No WR this year in Berlin

And that's the BIG news in this brief post!
The "World Record Factory", aka the Berlin Marathon, failed to give up yet another WR
Blame it on the Nike Shoes winner Eliud Kipchoge wore!

You already know the story.
Sometime early on, Kipchoge's insoles came loose, tried to leave their shoes, but failed, thus causing him to run the last 30+K or so with flapping insoles!!

No, that's NOT a joke!
In fact, he blamed that on his not being on pace at the half (1:01:30), and not being able to close the gap.
However, it didn't prevent him from throwing in a 14:23 split that "split" him apart from his nearest rivals.

Kipchoge's 2:04:00 improves his PR (by 5 seconds), but doesn't change his 8th A-T World status!

The Women's race came down to a runaway over the final 7000+ meters for Gladys Cherono, who improved her PR by 25 seconds, to 2:19:25.

She negative split, doing her halves in 1:10:15 and 1:09:10
She gets the Age 32 record.
And improves her standing on the World list from 19th all the way to 8th A-T!!

In a Rock and Roll Half, Meb Keflezighi got the USA "Masters" record with his 1:03:02.
(I'll call it the "40 and over" record!  LOL)
He had run 1:02:26 earlier this year, but that was reportedly on a "downhill" course!

Also breaking--actually tying!--a Road Record was Deena Kastor, who tied Colleen De Reuck's 2004 5000 standard of 15:48.
This is also an Age 40 & over record!

Some interesting XC results, especially from the Women.

The best was probably at the Roy Griak race.
Berkeley Soph Bethan Knights defeated Boise State Frosh Allie Ostrander by about 16 seconds, timed in 20:53 to Ostrander's 21:09.
But Ostrander might have had a decent excuse for taking "only" 2nd!
She'd just returned from Wales, where she'd WON a World Mountain Running race!!

Rachel Schulist finished 5th in the Griak race with her 21:31.

Jefferson Abbey took Griak's Men's race, doing the 8K course in 24:51.
There were no recognizable "big names" on the Men's side!

Michigan State took the Men's team title, while Boise State won the Women's.

At Stanford---where Stanford ran without their stars, Elise Cranny and Aisling Cuffe--Canadian Steeplechaser Erin Teschuk won, running 20:06.
However, Stanford still won the team battle, scoring just 44 points!
Teschuk's margin of victory was about 6 seconds.
(BTW, does Cuffe still have eligibility at Stanford, if only for XC?  Or did she graduate already?)

The Men's race was VERY interesting, as an unattached (redshirting?) Grant Fisher--he of 3:59.38 HS Mile fame!--finished 2nd to Cardinal Sean McGorty!
He was far back (23:07 for McGorty to 23:33 for Fisher), but a GREAT race for the Stanford recruit!

And yes, Stanford also took the Men's team title--with 63 points.

Finally, in the Griak HS Girls race, there was a teensy-weensy upset!
You see, a High School girl did NOT win the race!

No, the winner--Grace Ping--is a SEVENTH GRADER!!!
And in 2nd?
A SENIOR in HIGH SCHOOL!!!
(And one whom Mile Split says was ranked fairly high nationally this year!!)

The time was just 18:12 for the 5K course, but as I've often stated, times are really irrelevant for XC, as the courses are so different!
Not only different when compared to each other, but especially different from racing a 5000 on a flat 400 meter track (or even on a banked 200 meter INdoor track!).

Whatever her time, Ping only reminded me---yet again!!---of that 7th Grader Brianna Jackuzewitz, who STILL has the fastest time by a "HS Frosh" for the INdoor 5000 from her 16:43.02 in 2004!

Will Ping become the "next Jackucewitz"??
Let's see if she races INdoors in 2016!
(BTW, she has a reported 5:07 Mile best (or was it 1600 meters??) from 2014!)

Speaking of the 2016 INdoor season, if the 2015 season is any barometer of what to expect, then we MIGHT be just 54 days away from our first "reportable" result!

Remember last year, when the 2015 season actually began on November 22nd, 2014, when Ryen Frazier, then a HS Senior, ran the Mile in 4:44.20 in a JDL All-Comers meet!!

Can we expect the same VERY early result this year?
(Well, maybe not from Frazier, who is now a STAR Frosh at North Carolina State!!)

And what WILL the 2016 INdoor season bring??

In a FUTURE post---but surely BEFORE November 22nd!!--I'll look into what we can expect.
WHO is competing?
WHERE?
Will any WR attempts be announced early?
In an Olympic year, will the INdoor World Championships be affected---negatively?
On the same point, will the fact it's being held in the United States bring out MORE US stars--even though it's an Olympics year?
And there's so MANY questions to be answered on the individual front!
Who will make HUGE comebacks?
(I'm thinking Yelena Isinbayeva, Brigetta Barrett, even Mary Cain!)

Then there's the Olympic Trials Marathon, being held DURING the INdoor season!

Lots to look into--and I WILL---soon!
(Well, sometime in November, most likely!)

The Chicago Marathon is next!
See you then!

2015 HS Wrap-Up (& AOY's)

Now it's the High Schoolers time in the spotlight!
And this year, as in recent years, the light shone brightest on the Women!
(If you think I just favor the girls, study the stats!  They're all the proof you need!)
We'll begin with the Men, using the same format as I used in my Collegiate Wrap-Up.
(See previous post!)

There were NO High School Records broken during the 2015 OUTdoor season for the Men!
And 5 Class Records....sort of!  (Read on!)

Noah Lyles got TWO of those Class records!
His 10.14 and 20.18 are the new Junior Class standards in the 100 and 200.
C Johnson ran the Mile in 4:12.21 as a Frosh!
And Mondo Duplantis raised the (PV) bar---literally!---MANY times, landing (pun intended!) finally at 17-4.50 for another Frosh Class standard!

The fifth?
Well, it's not exactly a Class Record!
You see, Ty Cooper's 200 of 20.94 is the fastest by an EIGHTH Grader!
And FASTER than the actual 9th Grade (Frosh Class) record!
Remember the story of Brianna Jackucewicz?
She ran 16:43.02 INdoors for 5000 in 2004---as a SEVENTH Grader!
But her time was faster than the Frosh Class (and then, even the HSR!!), so she was listed as both the Frosh Class (and HS) Record holder!
Same with Cooper.  His time is faster than the actual Frosh Class record, so despite being "only" an 8th Grader, he gets the "Frosh Class" record!
(With an asterisk!  LOL)

Onward!

The NBN meet, now considered the HS Championship meet, both INdoors and OUTdoors, saw ZERO Meet Records broken this year on the Men's side!

As for my DDD lists, here's the Men whose marks were made in 2015, event by event!

100  N Lyles (10.14, 5th), Ryan Clark (10.18, 8th, tied with 1 other)
200  N Lyles (20.18, 3rd), Michael Norman (20.24, 5th, tied with 1 other), Clark (20.46, 12th, tied with 1 other)
400  Norman (45.19, 6th, tied with 1 other), Josephus Lyles (45.46, 16th)
800  Donovan Brazier (1:47.55, 4th), Carlton Orange (1:47.67, 5th), John Lewis (1:48.33, 16th)
1500  Matthew Maton (3:42.54, 3rd), Grant Fisher (3:42.89, 5th)
1 Mile  Maton & Fisher (3:59.38, 3rd, tied with each other), Andrew Hunter (4:02.36, 18th)
3000  Fisher (8:12.92, 22nd), Hunter (8:12.94, 23rd)
2 Mile  Hunter (8:42.51, 7th), Fisher (8:43.57, 8th)
3000SC  Jack Jibb (8:57.34, 5th), Aidan Tooker (9:06.57, 13th)
110H  Kendall Sheffield (13.42, 18th, tied with 1 other)
400H  Rai Benjamin (49.97, 8th), Norman Grimes (50.10, 13th), Taylor McLaughlin (50.20, 16th)
LJ  Holloway (25-8.75, 23rd, tied with 1 other)
PV  Pauli Benavides & Sean Collins (17-10.50, 10th, tied with 2 others, including each other), Deakin Volz (17-8, 17th, tied with 1 other)
SP  Matt Katnik (72-3, 10th), Willie Morrison (70-2.50, 21st)
DT  Carlos Davis (214-4, 12th)
JT  Jeffery Ast (226-2, 15th)
HT  Bobby Colantonio (243-7, 7th), Adam Kelly (243-1, 8th), Mosley (232-3, 17th), Jacob Beene (231-11, 18th, tied with 2 others), Owen Russell (230-5, 22nd)
Dec  Corey Reid (7191, 6th), Olway (7009, 17th), Luke Littlefield (6906W, 22nd)

MIA's among the events with NO 2015 listings are the 5000, 10000, HJ, and the TJ.

Apologies for not having the full names of a few of the above athletes.
My fault--due to laziness and my method of keeping records in my T&F Record Book!!
If I find the missing names, I'll revise this post later!

The most active events on my DDD lists for 2015 were---
HT (5)
With 3 each were the 200, 800, 1 Mile, 400H, PV, and Decathlon.
Having 2 athletes listed are the 100, 400, 1500, 3000, 2 Mile, 3000SC, and the SP.
With 1 apiece are the 110H, LJ, DT, and JT.
As noted above, shut out were the 5000, 10000, HJ, and TJ.

