tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76489185992987654512024-03-17T20:03:47.344-07:00 trackeratiTrack is my field: Mark Cullen's international track and field website featuring storytelling, commentary, predictions and event analyses.
Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-84317822321636720412023-12-23T21:00:00.000-08:002023-12-24T19:47:15.810-08:00Christmas in London<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b>by Mark Cullen</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>How I found Christmas in London on the top of a double-decker bus early one morning in August 2017. Featuring US 800m runner Drew Windle and his remarkable family, this was first published on 2/11/18.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-VYbQq5f_Yb690yAlPkfWx-zMZngeLbexPKeaMvFvaiJWMu-SJ_UW5VYJYFF6B9Z3HymxQy_kJP4a7KhzIl53aGuBPehZEEahiFjhU0odQvUSVT8TS6-OE7O4Q5uNYpObH0AHWwb31Vg/s1600/20689882_10211166626614442_3871387762288604501_o+Windle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-VYbQq5f_Yb690yAlPkfWx-zMZngeLbexPKeaMvFvaiJWMu-SJ_UW5VYJYFF6B9Z3HymxQy_kJP4a7KhzIl53aGuBPehZEEahiFjhU0odQvUSVT8TS6-OE7O4Q5uNYpObH0AHWwb31Vg/s640/20689882_10211166626614442_3871387762288604501_o+Windle.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Drew Windle and Family</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>London Olympic Stadium</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>August 6, 2017<br /><br /></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Windle went on to win the 800m silver medal at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham. </i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A revised version of this article, which focuses on the story of World Indoors, was published by IAAF in June 2018: </i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/drew-windle-usa-800m">https://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/drew-windle-usa-800m</a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Here is the original.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Christmas came early last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">August 7<sup>th</sup> at 1:10 am.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">On the top level of a
double-decker bus in London.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Apparently I had not read far enough in the World
Championships media guide to learn that London shuts down its subway system
before midnight on weeknights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">More likely, I passed over that section as it never crossed
my mind that one of the world’s great cities would close its subway system
overnight, most especially not during a track and field world championships that
set a record in selling over 700,000 tickets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Possibly people needed a way to get home when events
finished after 11:00 pm and the subway station was a mile away?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Further proof that I’m not in charge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I arrived at the closed station at 12:30 am. Natives were
ever helpful in guiding me to the multiple bus stops outside the other end of
the massive Westfield Stratford City shopping mall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Transformed from an upper middle class shopping mecca to an
overnight shelter for homeless people – this thorough transformation was
striking, the scale of it startling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">No daytime hint of this facility’s unexpected nighttime
purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I made my way past the dozens of homeless and exited the
mall to find extensive street lighting, but otherwise, it was deserted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Well,” I thought to myself of London’s penchant for filming
every moment of one’s life, “if I get taken out, at least my demise will be
recorded.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I waited, and waited, and waited for my bus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">At last it arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Right number,” the driver offered. “Wrong direction. Your
stop is over <i>there</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I finally boarded my bus at 1:10 and climbed to the second
level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was hard not to notice a man wearing running shoes
bearing the image of the Union Jack.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-size: large;"> * * *</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“The singing was never better,” said Jamie Snell of the 34<sup>th</sup>
annual Christmas carol singalong held at his and his wife Sara’s home in
Seattle in mid-December – Sara, class of ’79 at my school, and yes, I taught
her. The Snells learned of my affinity for Christmas music and have graciously
welcomed me ever since. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ever, now, is measured readily in decades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">While I am not particularly religious, the holiday season
has always held deep spiritual meaning for me. In a family of seven, my Irish
Catholic father and Dutch Calvinist mother fought the Reformation at the dinner
table every night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was not remotely a healthy place for five children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Peace came for us a few days every year as my parents
declared a Christmas truce and showered us with makeup presents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">There was no event more compellingly beautiful to me than
the Christmas Eve candlelight service. Held in the white clapboard church that
was the social center of our Western Massachusetts hilltown, we’d gather there
before heading out for caroling all over our far-flung village, seeking out
those of the 235 residents whose Christmas Eve we could brighten with sung
surprise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">After a service of what we impish Cullen kids called the
greatest hits – which of the traditional carols would we sing this year? – one was
always guaranteed: “Silent Night.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">All the lights inside the church were turned off. Reverend
Frank Carey would light a single pillar candle, and each of us would march to
the front and light our own handheld candle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Time stood still as we lit 100 candles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">As we ringed the outside walls, the glow from our candles
grew brighter. When each of us had a place, we sang - <i>a cappella</i> - all three verses of Silent Night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I know them still, by heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I found a greater sense of family in that church every
Christmas Eve than I ever did at home, and the candlelight service became a
comforting constant for a family that moved so frequently that one brother went
to five different schools five years in a row.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">People wonder why I’ve lived in the same house for 41 years.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> * * *</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Dear," she said, "he’s interested in your shoes."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“They’re a special edition Launch made by Brooks for the
London Marathon,” he explained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Brooks? The Brooks headquarters is four blocks from my home
in Seattle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I’m Kenny Windle, Drew’s dad, and this is his mother,
Karen. Drew’s up there.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Several rows up, Drew turned around and gave me a welcoming
wave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Earlier that night, Windle’s remarkable 2017 string had
played out in the World Championship 800m semi-final in which he finished a
non-qualifying 5th.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I got out my phone and showed the Windle clan photos of my
Bowerman waffle iron shoes. Mine are among the earliest Bowerman ever made, and
Kenny was fascinated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Karen, a teacher, asked if I know the Orton-Gillingham approach
to teaching students with learning disabilities, and I replied that our school
has an Orton-Gillingham program. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">We instantly had a point of unusual connection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Drew’s brother, Kyle, and his girlfriend, Kayla, were
sitting right behind me. Kyle was in the process of becoming certified in Orton-Gillingham.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you had told me I’d meet the family of a world class
athlete in London, I’d never have guessed that so much of our conversation
would revolve around this method of teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Not surprisingly, teaching it takes extensive daily preparation
and discipline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sitting next to Drew were his sister, Kaleigh, and her two
