Ends of races are anticipated long before the finish line.
But an end to a young athlete's very life sometimes comes upon us unseen and unexpected.
Scanning Twitter about 12 hours ago, I saw reference to an article titled "Olympic runner found dead in pool...".
Forewarned isn't always forearmed, so the shock I felt at discovering this athlete was David Torrence was extreme.
Only 31, he died in a condo pool in Scottsdale AZ, where he was living while training.
He was set to run in the Hoka One One Mile this weekend.
Kyle Merber, one of the race organizer's, said the race would be named in Torrence's honor!
Dozens of tributes poured forth on Let's Run, Twitter, and T&FN from athletes, coaches, agents, and organizations, all agreeing on 1 thing---David Torrence will be sorely missed--not just because of his records on the track, but for being a genuine good person!
Further details on his death will be posted when available.
But yes, life does go on, as well as scheduled T&F meets!
The Women's Steeplechase and both gender's HJ's remained the features of this past week's activity.
At the Eberstadt HJ meet, Mutaz Barshim again jumped 2.40 (7-10.50), this time having a bit of competition!
Danil Lysenko, of Russia, and just 20 years old, ended 2nd with 7-9.75!
This is the Age 20 record!
And he becomes 17th A-T World, tied with TEN others!!
Marie Laurence-Jungfleisch led the Women, jumping 6-6.75!
Berlin's venerable ISTAF meet--now an IWC affair--saw Norah Tanui dominate the SC, running away from the field, winning in 9:03.70.
This was an ISTAF Meet Record, and it breaks her own Age 21 record too!
She moves from 9th A-T World, to 7th!
Gesa Krause continues to leap barriers (Sic!), again breaking her own National Record of Germany, time of 9:11.85!
She's now 18th A-T World!
And Colleen Quigley--in her first SC since being banished from the WC final by ignorant judges and foolish rules--showed she was a medal contender to watch, as she placed 3rd in a 4.03 second PR of 9:15.97!
She moves from 6th to 4th on the A-T US list!
She missed the World list by just 2.12 seconds!!
Irony ruled the Women's 600!
Changed from an 800 at a certain unnamed South African athlete's request, so the WOMEN's WR could be chased---this event became the farce that ALL races do when this athlete (& 2 others) are entered!
"Winning" in a "WR" of 1:21.77 once again proved that WOMEN ONLY races need to ban these 3 from participating!
So, in MY T&F Record Book, and blog, Ajee Wilson is the WOMAN who broke the World Record, HER time of 1:22.39 entering History!!
Besides the WR, Wilson destroyed the American Record, and the Age 23 record!
Noelie Yarigo was the next Woman to finish, her time being 1:25.78.
Kendra Chambers ran 1:27.45.
Konstanze Klosterhalfen continued her amazing season, winning the ISTAF 1500 in a PR of 3:58.92, far ahead of the 4:01.60 PR by Eilish McColgan!
Another having a great 2017, Susan Krumins PR'ed in 3rd in 4:02.25!
A Canadian battle ensued for the 5th place spot, with newcomer Gabriela Stafford beating the Veteran Nicole Sifuentes, 4:03 55 to 4:04.82.
Stafford's time was a PR for the 21 year old!
The 2 Americans--Shannon Rowbury and Shelby Houlihan, ended 7th & 8th!!
In other ISTAF events---
Dina Asher-Smith upset Marie Josee Ta Lou in the 200, 22.41 to 22.44!
Tianna Bartoletta had a busy meet--winning the 100 in 11.04, taking just 5th in the LJ (behind ShaKeela Saunders's 22-0.75 winner, then running lead-off on the US 4X100 team that lost to Germany's 42.17!
The US ran 43.07!
Jamaica may have a new star, as Julian Forte suddenly sped a 9.91 100!
His previous best was 9.99!
David Storl won the SP with 69-3.25, while Sam Kendricks won the PV at 19-2.75!
Piotr Malachowski won the DT with 220-5.
Johannes Vetter took the JT with his 294-9.
Birhanu Belew took the 5000 in 13:11.00.
Aries Merritt won the 110H in 13.17.
Christina Manning continues a good season, winning the 100H in 12.54, a PR!
She moves from 21st A-T US to 20th, tied with 1 other!
Danielle Williams was 2nd in 12.58.
Meets in Zagreb and Rovereta--as well as a few others--provided some impressive stats!
Lost in the mix was a massive breaking of the Age 32 record by Anita Wlodarczyk in the HT!!
On August 15th, in Warsaw, she threw 261-10, destroying the old record by over 15 feet!!
Malwina Kopron keeps improving, this time to 252-1, making her 10th A-T World!
Isaiah Young took a 100 in 9.97 over Julian Forte's 9.99!
W (?) Kenyamal won the 800 in 1:43.94.
Selemon Boraga won the 3000 in 7:38.90, with Mo Ahmed's 7:40.49 finishing 3rd!
Ajee Wilson won a "free from the unnamed" 800 in 1:57.72.
Winny Chebet was 2nd in 1:58.13, with Lynsey Sharp 3rd in 1:58.35.
Jenny Simpson was 8th, time of 2:01.64!
Norah Tanui won again in the SC, her 9:04.56 far in front!
Leah O'Connor ran 9:31.61 in 6th!
Sandra Perkovic really exploded in rounds 5 and 6 in the DT, her marks being 231-1 and 232-4!!
Whitney Ashley was a far back 2nd with 206-4!
Russian Sergey Shubenkov won his 1st race of 2017, his 13.12 beating Devon Allen's 13.19 in the 110H!
In the WUG, Taiwan's (Or Chinese Taipei??) Chao-Tsun Cheng got the Age 23 record in the JT with his throw of 299-9!
It's also the National Record and the Meet Record!
He is 12th A-T World!
Second was Andreas Hofmann, his 298-9 becoming 14th A-T World!!
(Someone has already dubbed 2017 the "Year of the Spear"!!)
Damien Birkenhead PR'ed in the SP, his 70-0.50 becoming Australia's National Record!!
In Norway's Nationals, Karoline Grovdal sped the 3000SC in 9:13.35 for the National Record!
This makes her 22nd A-T World!
Young Jakob Ingebrigtsen tripled, with his 5000 time of 13:35.84 being his best!
At 16, he'd probably be a Soph (or maybe a Jr) in a US High School!
The HSR is Galen Rupp's 13:37.91, run as a Senior!!
There was a Pole Vault-only meet held in Beckum, Germany!
Sandi Morris won it with a clearance of 15-9!!
But 2nd found Alysha Newman PR'ing at 15-7, breaking her own National Record of Canada!
This makes her 22nd A-T World, tied with 2 others!!
(It also takes OFF my DDD two athletes whose marks came this year--Katie Nageotte and Lisa Ryzih! Thus, the year's count of 5 athletes with 2017 marks on my list was reduced to four!!)
The Bobby Crim 10 Mile Road Race was won by Joshua Kogo in 47:01, with Dathan Ritzenhein taking 4th in 47:31.
The Women's race was won by Buze Diriba Kajila (Was she recently married??) in 51:49, with Diane Kipyokei 2nd in 51:56!
You may already know this, but Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay are going to race the Chicago Marathon!
Shalane Flanagan has been added to the NY Marathon field!
And Ken Bekele is joining Wilson Kipsang and Eliud Kipchoge on the streets of Berlin on September 25th!!
WHOA baby!!!!!
Finally, Raevyn Rogers became the latest female Oregon Duck to turn Pro at least one year before graduation!!
She's signed with---natch!---Nike!!
Next post will cover the last DL---the Van Damme Memorial from Brussels!
(As well as the David Torrence Memorial Mile, mentioned above!)
See you soon!
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Women Weltklasse in Zurich
My title is easy to figure out--if you know the meaning of "weltklasse".
It's "World Class"!
And today's edition of Zurich's Weltklasse BECAME "World Class" almost solely because of the Women!!
It began yesterday with the holding of the Women's PV inside the Zurich train station--thus making it an INdoor event!!
And as has been fairly common this past year (Since Rio??), it came down to a 2-Woman battle between Ekaterina Stefanidi and Sandi Morris, the Rio Gold and Silver winners!
Opening at 14-10, Morris cleared that and her next on 1st tries!
Kat opened at 15-1.75, and made her next 2 heights on 1st try!
It took Morris all 3 tries to make 15-5.75, and that's where she lost!
Stefanidi missed just once--at 15-9.75, then made the winning height of 15-11.75 on her first!
After Morris's misses, she was clean through 15-11.75 also!
For Stefanidi she broke her own INdoor Age 27 record!
Katie Nageotte got over 15-5.75, an INdoor PR!
She moves from 7th A-T US INdoors, tied with 2 others, to 6th!
And she is now 19th A-T World INdoors, tied with 2 others!!
Five Women cleared 15-1.75, ranked in the following order--Holly Bradshaw, Nicole Buchler, Lisa Ryzih, Yarisley Silva, and Alysha Newman!
The 3000SC was supposed to be rabbited at 9:00 pace!
But the first K was only 3:01.8!
So WR holder Ruth Jebet stepped on the gas, hitting her 2nd K in just under 2:54, followed closely by Beatrice Chepkoech, trying to make up for her ignoble water jump-missing WC race!
By this time, they were way clear of the field, with Emma Coburn and Gesa Krause leading the chase pack---except they weren't really chasing!!
Falling over 2 seconds short of her WR, Jebet ran a solid 8:55.29!
This broke her own Age 20 record, and was the ONLY Meet Record broken today!!
(See below for more stats on the MR's!)
Chepkoech cut a bit off her PR, becoming the 4th Woman to go under 9 minutes!!
Her time of 8:59.84 is the Best 2nd Place mark!!
It's also the Age 26 record--breaking the recently set mark by Emma Coburn!!
On my World Combined Events list for the 3000 & 3000SC, her times of 8:28.66 & 8:59.84 adds to 17:28.50!
She remains 1st on that list!
In 3rd came Norah Tanui!
Let me explain about her name!
On the IAAF results site, she's called Norah Jeruto!
But there's no "Jeruto" listed in the Athletics Annual!
There IS a Norah Tanui--who happens to BE Ms Jeruto!!
Can't Africans create simple names like Norah Jones?/
(Oh wait, we don't want to confuse Ms Tanui with Ravi Shankar's famous singing daughter!! LOL)
Anyway---Tanui finished 3rd in 9:05.31, a big PR!
She gets the Age 21 record, and becomes 9th A-T World!!
As for Coburn and Krause, they finished 4th and 5th, times of 9:14.81 and 9:15.85, the latter just 0.15 seconds off Krause's PR!!
Shaunae Miller-Uibo---aka SMU--was another female shining star!!
With an All-Star field (missing "only" Tori Bowie), she came off the turn in 4th, behind the faster-starting Marie Josee Ta Lou, Elaine Thompson, and Dafne Schippers!
But the tall lanky Bahaman strode smotthly and powerfully into overdrive, and won easily in 21.88!
This broke her own National Record, but she remains 21st A-T World!
ET came 2nd in 22.00, with Ta Lou hitting 22.09!
Schippers just didn't have it, and ended 4th in 22.36!
Not sure if it was the "best", but the Men's 5000 was surely the most-watched, as it was THE final track race---anywhere!!--Mo Farah intends to run!!
Yes, he won, and yes, it became yet another "gift" for Sir Mo when the pace slowed after a couple of fast opening laps!
But this "gift" came with some super-heavy tape, causing Farah to have to pull out ALL of his last lap arsenal to win!
The finish was reminiscent of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic 10K, when Mohammad Gamoudi pushed his way between Billy Mills and Ron Clarke on the last lap, forcing Mills to the outside--and his legendary kick on the final straight!!
Here, Paul Chelimo took Gamoudi's role, except that he waited until just INCHES before the finish--shoving both Farah (on the rail) and Muktar Edris aside!
Edris went into a dive, caused, it seemed, by Chelimo's move!
For that, Chelimo was later DQ'ed!!
Farah's time was 13:06.05, with Edris just 0.04 behind!
Yomif Kejelcha ended 3rd in 13:06.18!
In other Zurich events--
Sam Kendricks went over 19-3 in the PV---this one held OUTside!!.
Renaud Lavillenie--not having his finest year--No-Heighted out at 18-5.50!!
Mutaz Barshim again put on a one-man show, this time winning at 7-8.75.
NOT the "Year of the HJ"--but surely the Year of Barshim!!
Tim Cheruiyot outkicked a lot of Kenyans--NO Americans!!--in the 1500, winning in 3:33.94.
Zuzana Hejnova won the non-DL 400H in 54.13, her 2017 fastest!
Christiane Williams won a weak Women's 100--time of 11.07.
The WOMEN's 800 was won by Habitam Alemu's 1:56.87.
This is the National Record of Ethiopia!!
Sifan Hassan was next in 1:57.12, with Charlene Lipsey also dipping under 1:58--at 1:57.99.
(The "1st 3" were THOSE 3--the Unnamed!!)
The Men's 400H has 2 new names that could star for years to come!
Kyron McMaster beat Karsten Warholm, 48.07 to 48.22--the latter's time a slight PR, but breaking his own National Record of Norway!
Sally Pearson outleaned Sharika Nelvis, both timed in 12.55, with Pearson's shoulder beating Nelvis's head!
Christina Manning ended 3rd in 12.67!
Three other Americans were in the race!
Isaac Makwala powered home alone in the 400, striding to a 43.95 W, well ahead of Gil Roberts's 44.54!
Then he went to the track for 2 or 3 quick push-ups--which are becoming his trademark!!
At the start, 43.89 man Steven Gardiner slipped off his blocks, falling to the track!
But there was no recall gun--even though this happened with his very first step!!
IMHO, there SHOULD have been a recall!!
The WC winner who beat Usain Bolt in DA MAN's final race--finished just 4th in Zurich's 100!!
Justin Gatlin's 10.04 ended behind the 9.97's of Chijindu Ujah and Ben Meite, and the 10.01 of Ronnie Baker!
In other running events, 16 year old Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished 2nd in a non-DL 800, his time of 1:49.40 his first sub-1:50!
The meet-ending Women's 4X100 Relay saw Jamaica edging Great Britain, 41.85 to 41.86.
The Jam's had someone called ET on anchor!
The US team--anchored by Kaylin Whitney--was far back in 5th!!
The rest of the Field events were okay.
The Women's TJ saw another exciting battle--but relatively poor marks!--with Olga Rypakova's 47-9 beating Yulimar Rojas (47-7.75), Caterine Ibarguen (47-6.25), and Kimberly Williams (47-3.50)!
In the Women's JT, Australia's Kelsey-Lee Roberts hit her early leader of 211-8, before Barbora Spotakova nailed the W with her 215-0!
Michelle Carter was again off her game, finishing only 4th (59-11.25) behind the SP winner Lijiao Gong's 64-3.75!
South Africans went 1-2 in the Men's LJ, with Luvo Manyonga's 27-10.25 beating Ruswahl Samaal's 27-3.25!
Jakob Vadlejch pulled a bit of an upset in the Men's JT, his 290-4 beating Thomas Rohler's 284-1, and Johannes Vetter's 282-7, which gave the latter just 4th!!
Before continuing with more news, let me show you some interesting stats regarding Diamond League Meet Records!
The DL's began in 2010, but were just a slightly different concept from the Golden League, which began in 1998!
Before that, the Weltklasse and Van Damme meet in Brussels were Invitationals, with no points system, and different sets of events--including a 10000 in the Belgium meet!
Following are the Zurich MR's that PRE-date the Golden League and the Diamond League!
For the Men, Meet Records that came BEFORE 1998 include the 400, 3000, 110H, 400H, HJ, and SP!
Those that came BEFORE 2010 (but include MR's set during the GL years!!) include the 400, 800, 1500, Mile, 3000, 5000, 3000SC, 110H, 400H, HJ, LJ, PV, SP, DT, and JT!!
For the Women, the MR's that pre-date the Golden League include the 100, 200, 400, 1500, LJ, TJ, and the DT!
Those that pre-date the DL's, but include MR's set during the GL years, include the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 100H, 400H, HJ, LJ, TJ, PV, and DT!
Conclusions?
Taking everything into consideration---rampant drug use in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, "better" athletes---there sure are a LOT of MR's dating from BEFORE this GL/DL points system was put into place!!
Keep in mind that 1997 (the final year before the GL's began!) was 20 years ago!!
To have 6 Men's, and 7 Women's MR's still on the Record Book 20 years (and more!!) later are pretty good size numbers!!
And that there are FIFTEEN Men's, and TWELVE Women's MR's dating from 2009 or earlier is also interesting!
Okay, so there are MANY Meet Records from non-DL meets that have "ancient" MR's left on the Books!
But my premise is that the DL (& GL) points system is the main cause of these many MR's surviving!
Not to mention the fact that the Van Damme meet has abandoned its once-famous 10000!!
Sorry, all you DL fans---AND fans who prefer great competitions over fast track races and amazing field event marks---but I can't help but believe that the Zurich meet has LOST some of its "Weltklasse" status, due mostly to the incursion of the GL/DL rules!!
Ditto with the old & original Van Damme Memorial!!
(BTW, do my younger readers know WHO "Van Damme" was?? He was Ivo Van Damme, still the Belgium National Record holder in the 800 and 1000, times of 1:43.86 & 2:15.5, both dating from the summer of 1976!
He died later that year at Age 22, and the Brussels meet was immediately named the Ivo Van Damme Memorial--just as the "Hayward Field Classic" became the "Steve Prefontaine Memorial Classic" after his early death!!)
I have one other mark to report--a 300 in 36.72 by Shakima Wimbley in the Sopot meet on August 16th!
She ran 36.71 INdoors earlier this year!
Some "off-track" news items of note--
Sanya Richards-Ross is a MOM!!
She gave birth to her son, Aaron Ross II!!
Anyone who names their kid Aaron is a friend of mine!!
LOL
Clayton Murphy has joined the Oregon Project, aka NOP!
Good luck, Murph!!
Following Tianna Bartoletta's revelations about her dealings with Relays coach Orin Richburg (See my earlier post!), Natasha Hastings has added HER take on why she wasn't picked for the 4X400 in London!!
It's on her blog site, and well worth a read!
(You can also access it from the T&FN website!)
Finally, there's a new video--25 minutes long--called "Gabe"--that is a MUST see!!
It's all about Gabe Grunewald, and her attempts to qualify for the USATF meet's 1500 in 4 races this past spring!
But it's MUCH more than that!!
She talks all about her battles with cancer--especially this FOURTH time around!!
One especially moving scene is when her close friend Sara Vaughn talks about Gabe, and cries!
Also shown are Vaughn, Emily Lipari, and Grunewald embracing and talking after one of the races!
Her devoted husband is also featured!
PLEASE watch this---it's 25 minutes you won't consider a waste of time!!
(Good news on the cancer front--Bobby Colantonio, the young Hammer Thrower, says his cancer is in full remission!!)
There are a few more T&F meets upcoming over the next 3 weeks!
And I'll detail the results from all of them!!
See you soon!
It's "World Class"!
And today's edition of Zurich's Weltklasse BECAME "World Class" almost solely because of the Women!!
It began yesterday with the holding of the Women's PV inside the Zurich train station--thus making it an INdoor event!!
And as has been fairly common this past year (Since Rio??), it came down to a 2-Woman battle between Ekaterina Stefanidi and Sandi Morris, the Rio Gold and Silver winners!
Opening at 14-10, Morris cleared that and her next on 1st tries!
Kat opened at 15-1.75, and made her next 2 heights on 1st try!
It took Morris all 3 tries to make 15-5.75, and that's where she lost!
Stefanidi missed just once--at 15-9.75, then made the winning height of 15-11.75 on her first!
After Morris's misses, she was clean through 15-11.75 also!
For Stefanidi she broke her own INdoor Age 27 record!
Katie Nageotte got over 15-5.75, an INdoor PR!
She moves from 7th A-T US INdoors, tied with 2 others, to 6th!
And she is now 19th A-T World INdoors, tied with 2 others!!
Five Women cleared 15-1.75, ranked in the following order--Holly Bradshaw, Nicole Buchler, Lisa Ryzih, Yarisley Silva, and Alysha Newman!
The 3000SC was supposed to be rabbited at 9:00 pace!
But the first K was only 3:01.8!
So WR holder Ruth Jebet stepped on the gas, hitting her 2nd K in just under 2:54, followed closely by Beatrice Chepkoech, trying to make up for her ignoble water jump-missing WC race!
By this time, they were way clear of the field, with Emma Coburn and Gesa Krause leading the chase pack---except they weren't really chasing!!
Falling over 2 seconds short of her WR, Jebet ran a solid 8:55.29!
This broke her own Age 20 record, and was the ONLY Meet Record broken today!!
(See below for more stats on the MR's!)
Chepkoech cut a bit off her PR, becoming the 4th Woman to go under 9 minutes!!
Her time of 8:59.84 is the Best 2nd Place mark!!
It's also the Age 26 record--breaking the recently set mark by Emma Coburn!!
On my World Combined Events list for the 3000 & 3000SC, her times of 8:28.66 & 8:59.84 adds to 17:28.50!
She remains 1st on that list!
In 3rd came Norah Tanui!
Let me explain about her name!
On the IAAF results site, she's called Norah Jeruto!
But there's no "Jeruto" listed in the Athletics Annual!
There IS a Norah Tanui--who happens to BE Ms Jeruto!!
Can't Africans create simple names like Norah Jones?/
(Oh wait, we don't want to confuse Ms Tanui with Ravi Shankar's famous singing daughter!! LOL)
Anyway---Tanui finished 3rd in 9:05.31, a big PR!
She gets the Age 21 record, and becomes 9th A-T World!!
As for Coburn and Krause, they finished 4th and 5th, times of 9:14.81 and 9:15.85, the latter just 0.15 seconds off Krause's PR!!
Shaunae Miller-Uibo---aka SMU--was another female shining star!!
With an All-Star field (missing "only" Tori Bowie), she came off the turn in 4th, behind the faster-starting Marie Josee Ta Lou, Elaine Thompson, and Dafne Schippers!
But the tall lanky Bahaman strode smotthly and powerfully into overdrive, and won easily in 21.88!
This broke her own National Record, but she remains 21st A-T World!
ET came 2nd in 22.00, with Ta Lou hitting 22.09!
Schippers just didn't have it, and ended 4th in 22.36!
Not sure if it was the "best", but the Men's 5000 was surely the most-watched, as it was THE final track race---anywhere!!--Mo Farah intends to run!!
Yes, he won, and yes, it became yet another "gift" for Sir Mo when the pace slowed after a couple of fast opening laps!
But this "gift" came with some super-heavy tape, causing Farah to have to pull out ALL of his last lap arsenal to win!
The finish was reminiscent of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic 10K, when Mohammad Gamoudi pushed his way between Billy Mills and Ron Clarke on the last lap, forcing Mills to the outside--and his legendary kick on the final straight!!
Here, Paul Chelimo took Gamoudi's role, except that he waited until just INCHES before the finish--shoving both Farah (on the rail) and Muktar Edris aside!
Edris went into a dive, caused, it seemed, by Chelimo's move!
For that, Chelimo was later DQ'ed!!
Farah's time was 13:06.05, with Edris just 0.04 behind!
Yomif Kejelcha ended 3rd in 13:06.18!
In other Zurich events--
Sam Kendricks went over 19-3 in the PV---this one held OUTside!!.
Renaud Lavillenie--not having his finest year--No-Heighted out at 18-5.50!!
Mutaz Barshim again put on a one-man show, this time winning at 7-8.75.
NOT the "Year of the HJ"--but surely the Year of Barshim!!
Tim Cheruiyot outkicked a lot of Kenyans--NO Americans!!--in the 1500, winning in 3:33.94.
Zuzana Hejnova won the non-DL 400H in 54.13, her 2017 fastest!
Christiane Williams won a weak Women's 100--time of 11.07.
The WOMEN's 800 was won by Habitam Alemu's 1:56.87.
This is the National Record of Ethiopia!!
Sifan Hassan was next in 1:57.12, with Charlene Lipsey also dipping under 1:58--at 1:57.99.
(The "1st 3" were THOSE 3--the Unnamed!!)
The Men's 400H has 2 new names that could star for years to come!
