In its 32nd edition, the Herculis Athletics Meeting held in Monaco on July 19th & 20th of 2018 had NO weak links!!
From the Men's & Women's SP's (actually held nearer to Nice!) to the string of DL and other events held inside the stadium, there seemed a relentless unending path of destruction to Records of all kinds, and to clear recognition of the way All-Time Lists appeared just the day before!
Dare I say this was one of the finest & deepest Invitational meets in the modern history of our sport!!
And so I'll begin with a pair of marks that happened NOT in Monaco--as these perhaps were the perfect Opening Act to what was to come!!
Nubla Soares TJ'ed 48-2.50 to take hold of the National Record of Brazil!
And Eliza McCartney soared over a PV bar of 16-2.50 to break her own Age 21 and New Zealand National Records!
She moves from 4th A-T World to 3rd.
Jenn Suhr's 15-11.75 took 2nd in this German meet!!
And then there was Monaco!
Where Shot(s) Puts were literally fired to let the BEAST of Record-breaking mode loose upon the unwary masses!!
Lijaio Gong came near her World Leading mark, hitting 66-7.75 to dominate one of the best fields since Valerie Adams became pregnant!!
But Raven Saunders had one of her "UP" meets--meaning she was much closer to 65 feet than to 55!!
In fact, her 64-8.50 in 2nd was 2018's US Leader!
Christina Schwanitz took the Bronze with 64-0.25!
And Val?
She moved much closer to her "normal" self, hitting her best mark of 2018--63-4.25!!
The Men didn't produce any "beastly" marks, but their DEPTH was incredible!
Ryan Crouser's 72-4.25 showed he's returning to the form other Putters feared!
Darrell Hill's 71-3.25 sailed past Darlan Romani's 71-2.50 for 2nd!
In 4th came Michal Haratyk's 70-10!
Then came the hoards that set new Place Records for the next 3 spots!!
Tom Walsh's 70-6.25 is the best 5th Place mark!
David Storl's 70-3 is the best 6th Place ever--and marks the 1st time half a dozen Men went past the 70 foot barrier in one meet!!
Tomas Stanek's 69-8.25 took care of the 7th Place Record!!
What would the Morrow bring??
Well, speaking of "depth", no other Women's Pole Vault in all of its limited history ever produced such a slate of marks!!
NOTE: I know I go completely against the "rules" of Places in Vertical Jumps, but my T&F Record Book likes to keep its pages clear of confusion!
To that end, when there are ties for Places in the HJ or PV, I tend to divide up the goods anyway, thus "breaking" those official ties--but only for the reason of not having to use asterisks or lengthy explanations as to why a lower Place's mark is better than one found in a higher Place!!
I COULD do that!
I could go into a diatribe about why a 4th Place Record reads, say, 15-5.50--while the 5th Place mark is, say, 15-6.25!!
But I won't!
Thus, take the following list of Place Records as being NOT official--and used only for clarity in my Record Book and this Blog!!
All that said, this was a Women's PV that was as good as any ever was--yet could have been even better!!
At the end of this slaughter, there stood Anzhelika Sidorova's 15-11 atop the podium!
She tied her PR set in 2016!
Yarisley Silva and Ekaterina Stefanidi were given equal-2nd's, heights of 15-9.
Sandi Morris--who was needing all 3 tries for a couple of her heights--was officially 4th--also over 15-9!
This tied the best 4th Place mark!!
The next 4 Women all went over 15-7!
Katie Nageotte and Jenn Suhr were officially given a tie for 5th Place!
But for the sake of clarity (See above!), I've "given" 5th Place to Nageotte, and thus the best 5th Place mark!
Suhr gets the best "6th" Place mark!
For Nageotte, it's an OUTdoor PR!
She moves from 4th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 4th, but with no ties!
On the World DDD, she becomes 22nd A-T, tied with 4 others!!
Eliza McCartney's (See above!) clearance of 15-7 gives her the best 7th Place mark!
Getting the best 8th Place mark is Ninon Guillon-Romarin's 15-7!
This also breaks her own National Record of France!
And makes her 22nd A-T World, tied with 4 others!!
I said earlier that this GREAT event might have been even better!
For some unknown reason, officials were VERY slow preparing for the next Vaulter, once the bar reached 4.75 (15-7)!
I've heard reports of athletes being angry and frustrated by these delays--perhaps throwing them a bit off-form at later heights!
These reports might be true--and if so, was probably the reason why none of these Women went over 16 feet!!
After a Men's 1000 race (Solomon Lekuta's 2:17.42 beat George Manangoi's 2:18.07) came the Women's 400 Showdown between Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Salwa Naser!!
Talk about Fights to the Death!!
Naser used her now-common tactic of a "slow" start connected to a fluid yet powerful conclusion!
SMU powered her way forth from the gun!
At the top of the final straight, it was close, with the Bahaman a short meter ahead of the Bahrainian!
Neither would surrender!
