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After Two Year Suspension, Ceplak Makes Modest Return
Posted July 29th, 2009 at 2:56 PM by Bob Ramsak
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
It may not have been the kind of performance she had become used to, but world indoor 800m record holder Jolanda Ceplak was nonetheless content with her first outing after a two-year drug suspension.
The 32-year-old Slovenian, who received a two-year ban from the sport after testing positive for EPO in 2007, returned to competition in a Slovenian Grand Prix meet in this northeastern city on Tuesday evening, winning a low-key 800 in 2:07.13.
“I was nervous,” said Ceplak, who was welcomed with polite applause by the largest crowd to ever gather at the city’s municipal athletics stadium. “It wasn’t easy racing again after two years.”
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Fairytale Race for Vessey in Monaco
Posted July 28th, 2009 at 5:59 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
In a stunning 800m victory at the Herculis meeting in Monaco today, American Maggie Vessey ran close to a world leading time and all but clinched a spot on her national team for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics next month in Berlin.
“Yes, yes!” Vessey chanted after crossing the finish line in a personal best 1:57.84, about half a second up on Russian Mariya Savinova.
Vessey, 27, had finished fourth at the USA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., last month. Under USA Track & Field rules, she had the right to chase the IAAF “A” standard of 2:00-flat because only one of the top-3 finishers, Hazel Clark, had the “A” standard at the time of those championships. (Second place Gina Gall, who had the “B” standard, was also named to the team with Clark because a second place “B” finisher behind an “A” standard holder was also guaranteed a team spot). Third place Phoebe Wright of the University of Tennessee, and Vessey, were left to battle for the final spot which required an “A” standard performance by July 31. Wright, like Vessey, had come close in several attempts, but now appears to be out of contention for the team. Wright would have to run at least 2:00.00 in the next three days.
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800m Qualifying Standard Still Eludes Wright & Vessey
Posted July 22nd, 2009 at 12:18 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
June 28th was a triumphant day in Eugene, Ore., for Phoebe Wright and Maggie Vessey. The pair had just finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 800m at the USA Outdoor Championships, with Wright setting a personal best 2:01.12 after a terrific stretch run. The late-closing Vessey was only 7/100ths of a second behind.
Ahead of them, Hazel Clark had won her fifth USA outdoor 800m title and, with the IAAF “A” standard of 2:00.00 in her pocket she had cemented her place on the national team for the IAAF World Athletics Championships which open in Berlin on Aug. 15. Second place Geena Gall, who had just graduated from the University of Michigan after winning her second NCAA 800m title, also locked-in her team spot because she already had the “B” standard of 2:01.30. Neither Clark nor Gall were under any obligation to improve on their times prior to Berlin.
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With Fast Heusden Run, Tegenkamp Solidifies USA 5000m Team
Posted July 18th, 2009 at 5:18 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Matt Tegenkamp’s 13:07.97 second place performance at tonight’s KBC Night of Athletics meeting in Heusden, Belgium, solidified the American 5000m team for next month’s IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.
Tegenkamp, 27, who won the USA Outdoor Championships last month in Eugene, Ore., now has the IAAF “A” standard (13:20.00) and, as a result, brought his training partner, Evan Jager, 20, onto the team. That’s because the IAAF allows a three-person team for each event to have two “A” standard holders and one “B.” Since Tegenkamp won the USA title with a “B” standard run, he had already locked-in his place on the team under USATF rules. But, by improving to the “A” today, he brought Jager with him, the third place finish at the national championships, who only has the “B” standard. The second place finisher at the USA Championships, Chris Solinsky, already had the “A” standard and, like Tegenkamp, had locked-in his place on the team.
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Bekele Wins In Paris; Stays Alive in GL Jackpot
Posted July 17th, 2009 at 11:56 PM by Bob Ramsak
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
What was to be a tactical test for Kenenisa Bekele over a shorter distance largely turned into yet another time trial for the triple Olympic champion at the Meeting Areva on a wet track in front of a crowd of 46,500 at the Stade de France here tonight.
