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NOVEMBER 2009

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LightningStrikes

Again2 More World Records For

Usain Bolt

• THE BEST IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS COVERAGE •

100 & 200 Records Both Broken

U.S. Tops Medals Chart At TheWorld Champs

A Shocking 5000American Record ForDathan Ritzenhein

2 More Golds For Kenenisa Bekele

Golden League Finales In Zürich & Brussels

Isi Bounces Back From Berlin Bomb With Another WR

Wayne Davis Claims Prep Hurdle Record

100 & 200 Records Both Broken

U.S. Tops Medals Chart At TheWorld Champs

A Shocking 5000American Record ForDathan Ritzenhein

2 More Golds For Kenenisa Bekele

Golden League Finales In Zürich & Brussels

Isi Bounces Back From Berlin Bomb With Another WR

Wayne Davis Claims Prep Hurdle Record

p01.indd 1 9/17/09 3:11:53 PM

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p02.indd 2 9/4/09 11:47:23 AM

The Bible Of The Sport December 2007 — 3

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• cover photo of Usain Bolt by Mark Shearman •

© Track & Field News 2009

FeaturesUsain Bolt ............................6Tyson Gay ............................8WC Medal Chart .................9Bernard Lagat ....................13Kenenisa Bekele ................15Kerron Clement .................17Christian Cantwell ............25Trey Hardee .......................29Allyson Felix .....................31Sanya Richards ..................32Jenny Barringer .................35Chelsea Johnson ................43Brittney Reese ....................44Zürich Golden League .....52Dathan Ritzenhein AR .....53Brussels Golden League ...55Pan-Am Junior Champs ...57

DepartmentsBerlin Notebook ................50Last Lap .............................58For The Record ..................58Stat Corner .........................59To The Editor .....................61We Think ............................61Schedule .............................62Next Month ......................62

glaDyS chai/aSvOm agency

Volume 62, No. 11November 2009

100: Usain Bolt .........................5200: Usain Bolt .........................7400: LaShawn Merritt ........... 11800: Mbulaeni Mulaudzi ...... 111500: Yusuf Kamel .................12St: Ezekiel Kemboi ................125000: Kenenisa Bekele ............1410,000: Kenenisa Bekele ........14110H: Ryan Brathwaite .........16400H: Kerron Clement ..........17Mar: Abel Kirui ......................1820W: Valeriy Borchin ............19

50W: Sergey Kirdyapkin ......194x1: Jamaica ............................204x4: United States ..................21HJ: Yaroslav Rybakov ...........22PV: Steve Hooker...................22LJ: Dwight Phillips ................23TJ: Phillips Idowu .................23SP: Christian Cantwell..........24DT: Robert Harting ...............24HT: Primož Kozmus .............26JT: Andreas Thorkildsen .......26Dec: Trey Hardee ....................28

’09 Men’s World Champions

’09 Women’s World Champions100: Shelly-Ann Fraser..........30200: Allyson Felix ............................30400: Sanya Richards ..............32800: Caster Semenya .............341500: Maryam Jamal .............34St: Marta Domínguez ............355000: Vivian Cheruiyot ..........3710,000: Linet Masai ................37100H: Brigitte Foster-Hylton .38400H: Melaine Walker ..........38Mar: Xue Bai...........................3920W: Olga Kaniskina ............39

4 x 100: Jamaica ......................404 x 400: United States ............41

HJ: Blanka Vlašić ...................42PV: Anna Rogowska .............43LJ: Brittney Reese ..................44TJ: Yargelis Savigne ...............45SP: Valerie Vili ........................46DT: Dani Samuels ......................46HT: Anita Włodarczyk ..........47JT: Steffi Nerius ......................47Hept: Jessica Ennis ................48

aussie Steve hooker was one ecstatic bloke as he fought

off injury to claim the World championships vault gold

p03 (TOC).indd 3 9/17/09 9:59:39 AM

4 — November 2009 Track & Field NewsKIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT

Zzzzzzzzzapp!

p04-06, 08 (m100-200-Gay).indd 4 9/17/09 12:25:09 PM

The Bible Of The Sport November 2009 — 5

by Sieg LindstromA news flash for any desert-island readers

whose contact with the rest of the planet is limited to bottle-borne T&FN issues wash-ing into your front yard by wind, wave and ocean current:

At the ’09 World Championships in Berlin, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt annihilated his own World Records set a year earlier at the Beijing Olympics, knocking the 100 mark down to 9.58 and the 200 to 19.19.

The planet referenced above is Earth, but as no less an authority than OG/WC champion Maurice Greene noted before the meet began, “Bolt is from Mars.”

By now it is clear Bolt’s assessments of his accomplishments tend more toward the unadorned than do his crowd-pleasing ham-it-up victory celebrations.

“I keep telling you guys,” he said after his new records were booked, “my main aim is to become a legend. That’s the main aim for me and that’s what I’m working on.

“I don’t put myself under any pressure. I keep telling you, when I go out there I know what to do. So I just go out there and execute, pretty much.”

Execute, indeed. Just as in Beijing, the sprint finals were run on August 16 and 20, with the half-lapper run the day before Bolt’s birthday—his 23rd this time.

Rather than dance the night away, though, an activity for which the 6-5 superstar has well-known fondness, Bolt said instead, “I’m going to get a long sleep; that’s what I’m going to do. I’m really, really tired right now.”

So what’s a little exhaustion? Bolt had tem-porarily removed the phrase “others can only dream about” from the realm of cliché.

100: Zap No. 1 Is A 9.58In his 100 Bolt blew through 60 meters—

the distance for which Greene’s World Indoor Record is 6.39—in 6.31.

According to readings from a laser device (see p. 8), 5 meters after that he hit a top speed of 27.45mph (12.27mps).

The wind-reading was 0.9mps, and the Big Gold Book says the time is worth 9.63—by 0.06 the fastest time ever—in windless condi-tions.

Boggling stats—and the list goes on. Hands-down, though, the man least boggled

was defending champion Tyson Gay (see p. 8), who crushed his own American Record by 0.06 for a final time of 9.71 that flashed far under the old meet record, Greene’s 9.80 from ‘99.

Gay pulled out the record, and a finish well in front of the bronze-medal 9.84 of pre-Bolt WR holder Asafa Powell, despite a groin injury that forced him to soft-pedal his starts in the qualifying rounds and save just one all-out getaway for the final.

“My groin, it’s barely hanging on,” Gay said before opting out of a defense of his 200 title. “In the finals I just tried to block everything out and give it my all because there was noth-ing else left.”

Nothing but an all-he-had challenge for Bolt, who repaid the respect by running through the

Zzzzzzzzzapp!

In the first of two Bolts on the blue that defined World

Championships XII, the universe’s fastest human

electrified the crowd as he wiped out Gay & Powell

p04-06, 08 (m100-200-Gay).indd 5 9/17/09 12:25:16 PM

6 — November 2009 Track & Field News

line, instead of coasting in Beijing-style.The Bolt phenomenon, it seemed, also

removed the jinx—seen by many as a mental block—that previously limited Powell at cham-pionships. Freed from expectations of victory, Powell ran his fastest ever Worlds, equal to the No. 6 time in meet history.

As if Beijing hadn’t sent the message, Bolt played through the 100 rounds, telegraphing fleeting images of Superman. In his quarterfi-nal, he jogged—yes, that’s really how it looked in the last 30 meters—10.03, looking around and allowing his Antiguan training mate Daniel Bailey the win in 10.02.

In his semi, Bolt false-started on first try at a getaway. Did it rattle him at all?

“No,” he said. “Me and my teammate Daniel Bailey were really just having fun out there. I told him I was going to beat him out of the blocks because in training he always beats me out of the blocks. So I guess I got a little bit too excited.… Just one of those things.”

Briton Tyrone Edgar caught the next flyer and disqualification, and when the field finally got a clean start, Bolt blew down the track in 9.89 (wind 0.2mps), the fastest semi in meet history.

American Doc Patton was 3rd, while U.S. champion Mike Rodgers’ 10.04 for 5th was the fastest time not to advance, ever. Gay took the second semi in 9.93 (wind -0.2).

The 100 final showcased the most mystifying Bolt attribute. How does a sprinter who stands 6-5—with levers more like to vaulting poles than short-throw pistons—match the rest of the best out of the blocks?

Official biomechanical analy-sis or the race (see p. 8) showed that at 20 meters Bolt was 0.01 clear of Beijing silver-medalist Richard Thompson, 0.02 up on Powell, and 0.03 ahead of Bailey and Gay.

He passed 40 meters in 4.64, 0.06 ahead of Gay having covered the 20-40m segment in 1.75. Had Bolt stopped accelerating and merely maintained, he would have timed 9.89 at the finish, but instead he laid down figures of 1.67, 1.61, and 1.66 for the last three 20-meter sections.

That meant, looking at each 20m segment as a separate unit: 0.03 faster than Gay from 20–40, 0.02 faster 40–60, 0.02 faster 60–80 and 0.03 faster 80–100. Faster in each phase, then, than the No. 2 all-time sprinter (after being 0.02 slower in reaction time: 0.144–0.146).

In turn. Gay overcame his deficit to Powell

at 20 meters by gaining 0.02 on the Jamaican from 20–40, another 0.02 40–60 and then hulking 0.05 chunks from 60-80m and 80–100.

Bailey (4th) and Thompson (5th) both at 9.93 rounded out the final’s sub-10 club. Patton’s zip appeared to desert him after 30 meters and he placed 8th in 10.34.

While Bolt explained his run as just pursuit of his “legend” goal, and added that he really doubted he’d break his 200 record, the rest of the world gaped. “In my event,” former 110 hurdles WR holder Renaldo Nehemiah said after consulting the IAAF Scoring Tables, “that’s a 12.39!”

Yes, and according to those less-than-consistent calculations, 9.58 is equivalent to 42.09 for 400, 1:38.46 for 800, a 3:37.14 mile or a 1:58:55 marathon. On the field, you’re

looking at a 21-foot vault (6.40), a 30-¾ (9.16) long jump or a 79-4¾ (24.20) shot put. Whacky numbers.

200: Zap No. 2 Is A 19.19No one knew what Bolt might do in the

200. He was downplaying expectations, and, pun intended, would lightning strike twice in Berlin? It had in Beijing, but wouldn’t twice defy all laws of probability?

With Gay having withdrawn (hoping to save himself for one straightaway run in the

“I Just Go Out There And Run”Faster down the track Bolt goes; where he’ll stop

nobody knows. Everybody is speculating, it seems… except for Usain Bolt himself.

“Somebody quoted me that I said I could run 9.4,” Bolt said after both new World Records were in the can. “I did not say that. I said 9.4 is possible. I don’t know if I can do it. I think 9.4 is going to be the limit for the 100 meters.

“I don’t know what the limit for 200 meters is. I don’t put limits on myself but I go out there and I run hard all the time.”

But Bolt had run 19.19 with a -0.3mps wind. Had the Lightning sprinter given any thought to that or what he might have done with an optimum-legal 2.0 behind him? Not before the race, no. And not after either.

“Spearmon actually asked me before when we were warming up, ‘Which way is the wind blowing?’” Bolt said.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ I didn’t know which way it was blowing, and I started thinking about it: ‘Uh, looks like we got a headwind.’ But for me I don’t worry about anything because it’s just a part of life. I just go out there and run.”

Bolt’s WC Double

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jing to an out-of-lane DQ, won semi 2 in 20.14 with Jamaican Steve Mullings (20.26) and Florida State junior Charles Clark (20.27) behind him.

For the final, Ramil Guliyev, the Azerbaijani who had stirred the World University Games in July with an out-of-the-blue 20.04 clock-ing, was in lane 1. David Alerte of France was in 2. The assignments for lanes 3–8 were to Mullings, Spearmon, Bolt, Edward, Clark and Crawford.

Showtime again. Barely more than 30 meters into the race Bolt gobbled up the stagger to Edward, and began to fully stoke his stride—lightning striking again.

He destroyed the stagger to Clark in another few strides but needed most of the curve to run down Crawford’s margin in lane 8, for the 33-year-old American was pumping full-tilt also.

However, when Crawford reached halfway second with a superb 10.15 split, Bolt was more than 2 meters ahead at 9.92, 0.04 up on the 9.96 split reported for his Beijing WR.

Nor did Bolt let up in the straight. In just 38 strides he ate the ground to the finish, which he crossed more than 6 meters ahead of Edward’s Panamanian record 19.81. How

4x1 final) and nobody else under 20-flat in ‘09, it seemed Bolt could just run to win.

Besides, Bolt insisted, “The only thing [his late-April car accident] affected was my 200 training, because I didn’t get to do as much on the corner as I wanted to.”

As in Beijing, even without Gay three Americans reached the final. Bolt took semi 1 in 20.08 ahead of Panamanian JUCO titlist Alonso Edward (20.22) and ’04 Olympic champ Shawn Crawford (20.35).

Wallace Spearmon, the two-time Worlds 200 medalist who lost a podium spot in Bei-

was that for subpar speed endurance?Edward, the 19-year-old Barton County

soph, was 4th at 100 meters, just ahead of slow-starting Spearmon and almost 2 meters behind Mullings in 3rd.

But down the straight Edward and Spear-mon split 9.44 and 9.43 to catch Mullings (9.78) and a tying-up Crawford (9.74) with about 10 meters left. Spearmon pulled into 2nd briefly but Edward got the ground back with a superior lean, 19.81–19.85.

Crawford (19.89) and Mullings (19.98) made this the first 200 ever with five men under 20-seconds. Clark placed 6th in 20.39. Everyone in the top 6 save Bolt spent at least some time in the U.S. collegiate system.

These days, however, Bolt as the exception really isn’t news. “ You can look at any sport,” Spearmon explained. “Just because you get beat doesn’t mean that you stop trying. Now all that means is that you go home and you work on your own résumé.

“So whenever I go home this off-season, I’m going to work twice as hard, maybe three times as hard. Maybe [I’ll] put a picture of Bolt above my bed, you know, and that will be motivation at night.”

Only One Man Faster Than GayAlthough the Berlin men’s dashes projected as being all about Bolt

and went down as being all about Bolt, the tale of how Tyson Gay preserved the word “competition” for the 100’s vocabulary should never be forgotten.

While Bolt received a 2.7-ton chunk of the Berlin Wall from the host city for his records, Gay—racing with a gimpy groin and reminded at every turn of what he was up against—built a monument of his own to being the best you can be. His 9.71 final was not just an American Record, but also the fastest 100 ever for anyone not named Usain.

Even as he hobbled into his German doctor’s waiting room a week before the meet, Gay met Bolt coming out. Berlin was plastered with posters of his rival, yet Gay’s poise never wavered. Rather than boost-ing himself on the sense of indomitability Bolt carried into Berlin or on a wave of heavyweight trash talk that would have been incongruous with his quiet style, Gay turned to plain belief in himself.

Even at his career low when his fitness left him shy of the Beijing final, Gay said, “There was never a doubt in my mind that I could compete with this guy or at this level.”

Gay admitted he rushed his training last fall and “got a little banged up early.” But he regrouped and made himself a more complete sprinter. “I’ve gotten a lot stronger this year,” he said. “I changed my workouts so I started running a little bit faster in practice without spikes on. I ran some pretty fast times and I also made sure I took care of my body better.”

Before joining the dash battle of this millennium, Gay half-joked, “I’m probably what you would call boring. I haven’t really flexed my muscles too much before the races or anything like that. But at the same time, I’m always the same person.”

Afterwards, he was still that person. “I’m really happy that Usain Bolt broke the record,” he said. “I know that may sound strange but I knew it was humanly possible for someone to run that fast. Unfor-tunately it wasn’t me. But I’m very happy with the race.”

On Bolt’s first big night in Berlin, Gay repeated an earlier comment worth remembering: “I gave it my best,” he said, “and I still know I have more left in the tank.” /SL/

GLADYS CHAI/ASVOM AGENCY

100 Splits At 20-Meter Points 20 40 60 80 100Bolt 2.89 4.64 6.31 7.92 9.58 (2.89) (1.75) (1.67) (1.61) (1.66)Gay 2.92 4.70 6.39 8.02 9.71 (2.92) (1.78) (1.69) (1.63) (1.69)Powell 2.91 4.71 6.42 8.10 9.84 (2.91) (1.80) (1.71) (1.68) (1.74)

In addition to those 20-meter splits—captured by high-speed cameras from othe side—the IAAF/DLV research teams also measured Bolt’s 10-meter splits from behind with a laser. These splits are not as accurate as the 20m ones, having a margin of error of up to 0.02. Bolt’s incre-ments (* = differs from camera version):

1.89 [1.89], 0.99 [2.88*], 0.90 [3.78], 0.86 [4.64], 0.83 [5.47], 0.82 [6.29*], 0.81 [7.10], 0.82 [7.92], 0.83 [8.75], 0.83 [9.58]

Bloodied but unbowed, Gay says he still has “more left in the tank”

p04-06, 08 (m100-200-Gay).indd 8 9/17/09 12:26:11 PM


by Sieg LindstromFrom Usain Bolt to Berlino the Bear, to

marathons held at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s hosting of World Championships XII went down as an exceptional edition of an always exceptionally great meet.

There has not yet been a bad or boring Worlds, and that makes comparing them an exercise akin to viewing Himalayan peaks at a range of 20 miles and swearing you can see that Everest tops K2.

However, titanic achievements stand the

test of time and Berlin had two event-wobbling sprint World Records from Bolt following up on his Beijing earthshakers.

With apologies to Jonathan Edwards’ triple jump 60-footer at the ‘95 Worlds and other fabulous records, the only valid World Champs comparison might be the epic Mike Powell/Carl Lewis long jump clash of Tokyo ’91.

In the 100 here Tyson Gay played a great Lewis to Bolt’s Powell. For some perspective, consider that Gay’s 9.71 would have left Lewis’s then-WR 9.86 dash from Tokyo more than a

meter and a half behind—even as Bolt was finishing that far ahead of Gay.

Berlin, a vibrant hotbed of history, not only showcased Bolt, it did so in the ’36 Olympic venue where Jesse Owens made mincemeat of Adolph Hitler’s racial superiority claptrap. The Olympiastadion today retains its architectural character under a state-of-the art partial roof.

Filling the stands—OK, not filling the stands for the first three

days but making up for it thereafter—was a boister-ously appreciative crowd. The locals showed, as they had in ’93 in Stuttgart, that German track & field fans are as savvy as they come.

They cheered for the home team, and the home team delivered like Pizza Man. Germany won two golds and nine medals over-all, knocking the straw out of T&FN’s premeet formchart, which predicted just a single bronze for the hosts.

Eight of those medals—including golds for throw-ers Robert Harting and Steffi Nerius—were in the field events and heptathlon. That may partly explain the crowd’s unrivaled apprecia-tion for field events. But each time a field eventer, German or not, did something special, robust applause followed.

When Blanka Vlašić had defeated their own high jump heroine, Ariane Friedrich, these fans cheered lustily for each of the Croatian’s World Record attempts.

All masterpieces have flaws, they say. So did this Worlds. An officiating goof tarnished the women’s 10K results, and officials made other gaffes along the way. Also, the scourge of 3-section semis with time-qualifiers

oozed down to the 200 for the first time. Boooooo!

There was also the Caster Semenya contro-versy: very public sex/gender questions about the women’s 800 winner (see p. 50).

One troubling direction that continued was overly large fields in some events, particularly the decathlon and heptathlon, which disrupted the time schedule (see We Think, p. 61).

U.S. fans saw their team churn out some heartening successes and surprises, scoring 10 golds and 22 medals (both tallies 4 fewer

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than Osaka ’07, although the gold haul was 3 better than in Beijing).

Continuing a trend, the men’s jumps and throws were particularly infertile soil, although the two medals earned therein were golds.

And—oh, yeah—”Berlino the Bear”? Berlino was the meet’s mascot. While any track meet at any given moment usually offers a hundred things you’d rather watch than an adult in a cartoonish costume, Berlino was a cut above. His headlong crash into a hurdle cart with gold medalist Melaine Walker riding piggyback will be a belly-laugher on YouTube for years to come. So it was at the time, once it became clear that Walker was unhurt.

— By–Nation Medal Chart —Nation ................Men Women ....Overall

G S B Total G S B Total

United States ......6 4 4 14 4 2 2 8 ..........22

Jamaica ..............3 – 1 4 4 4 1 9 ..........13

Russia .................3 – 2 5 1 3 4 8 ..........13

Kenya .................2 3 1 6 2 2 1 5 .......... 11

Germany .............1 – 2 3 1 3 2 6 ............9

Ethiopia ...............2 1 1 4 – 1 3 4 ............8

Poland ................– 3 1 4 2 1 1 4 ............8

Cuba ...................– 2 1 3 1 2 – 3 ............6

Great Britain ........1 1 1 3 1 1 1 3 ............6

Australia ..............1 – 2 3 1 – – 1 ............4

China ..................– 1 – 1 1 – 2 3 ............4

Bahrain ...............1 – 1 2 1 – – 1 ............3

France ................– 1 2 3 – – – 0 ............3

South Africa ........1 1 – 2 1 – – 1 ............3

Trinidad ...............– 1 1 2 – – 1 1 ............3

Bahamas .............– – – – 1 1 2 ............2

Japan ..................– 1 1 – 1 – 1 ............2

Norway................1 1 – 2 – – – 0 ............2

Spain ..................– 1 1 1 – – 1 ............2

Barbados ............1 – 1 – – – 0 ............1

Canada ...............– – – – 1 – 1 ............1

Croatia ................– – – 1 – – 1 ............1

Cyprus ................– 1 – 1 – – – 0 ............1

Czech Republic ...– – – – 1 – 1 ............1

Eritrea .................– 1 – 1 – – – 0 ............1

Estonia ................– 1 1 – – – 0 ............1

Ireland .................– – – – 1 – 1 ............1

Mexico ................– 1 1 – – – 0 ............1

New Zealand .......– – – 1 – – 1 ............1

Panama ..............– 1 – 1 – – – 0 ............1

Portugal ..............– 1 – 1 – – – 0 ............1

Puerto Rico .........– 1 – 1 – – – 0 ............1

Qatar ...................– 1 1 – – – 0 ............1

Romania .............– – – – – 1 1 ............1

Slovakia ..............– – – – – 1 1 ............1

Slovenia ..............1 – 1 – – – 0 ............1

Turkey .................– – – – – 1 1 ............1

24 24 25 73 23 24 22 69 ......142

Berlin Was One Of The Great Ones

The Berlino mascot showed a great gift for physical comedy

p09 (WCintro).indd 9 9/18/09 12:12:56 PM


100 meTers (August 16; wind +0.9)

1. Usain Bolt (Jamaica) .............. 9.58 Wr (old WR 9.69 Bolt 8/16/08) (MR)

2. Tyson Gay (Us) ........................9.71 Ar(old AR 9.77 Gay ’08 &’09) (2, 3 W)

3. Asafa Powell (Jamaica) .................9.844. Daniel Bailey (Ant) 9.93; 5. Richard Thompson (Tri)

9.93; 6. Dwain Chambers (GB) 10.00; 7. Marc Burns (Tri) 10.00; 8. Doc Patton (US) 10.34.(best-ever mark-for-place: 1–3, 7)

qUArTers (August 15)II(0.4)–fs: Lemaître (Fra). III(-0.4)–4. Collins (StK) 10.20;

5. Francis (Qat) 10.20; 6. Fasuba (Ngr) 10.25; 7. Pognon

(Fra) 10.27. V(0.1)–4. Martina (NA) 10.19; 5. Williamson (GB) 10.23.

semis (August 16)I(0.2)–1. Bolt 9.89; 2. Bailey 9.96; 3. Patton 9.98; 4. Burns

10.01; 5. Rodgers (US) 10.04; 6. Mbandjock (Fra) 10.18; 7. Saidy Ndure (Nor) 10.20;… fs—Edgar (GB).

II(-0.2)–1. Gay 9.93; 2. Powell 9.95; 3. Thompson 9.98; 4. Chambers 10.04; 5. Frater (Jam) 10.14; 6. Edwards (US) 10.14; 7. Phiri (Zam) 10.19; 8. Tsukahara(Jpn) 10.25.

200 meTers (August 20; wind –0.3)

1. Usain Bolt (Jamaica) ............ 19.19 Wr(old WR 19.30 Bolt ’08)

(5.60, 4.32 [9.92], 4.52 [14.44], 4.75) (9.92/9.27);

2. Alonso edward (Panama) ......19.81 Nr(5.88, 4.49 [10.37], 4.63 [15.00], 4.81) (10.37/9.44)

3. Wallace spearmon (Us) ...............19.85(5.89, 4.53 [10.42], 4.64 [15.06], 4.79) (10.42/9.43)

4. Shawn Crawford (US) 19.89 (5.73, 4.42 [10.15], 4.65 [14.80], 5.09) (10.15/9.74); 5. Steve Mullings (Jam) 19.98 PR; 6. Charles Clark (US) 20.39 (10.38/10.01); 7. Ramil Guliyev (Aze) 20.61 (10.77/9.84); 8. David Alerte (Fra) 20.68 (10.65/10.03). (best-ever mark-for-place: 1, 4–5)

semis (August 19)I(0.0)–1. Bolt 20.08; 2. Edward 20.22; 3. Crawford 20.35;

4. Alerte 20.45; 5. Hering (Ger) 20.52; 6. Sorrillo (Tri) 20.63; 7. Palacios (Hon) 20.67; 8. Christian (Ant) 20.79.

II(0.3)–1. Spearmon 20.14; 2. Mullings 20.26; 3. Clark 20.27; 4. Guliyev 20.28; 5. Mbandjock (Fra) 20.43 PR; 6. Hession (Ire) 20.48; 7. Devonish (GB) 20.62; 8. Callander (Tri) 20.70.

400 meTers (August 21)

1. Lashawn merritt (Us) ...44.06 (WL, AL)(11.14, 10.35 [21.49], 10.83 [32.32], 11.74) (21.49/22.57)

2. Jeremy Wariner (Us) ....................44.60(10.98, 10.43 [21.41], 10.93 [32.34], 12.26) (21.41/23.19)

3. renny quow (Trinidad) ...............45.02(11.70, 10.73 [22.43], 10.89 [33.32], 11.70) (22.43/22.59)

4. Tabarie Henry (VI) 45.42 (21.83/23.59); 5. Chris

Brown (Bah) 45.47 (21.31/24.16); 6. David Gillick (Ire) 45.53 (21.83/23.70); 7. Michael Bingham (GB) 45.56 (21.84/23.72); 8. Leslie Djhone (Fra) 45.90 (22.04/23.86).

heATs (August 18)IV–dq[lane]—Kikaya (Con). V–5. Roberts (US) 46.41.

semis (August 19)I–1. Wariner 44.69; 2. Bingham 44.74 PR; 3. Djhone 44.80;

4. Gillick 44.88; 5. Miller (Bah) 44.99 PR; 6. Milburn (Aus) 46.06; 7. Khouaja (Lby) 46.43;… dnc—Wissman (Swe).

II–1. Merritt 44.37 (WL, AL); 2. Quow 44.53 PR; 3. Collazo (Cub) 44.93 PR; 4. Wroe (Aus) 45.32; 5. Hurtault (Dmn) 45.59; 6. Yousif (Sud) 45.63; 7. Rooney (GB) 45.98; 8. Venel (Fra) 46.30.

III–1. Brown 44.95; 2. Henry 44.97; 3. Chambers (Jam) 45.13; 4. K. Borlée (Bel) 45.28; 5. Steffensen (Aus) 45.50; 6. Larry (US) 45.85; 7. Tobin (GB) 45.90; 8. Galvan (Ita) 46.87.


1. mbulaeni mulaudzi (s Africa) ...1:45.29(25.02, 28.42 [53.44], 26.36 [1:19.80], 25.49) (53.44/51.85) (13.0)

2. Alfred Kirwa Yego (Kenya) .......1:45.35(25.4, 28.6 [54.0], 26.0 [1:20.0], 25.3) (54.0/51.3) (12.4)

3. Yusuf Kamel (Bahrain) ..............1:45.35(25.5, 28.3 [53.8], 26.2 [1:20.0], 25.3) (53.8/51.5) (12.8)

4. Yuriy Borzakovskiy (Rus) 1:45.57 (53.6/52.0) (12.5); 5. Amine Laâlou (Mor) 1:45.66 (53.7/52.0) (13.2); 6. Nick

Symmonds (US) 1:45.71 (53.5/52.2) (13.3); 7. Bram Som (Hol) 1:45.86 (53.9/52.0) (53.9/52.0) (13.3);

8. Marcin Lewandowski (Pol) 1:46.17 (53.9/52.3) (13.2); 9. Jackson Kivuva (Ken) 1:46.39 (54.0/52.4) (13.3); 10. Yeimer López (Cub) 1:47.80 (54.2/53.6) (14.2).

heATs (August 20)III–5. Brown (US) 1:46.92.

semis (August 21)I–1. Symmonds 1:45.96; 2. Kivuva 1:46.32; 3. Ali (Bhr)

1:46.57; 4. Kazi (Hun) 1:47.01; 5. Lastennet (Fra) 1:57.43; 6. Lewandowski 2:01.62 (fell; advanced on appeal);… dnf[fell]—Som (advanced on appeal), Kaki (Sud).

II–1. Kamel 1:45.01; 2. Borzakovskiy 1:45.16; 3. Kirwa Yego 1:45.22; 4. Mulaudzi 1:45.26; 5. Robinson (US) 1:45.91; 6. Kszczot (Pol) 1:46.33; 7. Kiprop (Ken) 1:52.05;… dnf—Ismail (Sud).

III–1. Laâlou 1:45.27; 2. López 1:45.33; 3. Rudisha (Ken) 1:45.40; 4. Reed (Can) 1:45.60; 5. Joseph (Hai) 1:45.87; 6. Peçanha (Bra) 1:45.94; 7. Rimmer (GB) 1:46.77; 8. Ngoepe

(SA) 1:49.03.


1. Yusuf Kamel (Bahrain)

.................................3:35.93(60.0, 60.5 [2:00.5], 57.0 [2:57.5], 38.4)

(12.8, 25.6, 38.4, 51.6, 1:50.3, 2:51.1)

2. Deresse mekonnen (eth)

..................................3:36.01(13.1, 26.0, 38.97, 51.9, 1:50.6, 2:51.5)

3. Bernard Lagat (Us)

.................................3:36.20(12.9, 25.7, 38.7, 51.9, 1:50.7, 2:51.6)

4. Asbel Kiprop (Ken) 3:36.47 (12.9, 25.9, 38.2, 51.6, 1:50.5, 2:51.5); 5. Au-gustine Choge (Ken) 3:36.53 (13.5, 26.3, 39.2, 52.4, 1:51.2, 2:52.1); 6. Mohamed Moustaoui (Mor) 3:36.57 (13.5, 26.6, 39.3, 52.4, 1:50.5, 2:51.7);

7. Mehdi Baala (Fra) 3:36.99 (13.5, 26.7, 39.1, 52.3, 1:50.7, 2:51.8); 8. Lopez Lomong (US) 3:37.62 (13.9, 26.9, 39.9, 53.2, 1:51.8); 9. Belal Mansoor Ali (Bhr) 3:37.72 (14.3, 27.5, 40.0, 53.4, 1:52.0);

10. Amine Laâlou (Mor) 3:37.83 (14.2, 27.4, 39.7, 53.2, 1:51.4); 11. Abdalaati Iguider (Mor) 3:38.35 (14.2, 27.7, 40.4, 53.8); 12. Leonel Manzano (US) 3:40.05 (14.8, 28.5, 41.6, 55.6, 1:54.2, 2:55.2).

semis (August 17)I–1. Laâlou 3:36.68; 2. Lomong

3:36.75; 3. Lagat 3:36.86; 4. Kamel 3:36.87; 5. Baala 3:37.07; 6. Brewer (GB)

3:37.27; 7. Higuero (Spa) 3:37.33; 8. Legesse (Eth) 3:37.79; 9. Brannen (Can) 3:38.97; 10. van der Westhuizen (SA) 3:40.00; 11. Silva (Por) 3:41.30;… dnc–Keitany (Ken).

II–1. Kiprop 3:36.24; 2. Manzano 3:36.29; 3. Choge 3:36.43; 4. Mekonnen 3:36.86; 5. Ali 3:36.87; 6. Moustaoui 3:36.94; 7. Iguider 3:37.19; 8. Estévez (Spa) 3:37.55; 9. Makhloufi(Alg) 3:37.87; 10. Riseley (Aus) 3:38.00; 11. Bad-deley (GB) 3:38.23; 12. Ulrey (US) 3:39.33.

sTeePLe (August 18; interior water jump)

1. ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) .. 8:00.43 (mr)

2. richard matelong (Kenya) .... 8:00.89 Pr (9, x W)

3. Bob Tahri (France) ....... 8:01.18 Nr, er (10, x W) (non-Kenyan born: 2, 3 W)

4. Paul Koech (Ken) 8:01.26 (5:22.79); 5. Yacob Jarso (Eth) 8:12.13 PR; 6. Roba Gary (Eth) 8:12.40; 7. Brimin Kipruto (Ken) 8:12.61; 8. Jukka Keskisalo (Fin) 8:14.47; 9. Eliseo Martín (Spa) 8:16.51;

10. Tareq Taher (Bhr) 8:17.08; 11. Benjamin Kiplagat (Uga) 8:17.82; 12. Abubaker Ali Kamal (Qat) 8:19.72; 13. Ruben Ramolefi (SA) 8:32.54 (2:41.90); 14. Mustafa Mohamed (Swe) 8:35.77;… dnc[A-positive]—Jamel Chatbi (Mor).

heATs (August 16)I–… dnf—Alcorn (US). II–13. McAdams (US) 9:02.19.

III–12. Huling (US) 8:46.79;… dnf—Mekhissi-Benabbad (Fra).

— Men’s Track Results 1 —

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mulaudzi held on to win a tight 800 by 0.06

p10 (mTrackMagate).indd 10 9/17/09 12:14:12 PM


by Sieg LindstromThe LaShawn Merritt/Jeremy Wariner

rivalry, long may it wave, has matured remarkably—especially considering their ages are still just 23 and 25—since the two 400 men first met in a World Championships final two years ago in Osaka.

Like an argument between a long-married couple, we knew where this thing was going from the start: to the homestretch of the final here. Except this would be no tired argument. The high-stakes outcome was never certain until we saw that stretch run.

Merritt’s 44.50 to establish the world lead in May, Wariner’s 44.66 answer two weeks later and the pair’s ownership of the top end of the seasonal list were just a prelude.

We knew the denouement could only come on Berlin’s blue homestraight, preceded immediately before by a setup around the second turn. As if to remind us of the obvious

Wariner—hampered much of the summer by a bruised ankle—lowered his seasonal best in the semis to 44.69 and Merritt responded with a new world leader, 44.37.

Neither of the other U.S. entrants—Gil Roberts & Lionel Larry—reached the final but the race did, however, have other American connections.

Renny Quow, the Trinidadian son of the U.S.’s ’83 WC 200 silver medalist Elliott Quow, PRed at 44.53 in his semi and Michael Bingham, an ‘09 Wake Forest senior and U.S.-British dual citizen now competing for Blighty, es-sayed a semi PR of his own, 44.74, and both advanced.

Wariner in lane 5 set the final’s early tempo: 10.98, even with perennial 4th-placer Chris Brown of the Bahamas. Merritt, with a sight-line advantage in lane 4 and an evolved runner from his younger self who brought it early in Osaka, split 11.14.

Down the back-stretch Brown pushed, reaching 200 at 21.31, 0.10 up on Wariner. Merritt’s 10.35 split to 200 (21.49) halved his deficit behind Wariner, and his curve split (10.83), fastest in the field, delivered him to the stretch 0.02 ahead.

The moment had arrived, and when it did, Merritt owned it.

“I’d been feeling strong mentally and physically,” he said. “So when I got to 300 I went to work again.”

S a i d Wa r i n e r, “Coming off the turn I think me and LaShawn were pretty much neck and neck, and he just had a better kick than me today.”

Merritt just pulled away, all power strides and petrol to a world-leading 44.06.

Wariner tried to cover but stiffened 50 meters out as his rival receded from reach. He eased in the closing strides to reach the line in 44.60.

The homestretch told all: Merritt split 11.74, Wariner 12.26 (0.39 slower than in his Osaka win).

Quow, 7th at 300,

400 meTerS

Merritt Masters Wariner Again

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flowed to bronze down the stretch in lane 3, to finish in 45.02, a whopping 0.40 ahead of Barton County CC soph Tabarie Henry of the Virgin Islands.

Mark your calendar for August of 2011 and the next WC. If Wariner gets his homestretch groove back—and with Clyde Hart back in his camp the chances are good—round 4 could be a classic.

800 meTerS

Mulaudzi’s Late Kick Worksby Brian Russell

One of the best things about the WC 800 is that to win, one must race with a horde of hungry kickers who have made the final.

So Mbulaeni Mulaudzi figured he had to do something to shake up the field.

The 28-year-old South African assumed the lead at the break and reached the 200 in 25.02. The slowish pace dropped to 28.42 for the sec-ond half-lap, and as the field approached the 400, Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Nick Symmonds and Amine Laâlou jostled for position. The Moroc-can’s left arm became entangled with the right of Mulaudzi, causing the leader to alter his step ever so slightly just before the bell.

But he regained his balance and forged ahead with U.S. champ Symmonds on his shoul-der, leading the crowded field through a tame 53.44, the second-slowest in meet history.

Down the backstretch the tempo increased. Everyone with the exception of ’04 Olympic champ Borzakovskiy made a move, but it was still Mulaudzi and Symmonds who passed the 600 in 1:19.80.

Heading into the homestretch, it appeared as if Symmonds had Mulaudzi in his sights and was ready to pounce. With Laâlou on his inside the American “accelerated,” but so did Mulaudzi and the fight to the finish was on.

From the edge of lane 2, 1500 champion Yusuf Kamel of Bahrain came charging down the straight, pulling even with Laâlou and gaining with every stride on Symmonds and Mulaudzi.

The first to falter was the American, who visibly began to tighten 50 meters from the fin-ish. Laâlou was next to fall back and with 30 to go it looked as if Kamel would catch the South African, but out of nowhere came defending champion Alfred Kirwa Yego.

The Kenyan drew even with Kamel with a stride to go but could not outlean Mulaudzi for the win. The camera caught Mulaudzi in 1:45.29, with Yego and Kamel next, both timed in 1:45.35. Borzakovskiy timed his patented mad dash to the finish a hair late, but man-aged 4th in 1:45.57, a fraction ahead of Laâlou (1:45.66) and Symmonds (1:45.71).

It was the first outdoor gold for the jubilant Mulaudzi, who said, “This is the most impor-tant medal for me. Today I was brave enough to control the race and to change the gears in my own time.

“At the 300-meter mark the pace was slow so I picked up as I felt the guys were tired, so I took on a long kick so everyone would die before the finish… and it worked!”

Wariner’s first meeting of the year with merritt

didn’t exactly go according to plan

p11 (m400-800).indd 11 9/17/09 10:29:10 AM


Manzano 12th (3:40.05).Kamel awoke the morning of the final

having dreamt he’d won. He took that as an omen, he said, but, “It didn’t happen the way I expected. I thought it would be a fast race but when it was slow I waited to find a free spot.”

by Sieg LindstromBahrain’s Yusuf Kamel came a long way to

win the 1500, an event that since Hicham El Guerrouj’s retirement five years ago has been devoid of strong favorites.

The 28-year-old Kamel, who began his ca-reer as Kenyan 800 runner Gregory Konchellah, hadn’t even appeared on our pre-meet top 10 formchart.

The son of ’87 & ’91 world 800 champ Billy Konchellah, he had quar-reled with his federation this year and tried to return to his native land. When Kenya gave up its effort to reclaim him in June, Kamel looked to be an 800 man without a country.

He mended fences with Bahrain, though, and ran 3:31.56 in Monaco in his ’09 Euro Circuit debut.

Kamel’s charge into the lead 40 meters from the finish here brought him victory in 3:35.93 with an 0.08 margin over Ethiopia’s Deresse Mekonnen (3:36.01) that was the smallest in WC history. It gave Bahrain gold just a year after Rashid Ramzi won in Beijing only to later run afoul of a doping retest.

Defending champ Bernard Lagat escaped a box with 90 meters left to take bronze in 3:36.20.

In his heat (5th) and semi (4th), Kamel had kept a low profile, whereas Beijing silver (gold?) medalist Asbel Kiprop confirmed his favorite’s status with heat and semi wins.

The final played out slowly for 1100 meters. Kenyan Augustine Choge led, followed by Mekonnen through 2:00.18. Then with a lap left Moroccan Mohamed Moustaoui ran up from the pack and tried to lead but Mekonnen held him off. Mekonnen led by a meter at 1200 in 2:57.04 and kept leading around the last turn. Lagat had run 3rd or 4th near Kamel most of the way but slipped to 8th early in the curve and then ran into a trap as he scrambled to catch back up.

At 90 to go, Mekonnen on the rail had a step on the three-man wall of Choge, Kamel and Moustaoui. Lagat ran inside behind them with France’s Mehdi Baala and Bahrain’s Belal Mansoor Ali tight behind him.

Given no alternative, Lagat veered some-what awkwardly out to lane 2. He was now free to sprint, but Kamel, all straight-ahead motion and 6 years younger, had the jump and raced past Mekonnen to the win. Lagat sprinted so hard his form broke in the last 15 meters but saved a medal spot from late-charging Kiprop, who had languished between 9th and 12th (last) for most of the race.

