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|  ATF Newswire: May Wrap Up By Larry Eder May 31, 2007 Vol 10, no. 7 American Track and Field
******** Dear Readers, As many of you have come to realize, atf newswire is really
my track diary. The outdoor season is off with a blast as we
build toward Osaka! If FLORA London and BAA Boston did
not give us a look at the level of world competition in our
sport, then the adidas track classic should open everyone's
eyes! Here is how I saw it: Friday, May 18, 2007 Jumped on a 5:44 am flight from Madison to Chicago, then
off to San Jose, CA. Then it was an hour drive to the ING Bay
to Breakers reception, where California Track & Running
News, one of our publications, is a sponsor. Meeting with
some of the Reebok running team, I was encouraged to
bybass the meet, and watch it on TV. "Hey, it's just a track
meet!" Just a track meet? Is there such a thing? Saturday, May 19, 2007 Up at 6 am, for a 90 minute walk, before I head to the airport
for my flight to Los Angeles. San Jose is an easy airport to
fly in and out of---not too big, not too small---and flights
actually are on time! Across the country, Dathan Ritzenhein, one of our most
talented runners, showed that his fitness was up to par, with
a course record 28:08 run at the Healthy Kidney 10k in
Central Park, New York. He also showed his class, by giving
up his $7,500 first prize to kidney research. He did this in
honor of his grandfather and his mother, who both have
fought kidney disease. Get into LA and share a taxi to Long Beach with Renaldo
Nehemiah. I asked Renaldo about his thoughts on Liu
Xiang, the Chinese hurdle star. " He controls his speed over
the hurdles better than the other hurdlers." Having seen all
of his major races of the past three years but his world
record, I would have to agree. As I check in to the event, I spend a few minutes with several
of the USATF staff and we notice Breaux Greer, one of the
most underrated athletes in our sport. Breaux is healthy
again, and because of his stature in the sport, the men's
javelin was added to this meet. In need of haircut, after one of the agents calls me shaggy, I
find Victorious Barbershop on the 400 block of First Street in
Long Beach. The barbershop is busy for a Saturday
afternoon, with Victoria in one corner, giving about six little
Latino boys crew cuts, patient with one squirming kid after
another. On the other side, two barbers are showing their
art, trimming beards, doing crew cuts, and cleaning up one
shaggy sports writer. After some good Irish music that evening, I head to bed,
anticipating the track meet on Sunday. Sunday, May 20, 2007 It is a foggy Southern California morning. I head out for my
walk about 7.15 and while the city of Long Beach is slowly
waking up, a group of athletes have been up for a couple of
hours. I see Nick Willis, the 2006 Commonwealth 1,500
meter champion coming back from breakfast. As I take the
walkway to the harbor, I notice several prominent women
distance runners coming back from their morning shake out
run. It is a race day. The 2007 outdoor track season has started with a bang!
From Wallace Spearman's fine 200 meter world leader, to
Jeremy Wariner dabbling just over 44 seconds, to the
surprise comeback of Angelo Taylor, the sprints are already
afire. Alan Webb woke a few people up with his solo 3:51 mile at
Drake Relays, winning by 11 seconds. Christian Cantwell
threw the world-leading throw at Drake as well! On the distance side, Galen Rupp, the Oregon junior who
has had so much potential, showed what he could do, over
three weekends. At the Oregon Twilight, Rupp won 5,000
meters at the finish line, against Chris Solinsky, then two
weeks later, led 15 men under 28 minutes, 12 qualifying for
the World Champs and ran a 27:33 10k at the Payton
Jordan. Anthony Familgetti ran 13:11, for second to Mexico's
phenom, Juan Luis Barrios. Barrios would go on to take
second at the Carlsbad 5k as well! On the women's side, Shalane Flanagan ran an American
record 5k, of 14:44 at Mt. SAC, which added nicely to her
fantastic 3k American indoor record. Allyson Felix won the
100 and 400 meters in Doha less than two weeks ago. In
the pole vault, the barrier breaker of world pole vaulting,
Stacy Dragila, is finally healthy and ready to vault! How could you write a better script before picking the U.S.
team for the World Champs in Osaka? ****** The fog cleared early in the meet and sun beat down on the
crowd of 7,000 fans. The meet started off with a series of
boys and girls 4 x 100 relays, which were well received.
