Quintuple Feature at the Track and Field Drive-In Show

by Mark Cullen

Normally, a world record would be the highlight of a meet, and on this epic day, Beatrice Chebet’s record-crushing 10,000m 28:54.14 was nothing less than that.

But a more subtle highlight emerged in this age of Caitlyn Clark.

Name a meet in which the women’s 10,000/5000/3000m steeplechase/1500 and 800 were all run, and on the same day.

Nope, neither can I.

The best part? This milestone almost passed us by because having all five on the same bill is what we do now.

Think of it as a quintuple show at the drive in. Each of these races was featured on a bill that included not-to-be sneezed at field and sprint performances by the women, not to mention a 75’ shot put toss on the men’s side with a 3:45 mile to boot.

Gudaf Tsegay returned to the scene of her memorable 2023 Diamond League final 5,000m world record of 14:00.21. She announced a world record attempt and was widely expected to reach her goal of holding both the 5k and 10k world records at the same time.

Not so fast, said Beatrice Chebet, who blew by Tsegay with 1200m remaining. Tsegay ran the 3^rd fastest 10,000 in history and – no slouch at this distance – has the #6 time ever as well. Imagine running 29:09.52 and finishing 2^nd.

Chebet sent chills through her opposition with her announcement of a forthcoming 5k/10k double in Paris.

 “…I’m so happy to run 28, a world record,” she said. “The last lap just motivated me, especially when Gudaf dropped.”

Ethiopia swept the top six places in the women’s 5,000, with Tsigie Gebresalama edging Ejgayehu Taye by 16/100 of a second, 14:18.76 to 14:18.92.

Tsigie’s previous best was 14:43.90, and she set a personal best of over 25 seconds.

With an exceptionally fast first kilometer of 2:51.22, a world record attempt appeared to be on in the steeplechase. However, Beatrice Chepkoech’s (Ken) early hot pace cost her, as Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai earned the trifecta of  national and personal records as well as the season’s leading time.

Ethiopia’s Birke Haylum could be Ethiopia’s next star; the 18-year-old set the World U20 5k record with her stellar, astonishing 14:23.71.

Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji won the 1500m in 3:53.22. That makes her the #6 performer with the 11^th fastest performance all-time. If she continues her seasonal progression of 3:57-3:55-3:53, this ought to net her a 3:49 just in time for the Olympics. Notice served.

Jessica Hull (Australia; former Oregon Duck) set a personal and Oceania area record of 3:55.97 in 2^nd, with US’s Elle St. Pierre not even a stride back in 3:56.00, the second best performance ever by a US runner. St. Pierre PRed by just over two seconds.

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson took down World champion and Diamond League final champ Mary Moraa (Ken) in the hotly contested 800m, 1:55.78 to 1:56.71. Hodgkinson had an unanswerable charge down the final straightaway to secure the win – one which Moraa now has scant time to respond to before the Olympic Games. Said Hodgkinson, “That final in Paris will be insane.”

Imagine a meet of these five women’s races and none other. An epic standalone meet, one we’d be talking about for years. And yet, there was more.

“It’s always magical running here,” said Sha’Carri Richardson, who won the 100m in a world-leading 10.83. Kenny Bednarek, who won the 200m in 19.89, relies on a rigorous diet to aid his success.

“If your body’s already dealing with stuff,” he said, “you’re going to be running a little bit slower because your body can only work on so many things at a time.” This diet/lifestyle seems to be paying big dividends for the World and Olympic 200m silver medalist. “This year I’m going for the gold.”

Meanwhile, Christian Coleman hung on for the win over Ferdinand Omanyala in the men’s 100m, 9.95-9.98. Grant Holloway won the 110m hurdles in a quick 13.03, while the usual suspects lined up for a North American sweep of the hammer, with Canada’s Camryn Rogers setting a notable Diamond League record of 77.76 (255-1). DeAnna Price, Brooke Anderson, and Janee Kassanavoid (all US) finished 2-3-4 behind her. This result may well prove prophetic for not only the US Olympic Trials, but the Olympic Games themselves.