In the first major-championships 1500 with three U.S. finalists since the ’68 Olympics, Lo-pez Lomong finished 8th (3:37.62) and Leonel

back after this race,” he added, consolidating his reputation for making bold statements of intent.

A great time in Berlin was on the cards from the outset after South Africa’s Ruben Ramolefi did the hard work at the front for the first kilo and passed that marker in 2:41.90.

Paul Koech, one of four Kenyans in the race thanks to defending champ Brimin Kipruto’s getting a wildcard, then got to the front and kept on cranking out fast laps until just before the bell, going past 2K in 5:22.79.

There was clear daylight between the lead-

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Kemboi Good As His Wordby Phil Minshull

After three successive silvers Ezekiel Kem-boi finally got a WC gold to hang alongside the one he won at the ’04 Olympics.

Into the bargain, his stunning 8:00.43 broke the meet record which had stood since 1995 to his coach and steeple legend Moses Kiptanui. It was the fastest ever race at a major champs.

“I had a lot to prove because everyone remembers what I said last year when I made the boast that if I didn’t win at the Olympics [he finished 7th] I wouldn’t return to Kenya. I had to sneak home last summer but this year I can go back with my head held high,” said the animated winner, 27.

“Saïf Saeed Shaheen’s World Record of 7:53.63 is very tough but I’ve always thought I had the talent to break it and maybe soon it will happen now that I have my confidence

ing pack of four and the rest of the field from two laps from home and Kemboi took the lead with 420m to go.

Koech, France’s Bob Tahri and Kenyan Richard Matelong initially stayed hard on his heels but Kemboi hit another gear coming into the backstraight.

Once away, no one else could challenge Kemboi, despite him easing up around 7 meters before the line and possibly tossing away the chance to go sub-8:00.

Kemboi became the 8th winner from Kenya in the last 10 editions, the phenomenal streak only broken by the Kenyan-born Shaheen who won under the Qatari flag of convenience in ’03 and ’05 before chronic injury.

A strong finish off the last barrier saw Matelong PR with 8:00.89 and add a silver to the bronze he got two years ago in Osaka. Tahri also broke new ground as he improved his recent European Record to 8:01.18, outleaning the luckless Koech on the line.

Nobody could match Kamel’s 12.8 dash up the final straight

p12 (m1500-St).indd 12 9/17/09 10:00:51 AM


and that’s all I need.”If there is a prouder track papa than Lagat, let him submit his cre-

dentials; he displayed orange and white racing spikes with photos of his kids printed on the tongues.

“They always make me proud,” Lagat said. “Just running [in the 5K] today, I had no pressure, but going through my victory lap I saw my family and I feel like that is the reason actually I enjoy what I’m

doing.”Lagat’s family had run

a race of their own after a long concessions stand line to buy thirsty Mika a drink had nearly cost them a chance to watch dad’s medal ceremony. Gladys reached the head of the line, paid for the soda, but then before it was served realized the ceremony was about to begin and ran back into the stadium just in time.

That was mild stuff as mishaps go. Lagat had experienced worse dur-ing his 5K heat when he incurred a spike wound to his ankle.

Gladys taped the ankle before the final and a shot from the team doctor numbed the pain.

Said Lagat, who lim-ited his warmup for fear the tape might come lose, “Every time I go to run I know I’ve done this before; it’s nothing new.

“At championships like this I don’t think it’s like anything new. I don’t even feel like there’s any pres-sure at all. Even with my unhealthy foot, I’m like, ‘Hey, I’ve done this before and it’s not going to kill me. If I can numb it, I can go do the job.’ ”

Lagat said he will keep going “until I can’t beat these kids anymore. But I can still beat the kids.”

At the London Olympics three years hence, he said, “I don’t know what I’ll be doing: maybe 15, maybe 5. It’s going to be one event [only] for sure.”

Would he consider the 10K, an event he has never tackled? “That’s a possibility as well,” he said. “Coach [James] Li told me, ‘I think we can train you to do anything. But not run with Bolt, no. I can train you to do the long stuff.’

“I believe in him and I believe in myself. If we were to step up, I’m not going to have any reservations whatsoever. I’ll just go all out, just do it.”

Although racing Usain Bolt is not in the plan, Lagat, as he headed off to drug testing, offered an assessment of what would constitute a fair race with the sprint Superman: “Oh, man. If this guy gives me a 50-meter lead in a 100 we’ll finish together.”

Another Pair Of Medals For Lagatby Sieg Lindstrom

Two more WC races, two more medals. Bernard Lagat, by now the elder statesman of the men’s middle distances—with six years on the next-oldest finalist in the 1500 and four on the next-oldest in the 5000—found his way to the podium twice yet again.

And if as you watched Lagat’s homestretch duel in the 5K with Kenenisa Bekele you flashed back five years to one of the signature Athens races, rest assured Lagat did also.

“Somebody said, ‘Oh, man, it reminded me of the duel between Paul Tergat and Haile Gebrselassie in the 10K in Syd-ney,’ ” Lagat observed.

“And I watched that. I was live there in the stadium. And then I actually stood back and thought, ‘You know, actually, in a way it reminded me of 2004.’ ”

The Athens race in question was, of course, the 1500 final in which Lagat nearly killed the dream of Hicham El Guerrouj, then the world’s premier miler, to finally win an Olympic gold. El Guerrouj only prevailed in the last few strides, by 0.12 seconds, exactly half of Bekele’s margin this time.

“You know what, it came down to actually the same thing happening again,” Lagat said. “It was as if I was reliving that moment again.

“Because Hicham El Guer-rouj was powering out, just going all out on the homestretch and I was just right there on his heels and then at the end I just passed him. At 80 meters to go, which was the case tonight.

“I just kept going like that and then with 20 meters to go, Hicham El Guerrouj started going. It happened exactly [like that] today. It was like that same moment: Kenenisa just went.”

For Lagat, the defending champion in both events, the 1500 bronze came with some frustration. A consummate tactician in recent years, Lagat had slipped into a box on the last turn, only found his way out with a desperate juke to the outside entering the straight, and finished his catchup game with the feeling he could have done more.

Manager James Templeton admitted after the 1500, “I’m just glad he got a medal. If he hadn’t that would have been devastating.”

After the 5K ceremony, though, Lagat beamed at having given the greatest 5K man on the planet no quarter in an extremely close race.

“This is great,” he said, speaking with wife Gladys, 9-month-old daughter Gianna and 3-year-old son Mika at his side. “To me this is really nice. I came back to Berlin after the disappointment of 2008, and going home with two medals in two events I feel like I achieved a lot this time.

“I was able to train and concentrate, to not prove anything to any-body but just to have fun, run well. I have my family that supports me

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p13 (Lagat).indd 13 9/17/09 10:01:21 AM


by Sean HartnettKenenisa Bekele backed up his Beijing

5/10 double with a convincing sweep of the Berlin distance races. While lacking Olympic drama, Bekele claimed what was surprisingly the first such double in WC history, weather-ing Zersenay Tadese’s brutal attack in the 10K, and matching sprint gears with Bernard Lagat in the 5.

Demonstrating superb strength and speed and a mastery of a range of tactics, and brim-ming with confidence, Bekele was at the top of his game in Berlin, beating two accomplished athletes at their own game.

10K: Tadese Tactics Fall Just ShortTwenty-three laps into Monday night’s

10,000 final, Zersenay Tadese looked up at the video screen and saw that he had executed a perfect race—save one small problem.

The compact Eritrean had systematically dropped the rest of the field, hammering out an audacious 13:09 split for the 5K between kilos 4 and 9. Yet he had not been able to shake the diminutive Kenenisa Bekele, who had matched his perilous effort stride for stride.

Rather than pushing hard from the begin-ning, Tadese opened comfortably, covering the opening 4K at a 66.5 clip (27:41 pace). Then he hit the front and hit it hard with a 61.5 lap. Not content with a short surge, Tadese blitzed the fifth kilo in 2:35.76, then cranked out a stream of sub-64s.

He covered the 4000–7000 segment in 7:54,

leaving just Bekele and the Kenyan duo of Micah Kogo and Moses Masai. With 2K to go, Tadese put an end to the Kenyan challenge with his 61.8 lap, but Bekele never flinched.

Accelerating at the bell, the Ethiopian as-sumed his rightful place, zipping past Tadese on the first turn and cruising down the backstretch. Bekele split 28.4 for the penultimate 200 and eased home to close out a 57.3 victory lap and a meet record 26:46.31.

Tadese, 4th and 6th in the last two editions of the meet, got a well-earned silver (26:50.12) while Masai also ducked under 27:00 to take the bronze. Then came Ethiopian Imane Merga, Ke-nyan Bernard Kipyego and American Dathan Ritzenhein, three survivors who worked their way past runners burnt by Tadese’s scorching pace.

Ritzenhein had passed 5K a stride behind teammate Galen Rupp in 13:43.40, but as the fatigue of a long season showed in the Oregon grad, Ritz began a long sustained grind to the finish.

“I knew when the pace picked up that if I could stay in contact, then

5000/10,000 meTers

Another Bekele Double

MARK SHEARMAN

some guys might fall off. There are not very many guys in the world who can sustain that pace.”

His 6th was the highest ever by an American in a WC 10,000, and his 27:22.28 netted him No. 4 on the all-time U.S. list.

5K: Leaving It LateSunday’s 5000 final

started out as if Thurs-day’s semi, contested in 88-degree heat, had sapped the moxie from the field as the first kilometer was a 2:54 exercise in mass indecision.

Kenenisa Bekele, a somewhat reluctant dou-bler (see p. 15), admitted, “I thought other athletes might take the pace faster, but it was OK.”

He ran at a steady 64- second clip, reaching 3K with the whole field still keyed into the little big man’s whim.

It soon became obvious that it was Bekele’s whim to wait. No long attack as in Beijing; no acceleration at 4K. Even after completing the penultimate lap in 60-

flat it was clear that Bekele was intent to leave it late, seemingly playing right into defender Bernard Lagat’s hands.

Riding the rail at the bell, Bekele turned his pole position into a last-lap advantage as you’d have to run farther and faster to beat him. He lifted the pace down the backstretch, splitting 27.7 for the next 200 but gained no ground as Lagat and ’03 winner Eliud Kip-choge clung to his heels and another 5 were within 3 meters.

Bekele lifted the pace higher and a 13.0 turn left only Lagat to contend with as they hit the straight. “I was determined to not let Bekele leave me,” said Lagat.

“When he moved, I moved. With 80 to go, he went, and I passed him with 50 to go. He came back at me with 40 to go, and I struggled over the final 20 meters.

“I gave it all I had. After the finish, after I realized that I lost to a great champion, I wasn’t disappointed.”

For Bekele, a 26.0 finish was the winning number in his 13:17.09, but this race will be remembered for his determined drive to prevail over one of the sport’s great closers.

The Geb/Bek ConnectionTwo thirds of the winners of the WC 10K golds

have been named Gebrselassie or Bekele:

1983......................Alberto Cova (Italy) 28:01.04

1987................Paul Kipkoech (Kenya) 27:38.63

1991................... moses Tanui (Kenya) 27:38.74

1993.....Haile Gebrselassie (ethiopia) 27:46.02

1995................................Gebrselassie 27:12.95

1997................................Gebrselassie 27:24.58

1999................................Gebrselassie 27:57.27

2001............Charles Kamathi (Kenya) 27:53.25

2003........ Kenenisa Bekele (ethiopia) 26:49.57

2005...........................................Bekele 27:08.33

2007...........................................Bekele 27:05.90

2009...........................................Bekele 26:46.31

Tadese played the push-the-

pace card, but like all other anti-

Bekele tactics, it

failed

p14 (m5-10).indd 14 9/17/09 10:02:04 AM


a week to the track.”Bekele has also become a master tactician with a full repertoire of

strategic weapons. Moving beyond Kostre’s singular penchant for last-lap sprints, Bekele’s self-coaching has yielded virtuoso performances such as his blistering final 2K assault in the Beijing 5000. “That was a

good tactic,” Bekele chuckled, “a good design and I enjoyed it.”

As for the chess match in the Berlin 5 he admitted, “It was a challenging race mentally. It was not easy, I’m looking at everybody and I was controlling the race. I was confident and stayed ready for the final tactics.” When Bernard Lagat pulled ahead 50m from the finish, Bekele responded, not-ing, “I had to use 100% of my speed.”

That winning effort only furthered Lagat’s appreciation for his Ethiopian rival as he said, “It will take a long time to get another Kenenisa Bekele who dominates the 10,000 and 5000 as well as cross country. You have to train hard and race smart. You have to be a great tactician and you have to have a lot of guts.

“He is a great talent and will go down in history as one of the greatest champi-ons.”

Bekele Takes Time To Do Something Specialby Sean Hartnett

After scoring a challenging win in the 10,000, Kenenisa Bekele seemed to be a reluctant doubler especially with the prospect of advancing his Golden League Jackpot quest in Zürich five days after Berlin’s 5K final.

“There was some pressure from the Ethiopian people because we did not have some of our top athletes in the 5000 and 10000,” Bekele admitted, adding ”This was an opportunity to do something special and win two golds, to make history.”

Indeed, the 27-year-old Bekele had already made con-siderable history with his 10K triumph: it was his fourth straight WC win (’03, ’05, ’07, ’09) and adding his two Olympic 10K golds (’04 & ’08), it was his sixth straight championship title. It also ran his undefeated record to a dozen, winning all 12 of his career track 10s.

Berlin was a strength race similar to his first WC record run of 26:49.57 in Paris where he led Sileshi Sihine and Haile Gebrselassie to an Ethiopian sweep and he and Geb ran under 13:00 for the final half of the race.

This time, thanks to Zersenay Tadese’s push at 4K, Bekele covered the final 6K at a 2:36.9 clip or 26:09 10K pace. There are few athletes who have ever been able to sustain such a pace, underscoring Bekele’s combination of strength and efficiency as a distance runner.

Not just a finisher, this powerful athlete covers ground like no other distance runner in both form and speed. Most recognizable is Bekele’s distinctive sprint stride, one nurtured by years of drills and mountain running.

This sprint technique that has the sole of Bekele’s foot completely inverted at the peak of his back-stride like a 400-meter runner, delivers wicked torque as it is snapped forward for each foot plant. While this tech-nique fuels his devastating finishing sprint, it is perhaps more remarkable that Bekele covers the whole distance in this stride.

It takes a lot of strength to sustain that technique; quad strength derived from daily runs in the mountains around Addis Ababa—all under the direction of his coach, Kenenisa Bekele. That’s right: for the past two years Bekele has been self-coached.

“Normally I’m controlling myself in training,” he explains. “Coach Woldemeskel Kostre can help me only 10 or 15% of the time running a watch. I’m coaching my body two times every day, and every day I run in the hills sometimes 20K, sometimes 10K, and two or three times

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5000 METERS (August 23)

1. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) ...... 13:17.09 (13.0, 26.0, 53.7, 1:53.7, 2:55.7, 3:58.2)

2. Bernard Lagat (US) ................... 13:17.33(13.1, 26.1, 53.7, 1:53.9, 2:55.7, 3:58.0)

3. James Kwalia (Qatar) ............... 13:17.78(13.4, 26.6, 54.0)

4. Moses Kipsiro (Uga) 13:18.11 (13.4, 26.8, 54.5); 5. Eliud Kipchoge (Ken) 13:18.95 (14.2, 27.7, 55.5); 6. Ali Abdosh (Eth) 13:19.11 (14.0, 27.3, 54.8);

7. Mo Farah (GB) 13:19.69 (14.1, 27.9, 56.0); 8. Matt Tegen-kamp (US) 13:20.23 (14.6, 28.7, 56.3); 9. Vincent Chepkok (Ken) 13:21.31; 10. Jesús España (Spa) 13:22.07;

11. Chakir Boujattaoui (Mor) 13:23.05; 12. Chris Solinsky (US) 13:25.87 (61.7); 13. Joseph Ebuya (Ken) 13:39.59; 14. Anis Selmouni (Mor) 13:44.59; 15. Teklemariam Medhin (Eri) 13:44.65; 16. Collis Birmingham (Aus) 13:55.58.

hEaTS (August 20): I–11. Shaheen (Qat) 13:26.35 (fell). II–11. Jager (US)

13:39.80.

10,000 METERS (August 17)

1. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) ...26:46.31 (WL)(MR—old 26:49.57 Bekele ’03)

(14.8, 28.9, 57.3, 2:00.5, 3:03.6, 4:06.2) (13:40.71/13:05.60)

2. Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) ........ 26:50.12 (15.4, 30.8, 61.2, 2:04.6, 3:07.6, 4:10.2) (13:40.57/13:09.55)

3. Moses Masai (Kenya) ............... 26:57.39 (62.4) (13:40.45/13:16.94)

4. Imane Merga (Eth) 27:15.94 PR (13:41.20/13:34.74); 5. Bernard Kipyego (Ken) 27:18.47 (13:42.68/13:35.79); 6. Dathan Ritzenhein (US) 27:22.28 PR (AL) (4, 5 A) (13:43.40/13:38.88); 7. Micah Kogo (Ken) 27:26.33 (13:41.13/13:45.20);

8. Galen Rupp (US) 27:37.99 (13:42.59/13:55.40); 9. Kidane Tadasse (Eri) 27:41.50; 10. Gebre-Egziabher Gebre-mariam (Eth) 27:44.04; 11. Ahmad Abdullah (Qat) 27:45.03; 12. Teklemariam Medhin (Eri) 27:58.89;

13. Naasi (Tan) 28:04.32; 14. Romero (Mex) 28:09.78; 15. Castillejo (Spa) 28:09.89; 16. Mkami (Tan) 28:18.00; 17. Nelson (US) 28:18.04 (13:56.68/14:21.36); 18. Barrios (Mex) 28:31.40; 19. Singh (Ind) 28:35.51.

after skipping the ’05 and ’07 editions of the 5000, Bekele returned in a big way

p15 (Bekele).indd 15 9/17/09 10:02:57 AM


Aries Merritt of the U.S. and Richard Phillips of Jamaica (both 13.70) and Britain’s ailing Andy Turner (13.73). Merritt had severely twisted his left ankle while warming up and ran with it

tightly taped. Robles looked ragged at 13.67 to take 3rd in his heat.

Trammell timed 13.24 to win semi 1 after taking control midway. Brathwaite started well

en route to his NR 13.18 in 2 ahead of Payne’s 13.24. Sharman PRed at 13.38 in 3 as Robles’ season came to an end.

The Cuban hit the first two hurdles and then pushed over the third and stopped. He was helped from the track by medical personnel.

For the final, Payne (lane 3), Brathwaite (4), Trammell (5) and Sharman (6) lined up in adjacent corridors. The stadium was still buzzing after Usain Bolt’s 200 WR only minutes earlier.

Trammell got his usual sprinter’s start and moved to a marginal lead by mid-race. But the 30-year-old veteran rapped the last three bar-riers, the tenth especially hard, and Brathwaite and Payne closed the gap.

The trio took the final three ob-stacles virtually in tandem, although Brathwaite touched down first after No. 10. Then it was a matter of sprint-and-lean on the runin.

by Jon HendershottMaybe as surprising as the demise of Olym-

pic champion/WR holder Dayron Robles—the left hamstring he injured indoors gave out on the struggling Cuban in the semis—was the unexpected win by Ryan Brathwaite.

The 21-year-o ld Barbadian clocked an NR 13.14 in an ultra-tight finish to edge out Americans Terrence Trammell and David Payne (both 13.15). The trio finished well ahead of the pack as Briton William Sharman timed a PR 13.30 in 4th.

Brathwaite, a soph at Kansas’ Barton County CC, brought a 13.38 PR into ’09 from the Olym-pic prelims. He started this season with a 13.32 best at the Texas Relays, won his second JUCO title in May and cut his best to 13.30 at the New York GP.

But a 13.23 PR two weeks before Berlin, as well as 2nds in three Euro invitationals, stamped him certainly as a young prospect to watch in his second Worlds (he placed 8th in his Osaka semi in ’07).

Brathwaite’s 13.35 was the No. 2 time in the heats. Eliminated were potential finalists

After a lengthy wait, the final results con-firmed how close it was, Brathwaite eking out the win by 0.01 as Trammell was relegated to yet-another silver and Payne repeated his bronze from ’07.

“This is just great! It really did happen,” said Brathwaite. “My coach [Matt Kane] told me I could win. Barbados is only a small country, but I showed the world who I am.”

Trammell mounted the medal podium the

next day holding up five fingers to signify his fifth runner-up finish (3 Worlds, 2 Olympics). He said, “I’m happy to make the podium again after last year [hamstring strain in his Beijing heat]. But hitting the tenth hurdle really slowed me down.”

USATF champ Payne said, “I don’t know if I’m happy or disappointed. I definitely wanted to win, but I hit the fifth or sixth hurdle and fell back.”

110 hurdles

Brathwaite From The Blue

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400 hurdles (August 18)

1. Kerron Clement (us) .............47.91 (Wl)

2. Javier Culson (Puerto rico) .... 48.09 Nr

3. Bershawn Jackson (us) ................ 48.234. Jehue Gordon (Tri) 48.26 NR (3, 4 WJ; world age-17

record); 5. Periklís Iakovákis (Gre) 48.42; 6. Danny McFarlane (Jam) 48.65; 7. David Greene (GB) 48.68; 8. Felix Sánchez (DR) 50.11.

heaTs (August 15)III–3. Gordon 48.66 NR (5, 7 WJ; world age-17 record).IV–4. Angelo Taylor (US) 49.64.

semis (August 16)I–1. Clement 48.00; 2. Sánchez 48.34; 3. Culson 48.43;

4. McFarlane 48.49; 5. Gordon 48.77; 6. van Zyl 48.80 (SA); 7. Silva (Uru) 49.34 NR; 8. Cole (Aus) 49.92.

II–1. Jackson 48.23; 2. Greene 48.27 PR; 3. Iakovákis 48.73; 4. Phillips (Jam) 48.93; 5. Cisneros (Cub) 49.21; 6. Dutch (US) 49.28; 7. Thomas (Aus) 49.76; 8. Yoshida (Jpn) 50.34.

110 hurdles (August 20; wind +0.1):

1. ryan Brathwaite (Barbados) ... 13.14 Nr (2.54 [2.54], 1.06 [3.60], 1.01 [4.61], 0.99 [5.60], 0.99 [6.59], 1.01 [7.60], 1.02 [8.62], 1.03 [9.65], 1.05 [10.70], 1.04 [11.74], 1.40 [13.14])

2. Terrence Trammell (us) ................. 13.15(2.54 [2.54], 1.04 [3.58], 1.03 [4.61], 1.00 [5.61], 1.01 [6.62], 1.02 [7.64], 1.02 [8.66], 1.03 [9.69], 1.05 [10.74], 1.04 [11.78], 1.37 [13.15])

3. david Payne (us) ........................... 13.15(2.56 [2.56], 1.04 [3.60], 1.01 [4.61], 0.99 [5.60], 1.00 [6.60], 1.02 [7.62], 1.01 [8.63], 1.03 [9.66], 1.05 [10.71], 1.06 [11.77], 1.38 [13.15])

4. William Sharman (GB) 13.30 PR; 5. Maurice Wignall (Jam) 13.31; 6. Petr Svoboda (CzR) 13.38; 7. Dwight Thomas (Jam) 13.56; 8. Wei Ji (Chn) 13.57.

heaTs (August 18)III(0.2)–4. Merritt (US) 13.70.

semis (August 20)I(0.9)–1. Trammell 13.24; 2. Svoboda 13.33; 3. Ji 13.41; 4.

Noga (Pol) 13.43; 5. Villar (Col) 13.44; 6. Olijars (Lat) 13.50; 7. Quinónez (Spa) 13.54; 8. Capetillo (Cub) 13.55.

II(0.6)–1. Brathwaite 13.18 NR; 2. Payne 13.24; 3. Thomas 13.37; 4. Shi (Chn) 13.42; 5. Sedoc (Hol) 13.45; 6. Lynsha (Blr) 13.46 PR; 7. Bascou (Fra) 13.49 PR; 8. John (Ger) 13.64.

III(0.1)–1. Sharman 13.38 PR; 2. Wignall 13.43; 3. Kiss (Hun) 13.45; 4. Sands (Bah) 13.47; 5. Darien (Fra) 13.57; 6. Borisov (Rus) 13.63; 7. Schwarzer (Ger) 13.72;… dnf[hamstring—pushed over third hurdle]—Robles (Cub).

The medalists finished the

race nearly in lockstep

p16 (m110H).indd 16 9/17/09 10:03:36 AM


by Jon HendershottIn a race reminiscent of the ’05 USATF con-

test when he set his still-standing PR of 47.24, Kerron Clement maintained 13 strides all the way around and successfully defended his crown, clocking a world-leading 47.91.

The 23-year-old Florida alum outran the Puerto Rican record 48.09 set by Javier Culson, with ’05 champ Bershawn Jackson 3rd (48.23). In 4th, Jehue Gordon timed a Trinidadian Record 48.26, his second world age-17 record of the meet.

Clement dominated throughout. He won his heat at 48.39, the fastest by 0.37. Gordon stood out behind him with 48.66, an NR and his first age-17 record.

In the final heat, two-time Olympic cham-pion Angelo Taylor struggled to run 49.64 in a non-advancing 4th. He later said he had strained a hamstring in the weeks before Berlin and hadn’t been able to hurdle until two days before his heat.

Clement (48.00) was again fastest in the semis ahead of resurging ’04 Olympic winner Felix Sánchez (48.34). World leader at 47.94 coming in, South Africa’s LJ van Zyl ran 48.80 for a non-advancing 6th. Jackson (48.23) won semi 2 from the 48.27 PR by Britain’s David Greene, with third American Johnny Dutch 6th (49.28).

Clement drew lane 3 for the final, with Gordon behind him in 2 and Sánchez (4) and Jackson (5) in front with Culson on the

outside in 8.Sánchez ended his hopes by

hammering the first barrier and never recovering. Clement led down the backstretch, moving nearly even with Jackson by barrier 4. Around the turn, Gordon and Culson moved into contention.

Clement led the pair over No. 8. Jackson made his usual late-race rush in the final straight, just col-laring Gordon but unable to rein in Culson.

Unlike some past title races, Clement never faltered as he main-tained a smooth, powerful stride pattern all the way. Even if his 47.91 was the slowest winner since ’95, Clement nonetheless joined Edwin Moses (’83 & ’87) and Sánchez (’01 & ’03) as two-time champions.

“My plan all along was to defend my title,” said Clement (see side-bar). Culson said, “I’m extremely happy to be the first Puerto Rican to go home with a Worlds medal.”

Jackson revealed, “Two weeks before Berlin, I pulled a hamstring, so I wasn’t able to train for fit-ness. But Kerron and Javier ran great races. I’m happy to get the bronze and I’m going to prepare for 2011.”

CHERYL TREWORGY/PRETTY SPORTY

Building Speed Was KeyAs the defending world champion over

the long barriers, Kerron Clement had an automatic entry to Berlin. So by design with coach Bobby Kersee, he ran more flat 400s early this season.

“The plan to run more 400s basically was to just work on building speed,” says the transplanted Texan-turned-Californian. “I knew that once my speed was there, my confidence would be built up. I knew I would run really well in the championships.

“There was so much relief not having to run the hurdles at nationals. The USAs always is such a nerve-wracking meet, in any event. But I got 3rd in the 400 and actually made the team there too.”

After running two hurdles races and one 400 in Europe in early July—including his then seasonal-best 48.09 to win the Rome barriers—Clement and Kersee settled in Paris for an extended period of training.

“We called it the ‘Bobby Kersee boot camp,’” Clement smiles. “We just stayed there and trained in the weeks leading up to Berlin. It was a good thing, because we just

stayed away from everybody.”Clement built up his own con-

fidence in his first-round Worlds race. “When I ran 13 steps all the way in my heat, I knew that my stride pattern would be down all through the rounds,” he reveals.

“Originally, I was to run 13s through hurdle 8, then switch to 14. But in the prelims, I kept my pattern at 13 all the way. I felt strong and my confidence came back.”

Favored going into his first Worlds in ’05 after his PR at the U.S. nationals, Clement chopped his strides badly in the final stretch and faded to 4th.

Then, he recalls, “In ’07, I messed up like three hurdles coming down the homestretch [but he still won in Osaka].”

He was favored again for the Beijing Olym-pics, but stutter-stepped at the final obstacle and finished 2nd behind the resurgent Angelo Taylor.

“Getting Olympic silver was motivation for me to come out this year and get the gold medal at Worlds,” Clement says. “I fell short in Beijing and Angelo got that win.

“In the Berlin final, I ran a clean race—13 all the way. My focus was there, so I just thank God.”

“But I’m just really tickled to have come to Berlin and defended my title since that was the plan all this season.”

Kersee was so confident in Clement that he left him at the practice track and didn’t even see the final: “Bobby knew I had the gold medal and he told me to just go out and do my thing.

“He left while I was warming up because he was that confident that I’d have the gold medal in my bag.” /JH/

400 hurdleS

A Successful Defense For Clement

Clement was back to his

magic 13-stride pattern

p17 (m400H-Clement).indd 17 9/17/09 10:04:06 AM


by Sean HartnettFitness and commitment are always diffi-

cult to assess ahead of summer-championship marathons. Contenders such as Jaouad Gharib and Daniel Rono never made it to the starting line, while others like Abderrahim Goumri and Mubarak Hassan Shami never were a factor.

What has become easier to predict in the Sammy Wanjiru era of smash-mouth mara-thoning is that Kenyans will dominate fast-paced races.

Abel Kirui demonstrated this principle with a meet record 2:06:54 win, and led Kenyan teammates Emmanuel Mutai (2nd in 2:07:48) and Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (5th in 2:10:46) to the World Cup team title (see sidebar) in what was easily the fastest World Champs race ever.

The 11:00 start and temperatures rising to 70 (21C) suggested the bit of caution manifested in the 15:09 opening 5K before Ethiopian Deriba Merga upped the tempo to 3:00/kilo pace, splitting 30:08 for the first 10K lap.

A pace not too steep as to leave a lead group of 32 runners, and a vigorous Kenya/Ethiopia jousting match taking shape at the front.

Berlin’s first-ever sans-stadium route featured a 10K downtown loop starting and finishing at the Brandenburg Gate. Pancake flat, save some testy bridge approaches, the course seemed designed for Michael Schumacher with a total of 65 gear-changing turns.

Merga lost the patience he exhibited in Boston and tugged hard at the pace on the second lap, ripping off a string of 2:56–2:58 kilos. Eager to match his charge was the for-midable Kenyan trio.

Kirui ran 2:05:04 last April in a somewhat-overlooked 3rd-place finish at Rotterdam, but is best known for his up-tempo exploits on the streets of the German capital.

He clocked 2:06:51 here in ’07 and paced Haile Gebrselassie in ’06 and ’08 when he pulled Haile through 32K at WR pace. “When

I came to Berlin I felt so confident,” he admitted. “Berlin is my city, and I enjoy running here.”

Despite the strong Kenyan presence, the sub-3:00 kilos seemed advantage-Ethiopia at 20K (59:42) and half-way (63:03).

Merga, Olympic bronze medalist Tsegay Kebede and Deressa Chimsa were all in the lead pack of 8 and all 5 were in the first dozen.

The Kenyan trio re-sponded in unison with repeated efforts to lift the pace that sagged with the warmth and turn fatigue. “We agreed to work as a team,” Kirui explained,

“and did all we could to push the pace and get the title.”

At 30K (1:29:43) Kirui, Mutai and Cheruiyot threw t h r e e K e n y a n vests across the front maintaining a 3:00 clip that dropped Kebede and Chimsa, leav-ing only Merga in the lead pack with them.

Pre-race favorite Kebede ran 8 seconds back dealing with pace and knee issues. ”The race was very fast,” he said. “I wanted to control it, but they went too fast. I also had

some problems with my knee that hurt on the tight turns.”

Indeed, turn-fatigue hit the field and as the pace slowed the race broke in many ways. Cheruiyot fell off just after 30K noting “that my legs felt sore and I lost power.”

Mutai countered with a strong surge in the 33rd kilo that was matched by Merga and Kirui but exacted a delayed toll at 35K (1:44:56) when Merga slowed to a jog and eventually a DNF, and Mutai cramped.

Despite slowing to 3:03 pace, Kirui won going away in 2:06:54, 56 seconds ahead of Mutai (2:07:48) and well under Gharib’s 2:08:31 MR.

“It was a very tactical race,” the 27-year- old Kenyan acknowledged, adding, “A very challenging race, and for the World Championships this is a good time.”

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The gritty Kebede rode a tender knee past the stragglers to secure the bronze, just ahead of fast closing teammate Yemane Tsegay (2:08:42). Cheruiyot (2:10:46) came across 5th to close out Kenya’s big day.

MARATHON (August 22)

1. Abel Kirui (Kenya) ...................... 2:06:54(MR—old 2:08:31 Gharib [Mor] ’03) (1:03:03/1:03:51)

2. Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya) ........... 2:07:48(also under old MR) (1:03:03/1:04:45)

3. Tsegay Kebede (Ethiopia) .......... 2:08:35 (1:03:03/1:05:32);

4. Yemane Tsegay (Eth) 2:08:42 (1:03:34/1:05:08); 5. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (Ken) 2:10:46 (1:03:03/1:07:43); 6. Atsushi Sato (Jpn) 2:12:05 (1:03:51/1:08:14);

7. Adil Ennani (Mor) 2:12:12; 8. José Manuel Martínez (Spa) 2:14:04; 9. José Moreira (Por) 2:14:05; 10. Luís Feiteira (Por) 2:14:06; 11. Masaya Shimizu (Jpn) 2:14:06; 12. Norman Dlomo (SA) 2:14:39;

13. Silva (Por) 2:14:48; 14. Irifune (Jpn) 2:14:54; 15. Yirdaw (Eth) 2:15:09; 16. dos Santos (Bra) 2:15:13; 17. Kekana (SA) 2:15:28; 18. Pollmächer (Ger) 2:15:36; 19. Bastos (Bra) 2:15:39; 20. Kulkov (Rus) 2:15:40;

21. Dent (Aus) 2:16:05; 22. Ngamole (SA) 2:16:20; 23. de Souza (Bra) 2:16:40; 24. Browne (US) 2:16:49; 25. Coolsaet (Can) 2:16:53;… 36. Gabrielson (US) 2:18:41;… 63. Jenkins (US) 2:32:16;… dnf—Chimsa (Eth), Goumri (Mor), Merga (Eth), Young (US).

World Cup Title To KenyaDespite its status as the world’s leading

producer of marathoners, Kenya came to Berlin without ever having won the World Cup. That changed in a big way as they averaged more than two minutes faster than arch-rival Ethiopia to score a huge win.

The Ethiopians nabbed silver despite having two runners retire in the final kilometers. Two-time defender Japan put three runners under 2:15 to edge Portugal for the bronze.

1. Kenya 6:25:28 (avg. 2:08:30); 2. Ethiopia 6:32:26 (2:10:49); 3. Japan 6:41:05 (2:13:42); 4. Portugal 6:42:59 (2:14:20); 5. South Africa 6:46:27; 6. Brazil 6:47:32; 7. Russia 6:54:31;

8. Australia 6:55:31; 9. Germany 6:56:20; 10. France 6:59:36; 11. Canada 6:59:41; 12. Mexico 7:06:37; 13. United States 7:07:46 (2:22:36); 14. Tanzania 7:11:51; 15. South Korea 7:37:53.

MARATHON

Kirui Leads Kenyan ChargeA 1–2 from Kirui and

Mutai also won Kenya the World Cup

p18 (mMarathon-Cup).indd 18 9/17/09 10:04:45 AM


20K WALK

Borchin Was Scorchin’by Elliott Denman

Just as in Beijing, Valeriy Borchin turned a middle-of-the-pack start into a sizzling finish to earn the first gold medal awarded here.

In the process, victorious Valeriy kicked off Team Russia’s eventual sweep of all three walking titles and became just the second man to own both the OG/WC titles at once (after Mexico’s Ernesto Canto in ’83 & ’84).

With 3-time reigning champ Jefferson Pérez retired, it was Borchin’s turn to move into the vacated shoes of the Ecuadorian icon, who won his last in Osaka in ’07.

Osaka? Borchin hardly remembers the race. Two years later, all he can tell you is, “I started walking, was among the leaders, but suddenly I was like I was switched off. I fell to the ground and then came around at the medical center.”

Beijing was hot and humid and so to a lesser extent was Berlin but Borchin, quite obviously, has learned to deal with steamy situations.

The favorite bided his time, letting Nor-way’s Erik Tysse and the Italian pair of Ivano Brugnetti and Giorgio Rubino take it out in the usual early mob scene. Thirty-six were within 30 seconds past the first 5K checkpoint, not far from that other checkpoint of note, Charlie.

The same threesome—Rubino (39:48), Brugnetti (39:49), Tysse (39:50)—were still in front as the pace quickened to 10K.

The real racing began just past 14K. Borchin got into gear but so did China’s surprise, Hao Wang. They reached 15K in 59:29 but from there Borchin kept speeding up as Wang relented.

Negative splitting all the way—5Ks of 20:13, 19:47, 19:29 and 19:12—Borchin took a last pass through the Brandenburg Gate in his 1:18:41 triumph to huge applause and a hard-earned sit-down.

Wang (1:19:06) held on for the silver and Mexico’s Eder Sánchez (1:19:22) moved up a spot from ’07. Rubino gutted out a 1:19:50 for 4th, with Colombia’s Luis Lopez (1:20:33) getting an NR in 5th.

Tysse slipped to 7th, while ’04 Olympic king

Brugnetti wound up on the DNF list along with Spain’s ’07 silver medalist Francisco Fernández.

Youth definitely prevailed in this no-longer grizzled vet’s game: Borchin is 22; Wang hit 20 the day after the race; Sanchez and Rubino are 23.

50K WALKKirdyapkin Finishes Russian Gold Rush

by Elliott DenmanAfter a pair of 20K triumphs on the

opening weekend, a startling 3/3 gold medal haul for Russia was concluded by Sergey Kirdyapkin’s 50K win.

Four times before (Russia ’91, ’01 & ’05, Spain ’93) had one nation taken two of three, but this time the Russians were total monopolists. And all three winners are pupils of coach Viktor Chegin in Saransk.

The 50K delivered loads of drama for the fans packed along the 2K loop. The race had at least seven dif-ferent leaders before the 29-year-old Kirdyapkin took control in the final hour en route to his 3:38:35 triumph, a near-replica of his 3:38:08 win at Helsinki in ’05.

The early pacemaking saw Japan’s Yuki Yamazaki in front at 5K (22:11) and Aussie Luke Adams first to 10K (44:34) and staying there to midway (1:50:08), in the company of France’s Yohan Diniz and Kirdyapkin.

For much of the next hour, Aussies Jared Tallent and Adams led the way (2:33:07 at 35K) with a sizable gap on Russia’s Denis Nizhegorodov.

Tallent still led at 40K (2:55:24) but then the heat and humidity kicked in. As Kirdyapkin stepped it up, the Aussie threat receded.

Soon the doubts were over. Kirdyapkin’s 25th trip through the Gate (21:37 last 5K) got him home comfortably in front of two late-chargers in Norway’s Trond Nymark

(3:41:16) and Spain’s super-vet Jesús Angel Garcia (3:41:37), who won back in ’93.

At the finish Kirdyapkin, who col-lapsed and DNFed at Osaka, flopped down on the pavement for a breather. His slowest 5K: 22:26, his first. His fastest 5K: 21:31, his ninth. His nega-tive halves: 1:50:08/1:48:27.

Following the medalists, Poland’s Grzegorz Sudoł (heir to the Robert Korzeniowski legacy) moved up to 4th (3:42:34) and Berliner Andre Höhne to 5th (3:43:19) to the delight of his home fans.

Adams and Tallent dropped to 6-7 and ’07 silver winner Diniz to 12th. Yamazaki was one of three DQs and 1-3 Beijing finishers Alex Schwazer of Italy and Nizhegorodov were shock DNFs.

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“Start slower and then speed up,” was Chegin’s game plan for Kirdyapkin, who hung tough and followed it to perfection. Said Nymark, “I kept the pace, kept pushing.” The nearly-40 Garcia became the oldest medalist in the whole meet; it was his ninth Worlds and fourth medal.