I gave BOTH of Noah Lyles's leading marks, his 10.14 and 20.18, the Co-Performances of the Year!!
But not too far behind were the One Mile's of Matt Maton and Grant Fisher, with Fisher's 3:59.38 being given a slight edge, due to his being about 2 years younger than Maton!
Also getting points was Michael Norman for his 45.19 in the 400, and the highest of Mondo Duplantis's several Frosh Class records in the PV, that being his 17-4.50!

The 2015 Men's HS Athlete of the Year is NOAH LYLES!!
This guy is amazing!
And it would NOT shock me in the least if he goes Pro before graduating HS!!

Honorable Mentions go fairly equally to Grant Fisher, Matthew Maton, Michael Norman, Matt Katnik, and Mondo Duplantis.

Now it's on to the Women, who, as I noted at the beginning, were somewhat more productive than the Men!
The Women's Renaissance continues!!

There were an incredible SIX High School Records broken in the 2015 OUTdoor season for the Women!
Candace Hill ran 10.98 in the 100.
Vashti Cunningham HJ'ed 6-5.
Kate Hall Long Jumped 22-5.
Lexi Weeks PV'ed 14-7.50.
Madison Wiltrout threw the Javelin 185-8.
And the Rush Henrietta (NY) SMR team ran 3:47.65 for the 6th HSR!

(BTW, I will do the HS PRO division at the end of this post!  Stay tuned!)

There were at least (!!) 8 Class Records set in 2015!
And maybe NINE!
(More about that in a minute!)

Hill got the Soph Class records in the 100 and 200, running 10.98 and 22.43.
Christine Aragon's 1 Mile of 4:37.91 is the Junior Class record!
Sydney McLaughlin's 55.28 over 400H is the Soph Class mark.
Cunningham's 6-5 HJ is the Junior Class record!
Hall's 22-5 gets her the Senior Class LJ record.
Wiltrout's JT of 185-8 is the Soph Class record.
Destiny Collins gets the Junior Class 2 Mile mark with her 10:00.93.

As for the "ninth" Class Record?
That MIGHT go to Alexis Duncan for her 12.95 in the 100H.
However, I'm STILL not certain if the hurdle height was the same for her as it was for Dior Hall's 12.92 or Candy Young's 12.95.
Meaning whether Duncan ran over the INTERNATIONAL height used by Professionals!!
There seems to be contradictory evidence as to whether the mark is "legit" for HS record and list purposes!
(There are separate lists for lower hurdle heights!!)
When I find out the FACTS---and that may not be until Jack Shepard's HS Track Annual comes out for 2016 (in December)--I'll let you know what's what!
Meanwhile, I'm including her mark---but with an asterisk!
Her 12.95 would TIE Young's Junior Class record!

The NBN in 2015 saw 5 new Meet Records.
McLaughlin ran the 400H in 55.87 there.
Hall got her 22-5 LJ there.
And 3 Relays saw new MR's
Rush Henrietta's SMR (See above!), Union Catholic's 4X400 of 3:35.90, and Northwestern (FL) ran 1:34.87 in the 4X200 Relay!

My DDD's saw these athletes with 2015 marks---

100  Hill (10.98, HSR, 1st), Khalifa St. Fort (11.19, 12th, tied with 1 other), Teahna Daniels (11.24, 17th, tied with 1 other), Zaria Francis (11.26, 19th, tied with 1 other)
200  Hill (22.43, 2nd), Lauren Rain Williams (22.90, 11th, tied with 1 other)
400  Lynna Irby (51.79, 11th)
800  Samantha Watson (2:02.54, 8th), Sarah Walker (2:03.70, 15th, tied with 1 other), Christine Aragon (2:04.00, 20th), Hannah Long (2:04.23, 22nd)
1500  Aragon (4:16.36, 5th), Kate Murphy (4:16.98, 10th), Ella Donaghu (4:20.83, 24th)
1 Mile  Aragon (4:37.91, 5th), Ryen Frazier (4:38.59, 6th), Danielle Jones (4:39.82, 13th), Amanda Gehrich (4:40.25, 17th), Katie Rainsberger (4:40.92, 20th), Jordyn Colter (4:41.10, 21st), Lauren Gregory (4:41.11, 22nd),  Julia Heymach (4:41.31, 24th)
3000  Collins (9:20.7, 17th), Fiona O'Keefe (9:21.3, 19th)
2 Mile  Anna Rohrer (9:59.96, 4th), Collins (10:00.90, 5th), R Frazier (10:07.16, 12th), O'Keefe (10:11.87, 20th)
5000  R Frazier (16:20.72, 14th), Audrey Belf (16:29.68, 18th)
3000SC  A Harris (10:31.79, 6th), Coonfield (10:52.92, 12th)
(NOTE: There are just 12 athletes on my 3000SC list!!)
100H  (See what I said about Duncan's 12.95 above!)  Jasmyne Graham (13.17, 6th), Mecca McGlaston (13.18, 7th), Anna Cockrell (13.21, 9th, tied with 1 other), Brittley Humphrey (13.22, 12th)
400H  McLaughlin (55.28, 2nd), Cockrell (56.67, 5th), Reonna Collier (57.27, 14th), B Johnson (57.47, 17th)
HJ  Cunningham (6-5, HSR, 1st), Nicole Greene (6-1.50, 18th, tied with 5 others)
LJ  Hall (22-5, HSR, 1st), Tara Davis (21-0.50, 13th)
TJ  Bria Matthews (43-5.50, 6th)
PV  Lexi Weeks (14-7.50, HSR, 1st), Tori Weeks (14-1, 5th), Meagan Gray (13-9, 12th, tied with 3 others), Andrianna Jacobs (13-7.25, 20th), Marty (13-7, 21st, tied with 3 others)
SP  Sophia Rivera (53-5.75, 8th)  Elena Bruckner (53-5.50, 9th)
DT  Bruckner (182-8, 10th)
JT  Wiltrout (185-8, HSR, 1st), Rivera (175-10, 6th), Katie Gochenour (167-2, 13th, tied with 2 others), Tairyn Montgomery (164-4, 19th), Peyton Montgomery & Keiryn Swenson (162-5, 22nd, tied with each other)
HT  Haley Showalter (194-1, 7th), Emelda Malm-Annan (181-0, 24th)
Hept  Kaylee Hinton (5245, 18th)

The only event with NO 2015 marks was the 10000.

The events, and the number of 2015 marks in each---

1 Mile (8)
JT  (6)
100H (5) NOTE: As noted above, this number MIGHT be "only" 4.
With 4 each were the 100, 800, 2 Mile, 400H, and the PV.
1500 (3)
With 2 each were the 200, 3000, 5000, HJ, LJ, SP, and HT.
With 1 each were the 400, TJ, DT, and the Heptathlon.
And, as already noted, the 10000 was once again shut out!

For the record, the Men totaled 41, while the Women had either 60 or 61.  (That Duncan mark!!)

Picking the Top Performance of the Year was VERY tough, as happens when so many HSR's are broken in one year!
But I finally went with Candace Hill's 10.98.
It not only was a HSR, but it SHATTERED the previous best, Kayla Whitney's 11.10, set just one year earlier!
VERY close behind came Wiltrout's JT of 185-8, as she ALSO shattered the previous HSR!
Then followed Cunningham's 6-5 HJ, McLaughlin's 55.28, Lexi Weeks's 14-7.50 PV, and Hill's 22.43 in the 200.

Why did I put McLaughlin's NON-HSR ahead of Weeks's HSR?
Simple.
She came THIS close to the HSR in her SOPH year, while Weeks's record was as a Senior, and, let's face it, raising the record by a quarter-inch isn't as newsworthy in a year already dubbed the "Year of the Vault"!

My 2015 Women's Athlete of the Year is CANDACE HILL!!
With her 10.98 AND her 22.43, it was an easy choice!
But STRONG Honorable Mentions go to Cunningham, Weeks, Wiltrout, and Hall.

Now, as promised, here's my AOY's (and such!) for the High School PRO's!!

Being there were 3 of them, and they were in 3 VERY distinctive event categories, it came down to deciding off of multiple criteria, not just records and marks!

We had Alana Hadley NOT having her greatest year in the Half and Full Marathon!
In fact, I'm not sure she even HAD any marks to consider, due to illness and injury at the WRONG times!

One thing about Hadley's year.
Her HS career--whether as an amateur or Pro, ENDED on August 31st!
So even though she's entered as an ELITE in the NYC Marathon, that race comes while she's a student at North Carolina State!!  (Though, like Mary Cain was at Portland this year, as a student ONLY!)

Alexa Efraimson had a GREAT year in two events, the 800 and 1500.
She PR'ed in both, running the fastest-ever HS time in the 1500, whether Pro or amateur, 4:03:39.
In the 800, 2015 saw her getting (I think!) THREE new PR's, 2:03.23, 2:01.13, and 2:01.11.
Her 1500 time came in the Pre Classic, but she failed to make the final at USATF in a slow heat!
Her 800's were all wins, but in relatively minor meets, with the best US runners mostly absent!

Kaylin Whitney's PR came in the 200, where she ran 22.47, to nip her 2014 best by 0.02.
The fact that Candace Hill, an amateur HS'er, one year YOUNGER than Whitney, actually ran 0.04 FASTER (22.43)--in her WEAKER event, took SOME of the luster off Whitney's achievement!

