Reebok Grand Prix
Jenn Stuczynski jumps 4.88m!
Tyson Gay runs 9.76w
Mind blowing Men's Mile!
Season updates

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A SRO crowd at the Icahn Stadium in New York last weekend was treated to a track and field meet that not only had great fields, but lived up to its hype, and should go down as one of the most competitive track meets in this country in many years. Here is what the crowd was treated to:

Jared Rome busts 66.84m, or 219-3 in the discus for the best throw ever in the state of New York, making him a medal hopeful for the Osaka World Champs.

Xiang Liu of China ties U.S. all comers record in 110 meter hurdles, with his 12.92, with personal records for Terrance Trammel and Ryan Wilson, in 12.95 and 13.02.

Wallace Spearmon, challenged by Usain Bolt, shows the self control and composure to fight back for the lead over the last 40 meters and runs 19.81 to Bolt's 19.89.

Virginia Powell powers to a fine 12.45, the world leader and fastest time ever in NY as she finished the 100 m hurdles.

In one of the best displays of women's vaulting ever, Jenny Stuczynski broke the American record at 4.88m/ 16-00 in front of the SRO crowd of 4,900, for her second AR in a two weeks.

Tyson Gay ran a mind boggling wind-aided 9.76 for 100 meters, the second fastest 100 meters of all times under any conditions (fastest is Obadale Thompson, who ran 9.69, at altitude, with a wind of nearly 5 meters per second). Tyson was at sea level and his wind was 2.2 meters per second, just over the allowable 2.0 meters per second. Tyson showed his stuff with his run at adidas and now his fine run at the Reebok Grand Prix.

The men's mile, where Alan Webb showed his continued development as one of America's top milers and the improved level of competition that illustrated the amazing development in this meet over the past three years. Webb's move over the last 70 meters showed his self confidence, his training and his improved racing as he thwarted a move by Craig Mottram and went past Bernard Lagat as they both hit the final straightaway.

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The Reebok Grand Prix NYC has a storied history. If you are a prominent footwear company, and you want publicity, then you find an event in the media capital of the world. The problem in New York, like Los Angeles, is that there are so many distractions: How do you get the media to a track meet? How do you get a crowd in the stadium that is a bit of a challenge to get to?

Global Athletics' Rich Kenah should be credited with his ability to reach targeted communities, such as the Jamaican, Latino, Chinese and Ethiopian communities in New York and Los Angeles. In New York, the Jamaican community, the Ethiopian community and the Chinese community came out to support the meet. An unprecedented meeting between Xiang Liu and one hundred Chinese graduate students at a local university is an example of the out-of-the-box thinking that Global Athletics and its team uses to drum up support for athletics events. The crowd had fun, was loud and boisterous and made the meet an even greater success!

But the true success of the meeting was the level of competition. A great meet is orchestrated like a symphony or a good rock show. The key in our sport, which we sometimes forget, is the level of competition. Race after race was enthralling, from the kid's relays, the hurdle races, and this crowd loved the men's 200 meters and the women's 100 meters!

The four meet VISA Outdoor Championship series has grown up. Last year, among the agents and athletes, there were whispers that this series was really coming on, but this year, the elite series has grown up. The adidas Track Classic, followed two weeks later by the Reebok Grand Prix and one week later by the Nike Prefontaine has given North America three fantastic elite meets---on West coast, East coast for real track fans, best TV coverage of meets in years, and race after race of great athletes challenging themselves and their competition. The only thing that is needed is a meet in the Midwest. Perhaps Chicago 2016 would get the most benefit or Madison, WI (nice facilities at Madison, Carthage College in Kenosha)?

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Alyson Felix took third in the women's 100 meters, setting a personal best of 11.01, and then, less than 90 minutes later, Felix won the 400 meters in 50.6! This is her second 100m/400m double of the season (NY and Doha earlier in the season).

Terrance Trammell and Ryan Wilson pushed Xiang Liu of China and were rewarded with strong personal bests. Trammell ran 12.95. Wilson ran 13.02, much to Coach John Smith's delight. Xiang Liu ran a fine 12.92, not hitting a hurdle and continuing to control his speed and hurdle clearance like no hurdler alive.

In the men's 200 meters, Wallace Spearmon is just teasing us. The 200 meters at Pre, then at Indy will be barn burners! Usain Bolt of Jamaica was leading the race from the start and had the lead at the end of the turn. Spearmon made a conscious and visible effort to take the race, and he was rewarded with his 19.81, with Bolt running 19.89. The Jamaican crowd loves their athletes. Veronica Campbell won the 100 meters and received one of the loudest applause of the meet! The loudest cheering? Probably Tyson Gay's 9.76.

Well, that was until the men's mile. A field with Alan Webb, Bernard Lagat, Craig Mottram, Nick Willis, Rob Myers, Chris Lukesic and young Matt Centrowitz, Jr. The field hit 57.1, 1:55, 2:57 and that is when the race got going. Lagat, Webb and Mottram, with Willis in tow as the field headed into the final lap. Craig Mottram, 2005 bronze medalist at the World 5000 meters, a man who had run a 28:11 on the roads of Central Park the weekend before, made a move with 300 meters to go, to which, for a moment, looked like THE Move. But we were early. Alan Webb thwarted the move by Mottram and his race was over. Lagat, Webb and Mottram went by the final turn together, and as they came off the final turn, Webb moved to Lagat's shoulder, and with a unseen show of speed, Webb took the lead from Lagat and won in 3:52.94, going away, with Lagat, Mottram and Willis following. Lagat ran 3:53.88 with Mottram at 3:54.54. Nine men were under 4:00 and Matt Centrowitz, Jr. ran 4:03.40, just short of his family record for the prep mile, still held by his dad in 4:02.7.