year old son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“There are more downstairs,” said Kenny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">You need a double-decker bus to hold this family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> * * *</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">January in Seattle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I love my family,” Drew Windle said. “It means everything,
really. My family has been super supportive not only of my running but anything
I’m passionate about and have wanted to do with my life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“The family name and everyone in it have shaped me into who
I am. I was really happy that we were able to get them out there and watch me
on the biggest stage and one of the most important parts of my life so far.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps Windle’s toughest competition in London came from
within his own family. Not to be outdone by a World Championship semi-finalist,
by the end of the week the gender of his sister’s forthcoming baby had been
announced, and the boyfriend and girlfriend sitting behind me on the bus were now husband
and wife to be. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: large;">(Windle's older sister and her family were unable to attend.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Three adult children in London, </span><span style="font-size: large;">three major life events.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">All in a week for the Windles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Their passions aren’t as public as track and field is,”
said Windle, “but as soon as my brother got his teaching job and my sister had
her first and second babies – well, everyone’s just super excited and wants to
see really good things happen to everyone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">So often the stories we write are about the hard luck kid,
the one who overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles to reach the highest
heights of the athletics world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Drew Windle’s story is of the good luck kid, the one blessed
by family – the one who knows it, appreciates it and wouldn’t trade it for
anything in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Gold? The good luck kid won gold the day he was born into
this family, eight of whom came from across the US to support him and his London
dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If only they could settle on a name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“My birth name is actually Curt Andrew,” said Windle. “I’ve
always gone by Drew, but I don’t think my parents have called me Drew since
elementary school.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">In 2<sup>nd</sup> or 3<sup>rd</sup> grade his class was in
the library where they learned about the Dewey decimal system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">One of his classmates noted that ‘Dewey’ was pretty close to
‘Drew’ and so he became ‘Dewey’ at school. But Windle never told his parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“My friends all came over one time and they were calling me ‘Dewey.’ ”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">His surprised mother pointed out that Drew’s great-grandfather
was named Dewey Hubbard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“My Mom obviously loved the name and it stuck.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">With his own hashtag already in hand – “#RunLikeTheWindle”
comes from an article title written by Ashland University in his early years on
the team – Windle recently registered an LLC in that name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“My parents, especially, took that and ran with it - it’s
nothing that we created, though.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">They did, however, create the #RunLikeTheWindle buttons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I think they handed out probably a hundred buttons while we
were in London.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Add his own promo code for tickets for last summer’s TrackTown
series and you have a young star with a considerable social media presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Of his two London races, Windle said, “Normally I would
expect to be pretty disappointed but I was just happy to be there. It was a
great experience that will prepare me for hopefully more experiences that are
similar to that where I can do better next time and maybe end up with a medal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Sure I wish I had made the final, but it wasn’t until I
watched the final and the way it played out – oh, man, that’s when I was disappointed
because I realized how, if I had just run the race I had been running all year
up to that point - how possible it would have been to end up with a medal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I was burning a little too hot for a little too long and I
started to tail off by the time I got to Worlds.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The July 21 Monaco Diamond League Meet was Windle’s first
major international meet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Windle said that while he felt grateful to feel minimal
pressure, there were, nonetheless, some tactical errors he made. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I was behind Amel Tuka for most of the race and he let this
little gap form. It was probably the difference between 2<sup>nd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup>
for me,” said Windle, who tied for fourth in 1:44.72, just off his personal
best of 1:44.63.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“There have been two races in my life when I’ve been taken
out of my element because of events going on during the race and the first one
was at Monaco and the second one was in London. Coming down the straightaway of
the first lap in Monaco flames start shooting up going into the bell lap and I
said ‘what the heck is going on here?!’ ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Kyle Langford, the British athlete, was in Windle’s World
Championships semi-final, “and the crowd erupted coming down the home
straightaway and my ears were ringing it was so loud. At that point I knew it
was going to take a lot to get up into 2<sup>nd</sup> place and I was hoping to
get into 3<sup>rd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup> and have a time (qualifier) – but it
really caught me off guard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I think if I had gotten into two more races like that
before London I would probably have been a little more prepared for the
semi-final type of race - with a little more confidence as well, which never
hurts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Hopefully I’ll get more chances like that this year.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Windle’s big splash<b> </b>came<b> </b>in the furnace that was US Nationals
in Sacramento, where he unleashed track and field’s 2017 Kick of the Year to
fly from last to 3<sup>rd</sup> over the closing 200m and land a coveted spot
on the World Championships team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I get a lot of flak about the way I race sometimes, but
it’s very entertaining at the very least when it goes well. It gets people’s
attention, which is a good thing to have.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Windle compares his Sacramento race to a race his junior
year in college at the 2014 Grand Valley Big Meet in Michigan when he blew apart
his personal best with his unexpected and other worldly 1:46.52.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“To me it’s such a cool moment because I feel like a lot of
people can look back and say ‘this is the moment that changed my life.’ I
realized in that moment: this has a lot of potential to get me to that next
level in my running career.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Windle cites a Hoosiers-esque moment as being influential in
shaping his approach to running.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Trent Mack, his coach at Ashland University said, “Here it’s
400m, in Oregon it’s 400m, it doesn’t matter where you are, it’s a 400m track
no matter where you go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“It’s really simple, really,” said Windle. “You don’t have
to make running any harder than it is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“You’ve just got to work hard, stay healthy, and believe in
yourself, and if you do those things really well you’re going to run fast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I think I have the work hard and stay healthy parts down
really well and last year the belief in myself part is what kicked in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The most important lesson of 2017 was confirming that he
belongs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“It’s belief in the program, belief in your coach. I was a (NCAA) Division II guy who hadn’t gotten to race people like this and I was still
trying to figure out if I belonged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I got frustrated with it and I said, ‘You know what? I