But she also ran an 11.01 100, albeit aided by a GALE-force wind of 5.4!!
(Worth, people say, about 11.27 in REAL time!)

However, her individual record was backed up by some GREAT relay legs!
Three times---at the Texas Relays on a 43.41 team, at the Pan Am Games in TeamUSA's 42.58 Gold medal winner, and in Monaco's DL, where she anchored yet another USA team to a fast time of 41.96!

Despite the fact Whitney did NOT get to run the 4X100 in Beijing--even though she was there, ready to rip it!!--I have to go with KAYLIN WHITNEY as my HS PRO Athlete of the Year over Efraimson!

Her Relay anchors---on GREAT teams (Allyson Felix & Jenna Prandini were on some of them, just to name two!) gave her the edge needed for the prize!
If Efraimson had made the Beijing team, AND if she just got into the final (like Mary Cain did in 2013!), things MIGHT have been different!

Almost forgot!
The HS PRO division Performance of the Year goes to Efraimson's 4:03.39.
Beating Cain's mark, and it coming in a FAST Pre Classic race, was the winning edge!
I considered Whitney's Relay anchors, but I have to give it to an INDIVIDUAL effort, not as part of a team!

Well, folks, that's a wrap on my Collegiate and HS Year-End Reviews (& AOY picks!).
But my next post SHOULD be soon!
There's been some BIG Cross Country action this weekend, and tomorrow is the Berlin Marathon!
Where Eliud Kipchoge is said to want the first half paced at 1:01:30----WR pace!!
And the Women are said to want sub-2:20:00 pace!!

See you soon!

2015 Collegiate Wrap-Up (& AOY's)

Their 2015 Collegiate season ended with the NCAA Championship meet in June
So now it's time to see what happened, and whose star shone brightest, good enough to be named Athlete of the Year!

The Men's Collegiate scene produced ZERO Collegiate Records!
Neither were there any Meet Records broken at the NCAA Championships!
As for Class Records, there were three..

Trayvon Bromell ran 9.90 for the Soph Class Record in the 100.
Shawn Barber took down the Soph Class Record in the PV with his 19-4.75.
And Jake Blankenship tied the Junior Class Record in the same event, vaulting 19-0.25.

Here, event by event, are the Men who are on my Top 24 Performers lists with 2015 marks.

100 Bromell (9.90, 2nd), Clayton Vaughn (9.93, 4th, tied with 2 others), Andre De Grasse (9.97, 10th, tied with 3 others), Bryce Robinson (9.99, 16th, tied with 2 others)
200 Bromell & De Grasse (20.03, 12th, tied with 3 others, including each other)
400 Vernon Norwood (44.44, 9th)
1 Mile Eric Jenkins (3:57.09, 20th), Will Georghegan (3:57.53, 22nd)
5000 Kemoy Campbell (13:20.39, 11th)
10000 Jason Witt (27:54.25, 20th)
3000SC Stan Kebenai (8:23.93, 17th), Tabor Stevens (8:26.81, 23rd)
110H Omar McLeod (13.21, 5th, tied with 1 other)
400H Michael Stigler (48.44, 11th, tied with 1 other)
HJ JaCorian Duffield (7-7, 21st, tied with 5 others)
LJ Marquis Dendy & Jarrion Lawson (27-4.50, 11th, tied with each other)
TJ Dendy (57-5, 3rd), Latario Collie-Minns (56-4.50, 8th, tied with 1 other)
PV Barber (19-4.75, 2nd), Jake Blankenship (19-0.25, 7th, tied with 1 other)
SP Darrell Hill (68-5.25, 18th), Jonathan Jones (68-2.25, 22nd)
DT Rod Brown (213-5, 16th)
JT John Ampomah (267-6, 11th), Sam Crouser (259-9, 20th)
HT Conor McCullough (252-4, 7th), Michael Lihrman (247-0, 11th)
Dec Maicel Uibo (8356, 3th), Pau Tonnesen (8247, 9th), Garrett Scantling (8232, 11th)
4X100R Arkansas (38.47, 7th)

I'm sure you noticed that some events were missing.
Simple answer.
Those events have NO athletes on my Collegiate DDD lists with 2015 marks!
So the Best Events are:

100 (4)
Decathlon (3)
With 2 athletes each are the 200, 1 Mile, 3000SC, LJ, TJ, PV, SP, JT, and the HT.
The 400, 5000, 10000, 110H, 400H, HJ, DT, and the 4X100 Relay have 1 each.
Shut out are the 800, 1500, 4X400 and DM Relay!

The Best Performances were Barber's 19-4.75 and Bromell's 9.90.
(Pretty much a tie, as both rank 2nd A-T Collegiate!

My 2015 Men's
 Collegiate Athlete of the Year is---
SHAWN BARBER
(I gave ZERO consideration to what he did INdoors!  His OUTdoor record this year was good enough by itself!  So good, he turned Pro after the NCAA meet!!)

Honorable Mention of course goes to Trayvon Bromell.
(In any other year, he'd probably be the AOY!)

Now for the Collegiate Women!

There was 1 Collegiate Record set this year.
That belongs to Sandi Morris and her PV of 15-5.75.

Two NCAA Meet Records went down!
Demi Payne got the PV mark with her 15-5, and DeAnna Price threw the Hammer 234-6 for the other MR.

ELEVEN Class Records were broken this year by the Women!
They were:

Morris's mark for the Senior Class record.
The only Junior Class record goes to Jenna Prandini's 10.92 in the 100.
Kendell Williams's 6223 Hept, Irena Sediva's 192-9 JT, Quenesha Burks's 22-5.25 LJ, Shamier Little's 53.74 400H, and Kyra Jefferson's 200 of 22.24 were all Soph Class records, though Jefferson is tied with 1 other!
Getting Frosh Class records were Raevyn Rogers with her 800 of 1:59.71, Dior Hall's 12.74 in the 100H, Raven Saunders's 60-2.50 in the SP, and Keturah Orji's 46-5.25 in the TJ.

Here's the list of all the Top 24 marks from 2015, same as with the Men!

100 Prandini (10.92, 2nd), Aaliyah Brown (11.08, 23rd, tied with 2 others)
200 Dezerea Bryant (22.18, 2nd), Prandini (22.21, 4th), Kyra Jefferson & Kamaria Brown (6th, tied with each other), Shakima Wimbley (22.43, 21st)
400 Wimbley (50.84, 22nd)
800 Rogers (1:59.71, 4th), Natoya Goule (2:00.06, 5th), Claudia Saunders (2:00.63, 10th), Hannah Green (2:01.17, 20th)
1500 Rhianwedd Price (4:09.56, 13th), Shelbi Houlihan (4:09.67, 14th)
5000 Jessica Tonn (15:18.85, 9th), Kate Avery (15:25.63, 18th)
10000 Emily Sisson (31:38.03 (4th), Avery (31:41.44, 5th), Dominique Scott (32:11.60, 8th), Emma Bates (32:13.28, 10th), Chelsea Blaase (32:28.39, 18th) Margo Malone (32:29.29, 20th)
3000SC Colleen Quigley (9:29.32, 3rd), Courtney Frerichs (9:31.36, 4th), Leah O'Connor (9:33.38, 5th), Marisa Howard (9:37.84, 6th), Erin Teschuk (9:42.15, 12th), Rachel Johnson (9:42.93, 13th)
100H Kendra Harrison (12.50, 3rd), Cindy Ofili (12.60, 4th, tied with 1 other), Dior Hall (12.74, 19th)
400H Little (53.74, 4th), K Harrison (54.09, 6th)
HJ Jennelle Scheper (6-5, 5th, tied with 1 other), Leontia Kallenou (6-4, 15th), Kimberly Williamson (6-2.75, 23rd, tied with 4 others)
LJ (Burks (22-5.25, 6th), Prandini (22-3.75, 11th, tied with 1 other), ShaKeela Saunders (22-1.75, 19th, tied with 3 others)
TJ Orji (46-5.25, 4th, tied with 2 others)
PV Morris (15-5.75, CR, 1st), Payne (15-5.50, 2nd), Carolina Carmichael & Megan Clark (14-9, 6th, tied with 4 others, including each other), Stephanie Richartz (14-7.25, 14th, tied with 5 others), Kristina Owsinski (14-5.25, 20th, tied with 6 others)
SP Tori Bliss (60-8, 7th), Saunders (60-2.50, 9th, tied with 1 other), Kelsey Card (58-11.25, 21st)
DT Shelby Vaughan (211-8, 6th), Kiah Hicks (196-7, 24th)
JT Sediva (192-9, 9th), Elizabeth Herrs (189-6, 11th), Hannah Carson (189-4, 12th)
HT Price (234-6, 3rd), Brooke Pleger (228-8.75, 10th), Daina Levy (226-5, 12th, tied with 1 other)
Hept Akela Jones (6371, 4th), Erica Bougard (6250, 5th), K Williams (6223, 6th), Quintunya Chapman (6147, 10th), Salsa Slack (6141, 12th), Xenia Rahn (6057, 16th), Alex Gochenour (6027W, 21st), Jess Herauf (6014, 22nd)
4X100R Florida (42.72, 3rd), Kentucky (42.85, 6th)
4X400R USC (3:27.86, 13th), Ohio State (3:28.37, 16th), Clemson (3:28.59, 18th)

The Best Women's Events for 2015 marks are....

