Contrasting Events Duel--NACAC defeats Lausanne DL

 Huh, what??
A few days past the last of 2022's several Championship meets, the long-anticipated return of the Diamond League arrived in Lausanne Switzerland!
And that Championship was the LEAST known and LEAST expected to take our eyes off the upcoming remaining DL's!!
Yet the North American Central American and Caribbean Championships--in only its 4th edition--provided a scary amount of Meet Records (maybe not so shocking, considering how new the meet is!) and strong performances by many elite athletes.
Thus, the 2022 NACAC dominates this past week!!
(Although, to be fair, the NACAC's August 19-21 dates overlapped the European Championships's last 3 days!!)

After El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Canada, the Bahamas was this year's home for the NACAC!
(The past meets were in 2007, 2015, and 2018!)
What better athlete to tag here than the Bahamas own Shaunae Miller-Uibo?
And she came through, her 49.40 searing the track for the Meet Record, and 2nd fastest time of the year!
Sadi Williams ran 49.86 in 2nd!
Andrew Hudson, now representing Jamaica, also burned up the track, his 19.87 beating the 20.00 by Tyree King!
Freddie Crittenden's 13.00 shocker in the 110H would've stood up in most other meets this year!!
It's the Meet Record, and ranks him 23rd A-T World, tied with 4 others, and 14th A-T US, tied with 2 others!
Jamal Britt also surprised in 2nd, his 13.08 making him 23rd A-T US, tied with 1 other!

Sarah Mitton threw the Shot Put 66-1.50 for a super MR!
Thea LaFond's 47-6.50 prevailed over Keturah Orji's 46-11.75 in the Triple Jump, as she also got an MR!
Kara Winger let the Javelin fly 212-2 for an inspirational Meet Record, as this was the veteran's last Championship meet before she retires!
Lagi Tausaga also got a Meet Record in the Discus Throw, her best measuring 207-3!

The Distances gave up some Meet Records too, despite the heat and humidity!!
Eric Holt led a speedy field of 1500 guys, his 3:37.62 emerging the winner and MR holder!!
Sean McGorty jogged to a 10000 win in 29:23.77, but when the old Meet Record is horrible, it's not difficult to smash it by 26 seconds, as McGorty did here!!
Evan Jager also cruised to a Meet Record, his 3000SC time being 8:22.95!
Natosha Rogers and Fiona O'Keeffe dueled for most of the 5000, until Rogers took off for a 15:11.68 Meet Record win over O'Keeffe's 15:15.13.
Stephanie Bruce is also retiring--at least from elite racing--, so her victory in the 10000 in 33:12.42 (another MR!!) was another sentimental favorite!!

Other NACAC Meet Records---
Ackeem Blake's 9.98 MR took the 100!
Christopher Taylor just eeked out an MR with his 44.63 in the 400!!
Kyron McMaster has been mostly invisable recently, so his 47.34 blazer over the 400H was a bit surprising!!
It's the Meet Record, of course, and beat the 47.59 by Khallifah Rosser!
Rosser's time makes him 13th A-T US!

There were a pair of first time events at the NACAC--the 20K Walks on the track!!
So the winners got automatic Meet Records!
Jose Ortiz won the Men's race in 1:26:21 over the 1:27.17 by Evan Dunfee!
The Women's race was led most of the way by Robyn Stevens, but Mirna Ortiz overtook her with 8 laps to go!
Her 1:40:04 is the MR, while Stevens ended 2nd in 1:40:47!
A note on Stevens--She was not initially named to the team by USATF!!
It took the intervention of the NACAC President to put her on the starting line!
Another incident of psychological and political warfare against Robyn, led by certain elite walkers once close to her!!
It's a delight for me to note she EASILY beat ALL of her "enemies" on the track, where it counts!!
(Including American MEN!!)
Maybe now they'll show her some respect!!

It wasn't really a "High" Jump, but Vashti Cunningham's 6-3.50 took the win and the MR!!
Rudy Winkler took down the Hammer Throw MR with his 256-10!
As did Curtis Thompson's 276-4 in the Javelin Throw!
In the latter, Keshorn Walcott came close with his 275-5 spear chuck!
Shericka Jackson's 10.83 is a Meet Record in the 100!
As is Brittany Brown's 22.35 in the 200!
Heather MacLean used a speedy 59.7 final 400 to top the 1500 field with her Meet Record time of 4:04.53!
And the USA's 4 X 400 Relay team got a Meet Record with their time of 3:23.54!

Some events did NOT break an MR, but deserve mention---
Ajee and Allie Wilson--it was hilariously pathetic that the announcers didn't know who was who, despite Allie being white, and Ajee being black!!--had quite a race in the 800!
In the end, Ajee nipped Allie by 0.01 seconds, 1:58.47 to 1:58.48!
The MR is 1:57.52...by Ajee!!
The US won both Men's Relays--the 4 X 400 in 3:01.79, and the 4 X 100 in 38.29!
In the shorter race, Trinidad and Jamaica timed 38.94's, with Trinidad given the Silver!
In the Shot Put, Roger Steen's 68-2.25 edged Tripp Piperi's 68-1.50!
The US Women';s 4 X 100 squad also won, time of 42.25!
Quanesha Burks Long Jumped 22-1.75 for the win, but no MR!
Shiann Salmon took the 400H in 54.22, while Alaysha Johnson won the 100H in 12.62.