belong, and even if I don’t I’m going to tell myself that I do. I finished 3<sup>rd</sup>
and it was a good feeling and now – now you can take it where you want to go.’
“</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> * * *</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Windle’s family reunion took place after
his semi-final late at night outside the stadium. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“They were patient enough to wait – I hadn’t seen them up to
that point since they had gotten into London.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I finished my semi-final and,” he said, wryly, “was ‘lucky’
enough to be chosen for drug-testing. It took about two hours to get through
all that. I was really excited to get out of drug testing and see my family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“We walked around looking for food – a lot of places were
closed so we ended up finding a McDonald’s, grabbed some dinner real quick and
then…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Then their late-night odyssey began.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">They, too, encountered the closed subway system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Around the time we met you, I was starting to get pretty
tired, I was starting to feel the long day, the race, and all of that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Our night got more interesting once we got off that bus
that we were on – we were still pretty far from where we were staying (in
Teddington)… then we got on a different bus.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“We got taken,” he said, cryptically, “not in the direction
of our Airbnb. We were just trying to figure how to get back to the place my
parents were staying.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> * * *</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It grows quiet on the bus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Kyle and Kayla doze off behind me, never a more contented,
peaceful pair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">For twenty blessed minutes I sit in the comfort of this
remarkable family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don’t want to leave the privilege of being in their
double-deckered ark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ahead, Tottingham Court Station lights up the night sky, and
I hesitate as I prepare to disembark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I say my multiple goodbyes, and as I exit the first level,
Windles I haven’t even met yet bid me farewell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I think we are headed for separate destinations, but we are
not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">At the end of this landmark day, the magnificent athlete on
the second deck is son, brother, uncle, and friend – a member of a family
cradled on a bus which lumbers from stop to stop deep into the London night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Tonight’s star of the Windle family sits in wistful
reflection with his young nephew in his arms - his nephew’s head a mass of
curls, bobbing up and down and rocking gently on Drew’s shoulder as this bus
delivers them to their ultimate destination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Special thanks to Drew Windle for an engaging, discursive interview, and to Karen Farley Windle for permission to use her photographs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-71153144917417563182023-09-18T16:05:00.002-07:002023-09-18T16:09:24.625-07:00A Few Days in Sorrento<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">by Mark Cullen</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">It would be hard to conceive
of Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic as a more fitting end to a season that stands
out as one of the most memorable.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Could it get any better than
a 5,000 meter world record in Prefontaine’s signature event by Ethiopia’s Gudaf
Tsegay in a mind-bending 14:00.21?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Or how about Mondo Duplantis’
20-5 ¼ world record pole vault – on his first attempt! Has this become his
Eugene calling card?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The Diamond League finale was
preceded by what many are calling one of the greatest World Championships.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">In turn, this Diamond League
championship compares favorably to any held before.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">(It might be helpful,
if you have the time and inclination, to first read my report of Saturday’s
stat-fest at Hayward Field, below.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FwEhAzZ0oqruvaZxCkar1TgLL_whY73oS_1r9GN3PCNpWnoyQUdMJjvLOLzUAK3f1Gdc3CM2a9Aj9F87SHqQgaCbuCTrtY0dHaGnWPozjO9fZKzUYoKwrKBhkv2KI765cPbsxYABepkEYIVAWsW9QG-_KII7V405qTPQLjhuXBxBsl1wFkM8Xmbf43A/s4755/Matt%20Denny%2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3170" data-original-width="4755" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FwEhAzZ0oqruvaZxCkar1TgLL_whY73oS_1r9GN3PCNpWnoyQUdMJjvLOLzUAK3f1Gdc3CM2a9Aj9F87SHqQgaCbuCTrtY0dHaGnWPozjO9fZKzUYoKwrKBhkv2KI765cPbsxYABepkEYIVAWsW9QG-_KII7V405qTPQLjhuXBxBsl1wFkM8Xmbf43A/w640-h426/Matt%20Denny%2023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> Australia's Matt Denny Wins the Discus</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 16pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">photo by Marta Gorczynska for Diamond League AG</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Typical of the excitement was
the men’s discus - held, seemingly, just after brunch on Sunday with its 11:30
am start.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Nothing like a final-throw
win to wake up the crowd and stir the competitive juices.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Not to mention topping a field that included World and Olympic
champions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“I’ve always gone to the majors with the goal to win,” said
Australia’s Matthew Denny, newly crowned Diamond League discus champion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The 27 year old had made World and Olympic finals four times, but
this was the first time he left as major meet champion – or medalist. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">However, as
10 x national champion, as well as World University and Commonwealth Games gold
medalist, he’s had plenty of practice ascending the podium</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“I thought we could be on for a PB here,” understated the surprise
titlist, who won with a last-round heave of 68.43 (224-6), a personal best and
national record.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“This really cements my point that I can be the best… and that’s
my goal for Paris.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Denny thinks the winning throw in Paris will be in the 71-72 meter
range. “That’s the goal and this gives me great confidence going into next
year.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Denny was ready for what was to come on Sunday.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“I had a lot of energy in me,” he said. “I was pretty twitchy and
I was just ready to compete. I knew that I could potentially put something
together.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“I wasn’t going to count Daniel (Stahl) or Kristjan (Ceh) out. I’m
just so happy to finish on such a high note for this season because it’s been a
great season, and I wanted to finish it the right way.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Making the mental transition
from Budapest to Eugene was not, for Denny, the same strain it was for a number
of other athletes who found it difficult to sustain energy and focus and to
bridge the three-week gap from one major championship to another.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Denny credits new coaching
and a revamped team for a renewed and energized perspective.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“I’ve been really refreshed
this year in the way that I conduct my whole process of training,” he said. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“After Worlds I had a little break with my wife and we went to Sorrento in
Italy. I did some band work, but not full sessions, and it just recharged me.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“I got 4</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> at
Worlds and I got the national record,” he said, “but I’m in the game to win
World Championships. It’s hard to be satisfied with 4</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 16pt;">.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“So, to turn it around and
reignite it… I had a whole point to make this year. We wanted to finish this
year on a stamp and we did that.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“I feel refreshed,” Denny
reiterated.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">It showed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">A few days in Sorrento will