For every step the long-legged SMU took, the spritely Naser kept pace!
One was clearly "working", while the other glided smoothly across thin ice!
At its end, Miller-Uibo's 48.97 was the fastest 400 since 2009!!
It's the Monaco Meet Record, and the National Record of the Bahamas!
It makes her 10th A-T World!
For Naser, her latest PR timed 49.08, and broke her own National Record of Bahrain!
She is 13th A-T World!
The rest of the field--including some of the best Americans--were FAR back (Shakima Wimbley's 50.85 took 3rd!).
(I'm reporting these events in their order on the schedule--as to choose one over the other as Supreme would dare to disclaim the value of what was to follow!)
The Men's TJ was beset by mild winds, but breezy enough to take inches off the top 2 marks!!
Christian Taylor hit 58-7.25, but a wind of 2.1 made a potential MR disappear!
His best legal mark was 57-11.25!
Pablo Pichardo's 57-11.75 was also lost to a zephyr of 2.4!
His best legal mark measured 57-9!
Omar Craddock hit 57-0--legally--for 3rd!
Mutaz Barshim's season might be finished--due to injury!
But his absence allowed Russian Danil Lysenko to dominate the HJ--in Barshim-like fashion!!
After all others didn't make it past 2.30, Lysenko passed all the way to 2.40 (7-10.50), and cleared it!!
This ties the Meet Record, and ties the National Record of Russia!!
He moves from 17th A-T World, tied with 10 (!!) others, to 7th, where he's tied with "just" 6 others!!
Remember SMU's 400 time of 48.97 reported above?
Well, the Men's 800 pacer hit the bell at--48.97!!
From there, Nijel Amos took control, ending in 1:42.14 (53.2 2nd lap!), breaking his own Monaco Meet Record!!
Brandon McBride emerged from the masses, his 1:43.20 being Canada's new National Record!!
Saul Ordonez's 1:43.65 in 3rd is Spain's new National Record!
Cornelius Tuwei ran 1:43.82 in 4th!
In 7th came Joseph Deng's 1:44.21!
This is Australia's new National Record!!
If there really WAS a "weak link" here, it was the Women's 100H!
Tell that to Queen Harrison (a good name, as Prince William was present!), who won easily in 12.64.
Dawn Harper-Nelson took 2nd in 12.90.
Then came THE BEAST!!!
She is a beautiful African who calls herself Beatrice Chepkoech!!
(She's the infamous one who "missed" the 1st water jump in London's WC Steeple of 2017!)
Here, she simply ran an Almaz Ayana simulation--a World-Smashing Record time of 8:44.32!!
As with Ayana's 10000 WR in Rio, Chepkoech appeared as blithely strong, yet fiercely fast, as Ayana!
At the tape, her time was as unbelievable!
(The sewers of rumor opened up at Let's Run as soon as she crossed the line!!)
But unlike Ayana's run, this was not a negative split!
She took the lead at 1000, at about 2:56.
At 2000, a 2:53+ kept her just under 5:50!
Could she keep this up??
She was now almost a whole straight ahead of a speedy following group--led by the US duo of Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs!!
A final kilometer of 2:54.51 brought Chepkoech the World Record, the Meet Record, the National Record of Kenya, and the Age 27 Record!!
She moves from 4th A-T World to the Top!
On my World Combined Events list for the 3000 and 3000SC, her times of 8:28.66 and 8:44.32 adds to 17:12.98.
She remains 1st!!
And it was Frerichs who claimed the American Record from Coburn!!
Her 9:00.85 moves her from 2nd to 1st on the US list, and from 8th A-T World to 6th!!
On my US C-E list, her times of 8:53.99 and 9:00.85 adds to 17:54.84.
She remains 3rd.
She's 13th on the same World list!
(Ruth Jebet's former WR might be in jeopardy from other than another athlete's faster time, as she remains accused of EPO use--adjudication forthcoming!!)
Hyvin Jepkemoi's 9:04.41 took the Bronze, while Coburn followed in a still-solid time of 9:05.06!
Apres moi le deluge!!
The next EIGHT Place Records were all sent on their merry way!!
They included--
Norah Tanui's 9:07.20 took the best 5th Place mark
Peruth Chemutai's 9:07.94 is the best 6th Place mark
It also makes her 16th A-T World!
And she gets the National Record of Uganda!!
Rosaline Chepngetich timed 9:08.23 for the best 7th Place mark
She is 17th A-T World!!
Daisy Jepkemei's 9:10.71 gives her the best 8th Place mark, and makes her 20th A-T World!!
Winfred Yavi finished in 9:10.74 for the best 9th Place mark!
She moves from 23rd A-T World to 21st!!
Celiphine Chespol--the World Junior Champion (See previous post!) takes the best 10th Place position with her 9:12.05!
Karoline Grovdal's 9:18.36 is the best 11th Place mark!
And Colleen Quigley's 9:20.99 becomes the best 12th Place mark!
(My Place Records for the 3000SC only goes through 12th Place!)
