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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Switching Roles, Kiprop & Kamel Prevail in Lausanne

Posted September 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Trying their hands at alternate distances, Olympic 1500m silver medalist Asbel Kiprop and 800m finalist Yusuf Saad Kamel traded places to take impressive victories at the Athletissima Super Grand Prix here tonight.

For Kiprop, the tall Kenyan who chased Rashid Ramzi to the line in Beijing, it wasn’t so much a case of moving down in distance, but more of a move back to where the 19-year-old began his breakout season. Battling with Olympic champion Wilfred Bungei heading off the final turn, he passed his compatriot with about 50 meters to go to take a convincing victory in 1:44.71, a personal best.

Just behind Kiprop, Alfred Kirwa Yego (1:44.77) and then Ugandan Abraham Chepkirwok (1:45.00) overtook Bungei, who faded badly down the homestretch to finish fourth (1:45.31).
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2008 Beijing Olympic Preview: Women’s 1500 Meters

Posted August 12th, 2008 at 3:30 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Women’s 1500 Meters

The Schedule: heats, Tuesday Aug 19; semifinals, Thursday Aug 21; finals, Saturday Aug 23
The Americans: #5 Shannon Rowbury, #8 Erin Donohue, #9 Christin Wurth-Thomas
The Contenders: #2 Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BRN), #3 Gelete Burka (ETH), #7 Sarah Jamieson (AUS), #14 Daniela Yordanova (BUL)
The Stats: Records, 2008 List, 2007 Worlds, 2004 Olympics
The Medal Picks: T&FN - Jamal, Soboleva, Tomashova;
SI - Jamal, Lishchynska, Burka
The Story: The USA has never won an Olympic medal in this event, but that may change this year. The Stars & Stripes is fielding its strongest trio ever in this event, headlined by Rowbury. She will be a breakout media star if she manages to win gold.
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Rowbury, Donohue, and Wurth-Thomas Are Beijing-Bound in the 1500m

Posted July 6th, 2008 at 8:27 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Image details: U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials - Day Eight served by picapp.com

Shannon Rowbury, Erin Donohue and Christin Wurth-Thomas made the U.S. Olympic Team today in the women’s 1500-meter finals.

Treniere Clement led the race through the first 400 meters in 68.17 seconds. Wurth-Thomas and Rowbury then took the lead around 500 meters. Lindsey Gallo pulled to the front at 800 meters in 2:15.73, but could not hold off Rowbury and Wurth-Thomas.

Rowbury then opened a huge gap to break away from the pack.

“I had a few plans depending on how the race went with the wind, but I just tried to stay relaxed and tried to drive through the finish,” Rowbury said.
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Jordan Hasay Breaks High School Record and Qualifies for 1500m Finals

Posted July 5th, 2008 at 1:28 AM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Image details: U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials - Day Six served by picapp.com

Records continue to fall at The U.S. Olympic Trials. Jordan Hasay, 16, just ran 4:14.50 in the semifinal round of the women’s 1500 meters to break the national high school record.

Shannon Rowbury won the first heat in 4:11.75. She and Tiffany McWilliams (4:12.80) moved up front after the first lap. At 800 meters, McWilliams was in the lead in 2:16. She led through the bell lap, but was passed by Rowbury and Amy Mortimer (4:12.89) in the end.

There were two high schoolers in the second heat, Hasay and Christine Babcock (4:20.00). Babcock got out fast with Erin Donohue (4:13.01), but could not maintain the speed past the first lap. Christine Wurth-Thomas (4:12.66) took the lead at 500 meters. Wurth-Thomas, Donohue, Lindsey Gallo (4:12.54) and Morgan Uceny (4:13.61) went through 800 meters in 2:17.68 and finished in the same order. The real action was going on behind the top four women when Hasay moved from near the back of the pack to a fifth-place finish and new high school record.
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Jordan Hasay Shows No Fear in Women’s 1500m

Posted July 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

After two days of rest, the Olympic Trials are back in action tonight. The women’s 1500 meters kicked off with the quarterfinals.

Christin Wurth-Thomas won the first and fastest heat with a time of 4:16.13, followed by Tiffany McWilliams (4:13.54) and Mary Jane Reeves of the Oregon Track Club (4:13.89).

Jordan Hasay is only 16 years old, but she was not afraid to take charge of the second heat. She stayed in front until 1200 meters when Shannon Rowbury passed her. In the end, Rowbury won in 4:16.13. Hasay faded to seventh, but her 4:18.39 qualifies her for the semifinals tomorrow.

The third heat was slower with Lindsey Gallo (4:17.01), Treniere Clement (4:17.33), and Tennessee’s Sarah Bowman (4:17.48) in the top three.
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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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American Record for Flanagan At Cardinal Invitational

Posted May 5th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

She’d never run a 10,000m race before, but Shalane Flanagan can safely say that she’s already mastered the distance on only her first try at Sunday’s Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Helped by excellent pacemaking provided by Kenya’s Rose Kosgei and a spirited battle with New Zealand’s Kim Smith which went right to homestretch, the 26 year-old Olympian toppled Deena Kastor’s American record with a sparkling 30:34.49 clocking.

“Thanks to the New York Road Runners, they set me up with a rabbit and that gave me a cushion,” Flanagan told a clutch of reporters after the race. “It really worked out very well.”
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U.S. Indoor Track & Field Championships Recap

Posted February 25th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Shannon Rowbury and Matt Tegenkamp [Pictured] dominated the 3-K’s, while Khadevis Robinson just held off Nick Symmonds in the men’s 800m to highlight two days of action at the AT&T U.S. Indoor Championships here. The meet served as the U.S. trials for next month’s IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in Valencia, Spain, with the top-2 finishers in each event earning provisional berths on the U.S. team.

As expected, Tegenkamp defended his title, but now has the distinction of winning the national 3000m crown in the slowest ever time since the event was introduced to these championships in 1987. In fact, his 8:02.52 clocking is the only winning time north of eight minutes in the history of the meet.
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USA Indoor T&F Champs: Rowbury Blasts Ahead to Win Women’s 3k

Posted February 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

The Women’s 3000m at the 2008 USATF Indoor Championships was a very closely contested race until former Duke star Shannon Rowbury shifted gears and dropped the field impressively in the last 300m to claim the title in 8:55.19.

The race started with a tight pack reaching the 400m in 1:12 and the 800m in 2:25.37 led by Kristen Anderson. From there Jen Rhines took charge and was followed closely by Erin Donahue, Shannon Rowbury, Katie McGregor, Julie Culley and Amy Hastings (in that order). They reached 1200m in 3:36 and the mile in 4:48.83, right around 9:00 3k pace.

Hastings dropped off a bit as Rhines continued to push the pace and it became a 5 woman race as the 2k was reached in 6:02.9 and 2400m in 7:17.4. Katie McGregor and Julie Culley made bids to move up but were unsuccessful as they were forced outside.
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