TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.
Faces in Races: Rhines, Fleshman, and Lambie Looking for Olympic Berths in Women’s 5000m
Posted July 4th, 2008 at 12:03 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
The Women’s 5000m at the 2008 US Olympic Trials will feature several women who could be legitimate medal contenders in Beijing. Leading the pack will be Shalane Flanagan, the American Record holder in both the 5000m and the 10000m. Joining her will be fellow 10000m Olympian Kara Goucher, who was third in the that event at the World Championships in Osaka last summer. Another favorite will be Villanova alum Jen Rhines, a two time Olympian (10000m in 2000, marathon in 2004). Former Stanford star Lauren Fleshman has been outstanding in 2008 and rounds out the group of four women who have broken 15:00 in the qualifying window.
As in the other distance races, the A standard will be in play for this final. That is, the Olympic team will be comprised of the top three finishers who have run the A standard previously or in this race. The A standard in the women’s 5000m is 15:09, and the aforementioned four (Flanagan, Rhines, Goucher, Fleshman) are the only runners in the field who have reached that mark. It is likely that the three Olympians will be among this group, but there are several other strong contenders. Below we profile three runners in this final: Rhines, Fleshman, and Massachusetts native and Stanford alum Arianna Lambie. Finally, we make some picks for what should be yet another fantastic distance final.
Read the rest of this entry »
Flanagan, Goucher Advance to Second Final of Trials
Posted July 1st, 2008 at 1:15 AM by Stephanie Lowe
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher already have their tickets to Beijing in the 10000 meters, but that does not mean they are satisfied. Tonight they each won their heat of the 5000-meter semifinal.
Flanagan’s heat began with Lauren Fleshman in the lead. By 4000 meters, Flanagan, the American record holder, took over to win in 15:35.86. Fleshman faded to third in 15:36.79 after she was passed by Maureen McCandless (15:36.52).
The second heat was even faster, thanks to Sara Slattery who was not afraid to push the pace early. Two-time Olympian Jen Rhines stayed close and held that position after Slattery (15:40.24) eventually dropped to sixth. Rhines moved to first-place position with three laps to go and stayed there until the bell lap when Goucher (15:32.22) passed her. Adrianna Lambie ran a great race, finishing third in the heat with 15:32.31.
TFS News Briefs: 6/03/2008
Posted June 3rd, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, TFS News Briefs
Fleshman’s Feat Overshadowed By Bolt’s Record
The track world is abuzz with talk of Usain Bolt’s sizzling 100m world record of 9.72 at the Reebok Grand Prix, but Lauren Fleshman brought some heat of her own that day, winning the women’s 5000m in 14:58.48, the 8th fastest time ever run by an American.
More: The Register-Guard, OR
Bislett Games to Host Greatest Female Steeplechase Ever?
Oslo, Norway’s Bislett Games have long been known for their premier event, the “Dream Mile.” This year, the “Dream Steeplechase” is loaded with talent and threatens to overshadow it. World-record holder Gulnara Samitova-Galkina takes on Yekaterina Volkova, Tatyana Petrova and Eunice Jepkorir, who finished 1-2-3 at the Osaka world championships
More: IAAF
Coach: Liu Xiang Not Injured
Although world and Olympic champion and world-record holder Liu Xiang withdrew from the Reebok Grand Prix 110m hurdles this past weekend, his coach Sun Haiping claims that move was precautionary and not due to an injury.
More: Yahoo! Eurosport, UK
Read the rest of this entry »
Distance Races Also Thrill At Reebok Grand Prix
Posted June 1st, 2008 at 3:46 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
It is true that most of the 6,000-plus spectators who filled Ichan Stadium here, especially the 1,000 or so Jamaicans, came to see explosive sprinters like Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix. Their cheers, deafening during the sprints, were largely lacking during the distance events, despite the entreaties of RRW’s favorite meet announcer Scott Davis.
However, some exciting sprint finishes in the longer races did get the crowds on their feet, in particular the finish of the men’s 5000m where Shadrack Kosgei of Kenya and Ali Abdosh of Ethiopia duked it out on the final 100m, the first race after a 45 minute delay caused by a heavy thunderstorm. The pair were running close to 13-flat pace throughout the race, and it took a 56-second final 400m by Kosgei to lock down the win by just 4/100ths of a second, 13:14.46 to 13:14.50. Abdosh was sprinting so fast in the final meters he nearly fell as he crossed the finish line.
“I thought the sprint was fantastic,” said a beaming Kosgei. “I was really strong.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Mt. SAC Relays: Distance Carnival Highlights
Posted April 19th, 2008 at 5:39 PM by Stephanie Lowe
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, College, High School
The 50th Annual Mt. SAC Relays are underway this weekend in Walnut, Calif. The meet includes top high school, collegiate and professional track and field athletes. The Relays began Thursday, April 17, and will conclude Sunday, April 20.
Friday’s exciting Distance Carnival and Invitational was covered live on Flotrack and the Mt. SAC website. The highlights of the evening were the men’s invitational 3000-meter steeplechase and the women’s invitational 5000-meter run.