While it was shown via YouTube livestream in its entirety (except for the Walks!!), the announcing and camera work were extremely poor, amateurish, and lacking even fundamental basic knowledge of what was going on, or who was who!!
That said, the beautiful countryside vistas, and the joyful smiling enthusiasm of the athletes makes this the Gold medal winner here!!

As for Lausanne....!!!
The uber-hyped Women's 100 fell totally apart...BEFORE the actual race even began!!
First, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce withdrew because of a niggle during warm-up--which she was gracious enough to explain and apologize for later!!
Then Elaine Thompson-Herah false started!!
So it led to the winner being Aleia Hobbs, in a not-so-shabby 10.87!
Shericka Jackson (the only Jamaican left!!) took 2nd in 10.88!
Marie Josee Ta Lou was right behind in 10.89, while 4th went to 19 year old Tamari Davis in 10.94!!

Jakob Ingebrigtsen took control early, and his 3:29.05 was the victor over Abel Kipsang's 3:29.93, and the 3:30.18 by Stewart McSweyn!!
Yulimar Rojas keeps fouling her Triple Jump attempts, but also lets fly a couple!!
One of those flyers--50-2.75--took the win here!!

Tobi Amusan proved to be mortal in the 100H, as Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won in 12.34, a Lausanne Meet Record!
Amusan took 2nd in 12.45, while Tia Jones PR'ed again, her 12.47 in 3rd making her 18th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
It was a street Pole Vault held the day before the main meet, but Mondo Duplantis's 20-0 3rd time clearance is said to have broken his own Meet Record!!
BTW, the crowd surrounding the downtown pit was HUGE!!

It was a battle of the Cubans in the Men's Triple Jump!
Andy Diaz's 57-11.75 won over the 57-5 by Lazaro Martinez, and the 57-2.75 by Jordan Diaz!!
As at the NACAC, there was a somewhat shocking, and speedy, winner in the 110H!
Rasheed Broadbell improved from 13.08 to 12.99,making him 22nd A-T World, tied with 1 other!
But look at who he beat!!
Second went to Trey Cunningham's 13.10, with 3rd being Grant Holloway's 13.11.
Coming in 4th was the 13.13 by Hansle Parchment!

Femke Bol cruised a 52.95 in the 400H, but it broke her own Meet Record!!
And she beat her "main opponent" Delilah Muhammad easily, as Muhammad ended just 7th in 56.03!!
Khallifah Rosser's 47.68 took the Men's version!

Wilma Murto couldn't match her European Championship performance, as her 15-1 was just 3rd in the Pole Vault!
Tina Sutej's 15-5 won over Nina Kennedy's 15-5!
Neeraj Chopra won the Javelin Throw with his 292-3!
Renelle Lamote won the 800 in a PR 1:57.84!
In 2nd came Allie Wilson--fresh from her NACAC race--her 1:58.09 PR making her 24th A-T US!
Jemma Reekie took 3rd in 1:59.00!
Sent OFF my US list was the venerable Suzy Favor Hamilton, her 1:58.10 dating from 2000!!

Joe Kovacs has been HOT lately, as his 74-4.25 win over Ryan Crouser's 72-4.25 proved here!!
Soufiane El Bakkali took the 3000SC with ease, his winning time being 8:02.45!
Marileidy Paulino sped 49.87 over a lap to beat the 49.94 by Sada Williams!
Like the Women's 100, the Men's 200 was another much-hyped race!
However, even without any false starts or last minute withdrawals, it didn't quite live up to expectations!
What does??!!
Anyway, Noah Lyles won it in 19.56 over Michael Norman's 19.76, and Jereem Richards's 19.95.
The other "star"--Erriyon Knighton--wound up 6th in 20.13!

I'm gonna skip the Lausanne Women's 3000 for a moment to report a few marks from Russia---
Anzhelika Sidorova PV'ed 15-5!
Valeriy Pronkin threw the Hammer 258-10.
Danil Lysenko HJ'ed 7-8!!
And Mariya Lasitskene HJ'ed just 6-2, but won.

Did you watch the meet, or see the video of the race?
Especially the final 40 meters or so??
After the pacers left the track, Alicia Monson was left leading--as she's often not afraid to do!
As the laps progressed, the announcers were saying they were waiting for (Laura Muir, Beatrice Chebet, Sifan Hassan etc) to make their move---all the time ignoring Monson, except to acknowledge she was still leading!
It was as if they just expected her to be passed by the "real" contenders!!
Yet there Monson was, with less than 40 meters left, still in front, with Muir, Chebet, Hassan behind and not advancing!!
 At that point, Francine Niyonsaba, the high-testosterone whatever-"she"-is, was 12-15 meters back in 4th!!
While most admitted Monson "gave" the race to Niyonsaba by celebrating a tad too early, if you'd seen the way Niyonsaba sprinted, just in the final 5-8 meters--when she was still 3rd or 4th--you'd agree with me that "she" does NOT belong in an all-WOMAN race---at ANY distance!!

Thus, I'm going with my long time policy of IGNORING all marks made by high-testosterone women, and declaring Alicia Monson as the WINNER here, and as the Lausanne Meet Record holder!!
Her 8:26.81 now ranks 2nd A-T US!
Chebet ended 2nd in 8:27.14, with Hassan ending 3rd in 8:28.28!
Margaret Kipkemboi was 4th in 8:29.05.
Elise Cranny PR'ed by 0.35 seconds, her 8:29.95 making her 5th A-T US!!
Muir ended with a small PR also, her 8:30.53 giving her 6th place!

