisek!!
One brief comment (and question).
Why do Vaulters (and High Jumpers too!!) wait so long to enter the competition--especially one so important as a World Championship??
I've always believed that PV'ers should try a lower height---one that's even kindergarten level for them!--so as to get A height!!
Then they can skip a few heights before going again.
That would help prevent NH's (No Heights), and get them loose for future attempts!
I think Renaud just wasn't sharp enough when he got to 5.90, having just entered at 5.80!!
Second RANT completed!
LOL
Hang in there, folks--just two more events to go!!
After those incredible times from the Heats, there was much anticipation for what those 400 meter speedsters would run in the Semi's.
Turns out they mostly ran slower---some a LOT slower!!
There were no sub-44's here, but Isaac Makwala ran 44.11 to garner bragging rights as fastest in the Semi's.
But it was Liguelin Santos who maybe surprised a few with his Dominican Republic National Record time of 44.26.
He misses my Top 24 World DDD list, however, by 0.08 seconds!
Last, but definitely NOT least, is the 3000 Steeplechase Final!!
Where Evan Jager was supposed to show those damn Kenyans who was who, and what was what!
Except "those damn Kenyans" did the showing, not vice versa!!
The race went out slow, in around 2:49 for the first 1000.
There were FOUR Kenyans (one a Wild Card) and....Jager?
Well, not exactly.
You see, Donn Cabral and Dan Huling decided to keep their American comrade company.
The pace hadn't picked up by 2K, so CABRAL (!!!) took the lead---temporarily.
VERY temporarily!!
The Kenyans, led by Ezekiel Kemboi, but solidified by Jairus Birech, and Bramim and Consesius Kipruto, again took control, and Jager tried to go with them.
He just didn't have enough gas in the tank.
He not only didn't medal, but he was BEATEN by Huling for 5th, Jager finishing 6th!
(Cabral ended in 10th.)
Kemboi's winning time was 8:11.78, with Huling at 8:14.37, and Jager running 8:15.47, about 15 seconds slower than his latest American Record!!
Before closing, a brief comment on these first 3 days.
The STARS were, obviously, Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Shawn Barber, Joe Kovacs, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, and Pawel Fajdek, as they all won Gold.
But there were other names who maybe made more interesting news.
Like the 2 who ran 43.93 in a HEAT!
And young guys like De Grasse and Bromell, who shone, even after LONG Collegiate seasons!
Then there were those HUGE upsets!
Lavillenie finishing "just" 3rd---and then only in a TIE for 3rd!
Jager being not even the fastest American!!
Marquis Dendy, Mohammed Aman, Nijel Amos, and Javier Culson not advancing to their respective Finals!
There WERE a few Records---mostly National Records--and some new Top 24 placers--but not enough for a meet of this caliber.
(And yes, I realize this is just the first 3 days, and most of the Finals are yet to come!)
Anyway, there was enough GREAT action---and marks---to warrant calling this a solid meet.
One of the best World Championships?
Let's wait 6 more days to make THAT decision!!
Well, folks, that finishes my FIRST report about the first 3 days of the Beijing WC's.
As noted, the WOMEN's report will (or is expected to!!) follow in 2 or 3 hours!
The next MEN's report is planned for 3 days from now, to cover the 4th, 5th, and 6th days of the meet!
See you soon!
Saturday, August 22, 2015
2015 World Championships Preview--Women (Part 2)
That first Morning Session just concluded, so, as promised, I'm typing up this last part of my WC Women's Preview.
As noted before, I'm not cheating (by knowing what's happened, or being the recipient of any "inside" knowledge of what's to come), as the following events won't be happening for another 5 days.
Anyway, without further ado, here's the remainder of the Women's events.
Hammer Throw--August 27
(WR-266-0 or 81.08 MR-258-6 or 78.80)
Anita (Punk Rocker) Wlodarczyk won't only win, she could very well SHATTER her own recently-set World Record.
As for the MR, that very well could fall in Qualifying!!
(BTW, I nicknamed her "Punk Rocker" because of her spiky hairdo, not because I know what her musical tastes are! LOL)
Anyway, back to what's REALLY important here!
Will she suffer the same fate as a former WR holder--Betty Heidler--did awhile back?
Meaning, will she fail to qualify for the Final?
Of course NOT!!
That said, the only real question is--How FAR??!!
It wouldn't shock me if she reaches 270 feet (82.30).
The Hammer's DEPTH is less than in previous years, but Anita does have a few wannabe's to watch out for.
Leading them might be the aforementioned Betty Heidler, who almost certainly WILL make the Finals here!
Others include Martina Hrasnova, Kathrin Klaas, and China's Zheng Wang and Wenxiu Zhang.
How will the Americans fare?
None have reached 240 feet yet this year, but Amber Campbell shows promise.
Some Place marks might fall.
Tatyana Lysenko won Moscow with 258-6, beating Wlodarczyk's 257-5.
Those 2 were the only ones over 250, but 6 made it past 240 feet.
Two Americans finished 9th and 10th two years ago!
400--August 27
(WR-47.60 MR-47.99)
Forget any Records!
And forget seeing Sanya Richards-Ross (SRR) or Francena McCorory here either!
At least in this OPEN 400.
(Both of them WILL run in the 4X400 Relay!!)
Without those 2, this race leaves Allyson Felix to show what she can do at twice her normal distance!
I say she can break the World Record---some day---IF she wanted to!
Others think I'm nuts for saying that!
That said, Felix WILL have some serious competition.
Leading them COULD be Shaunae Miller, who seems to have unlimited potential at this distance, and has already broken 50 seconds.
But veterans Natasha Hastings, Novlene Williams-Mills, Stephanie McPherson, and Christine Ohuruogu will try to prevent an early take-over of their vaunted positions.
Ohuruogu won Moscow in the same time as Silver winner Amantle Montsho, both running 49.41.
Four went sub-50.
Fastest Heat was 50.20.
All 3 Semi's were sub-50, the fastest being 49.56.
20000 Walk--August 28
(WR-1:24:38 OR 1:24:50!! MR-1:25:41)
There's some question as to the actual WR time, but it really doesn't matter here, as it ain't going to be broken!
And maybe not the MR either.
Liu Hong, owner of that 1:24:38 time, is here.
That time hasn't been ratified yet, but I doubt the conditions will be suitable for her to come close to that kind of mark.
Two other Chinese could challenge--Lu Xiuzhi and Qieyang Shenjie.
The top American--Maria Michta-Coffey--actually LOST at USATF to Miranda Melville, who's also here.
But if anyone is going to place better than Michta's own 34th place finish in Moscow, it will be the now-married Michta-Coffey!
Yelena Lashmanova won Moscow's race in 1:27:08.
Top 20 would be a good forward advance for Maria!
100H--August 28
(WR-12.21 MR-12.28)
This USATF Final should be........
Wait a minute, Buddy, this AIN'T the USATF meet, it's the WC!!
Okay, okay, jokes aside, the Final in Beijing is going to LOOK like the USATF Final!!
Not only with true Americans like Sharika Nelvis, Kendra Harrison, Dawn Harper-Nelson, and Brianna Rollins, but with "expatriates" (and sisters!!) Tiffany Porter and Cindy Ofili, both of whom are representing Great Britain here!
Some Place records could be broken.
BIG question!
In Sally Pearson's absence, Australia's fastest 100H Woman is--trumpets, please!--none other than You Tube fave Michelle Jenneke.
Don't laugh!
She's improved mightily in 2015, cutting her time from around 13.30 to 12.82, becoming Australia's 2nd fastest All-Time--behind Pearson!!
Soooooo.....will she make it to the Final?
We shall see!
Rollins beat Pearson in 2013, 12.44 to 12.50.