do that.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-79283436027046143432023-09-17T06:17:00.001-07:002023-09-17T06:18:32.422-07:00Brave New World<p style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">by Mark Cullen</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s a late night for track and field statisticians.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">So many lists, so many revisions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The statistics are staggering.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yared Nuguse (US) runs 3:43.97 for the mile and finishes
second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">New Zealand’s Sam Tanner runs 3:49.51 and finishes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eleventh</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Indeed, the slowest of the 13 finishers in Saturday’s
Diamond League Final Bowerman Mile was Kenya’s Abel Kipsang in 3:53.50. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ahead of him was Elliott Giles of Great Britain, whose
faster than 58 seconds per lap pace garnered him only a 12<sup>th</sup> place
finish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Usually, 6th place doesn’t get much ink. Perhaps it should
this time. University of Oregon graduate Cole Hocker demolished his PB by
almost 3 seconds and ran 3:48.08 – two-tenths of a second behind Kenya’s
Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The significance of Cheruiyot’s 3:48.06?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s the World Junior (U20) record; this lad turned 19 at
the end of July.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Did we mention? Jakob Ingebrigtsen won by a nose, outleaning
Naguse to win in 3:43.73, a scant six-tenths short of the world record.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzKV1-Bn52044V9CsA4Iod4SYPQyK-_d0xf_ndmS5A6AdHoWNklAziMAK7fhWeDFJmPMULZ8Z9H63_kQR1X5HINHMnCBivzxYreLcJK-VdeKPqIA9GI1yAuXY306nEwnR5c4ppmvolzKInlorYuFGqe6-lbvWj4OzS2UmzCZmreMlfAsk0AlhwsuUkLs/s5000/Jakob%20and%20Jared.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3333" data-original-width="5000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzKV1-Bn52044V9CsA4Iod4SYPQyK-_d0xf_ndmS5A6AdHoWNklAziMAK7fhWeDFJmPMULZ8Z9H63_kQR1X5HINHMnCBivzxYreLcJK-VdeKPqIA9GI1yAuXY306nEwnR5c4ppmvolzKInlorYuFGqe6-lbvWj4OzS2UmzCZmreMlfAsk0AlhwsuUkLs/w640-h426/Jakob%20and%20Jared.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-size: medium;">Jared Naguse and Jakob Ingebrigsten</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"> Photo by Matthew Quine for Diamond League AG</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The madness extended well past the men’s mile.</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Faith Kipyegon (Ken) outsprinted one of the deepest fields
in history.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trouble was, it wasn’t a sprint – or was it? She scared her
own 1500m world record of 3:49.11 with a stellar, dominating 3:50.72, a 3+
second margin over Ethiopia’s Diribe Weltije.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">3:59.57 got you 9<sup>th</sup> in the women’s 1500m, as
Great Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant found out the hard way.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nine women finished under 4:00 minutes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sub-4:00 for 1500m has become the benchmark for women that
running sub-4:00 for the mile once was for men.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now, it’s sub-3:50 for male milers. Will it soon be 3:55.0
for women? Is it already?</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfirwZoJSfUGMdlmek0nSvkNyVDFGBBIDQmAc8NenjaBVCoFZVT5jVesHlJ9AHy6QZXHcyuBqVTwAOItYhWBJwFl0UGeAnafNUJD33wM6Mse5ucoTP0fqeoAQPOub9ISx1KKfm12lQ2xTDnG4vFaIvOaWfMHoVdrzHJA__K4ck5KgoG4gfnDwJ_gsjz_A/s4968/Faith%20DL1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3312" data-original-width="4968" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfirwZoJSfUGMdlmek0nSvkNyVDFGBBIDQmAc8NenjaBVCoFZVT5jVesHlJ9AHy6QZXHcyuBqVTwAOItYhWBJwFl0UGeAnafNUJD33wM6Mse5ucoTP0fqeoAQPOub9ISx1KKfm12lQ2xTDnG4vFaIvOaWfMHoVdrzHJA__K4ck5KgoG4gfnDwJ_gsjz_A/w640-h426/Faith%20DL1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Faith Kipyegon</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;">photo by Marta Gorcznska for Diamond League AG</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rai Benjamin (US) wasn’t leading over the final hurdle of
the men’s 400m hurdles, but he was leading when it counted most: at the finish
line, just a few meters later.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">His 46.39 leads the world this year and is the meet as well
as Diamond League record. Karsten Warholm’s 46.53 is, astonishingly, none of
those. Today, what that got him was 2<sup>nd</sup> in the 7<sup>th</sup> fastest
performance ever.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>Washington State’s popular graduate CJ Allen got a sweet
ovation upon introduction; his 48.62 – not long ago a lock for a podium finish
- got him 9<sup>th</sup> and last as the
top 7 broke 48.00.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>A look at the all-time lists reveals that longtime world
record hurdler Kevin Young (46.78 in ’92) dropped off the all-time top 10
performance list today, joining Edwin Moses (47.04, ’83), who preceded him in statistical
purgatory.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shall we continue? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">How about 8:51.67, the #3 time in women’s steeplechase
history? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">You’re on to this by now: yes, this was second place for
Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech behind Winfred Mutile Yavi’s winning 8:50.66, the second
fastest ever.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The current world record holder second to the current World
champion.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yulimar Rojas won the triple jump at 15.35 (50 4 ½), just
outside the all-time top ten. If only she didn’t already have 9 of those top 10
marks, she might have had even more to celebrate today.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chase Ealey set the American and Diamond League records in
the women’s shot put at 20.76 (68-1½). And Katie Moon set the pole vault meet
record of 4.86 (15-11 1/4).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, no one in the men’s and women’s javelin, men’s
triple jump, and men’s steeplechase got a personal best, season’s best, Diamond
League record, etc. These results keep us grounded.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">One stat stands out above all others today:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the men’s mile, 13/13 ran season’s bests, a result so
unlikely as to seem almost anomalous.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It gets better.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">11/13 ran personal bests</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">6/13 ran national/area records.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">When we say that everyone in the men’s mile peaked at just
the right time, we’re not kidding.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Said Ingebrigtsen, “Everything is possible.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-75947526479452943852023-08-27T23:13:00.000-07:002023-08-27T23:13:13.688-07:00Bols for Bol - Dutch Relays+Femke Bol Bookend Worlds<p> "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much" is a saying well-known among Dutch expatriates like my late mother. Sunday the Dutch 4x400m relay team featuring Femke Bol on anchor was too much for the rest of the world.</p><p>Bol, the World 400m hurdles champion, ran one of the most scintillating anchor legs in World Championship history. The Dutch brought themselves back from the depths of their first day to redemption on their last. </p><p>The schedule of the opening day was designed to have the 4x400 mixed relay as the closing event - something that would engage the audience and keep them coming back for more.</p><p>What wasn't expected was that the Dutch, in the incarnation of Femke Bol, would do a face plant mere meters from the finish while in the lead - much as teammate Sifan Hassan had just done in the final of the women's 10,000m. Instead of gold, the Dutch mixed relay team came away with no medals at all. </p><p>Today Bol, on anchor in the 4x400, got the baton at least 20 meters behind leader Jamaica. Inexorably, Bol narrowed the gap, and with 150 meters to go, it appeared she would move from 4th to 3rd and a position on the podium. </p><p>She did more than that, and with 10 meters left was in 2nd. In a truly remarkable close, Bol surged by Jamaica's Stacey Ann Williams, leaned, and won by .16 of a second. Another .16 back was the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, and in 4th was Canada.</p><p>"It was one of my most important runs ever, but it is the first time we became world champions so it applies for all of us," said Holland's selfless star. "Every tenth and hundredth of a second was needed. We had good exchanges and still barely won it."</p><p>From the last event on the first day to the last event on the last, the Dutch relay teams embodied the heartbreak and triumph that defined the intervening days.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-CHmN2n7fKqmSoJ08dTnXo5Mvswz3AVTTx5Cg-ADsjX4IwquaLLOzpQH4trYHmyS6-5wHqRpGUD6_D2VOhSNGouPoe2aoGn6nr9-OlLzbieCCftGxl0ussWw2zhUybNAqk1MQg48is4HGflAKhGTey_0QQo_SW0HEYqyMAN36V-55aBO3zqC5e44rcw/s4990/Dutch%20relay%20team.