Live @ Millrose: 40-year old Gail Devers wins, but Maurice Green stumbles
Posted February 2nd, 2007 at 5:03 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Live Race Coverage
Gail Devers, now 40 years old, silenced all of her critics; winning the 60m Hurdlers in 7.86 seconds.
In the process, she also defeated her pupil Danielle Carruthers, a young runner with endless potential. Joanna Hayes came in second, finishing in 7.91 seconds, followed by Carruthers (7.94).
Devers time was the fastest of the year and enabled her to defeat a very competitive and much younger field of sprinters that included Caruthers, Joanna Hayes and Priscilla Lopes. Devers spoke about returning to competition after taking some time off to have her daughter Karsen:
“You have Danielle [Carruthers] and my husband to thank for me being in this race. They said you’ve got to jump in a race. This has always been a great experience for me. I wanted to come back at 40 and do something great for my fans, for the people who supported me having a baby, saying please don’t retire. I say 40 is the new 20.”
Carruthers, who Devers said is her hand-picked choice to replace her in the sport, spoke about what it’s like to compete against her friend and coach:
“I’m excited about what happened today, and I’m excited for her, because she’s as strong as ever … It’s weird for me because I’ve always looked at her as my teacher. Of course it’s competitive, but she’s still my coach … She won today and I’m happy for her. Not only is she my coach, she’s my friend.”
Devers confirmed that she is not retired, but also wouldn’t say when we would see her next. She certainly has a lot left in her tank and we can only hope that she’ll continue to compete and make her way to Beijing.
Although Devers was able to prove that she still belonged in this level of competition, Maurice Greene didn’t have the same luck in the 60m. America’s Shawn Crawford ultimately won the race in 6.56 and Jamaica’s Larone Clarke finished second (6.64).
Within the first few meters Greene lost his footing and hit the ground hard. It was extremely disappointing for the current 60m and former 100m world record holder, especially after he announced that he wanted to win an Olympic gold in 2008 before retiring. After the race, Greene explained:
“I thought I had a pretty good start. I had a lot of adrenaline going at the beginning of the race. At the start, there’s a little dip in the track. I guess I missed a step and I couldn’t recover. I thought ‘uh oh, I’m going down’. It happens.”
Official Race Results:
Women’s 60m Hurdles
1) Gail Devers 7.86
2) Joanna Hayes 7.91
3) Danielle Caruthers 7.94
4) Perdita Felicien 7.96
5) Priscilla Lopes 8.04
6) Jenny Adams 8.07
Men’s 60m Dash
1) Shawn Crawford 6:56
2) Larone Clarke 6;64
3) Trell Kimmons 6.65
4) Steve Mullings 6.67
5) Richard Thompson 6.68
6) Maurice Green 27.70
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Tags: Danielle Carruthers, Gail Devers, Joanna Hayes, Millrose Games, Priscilla Lopes
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The Final Sprint
[…] At 40 years old, and just 19 months after giving birth to her daughter Karsens, Gail returned to the Millrose Games on February 2nd and won the 60m hurdles; defeating many of the world’s best, including her current protege, Danielle Carruthers. […]
February 9th, 2007 at 2:41 pm[…] Danielle, a fellow Indiana University Hoosier, is a a two-time USA Indoor champion, 10-time All-American and the new protégé of Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers. In the interview Danielle talks about competing against Gail at the Millrose Games, what it’s like to be coached by an Olympic legend, her upcoming races and goals for 2007. […]
February 19th, 2007 at 1:27 pm