Monson's 8:26.81, 14:31.11, and 30:51.09 adds to 53:49.01, making her 5th A-T US on that Combined Events list!
Cranny's 8:29.95, 14:48.02, and 30:14.66 adds to 53:32.63, making her 2nd A-T US!

See you soon with...something good!!

2022 European Championships

 Munich put on a GREAT show for the European Championships, but in a year when we've had OUTdoor Champs in just about EVERYthing, I hesitate to measure one against the other!
So let's just see what this one had to offer!

Subjectively or objectively, no one was more brilliant than Femke Bol.
Just her finals races alone have to make her the star of the show!
She runs 49.44 to take 0.31 off her own Netherlands National Record!!
Add 10 hurdles, and while there are no records (not even a PR), she wins by well over a second!
(Actually, she got the Meet Record with her 52.67!)
Finally, she comes from behind in the 4 X 400 Relay, her 48.52 winning it for her Nation, again in a National Record!
In the flat 400, Natalia Kaczmarek ended 2nd in 49.94, with Anna Kulbasinska following in 50.29.
In 5th came Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke, whose 50.53 became the National Record.
In the Relay, the Netherland's 3:20.87 makes them 9th A-T Nation!
Poland was 2nd in 3:21.68 (Kaczmarek ran 49.28), with Great Britain 3rd in 3:21.74.
In 4th came Belgium's 3:22.12, making them 14th A-T Nation!!

Antigoni Mtrismbioti of Greece took BOTH Walks, the 20K in 1:29:03, then the 35 in 2:47:00!!
Mondo Duplantis nipped his own Meet Record by a quarter inch, clearing 19-10.50 for an easy win over Bo Baerhe's 19-2.25!

Karsten Warholm ran his best 400H time of the year---47.12---enough for an easy victory!
Also enough to break Harold Schmid's 40 year old Meet Record of 47.48!!
It's also the Age 26 Record!!

So, what about Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the one who was SUPPOSED to be the show's star??
Well, he did win the double---5000 in 13:21.13, and the 1500 in 3:32.76.
And the 1500 is the new Meet Record, and beat Jake Heyward's 3:34.44 rather substantially.
But the 5000 MR is only 13:10, while Inge has run 22 seconds faster!!
So, a partial disappointment!!

The Discus Throw Meet Record went down in the Qualifying round!
Kristjan Ceh's 226-7 became the new Meet Record!
But in the Final, Ceh could reach just 224-0, leaving it to the teenager (He turns 20 on September 18th!) Mykolas Alekna to win in 228-11, beating Ceh's MR!!
Lawrence Okoye was 3rd with 220-3.

Wilma Murto had her Day of Days at the right time!!
When she cleared 15-7 in the Pole Vault, it broke her own National Record of Finland.
She broke it again by topping 15-9.
That Vault also gave her the Gold over Kat Stefanidi's and Tina Sutej's 15-7's (with Stefanidi taking 2nd).
But then she got yet another PR---and Finland NR--with her 15-11 clearance!!
She first moved to 21st A-T World, tied with 2 others, then to 12th A-T World!!

There were some close battles also!
Ivana Vuleta finally prevailed over Malaika Mihambo in the LJ, 23-2 to 23-0.75!!
Mihambo just couldn't pull off a 6th round winner!
Sandra Perkovic's 222-11 edged out Kristin Pudenz's 222-8 in the Discus Throw.
It was a PR for Pudenz!
Despite falling off 7000 point pace in her 2nd day, Nafi Thiam still managed to defeat Adrianna Sulek, 6628 to 6532 in the Heptathlon.
Annik Kalin took 3rd with her 6515, but getting the National Record of Switzerland!!
Noor Vidts was 4th with 6467, while Xenia Krizsan scored 6372 in 5th!

Talk about close battles, none were closer than the Men's 110H and the Women's 100!
It came down to photo finishes and thousandnths of a second!!
Asier Martinez got the 110H win over Pascal Martinot-Legarde, both getting rounded off 13.14's!
In the 100, German star Gina Luckenkemper shocked everyone--including herself!!-- by winning in 10.99!!
Mujinga Kambundji was given the same time in 2nd, with Darryl Neita just a hair back in 3rd, but given 11.00 as her time!

Other Men's events---
Lamont Jacobs took the 100 in 9.98 over Zharnel Hughes's 9.99!
But Hughes won the 200 in 20.07.
Matthew Hudson-Smith's 44.53 won the 400, as expected!
Mariano Garcia's 1:44.85 beat out the highly hyped Jake Wightman, who ran 1:44.91!
The 3000SC, the 10000, and the Marathon all missed Meet Records, despite the 10K's being from 1978, and just 27:30!!
It's weird, but they began at sub-27 pace, then slowed.
Tapi Raitenen won the Steeple in 8:21.80, while Yemani Crippa took the 10000 in 27:46.13.
Richard Ringer pulled out the 26.2 for the Germans, his time being 2:10:21 off a strong finishing kick!!

Great Britain got the Meet Record in the 4 X 100 Relay with their 37.67.
They beat France's 37.94.
Poland's 38.15 in 3rd makes therm 20th A-T Nation.
In 5th came Switzerland's 38.36, making them 23rd A-T Nation.
Germany's 37.97 in the heats makes them 12th A-T Nation!
Miguel Angel Lopez's 2:26:49 in the 35K Walk became an automatic Meet Record, as it was the 1st time that distance was included in the program!
He beat Christopher Linke's 2:29:30!
Alvaro Martin's 1:19:11 took the 20K Walk over Perseus Karlstrom's 1:19:23.