After the race, Bernard Lagat and Alan Webb did a short interview together, again showing the class of our sport's athletes. Lagat and Webb will be treating us to some excellent races during this summer's racing season!

Alan Webb commented to USATF on his mile win, "I was having trouble finishing (in the past). I'm a different person than I was a year ago. I feel like now I'm reaping the benefits of my training."

The women's pole vault is really the Jenny Stuczynski show this season. The Icahn Stadium is a difficult place to vault. The crossing winds on the field make it a challenge for all. While Jenn and her coach knew that she was capable of a great effort, they did not expect it to happen here. The vault got under way and it was clear that the Chinese vaulter would be the only competition for Stuczynski. When Shuying Gao cleared 4.64m/15-2.5, she achieved a Chinese national record. This is when the competition started for Stuczynski. "I did not want to end here, so I decided to attempt 4.88m, or sixteen feet even," noted Jenn in the mixed zone. The first attempt should have been a clearance, the second was close and the third was close---remember the term, using every bone in your body? Well, in clearing 4.88 meters or sixteen feet, even, Jenn Stuczynski not only willed herself over the height, she used every fiber of her being to get over that height. When she landed, her response to the crowd, who had been alerted of her history-making attempt, broke out in applause. Stuczynski then had the bar raised to 5.03m/16-6, but she was unable to clear this height, which would have given her the world record. Jenn Stuczynski had gone from the number two U.S. vaulter two weeks ago, with much promise, to the number two vaulter in the world, tying Svetlana Feofanova, also at 4.88m. Now only Yelena Isinbayeva, who has cleared 5.01m or 16-5 1/4 is ahead of her.

On the following Monday morning, this writer had a surprise phone call from coach Rick Suhr and Jenn Stuczynski, and it was obvious that the amazing performances of the past two weeks were just hitting both of them. "She can go much higher, but between now and Indy, Jenn will be training and preparing for Indy. You know how it is there . . . the World Champ Trials will be a pressure cooker. Jenn had said that if she even took third in the vault, she would do a victory lap," noted Suhr. "When this writer asked Rick about how she felt at sixteen feet, he noted the wind and conditions were not conducive to great vaulting. With two performance in places where records were unexpected, or the conditions were challenging, let's watch when she gets good conditions. Or maybe that is just it. Jenn Stuczynski and Rick Suhr have mapped out a strategy where a great athlete competes in all conditions. How unusual, an all-weather athlete! The battle in Osaka should prove to be fascinating.

The men and women's 5000 meters were important races. On the men's side, Tariku Bekele, the younger brother of Kenenisa (WR 5k and 10k) ran the fastest 5000 meters ever in the US. He had been on sub-13 minute pace through 4k, reached in 10:24.89, but in the heat, just could not hold on. On the women's side, Tirunesh Dibaba was on pace to get the world record at 5,000 meters, but a sub par 4th kilometer put her six seconds behind. Even a fine 62-second last lap could not give her the record, but her 14:35 was cheered on by the appreciative crowd. Kiwi Kim Smith ran a fine 15:15 in the heat as did Lauren Fleshman, who ran 15:38 in the humid and hot conditions. Dibaba commented, "I am very good shape now, but the winds were difficult . . . we shall see what shape I am in Osaka."

The meet ended with the fantastic prep 4 x 400 meter relay, between teams from Jamaica and several US club teams. The race was a barn burner and the crowd of nearly 5,000 went absolutely nuts! What's the line from the movie, "If you build it, they will come?" Sounds like an appropriate comment for the elite U.S. outdoor series.

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Notes on things we have missed this season:

Kenenisa Bekele, who had such a rough time at the World Cross Country Champs in Kenya this past March, ran a fine 8:13.51 for two miles in Hengelo two weeks ago. In that superb 10,000 at Hengelo, Abdi Adbirahman ran a fine 27:31, leading the U.S. at that distance.

Congratulations to javelin thrower Kim Kreiner, who threw 64.19m/210-7 to not only break her own AR of 62.44m or 204-10 on May 16 in Fortaleza, Brazil. This is Kim's eighth setting of the AR in the javelin, her first was on July 26, 2002, when she threw 60.58 or 199-1.

Angelo Taylor, the 2000 gold medalist at 400m hurdles, has been on a tear and ran 44.35 for 400 meters at a Georgia Tech meet in early May.

Our thoughts are with Deena Kastor, who dealt with skin cancer this past month and bravely wrote about it on her website,www.deenakastor.com. Deena had three growths surgically removed and has received a clean bill of health. She has noted that training is going well and she is focusing on running the 10,000 meters in Osaka, Japan.

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atf newswire is published by Shooting Star Media, Inc. for the good of the sport, (www.shootingstarmediainc.com). Copyright 2007, all rights reserved.

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end of newswire