50K WALK (August 21; 25 two-kilo loops)

1. Sergey Kirdyapkin (Russia) ..3:38:35 (WL)(22:26, 22:10 [44:36], 21:50 [1:06:26], 22:00 [1:28:26], 21:42 [1:50:08], 21:44 [2:11:52], 21:51 [2:33:43], 21:44

[2:55:27], 21:31 [3:16:58], 21:37) (1:50:08/1:48:27)

2. Trond Nymark (Norway) .............. 3:41:16(23:20) (1:50:43/1:50:33)

3. Jesús Angel García (Spain) ....... 3:41:37(22:03) (1:50:57/1:50:40)

4. Grzegorz Sudoł (Pol) 3:42:34 (1:51:22/1:51:12); 5. André Höhne (Ger) 3:43:19 (1:51:53/1:51:26); 6. Luke Adams (Aus) 3:43:39 (1:50:09/1:53:30); 7. Jared Tallent (Aus) 3:44:50 (1:50:09/1:54:41); 8. Marco De Luca (Ita) 3:46:31;

9. Kinnunen (Fin) 3:47:36; 10. Tóth (Svk) 3:48:35; 11. Xu (Chn) 3:48:52; 12. Diniz (Fra) 3:49:03; 13. Sánchez (Mex) 3:50:55; 14. Skarnulis (Lit) 3:50:56; 15. Zhao (Chn) 3:53:06; 16. Shelest (Ukr) 3:54:03; 17. Suskevicius (Lit) 3:54:29;

18. Morioka (Jpn) 3:56:21; 19. Nava (Mex) 3:56:26; 20. Davaux (Fra) 3:57:10; 21. Gustafsson (Swe) 3:57:53;

22. Augustyn (Pol) 3:58:30; 23. Cardoso (Por) 3:59:10; 24. Bátovsky (Svk) 3:59:39; 25. Li (Chn) 4:00:13; 26. Odriozola (Spa) 4:00:54; 27. Houssaye (Fra) 4:02:44; 28. Cafagna (Ita) 4:08:04; 29. Cambil (Spa) 4:13:14;… dnf—Schwazer (Ita), Tysse (Nor), Nizhegorodov (Rus);… dq—Zepeda (Mex). (47 started, 31 finished; no U.S. entrant)

20K WALK (August 16; 10 two-kilo road loops)

1. Valeriy Borchin (Russia) ............. 1:18:41 (20:13, 19:47 [40:00], 19:29 [59:29], 19:12) (40:00/38:41)

2. Hao Wang (China) ................. 1:19:06 PR(20:14, 19:45 [39:59], 19:30 [59:29], 19:37) (39:59/39:07)

3. Eder Sánchez (Mexico) ............... 1:19:22 (20:14, 19:46 [40:00], 19:37 [59:37], 19:45) (40:00/39:22)4. Giorgio Rubino (Ita) 1:19:50 (39:48/40:02); 5. Luis López

(Col) 1:20:03 (39:59/40:04); 6. Jared Tallent (Aus) 1:20:27 (40:00/40:27); 7. Erik Tysse (Nor) 1:20:38 (39:50/40:48); 8. Jesús Sánchez (Mex) 1:20:52; 9. Matej Tóth (Svk) 1:21:13;

10. Vieira (Por) 1:21:43; 11. Morioka (Jpn) 1:21:48; 12. Li (Chn) 1:21:54; 13. Zhu (Chn) 1:21:56; 14. Höhne (Ger) 1:21:59; 15. Heffernan (Ire) 1:22:09; 16. Díaz (Spa) 1:22:12; 17. Krivov (Rus) 1:22:19; 18. Adams (Aus) 1:22:37;

19. Sebei (Tun) 1:22:52; 20. Panucha (Ind) 1:23:06; 21. Nkouloukidi (Ita) 1:23:07; 22. Simanovich (Blr) 1:23:36; 23. Saquipay (Ecu) 1:23:51; 24. Molina (Spa) 1:24:00; 25. Park (SK) 1:24:01; 26. Brzozowski (Pol) 1:24:17;

… dnf—Brugnetti (Ita) (39:49), Fernández (Spa) (40:00). (50 started, 45 finished; no U.S. entrant)

The favored Diniz couldn’t hang with Kirdyapkin’s strong second half

p19 (m20W-50W).indd 19 9/17/09 10:30:41 AM


by Sieg LindstromThe last chance for the U.S. men’s dash corps

to dent the armor of the Jamaican fortress was the 4 x 100 relay—a powder keg of a challenge given the recent history of American baton mishaps in which Beijing’s was of course the most graphic.

No dent was delivered, though, as the 37.97 U.S. squad that crossed the line fi rst in its heat earned a controversial disquali-fi cation through a furor-raising judging process (see p. 50).

Nothing appeared cata-strophic on first glance at the U.S. run. Terrence Trammell passed cleanly to Mike Rodgers, who ran up on Shawn Crawford but handed off safely. Crawford passed early but smoothly to Doc Patton, who brought the stick home.

The judges waved only white fl ags, but well after the race the result was nul-lifi ed based on a video-re-play ruling that Patton had touched the stick before it entered the zone.

Jamaica survived shaky passing of its own to make the fi nal. Once there—with Usain Bolt and Asafa Pow-ell added to the team—it mined gold with the No. 2 all-time clocking, 37.31, a World Championships record.

The fi nal was now Ja-maica’s to lose, and the favorites drew lane 7, with Beijing silver team Trinidad in 6. Steve Mullings, now on leadoff, handed off to Michael Frater in a tight race with Trinidad and Great Britain (3).

TCU alum Frater, Trini-dad’s Marc Burns and Briton Tyrone Edgar dashed the backstretch essentially even. But waiting outside them was Bolt.

The indomitable one opened a—ho-hum for him—lead of a meter, and then Powell stretched it to three over individual Beijing medalist Richard Thompson down the straight.

Trinidad’s 37.62 earned No. 3 all-time nation status and led Britain, whose anchor, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, took the stick about a meter up on Japan and doubled the margin on the Beijing bronze-medal nation, 38.02–38.30.

“These guys are great athletes. They don’t come out to play,” said Bolt, discussing one of his Berlin gold medal races that didn’t include a World Record for the fi rst time.

“So it was always a rough run. But I’m re-

ally tired. I didn’t run the best third leg like I wanted to, but I’m just tired. Really. I’m just happy I actually got the baton around the track and gave it to Asafa.”

Thompson, an LSU alum, said of Trinidad’s race, “Darrel [Brown] got out very well and it stayed fl uid from there. We are very satisfi ed with the national record. It’s a great accom-plishment.

“When you’ve got the speed, it all comes down to the exchange.”

Nobody needs to remind the U.S. of that

4 X 100

Jamaica Roars; U.S. Not So Much

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Toby Tanser’s follow-up to Train Hard, Win Easy is another feast for those interested in why the Kenyans are so outstanding in the middle and long distances. He keeps a bit of the material from the first book (with updates), but adds so much more, with profiles of Catherine Ndereba, Benjamin Limo, Ezekiel Kemboi, Lornah Kiplagat, Robert Cheruiyot, and many more, plus a greatly extended profile of Paul Tergat. The book’s subtitle is “How to Run the Kenyan Way,” and a whole chapter is devoted to what runners in the west can learn from the Kenyans and what they can use to improve their own running.

Four chapters: 1. Kenyan Running—history, typ-

ical training runs, Iten and El-doret, etc.:

2. Training—Diet, hard training for road and track, the coaches;

3. Profiles—athletes from 800m to marathon profiled;

4. Results—what you can learn from the Kenyans, Tergat’s three golden rules, 15 ways to adopt a Kenyan program, etc. All of Tanser’s royalties go toward building a children’s hospital in Kenya.

More Fire is available from Track & Field News for $19.95. California residents add 8¼% sales tax. Postage/handling: add $2.95 per book for U.S. delivery, $12.00 per book for foreign delivery. Track & Field News, 2570 W El Camino Real, Suite 606, Mtn. View, CA 94040. Order online at www.trackandfieldnews.com.

NEW WORK

ON KENYAN RUNNING

Bolt & Powell had good things to point at, the U.S.

team only itself (and maybe the offi cials)

p20 (m4x1).indd 20 9/17/09 10:31:21 AM


by Dave JohnsonThe biggest lock of the meet came through

as expected as the U.S. won comfortably in 2:57.86, crossing the line first for the ninth WC in a row (although 4 of those have been wiped out by retroactive drug DQs).

The Americans led at the first exchange and padded that margin on each subsequent leg with a team that featured the first two finishers in the open 400, and the winner of the 400 hurdles. And with top-challenging Bahamas having been DQed in the heats, the number of possible challengers was reduced significantly.

Leadoff: Angelo Taylor, generally thought of as a hurdler but with sufficient baton skills to have run on the last five U.S. internationals, ran comfortably down the backstretch and trailed

Britain’s Conrad Williams and the Dominican Republic’s Arismendy Peguero.

But the Georgia Tech alum closed on the second curve, then moved to the lead in the stretch, his 45.4 putting him a little better than a meter ahead of the 45.6s for Williams, Peguero and Australia’s John Steffensen.

Second Leg: Jeremy Wariner, the 400 runner-up, took off around the first curve as the pretenders followed closely. As the teams broke for the pole, Wariner—who had anchored U.S. top-meet winners in ’04, ’05 & ’07—held

a slim lead, and halfway had just a meter ’s margin over Dominican Yon Soriano, with another meter back to Aussie Ben Offereins and Britain’s Michael Bingham.

At this point Wariner—a product of the impeccable Baylor School of 4x4ing—took off, and by the end of the 115-meter curve, had opened the gap to a good 12 meters over Bingham.

At the exchange, the mar-gin was still some 10 meters as Wariner had run the only sub-44 of the race, a 43.6, with Bingham’s 44.7 leaving Britain

closest.

Third Leg: Long hur-dles champ Kerron Clem-ent maintained much of the margin around the first curve, but on the backstretch Australia’s Tristan Thomas moved into 2nd past Britain’s Robert Tobin.

Clement made his move in the final curve, gradu-ally increasing the margin. In the homestretch, Britain retook 2nd, Tobin running 45.47 to keep the team three meters ahead of the 45.34 Thomas ran for Australia. Clement’s 44.72 left the U.S. with a solid 15-meter margin.

Anchor Leg: Open champ LaShawn Mer-ritt anchored for the U.S. and was content to cruise his leg as Britain and Australia battled for silver, the fourth-running team from Bel-gium having started the anchor some 7 meters

behind Australia. Midway through the last curve,

Merritt’s lead was some 20 meters over Britain’s Martyn Rooney, with Aussie Sean Wroe another 2 meters back.

Merritt added to the gap around the curve and in the homestretch, reaching the finish nearly 25 meters to the good after his 44.16, the second-fastest leg of the race.

Rooney’s 44.83 closed out Great Britain’s 3:00.53 silver medal run, and Wroe’s 44.71 brought Australia home 3rd, in 3:00.90.

Wariner, who broke the race open on the second leg, commented, “When you have the best quarter-milers and the best 400 hurdlers in the world out there at the same time on one team, we expect greatness. That’s what we did today, we showed greatness.

4 x 400

Another U.S. Runaway

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“Down the backstretch, I was looking at the screen the whole time to see where my position was. When I got to the turn, my coach before the race told me just open it up and that’s what I did. I went out there and ran my last 200 as hard as I could to give him a big lead.”

Lionel Larry and Bershawn Jackson also picked up golds, having run the heats (which had a three-quarters long hurdlers composi-tion) in place of Wariner and Merritt.

Leg 1: 1. U.S. 45.4; 2. Dominican Republic 45.6; 3. tie, Australia & Great Britain 45.6; 5. France 45.9; 6. Nigeria 46.12; 7. Poland 46.1; 8. Belgium 46.7.

Leg 2: 1. U.S. 1:28.98; 2. Great Britain 1:30.23; 3. Australia 1:30.85; 4. Belgium 1:31.02; 5. Nigeria 1:31.40; 6. Poland 1:31.51; 7. France 1:31.68; 8. Dominican Republic 1:31.70.

Leg 3: 1. U.S. 2:13.70; 2. Great Britain 2:15.70; 3. Belgium 2:15.82; 4. Australia 2:16.19; 5. France 2:17.20; 6. Dominican Republic 2:17.50; 7. Poland 2:17.56; 8. Nigeria 2:18.01.

4 x 100 (August 22)

1. Jamaica .......................................... 37.31(2 W) (MR—old 37.40 U.S. ’93) (Mullings, Frater, Bolt, Powell)

2. Trinidad .................................... 37.62 NR(11 W) (No. 3 nation) (Brown, Burns, Callander, Thompson)

3. Great Britain .................................. 38.02(Williamson, Edgar, Devonish, Aikines-Aryeetey)

4. Japan 38.30 (Eriguchi, Tsukahara, Takahira, Fujimitsu); 5. Canada 38.39 (Effah, Smith, Connaughton, Barnett); 6. Italy 38.54 (Donati, Collio, Di Gregorio, Cerutti);

7. Brazil 38.56 (de Lima, Viana, de Moraes, Moreiras); 8. France 39.21 (Pognon, Mbandjock, De Lepine, Lemaître).(best-ever mark-for-place: 2)

heATSI–1. Trinidad 38.47; 2. Japan 38.53; 3. France 38.59; 4.

Brazil 38.72; 5. Switzerland 39.47; 6. South Africa 39.71.II–1. Great Britain 38.11; 2. Canada 38.60; 3. Holland

38.95; 4. Portugal 39.25; 5. Ghana 39.61;… dq[1—zone]—United States [37.97] (Trammell, Rodgers, Crawford, Patton [took baton early]).

III–1. Italy 38.52; 2. Jamaica 38.60; 3. Australia 38.93; 4. Thailand 39.73;… dnf—Germany.

4 x 400 (August 23)

1. United States ...............2:57.86 (WL, AL)(Taylor 45.4, Wariner 43.6, Clement 44.72, Merritt 44.16)

2. Great Britain ............................... 3:00.53(Williams 45.6, Bingham 44.7, Tobin 45.47, Rooney 44.83)

3. Australia ...................................... 3:00.90(Steffensen 45.6, Offereins 45.3, Thomas 45.34, Wroe 44.71)

4. Belgium 3:01.88 (Gillet 46.7, K. Borlée 44.4, Duerinck 46.06, van Branteghem 44.80); 5. Poland 3:02.23 (Marciniszyn 46.1, Klimczak 45.4, Kozłowski 46.05, Ciepiela 44.67);

6. Dominican Republic 3:02.47 (Peguero 45.6, Soriano 46.1, Tapia 45.80, Sánchez 44.97); 7. France 3:02.65 (Djhone 45.9, Venel 45.8, Fonsat 45.52, Décimus 45.45); 8. Nigeria 3:02.73 (Weigopwa 46.12, Noah 45.28, Morton 46.61, Lawal 44.72).

heATS (August 22)I–1. United States 3:01.40 (Larry 45.5, Clement 45.2,

Jackson 45.29, Taylor 45.45); 2. France 3:01.65; 3. Great Britain 3:01.91; 4. Australia 3:02.04; 5. Nigeria 3:02.36; 6. Russia 3:02.78.

II–1. Belgium 3:02.13; 2. Dominican Republic 3:02.76; 3. Poland 3:03.23; 4. Germany 3:03.52; 5. Jamaica 3:04.45; 6. South Africa 3:07.88; … dq[2—faulty changeover]—Bahamas [3:02.47].

Wariner may have been second-best in the flat 400, but in the relay he was, predictably, the best

p21 (m4x4).indd 21 9/17/09 12:14:54 PM


At 7-7¼ (2.32), Rybakov got over with his first attempt; the bar wobbled but stayed up after he had tickled it with his right calf. Cyprus’s Kyriakos Ioannou, 3rd in Osaka, also made the height with his first jump but hav-ing needed three tries at 7-5¾, he eventually took the silver.

Poland’s Sylwester Bednarek and Ger-many’s Raul Spank, both achieved PRs (the latter an equal) when they went over 7-7¼ with their second attempts and were awarded joint bronzes.

U.S. champ Tora Harris couldn’t do better than 7-4¼ (2.24) in the qualifying and didn’t make the cut but he had good company among the casualties as the last two gold medalists, Ukraine’s Yuriy Krymarenko and Bahamas’ Donald Thomas, also crashed out. Injured Olympic champ Yuriy Silnov didn’t make the Russian team.

pole vaulT

Tough Hooker Guts It Outby Bob Hersh

As the year began, Olympic champion Steve Hooker was wandering in Bubkaland, the stratosphere of pole vaulting that hadn’t been visited by many mortals since the World Record holder was in his prime in the ’90s.

When the Aussie cleared 19-10½ (6.06) in February, he became history’s No. 2 vaulter and he seemed to have real prospects of being No. 1 before very long.

But injuries soon thwarted his progress. A knee problem set back his training and when he resumed competition, he was far from his peak, with a best of only 18-11 (5.77) in four European meets. Nonetheless, he was the heavy favorite

by Phil MinshullIt wasn’t a classic high jump contest in

terms of the heights being cleared—indeed, the winning height was equal to the meet’s lowest ever—but it was still a riveting jumpfest with four men over 7-7¼ (2.32) and an added element of unpredictability coming from the start’s being delayed by more than an hour thanks to a downpour.

Russia’s experienced Yaroslav Rybakov eventually triumphed over his remaining rivals, getting a first-time clearance at the deciding height before all four failed at 7-8½ (2.35).

“I’m not an emotional person,” explained the steel-nerved 28-year-old right afterwards. “This competition was not about that—in fact I don’t even feel emotional now. Only perhaps when I hear the Russian national anthem will I perhaps start to feel something.”

For the winner, it was not so much of a victory over the erratic elements on the only day in Berlin when the weather was a factor—with the humidity still a super-sticky 90-plus throughout the competition despite the tem-peratures often dropping below 65—but his own destiny after having got silver medals at the last two Worlds and also when he was barely out of his teens in ’01.

The big shakeout came at a relatively modest 7-5¾ (2.28) after 12 men, including Americans Andra Manson and Keith Moffatt, had gotten over 7-3¾ (2.23) on a soaked and slick apron.

Incredibly, no one among the dozen jump-ers got over 7-5¾ at the first time of asking although four eventually did clear it; but they didn’t include either Manson, Moffatt or acknowledged favorite Ivan Ukhov, who had cleared 7-10½ (2.40) indoors.

until 10 days before the competition in Berlin, when he tore a thigh muscle in practice.

At that point, he stopped vaulting and started treatments. He decided to compete only at the last moment after an MRI assured that the muscle was healing, and after taking pain-killing shots to address a related neural problem.

On the day of qualifying, as Hooker was electing to jump, reigning champ Brad Walker decided not to. The American—whose season debut was in winning USATF, and who jumped only twice more after that—was still in pain from a hip injury incurred in his last meet in late July, and he chose not to risk further damage.

Hooker’s strategy was simple—vault as few times as he had to. He entered the qualifying when the bar reached the automatic height of 18-6½ (5.65), which he cleared on his first attempt.

Then, in an amazing final, he passed until 19-2¼ (5.85), a height that he figured would give him a medal. Looking very slow on the runway, he had good height but came down on the bar on his first attempt, and when France’s Romain Mesnil cleared, he decided to take his next attempt at 19-4¼ (5.90). He succeeded at that height, nobody else did, and he was the champion. Mesnil took the silver and his countryman Renaud Lavillenie won the bronze at 19-¼ (5.80).

“Early on,” said Hooker, “there was no way I thought I was going to jump.” But while others were jumping, he got another jab of painkiller. “As that kicked in, I thought I had more and more of a chance of jumping. I was lucky I had this aggressive strategy, but even more lucky that it paid off.”

high jump

Gold At Last For Rybakov

VICTOR SAILER/PHOTO RUN

Rybakov finally got better than his three previous silvers

p22 (mHJ-PV).indd 22 9/17/09 10:32:04 AM


by Ben HallThroughout the meet it was close to impos-

sible to miss the images of and honors for the legendary ’36 Olympic rivals, Jesse Owens and Luz Long. The board and sand of the long jump were the setting for their story.

With the stadium filled to capacity their history set the stage for the men’s long jump final and the triumphant return of Dwight Phillips, who had owned the event 2003–05 before three relatively down years.

Phillips reinvigorated his career this year (see sidebar) by producing consistently long marks—including the best of his life—that required the best from his competitors if they wished to beat him.

Already he had forced reigning WC/OG champ Irving Saladino to jump a 28-footer to beat him, then returned the favor.

Qualifying knocked out no predicted medal

threats, as the 28-footer produced indoors by local favorite Sebastian Bayer continues to ap-pear as one of those odd magical moments.

Australian Fabrice Lapierre hit 26-11¼ (8.21) on the second jump of the night. Phillips took off some 9 inches short of the plasticine yet still reached 27-6¾ (8.40).

Still in the first round another Aussie, new-comer Mitchell Watt, leapt past his compatriot and into 2nd at 27-2 (8.28). Saladino, apparently trying to hit a big jump early, fouled.

In the second round Phil-lips used his exceptional speed and a better takeoff position to spring 28-¼ (8.54), good enough for a medal in any edi-tion of the meet.

Godfrey Mokoena followed two jumpers later and just missed his month-old PR by 3cm with a leap of 27-9½ (8.47), pushing Watt to bronze and Lapierre out of the medals.

Saladino again fouled, then as the last jumper in the third round needed 26-1¾ (7.97) to get three more jumps but again reached for the big jump and fouled. In the eyes of many he could have backed off slightly, and with his talent had a “safety

jump” that would easily have put him into the final rounds.

In the fifth round, after three consecutive fouls Watt found the board and landed with his best jump of the night, 27-5½ (8.37), solidifying his bronze medal status. Mokoena fouled and Phil-lips passed.

Jumping in the final round, Great Britain’s Greg Rutherford edged closer to 4th but it was fouls not fireworks for the top three.

Watt and Mokoena both tried to overtake Phillips but in the end all three fouled.

Phillips made his own history, by becoming the first to lose the LJ mantle and regain it.

“It was like history looking at me in the face,” he said when his medal was presented by the granddaughters of Owens and Long.

TRIPLE JUMP

Idowu Upsets Évoraby Ed Gordon

Based on his World/Olympic golds of the last two seasons, season leader Nelson Évora was the man to beat. And jumping leadoff in the finals, the Portuguese ace bounded a medal-range 57-6½ (17.54) to set an immediate target for the rest.

Beijing silver winner Phillips Idowu ac-cepted the challenge and answered with an opener only an inch shorter to move close. This was just a preview of the world-leading outdoor PR of 58-2 (17.73) the 30-year-old Briton

LONg JUMP

Phillips Victory Draped In History

GLADYS CHAI/ASVOM AGENCY

recorded in the third round to move into a lead he would retain through the end.

Évora did not give up in the least. He pushed hard the rest of the evening, logging 57-¼ (17.38) and 56-10¼ (17.33) before ending with a 57-7 (17.55) as a meager improvement as the title moved over to the garishly red-haired Idowu, who fouled on his last three attempts as he, too, was looking for even more.

“I managed to complete the whole season and to stay injury-free,” said the new champion. “Today was one of the best days of my life.”

Évora hid much of his anguish and instead spoke in triple-jump marketing terms: “I appre-ciate having rivals like Idowu because it is good for the sport and also good for the show.”

Meanwhile, a battle for the bronze ensued behind the two leaders. David Giralt’s 56-7½ (17.26) put him in 3rd half way, but Leevan Sands nudged the Cuban out of a podium spot with 56-10 (17.32). That set the stage for another Cuban, Alexis Copello, to snare the bronze with a last-round 56-11½ (17.36).

The U.S. jumpers all met their match in the qualifying round.

Phillips Gets An UpgradeBefore the USATF Champs, Dwight Phillips

said, “I want to become relevant again.” The reworked 31-year-old Georgian is again more than relevant.

The Arizona State alum, who went from three straight No. 1s in the World Rankings to a 5 a 3 and no rank at all, began working with Loren Seagrave last fall; the noted speed coach got him to lose weight and focus his training.

Says Phillips, “Loren saw to it that I didn’t overtrain or hurt myself. I got my body balanced and I made the commitment that every day I trained, I would leave everything on the track. I was going to work hard—and smart—and it paid off.”

In his season opener in early May, Phillips leaped 27-11 (8.51). “From then, I knew I could win at Worlds,” he says, “because I had never jumped that far so early in the season.”

He later hit a PR 28-8¼ (8.74) at Pre and in between showed off his new speed by lowering his 100 PR from 10.14 to 10.06. Power was part of the new equation too.

“I came to Berlin stronger than I had ever been,” Phillips says. “So I expected to jump better than ever. My goal from the beginning was to win and I’m just blessed and happy I was able to do that.”

Phillips wrote his own chapter in a stadium drenched in long jump lore

p23 (mLJ-TJ).indd 23 9/17/09 10:32:33 AM


Offered Majewski, “It was a good year for me but it does not mean a thing as I did not get the gold medal. Our plans are not always fulfilled, so I have a lot to do in the next two years to fight for the world title again. Chris-tian showed his cards in the end and was the strongest one.”

DISCUSHarting The Hometown Hero

by Phil MinshullRobert Harting is a controversial character

in the German track community. His outspoken pro-drugs stance and harsh criticisms of the national federation led to calls for him to be kicked off the team, but the Berlin-based soldier was still arguably the most popular champion of the meet’s nine days.

His come-from-behind victory, throwing a PR of 227-9 (69.43) on the penultimate throw of the competition to move up from the silver slot to pole position, turned the stadium into a cauldron of noise.

Poland’s Piotr Małachowski, who had led from the first round after his NR 225-7 (68.77)—which he then improved to 226-10

by Garry HillToo often burned by fast-spinners who

developed foul trouble in the big outdoor championship meets, T&FN went a different route in its Berlin formchart, going with a plodding, old-fashioned glider.

Since that retro character is the reigning Olympic champ, Tomasz Ma-jewski, and he had a 4–3 seasonal mark over top American Chris-tian Cantwell it wasn’t all that wild a pick. But it was wrong.

The hulking Pole’s 69-6¼ (21.19) led a qualifying round in which No. 4 American Dan Taylor fouled his first two and wasn’t close to advancing.

Cantwell, throwing with bruised toes (see sidebar), led off the final at 70-8 (21.54), a mark Majewski had only bettered twice in his career. Majewski’s response was 70-1 (21.36).

The ’05 winner, Adam Nelson hit 69-3¼ (21.11) and would get no better. Defending champ Reese Hoffa reached 68-11¾ (21.02).

The second round was un-eventful, but in the third the Germans got their first chance to go wild when Ralf Bartels upped his outdoor PR to 70-1½ (21.37) to move from 8th into bronze-medal position.

With the order reversed, Ma-jewski stormed back in round 4, just as he had in Beijing, his 71-1½ (21.68) taking the lead. And then in 5 he upped the ante to 71-10¾ (21.91).

That just got Cantwell really fired up. Controlling his speed and power well he punched out a put that was an obvious leader the moment it landed: a world-leading 72-3½ (22.03). The giant American was already pumping his fists in glee before the measure was officially announced.

On his fourth throw, Hoffa had improved to 69-4¼ (21.14) to pass teammate Nelson for the No. 4 spot, but he would get no closer, although he did improve his best to 69-9¾ (21.28) on his last attempt.

He was the only one to improve in stanza 6, though, and when Cantwell passed to fin-ish things off, he had the narrowest margin of victory in meet history.

“I have won medals in the past but not that one,” he said. “To win it in that fashion is even more exciting. I hope the crowd enjoyed it as much as we did. The level of the competi-tion was very high with 6 athletes at 21, so to win a competition like this, that makes it feel better.”

(69.15) in the fifth stanza—couldn’t respond.Said Harting, “I can’t describe what the

atmosphere was like before my final throw. Everybody was yelling; they were screaming, I knew I only had one chance, my last chance, and I just had to go aggressive. I think I might have a little cry now.

“Big men do cry, but I’m going to try and make sure no one sees me,” reflected Harting, who was born and brought up just 75 miles down the road from Berlin.

“I had the advantage of being relaxed coming into the competition. Everybody was

looking at [Estonia’s defending champion] Gerd Kanter. He was the big favorite and had been throwing fantastic coming into the cham-pionships. However, I knew I had 69 meters [c226 feet] in me.”

Olympic champion Kanter will probably have nightmares about this for quite a while. He arrived in Berlin with 28 straight wins be-hind him and had not lost for more than a year, but his best form seemed to evaporate despite his fourth-round 219-5 (66.88) holding up for bronze, just ahead of former Olympic/world champion Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania.

U.S. champion Casey Malone ended the first round in 5th with his 208-8 (63.61). He improved three more times, culminating with his final effort of 216-9 (66.06), but the men in front of him also upped their game and that’s where he finished.

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Cantwell Comes Through

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said harting

p24 (mSP-DT).indd 24 11/30/09 12:15:27 PM


Cantwell joined teammates Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson as the winners of the last three WC titles. “That’s a pretty good group,” he acknowledged. “It’s hard to find one country as good as we are. Even though we didn’t compete that well in Beijing, we’re still the best country in the world in the shot, there’s no doubt.

“It’s a legacy but it’s also a thing that every time you start back the next year, you think, ‘What are these other guys going to do?’ You can never rest because you never know what Reese or Adam will do, or Dan Taylor this season. That’s pretty deep for one country.”

Of Cantwell, Nelson said, “Christian is clearly one of the most talented and gifted individuals in our sport. He’s scary; we’ve created a mon-ster. We don’t know what he can do, he has such awesome ability.”

Brett Halter, Cantwell’s college coach at Missouri who continues to mentor him as a pro, said of his pupil, “Obviously, I always thought he could be the top guy. He asked me on his first day on campus as a 19-year-old how far I thought he could throw. I didn’t put a cap on his high end because that wouldn’t have been fair to him.

“But I did say that every record in the books could be in jeopardy. I still believe he is very capable of breaking the World Record [Randy Barnes’s 75-10¼/23.12 from ’90].

“He loves to compete; the bigger the competition, that’s where he wants to be. If the rest of the world understood what he has brought into meets as far as injuries, they would be scared to death of this man.”

Cantwell came to Berlin quasi-injured: he had bruised toes on his right foot after an official at the late-July Lon-don Grand Prix accidentally dropped a shot on it. Cantwell drolly pointed at Majewski when asked about the mishap.

“This guy did it,” said the American. The Pole wagged a finger and countered, “Noooo, not me.”

Halter said, “Christian will lose some toenails. But it’s all part of the adversity. I keep trying to beat him, at anything, but I can’t. If there was a game of tossing a tennis shoe into a trashcan, he’d find a way to win.

“He’s just an animal when it comes to competing. If you ask me if he’s the best shot putter to ever walk the planet, I absolutely believe that.”

Cantwell Runs U.S. Gold Streak To 3by Jon Hendershott

Christian Cantwell finally got one of the titles many had expected him to win for the last five years.

The 6-6/320 (1.98/145) giant won the ’04 and ’08 World Indoor crowns, but didn’t make the U.S. team for Athens and had been edged out at in Beijing by another towering putter, Pole Tomasz Majewski. The odd-numbered years had seen him finish 5th at the ’05 Worlds, then not make the team in ’07.

So the 28-year-old Missouri native used the opportune slot of opening the final’s throwing order to take a lead that lasted until Ma-jewski took over in round 4, but Cantwell replied in the next stanza with a 72-3½ [22.03] that his rival couldn’t better.

“I knew I could hit one better than that first throw,” said the Mis-souri grad. “You never know what someone else is going to do. But I knew if I stayed within myself and just did what I was supposed to do, I could get one out there.

“Luckily, I ended up with the gold medal. It feels good to finally win one. Anytime you can win the World Championships, that’s the top, as high as you can go. You’re the world champion and that feels good.”

Cantwell admitted that a gold in Berlin wouldn’t wipe away the memory of being relegated to silver in Beijing as his final throw moved him up a place from 3rd but couldn’t overhaul Majewski.

“This will never wipe away that memory—and it’s not the type of memory I want wiped away,” he continued. “At the time, I was real disappointed but since then, I guess I’ve realized the important of a medal at the Olympics.

“Any medal, actually. At that time, I was disappointed but now I really cherish those memories. Now this Worlds medal is another one to add to the collection and it feels good.”

Asked how he felt in his throw-ing, aggressive or relaxed, Cantwell replied, “It’s funny because people wondered what I was thinking on my fifth [winning] throw. I told myself to slow down and almost try to relax. I was rushing it before that and not getting the timing right at the front. I finally just slowed down and let the shot bend my fingers back.

“I had thrown 22.03 the past week in practice, so it wasn’t a distance I’m uncomfortable throwing. But in a championship, it’s really hard because of the qualifying the same day. And I didn’t sleep very well last night. So it’s a hard process. But I don’t need excitement to throw 22 meters [72-2¼], that’s for sure.”

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“It’s hard to find one country as good as we are”

p25 (Cantwell).indd 25 9/17/09 10:33:14 AM


Ziółkowski, who was the ’00 Olym-pic gold medalist and the ’01 World champion in Edmonton.

The Pole’s silver gave him a com-plete set of WC medals, as he also took the bronze in Helsinki in ’05.

The bronze went to Russia’s Alek-sey Zagornyi, whose final throw of 256-2 (78.09) knocked Pars off the podium.

Kozmus was delighted to become the first from his young nation ever to win a gold medal at the Worlds. “It was a perfect day for me and my country,” he said. It was a day that was

undoubtedly made easier by his Olympic success.

“I was more re-laxed than in Bei-jing,” he explained. “It is never easy to win gold, but it was easier for me personally to go out there and get the best out of myself. I guess Beijing made me more confident of my ability.”

The results con-tinued the Eastern European domination of the event. Of the 36 medals awarded in the 12 WCs, all but 5 have been won by throwers from that region.

The U.S. continued its dismal record. Only two Americans have ever gotten past the qualifying round and the last to do so was Lance Deal in ’95.

javeliN

Thorkildsen Collecting Titles

by Ben HallThrowing on the final af-

ternoon after multiple exciting throws competitions through-out the prior 9 days, the men’s javelin fell flat.

Andreas Thorkildsen dom-inated the field with a pair of

long throws in the big stadium that no one else could approach. The 27-year-old Norwegian took only four throws but he needed only his second in order to win.

After the favorite’s 293-11 (89.59) blast in the second round the rest of the field was again fighting for the minor medals.

The win made him the first ever to hold

by Bob HershKrisztián Pars had the world’s leading mark

(267-2/81.43) and seven of the top eight throws of the year coming in. The Olympic silver med-alist also had a winning streak of 18 meets, and so he was the logical premeet choice.

The 27-year-old Hungarian had the best throw of the qualifying competition as well, topping all throwers with a toss of 258-2 (78.68).

But in the final, things went terribly wrong for the favorite. He threw 247-9 (75.51) as the first thrower in the first round, then fouled twice, barely making the cutoff of the top 8. He improved to 254-1 (77.45) in round 4, but

then came two more fouls. Meanwhile, Slovenian rival, Primož Koz-

mus, had four throws over 260-feet (79.24), his best of 265-3 (80.84) coming in the last round. Kozmus thus added the world title to the Olympic crown he had won last year in Beijing.

The silver medal went to Szymon

the Olympic, World and European titles con-currently.

But he promises much more in the future with an emphasis on winning golds more than on breaking the great Jan Železný’s World Record of 323-1 (98.48).

When asked about chasing the WR he said, “The Golden League and the major champion-ships are my priority. When you look at the stats there is always a lot of wind when people throw long. No, my goal is to win titles.”

Guillermo Martínez surprised with a sea-sonal best 273-8 (83.43) in the first stanza for an early lead. His mark may have only held the top spot for one round but it would be good enough for silver. In the sixth frame the Cuban mustered another seasonal best and improved to 283-6 (86.41), still a full 10 feet short of the winner.

Yukifumi Murakami, an unheralded 29-year-old Japanese who had PRed at 272-8 (83.10) in the qualifying, took advantage of the lackluster throwing by the rest of the field with his 272-2 (82.97) second round throw, which was good enough to garner the bronze.

Thorkildsen’s most consistent rival, defend-ing champ Tero Pitkämäki of Finland, was unable to compete at the top of his game due to the flu and finished 5th, a place behind Q leader Vadims Vasilevskis.

hammer

Kozmus Topples Favored Pars

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Kozmus needed only the second longest-winning toss ever

No stranger to winning big titles, Thorkildsen got his first

in an odd-numbered year

p26 (mHT-JT).indd 26 9/17/09 12:29:03 PM

November 2009 — 27The Bible Of The Sport

HigH jump (August 21)

1. Yaroslav Rybakov (Russia) ....7-7¼ (2.32)(7-1¾, 7-3¾, 7-5¾ [2], 7-7¼, 7-8½ [xxx])

2. Kyriakos ioannou (Cyprus) ...7-7¼ (2.32)(7-1¾, 7-3¾, 7-5¾ [3], 7-7¼, 7-8½ [xxx])

=3. Sylwester Bednarek (pol) ....7-7¼ (2.32)(7-1¾ [2], 7-3¾, 7-5¾ [2], 7-7¼ [2], 7-8½ [xxx])

=3. Raul Spank (germany) ........7-7¼ (2.32)(7-1¾, 7-3¾, 7-5¾ [3], 7-7¼ [2], 7-8½ [xxx])

5. tie, Jaroslav Bába (CzR), Mickaël Hanany (Fra), Mar-tijn Nuyens (Hol) & Linus Thörnblad (Swe) 7-3¾ (2.23); 9. Andra Manson (US) 7-3¾; 10. Ivan Ukhov (Rus) 7-3¾; 11. tie, Giulio Ciotti (Ita) & Keith Moffatt (US) 7-3¾; 13. Kabelo Kgosiemang (Bot) 7-1¾ (2.18).

qualifYiNg (August 19)Hanany, Ioannou, Kgosiemang, Manson, Spank, Thörn-

blad, & Ukhov cleared 7-6½ (=highest qualifier ever), others 7-5¼/2.27 without a miss.

Notable non-qualifiers: [7-5¼/2.27]—de Lima (Bra) & Thomas (Bah); [7-4¼/2.24]—Harris (US), Krymarenko (Ukr) & Tereshin (Rus).

pOle vaulT (August 22)

1. Steve Hooker (australia) ..19-4¼ (5.90)(19-2¼ [xp], 19-4¼, 19-6¼ [p])

2. Romain mesnil (france) ...19-2¼ (5.85)(18-½, 18-6½, 18-10¼ [xp], 19-¼, 19-2¼, 19-4¼ [xp], 19-6¼ [xx])

3. Renaud lavillenie (fra) ......19-¼ (5.80)(18-½, 18-6½, 18-10¼ [3], 19-¼, 19-2¼ [xp], 19-4¼ [xp], 19-6¼ [x])

4. Maksym Mazuryk (Ukr) 18-10¼ (5.75); 5. Aleksandr Gripich (Rus) 18-10¼ PR; 6. Damiel Dossévi (Fra) 18-10¼ =PR; 7. tie, Giuseppe Gibilisco (Ita), Steven Lewis (GB) & Alexander Straub (Ger) 18-6½ (5.65);

10. tie, Viktor Chistiakov (Rus), Daichi Sawano (Jpn), Alhaji Jeng (Swe) & Kevin Rans (Bel) 18-½ (5.50); 14. Malte Mohr (Ger) 18-½; … nh[18-½]—Derek Miles (US).

qualifYiNg (August 20)Notable non-qualifiers: (qualifiers cleared 18-2½/5.55

without a miss, or 18-6½/5.65): [18-2½/5.55]—Otto (Ger), Pavlov (Rus), Scott (US); [17-8½/5.40]—Olhovsky (Isr), Rovan (Slo), Stevenson (US).

lONg jump (August 22)

1. Dwight phillips (uS) ...........28-¼ (8.54) (27-6¾, 28-¼, 27-5½, 27-¾, p, f)

2. godfrey mokoena (S afr) .27-9½ (8.47) (f, 27-9½, 27-3¼, 26-10½, f, f)

3. mitchell Watt (australia) ...27-5½ (8.37) (27-2, f, f, f, 27-5½, f)

4. Fabrice Lapierre (Aus) 26-11¼ (8.21) (26-11¼, 25-6, 26-10½, f, 26-11¼, 26-11); 5. Greg Rutherford (GB) 26-9¾ (8.17); 6. Salim Sdiri (Fra) 26-5¾ (8.07);

7. Gable Garenamotse (Bot) 26-5½ (8.06); 8. Chris Tomlin-son (GB) 26-5½; 9. Brian Johnson (US) 25-9½ (7.86); 10. Yahya Berrabah (Mor) 25-8¼ (7.83); 11. Loúis Tsátoumas (Gre) 24-11 (7.59); … 3f—Irving Saladino (Pan).

qualifYiNg (August 20)Notable non-qualifiers: (26-3½/8.01 qualified): Evilä (Fin)

& Li (Chn) 26-3½ (8.01), Al-Sabee (Sau) 26-2¾ (7.99), Bayer (Ger) 26-2¼ (7.98), Lukashevych (Ukr) 25-10 (7.87), Novotný (CzR) 25-9½ (7.86), Camejo (Cub) 25-3½ (7.71), Al Khuwalidi (Sau) 25-1¾ (7.66), Pate (US) 24-11¾ (7.61).

TRiple jump (August 18)

1. phillips idowu (gB)...58-2 (17.73) (Wl) out PR (57-5½, 57-2¾, 58-2, f, f, f);

2. Nelson Évora (portugal) ....57-7 (17.55) (57-6½, f, 57-¼, f, 56-10¼, 57-7)

3. alexis Copello (Cuba) ..56-11½ (17.36)(55-11¾, 56-4¾, 48-7½, f, 55-11, 56-11½)

4. Leevan Sands (Bah) 56-10 (17.32) (56-5¼, 56-½, 55-7¾, 55-11¼, 56-10, 55-9); 5. David Giralt (Cub) 56-7½ (17.26) (56-7½, 56-4½, f, 56-4¾, 55-9¾, 55-11¾); 6. Yanxi Li (Chn) 56-6½ (17.23) (55-7½, 55-6¼, 46-8¼, 56-6½, f, 54-11½);

7. Igor Spasovkhodskiy (Rus) 55-5¾ (16.91); 8. Jadel Gregório (Bra) 55-5 (16.89); 9. Momchil Karailiev (Bul) 55-2¼ (16.82); 10. Nathan Douglas (GB) 55-1 (16.79); 11. Teddy Tamgho (Fra) 55-1 (16.79); 12. Dmitrij Val’ukevič (Svk) 54-3¼ (16.54).

qualifYiNg (August 16)Notable non-qualifiers (55-7¾/16.96 qualified): Achike

(GB) & Roulhac (US) 55-7 (16.94), Schembri (Ita) 55-4¾ (16.88), Betanzos (Cub) 55-¼ (16.77), Lewis (Grn) 54-10¾ (16.73), Davis (US) 54-6½ (16.62), Bell (US) 53-6½ (16.32).