Milt Tentoglou Long Jumped 27-11.50 for the Meet Record!
Great Britain (2:59.35) beat Belgium (2:59.49), and France (2:59.64) in the 4 X 400 Relay!
In 4th was Spain's 3:00.54, making them 24th A-T Nation!
Pedro Pichardo had an easy time of it in the Triple Jump, his best measuring 57-5.

After Kevin Mayer left the Decathlon after the first event, Niklas Kaul's 8545 overcame the 8468 by Simon Ehammer, who broke his own National Record of Switzerland!
His 8.31 in the LJ would have taken 2nd in the open event!!
Janik Oiglane took 3rd with 8346 points, beating Marcus Nilsson's 8327, and the 8234 by Maicel Uibo!!
Filip Miheljevic took the Shot Put with 71-9.50.
Gianmarco Tamberi was flashy as ever in winning the High Jump with a modest 7-6.50!

Julian Weber won the Javelin Throw for the home team, his 287-7 prevailing over Jakob Vadlejch's 286-4.
Wojciech Nowicki took the Hammer Throw with a solid 269-0.
Second was the 265-6 by Bence Halasz.
Pawel Fajdek's 259-8 was relegated to 4th!!

Other Women's events---
Some "expected to win" folks came through as, um, expected!
Laura Muir set off a strong change of gears just before the bell rang in the 1500, her 4:01.08 beating the 4:02.56 by Ciara Mageean!
Keely Hodgkinson ran just to win, so her 1:59.04 maybe wasn't too impressive, but it did the job, as Renelle Lamote took 2nd in 1:59.49.
Mujinga Kambundji took the 200 in 22.32, beating the 22.43 by Dina Asher-Smith!
Luiza Gega took the race by its neck, setting off at 9 minute pace in the 3000SC.
She held on to win in a Meet Record 9:11.31.
Lea Meyer took 2nd in 9:15.35.

Aleksandra Lisowska beat the heat, humidity, and everyone else in the Marathon, her time being 2:28:36.
The track distances were interesting.
Not-so-voluntary rabbit Eilish McColgan led both the 5000 and 10000 for a bit!
However, Yasemin Can's 30:32.57 beat McColgan's 30:41.05 with relative ease once she took off!
Lonah Salpeter ran 30:46.37, good for the National Record of Israel!
Konstanze Klosterhalfen--the local hope--was 4th in 31:05.21.
But in the 5000, after McColgan led for awhile, Can went ahead and looked invincible!!
Then KoKo went!
And kept going!
She kicked hard over the last lap, her 14:50.47 taking the Euro title!
Can ran 14:56.91, while McColgan ended in 14:59.34!

Pia Skrzezowska wasn't the best known 100H'er before the meet began, but her 12.53 was more than enough to hold off everyone else!
Lirca Kozak was 2nd in 12.69, beating Mujinga Kambundji's younger sister Ditaji, who ran 12.74, just nipping the 12.75 by Nadine Visser!
The German Women's 4 X 100 team made up for their Men's team's fiasco by winning in 42.34!
Poland came 2nd in 42.61, making them 21st A-T Nation!!
Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchukh wasn't at her top game, but still won the High Jump, her 6-4.75 beating the same height by Marija Vukovic!!

Another popular athlete--Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk--found 15 meters (15.02) for the 1st time in the Triple Jump, her 49-3.50 making her 23rd A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Kristina Makela's 48-0.50 was far behind, but good for the National Record of Finland!!
Jessica Schilder broke her own National Record of the Netherlands, her 66-5 in the Shot Put beating Auriol Dongmo's 65-0.50, which broke her own National Record of Portugal!
Getting "just" a PR was 3rd placer Jorinde Van Klinken, who reached 62-1.75!
Bianca Ghelber's 238-7 was an UNDERwhelming victor in the Hammer Throw, missing (among others) Anita Wlodarczyk!!

Finally, we have an interesting scenario in the Javelin Throw.
Super veteran Barbora Spotakova was going good---for age 41!!--and wound up taking Bronze with her 199-1.
The Silver went to Adriana Vilagos, who threw 203-5!
And Gold went to phenom Elina Tzenggo, who reached 215-11.
As noted, Spotakova is 41.
Tzenggo is 19, and Vilagos is just 18!
Add their ages together, and their 37 years is 4 LESS than Spotakova!!

Overall, an excellent meet, but we'll wait for another time to measure it against the recent Commonwealth Games and World Championships, not to mention the NACAC, USATF, and NCAA!!

See you soon with results from that selfsame NACAC meet, as well as the Lausanne Diamond League!!

World Junior Championships & a bit more!

 Readers of this blog know I don't do groupings such as "juniors", "youth", or "masters"!
One reason I don't refer to this meet as "U20" is because of how they define "UNDER 20"!!
If Athlete X turns 20 after the meet, but before the end of the year, he/she is NOT eligible for the meet!
You'd have to turn 20 no earlier than January 1st of the following year to be eligible!
So even though you're 19 on meet day, you're still not "U20"!
Say what??!!

Enough!
There were some great marks by athletes still 19, or 18, or 17 etc on meet day!!
Let's review!