Kyron McMaster beat Karsten Warholm, 48.07 to 48.22--the latter's time a slight PR, but breaking his own National Record of Norway!
Sally Pearson outleaned Sharika Nelvis, both timed in 12.55, with Pearson's shoulder beating Nelvis's head!
Christina Manning ended 3rd in 12.67!
Three other Americans were in the race!
Isaac Makwala powered home alone in the 400, striding to a 43.95 W, well ahead of Gil Roberts's 44.54!
Then he went to the track for 2 or 3 quick push-ups--which are becoming his trademark!!
At the start, 43.89 man Steven Gardiner slipped off his blocks, falling to the track!
But there was no recall gun--even though this happened with his very first step!!
IMHO, there SHOULD have been a recall!!
The WC winner who beat Usain Bolt in DA MAN's final race--finished just 4th in Zurich's 100!!
Justin Gatlin's 10.04 ended behind the 9.97's of Chijindu Ujah and Ben Meite, and the 10.01 of Ronnie Baker!
In other running events, 16 year old Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished 2nd in a non-DL 800, his time of 1:49.40 his first sub-1:50!
The meet-ending Women's 4X100 Relay saw Jamaica edging Great Britain, 41.85 to 41.86.
The Jam's had someone called ET on anchor!
The US team--anchored by Kaylin Whitney--was far back in 5th!!
The rest of the Field events were okay.
The Women's TJ saw another exciting battle--but relatively poor marks!--with Olga Rypakova's 47-9 beating Yulimar Rojas (47-7.75), Caterine Ibarguen (47-6.25), and Kimberly Williams (47-3.50)!
In the Women's JT, Australia's Kelsey-Lee Roberts hit her early leader of 211-8, before Barbora Spotakova nailed the W with her 215-0!
Michelle Carter was again off her game, finishing only 4th (59-11.25) behind the SP winner Lijiao Gong's 64-3.75!
South Africans went 1-2 in the Men's LJ, with Luvo Manyonga's 27-10.25 beating Ruswahl Samaal's 27-3.25!
Jakob Vadlejch pulled a bit of an upset in the Men's JT, his 290-4 beating Thomas Rohler's 284-1, and Johannes Vetter's 282-7, which gave the latter just 4th!!
Before continuing with more news, let me show you some interesting stats regarding Diamond League Meet Records!
The DL's began in 2010, but were just a slightly different concept from the Golden League, which began in 1998!
Before that, the Weltklasse and Van Damme meet in Brussels were Invitationals, with no points system, and different sets of events--including a 10000 in the Belgium meet!
Following are the Zurich MR's that PRE-date the Golden League and the Diamond League!
For the Men, Meet Records that came BEFORE 1998 include the 400, 3000, 110H, 400H, HJ, and SP!
Those that came BEFORE 2010 (but include MR's set during the GL years!!) include the 400, 800, 1500, Mile, 3000, 5000, 3000SC, 110H, 400H, HJ, LJ, PV, SP, DT, and JT!!
For the Women, the MR's that pre-date the Golden League include the 100, 200, 400, 1500, LJ, TJ, and the DT!
Those that pre-date the DL's, but include MR's set during the GL years, include the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 100H, 400H, HJ, LJ, TJ, PV, and DT!
Conclusions?
Taking everything into consideration---rampant drug use in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, "better" athletes---there sure are a LOT of MR's dating from BEFORE this GL/DL points system was put into place!!
Keep in mind that 1997 (the final year before the GL's began!) was 20 years ago!!
To have 6 Men's, and 7 Women's MR's still on the Record Book 20 years (and more!!) later are pretty good size numbers!!
And that there are FIFTEEN Men's, and TWELVE Women's MR's dating from 2009 or earlier is also interesting!
Okay, so there are MANY Meet Records from non-DL meets that have "ancient" MR's left on the Books!
But my premise is that the DL (& GL) points system is the main cause of these many MR's surviving!
Not to mention the fact that the Van Damme meet has abandoned its once-famous 10000!!
Sorry, all you DL fans---AND fans who prefer great competitions over fast track races and amazing field event marks---but I can't help but believe that the Zurich meet has LOST some of its "Weltklasse" status, due mostly to the incursion of the GL/DL rules!!
Ditto with the old & original Van Damme Memorial!!
(BTW, do my younger readers know WHO "Van Damme" was?? He was Ivo Van Damme, still the Belgium National Record holder in the 800 and 1000, times of 1:43.86 & 2:15.5, both dating from the summer of 1976!
He died later that year at Age 22, and the Brussels meet was immediately named the Ivo Van Damme Memorial--just as the "Hayward Field Classic" became the "Steve Prefontaine Memorial Classic" after his early death!!)
I have one other mark to report--a 300 in 36.72 by Shakima Wimbley in the Sopot meet on August 16th!
She ran 36.71 INdoors earlier this year!
Some "off-track" news items of note--
Sanya Richards-Ross is a MOM!!
She gave birth to her son, Aaron Ross II!!
Anyone who names their kid Aaron is a friend of mine!!
LOL
Clayton Murphy has joined the Oregon Project, aka NOP!
Good luck, Murph!!
Following Tianna Bartoletta's revelations about her dealings with Relays coach Orin Richburg (See my earlier post!), Natasha Hastings has added HER take on why she wasn't picked for the 4X400 in London!!
It's on her blog site, and well worth a read!
(You can also access it from the T&FN website!)
Finally, there's a new video--25 minutes long--called "Gabe"--that is a MUST see!!
It's all about Gabe Grunewald, and her attempts to qualify for the USATF meet's 1500 in 4 races this past spring!
But it's MUCH more than that!!
She talks all about her battles with cancer--especially this FOURTH time around!!
One especially moving scene is when her close friend Sara Vaughn talks about Gabe, and cries!
Also shown are Vaughn, Emily Lipari, and Grunewald embracing and talking after one of the races!
Her devoted husband is also featured!
PLEASE watch this---it's 25 minutes you won't consider a waste of time!!
(Good news on the cancer front--Bobby Colantonio, the young Hammer Thrower, says his cancer is in full remission!!)
There are a few more T&F meets upcoming over the next 3 weeks!
And I'll detail the results from all of them!!
See you soon!
Sunday, August 20, 2017
101 Miles apart, but...!
Had to look it up!
London and Birmingham England are 101 miles apart, or 128 miles in driving distance!
But the difference between the recent London World Championships and the 1st post-WC Diamond League meet in Birmingham was---well---at least 101 (or 128??) miles apart in quality and depth!
So this "results" post will be rather brief!
The Results portion, that is!
But stick around after I report the results, as I'll be commenting (Again!!) on why the DL system is broke--and getting broker!!
Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Salwa Naser are relatively new names in our sport!
The exits (in recent years) of folks like Sanya Richards Ross, the Eaton's, and now Usain Bolt and Mo Farah (The latter from the Track portion only!) have called for new names, new personalities, new exciting talents to take their place!
We may have already found 2 of them!
The Birmingham Women's 3000 was by far the deepest race of the day!
Sifan Hassan won in 8:28.90, breaking her own Netherlands National Record!
She also gets the Meet Record!
KK took a close 2nd in 8:29.89, a massive PR, and the National Record of Germany!!
Margaret Kipkemboi was 3rd in 8:30.11, while favored Helen Obiri was 4th in 8:30.21!
Eilish McColgan also PR'ed in 5th, time of 8:31.00.
Susan Krumins, having her best year, PR'ed in 8:34.41.
Then came the 1st American--Shannon Rowbury--in 9th, a non-PR of 8:35.77.
Molly Huddle took 10th, but almost 9 seconds behind Rowbury!
The 2 Steeplechase stars of London got big PR's, and made dramatic moves on my 3000 & 3000SC Combined Events lists!!
Emma Coburn chopped over 11 seconds off her flat 3K best, her 8:48.60 taking 11th!
Her C-E times of 8:48.60 & 9:02.58 adds to 17:51.18.
She moves from 17th to 8th on that World list!
And from 3rd to 2nd on the US list.
Courtney Frerichs ran 8:53.99, cutting exactly 3 seconds from her PR!
That time, added to her 9:03.77 SC, comes to 17:57.76!
She moves from 12th to 11th on the C-E World list.
But she DROPS from 2nd to 3rd on the US list--due to Coburn's much bigger 3K PR!!
As for Naser, no PR's, but her 50.59 AGAIN defeated Allyson Felix, as she beat the Legend's 50.63!!
If that's not impressive enough, she also beat London Winner Phyllis Francis, whose 51.18 was only 4th, with Courtney Okolo's 50.65 taking 3rd!!
Think T&FN will rank Naser ahead of Felix--and maybe even FIRST in the 400 this year??
Do you think that I will??
LOL
Here's all the other B'ham results--
Chijindu Ujah's 10.08 beat an all-British 100 field!
Ramil Guliyev's 20.17 copied his London placing in the 200, while Isaac Makwala was just 4th in 20.41.
Nijel Amos won the 800 in 1:44.50.
Pawel Fajdek established a MR for the HT with his piddly 257-7.
He fouled the first 3 rounds, which--if this had more competitors than the 3 here--would have left him OUT of the final!!
Ekaterina Stefanidi had it easy in the PV, after Sandi Morris, among others, went out earlier, Kat winning with 15-7!
She missed her trio of attempts at 16-0!
Jarrion Lawson's 26-10.50 took the LJ, while just Habitam Alemu and Lynsey Sharp broke 2 minutes in the 800--but barely!
The Women's 100 had a Class field--Dafne Schippers, Marie Josee Ta Lou, Elaine Thompson, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo--not to mention Sally Pearson!!
The 100H star timed just 11.38, and didn't make the final!
Ta Lou (10.94) and ET (10.97) won the heats, but Thompson's 10.93 beat Ta Lou's 10.97 in the final!
Schippers was 6th in 11.22, while SMU was last in 11.37!
Jake Wightman took the Mile in 3:54.92, with 10 Men getting under 4 minutes!
Sandra Perkovic took the DT with her 221-6.
Zuzana Hejnova's 54.18 defeated Delilah Muhammed's 54.20 in the 400H!
Sixth was the quixotic Shamier Little, timed in 57.42!!
Caterine Ibarguen's 47-7.25 won the TJ, while Yulimar Rojas had one of those days, her 45-9 giving her 7th place!
Mutaz Barshim literally "rose above" the field, his 7-10.50 (2.40) an easy winner in the HJ!
Tom Walsh's 71-7.50 easily took the measure of Ryan Crouser's 70-8.50 in the SP!
Joe Kovacs was a dismal 7th with his 67-4!!
Aries Merritt's 13.29 won the 110H.
Dawit Seyaum took a slowish 1500 in 4:01.36.
But she beat Jenny Simpson, who ended just 7th (!!) in 4:03.71.
Colleen Quigley ran 4:06.07 in 9th, beating Shelby Houlihan's 4:06.62.
Brenda Martinez was only 15th in 4:09.39!!
And the Track-only-retiring MoBot?/
He was GIFTED his 7:38.64 MR-establishing win--against only token "competition"!!
Enjoy the Roads, Sir!!
In a German meet before the DL, Johannes Vetter threw the Javelin 308-0, but it's not a PR!
His series also included a 300-9!!
The Falmouth Road Race saw Caroline Chepkoech beat Mary Wacera by a full minute, 35:53 to 36:53 over the 7 mile route!
Jess Tonn was 1st American, her 37:49 taking 7th!
Len Korir's 32:14 beat Stephen Sambu's 32:18, while 40 year old Abdi Abdirahman was 4th in 33:04!!
In my "Worst & Best" post from the WC, I said that few Place Records were broken!
I'd said the Men broke 4, while the Women broke 6.
Well, I missed some Place Records from the Men's SP!!
The eTN (from T&FN) said that Place Records were broken in 5th through 8th places!!
So I checked MY records, and YES, they're right!!
Here's the new Records--
Michael Haratyk's 70-3 is the Best 5th Place!
Ryan Crouser's 69-6.75 is the Best 6th Place!
Ryan Whiting's 69-2.50 takes the 7th Place spot!
Konrad Bukowiecki's 68-6.50 is now the Best 8th Place mark!
Thus, the Men's total of 8 EXCEEDS the Women's 6!!
As you have read, there WERE some good marks, and a fairly good field in some events--in Birmingham's DL!
But come on, were those marks really of DIAMOND quality??
Why does this happen--more often than not?
We get HUGE names filling DEEP fields in most, if not all events on each program!
Bad weather--or the double dip of illness & injury removing one or more of the players at the last minute--are a couple of "good" excuses for poor performances!
(Kate Grace had to DNS the 800 due to an illness before the meet!)
Rabbits are instructed to take distance runners through in quick times, leading to speculation on Records and such!
Then you have the Nemeses (As I see it!!) of the whole DL idea!
Wins and Points--one leading to the other!
Money is on the line also, but that's icing on the cake!
You have the points system in Collegiate meets, leading to placings for your team!
No extra cash, but the prestige of scoring points for the Home Team!
It makes those meets exciting.
But it also makes even THOSE meets most probably Record-free!!
Distancers run just fast enough to win (score points).
They often double (or even triple!!), adding to the practical impossibility of breaking Records!
You only needed to watch an Ed Cheserek race to see what I'm saying!
(In the DL's you had Mo Farah as your best example!)
Sure, sometimes a WR, or other Record will get shot down, but I'd be willing to bet that a majority of those come from athletes who are NOT competitive for the DL's Grand Prize, or even for their Event's leadership!!
It's more likely that they're there in a one-off appearance, there with the main intent being to break a Record!!
(Which tend to fail much of the time!! Que sera sera!! LOL)
There ARE solutions!
Have those DL's---as they're now conceived.
But add events that are not DL events--even if it means making it a 2-day meet--such as they do in Eugene!
Make those non-DL events the KEY Record-seeking events, and advertise it as such!
Surely, there are enough athletes available during the summers who are NOT chasing DL points or leadership!
Give THEM the opportunity to compete against strong competition!
With the DL's inviting mainly those at the very top of each event, opportunities for all the "other" elites to chase Records or big PR's beome less and less!!
People like Vin Lananna and the JDL and ATL folks have brought us new meets during the Summer High Season (and Spring too!), but even there---especially with that Summer Track Series of meets--you have a debilitating points system--debilitating in the sense that athletes are more focused on WINNNG & PLACING than on running fast, jumping high, or throwing far!
If those come, they come only by default, as an "add-on" to the MAIN focus--points & places!
By accident!!
I don't have the numbers, but I'm pretty certain that most WR's (or MR's) came BEFORE the DL system (or its precursors!) were put into place!!
Well, let's hope that Zurich's Weltklasse and Brussels Van Damme Memorial perform better than Birmingham did, Ms's Klosterhalfen and Naser notwithstanding!!
See you soon!
London and Birmingham England are 101 miles apart, or 128 miles in driving distance!
But the difference between the recent London World Championships and the 1st post-WC Diamond League meet in Birmingham was---well---at least 101 (or 128??) miles apart in quality and depth!
So this "results" post will be rather brief!
The Results portion, that is!
But stick around after I report the results, as I'll be commenting (Again!!) on why the DL system is broke--and getting broker!!
Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Salwa Naser are relatively new names in our sport!
The exits (in recent years) of folks like Sanya Richards Ross, the Eaton's, and now Usain Bolt and Mo Farah (The latter from the Track portion only!) have called for new names, new personalities, new exciting talents to take their place!
We may have already found 2 of them!
The Birmingham Women's 3000 was by far the deepest race of the day!
Sifan Hassan won in 8:28.90, breaking her own Netherlands National Record!
She also gets the Meet Record!
KK took a close 2nd in 8:29.89, a massive PR, and the National Record of Germany!!
Margaret Kipkemboi was 3rd in 8:30.11, while favored Helen Obiri was 4th in 8:30.21!
Eilish McColgan also PR'ed in 5th, time of 8:31.00.
Susan Krumins, having her best year, PR'ed in 8:34.41.
Then came the 1st American--Shannon Rowbury--in 9th, a non-PR of 8:35.77.
Molly Huddle took 10th, but almost 9 seconds behind Rowbury!
The 2 Steeplechase stars of London got big PR's, and made dramatic moves on my 3000 & 3000SC Combined Events lists!!
Emma Coburn chopped over 11 seconds off her flat 3K best, her 8:48.60 taking 11th!
Her C-E times of 8:48.60 & 9:02.58 adds to 17:51.18.
She moves from 17th to 8th on that World list!
And from 3rd to 2nd on the US list.
Courtney Frerichs ran 8:53.99, cutting exactly 3 seconds from her PR!
That time, added to her 9:03.77 SC, comes to 17:57.76!
She moves from 12th to 11th on the C-E World list.
But she DROPS from 2nd to 3rd on the US list--due to Coburn's much bigger 3K PR!!
As for Naser, no PR's, but her 50.59 AGAIN defeated Allyson Felix, as she beat the Legend's 50.63!!
If that's not impressive enough, she also beat London Winner Phyllis Francis, whose 51.18 was only 4th, with Courtney Okolo's 50.65 taking 3rd!!
Think T&FN will rank Naser ahead of Felix--and maybe even FIRST in the 400 this year??
Do you think that I will??
LOL
Here's all the other B'ham results--
Chijindu Ujah's 10.08 beat an all-British 100 field!
Ramil Guliyev's 20.17 copied his London placing in the 200, while Isaac Makwala was just 4th in 20.41.
Nijel Amos won the 800 in 1:44.50.
Pawel Fajdek established a MR for the HT with his piddly 257-7.
He fouled the first 3 rounds, which--if this had more competitors than the 3 here--would have left him OUT of the final!!
Ekaterina Stefanidi had it easy in the PV, after Sandi Morris, among others, went out earlier, Kat winning with 15-7!
She missed her trio of attempts at 16-0!
Jarrion Lawson's 26-10.50 took the LJ, while just Habitam Alemu and Lynsey Sharp broke 2 minutes in the 800--but barely!
The Women's 100 had a Class field--Dafne Schippers, Marie Josee Ta Lou, Elaine Thompson, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo--not to mention Sally Pearson!!
The 100H star timed just 11.38, and didn't make the final!
Ta Lou (10.94) and ET (10.97) won the heats, but Thompson's 10.93 beat Ta Lou's 10.97 in the final!
Schippers was 6th in 11.22, while SMU was last in 11.37!
Jake Wightman took the Mile in 3:54.92, with 10 Men getting under 4 minutes!
Sandra Perkovic took the DT with her 221-6.
Zuzana Hejnova's 54.18 defeated Delilah Muhammed's 54.20 in the 400H!
Sixth was the quixotic Shamier Little, timed in 57.42!!
Caterine Ibarguen's 47-7.25 won the TJ, while Yulimar Rojas had one of those days, her 45-9 giving her 7th place!
Mutaz Barshim literally "rose above" the field, his 7-10.50 (2.40) an easy winner in the HJ!
Tom Walsh's 71-7.50 easily took the measure of Ryan Crouser's 70-8.50 in the SP!
Joe Kovacs was a dismal 7th with his 67-4!!
Aries Merritt's 13.29 won the 110H.
Dawit Seyaum took a slowish 1500 in 4:01.36.
But she beat Jenny Simpson, who ended just 7th (!!) in 4:03.71.
Colleen Quigley ran 4:06.07 in 9th, beating Shelby Houlihan's 4:06.62.
Brenda Martinez was only 15th in 4:09.39!!
And the Track-only-retiring MoBot?/
He was GIFTED his 7:38.64 MR-establishing win--against only token "competition"!!
Enjoy the Roads, Sir!!
In a German meet before the DL, Johannes Vetter threw the Javelin 308-0, but it's not a PR!
His series also included a 300-9!!
The Falmouth Road Race saw Caroline Chepkoech beat Mary Wacera by a full minute, 35:53 to 36:53 over the 7 mile route!
Jess Tonn was 1st American, her 37:49 taking 7th!
Len Korir's 32:14 beat Stephen Sambu's 32:18, while 40 year old Abdi Abdirahman was 4th in 33:04!!
In my "Worst & Best" post from the WC, I said that few Place Records were broken!
I'd said the Men broke 4, while the Women broke 6.
Well, I missed some Place Records from the Men's SP!!
The eTN (from T&FN) said that Place Records were broken in 5th through 8th places!!
So I checked MY records, and YES, they're right!!
Here's the new Records--
Michael Haratyk's 70-3 is the Best 5th Place!
Ryan Crouser's 69-6.75 is the Best 6th Place!
Ryan Whiting's 69-2.50 takes the 7th Place spot!
Konrad Bukowiecki's 68-6.50 is now the Best 8th Place mark!
Thus, the Men's total of 8 EXCEEDS the Women's 6!!
As you have read, there WERE some good marks, and a fairly good field in some events--in Birmingham's DL!
But come on, were those marks really of DIAMOND quality??
Why does this happen--more often than not?
We get HUGE names filling DEEP fields in most, if not all events on each program!
Bad weather--or the double dip of illness & injury removing one or more of the players at the last minute--are a couple of "good" excuses for poor performances!
(Kate Grace had to DNS the 800 due to an illness before the meet!)
Rabbits are instructed to take distance runners through in quick times, leading to speculation on Records and such!
Then you have the Nemeses (As I see it!!) of the whole DL idea!
Wins and Points--one leading to the other!
Money is on the line also, but that's icing on the cake!
You have the points system in Collegiate meets, leading to placings for your team!
No extra cash, but the prestige of scoring points for the Home Team!
It makes those meets exciting.
But it also makes even THOSE meets most probably Record-free!!
Distancers run just fast enough to win (score points).
They often double (or even triple!!), adding to the practical impossibility of breaking Records!
You only needed to watch an Ed Cheserek race to see what I'm saying!
(In the DL's you had Mo Farah as your best example!)
Sure, sometimes a WR, or other Record will get shot down, but I'd be willing to bet that a majority of those come from athletes who are NOT competitive for the DL's Grand Prize, or even for their Event's leadership!!
It's more likely that they're there in a one-off appearance, there with the main intent being to break a Record!!
(Which tend to fail much of the time!! Que sera sera!! LOL)
There ARE solutions!
Have those DL's---as they're now conceived.
But add events that are not DL events--even if it means making it a 2-day meet--such as they do in Eugene!
Make those non-DL events the KEY Record-seeking events, and advertise it as such!
Surely, there are enough athletes available during the summers who are NOT chasing DL points or leadership!
Give THEM the opportunity to compete against strong competition!
With the DL's inviting mainly those at the very top of each event, opportunities for all the "other" elites to chase Records or big PR's beome less and less!!
People like Vin Lananna and the JDL and ATL folks have brought us new meets during the Summer High Season (and Spring too!), but even there---especially with that Summer Track Series of meets--you have a debilitating points system--debilitating in the sense that athletes are more focused on WINNNG & PLACING than on running fast, jumping high, or throwing far!
If those come, they come only by default, as an "add-on" to the MAIN focus--points & places!
By accident!!
I don't have the numbers, but I'm pretty certain that most WR's (or MR's) came BEFORE the DL system (or its precursors!) were put into place!!
Well, let's hope that Zurich's Weltklasse and Brussels Van Damme Memorial perform better than Birmingham did, Ms's Klosterhalfen and Naser notwithstanding!!
See you soon!
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Worst & Best from London WC
See what I did with the title?
There was a reason.
Try the following stats on for size!
In a blog which focuses on Records & Top 24 A-T Marks, there were few of the former in London!
World Records?
The ONLY World Record came in the newly-WR eligible event, the Women's 50000 Walk!!
As for Meet Records, the Men got just 1--and that was also from their 50K Walk!!
(By a 39 year old, no less!!)
The Women have a pair, that incredible 3000SC, and the aforementioned 50K Walk--which was in its initial race, so ANY time they Walked would've been the MR---unless the IAAF goons had kidnapped ALL the Walkers off the road!
Meets like this (OG, WC) often find the Place Records listings drastically altered in several events!
Not in good old London Town!
The Men broke a measly 4 Place Records!
The Women were barely better, with 6.
In my new "Delights & Disasters" award category---
The Delights were obvious--at least to me!
The Women's 3000SC--hands (& feet!) down!!
The Historic Women's 50K Walk!
Sally Pearson winning--again!!
