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Lead Stories: Thursday, August 28, 2008

Ramzi Defeats Kiprop to Win First-Ever Olympic Gold for Bahrain; Willis Surprises with Bronze

Posted August 19th, 2008 at 3:58 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Thanks to Rashid Ramzi, Bahrain has its first-ever Olympic gold medal. The former Moroccan won the men’s 1500 meters Tuesday night in Beijing. With a relentless 51-second final lap, Ramzi, the 2005 world champion, finished in 3:32.94 ahead of Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop (3:33.11). Nick Willis of New Zealand was third in 3:34.16.

“I didn’t expect this in my wildest dreams. This didn’t come from nothing, I had to work hard, now I can be very proud,” Ramzi said.

The race started with Kiprop and Kenyan teammate Augustine Choge in the lead. Kiprop led the pack through the first 400 meters in 56.48 seconds. Then Choge took over for a 1:56.06 800-meter split.
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Walker breaks AR, Mutola wins for 16th time at Nike Prefontaine Classic

Posted June 8th, 2008 at 11:34 PM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Meet records fell across all event groups, none bigger than Brad Walker’s American record in the pole vault, and Maria Mutola had a historic exit Sunday at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.

The fourth event of USATF’s Visa Championship Series, the Nike Prefontaine Classic drew a meet-record 14,221 fans to Hayward Field, site of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field June 27-July 6. They were treated to a formidable show, including no fewer than eight meet records and Walker’s AR.

The 2007 world champion, Walker looked magnificent throughout the competition. He had just one miss, at his opening height of 5.70m/18-8.25, then passed to 5.90m/19-4.25, which he cleared on his first attempt and which won the competition for him. Walker then elevated the bar to 6.04m/19-9.75. On his very first attempt, he cleared, brushing the bar just a bit, but leaving it up.
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Great Line-Ups for Sunday’s adidas Track Classic

Posted May 15th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Organizers have secured great line-ups for Sunday’s adidas Track Classic at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and that includes the middle and long distance events.

The men’s 1500m is shaping up to the the top event, led by double world champion and two-time Olympic medalist, Bernard Lagat. Commonwealth Games medalists Nick Willis of Australia and Nate Brannen of Canada are also in the field, along with perennial Canadia star Kevin Sullivan and former NCAA ace Lopez Lomong. Nick Symmonds will be moving up from his usual specialty, the 800m, while 5000m man Adam Goucher will be moving down for a speed workout.
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Ethiopian Reinstated in Men’s 1500m, Earns Gold Medal

Posted March 9th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

After thoroughly reviewing the race video, officials at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships reinstated 18 year-old Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia as the winner of the rough and tumble men’s 1500m final, giving that African nation a second gold medal today after Meseret Defar’s earlier win in the women’s 3000m.

Mekonnen, who had crossed the finish line first with an apparent victory, was disqualified immediately after the race under IAAF rule 163.3, which covers all manner of lane violations. He was cited for stepping into the infield after contact with another athlete. The Ethiopian delegation immediately lodged an official protest, as did the New Zealand delegation because Nick Willis was also disqualified.
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Lagat and Mottram Set for Millrose Rematch

Posted January 30th, 2008 at 5:45 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Sitting next to each other today on barstools as they faced the press, Craig Mottram and Bernard Lagat almost looked like drinking buddies. They were relaxed and confident. Praise flowed freely.

“There’s a lot of significance with having a strong athlete like Craig in the race,” Lagat said of Friday night’s Wanamaker Mile, the signature event of the 101st Millrose Games. Lagat, who won both the 1500m and 5000m at last summer’s IAAF World Championships, registered his fifth Wanamaker Mile victory last year, overcoming a strong late race surge by Mottram. “I need to be ready,” Lagat added.

Mottram, who made his first Millrose appearance last year, made a strong bid for victory with two laps to go on the tiny 145m track. At six feet three inches, many said he was too tall for the tight turns, and his aggressive move caught the much smaller Lagat a little off balance.
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TFS News Briefs: 1/29/08

Posted January 29th, 2008 at 2:32 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs, Trail / Ultra

Richmond, VA Designated As U.S. Men’s 10K Championships Site
The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K road race in Richmond, VA will be the host of the U.S. Men’s 10K Championships this April 5th. Prize money will total $25,000 with the winner getting $7500.
Read more at: [USA Today]

Ultra-Runner May Get To Keep His Toes
Andrew Wells, an ultra-runner from Davenport, IA, who won the Frozen Otter Ultra Trek in Wisconsin last week but suffered severe frostbite, was scheduled for surgery to remove his toes. He may, in fact, get to keep at least some of his toes.
Read more at: [Des Moines Register]

Olympic Hurdles Champion Hayes, Other Stars to Compete at Millrose Games
Joanna Hayes, the Olympic 110m hurdles champion, and Kara Goucher, the world-championships bronze medalist in Osaka, will be competing at this Friday’s 101st running of the storied Millrose Games. A Stuczynski-Dragila showdown in the pole vault and a talented Wanamaker Mile field (Bernard Lagat, Craig Mottram, Nick Willis, Galen Rupp) are also among the highlights of the meet which will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Read more at: [IAAF][Millrose Games]
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BIGgest Moments from Boston

Posted January 27th, 2008 at 8:09 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, College, High School

The 2008 Reebok Boston Indoor Games featured many exciting events on the track and in the field. As usual the meet attracted many of the world’s finest athletes- Olympic Medalists, World Champions, seasoned vets and rising stars. Each event at the Boston Indoor Games brought thrills to the crowd at the Reggie Lewis Center, but below we give our recaps and rankings (the latter being completely subjective) of the excitement delivered by each event:

1.) Women’s 2 Mile- Defar and Smith shatter previous WR

The Women’s 2 mile was a distance running clinic put on by two of the world’s finest distance runners, Meseret Defar (ETH) and Kim Smith (NZL). Defar’s goal in this race was to break the Women’s Indoor 2 Mile World Record of 9:23.38, set by disgraced American star Regina Jacobs.
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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.
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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)
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Rupp & Willis To Run Wanamaker Mile at Millrose

Posted January 22nd, 2008 at 9:18 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Meet director Mark Wetmore added some additional depth to the Millrose Games’ Wanamaker Mile, announcing today that Galen Rupp Pictured and Nick Willis would be on the starting line with last year’s 1-2 finishers, Bernard Lagat and Craig Mottram.

Rupp, 21, the NCAA 10,000m record holder, is a natural distance runner, who also holds the U.S. junior records for 3000m and 5000m. However, has never achieved a big performance in the middle distances. His top goal at the Millrose Games might be to achieve his first-ever sub-4:00 mile (his personal best is 4:01.8, outdoors), but the tight 11-laps-to-the-mile track at Madison Square Garden makes running fast times difficult.
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