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!!
I'm glad you're OK, and thanks for the posts.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a problem with the best-mark-for-place in the women's PV.
Bradshaw did in fact placed seventh. She was beaten by six other athletes. Thus her 15-5 mark is rightly a new record for seventh place.
But no one placed 5th or 6th in this meet, so no records should be awarded for those places. Bengtsson, Morris, and Suhr all placed fourth. They were beaten by only three other competitors, and thus cannot be placed lower than fourth. It would not be fair to current record holders to give a fourth place finisher a record for finishing fifth or sixth, which they didn't do.
Oh boy!
ReplyDelete(Or as I said in my post, Jeez!)
I KNEW hyou'd disagree with my method of "creating" Place Records for the PV.
But I think we're gonna have to agree to disagree......again!
Here's the problem, as I see it.
You had 4 women at 15-5.
Yet you say one of them is 7th, based on the rules you outlined.
So far, so good.
But I have a problem with the "vacancies" in 4th, 5th, and 6th places.
I KNOW it goes against what you outlined, but I just can't see having 4 women at the SAME height (15-5), but 3 of them being in 4th place, with the other given 7th.
In MY eyes, that means that 5th and 6th places don't exist.
I don't know physics, or the laws of time and space, but I would imagine you can't have BODIES (or MASSES) present, and yet have EMPTY SPACES (or ghosts??) where those "empty spaces exist!
The "empty spaces" ARE those "empty" PLACES (5th and 6th)!!
It would be----again in MY eyes----like having a building where the ceilings/floors between "floors" 4 and 7 don't exist.
What would you stand on?
Where are the dividing points between "floors"?
I know I'm going off into weird tangents here, and I apologize.
But getting back to the PV, I have these best marks for Place in my Record Book.
(So does T&FN!!)
The Place Records for 5th and 6th were lower than than 15-5.
Thus, those 15-5's would have to be either thrown away, or ignored, if I followed those rules.
And I just couldn't do that.
I can't remember right now what the "old" Place records were for those places, but I KNOW the 15-5's were better.
So if I left my Record Book alone---following what you said---the Book would look something like this: (example is hypothetical, since I can't remember what the records were!)
4th-----15-5
5-----15-3
6== 15-3
7th---15-5.
See what I mean??
Thus I felt the "NEED" to "create" Records for those places.
And since I had marks available that COULD fill those spaces, I placed them there.
Again, I KNOW you (and probably everybody else and their grandmothers!!) will disagree with me, but think of all the OTHER ways MY Record Book is DIFFERENT from other Record Books, or Records sources.
1. I COMPLETELY separate INdoors from OUTdoors, so NO "absolute" lists!
2. I totally ignore OT marks!
3. I reject ALL 1600 and 3200 marks AND marks converted FROM them!
4. I base my Combined Events lists on TIMES, not on some points system (like the old Portugese Tables!).
5. My Age Records are based on exact birth dates, NLOT grouped together as "youth", "juniors" or "masters".
(Look above and see how Wlodarczyk got TWO different Age records---Age 29 and Age 30) inside of a month! Wouldn't happen with "grouped" Age marks!)
And so on!
Anyway, I'm thinking that the Women's PV is getting so much better so fast, that in a year or two, ALL of the Place records will have been broken....again and again, thus making this whole "argument" moot.
Maybe those "tie-breaking rules" need to be changed.
Imagine the same thing happening in running.
Impossible??
Remember those women who tied for the Bronze in either London or Moscow, I believe---in the HJ.
Then they refused to do a jump-off, so both were given medals.
(I may have some of the facts wrong!)
I got really pissed at them.
(As did several others!!)
The sport NEEDS some method, some "rules", that FORCE recordkeepers to SEPARATE tied athletes.
For the time being, I've taken that bull by its horns, and created my own rules!
Again, I say.....JEEZ!!!!!!
LOL
Almost time to go follow the results of the evening session of today's events.
Be out with my last WC results posts ASAP after the end of the meet.