By the time he entered the fourth lap of the 3000m, his eagerly-anticipated face-off with double world champion Bernard Lagat turned into a lopsided victory for Bekele to stay very much alive in the chase for a chunk of the $1 million ÅF Golden League Jackpot.
“The race was hard because of the wind and rain,” Bekele said, but that hardly showed when he threw down a 58 second final lap en route to his 7:28.64 win, more than four-and-a-half seconds ahead of Lagat. Bekele had a four-meter lead with 1600m to go, and extended it to nearly 20 two laps later.
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Paris Preview: Bekele vs. Lagat in 3000m; Mekhissi-Benabbad Gunning for Sub-8:00
Posted July 16th, 2009 at 6:06 PM by Bob Ramsak
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
First-year Meeting Areva meet director Laurent Boquillet may have scored a major coup by managing to bring Usain Bolt to the French capital for tomorrow night’s fourth stop of the ÅF Golden League, but a race he’s equally looking forward to the first-ever 3000m contest between double world champion Bernard Lagat and triple Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele.
Bekele arrives in Paris as one of four remaining contenders for a slice of the $1 million ÅF Golden League Jackpot, and after fending off all challengers in three successive 5000m races, Lagat is seen as a possible spoiler when the event moves down in distance by five laps. The 34-year-old arrives in good spirits after a solid 3:32.56 1500m victory in Tangiers four days ago, but Bekele insisted today that Lagat’s entry won’t change his game plan one bit.
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Fast 800m For Kiprop In Athens Last Night
Posted July 14th, 2009 at 6:08 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Olympic 1500m silver medalist, Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, dropped down to 800m last night at the Athens Grand Prix at Olympic Stadium and led three athletes under 1:44.
Kiprop, who may be elevated to Olympic gold medalist if the doping case against Beijing winner Rachid Ramzi ultimately results in a conviction, clocked 1:43.48 ahead of the Sudan’s Ismail Ahmed Ismail (1:43.82) and Canada’s Gary Reed (1:43.95). Kiprop’s time was just short of his personal best and was his second sub-1:44 of the year. Ismail set a personal best.
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USA Men’s Team For Berlin Set After Golden Gala
Posted July 11th, 2009 at 11:57 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
By setting a huge personal best at tonight’s Golden Gala in Rome, University of Arkansas miler Dorian Ulrey cemented his place on the USA 1500m team for next month’s IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.
Ulrey, who celebrated his 22nd birthday today, clocked 3:35.23 to finish 12th, well under the IAAF “A” standard of 3:36.20. His performance tonight in the Stadio Olimpico knocked off nearly five seconds from his personal best. The race was won by Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop, the Beijing Olympics silver medalist, in 3:31.20, a personal best.
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Bekele’s Jackpot Quest Resumes In Rome Tomorrow
Posted July 9th, 2009 at 6:31 PM by Bob Ramsak
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
As Kenenisa Bekele resumes his quest for the $1 million ÅF Golden League jackpot here in tomorrow’s Golden Gala, he said that only one thing is certain about his 5000m race: he won’t be chasing a fast time.
“To run fast times now is very difficult for me right now,” Bekele told reporters today. “I’m not like I was before. I’m very tired during a race. I’m not feeling very good (during a race).”
Still on the rebound from injury which sidelined him from the cross country and indoor seasons, Bekele is playing catch-up in order to be ready to defend his 10,000m title at the IAAF World Championships next month. He is making progress, he said, but it’s coming along slowly.
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Great Racing At Soggy Lausanne Super Grand Prix
Posted July 7th, 2009 at 8:31 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Although Usain Bolt’s incredible 19.59 200m into a driving rain will rightly get all of tomorrow’s headlines, there was also great action in the middle and long distance races at today’s Athletissima meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, an IAAF Super Grand Prix event.
