Now over 7 years of this blog!
1000's of Results, Records, List Makers, and Opinions!
At age 76, I present to you THE strangest Athlete of the Year wrap-up ever!
In this, THE strangest year ever!
Thus, needing some guidelines----
Because of Covid, the OUTdoor Collegiate season didn't happen!
So I've elected to NOT give Awards to Collegiates for 2020!
As for High Schoolers, there was enough activity to warrant AOY's, etc!
However, I've allowed HS results to go beyond the normal August 31st deadline, and extended that deadline to TODAY, December 31st!
As always, I separate the seasons--IN from OUT, and OUT from IN!!
So these Awards are for OUTdoor Marks ONLY--January 1st to December 31st!
NO Marks from INdoors were considered!!
Due to Covid's destruction of our "normal" way of doing things, I am covering HS here, along with the World and United States, instead of doing HS and Collegiates in September!!
All selections and opinions are mine!
Let's begin with some Results!!
The Marathon Project were 26.2 Mile races held in Chandler AZ, near Phoenix in early December!
Run on a multi-loop flat course of 4.3 miles, plus a bit from the start, and to the finish, off the loop!
There were pacers, and both sex's began together!
Seven American Men broke the 2:10 barrier!
Martin Hehir broke away at 35K to win in 2:08:59!
This rates him 11th A-T American!
(My lists include times from Boston!!)
Noah Droddy becomes 13th A-T American with his 2:09:09!
Colin Benning's 2:09:38 ranks him 20th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Scott Fauble's 2:09:42 was not a PR!
In 5th came Ian Butler's 2:09:45, making him 23rd A-T US!
Taking up the rear position was Scott Smith's 2:09:48!
Also sub-2:10 was Mick Iacofano, time of 2:09:55!
Ben Preisner's 2:10:47 took Canadian honors over Cam Levins's 2:12:15!
Sara Hall came back from her London PR with yet another Lifetime best here!
Her 2:20:32 (after holding AR pace through 25K) gives her the Age 37 Record!
She's 2nd A-T US!
The breakout runner of the year has to be Keira D'Amato!
She smashed her Marathon best by many minutes, her 2:22:56 ranking her 8th A-T US!
Kellyn Taylor's 2:25:22 in 3rd was not a PR!
Emma Bates improved to 2:25:40, for 15th A-T US!!
Natasha Wodak became 2nd A-T Canadian with her 2:26:19 in 5th!
Paige Stoner ended in 2:28:43!
Brie Wetsch cut many minutes off her PR with her 2:29:50 in 10th!
Cut OFF my US list was legendary Patti Catalano, her 2:27:51 dating from 1981!
Ash Moloney got Australia's National Record in the Decathlon with his score of 8492.
But Kevin Mayer (in a different comp) got the World Leader with his score of 8552 points!
Justin Wichtel's 5000 in 14:15.35 misses my High School DDD by 1.40 seconds!
(This was in the same meet where Jenna Hutchins got her HSR!!)
In an INdoor race, Marcus Reilly got the Frosh Class Record in the Mile with a time of 4:12.77!
This was in early November!
Just in---
Anna Willis of Colorado PV'ed 13-1.50 for the INdoor Frosh Class Record!
She also reportedly got the Age 14 Record, but my Age Records begin at Age 17!
A correction from my previous post---
Evans Chebet was 32--not 22!--when he ran 2:03:00 in Valencia's Marathon!
He gets the Age 32 Record!!
I believe Lelisa Desisa's 2:04:52 from 2012 is the Age 22 Record!
And now for my AOY's!
Remember, NO Collegiate honors given!!
And this is for 2020 OUTdoors ONLY!!
World Athlete of the Year--MEN
MONDO DUPLANTIS broke a 20th Century Record, that by Sergey Bubka!
But he only shares the AOY Award with JOSH CHEPTEGAI, who broke TWO WR's, both held by Ken Bekele!
Honorable Mentions go to---Ryan Crouser, Jacob Kiplimo, Kibiwott Kandie, Evans Chebet, Daniel Stahl, Hughes Zango, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Johannes Vetter, Noah Lyles, and Karsten Warholm!!
United States Athlete of the Year--MEN
RYAN CROUSER--no contest!
Honorable Mentions go to---Donovan Brazier, Noah Lyles, Sam Kendricks, Chris Nilsen, Christian Taylor, Rudy Winkler, and Martin Hehir!
High School Athlete of the Year--MEN
TREY KNIGHT gets it for his HSR in the HT!
JUSTIN ROBINSON gets it for leading the World most of the year in the 400!
Honorable Mentions awarded to---Erriyan Knighton, John Lester, Leo Daschbach, Rheinhardt Harrison, and Nico Young!!
World Athlete of the Year--WOMEN
LETESENBET GIDEY for destroying the WR in the 5000, and letting us dreamers think a time in the 13's is actually possible--soon!!
Honorable Mentions to---Elaine Thompson, Sifan Hassan, Peres Jepchirchir, Yulimar Rojas, Katie Nageotte, Valerie Allman, and Femke Bol!
United States Athlete of the Year--WOMEN
SHELBY HOULIHAN didn't shock by crushing her own AR in the 5000 by 11 seconds, but it was sensational nonetheless!
Honorable Mentions to---Sha'Carri Richardson, Karissa Schweizer, Sara Hall, Keira D'Amato, Katie Nageotte, and Valerie Allman!
High School Athlete of the Year--WOMEN
Can you guess??
Yes, it's JENNA HUTCHINS!!
Honorable Mention to Leah Pasqualetti!
World Performance of the Year--MEN
A tie between the WR's of JOSH CHEPTEGAI--his 5000 of 12:35.36, and his 10000 of 26:11.00!