Hept (8)
With 6 each are the 10000, 3000SC, and the PV.
200 (5)
800 (4)
With 3 each are the 100H, HJ, LJ, SP, JT, HT, and the 4X400 Relay.
With 2 each are the 100, 1500, 5000, 400H, DT, and the 4X100 Relay.
Having 1 athlete each are the 400 and TJ.
Wiped out were the 1 Mile, 3000, and the DMR.

BTW, the Totals for the Men was 33 athletes with 2015 marks on my Collegiate DDD's.
The Women were more than twice as productive, totaling 70!!

There were so many great Performances on the Women's side!
So I selected several of them---the Best of the Best?---for my Performance(s) of the Year!

Sandi Morris JUST edges out her friendly rival Demi Payne for the Top Prize, but it was THIS close!!
Following not too far behind were these:
Prandini's 10.92, Roger's 1:59.71, Colleen Quigley's 9:29.32, Little's 53.74, Orji's 46-5.25, Price's 234-6 in the Hammer, and A Jones's 6371 Hept!

This one was a toughie, but once again, SANDI MORRIS edges out Demi Payne for my Women's Athlete of the Year for 2015!

Have no fear, though, because Ms Payne gets FrontRunner status in the Honorable Mention category!
Also getting HM's are Prandini, Orji, Little, and Raven Saunders.
(Saunders didn't have the best SP mark, but as a Freshman, she DESTROYED the Class Record more than once, and that was enough for me!)

I'll have my High School Year-End Wrap-Up either later today, or early tomorrow!
Watch for it!

Before I go, I want to mention that I've read Suzy Favor Hamilton's memoir "Fast Girl", and thought it was FANTASTIC!!
In fact, I wrote a review of it for Amazon, and gave it 5 stars, the highest rating!
Please go to Amazon and read it.

I also posted a lengthy commentary on the T&FN Message Board about the book, though more about its author!
It's in the "Things Not T&F" forum on the MB, toward the end of the thread titled "Suzy Favor Hamilton is publishing a memoir".

Hope you'll read both the Amazon review AND my T&FN MB commentary!

Better yet, buy her book!
It's INCREDIBLE!!
(Also watch the ABC 20/20 Show featuring over a half-hour of interviews with Suzy and her husband Mark!  That's ALSO rather incredible!!)

It's THAT time of year!

Yes, folks, it's that time of year when you see the final results from the Tracks & Fields of the world, but they're mixed in with some Road and early Cross Country results.
In this never-fully-ending OUTdoor season, I have some good Records & Marks to offer you---from all 3 venues!
I'll do them one at a time, starting with T&F.

The Rieti meet has always been good for solid marks, and this year's version followed course.

Leading the way was the Men's 300 and the Women's 800.

Remember Rusheen McDonald's 43.93 from a 400 HEAT in Beijing?
Then do you recall his pathetic 47.89 in a post-WC race?
Well, this mark, his 300, rates a LOT closer to the former than the latter!
He won the 300 in 31.94.
I don't have a 300 list, but I'm certain this mark is of great worth on a Worldwide scale!
(Someone posted on a MB that he probably split faster during his 43.93!!)

The 800 was taken by comebacking Francine Niyonsaba in 1:57.62.
It wasn't just her time that opened my eyes, it was who she beat!

Second was Brussels Mile victor Faith Kipyegon!
Her time of 1:58.02 (a PR), when added to that 4:16.71 Mile, gives her an 800-Mile Combined Events total time of 6:14.73.
BUT---my CE list for those distances ENDS at 6:13.99.
However, because of her potential in both of those events, I decided to add her to my list, even though she falls outside its time zone!

Other good Rieti marks were---
Femi Ogunode's 9.93 100
Adam Kszczot winning the 800 in 1:44.82
Taoufik Makhloufi taking the 1500 in 3:35.53
Elaine Thompson easily winning the 200 in 22.59

And in the Women's 1500, Fiona Benson finished a close 2nd to Ludu Tsegay's 4:05.18, running a PR of 4:05.24.
Sheila Reid was further back in 4:08.20.

Konrad Bukowiecki set a new Age 18 Record with his SP of 68-2.25.
The old Age 18 Record?
Held by none other than HSR holder Michael Carter, with his 67-9.
But no more!

Also in the Shot Put, Tia Brooks improved her OUTdoor PR by a few inches, her 62.4 (behind Christina Schwanitz in a Throwers Meet in Europe) moving her from 10th A-T US into 9th.

The once-renowned Talence Multis meet flopped!
And one of the athletes who flopped BADLY was almost the sole cause, as she'd been heavily favored!

Katarina Johnson-Thompson---aka KJT---DNF'ed!
Her 1st day was good, as she scored 3851--behind her 6682 PR pace by 73 points, but still good.
IF---IF she could get a solid LEGAL Long Jump, to make up for her long foul in Beijing!
Alas, she probably went the safety route a bit too much, ending with a measly 6.17 jump!
From there, her spirits defeated, she threw less than 30 meters in the JT, then DNS'ed the 800!

Moving to the Roads, a few races shone!

In separate Half-Marathons, Mo Farah won in 59:23 on an essentially downhill course, but it was a PR for him, whatever the course!
And he beat Stanley Biwott, who finished just 1 second behind!
(Yes, that MoBot kick worked yet again!)

In the other Half, Bedan Karoki ran 59:14.
Too bad he wasn't in Farah's race--or vice versa!

In the Fifth Avenue Mile (NYC), Jenny Simpson prevailed again, defeating her 2015 arch-nemesis Shannon Rowbury by just 0.3 seconds, 4:29.1 to 4:29.4.
(Simpson broke 4:20 in last year's race!!)

Susan Kuijken followed in 4:29.9.
Then came the "Queen of the Road Mile" Heather Kampf, her time 4:30.2.

Back a ways was 800 specialist Alysia Montano, wanting to better her PR of 4:34+ in this, her THIRD-EVER Road Mile!  (Or is that Mile---PERIOD??)
Alas, she missed it by a second, running 4:35.4 back in 11th!
(She'd LED at the halfway point, thus getting the $1000 bonus!)

In the Men's race, Nick Willis prevailed over Chris O'Hare, 3:54.8 to 3:55.9!
Henrik Ingebrigtsen followed in 3:56.1.
But getting the same time was Matthew Centrowitz!
Much further back, in 12th, was Ageless Bernard Lagat, who dipped under 4:00 with his 3:59.9.

In the USATF Championship 5000, Molly Huddle and Shalane Flanagan locked horns through the first 2 miles, before the ghost of Emily Infeld kicked Huddle into a fifth gear, and she won handily, 15:12 to 15:17--looking over BOTH her shoulders to see if Shalane was imitating Emily!!
She wasn't.

The Men's race was won in a sprint finish by David Torrence over Dathan Ritzenhein.in the relatively slow time of 13:56.

Now turning to XC, we see several quality times from High Schoolers and a couple of female College Frosh.

In Tennessee's Vanderbilt Classic, comebacking Erin Finn won easily in 16:43 (5K course), as 2nd was 19 seconds back!

In the same race, Kayla Montgomery finished WAY back (152nd out of 244 finishers!  and 15th of 23 Lipscomb teammates!), but at least she's still running!
Her Multiple Sclerosis hasn't defeated her!!
(Her time was 19:21, or 6:13 per mile pace!)

Ryen Frazier set a Course Record of 16:06 in the Adidas Classic in North Carolina--her home course!
The Frosh beat her Redshirting Soph sister Wesley by 22 seconds.
However, Wesley would have been 2nd NC Stater if she wasn't running "unattached".
Having transferred over the summer from Duke, she'll be eligible to run  track in 2016!

BTW, if you include Wesley, NC Staters took 5 of the first 6 places, with Duke's (!!) Madison Granger taking 4th!

Another College Frosh to shine was Notre Dame's Anna Rohrer, who won easily.

In HS races, MileSplit offered the following:

Ella Donaghu ran the fastest 5K so far among HS'ers, winning in 16:46 in a meet in Seattle.

Hannah Debalsi won over 4000 meters in 15:00.

Fiona O'Keefe won a 3 Mile race in 16:41.
But it was the Course Record she beat that makes this one interesting!

Ever hear of Julia Stamps?
She was a VERY fast track and XC runner from 2 decades back.
To beat her CR is newsworthy!

It's not often you can beat a girl who's run 4:16 on the track!
So when Annie Hill defeated Christine Aragon, 17:12 to 17:27, one takes notice!

The Guys weren't exactly twiddling their thumbs while the Gals sped away!

Drew Hunter--he of 8:12+ 3000 fame, set a Course Record of 15:12 in a 5K race!

And the fastest time---albeit over 3 Miles!--was run by Jon Davis, whose 14:10.9 won easily!

To end this "57 Varieties"-type post, I have some "OFF-Track" news.

Sarah Brown is Pregnant!!
According to a blog she wrote, it wasn't planned, but she LOVES the idea of becoming a Mother!
The only "drawback" is that the news came less than a year away from Rio!!

Her due date is March 16, but she still plans on racing in the Olympic Trials!!

Another woman "foiled" in her attempt to make TeamUSA is Lauren Fleshman.
Burdened by injuries the past few years, she finally opted for surgery on her achilles tendon.
(She even provided a photo of her stitched-up ankle!!  Too much info??  LOL)

Fleshman intends to come back strong, as the surgery was totally successful!
(Don't count her out!  She's one of a very few active 5K Women who have a Track sub-15:00 to her credit!!)