Only Rollins got under 12.50, with 4 making it under 12.60.
Fastest Heat & Semi were 12.55 and 12.50.
Long Jump--August 28
(WR-24-8.50 or 7.53 MR-24-1.75 or 7.36)
Expect the above Records to remain the same!
Brittney Reese, who has threatened 24 feet in years past, doesn't seem as sharp this year.
That equalizes things a bit, giving Tianna Bartoletta, Christabel Nettey, Ivana Spanovic, Darya Klishina, Janay DeLoach Soukup, and Shara Proctor a fair chance to medal.
Reese won Moscow with 23 feet even.
But 8 leaped at least 22 feet!
200--August 28
(WR-21.34 MR-21.74)
Allyson Felix, as I noted earlier, says she's NOT doubling, opting for the 400 only in individual events.
And SAFP says she IS doubling, with her 2nd event being this one!
With a 10.70 PR in the 100, you would think she could run at least 21.80.
But she's yet to break even 22, let alone 2 or 3 tenths faster!!
But the potential remains, IMHO.
So don't be too shocked to see her winning time beginning with 21.
That said, she has some VERY serious challengers, all in the 22.0 to 22.3 range.
They are Candyce McGrone, Dafne Schippers, Shaunae Miller, Jeneba Tarmoh, Blessing Okagbare, VCB, and Jenna Prandini.
Add to that group Jamaica's newest "name", Elaine Thompson, who's run 22.10.
I don't have the final heat sheets for this event yet, but the entry list posted on August 15th by the IAAF has 17 year old phenom Kaylin Whitney listed in the 200.
But I doubt she'll run, as she's officially slated for the sprint Relay.
SAFP won Moscow in 22.17.
Only 3 were faster than 22.70!
Allyson Felix was injured in the Final, not finishing, but she had the fastest Heat and Semi times of 22.59 and 22.30.
4X100 Relay--August 29
(WR-40.82 MR-41.29)
I mentioned Kaylin Whitney as a member of the Sprint Relay quartet.
But I don't know if she'll run in the Final.
If she does---and she DID run with some BIG American vets earlier this year!!--she won't slow the US team down.
They have a shot at the MR, but the WR is just too fast!
Jamaica, as ever, will be their main opponent---assuming both teams get the stick around in the Heats!
Other "contenders" should be Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Netherlands, Trinidad & Tobago, France, and maybe even China!
Jamaica CREAMED the United States in Moscow, 41.29 to 42.75!
Five teams got under 43 seconds.
Fastest heat was 41.82--by the US of A!!
High Jump--August 29
(WR & MR-6-10.25 or 2.09)
As with the Men, this event has been in a slump in 2015.
Heights well below 2 meters have been winning most of the meets.
Might not change much in Beijing!
Look for Ruth Beitia, Anna Chicherova, Blanka Vlasic, Maria Kuchina, Kamila Licwinko to be the main contenders.
You might add Brits Isabel Pooley and her 18 year old teammate Morgan Lake to that group.
(CORRECTION--I had MORGAN Lake listed as LAURA Lake in my first posting. I've now corrected it! Sorry, Morgan!! BTW, I might have been remembering a long ago friend of mine named.....LAURA Lake!! LOL)
There's also 41 year old Venelina Veneva-Mateeva!
Svetlana Shkolina won Moscow's HJ with 6-8.
She was the only one over 6-7, with 6 making at least 6-5.
800--August 29
(WR-1:53.28 MR-1:54.68)
Those Records are safe!
Eunice Sum won Moscow's Final in just 1:57.38.
If she runs that kind of time here, she'll have LOTS of women around her!
They are Rosemary Almanza, Selina Buchel, Sifan Hassan (Doubling??), Lynsey Sharp, Fabianne Kohlmann, and maybe Caster Semenya.
Americans line up with some question marks.
Brenda Martinez doesn't appear to be the same as when she won the Bronze medal in Moscow.
Alysia Montano is still coming back from giving birth.
Molly Ludlow is maybe the most intriguing.
Her official PR is 1:58.68, run earlier this summer, but she recently ran a male-paced "solo" time trial in a reported 1:57.2!!
Also watch out for rapidly rising Canadian star, Fiona Benson!
Besides Sum, 3 more were under 1:58 in Moscow.
Seven got under 2 minutes.
The fastest Heat & Semi were 1:59.39 and 1:58.92.
Marathon--August 30
(WR-2:15:25 MR-2:20:57)
That MR COULD go, but it won't!
Two Dibaba's--no relation to each other or to T or G--are in the field--Mare and Berhane.
Add Edna Kiplagat, Eunice Kirwa, Jemima Sumgong, Tirfi Tsegaye, and Tigist Tufa.
The Americans won't be serious contenders, but Serena Burla is one of them.
Edna Kiplagat won Moscow's 26.2 in 2:25:44, beating italy's Valeria Straneo, who finished just 14 seconds back.
Two got under 2:26, 3 were under 2:30, while 18 got under 2:40.
Americans finished 9th, 18th, and 23rd.
Javelin Throw--August 30
(WR-237-2 or 72.28 MR-236-2 or 71.98)
Like the Men's DT, this is a relatively weak event with some name veterans.
Leading the way might be Barbara Spotakova, but watch out for Kara Winger, Christina Obergfoll, Kim Mickle, Linda Stahl, Sunetta Viljoen, Martina Ratej, and Maria Ahkumova.
Some Place marks could go.
Obergfoll took Moscow with 226-6.
She was the only thrower past 220 feet!
But 4 got past 210.
No US women made the Final!
5000--August 30
(WR-14:11.15 MR-14:38.59)
If Genzebe Dibaba doesn't run faster than 14:38.59, my faith in Humankind will DIE an ugly death!!
Joking aside, Genzebe SHOULD do it--and maybe in her Heat!!
It's a bit ironic that we're speaking of Genzebe's win as a foregone conclusion, but look out for Almaz Ayana, who actually has a FASTER PR than Ms Dibaba!!
If they decide to slug it out---OHHH BABYYY!!
(Or is that BABY BABY, Genzebe's nickname??)
Viola Kibiwot, Mercy Cherono, Mimi Belete, Irene Cheptai, Sembere Teferi, and Getytom Gebreslase are other fast runners.
None of the Americans have yet broken 15:00, but all 3--Nicole Tully, Marielle Hall, and Abbey D'Agostino are THIS close to doing so!
Meseret Defar won in Moscow in 14:50.19, as three were under 15 minutes.
Fastest Heat was 15:22.94.
The Americans finished 6th, 7th, and 12th.
4X400 Relay--August 30
(WR-3:15.18 MR-3:16.71)
The United States is going to have a KNOCK-OUT quartet--and two of them (SRR and McCorory, as mentioned earlier) will be totally fresh, not having any individual events.
That said, they'd have to be PERFECT to break the WR, and I doubt they will.
The Meet Record, however, COULD go down!
Only Jamaica seems likely to challenge them.
But others to watch are Russia, Great Britain, France, Cuba, and Canada.
Is China a dark horse?
Russia and the US tangled in 2013, with Russia winning, 3:20.19 to 3:20.41..
Four got under 3:27.
Fastest Heat was 3:23.51.
Well, folks, that's IT!!
FINALLY!!
Hope you'll read all 4 posts.
And I hope it helps you enjoy this fantastic meet all the way through its 9 days!
See you in a few days with some of what this blog does best---Records and Marks!!
As noted before, I'm not cheating (by knowing what's happened, or being the recipient of any "inside" knowledge of what's to come), as the following events won't be happening for another 5 days.
Anyway, without further ado, here's the remainder of the Women's events.