Each of Joe Kovacs’ six throws would have won the men’s shot put. Payton Otterdahl was almost a meter behind, 23.13 – 22.16. (75’ 10.75” to 72’ 8.5”)

Valarie Allman and Cuba’s Jaime Perez waged a spirited battle in the discus, and it was not decided until the last round with Allman emerging the winner just 11 centimeters (3 inches!) ahead of Perez, 67.36 – 67.25. (221-0 to 220-7)

Fortunately for Beatrice Chebet, the men’s and women’s 10,000m served as the Kenyan Olympic team trials and she is headed for Paris, her trip apparently assured.  Daniel Mateiko won the men’s event in 26:50.81 to join her on the Seine.

Second place on the Kenyan team should have been decided by these races, with third decided by a committee. The Kenyan federation is notorious for opaque procedures, so it’s best to hold off on declaring Kenyan Olympic team members quite yet.

The men’s mile. The Bowerman Mile. Was there ever so much hype? Well, yes, but not by much, and this was good for the sport.

No, great for the sport.

Josh Kerr (Gbr) took a chance his coaches advised against and put down the hammer with a dramatic, race-deciding move with 600 to go. Father-to-be Jakob Ingebrigsten (Nor) found himself just steps behind, with Jared Nuguse in 3^rd and Great Britain’s Neal Gourley and Jake Wightman 4^th and 5^th.  

Why mention as deep as the top 5? Because they’re the ones who broke 3:48.00. Kerr’s 3:45.34 broke Steve Cram’s national record; Cram was in the stadium and gave gracious congratulations personally to Kerr. 14^th and last was Cooper Teare in 3:53.92. When did 3:53 become not enough? Probably the day 3:47 was fifth.

*A few closing notes:

*Complete results link: https://tinyurl.com/4mf7w2tp

*There were many comments about the size of the crowd, and for once it wasn’t about what was lacking. While I’ll be the first to acknowledge that a few sections were covered, it was, nonetheless, a spirited and engaging atmosphere. Today’s crowd found a lot to cheer about and didn’t hold back, especially in the thrilling w800, w100, and men’s mile finishing sequence.

*Valerie Allman summed it up well when she said:

I feel like I'm here with... 20,000 of my friends. You know these people. I'm so grateful that they've been following my journey since I was here as a world junior American... to have people that love track and field, they've been following along on the heights of my journey, the lows, people like that really make this sport so exciting and so meaningflu for the athletes.

So it was really special today.

*It was, indeed. So much so that TJ and Alli, two young people from Utah who won tickets to this event, decided to make the pilgrimage to track and field’s new old shrine. Eugene to Boise is about 900 miles roundtrip. They drove the whole way. They are the future of the sport.

TJ and Alli, welcome to Eugene.

Laurel's Laurels

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of the first 

US Olympic Women's Marathon Trials, 

a reposting of this tribute to Laurel James, 

who conceived of and saw to fruition this historic event.

by Mark Cullen

Dubbed the “Godmother of Green Lake” by Seattle columnist Emmett Watson, Laurel James opened her legendary running store, Super Jock ‘n Jill, the day after Thanksgiving in 1975.

   

James was the single mother of five boys when she decided that the real estate and insurance licenses she held did not represent her future. “It wasn’t working at all,” said James. “This was the era of ‘Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn out the lights.’ ”

When her two oldest sons, Brent and Chet, went to college, her son Bryce came home one day in 1974 and asked if he could invite his new coach over for dinner.

Pat Tyson stayed for six years.

Tyson was the inspiration for James’ involvement with running, and he introduced her to his famous Oregon teammate and college roommate Steve Prefontaine. “Meeting Pre was like putting frosting on the cake,” she said. “I thought he was great and my Mom thought he was great, too.”

At 40, James had $10,000 and a dream. Stand-alone running stores were a novelty then; they were few and, quite literally, far between. But the running bug had bitten James.