Have you seen the NUDE photos of Hammer Throw American Record holder Amanda Bingson from her ESPN Body Issue shoot?
And surely you know those photos went VIRAL on the Web!

Well, besides the new-found fame, she's now bringing in some big bucks!
She was just hired by a top-name fashion company to model "plus-size" clothing!
She---and her fans---are THRILLED!!

Finally, where has Mary Cain been---and what has she been up to?

Well, an InstaGram photo showed her leading a small group of runners on the Van Cortland Park course.
This, of course, is in NYC!
And it was just a couple of days ago---long after classes began about 3000 miles away at the University of Portland, where she was a Freshman last year.
It's ALSO about 3000 miles away from where her teammates in the Nike Oregon Project (NOP) are being led through their paces by coach Alberto Salazar!

So what's the deal?
Is she now attending Fordham University (near where I lived for a year back in 1958!!), as some people on Let's Run's Forum seem to believe?

Has she left NOP---and Salazar---permanently?
This one's highly doubtful---at least based on a hashtag she added to the photo blurb!

Another L-R rumor has it she's running more miles than ever in training---up to 100 per week!
(The photo showed her in "lean and mean"-type shape!)

So my take---and it's based on "gut feeling" rather than on solid evidence!---is that she MIGHT be taking time off from school to properly prepare for Rio (or at least the Olympic Trials!).
Or she might be taking a few classes online (or even at Fordham!), with the intention of continuing at Portland next fall.

She might be keeping her distance from the still-being-investigated Salazar (by USADA!), in the same way Mo Farah has been, training away from the main NOP group!

BTW, Cain HAD been listed as an entry in that USATF 5000, but her name was gone a couple of days before the race!

This blogger will SOON have his Collegiate and High School Athletes of the Year chosen, done in conjunction with his yearly Collegiate & HS OUTdoor Wrap-Up!!

Watch for both of those!

ADD: One more news item!
Genzebe Dibaba has said she'll double in the INdoor World Championships in Portland next year!!
She'll do the 1500 and 3000----she says!

Irony defines Brussels Mile

Bad bad title!
So I'll begin by trying to explain it.

That rare Women's Mile race I went bonkers about yesterday (See previous post!) wasn't a failure, but wasn't as grandiose a success as I'd said was possible!
It was, as I'd said it MIGHT be, "somewhere in between".

So where's the irony?

I'd said that both Jenny Simpson and Shannon Rowbury had said they'd be chasing Mary Slaney's American Record.
That US Record is 4:16.71.

So happens that winner Faith Kipyegon's time was.....you guessed it!.....4:16.71.
To the exact hundredth of a second!!

Thank you, Alanis Morissette!

Now about the race, and the rest of the Van Damme DL.

Kipyegon's time is the new Brussels Meet Record!
It also destroyed the National Record of Kenya.
And it makes her 5th A-T World, tied with one other!
That "other" is none OTHER than Mary Slaney herself!!

Chanelle Price led them through the first 2 laps in 62.61 and 64.08 (800 in 2:06.69).
At that point, it was Kipyegon and Sifan Hassan side by side.
They were back and forth through 1200 in a good 3:10.76 (3rd 400 in 64.07!).
They were ON pace for a WR!!

But these women are NOT Genzebe Dibaba, who came by HER 1200 (in her 1500 WR) in 3:04.62, more than 6 seconds faster, then ran at 60 second pace for her next 300 meters.

They couldn't sustain the fast pace, however, with Kipyegon running her final 409 meters (if it was measured from the starting line!) in 65.95.

 Hassan fell back even farther, ending in 4:18.20.
But it's the Netherlands National Record.
And it makes her 12th A-T World!

Rowbury nipped Simpson for 3rd, 4:22.10 to 4:22.18.
Rowbury has a better time, but Simpson's time enters her on the A-T US list in 5th place!
It's also the Age 29 record for Jenny!

Abeba Aregawi's 4:23.07 becomes the new National Record of Sweden!

Rababe Arafi's 4:23.50 set a new National Record of Morocco!
It's also the best 7th Place mark!

The next 3 runners got Place records too!
Viola Kibiwot's 4:24.31 is the best 8th Place mark.
Renata Plis takes the best 9th Place mark with her 4:25.32.
And Axumawit Embaye took the best 10th Place mark with her 4:26.84.

The final 2 finishers ran good times also.
Sofia Ennaoui finished 11th in 4:27.32.
Nancy Chepkwemoi was the caboose with her 4:28.66 in 12th.

Three other Age Records were missed by one second or less!
Kipyegon, Hassan, and Kibiwot each missed their respective Age Records (21, 22, and 31) !
And Rowbury was just 1.71 seconds from the Age 30 Record!

Seems the distances gave the best results.
The Women's 3000SC was the fastest race of the year!

Habiba Ghribi ran her final kilometer under 3:00 (by a second or so!) after a fast opening 2000 (6:06+), running 9:05.36!
That's the Meet Record, as well as the National Record of Tunisia!
Add the Age 31 record to that list!
And she moves from 7th to 3rd on the A-T World list!
Not to mention improves her total time for the Combined Events of the 3000 and 3000SC.
Her total time improves to 18:01.58 (8:56.22 & 9:05.36), but she remains 13th on that list!

Hyvin Kiyang's 9:10.15 in 2nd moves her from 13th to 11th on the A-T World list!

Emma Coburn had what she just tweeted as "maybe my worst race ever"!
She finished behind Stephanie Garcia's 9:25.20----WAY behind!!---running just 9:32.13 in 8th place!
Garcia's near-PR (less than a second off!) of 9:25.20 took 7th!

Virginia Nyambura, this season's hot find, finished in 6th in 9:20.38.

The last event of the meet, the Men's 5000, was fast, at least when compared to results from the past 2 or 3 years!
Yousif Kijelcha won it in 12:53.98 from Hagos Gebrhiwet's 12:54.70.

The 3 Americans ran well....sort of.

Before the meet, Galen Rupp had intimated he would try for the American Record!
Nope!
His 13:08.38 was 3rd American, and 10th overall!

In front of him came Ben True's 13:05.54 and Ryan Hill's 13:05.69.
The latter was a PR, moving Hill WAY up on the A-T US list, from 24th to 11th!!

The National Record of Canada was smashed by Mo Ahmed's 13:10.00!
I guess Rupp's NOP teammate, Cam Levins, has some work to do!!

The only other event to produce a mark of note was the Men's 200.
Femi Ogunode's winning time of 19.97 broke his own South Africa National Record!

The 100 was taken---barely--by Justin Gatlin, his 9.98 edging Ogunode, who had the same time, with Jimmy Vicaut in 3rd in 9.99, and Asafa Powell back in 5th in 10.04.
(Gatlin didn't run the 200!)

The US Women's 100H group made amends for their disastrous WC's results, taking places 1, 2, and 3.
Dawn Harper-Nelson's 12.63 edged Sharika Nelvis (12.65) and Jasmine Stowers (12.76).

The field events---for the most part---were won with good marks, and some good competition!

Christian Taylor's 57-8.50 beat Pedro etc Pichardo.

Tero Pitkamaki's 286-7 JT beat Thomas Rohler's 284-0.

Renaud Lavillenie missed 3 tries at 6.00, but won the PV over Shawn Barber, 5.95 to 5.85!

Sandra Perkovic got back to winning, her 221-5 Discus Throw winning over Denia Caballero's 215-9.

Caterine Ibarguen's 47-10.75 Triple Jump win was her 31st consecutive!!

The Men's SP was a tight 4 way battle at 21 meters and more.
Thomas Walsh won over O'Dayne Richards, Joe Kovacs, and David Storl with his 70-2.25

However, in a meet a few days earlier (Zagreb), Walsh broke his own New Zealand National Record with a mark of 70-11.25!!

Mariya Kuchina matched her PR of 6-7 to take the HJ.

The Men's 400 was won by Renny Quow in a slow 45.29.
But remember those 43.93's from the HEATS in Beijing??
Well, one of those 43.93 guys---Rusheen McDonald of Jamaica---didn't exactly match his astounding PR!

In fact, his 47.89 (!) was dead LAST!!

The Women's 400 was a bit better.
Shaunae Miller zipped past Fran McCorory in the final 100, winning in 50.48 to McC's 50.59!

Adam Kszczot upset Nijel Amos and Mohammed Aman in a slowish 800, ending in 1:45.12.

Besides the Mile, the featured race was the Women's 200.
And there, Dafne Schippers perhaps "won" that event's rankings, winning in 22.12 over Allyson Felix (22.22) and Elaine Thompson (22.26).
Didn't see the race video (yet!), but I heard Schippers passed Felix on the straight!
THAT doesn't happen too often!!

There was a pretty good Mile (actually one for each gender!) put on by Kyle Merber and the Hoka One One people!

David Torrence won the Men's side with 3:53 and change!
Amanda Eccleston sprinted past Heather Kampf, winning in 4:29.99.

There was some chatter on the T&FN Message Board that the cones bordering the track were not placed correctly, thus nullifying the results for list purposes.
(Garry Hill said that T&FN would adjust the times for THEIR lists!)