And Usain Bolt--for entertaining everyone!!
Oh, those Disasters!
The ignoble and outrageous DQ of Colleen Quigley "wins" this "prize" with ease!!
Followed by the YANKING of Nair Da Rosa and Susan Randall off the 50K Walk course AFTER 80% of their races had been Walked!!
I have no quarrel with the DQ of Erin Talcott!
Several Men got red-carded out from their 50K!
It's common!
But this DISASTROUS act by the IAAF was pathetically and psychotically WRONG!!
The SLOW starts to the Women's AND Men's 5000's, as well as the Men's 1500!
Mr Bolt's cramping in the Men's 4X100 Relay halfway into his anchor leg!
NOT the best way to retire!!
(Are there hints he might reconsider??!!)
And of course the participation by 3 so called "women" in the middle distances!
Maybe they ARE women---in the general sense of that word---but NOT in the athletic sense!!
They do NOT belong in WOMEN's events in T&F---PERIOD!!!
There WERE some Beautiful Moments!!
Courtney Frerichs face (& immediate response overall) after taking Silver in the 3000SC with a super PR!!
That embrace---or should I say THOSE embraceS?--by Frerichs and Emma Coburn post-race!!
And I have to include Usain Bolt here---for BEING Bolt--with his entire schtick!!--despite a relatively poor set of performances!!
The SHOW must go on---and I hope it does!!
So sad to say it, but there were some UGLY moments too!!
The BOOING of Justin Gatlin tops this list!!
Not much different from the Rio crowd booing Renaud Lavillenie!!
I'm repeating myself, but the inclusion of MEN in Women's races!
You KNOW what I'm talking about!!
The IAAF's inhumanity in FORCING 2 Women out of the 50K Walk!
The DQ of Ms Quigley!
But ALSO the FAILURE of the USATF to pursue a serious appeal--and then to try again!!
Why else do they even exist??
I couldn't find a better word than LUDICROUS for the following---
Beatrice Chepkoech MISSING the turn-off to the 1st water jump in the 3000SC!!
And why wasn't SHE Disqualified??
She runs OFF course, then does TWO U-turns to get back ON course, and SHE isn't DQ'ed!
But Colleen Quigley steps ON the line--NOT over it!!--and gets the axe??
Yes, LUDICROUS indeed!!
And how about the ENDLESS pronouncements (put forth in various ways) that--
Mo is GOD!
Bolt is GOD, plus one!
Didn't you just love those Conspiracy Theories that popped up here and there?
That Quigley gained an advantage with her steps on the line!
(Mo ran ON the infield & wasn't DQ'ed!!)
That Charlene Lipsey supposedly ran her heat slow enough to help Brenda Martinez's chances of advancing in the 800!!
Finally, that Bolt FAKED his cramp in the Relay to avoid his team's defeat!!
(People said he was seen first limping off the track, then suddenly walking normally as soon as he was out of view of the crowd--and cameras!!)
Who performed the Best for the United States?
Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs win this one!!
Katie Burnett breaking the American Record in the 50K Walk!!
ALL 4 Relays finishing their races--and winning two of them!!
Evan Jager for giving it the old college try!
Ajee Wilson for running her 2nd best time, and WINNING the WOMEN's 800!!
Shelby Houlihan for her 6 second PR in the Women's 5000 heats!
Then for running close to her old PR in the final!
Jenny Simpson, for her bravado performance in the 1500!
Finally, for Justin Gatlin beating "GOD" in the 100!
But mostly for his grace and humility under fire from that MOB of idiots in the stands!!
The US had some Shockers, but so did the rest of the World!
Here's my picks for the Best World Shockers!
Salwa Naser's THREE Personal Records in her Heat, Semi, and Final of the 400!!
And beating Allyson Felix for that proverbial "cherry on top"!!
The Trinidad & Tobago 4X400 team beating the always dangerous US squad--and getting a National Record to boot!!
Karsten Warholm--for winning the 400H--but also for his thrilling emergence into the World's elite this year overall!!
Young Yuliya Levchenko "rising" to a Silver medal---AND a tie for the Age 20 record--in the Women's HJ!!
And for Muktar Edris FINALLY busting the "GOAT" balloon of Sir Mo in that 5K!!
Thank you, SIR Edris!!
Do you like Alphabet Soup??
(I used to eat that a LOT as a child!! Thanks, Mom!!)
Anyway, I thought I'd have some fun trying to find an athlete to fit EVERY letter of the English Alphabet!!
Here's my picks--
A (Almaz Ayana! Her FULL name makes for "twice the fun"!!)
B (A few! Katie Burnett, Mutaz Barshim, Usain Bolt, and Tianna Bartoletta! See below for more on Ms Bartoletta!!)
C (Emma Coburn, Amy Cragg, Kori Carter, and Rose Chelimo!)
D (Yohan Deniz!! 3:33:12 at Age 39!! WOW!!)
E (Mr Edris!!)
F (The blessed Ms Frerichs!! Phyllis Francis and Allyson Felix--the latter more for her 48.60 Relay leg in the 4X400!!)
G (Justin Gatlin and Steven Gardiner--for his 43.89 Semi time!!)
H (Ines Henriques for setting a World Record in the Inaugural 50K Walk for Women!! But also for Natasha Hastings--for all those GREAT "Tea Time" videos she posted during the WC's!!)
I (Caterine Ibarguen!)
J (For Michelle Jenneke! Despite a poor performance, she continues to DANCE!!)
K (To Sam Kendricks and KJT!! She did well in both the Heptathlon and the open HJ!)
L (The "Three L's" of the Women's HJ!! Mariya Lasitskene, Yuliya Levchenko, and Kamila Licwinko, medalists all!!)
M (Kevin Mayer, Elijah Manangoi, and especially for Isaac Makwala--for surviving!!)
N (Ms Naser!!)
O (Helen Obiri!!)
P (Sally Pearson, Sandra Perkovic, and for the young Robelys Peinado of the PV!!)
Q (Who else but the QUEEN of the 3K SC--Colleen Quigley!!)
R (Yulimar Rojas--for beating Ibarguen!! Brittney Reese. But mostly for Nair Da Rosa and Susan Randall, the 2 VICTIMS of IAAF stupidity!!)
S (Dafne Schippers! Ekaterina Stefanidi! And for Dani Stevens, who made Australia proud in the DT!!)
T (Nafissatou Thiam!! And Marie Josee Ta Lou!)
U (Okay, so it's her hyphenated married name!! Shaunae Miller-Uibo!!)
V (Wayde Van Niekerk--for his performances, but mainly for his emotional interview afterward!!)
W (Karsten Warholm. Anita Wlodarczyk! Tom Walsh!! And Ajee Wilson!!)
X (Had to hunt this one down, but how about Xenia Krizsan, who ran the fastest 800--2:07.17--in the Heptathlon??!!)
Y (Forgive me, Taoists everywhere, but this one goes to the Yang & Yin of the Women's 50K Walk--Hang Yin and Shuqing Yang!!)
Z (The Men's SP Bronze winner, Stipe Zunic!!)
WHEW!!
Always hate to do categories like this one, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!!
The WORST FAILS!!
Jenn Suhr's No Height!!
Raven Saunders imploding in the SP!!
The Gold winner of the OG 1500 not even getting to the Semi's here--Matthew Centrowitz!
Jeff Henderson & Marquis Dendy in the LJ!
Trey Hardee confirming he should have retired before he did!!
Shamier Little!
Gwen Berry!!
Renaud Lavillenie and Bogdan Bondarenko!
Ryan Crouser & Thomas Rohler!
Vashti Cunningham--and NO, she can't use her youth as an excuse!!
The 4-pack of the Women's 100H team!
We got a medal, yes!
But the others were just 4th, 5th, and LAST!!
Jamaica!
There's a T&FN MB discussion of Jamaica's Team Fail!!
Interesting stuff--to which yours truly contributed!!
Which was the Best Day of the 10?
I choose the Morning Session of Day 10!
It had all 4 Walks--including that Historic Women's 50K!!
(See my post dedicated ENTIRELY to that event!!)
Then comes the Morning Session of Day 3--BOTH Marathons!!
And how about August 9th--Day 6?
It had the Women's 400 and SP, and the Men's 400H Finals!
But it also had the Heats of the Women's 3000SC!!
I could be WITNESS to the IAAF's total FAIL re the Quigley DQ!
(And see how strong the US duo of Coburn and Frerichs were!!)
Which Events EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS??
Obviously, the Women's 3000SC.
The Relays--all 4 of them!!
Again obviously, the Women's 50K Walk!!
And the Men's 10000, for being FAST, while also being strategic!!
And the WORST Events?
The Men's 200, 400, 110H, and HJ, despite Mutaz Barshim!!
The Women's 800--for reasons already stated!
I have a few more, but we're near the end, so thank you for sticking around!!
IMHO, my Blog's Best Posts??
Steeplechase Stunner & An Historic Event in T&F!
They treated those events with total respect, by giving each their own separate post!!
All of my Previews--for Bravery Under Duress!!
I try not to talk about one's appearance too much!
After all, what we have are genetically and God-given!!
But some folks are just TOO MUCH for this fairly liberal person to handle!!
Inika McPherson's almost-FULL BODY series of tattoos!
But also for her hair style, and rings in places they shouldn't be!!
The garish green lipstick worn by Christina Manning!
I LOVE Women wearing lipstick, but this was too over the top!
And, with all due respect to the PERSON that is Caster Semenya, but I just can not LISTEN to "her" talk!!
I've known and heard MANY Women who had DEEP BASS voices!!
That's natural, normal, and okay!!
But Semenya's voice is TOTAL MALE, no if's, and's, or but's!!
The Most REVEALING Moment of these World Championships??
NO, it wasn't the many camera shots of Women's butt cheeks peeking through their briefs!!
But you're close!!
See that guy who STREAKED onto the track before the Men's 100??
(I "streaked" once when at HSU in the 70's!!)
Loved it, Mate!!
Finally!!
My last category is--
Wish they'd Make a Movie about it!!
The Women's 3000SC & 50K Walk!!
The Women's 800!
The entire Isaac Makwala episode--including his SOLO race, his being FORCIBLY banned from the track, and the virus that befell him!!
Last by not least---
The Stories of Usain Bolt and Tianna Bartoletta!!
Bolt for his ENTIRE LIFE!!
Bartoletta for her sad but courageous admission that she had escaped from an abusive marriage just 3 months ago!!
Yet she seemed quite together and happy in her 90 minute Tea Time visit with Natasha Hastings---who was flabbergasted to hear Tianna's admitting to it at the start of that video!!
Bartoletta later put out a statement about it on Instagram and Twitter!!
She's my HEROINE!!
See you next after the Birmingham DL!!
There was a reason.
Try the following stats on for size!
In a blog which focuses on Records & Top 24 A-T Marks, there were few of the former in London!
World Records?
The ONLY World Record came in the newly-WR eligible event, the Women's 50000 Walk!!
As for Meet Records, the Men got just 1--and that was also from their 50K Walk!!
(By a 39 year old, no less!!)
The Women have a pair, that incredible 3000SC, and the aforementioned 50K Walk--which was in its initial race, so ANY time they Walked would've been the MR---unless the IAAF goons had kidnapped ALL the Walkers off the road!
Meets like this (OG, WC) often find the Place Records listings drastically altered in several events!
Not in good old London Town!
The Men broke a measly 4 Place Records!
The Women were barely better, with 6.
In my new "Delights & Disasters" award category---
The Delights were obvious--at least to me!
The Women's 3000SC--hands (& feet!) down!!
The Historic Women's 50K Walk!
Sally Pearson winning--again!!
And Usain Bolt--for entertaining everyone!!
Oh, those Disasters!
The ignoble and outrageous DQ of Colleen Quigley "wins" this "prize" with ease!!
Followed by the YANKING of Nair Da Rosa and Susan Randall off the 50K Walk course AFTER 80% of their races had been Walked!!
I have no quarrel with the DQ of Erin Talcott!
Several Men got red-carded out from their 50K!
It's common!
But this DISASTROUS act by the IAAF was pathetically and psychotically WRONG!!
The SLOW starts to the Women's AND Men's 5000's, as well as the Men's 1500!
Mr Bolt's cramping in the Men's 4X100 Relay halfway into his anchor leg!
NOT the best way to retire!!
(Are there hints he might reconsider??!!)
And of course the participation by 3 so called "women" in the middle distances!
Maybe they ARE women---in the general sense of that word---but NOT in the athletic sense!!
They do NOT belong in WOMEN's events in T&F---PERIOD!!!
There WERE some Beautiful Moments!!
Courtney Frerichs face (& immediate response overall) after taking Silver in the 3000SC with a super PR!!
That embrace---or should I say THOSE embraceS?--by Frerichs and Emma Coburn post-race!!
And I have to include Usain Bolt here---for BEING Bolt--with his entire schtick!!--despite a relatively poor set of performances!!
The SHOW must go on---and I hope it does!!
So sad to say it, but there were some UGLY moments too!!
The BOOING of Justin Gatlin tops this list!!
Not much different from the Rio crowd booing Renaud Lavillenie!!
I'm repeating myself, but the inclusion of MEN in Women's races!
You KNOW what I'm talking about!!
The IAAF's inhumanity in FORCING 2 Women out of the 50K Walk!
The DQ of Ms Quigley!
But ALSO the FAILURE of the USATF to pursue a serious appeal--and then to try again!!
Why else do they even exist??
I couldn't find a better word than LUDICROUS for the following---
Beatrice Chepkoech MISSING the turn-off to the 1st water jump in the 3000SC!!
And why wasn't SHE Disqualified??
She runs OFF course, then does TWO U-turns to get back ON course, and SHE isn't DQ'ed!
But Colleen Quigley steps ON the line--NOT over it!!--and gets the axe??
Yes, LUDICROUS indeed!!
And how about the ENDLESS pronouncements (put forth in various ways) that--
Mo is GOD!
Bolt is GOD, plus one!
Didn't you just love those Conspiracy Theories that popped up here and there?
That Quigley gained an advantage with her steps on the line!
(Mo ran ON the infield & wasn't DQ'ed!!)
That Charlene Lipsey supposedly ran her heat slow enough to help Brenda Martinez's chances of advancing in the 800!!
Finally, that Bolt FAKED his cramp in the Relay to avoid his team's defeat!!
(People said he was seen first limping off the track, then suddenly walking normally as soon as he was out of view of the crowd--and cameras!!)
Who performed the Best for the United States?
Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs win this one!!
Katie Burnett breaking the American Record in the 50K Walk!!
ALL 4 Relays finishing their races--and winning two of them!!
Evan Jager for giving it the old college try!
Ajee Wilson for running her 2nd best time, and WINNING the WOMEN's 800!!
Shelby Houlihan for her 6 second PR in the Women's 5000 heats!
Then for running close to her old PR in the final!
Jenny Simpson, for her bravado performance in the 1500!
Finally, for Justin Gatlin beating "GOD" in the 100!
But mostly for his grace and humility under fire from that MOB of idiots in the stands!!
The US had some Shockers, but so did the rest of the World!
Here's my picks for the Best World Shockers!
Salwa Naser's THREE Personal Records in her Heat, Semi, and Final of the 400!!
And beating Allyson Felix for that proverbial "cherry on top"!!
The Trinidad & Tobago 4X400 team beating the always dangerous US squad--and getting a National Record to boot!!
Karsten Warholm--for winning the 400H--but also for his thrilling emergence into the World's elite this year overall!!
Young Yuliya Levchenko "rising" to a Silver medal---AND a tie for the Age 20 record--in the Women's HJ!!
And for Muktar Edris FINALLY busting the "GOAT" balloon of Sir Mo in that 5K!!
Thank you, SIR Edris!!
Do you like Alphabet Soup??
(I used to eat that a LOT as a child!! Thanks, Mom!!)
Anyway, I thought I'd have some fun trying to find an athlete to fit EVERY letter of the English Alphabet!!
Here's my picks--
A (Almaz Ayana! Her FULL name makes for "twice the fun"!!)
B (A few! Katie Burnett, Mutaz Barshim, Usain Bolt, and Tianna Bartoletta! See below for more on Ms Bartoletta!!)
C (Emma Coburn, Amy Cragg, Kori Carter, and Rose Chelimo!)
D (Yohan Deniz!! 3:33:12 at Age 39!! WOW!!)
E (Mr Edris!!)
F (The blessed Ms Frerichs!! Phyllis Francis and Allyson Felix--the latter more for her 48.60 Relay leg in the 4X400!!)
G (Justin Gatlin and Steven Gardiner--for his 43.89 Semi time!!)
H (Ines Henriques for setting a World Record in the Inaugural 50K Walk for Women!! But also for Natasha Hastings--for all those GREAT "Tea Time" videos she posted during the WC's!!)
I (Caterine Ibarguen!)
J (For Michelle Jenneke! Despite a poor performance, she continues to DANCE!!)
K (To Sam Kendricks and KJT!! She did well in both the Heptathlon and the open HJ!)
L (The "Three L's" of the Women's HJ!! Mariya Lasitskene, Yuliya Levchenko, and Kamila Licwinko, medalists all!!)
M (Kevin Mayer, Elijah Manangoi, and especially for Isaac Makwala--for surviving!!)
N (Ms Naser!!)
O (Helen Obiri!!)
P (Sally Pearson, Sandra Perkovic, and for the young Robelys Peinado of the PV!!)
Q (Who else but the QUEEN of the 3K SC--Colleen Quigley!!)
R (Yulimar Rojas--for beating Ibarguen!! Brittney Reese. But mostly for Nair Da Rosa and Susan Randall, the 2 VICTIMS of IAAF stupidity!!)
S (Dafne Schippers! Ekaterina Stefanidi! And for Dani Stevens, who made Australia proud in the DT!!)
T (Nafissatou Thiam!! And Marie Josee Ta Lou!)
U (Okay, so it's her hyphenated married name!! Shaunae Miller-Uibo!!)
V (Wayde Van Niekerk--for his performances, but mainly for his emotional interview afterward!!)
W (Karsten Warholm. Anita Wlodarczyk! Tom Walsh!! And Ajee Wilson!!)
X (Had to hunt this one down, but how about Xenia Krizsan, who ran the fastest 800--2:07.17--in the Heptathlon??!!)
Y (Forgive me, Taoists everywhere, but this one goes to the Yang & Yin of the Women's 50K Walk--Hang Yin and Shuqing Yang!!)
Z (The Men's SP Bronze winner, Stipe Zunic!!)
WHEW!!
Always hate to do categories like this one, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!!
The WORST FAILS!!
Jenn Suhr's No Height!!
Raven Saunders imploding in the SP!!
The Gold winner of the OG 1500 not even getting to the Semi's here--Matthew Centrowitz!
Jeff Henderson & Marquis Dendy in the LJ!
Trey Hardee confirming he should have retired before he did!!
Shamier Little!
Gwen Berry!!
Renaud Lavillenie and Bogdan Bondarenko!
Ryan Crouser & Thomas Rohler!
Vashti Cunningham--and NO, she can't use her youth as an excuse!!
The 4-pack of the Women's 100H team!
We got a medal, yes!
But the others were just 4th, 5th, and LAST!!
Jamaica!
There's a T&FN MB discussion of Jamaica's Team Fail!!
Interesting stuff--to which yours truly contributed!!
Which was the Best Day of the 10?
I choose the Morning Session of Day 10!
It had all 4 Walks--including that Historic Women's 50K!!
(See my post dedicated ENTIRELY to that event!!)
Then comes the Morning Session of Day 3--BOTH Marathons!!
And how about August 9th--Day 6?
It had the Women's 400 and SP, and the Men's 400H Finals!
But it also had the Heats of the Women's 3000SC!!
I could be WITNESS to the IAAF's total FAIL re the Quigley DQ!
(And see how strong the US duo of Coburn and Frerichs were!!)
Which Events EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS??
Obviously, the Women's 3000SC.
The Relays--all 4 of them!!
Again obviously, the Women's 50K Walk!!
And the Men's 10000, for being FAST, while also being strategic!!
And the WORST Events?
The Men's 200, 400, 110H, and HJ, despite Mutaz Barshim!!
The Women's 800--for reasons already stated!
I have a few more, but we're near the end, so thank you for sticking around!!
IMHO, my Blog's Best Posts??
Steeplechase Stunner & An Historic Event in T&F!
They treated those events with total respect, by giving each their own separate post!!
All of my Previews--for Bravery Under Duress!!
I try not to talk about one's appearance too much!
After all, what we have are genetically and God-given!!
But some folks are just TOO MUCH for this fairly liberal person to handle!!
Inika McPherson's almost-FULL BODY series of tattoos!
But also for her hair style, and rings in places they shouldn't be!!
The garish green lipstick worn by Christina Manning!
I LOVE Women wearing lipstick, but this was too over the top!
And, with all due respect to the PERSON that is Caster Semenya, but I just can not LISTEN to "her" talk!!
I've known and heard MANY Women who had DEEP BASS voices!!
That's natural, normal, and okay!!
But Semenya's voice is TOTAL MALE, no if's, and's, or but's!!
The Most REVEALING Moment of these World Championships??
NO, it wasn't the many camera shots of Women's butt cheeks peeking through their briefs!!
But you're close!!
See that guy who STREAKED onto the track before the Men's 100??
(I "streaked" once when at HSU in the 70's!!)
Loved it, Mate!!
Finally!!
My last category is--
Wish they'd Make a Movie about it!!
The Women's 3000SC & 50K Walk!!
The Women's 800!
The entire Isaac Makwala episode--including his SOLO race, his being FORCIBLY banned from the track, and the virus that befell him!!
Last by not least---
The Stories of Usain Bolt and Tianna Bartoletta!!
Bolt for his ENTIRE LIFE!!
Bartoletta for her sad but courageous admission that she had escaped from an abusive marriage just 3 months ago!!
Yet she seemed quite together and happy in her 90 minute Tea Time visit with Natasha Hastings---who was flabbergasted to hear Tianna's admitting to it at the start of that video!!
Bartoletta later put out a statement about it on Instagram and Twitter!!
She's my HEROINE!!
See you next after the Birmingham DL!!
Sunday, August 13, 2017
The Final Days
This post includes ALL the events not yet covered, contrary to earlier stated plans!
The shocks & the IAAF's "dirty business" were already dealt with!
Beginning with the Decathlon, to the last of the Relays, it's all here!
So have we found the next Ashton Eaton?
If we have, he doesn't come from the United States!
When Canadian Damian Warner ran the fastest 100, the "End of an Era" talk began!
His 975 points had him 7 ahead of the "next generation" Freimuth, as Rico was 2nd with 968!
Kevin Mayer, a Frenchman, was 4th, with US hope (against hope!) Trey Hardee tied for 5th with Serbia's Mihail Dudas at 917 points!
This was a good field, from many nations!
Freimuth, son of Uwe (his 1984 score of 8792 still 10th A-T World!), took over the lead after the LJ!
His 1898 points led Warner by 3.
But also at 1895 was Karl Saluri!
Mayer remained 4th with 1869, 18 ahead of Kai Kazmirek!
Hardee was now 6th with 1847!
Leonel Suarez was already a DNF!
Mayer moved ahead of Freimuth after the SP, 2703 to 2678, with Hardee now in 3rd, seeming, um, hardy!!
Warner and Kazmirek were now 6th and 8th!
But Kazmirek led the HJ with a 6-11, and pulled into 2nd, his 3472 points now 109 below Mayer's 3581.
Freimuth also had 3472, while Hardee had 31 less!
Grenadan Kurt Felix's 3436 were now 24 ahead of Warner, who stayed in 6th!
Kazmirek had the fastest 400 (47.19--Where was Eaton with his 45.00 PR??), so pulled to within 57 points of Mayer's 1st day leading total of 4478!
Freimuth, Warner, and Hardee held the next 3 spots, 60 to 108 points out of the Silver position!
A little anecdote about Maicel Uibo, who was way down the chart in 25th place!
He's married to sprint Queen Shaunae Miller!
So someone tweeted that it's too bad Shaunae couldn't replace Maicel in the Dec 400, as her PR is 0.70 faster than her husband's!!
Warner opened the 2nd day with a 13.63 in the 110H , pulling him into 3rd, just 7 points behind Freimuth's 5377, who was 2nd to Mayer's 5485!