Some close races gave the crowd something to warm up to,
but their hands and lungs would get some serious action
soon . . . Men's 400 meters The meet started with the second race of the men's 400
meters. Such is the quality of the event that Greg Nixon, the
2006 USA Indoor Champion, who won this race in 45.3,
defeated Christopher Lloyd who ran 45.51. Mitch Potter was
fifth in 46.16. As people were getting over the closeness of the men's 400
meters, Breaux Greer let his first javelin throw go. The
crowd, which was alerted by the announcer, Scott Davis, that
this was a long throw, noticed as the javelin just kept flying
through the air, farther and farther, past the 220, 240, 260,
280 and finally, pass the previous American record of
87.68m to 90.71meters, or 297-7.
Greer, in his first throw of the competition, had annihilated
the previous AR by nearly ten feet! The crowd was in a rush.
Later, Breaux would comment on this throw, " I have been
waiting for this throw since 2001. My training is going well. I
am focusing on the nationals, the Golden League and the
World Champs in Osaka." Greer is the enfant terrible of the men's javelin. A gifted
athlete, an eloquent speaker, who is as adept with profanity
as he is with his knowledge of the
event, Greer is a handful to interview. " Three years, no ACL,
dislocated shoulder, surgery with cadaver ACL does not
work. The javelin is an event that hurts you, it is a tough
event . . . with an ACL, I can actually plant my knee and
follow through, although, I think, the record throw was pretty
lucky. I was actually planning to run the 1,500 meters today,
but, everybody showed up, so I decided to throw the javelin." Greer understated the importance of his throw. His winning
throw gave him an advantage of forty-five feet on Steffen
Wenk, who threw 252-08, or 77.02m for
second. Greer has rock star good looks, and the physique
of a champion
javelin thrower. If Greer can stay healthy, this writer would
not be surprised to see him win in Osaka and Beijing.
Breaux Greer is the Bubka of the American javelin, period,
and he showed it at this meet. For javelin geeks out there,
Breaux's series was 90.71m, 87.25m, 89.44m, 86.94m,
Foul, and 87.58m, the best series by an American javelin
thrower in many, many years. Men's 100 meter dash, heats Three heats in the men's 100 meters. It was getting very hot,
and the wind was low, 1.1 meters per second for the first
round. Derrick Adkins, running well, took heat one in 10.11,
with Darvis Patton, Garry Jones and Leroy Dixon moving on. In heat two, with a .4 meters per second wind, Tyson Gay,
the fastest man of the year, ran a controlled 10.18 to take
heat two, with Dwight Thomas running 10.23 and also
moving on. Heat three would be quite interesting. With a wind reading of
1.1 meters per second, Steve Mullings of Jamaica blasted
out, running 10.19. He was followed
by Dwight Phillips in 10.20, (yes, that World and Olympic
champion long jumper
Dwight Phillips), and Daniel Bailey in 10.25. Running dead
last, in need of some
training, was one Maurice Greene, who ran 10.84 meters.
He did a bit of a limp
after the race, but this observer felt that Mo's ego was the
injured body part, more
than his fabled achilles. He needs to train well, race well
and let his sprinting do the talking if he wants the track fans
to take him seriously. Men's 400 meter intermediate hurdles The 400 meters hurdles, the race that takes the long sprint
400 meters, and adds
39 inch hurdles, is a bear. Specialists in this event, Felix
Sanchez, Edwin Moses,
Kerron Clement, posses the strength of a middle distance
runner, the poise of a hurdler and the speed of a 400 meter
runner. Pace and timing are everything. Kerron Clement, the find of 2005, has had an up and down
career as he learns the vagaries of the " toughest lap on the
track". But today, Clement, showed some control and ran a
smart race for second place, as Kenneth Ferguson of the
US beat Clement, 48.15 to 48.46. James Carter, silver
medalist from 2004,
was third in 48.76. Men's 3000 meters Juan Luis Barrios of Mexico has been quite the hot runner
recently. His 13:11 at the Mt. SAC Distance Carnival, was a
mano-a-mano battle with Anthony Famiglietti, who also ran
13:11. This was their next match up. The race took off with Abdi Adirahman, Boaz Cheboiywa,
Seth Summerside, Juan Luis Barrios, Famiglietti and Dan
Browne in tow. Barrios ran in lane two, just on the shoulder
of Cheboiywa, with Summerside in tow. Famiglietti was
running a very conservative race for him, starting in about
sixth place, and moving up, lap after lap. The race churned by, as Barrios and Cheboiywa continued
to push, as
Kris Houghton, Luke Watson, and others went off the back.
