From Across This Little Orb

As ever, I need to explain my title!
This post was GOING to be mostly about the Monaco DL.
And I will detail the results from there.
But Monaco will have to share this space with results from several other meets, from, as the title states, all "across this little orb", aka Planet Earth!
Not least of which are two "majors", the European Championships and the NACAC Under 23 Championships!
Well, lots to report, so onward!

The Euros are always good for large amounts of National Record revisions, and this version, held in Amsterdam from July 6-10, was no different.
For me, the best mark set NO records, and made NO lists!
In fact, Jo Pavey didn't even win her race, the 10000!
But her 31:34.61 came within 3 seconds of my "Age 40 & over" record, held by then-40 year old Edith Masai, her 31:31.18 from 2007.
Pavey is 42 & 10 months!!
BTW, American Greek Alexi Pappas, age 26, was 11th, in 32:27 and change!

In other Euros action---
Anouk Vetter's Heptathlon winning score of 6626 breaks the National Record of the Netherlands, held by one Dafne Schippers, her 6545 dating from 2014!
Also scoring an NR was Ivana Dadic's 6408.
She's Austrian!
Schippers ran 2nd leg on her nation's 42.04 winner in the 4X100 Relay!
This is a National Record, and moves the Netherlands from 13th A-T Nation to 8th, tied with one other!
Great Britain took 2nd in 42.45.
In the heats, Switzerland got an NR with their 42.87.
They move up 1 spot on the A-T Nation list, from 20th to 19th!
Schippers also easily took the 100, timed in 10.90.
Ekaterina Stefanidi got the Meet Record with her PV clearance at 15-9.25!
Lisa Ryzih was 2nd with 15-5, while Angelica Bengtsson was 3rd with 15-3.
Lisa Gunnarson reached 14-9.
She's still just 16 years old!!
Tatsiana Khaladovich threw the Javelin 217-8 to win, as well as get the National Record of Belarus!
It also makes her 21st A-T World!!
The Women's 3000SC was won in a non-PR 9:18.85 by Germany's Gesa Krause.
But it was Luiza Gega's 9:28.52 that gave her Albania's new National Record!
Patricia Mamona Triple Jumped 47-10, giving her the National Record of Portugal!
In non-record action, Ruth Beitia HJ'ed 6-6, while Sandra Perkovic had a Discus Throw of 229-6.
Pawel Fajdek and Anita Wlodarczyk took the Hammer Throws, with respective marks of 265-6 and 263-4.
Anita's 5 fair throws went at least 260-5!!
The Walks have come to Africa!!
Getting National Records for Kenya were Samuel Gathimba (1:19: 24) and Grace Njue (1:30:43)!!
Yehualya Belete got the NR of Ethiopia in the 20K Walk also!
They hold Half-Marathons at the Euros!
Tadesesse Abraham (?) won the Men's race in 1:02:03, while Sara Moreira won the Women's race in 1:10:19!
David Storl, not surprisingly, won the SP with a toss of 69-11.
In Qualifying, Antti Ruskanen threw the Javelin 289-5!
The 4X100 Relay was won in 38.17 by Great Britain.
France took 2nd in 38.38.
Belgium and Great Britain took the Men's and Women's 4X400 Relays in, respectively, 3:01.10 (over Poland's 3:01.18!) and 3:25.05.

The NACAC-U23 meet was loaded with top Americans, most of whom performed well.
Thirteen Meet Records were broken in this every-2nd-year meet, 6 by Americans!
Raven Saunders won the SP with 60-8.
Quanesha Burks took the Long Jump, though her winning mark of 22-1.50 was shared by Akela Jones, the places decided by 2nd best jumps!
Megan Clark won the PV, reaching 14-5.25.
But she just tied Sandi Morris's (!!) MR from 2014!!
Shelbi Vaughn's 187-8 throw won the Discus!
The US 4X100 team took the Women's race in 42.93.
Chelsea Blaase had no problem winning the 10000, jogging a MR of 35:30.87.
Jones took down the High Jump MR, going over 6-3.25.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn's 12.78 got the 100H MR.
Chrisann Gordon of Jamaica got the 400 MR with 51.02.
Yulanmis Aguilar won the JT with her MR of 187-4.
Lineydis Ventia took the 800 in the MR time of 2:02.02.
Raevyn Rogers was just 4th in 2:04.78, while Olivia Baker was 6th, about 4 seconds behind Rogers!!
Diego Del Real's 244-7 got the Hammer Throw Meet Record, and he got the scalp of American Olympian Rudy Winkler!!
Yeheria Miranda got the Women's MR in the 10K Walk, her time being 49:24.70!
In non-record action, Curtis Thompson won the Javelin with his 260-1.
Canada's Jenna Westaway, who took 2nd in the 800 with 2:03.90, won the 1500 over Mary Cain, 4:16.03 to 4:16.86!!
The 4X400 Relays were both won by US teams, the Men in 3:00.89, Michael Cherry on anchor, and the Women in 3:28.45, with Shakima Wimbley anchoring, and Jaide Stepter taking the 2nd leg!