And that, folks, ends the Diamond League season of 2015!
(Being a sometime critic of the DL concept, I'm not TOO bereaved!!  LOL)

What's next for this blog?
Well, there ARE a couple or 3 more meets---DecaNation and the Talence Multi's among them!

Cross Country has begun, but my coverage of that segment of our sport will be limited.

There's the 4 Major Marathons--Berlin, NYC, Chicago, and Fukuoka.

I'll also be doing my Collegiate and HS year-end wrap-ups, naming my AOY's, etc!

In November, I'll begin my previews of the 2015-2016 INdoor season, which COULD be one of the best!!

But the next 2 months or so are basically my (and this blog's) "vacation" time.
I'll post a few times, but not nearly as often as I do during the two main seasons---the INdoor and OUTdoor T&F seasons!!

See you soon!

Van Damme Women's MILE--a Preview

This could turn into a complete & total BUST!
Or it could be THE Women's Mile Race of the Century!

Yes, the Van Damme Memorial meet in Brussels, Belgium has changed the Women's 1500 meters to a One Mile race!
I have no idea why!
This was a last minute decision, as the first Program Schedule showed the race to be a 1500.

The last (and only??) time a Women's Mile was held in Brussels was in 2007, when Maryam Jamal set the Meet Record of 4:17.75.
It's RARE that a Women's MILE (on the track!) is held anywhere--except for INdoors!
And even more rare that such a World Class field is brought together to race a Mile!

I am totally excited about the Record possibilities for this race!
Besides the World and Meet Records, I see....
9 PLACE Records
7 NATIONAL Records
10 AGE Records
...as POSSIBLY being broken!!

Not to mention a MASSIVE rewrite of my World Top 24 Performers list!
(As well as 2 changes to my US DDD!!)

Here are ALL of the details on ALL of the Records that MIGHT fall tomorrow!!

WORLD
The WR is 4:12.56 by Svetlana Masterkova in 1996.
It means the leaders would have to pass the 1500 mark in about 3:55 or 3:56, but no slower than 3:57.00!!
The final 109 meters normally takes (for Women) about 16 to 17 seconds, but could be slightly faster or slower, according to kicking ability.
The best bets for the World standard will probably come from Sifan Hassan, Shannon Rowbury, Jenny Simpson, Abeba Aregawi, and Faith Kipyegon!

MEET
As noted above, Maryam Jamal ran 4:17.75 in 2007's edition of this meet.
That requires the winner to pass 1500 meters in at least 4:01+ to have a good chance at this Record!
Faster than 4:01, and it's GONE!!

NATIONAL
As I stated above, there are SEVEN National Records up for grabs in this race!
They are...
USA--4:16.71
Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson are in this race!
They would need to pass the 1500 point in 4:00.00--give or take a few tenths of a second!--to have a shot at Mary Slaney's venerable NR!

Ethiopia--4:18.23
With Axumawit Embaye and Dawit Seyaum entered, this NR is VERY vulnerable.
All it would take is for them to pass 1500 in 4:02.00 or faster!

Netherlands--4:22.40
This one's a CINCH---IF Sifan Hassan, that 3:56.05 1500 Woman, goes past 1500 in 4:06.00 or faster!
This race would have to be a MoBot Special for this Record NOT to fall!!

Poland--4:22.96
Either Renata Plis, Sofia Ennaoui, or Angelika Cichocka should EASILY rip this one to shreds!!
They need to hit the 1500 mark in about 4:06 or faster.

Kenya--4:24.00
Yes, Kenya's Women's Mile Record is just 4:24.00 (by Jackline Maranga)!!
This Record should be a walk in the park for Faith Kipyegon, Viola Kibiwot, Mercy Cherono, or Nancy Chepkwemoi.

Sweden--4:25.34
You think Abeba Aregawi is going to pass 1500 slower than 4:08??

Morocco--4:30.69
Malika Akkaoui and Rabab Arrafi should be able to go by 1500 in 4:13 or so, right??

PLACE
The Place Records (for 2nd through 10th), and approximate 1500 split times are:
2nd--4:17.33 (4:01.00)
3rd--4:17.57 (4:01.25)
4th--4:20.35 (4:03.00)
5th--4:21.13 (4:03.80)
6th--4:21.92 (4:04.40)
7th--4:24.85 (4:07.80)
8th--4:25.29 (4:08.00)
9th--4:26.48 (4:08.90)
10th-4:26.85 (4:09.10)

ALL of those PLACE Records COULD fall!!

AGE
The following AGE Records are in danger!
I also give the names of those at each age!

19--4:17.57 (Dawit Seyaum)
20--4:23.92 (Axumawit Embaye, Sofia Ennaoui)
21--4:15.8  (Faith Kipyegon)
22--4:17.75 (Sifan Hassan, Nancy Chepkwemoi)
NOTE: This is also the MEET Record listed above.  Hassan's actual birthdate is questionable.  It's listed in most places as just 1993, no day or month.  But one site has it as January 1, 1993, so I'm going to at least temporarily accept that as her actual birthdate!  Therefore, she's 22 now!
24--4:15.63 (Rahab Arrafi, Mercy Cherono)
25--4:15.61 (Abeba Aregawi)
27--4:16.71  (Malika Akkaoui, Angelika Cichocka)
NOTE: This Age Record is Mary Slaney's US National Record!)
29--4:26.84  (Jenny Simpson)
30--4:20.39  (Renata Plis, Shannon Rowbury)
NOTE: Rowbury doesn't turn 31 until September 19th, 8 days after this race!)
31: 4:23.40  (Viola Kibiwot)

IF this is a fast race, and IF everyone runs it hard, ALL of the Age Records could go down!
But SOME of them will be difficult!!

As for my DDD's, I see the possibility for a MASSIVE revision of my World list!
The only person from this entry list currently on the World list is Rowbury!
She's now 16th A-T, with her PR of 4:20.34.
24th Place on the list is now 4:21.30.
That's about a 1500 in 4:04+!
If they ALL pass 1500 in 4:04 or faster, we WILL see a brand new World list by tomorrow night!!

Only Rowbury is on the US Top 24 list!
She's 2nd best (to Slaney!).
Simpson is NOT on the list.
Her INdoor Mile best of 4:25+ does NOT count for the OUTdoor list!!
I think she'll make the list, however!
She needs run just 4:27.94!!

So, WILL this Van Damme Mile live up to the possibilities this Preview presents?
Or will it, as I intimated earlier, be a complete and utter FAILURE??

Or somewhere in between?

One thing's for sure.
I am THRILLED that the organizers added 109 meters to their original race distance!!

Check this blog tomorrow to see what happened!
(Of course, the ENTIRE meet will be covered!!)

BTW, Chanelle Price is also on the entry list!
But I have a feeling she'll be the Rabbit, as she was in Genzebe Dibaba's WR in Monaco!
Thus, I did not include her in any of my Record speculations!

ADDITION:
Chanelle Price tweeted to me that she will be setting a WORLD RECORD pace.
She didn't specify how fast she'll be going, but for a 4:12.56--even if with a slight negative split-- they must have its 800 (880!) no slower than 2:08.
The IAAF has said that Sifan Hassan asked for the event change, and for the rabbit!
She intends to give the WR a shot!

So the anticipation builds!!

ADDITION:
MORE news!
The race was changed to the Mile because Genzebe Dibaba wanted to chase the WR.
But then she withdrew from the meet--probably because of her poor showing in Zurich!
The organizers were ready to change it back to the 1500, but then Hassan's coach told them SHE wanted to go for the MILE WR!
So it remains the Mile!

Also, according to quotes from the American duo, they both want to chase down Slaney's AR!
Wouldn't it be something if BOTH break it!
But who will be the Record holder?
(Keep in mind that Rowbury ran a PR 800 in Zurich!!)

Track to Roads Transition--An Early Start

Steady readers of my blog probably noticed the LACK of a post about the Zurich DL.
Weltklasse means "World Class".
But the latest version of Zurich's long-time standby was anything BUT!
Oh, it had MANY "Weltklasse" athletes!
But poor weather (some rain, cold temps), added to jet lag and other post-World Championships problems, made this year's edition one of the WORST!
Thus, no post--for lack of records & marks worthy to report!

In the days since Zurich, I've gotten results from 3 Road Races which made me realize one thing--the transition from the 2015 T&F season to the Autumn season of Championship (and other) Road Racing has already begun!
In earnest!!
(Not to mention the first dribs & drabs from the Cross Country (XC) season, which are pouring in via the great work of TFRSS!!)
Well, let's take a look at the FEW marks that ARE worth reporting---from Zurich and other venues, from the tracks & fields to the roads!

Maybe indicative of what was to come (or NOT!!) from Zurich was Shawn Barber's performance.

Oh, there was nothing wrong with his great Pole Vaulting!
In fact, his winning jump of 5.92 (19-5) is a PR for him, and a Canada National Record, and an Age 21 Record!!
It also moves him from 16th A-T World, tied with 2 others, to 13th.

INdoors!!

Yes, all the above-listed Records are for my INdoor portion of my T&F Record Book!
You see, this event was held the day BEFORE the main part of the meet, and it was held INside Zurich's train station!!

But in the OUTdoor portion, a few marks stood out.