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3327" data-original-width="4990" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-CHmN2n7fKqmSoJ08dTnXo5Mvswz3AVTTx5Cg-ADsjX4IwquaLLOzpQH4trYHmyS6-5wHqRpGUD6_D2VOhSNGouPoe2aoGn6nr9-OlLzbieCCftGxl0ussWw2zhUybNAqk1MQg48is4HGflAKhGTey_0QQo_SW0HEYqyMAN36V-55aBO3zqC5e44rcw/w640-h426/Dutch%20relay%20team.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">These Dutch Are Much</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">World 4x400m Relay Champions</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Femke Bol, Cathelijn Peeters, Lieke Klaver, Eveline Sandberg</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">photo by Stephen Pond/ Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p>In the men's 4x400m, the United States team of Quincy Hall, Vernon Norwood, Justin Robinson, and Rai Benjamin took the lead early and the outcome was not in doubt, barring faceplants or dropped batons. </p><p>The US ran a world leading time of 2:57.31, while France set a national record in 2nd at 2:58.45. Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Jamaica, and India followed.</p><p>Said anchor Rai Benjamin (3rd in the intermediate hurdles), "After the 400m hurdles I wanted to come back and anchor this relay. It means a lot that the guys have faith in me and trust me. It is amazing." </p><p>For India to have made the 4x400m final was historic in itself as India has now qualified for the semis at the Paris Olympic Games. It will be India's first long relay appearance in the Olympics.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJ2ZVK5NZoeBLPQwBW6iJM8MpznAsJc28Ot3Lf3kIJI6XWJr5IqvqHRsoOvsxyNe1bJH-gLoPiso8Igf3xOl123I4MWFFc8x-qq3afNXm3ZNfdh1HZOYihNJZr-2Pn-tVx_21SMLg4WY9RpRhe6lhpi5PMX23fu32Wjf-uBqAIzG0q0bUDnyZRA0HS5A/s4583/Chopra.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3055" data-original-width="4583" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJ2ZVK5NZoeBLPQwBW6iJM8MpznAsJc28Ot3Lf3kIJI6XWJr5IqvqHRsoOvsxyNe1bJH-gLoPiso8Igf3xOl123I4MWFFc8x-qq3afNXm3ZNfdh1HZOYihNJZr-2Pn-tVx_21SMLg4WY9RpRhe6lhpi5PMX23fu32Wjf-uBqAIzG0q0bUDnyZRA0HS5A/w640-h426/Chopra.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">India's Javelin Sensation</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">World Champion Neeraj Chopra</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p>All in all, not a bad day for India, as its javelin contingent finished 1-5-6, with national hero and Olympic champion Neraj Chopra leading the way at 88.17 (289-3) to win India's first ever World Championships track and field gold medal.</p><p>"This has been a great championships for India and I am proud to bring another title to my country," said India's track and field superstar.</p><p>Somewhat unbelievably, second place of 87.82 (288-1) went to Arshaad Nadim, with Czech veteran Jakub Vadlejch third in 86.67 (284-4).</p><p>Why unbelievably? </p><p>Because Nadim is from Pakistan.</p><p>That's right, India and Pakistan went 1-2 in the javelin.</p><p>And what did Chopra and Nadim do at the end of the competition?</p><p><i>They hugged each other.</i></p><p>India and Pakistan hugging each other on the infield of the World Championships?!</p><p>It now, officially, will never ever get better than this.</p><p>Unless, of course, it does.</p><p>Just weeks after the Russian invasion of her native Ukraine, Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the World Indoor high jump title, much to the delight of the fans in Belgrade. She had had a terrifying escape from her homeland just to get to Belgrade, and hasn't been home since. </p><p>"I have to win this gold for my country and all Ukrainian people who are still fighting for peace in Ukraine and for our independence," she said. </p><p>The 21 year old from Dnipro already had two World silvers and one Olympic bronze. Today she added gold to her remarkable resume. </p><p>She was clutch with first jump clearances at 1.97 (6' 5.5") and 1.99 (6' 6.25"), and her second attempt clearance at 2.01 (6' 7") sealed the deal over two accomplished Australians. </p><p>2022 World titlist Eleanor Patterson's first jump clearance at 1.99 (6' 6.25") was the difference between silver and bronze. It took teammate and Olympic silver medalist Nicola Olyslagers a second jump to clear at the same height and this sorted the medals. </p><p>Great Britain's Morgan Lake, who won the U-20 high jump and heptathlon titles in Eugene in 2014, was 4th at 1.97 (6' 5.5").</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiH5T5Z5xLiC3FTkIecSFD1AvZU2QxN4dmdvMtfcrdwF0bsjbAS-Wmy0Cys0TKkWoTpMpl79cwf2GeJYu5ZgC-wjYIPO0CJTy_xwdOJNaSATs-wsMDrjK9nAvB35Zd3SfWfNsTh8YIBKNHmwR1faGMQ4ESHZQ-4qadmB_PerYde1AMyxff1wMnmlJpHmY/s5677/Yaroslava.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3784" data-original-width="5677" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiH5T5Z5xLiC3FTkIecSFD1AvZU2QxN4dmdvMtfcrdwF0bsjbAS-Wmy0Cys0TKkWoTpMpl79cwf2GeJYu5ZgC-wjYIPO0CJTy_xwdOJNaSATs-wsMDrjK9nAvB35Zd3SfWfNsTh8YIBKNHmwR1faGMQ4ESHZQ-4qadmB_PerYde1AMyxff1wMnmlJpHmY/w640-h426/Yaroslava.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Yaroslava Mahuchikh</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ukraine's High Jump World Champion</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</span></div><p>Who needs redemption at age 22? That would be Jakob Ingebrigsten (Nor) who won silver in the 1500m for the second Worlds in a row. </p><p>Let's hope he is feeling a bit better as he just won his second consecutive 5,000m title. Ingebrigsten ran a scorching last lap 52.45 to win in 13:11.30.</p><p>Mohamed Katir (Sp) held the lead until he didn't and succumbed to Ingebrigsten's withering kick by .14 to win silver. Kenya's Jacob Krop was 3rd, and as if to put a finer point on how close this race was, look at Ingebrigsten's wining time and reflect on this: the top 8 were at 13:12.99 or faster, and they all finished within 1.69 seconds of each other.</p><p>While defending World and Olympic 800m champion Athing Mu was the favorite of many, it was hard to pick someone to win who had had so few races this year. In one interview this spring, she said she'd rather spend time on her flourishing modeling career than on running. </p><p>All this makes perfect sense for someone so young who already had won the two most important titles our sport has to offer - before she was 21.</p><p>It was neither a surprise that she won bronze today, nor that Mary Moraa (Ken) won gold. Moraa moved up from her bronze medal finish in Eugene, while Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson won her third global silver.</p><p>Moraa won the 2022 Diamond League 800m final, raced in 3 Diamond League meets in 2022, and 3 in 2023 before Worlds. </p><p>Coming into the meet, Hodgkinson ran 5 Diamond League races in '22 and '23, and won the 2021 Diamond League final.</p><p>How many Diamond League meets did Mu run? One - in 2022.</p><p>When it came to being race ready, it was Moraa who swept by Mu on the outside on the final stretch, with Hodgkinson sprinting for her running life on the inside.</p><p> My concern is not with Mu, who I respect enormously. It's her handlers who need to balance giving her the race experience she needs with giving her the space to just be 21.</p><p>A note for Oregon fans that graduate Raevyn Rogers finished 4th in 1:57.45. And Nia Akins (US) ran a personal best of 1:57.73 in 6th.</p><p>It should be noted that Moraa ran a personal best 1:56.03 to win gold. No better time or place - and few achievements are as notable - as a personal best the single day of your life you need it most.</p><p>"I am pleased to get the gold this time and become the world champion," said Moraa in the understatement of the day.</p><p>"After bronze last year I wanted to improve and I have. Everyone in the final was so fast I knew I would have to have a fast finish. I came from a long way behind but I managed to do it."</p><p>"Beatrice Chepkoech has just finished second in the steeplechase," she continued, "and I am so happy for her too. We are very good friends. I just want to get back to the track and celebrate together with her."</p><p>Speaking of PBs when you need them most, how about 1st and 3rd in the women's steeplechase? Winfrid Mutile Yavi led a group of four over the last three laps. Four dropped to three dropped to two, and no one could stay with the delighted Yavi on the last lap. </p><p>Yavi won in 8:54.29 - which, not incidentally, makes her the 4th fastest performer all-time.</p><p>Ethiopia's Zerfe Wondemagegn hung onto the pack valiantly, but finally had to let go and finished 4th as the remaining medals went to Kenyans Beatrice Chepkoech in 8:58.98 and Faith Cherotich in 9:00.69, who ascended to #12 on the all-time performers list. Keep an eye on Cherotich, who turned 19 six weeks ago.</p><p>So why no props for Chepkoech's 8:58.98? She is already on the all-time perfomers list, thank you - at #1! Today's silver medalist is the world record holder, an achievement from the Monaco Diamond League meet in 2018.</p><p>"This silver feels like gold to me," said Chepkoech. "The last few years have been tough due to my injury. Coming back is something special for me."