Anthony “Fam” Famiglietti won the steeplechase with a time of 8:26.94, barely missing the meet record of 8:26.6 set by Marc Davis in 1993. He led the race from the starting line and finished ten seconds ahead of runner-up Jordan Fife’s finish time of 8:36.69.
Read the rest of this entry »
Flanagan Enters U.S. XC Championships as Favorite
Posted February 15th, 2008 at 4:21 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field
At last year’s U.S. Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colo., Shalane Flanagan had high hopes for victory. Her main rival, Deena Kastor, was in the midst of heavy training for the Boston Marathon, and Flanagan had been flying on the track, just setting an American indoor record for 3000m: 8:33.25.
But Boulder’s mile-high altitude played to Kastor’s favor (she was one of the few athletes who actually came down from a higher altitude to race in Boulder), and Flanagan was soundly beaten by about about a minute over the 8 km course.
“Boulder was really tough for me,” said Flanagan recalling the race on a teleconference today. “I felt really ill afterwards. Maybe it was altitude or just the effort of the race. There were a couple times on the course when I literally considered throwing myself off the course. I was completely exhausted and it took me a few days to recover.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Records, Upsets Highlight Boston Indoor Games
Posted January 27th, 2008 at 10:00 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
A world best by Meseret Defar, an all-comer’s record by Craig Mottram, and upset winners in both the men’s and women’s miles gave the sell-out crowd of over 4000 fans plenty to cheer about at the 13th Reebok Boston Indoor Games here tonight at the Reggie Lewis Center at Roxbury Community College.
Defar, of Ethiopia, the reigning Olympic and world champion at 5000m, made her seventh appearance at this meeting her best yet. Paced by Serbia’s Marina Muncan and pushed by New Zealand’s Kim Smith, Defar destroyed Regina Jacobs’s 2002 two mile world best by nearly 13 seconds. With Smith never more than a few steps back, Defar went through the first mile in four minutes and 38 seconds, and came back to run the second half in 4:33.5, breaking the tape in 9:10.50. Smith powered home right behind her, running the #2 indoor time ever in history: 9:13.94.
Read the rest of this entry »
2008 Track & Field
Previews & Predictions:
Women’s Middle-Distance
Posted January 25th, 2008 at 5:25 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
Maria Mutola recently announced that she will retire at the end of the 2008 season. That’s a shame because she has been the ambassador of women’s 800m running ever since she broke on the world-class middle-distance running scene in 1991 with a time of 1:57.63. Since then she’s run between 1:55.19 and 1:58.98 a staggering 108 times. The only other woman to come even close to running that many world-class times in the 800m has been the great Cuban runner Ana Quirot, who ran between 1:54.44 and 1:58.95 a total of 72 times between 1986 and 1997. The 800m event will truly be diminished when Mutola retires.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reebok Boston Indoor Games: Start Lists
Posted January 25th, 2008 at 11:07 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Here are the start lists for the middle and long distance events for tomorrow’s Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Also, stay tuned for complete event recaps and analysis following tomorrow night’s event - right here at TheFinalSprint.com.
MEN -
BostonNOW 800m:
Said Ahmed, USA
Andrew Ellerton, CAN
Sam Burley, USA
Nick Symmonds, USA
Khadevis Robinson, USA
Mike Pachella, USA
Larry Brooks, USA
Mile:
Boaz Cheboiywo, KEN
Rob Myers, USA
Chris Lukezic, USA
Max Smith, NZL
Galen Rupp, USA [Pictured]
Fumikazu Kobayashi, JPN
James Nolan, IRL
David Freeman, PUR
Jason Jabaut, USA
Pablo Solares, MEX
Moise Joseph, HAI (pace)
Read the rest of this entry »
Defar Leads Top Women’s Field in London 5-K
Posted September 11th, 2007 at 10:00 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results
Reigning Olympic and world 5000m champion, Meseret Defar, leads a top-notch field at Sunday’s Hydro Active Women’s Challenge in London’s Hyde Park, a 5 km road race. The 23 year-old Ethiopian is also the world record holder for both 5000m on the track (14:16.63) and 5 km on the road (14:46).
“Naturally we are very pleased to have the world and Olympic 5000m champion Meseret Defar, fresh from her victory in Osaka heading up our elite field in London, the UK’s premier 5-k women’s road running event,” said Dave Bedford who directs the race. Bedford is also the race director of the Flora London Marathon.
Bedford has also invited a strong group of challengers to face Defar, led by Australia’s Benita Johnson, America’s Lauren Fleshman, Russia’s Inge Abitova, and Britain’s Jo Pavey and Liz Yelling.
This will be the tenth edition of the Challenge which organizers said had 20,000 entrants last year. The course record of 14:51 was set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003.
Read the rest of this entry »
Who had the more impressive Boston Marathon debut?
Recent Comments
Page 2 Articles
The Final Sprint
On June 9, 2009
Bridget said:
I completely agree with this article. Although I don't think moderate caffeine before a moderate workout...