Dan Browne,
who was racing for the fifth consecutive weekend, was
running in sixth place,
by himself, as the front pack of Barrios, Cheboiywa,
Summerside and Famiglietti
took off with less than two laps to go. Fam(as his fans call
him) is a mercurial
distance runner, one who runs like he paints, with the
emotion of someone willing to drop all pretense to get to
what really matters. His range, from a sub four-minute mile
to a 27:37 10k, shows his talent. This finish, showed his
maturity as
a distance runner. Fam made all the right moves. He moved from fourth to
third, boxing in Summerside, with Barrios in front of him and
Cheboiywa to his inside. On the backstretch, Fam made a
move that started to put him in the lead and build daylight.
The space between Famiglietti and Barrios built around the
last turn as the two determined runners called for all that
was still there for the final battle down the final straight. But, there was to be no more battle. Anthony Famiglietti
continued to churn down the track, with Juan Luis Barrios
unable to respond. Fam knew he had won and his arms
went up at the finish line savoring the triumph. Men's Shot Put, The Man from Missouri Shows Them! Here was my one issue with the meet today. It was so
exciting, and so busy, that I missed most of the men's shot
put, one of my favorite events--period. Part of it has to with
the quality of the men in the event: Reese Hoffa, Adam
Nelson, Christian Cantwell, Dan Taylor and Vince Mosca
compete year in, year out (along with John Godina) and they
make no excuses. Big Guys throwing sixteen pound metal
balls, what else could be more fun on a Sunday afternoon? Well, Christian Cantwell, a fellow Missourian, gave a
demonstration of what it takes to be the best shot putter in
the world, with his heave of 21.96m or 72 feet, .75 of an inch
in round two. His series: 20.69m, 21.96m, 20.87m, 20.84m,
foul, 20.80m showed that training is going well. Adam Nelson had a good opening to his season, with a fine
21.47m or 70-5.25 throw in round two, one of two fair
throws for him today. Christian actually took the lead less
than three minutes after Adam had thrown his big one.
Adam, in theatrical fashion, asked Christian if he could at
least give him a few more minutes to savor his throw? Reese Hoffa, showed that he is not far off par, as he started
with 20.83m, then 21.23m, then 21.31m, then 20.68m, a
foul, and then a fine 21.36m, or 70-01 throw for third. Women's 100m hurdles If you want your daughter to find a nice cushy event in track
and field do not pick the women's 100 hurdles. The level of
competiveness, the level of quality on the US stage and the
effect on the world stage, is mind blowing. Michelle Perry won here, in the world leading 12.58. Second
place was Virginia Powell in 12.61, Lolo Jones in 12.61,
Angela Whyte of Canada in 12.63, Vonette Dixon in 12.76,
Perdita Felicien, Canada, two-time World Champion, in
12.80. Nicole Denby in 12.81 and Jenny Adams in 12.82. Men's 1,500 meters The adidas track classic always has good distance races.
The 1,500 meters was no exception. The race was not
furiously fast, but it was a strong pace, with tough runners
showing what they were made of. Nick Willis of New
Zealand, Alistair Cragg of Ireland, Rob Myers of US, Chris
Lukesic of US, Adam Goucher
of the US were the main pack and pushed the pace through
a very honest first 1100 meters. In the end, Nick Willis, who
possesses some of the best positioning instincts of any
middle distance runner, won out in 3:35.85, with Alistair
Cragg in second in 3:36:18, Rob Myers of the US, 2004
Indoor champion, coming on strong for third in 3:36.49.