</p><p>"I knew I would have the power on the last lap," said Yavi. "It was perfect. I have never felt like this before. I worked hard and I am grateful for this amazing achievement." </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_p32sj41YJmMCOeP2QriJZcYofySX7GGLRD7uWz9fVIWhYbwgJuqPBWaiaTvrKapMeRtM42100S7wkDwm2hf6LiJXfNB4WGHYDPEKTXQlPxK5pZZpfgMHx6RhJGBtF7EBFVqe9ff4bZdeKQ-zmoRziQVG9L08KlNXxZF5N_ClL8LyV7S2J6DVwZyhEj4/s3519/Yavi.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3519" data-original-width="2391" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_p32sj41YJmMCOeP2QriJZcYofySX7GGLRD7uWz9fVIWhYbwgJuqPBWaiaTvrKapMeRtM42100S7wkDwm2hf6LiJXfNB4WGHYDPEKTXQlPxK5pZZpfgMHx6RhJGBtF7EBFVqe9ff4bZdeKQ-zmoRziQVG9L08KlNXxZF5N_ClL8LyV7S2J6DVwZyhEj4/w434-h640/Yavi.JPG" width="434" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Winfred Mutile Yavi</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Kenya's Steeplechase World Champion</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvoLJBC88t4R2s3ca0lTmu6sqoiT7i1kJeIqQ5Cuf3lDiYdjkLs1YLgl8gaVjA1Yn5RtXxRtPPzN3gtZY1cOVPv12snqxN6pUx2t5XbXnJ0AUfEGsfOLUQ_aYnSzl9FY3BxiITCsyXXE765MMD_NvuH05_q4pNlaNMNEBGZglGLip6jGL0VJqUj5qubU/s1024/Kiplangat.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvoLJBC88t4R2s3ca0lTmu6sqoiT7i1kJeIqQ5Cuf3lDiYdjkLs1YLgl8gaVjA1Yn5RtXxRtPPzN3gtZY1cOVPv12snqxN6pUx2t5XbXnJ0AUfEGsfOLUQ_aYnSzl9FY3BxiITCsyXXE765MMD_NvuH05_q4pNlaNMNEBGZglGLip6jGL0VJqUj5qubU/w640-h480/Kiplangat.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Uganda's Marathon Champion Victor Kiplangat, left</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Photo by Sanjeev Surati</span></div><p>As in the women's marathon the day before, the conditions for the men's marathon can only be described - in spite of the 7:00 am start - as brutal. And they got worse the longer the athletes were on the course.</p><p>It was a run of attrition, and Uganda's Victor Kiplangat emerged the victor by applying relentless, sustained pressure, especially over the last three kilometers. His 2:08:53 is stellar for these conditions. Israel's Maru Teferi hung close and finished strongly to win silver in 2:09:02, while Ethiopia's Leul Gebresilase finished 3rd in 2:09:19.</p><p>Quite oddly, there were two falls during the race... and defending champion Tamirat Tola was a contender until stomach problems sidelined him.</p><p>Kiplangat joined his more famous teammate, 10,000m winner Joseph Cheptegai, as World Champion. And he won this race ten years after countryman Stephen Kiprotich won in Moscow.</p><p>"This has been my dream and it has come true at last," said the newly crowned champion. </p><p>"Last year I was Commonwealth Games champion and that made me think this year I must become world champion," said Kiplangat. "Now my prayers have been answered and hopefully next year in Paris I will become Olympic champion too." </p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, just one question to close out this championship: if you're not much if you're not Dutch, what if I'm half Dutch - where, exactly, does that leave me? </p><p>In the absence of an answer to such ethereal questions, many Dutch today no doubt will lift a glass of Bols - an aptly named Dutch gin - and salute Bol and her teammates. </p><p>They will, as I do, count ourselves richly privileged to have witnessed such an extraordinary World Championships - even if 8793 kilometers from afar!</p><p><br /></p><p>~Mark Cullen, writing from Seattle</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-63786691627009244102023-08-26T19:28:00.001-07:002023-08-26T19:32:10.000-07:00It Takes Two! Budapest Worlds Day 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Faith Kipyegon Completes Historic Double</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">US Wins Men's and Women's Sprint Relays</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">US Women 41.03, #3 Time All-Time</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6J7Td1ZS3pxcT-To45POKYz9BXcvqssUfMMM7O0-t0SznJl8ZBKnT8khekq1GDVjXHr9PXBKTybZyi26c5u-s7BW15EIAfmyudBn8qHYb5AXOHGlzZEtaxWF8_CW2d6s928xxAkQI9VPblyTKKY1fWAz0yVGg8B6NA7V_w4sQwFgl3uRJsYo9pntVFI/s5054/Two%20Relays.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3370" data-original-width="5054" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6J7Td1ZS3pxcT-To45POKYz9BXcvqssUfMMM7O0-t0SznJl8ZBKnT8khekq1GDVjXHr9PXBKTybZyi26c5u-s7BW15EIAfmyudBn8qHYb5AXOHGlzZEtaxWF8_CW2d6s928xxAkQI9VPblyTKKY1fWAz0yVGg8B6NA7V_w4sQwFgl3uRJsYo9pntVFI/w640-h426/Two%20Relays.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: 700;">US Sprint Relay Teams Celebrate Golds Together</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</b></div><p>If you thought the dominance the US sprint relay teams once had were a thing of the past, check out today's 4x100m races.</p><p>The men were up first - and in spite of somewhat shaky passes - gave Noah Lyles a small lead on anchor and that was all he needed. He won going away, and the team recorded a 37.38 world leading time. </p><p>Lyles made history of his own by winning his third gold medal of these championships. 100, 200, 4x100 - that's the ultimate achievement for a sprinter.</p><p>As announcer Ato Boldon pointed out, there were three world 100m champions on this relay team. Christian Coleman led off to Fred Kerley who passed to the only non-individual champion on the team, Brandon Carnes, and he passed to anchor Noah Lyles. </p><p>As the baton crossed the finish line without having touched the ground, all was well. Italy scored another major meet medal - silver this time, and of note was Olympic 100m champion Marcel Jacobs running the second leg and displaying great team spirit in doing so. </p><p>Filippo Tortu ran another brilliant anchor leg for Italy. And all of you who picked Italy to finish ahead of bronze medalists Jamaica, please step forward.</p><p>Ahhhh, you must be Tortu's grandmother.</p><p>The women did the men one better and recorded the Championship Record of 41.03. Only twice have women's teams run faster, making this the #3 time all-time. Only Jamaica (41.02 in 2021) and the United States (20.82 in 2012) have run faster, both in Olympic finals.</p><p>The first two passes were shaky, but Gabby Thomas ran a brilliant third leg and had a great handoff to Sha'Carry Richardson on anchor. Anchoring for Jamaica was Shericka Jackson, so this was one and done, correct?</p><p>Nope! Richardson established an early lead and sustained it all the way down the track to the finish line where she was mobbed by a jubilant US men's team that had just won gold itself. It was one of the more affecting moments of these championships.</p><p>The US team of Tamari Davis, Twanisha Terry, Gabby Thomas, and Sha'Carri Richardson was up against a Jamaican team that included Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson. The US win today, and in the #3 time ever, was truly a remarkable performance.</p><p>Earlier, the US had failed to complete a pass within the zone in the 4x400m relay semis and was disqualified. </p><p>This plus the uncertain passes in the 4x100 speak to the continuing need for the US to have a focused relay program that goes beyond the time between US nationals and Worlds. Tellingly, one of the 4x400 meter runners cited lack of practice as one of the reasons for the failed pass.</p><p>Nonetheless, US 4x100 leadoff Tamari Davis got to the heart of what succeeded when she said, "We needed to do our job and we all did that and trusted each other."</p><p>After concluding a week in which she won two golds and a bronze, Sha'Carri Richardson said, "Dreams like this come true." </p><p>If two wins for the US sprinters wasn't dramatic enough, try two for Faith Kipyegon. The seemingly unbeatable middle distance sensation made history by becoming the first ever to win both the 1500m and 5000m at Worlds. </p><p>With 1500m gold already in her pocket, today in the 5000m, the pack ran together for a surprisingly long time - that is, until the last lap, and then it was Kipyegon's sustained drive and sprint vs that of Siffan Hassan of the Netherlands. </p><p>The finish of the 5000 looked a lot like that of the 1500, with Kipyegon sustaining a lead that others could not dent. Today, Hassan was second and Kenya's Beatrice Chebet third.</p><p>"This has been an amazing year for me," said Kipyegon. "Making history today, winning two gold medals in a championships is what I was dreaming for this season. I have been patient waiting to be able to break world records and win double golds... I believed in myself. I have been consistent, focused on the finish line, and on writing history."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskhDRrPEWvhly5h2YpdAGKlDrUKRbFeY5Yj2y8vWo74aOnmrIZ_j8Zs_aEHn98cT2OOuG5TcL3FuBoh-GotA12_ufhYT5IOQhmQUXr-q8bL2y8WLWoWQYUtEir87hZrccS8zKIocioaeYjezVQlsgHHlnG0xNrrKH--zNzQVzu_a-jAhWAoapNyijS98/s5773/W%205000%20Hassan%20Kipyegon.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3849" data-original-width="5773" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskhDRrPEWvhly5h2YpdAGKlDrUKRbFeY5Yj2y8vWo74aOnmrIZ_j8Zs_aEHn98cT2OOuG5TcL3FuBoh-GotA12_ufhYT5IOQhmQUXr-q8bL2y8WLWoWQYUtEir87hZrccS8zKIocioaeYjezVQlsgHHlnG0xNrrKH--zNzQVzu_a-jAhWAoapNyijS98/w640-h426/W%205000%20Hassan%20Kipyegon.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Chris Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Faith Kipyegon Running into History</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">L>R: Beatrice Chebet - 3rd, Gudaf Tsegay- 13th</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sifan Hassan - 2nd, Faith Kipyegon - 1st</span></div><p>If you're fortunate enough to be at the World Championships this week, surely you've heard one anthem more often than you expected: Canada's.