Letsile Tebogo is one to watch, for sure!
He won the 100 in the Meet Record time of 9.91!
And he practically tied for the 200 Gold, but it was given to Blessing Afrifa's 19.96, not Tebogo's!
Afrifa represents Israel, so that's their National Record!
Teboga, from Botswana, had a heat time of 19.99 also!

Jaydon Hibbert Triple Jumped 56-8 for the Meet Record!
Melkanah Azeze ran the initial 3000 meters in 7:44.06 for another Meet Record!

The Women got some Meet Records also!
Roisin Willis beat her rival/friend/future Stanford teammate Juliette Whittaker in the 800, her 1:59.13 missing Whittaker's HSR by just 0.09 seconds!
She ranks 2nd A-T HS!
Switzerland's Audrey Werro took 2nd in a quick 1:59.50, while Whittaker ended 3rd in 2:00.18!!
Birki Haile took the 1500 in the MR time of 4:04.27!
Brenda Chebet's 4:04.64 also was under the old mark!
Addie Wiley ended in 5th, but her 4:11.43 makes her 6th A-T HS!!

Kerrica Hill sped the 100H in 12.77 (after a semi of 12.87!), getting the Meet Record and the Age 17 Record!
Alexis Jones ran 12.87 in the Silver position!
Tina Clayton's 10.95 was another Meet Record, leaving Serena Cole (11.14) and Shawnti Jackson (11.15) far behind!
However, Jackson time makes her 9th A-T HS!
She ran 11.16 in her semi!

Brianna Lyston won the 200 in 22.65, with young American Mia Brahe-Pedersen 4th in 23.06.
However, B-P's 22.95 in her semi makes her 19th A-T HS, tied with 2 others!
Jamaica won the 4 X 100 Relay in 42.59, which is listed as the World Junior Record!
The US ended 2nd in 43.28!
But the American 4 X 400 squad won in 3:28.06, with a big help from Roisin Willis's anchor of 51.34!!

Other WJC marks---
Reynold Kipkorir won the 1500 in 3:35.83.
Anthony Ammirate isn't Mondo yet, but he cleared 18-10.25 to take the Pole Vault!
Malik Mixon ran the 110H in 13.27, making him 5th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
Betty Chelangat ran the 3000 in 9:01.03, while Faith Cherotich ran the same distance, but with hurdles and water pit, in 9:16.14!
Medina Eisa won the 5000 in 15:29.71.
Akala Garrett won the 400H in a PR of 56.16, making her 6th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!

Hana Moll's 14-3.25 topped the PV field, which included her sister Amanda!
Agur Dwol finished in just 12th place in the Triple Jump.
But she had a Qualifying mark of 42-11.50, making her 19th A-T HS!!
Jaicieonna Gero-Holt couldn't match her Frosh Class Record of 5401, as her 5212 Heptathlon score left her in 17th place!!
The winner was Saga Vinninen's 6084!!
The High Jump featured some great youngsters!
Karmen Bruus emerged the winner with 6-4.75, while Angelina Topic topped 6-4 in 3rd!
And Adrianna Vilagos threw the Javelin 208-5, giving the Serbian the Meet Record!

Lots more to report!!
A bunch of ATL Meet Records were set at the Ed Murphey version in Tennessee!
Twanisha Terry sprinted the 100 in the MR time of 10.82!!
She ranks 13th A-T US, tied with 3 others!
Tamari Davis was right behind, her 10.83 making her 17th A-T US, tied with 2 others!
Shania Collins ran 10.92 in 3rd!
Davis ran 10.87 in a heat!!
Andrew Hudson's 20.03 in the 200 was also an MR!

Yared Nuguse's 3:34.95 in the 1500, and Morgan McDonald's 7:49.26 in the 3000 were also Meet Records!
Sage Hurta continues to impress--her 4:01.79 is a Meet Record.
So is Elly Henes's 8:48.06!

In the 800, Nia Akins ran 1:58.78 for another MR!
She beat Olivia Baker's 1:59.44, and Heather MacLean's 1:59.80!
Alaysha Johnson broke her own Meet Record with her 100H time of 12.43.
Tia Jones ran 12.52 in 2nd!
Joe Kovacs won the Shot Put with 71-9.50!
Jonah Koech took the 800 in 1:44.95!
And Kaylin Whitney won the 400 in 51.17!

Other marks from around the world---
In North Carolina, Nikki Hiltz won a Mile in 4:21.89, making her 9th A-T US!
Apologies to Nikki for using the "wrong" pronoun, as she prefers they/them!
However, after a lifetime of being a writer, I'm unwilling to refer to one person as "they or them", which to be redundant, refers to multiple people!!
While I understand Nikki's (and others) choice, to use a term meaning multiple when speaking of an individual, it's just too confusing for the "average" reader!
Thus, it's MY choice to stick to the "old fashioned" terms I grew up with!!
Behind Hiltz came Eleanor Fulton's 4:23.65, which makes her 13th A-T US!
Elly Henes ran 4:27.66 in 3rd!

Yared Nuguse won the Men's Mile in 3:53.34, with Festus Lagat (3:54.02) and Sean McGorty (3:54.51) following!
In a California meet, Hiltz ran the 1500 in 4:04.12.
Sabrina Southerland won the 800 in 1:59.63, while Dan Michalski took the 3000SC in 8:22.56.
Jonathan Davis PR'd at 1500 in 3:33.81.