Chris Lukezic running well in fourth in 3:37.06 and Adam
Goucher, looking distance great in 3:37.13. David
Krummenacker ran 3:39.35 in eighth with Ian Dobson, a
strong 5,000 meter runner in 3:40.11for ninth and Andy
McClary in tenth in 3:41.63. Gabe Jennings ran 3:42.04 for
eleventh. Nick Willis is one of those athletes who possess the
explosive speed needed to excel the 1,500 meters. His
move in this race showed the difference between his speed
and presence and that of the other milers. Willis broke the
New Zealand record of one John Walker, 31 years after
Walker's famous run, back in 2005. Women's Pole Vault The women's pole vault is now sixteen years old. A quick
story. Way back in 1990, we placed Carla Borovicka running
the women's steeplechase on the cover of American
Athletics. Inside the issue, we had one of our first articles on
the women's pole vault. We received a letter from a quite
prominent coach wondering what loss of reality had
overcome us to place a women steeplechaser on the cover,
and the next thing he knew was that there would be some
women pole vaulting on the cover. Stacy Dragila is the pioneer of the women's pole vault. She
was and is an athlete
of singular mental and physical strength. The 1999 and
2001 World Champion, the 2000 Olympic champion, Stacy
has just emerged from surgery with her body and spirit
intact, and her old coach, Dave Nielsen, at her side. Nielsen
is the one who introduced her to the vault, and with his
support, she cleared 14 feet today, using a 14-foot pole for
the first time and showing her return is serious. A victory for
Dragila just in itself, returning from two surgeries on
Achilles tendons. To understand how long Dragila has
been with this event, it should be noted that
when Dragila started vaulted, Jenn Stuczynski was a
freshman in high school
(Jenn vaulted for her first time in 2004). Also in the competition were Chelsea Johnson, a fifteen
footer, Tracy OHara, a fifteen footer, Jillian Schwartz, another
fifteen footer and Mary Sauer, just under
fifteen feet! Oh, there was one more vaulter, who will place a
huge role in this story, Jenn Stuczynski. Jenn told ATF after her competition: "Today started off very
slow. I am lethargic, I do not know, I just don't feel good, I
kept warming up, to get my legs woken up, went from 4.44,
to 4.64, first jump at 4.84, then clearing 4.84, I was very
happy about that. Coming into the meet today, it is a hard
place to jump, a crosswind to headwind to tailwind, back to
cross wind, I did not feel at my best, but It happened when I
least expected it." Stacy Dragila, who cleared 14 feet, 3/4 of an inch or 4.29m,
said, "I did not get to see her, she obviously is capable. Of
course it motivates me, from where I have been, in the
couple of steps, baby steps for me. Love to go head to head
with Jenn since nationals. It is great motivation, I want to be
going against Jenn. She is coming along, she is promoting
sport in US. " Men's 100 meter final This race was all Tyson Gay. The fastest man over 100 and
200 meters in the world showed his mettle with a
wind-aided 9.79 second run over 100 meters, with Derrick
Adkins in tow in 9.96. Tyson Gay had this to say after his
race: "I wanted the wind to be a little more friendly, I can feel
it in the blocks. I was happy in the outcome. I wanted to run
9 seconds at this meet. I think it lets me know I am in pretty
good shape. I ran the first round well and felt good in the
second. Technically, it was better than the first race, my left
foot was shaking in nerves, I reacted, when I came out of my
drive phase, I ran through the finish line. It felt good . . . I
think that we have something to prove, especially in the
relays, and I will take some leadership and get some
people together (to run better). Tyson is a determined athlete, but, he is, like most of his
fellow athletes in our
sport, a person who knows when to leave the competitive
mantle on the track.
When asked about an obviously injured or out of shape
Maurice Greene, Tyson had this to say: "I do not like to see
Maurice hurting . . . He brings out the best in all of us . . . I
still have a few more pounds to lose and some work on my
start. My best weight is 169-170 for racing." Women's 200 meters Allyson Felix is one of the stars of global track and field,
period. Two weeks ago, in early May, Allyson went from LA to
Doha for the Doha Meeting, where she ran the 100 meters
and the 400 meters, winning both, her 400 meters was a
stunning 50.4. Allyson told ATF, "I ran in Doha, but I had a
Spanish final two days before. So I slept on the flight and I
just got down to business." At the adidas track classic, Allyson ran an exceptional curve,
coming into the lead and keeping it, running a world leading
22.19. After the race, she told ATF "My 100 needs a little
more work, I will be running 100 and 400 on June 2. I really
have been focusing on the start, stay on inside of curve,
really execute, it felt better to me today. Traditionally the start
has been my weak part of the race. I am working on being
more powerful." Women's 2 Mile What is it about the Ethiopian runners? A crowd of about
500-600 Ethiopian Americans from the little Ethiopia area
outside LA showed up to cheer on Meseret Defar. Defar was
out by herself after 800 meters, and the party was over,
churning laps in 68 to get herself close to the 9:11 world
record of one Regina Jacobs. In the second pack, Megan Metcalf of Canada, Kara
Goucher of the US, Amy Rudolph of the US and Georgie
Clarke of Australia, Lauren Fleshman's training partner,
were running hard. The crowd was warmed up by the time Defar went for it,
pushing a last 400 meters in 61 seconds to get the world
best of 9:10.47. Megan Metcalf out kicked Kara Goucher, 9:37.04 to 9:41.32.
