Prefontaine Classic and Bowerman Mile Named World Athletics Legends

Millrose Games, Wanamaker Mile Honored As Well

by Mark Cullen

Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.

The Prefontaine Classic and the Bill Bowerman Mile were named World Athletics (IAAF) Heritage Legends in a ceremony honoring the greatest milers, miles, and meets in Monaco Thursday night.

The iconic United States single-day track meet was originally the Hayward Field Restoration Meet, held in 1973 and 1974. It was scheduled to be renamed the Bowerman Classic in 1975 in honor of '72 US Olympic Head Coach Bill Bowerman, but only two days after the tragic loss of distance legend Steve Prefontaine and with Bowerman's approval, the Oregon Track Club renamed the meet the Prefontaine Classic.

Steve Prefontaine and Bill Bowerman
after Pre's first sub-4:00 mile
photo credit: Milesplit.com

The Bowerman Mile is the concluding event of the Prefontaine Classic every year, and its all-time lists are dazzling. The meet itself is usually ranked by World Athletics as the #1 or #2 best single-day meet of the year (the Diamond Monaco Herculis meet is the other).

The Prefontaine Classic and the Bowerman Mile are in good company: among the others named "Legend of the Sport" were Roger Bannister and Diane Leather Charles, respectively the first man under 4:00 for the mile and the first woman under 5:00.

In addition, three other meets were accorded Legend status: The Ivo Van Damme Memorial (Brussels), the Oslo Bislett Games, and New York City's Millrose Games. Oslo's Dream Mile, Millrose's Wanamaker Mile, and the UK's Emsley Carr Mile were honored with Legend plaques as well.

Germany's Indoor Karlsruhe Meeting, site of Genzebe Dibaba's world indoor 1500m record, was honored with a Legend plaque.

Here is the complete announcement from World Athletics:
https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/bannister-charles-honoured-heritage-mile-nigh

Somalia's Sister

The greatest athlete in Doha was far from the track.

by Mark Cullen

Doha hotel.

Tall Dutchman, born of Somalia.

We speak of track and field, but that’s not why he’s here.

His younger sister was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a suicide bomber detonated herself in Somalia, where a rash of such attacks have taken place this year.

Among the survivors, his sister is most grievously wounded, with extensive injuries to her left face, her left shoulder, her left hip.

Here to reclaim her young adulthood.

Two days later, the lobby, a tap on my shoulder.

The tall Dutchman with his entire entourage.

This is my sister, he says, as she extends her hand from her wheelchair.

I encounter their mother at breakfast every morning, a towering familial fortress of strength and reserve. I glance and nod, my daily brief greeting.

Impenetrable.

On a day, she holds my eye.

On another, a barely perceptible nod.

Ten days sweep by.

At breakfast, a movement captures my attention. A woman is using a walker.

Her daughter.

Mother follows.

She waves.

                Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. All rights Reserved.

Imaginary Outcome

by Mark Cullen

Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. All rights Reserved.

Joe Kovacs
75-2/22.91
Historic Gold
Photo: Getty Images for IAAF

Last night IAAF issued a results sheet for the men's shot put. It must be a test page to make sure the system is working. On it, they have an imaginary outcome, and you can tell that the techies preparing it had a lot of fun.

It has Joe Kovacs winning in 75-2/22.91. I know there are a lot of guys throwing over 22.00/72-2 1/4 these days, but this has the winning throw almost a meter farther. I know Kovacs has been off the radar screen a bit, if you can imagine a radar not picking up Kovacs, but he's an unlikely pick for gold.

It has Ryan Crouser and Tom Walsh tied at the same distance one centimeter behind. Great to have techies who know the sport so well because this scenario tests the system's ability to break a tie on the countback, and it nailed it.

Interesting, too, that it should be Crouser and Walsh they have behind Joltin' Joe. They must have included the Prefontaine Classic results in their algorithm. There, Crouser and Walsh were co-favories, and Brazil's Darlan Romani was the unlikely winner.

Here, same scenario, different champion. At least this time Track and Field News hadn't asked me to write a feature on the winner. They did at Pre, and I was really well prepared for my story on Crouser or Walsh.

The whole idea of three guys throwing within one centimeter of each other is absurdly fun and creative. Can you imagine ever seeing an outcome like that? You and I could go outside right now - just the two of us -  and take several dozen throws with a shot and we'd never tie.

Statistically improbable.

Physcially, even more so.

Well, good one on you, mates. It was lots of fun to read this. But I have a deadline and the humor is wearing thin.

Would someone please send me the real results?

A Night at the Stadium

by Mark Cullen

Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. All rights Reserved.

Mutaz Essa Barshim
Hometown High Jump Hero

This evening I titled my post "A Night at the Stadium" before the competition began. The general idea was to reflect what happens on any given evening of World Championship track and field. From semi-final race strategy to the interruption of the men's high jump by a medal ceremony, I wanted write without a plan and respond to what was happening in the stadium. But I'll save these for my next post and write this instead.

On my way into Doha, at the airport, I ran into a young man named Daniel and his wife. While waiting for luggage we struck up a conversation, and he grew quite interested in the championships. I urged him to come for even one night, and he picked this night, of all nights, a night of nights.