A good Discus Throw battle took place in Sweden--Simon Pettersen's 231-0 just beat Daniel Stahl's 230-7!!
Anzhelika Sidorova had a pair of top notch Pole Vaults in Russia--15-11.25 to beat Polina Knoroz's 15-5---and then 16-1.25 for a World Leader and the Age 31 Record, not to mention beating Knoroz again, but this time Knoroz's best was 15-3!
Also in Russia, Mariya Lasitskene cleared 6-6.75 in the High Jump!

Finally, we end with several marks from Hungary---
Wojciech Nowicki lobbed the Hammer out 262-4!
Joe Kovacs had a SP of 75-1.25 to beat the 71-11.50 by Tom Walsh!
Marvin Bracy won the 100 in 9.97!
Erriyon Knighton took the 200 in 19.88!
Shericka Jackson sped 22.02 in the 200, while Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a now-average 10.67 in the 100 to wallop the 10.92 by young Tamari Davis!

Kristjan Ceh let go of a long one in the Discus Throw---233-8!
And Sydney McLaughlin cruised the 400H in 51.68, getting the Age 23 Record one day after turning that age!
She now holds SEVEN Age Records OUTdoors--and they're consecutive, from age 17 to age 23!!
And she almost certainly holds more, but my Age Records begin at 17!!

The European Championships begin tomorrow morning, and the NACAC begins August 19th!!
See you soon!

Skolimowska Memorial and Herculis

 aka (in dumb ass circles) as a pair of Diamond League meets taking place in Chorzow, Poland, and Monaco!
But being these "pretenders" do attract some great athletes, let's look at what they did!
Chorzow first!

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce once again broke her own Age 35 Record by winning the 100 in 10.66.
Aleia Hobbs was back a ways, but ran 10.94 in 2nd!
Shericka Jackson's 21.84 in the 200 whacked Shaunae Miller-Uibo into relative obscurity, as SMU could only manage 22.35 in 2nd!

Femke Bol showed her quick relay legs weren't fake, as she got the National Record of the Netherlands with her one lap of 49.75!
Her Combined Events of 49.75 and 52.03 adds to 1:41.78, making her 3rd A-T World!
She had a worthy opponent, as Natalia Kaczmarek PR'ed with 49.86 in 2nd!
Candace McLeod's 50.22 was 3rd, and Stephanie Ann McPherson took 4th in 50.31.

Chase Ealey won a good Shot Put with 66-10.50!
Jessica Schilder's 65-1.25 in 2nd breaks her own Netherlands National Record!
Fannie Roos's 63-8.75 in 3rd also got an NR, as it broke her own from Sweden!
Joe Kovacs's 71-6 beat the 71-2.50 by Tom Walsh!
Andy Diaz Triple Jumped 57-6.25 to win over the 56-8.75 by Pedro Pichardo!
Pawel Fajdek sent his Hammer Throw out 266-7 for the win, while Mondo Duplantis casually soared over 20-0...again!!

Michael Norman ran the 400 in 44.11, winning over the 44.55 by Kirani James.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn's 12.34 took the 100H from Kendra Harrison's 12.37!
Tia Jones ran 12.49 in 3rd, making her 20th A-T US!
Ajee Wilson's 1:58.28 won the 800, defeating Sage Hurta, who ran a solid 1:58.40!
Diribe Welteji took a fast 1500 in 3:56.91!
Gudaf Tsegay was 2nd in 3:58.18!
In 4th came Heather MacLean's 4:01.38, making her 20th A-T US!

Sifan Hassan's outkicked the other joggers in a slow 3000, time of 8:39.27!
Alicia Monson was 4th in 8:41.61.
In other Chorzow events---
Trayvon Bromell sped 9.95 for a Century win.
Brooke Andersen won the Hammer Throw with 248-7!
Hiruka Kitaguchi won the Javelin Throw with her 213-7!

On to Monaco!!
Just watched CNBC's belated (by days!!) "coverage" of the Herculis meet, and I became so sick of them repeatedly talking up Noah Lyles and his American Record in Eugene, and his upcoming race in Monaco!
I think I stopped counting after the SIXTH replay of that WC race!
(And I think the guy is GREAT, but come on, TV, enough is enough!!)

Anyway, Mr Lyles did perform up to standard, as his 19.46 got his own Meet Record, and defeated the 19.84 by Erriyon Knighton, and the 19.95 by Michael Norman with dispatch!

The Women's 100 was actually much better, and far deeper!!
Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce once AGAIN proved being a 35 year old mother does NOT slow a woman down!!
She rammed through the tape in 10.62, breaking the Meet Record and her own Age 35 Record!!
She needed it, as Shericka Jackson PR'ed a bit to 10.71, making her 6th A-T World!
On a pair of my Combined Events lists, her 10.71 and 21.45 adds to 32.16, making her 3rd A-T World!
Add to that her 49.47, and you get 1:21.63, for 5th A-T World, tied with 1 other!!
Marie Josee Ta Lou walloped her own National Record of the Ivory Coast with her 10.72 in 3rd!
She is 7th A-T World, tied with 1 other, and it's the best 3rd Place mark!
Aleia Hobbs's 10.81 now serves as the best 4th Place mark!
TT Terry took 5th in 10.90, with Darryl Neita's 10.91 giving her the best 6th Place mark!
Tamara Clark was 7th in 10.96!