Georgie Clarke settled for fourth in 9:43.53 and Amy
Rudolph ran 9:47.88 to take fifth. Defar stated the obvious after her race, "My training is going
quite well. I am
focusing on Osaka and Beijing for the 5,000 meters." Put
those races on your calendar! Men's 400 meters As Allyson is one of the young female stars of the global
sport, Jeremy Wariner
is the male version of that global superstar. Jeremy started
the season at 44.4 at a home meet, then ran 44.02 at the
Osaka Grand Prix before the adidas track classic. His time
set a record for the month of May! Wariner is an exceptional athlete. But, if one thinks that
because Michael Johnson is his agent, and Clyde Hart, MJ's
coach, is his coach, that Jeremy is a clone of MJ, they have
another thought coming. MJ's 400 meters was all about
strength and power, and his final 100 meters blew the field
away. Wariner runs like a middle distance runner, it is all
pace. Wariner has the race under control by 300 meters and
his timing over 400 meters is superb. My prediction for this
summer? 43.5 by Osaka! At Carson, Wariner went out strong, hitting 21.2 at the 200
meters and from there on, the race was his, running a sub
par, for him 44.60 in the heat. Race time temperature was
about 75 on the track. Here was Jeremy's comments in the post race press
conference: "Well, I did not get out too good on my first turn,
Coach H said I was at 21.2, wind on back stretch, did not
work the turn, the kick was real well." On his 44.02 at Osaka: "Osaka, hardly no wind, I got out a lot
better, and I worked the turn, I worked the backstretch and
homestretch. To get where I want to be, I need to do a few
things, I need to get my body healthier, my legs are stiff
when I workout still, I need to take better care with my body." ATF noticed that adidas has prepared a new pair of shoes
for Jeremy Wariner, with a new spike plate, a new piece
under the arch, and questioned Jeremy about that. " Well, I
am racing in a new shoe, built for me. It has a new spike
plate and it is half an ounce lighter than my previous shoes." The adidas track Classic showed off the country's elite, and
a tip of the hat should go to Shayne Culpepper, who ran a
personal best at 1,500 meters to take second in that race.
Most importantly, the adidas track classic, followed by the
Reebok Grand Prix and the Nike Prefontaine have given the
U.S. a series of strong elite meets, that are great viewing on
TV and better viewing from the crowd! ********* Notes from Hengelo, May 26, 2007 Jeremy Wariner completed his 400 meter racing, up til the
US Outdoor, with a 44.4 at Hengelo. He will run 200 meters
at the Prefontaine meet on June 10. Note the stellar 10,000
meters, less than four seconds separated the top six, with
Haile Gebrselassie in fifth place in 26:52! Notes from Eugene Elite Meet, May 26, 2007 Most notable marks from Eugene were a legal throw by
John Godina, in the 63 range and a strong 14-9 clearance
by a recuperating Stacy Dragila! Preview Notes on Reebok Grand Prix-May 31, 2007 Nice turnout for Reebok GP press conference this am. Over
35 reporters and six TV stations showed up to speak to
some of the top stars of the sport. The men's mile is more
than stacked, it could be a huge battle of the up and coming
stars! Watch for Matt Centrowitz, Jr. to run close to four
minutes in that race this weekend! AR holder Jenn
Stucynski will be vaulting as well! Should be a great meet! My report his week was delayed due to moving into a old
house in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin! Off to NY now and watch
for coverage on Sunday of the Reebok Grand Prix. ******* Special thanks to Global Athletics & Marketing for their help. ******* For more coverage of London and our sport of athletics,
please check out
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reserved. Shooting Star Media, Inc's publications (American Track &
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