Hammer Throw--August 27
(WR-266-0 or 81.08 MR-258-6 or 78.80)
Anita (Punk Rocker) Wlodarczyk won't only win, she could very well SHATTER her own recently-set World Record.
As for the MR, that very well could fall in Qualifying!!
(BTW, I nicknamed her "Punk Rocker" because of her spiky hairdo, not because I know what her musical tastes are! LOL)
Anyway, back to what's REALLY important here!
Will she suffer the same fate as a former WR holder--Betty Heidler--did awhile back?
Meaning, will she fail to qualify for the Final?
Of course NOT!!
That said, the only real question is--How FAR??!!
It wouldn't shock me if she reaches 270 feet (82.30).
The Hammer's DEPTH is less than in previous years, but Anita does have a few wannabe's to watch out for.
Leading them might be the aforementioned Betty Heidler, who almost certainly WILL make the Finals here!
Others include Martina Hrasnova, Kathrin Klaas, and China's Zheng Wang and Wenxiu Zhang.
How will the Americans fare?
None have reached 240 feet yet this year, but Amber Campbell shows promise.
Some Place marks might fall.
Tatyana Lysenko won Moscow with 258-6, beating Wlodarczyk's 257-5.
Those 2 were the only ones over 250, but 6 made it past 240 feet.
Two Americans finished 9th and 10th two years ago!
400--August 27
(WR-47.60 MR-47.99)
Forget any Records!
And forget seeing Sanya Richards-Ross (SRR) or Francena McCorory here either!
At least in this OPEN 400.
(Both of them WILL run in the 4X400 Relay!!)
Without those 2, this race leaves Allyson Felix to show what she can do at twice her normal distance!
I say she can break the World Record---some day---IF she wanted to!
Others think I'm nuts for saying that!
That said, Felix WILL have some serious competition.
Leading them COULD be Shaunae Miller, who seems to have unlimited potential at this distance, and has already broken 50 seconds.
But veterans Natasha Hastings, Novlene Williams-Mills, Stephanie McPherson, and Christine Ohuruogu will try to prevent an early take-over of their vaunted positions.
Ohuruogu won Moscow in the same time as Silver winner Amantle Montsho, both running 49.41.
Four went sub-50.
Fastest Heat was 50.20.
All 3 Semi's were sub-50, the fastest being 49.56.
20000 Walk--August 28
(WR-1:24:38 OR 1:24:50!! MR-1:25:41)
There's some question as to the actual WR time, but it really doesn't matter here, as it ain't going to be broken!
And maybe not the MR either.
Liu Hong, owner of that 1:24:38 time, is here.
That time hasn't been ratified yet, but I doubt the conditions will be suitable for her to come close to that kind of mark.
Two other Chinese could challenge--Lu Xiuzhi and Qieyang Shenjie.
The top American--Maria Michta-Coffey--actually LOST at USATF to Miranda Melville, who's also here.
But if anyone is going to place better than Michta's own 34th place finish in Moscow, it will be the now-married Michta-Coffey!
Yelena Lashmanova won Moscow's race in 1:27:08.
Top 20 would be a good forward advance for Maria!
100H--August 28
(WR-12.21 MR-12.28)
This USATF Final should be........
Wait a minute, Buddy, this AIN'T the USATF meet, it's the WC!!
Okay, okay, jokes aside, the Final in Beijing is going to LOOK like the USATF Final!!
Not only with true Americans like Sharika Nelvis, Kendra Harrison, Dawn Harper-Nelson, and Brianna Rollins, but with "expatriates" (and sisters!!) Tiffany Porter and Cindy Ofili, both of whom are representing Great Britain here!
Some Place records could be broken.
BIG question!
In Sally Pearson's absence, Australia's fastest 100H Woman is--trumpets, please!--none other than You Tube fave Michelle Jenneke.
Don't laugh!
She's improved mightily in 2015, cutting her time from around 13.30 to 12.82, becoming Australia's 2nd fastest All-Time--behind Pearson!!
Soooooo.....will she make it to the Final?
We shall see!
Rollins beat Pearson in 2013, 12.44 to 12.50.
Only Rollins got under 12.50, with 4 making it under 12.60.
Fastest Heat & Semi were 12.55 and 12.50.
Long Jump--August 28
(WR-24-8.50 or 7.53 MR-24-1.75 or 7.36)
Expect the above Records to remain the same!
Brittney Reese, who has threatened 24 feet in years past, doesn't seem as sharp this year.
That equalizes things a bit, giving Tianna Bartoletta, Christabel Nettey, Ivana Spanovic, Darya Klishina, Janay DeLoach Soukup, and Shara Proctor a fair chance to medal.
Reese won Moscow with 23 feet even.
But 8 leaped at least 22 feet!
200--August 28
(WR-21.34 MR-21.74)
Allyson Felix, as I noted earlier, says she's NOT doubling, opting for the 400 only in individual events.
And SAFP says she IS doubling, with her 2nd event being this one!
With a 10.70 PR in the 100, you would think she could run at least 21.80.
But she's yet to break even 22, let alone 2 or 3 tenths faster!!
But the potential remains, IMHO.
So don't be too shocked to see her winning time beginning with 21.
That said, she has some VERY serious challengers, all in the 22.0 to 22.3 range.
They are Candyce McGrone, Dafne Schippers, Shaunae Miller, Jeneba Tarmoh, Blessing Okagbare, VCB, and Jenna Prandini.
Add to that group Jamaica's newest "name", Elaine Thompson, who's run 22.10.
I don't have the final heat sheets for this event yet, but the entry list posted on August 15th by the IAAF has 17 year old phenom Kaylin Whitney listed in the 200.
But I doubt she'll run, as she's officially slated for the sprint Relay.
SAFP won Moscow in 22.17.
Only 3 were faster than 22.70!
Allyson Felix was injured in the Final, not finishing, but she had the fastest Heat and Semi times of 22.59 and 22.30.
4X100 Relay--August 29
(WR-40.82 MR-41.29)
I mentioned Kaylin Whitney as a member of the Sprint Relay quartet.
But I don't know if she'll run in the Final.
If she does---and she DID run with some BIG American vets earlier this year!!--she won't slow the US team down.
They have a shot at the MR, but the WR is just too fast!
Jamaica, as ever, will be their main opponent---assuming both teams get the stick around in the Heats!
Other "contenders" should be Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Netherlands, Trinidad & Tobago, France, and maybe even China!
Jamaica CREAMED the United States in Moscow, 41.29 to 42.75!
Five teams got under 43 seconds.
Fastest heat was 41.82--by the US of A!!
High Jump--August 29
(WR & MR-6-10.25 or 2.09)
As with the Men, this event has been in a slump in 2015.
Heights well below 2 meters have been winning most of the meets.
Might not change much in Beijing!
Look for Ruth Beitia, Anna Chicherova, Blanka Vlasic, Maria Kuchina, Kamila Licwinko to be the main contenders.
You might add Brits Isabel Pooley and her 18 year old teammate Morgan Lake to that group.
(CORRECTION--I had MORGAN Lake listed as LAURA Lake in my first posting. I've now corrected it! Sorry, Morgan!! BTW, I might have been remembering a long ago friend of mine named.....LAURA Lake!! LOL)
There's also 41 year old Venelina Veneva-Mateeva!
Svetlana Shkolina won Moscow's HJ with 6-8.
She was the only one over 6-7, with 6 making at least 6-5.
800--August 29
(WR-1:53.28 MR-1:54.68)
Those Records are safe!
Eunice Sum won Moscow's Final in just 1:57.38.
If she runs that kind of time here, she'll have LOTS of women around her!
They are Rosemary Almanza, Selina Buchel, Sifan Hassan (Doubling??), Lynsey Sharp, Fabianne Kohlmann, and maybe Caster Semenya.