A world record by Dalilah Muhammad in the 400m hurdles, her second of the year. The crowning comeback win of Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar in the men's high jump in front of a raucous home crowd - a year's recovery from serious injury that had many doubting a return at all. A steeplechase win by the resurgent Conseslus Kipruto - by a thrilling one one-hundredth of a second. And a discus title by Cuba's Yaime Perez in her 6th attempt at a global medal. Her last major title? 2010 World Junior gold.

In a week overshadowed by drugs, Daniel chose the best night of these championships. Here's what I wrote to Daniel:

"I am so pleased that you chose tonight of all nights. To see a world record is something rare and special - when someone does something that no one else has done before.

"And Barshim on top of that - a packed house rocking and roaring.
This was track and field at its best."

So, Daniel, there's hope for this troubled sport yet. Keep on coming back. I can't always promise a night like this, but I can promise that each will be memorable in its own way. It's worked for me for 48 years.

Dahlilah Muhammad (52.16) and Sydney McLaughlin (52.23)
2xWorld Record setter with #2 all-time
Photo Credits: Getty Images for IAAF

Updated 1:47pm 10/5/2019 to include last paragraph.

Doha Dhaze - #1

Air pollution, heat, humidity, a heat index to top all - none stood in the way of a successful start to the World Track and Field Championships - yet.

As I write this, the women's marathon will start in two hours, and while I have pledged to myself that I'll watch in person one of the five midnight events, it won't be this one a starting the Championships by being on a course until 3:00am in this heat and humidity does not seem like a good idea. For someone just standing there, much less running 26 miles.

IAAF has decided to go ahead with tonight's race, and it's telling that a decision had to be made. In a press release this afternoon, IAAF made a revealing comment; read carefully and see if you see what I see.

"Any decision to alter the starting time of the event will be made by 10:30pm, on the recommendation of the IAAF Medical Delegate, who also has the authority to withdraw any athlete before or during the event if he believes the athlete is experiencing any type of severe distress."

Let's check this out: "...has the authority to withdraw any athlete before... the event..." In other words, if an athlete is so cooked by the very act of being outside before the race has even begun..."

I hope this ends well; I fear greatly that it may not.

In better news, DeAnna Price led all qualifiers in the women's hammer to remain the favorite going into Saturday's final. Gwen Berry joined her by finishing 10th of 12, and Brooke Andersen, plagued by injury at the end of the season, ended her memorable 2019 run by finishing out of the top 12. Nonetheless, Anderson is now #3 on the US all-time list and the 24 year-old is still quite young for this event. Nothing but tremendous potential here.

Price delivered a message before competition even began with a sector-splitting warmup toss that had to have left an impression on her competitors. "It was really nice," she said. "That's how it's been; that's how we've been practicing."

Gwen Berry was pleased to advance even though she seemed a bit off her earlier season form. "I was a little nervous," she explained. "I feel like I should have warmed up a little more maybe because once we got into the call room we couldn't warm up, so I'll have to take that into consideration for tomorrow."

"I feel confident about tomorrow," she said. "I got in the ring and shook out the nerves, so I'll do better tomorrow."

Brooke Andersen, "I've had some injuries come up the past few months because it's been such a long season... Unfortunately, some of them acted up before my warmups...I haven't been able to practice the last few weeks as well as I would want to."

"Right now it's hard to think of all my great accomplishments this season because this was the one thing I was working towards all season and it didn't go how I pictured it. But I definitely had a great season overall and I'm really appreciative for the season I did have and all the accomplishments I did have along the way. It's hard to see them right now - I'm just so bummed."

While her clear goal for 2020 is the Tokyo Olympics, "Right now I'll rest and take some time off and get back to it in a few weeks."

"I'm one of the youngest in the field," she reflected, but takes away the knowledge that this World Championships experience can be of substantial benefit to her as early as next year. I'll take away the experiences like going through the motions like getting through the call room and taking few warmups. It's always a little but different in each international meet.

"I've gotta get used to the net being so close," she said, "and I've got to get used to the competition feel. Being here on this  international stage - track feels way different than being at home is the US. Track is definitely more... they love track over here! They love track over here! It's great coming over here and the atmosphere - you get the whole stadium effect with all the people clapping for you. It's a really good experience for us to come over here and get all this international experience before Tokyo."

"The ring when I tested it felt faster than it did today, so it was a little funky for me. It felt a little bit slower. I didn't mind it - I just wasn't necessarily prepared for the switch up. I don't know if it was the humidity... but it's overall a great facility definitely one of the better ones I've competed in so far internationally in my experience so far - in my rookie year!"

Sometimes You Go to the Mall and This Happens

IAAF Heritage Exhibition Brings Out the Stars

by Mark Cullen

Photos and Text Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. 
All rights Reserved.

Heritage - and Heritage in the Making
Brianne Theisen-Eaton
Jakob Ingebrigtsen
Filip Ingebrigtsen
Ashton Eaton

IAAF Heritage's Doha display is a tour de force of track and field history. Curator and Director Chris Turner has staged an extensive, masterful display of track and field history. 

Yesterday, I rounded a corner on my way to the Heritage reception and found the Eatons and the Ingebrigtsens engaged in cheerful conversation. They weren't the only ones here.