SHOT (August 15)

1. Christian Cantwell (uS) ..72-3½ (22.03)(WL, AL) (70-8, 67-11¾, 69-0, 69-7, 72-3½, p)

2. Tomasz majewski (pol) .71-10¾ (21.91)(70-1, 69-6¼, 68-3, 71-1½, 71-10¾, 69-6)

3. Ralf Bartels (ger) . 70-1½ (21.37) out pR(66-9¼, 66-2½, 70-1½, 68-3, 68-8½, 69-6¾)

4. Reese Hoffa (US) 69-9¾ (21.28) (68-11¾, f, 68-8¾, 69-4¼, 68-9¾, 69-9¾); 5. Adam Nelson (US) 69-3¼ (21.11) (69-3¼, 68-8, f, f, f, f); 6. Pavel Lyzhin (Blr) 68-10 (20.98) PR; 7. Andrei Mikhnevich (Blr) 68-½ (20.74);

8. Miroslav Vodovnik (Slo) 67-3¼ (20.50); 9. Hamza Alić (Bos) 65-7½ (20.00); 10. Pavel Sofyin (Rus) 65-3¼ (19.89); 11. Carl Myerscough (GB) 60-5¼ (18.42);… 3f—Peter Sack (Ger).

qualifYiNg (August 15)Notable non-qualifiers (65-11½/20.10 qualified): Alhabashi

(Sau) 65-9 (20.04), Anlezark (Aus) 65-5 (19.94), Armstrong (Can) 65-2 (19.86), Martínez (Spa) 64-11½ (19.80), Martin (Aus) 64-½ (19.52), Taylor (US) 63-7½ (19.39), Storl (Ger) 62-11½ (19.19), Mulabegović (Cro) 62-10 (19.15).

DiSCuS (August 19)

1. Robert Harting (ger) ..227-9 (69.43) pR(223-11, 219-11, 222-5, f, 222-5, 227-9)

2. piotr małachowski (pol) .....226-10 (69.15) NR (225-7 NR, 223-3, 219-10, f, 226-10, 220-10)

3. gerd Kanter (estonia) .....219-5 (66.88) (216-3, 215-4, f, 219-5, 217-4, 214-8)

4. Virgilijus Alekna (Lit) 217-8 (66.36) (217-8, 217-7, 215-6, 211-8, 217-4, f); 5. Casey Malone (US) 216-9 (66.06) (208-8, 202-0, 215-4, 212-9, 216-6, 216-9); 6. Zoltán Kövágó (Hun) 213-9 (65.17);

7. Bogdan Pishchalnikov (Rus) 213-4 (65.02); 8. Ger-hard Mayer (Aut) 207-3 (63.17); 9. Omar El Ghazaly (Egy) 206-1 (62.83); 10. Mario Pestano (Spa) 205-11 (62.76); 11. Jarred Rome (US) 204-11 (62.47); 12. Frantz Kruger (Fin) 196-1 (59.77).

qualifYiNg (August 18)Notable non-qualifiers (204-4/62.29 qualified): Tammert

(Est) 204-2 (62.24), Waltz (US) 203-6 (62.04), Harradine (Aus) 202-7 (61.74), Casañas (Spa) 200-5 (61.10), Schärer (Swi) 191-11 (58.50).

HammeR (August 17)

1. primož Kozmus (Slo) .......265-3 (80.84) (246-6, 261-7, 253-3, 260-1, 262-11, 265-3)

2. Szymon Ziółkowski (pol) 260-2 .(79.30)(254-1, 260-2, 255-5, 254-9, 256-2, 252-3)

3. aleksey Zagornyi (Rus) 256-2 ...(78.09)(249-8, f, 254-0, f, 246-5, 256-2)

4. Krisztián Pars (Hun) 254-1 (77.45) (247-9, f, f, 254-1, f, f); 5. Sergej Litvinov (Ger) 251-3 (76.58); 6. Markus Esser (Ger) 250-2 (76.27); 7. András Haklits (Cro) 250-2 (76.26); 8. Pavel Kryvitskiy (Blr) 249-4 (76.00);

9. Nicola Vizzoni (Ita) 241-9 (73.70); 10. Libor Charfreitag (Svk) 238-3 (72.63); 11. Dilshod Nazarov (Tjk) 235-2 (71.69); … 3f—Igor Vinichenko (Rus).

qualifYiNg (August 15)Notable non-qualifiers (247-4/75.38 qualified): Al-Zinkawi

(Kuw) 246-5 (75.10), Melich (CzR) 244-4 (74.47), Freeman (US) 243-5 (74.19), Karjalainen (Fin) 243-1 (74.09), Sokolovs (Lat) 242-8 (73.97), Mai (US) 238-1 (72.58), Kruger (US) 230-3 (70.19), Rubanko (Ukr) 229-0 (69.81).

javeliN (August 23)

1. andreas Thorkildsen (Nor) ..293-11 (89.59)(255-3, 293-11, 291-10, f, p, p)

2. guillermo martínez (Cub) ...283-6 (86.41)(273-8, 273-3, 256-7, 253-6, p, 283-6)

3. Yukifumi murakami (jpn) .272-2 (82.97)(249-4, 272-2, f, f, p, 255-7)

4. Vadims Vasilevskis (Lat) 270-3 (82.37) (f, 269-2, f, f, f, 270-3); 5. Tero Pitkämäki (Fin) 268-8 (81.90) (268-8, 266-2, 264-1, f, 263-0, 266-2); 6. Antti Ruuskanen (Fin) 268-7 (81.87) (247-3, 248-3, 268-7, 258-0, f, 265-4);

7. Ainars Kovals (Lat) 267-6 (81.54); 8. Mark Frank (Ger) 266-9 (81.32); 9. Teemu Wirkkala (Fin) 261-10 (79.82); 10. Petr Frydrych (CzR) 260-1 (79.29); 11. Tero Järvenpää (Fin) 247-11 (75.57); 12. Sean Furey (US) 244-5 (74.51).

qualifYiNg (August 21)Notable non-qualifiers (258-2/78.69 qualified): Makarov

(Rus) 258-2 (78.68), Farquhar (NZ) 257-7 (78.53), Olteán (Hun) 257-5 (78.46), Kukk (Est) 256-6 (78.18), Hazle (US) 256-5 (78.17), Ivanov (Rus) 255-11 (78.00), Hill (US) 253-1 (77.14), Rags (Lat) 250-1 (76.23), Janik (Pol) 246-9 (75.20).

— Men’s Field Results —

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idowu picked a good time for the first outdoor 58-footer of his career

p27 (mFieldMagate).indd 27 11/30/09 12:16:28 PM


by Brian RussellThe table had been set for Trey Hardee. With reigning

Olympic gold medalist/’05 Worlds winner Bryan Clay out injured, U.S. champion Hardee had the chance to overcome the disappointment of Beijing, where he had no-heighted in the vault while in 4th. The Texas grad took full advantage.

100 Meters: The 25-year-old Hardee began with an excellent 10.45, with teammate Ashton Eaton next at 10.53. Beijing silver medalist Leonel Suárez (11.13) and defender Roman Šebrle (11.16) were well back.1. Hardee 987; 2. Eaton 968; 3. García 952; 4. Kasyanov 945; 5. Díaz 938; 6. Bouraada 933; 7. Raja 901; 8. Sysoev 894; 9. Coertzen 885; 10. Vos 883;… 13. Pogorelov 872;… 26. Suárez 832.

Long Jump: Hardee spanned an outdoor PR 25-8¼ (7.83), giving him a 14-point edge over Eaton’s event-leading 25-9¼ (7.85). Oregon’s NCAA champ slipped back from that point while Hardee forged ahead.1. Hardee 2004; 2. Eaton 1990; 3. Kasyanov 1955; 4. Díaz 1928; 5. Šebrle 1835; 6. Bouraada 1831; 7. Raja 1806; 8. Pogorelov 1804; 9. Kravchenko 1786; 10. García 1778;… 23. Suárez 1703.

Shot: Hardee hit nearly a 2-foot PR with a 50-3½ (15.33) effort, only to have two prime challengers also get lifetime best. Russian Aleksandr Pogorelov led the event with 54-7½ (16.65) in moving to 3rd. Ukraine’s Oleksiy Kasyanov moved up a slot to 2nd thanks to his 51-7 (15.72). Suárez (49-10½/15.20) climbed nine places to 14th. 1. Hardee 2814; 2. Kasyanov 2789; 3. Pogorelov 2695; 4. Díaz 2689; 5. Šebrle 2623; 6. Eaton 2612; 7. García 2577; 8. Raja 2568; 9. Behrenbruch 2550; 10. Müller 2541;… 14. Suárez 2505.

High Jump: Hardee’s 6-6¼ (1.99) matched his height at USATF, but Kasyanov (6-8¾/2.05) took over by 31 points. Šebrle scaled 6-11 (2.11) to move to 4th, while Suárez in 9th (also 6-11) continued to climb.1. Kasyanov 3639; 2. Hardee 3608; 3. Pogorelov 3573; 4. Šebrle 3529; 5. Díaz 3511; 6. García 3455; 7. Eaton 3434; 8. Kravchenko 3418; 9. Suárez 3411; 10. Wiberg 3383;

400 Meters: Third Cuban Yunior Díaz sped a 46.15 PR to jump from 5th to a short-lived 2nd. Kasyanov ran 47.85 in the same heat to claim the lead by 43 points. Hardee clocked his season’s best 48.13 to trail Díaz by a mere point. Eaton was third-fastest overall at 47.75 to end Day 1 in 5th.

Said Hardee, “I came out like a cannon in the first three events. Pointwise, I have to be happy with where I am and I’m looking forward to an exciting second day.”1. Kasyanov 4555; 2. Díaz 4512; 3. Hardee 4511; 4. Pog-orelov 4375; 5. Eaton 4355; 6. García 4348; 7. Šebrle 4324; 8. Suárez 4320; 9. Kravchenko 4290; 10. Wiberg 4257.

110 Hurdles: Hardee roared to the only sub-14 time, a 13.86 for his second-fastest time ever and a 31-point margin ahead of Kasyanov.1. Hardee 5504; 2. Kasyanov 5473; 3. Díaz 5415; 4. Pogorelov 5325; 5. García 5312; 6. Eaton 5294; 7. Kravchenko 5248; 8. Šebrle 5242; 9. Suárez 5237; 10. Behrenbruch 5191.

Discus: A 157-9 (48.08) toss padded Hardee’s lead to 59 over Kasyanov, while Pogorelov moved up a spot to 3rd. Eaton dropped out of the top 10.1. Hardee 6334; 2. Kasyanov 6275; 3. Pogorelov 6163; 4. Díaz 6151; 5. García 6066; 6. Šebrle 6036; 7. Beh-renbruch 6021; 8. Suárez 5998; 9. Sysoev 5994; 10. Kravchenko 5958.

Pole Vault: His Waterloo event in Beijing, the vault turned out to be huge for Hardee here. He cleared his first five heights on first try, eventually topping an event-leading 17-¾ (5.20) to boost his margin to

182. Suárez continued his inexorable rise, moving to 6th.

“After the disappointment of the Olympics, making my first bar [15-5/4.70] was just a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders,” said Hardee.1. Hardee 7306; 2. Kasyanov 7124; 3. Pogorelov 7104; 4. Díaz 6941; 5. Sysoev 6935; 6. Suárez 6908; 7. García 6885; 8. Behrenbruch 6870; 9. Kravchenko 6838; 10. Šebrle 6826.

Javelin: Hardee’s 223-1 (68.00)—a PR by nearly 13 feet—extended his lead to 264 points over Pogorelov. That was just part 3 of a trio of PRs which found the hot Hardee hitting 214-0 (65.22) and 219-4 (66.86) before his final toss.

A monster 246-8 (75.19) event leader by Suarez catapulted him into 3rd as Kasyanov slipped to 7th.1. Hardee 8165; 2. Pogorelov 7901; 3. Suárez 7877; 4. García 7765; 5. Behrenbruch 7755; 6. Sysoev 7742; 7. Kasyanov 7698; 8. Díaz 7680; 9. Šebrle 7649; 10. Kravchenko 7587.

1500 Meters: With a commanding 264-point lead, Hardee only had to finish the final event. He ran 4:48.91 to cap a world-leading 8790, a 256-point PR boost from his 8534 at last year’s Trials.

The battle for 2nd saw Suárez time 4:27.25 to total 8640 in 2nd ahead of the 8528 PR by Pogorelov (4:48.70). Kasyanov (4:24.52) also PRed at 8479 in 4th.

decaTHloN

Hardee In Command

ERROL ANDERSON/THE SPORTING IMAGE

decaTHloN (August 19–20)

1. Trey Hardee (US) .............. 8790 (Wl, al)(9, x W; 3, x A)

(10.45, 25-8¼/7.83, 50-3½/15.33, 6-6¼/1.99, 48.13 [4511—3], 13.86, 157-9/48.08, 17-/5.20, 223-1/68.00, 4:48.91 [4279]);

2. leonel Suárez (cuba) ..................... 8640 (11.13, 23-9/7.24, 49-10½/15.20, 6-11/2.11, 48.00 [4320—8], 14.45, 146-8/44.71, 16-4¾/5.00, 246-8/75.19, 4:27.25 [4320]);

3. aleksandr Pogorelov (Russia) 8528 PR

(10.95, 24-7/7.49, 54-7½/16.65, 6-9¾/2.08, 50.27 [4375—4],14.19, 159-0/48.46, 16-8¾/5.10, 209-9/63.95, 4:48.70 [4153]);

4. Oleksiy Kasyanov (Ukr) 8479 PR (10.63, 25-7¼/7.80, 51-7/15.72, 6-8¾/2.05, 47.85 [4555—1],14.44, 153-2/46.70, 15-9/4.80, 160-9/49.00, 4:24.52 [3924]);

5. Alexey Sysoev (Rus) 8454 (10.85, 22-6½/6.87, 53-¾/16.17, 6-7½/2.02, 49.32 [4207—14],14.97, 173-11/53.03, 16-8¾/5.10, 211-9/64.55, 4:34.97 [4247]);

6. Pascal Behrenbruch (Ger) 8439 PR (10.92, 23-3¼/7.09, 51-9/15.77, 6-7½/2.02, 48.72 [4247—11],14.24, 157-8/48.06, 15-9/4.80, 228-9/69.72, 4:39.45 [4192]);

7. Nicklas Wiberg (Swe) 8406 NR (10.96, 23-9½/7.25, 49-2¼/14.99, 6-8¾/2.05, 48.73 [4257—10],14.75, 138-8/42.28, 14-9/4.50, 246-1/75.02, 4:17.05 [4149]);

8. Yordani García (Cub) 8387 (10.60, 23-1¾/7.05, 49-8½/15.15, 6-9¾/2.08, 48.34 [4348—6],14.08, 145-8/44.40, 15-5/4.70, 227-7/69.37, 4:49.45 [4039]);

9. Yunior Díaz (Cub) 8357 PR; 10. Andrei Kravchenko (Blr) 8281; 11. Roman Šebrle (CzR) 8266; 12. Romain Barras (Fra) 8204; 13. Larbi Bouraada (Alg) 8171 NR; 14. Willem Coertzen (SA) 8146 NR; 15. Andres Raja (Est) 8119 PR;

16. Müller (Ger) 8096; 17. Kharlamov (Rus) 8065; 18. Eaton (US) 8061; 19. Martineau (Hol) 8055; 20. Vos (Hol) 8009 PR; 21. Karpov (Kaz) 7952; 22. El Fassi (Fra) 7922; 23. Newdick (NZ) 7915 PR; 24. Arnold (US) 7837; … dnf—Smith (Jam) (1).

after two events out of the lead,

Hardee stormed back with the

only sub-14 flight of hurdles

p28 (mDec).indd 28 9/17/09 10:34:04 AM


Hardee started his ’09 multi-event season in a big way, fi nishing 2nd in the prestigious Götzis meet with 8518 points, just 18 points shy of his ’08 PR. “That was the biggest confi dence booster I could possibly get,” he said of his performance in Austria. “In my fi rst meet at the Texas Relays, I strained a hamstring pretty badly. I didn’t do much training or competing for six weeks.

“We went to Götzis just to test out things and I almost PRed. That set the tone for the rest of the summer. And I trained right through USAs. After the confi dence from Götzis, we knew we could really

put the hammer down in train-ing and wouldn’t have to do anything special to make the team. Just do things right and train for Worlds and I’d be ready to go.”

The day after his Berlin win, at the Track & Field News Tour luncheon, Hardee clarified what was the turning point for him. “I said last night it was the 100 start,” he smiled, “but really it was the vault. Making that fi rst height was huge. I went to my coach Mario Sategna and

we felt like were one big step closer.”Hardee said the feeling of camaraderie among the decathletes was

refl ected by the toss in the air and the communal victory lap. “The decathlon is a battle,” he said. “You don’t compete directly against the other guys, but more against yourself. Your mind, emotions, the elements, the scoring tables.

“When it’s all done, you’re brothers, friends for life. That cama-raderie is unlike anything else in sports.” /Jon Hendershott/

Hardee & His Band Of BrothersEVEN BEFORE RECEIVING his gold medal, Trey Hardee got a

couple of other rewards. First, he was tossed into the air by some of his 10-event compatriots, a ceremony befi tting a conquering hero.

Then during the en masse victory lap of all the decathletes, the 25-year-old Alabama-born star stopped on the backstretch to accept a homemade “gold medal” from some Swiss fans.

The imitation award, made of cardboard colored gold and hanging from a blue string, was still around Hardee’s neck as he talked to the media.

“This will do until I get the real thing,” he said, smiling. Then his voice turned serious as he continued, “I’m very grateful and humbled. I’ve said before that things happen for a reason. I’m very honored.

“The people who have been put in my life, for whatever reason, I feel I represented them well. I competed to the best of my ability and I had a good time doing it. I can’t ask for anything more.”

A major thing that happened “for a reason” was Hardee’s no-height in the vault—echoing what had happened to the Collegiate Record holder at the ’06 NCAA—that led to his withdrawal from last year’s Olympic decathlon. He said, “Berlin wouldn’t be nearly as sweet without Beijing. That was great, unbelievable motivation. All last fall and this season, my mental preparation was driven by that.”

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Judge Patrick Robinson has revised his work on Jamaican track & field to incorporate all the great achievements in Bei-jing by Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Melaine Walker, et al. It is essentially a new book, with vivid photographs of elite athletes and rising stars, while paying due tribute to Jamaican triumphs of the past. It’s a beautiful, informative volume, one that belongs in the library of every fan. 140pp., well illustrated. 2009.

Jamaican Athletics: A Model For the World is available @ $29.95 per copy from Track & Field News, 2570 W El Cami-no Real, Suite 606, Mountain View, CA 94040. Add $2.95/copy shipping/handling for US delivery ($12 for foreign de-livery). Calif. residents add 8¼% sales tax ($2.47).

LATEST VERSIONRECOUNTS THE FABULOUS JAMAICAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT THE BEIJING OLYMPICS

Sneaking in a little hook ’em Horns

p29 (Hardee).indd 29 9/17/09 10:35:52 AM


womeN’s 100 meTers

Fraser Confirmsway back at 11.00.

The stage was now set for what appeared on paper to be just a great final. But if you did not hail from the U.S. or the Caribbean, you did not belong in this one.

Four Jamaicans would come to the line with two Americans and two Ba-hamians. A situation like this with representation from only three countries had never occurred in a WC sprint final for the women.

The only other time this happened at all was Athens ’97, where just the U.S., Uganda and Britain were represented in the men’s 400 final.

The Jamaicans occu-pied lanes 1 (Bailey), 3 (Fraser) 4 (Stewart) and 6 (Campbell-Brown.)

Bahamians Debbie Ferguson McKenzie and Chandra Sturrup were in 2 and 7. This left 5 for Jeter and 8 for Williams.

Fraser reacted in spec-tacular fashion to the gun, drove out low and already had a visible edge at 2 meters.

She would not be chal-lenged until the end of the race but by then it was too late for Stewart.

Fraser led by 0.08 at the 60-meter mark and by 0.05 at 80. It appeared that her rival was making

up some ground as she closed to 0.02 at the end, but the blistering start was too much to overcome. Fraser’s 10.73 was the fastest legal mark in 10 years. Stewart equaled her PR at 10.75. Jeter captured the bronze but after stay-ing close to Stewart for the first half, was really never in the race.

Fraser was extremely happy, saying, “I knew I had to work on my start if I was going to have a good race. I knew after the semi-final race that I could run faster. I left the whole world behind me on the track down there tonight. I wanted to win very badly and I had a great start and I executed the race well.”

Said Stewart, “I am happy with the silver. It is not what I wanted but I gave it everything I had. I knew Shelly would have a very quick start. We all had a chance to win but if someone is going to beat you with a 10.73, you can’t worry about it too much.”

Said Jeter, “I just got left in the blocks, that’s all. I was pleased to get on the podium. There is no bad blood between the Jamaicans and us at all. Right now, they are dominant. But there is more for me to come next year.”

by Scott DavisMake no mistake about it. Shelly-Ann Fraser

came to Berlin to prove her Olympic gold last year was no fluke. And from the get-go, her proof was certainly brilliant in its beauty and simplicity.

No major surprises occurred in the first two rounds, even though U.S. champ Carmelita Jeter bested Fraser in the quarters, 10.94–11.02. It was clear that Fraser was running simply to qualify.

In the first semi, Fraser lined up in lane 6 with teammate Kerron Stewart in 4. The ’05 champ, Lauryn Williams, was between the Ja-maican pair. Fraser had a fantastic start and led wire-to-wire; she recorded her second-fastest time ever, 10.79. Stewart was 2nd (10.84) with Williams far back in 3rd (11.01), which turned out to be a seasonal best for her.

The second had the dangerous Jeter in lane 4 with defending champ Veronica Campbell-Brown in 3. Jeter had only the No. 4 reaction time but quickly took the lead at the 20-meter mark and the race was never in doubt. She recorded a PR 10.83 with Campbell-Brown

200 meTers

Felix Gets Her 3-Peatby Scott Davis

Winning three WC titles in a row is quite a feat, with few ever having achieved it (see sidebar). Such was the challenge for America’s Allyson Felix.

After winning the last two golds, the 23-year-old Californian came to Berlin fully prepared to do what was needed, and did it.

A smaller-than-expected entry found the event scratched down from four rounds to three, but even with that, nobody of note was lost in the heats.

In the first semi, Bahamian Debbie Ferguson McKenzie led wire-to-wire to win in 22.24. Two-time Olympic champ/main Felix nemesis Ve-ronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, finished 2nd. Disaster struck American Marshevet Hooker, however, as she clutched her left hamstring 80 meters in and fell to the track in pain.

In the second, Felix ran easily to win in 22.44. Jamaica’s Anneisha McLaughlin finished 2nd in a PR 22.55.

Then it was American Muna Lee’s turn in the third and she responded with a seasonal best 22.30, beating Jamaica’s Simone Facey by a whopping 0.28.

So the final was set, and in similar fashion to the 100, six of the runners hailed from the U.S., Jamaica or the Bahamas.

Lee drew lane 3, with Ferguson McKenzie in 4, Campbell-Brown in 5 and Felix in 6. Felix had captured the Olympic silver behind Campbell-Brown in ’04 and ’08; would she gain a measure of revenge here once again as in Osaka?

Rain threatened to cause some problems, but by race time, it had stopped. The track was fairly dry as the event got off about a half hour behind the original schedule, but the heat of the previous days had completely given way to downright coolness, the thermometer reading only 63 (17C).

At the gun, Felix and Campbell-Brown were out best, the Jamaican being ahead at 50 meters, 6.19–6.25. Felix moved well in the second half of the turn, however, and had cut the gap to 0.02 (11.14–11.16) at the halfway point.

From there Felix just began to flow away, covering the third 50-meter segment 0.14 faster than her rival so was well up at the 150, 16.37–16.49. The gap just continued to grow and at the finish VCB was 0.33 behind Felix’s 22.02.

Lee held on to 3rd with 20 meters to go but was run down by 33-year-old ’01 gold medalist Ferguson McKenzie for the bronze, 22.41–22.48.

Said the ecstatic Felix, who had set her PR of 21.81 in winning the ’07 title in Osaka, “To be a 3-time champion is fantastic. To win in this historic stadium is really great. The weather conditions were certainly not the best as you could tell by the times.”

Campbell-Brown said, “I have had a lot of ups and downs this season. I missed six weeks of training this year so considering all of this, I am very happy with the silver.”

CLAUS ANDERSEN

As in Beijing, Fraser was

ecstasy personified at the century’s

finish

p30 (w100-200).indd 30 9/17/09 10:37:00 AM


Then Felix added with a nervous laugh, “But I’d love to trade my three Worlds golds for just one of her Olympic golds.” Felix, of course, fi nished 2nd to the Jamaican in the last two Olympic half-lap fi nals.

Campbell-Brown only smiled and made no offers to swap awards. Asked if she was serious about trading, Felix again smiled as she replied, “Of course, I am.”

Then she added more seriously, “Beijing defi nitely was a disap-pointment not to reach my goals, but I also feel I’m blessed. God is good. I’m blessed for those experiences.

“I’ve learned a lot, but that’s in the past and now I just want to go forward. This win defi nitely is special and it begins the healing process and going on up from here.”

The Berlin time was slight-ly disappointing, she admit-ted: “I defi nitely would like to have run faster, but I think the conditions played a role. And our warm-up got interrupted. But I really just focused on going after the win.

“I defi nitely felt Veronica coming up on me, but I was very confi dent in my strength coming home. I feel that’s my strong point and that’s what

I liked about the race.“Now I’m looking forward to the future, going ahead from here

and focusing on the next Olympics. I’m defi nitely happy tonight and couldn’t ask for anything more.” /Jon Hendershott/

The Elite 3-Win ClubAllyson Felix moved into elite WC company as she became the

fi rst woman runner to win the same event three times in a row. Maria Mutola (800) and Gail Devers (100H) won a trio of titles, but not consecutively.

A pair of fi eld eventers have scored three straight victories—Astrid Kumbernuss (SP) and Carolina Klüft (heptathlon)—while Franka Di-etzsch took three discus crowns non-consecutively.

Remarkably, though, Felix sped to her golden trio by the age of 23, the youngest of any of the triple-title claimants (Klüft won her third in Osaka at 24).

“Three times is very special,” said Felix. “Each one is different, but they all defi nitely mean a great deal. For the third one to take place in this stadium, where there has been so much history…

“To me, Jesse Owens means so much. He was so courageous during such a dif-fi cult time and accomplished so much for us. I’m forever grateful. I don’t think I could have asked for anything more.”

Well, maybe one “small” item. Asked how it has been to battle Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown since the ’04 Olympics, Felix replied, “We’ve been racing back and forth for a long time and every time I race Veronica, she brings out the best in me.”

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From the days of of the first modern Olympics and before—down through the present-day, esteemed track historian Roberto L. Quer-cetani traces the development and the heroic figures of the high and intermediate hurdles and the steeplechase, men and women: the great Olympic and World Championship confrontations, the record breakers, the pioneers. It’s all marvelous reading for the track enthu-siast, and there are also more than 100 pages of stats, with yearly lists and all-time lists at various stages of history. This is a fine addition to the world history series written by Quercetani and we recommend it to any fan. Foreword by Lamine Diack. 223pp. Well illustrated.

A World History of Hurdle and Steeplechase Racing, 1860-2008, Men & Women, by R. L. Quercetani, is available for $49.95, plus $2.95 shipping/handling, from Track & Field News, 2570 W El Camino Real, Suite 606, Mountain View, CA 94040. Credit card orders welcome by phone (650/948-8188), fax (650/948-9445) or online: www.trackandfieldnews.com. (Click on E-Store.)

The Latest from QUERCETANIFrom the days of of the first modern Olympics and before—down through the present-day, esteemed track historian Roberto L. Quercetani traces the development and the heroic figures of the high and intermediate hurdles and the steeplechase, men and women: the great Olympic and World Championship confrontations, the record breakers, the pioneers. It’s all marvelous reading for the track enthusiast, and there are also more than 100 pages of stats, with yearly lists and all-time lists at various stages of history. This is a fine addition to the world history series written by Quercetani and we recommend

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Felix would trade for an Oly gold

p31 (Felix).indd 31 9/17/09 10:37:42 AM


The Burden Comes Off For Richards

“Yes, finally!” Sanya Richards said with a wide smile after decisively shedding the can’t-win-a-major-title albatross.

“This year, I’ve had a really good time,” said the Austin resident. “I was very confident in my race and in my race strategy. The rounds went just as I hoped. I enjoyed every step around the track in the final and I’m just thrilled to be a world champion.”

Richards said earlier this season that she felt she put too much pressure on herself in past championship seasons, stress that caused her to tighten up in the title race.

She said, “I got really consistent early this year so I felt very confident in my race. I didn’t have much doubt coming into Berlin. I had run under 50.0 five times, so I felt very confident in my race.

“Also this year I handled my illness [Behçet’s Disease], so I was able to work out with more intensity. It flared up a little at this meet, which I expected since it can come up when I’m stressed. But I didn’t let it get in my mind; it didn’t get in my way. I was in much better shape this year and able to run my season’s best when it counted.”

Richards revealed, “The ‘hasn’t-won-a-title’ thing was becoming more and more of a challenge. I just had to tell myself that this was going to be my

Richards. “To finally get it right at a major championship and also run a world-leading time, it means the world to me. I’m so happy I can finally call myself a world champion.

“I knew I was going to have to run this sort of time to get the gold. In fact, I talked about this last night with coach Hart and I thought I might even have to run in the 48s as Shericka had run so well in the semi with a 49.5. I knew she’d come out and run really well, and she did,” she added.

“In truth, I was sorta hoping to run under 49 but I don’t care about that right now. I did it in front of my entire family. They are all here; my mom, my dad, my sister, my aunt. Now we’re going to party!”

Bronze went to new find Antonina Kri-voshapka in 49.71. She wasn’t quite in the sort of form that took her to 49.29 in the Russian Champs but she held 2nd, half-a-stride ahead of Williams on her inside, with 100 to go.

However, Krivoshapka couldn’t stay with

by Phil MinshullAfter so many disappointments on the

global stage—think Helsinki, Osaka & Beijing—Sanya Richards finally got the gold medal she deserved after being the world’s dominant runner over one lap of the track for the last five summers.

Richards, having modified her training this year under the guidance of coach Clyde Hart to give her more in reserve over the second furlong, had a clear lead of 3 meters coming off the final bend but still had enough gas in the tank to power down the home straight and finish in 49.00, her fastest time since her American Record 48.70 ’06.

Shericka Williams, running in lane 4 with Richards inside her having made up the stagger by 250, was able to change gear as well and chased hard over the final 90 but the Jamaican couldn’t close the gap although the Oly silver medalist was rewarded with a PR 49.32.

“I’m on top of the world right now,” said

the top two when the hammer went down and was floundering so badly in the final meters that she was almost caught on the line by ‘07 bronze medallist Novlene Williams-Mills.

Christine Ohuruogu, after winning Com-monwealth, World and Olympic gold medals in consecutive years, made a spirited defense of her title but a recent hamstring problem that had troubled her during June and July meant she was short of racing.

Having only run 51.14 ahead of arriving in Berlin, the Briton improved to 50.35 in her semi and then 50.21 in the final but she had to settle for 5th.

USATF champs runner-up Debbie Dunn, at 31 the oldest in the final, ran 50.35 for 6th after clocking a massive PR of 49.95 in her semi.

A super-hot race in the final was on the cards after the semis which saw five women go under 50 seconds, something that’s never happened before, not even in the days of the old EastBloc dominance.

400 meTers

A Relieved Richards Finally Gets Gold

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year. Now to have that lifted off my shoulders will make it a lot easier to run well at majors moving forward.”

Father Archie added, “We all told Sanya that she could focus and be mentally strong. The greatest catalyst for that was how fast she ran early in the season. That really boosted her confidence.”

Asked if having to wait for so long to win a title makes this one more special, Richards—still only 24—said, “I would have loved to win the Olympics and prior Worlds, but I definitely think sometimes you have to learn things to grow. I’ve been through a lot and learned a lot and I feel I’m a much better athlete because of it.” /Jon Hendershott/

richards ran well clear of the other two

medalists

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November 2009 — 33The Bible Of The Sport

100 meTerS (August 17; wind +0.1)

1. Shelly-Ann Fraser (Jamaica)..10.73 (WL)(=3, x W; 2, 2 WC)

2. Kerron Stewart (Jamaica) ... 10.75 =Pr(=6, x W)

3. Carmelita Jeter (US) ....................10.904. Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jam) 10.95; 5. Lauryn

Williams (US) 11.01; 6. Debbie Ferguson McKenzie (Bah) 11.05; 7. Chandra Sturrup (Bah) 11.05; 8. Aleen Bailey (Jam) 11.16.

SemiS (August 17)I(-0.1)–1. Fraser 10.79 (fastest WC semi ever); 2. Stewart

10.84; 3. Williams 11.01; 4. Ferguson McKenzie 11.03; 5. Baptiste (Tri) 11.07; 6. Sailer (Ger) 11.24; 7. Harrigan (BVI) 11.34; 8. Hutchinson (Tri) 11.58.

II(-0.1)–1. Jeter 10.83 PR (AL) (9, x A); 2. Campbell-Brown 11.00; 3. Sturrup 11.01; 4. Bailey 11.16; 5. Lee (US) 11.18; 6. Anim (Gha) 11.43; 7. Hackett (Tri) 11.45; 8. Artymata (Cyp) 11.49.

200 meTerS (August 21; wind –0.1)

1. Allyson Felix (US) ........................22.02(6.25, 4.91 [11.16], 5.21 [16.37], 5.65) (11.16/10.86)

2. Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jam) ....22.35(6.19, 4.95 [11.14], 5.35 [16.49], 5.86) (11.14/11.21)

3. Debbie Ferguson mcKenzie (Bah) ...22.41(6.27, 5.02 [11.29], 5.36 [16.65], 5.76) (11.29/11.12)

4. Muna Lee (US) 22.48 (6.29, 4.96 [11.25], 5.36 [16.61], 5.87) (11.25/11.23); 5. Anneisha McLaughlin (Jam) 22.62 (11.43/11.19);

6. Simone Facey (Jam) 22.80 (11.39/11.41); 7. Emily Freeman (GB) 22.98 (11.47/11.51); 8. Eleni Artymata (Cyp) 23.05 (11.70/11.31).

SemiS (August 20)I(0.5)–1. Ferguson McKenzie 22.24; 2. Campbell-Brown

22.29; 3. Freeman 22.64 PR; 4. Artymata 22.64 NR; 5. Danois (Fra) 23.03 PR; 6. Al-Gassra (Bhr) 23.26; 7. Bolsun (Rus) 23.27;… dnf—Hooker (US) (injured).

II(0.3)–1. Felix 22.44; 2. McLaughlin 22.55 PR; 3. Jones-Ferrette 22.74; 4. Mothersill (Cay) 22.80; 5. C. Williams (US) 22.81; 6. Zaytseva (Rus) 23.19; 7. Ferguson (Bah) 23.40; 8. T. Williams (StK) 23.47.

III(0.5)–1. Lee 22.30; 2. Facey 22.58; 3. M. Williams (NZ) 22.90 NR; 4. Baptiste (Tri) 22.96; 5. Hodge (StK) 23.19; 6. Gushchina (Rus) 23.24; 7. Anim (Gha) 23.36; 8. Borlée (Bel) 23.42.

400 meTerS (August 18)

1. Sanya richards (US) ....49.00 (WL, AL)(x, 4 A)

(11.81, 11.69 [23.50], 12.13 [35.63], 13.37) (23.50/25.50)

2. Shericka Williams (Jamaica) . 49.32 Pr(12.07, 11.69 [23.76], 12.24 [36.00], 13.32) (23.76/25.56)

3. Antonina Krivoshapka (russia) ..49.71(12.13, 11.46 [23.59], 12.31 [35.90], 13.81) (23.59/26.12)

4. Novlene Williams-Mills (Jam) 49.77 (12.36, 11.64 [24.00], 12.18 [36.18], 13.59) (24.00/25.77); 5. Christine Ohuruogu (GB) 50.21 (24.32/25.89);

6. Debbie Dunn (US) 50.35 (23.94/26.41); 7. Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (Rus) 50.53 (24.39/26.14); 8. Amantle Mont-sho (Bot) 50.65 (24.47/26.18).

SemiS (August 16)I–1. Williams-Mills 49.88; 2. Montsho 49.89; 3. Kapachin-

skaya 50.30; 4. Pompey (Guy) 50.71 NR; 5. Beard (US) 51.20; 6. González (Col) 51.91; 7. Alexander (StV) 53.43;… dnf—Ogoegbunam (Ngr).

II–1. Williams 49.51 PR; 2. Krivoshapka 49.67; 3. Dunn 49.95 PR; 4. Sanders (GB) 50.45; 5. Thiam (Sen) 51.70; 6. Abugan (Ngr) 51.75; 7. Sakari (Ken) 52.69; 8. Désert-Mariller (Fra) 53.26.

III–1. Richards 50.21; 2. Ohuruogu 50.35; 3. Litvinova (Rus) 50.52; 4. Grenot (Ita) 50.85; 5. Terrero (Col) 51.87; 6. Nwachukwu (Ger) 51.98; 7. Ponteen (StK) 53.22; 8. Day (Jam) 53.46.


1. Caster Semenya (S Africa) .1:55.45 Nr (WL) (13, x W; 2, 6 WJ)

(27.0, 29.8 [56.83], 29.89 [1:26.72], 28.73) (56.83/58.62) (14.4)

2. Janeth Jepkosgei (Kenya) ........1:57.90(26.81, 30.3 [57.1], 30.2 [1:27.3], 30.6) (57.1/60.8) (15.5)

3. Jenny meadows (G Britain) .. 1:57.93 Pr (27.4, 30.3 [57.7], 30.3 [1:28.0], 29.9) (57.7/60.2) (15.0)4. Yuliya Krevsun (Ukr) 1:58.00 (27.1, 30.0 [57.1], 30.1

[1:27.2], 30.8) (57.1/60.9) (16.0); 5. Mariya Savinova (Rus) 1:58.68 (57.6/61.1) (15.9);

6. Elisa Cusma Piccione (Ita) 1:58.81 (57.6/61.2) (15.6); 7. Mayte Martínez (Spa) 1:58.81 (58.0/60.8) (15.2); 8. Marilyn Okoro (GB) 2:00.32 (57.3/63.0) (17.5).

SemiS (August 17)I–1. Savinova 1:59.30; 2. Krevsun 1:59.38; 3. Martínez

1:59.72; 4. Benhassi (Mor) 2:00.06; 5. Simpson (GB) 2:00.57; 6. Gall (US) 2:01.30; 7. Calatayud (Cub) 2:01.53; 8. Guégan (Fra) 2:04.38.

II–1. Semenya 1:58.66; 2. Meadows 1:59.45; 3. Jepkosgei 1:59.47; 4. Clark (US) 1:59.96; 5. Klyuka (Rus) 2:00.48; 6. Petlyuk (Ukr) 2:00.90; 7. Klocová (Svk) 2:01.56; 8. Burnett (Guy) 2:02.75;… dnf–Hachlaf (Mor).

III–1. Cusma Piccione 2:00.62; 2. Okoro 2:01.01; 3. Rostkowska (Pol) 2:01.40; 4. Kofanova (Rus) 2:02.02; 5. Sinclair (Jam) 2:02.31; 6. Masná (CzR) 2:02.55; 7. Vessey (US) 2:03.55;… dnf[inj]–Jelimo (Ken).


1. maryam Jamal (Bahrain) ..........4:03.74(66.9, 68.5 [2:15.4], 62.2 [3:17.6], 46.1)

(15.3, 30.9, 61.4, 2:04.8, 3:14.5)

2. Lisa Dobriskey (Great Britain) ....4:03.75(15.2, 30.7, 45.9 60.9, 2:04.5, 3:14.2)

3. Shannon rowbury (US) ............4:04.18(15.6, 30.9, 46.2, 61.2, 2:04.8, 3:14.7)

4. Nuria Fernández (Spa) 4:04.91 (15.1, 30.8, 46.3, 61.8); 5. Christin Wurth-Thomas (US) 4:05.21 (15.3, 30.7, 46.1, 61.8); 6. Anna Willard (US) 4:06.19 (16.5, 32.3, 47.7, 63.0);

7. Lidia Chojecka (Pol) 4:07.17 (16.3, 32.9, 48.5, 63.8);

8. Natalya Yevdokimova (Rus) 4:07.71 (16.2, 33.2, 64.8); 9. Kalkidan Gezahegne (Eth) 4:08.81;

10. Gelete Burka (Eth) 4:11.21 (knocked down) (66.66, 68.47 [2:15.13], 62.24 [3:17.37], 53.84); … dq[shoving]—[1]Natalia Rodríguez (Spa) [4:03.36] (15.0, 30.6, 45.6, 60.8); … dnc—Mariem Selsouli (Mor).

SemiS (August 21)I–1. Jamal 4:03.64; 2. Rodríguez 4:03.73; 3. Dobriskey

4:03.84; 4. Wurth-Thomas 4:04.16; 5. Gezahegne 4:04.75; 6. Yevdokimova 4:04.93; 7. Chojecka 4:06.53;

8. Kibiwot (Ken) 4:06.88; 9. Fuentes-Pila (Spa) 4:07.10; 10. Roman (Slo) 4:07.20; 11. Lakhouad 4:08.72 (Mor); 12. Mishchenko (Ukr) 4:11.02; 13. Krakoviak (Lit) 4:12.54.