Americans line up with some question marks.
Brenda Martinez doesn't appear to be the same as when she won the Bronze medal in Moscow.
Alysia Montano is still coming back from giving birth.
Molly Ludlow is maybe the most intriguing.
Her official PR is 1:58.68, run earlier this summer, but she recently ran a male-paced "solo" time trial in a reported 1:57.2!!
Also watch out for rapidly rising Canadian star, Fiona Benson!
Besides Sum, 3 more were under 1:58 in Moscow.
Seven got under 2 minutes.
The fastest Heat & Semi were 1:59.39 and 1:58.92.
Marathon--August 30
(WR-2:15:25 MR-2:20:57)
That MR COULD go, but it won't!
Two Dibaba's--no relation to each other or to T or G--are in the field--Mare and Berhane.
Add Edna Kiplagat, Eunice Kirwa, Jemima Sumgong, Tirfi Tsegaye, and Tigist Tufa.
The Americans won't be serious contenders, but Serena Burla is one of them.
Edna Kiplagat won Moscow's 26.2 in 2:25:44, beating italy's Valeria Straneo, who finished just 14 seconds back.
Two got under 2:26, 3 were under 2:30, while 18 got under 2:40.
Americans finished 9th, 18th, and 23rd.
Javelin Throw--August 30
(WR-237-2 or 72.28 MR-236-2 or 71.98)
Like the Men's DT, this is a relatively weak event with some name veterans.
Leading the way might be Barbara Spotakova, but watch out for Kara Winger, Christina Obergfoll, Kim Mickle, Linda Stahl, Sunetta Viljoen, Martina Ratej, and Maria Ahkumova.
Some Place marks could go.
Obergfoll took Moscow with 226-6.
She was the only thrower past 220 feet!
But 4 got past 210.
No US women made the Final!
5000--August 30
(WR-14:11.15 MR-14:38.59)
If Genzebe Dibaba doesn't run faster than 14:38.59, my faith in Humankind will DIE an ugly death!!
Joking aside, Genzebe SHOULD do it--and maybe in her Heat!!
It's a bit ironic that we're speaking of Genzebe's win as a foregone conclusion, but look out for Almaz Ayana, who actually has a FASTER PR than Ms Dibaba!!
If they decide to slug it out---OHHH BABYYY!!
(Or is that BABY BABY, Genzebe's nickname??)
Viola Kibiwot, Mercy Cherono, Mimi Belete, Irene Cheptai, Sembere Teferi, and Getytom Gebreslase are other fast runners.
None of the Americans have yet broken 15:00, but all 3--Nicole Tully, Marielle Hall, and Abbey D'Agostino are THIS close to doing so!
Meseret Defar won in Moscow in 14:50.19, as three were under 15 minutes.
Fastest Heat was 15:22.94.
The Americans finished 6th, 7th, and 12th.
4X400 Relay--August 30
(WR-3:15.18 MR-3:16.71)
The United States is going to have a KNOCK-OUT quartet--and two of them (SRR and McCorory, as mentioned earlier) will be totally fresh, not having any individual events.
That said, they'd have to be PERFECT to break the WR, and I doubt they will.
The Meet Record, however, COULD go down!
Only Jamaica seems likely to challenge them.
But others to watch are Russia, Great Britain, France, Cuba, and Canada.
Is China a dark horse?
Russia and the US tangled in 2013, with Russia winning, 3:20.19 to 3:20.41..
Four got under 3:27.
Fastest Heat was 3:23.51.
Well, folks, that's IT!!
FINALLY!!
Hope you'll read all 4 posts.
And I hope it helps you enjoy this fantastic meet all the way through its 9 days!
See you in a few days with some of what this blog does best---Records and Marks!!
Friday, August 21, 2015
2015 World Championships Preview--Women (Part 1)
Much to do before the start of the Men's Marathon, so better get to it!
(This two-part Women's section will take about 4--maybe 5--hours. But since the first Women's event doesn't begin for another 3 and a half hours or so, I'll have these posted BEFORE that, so it won't be cheating!!)
The same format is used here as with the Men! (See Part 1 of the Men's for my Notes on that!)
Heptathlon--August 22nd & 23rd
(WR-7291 MR-7128)
As was noted in the title of this event's thread on the T&FN Message Board, this event is really a Battle of the Hyphens.
Meaning, the top 3 contenders SHOULD be Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and returning-from pregnancy Jessica Ennis-Hill.
These 3 are otherwise known as BTE, KJT, and JEH.
The World Record and Meet Record are out of the picture.
But it wouldn't be a shocker to see at least one of these women tipping over the 7000 points barrier.
Others who should be respectable are Barbara Nwaba, Nadine Visser, Nadine Broersen, Karolina Tyminski, Nafastou Thiam, Sharon Day-Monroe (one more hyphen!!), and even Erica Bougard, although she's had a long Collegiate season!
Some Place marks might go down!
Eleven here have PR's of 6500 or more, 26 have PR's over 6200, and 34 have PR's over 6000.
Hanna Melnychenko won Moscow with 6586, beating BTE's 6530.
Those 2 were the only ones over 6500, but 8 made it over 6300, and 17 over 6000.
Top American was 6th.
Shot Put--August 22
(WR-74-3 or 22.63 MR-69-8.25 or 21.24)
Valerie Adams ain't here.
She's at home in New Zealand recovering from a THIRD surgery!!
That clears the way for Christina Schwanitz.
But watch out for Michelle Carter, Natalia Mikhnevich, and China;s own Li Gong, who should be a MASSIVE crowd favorite!
Adams won Moscow with 68-6.
She was the only one over 67 feet, but 5 got past 65, and 7 past 60 feet!
Triple Jump--August 24
(WR & MR-50-10.25 or 15.50)
Caterine Ibarguen leads the field, and if she had some wind and maybe some heated competition, she MIGHT get close to the World & Meet Record.
But don't hold your breath!
Olga Saladukha, Ekaterine Koneva, and maybe Olga Rypakova could give her some heat.
The latter has a lifetime PR of 15.25, but she's reached just 14.48 this year!
The lone American, Christina Epps, has a PR that ranks her 27th out of 28 in the field!
Ibarguen won Moscow with a jump of 48-8.75.
Three got over 48 feet.
No American made the Final.
Don't expect anything different here!
100--August 24
(WR-10.49 MR-10.70)
Not quite the legend that her Countryman Bolt is, nonetheless, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce (SAFP) is maybe a more solid favorite here than "HE" is!
That MR could get kicked out the Nest (pun very much intended!).
Earlier this year saw a mass of 10.8 times.
Several of them were run by English Gardner, Tori Bowie, Murietta Ahoure, Blessing Okagbare, and Michelle Lee-Ayhe.
Add Jasmine Todd, Dafne Schippers, Jeneba Tarmoh, Veronica Campbell-Brown (VCB), and Sherone Simpson.
Khalifa St Fort is just 17, and still in High School!
Some Place marks could fall.
SAFP cleaned Ahoure's clock in Moscow, winning in 10.71 over Ahoure's 10.93.
Five dipped under 11 seconds.
The fastest Heat & Semi were 10.94 and 10.87.
10000--August 24
(WR-29:31.78 MR-30:04.18)
This event is missing the "Big Guns".
No Tirunesh Dibaba.
No Meseret Defar.
And no Almaz Ayana or Genzebe Dibaba (who could probably DESTROY the WR if she wanted to!!).
But it does have a seemingly healthy and in-shape Vivian Cheruiyot!
Add Geleta Burka, Sally Kipyego, Alamitu Haroye, Betsy Saina, Mamitu Daska, and Belaynesh Oljira to the mix.