Hardee, however, was now OUT of the game, as he crashed an early hurdle!!
(He announced his retirement later!!)
Freimuth's 167-10 DT led all others, and he was now just 24 points out of 1st, behind Mayer's 6296!
There was a little buzz about whether Mayer could reach 9000 points!!
Oleksiy Kasyanov had 6045 points, and had risen to the 3rd spot, 15 ahead of Kazmirek, and 40 more than Warner, who stood 5th!
Mayer "vaulted" into a lead of 116 points over Freimuth, 7237 to 7121, with Kazmirek's 7021 the only other score with 7000 or more points!
Kazyanov and Warner were in 4th and 5th, more than 100 points out of the medals!
Uibo, having a poor Dec, No Heighted, and was gone!
Estonia's Janek Oiglane, who had meandered in the top dozen or so throughout, led the JT with a heave of 235-4, which pulled him into 4th, but 110 points behind Kazmirek's 7796!
Mayer's dreams of a 9000 pointer had vanished, but he still had 8067, 173 more than Freimuth!
And Mayer did win, with 8768 points!
The young Freimuth took Silver with 8564, while Kazmirek held 3rd with 8488!
Oiglane's 8371 beat Warner's 8309 for 4th!
The sprint Relay heats saw the US team hang onto the baton, both Men and Women scoring wins, respective times of 37.70 and 41.84.
Great Britain thrilled the home crowd with 2nds of 37.76 and 41.93!
In the Women's heat, Switzerland's 3rd place time of 42.50 nipped their National Record by 0.01!!
They remain 16th A-T Nation!
Germany's 42.34 beat Jamaica's 42.50 (sans ET!!) in the 2nd Heat!
But with Usain Bolt running in the 2nd Heat for the Jam's, they won with 37.95, France 2nd in 38.03!
The Bahamas had a lousy day, DNF'ing the Women's race, and being DQ'ed from the Men's!!
The Finals of the 4X100's were interesting!
The US used a quartet of Aliyah Brown, Allyson Felix, Morolake Akinosun, and Tori Bowie!
And good hand-offs (as well as raw speed!) brought them to a decisive win in 41.82 over Great Britain's 42.12!
Jamaica--without ET!--was 3rd in 42.19!
Brazil and the Netherlands got Place records in 7th and 8th!
The British Men shocked the Americans---AND themselves and the sold-out crowd!!--when they beat the US, 37.47 to 37.52.
Minus the booing, some blamed Justin Gatlin, as maybe age slowed him a bit!
The Brits got their National Record, which moved them from 6th A-T Nation to 3rd!!
The US got the consolation prize, their time becoming the best 2nd Place mark!!
Japan took 3rd!
Oh yes, I almost forgot!!
Usain Bolt ran the anchor, but badly cramped about halfway down the straight, hopped a couple of steps, then did a really dandy somersault, finally walking off the track after a long and distinguished career!!
(No injury--just a cramp!)
The 4X400 Heats saw more thrills and spills!
The US Women, led by Shakima Wimbley's 3rd leg of 49.20 (!!), finished more than 3 seconds ahead of the Brits, 3:21.66 to 3:24.74!
The Bahamas DNF'ed here as well!!
Botswana's 3:26.90 finished 3rd, a National Record!!
But they missed my World DDD list by 0.01 seconds!!
Jamaica won Heat 2 in 3:23.64!
Spain's 3:01.72 won the Men's initial Heat, 0.06 in front of Poland!
Then the vaunted US squad blasted a 2:59.23 to take the next race, 0.12 ahead of Trinidad and Tobago!!
The US 4-some was Wil London, Bryshon Nellum, Michael Cherry, and Tony McQuay!
Belgium's 2:59.47 was 3rd!
The Women's HJ Final could be called "The L's Rule!", as the 3 medalist's last names all began with the 12th letter (of the English alphabet!!).
Vashti Cunningham was off her game, her 6-3.50 placing her 10th, with the heavily skin-decorated Inika McPherson also getting that height, in 9th!
Russian Mariya Lasitskene cleared 7 heights on 1st attempts, finally missing once at 6-6.25!
Young Yuliia Levchenko also cleared her first 6 heights on 1st try!
But 6-7 came on her 2nd!
That tied the Age 20 record!!
Kamila Licwinko's best of 6-6.25 gave her the Bronze!
Lasitskene (nee Kuchina) went on to top the bar at 6-8, but she missed her 3 tries at 6-9.75!!
Sally Pearson--who badly fractured her wrist two years ago--returned renewed and refreshed!!
Speeding over every hurdle cleanly, she powered to a 100H win of 12.59!!
She beat another veteran, Dawn Harper-Nelson, whose 12.63 might have surprised a few of her younger compatriots, who maybe thought DHN's best days were in the past!
Pam Dutkiewicz, who really emerged INdoors this year, took the Bronze in 12.72 over WR holder Kendra Harrison's 12.74!
Also timed at 12.74 was Christina Manning!
Alina Talay, Nadine Visser, and Nia Ali all timed in the early 12.80's, in 6th, 7th, and 8th places!
Not quite the USA sweep being talked about on the T&FN Message Board prior to the race!
The Men's JT, which had seen monster throws of well over 300 feet earlier this year by Thomas Rohler and Johannes Vetter, was a let down of sorts, as the winning marks were about 10 feet less!
And Rohler was NOT one of the medalists!!
Vetter won, his 294-11 just 7 inches farther than Jakub Vadlejch's 294-4!!
The latter became 17th A-T World!!
Petr Frydrych also finished ahead of Rohler, his 289-9 just 2 inches ahead of the German!
Tero Pitkamaki's 285-3 was 5th, in a pretty deep field!
In fact, Andreas Hofmann's 275-6 became the best 8th Place mark!!
I said at the onset that the shocks in this meet were over!
Not quite!
In the Men's 5000, the pace went out in the usual "This is a gift for Sir Mo!" style!
Pat Tiernan tried to liven things up a little, taking the lead over the middle 2K, but the time at 4K was still a piddly 11:09.67!!
The "gift" was being wrapped, and the ribbon prepared!
Then the MoBot struck, and struck hard!
His final K was a real blazer--2:22.03!!
Only problem was, Muktar Edris ran HIS last 1000 in 2:21.04!!
Enough to give HIM the gift, 13:32.79 over Mo's 13:33.22!!
The King is dead, long live the King!!
Paul Chelimo was too far back when he began his kick, his 2:21.84 last K, while also faster than Mo's, left him 0.03 seconds shy of the Silver!!
Yomif Kejelcha wasn't far behind, his 13:33.51 taking 4th!
Justyn Knight, recently of Syracuse U, took a decent 9th, while Tiernan's brave run had him fade to 11th!!
Let me finish my report on the last morning's Walks!
(You've already read my post on the Women's 50K, right? Right???)
Those Oldies but Goodies---tra la la!!
Yes, two 39 year olds had VERY good strolls over the Men's 50 kilometer route!!
Yohan Deniz--returning to shape after a car accident earlier this year (!!), blasted the 2nd best time EVER, his winning 3:33:12 just 39 seconds behind his WR!!
And he did it all by himself!!
His 1st half was reached in 1:48:24!
Then he started Walking--adding a 1:44:48 for a strong negative split race!!
It's also the World Championships Meet Record!!
A pair of Japanese--Hirooki Arai and Kai Kobayashi, took the other medals, their times just 2 seconds apart, but Arai's 3:41:17 a full 8:05 behind Deniz!!
That other 39 year old youngster--the Legendary Irishman Robert Heffernan--took 8th with his 3:44:41.
Canadian Eric Dunfee was 15th!
National Records went to Hungary's Mate Helebrand's 3:43:56, and to New Zealand's Quentin Rew's 3:46:29!
The Women's 20K Walk was a battle royal among Maria Gonzalez, Antonella Palmisano, and Jiaja Yang!
Yang's 1:26:18 finally prevailed (by ONE second!!) over the Mexican, while the Italian took 3rd in 1:26:36!
With the medals going to a Chinese, a Mexican, and an Italian, I commented (on the T&FN Message Board) that those were my 3 favorite food groups!!
LOL
Yang's splits were 44:10 and 42:08!!
South American women nabbed the main National Records--
Erica De Sena's 1:26:59 getting Brazil's
Sandra Arenas's 1:28:10 nabbing Colombia's
Kimberly Garcia's 1:29:13 getting Peru's NR!
Maria Michta-Coffey Walked 1:32:14 in 25th, while Miranda Melville finished 33rd with her 1:34:47.
Eder Aravalo of Colombia won the Men's 20K, his 1:18:53 the new National Record!
Russian Sergei Shirobokov was next in 1:18:55.
Getting NR's in 3rd and 4th were Caia Bonfirm of Brazil, and Lebogang Shange of South Africa, with respective times of 1:19:04 and 1:19:18!
Australia's Dane Bird Smith, finished 6th in 1:19:28, a PR!
Great Britain's Tom Bosworth, who led part of the race, was red carded out!
Mutaz Barshim took swipes at a height of 2.40 (7-10.50) in the HJ, but missed!
His 7-8.50 was, however, more than enough to give him the Gold!
As in the Women's HJ, a 20 year old took Silver, he being Russia's Danyil Lysenko, his height being 7-7.25!
Syria got a rare medal, as Majd Ghazel's 7-6 took Bronze!
Bogdan Bondarenko--co-favorite for Gold--ended in 9th, just behind the US's Bryan McBride!
Still with me??
Maybe I SHOULD have done TWO posts, as I have several more events to go!!
Oh well, let's move on!!
Sandra Perkovic had to whip her Discus out 230-8 to avoid defeat by Aussie Dani Stevens!!
Stevens threw 228-6 for her National Record, smashing the old mark by Daniela Costian, dating from 1994!
Besides getting Australia's NR, she also gets the Age 29 record!!
Melina Robert-Michon took the Bronze with her 217-2, while formchart faves Yaime Perez and Denia Caballero finished 4th and 5th!
The Women's 5000 resembled one of Mo's Walkathons for a kilometer, the gang passing that point in 3:18.62.
Then Almaz Ayana took control, running a 2:48.79 2nd K, 2000 passed in 6:07.41.
She kept the pressure on, even though Helen Obiri was right there for company, their 3K hit in 8:58.05!
Ayana continued leading through another quick 1000 of 2:51.90!
The rest of the starters were far back, but still going at sub-15 pace or thereabouts!
With less than a lap to go, Obiri used her 1500 speed to sprint past Ayana, winning easily in 14:34.86, her last 4000 run at better than World Record pace!!
Ayana's time was 14:40.05, as her fade made Sifan Hassan's 14:42.73 in 3rd seem a lot closer than it was!
Laura Muir was 6th, time of 14:52.07, while Susan Krumins dipped under 15 for the 3rd time this summer!!
The Americans ended far back in 9th (Shannon Rowbury), 12th (Molly Huddle), and Shelby Houlihan 13th!!
Their times were respectable, but nowhere near their PR's!!
I HATE reporting the Women's 800 nowadays!!
How to tell the story of a WOMEN's race when 3 of the "main players" are questionable as the "fairer sex"!!
Okay, the unnamed finished 1st, 2nd, and 4th, if you believe they BELONG in the same race!!
Otherwise, Ajee Wilson won, her 1:56.65 her 2nd best time!!
Melissa Bishop--who said post-race she's tired of running 1:57's!!--ran, ahem, 1:57.68!
Angelika Cichocka was next with a PR time of 1:58.41.
Charlene Lipsey and Lynsey Sharp were also fast, respective times of 1:58.73 and 1:58.98!!
The Men's 1500 started slow, first lap in 61.
But then Elijah Manangoi and Tim Cheruiyot moved out to a 2nd lap of 56 and change!
Keeping up the pressure, they flew over the last 800 at around 1:50 speed (Don't have official splits, but they might have dipped into the 1:49's!!).
Manangoi's 3:33.61 prevailed over Cheruiyot's 3:33.99, with Filip Ingebrigtsen elbowing his way into 3rd past Spain's Adel Mechaal, who ended 4th in 3:34.71.
Nick Willis, Asbel Kiprop, and John Gregorek finished in 8th, 9th, and 10th!
As usual, the 4X400's ended the 10 days of competition!
The US Women demolished their competition---especially after beleaguered Jamaica's lead-off runner also cramped up, ending their race!!
Quanera Hayes opened with a 50.60, followed by Allyson Felix's 48.60!
Shakima Wimbley sped 49.50, while Phyllis Francis eased through in 50.32!
Their winning time was 3:19.02, almost 6 full seconds ahead of GB's 3:25.00!!
Poland was a happy 3rd in 3:25.41.
But the American Men weren't so dominant!
In fact, Trinidad & Tobago's National Record of 2:58.12 BEAT the American squad's 2:58.61!!
T & T remain 7th A-T Nation!
The British team took Bronze in 2:59.00, thrilling their multitude of fans!!
Spain also got a National Record--in 5th place--their 3:00.65 making them 21st A-T Nation!!
Thrown OFF the list was Finland's 3:01.12---which they ran back in--1972!!
And THAT is THAT!!
Savor the memories---by rereading all my posts!!--and expect a "Best & Worst" from these, um, weird WC's sometime in the next 2 or 3 days!!
See you soon!
The shocks & the IAAF's "dirty business" were already dealt with!
Beginning with the Decathlon, to the last of the Relays, it's all here!
So have we found the next Ashton Eaton?
If we have, he doesn't come from the United States!
When Canadian Damian Warner ran the fastest 100, the "End of an Era" talk began!
His 975 points had him 7 ahead of the "next generation" Freimuth, as Rico was 2nd with 968!
Kevin Mayer, a Frenchman, was 4th, with US hope (against hope!) Trey Hardee tied for 5th with Serbia's Mihail Dudas at 917 points!
This was a good field, from many nations!
Freimuth, son of Uwe (his 1984 score of 8792 still 10th A-T World!), took over the lead after the LJ!
His 1898 points led Warner by 3.
But also at 1895 was Karl Saluri!
Mayer remained 4th with 1869, 18 ahead of Kai Kazmirek!
Hardee was now 6th with 1847!
Leonel Suarez was already a DNF!
Mayer moved ahead of Freimuth after the SP, 2703 to 2678, with Hardee now in 3rd, seeming, um, hardy!!
Warner and Kazmirek were now 6th and 8th!
But Kazmirek led the HJ with a 6-11, and pulled into 2nd, his 3472 points now 109 below Mayer's 3581.
Freimuth also had 3472, while Hardee had 31 less!
Grenadan Kurt Felix's 3436 were now 24 ahead of Warner, who stayed in 6th!
Kazmirek had the fastest 400 (47.19--Where was Eaton with his 45.00 PR??), so pulled to within 57 points of Mayer's 1st day leading total of 4478!
Freimuth, Warner, and Hardee held the next 3 spots, 60 to 108 points out of the Silver position!
A little anecdote about Maicel Uibo, who was way down the chart in 25th place!
He's married to sprint Queen Shaunae Miller!
So someone tweeted that it's too bad Shaunae couldn't replace Maicel in the Dec 400, as her PR is 0.70 faster than her husband's!!
Warner opened the 2nd day with a 13.63 in the 110H , pulling him into 3rd, just 7 points behind Freimuth's 5377, who was 2nd to Mayer's 5485!
Hardee, however, was now OUT of the game, as he crashed an early hurdle!!
(He announced his retirement later!!)
Freimuth's 167-10 DT led all others, and he was now just 24 points out of 1st, behind Mayer's 6296!
There was a little buzz about whether Mayer could reach 9000 points!!
Oleksiy Kasyanov had 6045 points, and had risen to the 3rd spot, 15 ahead of Kazmirek, and 40 more than Warner, who stood 5th!
Mayer "vaulted" into a lead of 116 points over Freimuth, 7237 to 7121, with Kazmirek's 7021 the only other score with 7000 or more points!
Kazyanov and Warner were in 4th and 5th, more than 100 points out of the medals!
Uibo, having a poor Dec, No Heighted, and was gone!
Estonia's Janek Oiglane, who had meandered in the top dozen or so throughout, led the JT with a heave of 235-4, which pulled him into 4th, but 110 points behind Kazmirek's 7796!
Mayer's dreams of a 9000 pointer had vanished, but he still had 8067, 173 more than Freimuth!
And Mayer did win, with 8768 points!
The young Freimuth took Silver with 8564, while Kazmirek held 3rd with 8488!
Oiglane's 8371 beat Warner's 8309 for 4th!
The sprint Relay heats saw the US team hang onto the baton, both Men and Women scoring wins, respective times of 37.70 and 41.84.
Great Britain thrilled the home crowd with 2nds of 37.76 and 41.93!
In the Women's heat, Switzerland's 3rd place time of 42.50 nipped their National Record by 0.01!!
They remain 16th A-T Nation!
Germany's 42.34 beat Jamaica's 42.50 (sans ET!!) in the 2nd Heat!
But with Usain Bolt running in the 2nd Heat for the Jam's, they won with 37.95, France 2nd in 38.03!
The Bahamas had a lousy day, DNF'ing the Women's race, and being DQ'ed from the Men's!!
The Finals of the 4X100's were interesting!
The US used a quartet of Aliyah Brown, Allyson Felix, Morolake Akinosun, and Tori Bowie!
And good hand-offs (as well as raw speed!) brought them to a decisive win in 41.82 over Great Britain's 42.12!
Jamaica--without ET!--was 3rd in 42.19!
Brazil and the Netherlands got Place records in 7th and 8th!
The British Men shocked the Americans---AND themselves and the sold-out crowd!!--when they beat the US, 37.47 to 37.52.
Minus the booing, some blamed Justin Gatlin, as maybe age slowed him a bit!
The Brits got their National Record, which moved them from 6th A-T Nation to 3rd!!
The US got the consolation prize, their time becoming the best 2nd Place mark!!
Japan took 3rd!
Oh yes, I almost forgot!!
Usain Bolt ran the anchor, but badly cramped about halfway down the straight, hopped a couple of steps, then did a really dandy somersault, finally walking off the track after a long and distinguished career!!
(No injury--just a cramp!)
The 4X400 Heats saw more thrills and spills!
The US Women, led by Shakima Wimbley's 3rd leg of 49.20 (!!), finished more than 3 seconds ahead of the Brits, 3:21.66 to 3:24.74!
The Bahamas DNF'ed here as well!!
Botswana's 3:26.90 finished 3rd, a National Record!!
But they missed my World DDD list by 0.01 seconds!!
Jamaica won Heat 2 in 3:23.64!
Spain's 3:01.72 won the Men's initial Heat, 0.06 in front of Poland!
Then the vaunted US squad blasted a 2:59.23 to take the next race, 0.12 ahead of Trinidad and Tobago!!
The US 4-some was Wil London, Bryshon Nellum, Michael Cherry, and Tony McQuay!
Belgium's 2:59.47 was 3rd!
The Women's HJ Final could be called "The L's Rule!", as the 3 medalist's last names all began with the 12th letter (of the English alphabet!!).
Vashti Cunningham was off her game, her 6-3.50 placing her 10th, with the heavily skin-decorated Inika McPherson also getting that height, in 9th!
Russian Mariya Lasitskene cleared 7 heights on 1st attempts, finally missing once at 6-6.25!
Young Yuliia Levchenko also cleared her first 6 heights on 1st try!
But 6-7 came on her 2nd!
That tied the Age 20 record!!
Kamila Licwinko's best of 6-6.25 gave her the Bronze!
Lasitskene (nee Kuchina) went on to top the bar at 6-8, but she missed her 3 tries at 6-9.75!!
Sally Pearson--who badly fractured her wrist two years ago--returned renewed and refreshed!!
Speeding over every hurdle cleanly, she powered to a 100H win of 12.59!!
She beat another veteran, Dawn Harper-Nelson, whose 12.63 might have surprised a few of her younger compatriots, who maybe thought DHN's best days were in the past!
Pam Dutkiewicz, who really emerged INdoors this year, took the Bronze in 12.72 over WR holder Kendra Harrison's 12.74!
Also timed at 12.74 was Christina Manning!
Alina Talay, Nadine Visser, and Nia Ali all timed in the early 12.80's, in 6th, 7th, and 8th places!
Not quite the USA sweep being talked about on the T&FN Message Board prior to the race!
The Men's JT, which had seen monster throws of well over 300 feet earlier this year by Thomas Rohler and Johannes Vetter, was a let down of sorts, as the winning marks were about 10 feet less!
And Rohler was NOT one of the medalists!!
Vetter won, his 294-11 just 7 inches farther than Jakub Vadlejch's 294-4!!
The latter became 17th A-T World!!
Petr Frydrych also finished ahead of Rohler, his 289-9 just 2 inches ahead of the German!
Tero Pitkamaki's 285-3 was 5th, in a pretty deep field!
In fact, Andreas Hofmann's 275-6 became the best 8th Place mark!!
I said at the onset that the shocks in this meet were over!
Not quite!
In the Men's 5000, the pace went out in the usual "This is a gift for Sir Mo!" style!
Pat Tiernan tried to liven things up a little, taking the lead over the middle 2K, but the time at 4K was still a piddly 11:09.67!!
The "gift" was being wrapped, and the ribbon prepared!
Then the MoBot struck, and struck hard!
His final K was a real blazer--2:22.03!!
Only problem was, Muktar Edris ran HIS last 1000 in 2:21.04!!
Enough to give HIM the gift, 13:32.79 over Mo's 13:33.22!!
The King is dead, long live the King!!
Paul Chelimo was too far back when he began his kick, his 2:21.84 last K, while also faster than Mo's, left him 0.03 seconds shy of the Silver!!
Yomif Kejelcha wasn't far behind, his 13:33.51 taking 4th!
Justyn Knight, recently of Syracuse U, took a decent 9th, while Tiernan's brave run had him fade to 11th!!
Let me finish my report on the last morning's Walks!
(You've already read my post on the Women's 50K, right? Right???)
Those Oldies but Goodies---tra la la!!
Yes, two 39 year olds had VERY good strolls over the Men's 50 kilometer route!!
Yohan Deniz--returning to shape after a car accident earlier this year (!!), blasted the 2nd best time EVER, his winning 3:33:12 just 39 seconds behind his WR!!
And he did it all by himself!!
His 1st half was reached in 1:48:24!
Then he started Walking--adding a 1:44:48 for a strong negative split race!!
It's also the World Championships Meet Record!!
A pair of Japanese--Hirooki Arai and Kai Kobayashi, took the other medals, their times just 2 seconds apart, but Arai's 3:41:17 a full 8:05 behind Deniz!!
That other 39 year old youngster--the Legendary Irishman Robert Heffernan--took 8th with his 3:44:41.
Canadian Eric Dunfee was 15th!
National Records went to Hungary's Mate Helebrand's 3:43:56, and to New Zealand's Quentin Rew's 3:46:29!
The Women's 20K Walk was a battle royal among Maria Gonzalez, Antonella Palmisano, and Jiaja Yang!
Yang's 1:26:18 finally prevailed (by ONE second!!) over the Mexican, while the Italian took 3rd in 1:26:36!
With the medals going to a Chinese, a Mexican, and an Italian, I commented (on the T&FN Message Board) that those were my 3 favorite food groups!!
LOL
Yang's splits were 44:10 and 42:08!!
South American women nabbed the main National Records--
Erica De Sena's 1:26:59 getting Brazil's
Sandra Arenas's 1:28:10 nabbing Colombia's
Kimberly Garcia's 1:29:13 getting Peru's NR!
Maria Michta-Coffey Walked 1:32:14 in 25th, while Miranda Melville finished 33rd with her 1:34:47.
Eder Aravalo of Colombia won the Men's 20K, his 1:18:53 the new National Record!
Russian Sergei Shirobokov was next in 1:18:55.
Getting NR's in 3rd and 4th were Caia Bonfirm of Brazil, and Lebogang Shange of South Africa, with respective times of 1:19:04 and 1:19:18!
Australia's Dane Bird Smith, finished 6th in 1:19:28, a PR!
Great Britain's Tom Bosworth, who led part of the race, was red carded out!
Mutaz Barshim took swipes at a height of 2.40 (7-10.50) in the HJ, but missed!