Olympic decathlon gold medalist Daley Thompson, center,

and 2x World cross country champion, John Treacy, right

Mike Powell, World record holder and World champion, long jump

The Heritage display will conclude its six-month run next Monday, October 7, at Doha's City Center Mall. This is must see territory for every track fan here for the World Championships. https://www.iaaf.org/heritage/news/heritage-collection-doha-eaton-ashton-brianne

Ashton Eaton

World and Olympic Champion, Decathlon

Eamonn Coghlan, 1983 World 5000m champion, 

making a point with IAAF CEO Jon Ridgeon

Chris Turner, IAAF Heritage Director

For heritage, note Ashton Eaton, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, 

and Mike Powell in the picture.

My favorite IAAF Heritage moment

Morocco's Nezha Bidouane taking a photo of her own display

Ostrava, Czech Republic, 2018

2x World champion, 400m hurdles

The University of Oregon's track and field bureau, which is onsite here in Doha with four students under the direction of instructor Lori Shontz, conducted extensive interviews with many of the sport's legends in attendance, most especially a lengthy, engaging one with Thiessen-Eaton. They will be posting their work on their website at https://sojctrack.uoregon.edu/. 

Brianne Theisen-Eaton, 2016 World Indoor Champion, Heptathlon
 University of Oregon School of Journalism Track Bureau students
Brett Taylor, Brooklynn Loiselle, Alex West, Nate Mann

It just goes to show that at the reception, you can always get what you want.

OUCH!

by Mark Cullen

Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. 
All rights Reserved.

A single-sentence press release from IAAF

"On the request of USATF, the IAAF can confirm that Mr Alberto Salazar’s IAAF World Championships accreditation has been deactivated."

Teacher's assessment:

Clear focus, crisp writing, to the point.

Effective cause and effect sequence.

Proper placement of comma.

Clear understanding of possessive and where to place apostrophe.

Razor-like use of "deactivated."

Invokes high moral and ethical standards

Restores integrity, trust and believability to track and field performances.

Aspirational.

A+

King Carl and King Tajay

by Mark Cullen

Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. All rights Reserved.

Tajay Gayle
Jamaica's Newly Crowned Long Jump King
Photo credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for IAAF

The men's long jump demonstrated the ebb and flow of being 'on' one day and 'off' the next - or in this case, the reverse. Jamaica's engaging young star, Tajay Gayle, had difficulty finding his form in Friday's qualifying. He was last to make finals, at 7.89 (25-10 3/4), far behind favorite Juan Miguel Echevarria, who led at 8.40 (27-6 3/4).

Priceless

DeAnna Price Makes Hammer History

by Mark Cullen

Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. All rights Reserved.

DeAnna Price (US) and Joanna Fiodorow (Pol)
celebrate their gold and silver hammer throw medals.
Photo credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for IAAF

DeAnna Price turned her steel hammer into gold Saturday night at Khalifa Stadium as she won the first global hammer title by a US woman.

Price Leads Q; Brooke Andersen Opens Up about Her Terrific Season on Day of Doha Disappointment

 by Mark Cullen

Copyright 2019 Mark Cullen and Trackerati.com. All rights Reserved.

DeAnna Price led all qualifiers in the women's hammer to remain the favorite going into Saturday's final. Gwen Berry joined her by finishing 10th among the 12 qualifiers, and Brooke Andersen, plagued by injury at the end of the season, ended her memorable 2019 run by finishing out of the top 12.

I'm Not Supposed to Be in the VIP Lounge

A Day in the Doha Writing Life

by Mark Cullen

From attending a press conference with some of the sport's biggest stars, to retrieving the swag bag I missed in the excitement of having Fahal the Falcon show up at registration, to meeting again with Mr. Ismail of 'selfie joy' fame, to facilitating a meeting of the University of Oregon School of Journalism's track writing class with the rock star crew from LetsRun.com, to attending a sweltering practice for 4.5 hours that I had thought would last for 1.5, to orienting myself to the stadium and finding myself in places I'm really not supposed to be... there is much more to the writer's life than meets the eye.

The Future Meets the Present

LetsRun.com and Oregon Track and Field 

Journalism Class Meet in Doha

by Mark Cullen/trackerati.com. Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved

photo credit: Mark Cullen/trackerati.com

Track and field journalism's present met its future in Doha at the Media Reception tonight.

Doha Daze

*USA Team Practice

*Oregon Journalism Class #Ducks in Doha!

*Heat Concerns as Marathon Approaches

Hammer Favorite Deanna Price with Husband/Coach JC Lambert
USA Team Practice, Qatar Sports Club

Team USA held an open practice at the Qatar Sports Club in downtown Doha Tuesday. The heat index was 113, and even as the sun went down and the temperature dropped, the humidity rose from the mid-50s to mid-70s to keep the heat index squarely at 113 until practice closed at 9:30pm.

Seb Coe on Eliud Kipchoge's Sub-2:00 Marathon Attempt

Seb Coe replies to my question about the legitimacy of Eliud Kipchoge's sub-2:00 marathon attempt. Find it here on the IAAF YouTube Channel; start at 14:30. And watch the faces of the panelists as they hear my question unfold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PuYmZzcAi8

This begs the question of what is assistance and what's not. Coe certainly makes  a good point, however, about attracting people into the sport.

Photo and magazine from the Cullen Collection

Jarred Rome

I am deeply sorry to report the untimely passing of two-time US discus Olympian, Jarred Rome.

A graduate of Marysville-Pilchuck High School, Rome, 42, died in his sleep Saturday morning after being inducted Wednesday evening into the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame in Everett, Washington.