II–1. Burka 4:10.19; 2. Selsouli 4:10.46; 3. Willard 4:10.47; 4. Rowbury 4:10.51; 5. Fernández 4:10.64;

6. Hamblin 4:10.96 (NZ); 7. Langat (Ken) 4:11.10; 8. Chahyd (Fra) 4:11.22; 9. Ejdys (Pol) 4:11.33; 10. Alminova (Rus) 4:12.55; 11. Belete (Bhr) 4:13.30;… dnf—Lishchynska (Ukr);… dnc—Assefa (Eth).

STeePLe (August 17)

1. marta Domínguez (Spain)...9:07.32 Nr(WL) (3, 4 W)

2. Yuliya Zarudneva (russia) .. 9:08.39 Pr(5, 9 W)

3. milcah Chemos (Kenya) ..... 9:08.57 Pr(6, 10 W)

4. Gulnara Galkina (Rus) 9:11.09 (3:01.26); 5. Jenny Bar-ringer (US) 9:12.50 AR (old AR 9:22.26 Barringer [Co] ’08) (8, x W); 6. Habiba Ghribi (Tun) 9:12.52 NR (9, x W);

7. Ruth Bisibori (Ken) 9:13.16 PR (10, x W); 8. Gladys Kipkemoi (Ken) 9:14.62 PR (6:06.45); 9. Antje Möldner (Ger) 9:18.54 NR; 10. Zemzem Ahmed (Eth) 9:22.64;

11. Jessica Augusto (Por) 9:25.25; 12. Katarzyna Kow-alska (Pol) 9:30.37; 13. Sofia Assefa (Eth) 9:31.29; 14. Eva Arias (Spa) 9:33.34; 15. Sophie Duarte (Fra) 9:33.85.(best-ever mark-for-place: 4–15)

HeATS (August 15)I–1. Galkina 9:17.67 (fastest WC heat ever);… 7. Bobocel

(Rom) 9:34.39;…9. Sidorchenkova (Rus) 9:37.16;… 11. Anderson (US) 9:46.03; 12. MacFarlane (Aus) 9:52.46.

II–3. Barringer 9:26.81 (x, 10 A);… 6. Moreira (Por) 9:28.64 PR; 7. Itaa (Eth) 9:33.67 (x, 12 WJ).

III–5. Ouhaddou (Mor) 9:35.78; 6. Juravel (Mol) 9:36.63 NR; 7. Volkova (Rus) 9:43.52;… 12. Franek (US) 9:50.02.

— Women’s Track Results 1 —M

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After some promising indications of com-petitiveness, Americans Hazel Clark, Geena Gall and still-learning-how-to-race Maggie Vessey made the semifinals, but not the cut to the finals.

Clark came closest, with a 1:59.96 that left her the fastest non-qualifier. Said Clark, run-ning in her fourth Worlds, “I was the first one to miss. It was a close call… I’m going to keep working hard until I get the medal that I have been working for.”

1500 meTers

Jamal Emerges From Wreck by Brian Russell

Ethopian-turned-Bahraini Maryam Jamal had just one defeat in the 1500 this year and that was at the hands of former compatriot Gelete Burka in Monaco in July, but the results were flip-flopped three weeks later when the two crossed paths in Lausanne. A showdown between the two was imminent, with a slew of others lying in wait.

For the first time, three Americans—Shannon Rowbury, Christin Wurth-Thomas & Anna Willard—made a 1500 final and it was Wurth-Thomas who was shouldering Burka as the pack completed the first 300.

Burka finished the initial lap in 66.66 and continued the modest pace through the 800 in 2:15.13 as Wurth-Thomas slid to 5th, with Russian Natalya Yevdokimova moving into 2nd

and 30-year-old Spaniard Natalia Rodríguez just inside of the 3rd-place Jamal.

by Jeff HollobaughThe 800 ended up grabbing as much me-

dia bandwidth as anything that happened in Berlin.

Unfortunately, hardly any of that attention focused on the impressive nature of the race itself. Rather it was the beginning of a whirl-wind of speculation as to the winner’s sexual makeup (see p. 50).

Perhaps the most notable fact of the day was that Caster Semenya stayed cool enough in the media firestorm to crush her opposition so confidently on the track.

The young South African almost didn’t make it to the final, after flirting with disquali-fication when she clipped Janeth Jepkoskei in the first round, causing the defending champ to fall.

Officials advanced Jepkoskei to the semis but opted not to DQ Semenya. Had they done so, the controversy would have been averted and a significant portion of the world’s media would have been forced to fill space with even more about Usain Bolt nuggets, death panels, and Jon & Kate.

The final went out fast, thanks to Jepkosgei and Semenya and their battle for the lead. The Kenyan edged ahead, leading through 200 in 26.81 before Semenya took the fore at 56.83.

After the penultimate turn, Jepkoskei got herself boxed in by Ukraine’s Yuliya Krevsun and slipped to 3rd on the backstretch.

Semenya hit 600 in 1:26.72, and then things got a little crazy. The 18-year-old displayed speed and power that the world had not yet seen and floated away from the field to win in a stunning 1:55.45, needing just 14.4 for the last 100.

In her distant wake, Jep-kosgei finally sprinted past Krevsun to get silver, and a hard-charging Jennifer Mead-ows caught Krevsun for bronze (and very nearly had silver).

In the furor following the final, Semenya did not speak to the media. After the semis, she had described a refresh-ingly relaxed mindset toward her running: “Running is just a game for me. Even next year, I can stop running if I want.”

Said Jepkoskei, “I told myself I had to fight. I really wanted to get the gold but it was too hard. I’m so happy because at least I’m not com-ing home empty-handed, especially after falling down in the heats.

“I’m not used to running among people, because I tend to get boxed, so I prefer to avoid that kind of situation.”

With 650m to go Burka accelerated. All of her pursuers reacted, but it was defending champ Jamal who moved into 2nd. At the bell it was Burka, with Jamal a step back, followed by Rodríguez, Briton Lisa Dobriskey, Yevdo-kimova and Rowbury.

Burka passed the 1200 in 3:17.37—a 62.24 lap—and tried to stretch her advantage, but the pack was gaining on her every stride down the backstretch.

With the gap narrowing, Rodríguez saw a tiny bit of daylight on the inside and made a desperate attempt to squeeze by Burka with 200 to go. The ensuing entanglement brought Burka down and suddenly Jamal found herself in the lead as she headed for the homestretch.

Surprisingly, Rodríguez was hardly affected by the collision with Burka, other than briefly being bounced over the curb to the infield. The Spanish champion came off the final turn and surged past Jamal, opening a meter’s lead as she sprinted toward the finish.

Jamal, meanwhile, was busy fighting Do-briskey for silver as Rowbury was digging hard to find a gear that could get her a medal. At the end it was Rodríguez crossing the line first in 4:03.36, followed by Jamal (4:03.74), Dobriskey (4:03.75) and Rowbury (4:04.18).

To no one’s surprise, it was announced shortly thereafter that Rodriguez—who ap-parently foreseeing her doom, hadn’t taken a victory lap—had been disqualified.

Jamal reflected, “When the Spanish girl pushed Gelete, that threw me off. In the end it was all right but I am very disappointed that Gelete fell behind because I am certain she would have taken a medal.”

In addition to Rowbury’s bronze, Wurth-Thomas finished strongly in 5th (4:05.21), as did Willard, a few steps behind in 6th (4:06.19).

800 meTers

Semenya Becomes Story Of Meet

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rodríguez crossed the 1500

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p34 (w800-1500).indd 34 9/17/09 11:10:51 AM


by Sieg LindstromSpaniard Marta Domínguez

ended the string of Russian global steeple titles at two, dis-patching Yuliya Zarudneva to silver in the last straight.

U.S. fans saw a homestretch sprint to stir the blood from Jenny Barringer, who improved to 5th from her 9th-place Olympic finish and demolished her American Record by nearly 10 seconds.

WR holder/Oly champ Gul-nara Galkina doled out a tempo in the WR range from the out-set accompanied by Kenya’s Gladys Kipkemoi, Zarudneva and Domínguez.

In an omen suggesting this was not a lucky night for favored Russians, vault favorite Yelena Isinbayeva failed her second try at her opening height just as they finished lap 1.

Barringer, the lone American in the final, trailed in about 8th as they passed the finish line the first time and ran outside the first dozen a lap later.

The third time past the finish the Colorado senior was 14th of 15, 2.9 seconds behind the lead-ers and their 72/73-second laps (internal water jump), which slowed on the fifth lap to 74-second range.

At each water jump the two Russians and Domínguez (joined on lap 6 by Tunisia’s Habiba Ghribi), would gap Kipkemoi, slogging out of the water, and then the Kenyan would catch back up on the next lap.

Barringer—taking a bigger bite of each water barrier than anybody—ran 4.5 seconds down to the lead in 12th on lap 5.

On lap 6, the Russians, Domínguez and Ghribi gapped Kipkemoi, now joined by her teammates Ruth Bisibori and Milcah Chemos. Barringer moved up to 10th. Approaching the

STeeplechaSe

Domínguez Makes Up For Beijing

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water jump on lap 7, Kipkemoi again joined the leaders only to fall behind again at the wading pool, where Zarudneva—a newbie to elite barrier racing—hit the gas.

Domínguez, avoiding a final backstretch fall like the one she took when charging hard late in her futile Beijing race for a medal,

drew even with Zarudneva at the last water jump.

The pair seesawed back and forth until the Spaniard edged away from even at the last barrier to finish 6 me-ters up in an NR 9:07.32 that made her No. 3 ever. Her last lap took just 66.7. Zarudneva timed 9:08.39 to move to No. 5 on the all-time list.

“The dream has happened,” exulted the winner, finally a world titlist at age 33 after taking 5000 silvers in ’01 and ’03.

Chemos hurdled the last water jump and brought Kenya its third medal in three global championships, up on Galkina 9:08.57–9:11.09.

Barringer, 8th at the water jump, 1.3 seconds behind 7th, unfurled a banner kick that carried her to 5th over Ghribi right at the line, 9:12.50–9:12.52.

Her time, which thrilled her (see sidebar), would have left her Beijing AR, 9:22.26, way back around the final barrier.

Another AR For BarringerJenny Barringer minced no words, either of

pleasure or of criticism, in assessing her 9:12.50 for a near-10-second American Record.

“The time is like, wow!” enthused the 3-time NCAA champion, who had claimed the third AR of her career. “I’m stoked and really happy about the time. I knew I had that in me and this was the place to pop a PR like that. So I’m really pleased about the time.

“The race I’m a little sad about. I knew I belonged up there with the leaders. I know that if I’m there, I have the ability to stay there. So that part was hard. But I was really proud of myself that I finished so strongly, despite in the last 100, I was a little bummed.”

Reflecting on her hanging off the pace early on, Barringer said, “That’s going to be the ar-gument: should I have pressed in the middle? I know the women went out really hard and I checked a split or two along the way and I knew

I was running hard for me.“But these types of races are so tricky. You

have to be smart, not just passionate. If you go from the front the whole way, you might hit a wall. I thought 9:10 would be near the medals; that’s what I shot at and I ran 9:12. I did what I could and I’m proud of the time. The race, I just needed to get in it more.”

Barringer said that 9:10 wasn’t a specific goal, adding, “Time really doesn’t matter. The AR is really cool, but I got 5th. What matters is top 3 and that’s what I have to keep in mind. But the time is a good gauge and I knew I could run 9:10.”

Might another 4-place progression, like from a 9th in Beijing to a 5th in Berlin, yield a medal in ’11? “Exactly,” she smiled.

“I have big goals, and beyond the steeple,” she continued. “I want to be a great American distance runner. So I’m working from the 800 to the 5K. I want to be a meaningful contributor to the U.S. team anywhere they need me.” /Jon Hendershott/

7 were still slightly bunched at the final waterjump; Barringer (shoes

at top) closed fast for an aR

p35 (wSt-Barringer).indd 35 9/17/09 11:11:23 AM


5000 METERS (August 22)

1. Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya) ........14:57.97([9:15.05] 3:00.74 [12:15.79], 2:42.18)

(14.1, 28.8, 58.6, 2:06.5, 3:17.7, 4:30.3)

2. Sylvia Kibet (Kenya) ...............14:58.33(14.2, 28.9, 58.6, 2:06.6, 3:17.9, 4:30.4)

3. Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) ........14:58.41(14.7, 29.1, 58.8, 2:06.7, 3:18.0, 4:30.5)

4. Sentayehu Ejigu (Eth) 15:03.38 (6:11.04) (15.8, 32.1, 63.6); 5. Meselech Melkamu (Eth) 15:03.72 (16.4, 32.9, 63.8); 6. Iness Chenonge (Ken) 15:06.06 (17.7, 34.8, 66.0); 7. Silvia Weissteiner (Ita) 15:09.74 (67.4);

8. Genzebe Dibaba (Eth) 15:11.12 (70.5); 9. Jen Rhines (US) 15:11.63 (68.0); 10. Sara Moreira (Por) 15:12.22; 11. Yuriko Kobayashi (Jpn) 15:12.44;

12. Yurika Nakamura (Jpn) 15:13.01 PR (3:06.02); 13. Alemitu Bekele (Tur) 15:18.18; 14. Krisztina Papp (Hun) 15:20.36; 15. Zakia Mohamed (Tan) 15:31.73.

HEATS (August 19)I–7. Culley (US) 15:32.33;… dnc—Abeylegesse (Tur).

10,000 METERS (August 15)

1. Linet Masai (Kenya) ................30:51.24(15.8, 30.4, 63.0, 2:16.4, 3:28.8, 4:39.0) (15:47.0/15:04.2)

2. Meselech Melkamu (Ethiopia) ..... 30:51.34(15.9, 30.5, 63.1, 2:16.5, 3:28.9, 4:39.1) (15:46.7/15:04.6)

3. Wude Ayalew (Ethiopia) ..........30:51.95(15.0, 30.5, 63.0, 2:16.4, 3:28.5, 4:39.2) (15:45.9/15:06.1)

4. Grace Momanyi (Ken) 30:52.25 PR (16.6, 31.7, 64.1, 2:17.5, 3:29.8, 4:40.3); 5. Meseret Defar (Eth) 30:52.37 (15:46.6/15:05.8); 6. Amy Yoder Begley (US) 31:13.78 PR (AL) (4, 6 A) (15:46.7/15:27.1);

7. Yurika Nakamura (Jpn) 31:14.39 PR (3:08.85); 8. Kim Smith (NZ) 31:21.42; 9. Kayoko Fukushi (Jpn) 31:23.49; 10. Inês Monteiro (Por) 31:25.67 PR; 11. Mariya Konovalova (Rus) 31:26.94 (6:17.01, 12:35.29, 15:45.19, 18:55.45);

12. Kiplagat (Ken) 31:30.85 (15:46.1/15:46.1); 13. Félix (Por) 31:30.90 PR; 14. Flanagan (US) 31:32.19 (15:46.1/15:46.1); 15. Agafonova (Rus) 31:43.14; 16. Dias (Por) 31:49.91; 17. McGregor (US) 32:18.49;

18. Zhang (Chn) 32:33.63; 19. Shobukhova (Rus) 32:42.36 (9:24.89); 20. Sahaku (Jpn) 33:41.17; …dnf—Abeylegesse (Tur) (15:46.4).

100 HURDLES (August 19; wind +0.2)

1. Brigitte Foster-Hylton (Jamaica) ..12.51;(2.60 [2.60], 1.00 [3.60], 0.99 [4.59], 0.97 [5.56], 0.95 [6.51],

0.95 [7.46], 0.97 [8.43], 0.98 [9.41], 0.98 [10.39], 1.01 [11.40], 1.11)

2. Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (Can) .....12.54(2.56 [2.56], 1.02 [3.58], 1.00 [4.58], 0.99 [5.57], 0.97 [6.54],

0.96 [7.50], 0.97 [8.47], 0.99 [9.46], 0.98 [10.44], 1.02 [11.46], 1.09)

3. Delloreen Ennis-London (Jam) ...12.55(2.60 [2.60], 1.00 [3.60], 0.98 [4.58], 0.96 [5.54], 0.96 [6.50],

0.97 [7.47], 0.97 [8.44], 0.99 [9.43], 1.01 [10.44], 1.02 [11.46], 1.09)

4. Derval O’Rourke (Ire) 12.67 NR (2.58 [2.58], 0.99 [3.57], 0.98 [4.55], 0.98 [5.53], 0.99 [6.52], 0.99 [7.51], 0.98 [8.49], 1.01 [9.50], 1.02 [10.52], 1.06 [11.58], 1.09); 5. Sally McLellan (Aus) 12.70; 6. Ginnie Powell (US) 12.78; 7. Dawn Harper (US) 12.81; 8. Perdita Felicien (Can) 15.53.

HEATS (August 18)II(-0.3)–5. Whyte (Can) 13.27. III(0.1)–7. Perry (US)

13.68.

SEMIS (August 19)I(-0.1)–1. Lopes-Schliep 12.60; 2. Ennis- London 12.64;

3. Powell 12.73; 4. Škrobáková (Cze) 12.92; 5. Yanıt (Tur)12.99; 6. Kondakova (Rus) 13.00; 7. Barber (Tri) 13.06; 8. Billaud (Fra)13.20.

II(0.1)–1. Foster-Hylton 12.54; 2. Felicien 12.58; 3. Cherry 12.76 (US); 4. Tejeda (Cub) 12.82; 5. Vukicevic (Nor) 13.00; 6. Augustus (Ngr) 13.11; 7. Merlano (Col) 13.23; 8. Lenskiy (Isr) 13.29.

III(0.3)–1. Harper 12.48 PR (8, x A) (fastest WC semi ever); 2. McLellan 12.66; 3. O’Rourke 12.73; 4. Golding-Clarke (Jam) 12.76; 5. Nytra (Ger) 12.94; 6. Berings (Bel) 12.94 NR; 7. Kocielnik (Pol) 13.21; 8. Claxton (GB) 13.21.

400 HURDLES (August 20)

1. Melaine Walker (Jamaica) .. 52.42 (WL)(2, 2 W) (MR—old 52.61 Batten [US] ’93)

(6.23 [6.23], 3.92 [10.15], 4.17 [14.32], 4.26 [18.58], 4.40 [22.98], 4.47 [27.45], 4.63 [32.08], 4.73 [36.81], 4.77 [41.58], 5.05 [46.63], 5.79)

2. Lashinda Demus (US) ..................52.96(x, 9 A)

(6.16 [6.16], 3.95 [11.14], 4.12 [14.23], 4.36 [18.59], 4.46 [23.05], 4.46

[27.51], 4.51 [32.02], 4.63 [36.65], 5.05 [41.70], 5.29 [46.99], 5.97)

3. Josanne Lucas (Trinidad) .... 53.20 NR (6.26 [6.26], 3.94 [10.20], 4.10 [14.30], 4.20 [18.50], 4.40 [22.90], 4.57

[27.47], 4.70 [32.17], 4.80 [36.97], 5.04 [42.01], 5.20 [47.21], 5.99)

4. Kaliese Spencer (Jam) 53.56 PR (6.43 [6.43], 4.05 [10.48],

4.18 [14.66], 4.27 [18.93], 4.38 [23.31], 4.64 [27.95], 4.74 [32.69], 4.82

[37.51], 4.94 [42.45], 5.10 [47.55],6.01);5. Tiffany Williams (US) 53.83; 6. Natalya Antyukh (Rus)

54.11 PR; 7. Anastasiya Rabchenyuk (Ukr) 54.78; 8. Angela Morosanu (Rom) 55.04.

SEMIS (August 18)I–1. Walker 53.26 (fastest WC prelim ever); 2. Lucas 53.98

NR; 3. Morosanu 54.15; 4. Huang (Chn) 55.40; 5. Ivanova (Rus) 56.08; 6. Tosta (US) 56.31; 7. Odumosu 56.80 (Ngr); 8. Ouédraogo (Bel) 57.58.

II–1. Spencer 54.37; 2. Rabchenyuk 54.49; 3. Williams 54.79; 4. Jesień (Pol) 54.82; 5. Churakova (Rus) 56.11; 6. Zunda (Lat) 56.66; 7. Shakes-Drayton (GB) 57.57;… dq[trail leg]—Ogoegbunam (Ngr).

III–1. Demus 54.25; 2. Antyukh 54.86; 3. Wilson (Jam) 54.89; 4. Hejnová (CzR) 54.99; 5. Stambolova (Bul) 56.12; 6. Child (GB) 56.21; 7. Petersen (Den) 56.99; 8. Tilgner (Ger) 57.11.

MARATHON (August 23; 4 fl at 10K loops)

1. Xue Bai (China) .........................2:25:15 (1:13:40/1:11:35)

2. Yoshimi Ozaki (Japan) ..............2:25:25(1:13:40/1:11:45)

3. Aselefech Mergia (Ethiopia) .....2:25:32(1:13:40/1:11:52)

4. Chunxiu Zhou (Chn) 2:25:39 (1:13:40/1:11:59); 5. Xiaolin Zhu (Chn) 2:26:08 (1:13:39/1:12:29); 6. Marisa Barros (Por) 2:26:50 (1:13:40/1:13:10); 7. Yuri Kano (Jpn) 2:26:57 (1:13:40/1:13:17); 8. Nailiya Yulamanova (Rus) 2:27:08 (1:13:39/1:13:29); 9. Alevtina Biktimirova (Rus) 2:27:39; 10. Kara Goucher (US) 2:27:48 (1:13:40/1:14:08)

11. Desireé Davila (US) 2:27:53 PR; 12. Julia Mumbi Muraga (Ken) 2:28:59; 13. Weiwei Sun (Chn) 2:29:39; 14. Yoshiko Fujinaga (Jpn) 2:29:53; 15. Svetlana Zakharova (Rus) 2:29:55; 16. Bezunesh Bekele (Eth) 2:30:03; 7. Mock-enhaupt (Ger) 2:30:07; 18. Weightman (Aus) 2:30:42 PR; 19. Balciünaité (Lit) 2:31:06; 20. Kim (NK) 2:31:24;

21. Limika (Ken) 2:31:29; 22. Simon (Rom) 2:32:03; 23. Tune (Eth) 2:32:42; 24. Naigambo (Nam) 2:33:05;… 28. Moody (US) 2:36:39;… 30. Higgins (US) 2:37:11;… 51. Gómez (US) 2:42:49.

20K WALK (August 16; ten 2K loops)

1. Olga Kaniskina (Russia) ..........1:28:09 (44:58/43:11)

2. Olive Loughnane (Ireland) .......1:28:58 (45:30/43:28)

3. Hong Liu (China) ......................1:29:10 (45:31/43:39)

4. Anisya Kirdyapkina (Rus) 1:30:09 (45:24/44:45); 5. Vera Santos (Por) 1:30:35 (45:31/45:05); 6. Beatriz Pascual (Spa) 1:30:40 (45:46/44:54); 7. Masumi Fuchise (Jpn) 1:31:15; 8. Kristina Saltanovic (Lit) 1:31:23;

9. Elisa Rigaudo (Ita) 1:31:52; 10. Susana Feitor (Por) 1:32:42; 11. Inês Henriques (Por) 1:32:51; 12. Kumi Otoshi (Jpn) 1:33:05; 13. Larisa Emelyanova (Rus) 1:34:31; 14. Vera Sokolova (Rus) 1:34:55;

15. Yurchanka (Blr) 1:34:57; 16. Groza (Rom) 1:35:19; 17. Trapletti (Ita) 1:35:33; 18. Yang (Chn) 1:35:42; 19. Schindlerová (CzR) 1:35:47; 20. Spindler (Bra) 1:35:51;21. Evaggelía Xinoú (Gre) 1:35:56;…dnf—Vaill (US), Vasco (Spa);… dq—Plätzer (Nor).

— Women’s Track Results 2 —

The Fall 2009 issue (#189) is the lastest Track Coach number. The lead article, by Indiana club coach Robert Chapman is a handy guide to distance racing strategy and should be studied by every coach. Track Coach editor Russ Ebbets of-fers an article, “Skills and Drills,” which is of great value to anyone teaching beginning skills to young athletes. Kurt Dukel’s profile of javelin national champion Kara Patterson is adapted from Long & Strong and provides a fascinating picture of a star of the future. A letter from sprint coach Dennis Grady discusses the U.S. 4x100 challenges on the eve of the Berlin Worlds. (Sorry, Dennis, they did it again!) These and other articles make TC189 must reading for ev-ery coach and serious fan. Order your copy/subscription today.

DISTANCE RUNNINGSTRATEGY

TC 189 is available singly for $5.50 ($8.00 foreign), postage paid. A one-year subscription (published quarterly) is $20 U.S., $28 foreign. Order from Track & Field News, 2570 W El Camino Real, Suite 606, Mountain View, CA 94040. Phone (650/948-8188) or fax (650/948-9445) or-ders welcome, or order online at www.trackandfieldnews.com. Track Coach is the official techni-cal journal of USA Track & Field.

p36 (wTrackMag2).indd 36 9/17/09 11:11:51 AM


by Jeff HollobaughAre the fabled Ethiopian kickers losing their

edge to the Kenyans? One had to wonder, with first the 10,000 and then the 5000 featuring the blazing kicks of Kenyan women. It didn’t help the Ethiopian cause that Tirunesh Dibaba (side-lined late with an injury) and Meseret Defar (with respiratory problems, just not herself), winners of 5 golds in the last 3 meets, picked up but a single bronze.

10K: Masai In Wild FinishLinet Masai shocked at the finish

of a wild 10,000m to capture Kenya’s first medal of the meet in a race that sparked some controversy over the actual distance run (see sidebar).

The first half seemed pedestrian enough, with any hopes for a great time quickly vanquished. At halfway, Russian Mariya Konovalova led in 15:45.19. However, the tension kept building for the finish, with the Ethiopians and Kenyans jockeying for position. Favored Meseret Defar looked perfectly poised.

Masai took the lead in the last 3000, and with a lap to go, the three Ethiopians sped past her, raising the prospect of a sweep. Defar led, and seemed to have more than enough speed to hold off her challengers.

Boxed in, the long-striding Ke-nyan tried to pass on the inside on the backstretch and chopped her stride twice. Then with just over 100 to go, she tangled with teammate Grace Momanyi. That fired her up for a powerful finishing sprint from behind.

Still, renowned kicker Defar looked des-

tined for the win, but with 30 meters to go, teammate Meselech Melkamu passed her and Defar appeared to give up. She leaned back and stopped racing, missing the chance at any medal. Meanwhile, Masai’s late charge

brought her to the front in the last few steps. She nipped the celebrating Melkamu by inches. Her last 3000 took only 8:47.04.

“I can’t believe it,” the 19-year-old Masai said. “I’m so grateful for the win. I didn’t give up.”

Said Melkamu, “I am very, very disap-pointed that we lost the gold… I never saw

the Kenyan.”Defar explained her final strides by saying,

“I felt some pain inside and it started bother-ing me the last couple of laps. The last 30

meters, I had trouble lifting my legs.”

Meanwhile American Amy Yoder Begley performed best among the rest, winning the race of the second pack, behind only Kenyans and Ethiopians. Her 31:13.78 was a PR by some 9 seconds, and moved her to No. 4 American all-time. Shalane Flanagan ran more aggressively but faded to 14th in 31:32.19.

5000: Cheruiyot’s Turn To Kick

That this particular case study would boil down to another kicker’s race became

clear early. Yurika Nakamura of Japan was in charge through the first kilo of 3:06.02. Yet when the Africans took over, the speed did not substantially increase.

Vivian Cheruiyot led through the 3000 at

5000/10,000 meTerS

Kenyans Smack Ethiopia

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9:15.05, and while she sped up the follow-ing kilometer, they kept the pace fairly easy. Cheruiyot’s next kilo took just 3:00.74, but hardly shook the field.

As the last four laps began, virtually every starter remained with the pack. With 2 laps left, Cheruiyot led a pack of 8 that included 4 Ethio-pians. Meseret Defar, the defending champion, stayed close, hoping to make amends for her failure to medal in the 10.

At the bell, the real sprinting began, and what looked like the Defar of old moved into the lead as Cheruiyot and Sylvia Kibet chased. Coming off the final turn, Cheruiyot put on

a burst of speed that carried her to the win in 14:57.97. Kibet followed, barely nipping Defar at the line for silver, 14:58.33–14:58.41. Cheruiyot closed in 28.8 and 58.6 to become the first Kenyan champion ever.

“On my last 100 meters I was pushing so hard, pushing, pushing,” she said. “I like fast races because if the race is not fast, there can be still 10 athletes in the last lap at the same time. Anybody can win then with a good sprint. After Masai won the 10K race, she encouraged me to be self-confident. She was my biggest inspira-tion and I believed I could beat Defar.”

The dispirited Defar admitted, “I expected I was going to get gold today, but I was not successful. I am very sad. The pace was not too fast.”

Kibet shed some light on the Kenyan kicks: “We started to accelerate in the sixth lap, but we prepared a lot for the last lap, because they always beat [us] up in the last lap.”

Cheruiyot aptly concluded, “It has been such a long time that Kenya has not gotten the gold medal in the 5000. I think we are coming now!”

The lone American in the final, Jen Rhines, finished 9th in 15:11.63. “I just didn’t have the kind of race that I wanted to,” she said.

Short Course For Some In The 10?Because of the size of the field, the 10K was started in two different corridors. IAAF rules mandate that only a single cone is needed to indicate the cut-in point, but in practicality, a line of cones around the whole curve is typical.

As a result, a number of runners were confused and ended up treat-ing it like a waterfall start. eventually, all of the runners in the outside box—Agafonova, Ayalew, Félix, masai, momanyi, Nakamura, Sahaku & Zhang—cut in too early, so none of them ran the full distance, with the average “shortcut” being 7–8 meters.

However, since the race was so slow and tactical in the first half, it’s arguable whether the difference at the start made any real difference at the finish. And it’s hard to fault the athletes.

ethiopia did not protest the result officially, even though masai won by mere inches. That didn’t please all their countrymen. A headline on the team’s unofficial website read, Ethiopian team blows chance to reclaim 10,000m victory in Berlin.

Cheruiyot outkicked defending

champ Defar to win Kenya’s first 5K gold

ever

p37 (w5k-10k).indd 37 9/17/09 11:12:24 aM


“I had a good start but hit No. 2,” said Harper. “There’s not much you can do when you hit one. It’s hard to regroup when you’re chasing a 12.51.” The U.S. ended up without a medal for the first time since ’97.

by Jon HendershottThere was no basis in fact to a conclusion

after the women’s sprint barriers that to have medaled, a competitor had to have a hyphen-ated last name.

It just seemed that way after Jamaican veterans Bri-gitte Foster-Hylton (12.51) and Delloreen Ennis-London (12.55) finished 1st and 3rd in a closely-fought final. Splitting the islanders in 2nd was Cana-dian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (12.54).

Olympic champion Dawn Harper PRed at 12.48 in her semi, but cracked the sec-ond barrier in the final and never recovered, slipping to 7th (12.81).

U.S. runner-up Ginnie Pow-ell (12.78) also clipped hurdles to finish a slot ahead of her.

Two-time defender Mi-chelle Perry was the major casualty in the heats, the Amer-ican obviously subpar with a heavily taped right knee.

She had torn the lateral col-lateral ligament on the outside of the knee while warming up in Monaco, she explained after her 13.68 for 7th in her prelim: “I’ll be going home right away to have surgery.”

Fourth American Damu Cherry ran 12.76 for 3rd in her semi to miss advancing to the final.

Veteran Lacena Golding-Clarke—Jamaica’s third en-trant with a hyphenated last name—ran the same time in semi 3 and also was out.

But Harper looked very sharp with her PR 12.48, the fastest Worlds semi ever, and making her No. 8 American all-time.

Two hours later, World Indoor champ Derval O’Rourke lined up in lane 1; to her right came Powell, ’03 champ Perdita Felicien, BFH, Harper, PLS, Olympic silver winner Sally McLellan and DEL.

McLellan got her usual fast sprinter ’s start and led over the third barrier. Ireland’s O’Rourke, running the race of her life, drew even before No. 4. Ennis-London was fraction-ally ahead at No. 5, but Foster-Hylton took over before the sixth and edged ahead for good. Lopes-Schliep and Ennis-London ran even to the end, the Canadian’s better lean claiming silver.

“This is an amazing feeling,” said Foster-Hylton, 2nd in ’03 and 3rd in ’05. “Before the race, I visualized it and told myself to close my eyes after the last hurdle in order to give it everything.”

team due to a bulging disk in her back, while Russia’s WR holder Yuliya Pechonkina was sidelined by severe sinusitis.

Williams knelt for the final in lane 2, with Lucas (3), Walker (4), Demus (5) and Spencer (6) to her outside. Demus got her usual strong start and made up the stagger on Spencer by hurdle 2. She led down the start of the backstretch but the 26-year-old Texas alum powered back to pull essentially even at the fourth barrier, then

forged a minor lead of her own.Demus ran strongly on the curve, again hav-

ing a fractional margin at barrier 7, but Walker made a strong surge before No. 9 to regain the front, despite clipping the barrier. Demus rattled the final two hurdles to seal her fate as Walker finished strongly off No. 10.

The Jamaican clocked a stellar 52.42—a meet record, lowering the old best from Kim Bat-ten’s 52.61—a WR at the time—from ’95. Only Pechonkina’s 52.34 WR in ’03 is faster ever.

Demus’s 52.96 gave her a solitary 2nd, while Lucas closed strongly off the final hurdle to clock another PR at 53.20 ahead of Spencer’s career-low of 53.36. Williams ran a solid 53.83 in 5th, her season’s fastest.

“Everything worked perfectly,” said Walker. “I’ve been looking forward to this race because this is the only time you can do it.”

By contrast, Demus said, “I ran a bad technical race; I could have run much better. I’m so disappointed. But I haven’t been to a championship in a couple of years. So I can’t be upset with getting a silver medal.”

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U.S. Shut Out In Medal Department

400 hurdles

Walker/Demus Back & Forthby Jon Hendershott

In her last pre-WC race, U.S. champ Lashin-da Demus had roared to a PR and year-leading 52.63 in Monaco. Finishing 2nd behind Demus, Olympic champion Melaine Walker clocked her season’s fastest at 54.20.

After Walker won her Berlin semi at 53.26—the fastest prelim in meet history—and Demus ran a strong-looking 54.25 in hers, the stage was set for a high-level final.

Adding spice: Trinidad’s Josanne Lucas, 2nd in Walker’s semi with a big PR of 53.98.; No. 2 Jamaican Kaliese Spencer ran well to win semi 2 at 54.37.

American Tiffany Williams advanced on time, but teammate Sheena Tosta, the Olympic silver winner, went out in Walker’s semi after losing steam in the final straight and clocking only 56.31 for 6th.

Before the meet, two-time winner Jana Rawlinson had withdrawn from Australia’s

demus was ahead at half the hurdles (1, 2, 3, 7 & 8), but Walker prevailed at the

other half and at the all-important finish

p38 (w100H-400H).indd 38 9/17/09 11:13:02 AM


by Sean HartnettAfter finishing a disappointing 21st in the

Olympic 10,000, Xue Bai took out her frustration by running and winning the Beijing Marathon in October, then ran three more “training” marathons before toeing the line in Berlin.

Practice seems to make perfect as the 20-

year- old Chinese broke clear of Yoshimi Ozaki and Aselefech Mergia at 40K to claim the gold medal and lead her nation to the World Cup title as well (see box).

With a bright sky and warming tempera-tures the women’s field set off at a pensive pace covering the opening 10K in 35:03. Nailiya Yulamanova and Xiaolin Zhu led a cumber-some pack of 24 runners across the half-way mat in 1:13:39, then tugged at the pace with Bai and teammate Zhu whittling down the pack to 9 at 30K.

Highly rated American Kara Goucher was among the strugglers as she fell 7 seconds off the pace just as Bai, Ozaki and Mergia lifted the pace and broke clear of the field, zipping the 30–35K segment in 16:30.

Goucher’s problems had started early in the race. “I had a lot of problems keeping my fluids down,” she said.” After the second station, I started throwing up what I took in.

“I started to cramp with 13k to go, and then the field started to surge. It wasn’t there. I just wasn’t good enough today. When the field made their break, my body wouldn’t go.”

Also having problems was Beijing bronze medalist Chun Zhouxiu, who had inherited the favorite’s mantle after both Irina Mikitenko

(after a death in the family) and Paula Radcliffe (after bunion surgery this spring) pleaded a lack of fitness.

Heading towards 40K Bai made her break. “Surprisingly I was able to run very relaxed and easy until 30K. In the last 2km I was able to give everything I had. At the 40km point, when

I threw my cap away, I thought I had already secured a medal, I was feeling so well that I thought I could now work for the gold.”

Bai surged ahead with only Ozaki able to muster a challenge, but the Japanese runner was destined for silver.

Bai came across first in 2:25:15, becoming the youngest ever to win the WC marathon. Ozaki followed in 2:25:25, with Mergia finishing hard in 3rd at 2:25:32 to fend off a late rally by Zhou, who charged home in 2:25:39.

Bai came to Berlin prepared for the route and the atypical heat. “The course was very flat, although there were a lot of turns,” she said. “But if you have similar training before the championships, that is OK. As for the weather and humidity, I think in my country it is even more humid and warmer at this moment, so it was not a problem at all.”

Prerace medal pick Goucher finished 10th in 2:27:48, 5 seconds ahead of De-siree Davila, who stepped up to score a big PR (old best 2:31:33).

“I went out pretty even, and was able to pick it up along the way,” Davila said. “I felt great going into the last lap, and was able to pick people off.”

maraThON

Bai Prevails As Faves Don’t Run

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No One In Kaniskina’s Leagueby Elliott Denman

Unlike good friend and sometime training partner Valeriy Borchin, winner of the men’s 20K title the day before, defender Olga Kani-skina wasn’t about to play a waiting game for very long en route to her 1:28:09 triumph.

Borchin had had company for at least half of his race, but Kaniskina, who hasn’t lost in more than two years, made her breakaway just

past the 5K mark.Germany’s Sabine Krantz led at

23:18 for the opening 5K, along with Spain’s Maria Vasco and Norway’s Kjersti Plätzer. Kaniskina was just 2 seconds back.

But reality soon set in—that trio wasn’t in the 24-year-old Russian’s league. As it turned out, only a hand-ful of others were even close.

The sprint was soon underway as the Olympic champ walked through the 10K in 44:58, hit 15K in 1:06:22 and brought it home to a comfortable 49-second decision.

Ireland’s Olive Loughnane made a big push in the second half to claim silver in 1:28:58, closing fast with a 21:40 last 5K, 7 seconds better than Kaniskina. But she was never a threat to overhaul the leader.

China’s Hong Liu stayed with Loughnane past 17K, but couldn’t maintain and settled for the bronze in 1:29:10.

The medal winners had plenty of room on the rest of the pack. Fourth-placer Anisya Kirdyapkina—whose husband Sergey would win the 50K five days later—was nearly a full

minute back of Liu at 1:30:09.Early leaders Krantz and Vasco DNFed after

the 10K post, while two-time Olympic silver medalist Plätzer drew a late DQ past 15K.

After Krantz’s exit, Kaniskina became a crowd favorite. “A lot of Russian people came here to support me and the team,” she said. “It was a very special thing. They made it easier.”

Kaniskina’s 1:28:09 was a precise two-minute improvement on her Osaka winner and impressive in the 80-degree temps. But the time still was no threat to the WR 1:25:41 set by countrywoman Olimpiada Ivanova at Helsinki in the ’05 meet.

China & Ethiopia Duel For World CupThe world Cup developed as a dual meet between China and Ethiopia as both had three runners in the lead pack of eight at 30k. The final 12k broke hard in favor of China.

Despite aselefech mergia’s unexpected medal, Ethiopia’s challenge evaporated as Bezunesh Bekele and big name Dire Tune staggered home.

1. China 7:17:02 (avg. 2:25:41) 2. Japan 7:22:15 (2:27:25) 3. Russia 7:24:42 (2:28:14) 4. Ethiopia 7:28:17 (2:29:26); 5. United States 7:32:20 (2:30:47); 6. Kenya 7:39:51 (2:33:17); 7. North Korea 7:50:32 (2:36:51); 8. New Zealand 8:00:37 (2:40:13); 9. France 8:13:43 (2:44:35).

p39 (wMar-20W-Cup).indd 39 9/17/09 11:13:28 AM


by Sieg LindstromDebbie Ferguson McKenzie, along with

38-year-old Chandra Sturrup a member of the Bahamian team that won Olympic gold way back in Sydney as the millennium began, restated an eternal truth about the 4x1: “It’s not necessarily about the four fastest people but to bring the baton all along.”

The Jamaican women’s team did that best, passing the stick cleanly to win comfort-ably in 42.06.

The U.S. squad came in with confi dence high from a 41.58 run in Cottbus just two weeks earlier. That time was faster than any Jamaican team has ever run, but the U.S. four-some never made it through their heat (see p. 50).

Jamaica had won heat 1 in 41.88 and the U.S. seemed poised to respond in heat 2. Lauryn Williams—leading off as she had on the gold medal team of ’07—passed safely to Alex Anderson.

In turn, Anderson matched Russian Aleksandra Fedoriva, the second leg on her nation’s gold-medal team from Bei-jing, down the backstretch.