And what will Americans Shalane Flanagan and Molly Huddle do?
They COULD invade the other's territory!
Watch also for Susan Kuijken!
No Records here.
(I'd be shocked--I say SHOCKED!--if there were!)
Tirunesh won it all in 2013, timed in 30:43.35.
Four were under 30:50, and one more under 31:00.
Americans finished 8th, 12th, and 14th.
Discus Throw--August 25
(WR-252-0 or 76.80 MR-235-0 or 71.62)
In another year, this might be a Coronation for Sandra Perkovic.
But she's not as "HOT" as in the past, so watch for Denia Caballero to challenge her.
Also watch for Gia Lewis-Smallwood, Dani Samuels, and Nadine Muller.
A dark horse could be Shelbi Vaughan, but just for Top 6 or so!
Perky (HAHA!) won Moscow with 223-0.
She was the only one over 220 feet.
Five got past 210.
Top American was 5th!
1500--August 25
This event should receive AT LEAST as much attention as the Bolt-Gatlin circus!
For one reason.
Her name is Genzebe Dibaba.
She's going to double, she says.
This is her first event.
Questions:
Does she GUN it from the gun--and disappear?
Does anyone DARE follow her?
If she turns out to be a tiny bit HUMAN, watch for the top two Americans, Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson, to challenge.
Add Sifan Hassan, and you've got yourself a RACE!
The WR is out of the question!
The Meet Record SHOULD fall---and maybe it will happen in a SEMI!!
Other players should be Faith Kipyegon, Abeba Aregawi, Dawit Seyaum, Tatyana Tomashova, Laura Muir, and Maureen Koster--the latter two recently under 4:00 for the 1st time!
The other Americans?
Both Kerri Gallagher's and Lauren Johnson's PR's are 7th best in their respective heats!
Only the first 6 automatically qualify for the Semi's.
Amana Bakhit of Sudan has a PR of 4:19.51, but her 2015 best is over a minute slower--5:22.27!!
WHY is she here??
Aregawi beat Simpson in 2013, 4:02.67 to 4:02.99.
Four got under 4:05 then.
Genzebe Dibaba was just 8th in 4:05.99.
She'd run her Semi in 4:05.23.
Then-17 year old Mary Cain ran HER semi in 4:05.21!
The fastest Heat was 4:06.78, the fastest Semi was 4:04.82.
Pole Vault--August 26
(WR-16-7.25 or 5.06 MR-16-5.25 or 5.01)
Maybe not at WR or MR level, but this event COULD be one of the best of the entire meet!
There are several women in the 15-5 (4.70) or higher territory.
If none of them No Height, and if they're all "ON", watch out!
Yarisley Silva has been on fire, with the only 16 footer of the year.
But not far behind are Jenn Suhr, Fabiana Murer, Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou, Silke Spiegelburg, and Anzhelika Sidorova.
Add on former Collegiate studs, Demi Payne and Sandi Morris, and local favorite Ling Li, and you've got yourself a competition!
Place marks could go down!
The "Missing One", aka Yelena Isinbayeva, won in Moscow with 16-0.50 over Jenn Suhr's 15-9.75.
She was the only American in that Final!
Seven got over 15 feet!
400H--August 26
(WR-52.34 MR-52.42)
This one seems more wide open than most events.
Zuzana Hejnova seems back in top shape, but Kaliese Spencer, Shamier Little, and Sara Petersen have run some good times.
There's also the veteran, Natalya Antyukh, but she's nowhere near her 52.70 PR, having run just 55.92 in 2015--so far!
Kori Carter and Cassandra Tate are the other Americans who might surprise.
This is generally a young person's event, so 36 year old Naroa Agvire stands out a bit.
Hejnova won Moscow in 52,83.
She was the only one under 54 seconds!
Fastest Heat was 54.42.
Fastest Semi was 53.52.
3000 Steeplechase--August 26
(WR-8:58.81 MR-9:06.57)
Here's another wide open event.
Because they're so close in talent, going for a fast time probably won't be in the cards.
But because of that very same talent, the MR could fall!
And American Emma Coburn could WIN!!
Not as fast or as sharp as in 2014, when she set the American Record with her 9:11.42, she nonetheless is no worse than any other major player.
Those include Habiba Ghribi, Hiwot Ayalew, Virginia Nyambura, Sofia Assefa, Etanesh Diro, and Hyvin Jepkemoi.
Add youngster Ruth Jebet--age 18--and maybe even new Jamaican, Aisha Praught, and you have a RACE!
New Place marks could be set!
Milcah Chemos won in 2013 in 9:11.65.
Five were under 9:20.
The fastest Heat was 9:24.02.
No Americans made the Final!!
That will certainly change in 2015!!
And that's it for the first part of this 2-part Women's Preview.
However---I will NOT be doing Part 2 right now.
It's just over a half hour until the start of the Men's Marathon--and the first Morning Session of the meet.
But I WILL have it posted for your reading pleasure soon after the end of the Morning Session!
It won't be cheating, since the events I'll be previewing don't begin until August 27th!!
So look for Part 2 sometime tonight!!
Meanwhile, enjoy these 3 posts---AND watching the meet!!
(This two-part Women's section will take about 4--maybe 5--hours. But since the first Women's event doesn't begin for another 3 and a half hours or so, I'll have these posted BEFORE that, so it won't be cheating!!)
The same format is used here as with the Men! (See Part 1 of the Men's for my Notes on that!)
Heptathlon--August 22nd & 23rd
(WR-7291 MR-7128)
As was noted in the title of this event's thread on the T&FN Message Board, this event is really a Battle of the Hyphens.
Meaning, the top 3 contenders SHOULD be Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and returning-from pregnancy Jessica Ennis-Hill.
These 3 are otherwise known as BTE, KJT, and JEH.
The World Record and Meet Record are out of the picture.
But it wouldn't be a shocker to see at least one of these women tipping over the 7000 points barrier.
Others who should be respectable are Barbara Nwaba, Nadine Visser, Nadine Broersen, Karolina Tyminski, Nafastou Thiam, Sharon Day-Monroe (one more hyphen!!), and even Erica Bougard, although she's had a long Collegiate season!
Some Place marks might go down!
Eleven here have PR's of 6500 or more, 26 have PR's over 6200, and 34 have PR's over 6000.
Hanna Melnychenko won Moscow with 6586, beating BTE's 6530.
Those 2 were the only ones over 6500, but 8 made it over 6300, and 17 over 6000.
Top American was 6th.
Shot Put--August 22
(WR-74-3 or 22.63 MR-69-8.25 or 21.24)
Valerie Adams ain't here.
She's at home in New Zealand recovering from a THIRD surgery!!
That clears the way for Christina Schwanitz.
But watch out for Michelle Carter, Natalia Mikhnevich, and China;s own Li Gong, who should be a MASSIVE crowd favorite!
Adams won Moscow with 68-6.
She was the only one over 67 feet, but 5 got past 65, and 7 past 60 feet!
Triple Jump--August 24
(WR & MR-50-10.25 or 15.50)
Caterine Ibarguen leads the field, and if she had some wind and maybe some heated competition, she MIGHT get close to the World & Meet Record.
But don't hold your breath!
Olga Saladukha, Ekaterine Koneva, and maybe Olga Rypakova could give her some heat.
The latter has a lifetime PR of 15.25, but she's reached just 14.48 this year!
The lone American, Christina Epps, has a PR that ranks her 27th out of 28 in the field!
Ibarguen won Moscow with a jump of 48-8.75.
Three got over 48 feet.
No American made the Final.
Don't expect anything different here!
100--August 24
(WR-10.49 MR-10.70)
Not quite the legend that her Countryman Bolt is, nonetheless, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce (SAFP) is maybe a more solid favorite here than "HE" is!