His 7-8.50 was, however, more than enough to give him the Gold!
As in the Women's HJ, a 20 year old took Silver, he being Russia's Danyil Lysenko, his height being 7-7.25!
Syria got a rare medal, as Majd Ghazel's 7-6 took Bronze!
Bogdan Bondarenko--co-favorite for Gold--ended in 9th, just behind the US's Bryan McBride!
Still with me??
Maybe I SHOULD have done TWO posts, as I have several more events to go!!
Oh well, let's move on!!
Sandra Perkovic had to whip her Discus out 230-8 to avoid defeat by Aussie Dani Stevens!!
Stevens threw 228-6 for her National Record, smashing the old mark by Daniela Costian, dating from 1994!
Besides getting Australia's NR, she also gets the Age 29 record!!
Melina Robert-Michon took the Bronze with her 217-2, while formchart faves Yaime Perez and Denia Caballero finished 4th and 5th!
The Women's 5000 resembled one of Mo's Walkathons for a kilometer, the gang passing that point in 3:18.62.
Then Almaz Ayana took control, running a 2:48.79 2nd K, 2000 passed in 6:07.41.
She kept the pressure on, even though Helen Obiri was right there for company, their 3K hit in 8:58.05!
Ayana continued leading through another quick 1000 of 2:51.90!
The rest of the starters were far back, but still going at sub-15 pace or thereabouts!
With less than a lap to go, Obiri used her 1500 speed to sprint past Ayana, winning easily in 14:34.86, her last 4000 run at better than World Record pace!!
Ayana's time was 14:40.05, as her fade made Sifan Hassan's 14:42.73 in 3rd seem a lot closer than it was!
Laura Muir was 6th, time of 14:52.07, while Susan Krumins dipped under 15 for the 3rd time this summer!!
The Americans ended far back in 9th (Shannon Rowbury), 12th (Molly Huddle), and Shelby Houlihan 13th!!
Their times were respectable, but nowhere near their PR's!!
I HATE reporting the Women's 800 nowadays!!
How to tell the story of a WOMEN's race when 3 of the "main players" are questionable as the "fairer sex"!!
Okay, the unnamed finished 1st, 2nd, and 4th, if you believe they BELONG in the same race!!
Otherwise, Ajee Wilson won, her 1:56.65 her 2nd best time!!
Melissa Bishop--who said post-race she's tired of running 1:57's!!--ran, ahem, 1:57.68!
Angelika Cichocka was next with a PR time of 1:58.41.
Charlene Lipsey and Lynsey Sharp were also fast, respective times of 1:58.73 and 1:58.98!!
The Men's 1500 started slow, first lap in 61.
But then Elijah Manangoi and Tim Cheruiyot moved out to a 2nd lap of 56 and change!
Keeping up the pressure, they flew over the last 800 at around 1:50 speed (Don't have official splits, but they might have dipped into the 1:49's!!).
Manangoi's 3:33.61 prevailed over Cheruiyot's 3:33.99, with Filip Ingebrigtsen elbowing his way into 3rd past Spain's Adel Mechaal, who ended 4th in 3:34.71.
Nick Willis, Asbel Kiprop, and John Gregorek finished in 8th, 9th, and 10th!
As usual, the 4X400's ended the 10 days of competition!
The US Women demolished their competition---especially after beleaguered Jamaica's lead-off runner also cramped up, ending their race!!
Quanera Hayes opened with a 50.60, followed by Allyson Felix's 48.60!
Shakima Wimbley sped 49.50, while Phyllis Francis eased through in 50.32!
Their winning time was 3:19.02, almost 6 full seconds ahead of GB's 3:25.00!!
Poland was a happy 3rd in 3:25.41.
But the American Men weren't so dominant!
In fact, Trinidad & Tobago's National Record of 2:58.12 BEAT the American squad's 2:58.61!!
T & T remain 7th A-T Nation!
The British team took Bronze in 2:59.00, thrilling their multitude of fans!!
Spain also got a National Record--in 5th place--their 3:00.65 making them 21st A-T Nation!!
Thrown OFF the list was Finland's 3:01.12---which they ran back in--1972!!
And THAT is THAT!!
Savor the memories---by rereading all my posts!!--and expect a "Best & Worst" from these, um, weird WC's sometime in the next 2 or 3 days!!
See you soon!
An Historic Event in T&F
Today, August 13th, at 7:45 a.m. London time, 7 Women made History!
Ines Henriques of Portugal
Hang Yin of China
Nair Da Rosa of Brazil
Katie Burnett of the United States
Shuqing Yang of China
Erin Talcott of the United States
and Susan Randall of the United States
The World Record, held by Henriques, was shattered!
The American Record was broken!
But what made this 50000 Meters Walk Historic was that it was the first time the event was held at a Championship meet!
There had been 50K Walks for Men, but never for Women!!
As my readers know, this was a last minute addition to the 10 day schedule of events at the London WC's!
They would start at the same time--on the same course--as the Men's 50K!
The field--gathered together without any real planning--was tiny--the 7 Pioneers listed above!
Actually, one (Ms Randall) had to SUE to gain entrance to the race!
As I detailed in my Preview post, their PR's ranged from Henriques's 4:08 WR to Randall's 4:54.
Not an unheard of spectrum of abilities in an event held on Roads outside the main stadium!!
The Men too are varied in their talents--and PR's!
But for some reason, the IAAF poo-bahs (Heartless bureaucrats all!!) decided to place a TIME LIMIT on the Women!!
NOT the Men!!!
Just the Women!!
I have no idea what the limit was, or when it would be enforced!
I've raced Marathons--a dozen of them--where times fit between 2:15 and SEVEN HOURS!!
NO ONE was denied his or her finish line celebration of accomplishment--even if officials & other volunteers had to remain there way past their dinner time!!
The "problem"---as this blogger sees it--was probably that the IAAF (and/or London organizers) had determined that the Women's 20K Walk was to begin 4 hours and 35 minutes after the start of the Women's 50K Walk!
I guess they figured---in their mathematically-desiccated little brains!--that the Women with PR's SLOWER THAN their time limit would somehow magically Walk FASTER---so those PEA-brains wouldn't be embarrassed when seen KIDNAPPING those poor Women off London's fabled streets!!
Anyway, here's what happened!
At the 5K checkpoint, Henriques and Yin were way ahead, time of 24:43!
Da Rosa, Burnett, and Yang were at 26:04!
Talcott Walked a 26:39.
And Randall played caboose with her 27:26!
The 10K marker had the same leaders, their 2nd 5K of 24:39 giving them a time of 49:22!
Close to WR pace!!
The same trio were together, having Walked their 2nd 5K in 25:41, a strong pick-up--total time of 51:45!
Burnett was going for the American Record!!
Randall had slowed to 27:35 (55:01 total), and was on SUPER-PR pace--heading for a possible 4:35!!
Talcott had been apparently red-carded out, though all I know for sure is that she had a "DQ" next to her name on the Live Results page!!
So the 7 had been reduced to 6!
It happens.
15K was reached in 1:13:43 by Hinriques and Yin after a 5K of 24:21!
They were picking it up!!
Da Rosa was 1 second ahead of Yang and Burnett, times of 1:17:40 and 1:17:41.
Randall had Walked a 28:29 split, so had 1:23:30 as her time!
But she was still on PR pace!
The leading duo sped up again--to 24:16--and hit the 20K checkpoint in 1:37:59!
Burnett and Yang went past in 1:43:19, having Walked about a 25:40 split!
Da Rosa had fallen back, passing 20K in 1:45:30, after a split of 27:50!
Randall Walked her last 5K in 29:23, total of 1:52:53!
She was heading toward a danger zone, where chances at a PR were losing strength!
But she was still well under 5 hour pace!!
At the Halfway point (25K), Henriques was 1 second ahead of Yin--at 2:02:18---a pace that would reduce her WR by almost 4 minutes!!
Yang and Burnett were similarly tied at the hip, their 1 second differential being 2:09:09 & 2:09:10!!
Burnett was now certain of the American Record--if she could keep going!!
Da Rosa was now on 4:26:44 pace, thanks to her 5K split of 27:52!
But Randall was now nearing splits of a half hour, her 29:53 bringing her through the Half in 2:22:46!
However, she remained about 9 minutes below her needed PR pace!
The gap was only 4 seconds, but by 30K, Henriques was clearly ahead of Yin, and gaining!
The WR holder's split had been a quick 24:17!!
Her total time was 2:26:35!
Yang was ahead of Burnett by 21 seconds, 2:34:22 to 2:34:43--after respective splits of 25:13 and 25:33!
Da Rosa Walked that 5K in 27:56, slowing just 4 seconds from her previous split!
Randall had slowed to a walk (I know, LOUSY joke!!), her 30:26 split bringing her to 30K in 2:53:12!
But even if she somehow slowed drastically---say, to one HOUR splits for the next pair of 10K's---she'd remain UNDER 5 hour pace!!
At 35K, Henriques had totally dropped Yin--and was now ahead by 50 seconds, 2:50:52 to 2:51:42!
Their respective 5K splits had been 24:17 and 25:03!!
Henriques was now moving at a clip that would SMASH her WR to a possible 4:03!!
Yin's pace, if continued, would also bring her in under the WR!
Yang was barely under 3 hours--at 2:59:53--after a split of 25:31.
Burnett remained on AR pace--at 3:00:43--after a split of exactly 26 minutes!
Nair of Brazil had split 28:33, but was on pace for a sub 4:30!!
Randall slowed again--to 31:48!
Her time was 3:25:00!
If she walked a snail's pace of 35 minute 5K's the rest of the way, her time would be 5:10:00!!
Yes, slower than the IAAF maybe wanted---or allowed--but not much different than if, say, a Decathlon PV'er went higher than anyone imagined--and it took him an extra 30 or 40 minutes!!
Would officials say "No, you must STOP! The schedule must be adhered to!!"??
Fuck NO!!!!
At 40K, Henriques's time was 3:15:14--after a split of 24:22!
Yin seemed certain of Silver with her 3:17:04--her 5K split being 25:22.
Yang hit 40K at 3:26:31 after a 5K in 26:38!
Burnett's split was 26:27, so had gained a bit on Yang, her time being 3:27:10!
Da Rosa's time was 3:38:47 after a split of 28:56!
Half hour long splits over the next 2 5K's would bring her to the line in under 4:39!!
Randall did her 5K in 32:40, so was well under my hypothetical finish time mentioned above!!
Her time was 3:57:40!
That was the last split that would appear next to her name!!
The IAAF goons had apparently moved in with their Riot Guns sometime between 40 & 45K!
Oh, the HORROR of letting this poor Woman---after having Walked 80% of the race distance---to be able to finish!
Get out the Stun Gun, the Nets, the Strait-Jacket!!
45K was reached in 3:39:56 by the WR holder, now (after a split of 24:42) looking at a possible NEW World Record of under 4:05.
Could she hold that pace?
Yin split 26:03, reaching the last checkpoint in 3:43:07!
An exciting development in the "battle" between Yang and Burnett!
Yang slowed to 27:03, while Burnett--also slowing, but MUCH less--was now just 5 seconds behind, their respective times 3:53:34 and 3:53:39!!
Would TeamUSA add yet ANOTHER medal to its cache of Gold, Silver, and Bronze!!
Da Rosa, still going, split 29:03, down only 7 seconds from her previous split!
She seemed sure of finishing well under 4:40!!
But Randall had disappeared--listed as a DNF!
(Reason given on the Live Results page---"IAAF rule--beyond the time limit"!!)
Well at least they were ADMITTING to their epic puerile insanity!!
Ines Henriques had broken her own WR by two and a half minutes, her final time being 4:05:56!!
At least one MAN finished slower than that!!
Her halves had been 2:02:18 and 2:03:38!!
Pretty good, considering she was SOLOing the final 20000 meters!!
Hang Yin's time was 4:08:58--just 32 seconds off the old WR!!
Her last 5K had been 25:51, her halves 2:02:19 and 2:06:39.
Shuqing Yang's halves were 2:09:09 and 2:11:40, adding to 4:20:49!
Next came Katie Burnett, now having taken down her own American Record by 35 seconds!!
Her new AR was 4:21:51, halves of 2:09:10 and 2:12:41.
But this would be the new target of great US Walkers, like Maria Michta-Coffey, Miranda Melville, or even youngsters like Lauren Harris or Taylor Ewart!!
(If they choose to move up in distance, that is!!)
The first Women's 50000 Meters Walk in Olympic Games or World Championships history was now---HISTORY!!
As was the embarrassing rule the IAAF created---WHY???---that broke the hearts of two Women who were courageous and spirited enough to even attempt this harsh event!!
IAAF, listen to me.
I have a few suggestions for you!
Simple ones.
Ideas that might allow you to redeem yourself, to save your ugly souls!!
1. Schedule a World Championship 50000 Meters Walk for Women for THIS year!!
2. A good place might be Australia--in their summer season--perhaps in November or December!!
3. Invite EVERY Woman who Walked the 20K race in London, as well as all 7 of the Women who began this Historic race in London, as well as ANY Woman who wants to try it!!
4. Pay out prizes of $1,000,000, divided among the first 25 Women who finish!!
5. NO time limits!!!
6. Extraction from the course because of "Walking rules" violations ONLY---no other reason!!
7. Have NBCSN, or ESPN, or some other Worldwide network LIVESTREAM the ENTIRE race, start to finish of EVERY Walker!!
8. HONOR and RESPECT every Woman who chooses to participate!!
9. Make this an ANNUAL event--apart from the WC or OG!!
I'm spent!
This entire WC has been a draining experience!
Yes, some of that emotional roller coaster has been at the very PEAK of human experience---the Women's 3000SC, for one.
But much of it has been negative--the booing of a fine and decent and CLEAN athlete, more jog & kick distance races than I'd like to count, the DQ's, the DNF's, and the DNS's!!
This--THIS!!--the RAPE of the honorable intentions of two Women---was the feather that toppled the bridge!!
And one organization--DISorganized!!---was to blame!!
All fault--with ZERO excuses--goes to the IAAF!!
(Even if the London Organizers were the ones who urged this stupid rule to be put in place!!)
I'll try to restore my energy---after this meet is finished!--and write my last results reports!
One for Day 9, and the last one for Sunday's events!
Except for the HISTORIC 50000 Meters Walk for Women---which is detailed above!!
Thank you for your patience!!
See you soon.
Ines Henriques of Portugal
Hang Yin of China
Nair Da Rosa of Brazil
Katie Burnett of the United States
Shuqing Yang of China
Erin Talcott of the United States
and Susan Randall of the United States
The World Record, held by Henriques, was shattered!
The American Record was broken!
But what made this 50000 Meters Walk Historic was that it was the first time the event was held at a Championship meet!
There had been 50K Walks for Men, but never for Women!!
As my readers know, this was a last minute addition to the 10 day schedule of events at the London WC's!
They would start at the same time--on the same course--as the Men's 50K!
The field--gathered together without any real planning--was tiny--the 7 Pioneers listed above!
Actually, one (Ms Randall) had to SUE to gain entrance to the race!
As I detailed in my Preview post, their PR's ranged from Henriques's 4:08 WR to Randall's 4:54.
Not an unheard of spectrum of abilities in an event held on Roads outside the main stadium!!
The Men too are varied in their talents--and PR's!
But for some reason, the IAAF poo-bahs (Heartless bureaucrats all!!) decided to place a TIME LIMIT on the Women!!
NOT the Men!!!
Just the Women!!
I have no idea what the limit was, or when it would be enforced!
I've raced Marathons--a dozen of them--where times fit between 2:15 and SEVEN HOURS!!
NO ONE was denied his or her finish line celebration of accomplishment--even if officials & other volunteers had to remain there way past their dinner time!!
The "problem"---as this blogger sees it--was probably that the IAAF (and/or London organizers) had determined that the Women's 20K Walk was to begin 4 hours and 35 minutes after the start of the Women's 50K Walk!
I guess they figured---in their mathematically-desiccated little brains!--that the Women with PR's SLOWER THAN their time limit would somehow magically Walk FASTER---so those PEA-brains wouldn't be embarrassed when seen KIDNAPPING those poor Women off London's fabled streets!!
Anyway, here's what happened!
At the 5K checkpoint, Henriques and Yin were way ahead, time of 24:43!
Da Rosa, Burnett, and Yang were at 26:04!
Talcott Walked a 26:39.
And Randall played caboose with her 27:26!
The 10K marker had the same leaders, their 2nd 5K of 24:39 giving them a time of 49:22!
Close to WR pace!!
The same trio were together, having Walked their 2nd 5K in 25:41, a strong pick-up--total time of 51:45!
Burnett was going for the American Record!!
Randall had slowed to 27:35 (55:01 total), and was on SUPER-PR pace--heading for a possible 4:35!!
Talcott had been apparently red-carded out, though all I know for sure is that she had a "DQ" next to her name on the Live Results page!!
So the 7 had been reduced to 6!
It happens.
15K was reached in 1:13:43 by Hinriques and Yin after a 5K of 24:21!
They were picking it up!!
Da Rosa was 1 second ahead of Yang and Burnett, times of 1:17:40 and 1:17:41.
Randall had Walked a 28:29 split, so had 1:23:30 as her time!
But she was still on PR pace!
The leading duo sped up again--to 24:16--and hit the 20K checkpoint in 1:37:59!
Burnett and Yang went past in 1:43:19, having Walked about a 25:40 split!
Da Rosa had fallen back, passing 20K in 1:45:30, after a split of 27:50!
Randall Walked her last 5K in 29:23, total of 1:52:53!
She was heading toward a danger zone, where chances at a PR were losing strength!
But she was still well under 5 hour pace!!
At the Halfway point (25K), Henriques was 1 second ahead of Yin--at 2:02:18---a pace that would reduce her WR by almost 4 minutes!!
Yang and Burnett were similarly tied at the hip, their 1 second differential being 2:09:09 & 2:09:10!!
Burnett was now certain of the American Record--if she could keep going!!
Da Rosa was now on 4:26:44 pace, thanks to her 5K split of 27:52!
But Randall was now nearing splits of a half hour, her 29:53 bringing her through the Half in 2:22:46!
However, she remained about 9 minutes below her needed PR pace!
The gap was only 4 seconds, but by 30K, Henriques was clearly ahead of Yin, and gaining!
The WR holder's split had been a quick 24:17!!
Her total time was 2:26:35!
Yang was ahead of Burnett by 21 seconds, 2:34:22 to 2:34:43--after respective splits of 25:13 and 25:33!
Da Rosa Walked that 5K in 27:56, slowing just 4 seconds from her previous split!
Randall had slowed to a walk (I know, LOUSY joke!!), her 30:26 split bringing her to 30K in 2:53:12!
But even if she somehow slowed drastically---say, to one HOUR splits for the next pair of 10K's---she'd remain UNDER 5 hour pace!!
At 35K, Henriques had totally dropped Yin--and was now ahead by 50 seconds, 2:50:52 to 2:51:42!
Their respective 5K splits had been 24:17 and 25:03!!
Henriques was now moving at a clip that would SMASH her WR to a possible 4:03!!
Yin's pace, if continued, would also bring her in under the WR!
Yang was barely under 3 hours--at 2:59:53--after a split of 25:31.
Burnett remained on AR pace--at 3:00:43--after a split of exactly 26 minutes!
Nair of Brazil had split 28:33, but was on pace for a sub 4:30!!
Randall slowed again--to 31:48!
Her time was 3:25:00!
If she walked a snail's pace of 35 minute 5K's the rest of the way, her time would be 5:10:00!!
Yes, slower than the IAAF maybe wanted---or allowed--but not much different than if, say, a Decathlon PV'er went higher than anyone imagined--and it took him an extra 30 or 40 minutes!!
Would officials say "No, you must STOP! The schedule must be adhered to!!"??
Fuck NO!!!!
At 40K, Henriques's time was 3:15:14--after a split of 24:22!
Yin seemed certain of Silver with her 3:17:04--her 5K split being 25:22.
Yang hit 40K at 3:26:31 after a 5K in 26:38!
Burnett's split was 26:27, so had gained a bit on Yang, her time being 3:27:10!
Da Rosa's time was 3:38:47 after a split of 28:56!
Half hour long splits over the next 2 5K's would bring her to the line in under 4:39!!
Randall did her 5K in 32:40, so was well under my hypothetical finish time mentioned above!!
Her time was 3:57:40!
That was the last split that would appear next to her name!!
The IAAF goons had apparently moved in with their Riot Guns sometime between 40 & 45K!
Oh, the HORROR of letting this poor Woman---after having Walked 80% of the race distance---to be able to finish!
Get out the Stun Gun, the Nets, the Strait-Jacket!!
45K was reached in 3:39:56 by the WR holder, now (after a split of 24:42) looking at a possible NEW World Record of under 4:05.
Could she hold that pace?
Yin split 26:03, reaching the last checkpoint in 3:43:07!
An exciting development in the "battle" between Yang and Burnett!
Yang slowed to 27:03, while Burnett--also slowing, but MUCH less--was now just 5 seconds behind, their respective times 3:53:34 and 3:53:39!!
Would TeamUSA add yet ANOTHER medal to its cache of Gold, Silver, and Bronze!!
Da Rosa, still going, split 29:03, down only 7 seconds from her previous split!
She seemed sure of finishing well under 4:40!!
But Randall had disappeared--listed as a DNF!
(Reason given on the Live Results page---"IAAF rule--beyond the time limit"!!)
Well at least they were ADMITTING to their epic puerile insanity!!
Ines Henriques had broken her own WR by two and a half minutes, her final time being 4:05:56!!
At least one MAN finished slower than that!!
Her halves had been 2:02:18 and 2:03:38!!
Pretty good, considering she was SOLOing the final 20000 meters!!
Hang Yin's time was 4:08:58--just 32 seconds off the old WR!!
Her last 5K had been 25:51, her halves 2:02:19 and 2:06:39.
Shuqing Yang's halves were 2:09:09 and 2:11:40, adding to 4:20:49!
Next came Katie Burnett, now having taken down her own American Record by 35 seconds!!
Her new AR was 4:21:51, halves of 2:09:10 and 2:12:41.
But this would be the new target of great US Walkers, like Maria Michta-Coffey, Miranda Melville, or even youngsters like Lauren Harris or Taylor Ewart!!
(If they choose to move up in distance, that is!!)
The first Women's 50000 Meters Walk in Olympic Games or World Championships history was now---HISTORY!!
As was the embarrassing rule the IAAF created---WHY???---that broke the hearts of two Women who were courageous and spirited enough to even attempt this harsh event!!
IAAF, listen to me.
I have a few suggestions for you!
Simple ones.
Ideas that might allow you to redeem yourself, to save your ugly souls!!
1. Schedule a World Championship 50000 Meters Walk for Women for THIS year!!
2. A good place might be Australia--in their summer season--perhaps in November or December!!
3. Invite EVERY Woman who Walked the 20K race in London, as well as all 7 of the Women who began this Historic race in London, as well as ANY Woman who wants to try it!!
4. Pay out prizes of $1,000,000, divided among the first 25 Women who finish!!
5. NO time limits!!!
6. Extraction from the course because of "Walking rules" violations ONLY---no other reason!!
7. Have NBCSN, or ESPN, or some other Worldwide network LIVESTREAM the ENTIRE race, start to finish of EVERY Walker!!
8. HONOR and RESPECT every Woman who chooses to participate!!
9. Make this an ANNUAL event--apart from the WC or OG!!
I'm spent!
This entire WC has been a draining experience!
Yes, some of that emotional roller coaster has been at the very PEAK of human experience---the Women's 3000SC, for one.
But much of it has been negative--the booing of a fine and decent and CLEAN athlete, more jog & kick distance races than I'd like to count, the DQ's, the DNF's, and the DNS's!!
This--THIS!!--the RAPE of the honorable intentions of two Women---was the feather that toppled the bridge!!
And one organization--DISorganized!!---was to blame!!
All fault--with ZERO excuses--goes to the IAAF!!
(Even if the London Organizers were the ones who urged this stupid rule to be put in place!!)
I'll try to restore my energy---after this meet is finished!--and write my last results reports!
One for Day 9, and the last one for Sunday's events!