Please see Paul Merca's touching tribute to Rome, the Olympian and the remarkable coach, and for quotes from Rome from his Hall of Fame induction.

Track and Field Selfie of the Year

Mascot Falah the Falcon Makes a Man's Day

by Mark Cullen/Trackerati.com. Copyright 2019. All Rights reserved.

The Media Accreditation Center at Khalifa Stadium in Doha is an enormous room - a wide and lengthy hallway with walls that arrive later than you might expect.

As I sat to have my photo taken for my press pass, Falah the Falcon sat down next to me for his.

Brussels Diamond League Finals

Toe to Toe in Stade Baudouin

copyright Mark Cullen/trackerati.com. All rights reserved.

The men’s shot put inaugurated the Finals festivities on Thursday night at downtown Brussels’ Place de Brouckere. New Zealand’s Tom Walsh opened with what turned out to be the winning throw, a 22.30 (73-2) that proved uncatchable by one of the deepest fields ever assembled. It took over 22.00m (72-2¼) to get on the podium; Darlan Romani (Bra) and Ryan Crouser (US) joined Walsh in 2^nd and 3^rd at 22.15 (72-8) and 22.08 (72-5 ¼).

Good news for discus queen Sandra Perkovic, who seems back in form with her 66.00 (216-6). Not such good news for her? Jaime Perez’ (Cub) 68.27 (223-11) last-throw capper on a night which saw her lead from start to finish. “In the past I was always very nervous at important competitions and now I have this much more under control,” understated Perez.

Akeem Bloomfield and Michael Norman
go toe to toe in the 400m

Photo by Jiro Mochizuki

The leader off the final turn of the men’s 400m was Michael Norman – no? OK, Fred Kerley then. Still no? Akeem Bloomfield (Jam) has three weeks to nail his finish as he pressed Michael Norman to a 44.26 win over Kerley’s 44.46; Bloomfield was third at 44.67. Norman and Kerley will be looking for each other in Doha; they’d be wise to keep Bloomfield in their sights as well.

Dina Asher-Smith’s stated goal is to win a major championship medal, a fact she underscored last summer when she said that her triple European gold performance was deeply satisfying but not the standard by which she wants her career to be judged. She has done much to put herself into the mix for 2019 World medals with her 100m gold today and 200m silver in the Zurich DL final.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou, Shelly-Anne Fraser Pryce, and Dina Asher-Smith
 go toe to toe in the 100m

Photo by Jiro Mochizuki

Asher-Smith turned back Jamaica’s double Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, 10.88-10.95, after SAFP took the lead at 60m. Not many can say they’ve come back on SAFP at that stage of a 100m and won. Dafne Schippers (Ned) continued her perplexing year with a 4^th place finish at 11.22.

Sifan Hassan (Ned) is entering Athlete of the Year territory. Her finish is a weapon deployable to withering effect at any distance, and right now it looks as though she could win World titles over a remarkable range: 1500 – 5k – 10k. In the Brussels 5,000, her main competitor, World 5,000m and World XC champion Hellen Obiri looked tired, with arm movements almost self-conscious as she tried to stave off what is becoming the inevitable. Hassan closed with a withering 59.70 to win in 14:26.26.

During steeplechase introductions, a cold night turned wet, and once the gun went off, the pacers didn’t help. They were notably a hindrance in the women’s 5,000m and men’s 1500m as well. Having pacers in major title championships seems unthinkable – it puts the races at cross purposes to themselves. I am all for a well-coordinated assault on a world record, pacers and all. But the women’s 5,000m looked ridiculous: the pacers were running for time. The rest of the field was running for what they came for: the title and yes, the cash that comes with it.

Guess what happened when the pacers dropped off? The field slowed and bunched, and the real racing began with 600m to go - a classic, strategic championship race. The day I can run more helpful splits than the pacers is the day they need to be banned from championship competition. I’m 67. ‘Nuff said.

Timothy Cheruiyot continued his dominance of the men’s 1500m with a controlled 3:30.22 - yes, controlled - as he won by 1.4 seconds over 18 year old Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s stellar 3:31.62.

Ingebrigtsen and his brother, Filip, ran a textbook-worthy race. They let the pacers go too fast on the first lap and hung in the middle of the chase pack in 7^th and 8^th, with Filip ahead of his younger brother. They trusted their own pacing and moved up throughout the race, then 5^th and 6^th, then 3^rd and 4^th, and on the final lap, Jakob passed Filip to give the brothers an impressive 2-3 finish.

Cheruiyot was undefeated in Diamond League races last year and is 5/6 this year for a remarkable 11/12 two-year DL record. “I prepare to win in Doha,” said the gentlest man on tour, ominously.

Jamaica’s Danielle Williams is looking ever more the Doha favorite as she came as close as is currently possible to dominating one of the deepest events in the sport, the women’s 100m hurdles. She turned back world record holder Keni Harrison by a substantial margin, 12.46-12.73; Harrison’s WR is 12.20.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s discus king Daniel Stahl finished 1-2-3-4-5. Well, actually, he merely won, but he did have the competition’s five longest throws.

Noah Lyles ran a leisurely 19.74 200m to become the first to win 100m and 200m Diamond League titles in same year. However, Ramil Gulieyv (Tur) and Andre de Grasse (Can) served late-season notice that they are major medal contenders once again with fast 2^nd (19.86) and 3^rd (19.87) place finishes after heretofore lackluster seasons.