Faith Kipyegon wanted Genzebe Dibaba's World Record in the 1500, and she went after it!
A rabbit ran 2:01.64 through 800, with Kipyegon right there!
She held it pretty tight through 1200, but her full fledged kick wasn't all there, so her 3:50.37 must stand as "just" 2nd A-T World!!
She improves on a trio of World Combined Events lists---
Her 1:57.68 & 3:50.37 adds to 5:48.05 (3rd A-T World).
Add her 1500 to her 8:23.55 and it comes to 12:13.92 (4th A-T world)
Add it to her 14:31.55, and her 18:21.92 makes her 9th A-T World!

Same race (but not really!!), we saw a couple of Americans dip into sub-4 waters!
In 2nd (!!!) came Heather MacLean's 3:58.89, making her 8th A-T US!
Right behind came Elise Cranny's 3:59.06, making her 9th A-T US!!

Another WR attempt---but maybe a crazy one!---was in the Men's 3000!
They went through the first K in 2:26.30--or 7:18.90 pace!!!
They slowed to a more human pace, but Thierry Ndikumwenayo's 7:25.93 outkicked Berihu Aregawi's 7:26.81, after Aregawi's deadly pace caught up to him!
Ndikumwenayo gets the National Record of Burkina Faso (mistakenly I.D.'ed by CNBC as Burundi!!), and it makes him 7th A-T World!
Aregawi gets the Age 21 Record (Komen's WR is the Age 20 Record!!), and it makes him 11th A-T World!
In 3rd came the fast-charging (from 6th) Grant Fisher, whose 7:28.48 nailed the American Record, held by Bernard Lagat!!
It also makes him 24th A-T World!
Woody Kincaid ran 7:38.81 back in 8th!

Grant Holloway needed his 12.99 in the 110H to defeat the 13.03 by Trey Cunningham, and the 13.08 by Hansle Parchment!
It took a jump-off to determine the Men's High Jump winner!
Mutaz Barshim and Sanghyeok Woo both cleared 7-6.50, with Barshim winning the jump-off!
The Men's LJ was a close one, finally won by Maykel Masso's 27-4.75!
In 2nd and 3rd came the 27-3.25's by Milt Tentoglou and Marquis Dendy!

As with Noah Lyles, lots of TV noise about Shaunae Miller-Uibo's chances for a fast time!
Yet, in the end, her 49.28 seemed kind of ordinary!
Yet she easily defeated Candace McLeod's 49.87, and Sada Williams's 50.10!
Yulimar Rojas was lucky there were just 8 competitors in the Triple Jump!
Because her first 3 fouls would have DQ'ed her from the final!
On a "bad" day for her, her 49-3 5th round prevailed over Shaneika Ricketts's 48-11, and the PR by Tori Franklin--48-9--which keeps her 2nd A-T US!
Kelsey Lee-Barber's 211-7 won the Javelin Throw!

A solid "non-DL" 800 saw Natoya Goule win it in a quick 1:56.98!
Sage Hurta keeps improving, as her 1:57.85 in 2nd makes her 16th A-T US!
In 3rd was Olivia Baker's 1:58.05 PR, making her 22nd A-T US!
Jemma Reekie was a solid 4th in 1:58.68!
The Women's Pole Vault was rather lackluster, despite Nina Kennedy, Sandi Morris, and Kat Stefanidi all clearing 15-3.50, and finishing in that order!

For some reason, Monaco ended with the Women's 3000SC!
I must make note that Werkwuha Getachew's "winning" mark doesn't count in my book, due to her probable high testosterone levels!
So I see Zerfe Wondemagegn's 9:06.63 as the winner!!
It makes her 17th A-T World!
The British 3000SC record has been traded off a few times this season, but Lizzie Bird's 9:07.87 should dispense with this back and forth for a while!
Besides her NR, she ranks 23rd A-T World!
Emma Coburn led a lot of the way, but her brave 9:07.93 left her in 3rd!
Jackline Chepkoech ran 9:09.72, ending just ahead of new Pro Courtney Wayment's 9:09.91, which makes her 3rd A-T US, just ahead of Colleen Quigley!!

Kudos to Monaco for holding the rarely run 1000 meters for Men!!
It was one of the best races of the day!!
Jake Wightman's 2:13.88 gets him the Meet Record (1st time run??) and the Age 28 Record!
He ranks 10th A-T World!
Marco Arop's 2:14.35 DESTROYED Canada's NR by over 2 seconds, and makes him 18th A-T World!
Clayton Murphy's 2:15.73 actually makes him 2nd A-T US---behind Rick Wohlhuter's now-legendary 2:13.9 from 1974!!
Wycliffe Kinyamel's 2:15.78 was 4th!
Bryce Hoppel's 2:15.99 took 5th, and makes him 4th A-T US!
Josh Thompson ran 2:16.38 in 6th, and ranks 9th A-T US!
Luke McCann's 2:16.40 is Ireland's NR!
In 8th came Hobbs Kessler's 2:16.46, making him 11th A-T US!

Then there was Sydney McLaughlin!
In the stands with new hubby WATCHING as Rushell Clayton's PR of 53.33 won the 400H!!
Janieve Russell took 2nd in 53.52!
Yes, Syd the Kid was in Monaco--in the stadium!!--but didn't run!!
Oh well.

More soon!!

2022 Commonwealth Games--17 Meet Records!!

 If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you know it's all about Records and Marks!
When the "average" fan thinks of Records, they automatically think WORLD Records--or at least American Records!!
Well, this post is about the recently ended Commonwealth Games, held in Birmingham, England!