</p><p>With four more medals today - gold and silver in the decathlon, gold in the men's 800m, and silver in the women's shot put - Canada has emerged as the surprise country of the meet.</p><p>Marco Arop, Canada's bronze medalist in the 800m in 2022, won today by running the second lap faster than the first - a rare negative split in this event. This had the desired effect of burning off the stellar field as he powered his way down the stretch to win in 1:44.24. </p><p>Second was Kenya's 19-year-old sensation Emmanuel Wanyonyi, in 1:44.53. There was a spirited rush for bronze, won by England's 21-year-old Ben Pattison in 1:44.83; only 12 one-hundredths of a second separated 3rd from 5th.</p><p>Note, too, that Arop was 7th in the 2019 Doha final; rare is the 800m runner who qualifies for three World finals in a row.</p><p>Canada's Pierce Lepage scored a robust 8909 points in the decathlon to place him #6 on the all-time world list. The new champion moved up a place from silver in Eugene and turned back none other than teammate Damien Warner, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion, who scored a season's best 8804 and gave Canada a 1-2 finish in the event. </p><p>Bronze went to Lindon Viktor of Grenada in 8756, a national record and the first World or Olympic medal for the 30-year old in nine years of competing on the international circuit.</p><p>On the other end of the medal spectrum is pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis who at last count has 739 gold medals. Or so it seems. He won once again; he not only has multiple titles, but he has broken indoor and outdoor world records 11 times. </p><p>Duplantis won at 6.10 today, and in the spirit of sharing medals, this time there was an actual tie for third between Chris Nielsen of the United States and Kurtis Marschall of Australia at 5.95, which equalled Marschall's personal best.</p><p>An even better kind of best was recorded by the Philippines' Ernest John Obien, who tied the Area Best of 6.00m for silver.</p><p>The women's shot put final was closely contested and may well have been the deepest ever. Chase Ealey (US) won her second consecutive World title; she opened at 20.35 and exceeded that in the fifth round with an effort of 20.43. Teammate Maggie Ewen started well and was second after the first round, but she gradually slipped to 6th. </p><p>Canada's (I told you!) Sarah Mitton leaped into silver medal position in the fifth round at 20.08. China's venerable veteran Lijiao Gong and Portugal's Auriol Dongmo tied in the 4th round at 19.69; Gong won her 8th World medal by virtue of having the better second throw, 19.67 to 19.63.</p><p>Finally, the women's marathon was held at 7:00am Budapest time. Kara Goucher, NBC announcer, described herself as having become soaked with sweat by walking only two blocks just before the race began.</p><p>The results, all things considered, were fairly astonishing, as Amane Beriso Shankule (Eth) ran 2:24:23 in oppressive conditions to win. Second was teammate Gotytom Gebreslace, just 9 seconds behind.</p><p>There was joy in Morocco over Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi's bronze in 2:25:17, the first medal won in the marathon by a Moroccan woman.</p><p>Lindsay Flanagan (US and late of the University of Washington) finished 9th in 2:27:47.</p><p>Let's give the last word to shot put gold medalist, Chase Ealey, who is one of the best interviews in the sport, and one of the most direct and engaging athletes. Said she after winning gold:</p><p>"I started crying with my mum. I ran to her and she started crying so I started crying, and now my face is a mess."</p><p>I think it's written somewhere in the Olympic Creed that if you win gold and start crying tears of joy, it's OK for your makeup to run!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb4V16hIzJ4P_ReYRG4CestjSk5NFrv1JCqKd1rbanwtomma1TD38xlvsLWwxOAhe3dW3eAtgx-cfzr-dnEVC9XpCzQfO3-LE4IVrCZMZVBGxXi7bv3JvUDiVVyLDLcBXIEhPhcDP206a4ZA1-p60w4I0PduYMouQR3Lh2q39B6p2uTzTOn5cO4888B8/s3681/Chase%20Ealey%20Shot%20Put.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2454" data-original-width="3681" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb4V16hIzJ4P_ReYRG4CestjSk5NFrv1JCqKd1rbanwtomma1TD38xlvsLWwxOAhe3dW3eAtgx-cfzr-dnEVC9XpCzQfO3-LE4IVrCZMZVBGxXi7bv3JvUDiVVyLDLcBXIEhPhcDP206a4ZA1-p60w4I0PduYMouQR3Lh2q39B6p2uTzTOn5cO4888B8/w640-h426/Chase%20Ealey%20Shot%20Put.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</b></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Two-Time World Shot Put Champion Chase Ealey</span></b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>~Mark Cullen, writing from Seattle</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-42615205442349646682023-08-25T18:57:00.002-07:002023-08-26T15:46:55.747-07:00Jackson and Lyles Strike 200m Gold - Budapest Day 7<p>With thunder on the track and bolts of lightning in the field, the 7th day of the Budapest World Championships will long be remembered.</p><p>Nothing says it better than this photo taken moments after the end of the 200m. Gabby Thomas' (US) look of wonder at Champion Shericka Jackson's (Jam) time on the scoreboard - 21.41, the second fastest ever run - as well as her own silver medal performance - says it all. To the left is a wistful Sha'Carri Richardson (US), who finished 3rd, and hugging Jackson on the right is Cote D'Ivoire's Marie-Josee Ta Lou.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdF6HQTUscMfP2BakgZKlZGdVSuuCX5QrwpwNKKRbdiAWPAAxLYawpuvdz1CSml2EjtHjg5RvxD56JXQ85OP0wlm8F-QVAZnPCWfDoVR3igY4dhMiY8NZ2mAR3ucjD1qlbpWGfK8O9LGSCW-hg9DpFX_ck6RKfavdNZjTt_9JCs7pQnOBxVOgDi8nUsqs/s3604/Threesome.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2267" data-original-width="3604" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdF6HQTUscMfP2BakgZKlZGdVSuuCX5QrwpwNKKRbdiAWPAAxLYawpuvdz1CSml2EjtHjg5RvxD56JXQ85OP0wlm8F-QVAZnPCWfDoVR3igY4dhMiY8NZ2mAR3ucjD1qlbpWGfK8O9LGSCW-hg9DpFX_ck6RKfavdNZjTt_9JCs7pQnOBxVOgDi8nUsqs/w640-h402/Threesome.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</b></div><p>Let's start in the field.</p><p>One of track and field's greatest performers - not only in terms of ability but of engagement with her massive following - almost had her worst performance in a World or Oympic Championship in Budapest - and still she won.</p><p>The better part of the competition felt like a wake as Venezuela's Julimar Rojas scratched jump after jump, and through 5 rounds, those she did not scratch were pedestrian by her lofty standards. </p><p>She scratched in rounds 1, 4, and 5, and her jumps in rounds 2 and 3 were 14.33 (47-1/4) and 14.26 (46 9.25) - this from someone who can jump well over 15.00m (49-2.5) on even her worst days.</p><p>Her 14.33 barely got her into the top 8 and three more jumps; she bumped Kenturah Orji (US) from 8th to a non-qualifying 9th and out of the competition.</p><p>How close was Rojas to missing the opportunity for three more jumps? </p><p>She and Orji were tied at 14.33; Orji's other two jumps were fouls, and quite oddly, Rojas' 14.26 was almost her most important jump of the day - it qualified her for finals. </p><p>That she had two legal jumps in the first three and Orji only one made all the difference in breaking the 14.33 tie. </p><p>Rojas seemed off-kilter today, her usual buoyant, joyous, engaging self missing. She was hesitant and tentative on her 4th and 5th jumps, with ever-increasing pressure not to miss.</p><p>With three World titles and Olympic gold and silver in her pocket, her failure to medal would have been one of the most colossal upsets in a Championship defined by upsets.</p><p>Ukraine's Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk was certainly a sentimental favorite to win; she has not been home since the Russian invasion of her homeland. </p><p>She had jumped 15.00 to open the competition, and the longer she led - through 5 rounds - the more she looked like a champion.</p><p>Then Rojas took her last jump. </p><p>15.08 (49 5.75)</p><p>The lead by 8 centimeters. (3 inches)</p><p>And yes, she jumped over 15.00 on even her worst day.</p><p>Bekh-Romanchuk had one more chance but fouled her last jump.</p><p>The crown stayed where it had been at the start of the day.</p><p>Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez, who jumped her farthest - 14.96 (49-1) - in the opening round, held on for bronze.</p><p>The competition was unusually and extraordinarily close, as only 25 cm (9.75 inches) separated 1st from 6th.</p><p>"After I won the Olympic Games in Tokyo, I said the next day that people in Venezuela would not work because everybody in the country would be celebrating," Rojas said. </p><p>"Well, now it will be more or less the same. I'm going to appear on the front pages everywhere. But more important, I'm going to be in the hearts of all the Venezuelan people."</p><p> "My last attempt was proof of the hard work I have done, my mental state and my self confidence. I didn't care about the distance, the only thing I had in mind was to win the gold."