There was considerable controversy at the finish of the men’s steeplechase as 19-year-old Getnet Wale (Eth) drifted into Soufiane El Bakkali’s (Mor) path. No foul was called and the results stand, with Wale the winner by .16 in 8:06.92. Wale has finished in the top 3 of all 6 of his steeples this year, for those of you considering your medal picks for Doha. Lamecha Girma (Eth) recorded a notable PB of 8:07.66 to claim bronze; he’s 18.

El Bakkali, 23, now has three consecutive Diamond League Finals silvers to his credit. I trust you can guess where he finished in 2017 Worlds. If not, let the Moroccan World News assist you. It describes El Bakkali as the “3000-meter steeplechase world vice-champion.”

Priceless.

***

The greatest mark in the world this week came not at a Diamond League final but at a low-key meet in Andujar, Spain, where Julimar Rojas (Ven) jumped the #2 triple jump in history. At 15.41 (50-6¾), she’s a mere 9cm behind the long-standing (1995) 15.50 of Ukraine’s Inessa Kravets. This ups the Doha ante between Rojas and TJ legend Caterine Ibarguen (Col) considerably; they have been conducting an intracontinental South American duel ever since Rojas pulled off the unthinkable upset of Ibarguen at 2017 Worlds.  Add Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts, who jumped an improbable 14.93 (48-11¾”) PB to win the Diamond League title last week in Zurich, and we have in the offing one of the most fascinating competitions of the entire World Championships. 

Complete Brussels Diamond League results:

https://brussels.diamondleague.com/en/programme-results-brussels/

Zurich Weltklasse Diamond League Finals

Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin 
Rewrite Record Book in Zurich

by Mark Cullen
copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.

Karsten Warholm edged Rai Benjamin in the men's 400m hurdles Diamond League final in Zurich Thursday night.

But what an edge! The #2 time ever over the =3rd: 46.92 to 46.98. Warholm recovered from a stutter-step approach to the 9th hurdle to win by a close but convincing margin.

To put a finer point on it, they are both faster than Edwin Moses, whose PB and one-time world record stands at 47.02.

46.92!
photo by Jiro Mochizuki

Shanieka Ricketts (Jam) won a dramatic triple jump final as defending world champion Julimar Rojas of Venezuela took the lead on her last jump, only to be pipped, as our European counterparts are wont to say, on her final jump, the very last of the competition. Rojas jumped 14.74 and seemed to have it won until Ricketts responded with a national record 14.93. "I do not yet know what I will do with the money," said Ricketts, underscoring the rarity of a triple jumper seeing a $50,000 payday.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo is the best women’s 200m runner in the world; she dominated a stellar field in 21.74, and yet she will not be able to run a 200/400 double due to an unfavorable World Championships time schedule. The single-session adjusted-for-heat Worlds schedule is more compact than the more traditional morning/evening sessions and therefore gives athletes fewer options when it comes to running multiple events.

Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich
Mark Cullen photo

Noah Lyles will not be in the 100m at Worlds after a decisive win here, as he has chosen to focus on the 200m. The surprise of this race was not so much Lyles' 9.98 win but Justin Gatlin's fading 4th in 10.08.

Donavan Brazier (US) gave the men’s 800m field plenty to think about for Worlds. Brazier scared Johnny Gray's American Record, missing it by .10 with his come-from-behind 1:42.70. Nigel Amos will be remembered for going out too fast and tying up badly down the stretch, but he still finished 2nd - thereby tying his worst place-finish of the year.

Brazier's win opens a 4th place on the US 800m squad, and the lucky winner of the new spot is Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts. The top six were under 1:44, and the Doha race is beginning to look very much like it has the potential to come close to the 2012 Olympic greatest-ever men's 800m - in which Amos finished 2nd.

Much - too much - was made in the track press of Emma Coburn's attempt to break 9:00 in the steeplechase. It is beginning to take on uncomfortable parallels to Evan Jager's pursuit of sub-8:00. Better to focus on the competition and the place, and this just wasn't Coburn's day, as even she acknowledged. Gesa Felicitas Krause (Ger) ran an impressive PR/NR of 9:07.51, less than six seconds behind world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech's winning 9:01.71.

In the men's 5000m, Uganda's Joshua Cheptegai added the Diamond League title to his 2019 World Cross Country title. He ran away from a star-studded field and open a gap that could not be breached by the best runners in the world. When will they take him seriously? A world track title in Doha will make him hard to beat as male Athlete of the Year. His 12:57.41 was the only PB in the race - rather tasty frosting on this cake, if you ask me.

Sam Kendricks won the pole vault with a 3rd attempt clearance at 5.93, while Siffan Hassan and Kostanze Klosterhalfen gave the Oregon Project a 1-2 finish in the 1500.

Sifan Hassan and Kostanze Klosterhalfen celebrate 1-2 finish in 1500m
photo by Jiro Mochizuki

Chase Ealey (US) was a notable 2nd in the women's shot put in 19.68 behind Gong Lijao's world leading winner. Might the US have a World medal in the offing?

Cuba's Juan Michel Echavarria's winning long jump of 8.65 is a nifty meet record, Diamond League record, personal best, and form chart rewriter going into Worlds.

