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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With the 2008 IAAF Golden League kicking off in Berlin this weekend, outdoor track is in full swing. This being an Olympic year, every major meet from here on out can offer a piece of what the final Olympic track & field puzzle might look like. The 2008 Reebok Grand Prix, which begins tonight, May 31, 2008, at at 5:00pm in Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York City, NY, is no exception. Here are some quick glimpses into many of the events that will be held tonight:
100m
Men: Fresh off a sizzling 9.76 (just 0.02 slower than Asafa Powell’s world record), Usain Bolt will face World Champion Tyson Gay, who is facing some pre-Olympic jitters. Both men are fully capable of blowing their starts, which would offer Shawn Crawford and Xavier Carter some hope. There’s an A race and a B race. That’s always a letdown, isn’t it?
Women: Loaded with stellar American and Jamaican sprinters, this race should be a preview of the Olympic final: Veronica Campbell Brown, Lauryn Williams, Allyson Felix, Torri Edwards, more.
200m
Men: Wallace Spearmon is the only man in the race to have broken 20 seconds. It’s his race for the taking.
Women: Lashauntea Moore, the 9th fastest 200m runner of 2007 (22.46) faces Muna Lee, the 2nd fastest in the world (22.30) from 2008 and Shalonda Solomon, the 7th fastest in the world (22.36) in 2006. Keep an eye out for University of Texas freshman Bianca Knight, who turned pro this year after running a fabulous 22.40.
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Reigning Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner and triple World Outdoor champion Allyson Felix headline the American contingent for the 2008 Qatar Super Grand Prix Friday, May 9, in Doha, Qatar.
A two-time World Outdoor 400 meter champion, Wariner will step down in distance, looking to improve on his personal best of 20.19 in the 200m. He will face stiff competition from 2007 World Outdoor 400m silver medalist LaShawn Merritt, who has already run a windy 19.80 (+3.2 mps) so far this year.
Felix, a two-time World Outdoor champion over 200m, will officially open her outdoor season at Doha and will try to repeat her 100-400 win from 2007. This is the fourth year in a row that she has opened up her season at the Qatar Super Grand Prix.
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I spotted an interview titled “U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit Press Conference” that featured Brian Clay, Walter Davis, Lashinda Demus, Allyson Felix, Reese Hoffa, Carmelita Jeter, LaShawn Merritt and Terrence Trammell and it left me scratching my head for a minute. Since the US Olympic Track & Field team has yet to be determined, I thought this might be an error.
I dug a little further and discovered that the USOC’s media machine is acting a bit presumptuously, billing their 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit as “a preview of the 2008 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams that will be competing in China.” The USOC member who wrote the article does go on to call the athletes who attended the conference “hopefuls” but, still, it is a bit misleading, to say the least. Sure, all of the athletes who were interviewed are indeed favorites to make the team, but they haven’t made the team yet.
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The most decorated shot putter in World Outdoor Championships history, Adam Nelson continued a streak of amazing performances to win the Visa men’s shot put Friday night in front of 4,519 screaming fans at the 2008 Tyson Invitational.
The fourth stop of the 2008 USA Track & Field Visa Championship Series, the Tyson Invitational will be televised on February 17 from 5-7 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
Nelson’s world-leading throw of 22.40 meters/73 feet 6 inches in the Visa men’s shot put is the third-best performance of all time in the shot, and he offered it up in front of the second-largest crowd in meet history at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville. For his efforts, the four-time World Outdoor medalist was named the Team USA Athlete of the Meet, presented by Visa.
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Tyson Invitational Has High Profile Athletes
The Tyson Invitational meet will be held this weekend at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Indoor Track in Fayettville. Some huge names will be competing, including Sanya Richards, Wallace Spearmon, Jenn Stuczynski and the shot put and an all-star shot put shootout that will feature Adam Nelson, Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell and Dan Taylor.
Read more at: [Google News][Tyson Invitational Start List]
Lagat To Run 10000m in London?
Bernard Lagat has hinted that he may move up in distance for the 2012 London Olympics, saying that, “athletes like Haile Gebrselassie [have shown] how possible it is to be stronger as you get older.” Lagat will compete in the 3000m event this weekend at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham, England.