Except for the HISTORIC 50000 Meters Walk for Women---which is detailed above!!
Thank you for your patience!!
See you soon.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Expecting the Unexpected
And that's what this London "Surprise Party" has come down to--expecting the unexpected!
Throw your predictions out the window!
Most likely, you'll be wrong!
On Days 7 and 8, the pattern continued--the only "normalcy" coming from London's weather and the sold-out crowds---cool breezes, a bit of rain, and the British fans cheering loudest for their own---win or lose!
Thursday's schedule opened with the Heats of the Women's 5000 meters!
Round one was LOADED---Helen Obiri, Yasmine Can, Almaz Ayana, and UK favorite Laura Muir!
Hitting 4K in 12:12, with 5 Auto Q's available, there was still a group twice that size!
How would they whittle it down?
By running the final 1000 in 2:44, that's how!
Yet it took a wild free-for-all sprint to see who would move on!
Obiri led a pack of 7 under 15 minutes, her 14:56.70 beating Ayana's 14:56.86!
Senbere Teferi was 3rd in 14:57.23.
Following in close order were Susan Krumins (14:57.33), Shannon Rowbury (14:57.55), Sheila Kiprotich (14:57.58), and Muir a bit back in 14:59.34.
Unless the next Heat was also fast, the latter 3 were certain to pass through on time!
Can was 8th, but almost 9 seconds back of Muir, so became a non-Q!
The 2nd Heat also finished in the 14's, with Letisenbet Gidey's 14:59.34 leading the way!
Sifan Hassan also broke 15, with Shelby Houlihan kicking into 3rd, guaranteeing her a place in the Final!
Her 15:00.37 makes her 17th A-T US!!
Molly Huddle led most of the way, fading over the final 80 meters, but her 7th place finish and time of 15:03.60 was enough!
Genzebe Dibaba was a DNS!!
She'd run poorly in the 1500 (See an earlier post!), and was reportedly sick!
The Men's JT Qualifying saw Johannes Vetter's 299-2 leading the way, far ahead of anyone else!
The lone American, Cy Hostetler, failed to move on!
The Women's HJ lost Lavern Spencer, Alessia Trost, and Liz Patterson, with all the other main players clearing 6-3.50 to move to the Final!
The Women's 800 Heats were slowish, with the 3 unnamed "winning" Numbers 3, 4, and 6.
Ajee Wilson took the 1st in 2:00.52.
Angelika Cichocka took the 2nd in 2:00.86.
But Brenda Martinez ran just 2:01.53 in 4th, so had to wait to see if she'd move on!
(She did!)
Charlene Lipsey took the 5th in just 2:02.74--and it was "theorized" that she intentionally ran slow to assure Martinez's passage!
Hmmmmm!!!
Eunice Sum was a DNS, while non-Q's included Natoya Goule and Iceland's Anita Hinriksdottir!!
The best thing about the Men's TJ was the NBCSN announcers repeating the words "World Record" a reported 22 times!!
As in the idea---with the WR holder Jonathan Edwards being in attendance--that Christian Taylor would break that record!!
But Taylor--whose PR is 59-9--could barely top 58--his winning mark being exactly 2 FEET shy of Edwards's 60-0.25 WR!!
He got that in Round 3, just after Will Claye went 57-10.25!!
Nelson Evora was 3rd with his 56-4.75!
Think this meet hasn't produced enough shocks to satisfy yet?
Well, how about the much-ballyhooed Rio Gold winner of the Men's 1500 NOT even making it to the Semi's??!!
Yep--beset by injury & illness woes all year--Matthew Centrowitz finished LAST in Heat 1---his time not much faster than his Gold winning time!!
Overrated much---or just a bad day at the Oval Office??
Elijah Manangoi and Asbel Kiprop--looking in control, went 1-2 easily.
Besides Centro, Ayanleh Souleiman and David Torrence also failed to move on!
Sadik Mikhou took Heat 2 in 3:42.12, with Australia's Ryan Gregson the main non-Q.
Another Aussie--Luke Matthews--led the fastest Heat, his 3:38.19 beating Tim Cheruiyot's 3:38.41.
The Women's 200 Heats went the opposite route of this post's title!
The expected winners came through--
Dafne Schippers running 22.49 in the 1st, beating Deajah Stevens's 22.71.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo's 22.49 matching Schippers--and well ahead of Kim Duncan's 22.73.
And Marie Josee Ta Lou's 22.50 taking care of Brit fave Dina Asher-Smith's 22.73!
Interesting how all 3 of the races had VERY similar times for the Top 2.
Two Finals ended Day 7.
Record times weren't expected in the Women's 400H, and no records were broken!
But only some knowledgeable insiders thought anyone would beat Delilah Muhammed or Zuzana Hejnova!
And their 1st choice was Kori Carter, known on Twitter as @KoriMonster!!
In lane 9, with no rear-view mirror in use to tell her where she was, Carter had to just RUN--waiting for the final straight to see how she was doing!
And that's exactly what she did, even though Muhammed--far inside of her--was leading the first half of the race!
Hejnova was there too, and she had a powerful finish!
But Carter was in the lead at hurdle 8, and just kept her cool as Muhammed tried to chase her down, Hejnova having faded!
Moving into Bronze position came Jamaica's Ristananna Tracey, whose PR of 53.74 beat Hejnova's 54.20!
Carter's 53.07 came within 0.12 seconds of her PR in the USATF thriller, where her 52.95 took "just" 3rd!!
Muhammed's 53.50 was enough for a solid Silver!
The "Monster" roared!!
The last event of the day returned to this post's title for its inspiration!
Turk--by way of Azerbaijan--Ramil Guliyiv sped the 200 in 20.09, surprising Double Gold-seeker Wayde Van Niekerk, whose 20.11 took 2nd, a tiny 0.001 secs ahead of Jereem Richards, also officially 20.11.
Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake's 20.24 edged out Ameer Webb's 20.26 for 4th!
In 6th came emotionally & physically besieged Isaac Makwala, time of 20.44.
His time & place may not seem like much, but if you read my previous post, you know why!
Taken down by a contagious virus, he couldn't run the 400 Final, then had to fight to be allowed to run the 200--but too late for the scheduled Heats.
So a solo race was set up just for him!!
He ran 20.20 in the rain to easily beat the required 20.53, then angrily left the track, defiant---and a Hero!!
He made the Final with a good Semi, but he was more tired than he should have been---with maybe the virus and the battle to race wearing him down!
Isaiah Young finished last in 20.64!
Sandra Perkovic popped a 228-7 DT Qualifier, easily leading the field!
The 3 Americans, however, all failed to move on!
Valerie Allman--thought to be in great shape, and maybe the best of the US trio--was WAY off form!!
One of the more anticipated events was the 100H!
Four Americans were entered, and all 4 were "expected" to make the Final---and maybe even sweep the medals!
(With nightmare visions of Beijing 2015 egging them forward!)
All 5 Heat races were beset with negative winds, making times a non-factor.
Danielle Williams ran 12.66 in the 1st, with German Pam Dutkiewicz 2nd in 12.74.
Megan Simmonds, an unknown (to me!) Jamaican, won Heat 2 in 12.78, with Nia Ali's 12.93 following.
Tiffany Porter's 13.18 in 6th was a non-Q!
Heat 3 went to WR holder Kendra Harrison's 12.60, with Alina Talay 2nd in 12.68!
Back in 6th, but becoming a Semi-finalist on time, came Start Line Dancer Michelle Jenneke's 13.11.
The next Heat saw a charged up Sally Pearson, clearing the hurdles like the Champion she was before she fractured her wrist!
Her 12.72 finished ahead of Dawn Harper-Nelson's 12.88, with young Rochelle Burton coming next in 12.94.
Christine Manning was the slowest winner, her 12.87 finishing ahead of Nadine Visser's 12.96.
Visser had done the Heptathlon earlier in the meet--and had run 12.85 there!!
The Men's HJ Qualifying saw some biggies fail to make the Top 12.
Erik Kynard was hurting, and went out early!
Andriy Protsenko, Donald Thomas, Gianmarco Tamberi, as well as Ricky Robertson also failed to Q!
The B-Boys---Mutaz Barshim & Bogdan Bondarenko--easily made it through!
BTW, the highest height cleared here was 7-7, or 2.31 metric!
The 100H Semi's also went according to form!
Sally Pearson looked even better here, her 12.53 blazer leaving Nia Ali's 12.79 far behind!
Christina Manning--wearing a dark green garish lipstick--ran 12.71 in Semi 2, with Alina Talay 2nd in 12.85!
Tobi Amusan, Danielle Williams, and Michelle Jenneke--4th, 5th, and 7th respectively--all failed to Q.
The last Semi went to the veteran Dawn Harper-Nelson, time of 12.63.
Pam Dutkiewicz--arguably 2017's "Find"--was 2nd in 12.71, with Kendra Harrison again having problems in Championship meets, but finishing in 12.86, enough to sneak into the Final on a time basis!!
Rushelle Burton's 12.94, however, wasn't enough!!
Brittney Reese didn't have to rely on her standard 6th round come-through to win the Long Jump!!
Her 3rd round leap of 23-0.50 passed Russian Darya Klishina to take the lead.
Klishina eventually jumped 22-11.75 to take Silver, while Tianna Bartoletta DID use the 6th round to gain Bronze, passing Ivana Spanovic's 2nd round 22-10 by one-half inch!!
Reese did foul a few times, as did Brit Lorraine Ugen, who had one good effort which gave her 5th!!
Two middle distance Semi's were next!
The Women's 800's saw Ajee Wilson win the 1st in 1:59.21, leading all the way!
Melissa Bishop was 2nd in 1:59.56, with 3 others dipping under 2 minutes!
One of the unnamed led Semi 2, just under 1:59.
Angelika Cichocka led the rest with her 1:59.32.
Charlene Lipsey, bumped by Brit Lynsey Sharp right before the line, was 2nd in 1:59.35, with Sharp finishing in 1:59.47!
But Sharp was DQ'ed--supposedly for that "bump"!
After an appeal, she was reinstated--charges of "over-officiating" rearing its ugly head once again!!
Brenda Martinez suffered two fates---one, having 2 of the unnamed in her race finishing in front--and two, for it being the slowest of the three Semi's!!
So her 2:01.31 didn't pass her through to the Final!!
Just one more example of these "unnamed"---who do NOT belong in all-Women's races!!--screwing a WOMAN out of her deserved opportunity!!
This must STOP---or the Women's middle distances (particularly the 800) are doomed to be Tragi-Comedies for years to come!!
The Men's 1500 Semi's didn't have that problem!
But a calf cramp shut down Robby Andrews right before he was to start his kick!
Also not-Q'ing was Abdelaati Iguider from Semi One!
Elijah Manangoi and Asbel Kiprop once again dominated, taking the top 2 spots.
The 2nd Semi was faster, with Jakub Holusa winning in 3:38.05.
Tim Cheruiyot was 2nd in 3:38.24.
Both timed in 3:38.68, in 6th and 7th, Nick Willis and the sole American hope left standing, John Gregorek, moved on!
Ronald Kwemoi faded to 9th, and didn't Q.
The HT Final saw Wojciech Nowicki take an early lead, his Round 3 heave measuring 256-0!
But heavily favored Pawel Fajdek whipped out a 261-10--over 13 feet short of his PR!--in Round 4, which held on for the W!
But Russian Valeriy Pronkin's 256-5 in Round 6 edged out Nowicki for the Silver!!
Young Bence Halasz maybe showed his youth, ending in 11th!!
The final Final (sic!!) of Day 8 was the Women's 200!
And once again, this post's title was abandoned for 22-plus seconds in favor of a brief display of "normalcy"!!
Except it didn't come as easily for the Dutch beauty Dafne Schippers as she might have liked!
Coming off the turn in the lead, Schippers soon had company--albeit a couple of lanes to her left--in the person of Marie Josee Ta Lou!
Shaunae Miller-Uibo--back to full force after a major cramp left her in 4th in the 400--was also in the hunt!!
Maybe remembering how Tori Bowie won the 100---with a good lean, while Ta Lou finished upright in 2nd--Schippers leaned here, with Ta Lou AGAIN standing straight up---and AGAIN getting "only" the Silver!!
Schippers's 22.05 beat Ta Lou's 22.08!
One consolation for the Ivory Coaster--she broke her own National Record!!
SMU finished 3rd in 22.15!
The London crowd was thrilled to see young Dina Asher-Smith take 4th in a solid 22.22!!
The Americans--Deajah Stevens and Kimberly Duncan--were timed in 22.44 and 22.59, respectively!!
We are now down to the last 2 days of competition!
My next report--much later today!!--will have Day 9's results, as well (as promised earlier) my full Decathlon wrap-up--in detail!!
Then I'll do another after Sunday's events close out this---um, eventful??--meet!!
I'll finish my WC coverage with my "Best & Worst"---which promises to be, um, '"interesting"???
See you soon!
Throw your predictions out the window!
Most likely, you'll be wrong!
On Days 7 and 8, the pattern continued--the only "normalcy" coming from London's weather and the sold-out crowds---cool breezes, a bit of rain, and the British fans cheering loudest for their own---win or lose!
Thursday's schedule opened with the Heats of the Women's 5000 meters!
Round one was LOADED---Helen Obiri, Yasmine Can, Almaz Ayana, and UK favorite Laura Muir!
Hitting 4K in 12:12, with 5 Auto Q's available, there was still a group twice that size!
How would they whittle it down?
By running the final 1000 in 2:44, that's how!
Yet it took a wild free-for-all sprint to see who would move on!
Obiri led a pack of 7 under 15 minutes, her 14:56.70 beating Ayana's 14:56.86!
Senbere Teferi was 3rd in 14:57.23.
Following in close order were Susan Krumins (14:57.33), Shannon Rowbury (14:57.55), Sheila Kiprotich (14:57.58), and Muir a bit back in 14:59.34.
Unless the next Heat was also fast, the latter 3 were certain to pass through on time!
Can was 8th, but almost 9 seconds back of Muir, so became a non-Q!
The 2nd Heat also finished in the 14's, with Letisenbet Gidey's 14:59.34 leading the way!
Sifan Hassan also broke 15, with Shelby Houlihan kicking into 3rd, guaranteeing her a place in the Final!
Her 15:00.37 makes her 17th A-T US!!
Molly Huddle led most of the way, fading over the final 80 meters, but her 7th place finish and time of 15:03.60 was enough!
Genzebe Dibaba was a DNS!!
She'd run poorly in the 1500 (See an earlier post!), and was reportedly sick!
The Men's JT Qualifying saw Johannes Vetter's 299-2 leading the way, far ahead of anyone else!
The lone American, Cy Hostetler, failed to move on!
The Women's HJ lost Lavern Spencer, Alessia Trost, and Liz Patterson, with all the other main players clearing 6-3.50 to move to the Final!
The Women's 800 Heats were slowish, with the 3 unnamed "winning" Numbers 3, 4, and 6.
Ajee Wilson took the 1st in 2:00.52.
Angelika Cichocka took the 2nd in 2:00.86.
But Brenda Martinez ran just 2:01.53 in 4th, so had to wait to see if she'd move on!
(She did!)
Charlene Lipsey took the 5th in just 2:02.74--and it was "theorized" that she intentionally ran slow to assure Martinez's passage!
Hmmmmm!!!
Eunice Sum was a DNS, while non-Q's included Natoya Goule and Iceland's Anita Hinriksdottir!!
The best thing about the Men's TJ was the NBCSN announcers repeating the words "World Record" a reported 22 times!!
As in the idea---with the WR holder Jonathan Edwards being in attendance--that Christian Taylor would break that record!!
But Taylor--whose PR is 59-9--could barely top 58--his winning mark being exactly 2 FEET shy of Edwards's 60-0.25 WR!!
He got that in Round 3, just after Will Claye went 57-10.25!!
Nelson Evora was 3rd with his 56-4.75!
Think this meet hasn't produced enough shocks to satisfy yet?
Well, how about the much-ballyhooed Rio Gold winner of the Men's 1500 NOT even making it to the Semi's??!!
Yep--beset by injury & illness woes all year--Matthew Centrowitz finished LAST in Heat 1---his time not much faster than his Gold winning time!!
Overrated much---or just a bad day at the Oval Office??
Elijah Manangoi and Asbel Kiprop--looking in control, went 1-2 easily.
Besides Centro, Ayanleh Souleiman and David Torrence also failed to move on!
Sadik Mikhou took Heat 2 in 3:42.12, with Australia's Ryan Gregson the main non-Q.
Another Aussie--Luke Matthews--led the fastest Heat, his 3:38.19 beating Tim Cheruiyot's 3:38.41.
The Women's 200 Heats went the opposite route of this post's title!
The expected winners came through--
Dafne Schippers running 22.49 in the 1st, beating Deajah Stevens's 22.71.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo's 22.49 matching Schippers--and well ahead of Kim Duncan's 22.73.
And Marie Josee Ta Lou's 22.50 taking care of Brit fave Dina Asher-Smith's 22.73!
Interesting how all 3 of the races had VERY similar times for the Top 2.
Two Finals ended Day 7.
Record times weren't expected in the Women's 400H, and no records were broken!
But only some knowledgeable insiders thought anyone would beat Delilah Muhammed or Zuzana Hejnova!
And their 1st choice was Kori Carter, known on Twitter as @KoriMonster!!
In lane 9, with no rear-view mirror in use to tell her where she was, Carter had to just RUN--waiting for the final straight to see how she was doing!
And that's exactly what she did, even though Muhammed--far inside of her--was leading the first half of the race!
Hejnova was there too, and she had a powerful finish!
But Carter was in the lead at hurdle 8, and just kept her cool as Muhammed tried to chase her down, Hejnova having faded!
Moving into Bronze position came Jamaica's Ristananna Tracey, whose PR of 53.74 beat Hejnova's 54.20!
Carter's 53.07 came within 0.12 seconds of her PR in the USATF thriller, where her 52.95 took "just" 3rd!!
Muhammed's 53.50 was enough for a solid Silver!
The "Monster" roared!!
The last event of the day returned to this post's title for its inspiration!
Turk--by way of Azerbaijan--Ramil Guliyiv sped the 200 in 20.09, surprising Double Gold-seeker Wayde Van Niekerk, whose 20.11 took 2nd, a tiny 0.001 secs ahead of Jereem Richards, also officially 20.11.
Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake's 20.24 edged out Ameer Webb's 20.26 for 4th!
In 6th came emotionally & physically besieged Isaac Makwala, time of 20.44.
His time & place may not seem like much, but if you read my previous post, you know why!
Taken down by a contagious virus, he couldn't run the 400 Final, then had to fight to be allowed to run the 200--but too late for the scheduled Heats.
So a solo race was set up just for him!!
He ran 20.20 in the rain to easily beat the required 20.53, then angrily left the track, defiant---and a Hero!!
He made the Final with a good Semi, but he was more tired than he should have been---with maybe the virus and the battle to race wearing him down!
Isaiah Young finished last in 20.64!
Sandra Perkovic popped a 228-7 DT Qualifier, easily leading the field!
The 3 Americans, however, all failed to move on!
Valerie Allman--thought to be in great shape, and maybe the best of the US trio--was WAY off form!!
One of the more anticipated events was the 100H!
Four Americans were entered, and all 4 were "expected" to make the Final---and maybe even sweep the medals!
(With nightmare visions of Beijing 2015 egging them forward!)
All 5 Heat races were beset with negative winds, making times a non-factor.
Danielle Williams ran 12.66 in the 1st, with German Pam Dutkiewicz 2nd in 12.74.
Megan Simmonds, an unknown (to me!) Jamaican, won Heat 2 in 12.78, with Nia Ali's 12.93 following.
Tiffany Porter's 13.18 in 6th was a non-Q!
Heat 3 went to WR holder Kendra Harrison's 12.60, with Alina Talay 2nd in 12.68!
Back in 6th, but becoming a Semi-finalist on time, came Start Line Dancer Michelle Jenneke's 13.11.
The next Heat saw a charged up Sally Pearson, clearing the hurdles like the Champion she was before she fractured her wrist!
Her 12.72 finished ahead of Dawn Harper-Nelson's 12.88, with young Rochelle Burton coming next in 12.94.
Christine Manning was the slowest winner, her 12.87 finishing ahead of Nadine Visser's 12.96.
Visser had done the Heptathlon earlier in the meet--and had run 12.85 there!!
The Men's HJ Qualifying saw some biggies fail to make the Top 12.
Erik Kynard was hurting, and went out early!
Andriy Protsenko, Donald Thomas, Gianmarco Tamberi, as well as Ricky Robertson also failed to Q!
The B-Boys---Mutaz Barshim & Bogdan Bondarenko--easily made it through!
BTW, the highest height cleared here was 7-7, or 2.31 metric!
The 100H Semi's also went according to form!
Sally Pearson looked even better here, her 12.53 blazer leaving Nia Ali's 12.79 far behind!
Christina Manning--wearing a dark green garish lipstick--ran 12.71 in Semi 2, with Alina Talay 2nd in 12.85!
Tobi Amusan, Danielle Williams, and Michelle Jenneke--4th, 5th, and 7th respectively--all failed to Q.
The last Semi went to the veteran Dawn Harper-Nelson, time of 12.63.
Pam Dutkiewicz--arguably 2017's "Find"--was 2nd in 12.71, with Kendra Harrison again having problems in Championship meets, but finishing in 12.86, enough to sneak into the Final on a time basis!!
Rushelle Burton's 12.94, however, wasn't enough!!
Brittney Reese didn't have to rely on her standard 6th round come-through to win the Long Jump!!
Her 3rd round leap of 23-0.50 passed Russian Darya Klishina to take the lead.
Klishina eventually jumped 22-11.75 to take Silver, while Tianna Bartoletta DID use the 6th round to gain Bronze, passing Ivana Spanovic's 2nd round 22-10 by one-half inch!!
Reese did foul a few times, as did Brit Lorraine Ugen, who had one good effort which gave her 5th!!
Two middle distance Semi's were next!
The Women's 800's saw Ajee Wilson win the 1st in 1:59.21, leading all the way!
Melissa Bishop was 2nd in 1:59.56, with 3 others dipping under 2 minutes!
One of the unnamed led Semi 2, just under 1:59.
Angelika Cichocka led the rest with her 1:59.32.
Charlene Lipsey, bumped by Brit Lynsey Sharp right before the line, was 2nd in 1:59.35, with Sharp finishing in 1:59.47!
But Sharp was DQ'ed--supposedly for that "bump"!
After an appeal, she was reinstated--charges of "over-officiating" rearing its ugly head once again!!
Brenda Martinez suffered two fates---one, having 2 of the unnamed in her race finishing in front--and two, for it being the slowest of the three Semi's!!
So her 2:01.31 didn't pass her through to the Final!!
Just one more example of these "unnamed"---who do NOT belong in all-Women's races!!--screwing a WOMAN out of her deserved opportunity!!
This must STOP---or the Women's middle distances (particularly the 800) are doomed to be Tragi-Comedies for years to come!!
The Men's 1500 Semi's didn't have that problem!
But a calf cramp shut down Robby Andrews right before he was to start his kick!
Also not-Q'ing was Abdelaati Iguider from Semi One!
Elijah Manangoi and Asbel Kiprop once again dominated, taking the top 2 spots.
The 2nd Semi was faster, with Jakub Holusa winning in 3:38.05.
Tim Cheruiyot was 2nd in 3:38.24.
Both timed in 3:38.68, in 6th and 7th, Nick Willis and the sole American hope left standing, John Gregorek, moved on!
Ronald Kwemoi faded to 9th, and didn't Q.
The HT Final saw Wojciech Nowicki take an early lead, his Round 3 heave measuring 256-0!
But heavily favored Pawel Fajdek whipped out a 261-10--over 13 feet short of his PR!--in Round 4, which held on for the W!
But Russian Valeriy Pronkin's 256-5 in Round 6 edged out Nowicki for the Silver!!
Young Bence Halasz maybe showed his youth, ending in 11th!!
The final Final (sic!!) of Day 8 was the Women's 200!
And once again, this post's title was abandoned for 22-plus seconds in favor of a brief display of "normalcy"!!
Except it didn't come as easily for the Dutch beauty Dafne Schippers as she might have liked!