Sorry, but no WR's this time, and no AR's either, though the latter is for the obvious reason we're not part of the Commonwealth!
(More like the Common POVERTY, but that's a story for another time!)
This year's version brought with it 17 Meet Records, with 11 of them coming from the Women!!

The most famous MR came in the Men's 1500, where Ollie Hoare led a string of followers past the 1974 then-World Record set by Filbert Bayi, time of 3:32.16!
Hoare's 3:30.12 barely beat Tim Cheruiyot's 3:30.21!
World Champion Jake Wightman was 3rd in 3:30.53, with Abel Kipsang (3:30.82), Jake Heyward (3:31.08), and Sam Tanner (3:31.34) also under Bayi's MR!!

Jacob Kiplimo won the 5000 and 10000, but only his 27:09.19 nabbed an MR!
His time in the 5000 was 13:08.08.
Samuel Simiyu took 2nd in the longer race, time of 27:11.26.

Muzala Samukonga had his best meet ever, PR'ing in his 400 heat in 44.89, then getting the Zambia National Record, his 44.66 beating the 44.81 by Matthew Hudson-Smith!

Jereem Richards had the 200 all to himself, as his 19.80 got the MR!
But he misses the World list by 0.04 seconds!!

The Walkers were limited to the 10K Track Walk, so Evan Dunfee's 38:36.37 became an automatic MR!

Rasheed Broadbell tied the MR with his 13.08 in the 110H!

It was Arshad Nadeem's day in the Javelin Throw final, as his 295-10 sailed past Anderson Peters's 290-10 for the Gold, and the MR!
Nadeem also gets the National Record of Pakistan, breaking his own mark!
He ranks 21st A-T World!

Other Men's CG marks of note---
The 3000SC was close, with Abe Kibiwott's 8:11.15 nipping the 8:11.20 by India's Avinah Sable!
But his time broke his own India National Record!
England's 38.35 beat Trinidad's 38.70 in the 4 X 100 Relay!
Kenya ran 38.92 in a heat, and broke their NR!
Trinidad took the 4 X 400 Relay in 3:01.29!
Tom Walsh easily won the Shot Put with 73-0.50!
Jacko Gill ended 2nd with a PR of 71-10.25!
Matt Denny took the Discus Throw with a solid 220-8!
Lindon Victor's 8233 was victorious (Sic!) in the Decathlon!

Aside from Jemima Montag's 10K Track Walk Meet Record of 42:34.30, there were 10 others for the Women!!
(The Walk distance was a first time event at the CG's, so an obvious MR!)

Tobi Amusan took part in a pair of records!
She won the 100H in the MR time of 12.30!
She also ran the first leg of Nigeria's 42.10 in the 4 X 100 Relay, which gave them a new National Record, making them 13th A-T Nation!
England took 2nd in 42.41.

Elaine Thompson-Herah doubled, taking the 200 in the Meet Record time of 22.02, after her 10.95 beat the 11.01 by Julien Alfred in the Century!

Sada Williams's 49.90 took down the 400 MR!

Mary Moraa opened up in front, then went to last (!!), then moved back up and passed Keely Hodgkinson to win a wild 800 in the Meet Record time of 1:57.07!
Hodgkinson ran 1:57.40 to hold off Laura Muir's 1:57.87 and Natoya Goule's 1:57.88!!
What a race!!

Eilish McColgan did most of the work, leading both the 5000 and 10000 for quite awhile!
She won the 10 in 30:48.60, getting the Meet Record by holding off Irene Cheptai's 30:49.52.
But in the 5, Beatrice Chebet's 14:38.21 defeated McColgan's 14:42.14!

Two other distance MR's fell, but one of them needs some explaining!
The 3000SC MR went to Jackline Chepkoech's 9:15.68.
Liz Bird was 2nd in 9:17.79.
In the 1500, Laura Muir won in 4:02.75!
But a few years ago, Caster Semenya ran much faster, and was given the "MR"!
However, as you know, I do NOT accept any marks by Semenya, among others, so never counted her time as the MR!
Thus, Muir's time beats the MR that I DO honor!!

Both Horizontal Jumps got MR's!!
The Long Jump was pretty exciting, and close!
In the end, Esa Brume's 22-11.75 prevailed, and gave her the MR!
Brook Buschkuehl slipped past Deborah Acquah to take Silver, her 22-9.75 beating Acquah's 22-9.25!!
Shaneika Ricketts's 49-0.25 had no problem giving her the Meet Record and the win in the Triple Jump!

Camryn Rogers's 243-0 walloped the Hammer Throw Meet Record held by a fellow Canadian!!

Other Women's marks from the CG---
Of sentimental value was seeing Katerina Johnson-Thompson stay on the recovery trail (from injuries) by winning the Heptathlon with her 6377 score!!
Kate O'Connor's 6233 took 2nd!
Sarah Mitton threw the Shot Put 62-5.25 for the Gold!
Janieve Russell timed 54.14 in the 400H for the win!
Nina Kennedy's 15-1 took the Pole Vault!
Canada won the 4 X 400 in 3:25.84, beating Jamaica's 3:26.93!
Lamara Distin's 6-4.75 High Jump missed the MR by a quarter inch, but she defeated World Champion Eleanor Patterson, among others!!

I'd been planning to include the best from Chorzow's Diamond League meet in this post, but ran out of room!
Coming soon, however!!

Monaco's DL is tomorrow, and there's a ton from the World Juniors (aka U20) to come also!!

See you soon!!