That "showdown" race between Almaz Ayana and Genzebe Dibaba--over 3000 meters--wasn't.
Not really.
Dibaba, maybe worn out from doubling at the WC's, couldn't connect to Ayana's pace when she moved, and it was Game Over!
The result was the Meet Record of 8:22.34--2.43 seconds slower than she ran for the final 3000 of her WC's 5000 race!!

Finishing in LAST was Emma Coburn!
However, her 8:59.76 was a BIG PR!!
And, added to her 3000SC time of 9:11.42, her Combined Event time of 18:11.18 makes her 15th A-T on that list!
(She has LOTS of room for improvement!!)

Ivana Spanovic remains hot as 2015 winds down.
Her 23-0.50 LJ breaks her own Serbia National Record.

Finally---yes, FINALLY!!--we have the 4X100 Relay for Women, which ended the meet.
A Jamaican foursome which had Elaine Thompson, and SAFP anchoring, beat the US with a Meet Record time of 41.60.

Berlin's venerable ISTAF meet had a couple of fast 800's.
Nijel Amos beat Mohammed Aman, among others, in 1:43.28.

But it was the Women's race that surprised some.
Lynsey Sharp prevailed over a deep field, her time of 1:57.71 being the new National Record of Scotland!!

Fabienne Kohlmann was 2nd in 1:58.34.
Finishing 5th, but in a PR time of 2:00.03, was Shannon Rowbury!
Sooooooo close to going sub-2:00!!

Bernard Lagat closed out his track season with a fast 13:17.58 5000 in 3rd (behind Paul K Koech & Hassan Mead!).
Wasn't an Age 40 Record, as his 13:14+ from earlier this year is faster!

A meet in Padua, Italy had some interesting results.

Sheila Reid--coming off of an injury--seems to be back!!
She WON the 1500 in 4:06.9!
And relegated one Mercy Cherono to 2nd place!!
Not bad for what SEEMS to be Reid's 1st race back!!

Another "comebacker" appears to be Francine Niyonsaba!
She won the 800 in 1:59.82.

SAFP easily won the 100---in 10.98 AGAINST a wind of 2.7!!--2nd being 11.42!

But it's the ROADS where some very good "early season" marks have occurred.

It began with a report from the Netherlands that Shalane Flanagan would be going after the American 10K Record set by Lynn Jennings in 1990--31:06.
She succeeded--barely--running the US Record time of 31:03.

She didn't win--Genet Yalew of Ethiopia won in 30:58--, but she beat Betsy Saina in 3rd by over a minute!!
(She said afterwards that she wanted the Record first, not the win, so she went out conservatively.  But she was catching Yalew at the end!)

In Virginia Beach, the Rock and Roll Half Marathon was won by Laura Thweatt in 1:12:59.
She's preparing to run New York!
She won by over 7 minutes!!

Finally, the USATF Championship 20000 Meters race was easily taken by "still upset about Beijing" Molly Huddle, her time of 1:06:26 prevailing by a full minute over Janet Bawcom.

Jared Ward--a relatively "new" name in US distance running--took a hard-fought battle in the Men's race in 59:22.
Close---VERY close!--behind came new US citizen Sam Chelanga, followed by Dathan Ritzenhein, and Luke Puskedra, all finishing within a handful of seconds behind Ward!

Nothing worth noting from the early XC results--yet!

Since this post is comparatively "short", I thought I'd add a little Book Review to finish it off!

As I may have mentioned, I recently purchased The Big Gold Book from T&FN.
But that's NOT the book I'll be reviewing!
No, I bought ANOTHER book recently.
It's the 2012 edition of Wilfried Kramer's National Athletics Records for All Countries in the World!
(I already owned the 2003 edition!)

I have good news---and not so good news.
(I'm not certain I worded that right--as you'll soon find out!)

This latest version is MUCH improved over the older edition.
For one thing, it's BIGGER!
There's 248 pages, as opposed to 208 in the 2003 book.
And Kramer includes NR's for 235 countries (??), not the "measly" 226 from 2003's edition!

I do have a few complaints, but they may only be based on personal choice or bias, not the good intentions and guidelines Kramer used for inclusion in his book.

Missing are Records for the 1 and 2 Mile, the 300, 600, 1000, and 2000 meters!
I mean, the One MILE??!!

Also, the only Relays included are the basic 4X100 and the 4X400.
(Of course, this edition came out before the World Relays began, so maybe his NEXT edition will include more Relay NR's!)

I found some anomalies in the book,  especially when compared to the 2003 edition.
The best example---IMHO--and one I started a thread about on the T&FN Message Board!--concerns the NR's for Great Britain!

In the 2003 edition, Kramer included separate NR's for Great Britain (& Northern Ireland), and for Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

But in the newer book, he ALSO has separate NR's for England!!
AND for Northern Ireland--DESPITE the GB Records being labeled "GB (& NI)"!!
And some of those are DIFFERENT than some of the NR's for GB (& NI)!!
(Read the comments on the T&FN thread--in the Historical Forum--for some GREAT lessons in English (British??) history and geography!!)

Also noted are some of the HUGE changes in some National Records since the 2012 edition came out!
(I won't even speak of all the changes in NR's that took place between the 2003 and 2012 editions!!)

One GREAT example is the 100 and 200 NR's of the Netherlands for Women!
The book actually covers the Records only through the end of 2011--so basically 4 years have passed since then!
In 2011, Dafne Schippers already held the Netherlands NR in the 200--but her time was just 22.69 then!
She had yet to break the NR for the Heptathlon!

So now, just 4 years later, she's improved the NR in the 100 from 11.08 to 10.81, in the 200 from her own 22.69 to 21.63, and from the 6423 of Karin Ruckstahl to her 6545!

And while I've only BEGUN to seriously scan this book, I've seen numerous other MAJOR changes in NR's.

And I'm only speaking of "BIG" countries, Athletically speaking!
What of those OTHER 150+ (??) "countries" whose NR's might serve as temptations for athletes---who make up the "lower tiers" of elitedom--or even for those who serve as "mid-packers" in Major Marathons---those who constitute the "average" time of 3:00:00 for Men or 3:45:00 for Women??

I can tell you--from just a quick glance--that there are MANY such places where one could move---a la those elites who move to Qatar and Bahrain and such!--and be able to break SEVERAL National Records, as soon as their new citizenship becomes legal!

St. Helena is NOT the "best" (worst??) example, but here's some of their NR's.
Men:
11.93, 24.26, 55.02, 2:09.2, 4:24.01, 10:40.71, 3:11:21, 19.7 (110H).
Yes, those are the MEN's NR's for the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 3000, Marathon, and the 110H!

The Women's?
How about 13.48, 27.37, 67.4, 2:58.2, 6:18.7 (for the 1500!!), 6:30:52 (That's correct!  I said 6 hours, 30 minutes, and 52 seconds!!!) for the Marathon.
I also note St Helena's Women's Field Event NR's.
In metric, they are 1.40 (HJ), 4.92 (For the LJ, not the PV!)), 9.75 (SP), 19.10 (DT), and 26.05 (JT)!!

Okay, all you SIXTH GRADE Boys and Girls, want to break a National Record??

Then there are all the "countries"---I put Countries in quotes because several of these are NOT legalized nations, but territories or other "properties" of larger nations, but which are included in Kramer's book, which has "Countries" in its title!!--that I have no (or only a vague) idea where they are, or that they even existed!

But that's where Kramer's book becomes the fascinating gem it is!
In the anomalies.
In the amazing changes.
In those little known facts.
It's THERE that this book becomes worthy of its $30 price tag!

Because it's not an Annual, it can't really serve as your greatest research source for National Records.
But it CAN serve as maybe Track and Field's (Athletics, to you foreigners!!  LOL) version of the Guinness Book of World Records.
A really interesting and FUN book!!

Next post in a few days---after the final DL of the year---in Brussels!

Best & Worst (& Trivia) from Beijing

What's left to say about the 15th World Championships that hasn't been said in my 11 previous WC posts?
As if I hadn't been opinionated enough in those earlier posts!
Well, I promise you, this WILL be the LAST post ALL about this meet.
My excuse?
I started my blog on December 9, 2013.
So this was the most important OUTdoor meet held since then.
(The 2014 INdoor WC didn't really deserve this kind of treatment.  Hint: That might change for the 2016 version, it being held in the US.  But I'll make that decision AFTER seeing how many "super elites" will be participating!)
Anyway, let's take a look at some of the Best and Worst from Beijing, along with a few assorted other facts & figures.

Many think that the WC is a better T&F meet than the Olympic Games.
Their reasoning is that the WC is 100% T&F, whereas the OG is more a spectacle, which INCLUDES T&F--even if our sport is seen as its core!
So I decided to compare the 2, measured by how many CURRENT World Records were set in each!
This is NOT a count of how many WR's have been broken in either meet, as several WR's have been broken multiple times in each!

In the WC, MEN have 7 WR's on the books.
They are the 100, 200, 400, 4X400 Relay, LJ, TJ, and the Decathlon.

The WOMEN's WC WR's number just 2.
They are the HJ and LJ.

It's different for the OG!
The MEN have 3 WR's.
They are the 800, 400H, and the 4X100 Relay.

But the WOMEN dominate here, with 6 WR's.
They are the 200, 3000SC, 4X100 Relay, 4X400 Relay, DT, and the Heptathlon!

Overall, it's the MEN with 10, while the WOMEN have 8!