The two squads started their second passes roughly even and then the U.S. ef-fort went awry. Anderson’s attempt to hand off to Muna Lee missed connections a time or two, requiring Lee to fl ail her arm for the retry. They eventually connected but Lee fell violently to the track as a left hamstring tore.

“It didn’t even dawn on me it could be us,” said Williams. But it was.

Was running Lee a mis-take? The LSU alum had disappeared from the Euro circuit a month before the meet with injury problems. She had run on the team in Cottbus, though, and performed well in the Worlds 200, placing 4th, even though she sported black tape on either her right thigh, her back or both throughout the half-lap rounds.

No, there was not much to second-guess. Jamaica could breathe a little easier, though.

In lane 5 for the fi nal, Jamaica sent Texas A&M alum Simone Facey out on leadoff to hand the stick to Shelly-Ann Fraser.

The OG/WC gold medalist built Jamaica a slight lead over Fedoriva (lane 8) and Stur-rup (3), and ended her carry with a smooth

exchange to South Carolina alum Aleen Bailey. Bailey—a late add to the Jamaican squad after 200 silver medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown withdrew in an apparent spat with team offi -cials over who would run anchor—held a small

margin over Bahamian quartermiler Christine Amertil and Russia’s Yuliya Gushchina around the turn.

Bailey handed cleanly to Jamaican Champs runnerup Kerron Stewart, and the yellow and green team ran safely home.

The surprise in the turn was host-nation Ger-many, whose third leg, Cathleen Tschirch, was running her team into medal contention.

Georgia alum Ferguson McKenzie kept the stretch run honest, bringing the Bahamians silver in 42.29, as German anchor Verena Sailer overhauled all expectations to sail past Russia 42.87–43.00.

4 X 100

Jamaicans Hold On, U.S. Doesn’t

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We are operating a tour in the sum-mer of 2010 to the World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

NEXT YEARIN MONCTON?

The World Junior Champion-ships will be held in July in Moncton, N.B., Canada, a growing city of almost 125,000, about 225 miles northeast of Bangor, Maine. This will be our first World Juniors tour and it promises to be something spe-cial. The World Juniors have been sensational the last few editions—a coming out party for stars of the future, like LaShawn Merritt, Usain Bolt, Yelena Isinbayeva, Veronica Campbell, Kerron Clement, Lauryn Williams, et al.

We’re looking at a two-week tour including 7 nights in Monc-ton, and a week’s touring to Prince Edward Island, Halifax, Maine and Boston. Or just do the week in Moncton. No price estimates yet, but should be less than $3,000 for the two weeks. Earliest signups get best priority for housing, etc. $75/person deposit. Champi-onships dates are July 19-25, so figure July 19-August 1 for the two-week tour.


To join send deposit to Track & Field News Tours

2570 W El Camino Real, Suite 606Mountain View, CA 94040

Brunswick, Canada.

The World Junior Champion

Bailey’s smooth pass to Stewart

sealed the Jamaican win

p40 (w4x1).indd 40 9/17/09 11:14:06 AM


by Dave JohnsonWith three individual medalists on the

team, including the champions at 200 and 400 meters, it was not a surprise when the United States won.

The stunner was the time, 3:17.83: the fastest time in the world since ’93 (and No. 6 ever), when a U.S. foursome won the World title in Stuttgart in 3:16.71, the only faster time ever run in the meet.

As dominating as the U.S. was in averag-

ing 49.46 per leg, so too were Jamaica (3:21.15) and Russia (3:21.64) for the other two medal positions, as their times left them well clear of 4th-place Britain (3:25.16), which in turn was far ahead of Germany (3:27.61).

Although internet chatter leading to the meet was insistent that both Jamaica and Russia had a chance to unseat the Americans, the event was not so much a race as it was a time trial for the medals, as there was only one change of position among the top three teams over the entire course, and that didn’t come until very late in the race.

Leadoff: Debbie Dunn, at 31 the veteran of the U.S. team, was off best on the first turn, with Russia’s former anchor, Anastasiya Kapachin-skaya, trying to close on the backstretch.

In the homestretch, Jamaica’s Rosemarie Whyte cut down the distance to 2nd, but at the exchange Dunn had a full meter over Russia,

50.5–50.7, with Jamaica another 4 meters back in 51.4.

Second Leg: Allyson Felix, the half-lap champion, ran second and at the break had a mere 2-meter lead on Russian Tatyana Firova, with Jamaican Novlene Williams-Mills another meter behind.

But Felix powered through the second turn and the homestretch, and after run-ning 48.8 she handed off with a lead of nearly 10 meters.

Third Leg: With 400 hur-dles silver medalist Lashinda Demus handling the stick, the U.S. maintained most of its margin throughout, with De-

mus turning her lap in 50.14. Lyudmila Litvinova ran 50.02

to close the gap by a meter, but the Russians had front-loaded their team, and the U.S. had 400 champ Sanya Richards on anchor.

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Sher-eefa Lloyd had run 50.15, dropping another meter behind Russia.

“I liked that big lead,” said Demus. “But I still didn’t let myself off the hook. I did what I had to do. I saw Sanya pulling me in. She made me go for her. She finished it off for us.”

Anchor: Richards pulled away strongly over the first 200, doubling the margin to about 18 meters

at the halfway point. Behind her, Jamaican Shericka

Williams, the 400 silver medalist, caught Russia’s Antonina Kri-voshapka in the turn and moved into 2nd early on the backstretch.

From there it was merely a run to the line, as Richards extended the lead to a good 20 meters at the finish, her 48.44 serving as the fastest split of the race (and of her career).

Williams closed out Jamaica’s silver-medal race with a 50.04, as Krivoshapka ran 51.04.

Dunn, who put the U.S. in the lead from the start, said of second runner Felix, “I saw Allyson open it up, and gave us a pretty big lead. My mind set was to put it out there. Get these girls out in front and we are going for the gold.”

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Leg 1: 1. U.S. 50.5; 2. Russia 50.7; 3. Jamaica 51.4; Great Britain 52.1; 5. France 52.4; 6. Germany 52.9; 7. Nigeria 53.6; 8. Cuba 58.53.

Leg 2: 1. U.S. 1:39.25; 2. Russia 1:40.58; 3. Jamaica 1:40.96; 4. Great Britain 1:42.68; 5. France 1:43.95; 6. Germany 1:44.85; 7. Nigeria 1:45.47; 8. Cuba 1:50.54.

Leg 3: 1. U.S. 2:29.39; 2. Russia 2:30.60; 3. Jamaica 2:31.11; 4. Great Britain 2:34.81; 5. France 2:36.24; 6. Germany 2:36.35; 7. Nigeria 2:37.57; 8. Cuba 2:44.26.

4 x 100 (August 22)

1. Jamaica .......................................... 42.06(Facey, Fraser, Bailey, Stewart)

2. Bahamas ........................................ 42.29(Ferguson, Sturrup, Amertil, Ferguson McKenzie)

3. Germany ......................................... 42.87(Wagner, Möllinger, Tschirch, Sailer)

4. Russia 43.00 (Polyakova, Fedoriva, Gushchina, Cher-moshanskaya); 5. Brazil 43.13 (Neto, de Moura, Presti, Gomes);

6. Great Britain 43.16 (Turner, Douglas, Freeman, Ania); 7. Trinidad 43.43 (Thomas, Baptiste, Hutchinson, Hackett); 8. Colombia 43.71 (Hinestroza, Palacios, Obregón, González).

heaTS (August 22)I–1. Jamaica 41.88; 2. Bahamas 42.66; 3. Trinidad 43.22;

4. Ukraine 43.77; 5. St. Kitts 43.98; 6. Belgium 43.99.II–1. Germany 42.96; 2. Colombia 43.30; 3. Great Britain

43.34; 4. Belarus 44.12; 5. Thailand 44.59; 6. Nigeria 46.54.II–1. Brazil 43.07; 2. Russia 43.18; 3. Poland 43.63; 4.

Japan 44.24;… dnf—United States (L. Williams, Anderson, Lee [drop], Jeter).

4 x 400 (August 22)

1. United States ...............3:17.83 (WL), aL(6 W, 3 US)

(Dunn 50.5, Felix 48.8, Demus 50.14, Richards 48.44)

2. Jamaica ....................................... 3:21.15(Whyte 51,4, Williams-Mills 49.6, Lloyd 50.15, Williams 50.04)

3. Russia ......................................... 3:21.64(Kapachinskaya 50.7, Firova 49.9, Litvinova 50.02, Krivoshapka 51.04)

4. Great Britain 3:25.16 (McConnell 52.1, Ohuruogu 50.6, Barr 52.13, Sanders 50.35); 5. Germany 3:27.61 (Kohlmann 52.9, Nwachukwu 52.0, Cremer 51.50, Hoffmann 51.26); 6. Nigeria 3:28.55 (Abinuwa 53.6, Odumosu 51.9, Ehigwe 52.20, Abugan 50.88);

7. France 3:30.16 (Michanol 52.4, Kamga 52.2, Behi 52.29, D-Mariller 53.92); 8. Cuba 3:36.99 (Peña 58.53, Bonne 52.01, Calatayud 53.92, Terrero 52.53).

heaTS (August 22)I–1. United States 3:29.31 (Dunn 51.1, Hastings 51.8, Beard

51.38, Richards 54.99); 2. Nigeria 3:29.60; 3. France 3:29.60; 4. Australia 3:30.80; 5. Italy 3:31.05; 6. Brazil 3:31.42; 7. Mexico 3:40.03; … dq[improper ordering at handoff]—Bahamas.

II–1. Russia 3:23.80; 2. Jamaica 3:24.72; 3. Germany 3:25.08; 4. Great Britain 3:25.23; 5. Cuba 3:27.36; 6. Canada 3:29.17; 7. Ukraine 3:30.76; 8. Japan 3:34.46.

4 x 400

U.S. Rips Off A Fast One

Dunn gave the U.S. a

leadoff lead it never

relinquished

p41 (w4x4).indd 41 9/17/09 12:22:51 PM


high jump

Vlašić Wins Big Duelby Kevin Saylors

This was the duel that the German fans were anticipating: The queen of the high jump, defending champion Blanka Vlašić of Croatia versus their hero, Ariane Friedrich.

Friedrich had beaten Vlašić at the ISTAF meet in June, 6-9 (2.06)–6-8 (2.03), setting a National Record in the process.

But the World Cham-pionships were the big prize. No one could es-cape it, and Friedrich’s face was everywhere in Berlin: magazines, news-papers, and TV features.

In qualifying, she took one jump and declared herself fit and ready. In the other pit, Vlašić needed four jumps, perhaps in an attempt to build her confidence after receiv-ing six stitches to close a head wound after a freak accident that morning.

The early rounds of the final merely prolonged the time before the duel would begin in earnest.

Five cleared 6-6¼ (1.99) to move on to 6-7½ (2.02), including The Big Two, plus Osaka co-silver med-alists Anna Chicherova of Russia and Antonietta Di Martino of Italy, and Ruth Beitia of Spain.

At 6-7½ Friedrich was in trouble. With her first attempt, she knocked the bar off with her shoulder; on her second, she took off too far out and came down on the bar.

Chicherova nailed her first attempt to take sole possession of the lead; Vlašić missed once, then put it all together on her second attempt, clearing by a good inch. Di Martino and Beitia bowed out.

On her third attempt, perhaps the most pressure-packed jump in her career, Friedrich delivered a flawless clearance to complete the triumvirate that would contest the medals.

A PR-equaling 6-8¼ (2.04) was too much for Chicherova, but Vlašić arched over on her second attempt and out came the start of her celebration dance. In response, Friedrich passed, to take her remaining attempt at 6-9 (2.06).

Unlike Vlašić, who likes to jump with the crowd rhythmically clapping, Friedrich pre-fers quiet. And with 50,000-plus eerily silent, Friedrich sprinted towards the bar, planted, and propelled her body up into the air. Her hips cleared, but her legs ticked the bar and down it came. The crowd ooohed in disbelief that she had come so close but missed, then applauded their favorite.

Vlašić then raised the bar for the obligatory three attempts at a World Record 6-10¾ (2.10),

but that would have to wait for another day.“This is one of the hardest things I have

done in my career,” she said. “It’s not easy to defend your title.”

Friedrich exuded, “It was a fantastic competition. It was amazing, so much fun to jump here.”

High jump aficionados from around the world can look forward to many more duels between these great young (both just 25) jumpers.

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high jump (August 20)

1. Blanka Vlašić (Croatia) ......... 6-8¼ (2.04)(6-1½, 6-3½, 6-5, 6-6¼, 6-7½ [2], 6-8¼ [2], 6-10¾ WR [xxx])

2. Anna Chicherova (Russia) ... 6-7½ (2.02)(6-1½, 6-3½, 6-5 [2], 6-6¼, 6-7½, 6-8¼ [xxx])

3. Ariane Friedrich (ger) .......... 6-7½ (2.02)(6-3½, 6-6¼, 6-7½ [3], 6-8¼ [xxp], 6-9 [x])

4. Antonietta Di Martino (Ita) 6-6¼ (1.99); 5. Ruth Beitia (Spa) 6-6¼; 6. Svetlana Shkolina (Rus) 6-5 (1.96); 7. tie, Emma Green (Swe) & Chaunté Howard (US) 6-5; 9. Melanie Melfort (Fra) 6-3½ (1.92); 10. Elena Slesarenko (Rus) 6-3½; 11. Meike Kröger (Ger) 6-1½ (1.87); 12. Amy Acuff (US) 6-1½.

quAliFyiNg (August 18)Notable non-qualifiers (finalists cleared 6-3½/1.92 on

second attempt or better): [6-3½/1.92]—Aitova (Kaz); [6-2¼/1.89]—Day (US), Palamar (Ukr).

pole VAulT (August 17)

1. Anna Rogowska (poland .......15-7 (4.75)(14-5¼, 14-11, 15-3 [2], 15-7, 15-9 [xxx])

=2. Chelsea johnson (uS) .......15-3 (4.65)(14-5¼, 14-11, 15-3, 15-7 [xxx])

=2. monika pyrek (poland .........15-3 (4.65)(14-5¼, 14-11, 15-3, 15-7 [xxp], 15-9 [x])

4. Silke Spiegelburg (Ger) 15-3 (14-5¼, 14-11 [2], 15-3 [2], 15-7 [xxx]); 5. Fabiana Murer (Bra) 14-11 (4.55); 6. Kate Dennison (GB) 14-11; 7. tie, Anna Battke (Ger) & Tatyana Polnova (Rus) 14-5¼ (4.40);

9. Aleksandra Kiryashova (Rus) 14-5¼; 10. Kristina Gad-schiew (Ger) 14-5¼; … nh[15-7/4.75 & 15-9/4.75 & 4.80—Yel-ena Isinbayeva (Rus); … dnc—Yuliya Golubchikova (Rus).

quAliFyiNg (August 15)Notable non-qualifiers (finalists cleared 14-9/4.50 without a

miss or better): [14-9/4.50]—Bruno (Ita), Büchler (Swi) (NR), Schwartz (US); [14-5¼/4.40]—Agirre (Spa), Hendry (Can); [13-11¼/4.25]—Dragila (US);… nh—Gao (Chn).

loNg jump (August 23)

1. Brittney Reese (uS) ...... 23-3½ (7.10) pR(WL, AL) (3, x A) (22-8½, 22-5¾, 23-3½, f, f, f)

2. Tatyana lebedeva (Rus) ... 22-10½ (6.97)(22-3, 22-10½, f, f, f, f)

3. melis mey (Turkey) .............. 22-3¾ (6.80)(22-2¼, f, 22-3¾, f, f, 21-3½)

4. Naide Gomes (Por) 22-2½ (6.77) (22-2½, f, 21-4¾, 21-11, 21-11½, 21-11); 5. Olga Kucherenko (Rus) 22-2½ (6.77) (f, f, 22-2½, 21-9, f, 21-11); 6. Shara Proctor (Agu) 22-¼ (6.71) NR; 7. Maurren Maggi (Bra) 21-11 (6.68);

8. Ksenija Balta (Est) 21-8¾ (6.62); 9. Brianna Glenn (US) 21-7½ (6.59); 10. Teresa Dobija (Pol) 21-7¼ (6.58); 11. Nastassia Mironchyk (Blr) 20-7¾ (6.29); … 3f—Keila Costa (Bra).

quAliFyiNg (August 21)Notable non-qualifiers (21-4¾/6.52 qualified)—Sokolova

(Rus) 21-4¼ (6.51), Jung (SK) 21-3½ (6.49), Abdulai (Can) 21-2 (6.45), Jarrett (Jam) 21-1¼ (6.43), Dobrynska (Ukr) 20-11¼ (6.38), Jimoh (US) 20-9¾ (6.34).

TRiple jump (August 17)

1. yargelis Savigne (Cuba) ..... 49-¾ (14.95)(47-5, 46-4¾, 48-10¼, 48-8¾, 49-¾, 47-2½)

2. mabel gay (Cuba) ........... 47-11¼ (14.61) (45-6¼, 47-7, f, 47-11¼, 47-6¼, 46-¾)

3. Anna pyatykh (Russia) ...... 47-10 (14.58) (45-¼, 46-8¼, 44-9¾, 47-10, 47-5¼, 47-8)

4. Biljana Topic (Ser) 47-7¾ (14.52) NR (46-7½, 47-2¼, 46-10, 47-7¾, 47-4¼, 46-3¼); 5. Trecia Smith (Jam) 47-6¼ (14.48) (46-11½, f, f, 47-3½, 47-6¼, f); 6. Tatyana Lebedeva (Rus) 47-1¾ (14.37); 7. Cristina Bujin (Rom) 46-9½ (14.26);

8. Dana Veldáková (Svk) 46-9 (14.25); 9. Limei Xie (Chn) 46-5½ (14.16); 10. Olga Rypakova (Kaz) 45-7¾ (13.91); 11. Teresa Nzola Meso (Fra) 45-3 (13.79); 12. Gisele de Oliveira (Bra) 43-3¼ (13.19).

quAliFyiNg (August 15)Notable non-qualifiers (46-4¼/14.13 qualified): Aldama

(Sud) & Dacheva (Bul) 46-3½ (14.11), Williams (Jam) 46-2½ (14.08) PR, Welsch (US) 45-11¾w (14.01), Šestak (Slo) 44-11 (13.69), Marks (US) 44-10¼ (13.67), Alekhina (Rus) 44-7½ (13.60), McLain (US) 43-11¼ (13.39).

Vlašić got another chance

to do her celebratory

shimmy

p42 (wHJ-JumpMagate).indd 42 9/17/09 11:17:44 AM


by Ed GordonIf there was one competitor in Berlin who

was felt to have had a lock on a gold medal, Yelena Isinbayeva was that athlete. And per-haps even she herself felt that way as she confidently strode up to the official and passed the first four heights to start her evening at a daunting 15-7 (4.75—but still lower than her 15-9/4.80 Osaka starter).

By that time only four others remained alive

to joust with the much-decorated Russian, who was attempting a three-peat gold.

Anna Rogowska, jumping ahead of Isin-bayeva, rattled the favorite with a first-attempt clearance at 15-7. It was starting to look like a repeat of the London competition three weeks earlier in which the 28-year-old Pole beat Isin-bayeva on the countback.

With this recent event fresh in her memory, the WR holder must have felt uncommon pres-sure as her response to Rogowska’s clearance was a half-hearted miss that had little merit. Passing to 15-9 was now the only option for

the two-time champion. Meanwhile, two of the other three

combatants—American Chelsea Johnson and German Silke Spiegelburg—exited the competition by missing at 15-7. That left Rogowska’s countrywoman Monika Pyrek—with one attempt at 15-9—alive along with Isinbayeva and Rogowska.

No further successes ensued, and Isinbayeva suffered the ignominy of

only the third no-height of her international career. She blamed it on having the wrong attitude (see sidebar).

The 15-9 she needed to win was a level she had first reached in ’03, and had equaled or surpassed an astonishing 51 times since (with six other vaulters contributing only an aggregate 30).

That left Rogowska unexpect-edly with a gold medal, some-thing she found incredulous. “If

someone told me in the morning that I was going to win the gold medal, I would have just smiled at them,” she admitted. “Maybe I hoped for silver, but the gold is a big surprise for me.”

Although not part of the drama at the final bar height, Johnson (see sidebar) quietly put together a perfect slate of jumps up through a season-best 15-3 (4.65) which was enough to gain the silver in a tie with Pyrek. “My aim

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was to make every bar on the first attempt, and that’s what I did,” she said.

“But honestly, I feel bad for Yelena. She is still the greatest pole vaulter of all-time. Every-body has a bad day sometime, and I was able to

capitalize on her problems. That’s why this event is so interesting. You never know what is going to happen.”

“My Mind Was Absent,” Admits Isi“I have no proper explanation for what happened today,” said Yelena Isinbayeva, graciously handling her media obligations in the face of the evening’s disaster. “I was confident and cleared 4.70 [15-5] in warmups. I think it happened just because it happened. But I also hope I will recover from this.”

Later, when the gravity of the situation had sunk in, she admitted that “my body was there, but my mind was ab-sent.” She continued, “It can happen to any athlete who doesn’t have any real rivals.” Complacency suddenly fills the role of a rival.

POLE VAULT

Surprises For Both Isi & Rogowska

Johnson Sees Dad, Raises Him One

The Johnson family likes vaulting in Germany. Father Jan won the Olympic bronze in Munich in ’72. In Berlin the ever-gregarious dad, now 58, saw daughter Chelsea go him one better.

The 25-year-old Californian produced her ’09 seasonal best of 15-3 (4.65)—also the No. 3 leap of her career—to share an unexpected silver.

The first jumper in the order, Johnson helped herself tremendously by making her first three heights on her initial try. She didn’t miss until she reached the PR setting of 15-7 (4.75).

“It was very important to be clean through the heights,” she said. “That was the mindset coming into Berlin, just like nationals in Eu-gene: make every bar on first attempt.

“It paid off because it definitely helped me to relax. It was nice to get the heights done and then be able to relax while the

other girls battled it out.”Johnson admitted she went into the final

aiming for a medal. “I just knew I was going to win one,” she said. “Things have gone so great all year, that was the goal. I didn’t care which medal. I’ve just been 100% confident this year and ready to go, with my eye on the prize.”

The UCLA grad said of her father, who

remains very active in vaulting’s coaching circles, “He has given me good advice over the years. For the final, I just tried to act like it was any other meet and not get too anxious. I just tried to relax and do what I did in practice.”

Johnson acknowledged that cir-cumstances played into her favor, with Yelena Isinbayeva having a rare off-day and AR holder Jenn Stuczyn-ski and former WR holder Svetlana Feofanova not even competing.

“Those things went through my mind, but I just tried to focus on myself,” she said. “Focus on practice and the things I needed to do and not

worry about the rest of the competition.”She didn’t get to celebrate much with

her parents, who had to leave Berlin early the next morning to return to their teaching and coaching jobs in California.

For the future, Johnson said, “This really makes me feel confident and believe that anything can happen.” /Jon Hendershott/

Rogowska would have been quite

content with a silver

Chelsea now owns a silver while father Jan has to make do with bronze.

p43 (wPV-Johnson).indd 43 9/17/09 11:15:38 AM


a 22-3 (6.78) opener, but it was the Russian’s subsequent 22-10½ (6.97) that brought a sense of normalcy back to the event.

The American needed a big jump to take the lead back. She responded by upping her

by Brian RussellEven though she possessed the year’s

leading jump at 23-2 (7.06), Brittney Reese didn’t come to town as the favorite, given her lack of consistency and technique that rarely wins many style points. There was a sense that one of the sport’s wily veterans would strike at the optimal moment.

That never happened, as the 22-year-old Ole Miss alum took the lead in the first round, then responded to their challenges.

A good amount of rain was falling as the event be-gan, but that didn’t stop the competition, as the jump-ers were largely protected from the elements by the extended roof that covered the stands.

Still, the competition was foul-plagued, the red flag coming up no fewer than 27 times in 60 at-tempts.

Reese was the fifth jumper in round 1 and promptly laid down the fourth-best jump of her ca-reer, a 22-8½ (6.92) that gave her a comfortable lead and confidence boost heading into round 2.

It was then defending champion Tatyana Lebede-va’s turn. She had dropped

world lead to 23-3½ (7.10), letting it be known that another WL would be needed for anyone to surpass her.

A mild surprise after three rounds found Turkey’s Melis Mey in 3rd in front of favored

Naide Gomes and Olympic champ Maurren Maggi (bothered by a balky knee that held her to just four attempts).

Albeit somewhat an-ti-climatic, the only real drama that remained was to see if anyone could get a decent jump off while avoiding the foul line.

Lebedeva remained in silver position, but could not get off a fair jump after the second round. In fact, none of the places changed during the final three rounds.

When asked about her big jump, which made her the No. 3 American ever, Reese recounted, “I went back and worked on my speed more. I brought my last two steps back in, and I popped the big one out.”

She added, “I knew Tatyana could easily go 7 meters with any of her remaining jumps, so it did put a little pressure on me. I kept my focus and in the end she did not jump 7 meters.”

loNg jump

A World-Leading 23-3½ For Reese

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Reese Reaches Her NumberHeading into the long

jump final, Brittney Reese had a number in mind that she wanted to reach. “7.10 [23-3½] was it,” she revealed. “I had been thinking about going that distance for a long time. I’m excited that I finally went out and did it.”

The 22-year-old from Gulfport, Missis-sippi, focused on 7.10, she said, “because I jumped 7.09 [23-3¼] with too much wind at USATF. So I wanted to come out at Worlds and jump 7.10 legally.

“I admit I was surprised when I saw the measurement. I didn’t think I was going to get it, but I’m just glad I did.”

Her effort, a leap that boosted her PR from the 23-2 (7.06) she had spanned in Brazil in

May, gave the Mississippi grad the global title after she had finished 8th at the ’07 Worlds and 5th last year in the Olympics.

Of those experiences, Reese said, “Both times, I had just finished my college season. So I had been in a lot of meets, indoors and outdoors. But this year has been my first as a pro and I didn’t have as many meets as when I was in college.

“So I was more relaxed in competitions, more calm. I had less jumps. But I could concentrate on just one thing, jumping. There hasn’t been any schoolwork or obligations to the team.”

Reese, who still trains in Oxford with college mentor Joe Walker, also high jumped, triple

jumped and ran the sprint relay at Ole Miss, as well as an occasional 100.

She added, “It was easier to come out this year without having had a college season, which put so much stress on your legs. Competing was easier when I had a smaller number of jumps in meets.”

Reese has proven to be a big-meet jumper, having produced a PR in the ’07 Worlds qualifying (22-5/6.83), a match to win the ’08 NCAA (22-9/6.83) and a best to take the ’08 Trials (22-9¾/6.95). So she welcomed Tatyana Lebedeva taking the Worlds lead in round 2 after Reese led with her opener.

“It was great motivation for me to go out and try to put out the biggest jump I could,” confirmed Reese. “It was great to have com-petition like that.” /Jon Hendershott/

Reese had the early lead, lost it, then regained it for good with a big pR

p44 (wLJ-Reese).indd 44 9/17/09 11:19:19 AM


TRIPLE JUMP

Savigne’s Second Simpleby Phil Minshull

Defending champion Yargelis Savigne added a second WC gold medal to the one she won in Osaka. But this time the Cuban took the title with considerably more ease in a surprisingly low-key contest that saw the wind range from +1.3 to –1.5.

For only the second time in WC or OG his-tory (joining the ’99 WC), the winning distance was shorter than 15 meters (49-2½) but instead of Savigne’s having a host of challengers to battle with right up to the very last leap, no one got within a foot of her fifth-round 49-¾ (14.95).

“At the beginning, I lacked coordination and was really nervous,” she said, “but I told myself to stay focused on the result. The 15 meters didn’t matter today, only victory.”

Two of Savigne’s potential rivals didn’t even make it to the final. Unfit Olympic champ Françoise Mbango, who admitted that months of post-Beijing award ceremonies and other ac-tivities took its toll on her winter preparations, scratched before the qualifying while Russia’s surprise world leader Nadezhda Alekhina could only manage 44-7½ (13.60).

Once the final got underway, Savigne lead after the first round with 47-5 (14.45) before being briefly removed from the top spot by teammate Mabel Gay, who nailed 47-7 (14.50) with her second effort.

In the third round, Savigne bounded out to 48-10¼ (14.89) after taking off well behind the board, and effectively clinched the com-petition. Two rounds later, and visibly more relaxed with nobody looking like they were going to pick up the gauntlet, she improved another 2½ inches.

A long, long way behind the 24-year-old Cuban there was a close battle for the silver, with Russian vet Anna Pyatykh improving from 8th to 2nd with her fourth-round 47-10 (14.58), only for Gay to respond immediately and go out to a near-PR 47-11¼ (14.61), finally adding a senior medal to the World Youth and Junior crowns she had won earlier in her career.

Pyatykh held on for the bronze and her record for the last four WC finals is now 4th-3rd-4th-3rd.

Two-time champ and Osaka silver medal-list Tatyana Lebedeva, her form deserting her due to a slight back problem—although she was to recover and get the long jump silver six days later—was never in serious contention for a medal and finished 6th, competing in her record sixth final.

“My placing is no surprise for me after my injury in Stockholm,” she said. “I hoped to compete well because of my experience but I guess I was hoping for a miracle.”

None of the U.S. trio—Shakeema Welsch, Shani Marks & Erica McLain—made it out of the qualifying despite only 46-4¼ (14.13) be-ing needed to progress. The U.S. hasn’t had a finalist in the event since Cynthea Rhodes finished 11th in ’97.

A fine time was had by all in Berlin. 250 fans went to the World Cham-pionships with Track & Field News Tours and of course were thrilled by all the great performanc-

es and competition. The weather cooperated for the most part and Ber-lin was able to put its best foot forward—what a great city for sightsee-ing, culture and good food. But of course we were all there for track & field, in that beautiful setting of the 1936 Olympic Stadium, and there were few disappointments. It was ten days of fun and games.

The TAFNOT gala luncheon at the Berlin Hilton was a highlight, as usual, and we were graced by the attendance of Sanya Richards, Ker-ron Clement, Trey Hardee, Lashinda Demus, Chelsea Johnson, and Stacy Dragila, among others. Sanya blew our minds by leading a cheer for Track & Field News! Thank you, Sanya; we love you too.

More than 100 tour members joined us on pre and post extension trips to European hot spots like Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Heidelberg, Lau-sanne (IOC Museum), and, of course, Zurich, where several of us were fortunate to witness Isinbayeva’s world record and Ritzenhein’s amaz-ing 5000 AR, as well as other great performances.

An earlier tour in June was to Eugene and the USATF Championships/Worlds Trials, and that was another fine trip, with some outstanding track & field. We have two more trips scheduled to Eugene—in 2011 and 2012, and space is getting tight for both of those tours. Eugene is a popular place these days.

Our two tours next year should be on your radar. In July we’re doing our first-ever World Junior Championships tour. The Juniors will be in the close-by city of Moncton, N.B., Canada. Our greatest current stars made big splashes in the World Juniors in their day, and here’s your chance to see the Bolts and Isinbayevas of the future! In the second half of August, we’ll be touring Europe, taking in the three climactic Diamond League meetings in London, Zurich and Brussels, plus some great sightseeing in Paris and elsewhere. See our website: www.track-andfieldnews.com and click on “tours” to get all the details. And don’t forget the next World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in late August, 2011. That’s a place we haven’t visited before and we’re look-ing forward to another great Worlds.

p45 (wTJ).indd 45 9/17/09 11:41:07 AM


Kleinert to almost a foot.The anticlimactic final round

saw 6 consecutive fouls, includ-ing Kleinert and Gong, before Vili concluded the competition with another 66-5¼ (20.25) which would have won by itself.

Vili, 24, admitted she was challenged, saying, “Tonight, Kleinert pushed me a lot, but I wasn’t worried. I’m satisfied I could defend my title.”

discus

Old Guard Is Goneby Garry Hill

There was a sea change in the women’s discus in Beijing last year when Stephanie Brown Trafton became the first American in three-quarters of a century to win Olympic gold.

The housecleaning continued in Berlin, with SBT herself being a partial victim.

The list of those who failed to advance from qualifying was stunning, including as it did three throwers—Franka Dietzsch, Irina Yatchenko, Ellina Zvereva—who among them own every WC gold awarded starting with ’99, as well as ’95.

Overall, the carnage was four former medalists with 10 medals among them not winning any this time.

The T&FN formchart was blown all to hell as the favored SBT ended up a never-really-in-it last in the final and winner Dani Samuels somehow didn’t even make our top 10.

The 21-year-old Aussie did the throwing of her life, coming within 9 inches of her PR in round 3 with a 205-9 (62.71) to stand in the bronze position behind Nicoleta Grasu (213-11/65.20) and Yarelis Barrios (211-5/64.44) at the cutdown.

She improved to silver standing with a PR 212-5 (64.76) in stanza 4 and then jumped up to gold with another lifetime best on her fifth, 214-8 (65.44).

Barrios gave Samuels a good scare in the last round, but her 214-3 (65.31) fell just inches shy and Samu-els, predictably, erupted in joy.

“I expect this will be a big story in Australia once they wake up,” Samuels told reporters. “It was about 5 a.m. in Australia, but I know that my family were definitely all up and watching my competition on TV.”

Said the disappointed Brown Trafton, “It’s been a rough go these last two days. The ring was fine. If anything, it was warming up, then having to sit there. There’s nothing I can really point to. Physically, I’m kind of worn out.”

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Hammer (August 22)

1. anita Włodarczyk (Pol) 255-9 (77.96) Wr(old WR 255-3/77.80 Lysenko [Rus] ’06) (245-7, 255-9, p, p, p, f)

2. Betty Heidler (Ger) ....... 253-0 (77.12) Nr(5, 8 W) (246-5, 247-4, 248-5, 240-11, 250-9, 253-0)

3. martina Hrasnová (svk) ..... 245-4 (74.79)(222-7, 238-7, 239-8, 228-0, 245-4, 215-4)

4. Kathrin Klaas (Ger) 243-6 (74.23) PR (236-3, f, 243-6, 217-5, f, f); 5. Wenxiu Zhang (Chn) 238-1 (72.57); 6. Tatyana Lysenko (Rus) 236-11 (72.22); 7. Jessica Cosby (US) 236-9 (72.17) (x, 7 A); 8. Clarissa Claretti (Ita) 234-9 (71.56);

9. Stéphanie Falzon (Fra) 234-3 (71.40); 10. Sultana Frizell (Can) 232-6 (70.88); 11. Amber Campbell (US) 229-11 (70.08) (212-0, 229-11, f); 12. Manuela Montebrun (Fra) 229-5 (69.92). (best-ever mark-for-place: 1, 3–4, =5, 7–10)

QuaLiFYiNG (August 20)Qualifiers: Heidler 246-11 (75.27) (MR), Cosby 236-11

(72.21) PR (AL) (3, 5 A). (best-ever mark-for-place: 11–12)Notable non-qualifiers (229-8/70.01 qualified): Menkova

(Blr) 228-3 (69.58), Orbán (Hun) 227-8 (69.39), Pchelnik (Blr) 227-4 (69.30), Thondike (Cub) 226-3 (68.97), Gilreath (US) 218-11 (66.72), Sekachova (Ukr) 218-9 (66.69).

JaveLiN (August 18)

1. steffi Nerius (Germany) ..... 220-9 (67.30)(220-9, 206-0, 215-11, f, 204-3, f)

2. Barbora spotáková (czr) ...217-11 (66.42)(213-1, 210-10, 217-11, 201-1, 204-2, 196-0)

3. maria abakumova (rus) .... 216-9 (66.06)(206-8, f, 214-6, f, 195-10, 216-9)

4. Monica Stoian (Rom) 211-7 (64.51) PR (211-7, f, 203-1, 195-7, 202-11, 201-10); 5. Christina Obergföll (Ger) 211-1 (64.34) (f, 198-0, 211-1, f, 206-9, f); 6. Linda Stahl (Ger) 207-5 (63.23); 7. Osleidys Menéndez (Cub) 207-0 (63.11);

8. Sávva Líka (Gre) 197-9 (60.29); 9. Vira Rebryk (Ukr) 191-1 (58.25); 10. Maria Negoita (Rom) 189-1 (57.65); 11. Martina Ratej (Slo) 188-10 (57.57); 12. Rachel Yurkovich (US) 167-9 (51.15).

QuaLiFYiNG (August 16)Qualifiers: Abakumova 226-1 (68.92) (WL) (WCQR).Notable non-qualifiers (195-1/59.46 qualified): Sayers (GB)

193-6 (58.98), Ingberg (Fin) 189-11 (57.88), Mickle (Aus) 188-6 (57.46), Patterson (US) 172-11 (52.71).

sHoT (August 16)

1. valerie vili (New Zealand) ... 67-¾ (20.44) (63-7¾, f, 66-5¼, 66-1¾, 67-¾, 66-5¼)

2. Nadine Kleinert (Ger) . 66-3¼ (20.20) Pr(65-9¾, 64-½, 66-3¼, 64-4, f, f)

3. Lijiao Gong (china) .... 65-3¼ (19.89) Pr(64-7¼, 65-3¼, 64-6¾, 64-9¾, f, f)

4. Natalya Mikhnevich (Blr) 64-6 (19.66) (64-6, f, 63-2¾, 64-¼, f, f); 5. Anna Avdeeva (Rus) 64-6 (19.66) ; 6. Michelle Carter (US) 62-2½ (18.96); 7. Meiju Li (Chn) 61-6¾ (18.76);

8. Misleydis González (Cub) 61-5¾ (18.74); 9. Mailín Vargas (Cub) 61-3 (18.67); 10. Xiangrong Liu (Chn) 60-9¼ (18.52); 11. Denise Hinrichs (Ger) 60-4 (18.39); 12. Christina Schwanitz (Ger) 58-6½ (17.84).

QuaLiFYiNG (August 16)Notable non-qualifiers (59-4¾/18.10 qualified): Borel-

Brown (Tri) 59-¼ (17.99), Kevkhishvili (Geo) 58-10¾ (17.95), Camarena (US) 55-6¼, Heaston (US) 49-1¾ (14.98).

discus (August 21)

1. dani samuels (aus) ..... 214-8 (65.44) Pr(f, 193-8, 205-9, 212-5 PR, 214-8, f)

2. Yarelis Barrios (cuba) ....... 214-3 (65.31)(211-5, 209-6, 200-8, f, f, 214-3)

3. Nicoleta Grasu (rom) ...... 213-11 (65.20)(f, 213-11, 204-8, 199-1, 208-0, f)

4. Żaneta Glanc (Pol) 205-7 (62.66) (192-6, 196-3, 205-7, f, 189-4, f); 5. Aimin Song (Chn) 204-9 (62.42) ; 6. Nadine Müller (Ger) 203-6 (62.04); 7. Natalya Sadova (Rus) 202-8 (61.78); 8. Mélina Robert-Michon (Fra) 199-10 (60.92);

9. Sandra Perković (Cro) 199-4 (60.77); 10. Aretha Thurmond (US) 196-6 (59.89); 11. Xuejun Ma (Chn) 192-10 (58.79); 12. Stephanie Brown Trafton (US) 192-0 (58.53).

QuaLiFYiNG (August 19)Notable non-qualifiers (200-5/61.08 qualified): Xu (Chn)

200-2 (61.02), Collado (Cub) 198-0 (60.37), Breisch (US) 191-11 (58.50), Dietzsch (Ger) 191-9 (58.44), Ferrales (Cub) 191-1 (58.24); … 3f—Yatchenko (Blr), Zvereva (Blr).

sHoT

Vili’s Streak Continuesby Kevin Saylors

Favored Valerie Vili came to Berlin with the year’s best mark and a 21-meet winning streak, dating back to late ’07. Before she could leave Berlin, New Zealand’s Olympic champ would have to combat the challenge of 3-time medalist Nadine Kleinert of Germany.

At 33 the oldest in the field of 12 gliders, Kleinert got the crowd into it early, equaling her PR at 65-9¾ (20.06) on her first effort. Vili had temporarily led at 63-7¾ (19.40) before China’s Lijao Gong (64-7¼/19.69) and Kleinert passed her.

In the second round, defending champ Vili fouled, but Gong improved with a PR 65-3¼ (19.89) to edge closer to Kleinert, who did not improve.

But with a 66-5¼ (20.25) third put, Vili put her stamp on the competition, jumping from 5th to 1st, with a mark that only one other competitor—Natalya Mikhnevich—had ever surpassed. But Kleinert, with the help of her enthusiastic supporters, improved her PR to 66-3¼ (20.20), just 2 inches behind the leader.

The fourth stanza, as is so often the case, produced no fireworks, but the fifth did: Gong released a massive put, in the 67-foot (20.50) range, but fouled.

Vili responded to the challenge with her best of the day, 67-¾ (20.44), increasing her lead over

at 5 inches, samuels had the smallest discus margin ever

p46 (wSP-DT).indd 46 9/17/09 11:46:41 AM


by Bob HershAnita Włodarczyk had had a strong season,

with three throws over 250 (c76m), including a world-leading 253-3 (77.20) on the eve of the meet which confirmed her as the favorite. It did not, however, lead many people to expect what happened.

The qualifying round was eventful, as de-fender Betty Heidler broke the meet record with a toss of 246-11 (75.27). Olympic champ Oksana Menkova ended up with the dubious distinc-tion of having the longest non-qualifying throw ever, a 228-3 (69.58) that left her in 13th.

A happier achievement was that of Jessica

Cosby, who added 7 inches to her PR with a 236-11 (72.21) that tightened her hold as the No. 3 American ever.