Sydney McLaughlin declared herself to be "shocked and amazed" as she turned the tables on world record holder Dalilah Muhammad in the women's 400m hurdles. Her 52.85 is a season's best and .65 short of Muhammad's standard.

At the end of this marvelous day, Warholm and Benjamin are joined in history as the first to break 47.0 in the same race. At the start of the day, Warholm's PB was .04 ahead of Benjamin's, 47.12 to 47.16.

Benjamin broke 47.0 and now is .06 behind.

What's a guy to do?!

World Record!

Dalilah Muhammad 
The Fastest Women's 400m Hurdler in History
photo credit: USATF

52.20
Olympic gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad sets a new world record
in the 400m hurdles in the rain at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

2016 Olympic gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad stunned the final-day crowd of the USATF Championships with a personal best that will always be remembered: a .14 improvement in the World Record previously held by Yuliya Pechonkina of Russia.

With a remarkable sustained drive from the 7th hurdle to the finish, Muhammad sprinted away from a deep, talented, and accomplished field. Many eyes were on the youngster of the final, Sydney McLaughlin, who ran a stellar 52.88 in second, while Ashley Spencer equalled her personal best in 3rd at 53.11. Both join Muhammad on the World Championship team in spite of the fact that "I felt like an underdog in the race," said the new world record holder.

This is Muhammad's 4th national title; the 29-year-old showed promise early when she won the World U-18 title in 2007. In addition, she has won all 8 of the Diamond League races she has ever entered.

Muhammad took .44 off her previous best of 52.64  set at US nationals in the sweltering heat of Sacramento in 2017 when she won the deepest race in history; the only thing missing from that stupendous race was a world record.

Interestingly, Muhammad set the world record today in spite of having the slowest reaction time in the field, 0.287, compared to the fastest (of 4th placer Shamier Little), 0.198.

"We always seem to get the rain," Muhammad said of the 400m hurdlers. "I think we all are prepared for it and we all know how to run in it." Muhammad said she was inspired by the memory of Rai Benjamin winning the NCAA title in the rain and the cold of Eugene. "If he can do it I definitely can do it!"

When asked to compare Olympic gold to a world record, Muhammad said "They're definitely both up there," and that in 2016 "I know the gold that year was so far from my mind, so it was just an amazing achievement at the time. That was definitely a major goal going into 2016. It was crazy to win."

This year, "It was definitely a different atmosphere, a different perspective I'm coming with, but they're both definitely up there."

Indeed, there is a huge difference between the pressure of peaking for Olympic gold while normally a world record, especially in championship races, is unexpected to say the least.

Muhammad was not totally surprised by the world record. To set one you have to train at that pace, and that's exactly what she's been doing in practice - training at "world record pace or under it" through 8 or 9 of the 10 hurdles.

"When the field is so good ,you can't have a bad race. If any of one us have a bad day, you are not going to win, and that's the type of field that the US has."

"I was pushing it... I was trying something different. I think when you're trying to break a world record and you're trying to run fast times you've got to take risk. In that race I took a risk and I wanted to push the backstretch and see what I could do coming home."

Now the world knows what she can do coming home.

Four Boxes

US Records in W Hammer and M Pole Vault 

Highlight Day #3 of USATF Nationals

by Mark Cullen

copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.

Banner at Drake Stadium
Des Moines, Iowa
Site of 2019 USATF Championships
photo credit: Mark Cullen/trackerati.com

Beneath their names in today's results are four boxes.

They say AR, WL, FR, and PB.

Props to those who set a Personal Best at their national championships - no better place to realize your dream.

World Lead means you are best in your event in the world so far this year. It also means you are a favorite to win gold in Doha at this fall's World Championships. If you became world leader today at US Nationals, the pressure just ramped up.

To set a Field Record has special meaning, especially in a venerable stadium like Drake, a place where it's notoriously hard to achieve stadium records after a more than a century of hosting track meets.

An American Record is perhaps better named a US record; AR is sometimes confused with Area Record, a broader category, such as North America, which includes Mexico and Canada, too. Nonetheless, today it means American Record - and it means it twice.

DeAnna Price broke her own American record in the women's hammer throw with her last-of-the competition throw of 78.24 (256-8). While she had a terrific series coming into that throw - 75.66 - 77.51 - 76.40 - 75.77 - 76.72 - only the second round gave a hint of what might be to come.

Price started her final throw noticeably faster than all but the second, and was slightly late on the release. But she was remarkably fast in between, and the late release sent the missile screaming down the left foul line; whether or not it would be fair was in doubt until it landed, just inside the sector.

Price awaited the posting of her distance.

And waited.

78.24

She doubled over under the weight of her accomplishment as the crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

Price was glad to be competing at all after a spring that was physically challenging. "My physical therapist was holding me together with duct tape and wires," she said. But she returned to consistent training and was rested and prepared for today's competition.

"The most important thing is you can't let things gets to you," said Price, and few are her equal when it comes to keeping her eyes on the prize. This was the second time she set the American Record at Drake, having done so last year as well, and today was a repeat performance of the most magnificent kind.

Sam Kendricks, 2017 World champion in the pole vault, has been nothing but gracious and welcoming of the newer vaulters on the scene, most notably his embrace of the ridiculously talented Armand Duplantis. So on this day of days when he surpassed even Duplantis with his stratospheric American record 6.06/19-10.5, he gave his time and attention to the younger members of the Doha team: recent Oregon graduate Cole Walsh, Baylor sophomore to be KC Lightfoot, and Kansas sophomore to be, Zach Bradford.

