Trackerati’s 2015 Female and Male Track and
Field Athletes of the Year are Emily Infeld and Meron Simon.
Infeld
gained unexpected World Championships glory when she won the 10,000m bronze
medal in Beijing. Simon gained unlikely fame when he won Eugene’s Pepsi
Invitational 3,000m steeplechase in 8:57.86 on April 12 in Eugene.
Each had
unwitting co-conspirators who, by failing to follow the most elemental rules of
track and field, highlighted the achievements of Infeld and Simon and gave their
accomplishments amplified attention on a global stage.
Infeld ran a
magnificent race at Worlds. After two stress fractures in a doubt-ridden
year and a half before Beijing, Infeld had been ready to call it a career. But
she recovered steadily and ran 31:38.71 at the Peyton Jordan Invitational at the
beginning of May and 31:42.60 for 3rd at the US Championships in
June.
In Beijing,
Infeld hung with the lead pack the entire race, was 7th with 300m to
go, and blew by Kenya’s Sally Kipyego – on the inside – into 4th with
230m left.
As Infeld
gained on teammate Molly Huddle, Huddle made not one but two mistakes. Much
attention has rightly gone to her colossal brain freeze that had her raising
her hands in triumph for a bronze that was not yet hers – but Huddle also
failed to protect her lane and thereby left enough room for Infeld to pass her
on the inside.
Infeld ran a
perfect last lap in 62.4 and finished in 31:43.49, very close to her
pre-Championship race times. She passed the prematurely celebrating Huddle to
win the coveted bronze.
For Meron Simon,
then of the University of Washington, his Pepsi Invitational performance was
not only a win but a personal record and his first time under the 9:00 minute steeplechase
barrier.
After
passing James Brown of Kentucky at the last water jump, he looked up and saw
his surprising chance. Oregon’s Tanguy Pepiot seemed to have the race won, but he
started waving to the crowd before sealing the deal.
“I thought
he had me,” Simon said of Pepiot’s lead. “I thought he was so far ahead and then
he started throwing his hands up and I was like ‘I don’t think he knows I’m
coming!’”
“I just went
through the line and (here Simon shrugs his shoulders) just raced.” (emphasis mine)
As Pepiot
waved to the crowd, Simon charged by on the outside to win by a tenth of a
second.
Little did
Simon know he would become a viral sensation, with millions of views of his
finish on YouTube and discussion of his race on worldwide media, including
Eurosport and ESPN.
There is no
claim here that, intrinsically, the performances of Infeld and Simon exceed
those of world champions, world record setters, or even list leaders.
But those
are not always the most memorable performances.
Infeld and
Simon embody best the spirit of our sport: the dogged determination to get to the
finish line first, the relentless focus on one goal to the exclusion of
anything or anyone else, and the capturing of the moment by finishing what they
came to do first – and then celebrating
the joy of their unlikely achievements.
In a year
tangled by scandal and controversy, Infeld and Simon represent the best of
athletics. These two runners sustained our faith in track and field while many
tried to shatter it. In a year in which we lost Yogi Berra, it was indeed not
over until it was over.
While the
rest of the world focused on his improbable win, Simon said, “I’m just stoked for
the next race.”
Infeld and
Simon keep us stoked for our sport, and for that they are Trackerati’s 2015 Athletes of the Year.