In the final, Heidler took the first-round lead at 245-7 (75.10), but Włodarczyk led off round 2 with a 255-9 (77.96) that broke Tatyana Lysenko’s WR by 6 inches.

It might have been the least noticed World Record ever set in a major meet, as it coincided not only with the exciting conclusion of the women’s 5000 final, but also crucial moments in both the men’s long jump and pole vault finals, which combined to divert the attention of nearly every spectator.

Unfortunately, Włodarczyk managed to injure herself during her victory celebration (see sidebar). As a result, she had to pass and watch while Heidler attempted to retain her title.

As it happened, Heidler, the focus of excited attention by the home crowd, ended up with the five best throws of the competition, other than the WR. She improved

hammer

A WR For Wlodarczyk

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in every round but one, concluding with a 253-0 (77.12) that broke her own NR. Martina Hrasnová took the bronze at 245-4 (74.79) while Cosby threw 236-9 (72.17) for a respectable 7th that equaled the best ever U.S. placing.

Włodarczyk’s injury did not affect her jubilation. “When I entered the stadium and saw this great audience I sensed that this could become a great and important day for the women’s hammer,” she said. “This is the happiest day of my life.”

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At Long Last Neriusby Kevin Saylors

Steffi Nerius could be forgiven if she had ambivalent feelings concerning her long World Championships career; in the prior three editions she had medaled, but always bronze. In the two before that she had been 5th and a dnq, preceded by an 11th back in ’95 and a 9th in ’93.

The 37-year-old German, throwing in front of the home crowd, would medal for a record fourth time, but it took a long—and exciting—competition to determine its composition.

Russian Maria Abakumova was the star of the Q-round, raising the yearly lead to 226-1 (68.92). In the final, Romania’s Monica Stoian started the competition with a PR 211-7 (64.51).

Three throwers later, Nerius stood at the head of the runway, fidgeting, adjusting her grip, rehearsing her throw. Throwing in her traditional headband, she bounded towards the line and released the spear at a perfect angle, nearly foul-ing. It flew beyond the 65 meter (213-3) line and Nerius knew it was a good one: 220-9 (67.30), the No. 2 throw of her il-lustrious career.

One by one, the challengers would attempt to better her effort. Two-time

gold medalist and former WR holder Osleidys Menéndez of Cuba produced her best of the year 207-0 (63.11), but finished 7th.

German recordholder Christina Obergföll, history’s No. 4 thrower, had three 60-meter throws, but none over 65 and would finish 5th at 211-1 64.34). Abakumova topped out at 216-9 (66.06) with her final throw.

The final challenge would come from WR holder and reigning World/Olympic champ Barbora Špotáková, who had been displaying visible displeasure with her throws all day.

In Beijing, the Czech had won the title with her last throw; could she replicate that feat? With a best of 217-11 (66.42), she stood about a meter behind Nerius’s mark. This time, her release angle was too great, the spear landed harmlessly just under 200-feet, and Germany had her first gold of the championships.

Said Nerius, “When my first throw landed, I thought it will give me a medal but not the gold. I could not have even dreamt of a bet-ter finish than this. Nothing could ever be as good as this.”

When A Record Celebration Goes Awryafter anita Włodarczyk saw her second throw flashed as a Wr, she ran across the track, hopping up and down in glee. On one of the bounds she appeared to come down on the side of her foot, severely turning her ankle. She spent the rest of the competition sitting with an icebag on it, except for one cursory standing-throw foul to wrap up the competition.

Post-meet analysis revealed severe damage to structural tissue that required surgery that ended her season prematurely.

The ball & chain came to earth

255-9 away

p47 (wHT-JT).indd 47 9/17/09 12:22:06 PM


High Jump: Ennis again led the field with her 6-3½ (1.92), 181 points up on American Sharon Day (6-2¼/1.89), who was also entered in the open HJ. Oeser stood 5th, 218 back, with Dobrynska next 251 behind.1. Ennis 2267; 2. Day 2086; 3. Yosypenko 2084; 4. Melnychenko 2052; 5. Oeser 2049; 6. Dobrynska 2016; 7. Djimou 2000; 8. Pickler 1991; 9. Wade 1986; 10. Theisen 1964; 11. Chudzik 1953.

Shot: This is one of Ennis’s weakest events and a poor effort in Osaka held her to 4th, and it is one of Dobrynska’s best events so she hoped to make up substan-tial ground. So a solid performance here was paramount.

Yet Dobrynska could muster only a 51-11 (15.82) best, while Ennis put it all together on her third throw, hitting a PR 46-4¾ (14.14) to lead Dobrynska by 138 with Oeser another 70 back.

“The crucial moment for me was the shot,” said Ennis, “because that’s where I messed up in Osaka. But after two frus-trating throws, I pulled out my third. That was the real turning point.”

by Brian RussellLast year medal contender Jessica Ennis’s

season came to an abrupt halt after she devel-oped a triple stress fracture in her right ankle just weeks before the Olympics.

After months of intensive rehab, the ver-satile Brit made up for the disappointment of ’08 with a world-leading 6731, a PR by 144 points even though she only PRed in one of the individual events, to win by 258 from the 6493 lifetime high by Germany’s Jennifer Oeser.

Even though Ennis came into Berlin with the world’s leading score, a career best 6587 from Desenzano in mid-May, Ukraine’s Olym-pic champion Nataliya Dobrynska began the proceedings as the favorite, particularly with 3-time champ Carolina Klüft no longer in the event and injured Beijing silver winner Hyleas Fountain not making the U.S. team.

100 Hurdles: To no one’s surprise, Ennis took an immediate lead in perhaps her best event. Her 12.93 was a massive 0.51 faster than the next best and only 0.12 off her PR.1. Ennis 1135; 2. Djimou 1059; 3. Aerts 1058; 4. tie Pickler & Chudzik 1050; 6. Chernova 1039; 7. tie Melnychenko & Hazel 1036; 9. Oeser 1033;… 19. Dobrynska 1000.

1. Ennis 3070; 2. Dobrynska 2932; 3. Oeser 2862; 4. Day 2841; 5. Melnychenko 2826; 6. Chudzik 2821; 7. Mächtig 2814; 8. Yosypenko 2812; 9. Djimou 2797; 10. Pickler 2679.

200 Meters: The leader extended her margin with a 23.25, ending Day 1 with a 307-point gap over Dobrynska and Oeser just another 3 points back.1. Ennis 4124; 2. Dobrynska 3817; 3. Oeser 3814; 4. Yosypenko 3806; 5. Melnychenko 3796; 6. Chudzik 3770; 7. Mächtig 3758; 8. Day 3714; 9. Djimou 3699; 10. Tymińska 3663.

Long Jump: Ennis logged a steady 20-7¾ (6.29) , behind both Oeser (21-¾/6.42) and Dobrynska (21-½/6.41), but still good enough for a 269-point pad. Poland’s Kamila Chudzik continued her steady rise up the chart moving to 4th, just 2 points back of Oeser.1. Ennis 5064; 2. Oeser 4795; 3. Dobrynska 4795; 4. Chudzik 4793; 5. Melnychenko 4781; 6. Mächtig 4720; 7. Yosypenko 4718; 8. Djimou 4648; 9. Chernova 4607; 10. Pickler 4513.

Javelin: Chudzik’s pivotal 159-10 (48.72) toss thrust her into the medal picture and put Dobrynska 65 points out of it. Ennis kept a 171-point lead with her 142-10 (43.54).1. Ennis 5799; 2. Chudzik 5628; 3. Oeser 5591; 4. Dobrynska 5526; 5. Yosypenko 5518; 6. Melnychenko 5491; 7. Djimou 5468; 8. Mächtig 5401; 9. Chernova 5310; 10. Day 5217.

800 Meters: Ennis’s pursuers needed to run considerable PRs to catch her but a 2:12.22 kept her comfortably in front. Oeser ’s 4-second gap over Chudzik gave her the silver by 22 points, to the home crowd’s delight, with Dobrynska ending up 4th. “I ran for my life in that 800,” said Ennis.

Americans Day (6126) and Diana Pickler (6086) finished 10th and 11th, but teammate Bettie Wade fell to 24th (5134) after not registering a mark in the shot.

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HEpTaTHlON (August 15–16)

1. Jessica Ennis (G Britain) .6731 pR (Wl) (20, x W)

(12.93, 6-3½/1.92, 46-4¾/14.14 PR, 23.25 [4124—1]),20-7¾/6.29, 142-10/43.54, 2:12.22 [2607]);

2. Jennifer Oeser (Germany) ........ 6493 pR(13.62, 6-0/1.83, 46-10¾/14.29, 24.30 [3814—3]),21-¾/6.42, 153-2/46.70, 2:14.34 [2679]);

3. Kamila Chudzik (poland) ................ 6471(13.50, 5-8½/1.74, 49-6½/15.10, 24.33 [3770—6]),21-6/6.55, 159-10/48.72, 2:18.58 [2701]);

4. Nataliya Dobrynska (Ukr) 6444 (13.85, 6-0/1.83, 51-11/ 15.82, 25.02 [3817—2]), 21-½/6.41, 142-0/43.29, 2:13.22 [2627]); 5. Lyudmila Yosypenko (Ukr) 6416 PR (13.64, 6-1¼/1.86, 42-8¼/13.01, 23.86 [3806—4]), 20-4¼/6.20, 153-9/46.87, 2:14.64 [2610]);

6. Hanna Melnychenko (Ukr) 6414 (13.60, 6-0/1.83, 44-11½/ 13.70, 24.11 [3796—5]), 21-1¼/6.43, 138-7/42.24, 2:12.85 [2618]); 7. Ida Antoinette Nana Djimou (Fra) 6323 PR; 8. Tatyana Chernova (Rus) 6288; 9. Julia Mächtig (Ger) 6265; 10. Sharon Day (US) 6126; 11. Diana Pickler (US) 6086; 12. Marisa De Aniceto (Fra) 6049; 13. Aiga Grabuste (Lat) 6033;

14. Hazel (GB) 6008; 15. Theisen (Can) 5949; 16. Züblin (Swi) 5934; 17. Samuelsson (Swe) 5885; 18. Kand (Est) 5760; 19. Stratáki (Gre) 5748; 20. Wisse (Hol) 5704;…24. Wade (US) 5134;… dnf—Tymińska (Pol), Schwarzkopf (Ger).

(29 started, 26 finished)

HEpTaTHlON

Ennis Puts It All Together

The consistent Ennis notched a pR total despite having only one individual pR en

route

p48 (wHept).indd 48 9/17/09 12:21:19 PM

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2010 Track Events March 12 & 13 Coastal Carolina University Invitational (at CCU) - College/open March 18 – 20 Shamrock Invitational - College/open

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Track & Field News

BERLIN NOTEBOOKinternal testes and no uterus or ovaries, the controversy grew. Reports claim her testoster-one levels are three times higher than average, which would provide an athletic advantage.

Semenya’s plight has raised awareness that modern science is clarifying the male/female divide is not always an either-or line.

By one oft-cited estimate 1.7% of all children are born with an intersex condition—really multiple conditions that may involve unusual chromosomal makeup and/or ambiguous geni-tal and gonadal anatomy.

Although the rules lack full clarity as to how cases of suspected sexual ambiguity should be handled, the IAAF has guidelines.

When Semenya’s break-through sparked innuendo, IAAF spokesman Nick Da-vies said the IAAF asked the South African federation (ASA) “if they could demon-

strate gender verification documentation and, if not, that they should start to provide something.”

South African offi-cials tell conflicting tales. Chuene denied the ASA conducted gender tests before Berlin, yet other reports refute that claim and cite an alleged e-mail exchange between a team doctor and ASA officials.

Semenya is reported to be humiliated. IAAF

President Lamine Diack con-cedes the case was handled insensitively, but the IAAF will not rule on Semenya’s status until its Council meets on November 21.

Gay Against New RuleUsain Bolt and Tyson Gay

not only are opponents on the sprint paths, they also have differing opinions about the new no-false-start rule enacted by the IAAF.

“I don’t think it’s an improvement,” said Gay. “People will have to sit more and wait and not react like they want to; people will be more cautious.

“You move, you are out. It will leave certain people out. People train hard all year and then one false start [and] you are gone.”

Countered Bolt before

the meet began, “For me, I have no problem. I never false started yet. It will be better for the sport. It will be a problem for some people, but not for me.”

Yet in his semi, who jumped early on the initial start but Bolt. He said he had been joking with training mate Daniel Bailey from Antigua. “I told him I was going to beat him out of the blocks because in training he always beats me,” Bolt explained. “I guess I got just a little bit too excited.”

No-False-Start Rule PassesAlthough a public-opinion poll on the IAAF’s website showed a narrow majority against the proposition, the IAAF Congress voted to change to a no-false-start rule in Berlin. The count was 97–55, with 6 abstentions.

Speaking in favor of the new rule, president Lamine Diack cited the NCAA’s long success with the methodology and decried athletes who had purposely been false-starting.

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A QUICK LOOK at how off-the-track events shaped much of what happened at World Championships XII:

It’s About Those Relays (Again)Berlin looked almost like a replay of Beijing

in the 4 x 100s. Neither U.S. team made it out of its heat. The women’s race ended when third leg Muna Lee went down with a hamstring injury, exacerbated, some felt, by Lee’s awkward body position as Alex Anderson struggled to pass the baton (see picture).

The men’s DQ was more curious. Officials saw nothing amiss in Shawn Crawford’s pass to Doc Patton, but a BBC broadcast crew alerted the British federation, to video footage of pos-sible interest concerning the exchange. UK Athletics passed the footage on to the IAAF. Although a UKA spokeswoman insisted no formal protest was filed, officials checked the video and disqualified the U.S. for having passed too early.

USATF head Doug Logan, whose most high-profile initiative, Project 30, is supposed

to improve preparedness at championships, reacted by saying, “I think, No. 1, we got in a position where we’re pressing a little hard… We have to figure out a way of taking that pressure off.”

Semenya Furor Still Not SolvedHalfmiler Caster Semenya caused a stir,

progressing from 2:04.23 in ’08 to 1:56.72 in July at age 18. Before she won the gold medal in a world-leading 1:55.45, though, the spotlight on the powerfully-built South African flashed hot with the leaked report that the IAAF had conducted tests in Berlin to determine if she was really a woman.

After winning gold, Semenya avoided the press until her return home as speculation swirled. Semenya’s parents insisted their child was a girl, and South African officials lobbed invective, including charges of racism, at the IAAF. South Africa’s federation head Leonard Chuene resigned from the IAAF Council in protest, then later changed his mind.

When, three weeks after Berlin, the Sydney Daily Telegraph cited an unnamed IAAF source in a report that testing revealed Semenya has

50 — November 2009

Anderson got the stick to Lee, but the race ended

prematurely anway

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Richards Wants Trials ChangeEven before she finally won the world 400

title, Sanya Richards called for a change in selection procedures so that leading U.S. medal hopes aren’t left off future Worlds.

Blogging for Uni-versal Sports, the four-time Worlds sprinter said of the A m e r i c a n t o p - 3 policy, “I’m all for someone getting [a chance] to represent our country and I know that one man’s misfortune is another man’s treasure. But shouldn’t our goal always be to send our best team?”

She noted, “Twice a year, we have a do-or-die meet… To be in peak shape two months before the big show is potentially costly… I believe that the top 2 should automatically get a spot on the team and the third spot should be left open until the team roster has to be declared.

“There should be a clear list of criteria or a non-biased (if pos-sible) committee that reviews each event to make the final decision. Most of the time, the top 3 will be our best contenders, but in the rare occasion that they aren’t, we should have the flexibility to send the ones that are.”

Radcliffe Pulls OutPaula Radcliffe took the un-

orthodox step of running the New York half-marathon just seven days before the World Championships 26-miler, using the Big Apple contest as a gauge of her fitness.

While she won the New York contest in 1:09:45 in her first race in nearly 10 months, Radcliffe ultimately decided against run-ning in Berlin.

“I’m devastated that I wasn’t able to represent Britain in Berlin,” said the 35-year-old WR holder, “especially having got so close in such a short time frame.”

Radcliffe has battled injuries the last three years; she had sur-geries this spring on a bunion and then a broken toe on her right foot. She hoped her post-surgery train-ing would be enough to ready her for Berlin, but after the New York race, she decided against it.

She has been named to Britain’s team for the IAAF Half-Marathon Champs to be run in Birmingham, England, in mid-October.

U.S. Vaulters SidelinedBoth American Record holders

in the vault were forced by injuries to withdraw shortly before the Worlds began.

erated before adding a cryptic, “I will go if I have prepared some people to take over.”

Jamaican Club Fights FederationThe Jamaican federation played some hard-

ball with the stars of the MVP Track Club in a dispute over mandatory athlete attendance at a team training camp.

The contretemps erupted when MVP coach Stephen Francis opted to direct his athletes’ preparation at a site in Italy rather than join the rest of the Jamaican team in Germany.

Angry federation officials eventually told the IAAF it wanted to drop six MVP athletes—including Asafa Powell and Olympic champi-ons Shelly-Ann Fraser and Melaine Walker—from the team roster as punishment.

Would the federation really have bitten off its team’s nose to spite its face? Unclear, as

the image-conscious IAAF intervened.

“We asked Jamaica to reconsider in the interest of the sport,” explained IAAF Gen-eral-Secretary Pierre Weiss.

Reigning men’s champion Brad Walker suffered an injury at the late-July Monaco GP meet when he landed partially out of the pit and his hips hit the ground. The fall caused trauma to Walk-

er ’s pubic sym-physis joint.

When he tried to run follow-ing the fall, the joint moved and caused extreme

pain. So he had to withdraw.Jenn Stuczynski pulled out due to the

season-long tendinitis in her left Achil-les tendon. The Olympic silver medalist said, “Despite my focused efforts for the last five weeks to get 100% healthy, I made the decision… that I just can’t be ready in time to compete in Berlin.

“The doctors treating me say my Achilles injury isn’t serious, but it just hasn’t improved enough for me to vault… I think I just ran out of time.”

When Testing Gets Out Of HandCanada’s Priscilla Lopes-Schliep ran

three races on the evening she took 100 hurdles silver in Berlin: a semifinal and final, of course, but in between those competitions she was pulled into doping control for a drug test.

“I was called to doping control right before my race,” Lopes-Schliep told Paul Gains of CBC Sports, remarkably unfazed by the interruption to her war-mup. “We were running up and down stairwells and elevators. It was a fiasco right before my race.” The Nebraska alum produced her sample—frequently not an easy task—only 8 minutes before the final’s start and then raced through the innards of the stadium to the call room with just 5 minutes to spare.

An IAAF spokesman admitted the between-races test for Lopes-Schliep was “a cockup.” On the bright side, Lopes-Schliep did not have to deliver another sample after the final.

Diack To Stay On Board?IAAF President Lamine Diack, widely

expected to announce at the Congress that he would step down from the top post in ’11, instead hinted he might stand for re-election.

“It’s possible, if I’m in good shape,” said the 76-year-old Senegalese.

Smart money expected former Olympic champions Seb Coe and Sergey Bubka, both federation VPs, to spar for the job at the next election, but now there may not even be a contest.

There hasn’t been a contested election since ’81 when Primo Nebiolo unseated t h e n - p r e s i d e n t Adriaan Paulen.

“Many people are asking me, de-pending on my health,” Diack reit-

StatuS QuoINJURIES/AILMENTS that hampered ath-

letes in Berlin, or kept them out altogether:Kevin Borlée (Belgium 400): left foot stress

fracture;Meseret Defar (Ethiopia distances): stomach

upset and a cold;Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia distances): toe;Gulnara Galkina (Russia steeple): knee;Pamela Jelimo (Kenya 800): knee;Abubaker Kaki (Sudan 800): hip, knee;Haron Keitany (Kenya 1500): ankle stress

fracture;Muna Lee (U.S. sprints): hamstring pull;Maurren Maggi (Brazil LJ): knee tendon (had

surgery post-Berlin, may miss a year);Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabaad (France

steeple): groin injury in heat;Aries Merritt (U.S. 110H): ankle;Sally McLellan (Australia 100H): back;Irina Mikitenko (Germany marathon): lack

of fitness after death of father;Koji Murofushi (Japan HT): hip, back;Yuliya Pechonkina (Russia 400H): sinus-

itis;Michelle Perry (U.S. 100H): right knee tendon

(surgery at end of August);Dorian Scott (Jamaica SP): Achilles sur-

gery;Sileshi Sihine (Ethiopia distances): leg;Angelo Taylor (U.S. 4000H): hamstring;Jeremy Wariner (U.S. 400): sore left ankle;Anita Włodarczyk (Poland HT): turned ankle

severely celebrating WR.Unspecified injuries affected Wilfried Bungei

(Kenya 800), Paul Burgess (Australia PV), Con-stantina Dita (Romania marathon), Andrew Howe (Italy LJ) and Nadezhda Ostapchuk (Belarus SP).

The Meet Drew Good CrowdsStadium capacity was listed as “56,000 plus the IAAF Family”; there were no morning sessions on 8/17 or 8/21–23. 8/15—25,300/42,546; 8/16—23,300/51,113; 8/17—30,496; 8/18—19,951/29,897; 8/19—20,312/32,158; 8/20—32,514/57,937; 8/21—42,378; 8/22—59,926 (sellout); 8/23—50,754.

are you bored between issues

of the magazine?


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zürich goldeN league kicks oFF posT-wc seasoN

Isi Bounces Back With World RecordMurer were left.

All three cleared initially. Rogowska needed two at 15-7¼ (4.76), while Murer went out at 15‑9¼ (4.81). Isi made the 4.81, again on her first; Rogowska missed and passed to 15-11¼ (4.86) where she missed her last two tries. So the WR holder was alone and she had bar boosted right up to the record height of 5.06 (16-7¼).

The 27-year-old Russian stared intently at the bar, silently repeating her secret pre-jump mantra. Then she sprinted down the approach, planted and soared over. A slight brush with a knee on the way up didn’t nudge the bar and she fell into the pit with her 17th absolute global mark. She now trails men’s leader Sergey Bubka by just one.

Isi bounded off the pad and dashed to trackside for a long hug from coach Vitaly Petrov. Later she said, “I felt no pres-sure tonight. I felt in about the same shape as at the World Championships. I just gave it

everything I had.“I was overconfi-

dent going into Berlin, so I didn’t want to promise too much here. So, honestly, this is like a dream.”

For U.S. fans, per-haps bigger news than the exploits of either Isinbayeva or Bolt was Dathan Ritzen-hein’s unlooked-for American Record 5K of 12:56.27 (see box) behind Kenenisa Bekele.

Isinbayeva and Bekele thus both stayed alive in the Golden League Jack-pot hunt, as did Sanya Richards.

A strong homestretch gave her the year’s first sub-49, 48.94 (the No. 4 U.S. performance ever), to turn back the 49.83 of Allyson Felix.

LaShawn Merritt again showed superior homestretch strength over Jeremy Wariner to win the men’s 1-lapper, 44.21–44.62.

Carmelita Jeter’s sharp start car-ried her to a 10.86 triumph (wind +0.7) ahead of Kerron Stewart and Berlin champ Shelly-Ann Fraser

by Jon HendershottIt wasn’t easy, but Yelena Isinbayeva ac-

tually succeeded in upstaging Usain Bolt as Zürich’s Golden League meet kicked off the post-World Champs portion of the season, bouncing back from her World Champs dis-appointment (see p. 43) to claim yet another World Record.

As usual, Weltklasse meet director Patrick Magyar assembled fields studded from top to bottom with WR holders, Olympic champions and winners from Berlin. Not surprisingly, Bolt was the überstar and the Jamaican came through twice.

First, he overcame an abysmal start in the 100 to collar countryman Asafa Powell around 80 meters. Then Bolt’s long legs carried him to a 9.81 victory (wind 0.0mps), 0.07 ahead of his visibly backing-off countryman.

In the meet-closing 4x1, Bolt displayed a mind-boggling turn of speed, coming from behind as he anchored a Jamaican foursome to a 37.70 win, 0.03 in front of a U.S. squad finished off by Wallace Spearmon.

Isinbayeva followed her usual wait-for-the-others routine as the field winnowed itself down. When the bar reached her 15-5½ (4.71) opener, only newly crowned world champ Anna Rogowska of Poland and Brazil’s Fabiana

(both 11.04). World champ Brigitte Foster-Hylton barely

held off the closing rush by American Dawn Harper, the Jamaican clocking a season-leading 12.46 while Harper matched her 12.48 PR. U.S. leader Lolo Jones reinjured a right calf

muscle after hurdle 9 and crow-hopped No. 10 to finish 8th (13.06) before being helped off the track by medics.

On the field, world champion Andreas Thorkildsen opened with a big 289-1 (88.13) javelin cast, but then erupted on his second heave with a massive season-pacing 299-6 (91.28).

Berlin high jump champ Blanka Vlašić cleared four heights on first try, including her winning 6-7 (2.01), to best Anna Chicherova with Chaunté Howard 3rd, both at 6-6 (1.98). World leader Ariane Friedrich made 6-4¼ (1.94) before missing three at 6-8 to end up 4th.

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Ritz Shocks With 5K ARAs Yelena Isinbayeva took a prolonged victory

lap in the raucous stadium, the men’s 5000 field toed the line and barely got started before Isi and a horde of photographers reached them. Kenenisa Bekele immediately tucked into 2nd behind two pac-ers, while American Dathan Ritzenhein dropped to the end of the 15-man field, giving no clue he was about to enter record territory (see p. 53).

The rabbits set a brisk 2:30.67/5:04.98 pace for the first 2K with Bekele a stride back. The Ethio-pian was the same distance behind pacer Thomas Longosiwa at 3000 (7:40.73). The rabbit swung wide and Bekele was on his own as Ritzenhein came through in 7:47.4.

At 4K (10:17.27), Bekele led by perhaps 15 me-ters from Kenyans Edwin Soi, Vincent Chepkok and Silas Kirpruto. Ritz, meanwhile, started to move through the pack, picking off runner after runner.

With about 700 left, Ritz was 6th; with 600 to go, he was 4th, then moved to 3rd with 500 to go. Ritz began making a run at Soi and with 250 to go, he took 2nd. But the Kenyan stayed close and regained 2nd on the final curve.

Bekele’s 60-flat last lap finished his 12:52.32 winner ahead of Soi (12:55.03), Ritz’s American Record 12:56.27 and Chepkok’s PR 12:58.17 .

“I don’t know what I expected in this race. But I’ll take this,” laughed Ritzenhein, who had spent time since Berlin training at altitude in St. Moritz. “But everything has felt so quick and so good.”

isinbayeva got to take the victory

lap she was denied in

Berlin

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wasn’t going to work for me. I just had to hold on at the back. It was so fast, I had to really stay focused, bring it back slowly and try to run a fairly even pace.

“I tried to just stay steady and do 62s all the way. That’s the way I have to run because I don’t have a fast miler gear. I just had to put the pedal down at the end.”

He added, “A big thing was to have someone to pull off of late in the race. I tried to use [Edwin] Soi late. I wasn’t thinking about time at that point—I was just trying to go all out.”

On the last backstretch, Ritz actually took over 2nd—leaving none other than Kenenisa Bekele in front of him. “Oh man!” he laughed. “I thought, ‘If I can beat Bekele, I’d rob him of a million dol-lars. He’s probably put out a hit on me!’ I was closing on the greatest runner in history. I just ran as well as I could and I think I ran an awesome race.”

Ritz said he isn’t likely to race again until the mid-October World Half-Marathon Championships in England. Asked how it felt to set the AR, he smiled again and replied, “I can’t believe it. I’m ecstatic. But I never thought it would be at 5K.

“That’s the crazy part. I thought maybe an AR could happen in the 10, but not the 5. That’s the bottom end of my gears. But I’m just really happy with it.” /Jon Hendershott/

Ritz Finds Some SpeedMichigan native Dathan Ritzenhein stayed patient in the Zürich

5000, working his way through the fi eld and actually moving to 2nd on the fi nal lap before coming home 3rd with his AR 12:56.27.

The time by the 26-year-old Colorado grad broke Bob Kennedy’s 12:58.21 U.S. record, set in Zürich in ’96. Ritz absolutely blew away his former best, 13:16.61, set in ’06.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Ritzenhein after the contest, bathed in sweat and wearing a grin of pleasure and amazement.

He had performed admirably in Berlin, fi nishing 6th in the 10,000 with a 13-second PR of 27:22.28, the highest title-meet place by an American since Frank Shorter’s 5th at the ’72 Olympics. Then he spent time training at alti-tude, accompanied by wife Kalin and daughter Addy.

“I was banged up a little after the London Marathon [2:10:00 PR in April],” he continued. “But after that, everything started coming to-gether. I’ve had three months of just amazing stuff. Sometimes words can’t describe when things happen like this.”

He admitted to some nerves before the Zürich race: “They talked about a fast pace. Alberto [coach Salazar] told me I couldn’t go out in a 4:02 fi rst mile. But I couldn’t get dropped either.

“When they went out at 2:30 for the fi rst kilometer, I had to make a choice. I knew that

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ful approach for the sprints and hurdles coach. This is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow system like no other we’ve seen which takes into account the most effective theories and programs of re-cent years. We like to use the term “cutting edge” spar-ingly, but for the coach who wants the latest and best in speed and strength develop-

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“That’s the

bottom end

of my gears”

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winning the race,” he said.Following the AR holder’s example, other

U.S. wins went to Shawn Crawford (20.80, wind -1.7), LaShawn Merritt (45.10), Nick Symmonds (1:47.30), Leo Manzano (3:41.10) and David Payne (13.60, wind -2.8).

The U.S. men also picked up a pair of field wins from Andra Manson (7-7¾/2.33) and Dwight Phillips (27-6½/8.39).

U.S. women victors included Carmelita Jeter (11.07, wind -0.9), Allyson Felix (23.12, wind -3.4) and Christin Wurth-Thomas (2:01.22).

zagreb gpVlašic Climbs Over PR 6-9¾

Hometown hero Blanka Vlašić gave a standing-room-only crowd plenty to cheer about as the two-time world champion high jumper skyed over a season-leading 6-9¾ (2.08) at the Zagreb GP.

The 25-year-old Croatian was hot all day as she cleared each of her five heights on first attempt. She didn’t miss until the World Record setting of 6-10¾ (2.10). “I really didn’t expect to clear 2.08 on my first attempt,” she said.

Although she was unable to break Stefka Kostadinova’s venerable ’87 WR, Vlašić now trails only the Bulgarian on the all-time list (and is equal with Kajsa Bergqvist).

Both men’s throws winners hurled season-leading efforts. Christian Cantwell punched the shot out to 72-8½ (22.16) and had two other heaves lon-ger than the 70-5¼ (21.47) best by Pole Tomasz Majewski.

Primož Kozmus whirled the ball an ’09-pacing 268-3 (81.77), more than 8 feet ahead of Krisztián Pars (259-9/79.18). Two days later in Celje, Kozmus extended his yearly leader to 270-11 (82.58).

gaTeshed gpU.S. Runners Dominant

Typically cool, damp weather at the Gateshead GP didn’t hold back U.S. men runners, who scored wins in six of the seven track events.

Leading the way, Tyson Gay sped 10.15 to take the 100, bucking a 2.0mps wind. “It wasn’t about times today, just

rieTi gpRudisha Red-Hot In 800

One of the Berlin 800 favorites, David Rud-isha just missed making the World Champs final with the fastest non-advancing time in the nasty 2+2 semis.

But the 20-year-old from Kenya’s Rift Valley, who ranked No. 1 in the world in ’07, made amends in a huge way at the Rieti GP by blazing over two circuits of the Stadio Raul Guidobaldi oval in a stunning 1:42.01, the fastest 800 since

two WRs in ’97 by Wilson Kipketer.Rudisha’s time moved him to No. 4

performer in history, trailing only Kip-keter (1:41.11 ’97), Seb Coe (1:41.73 ’81) and Joaquim Cruz (1:41.77 ’84).

Rudisha wasn’t even entered until two days before Rieti and after he had won in Brussels (following an earlier big win in Zürich). But he came home ahead of PRs by the last two world champs, Al-fred Kirwa Yego (1:42.67) and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (1:42.86).

“I knew I was in good shape and ready to run 1:42,” said Rudisha, son of ’68 Olympic 4x4 silver medalist Daniel Rudisha. “I’m happy because I have bounced back after missing the final in Berlin.” He has also made the World Rankings very interesting.

In the 1500, Kenyan William Biwott won in 3:33.00, just ahead of a PR 3:33.33 by Leo Manzano which made him the No. 10 American ever.

Britain’s Lisa Dobriskey took a close women’s 1500 at 4:01.23, 0.06 ahead of world champ Maryam Jamal, with Amer-ican Shannon Rowbury 3rd (4:03.46).

giancarlo colombo/photo run photos

Three big post-WC wins put rudisha on top of the

800 world

biwott (r) won the rieti

1500, but Manzano (l) got a big pr

p54 (Zag-gates-riet).indd 54 11/30/09 12:37:10 pm


by Brian RussellEdition 33 of the Van

Damme Memorial marked not only the conclusion of the ’09 Golden League, but also the end of the Golden League series itself.

Next year, the IAAF’s new Diamond League—with each overall event winner picking up a 4-carat diamond—will be in effect, with the first of the 14 meetings slated to take place May 14 in Doha.

The sellout Brussels crowd of 47,000 was eager to see Jackpot contenders Sanya Richards, Yelena Isinbayeva and Kenenisa Bekele, but by far the loudest ovation was reserved for Usain Bolt, who would delight them with an-other superb demonstration of his unparalleled 200 talent.

With damp and breezy conditions and temperatures hovering around 60 (15C), it was Richards who was first to lay claim to at least a share of the million-dollar jackpot.

The world champion took off quickly and

had a commanding lead as she came off the second turn. No one was near as she powered toward the finish line, looking like she had

much more in reserve if need be. She crossed in a world-leading 48.83, nearly a second and a half ahead of Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain (50.43).

Asked how the season as a whole had gone for her, Richards responded humbly, “This year, to win a world title first and then be able to come back and win the jackpot was just very special for me.”

Her time set a new meet record and equaled the No. 2 time in U.S. history, just 0.13 off her own AR.

Next in line was Isi. She entered the vault at 15-5 (4.70), clearing that height on her first attempt, leaving her soundly in 1st.

Three others—Poland’s Monika Pyrek, Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg and Brazil-ian Fabiana Murer—cleared the height, but they all had misses on their card.

Thus, after the Russian passed at 15-7, no one else could make a clearance and the WR holder was guaranteed a share of the jackpot. She tried to add to her coffers with a World Record attempt of 16-7½ (5.07), but came up short on her three tries.

Coincidentally enough, as Isinbayeva was in the middle of her record attempts, Bekele had his hands full in the men’s 5000.

The double world champion had followed Kenyan pacesetter Benson Esho through 2000 meters before taking the reins himself, cruising past 3000 in

BruSSelS gOldeN league fiNale

Isi, Bekele & Richards Share The Final Million

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7:45.51. Soon he had a 7-meter gap on a pack that included countrymen Imane Merga, Ali Abdosh, Kenyans Vincent Chepkok, Josphat Bett and Joseph Ebuya and American Matt Tegenkamp.

With four laps remaining Bekele slowed his pace, allowing his pursuers to close and with a lap to go there was wonder whether this could be the time he would be run down.

Challenge they did, but Bekele simply bided his time before upping the tempo and sprinting home in 12:55.31, covering the last 400 in 55-flat, 0.35 ahead of Merga and 0.67 in front of Chepkok.

Finishing in a very respectable 7th was Tegenkamp, whose PR 12:58.56 moved him to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. list behind Dathan Ritzenhein and Bob Kennedy.

Sandwiched in between all of this was a WR by Kenya in the men’s 4 x 1500 (see box) and Bolt’s mad dash in the 200.

As one would expect, the half-lapper was placed near the end of the meeting and weather conditions had not improved much. Bolt—who ran in a variety of adverse conditions throughout the summer—wasn’t bothered in the slightest. In lane 6, he had American Wallace Spearman (7) to his immediate right.

That stagger was eclipsed after 50 meters and he was already clear of the field by 5 meters as he entered the straight. He glided to the finish in history’s No. 4 time, 19.57, bettering Tyson Gay’s meet record by 0.22.

Gay, in the meantime, lost his duel in the 100 against former WR holder Asafa Powell. The Jamaican got the jump on the field and ran away from everyone as he crossed the line in 9.90, a full 10th ahead of his American rival.

Kenya Takes Down Ancient 4 x 1500 WR

In a race that included teams from the U.S., Australia, England, Belgium and a mixed team of all-stars, Kenya’s 4 x 1500 quartet of William Biwott, Gideon Gathimba, Geoffrey Rono and Augustine Choge bettered the oldest of all of-ficial IAAF World Records.

The record assault would be both a different task for the runners in this rarely run event. For one, all teams were running without the help of rabbits. Meet director Wilfried Meert, noting that even though countries like Kenya routinely churn out world-class 1500 runners, said, “We have made a generation of guys who are used to running only behind pacemakers.”

At the first exchange, Biwott (3:38.5) was slightly behind the mixed team’s Belal Man-soor Ali (3:38.1). Gathimba’s 3:39.5 gave the Kenyans a comfortable lead and by the time Rono (3:41.4) handed off to Choge, all eyes were glued to the clock.

Choge, inspired by the enthusiastic crowd and the thought of a record, finished his leg in 3:36.9 for a WR 14:36.23, bettering West Ger-many’s ’77 mark by more than 2.5 seconds.

An odd event it may have been, but the sellout crowd couldn’t have been happier, since in addition to witnessing a World Record, adult spectators were rewarded with a fine Belgian beer. Three cheers for Kenya!

Next year’s season-ending prizes will be a bit easier to carry

p55 (Brussels).indd 55 9/17/09 3:34:21 PM


ZÜRICH GOLDEN LEAGUE Zürich, Switzerland, August 28—100(0.0): 1. Bolt (Jam) 9.81; 2. Powell (Jam) 9.88; 3.

Patton (US) 9.95; 4. Rodgers (US) 9.98. 400: 1. Merritt (US) 44.21; 2. Wariner (US) 44.62; 3.

Quow (Tri) 44.77; 4. Gillick (Ire) 45.25.800: 1. Rudisha (Ken) 1:43.52 PR; 2. Kirwa Yego (Ken)

1:43.66 PR; 3. Mulaudzi (SA) 1:44.03. 1500: 1. Choge (Ken) 3:33.38; 2. Ali (Bhr) 3:33.74; 3.

Kiprop (Ken) 3:34.09.

St: 1. Kemboi (Ken) 8:04.44; 2. Tahri (Fra) 8:05.29; 3. Koech (Ken) 8:06.10.

5000: 1. Bekele (Eth) 12:52.32 (WL) (2:31.2, 2:34.3 [5:05.5], 2:35.4 [7:40.9], 2:36.4 [10:17.3], 2:35.0) (59.3, 2:03.0, 3:06.9, 4:10.2); 2. Soi (Ken) 12:55.03 (59.7, 2:03.2);

3. Ritzenhein (US) 12:56.27 AR (old AR 12:58.21 Kennedy [Nike] ’96) (30.9 [15th], 61.8 [1:32.7] [15th], 61.8 [2:34.5] [15th], 61.3 [3:35.8] [15th], 62.7 [4:38.5] [15th], 62.2 [5:40.7] [14th], 62.8 [6:43.5] [12th], 63.9 [7:47.4] [11th], 62.9 [8:50.3] [9th], 62.9 [9:53.2] [8th], 62.5 [10:55.7] [7th], 60.4 [11:56.1] [3rd], 60.2 [3rd]) (kilos: 2:34.5, 2:34.9 [5:09.4], 2:38.0 [7:47.4], 2:37.2 [10:24.6], 2:31.7) (finish: 60.2, 2:00.6, 3:03.1, 4:06.0).

110H(0.2): 1. Thomas (Jam) 13.16 NR; 2. Trammell (US) 13.17; 3. Brathwaite (Bar) 13.27.

4 x 100: 1. Jamaica 37.70 (Clarke, Frater, Mullings, Bolt); 2. United States 37.73 (AL) (10 A) (Trammell, Rodgers, Patton, Spearmon); 3. Trinidad 38.20 (Bledman, Burns, Callender, Thompson).

TJ: 1. Évora (Por) 57-¼ (17.38); 2. Giralt (Cub) 56-9½ (17.31); 3. Sands (Bah) 56-1¼ (17.10).

JT: 1. Thorkildsen (Nor) 299-6 (91.28) (WL) (289-1, 299-6, p, p, p, p); 2. Ruuskanen (Fin) 280-2 (85.39); 3. Mannio (Fin) 268-5 (81.82).

Zürich Women100(0.7): 1. Jeter (US) 10.86; 2. Stewart (Jam) 11.04;

3. Ferguson McKenzie (Bah) 11.04. 400: 1. Richards (US) 48.94 (WL, AL) (x, 4 A); 2. Felix

(US) 49.83; 3. S. Williams (Jam) 50.40.1500: 1. Jamal (Bhr) 3:59.15; 2. Willard (US) 3:59.38

PR (AL) (3, 8 A; non-Slaney: 2, 4 A); 3. Dobriskey (GB)

3:59.50 PR; 4. Rowbury (US) 4:00.81; 5. Wurth-Thomas (US) 4:01.01; 6. Alminova (Rus) 4:01.15.

100H(-0.4): 1. Foster-Hylton (Jam) 12.46 (WL); 2. Harper (US) 12.48 =PR (=8, x A); 3. Felicien (Can) 12.61.