Coming off the turn in the lead, Schippers soon had company--albeit a couple of lanes to her left--in the person of Marie Josee Ta Lou!
Shaunae Miller-Uibo--back to full force after a major cramp left her in 4th in the 400--was also in the hunt!!
Maybe remembering how Tori Bowie won the 100---with a good lean, while Ta Lou finished upright in 2nd--Schippers leaned here, with Ta Lou AGAIN standing straight up---and AGAIN getting "only" the Silver!!
Schippers's 22.05 beat Ta Lou's 22.08!
One consolation for the Ivory Coaster--she broke her own National Record!!
SMU finished 3rd in 22.15!
The London crowd was thrilled to see young Dina Asher-Smith take 4th in a solid 22.22!!
The Americans--Deajah Stevens and Kimberly Duncan--were timed in 22.44 and 22.59, respectively!!
We are now down to the last 2 days of competition!
My next report--much later today!!--will have Day 9's results, as well (as promised earlier) my full Decathlon wrap-up--in detail!!
Then I'll do another after Sunday's events close out this---um, eventful??--meet!!
I'll finish my WC coverage with my "Best & Worst"---which promises to be, um, '"interesting"???
See you soon!
Friday, August 11, 2017
Steeplechase Stunner
In my lifetime of being a participant, student of, record keeper, and now blogging commentator of Track & Field, rarely have I seen a race that stunned me into incoherent screaming and an endless bout of crying (happily so!)!
But the Women's 3000SC Final in these London World Championships became one of those instant Classics!
When Colleen Quigley was DQ'ed in the Heats, I was (& remain!) incensed!
But isn't revenge & vindication sweet?
The gift of redemption was bestowed onto Quigley by what her TeamUSA friends did in the race she SHOULD have been in!
(And I strongly believe she WILL perform as her teammates did---in one of the DL's to come!)
This was a serious field!
Ruth Jebet, WR holder at 8:52.78!
Celiphine Chespol, the wondrous teen!
Hyvin Jepkemoi, THIS close to going sub-9:00!
Beatrice Chepkoech, she of the 8:28 3K flat speed, with a PR of 9:00.70!
And the two remaining Americans.
The AR holder at 9:07.63, Emma Coburn.
And the Collegiate Record holder (9:24.41), Courtney Frerichs, who had improved to 9:19.09--less than a second faster than Quigley!!
They lined up in an arced row, waiting for the gun.
Jebet went immediately to the front, as expected.
While Jebet is a former Kenyan, moved to Bahrain, she wore a red uniform not unlike her former brethren.
Near the rail, Coburn and Frerichs stayed inside and back 2-3 meters.
They were running 72 second laps, close to 9 minute pace, also as expected!
Coming around to the first water jump, there was some jostling for position.
But it soon turned into a Comedy of Errors, as Chepkoech elbowed her way OUT of the group heading to the barrier, and kept running on the TRACK---the normal 400 meter track, NOT the one laid out to veer toward the water!!
She turned her head, and stunned, realized her embarrassing faux pas!
Reversing course, she then U-turned again onto the event's course, took the water jump awkwardly, and started racing again!
But then she stumbled over a hurdle, crashing into Gesa Krause, taking her down too!
Both got up and continued, but their races were basically over!
The first kilometer was reached in 3:02.74, with Jebet leading Chespol, on her shoulder, with the Americans now back in 5th and 6th, but close!
Jebet picked it up a notch, but only to 3:00.86 for the second K.
They were now a 5-woman group, clear of the rest by 30 meters, and growing!
Chepkoech had closed in, and was now bringing up the rear of the quintet.
When they came to the straight on the penultimate lap, Jebet had begun to fall back, with Chespol also lagging, while Hyvin Jepkemoi was now having to stave off the unexpected presence of TWO blue-uniformed Americans!
She was probably familiar with the blonde statuesque Coburn, who had been in leading groups in several races, but had rarely won!!
But who was this other girl??
They reached the bell in 7:53, all clearing the next hurdle cleanly.
Immediately after the barrier coming off the turn, this "other" American suddenly shot into the lead!!
This shocked the crowd, the African, and Coburn!!
Could the same happen here, as it did in the 2015 Monaco 1500, where EXPECTED next AR holder Jenny Simpson was overtaken by Shannon Rowbury, not only losing her position, but the AR as well to this "upstart"??
Jepkemoi retook the lead, but Frerichs held 2nd, with Coburn staying on the rail.
It appeared that Coburn's strategy approaching the final water jump worked, as it forced Frerichs to the outside, with the African holding the middle.
Coburn has almost perfect hurdling form, so when she cleared the hurdle, she practically walked (ran!) on water, stepping from the pit to a tiny lead.
Frerichs's technique is also good, but not up to Coburn's standards.
The Africans--Jepkemoi included--all seem to "straddle jump" each barrier, although Hyvin's form is closer to "normal"!
But it's still ragged, when compared side-by-side with non-Africans!
Thus, Frerichs came out of the water with a stronger momentum than Jepkemoi, moving into a foot or so lead, with Coburn already opening a gap--although not enough to feel overly confident the kick-superior African wouldn't come speeding past!!
Until she cleanly went over the final barrier, hitting the ground in a full-out sprint!
Frerichs too went over the hurdle in top form, but she had Jepkemoi right there, also sprinting hard!
As Coburn now knew she was going to win, she actually seemed to slow a bit, raising her arms in a victorious celebration!
Frerichs was trying to hold off Jepkemoi, the space between them growing slowly--but growing!
Yes, Frerichs--of the 9:19.09 PR coming into this race--was actually holding off the woman with the PR of 9:00.01---and becoming aware she not only would take a medal, but it would shine as only Silver can!!
The stats speak for themselves!
Emma Coburn broke her own American Record by over 5 seconds, her 9:02.58 also breaking the Meet Record!!
In fact, amazingly enough, it was the FIRST Meet Record broken--by men or women!!--in the first 8 days of this mind-boggling meet!!
She also nabbed the Age 26 record!
Remaining 1st A-T US, she moved from 13th A-T World to 6th!!
On my World Combined Events list for the 3000 & 3000SC, her times of 8:59.76 & 9:02.58 adds to 18:02.34.
This makes her only 16th A-T there!
(She has to run a faster flat 3K!!)
These same times keeps her in 2nd on the US C-E list!!
Frerichs's final time of 9:03.77 was a 15.32 second improvement on her PR!!
She moved from 4th to 2nd on the A-T US list!
And she's now suddenly 7th A-T World!!
On the two C-E lists, her 8:56.99 & 9:03.77--adding to 18:00.76--places her 2nd on the US list, and 12th on the World C-E list!
Jepkemoi ended her run in 9:04.03.
Chepkoech--she of that initially MISSED water jump--rebounded to a 4th place finish in 9:10.45!!
Jebet faded to 5th, time of 9:13.96.
Chespol was further back, her 9:15.04 giving her 6th!
These are the Women Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs defeated!!
After Chespol, there was a large gap back to 7th placer Etenesh Diro's 9:22.46.
Gesa Krause, who had fallen earlier, managed to finish 9th in 9:23.87!
If only!
Purity Kirui---perhaps karma working its magical powers--ran 9:25.62 in 10th!
While perhaps not directly the cause, she WAS the one who was running so close to Colleen Quigley coming off the water jump in the Heat, that Quigley was forced to hug the line, and stepping ON it--if only to keep her stride going and her balance from toppling off course to the infield!!
Yes, Purity, "Instant Karma's gonna get YOU!".
Belen Casetta of Argentina got her National Record, time of 9:25.99.
Two Genevieve's followed!
LaCaze finished in 9:26.25, her season's best after a year beset by injury setbacks!
LaLonde's 9:29.99 just beat her own National Record of Canada!!
Gerry Lindgren shocked many when, as an 18 year old HS'er (just graduated!), he beat the older runners from the Soviet Union in the US vs USSR dual meet in 1964!
Billy Mills shocked the World when he beat WR holder Ron Clarke, and all others, in the Tokyo Olympic Games 10000 meters race!!
There have been some totally unexpected happenings in other events through the ensuing years!
But to have Americans--of whatever gender!--take Gold AND Silver in a DISTANCE race is, well, unheard of!!
Race of the 21st Century?
Maybe.
Race--and event--of this meet?
Absolutely!!
I don't want to spoil your enjoyment of it, but be sure to watch the immediate post-race celebration of Coburn and Frerichs!
I won't describe it here--just watch it--with a handful of hankies handy!!
Also watch their respective 10+ minute interviews from the mixed zone!
Another video--which I saw on Twitter--is a home video (1:37 long) showing Emma's sister watching the race with friends on TV at home.
It too has gone viral!!
I can't get enough of this joyful emotional moment in US Track and Field history!!
Dear Readers, I will return soon with the rest of my report of what went down these past two days!
However, as I did with the Heptathlon, I'll wait another day to tell you about the Decathlon, so as to be able to report on the FULL event, instead of only its first day!!
My next report should be posted sometime after midnight!
I want to watch NBCSN's "coverage" of today's action, which will be on tape delay in less than 30 minutes!!
(If they can't exploit their tape-delayed status to show the ENTIRE 3000SC race UNCUT by field events or ads----well, I don't know!!)
If they don't, the FULL race IS available on video!
Go to Let's Run or You Tube to see this amazing race!
But the Women's 3000SC Final in these London World Championships became one of those instant Classics!
When Colleen Quigley was DQ'ed in the Heats, I was (& remain!) incensed!
But isn't revenge & vindication sweet?
The gift of redemption was bestowed onto Quigley by what her TeamUSA friends did in the race she SHOULD have been in!
(And I strongly believe she WILL perform as her teammates did---in one of the DL's to come!)
This was a serious field!
Ruth Jebet, WR holder at 8:52.78!
Celiphine Chespol, the wondrous teen!
Hyvin Jepkemoi, THIS close to going sub-9:00!
Beatrice Chepkoech, she of the 8:28 3K flat speed, with a PR of 9:00.70!
And the two remaining Americans.
The AR holder at 9:07.63, Emma Coburn.
And the Collegiate Record holder (9:24.41), Courtney Frerichs, who had improved to 9:19.09--less than a second faster than Quigley!!
They lined up in an arced row, waiting for the gun.
Jebet went immediately to the front, as expected.
While Jebet is a former Kenyan, moved to Bahrain, she wore a red uniform not unlike her former brethren.
Near the rail, Coburn and Frerichs stayed inside and back 2-3 meters.
They were running 72 second laps, close to 9 minute pace, also as expected!
Coming around to the first water jump, there was some jostling for position.
But it soon turned into a Comedy of Errors, as Chepkoech elbowed her way OUT of the group heading to the barrier, and kept running on the TRACK---the normal 400 meter track, NOT the one laid out to veer toward the water!!
She turned her head, and stunned, realized her embarrassing faux pas!
Reversing course, she then U-turned again onto the event's course, took the water jump awkwardly, and started racing again!
But then she stumbled over a hurdle, crashing into Gesa Krause, taking her down too!
Both got up and continued, but their races were basically over!
The first kilometer was reached in 3:02.74, with Jebet leading Chespol, on her shoulder, with the Americans now back in 5th and 6th, but close!
Jebet picked it up a notch, but only to 3:00.86 for the second K.
They were now a 5-woman group, clear of the rest by 30 meters, and growing!
Chepkoech had closed in, and was now bringing up the rear of the quintet.
When they came to the straight on the penultimate lap, Jebet had begun to fall back, with Chespol also lagging, while Hyvin Jepkemoi was now having to stave off the unexpected presence of TWO blue-uniformed Americans!
She was probably familiar with the blonde statuesque Coburn, who had been in leading groups in several races, but had rarely won!!
But who was this other girl??
They reached the bell in 7:53, all clearing the next hurdle cleanly.
Immediately after the barrier coming off the turn, this "other" American suddenly shot into the lead!!
This shocked the crowd, the African, and Coburn!!
Could the same happen here, as it did in the 2015 Monaco 1500, where EXPECTED next AR holder Jenny Simpson was overtaken by Shannon Rowbury, not only losing her position, but the AR as well to this "upstart"??
Jepkemoi retook the lead, but Frerichs held 2nd, with Coburn staying on the rail.
It appeared that Coburn's strategy approaching the final water jump worked, as it forced Frerichs to the outside, with the African holding the middle.
Coburn has almost perfect hurdling form, so when she cleared the hurdle, she practically walked (ran!) on water, stepping from the pit to a tiny lead.
Frerichs's technique is also good, but not up to Coburn's standards.
The Africans--Jepkemoi included--all seem to "straddle jump" each barrier, although Hyvin's form is closer to "normal"!
But it's still ragged, when compared side-by-side with non-Africans!
Thus, Frerichs came out of the water with a stronger momentum than Jepkemoi, moving into a foot or so lead, with Coburn already opening a gap--although not enough to feel overly confident the kick-superior African wouldn't come speeding past!!
Until she cleanly went over the final barrier, hitting the ground in a full-out sprint!
Frerichs too went over the hurdle in top form, but she had Jepkemoi right there, also sprinting hard!
As Coburn now knew she was going to win, she actually seemed to slow a bit, raising her arms in a victorious celebration!
Frerichs was trying to hold off Jepkemoi, the space between them growing slowly--but growing!
Yes, Frerichs--of the 9:19.09 PR coming into this race--was actually holding off the woman with the PR of 9:00.01---and becoming aware she not only would take a medal, but it would shine as only Silver can!!
The stats speak for themselves!
Emma Coburn broke her own American Record by over 5 seconds, her 9:02.58 also breaking the Meet Record!!
In fact, amazingly enough, it was the FIRST Meet Record broken--by men or women!!--in the first 8 days of this mind-boggling meet!!
She also nabbed the Age 26 record!
Remaining 1st A-T US, she moved from 13th A-T World to 6th!!
On my World Combined Events list for the 3000 & 3000SC, her times of 8:59.76 & 9:02.58 adds to 18:02.34.
This makes her only 16th A-T there!
(She has to run a faster flat 3K!!)
These same times keeps her in 2nd on the US C-E list!!
Frerichs's final time of 9:03.77 was a 15.32 second improvement on her PR!!
She moved from 4th to 2nd on the A-T US list!
And she's now suddenly 7th A-T World!!
On the two C-E lists, her 8:56.99 & 9:03.77--adding to 18:00.76--places her 2nd on the US list, and 12th on the World C-E list!
Jepkemoi ended her run in 9:04.03.
Chepkoech--she of that initially MISSED water jump--rebounded to a 4th place finish in 9:10.45!!
Jebet faded to 5th, time of 9:13.96.
Chespol was further back, her 9:15.04 giving her 6th!
These are the Women Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs defeated!!
After Chespol, there was a large gap back to 7th placer Etenesh Diro's 9:22.46.
Gesa Krause, who had fallen earlier, managed to finish 9th in 9:23.87!
If only!
Purity Kirui---perhaps karma working its magical powers--ran 9:25.62 in 10th!
While perhaps not directly the cause, she WAS the one who was running so close to Colleen Quigley coming off the water jump in the Heat, that Quigley was forced to hug the line, and stepping ON it--if only to keep her stride going and her balance from toppling off course to the infield!!
Yes, Purity, "Instant Karma's gonna get YOU!".
Belen Casetta of Argentina got her National Record, time of 9:25.99.
Two Genevieve's followed!
LaCaze finished in 9:26.25, her season's best after a year beset by injury setbacks!
LaLonde's 9:29.99 just beat her own National Record of Canada!!
Gerry Lindgren shocked many when, as an 18 year old HS'er (just graduated!), he beat the older runners from the Soviet Union in the US vs USSR dual meet in 1964!
Billy Mills shocked the World when he beat WR holder Ron Clarke, and all others, in the Tokyo Olympic Games 10000 meters race!!
There have been some totally unexpected happenings in other events through the ensuing years!
But to have Americans--of whatever gender!--take Gold AND Silver in a DISTANCE race is, well, unheard of!!
Race of the 21st Century?
Maybe.
Race--and event--of this meet?
Absolutely!!
I don't want to spoil your enjoyment of it, but be sure to watch the immediate post-race celebration of Coburn and Frerichs!
I won't describe it here--just watch it--with a handful of hankies handy!!
Also watch their respective 10+ minute interviews from the mixed zone!
Another video--which I saw on Twitter--is a home video (1:37 long) showing Emma's sister watching the race with friends on TV at home.
It too has gone viral!!
I can't get enough of this joyful emotional moment in US Track and Field history!!
Dear Readers, I will return soon with the rest of my report of what went down these past two days!
However, as I did with the Heptathlon, I'll wait another day to tell you about the Decathlon, so as to be able to report on the FULL event, instead of only its first day!!
My next report should be posted sometime after midnight!
I want to watch NBCSN's "coverage" of today's action, which will be on tape delay in less than 30 minutes!!
(If they can't exploit their tape-delayed status to show the ENTIRE 3000SC race UNCUT by field events or ads----well, I don't know!!)
If they don't, the FULL race IS available on video!
Go to Let's Run or You Tube to see this amazing race!
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Manic Depression
No, I'm not referring to the Jimi Hendrix song (though I stole the title!), but after what happened in London in the past 2 days, it has left me in that state!!
Depressed by the tragic DQ of Colleen Quigley, and the humiliating treatment of Isaac Makwala.
Manic with excitement at the successes of Karsten Warholm and Salwa Naser!
But overall, as Jimi sang so long ago---Manic depression is a frustrating mess!!
Thankfully, while thrown into a quagmire of hesitant confusion, my love for T&F survives--albeit with massive migraines attached!
And I have THIS---my blog---to carry me through!
To THIS, then---and to YOU!---I dedicate this post!!
For this report, I'm returning to the old format--events in chronological order!!
(With the Women's 400 Final up last, I can thus work through my depression about Quigley to the mania of Naser's emergence!)
So let's start with some NON-WC news---from several days ago!!
Brandon Miller ran 1:49.87 at the AAU meet, crushing his own Frosh Class record by almost a full second!!
Gabe Oladipo--best known for his 215-3 DT, whipped the Shot out 73-8.75, making him 8th A-T HS!!
At the Sir Walter Miles (run on a track!), Amanda Eccleston beat Stephanie Garcia, 4:31.72 to 4:31.87.
In the Men's race, young Drew Hunter beat Craig Engels, 3:57.32 to 3:57.67!!
Now on to London!
Respect your elders!
That lesson was learned again when 36 year old Barbora Spotakova won the JT with her 2nd round chuck of 219-0!!
Lingwei Li's 217-4 in Round 3 came the closest, and misses my World DDD by just 6 inches!!
Co-favorite Sara Kolak was off a bit, as her 213-1 best took 4th!
Huihui Lyu was the Bronze winner with her 214-1.
The Women's 200 heats started the ball of emotions rolling, especially when Tori Bowie was a DNS, as was Michelle Lee Ahye!
For Bowie, rumors were about an injury, but without confirmation!
For Ahye, the "food poisoning" reports were being mentioned---which later turned into the story on the virus which cut down Makwala!!
As for the Heats, they were fairly predictable--
Dafne Schippers took the 1st in 22.63.
Kim Duncan's 22.74 beat Mujinga Kambundji's 22.86 in the 2nd.
Deajah Stevens (22.90) and Shaunae Miller-Uibo (22.69) took 3 & 4.
Brit gal Dina Asher-Smith won Number 5 in 22.73, while Marie Josee Ta Lou won the 6th in 22.78.
Rebekka Haase took the final Heat in 22.99.
Sam Kendricks may be the new "face" of the Men's PV--as he beat the INdoor WR holder, Renaud Lavillenie, with dispatch!
Clearing his 1st five heights (beginning at 18-0.50, through 19-3.75), he was ahead of the 19-3.75's of Lavillenie and Piotr Lisek via fewer misses!
Earlier, Mondo Duplantis went over 18-0.50, but couldn't clear 18-6.25!
Of course, how many 17 year old HS'ers do you know who have EVER cleared even 18-0.50, let alone at a WC's??
One veteran--Raphael Holzdeppe--in fact, was an NH!!
Shawn Barber went out at 18-10.25.
Continuing the successes of Chinese Field eventers, Changrui Xue broke his own National Record when he cleared 19-1.
Lavillenie missed his tries at 19-6.25, while Kendricks made it on his final attempt!
He tried once at 19-8.50, then went to celebrate!!
The Women's 400H Semi's produced some drama--especially when the "Shamier Little Syndrome" emerged yet again!
Zuzana Hejnova's 54.59 beat Kori Carter's 54.92 in Semi one, while Little's 55.76 gave her 4th--and a non-Q.
She's fine for 7 or 8 hurdles, then just falls apart!
Ristananna Tracey beat Lea Sprunger in Semi 2, 54.79 to 54.82.
Delilah Muhammad edged Sage Watson--55.00 to 55.05--in the 3rd!
It was a bit cold for sprinter-types, thus the slower times!
The Women's SP Qualifying saw only Dani Bunch eliminated from the "elites" roster!
Lijiao Gong led the Q's with her 62-3, edging Michelle Carter's 62-1.
Over 61, and in, were Anita Marton and Raven Saunders!!
The Men's 3000SC Final front group hit 1000 meters in a sluggish 2:51.81---about 8:35 pace!!
Getting antsy, Evan Jager meandered to the front, hitting 2000 in 5:35.46--still too slow!
But when he tried to break away, he had the company of Consesius Kipruto, Soufiane ElBakkali, and Mihiedine Makhissi.
Over the last water jump, all cleared cleanly, with Jager looking to finish things off, winning his 1st Gold!
But as the last hurdle came into view, Jager's sprint wasn't there, and after clearing it, he couldn't respond!
Kipruto ran the last K in 2:44, his winning time being 8:14.12.
ElBakkali took the Silver in 8:14.49, while Jager was despairing crossing the line in "only" Bronze position--time of 8:15.53!
He barely beat Mekhissi's 8:15.80!
Stan Kebenai was 5th, but 6 seconds back.
Getnet Wale finished in 9th, with Super Vet Ezekiel Kemboi in 11th!
Jairus Birech--one of the favorites--came home in 12th!!
Blame it on the weather, or blame it on the athletes, but these WC 800's have been SLOW!!!
The Men's Final was no different, as they hit 400 in a pedestrian 50.78!!
This opened up the race to ANYone!!
Still bunched at 600, and around the final bend, the Frenchman--Pierre Ambroise Bosse--came up with the best kick, his 1:44.67 beating Adam Kszczot's 1:44.95.
It almost became an all-European Podium, but Great Britain's Kyle Langford's sprint came up just short of beating Kipyegon Bett's 1:45.21!
Langford--who had surprised in the Semi's (See my earlier post!)--ran 1:45.25!
He's just 21.
Nijel Amos and Mo Aman followed in respective times of 1:45.83 and 1:46.06!
Brandon McBride, who was the 400 leader, was 8th in 1:47.09!
The 400 was fairly anticlimactic.
WR holder Wayde Van Niekerk was the overwhelming favorite, and demonstrated his superiority by being far ahead entering the final straight!
He was thus able to slam on the brakes with 20 meters to go, stopping at the line in 43.98--a full 0.95 seconds off his WR!!
Steven Gardiner used some of his 43.89 Semi speed to claim Silver in 44.41--over Abdelelah Haroun's 44.48!
Baboloki Thebe was 4th in 44.66, while Nathon Allen came next in 44.88.
Fred Kerley--one of the pre-meet hopes, finished 7th in 45.03!
Then there was Mr Isaac Makwala!!
He was a DNS.
Why?
Because London Security forcibly (!!!) kept him from entering the track, stopping him just inside the stadium gate!!
Apparently, he had been struck with a bad virus--a contagious one--and had to be taken to a quarantined area!!
I'm not sure if this was by order of the London people, or the IAAF---whose President happens to be British Legend Sebastian Coe!!
Whoever gave the orders, it was humiliating and destructive and UGLY!!
(I'll have more on Makwala later in this report!!)
Then this 16th edition of the prestigious World Championships of Track and Field went from bad to worse--from the burning frying pan into the raging fire!!
Enter the Women's First Heat of the 3000 Meter Steeplechase!!