That MR could get kicked out the Nest (pun very much intended!).
Earlier this year saw a mass of 10.8 times.
Several of them were run by English Gardner, Tori Bowie, Murietta Ahoure, Blessing Okagbare, and Michelle Lee-Ayhe.
Add Jasmine Todd, Dafne Schippers, Jeneba Tarmoh, Veronica Campbell-Brown (VCB), and Sherone Simpson.
Khalifa St Fort is just 17, and still in High School!
Some Place marks could fall.
SAFP cleaned Ahoure's clock in Moscow, winning in 10.71 over Ahoure's 10.93.
Five dipped under 11 seconds.
The fastest Heat & Semi were 10.94 and 10.87.
10000--August 24
(WR-29:31.78 MR-30:04.18)
This event is missing the "Big Guns".
No Tirunesh Dibaba.
No Meseret Defar.
And no Almaz Ayana or Genzebe Dibaba (who could probably DESTROY the WR if she wanted to!!).
But it does have a seemingly healthy and in-shape Vivian Cheruiyot!
Add Geleta Burka, Sally Kipyego, Alamitu Haroye, Betsy Saina, Mamitu Daska, and Belaynesh Oljira to the mix.
And what will Americans Shalane Flanagan and Molly Huddle do?
They COULD invade the other's territory!
Watch also for Susan Kuijken!
No Records here.
(I'd be shocked--I say SHOCKED!--if there were!)
Tirunesh won it all in 2013, timed in 30:43.35.
Four were under 30:50, and one more under 31:00.
Americans finished 8th, 12th, and 14th.
Discus Throw--August 25
(WR-252-0 or 76.80 MR-235-0 or 71.62)
In another year, this might be a Coronation for Sandra Perkovic.
But she's not as "HOT" as in the past, so watch for Denia Caballero to challenge her.
Also watch for Gia Lewis-Smallwood, Dani Samuels, and Nadine Muller.
A dark horse could be Shelbi Vaughan, but just for Top 6 or so!
Perky (HAHA!) won Moscow with 223-0.
She was the only one over 220 feet.
Five got past 210.
Top American was 5th!
1500--August 25
This event should receive AT LEAST as much attention as the Bolt-Gatlin circus!
For one reason.
Her name is Genzebe Dibaba.
She's going to double, she says.
This is her first event.
Questions:
Does she GUN it from the gun--and disappear?
Does anyone DARE follow her?
If she turns out to be a tiny bit HUMAN, watch for the top two Americans, Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson, to challenge.
Add Sifan Hassan, and you've got yourself a RACE!
The WR is out of the question!
The Meet Record SHOULD fall---and maybe it will happen in a SEMI!!
Other players should be Faith Kipyegon, Abeba Aregawi, Dawit Seyaum, Tatyana Tomashova, Laura Muir, and Maureen Koster--the latter two recently under 4:00 for the 1st time!
The other Americans?
Both Kerri Gallagher's and Lauren Johnson's PR's are 7th best in their respective heats!
Only the first 6 automatically qualify for the Semi's.
Amana Bakhit of Sudan has a PR of 4:19.51, but her 2015 best is over a minute slower--5:22.27!!
WHY is she here??
Aregawi beat Simpson in 2013, 4:02.67 to 4:02.99.
Four got under 4:05 then.
Genzebe Dibaba was just 8th in 4:05.99.
She'd run her Semi in 4:05.23.
Then-17 year old Mary Cain ran HER semi in 4:05.21!
The fastest Heat was 4:06.78, the fastest Semi was 4:04.82.
Pole Vault--August 26
(WR-16-7.25 or 5.06 MR-16-5.25 or 5.01)
Maybe not at WR or MR level, but this event COULD be one of the best of the entire meet!
There are several women in the 15-5 (4.70) or higher territory.
If none of them No Height, and if they're all "ON", watch out!
Yarisley Silva has been on fire, with the only 16 footer of the year.
But not far behind are Jenn Suhr, Fabiana Murer, Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou, Silke Spiegelburg, and Anzhelika Sidorova.
Add on former Collegiate studs, Demi Payne and Sandi Morris, and local favorite Ling Li, and you've got yourself a competition!
Place marks could go down!
The "Missing One", aka Yelena Isinbayeva, won in Moscow with 16-0.50 over Jenn Suhr's 15-9.75.
She was the only American in that Final!
Seven got over 15 feet!
400H--August 26
(WR-52.34 MR-52.42)
This one seems more wide open than most events.
Zuzana Hejnova seems back in top shape, but Kaliese Spencer, Shamier Little, and Sara Petersen have run some good times.
There's also the veteran, Natalya Antyukh, but she's nowhere near her 52.70 PR, having run just 55.92 in 2015--so far!
Kori Carter and Cassandra Tate are the other Americans who might surprise.
This is generally a young person's event, so 36 year old Naroa Agvire stands out a bit.
Hejnova won Moscow in 52,83.
She was the only one under 54 seconds!
Fastest Heat was 54.42.
Fastest Semi was 53.52.
3000 Steeplechase--August 26
(WR-8:58.81 MR-9:06.57)
Here's another wide open event.
Because they're so close in talent, going for a fast time probably won't be in the cards.
But because of that very same talent, the MR could fall!
And American Emma Coburn could WIN!!
Not as fast or as sharp as in 2014, when she set the American Record with her 9:11.42, she nonetheless is no worse than any other major player.
Those include Habiba Ghribi, Hiwot Ayalew, Virginia Nyambura, Sofia Assefa, Etanesh Diro, and Hyvin Jepkemoi.
Add youngster Ruth Jebet--age 18--and maybe even new Jamaican, Aisha Praught, and you have a RACE!
New Place marks could be set!
Milcah Chemos won in 2013 in 9:11.65.
Five were under 9:20.
The fastest Heat was 9:24.02.
No Americans made the Final!!
That will certainly change in 2015!!
And that's it for the first part of this 2-part Women's Preview.
However---I will NOT be doing Part 2 right now.
It's just over a half hour until the start of the Men's Marathon--and the first Morning Session of the meet.
But I WILL have it posted for your reading pleasure soon after the end of the Morning Session!
It won't be cheating, since the events I'll be previewing don't begin until August 27th!!
So look for Part 2 sometime tonight!!
Meanwhile, enjoy these 3 posts---AND watching the meet!!
2015 World Championships Preview--Men (Part 2)
Here's the 2nd section of my Men's WC Preview.
This one covers all the events whose Finals are from August 27th-30th.
Hope you enjoyed the first section!
(This follows the same format. See my Notes at the top of the 1st section!)
Triple Jump--August 27
(WR & MR-60-0.25 or 18.29)
Christian Taylor and PPPP (aka Pablo Pedro etc Pichardo) have the talent, youth, and momentum to challenge, if not break, the World and Meet Records, which are one and the same!
It would take a HUGE jump forward--about 9 or 10 inches past their PR's--but the Bird's Nest configuration--barring most of whatever wind there is--doesn't help.
Those two are a world apart from the rest.
However, Omar Craddock is having HIS year, and could go over 58 feet--even approach 59!
Others to watch are Will Claye, Marquis Dendy, and Manuel Oprea.
Teddy Tamgho (NOT here!!) beat Pichardo in Moscow with a jump of 59-2.25.
Pichardo reached just 58-0.25 then!
A 3rd athlete made it over 57 feet!
200--August 27
(WR & MR-19.19)
Yes, they're BAAACKKK!!
Justin and Usain are back for an encore!
(How was their first act??)