“One reason I started Super Jock ‘n Jill was none of the sporting goods stores had a selection of good running shoes. All I had was a pair of Keds, and even track spikes were dated then.”

James opened “SJ+J” in a converted gas station near Seattle’s Green Lake where, ironically, Road Runner Sports now operates. This location, however, was her second choice. All along she had her eye on the Masonic Temple building where the store operates to this day, and after a two-and-a-half year wait, she occupied her dream location.

The fledgling business was a family enterprise, and all five sons helped clean years of dust out of the first facility. Chet is now the owner of Super Jock ‘n Jill and Brent - one of Nike’s early employees – has had a very successful career in shoe design. Allen was a ’92 and ’96 race walking Olympian. Says Chet, “My Mom gave birth to this; I adopted it.”

The store and the James home hosted prominent guests: Grete Waitz, Fred Lebow, Olympic and World champion Ernesto Canto and the Mexican race walking team, and none other than Arthur Lydiard.

The name of the store grew out of a trade show James attended in Phoenix. A friend had suggested The Jock Shop in honor of her energetic brood, but James flew home knowing that wasn’t quite right. “I came off the plane with Super Jock and four days later added Jill.”

This name generated threats of a lawsuit from the Jockey underwear company. Said James to their lawyer, “What makes you think you can take on a woman with five kids? What kind of press are you going to get out of that?”

Geography played a key role in the success of her enterprise. Green Lake became the go-to destination for Seattle’s running community as the 1970s running boom took off. James vowed that she would not start in a mall. “I don’t want looky-loos,” she recalled saying to herself. “I want clientele.”

Quick to recognize the opportunity, James organized timed runs around the lake, and an enterprising Seattle podiatrist, Bill Warnekros, sponsored Thursday evening clinics which drew grateful gimpy runners to the store for free advice.

Key to James’ success was her resourcefulness. “I remember one day a truck pulled up and they offloaded something like 577 pairs of Nikes – with a bill for $30,000. I didn’t have $30,000 and after three days, I called Nike’s credit manager, who really didn’t want me to have my own store. But their local rep, Al Miller, had faith that I’d make it.”

It was James’ irrefutable logic that carried the day. “I told the credit manager that he didn’t want these back, and that I didn’t want to pay a 15% surcharge if I did return them. I promised I’d send him a check every Friday.” In three months the bill was paid – and the shoes were sold. “It was 1979,” said James, “and it was one of the times we were hanging by a thread.”

Super Jock ‘n Jill was the first sponsor of the Seattle Marathon, and sponsorship made for some strange bedfellows in the early days. One underwriter of the Red Brick Road Half-Marathon was the lamb industry. “The night before the race we had a whole gang of people in my house making lamb sandwiches that we gave to the vendors the next day!”

It was James who conceived of the Olympia, WA, bid for the 1984 US Women’s Olympic Trials Marathon, and a point of pride for James is the trailblazing support she and her store gave women distance runners and running.

Olympia was up against heavyweights: New York (Fred Lebow and the New York Road Runners Club), Buffalo (which had already been awarded the US men’s marathon trials), Los Angeles (which had ‘84’s biggest meet of all), and Kansas City. Olympia pulled out all the stops, including having US Senator Slade Gorton narrate the presentation in person.

Olympia’s win is considered one of the most colossal upsets in bid history. No surprise, given the determined driving force behind it.

James, who in August turned twice the age of the store, views Super Jock ‘n Jill as a neighborhood store – with a very expansive neighborhood.

The store’s success has always been about the personal relationships it generates. In its early days it was “a great hangout place,” said James, a place where lifelong friendships were formed. “There was no other place to go to find this sense of a running community.”

For 40 years, a store forged from family has given Seattle’s running community its home.