Jogging through the first 2400 meters, the urgency to finish Top 3 (Auto Q's!) turned everyone into Warriors, Swords (elbows!) unsheathed, Determination in the Belly naked for all to witness!!
On the final curve, the model-beautiful (She really DOES some modeling!!) Colleen Quigley was among a quintet of Q-hopes!
Coming off the water pit cleanly, she was on the "rail"---which (and this is important!!) was NOT a rail, but a strip of white tape planted on the track--on or over which no one was to pass!!
But, with Purity Kirui and others keeping her inside, she touched the tape just after stepping from the water!
Then, with someone immediately on her right--almost touching!--she stepped on the tape again--but this time, it was on the curve heading to the final straight!
THAT was the "offence" that ultimately got her DQ'ed!!
There was absolutely ZERO advantage gotten from this "rule-breaker"!
In fact, many said that if the tape had been a metal curbing, she might have hurt herself--and found herself stepping OVER it---not ON it!!
This is the same STUPID rule that got Ezekiel Kemboi DQ'ed in Rio last year!!
It should NOT have been enforced then, and it should NOT have been enforced against the INNOCENT Ms Quigley!!
For many minutes, I sat staring into space--thinking my lifelong love affair with this incredible sport had DIED!!
I was ready to quit watching it, following it, and reporting on it!!
I remain OUTRAGED!!
And then I found out that it was USATF who said NYET to even filing an official protest!!
They said they'd watched the video, saw she'd "broken the rule"--and concluded it was useless to protest it!!
NO, YOU FUCKING BUREAUCRATIC INCOMPETENT ASSHOLES---you BACK your athletes 100%---You do NOT crawl into your COWARDLY corner and HIDE!!!
EVERYONE connected to USATF must be FIRED!!!
POST HASTE!!!!
Gesa Krause took that Heat in 9:39.86!
Colleen Quigley finished in THIRD---Qualifying for the Final!!
IF she remains BANNED, that Final itself should be CANCELLED!!!
I can't even go on with this FARCE!!!
The Usual Suspects all Q'ed, although Sofia Assefa---not showing her past abilities this year--was a non-Q.
Russian (And i'm so very thrilled & happy to say that!!) Darya Klishina led the LJ Qualifiers with her leap of 21-10.25.
Quanesha Burks, Sha'keela Saunders, Shara Proctor, and Christobel Nettey didn't move on!
The Q rounds for the Men's HT went mostly by the book, with the 3 Americans joining Krisztian Pars and Sergey Litvinov (also of Russia!) on the sidelines for the Final!
Wojciech Nowicki's 252-1 led the way, one inch ahead of heavy favorite Pawel Fajdek!
The Men's 5000 Heats made Mo Farah's quest for another double a real possibility!
He finished 0.11 seconds behind Yomif Kejelcha's Heat One winner of 13:30.07.
Syracuse's Justyn Knight (He's actually Canadian!!) Q'ed in 4th with his 13:30.27.
Not making it through were Albert Rop and Eric Jenkins, whose kick wasn't all there when needed!
Seventeen year old (Born January 20, 2000, according to Ethiopian "records"!!) Selemon Baraga led Heat 2 in 13:21.50!
Oh, Raven, WHY can't you locate Miss Consistency??
Opening the final with a foul, she "improved" to 45-1.50 in Round 2.
If you recall--before erupting into the spinner who soared to the HSR's (INdoors, then OUTdoors!) during the 2013-2014 seasons--she WAS a SP'er whose PR was in the 45 foot range!!
Then--suddenly--she hit 52.3, then 53-8, and so on, and was on her way to fame & glory!!
But she remained wildly inconsistent---improving by a FOOT or more at a time, or hardly able to get the ball past her HS measurements!!
And that is what made her 3rd effort---where she needed an 18 meter throw--of 58-7.25 (17.86) such a "frustrating mess"!!
Anyway, Lijiao Gong---the year's most consistent thrower--hit her standard form, her 65-5 in Round 5 being the ultimate winner!
Anita Marton's 63-11 in the last Round took Silver, as Come-Through-Artist Michelle Carter didn't--hitting her best in the penultimate Round--62-9.50!
Danniel Thomas-Dodd (Was she recently married??) of Jamaica was 4th, with her 62-0.50!
The Men's 200 Semi's turned this still-WR & MR-less WC's into---into I-have-no-idea!!!
The battle to allow Isaac Makwala into the 200--even into the freaking stadium!!!--was finally "won"---if you want to call what happened next a "victory"!!
He was "allowed" to run a SOLO 200--in the pouring rain on a flooded track!!--to see if he could run 20.53, the time needed to "Q"" for the Semi's!!
I believe it was Angela Tenorio who had to run a certain time in the 2014 World Juniors to Q for the 100.
All alone (with brief interference from the Men's 10000 winner's victory lap!! Does this get any more ludicrous??!!), Tenorio ran much faster than needed---and if I recall correctly, won the Silver medal!!!!
Also--in Rio last year--the American Women's 4X100 Relay squad had to run a solo time trial---out of Lane ONE!!--to Q for THAT final!!!
So Makwala's sorry position--while also ridiculous--wasn't unique!
And, like Ms Tenorio and the US Relayists, he was more than successful!
He blasted a 20.20---then went immediately into a rapid series of push-ups on the soaked track!!
Take THAT, you insane fuck-ups---take THAT and stick it up your ass!!!
Then came the Semi's---hours after the earlier "heat"!
And Makwala again raised his middle finger to the 'crats--speeding a 20.14 behind Isaiah Young's 20.12.
(BTW, this was the ONLY race throughout the entire meet so far that had an illegal wind--2.1!)
Jereem Richards matched Makwala's time in taking Semi Two!
Ramil Guliyev took Semi 3 in 20.17, with Ameer Webb 2nd in 20.22.
Appearing not quite the guy whose chances at a 200--400 double seemed a lead-pipe cinch a few days ago--Wayde Van Niekerk took 3rd in 20.28!
Non-Q's included Yohan Blake, Akani Simbine, Chris Lemaitre, and Oregon's Kyree King!
The Men's 400H Final came next!
All summer, Norway's Karsten Warholm has been running fast, breaking National Records (in both the 400 and 400H!!), and consistently winning!
So it was no great shock when he came off the curve with his exuberant enthusiasm shining brightly well in front of men much older than his 21 years!!
One of those men was uber Vet Kerron Clement!
But Clement couldn't find that upper gear shift, and finished in the Bronze position!
Warholm's 48.35 held off Yasmani Copello's 48.49, with Clement timing 48.52.
TJ Holmes, the other American, took 5th in 49.00!
The 6th day's competition ended with the Women's 400 Final!!
Would Allyson Felix beat her Rio conquerer, Shaunae Miller-Uibo--or would SMU (But then just Ms Miller!!) again win by DIVING over the line??
No one else was even considered when it came to pre-meet discussion---or betting!!
But sometimes---as John Lennon (a most famous British legend!!) once sang---"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans!".
John, meet Kalwa Naser of Bahrain!!
As I detailed in my earlier post, she's 19, and has progressed from 52.74 to 51.39 to 50.88 her first 3 years in the sport!
BTW, that 50.88 was in taking 3rd in a Semi in the Rio Olympic Games at Age 18!!!
Now 19, she improved to 50.57 in the Heats, then again to 50.08 in the Semi--BEATING Ms Felix!!!
Yet few gave her ANY chance of upsetting the apple cart on this rainy cold day!!
On the backstraight, SMU was ahead, but Felix was running her now-common 2nd 100 blaster, catching up to her "main rival".
Meanwhile, Naser had started slowly, and was far back with 270 to go!
But she was moving slowly up---while no one's eyes were focused on her---except maybe just mine!!
Around the curve they went, with Felix now caught up.
Naser had reached 4th position at the top of the straight, and was steadily inching forward!
Then--most suddenly--Shaunae came to almost a full stop---apparently hurt--maybe cramping from the cold weather and fast start!
She didn't fall, but she was barely moving, struggling to just finish!!
Felix would win???
NO!!
With all eyes (and NBC commentary!) on Felix and/or SMU, former Duck Phyllis Francis made TrackTown ecstatic, crossing the line first in a tiny (0.02 seconds) PR of 49.92!
(She remains 19th A-T US!)
Naser--again in the style of Emily Infeld beating Molly Huddle for the Bronze in Beijing's 2015 WC's!!--passed Felix at the line--her new Bahraini National Record of 50.06 prevailing over Felix's 50.08.
Miller-Uibo somehow held on for 4th--time of 50.49!
Three Jamaicans--Shericka Jackson, Stephanie McPherson, and Novlene Williams-Mills--finished 5th, 6th, and 8th, respectively!!
And thus--respectfully!--I submit this quite emotion-laden report!!
See you--I think!!!--in a day or two!!
Depressed by the tragic DQ of Colleen Quigley, and the humiliating treatment of Isaac Makwala.
Manic with excitement at the successes of Karsten Warholm and Salwa Naser!
But overall, as Jimi sang so long ago---Manic depression is a frustrating mess!!
Thankfully, while thrown into a quagmire of hesitant confusion, my love for T&F survives--albeit with massive migraines attached!
And I have THIS---my blog---to carry me through!
To THIS, then---and to YOU!---I dedicate this post!!
For this report, I'm returning to the old format--events in chronological order!!
(With the Women's 400 Final up last, I can thus work through my depression about Quigley to the mania of Naser's emergence!)
So let's start with some NON-WC news---from several days ago!!
Brandon Miller ran 1:49.87 at the AAU meet, crushing his own Frosh Class record by almost a full second!!
Gabe Oladipo--best known for his 215-3 DT, whipped the Shot out 73-8.75, making him 8th A-T HS!!
At the Sir Walter Miles (run on a track!), Amanda Eccleston beat Stephanie Garcia, 4:31.72 to 4:31.87.
In the Men's race, young Drew Hunter beat Craig Engels, 3:57.32 to 3:57.67!!
Now on to London!
Respect your elders!
That lesson was learned again when 36 year old Barbora Spotakova won the JT with her 2nd round chuck of 219-0!!
Lingwei Li's 217-4 in Round 3 came the closest, and misses my World DDD by just 6 inches!!
Co-favorite Sara Kolak was off a bit, as her 213-1 best took 4th!
Huihui Lyu was the Bronze winner with her 214-1.
The Women's 200 heats started the ball of emotions rolling, especially when Tori Bowie was a DNS, as was Michelle Lee Ahye!
For Bowie, rumors were about an injury, but without confirmation!
For Ahye, the "food poisoning" reports were being mentioned---which later turned into the story on the virus which cut down Makwala!!
As for the Heats, they were fairly predictable--
Dafne Schippers took the 1st in 22.63.
Kim Duncan's 22.74 beat Mujinga Kambundji's 22.86 in the 2nd.
Deajah Stevens (22.90) and Shaunae Miller-Uibo (22.69) took 3 & 4.
Brit gal Dina Asher-Smith won Number 5 in 22.73, while Marie Josee Ta Lou won the 6th in 22.78.
Rebekka Haase took the final Heat in 22.99.
Sam Kendricks may be the new "face" of the Men's PV--as he beat the INdoor WR holder, Renaud Lavillenie, with dispatch!
Clearing his 1st five heights (beginning at 18-0.50, through 19-3.75), he was ahead of the 19-3.75's of Lavillenie and Piotr Lisek via fewer misses!
Earlier, Mondo Duplantis went over 18-0.50, but couldn't clear 18-6.25!
Of course, how many 17 year old HS'ers do you know who have EVER cleared even 18-0.50, let alone at a WC's??
One veteran--Raphael Holzdeppe--in fact, was an NH!!
Shawn Barber went out at 18-10.25.
Continuing the successes of Chinese Field eventers, Changrui Xue broke his own National Record when he cleared 19-1.
Lavillenie missed his tries at 19-6.25, while Kendricks made it on his final attempt!
He tried once at 19-8.50, then went to celebrate!!
The Women's 400H Semi's produced some drama--especially when the "Shamier Little Syndrome" emerged yet again!
Zuzana Hejnova's 54.59 beat Kori Carter's 54.92 in Semi one, while Little's 55.76 gave her 4th--and a non-Q.
She's fine for 7 or 8 hurdles, then just falls apart!
Ristananna Tracey beat Lea Sprunger in Semi 2, 54.79 to 54.82.
Delilah Muhammad edged Sage Watson--55.00 to 55.05--in the 3rd!
It was a bit cold for sprinter-types, thus the slower times!
The Women's SP Qualifying saw only Dani Bunch eliminated from the "elites" roster!
Lijiao Gong led the Q's with her 62-3, edging Michelle Carter's 62-1.
Over 61, and in, were Anita Marton and Raven Saunders!!
The Men's 3000SC Final front group hit 1000 meters in a sluggish 2:51.81---about 8:35 pace!!
Getting antsy, Evan Jager meandered to the front, hitting 2000 in 5:35.46--still too slow!
But when he tried to break away, he had the company of Consesius Kipruto, Soufiane ElBakkali, and Mihiedine Makhissi.
Over the last water jump, all cleared cleanly, with Jager looking to finish things off, winning his 1st Gold!
But as the last hurdle came into view, Jager's sprint wasn't there, and after clearing it, he couldn't respond!
Kipruto ran the last K in 2:44, his winning time being 8:14.12.
ElBakkali took the Silver in 8:14.49, while Jager was despairing crossing the line in "only" Bronze position--time of 8:15.53!
He barely beat Mekhissi's 8:15.80!
Stan Kebenai was 5th, but 6 seconds back.
Getnet Wale finished in 9th, with Super Vet Ezekiel Kemboi in 11th!
Jairus Birech--one of the favorites--came home in 12th!!
Blame it on the weather, or blame it on the athletes, but these WC 800's have been SLOW!!!
The Men's Final was no different, as they hit 400 in a pedestrian 50.78!!
This opened up the race to ANYone!!
Still bunched at 600, and around the final bend, the Frenchman--Pierre Ambroise Bosse--came up with the best kick, his 1:44.67 beating Adam Kszczot's 1:44.95.
It almost became an all-European Podium, but Great Britain's Kyle Langford's sprint came up just short of beating Kipyegon Bett's 1:45.21!
Langford--who had surprised in the Semi's (See my earlier post!)--ran 1:45.25!
He's just 21.
Nijel Amos and Mo Aman followed in respective times of 1:45.83 and 1:46.06!
Brandon McBride, who was the 400 leader, was 8th in 1:47.09!
The 400 was fairly anticlimactic.
WR holder Wayde Van Niekerk was the overwhelming favorite, and demonstrated his superiority by being far ahead entering the final straight!
He was thus able to slam on the brakes with 20 meters to go, stopping at the line in 43.98--a full 0.95 seconds off his WR!!
Steven Gardiner used some of his 43.89 Semi speed to claim Silver in 44.41--over Abdelelah Haroun's 44.48!
Baboloki Thebe was 4th in 44.66, while Nathon Allen came next in 44.88.
Fred Kerley--one of the pre-meet hopes, finished 7th in 45.03!
Then there was Mr Isaac Makwala!!
He was a DNS.
Why?
Because London Security forcibly (!!!) kept him from entering the track, stopping him just inside the stadium gate!!
Apparently, he had been struck with a bad virus--a contagious one--and had to be taken to a quarantined area!!
I'm not sure if this was by order of the London people, or the IAAF---whose President happens to be British Legend Sebastian Coe!!
Whoever gave the orders, it was humiliating and destructive and UGLY!!
(I'll have more on Makwala later in this report!!)
Then this 16th edition of the prestigious World Championships of Track and Field went from bad to worse--from the burning frying pan into the raging fire!!
Enter the Women's First Heat of the 3000 Meter Steeplechase!!
Jogging through the first 2400 meters, the urgency to finish Top 3 (Auto Q's!) turned everyone into Warriors, Swords (elbows!) unsheathed, Determination in the Belly naked for all to witness!!
On the final curve, the model-beautiful (She really DOES some modeling!!) Colleen Quigley was among a quintet of Q-hopes!
Coming off the water pit cleanly, she was on the "rail"---which (and this is important!!) was NOT a rail, but a strip of white tape planted on the track--on or over which no one was to pass!!
But, with Purity Kirui and others keeping her inside, she touched the tape just after stepping from the water!
Then, with someone immediately on her right--almost touching!--she stepped on the tape again--but this time, it was on the curve heading to the final straight!
THAT was the "offence" that ultimately got her DQ'ed!!
There was absolutely ZERO advantage gotten from this "rule-breaker"!
In fact, many said that if the tape had been a metal curbing, she might have hurt herself--and found herself stepping OVER it---not ON it!!
This is the same STUPID rule that got Ezekiel Kemboi DQ'ed in Rio last year!!
It should NOT have been enforced then, and it should NOT have been enforced against the INNOCENT Ms Quigley!!
For many minutes, I sat staring into space--thinking my lifelong love affair with this incredible sport had DIED!!
I was ready to quit watching it, following it, and reporting on it!!
I remain OUTRAGED!!
And then I found out that it was USATF who said NYET to even filing an official protest!!
They said they'd watched the video, saw she'd "broken the rule"--and concluded it was useless to protest it!!
NO, YOU FUCKING BUREAUCRATIC INCOMPETENT ASSHOLES---you BACK your athletes 100%---You do NOT crawl into your COWARDLY corner and HIDE!!!
EVERYONE connected to USATF must be FIRED!!!
POST HASTE!!!!
Gesa Krause took that Heat in 9:39.86!
Colleen Quigley finished in THIRD---Qualifying for the Final!!
IF she remains BANNED, that Final itself should be CANCELLED!!!
I can't even go on with this FARCE!!!
The Usual Suspects all Q'ed, although Sofia Assefa---not showing her past abilities this year--was a non-Q.
Russian (And i'm so very thrilled & happy to say that!!) Darya Klishina led the LJ Qualifiers with her leap of 21-10.25.
Quanesha Burks, Sha'keela Saunders, Shara Proctor, and Christobel Nettey didn't move on!
The Q rounds for the Men's HT went mostly by the book, with the 3 Americans joining Krisztian Pars and Sergey Litvinov (also of Russia!) on the sidelines for the Final!
Wojciech Nowicki's 252-1 led the way, one inch ahead of heavy favorite Pawel Fajdek!
The Men's 5000 Heats made Mo Farah's quest for another double a real possibility!
He finished 0.11 seconds behind Yomif Kejelcha's Heat One winner of 13:30.07.
Syracuse's Justyn Knight (He's actually Canadian!!) Q'ed in 4th with his 13:30.27.
Not making it through were Albert Rop and Eric Jenkins, whose kick wasn't all there when needed!
Seventeen year old (Born January 20, 2000, according to Ethiopian "records"!!) Selemon Baraga led Heat 2 in 13:21.50!
Oh, Raven, WHY can't you locate Miss Consistency??
Opening the final with a foul, she "improved" to 45-1.50 in Round 2.
If you recall--before erupting into the spinner who soared to the HSR's (INdoors, then OUTdoors!) during the 2013-2014 seasons--she WAS a SP'er whose PR was in the 45 foot range!!
Then--suddenly--she hit 52.3, then 53-8, and so on, and was on her way to fame & glory!!
But she remained wildly inconsistent---improving by a FOOT or more at a time, or hardly able to get the ball past her HS measurements!!
And that is what made her 3rd effort---where she needed an 18 meter throw--of 58-7.25 (17.86) such a "frustrating mess"!!
Anyway, Lijiao Gong---the year's most consistent thrower--hit her standard form, her 65-5 in Round 5 being the ultimate winner!
Anita Marton's 63-11 in the last Round took Silver, as Come-Through-Artist Michelle Carter didn't--hitting her best in the penultimate Round--62-9.50!
Danniel Thomas-Dodd (Was she recently married??) of Jamaica was 4th, with her 62-0.50!
The Men's 200 Semi's turned this still-WR & MR-less WC's into---into I-have-no-idea!!!
The battle to allow Isaac Makwala into the 200--even into the freaking stadium!!!--was finally "won"---if you want to call what happened next a "victory"!!
He was "allowed" to run a SOLO 200--in the pouring rain on a flooded track!!--to see if he could run 20.53, the time needed to "Q"" for the Semi's!!
I believe it was Angela Tenorio who had to run a certain time in the 2014 World Juniors to Q for the 100.
All alone (with brief interference from the Men's 10000 winner's victory lap!! Does this get any more ludicrous??!!), Tenorio ran much faster than needed---and if I recall correctly, won the Silver medal!!!!
Also--in Rio last year--the American Women's 4X100 Relay squad had to run a solo time trial---out of Lane ONE!!--to Q for THAT final!!!
So Makwala's sorry position--while also ridiculous--wasn't unique!
And, like Ms Tenorio and the US Relayists, he was more than successful!
He blasted a 20.20---then went immediately into a rapid series of push-ups on the soaked track!!
Take THAT, you insane fuck-ups---take THAT and stick it up your ass!!!
Then came the Semi's---hours after the earlier "heat"!
And Makwala again raised his middle finger to the 'crats--speeding a 20.14 behind Isaiah Young's 20.12.
(BTW, this was the ONLY race throughout the entire meet so far that had an illegal wind--2.1!)
Jereem Richards matched Makwala's time in taking Semi Two!
Ramil Guliyev took Semi 3 in 20.17, with Ameer Webb 2nd in 20.22.
Appearing not quite the guy whose chances at a 200--400 double seemed a lead-pipe cinch a few days ago--Wayde Van Niekerk took 3rd in 20.28!
Non-Q's included Yohan Blake, Akani Simbine, Chris Lemaitre, and Oregon's Kyree King!
The Men's 400H Final came next!
All summer, Norway's Karsten Warholm has been running fast, breaking National Records (in both the 400 and 400H!!), and consistently winning!
So it was no great shock when he came off the curve with his exuberant enthusiasm shining brightly well in front of men much older than his 21 years!!
One of those men was uber Vet Kerron Clement!
But Clement couldn't find that upper gear shift, and finished in the Bronze position!
Warholm's 48.35 held off Yasmani Copello's 48.49, with Clement timing 48.52.
TJ Holmes, the other American, took 5th in 49.00!
The 6th day's competition ended with the Women's 400 Final!!
Would Allyson Felix beat her Rio conquerer, Shaunae Miller-Uibo--or would SMU (But then just Ms Miller!!) again win by DIVING over the line??
No one else was even considered when it came to pre-meet discussion---or betting!!
But sometimes---as John Lennon (a most famous British legend!!) once sang---"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans!".
John, meet Kalwa Naser of Bahrain!!
As I detailed in my earlier post, she's 19, and has progressed from 52.74 to 51.39 to 50.88 her first 3 years in the sport!
BTW, that 50.88 was in taking 3rd in a Semi in the Rio Olympic Games at Age 18!!!
Now 19, she improved to 50.57 in the Heats, then again to 50.08 in the Semi--BEATING Ms Felix!!!
Yet few gave her ANY chance of upsetting the apple cart on this rainy cold day!!
On the backstraight, SMU was ahead, but Felix was running her now-common 2nd 100 blaster, catching up to her "main rival".
Meanwhile, Naser had started slowly, and was far back with 270 to go!
But she was moving slowly up---while no one's eyes were focused on her---except maybe just mine!!
Around the curve they went, with Felix now caught up.
Naser had reached 4th position at the top of the straight, and was steadily inching forward!
Then--most suddenly--Shaunae came to almost a full stop---apparently hurt--maybe cramping from the cold weather and fast start!
She didn't fall, but she was barely moving, struggling to just finish!!
Felix would win???
NO!!
With all eyes (and NBC commentary!) on Felix and/or SMU, former Duck Phyllis Francis made TrackTown ecstatic, crossing the line first in a tiny (0.02 seconds) PR of 49.92!
(She remains 19th A-T US!)
Naser--again in the style of Emily Infeld beating Molly Huddle for the Bronze in Beijing's 2015 WC's!!--passed Felix at the line--her new Bahraini National Record of 50.06 prevailing over Felix's 50.08.
Miller-Uibo somehow held on for 4th--time of 50.49!
Three Jamaicans--Shericka Jackson, Stephanie McPherson, and Novlene Williams-Mills--finished 5th, 6th, and 8th, respectively!!
And thus--respectfully!--I submit this quite emotion-laden report!!
See you--I think!!!--in a day or two!!
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