The men’s 1500m was a fascinating race. Throwing up a stream of water behind him, pacemaker Samson Surum of Kenya blazed through the first 400m in an improbable 54.11 seconds, gapping the field. But as if the race were being run uphill, each successive lap was slower: 59.61 for the second circuit and 61.62 for the third with second pacer Vickson Polonet of Kenya on the lead. That set up a mad dash on the final lap, with the surprising winner, Antar Zerguelaine of Algeria, emerging from a pack of four off of the final turn. Zerguelaine clocked a relatively modest 3:37.15, but turned a sub-56 second final lap to get his win over South Africa’s Johan Cronje (3:37.50) and Bahrain’s Belal Mansoor Ali (3:37.75).
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- Symmonds Enters Championships Savoring Home-Track Advantage
Unshaven, his light brown hair only loosely coiffed, reigning USA 800m champion Nick Symmonds was the picture of relaxation at yesterday’s kick-off press conference for the USA Outdoor Championships which begin here today. Symmonds, who lives and trains here with the Nike-sponsored Oregon Track Club Elite, enters the meet with both the confidence of […]
- Working With New Coach, Flanagan Ready To Defend USA 10,000m Title
Shalane Flanagan came to last summer’s USA Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., as the favorite to win the 5000m, but ended up winning a race twice as long, setting the stage for her dramatic 10,000m bronze medal performance in Beijing. Nearly a year later, she still professes her love for the 5-K, where she […]
- Keitany Hopes For 1500m Gold in Berlin
There was a wide smile on Haron Keitany’s face after his mile victory in Ostrava Wednesday night. One of joy, and, he admitted, one of relief.
“There was no pressure,” he said, bursting into laughter. “People like Choge, Asbel, they were not in the race, so I was sure that I was going to win […] - Mekamu Displays Impressive Momentum in Ostrava
Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar, take note. That seemed to be the signal their Ethiopian compatriot Meselech Melkamu was sending after she battled to an impressive 5000m victory at the 48th Golden Spike here tonight.
Just three days after running 29:53.80 in Utrecht to become the second fastest 10,000m runner of all-time, it wasn’t clear how […] - Hot 800m On Tap For Ostrava Tomorrow
While Usain Bolt’s evening-capping appearance in the 100m will guarantee a full house and plenty of international media attention, it is the middle and long distance portion of the program that will provide some of the hottest competition at tomorrow’s 48th edition of the Golden Spike here in this sprawling eastern Czech city.
Among the most […] - Melkamu Breaks 30-Minute Barrier in Utrecht
Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu, 24, became only the fourth woman in history to break the 30-minute barrier for 10,000m, clocking 29:53.80 in Utrecht, Netherlands tonight. Her mark was the second fastest of all-time and broke Tirunesh Dibaba’s national record of 29:54.66 achieved at the Beijing Olympics last August.
The women’s 10,000m world record remains 29:31.78 by […] - World Leading 3:29.47 For Choge in Berlin
An impressive 1500m victory by Augustine Choge and Kenenisa Bekele’s successful start in his quest for a piece of the $1 million Jackpot highlighted the middle and long distance program as the six-meet ÅF Golden League series kicked off here with the 68th edition of the DBK-ISTAF meet in historic Olympic stadium.
At just 22, Choge […] - Texas A&M Gets Rare NCAA Team Sweep
The biggest winner on the fourth and final day of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., today wasn’t even on the track. Sitting in the stands in a broad-brimmed straw hat, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry watched his Aggies win both the men’s and women’s […]
- Bekele’s Golden League Jackpot Quest Begins Tomorrow in Berlin
Double Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele will kick off his quest for a share of the $1 million ÅF Golden League Jackpot at the DBK-ISTAF Meet here tomorrow, the first stop on the six-meet ÅF Golden League series.
While Bekele, who celebrated his 27th birthday today, has collected virtually every accolade available in distance running, a perfect […] - Rupp Completes NCAA Distance Double
The University of Oregon’s Galen Rupp made his last race as a collegian a memorable one, winning the NCAA Division I 5000m title last night in Fayetteville, Ark., and becoming the first athlete since Stanford’s Brad Hauser in 2000 to take the 5000m/10,000m doube at these championships. Moreover, he became the first NCAA distance […]
The Final Sprint
On February 9, 2010
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