                                                                      *     *     *

Editor's notes:

I shopped at Super Jock 'n' Jill the day it opened in 1975. The previous summer Pat Tyson had introduced me to Laurel James in Eugene. She told me of her dream and I promised I'd support it. Laurel and I remain friends to this day. In fact, a year ago, when Super Jock 'n' Jill opened their Redmond store a year ago, Chet made sure I was the very first customer.

A version of this story appeared in the November/December issue of Northwest Runner. Special thanks to publisher Frank Field for his gracious introduction in the magazine. 

First published on 11/26/2015

                        Super Jock 'n' Jill Founder Laurel James (l) and two-time 

                            marathon world record-setter, Jacqueline Hansen.

on_your_mark@comcast.net

Sixty's Seventieth: Parry O'Brien

Seventy years ago - May 8, 1954 - Parry O’Brien, one of the greatest male shot putters in history, broke the 60’ barrier. If ever he made a mistake, it was shattering 60’ two days after Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4:00 minute mile. While the world was understandably focused on Bannister, O’Brien did little to call attention to his own momentous achievement.

Parry O'Brien
photo credit: USC Trojans.com

Certainly, breaking the 4:00 barrier was to confer legendary status on the athlete first to accomplish it. Roger Bannister, who had a relatively brief career, is rightly accorded that status for his singular achievement. But while Bannister held his world record for 46 days, O’Brien held the shot put world record for over 1,400 more.

O’Brien set world records a staggering 17 times. Interestingly, the IAAF ratified only 10 of these. When O’Brien set multiple world records in the same meet - the most famous of these when he broke the WR three times on June 11, 1954 - IAAF ratified only his best world record of the day.

Olympic gold medalist in ‘52 and ‘56, O’Brien won silver in ‘60 and finished 4th in ’64. He improved the shot put world record by over four feet, from 59’ ¾” to 63’4”, a remarkable record rewrite of 7.23%. His personal best of 64’ 7 ¼” came when he was 34; the world record had by then been claimed by Randy Matson.

During his peak, O’Brien won 116 meets in a row, one of the greatest winning streaks in track and field history. O’Brien earned the highest accolade an American amateur athlete can win when he was recognized with the 1959 Sullivan Award. Perhaps the greatest appreciation of all came when his 1964 Olympic teammates elected him flag bearer for Opening Ceremonies in Tokyo.

Most of all, O’Brien was one of the very few athletes to permanently alter his event. He pioneered “The Glide” and was the first shot putter in history to make use of the entire ring. In a 1955 Sports Illustrated article, Herman Hickman called O’Brien’s Glide “completely revolutionary.”

I met O’Brien at the Legends of Gold Banquet, held in conjunction with the 10^th World Athletics Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2001.

As I sat down at my table, I was thrilled to see a placard with his name on it. I was considerably less thrilled when, moments later, someone plucked it off our table and moved it to an adjacent one. In a hall filled with 26 of the most notable track and field gold medalists, ours was, sadly, a table without a legend.

Each legend was given a rousing introduction by the emcee, Canadian television broadcaster, Brian Williams. When he introduced Dick Fosbury, he said that Fosbury held the singular distinction of being the only athlete in the room to have transformed an event.

After dinner I went downstairs and stood in long lines to have my moment with at least a few of these legends.

O’Brien sat leaning forward at his table; it gave him a hunched effect: shoulders forward, head down.

O’Brien struck me as a shy man of great depth.

Humble, certainly.

We exchanged greetings, and as he signed my program, I said, “Mr. O’Brien, many of us cringed tonight when the announcer said that there was one person in the building who transformed an event. Everyone knows there are two."

I had not anticipated how deeply this would touch him; I think I had given voice to what he thought but could not say.

With great emphasis, he said, “Thank you.”

He looked down quickly and then up again.

“Thank you.”

He was trying to tell me something important.

“Thank you very much.”

Parry O’Brien, an athlete dedicated to his fitness for his entire life, passed away eight years later at 75 while competing in a masters swimming event in his native California.

*Note: This article was first published on May 7, 2014, under the title Sixty's Sixtieth.
I'm as surprised as anyone that ten years have passed.