Various other meets saw the following--
Shi Yukao LJ'ed 27-2.75 for a new Age 17 record!!
Michael Torneus nabbed the National Record of Sweden with his 27-8.75!
It misses my World list by less than 2 inches!
The Canadian Championships saw Andre De Grasse win the 100 in 9.99 (-0.1).
Brendon Rodney sped the 200 in 19.96.
De Grasse took 3rd in 20.32!!
Wind was 1.1.
1000 meter races were run--somewhere!!--and for this rarely run distance, saw World leading times of 2:36.04 by Louisa Lindh, and Mohamed Hamada's 2:17.66.
Second for the Men was Johan Rogostadt's 2:17.67.
For Lindh, it's the National Record of Sweden!!
Tirunesh Dibaba won a 5000 in 14:41.73!!
Alide Nawuwuna (??) took a 10000 in 30:26.94.
(Not sure if I already posted the latter mark!!)
In the French Championships, Renaud Lavillenie won the PV, clearing 19-6.25.
Jimmy Vicaut took the 100 in 9.88 (1.9), after a heat of 9.94.
Shawn Barber PV'ed 19-4.25.
Gianmarco Tamberi HJ'ed 7-8.75.
Wayde Van Niekerk sprinted 200 in 20.02, with the wind at 1.8.

In the Track Town Classic--in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, NOT Eugene OR USA!!--Melissa Bishop broke her own National Record of Canada, winning by more than 4 seconds with her 1:57.43.
McKayla Fricker was 2nd in 2:01.71, while shock American Olympian Chrishuna Williams took 3rd in 2:02.41.
Duane Solomon found some redemption with his 800 win in 1:45.51.
Andre De Grasse and Shaunae Miller took the 200's, in 20.20 and 22.38, respectively.
Arman Hall won the 400 in 45.05, while Jeremy Wariner was 3rd in 45.51.
Courtney Okolo ran 50.47 in the 400 to beat Fran McCorory's 50.83!
The now retired-to-make-movies-and-act, now not-so-retired Johnny Dutch took the 400H in 49.02!!

Belgium's Heusden-Zolder meet normally finds several American middle distance runners chasing OG or WC qualifying marks.
But this year, the Q period for Rio is finished!
But the US crowd still showed up!
While Ayanleh Souleiman crushed a 3:31.68 to easily beat Hillary Ngetich's 3:32.97, 7th placer Ryan Hill  got a big PR of 3:35.59 in the 1500!!
In the Women's race, Cory McGee and Rachel Schneider were only 6th & 7th, but ran good times of 4:07.34 and 4:07.84.
McGee was actually leading through the final curve, but several passed her on the final straight!!
The Women's 5000 was won by Renata Plis in 15:23.19, over new British star Jess Andrews's 15:24.02.
But 3 Americans comported themselves well.
In 4th was Lauren Paquette's 15:28.40.
Sammy Silva was 6th in 15:29.85.
And Aisling Cuffe finished 8th in 15:36.12.
Albert Rop took the Men's 5000 in 13:09.08.

In Padua, Italy, Amanda Eccleston--who barely lost an Olympic spot to Brenda Martinez in a thrilling track-splatting finish at the US Trials--ran a PR of 4:04.88, missing the US list by 0.79 seconds!!
Heather Kampf took 2nd in 4:05.31.
Not bad for Eccleston's International debut!!
Stephanie McPherson won the 400 in 50.98.
In the Men's 1500, four Americans took the top 4 places, with the best being Erich Avila's winner of 3:36.37, a PR, and Kyle Merber's 3:37.35.
Someone who goes by the acronym of SAFP took the 100 in 11.25 from Jeneba Tarmoh's 11.47.
(SAFP is alias Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, as if you didn't already know!!)

Marks from meets I've forgotten the names of included--
Letsenet Gidey's 14:45.63 in the 5000.
The Ethiopian is supposedly a teenager, though don't know her exact age.
Ayanleh Souleiman won an 800 in 1:44.06.
Genzebe Dibaba took a 1500 in a quick 3:59.83.
Well, "quick" for mere mortals, anyway!!  LOL
Ghana ran a 4X100 Relay in 42.67, becoming the 18th best Nation!!
Vera Rebryk's 220-9 Javelin Throw moves her from 15th A-T World to 12th, where she's tied with 1 other!
Christie Hussong's JT of 217-10 moves her from 22nd A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 20th!
And Mondo Duplantis broke his own Age 16 and Soph Class records with his 18-1 PV!!
He moves from 9th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 7th!