Read more at: [BirminghamMail.net, UK]
IAAF Tokyo Marathon Preview
The Tokyo Marathon will be held this Sunday, February 18th and it will be doubling as Japan’s Olympic Men’s marathon Trials. A slew of speedy foreign runners has been invited, including Daniel Njenga of Kenya, a 2:06 marathoner. Historically, Japan has been strong in the marathon at the international level, so – with its mix of domestic and foreign talent – this should prove to be a high-octane race.
Read more at: [IAAF][Tokyo Marathon Website]
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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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Reese Hoffa, Jenn Stuczynski, Dwight Phillips, Adam Nelson, Khadevis Robinson , Angela Daigle-Bowen and Galen Rupp headline a top international field that includes Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar for this Saturday’s Reebok Boston Indoor Games, the second event of the 2008 Indoor Visa Championship Series.
Track fans around the country will have limitless opportunities to catch all the action from Boston. ESPN2 will broadcast the meet, hosted at the Reggie Lewis Center, from 3-5 Eastern Time on Sunday. Beginning Tuesday morning, the meet will be available via Webcast, linked from www.usatf.org.
Men’s shot put leads the way
The world’s top three men’s shot putters will battle it out in what promises to be a memorable competition. Hoffa [Pictured] enters the event #1 world ranked as the reigning world indoor and outdoor champion.
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With wins in 11 of 16 events, Team USA dominated Team World Monday evening at USA vs. the World at the Run for the Dream at the Save Mart Center, located on the campus of Fresno State University in California. Scored as a dual meet, Team USA won 96-66.
Three-time Olympian Amy Acuff won the women’s high jump with her clearance of 1.95 meters/6 feet 4.75 inches. After three near-misses at the Indoor American record, Acuff was named Visa Athlete of the Meet for her efforts. 2005 NCAA Outdoor champion Sharon Day was second with her clearance of 1.90m/6-2.75.
After one false start and one call back, 1996 Olympic gold medalist and four-time 110-meter hurdle champion Allen Johnson led the men’s 55m hurdles wire-to-wire to win the race in 7.14 seconds. 2001 NCAA Indoor champion Aubrey Herring was second in 7.27.
Reigning World Indoor and Outdoor champion Reese Hoffa [Pictured] stole the show in the men’s shot put with his winning heave of 21.06m/69-1.25. 2007 U.S. Outdoor runner-up Dan Taylor was the runner-up with 19.99m/65-7.
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Two reigning World Champions, shot putter Reese Hoffa (Pictured) and pole vaulter Brad Walker, will return to Madison Square Garden on Feb. 1 to compete in the 101st Millrose Games, organizers announced today. Both were ranked #1 in the world for 2007 by Track & Field News magazine.
Hoffa, a longtime Millrose Games and New York favorite, is coming off the best year of his career, winning world titles both indoors and outdoors in 2007 and notching the two longest throws of the year. Walker, the defending Millrose pole vault champ, is also the 2006 World Indoor Champion and a silver medalist from the 2005 World Championships.
Joining Hoffa will be the #2 and #3 shot putters in the world: 2005 World Champion Adam Nelson, a two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time World Championships silver medalist, and Christian Cantwell, the 2004 World Indoor Champion who last year set a Millrose Games record with his victory here.
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Jeremy Wariner, Allyson Felix, Xavier Carter, Allen Johnson, Stacy Dragila, Tyson Gay, Ginnie Powell and Reese Hoffa are just a few of the U.S. stars expected to compete Sunday at the adidas Track Classic in Carson, Calif.
The second event of USA Track & Field’s 2007 Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the adidas Track Classic, will begin […]
For more information on the event and Felix’s performances please click here.
World champion Allyson Felix won an impressive double, the women’s 100 meters and 400m, Friday at the Qatar IAAF World Super Tour 2007, part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007, in Doha, Qatar.
Felix started off her night with a win in the women’s 100m, crossing the line in 11.27 seconds to beat reigning world […]
Christian Cantwell put an exclamation point on his indoor season Saturday at the 2007 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center.
The #2 world-ranked shot putter with the farthest throw in the world this year easily won the men’s Visa Championship as the athlete with the […]
Gail Devers, a two-time Olympic 100-meter champion, and Maurice Greene, an Olympic gold medalist at 100 meters and a three-time World Champion, have been added to a star-studded field for the 100th Millrose Games, organizers announced today. Devers will compete in the 60-meter hurdles and Greene in the 60-meter dash.
Devers, who is also a three-time […]
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