What MORE could this already-CLASSIC meet bring forth??
In another of those "weak" events (HA!!), Marie Josee Ta Lou's 10.89 was dominant in the 100 over the likes of Murielle Ahoure (11.01), and Elaine Thompson (11.02)!!
The Men's 1500 was supposed to be rabbited at 2:17 past the 1000 mark--WR pace!!
But they were a bit slower at 800 than preferred, and while their 1K time is unknown, it was slower than asked!
Nonetheless, Tim Cheruiyot powered to the line in 3:28.41, clear of an impressive field of wannabe's!!
He gets the Age 22 Record!
And he moves from 15th A-T World to 7th!!
Ellijah Manangoi took 2nd in 3:29.64!
Next came two-thirds of the Family Ingebrigtsen!!
(Or are there more??)
The Middle Child--Filip--smashed the National Record of Norway with his 3:30.01.
The old Record was held by the Eldest--Henrik!!
They'd better keep apace, as the youngest--Jakob--also DESTROYED a Record--the Age 17 Record--with his 3:31.18!!
(If you thought the Belgian Borlee's were speedy in the 400, think what a 4X1500 or 4 X Mile team the Ingebrigtsen Three could produce--by adding their GRANDPA as 4th leg!!)
Right behind Jakob came Ayanleh Souleiman's 3:31.19!!
In 6th was Brahim Kaazouzi's 3:31.62.
Matthew Centrowitz, whose 3:30.40 PR holds the best 10th Place record, ran 3:31.77--the US Leader for 2018!
In 10th was Jakub Holusa, whose 3:32.49 breaks his own National Record of the Czech Republic!!
Sergey Shubenkov gave the crowd a little rest from all the emotional highs that came before!
Yet his 13.07 over 110H beat a class field, where Orlando Ortega's 13.18 came 2nd!!
Oh, what to do about the Women's 800!
Caster Semenya continues running times not seen in all-Women's races since the infamous drug-filled days of the 1980's!!
But she does this NOT with drugs, but with an "over-abundance" of male hormones--at least as considered so by most "experts"!
Similar levels are suspected in Margaret Wambui and Francine Niyonsaba--though Semenya's is the most-egrigious case!!
New rulings are expected (HOPED for???) by the IAAF---soon!
Until then---this blog has chosen to NOT allow any Marks or Records produced by this trio in my reports--or my Record Book!!
If my wishes come true, we might see the biggest overhaul of Medals, Records, and List placements in this sports long history!!
And the WOMEN's 800 can again become one of the best WOMEN's events!!
However---
since CS and FN took "1st & 2nd" in Monaco, I will (as usual) state that Gold went to Natoya Goule!!
Her 1:56.15 broke her own National Record of Jamaica!
And leaves her just 0.19 seconds short of my World DDD!!
Ajee Wilson came next--in 1:56.45.
Habitam Alemu's 1:56.71 breaks her own National Record of Ethiopia!!
Then came Raevyn Rogers, who ran a PR by 0.88 seconds!!
Her 1:57.69 moves her from 23rd A-T US all the way into 9th!!
She was followed by Charlene Lipsey's 1:58.42--not a PR!
Noah Lyles seems to have hit a plateau!!
A pair of 200's in 19.69--and now one 0.04 seconds faster!
(As they say, once you hit a plateau, next comes a BIG advancement!!)
Lyles's 19.65 takes the Meet Record away from Justin Gatlin!!
He moves from 7th A-T US to 6th, tied with 1 other!
On the World list, he moves from 10th A-T, tied with 1 other, to 8th, tied with 1 other!
And on my US Combined Events list for the 100 & 200, his times of 9.88 & 19.65 adds to 29.53!
He remains 5th A-T!!
Ramil Guliyev's 19.99 took the Silver, with Alex Quinonez timed in 20.03 in 3rd!
And then we come to the Men's 3000SC---where a WR was mentioned in passing--but also the possible first sub-8:00 time by an American!!
And through the first 1000--passed in about 2:37--we saw Consesius Kipruto and Evan Jager in the first two positions!
But when the 2K time was reported--5:20 & change!--we KNEW the WR bets were off--and even Jager's LATEST attempt to crash through that 8:00 barrier??
And then came the real shocker!
It was Soufiane El Bakkali who crossed the line first--and was the ONLY one to go sub-8!!
His 7:58.15 makes him 10th A-T World!!
As for Jager and Kipruto, they didn't run BAD!!
They just fell short of their hoped-for marks!!
Jager ended 2nd in a frustrating 8:01.02!!
(Let's Run's Forum questioned whether he'll EVER get a sub-8!!)
Kipruto faded somewhere along the way, but still came 3rd--in 8:09.78!
And Thus Spake The BEAST of Herculis!!
Next up will be my report from London's DL---and the Heusden-Zolder meet--where Shalane Flanagan is set to be the RABBIT for an American Record attempt by Shelby Houlihan!!
See you soon!!
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