HJ: 1. Vlašić (Cro) 6-7 (2.01) (6-2¾, 6-4¼, 6-6, 6-7, 6-8¾ [xxx]) (1.90, 1.94, 1.98, 2.01, 2.05 [xxx]); 2. Chicherova (Rus) 6-6 (1.98); 3. Howard (US) 6-6 (=AL); 4. Friedrich (Ger) 6-4¼ (1.94).

PV: 1. Isinbayeva (Rus) 16-7¼ (5.06) WR (15-9¼, 16-7¼); 2. Rogowska (Pol) 15-7¼ (4.76); 3. Murer (Bra) 15-5½ (4.71).

ZAGREB GP Zagreb, Croatia, August 31—100(0.6): 1. Patton 9.94. 1500: 1. Ali 3:36.20. 110H(0.0): 1.

Brathwaite 13.35. 400H: 1. Phillips (Jam) 48.51.LJ: 1. Berrabah (Mor) 26-9 (8.15). SP: 1. Cantwell (US)

72-8½ (22.16) (WL, AL) (68-2¼, 71-2, 69-9¾, 70-6¼, 69-2, 72-8½). HT: 1. Kozmus (Slo) 268-3 (81.77) (WL) (f, 263-7, 257-6, 268-3, 264-9, 267-5).

Zagreb Women100(0.6): 1. Campbell-Brown (Jam) 11.15. 400: 1. Firova

(Rus) 50.80. 800: 1. Savinova (Rus) 1:59.38. 3000: 1. Ayalew (Eth) 8:37.12. 100H(-0.4): 1. Harper 12.67. 400H: 1. Spencer (Jam) 54.69.

HJ: 1. Vlašić 6-9¾ (2.08) (WL) (=2, =2 W) (6-2¾, 6-4¼, 6-6¾, 6-8¾, 6-9¾, 6-10¾ WR [xxx]). TJ: 1. Gay (Cub) 47-10 (14.58). DT: 1. Barrios (Cub) 208-5 (63.53).

GATESHEAD GP Gateshead, England, August 31—100(-2.0): 1. Gay (US) 10.15. 200(-1.7): 1. Crawford (US)

20.80. 400: 1. Merritt 45.10. 800: 1. Symmonds (US) 1:47.30. 1500: 1. Manzano (US) 3:41.10. 3000: 1. Kipsiro (Uga) 7:35.69. 110H(-2.8): 1. Payne (US) 13.60.

HJ: 1. Manson (US) 7-7¾ (2.33). PV: 1. tie, Chistiakov (Rus) & Miles (US) 18-8¼ (5.70). LJ: 1. Phillips (US) 27-6½ (8.39). TJ: 1. Idowu (GB) 56-10 (17.32).

Gateshead Women100(-0.9): 1. Jeter 11.07. 200(-3.4): 1. Felix 23.13. 400: 1.

Ohuruogu (GB) 50.94.800: 1. Wurth-Thomas (US) 2:01.22. 1500: 1. Dobriskey 4:13.60. 3000: 1. Cheruiyot (Ken) 8:53.04.

100H(-1.9): 1. Foster-Hylton 12.88. 400H: 1. Morosanu (Rom) 55.26. JT: 1. Špotáková (CzR) 215-1 (65.57).

BRUSSELS GOLDEN LEAGUE Brussels, Belgium, September 4 (attendance 47,000

sellout; damp & cool)—100(-0.4): 1. Powell 9.90; 2. Gay 10.00; 3. Patton

10.08.200(0.0): 1. Bolt 19.57 (x, 4 A) (MR); 2. Spearmon (US)

20.19; 3. Guliyev (Aze) 20.47. 400: 1. Wariner 44.94; 2. Quow 45.55; 3. Bingham

(GB) 45.70.800: 1. Rudisha 1:45.80 (1:19.32); 2. Kirwa Yego 1:46.36;

3. Reed (Can) 1:46.82. St: 1. Koech 8:04.05

(5:23.67); 2. Matelong (Ken) 8:06.92; 3. Keskisalo (Fin) 8:13.34.

5000: 1. Bekele 12:55.31 (7:45.51, 10:24.22); 2. Merga (Eth) 12:55.66 PR; 3. Chep-kok (Ken) 12:55.98 PR;…7. Tegenkamp (US) 12:58.56 PR (3, 3 A).

110H(-1.3): 1. Brathwaite 13.30; 2. Thomas 13.38; 3. Brown (US) 13.39.

4 x 1500: 1. Kenya 14:36.23 WR (old WR 14:38.8 West Ger-many ’77) (W. Biwott 3:38.5, Gathimba 3:39.5, G. Rono 3:41.4, Choge 3:36.9—avg. 3:39.06); 2. All-Stars 14:44.31 (4 W) (Ali [Bhr] 3:38.1, Bir-gen [Ken] 3:43.3, Kemboi [Ken] 3:40.0, Campbell [Aus] 3:43.0); 3. Australia 14:46.92 (8 W) (Birmingham 3:39.2, Gregson 3:44.2, Kealey 3:43.3, Bromley 3:40.3).

JT: 1. Pitkämäki (Fin) 282-11 (86.23) (282-11, 265-9, 270-0, 274-0, f, 274-1); 2. Thorkildsen 271-0 (82.61); 3. Vasilevskis (Lat) 270-5 (82.42).

Brussels Women100(0.5): 1. Jeter 10.88;

2. Fraser (Jam) 10.98; 3. Stewart 11.05.

400: 1. Richards 48.83 (WL, AL) (x, =2 A) (MR); 2.

Ohuruogu 50.43; 3. S. Williams 50.55.800: 1. Willard 1:59.14; 2. Simpson (GB) 1:59.40; 3.

Savinova 1:59.49. 2000: 1. Burka (Eth) 5:30.19 PR (WL) (=6, =7 W)

(4:23.70) (MR); 2. Cheruiyot 5:35.46; 3. Cherono (Ken) 5:35.65 PR.

100H(1.0): 1. Foster-Hylton 12.48; 2. Lopes-Schliep (Can) 12.49 PR; 3. Ennis-London (Jam) 12.71.

Field EventsHJ: 1. Vlašić 6-6¾ (2.00); 2. Chicherova 6-6¾; 3.

Howard 6-5½ (1.97). PV: 1. Isinbayeva 15-5 (4.70) (15-5, 16-7½ WR [xxx]);

2. Pyrek (Pol) 15-5; 3. Spiegelburg (Ger) 15-5.TJ: 1. Aldama (Sud) 46-10 (14.27); 2. Smith (Jam) 46-8¼

(14.23); 3. Alekhina (Rus) 46-5½ (14.16).

RIETI GP Rieti, Italy, September 6 (altitude 402m)—100(-1.5): 1. Powell 9.99. 200(-0.9): 1. Spearmon 20.27.

400: 1. Tobin (GB) 45.30. 800: 1. Rudisha 1:42.01 NR (WL) (4, 7 W) (fastest in

world since ’97) (1:15.76); 2. Kirwa Yego 1:42.67 PR (12, x W); 3. Mulaudzi 1:42.86 PR (18, x W).1500: 1. W. Biwott (Ken) 3:33.00. 3000: 1. Kiplimo (Ken) 7:31.20 PR.

PV: 1. tie, Mazuryk (Ukr) & Chistiakov 18-1¼ (5.52).

Rieti Women100(-2.4): 1. Fraser 11.18. 200(-2.0): 1. Stewart

22.62. 1500: 1. Dobriskey 4:01.23. St: 1. Bisibori (Ken) 9:13.92. 3000: 1. Kibet 8:43.93. 100H(-2.5): 1. Foster-Hylton 12.78.

HJ: 1. Gordeyeva (Rus) 6-5½ (1.97). LJ: 1. Meleshina (Rus) 22-8 (6.91). DT: 1. Barrios 213-1 (64.95).

— IAAF Grand Prix Results —G

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Kenya’s recordsetting 4x15 (l–r): Choge, Rono, Gathimba, Biwott

p56 (GPmagate).indd 56 9/17/09 3:51:16 PM


by Roy ConradWouldn’t you know it? In

our October edition, we lauded four super-senior candidates for having high-end national-record credentials supporting their position for High School Boys Athlete Of The Year.

No sooner did we do that than along came another mainstream record breaker to throw his well-qualified hat into the ring.

At the Pan-Am Junior Championships, Wayne Davis (Southeast, Raleigh) twice flew over the 39-inch highs faster than any high schooler before him.

In his heat, the prize Texas A&M recruit rolled to a 13.19 (wind +1.5mps) to cut the WJR (13.23 by Poland’s Artur Noga in ’06) as well as the combined AJR/HSR (13.30 by Ohioan Chris Nelloms back in ’90).

Then in the final, with an exactly-legal 2.0mps of Carib-bean breeze at his back, Davis bore down to slash a big 0.11 off his mark with a 13.08, well ahead of teammate Booker Nunley’s 13.32.

After many long years, the auto-time record is at last intrinsically superior to Renaldo Ne-hemiah’s famed hand-timed 12.9 of ’77.

The 5-11/156 Davis did it all while still 17 years old. He turned 18 three weeks later.

Davis coped with a right ankle severely turned in a pickup basketball game in Febru-ary, yet he sped a flurry of PRs in major meets starting in mid-May: 13.58 State, 13.56 Golden West, 13.33 Nike Outdoor heat (13.37 to win final) and 13.31 U.S. Juniors heat (windy 13.16 to take final).

Heading to the Pan-Ams, Davis said, “I knew it was my last chance to do something big at the 39-inch hurdles. My goal was to run below 13.1; a 13-oh or maybe even a 12.9.”

But he got to Trinidad not feeling all that well. “My stomach bothered me, but I don’t know what the problem was,” he recalled.

“I felt slow in practice, but my coach Steve McGill has told me that feel-ing slow doesn’t mean you can’t run fast. I decided to just go out and run.”

In his heat, Davis said, “I shut it down with two hurdles to go and yet it was a 13.19. It was the easiest race I ever ran—even if I felt really slow. I knew if I ran hard in the final, I could do a lot better.”

Davis is hypercritical of his racing and said of the record ef-fort, “I made a few mistakes that nobody else would notice. But it didn’t feel right to me from about the seventh hurdle on.”

Yet he also didn’t feel the

paN-am juNiOr champiONShipS

Davis In Prep AOY Hunt

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hurdles coming up too fast, crowding his stride. Nor did he expect to pull away from Nunley after the eighth obstacle. “Then all the internal pressure I had built up was released,” he said. “I was happy, but I had to celebrate and release

the tension. It was an amazing feeling. But I know I could still do better. I’m always work-ing on things, trying to fix things.”

Another of the original AOY leaders con-tinued his record assault, picking up a pair of gold medals.

Mason Finley (Buena Vista, Colorado) With the Junior disc (1.75kg/3.86lb), Finley set no fewer than three AJR/HSR marks: 207-1, 208-5 and finally 214-4.

He also moved to No. 2 on the all-time prep list with the junior shot, reaching 66-9¾.

The big star on the women’s side was sprinter Chalonda Goodman (Newnan, Geor-gia), who took the 100 at a PR and yearly prep leading 11.22, the 200 in 23.08 and anchored the U.S. to a 44.09 4x1 victory.

— men’s Winners — Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, July 31–August 2—100(0.7): 1. Rowland (US) 10.03 (3, 3 WJ; 2, 2 AJ). 200(1.4):

1. Ashmeade (Jam) 20.40 PR. 400: 1. James (Grn) 45.43; 2. Tate (US) 45.50 (l-a HSL).

800: 1. Acea (Cub) 1:48.09. 1500: 1. Fleet (US) 3:48.04. St: 1. Wolter (Can) 9:05.28 PR. 5000: 1. Ahmed (Can) 14:12.11. 10,000: 1. Aravena (Chl) 31:01.70.

110H(39in)(2.0): 1. Davis (US) 13.08 WJR, AJR, HSR (old records 13.19 Davis in heats; also faster than 42-inch 13.12 Liu [Chn] ’02); 2. Nunley (US) 13.32 (=9, x WJ; =5, x AJ).

Heats: I(1.5)–1. Davis 13.19 WJR, AJR, HSR (old WJR 13.23 Noga [Pol] ’06) (old AJR, HSR 13.30 Nelloms [OhHS] ’90).

400H: 1. Wynne (US) 49.31 PR. 10W: 1. Gómez (Mex) 42:19.56 PR.

4 x 100: 1. 39.06 (Talley, Cherry, Rhodes, Rowland). 4 x 400: 1. United States 3:03.25 (Parros, Walker, Hughes, Tate).

HJ: 1. Drouin (Can) 7-5¼ (2.27) NJR. PV: 1. Whitt (US) 17-¾ (5.20). LJ: 1. Bowen (Pan) 25-10¾ (7.89). TJ: 1. Claye (US) 54-4½ (16.57).

JrSP(6kg): 1. Finley (US) 66-9¾ (20.36) (5, 9 AJ; 2, 2 HS) (61-8½, 66-3¼ [=5, x AJ; 2, 5 HS], 66-8½ [5, 10 AJ; 2, 2 HS], 66-9¾, f, 65-11¾).

JrDT(1.75kg): 1. Finley (US) 214-4 (65.34) AJR, HSR (old records 208-5/63.54 Finley in series) (9, x WJ) (207-1 HSR [old HSR 204-3/66.26 Finley ’09] [2, 2 AJ], 198-10, f, 208-5 AJR, HSR [old AJR 207-5/63.22 Milne [PennSt] ’92], f, 214-4). JrHT: 1. Cabrera (Cub) 257-2 (78.38);… 3. Welch 223-10 (68.22) (4, x AJ; 3, x HS) (212-5, 219-10 [9, x AJ; 5, x HS], f, f, f, 223-10). JT: 1. Toledo (Arg) 229-1 (69.84) NJR.

Dec: 1. Beach (US) 7377 (x, 6 HS).

— Women’s Winners —100(0.8): 1. Goodman (US) 11.22 (HSL) (10, x HS). 200(1.3):

1. Goodman (US) 23.08. 400: 1. Padilla (Col) 53.60.800: 1. Almanza (Cub) 2:03.83. 1500: 1. Hasay (US) 4:26.26.

St: 1. Ocampo (Cub) 10:32.38 PR. 3000: 1. Galván (Mex) 10:02.32 PR. 5000: 1. Andrews (US) 16:42.38 PR.

100H(2.2): 1. Williams (Jam) 13.22w. 400H: 1. Tracey (Jam) 57.82. 10W: 1. Uribe (Mex) 50:07.00. 4 x 100: 1. United States 44.09 (J. Davis, Am. Purvis, Allen, Goodman). 4 x 400: 1. United States 3:36.34 (Usery, Cooper, Schueler, Richardson).

HJ: 1. Pressley (US) 5-9¼ (1.76). PV: 1. Willer (US) 14-1¼ (4.30) (x, =6 AJ). LJ: 1. Boyd (US) 19-11½ (6.08). TJ: 1. Alcántara (Cub) 43-2½ (13.17).

SP: 1. Jelmini (US) 53-8½ (16.37). DT: 1. de Morais (Bra) 181-4 (55.28) NJR. HT: 1. Ford (Cub) 209-8 (63.92). JT: 1. Murillo (Col) 169-10 (51.76).

Hept: 1. Spínola (Bra) 5574.

Davis finally brought the hurdle record down into

Nehemiah territory

p57 (Pan-AmJr).indd 57 9/17/09 3:33:32 PM


LAST LAPPappas Comes Back Big

In his first decathlon in more than a year, three-time Olympian Tom Pappas scored 8569 points to win the early-August Thorpe Cup in Marburg, Germany.

It was the highest total for the ’03 world champ since he scored 8732 at the ’04 Götzis meet.

“The Thorpe meet was a lot of fun,” says the 33-year-old Pappas, an assistant at Kansas State. “Being a team meet, you’re not focused just on yourself. You want to try to help your team win.”

Pappas’ score includ-ed efforts of 10.86, 25-½ (7.63), 55-2¼ (16.82), 6-9½ (2.07), 49.49, 14.19, 169-2 (51.57), 16-6¾ (5.05), 202-5 (61.70) and 5:00.77.

Pappas has battled foot injuries since ’04, mainly plantar fascia problems that caused him to DNF the last two Olympics as well as the ’07 Worlds. He also had a stress fracture in a foot this spring.

He says, “I was in decent shape at the time of USATF, but my foot wasn’t 100%. So I didn’t compete. It was hard to sit and watch in Eugene, but I just needed a little more time.

“Everything started clicking after nationals, so the timing for the Thorpe Cup was fortunate. I went into the meet the healthiest I’ve been in years. Now I’ve learned to take care of any small injury right away.”

Kennedy OK With AR LossBob Kennedy really didn’t

mind surrendering his American Record in the 5000 to Dathan Ritzenhein (see p. 52). Ritz’s 12:56.27 in Zürich lowered Ken-nedy’s ’96 mark of 12:58.21, also run in the Swiss city.

“If you’re not breaking Ameri-can Records more frequently than that,” the retired Indiana grad told the Indianapolis Star’s David Woods of the 13-year reign of his mark, “then you’re not progress-ing as a nation in that sport. It’s time to move on and get better.”

Kennedy, 39, admitted he doesn’t follow track as closely as he once did. The day his record fell, Kennedy’s wife Melina filed paperwork for a possible Indy mayoral bid in ’11. “It’s the closing of one chapter and the opening of another,” he said.

Rudisha Now A WR Threat?After David Rudisha impressed with his

1:42.01 in Rieti (see p. 54)—the world’s fastest 800 since ’97—the runner’s noted coach said the 20-year-old could threaten the World Record.

Brother Colm O’Connell, who has men-tored many Kenyan greats for more than three decades, told the Nairobi Daily Nation, “Many top athletes tried to break the record. People like Billy Konchellah, Paul Ereng and Japheth Kimutai have made their mark. But their efforts were never suc-cessful.”

O’Connell feels that Rudisha has been held back only by injuries. “This is only his third year [in the 800],” the coach said of the one-time 400 sprinter and even decathlete.

“He needs to gain experience and next year provides the best chance for him to break the record as there will be no serious competitions… He is developing by the day.”

Webb Heads WestAmerican Record-holding miler Alan Webb

has decided to move from his Virginia home (and longtime coach Scott Raczko) to Oregon to join the Portland-based training group directed by Alberto Salazar. Raczko coached Webb for 10

years, as a star high schooler and then after the runner’s one college year at Michigan.

After setting a 3:46.91 AR in ’07 Webb over-trained in ’08, then and suffered from hamstring and Achilles problems this season.

Salazar told Dick Patrick of USA Today that he was “completely surprised” by Webb’s call asking to join the group coached by Salazar and Jerry Schumacher.

Webb’s agent Ray Flynn told Patrick, “It’s an amicable decision between Alan and Scott.

[Alan] likes the resources and infrastructure of the Oregon project.”

Crawford Gets USATF Coach JobVeteran Terry Crawford is USATF’s first

Director of Coaching. The ’88 Olympic women’s head was named to the new position by CEO Doug Logan in mid-August.

Crawford will serve as liaison to coaches and the coaching community, oversee USATF’s Coaching Education program, develop a coaching certification procedure, oversee

Record alterations reported since the October issue. W=World; A=American; J=Junior; HS=High School; + = event not recognized by ratify-

ing body.

MEN TRACK100 9.58 W Usain Bolt (Jamaica).......................................................Berlin, Germany ...........................August 16

9.71 A Tyson Gay (adidas) ........................................................Berlin, Germany ...........................August 16

200 19.19 W Usain Bolt (Jamaica).......................................................Berlin, Germany ...........................August 20

5000 12:56.27 A Dathan Ritzenhein (Nike)................................................Zürich, Switzerland .......................August 28

Jr110H 13.19 WJ, AJ, HS Wayne Davis (Southeast, Raleigh, North Carolina) ........Port-of-Spain, Trinidad ..................... July 31

13.08 WJ, AJ, HS Wayne Davis (Southeast, Raleigh, North Carolina) ........Port-of-Spain, Trinidad ..................... July 31

4 x 1500 14:36.23 W Kenya .............................................................................Brussels, Belgium .................. September 04

(William Biwott 3:38.5, Gideon Gathimba 3:39.5, Geoffrey Rono 3:41.4, Augustine Choge 3:36.9)

MEN FIELDJrDT 63.12 207-1 HS Mason Finley (Buena Vista, Colorado) .......................Port-of-Spain, Trinidad .................... July 31

63.54 208-5 AJ, HS Mason Finley (Buena Vista, Colorado) .......................Port-of-Spain, Trinidad .................... July 31

65.34 214-4 AJ, HS Mason Finley (Buena Vista, Colorado) .......................Port-of-Spain, Trinidad .................... July 31

WOMEN TRACKSt 9:12.50 A Jenny Barringer (Colorado) ............................................Berlin, Germany ...........................August 17

WOMEN FIELDPV 5.06 16-7¼ W Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) ........................................Zürich, Switzerland .................... August 28

HT 77.96 255-9 W Anita Włodarczyk (Poland) .........................................Berlin, Germany ......................... August 22

WORLD RECORDs sET EARLIER IN ’09Men: 150+—15.30 Usain Bolt (Jamaica); 300(l-a)+—31.30 LaShawn Merritt (US); 10K road—27:01 Micah Kogo (Kenya); 15K road—41:29=

Deribe Merga (Ethiopia). Women: SpMed+—3:34.56 Jamaica.

FOR THE RECORD

World Indoor Medals Change HandsWith the drug DQs of Yelena soboleva and Yuliya Fomenko

(T&FN, October), the IAAF has recast the medals from the ’08 World Indoor Championships, where the Rus-sian pair finished 1–2.

Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka will now get the gold, Bahrain’s Maryam Jamal the silver medal and Bulgaria’s Dan-iela Yordanova the bronze. The revised finishers are also expected to receive the prize money awarded for their places.

Tom Pappas

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The Bible Of The Sport November 2009— 59

in the Commonwealth Games, set for New Delhi in October ’10. And he doesn’t expect to compete in-doors. “I’ll see what my coach has in store for me and then decide,” Bolt said of those topics.

’09 Coaching Hall Of FameA half-dozen premier coaches

of U.S. collegiate track comprise the ’09 class for induction into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame.•Art Gulden directed Bucknell to 68 Patriot League titles, 18 in cross country.

•Pitch Johnson coached at Stanford, then Drake for 12 seasons and directed the Drake Relays for 7 years.

•Oscar Moore led Rowan (formerly Glassboro State) to five NCAA III team titles and 19 straight New Jersey Conference crowns.

•Chuck Rohe directed Tennessee’s men’s squad to 21 straight SEC track and cross country titles.

•Duane Vandenbusche guided the men’s and women’s teams from Colorado’s Western State to 12 national cross country victories (10 NCAA II, 2 NAIA).

•Gary Winckler led Florida State’s women to the ’84 NCAA team win before directing lllinois to 11 Big 10 titles.

Jamaicans SuspendedFour of the five Jamaican

athletes whose samples from the Jamaican Championships tested positive for a stimulant (T&FN, October) have been handed 3-month suspensions.

Sprinters Marvin Anderson, Yohan Blake, Allodin Fothergill and Lansford Spence all admitted to ingesting the drug and were suspended by the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission.

Fifth athlete Sheri-Ann Brooks escaped sanction because testers violated protocol with respect to the handling of her B sample.

The substance in question, 4-methyl-2-hexanamine is not specifically listed on WADA’s banned list but is proscribed as one of a wide variety of drugs “chemically related.”

All five athletes, Racers TC clubmates of Usain Bolt, were pulled off Jamaica’s Berlin team because of the pending tests.

2-Regionals Confirmed For 2010Although there was some speculation that

the NCAA’s proposed new 2-Regional setup would be so cumbersome that the whole concept would just be stripped, the best collegians will indeed be split into East and West for next year’s NCAA Championships.

Texas will host the West meet, with the East at North Carolina A&T (Indiana had originally bid but may have facility-

construction issues).The 6 BCS conferences had asked for a ces-

sation of the Regionals but the NCAA Cabinet denied the proposal.

STAT CORNER

All-Time Golden League Jackpot Winners

When the old Golden 4 was terminated after the ’97 season and the IAAF launched its Golden League, one of the big selling points of the new setup was the million dollars—graphically represented with gold bars—jackpot awarded to those winning a certain number of competitions during the year (the number varied).

With this year’s Brussels meet (see p. 55), the Golden League has come to the end of its lifespan, to be replaced in ’10 by the new Diamond League. With her share of the booty this year, Sanya Richards became the first woman ever to win three times (Hicham El Guerrouj won four on the men’s side). The all-time winners:

1998—Hicham El Guerrouj & Haile Gebrselassie; Marion

Jones

1999—Wilson Kipketer, Gabriela Szabo

2000—El Guerrouj & Maurice Greene; Gail Devers, Trine Hattestad

& Tatyana Kotova2001—André Bucher, El Guerrouj & Allen Johnson; Violeta

Szekely & Olga Yegorova

2002—El Guerrouj & Félix Sánchez; Ana Guevara & Jones

2003—no men; Maria Mutola

2004—Christian Olsson; Tonique Williams-Darling

2005—no men; Tatyana Lebedeva

2006—Asafa Powell & Jeremy Wariner; Sanya Richards

2007—no men; Yelena Isinbayeva & Richards

2008—no men; Pamela Jelimo

2009—Kenenisa Bekele; Isinbayeva & Richards

national-team coaching selection and direct track’s residence program at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center.

That’s a hefty laundry list of tasks, but former Tennessee and Texas and current Cal Poly SLO coach Crawford said, “To be able to elevate USATF’s service to coaches and, by extension, to athletes, is something I couldn’t pass up. I’m looking forward to being part of this new era.”

Usain Bolt, Long Jumper?Almost from Usain Bolt’s first WR in ’08,

fans speculated on how fast he might run the 400. But he has deflected making any definitive statements about moving up.

Similarly, some media members in Berlin and Zürich seemed eager to turn Bolt into Jesse Owens or Carl Lewis, pressing the Jamaican superstar on whether he might try the long jump.

“I said that I want-ed to do the long jump, but not anytime soon,” Bolt said on return-ing home to Kingston in mid-September. “Maybe five years from now.”

Bolt, who has a PR of 45.28, added with a laugh, “As for the 400, that’s out.”

He also said he is uncertain about competing

Track & Field NewsThe Bible Of The Sport Since 1948

Founded by Bert & Cordner Nelson

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WORLD RANKINGS COMPILERSJonathan Berenbom, Richard Hymans, Dave

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INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTSSteven Downes, Matti Hannus, Jirí Havlín,

Ian Hodge, Atsushi Hoshino, Mike Hurst, Mirko Jalava, Paul Jenes, Alfons Juck,

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strong, David Benyak, John Burke, Rich Clarkson, Giancarlo Colombo, Lisa Coniglio, Tony Duffy,

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Randy J. Osga, David Peterson, Victor Sailer, Mark Shearman, Kim Spir, Geoff Thurner, Cheryl Treworgy, Chai von der Laage

Relay Rankings ModifiedNational Relay Rankings compiler Walt Murphy has amended his rating for the women’s 4 x 100H (T&FN, October).

The initial rankings put Alabama No. 1 and Central Florida No. 2. But in re-examining some confusing multi-section results, Murphy realized that two should be reversed, so Central Florida earns its first-ever No. 1.

p58-59 (LL-staff).indd 59 11/30/09 12:38:13 PM


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■ MORE FIRE: How To Run The Kenyan Way. Toby Tanser’s follow-up to Train Hard, Win Easy takes us deeper into why the Kenyans are so good at middle and long distance running. Some of the topics and profiles of the first book are expanded and updated, and there are lots of new profiles and new subject matter, particularly how you can adapt Kenyan methods to your own training. 301pp. 2008. Many photos. $19.95

■ WINNINg juMPS AND POLE VAuLT. A new work in which major American coaching authorities expound on various aspects of the jumping events. Editor Ed Jacoby tackles biomechanics of the ap-proach, takeoff and landing in jumping. In the tech-nique and training section, Tom and Kyle Tellez cov-er the long jump, Boo Schexnayder the triple jump, Cliff Rovelto the high jump and Greg Hull the vault. Dr. Keith Henschen and Dr. Will Freeman handle as-pects of mental training and program design. Well illustrated. 2009. 216pp. $19.95

■ jAMAICAN ATHLETICS: A Model For 2012 And The World, Patrick Robinson. Most recent version of this lovely book incorporates all the Jamaican achievements at Beijing, while still saluting the great history of the sport in Jamaica. Beautifully illustrated with photos of all the stars and would-be stars, great reading. 2009. 140pp. $29.95

■ TRACK & FIELD OMNIBOOK, Ken Doherty. 5th edition (edited and revised by John Kernan). Event chapters are all revised and updated, but Doherty’s flavor and “the human side of coaching” sections are retained. The coach’s one-stop source and ref-erence for technique, training, coaching methods, etc. 428pp. Well illustrated. $45.00

■ BIg gOLD BOOK: Metric Conversions for Track & Field, Combined Decathlon/Heptathlon Scoring Tables/Metric Conversions, and other Essential Data for the Track Fan, Athlete, Coach and Official. From the Editors of Track & Field News. Our best-selling book. Wirebound, opens flat. Latest printing, 2008. $20.00

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“MUST” BOOKS FOR YOUR TRACK LIBRARY■ A WORLD HISTORY OF HuRDLE AND STEE-PLECHASE RACINg. R. L. Quercetani’s latest historical compendium. All the great hurdlers and hurdle races covered from the 1860s to the pres-ent (through Beijing), men and women: 100 and 110H, 400H and the steeple. All the great Olympic and WC heroics down through the years. Foreword by Lamine Diack. Includes 100 pages of stats, with yearly and all-time lists. 2009. 223pp. Well illustrat-ed. $49.95

■ A PROgRAM DESIgN METHOD FOR SPRINT AND HuRDLE TRAININg. Coach Jim Hiserman takes sprint and hurdle training and coaching into the modern era. The book offers a template for coaches and athletes to design their own training programs, integrating speed, strength and power development, while coordinating the mental and physical aspects involved in athletics. This is a cutting edge approach that will help your athletes reach their potential. “A must-read for the novice and experienced coach. Easy to understand and apply,” Kevin McCarthy, UC Irvine. 2008. 145pp. Illustrated. $20.00

■ 101 SHOT PuT DRILLS, Rob Lasorsa and James A. Peterson. Just what the doctor ordered for coaching your shot putters. Drills for glide and rotation shot, standing-throw drills, release drills, turning-progression drills, medicine ball exercises, plyometrics and footwork. All nicely illustrated in this compact volume that will definitely get lots of use. 128pp. 2009. $19.95

■ 101 HIgH juMP DRILLS, by Cliff Rovelto & Gwen Wentland. Like the SP book, an invaluable aid to coach and athlete. Warm-up drills, approach drills, takeoff mechanisms, bar clearance, special strength, plyos, etc. 118pp. Well illustrated. $19.95

■ THE COMPLETE TRACK & FIELD COACHES’ guIDE TO CONDITIONINg FOR THE THROWINg EVENTS, by Dr. Larry Judge. Judge has coached numerous Olympians and record holders and this is his magnum opus on proper preparation and de-velopment of throwers. This 269-page book comes with a 107-minute DVD demonstrating conditioning concepts and exercises in the book. “My advice: read this book immediately!” Kevin McGill, co-au-thor, The Throws Manual. 2008. Book and DVD $49.95

p60.indd 60 9/9/09 11:11:10 AM


@$#%@#$%!Not oNly was the Usa women’s 4x1

effort terrible, the reaction/response was to me, maddening!

the three women who could still jog after the “screw up” had the arrogance/ignorance to parade around part of the track waving to the crowd. what were they looking for, flowers, autographs, cheers and medals? what rude fantasy world do they live in?

they then continued their make-believe world during the trackside tV interviews. Never did reality cross their lips concerning the botched pass. where was the virtue of answering for one’s actions and acceptance of blame?

If anderson had put the baton in lee’s outstretched hand on the first try (which she should have done—it was there), Muna would still be running!

C.J. Stefanowicz—Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Easy solution to DisastErsall yoU haVe to do is take the winning

NCaa 4 x 100 teams (Florida 38.58 + texas a&M 42.36) and work in the 100 meter 1st- or 2nd-place finishers to form an all-star team. you then have six experienced relay runners that will only be responsible for the event. there will be no older-professional sprinters

like Muna lee or tyson Gay that break down after many all-out multiple races.

Ken Kotler—New City, New York

a baD ExchangEsorry aboUt MUNa lee pulling up

lame. however, let us not lose sight of the fact that she pulled up due to a bad exchange. anderson ran right up on Muna (maybe Muna took off late). regardless, the bad exchange caused Muna to be injured. yet another 4x100 miscue. how do we end it?

John Deardorff—Wichita, Kansas

a silEnt ExchangEFollowING the dIsastroUs past two

years of our 4 x 100 relay teams in world com-petition, it is time for the Usa to choreograph their baton exchanges. america must prepare to regain their dominance in the sprint relays for the future world competition.

one might question choreographing a baton exchange. after all, we associate choreograph-ing with marching bands, ballet dancing, and cheerleaders routines.

Planned movements have been used in t&F since its conceptions. specific steps or planned

approaches occur in the hurdles, pole vault, high jump, javelin, long and triple jumps, and in the shot and discus. a specific number of steps or movements are required for each of these events if the athlete is to maximize their performance.

I addressed this very issue of successfully passing the baton in an article appearing in the august 1999 issue of Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director. the title, “a silent treat-ment For your relay teams,” was an introduction to a non-verbal, non-visual sprint relay pass. later, as a clinician, I conducted a series of “learn-by-doing” sessions to demonstrate the “silent” baton exchange.

Richard H. Tucker—Rushville, Illinois

unDErhanD, not ovEr!aFter watChING the United

states’ 400-meter relay teams botch/muff/bungle two more passes at the world Championships in berlin, now would be a good time for american relay runners to learn the underhand upward sweep passing technique.

this technique was instrumental in France setting a stunning world record of 37.79 seconds in the men’s 400 relay in 1990 and several coaches whom I

respect greatly have told me it’s a simpler, more efficient and lower-risk way to get the baton around the track.

John Ortega—Spring Arbor, Michigan

hE saiD it last yEarrIGht aFter the debacle at

beijing, the editors published my letter recommending selection criteria for the 4x1. It is past time to dust off and repub-lish my letter—it’s even more timely following the berlin debacle.

when will the selectors accept and exploit that well-trained, well-oiled stick-passers will consistently defeat untrained runners even if a few hun-dredths slower on the flat? let 100-meter finishers 4 though 8 be our sprint relay team—including a spare.

Mitchell Orfuss—New York, New York

[Ed: Do you think that even with all the oiling in the world a team made up of the USATF 4th–8th finishers would have a prayer against a team with Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell on it? Your method might guarantee a medal, but it would probably equally guarantee it would not be gold.]

pick thE tEam EarlyaFter so MaNy INstaNCes of poor

baton exchanges on both 4 x 100 relays, when is UsatF going to adopt the only sensible solution?

Pick the team at least one month in advance

LETTERS

Got something you’d like to share?

Send us a snail-mail or just e to

[email protected]

and let them practice. No substitutions, unless there is an injury.

Ivan Stanko—Rothschild, Wisconsin

baD form by brits?do yoU aGree that it was a lack of

sportsmanship for Great britain to object in a prelim when they were advancing anyhow? [Ed: No.]

Neither doc Patton nor shawn Crawford

were responsible for the Usa dq, a total lack of sportsmanship by the british Federation and a spineless IaaF worlds appeals board are.

If the four runners had run the exact same race but they had yellow bibs reading Jamaica instead of Usa, that gang of four would not have been dQed and the brits showed their true colors winning the bronze in the final, knowing they woulda gone home medal-less had they not gotten the Usa dQed.

Scott C. Martineau—via e-mail

WE THINK

World Champs Fields Need Tightening

Making the world Championships as all-encompassing as possible is a wonderful con-cept, but we think the IaaF is letting too many people into the tent in some events.

at a time when the sport desperately needs to present a professional image at the top end, a smoother, more efficient meet should be a top priority.

on 4 of the 9 days of competition in berlin, the meet ended later than planned because the size of the decathlon and heptathlon fields was such that the schedule needed to be tweaked.

a total of 29 athletes in the heptathlon wasn’t too far out of whack, but a whopping 38 starters in the decathlon was just plain crazy.

Virtually all the jumps and throws had too many entrants, with the posterkids for wretched excess being topped by the men’s javelin (47), men’s triple jump (45) and the women’s ham-mer (41).

In addition to long drawn-out competitions that are greatly reduced in spectator appeal, the length of time required between jumps/throws is such that it’s simply not fair to the athletes.

a rethinking of the entry-standards formula is in order, making it tougher to get in. Further-more, if a standard proves inadequate, a provi-sion should be made to allow the tightening of loose numbers 6–8 months out. even if it means that some people who previously thought they had qualified now need to up the ante.

this is the world Championships, not the intramurals.

it’s about those U.S. relays!

p61 (296-WT).indd 61 9/21/09 8:34:16 AM


CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE

YOU’VE GOT HIGH SCHOOL QUESTIONS: T&FN has high school answers, and they will all be provided in the December issue. How did we sort out all those great candidates for Boys Athlete Of The Year? Which superstars comprise the All-America teams? Where can I find deep yearly lists? That’s all taken care of in the next edition.

The youngsters won’t be the only ones on parade in the next issue as we’ll also bring you the definitive scoop on the end of the pro track season, dip into the start of the collegiate cross campaign and hit the roads at the Berlin and Chicago Marathons.

And you don’t want to miss our in-depth look at the hottest woman sprinter go-ing, Carmelita Jeter, learn about Dwight Phillips’ super comeback and explore the U.S.’s emergence as a women’s miling power.

The back-to-high-school December edition will be mailed by October 23. If you aren’t currently a subscriber, just call us at our toll-free 800 number and we’ll take care of your order promptly. A regular 1-year U.S. subscription (including our free on-line results service) is still $43.95; other rates available on request.

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2009 High School AnnualNext Month In T&FN

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always check with the hosts before traveling to any meet, be it domestic or international

October10..............................New englands; boston, massachusetts17................ Chile pepper invitational; fayetteville, arkansas.............................................pre-NCaa; terre Haute, indiana24............................... lone star Conference; Canyon, texas............................................meaC; princess anne, maryland26.........................................sWaC; baton rouge, louisiana30.......................................................Heps; bronx, New york.......................... metro atlantic Conference; bronx, New york...........................pac-10 Conference; long beach, California31 ..................................................aCC; Cary, North Carolina......................america east Conference; burlington, Vermont.................................................. atlantic sun; Deland, florida............................ atlantic 10 Conference; st. louis, missouri................................................big east; kenosha, Wisconsin..................................big 12 Conference; Columbia, missouri................................. big sky Conference; greeley, Colorado............................big West Conference; riverside, California............................ Colonial Conference; New market, Virginia.......................................... Conference Usa; Houston, texas......................................... Horizon league; milford, michigan................................mid-american Conference; athens, ohio............................ missouri Valley Conference; peoria, illinois................................mountain West Conference; provo, Utah...................... ohio Valley Conference; Nashville, tennessee....................................... patriot league; Hamilton, New york........................................................ seC; oxford, mississippi........................... southern Conference; elon, North Carolina........................ southland Conference; Corpus Christi, texas.......................................... summit league; Cedar City, Utah............................... sun belt Conference; monroe, louisiana..............................................WaC; las Cruces, New mexico..........................West Coast Conference; belmont, California

November1 ...............big 10 Conference; University park, pennsylvania7.................................................. NCaa ii regionals (8 sites).................................. JUCo i Championships; peoria, illinois.................JUCo iii Championships; finger lakes, New york14............................................... NCaa iii regionals (8 sites)...................................................................NCaa i regionals

Great Lakes—Bloomington, IndianaMid-Atlantic—Princess Anne, Maryland

Midwest—Springfield, MissouriMountain—Provo, Utah

Northeast—Boston, MassachusettsSoutheast—Louisville, Kentucky

South Central—Waco, TexasSouth—Tuscaloosa, Alabama

West—Eugene, Oregon

..............NtN Heartland regional; sioux falls, south Dakota

.........................NtN midwest regional, terre Haute, indiana

.................................. NtN Northwest regional; boise, idaho21............................................ iC4a/eCaC; bronx, New york.......................Naia Championships; Vancouver, Washington..........................NCaa ii Championships; evansville, indiana.............................NCaa iii Championships; Cleveland, ohio.........................NtN south regional; the Woodlands, texas.............................NtN southwest regional; tempe, arizona23......................NCaa Championships; terre Haute, indiana28...................NtN Ne regional; Wappinger falls, New york......................NtN southeast regional; Cary, North Carolina...................... foot locker midwest Hs; kenosha, Wisconsin..........................foot locker Northeast Hs; bronx, New york29..........foot locker southern Hs; Charlotte, North Carolina

December5............... Nike Hs team Nationals (NtN); portland, oregon.......................... aaU youth Championships; Joplin, missouri................................foot locker West Hs; Walnut, California12..... foot locker Hs Championships; san Diego, California.................................Usatf Junior olympics; reno, Nevada................ Usatf Club Championships; lexington, kentucky12......................... european Championships; Dublin, ireland

February 201013..................Usatf Championships; spokane, Washington

March 201027 .........................World Championships; bydgoszcz, poland

p62 (Nm-sched).indd 62 11/30/09 12:39:03 pm

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■ 2010 VANCOUVER. The Winter Games will take place in Vancouver, Canada, February 12-28, 2010, and we’re off ering 6, 12, and 18-night packages.

A world awaits.indd 63 9/4/09 10:20:57 AM

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