A different set of players are behind them--Rasheed Dwyer, Wallace Spearmon, Warren Weir, Chris Lemaitre, Alonso Edward, Isaiah Young, Anaso Jobodwana, Femi Ogunode, and Churandy Martina.
Forget any World or Meet Records!!
Bolt won Moscow in 19.66 over Weir's 19.79.
They were the only 2 under 20.
The fastest Heat was 20.17, while 19.97 won the fastest Semi!
Decathlon--August 28 & 29
(WR-9039 MR-8902)
Some people are suggesting an Ashton Eaton score of as much as 9300 points!!
Others suggest a WR, but more in the "human" realm!
Yet he COULD have had the London Olympic Games Meet Record, but decided to "jog" the 1500, thus missing the MR by a single digits point total!
Plus, he hasn't done a full Deca this year---or last!!
That said, I can EASILY see a World Record here!!
And almost 100% certain that Meet Record is a GONER!!
His challengers include Trey Hardee, Damian Warner, Michael Schrader, Eelso Sintnicolaas, and Kevin Mayer.
Eaton won Moscow with 8809.
There were 3 over 8500, 13 over 8300, and 17 over 8000.
110H--August 28
(WR-12.80 MR-12.91)
Word's out that WR holder Aries Merritt--who is in this field!!--will be undergoing a kidney transplant (!!!!!) soon after the meet!!
It's utterly AMAZING he's going to run here!!
But don't look for him to medal, or even make it to the Final!
(I hope I'm wrong!!)
David Oliver, Omar McLeod, Pascal Martinot-Legarde, Hansle Parchment, Sergey Shubenkov, Aleec Harris, and Ronnie Ash should be the main contenders, with Merritt, as noted, a question mark.
The MR has a SLIGHT chance of going down!
Also, maybe some Place marks!
Oliver won Moscow in 13.00.
Two were under 13.20.
Oliver won his Heat in the fastest Heat time ever, 13.05!!
The fastest Semi was 13.17.
50000 Walk--August 29
(WR-3:32:33 MR-3:36:03)
Walkers, for some reason, don't seem as affected by heat as Marathon runners.
Thus, the Meet Record could fall here.
(Yohan Diniz, the WR holder, isn't here!)
Look for Matej Toth to lead the way.
Jesus Garcia is the oldest entrant at 45!!
John Nunn, who finished LAST (46th place) in Moscow in 4:34:55, has the slowest PR in the field!!
That Moscow race was won in 3:37:56 by Robert Heffernan.
There were 2 under 3:40, 16 under 3:50, and 36 under 4 hours!
5000--August 29
(WR-12:37.35 MR-12:52.79)
I keep repeating myself, saying Big Meet distance records CAN go down.
Then I see Mo Farah's name on the list of entrants, and ZOOM!, there goes my dream!!
And ZOOM goes MoBot---in the final 150 meters of any race he runs!
Unless Degen Gebremeskal, Hagos Gebrhiwet, Isiah Koech, Albert Rop, Edwin Soi, Imane Merga, Caleb Ndiku, Nick Willis, or even Mo's NOP teammate, Galen Rupp, decide to challenge him!
But forget Rupp as a player.
Insert Ben True in his place as the best American in Beijing's 5K.
(He has only the 13th fastest PR, however!)
Ali Kaya is a dark horse!
Mo jogged to his Moscow Gold in 13:26.98.
Maybe he should recruit Genzebe Dibaba to pace him through the first half!!
In Moscow, 8 finished under 13:30.
The Heat & Semi were faster than Mo's Final--13:20.82 & 13:23.22.
Discus Throw--August 29
(WR-243-0 or 74.06 MR-230-2 or 70.15)
Despite the BIG names of Piotr Malackowski, Gerd Kanter, Robert Harting, Ehsan Hadadi, and Zoltan Kovago, this might be one of the "worst" events of the meet.
No Records seem ready for the chopping block!
Harting won Moscow with 226-9.
Two got over 220 feet.
NO Americans made the Final!
High Jump--August 30
(WR-8-0.50 or 2.45 MR-7-10.75 or 2.41)
Too bad this meet wasn't held in 2014!!
In the "Year of the High Jump", the World and Meet Records both would have been challenged!!
By SEVERAL athletes!!
But things seem to have dried up in this event in 2015.
Mutaz Barshim, who normally would be THE star here, has been in a MAJOR slump recently.
Can he revive himself here?
Will Bogdan Bondarenko ALSO return to form?
Look also for Derek Drouin, Erik Kynard, Gianmarco Tamberi, Andrey Protsenko, Ivan Ukhov, Robbie Grabarz, Jesse Williams, and even "new" American star JaCorian Duffield, to "rise" (pun intended!!) to the occasion!!
And the meet being held in China, don't forget Guomei Zhang as a possible contender with overwhelming home country support!!
Place marks MIGHT fall.
Bondarenko won Moscow with a jump of 7-10.75!
There were 7 over 7-7!
1500--August 30
(WR-3:26.00 MR-3:27.65)
Can we transport the Monaco DL race to the Bird's Nest---PLEASE??
You remember that one, right?
Asbel Kiprop winning in 3:26.69, over a field where Matt Centrowitz took 10th in 3:30.40!!
POP goes THAT bubble!!
Yet the WC Meet Record IS 3:27.65!
And with Kiprop in this field--and with many/most/all??--of that Monaco field here--who knows what might happen?!
Taoufik Makhloufi, Abdelelah Iguider, Nick Willis, Silas Kiplagat, Ayanleh Souleiman, Elijah Manangir, and Aman Wote, as well as Centro, are the ones to watch.
Souleiman apparently has decided to NOT double, dropping from the 800, so he might be a bigger factor here than if he were doubling.
Kiprop beat Centro in Moscow, 3:36.28 to 3:36.78.
The fastest Heat was 3:38.15.
Fastest Semi was 3:35.88.
(That Semi section had EIGHT under 3:37, whereas only 4 got under 3:37 in the Final!!)
4X100 Relay--August 30
(WR-36.84 MR-37.04)
Here we go---AGAIN!!
According to rumors and gossip, Gatlin and that other guy are due to battle it out on the anchor legs of this Relay!
IF---and for the US, that's NOT an insignificant "if"!!--IF the US gets the baton around the track, look for a Battle Royal between the US and Jamaica---for the Gold, and maybe even for the World Record!!
The other teams to watch for---with a telescope??--are Japan, Antigua, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, France, Brazil, Great Britain, and yes, China!
Jamaica beat the US 37.36 to 37.66 in Moscow's final.
Three teams got under 38.00.
The fastest Heat was 38.06.
4X400 Relay--August 30
(WR & MR-2:54.29)
Despite a few sub-44 guys this year, forget that World & Meet Record going down!
(Too bad all those sub-44's weren't on the same team!!)
The US, Bahamas, Belgium (the Borlee clan + one!!), Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Great Britain, France, Brazil, Cuba, Poland, and Russia will battle for Finals spots and medals.
The US won Moscow in 2:58.71.
Three teams were under 3:00.
The fastest Heat was 2:59.85.
And that's a WRAP for the MEN!!
Watch for the first of two WOMEN'S Previews to follow in 2 to 3 hours!!
This one covers all the events whose Finals are from August 27th-30th.
Hope you enjoyed the first section!
(This follows the same format. See my Notes at the top of the 1st section!)
Triple Jump--August 27
(WR & MR-60-0.25 or 18.29)
Christian Taylor and PPPP (aka Pablo Pedro etc Pichardo) have the talent, youth, and momentum to challenge, if not break, the World and Meet Records, which are one and the same!
It would take a HUGE jump forward--about 9 or 10 inches past their PR's--but the Bird's Nest configuration--barring most of whatever wind there is--doesn't help.
Those two are a world apart from the rest.