"Competition is a great way for young men to get to know each other," said Kendricks. "There's a lot of young pole vaulters that I crave to know.” During today's lightning delay, "I walked up to all the young jumpers and said, 'Hey, do you know me? I know you now because we're all going to be a team; we're going to be on the track together.'"

"I know where they came from, I know what their Mom's name is, I know how old they are - even (as he looked at Lightfoot) if they were born in '99! I know what their goals are in the sport."

Nothing spoke better to the high regard his competitors have for him than what they did on his two attempts at the American record. His faithful comrades lined the runway and led the stadium in rhythmic clapping. When he landed as the new American record holder, Kendricks thought to himself, "Oh, no, here they come!" 

Dogpile of a lifetime.

Said teammate Cole Walsh, "I don't know what other country shares that camaraderie."

She throws, he jumps.

They do these exceedingly well.

Nothing like a 4-box day. Unless, of course, it's 5. 

WR 

Doha anyone?

Link to today’s many additional results: https://results.usatf.org/

Moonstruck

$437,500 Sale of 1972 Nike Moon Shoes

Jordan Geller Sets World Record

by Mark Cullen/Trackerati.com © 2019 All Rights Reserved

Jordan Geller with Moon Shoes at Sotheby's
Thanks to Nicole Browner for special permission to use this image.

Shoe impresario Jordan Geller, already the dominant force in the collecting of vintage Nike shoes, etched his name into the history books - and, once again, the Guinness Book of World Records - with his sale of a pair of rare 1972 Moon Shoes for the staggering sum of $437,500. The shoes, designed by Bill Bowerman and handmade by Nike's 3rd employee, Geoff Hollister, were made for the 1972 US Olympic Marathon Trials, but never worn. 

In one fell swoop, Geller changed the market for these early Nikes forever. Listed at $110,000-160,000 - and with a minimum bid of $80,000 - the $437,500 final price exceeded all expectations.

Part of the Stadium Goods/Sotheby's "Ultimate Sneaker Collection" sale of 100 of the rarest sneakers ever made, the first 99 pairs were bought by Canadian entrepreneur Miles Nadal for $850,000 halfway through the online auction. 

But at that point, Geller chose not to sell the Moon Shoes within the listed range. Courageously, he waited out the remaining days of the auction - which closed on July 23 - to see if there would be interest beyond $160,000.

Was there ever.

At that point, Nadal purchased pair #100, which will forever be known as Pair #1.

"It was the perfect storm," said Geller to Trackerati. "I have faith and confidence in the brand and the marketplace."

How did Geller pull off the greatest sneaker sale in history?

Easy.

No waffling.

Full disclosure: I am honored to count Jordan Geller as my friend and colleague, and we have previously met with shoes in hand to discuss, evaluate, and appreciate our historic treasures:
http://www.trackerati.com/2017/04/shoe-summit.html

Geller's website is Shoezeum: http://shoezeum.com/

Guinness Book of World Records statement about the sale: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2019/7/nike-moon-shoes-sell-for-a-record-breaking-price-at-sothebys-auction-584634/

Hammer, Shot Put Take Center Stage - USATF Day 2

There's nothing like a sizzling 100m to bring a track meet alive.

But first, the important stuff.

The men's hammer.

Conor McCullough wins the national title and climbs to #8 all-time US
photo credit: with thanks to USATF/Instagram

Never was there a US hammer championships like this. The throwers came out blazing, and by the end of the day, four had exceeded the World Championships standard of 76.00/249-4.

In fact, three had done so by the end of the 1st round - Sean Donnelly 250-7 76.38, Rudy Winkler 251-0/76.51, and Conor McCullough 252-4/76.92 - and 2019 NCAA Champion Daniel Haugh 250-9/76.44 joined them in the 2nd. The three places to Doha had been settled by then, but that is only a retrospective view. At the time, that was hard to tell given the scintillating competition that continued.

With his final throw, McCullough put a 256-4/8.14 exclamation point on this most memorable of competitions. It vaulted him from 10th to 8th on the all-time US performers list, and tied him for 8th in the world this year. Said McCullough, "(With) all the young guys coming up, it's exciting to have a US Championships with four guys over 76.00 meters."

Multi-talented Michael Shanahan - who has a 5,000m PB of 15:25.10 - set his hammer personal best at 245-5/74.80 while finishing 5th. The former New Hampshire All-American - there are words you don't hear often - had a terrific series and marked himself a star of the near future. McCullough, Winkler, and Haugh are Doha bound, and Sean Donnelly, in 4th place at 250-7/76.38, was nothing but gracious in the face of what had to be a heartbreaking outcome - a miss to Doha by 6cm/2in.

If only this compelling competition could have been held in true center stage - the stadium - there would be a lot more budding hammer throwers in Iowa and beyond.

Ryan Crouser before the Prefontaine Classic
photo credit: Mark Cullen/trackerati.com

Not to be outdone by guys throwing heavy objects around, the shot putters took over. They demonstrated once again that you have to throw 22.00/72-2.25  to get somewhere in this event now, as that's what it took to make the World Championships team. Ryan Crouser settled things with his 5th round 22.62/74-2.5, with Joe Kovacs (22.31/73-2.5), and Darrell Hill (22.11/72-6.5) adding to the 22.00m festivities.