Honorable Mentions to---Mondo's 20-2 in the PV, Kibiwott Kandie's WR of 57:32 in the Half, Karsten Warholm's 46.87 in the 400H, Johannes Vetter's 320-9 in the JT, and ALL of Ryan Crouser's Shot Puts!!!
United States Performance of the Year--MEN
RYAN CROUSER--again for EVERY one of his Puts this OUTdoor season!!
Honorable Mentions---Sam Kendricks's 19-9 in the PV, and Rudy Winkler's HT of 264-9!
High School Performance of the Year--MEN
To JUSTIN ROBINSON's World Leading 400 of 44.91.
When has a HS'er EVER led the WORLD???
Honorable Mentions to---Erriyan Knighton's 20.33 in the 200, John Lester's 800 of 1:48.26, Leo Daschbach's Mile of 3:59.54, and Nico Young's 5000 of 13:50.55!
World Performance of the Year--WOMEN
LETESENBET GIDEY for her WR of 14:06.62!
Honorable Mentions go to---Sifan Hassan's 10000 of 29:36.67, (?) Ababel's Half of 64:31, and Faith Kipyegon's 1000 of 2:29:15.
United States Performance of the Year--WOMEN
SHELBY HOULIHAN's AR of 14:23.92 in the 5000!
Honorable Mentions to Karissa Schweizer's 14:26.34 (and her 1500 of 4:00.02!), Sha'Carri Richardson's 22.00 in the 200, Katie Nageotte's PV of 16-1.75, and Valerie Allman's AR in the DT of 230-2!
High School Performance of the Year--WOMEN
Oh come on!!
Hands (and feet!) down, it's JENNA HUTCHINS's 5000 of 15:34.47!
Honorable Mentions to---Leah Pasquelatti's PV of 14-8.25!
I'm combining my Personality of the Year Awards into one!
Except I'm dividing this category into 2 sections--GOOD and BAD!!
Leading the BAD is none other than CORONAVIRUS-19!!
It first RUINED 2020 for T&F, but then allowed the experimentation that finally made 2020 a pretty damn productive year in the Records and Marks Departments!!
Also vying for this title are SHOES!!
First Nike, then other brands, produced shoes that produced a more than usual slate of list making marks!
It also produced a ton of controversial opinion--one way or the other!
The jury is still out!!
GOOD awards go to---
MONDO DUPLANTIS--Not only breaking an iconic WR, but he is dominant in his style and charisma also!!
One of a kind!!
JAKOB INGEBRIGTSEN--Outclassing his 2 older brothers, he's getting Norway National Records and some Age Records, showing much unmet yet potential!! And he's not too shy about saying how great he is!
The city of VALENCIA, Spain--It's become the new "in" venue for WR's and other amazing results!!
SARA HALL for making American Women's Marathoning a headliner in the post-Shalane Flanagan age!!
And to ALEXI PAPPAS who became the Mary Cain of 2020---in a way!
In a video that went viral, Pappas told of her battles with depression, a subject that touched many nerves!
She's more than a great runner--she's a movie maker and an actress and just a good decent human being!!
My Event of the Year awards go to the events that produce the most Marks on my various DDD lists!
Because of the severely small season we had in 2020, the total numbers are smaller than ever!
Adding Marks from World, US, and HS (Again, NO Collegiate!!) OUTdoor lists, we get---
48 MEN's marks (24 World, 16 US, and 8 HS)
55 WOMEN's marks (25 World, 21 US, and 9 HS)
The HALF dominated both Men's and Women's World lists!
Men have 7 marks dating from 2020, while the Women have 10!
The Men's US MARATHON leads the way with 5, while the Women's 10000 leads with 6 marks!
The Mile was the only HS event to get 2 marks on their Men's list!
Ditto with the 3 PV marks the Women got on their DDD!
A list of Major Records broken in 2020---
MEN
World Records by Josh Cheptegai of 12:35.36 and 26:11.00, Kibiwott Kandie with his Half WR of 57:32!
United States Records by the Bowerman Track Club, it being their 4 X 1500 Relay mark of 14:34.47!
The sole High School Record was Trey Knight's HT of 261-7!
WOMEN
(first name??) Ababel ran the Half in the WR time of 64:31.
Letesenbet Gidey got the 5000 WR with her 14:06.62.
Yelena Lashmanova Walked a 50K WR of 3:50:42!
United States Records were set by the Bowerman Track Club in the 4 X 1500 Relay, time of 16:27.02, Shelby Houlihan's 5000 of 14:23.92, and Valerie Allman's DT of 230-2!
High School Records were set by Leah Pasqualetti in the PV (14-8.25), and Jenna Hutchins in the 5000 (15:34.47).
2021 is (in Washington state) a bit less than 6 hours away!
But we already have bad news from the ascending year!!
The venerable Millrose Games have been CANCELLED!!
After about 110 consecutive years, there will be NO Millrose in 2021!!
I'm LIVID about this nonsensical decision!!
OUTdoor DL's were held, albeit with less events & athletes and few fans in the stands!
Why can't the Millrose Games go on with similar reductions??
And the Boston Marathon was pushed back (a la London in 2020) to September!
Why not--as some suggested in 2020--hold the event for a select group of elites ONLY??
The Marathon Project was a big success doing just that!!
(See above details!)
The World Championships scheduled for Eugene in 2021 was postponed until---2023!!
WHAT???!!!
As in 2020, there's apparently NOT going to be any Collegiate season OUTdoors in 2021.
No Conferences?
No NCAA Championships??
Bah! Humbug!!
But on the good side, a six meet Professional series of meets are due to be held (from May through August??) across America!
Fingers crossed!!
Have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
(Egg Nog and other goodies await me!! LOL)
No comments:
Post a Comment