However, Omar Craddock is having HIS year, and could go over 58 feet--even approach 59!
Others to watch are Will Claye, Marquis Dendy, and Manuel Oprea.
Teddy Tamgho (NOT here!!) beat Pichardo in Moscow with a jump of 59-2.25.
Pichardo reached just 58-0.25 then!
A 3rd athlete made it over 57 feet!
200--August 27
(WR & MR-19.19)
Yes, they're BAAACKKK!!
Justin and Usain are back for an encore!
(How was their first act??)
A different set of players are behind them--Rasheed Dwyer, Wallace Spearmon, Warren Weir, Chris Lemaitre, Alonso Edward, Isaiah Young, Anaso Jobodwana, Femi Ogunode, and Churandy Martina.
Forget any World or Meet Records!!
Bolt won Moscow in 19.66 over Weir's 19.79.
They were the only 2 under 20.
The fastest Heat was 20.17, while 19.97 won the fastest Semi!
Decathlon--August 28 & 29
(WR-9039 MR-8902)
Some people are suggesting an Ashton Eaton score of as much as 9300 points!!
Others suggest a WR, but more in the "human" realm!
Yet he COULD have had the London Olympic Games Meet Record, but decided to "jog" the 1500, thus missing the MR by a single digits point total!
Plus, he hasn't done a full Deca this year---or last!!
That said, I can EASILY see a World Record here!!
And almost 100% certain that Meet Record is a GONER!!
His challengers include Trey Hardee, Damian Warner, Michael Schrader, Eelso Sintnicolaas, and Kevin Mayer.
Eaton won Moscow with 8809.
There were 3 over 8500, 13 over 8300, and 17 over 8000.
110H--August 28
(WR-12.80 MR-12.91)
Word's out that WR holder Aries Merritt--who is in this field!!--will be undergoing a kidney transplant (!!!!!) soon after the meet!!
It's utterly AMAZING he's going to run here!!
But don't look for him to medal, or even make it to the Final!
(I hope I'm wrong!!)
David Oliver, Omar McLeod, Pascal Martinot-Legarde, Hansle Parchment, Sergey Shubenkov, Aleec Harris, and Ronnie Ash should be the main contenders, with Merritt, as noted, a question mark.
The MR has a SLIGHT chance of going down!
Also, maybe some Place marks!
Oliver won Moscow in 13.00.
Two were under 13.20.
Oliver won his Heat in the fastest Heat time ever, 13.05!!
The fastest Semi was 13.17.
50000 Walk--August 29
(WR-3:32:33 MR-3:36:03)
Walkers, for some reason, don't seem as affected by heat as Marathon runners.
Thus, the Meet Record could fall here.
(Yohan Diniz, the WR holder, isn't here!)
Look for Matej Toth to lead the way.
Jesus Garcia is the oldest entrant at 45!!
John Nunn, who finished LAST (46th place) in Moscow in 4:34:55, has the slowest PR in the field!!
That Moscow race was won in 3:37:56 by Robert Heffernan.
There were 2 under 3:40, 16 under 3:50, and 36 under 4 hours!
5000--August 29
(WR-12:37.35 MR-12:52.79)
I keep repeating myself, saying Big Meet distance records CAN go down.
Then I see Mo Farah's name on the list of entrants, and ZOOM!, there goes my dream!!
And ZOOM goes MoBot---in the final 150 meters of any race he runs!
Unless Degen Gebremeskal, Hagos Gebrhiwet, Isiah Koech, Albert Rop, Edwin Soi, Imane Merga, Caleb Ndiku, Nick Willis, or even Mo's NOP teammate, Galen Rupp, decide to challenge him!
But forget Rupp as a player.
Insert Ben True in his place as the best American in Beijing's 5K.
(He has only the 13th fastest PR, however!)
Ali Kaya is a dark horse!
Mo jogged to his Moscow Gold in 13:26.98.
Maybe he should recruit Genzebe Dibaba to pace him through the first half!!
In Moscow, 8 finished under 13:30.
The Heat & Semi were faster than Mo's Final--13:20.82 & 13:23.22.
Discus Throw--August 29
(WR-243-0 or 74.06 MR-230-2 or 70.15)
Despite the BIG names of Piotr Malackowski, Gerd Kanter, Robert Harting, Ehsan Hadadi, and Zoltan Kovago, this might be one of the "worst" events of the meet.
No Records seem ready for the chopping block!
Harting won Moscow with 226-9.
Two got over 220 feet.
NO Americans made the Final!
High Jump--August 30
(WR-8-0.50 or 2.45 MR-7-10.75 or 2.41)
Too bad this meet wasn't held in 2014!!
In the "Year of the High Jump", the World and Meet Records both would have been challenged!!
By SEVERAL athletes!!
But things seem to have dried up in this event in 2015.
Mutaz Barshim, who normally would be THE star here, has been in a MAJOR slump recently.
Can he revive himself here?
Will Bogdan Bondarenko ALSO return to form?
Look also for Derek Drouin, Erik Kynard, Gianmarco Tamberi, Andrey Protsenko, Ivan Ukhov, Robbie Grabarz, Jesse Williams, and even "new" American star JaCorian Duffield, to "rise" (pun intended!!) to the occasion!!
And the meet being held in China, don't forget Guomei Zhang as a possible contender with overwhelming home country support!!
Place marks MIGHT fall.
Bondarenko won Moscow with a jump of 7-10.75!
There were 7 over 7-7!
1500--August 30
(WR-3:26.00 MR-3:27.65)
Can we transport the Monaco DL race to the Bird's Nest---PLEASE??
You remember that one, right?
Asbel Kiprop winning in 3:26.69, over a field where Matt Centrowitz took 10th in 3:30.40!!
POP goes THAT bubble!!
Yet the WC Meet Record IS 3:27.65!
And with Kiprop in this field--and with many/most/all??--of that Monaco field here--who knows what might happen?!
Taoufik Makhloufi, Abdelelah Iguider, Nick Willis, Silas Kiplagat, Ayanleh Souleiman, Elijah Manangir, and Aman Wote, as well as Centro, are the ones to watch.
Souleiman apparently has decided to NOT double, dropping from the 800, so he might be a bigger factor here than if he were doubling.
Kiprop beat Centro in Moscow, 3:36.28 to 3:36.78.
The fastest Heat was 3:38.15.
Fastest Semi was 3:35.88.
(That Semi section had EIGHT under 3:37, whereas only 4 got under 3:37 in the Final!!)
4X100 Relay--August 30
(WR-36.84 MR-37.04)
Here we go---AGAIN!!
According to rumors and gossip, Gatlin and that other guy are due to battle it out on the anchor legs of this Relay!
IF---and for the US, that's NOT an insignificant "if"!!--IF the US gets the baton around the track, look for a Battle Royal between the US and Jamaica---for the Gold, and maybe even for the World Record!!
The other teams to watch for---with a telescope??--are Japan, Antigua, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, France, Brazil, Great Britain, and yes, China!
Jamaica beat the US 37.36 to 37.66 in Moscow's final.
Three teams got under 38.00.
The fastest Heat was 38.06.
4X400 Relay--August 30
(WR & MR-2:54.29)
Despite a few sub-44 guys this year, forget that World & Meet Record going down!
(Too bad all those sub-44's weren't on the same team!!)
The US, Bahamas, Belgium (the Borlee clan + one!!), Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Great Britain, France, Brazil, Cuba, Poland, and Russia will battle for Finals spots and medals.
The US won Moscow in 2:58.71.
Three teams were under 3:00.
The fastest Heat was 2:59.85.
And that's a WRAP for the MEN!!
Watch for the first of two WOMEN'S Previews to follow in 2 to 3 hours!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)