"The guys made it tough out there - three guys over 22.10m plus," said Olympic champion Crouser, who has struggled with recurring low-level injuries this year. "For me to go out there and get a 22.60m plus, I was really happy with that. I'd put that up there with any of my best throws ever."

Note that Crouser's 22.62 is one centimeter longer than Darlan Romani's winner at the Prefontaine Classic. Game on.

It was a challenging day for decathletes. Bad enough was the early exit this week of heavy favorite Zach Ziemek with an injury; worse was Stanford's young star Harrison Williams missing a trip to Doha by a mere 12 points. His 8188 is a number he won't soon forget.

With the withdrawal of Justin Gatlin from the final, the men's sprint went from 100 meters to 100 meh-ters. Christian Coleman won in 9.99, with Mike Rodgers and Christopher Belcher joining him on the podium.

The women's 100m was run into a 1.7mps headwind,  with Teahna Daniels, English Gardner, and Morolake Akinosun advancing to Doha with times of 11.20, 11.25, and 11.28. In the men's race, 2nd and 3rd were separated by .006 of a second, 10.114-10.120.

Donald Scott edged Will Claye in the triple jump, 17.74 to 17.70; Omar Craddock took third, another 15 cm behind. 17.43 was Scott's PB coming into the competition. Scott now has four national titles, 2 indoors and 2 out, in an event that has been dominated by Christian Taylor and Will Claye.

2017 World Champion Taylor has a bye to the World Championships and all he had to do was compete in the US championships and the US would have 4 qualifiers instead of three. Taylor flew in from his base in the Netherlands (I think it's a home, but really, it's more exotic to call it a base), fouled his first jump and passed the next two. Fitness! Off to Worlds the US goes with 4 triple jumpers.

Meanwhile, let me suggest that yelling "Go Big Guy" at a hammer competition does not have the desired sorting effect!

USATF Day #1 - Flying Discs and Big Surprises

On-site at Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa

Drake Stadium at Night
Thursday, July 25, 2019
photo credit: Mark Cullen/trackerati.com

Thursday's men's discus final was, by any standards, a surprise, as 2015 NCAA champ Sam Mattis, and Brian Williams and Kord Ferguson, bronze medalists respectively at the last two NCAA meets, took the podium places.

Just as surprising as who made the podium was who did not. Neither Mason Finley nor Reggie Jagers did - between them, Finley ('16 and '17) and Jagers ('18) hold the last three US discus crowns and Finley, memorably, won World bronze in London. Pre-meet analysis had them on the podium; Finley finished 7th in 61.05/200-3 while Jagers did not crack 60m as his best of 59.78/196-1 earned him 9th, and a newer generation had a chance to shine.

Said Jagers, "My Dad passed away this past year so I really wanted to go out with a bang for him. It didn't come true but this might be a blessing in disguise because now I get to train for Olympics full-time. I made the Pan-American team so perhaps I'll be able to redeem myself.

"It was just weird because me and Mason both did pretty bad and we were both defending champions. I would just say I want to come back and come back strong. I know my Dad will be with me, and next meet I won't put too much pressure on it - I'll just come through and I'll just believe in myself."

Neither Jagers nor his fellow competitors would attribute their results to the weather, which featured a strong, direct breeze in the first round as well as rain through most of the last two.

"I usually aspire to do well in bad conditions anyway - I'm from Cleveland, Ohio!" joked Jagers.

The discus competition was unusual in that both 1st and 2nd were settled with 1st round throws.

Mattis won with a season's 66.69/218-9, while Williams threw a personal best 66.69/218-9 to win silver. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was Kord Ferguson’s thunderous 4^th round 63.25/207-6, a massive personal best by almost four feet (1.18/3-10.5). Ferguson was seeded 10th coming into the competition and his presence in the final was unexpected - much less winning bronze.

The men's discus is instructive of how qualifying for the Doha World Championships works.

Top three go to Worlds, right? Well, not exactly.

Top three go to Worlds if they all have met the qualifying standard, in this case 65.00 meters.

But what if the top two have met the standard and the third has not?

The next highest American on the world list during the qualifying period who has exceeded the 65.00 meter standard by the most makes the World Championship team, and that lucky winner is none other than Mason Finley.

I think.

His place on the team really won't be assured until the final roster is released next week.

In other Day #1 highlights, Kentura Orji won her historic 4th triple jump in a row, Molly Huddle won her 5th 10,000m title, and Lopez Lomong and Shadrack Kipchirchir waged a mighty battle in a compelling men's 10,000m race. They broke away from the field and went head-to-head until the final circuit when Lomong settled things with a 55.59 closing lap. He finished in a spectacular 27:30.60.

Full results are here: https://results.usatf.org/

Notes: I'm in Des Moines covering the men's and women's hammer and men's and women's discus for Track and Field News. I will highlight one event daily and include the best of the day (as above) with links for more information.

I encourage you to click on the USATF results site. Marks are posted as they happen, and you can 'watch' throw-by-throw, jump-by-jump, and lap-by-lap coverage.

Brian Williams (2nd), Kord Ferguson (3rd), Sam Mattis (1st)
photo credit: Mark Cullen/trackerati.com