Who had the Best HAIR?
Oh, come on!
SAFP, with her garish green-braided locks!!
Beautiful!!

Best Uniforms?
Well, I've always been partial to Jamaica's!!
Wildly colorful!
(Maybe they inspired Shelly Ann's hairdo!!)

Who made the Greatest Breakthroughs?
Dafne Schippers went from 22.02 to 21.63 in the 200.
Elaine Thompson went from 22.10 to 21.66!

But Sergey Shubenkov improved his PR by 0.11 in the 110H.
That's BIG for that event!

What about the Greatest Upsets?
That's an easy one!

Start with Almaz Ayana beating Genzebe Dibaba in the 5000--circumstances of Dibaba's having already run 3 rounds of the 1500, plus a round of the 5000 notwithstanding!

Shawn Barber beating Renaud Lavillenie in the PV!

Denia Caballero is 3rd in this category, as beating Sandra Perkovic isn't unique anymore!

Usain Bolt beating Justin Gatlin--TWICE!--an upset?
Not really
And that's why I place those "upsets" behind the ones above!

The Best Series in a Field event?
Anita Wlodarczyk, easy!
Her top throw came within 9 inches of her WR.
And her 2nd best throw would have topped her old WR--the 261.1.
She also had a third throw over 260 feet!

Best Teenage Performances?
The Gold here goes to Dina Asher-Smith, who improved her PR in each round!
The 3rd of these brought her the title of Fastest EVER Teen in the 200!!

On the Men's side--despite his slowish time!--the prize goes to Ghirmay Ghebrselassie for his Marathon win over a GREAT field!

Who has the Best Name?
I just LOVE the name of that Swiss girl, Mujinga Kambundji!!
(I've even learned to type it without having to check my spelling!  LOL)

Here's some NEW MOM awards.
Best New Mom prize goes to Gold Heptathlon winner Jessica Ennis-Hill.
The Worst New Mom "prize" is, sad to say, all Chaunte Lowe's, for not even being able to clear her first Qualifying height of 1.80!!
The SADDEST New Mom moment?
Again, sad to say, it's the fall of Alysia Montano, and her not being able to advance!
(Her fast opening laps were missed in that Final!!)

Speaking of SAD moments--though NOT because they're new mothers!!--let's add these:
Molly Huddle losing the Bronze in the 10K
People have been critical of her early celebration, but let's face it, she still LOST, whatever the reason!
(But kudos to Emily Infeld for doing what she needed---and was TRAINED!!--to do!!

Also sad for Jenny Simpson, losing a shoe at the WRONG time!!

Worst Performances when measured against pre-meet expectations?
This one's EASY!

The "winner" is the entire US Women's 100H squad!
A False Start, a DNF, a LAST place in the Final, and just a 4th for the "best" performance??
Jeez!

But Dibaba's 5K run wasn't what about 100% of "experts" thought it would be!
The US Men's 800 team wasn't too hot either!
Both US teams for the 1500's performed below par--although Simpson (See above!) had a valid excuse!
Finally, I have to add Marielle Hall's and Abbey D'Agostino's runs in the 5000 Heats to this list.
They'd run 15:05 or faster, but here couldn't even break 16:00!!

My "I LOVE Nick Symmonds" Award goes to 3 people.

Jenna Prandini--affiliated CLOSELY to NIKE-owned U of O--grandly announced she's turning Pro during her post-race interview!
She said she's signed with PUMA!!
Good for you, Jenna!!

I've already mentioned (in a previous post) how Emma Coburn spent 6 minutes being interviewed, all the while her long blonde hair COVERING the NIKE emblem on her jersey!
Then she made it even BETTER when she answered the question of what she'd done outside of track in Beijing!
"I visited the NEW BALANCE store!", she replied!
(She may have lost her race, but she WON here!!)

I'll add Usain Bolt as a footnote---pun intended!!
After his great 200 win over Justin Gatlin, followed by cameras every step he took, he stopped, removed his shoes, and held those self-same PUMAS up for all the world---including NIKE & USATF--to see!!
Talk about getting SPIKED!!

Most Endearing moments?
Bolt doing his usual routine!
Infeld's face after finding out she'd won Bronze!
Blanka Vlasic's---like Bolt's--usual post-make dance!
Add Christina Schwanitz's overjoyed glow at winning the SP--albeit part of that joy was probably RELIEF that Valerie Adams wasn't there!!

What were the Best Overall Events, including all the rounds in the track events, and both Qualifying and Final in the field events?
The Men's 400 wins!
Those 43.93's in the HEATS, plus that incredible Final, with 3 more going sub-44!

The Men's Sprint Relays were also good.
Several National Records.
Plus it's always a heart-jarring experience to see IF the teams---especially the US--make it through 400 meters with the baton NOT on the ground somewhere!

The Men's 10000 was good as a single round race.
For once, the times were NEAR what you'd see in a paced DL race!

On the Women's side, I'd pick the 200's.
Several NR's in the rounds, then that FINAL!!

I also like the 800, even though the times weren't super fast.
(At least not on the Record-breaking!)
But that 3rd round in the Semi's, with most of the places running faster than their counterparts in the Final!
And with 23 of 24 running 2:00.83 or faster!

The Marathon had a GREAT finish, as did the 20K Walk!

The Best Field events?
For the Men, I'd give it to the Shot Put!
There were several over 70 feet, with a great battle between David Storl and Joe Kovacs for the Gold!

For the Women, the Pole Vault!
A great field---even without Isi present, and with Demi Payne not having her best day!--plus great marks for the Top 3.
And all the finalists going 15-1 or higher!

The Worst Overall Track events?
For the Men, I'd give that Booby Prize to the 800.
The Final was SLOWWW!
And the US squad was an utter failure--after leaving the US CHAMPION home!!

The 5000 Final was also SLOWWWW!!
(Don't care much that a GREAT 1000 was part of it!!)

I'll add the Marathon to this list, even though the slow times can be PARTIALLY excused by the heat!


For the Women, the Big Prize goes to the 1500.
Dibaba's opening round in 4:02.49 gave MUCH promise for what she might do in either/or the Semi and Final.
Again, despite that fantastic final 800 by GD, this wasn't an 800!!
It was a 1500!!

The 3000SC had relatively slow times in the Heats.
Or maybe I should call them AVERAGE Heat times!!
But the Final being won in 9:19 and change?
Come on, they ran sub-3:00 for the last K.
I'd say Coburn lost that race because she didn't run sub-3:00 on both of the last TWO kilometers!!

Then there's the total MELTDOWN by the US foursome in the 100H.
Let's face it, they were SUPPOSED to SWEEP the Medals, and maybe take the top 4 spots (or at least 4 of 5, with former American Tiffany Porter sneaking in there somewhere!).
Utter FAILURE!

The Worst Field events, by gender?

For the Men, that "prize" EASILY goes to the High Jump!
Just 2.34 for the GOLD??
And 2.33 for the other medals?
Where are the days of MULTIPLE jumpers over 2.40 in one meet??

The DT was okay, with the Silver medalist getting a National Record.
But overall, pretty weak, especially considering the biggest NAMES were all there!

For the Women, I'd say the TJ.
No really great marks, and a tepid competition.

"Winning" by default might be the SP.
Yes, Schwanitz, Gong, and Carter had good marks, and should all be congratulated.
But let's face reality, folks!
An in-shape and un-injured Valerie Adams would've won Gold without breaking a sweat if she'd been there!

The Javelin Throw also should be included.
Marks were just fair, and Kara Winger wasn't near her marks from earlier this year!

The Best Multi?
You MUST ask??

(That said, if KJT's huge LJ had been a fair one, the 3-way COMPETITION might have given Mr Eaton a run for his money!)

NAHHH!!!

FINALLY, let's take a look at the Meet Records!
When WR's aren't available, MR's are ALMOST the next best thing---especially in a meet like the WC, where WR's often happen.  (See the opening shot of this post!)
So here is a chart of all 15 of the World Championships so far, with the CURRENT Meet Records listed set in each meet.
The year is listed on the far left, then the Men's numbers, then the Women's numbers (followed by the TOTAL--M & W added together), then WHICH MR's on the far right.

2015    1     4   (5)  9045, 21.63, 14:26.83, 265-3, 41.07
2013    1     0   (1)  7-10.75
2011    1     3   (4)  37.04, 12.28, 69-8.25 (a tie), 236-2
2009    5     1   (6)  9.58, 19.19, 26:46.31, 8:00.43, 2:06:54, 52.42
2007    1     1   (2)  274-4, 9:06.57
2005    1     3   (4)  230-2, 2:20:57, 16-5.25, 1:25:41
2003    3     2   (5)  12:52.79, 1:17:21, 3:36:03, 3:58.52, 30:04.18
2001    2     0   (2)  19-10.25, 304-5
1999    2     1   (3)  43.18, 3:27.65, 10.70
1997    0     0   (0)
1995    1     1   (2)  60-0.25, 50-10.25
1993    3     1   (4)  12.91, 47.18, 2:54.29, 3:16.71
1991    1     0   (1)  29-4.50
1987    2     5   (7)  1:43.06, 72-11.25, 6-10.25, 24-1.75, 69-8.25 (a tie), 235-0, 7128
1983    0     2   (2)  47.99, 1:54.28

And that REALLY is a WRAP for the Beijing WC!!

See you in just a couple of days with results from Zurich!!