I now move on to the Monaco Diamond League meet.
I saved it for last for two VERY distinctive reasons.
One, because as far as DL's go, this one was NOT one of the best!
Two, for possibly ONE of the very reasons it didn't hold up well.
Just a day before the meet, an insane terrorist drove a truck through joyous crowds celebrating France's Bastille Day in nearby Nice, France, killing over 80 people, and injuring many more!
For awhile, there was some question whether the meet might be cancelled or postponed.
The Cote D'Azur airport, the airport used by most people coming to Monaco, was under heavy security, as were roads surrounding Monaco.
Finally, it was announced the meet would go on as scheduled, but without the "extras".
Under a veil of sadness and loss, the athletes performed as well as could be expected.
Here's what happened, limited to meet results only!

Gianmarco Tamberi won the HJ with a leap of 7-10, breaking his own National Record of Italy.
However, on his 2nd attempt at 2.41 (7-10.75), he badly hurt his ankle, causing him to be taken off the field on a stretcher, his Rio hopes shattered, and his 2016 season ended!
Bogdan Bondarenko took 2nd with a jump of 7-9.25.

Consesius Kipruto took the 3000SC in 8:08.11 over PK Koech's 8:08.32 and Barnabas Kipyego's 8:09.13.
In 6th was Andy Bayer's PR of 8:17.39.
But he remains 17th A-T US!

Ron Kwemoi's 3:30.49 overtook the fading Asbel Kiprop, whose 3:32.03 wound up just 6th, behind Mo Farah's 5th place mark of 3:31.74.
Elijah Manangoi, Taoufik Makhloufi, and Abdelaati Iguider filled in the space between Kwemoi and Farah!
Jakub Holusa's 3:33.36 became the National Record of the Czech Republic!

Caterine Ibarguen's TJ of 49-1 handled Yulimar Rojas's 48-0.50 with ease!
Tatsiana Khaladovich's 215-3 JT missed my World DDD by 4 inches.
(She later got on the list.  See above!)
Alonzo Edward ran the 200 in 20.10 to beat Chris Lemaitre's 20.24.
Damian Forbes took the LJ with 27-0, while Piotr Malachowski won the DT with 215-1.
Nicholas Kipkoech won the 800 in 1:44.47 over Alfred Kipketer's 1:44.49, and Adam Kszczot's 1:44.59.
Elidh Doyle PR'ed in the 400H, her winning time being 54.09.
Cassandra Tate took 2nd in 54.63, while the beleaguered Shamier Little continued her fall, placing just 5th in 55.73.
Ashley Spencer did even worse, finishing 8th in 56.46!
Ekaterina Stefanidi won the PV with 15-9.25.
She took 3 tries at 16-2!!
Yarisley Silva was 2nd with 15-5.50, while Fabiana Murer and Holly Bradshaw got over 15-3's.
Eliza McCartney could clear just 14-11.

Dafne Schippers controlled the 100, her 10.94 looking easy.
VCB, aka Veronica Campbell-Brown, was a far back 2nd in 11.12, while Tianna Bartoletta was 5th in 11.21.

Valerie Adams seems back in the game, as she won the SP with her 65-9.50, beating the 65-0 of Christine Schwanitz.
Americans Michelle Carter and Tia Brooks did okay, with Carter hitting 64-3, and Brooks reaching 62-9.25.

Wayde Van Niekerk's 44.12 won the 400 over Michael Cedeno's 44.34, Bralon Taplin's 44.38, and Tony McQuay's 44.79.
Orlando Ortego won the 110H in 13.04, breaking his own National Record of Spain!!
Dimitri Bascou was 2nd in 13.12, while Pascal Martinot-Lagarde ran 13.17.

The Women's 3000 saw Helen Obiri sprinting a 60.97 final lap, to win in 8:24.27 over Mercy Cherono's 8:27.25, and Janet Kisa's 8:28.33.
Further back, but getting good PR's, were Katie Mackey in 8:46.58, and new Pro Dominique Scott in 8:46.65.
Gabe Grunewald dipped under 9:00 in 10th.

Then there was the Women's 800.
Let's just say that 3 PEOPLE finished in the first 3 places.
I won't reveal their times, as none of them should be included in WOMEN's races of whatever distance!!
(I'll have more to say on this in a future post!!)

That said, the first time I care about belongs to Eunice Sum, as she ran 1:57.47.
But finishing just behind her was US Olympic Trials 4th placer Molly Ludlow.
Her one full second PR of 1:57.68 moves her up 15 places (!!) on the A-T US list, from 22nd to 7th!!
Her time is the fastest by a US woman this year!!
Lynsey Sharp ran a--heh--sharp 1:57.75, while Angelika Cichocko--much-improved--ran 1:58.97.

Look for my World Junior Championships Preview, sometime before the meet begins in Bydgoszcz, Poland on July 19th, going through the 24th!

One final note, although I'm pretty sure you already know about it.
Drew Hunter turned Pro, thus dropping from the University of Oregon.
Apparently, he will take a year off to acclimate to being a Professional, then start college somewhere!
He signed with Adidas, in a multi-year contract!!

See you soon!