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Venezuela's Triple Jump Legend Comes Through in the Clutch</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbL5a4MxyJ5ytRpziHPT3BijNsvh2_gmdYIBimLbDHfL7bsSEcSAyXQzrvqyX-sf3HpFcJNlncKPO_VqKyisjz52ptObBmMrYuGD89dIMfqWRUVeZDEgtfIOy74L4rsOvW0JOB0gbn4HiZle9ej3Q7aWPSdBTfTc_RED93xrejW5xT8SdEpRx07H9BuWQ/s3500/Rojas.JPG" style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2333" data-original-width="3500" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbL5a4MxyJ5ytRpziHPT3BijNsvh2_gmdYIBimLbDHfL7bsSEcSAyXQzrvqyX-sf3HpFcJNlncKPO_VqKyisjz52ptObBmMrYuGD89dIMfqWRUVeZDEgtfIOy74L4rsOvW0JOB0gbn4HiZle9ej3Q7aWPSdBTfTc_RED93xrejW5xT8SdEpRx07H9BuWQ/w640-h426/Rojas.JPG" width="640" /></a>Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Julimar Rojas wins the triple jump on her final attempt.</i></span></span></div><p></p><p>Last jump madness in the triple jump was matched by last throw madness in the women's javelin.</p><p>The javelin played out much as the women's triple jump had - and these two events were just minutes short of being run concurrently - a real treat for the fans. </p><p>Haruka Kitaguchi, Japan's first woman to win a World Championship throwing medal with her bronze in Eugene, came to Budapest in quest of something more.</p><p>"This time, coming to Hungary, my goal was a medal and even higher - I wanted the gold," she said.</p><p>Colombia's Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado opened at 65.47 (214-9), an auspicious beginning and an Area Record. This would prove to be the leading mark through five of the six rounds. </p><p>As much as Ruiz Hurtado tried to put even more distance on the field, her last three throws of 59.73 195-11), foul, and 60.97 (200-0) were not what the occasion required. Especially on her last two throws, she appeared to be throwing only with her arm and not her full body.</p><p>Meanwhile, Latvia's Annette Kocina stood third ever since her 3rd round 63.18 (207-3) put her in the medal mix. </p><p>And then came the last round.</p><p>Not one but two podium places were determined with last-round throws. </p><p>First, Australia's Mackenzie Little threw 20 cm (7.75 inches) past Kocina to win bronze, and then the dazzling throw of the night came from Kitaguchi, a dramatic 66.73 (218-11) final throw winner.</p><p>Defending champion Kelsey Lee Barber, herself master of final throw heroics in previous championships, threw with a heavily taped elbow; the two-time World champion finished 7th. </p><p>"I think everything just came together in the last attempt and it was great," said Kitaguchi, Japan's newest World champion. </p><p>"At the beginning, I thought that I would be crying, but now, I just feel the happiness." </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Japan's Kitaguchi Comes Through in the Clutch</span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiOkn6q-WlJx9CHwaNXQwvuwMSqhThQ-ZYBt329-melo9SqwQHPywV8sLHROjA5EsLzjtLKcO6Xs_5B7t59IcIhDcyF5anuvaA-wAdxtAatTcRJTq0GKAha5tB1-nQPCFJsoBvfseYlUKbAdaiW5KJt18homoClJOwMqotFu4dM0Lp1C_KHspU6y17n0/s4508/Kitaguchi.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3005" data-original-width="4508" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiOkn6q-WlJx9CHwaNXQwvuwMSqhThQ-ZYBt329-melo9SqwQHPywV8sLHROjA5EsLzjtLKcO6Xs_5B7t59IcIhDcyF5anuvaA-wAdxtAatTcRJTq0GKAha5tB1-nQPCFJsoBvfseYlUKbAdaiW5KJt18homoClJOwMqotFu4dM0Lp1C_KHspU6y17n0/w640-h426/Kitaguchi.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Haruka Kitaguchi wins the javelin on her final attempt.</i></span> </p><p style="text-align: center;">Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</p><p style="text-align: left;">Then there were a couple of 200s.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The first featured an all-star women's sprinting lineup, and the much-anticipated showdown did not disappoint. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Favorite Shericka Jackson (Jam) won by an astonishing four-tenths of a second, a championship record and a huge margin at this level. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Her 21.41 has been exceeded only once in history, and she becomes the #2 performer with the #2 performance all-time.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Gabby Thomas (US) won silver in 21.81, and 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson (US) won bronze in a personal best 21.92. </p><p style="text-align: left;">After a terrific start, Jackson led off the curve and at that point her win was not in doubt. She remained clearly focused through the finish, as the photo below attests.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The two 200s combined featured textbook finishes by US athletes in second and third. </p><p style="text-align: left;">First, Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson, not in medal places coming off the turn, surged to their silver and bronze finishes, with Richardson passing almost the entire field in the process. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Lyles, too, led at the top of the curve and was never headed. Erriyon Knighton, 19, finished as well as his female US counterparts and stormed to a silver medal finish. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Star in the making Letsile Tebogo of Botswana followed in third; the 20 year old added bronze in this race to the silver he won in the 100.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lyles had hyped a faster time, but 19.52 has a certain ring to it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">For the sake of perspective of the enormity of Jackson's achievement, Gabby Thomas' personal best of 21.60 is 4th all-time and Richardson's 21.92 is #30.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzST9ilgMV2eAoKX6D4z3HzXJw4C1Ji4tnoi4tNjpi4yIBI6sdozyjjEp62KDV5R2zeM1lhTRirOUgi4Hoamypo36lXKBK03bLGr1uLR6RRoIftUSVV80kBoc5vbWQ6MfNvoP5dlr89DBjevQF7__o0zjB2xV3REh6aWI0VfaqmQJ7BjKrrWkZJkV5rI/s5108/Jackson%20Final%20Budapest.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3406" data-original-width="5108" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzST9ilgMV2eAoKX6D4z3HzXJw4C1Ji4tnoi4tNjpi4yIBI6sdozyjjEp62KDV5R2zeM1lhTRirOUgi4Hoamypo36lXKBK03bLGr1uLR6RRoIftUSVV80kBoc5vbWQ6MfNvoP5dlr89DBjevQF7__o0zjB2xV3REh6aWI0VfaqmQJ7BjKrrWkZJkV5rI/w640-h426/Jackson%20Final%20Budapest.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p>"Even if I was pretty close to the world record it was not the thing on my mind when I ran," said Jackson. "I will continue to work and I hope I can maintain at least this level and we will see if the world record will come."</p><p>Perhaps in Eugene in the Diamond League final?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CUgP49MhucT6b5tPZmkpHIGrRgwYDk4gkYKTF4xhqwBQfBoxd6altwUU1cg7fmfSL2NX8USAwfH4cLuWx48p_MXc9fVqMvv2sqrazn1zrfs4TUo_y4UZ10PqT9kKmG0gb1il7xIB0hj0-uikMK98nja5WNOw8nEehAkNC4-0i4EKeRv565QY6N62vwI/s3500/Lyles.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2402" data-original-width="3500" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CUgP49MhucT6b5tPZmkpHIGrRgwYDk4gkYKTF4xhqwBQfBoxd6altwUU1cg7fmfSL2NX8USAwfH4cLuWx48p_MXc9fVqMvv2sqrazn1zrfs4TUo_y4UZ10PqT9kKmG0gb1il7xIB0hj0-uikMK98nja5WNOw8nEehAkNC4-0i4EKeRv565QY6N62vwI/w640-h440/Lyles.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">200m champion Noah Lyles </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">leads Erriyon Knighton (2nd) and Letsile Tebogo (3rd)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">to the podium</span></b></div><p>"It is a great feeling to know I did something not a lot of people have done," said Lyles... I wanted to show I am different. Today I came out and showed it. I am double champion."</p><p>Usain Bolt's support has meant a lot to Lyles. </p><p>"Usain Bolt has done it, and him saying to me that he sees what I am doing and he respects it, it is amazing."</p><p><br /></p><p>~Mark Cullen, writing from Seattle</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-59245931614226411332023-08-24T19:02:00.000-07:002023-08-24T19:02:31.850-07:00North America Sweeps the Hammer - Budapest Day #6<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtxpZY8TaJzyhpBIBD0c_wO7-mwxY2IU6tt3IA_aO9K7kLocdlZPNkwn4ZxrFZIp1O2ydNFRlisic6Uu89evWkgdp6XGuJnF1tr9W1lXKm7N9mVqcRwWkOqXFIAzfMLtlVIAUnzzHaEKFzdtDslopb8ai57dJpq22No6M3h-qIyWt5zEW47iGCze8G4M/s4000/Price,%20Rogers,%20Kassanavoid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3614" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtxpZY8TaJzyhpBIBD0c_wO7-mwxY2IU6tt3IA_aO9K7kLocdlZPNkwn4ZxrFZIp1O2ydNFRlisic6Uu89evWkgdp6XGuJnF1tr9W1lXKm7N9mVqcRwWkOqXFIAzfMLtlVIAUnzzHaEKFzdtDslopb8ai57dJpq22No6M3h-qIyWt5zEW47iGCze8G4M/w578-h640/Price,%20Rogers,%20Kassanavoid.JPG" width="578" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span>Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Joy in Hammersville</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Camryn Rogers, Canada, gold (center)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">DeAnna Price, US, bronze (left)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Janee Kassanavoid, US, silver (right)</span></b></div><p>Canada's Camryn Rogers ascended to the World hammer throw throne with a relentless assault that included four throws that would have won. She took the lead with her first throw of 77.22 (253-4) and was never headed.</p><p>The Cal graduate and three-time NCAA champion was the only one of the 8 finalists to record six fair throws, and her series of 77.22, 77.07, 76.75, 75.68. 76.72, 74.92 was a statement in itself. </p><p>Rogers, only 24, completed a three-year climb to the top which started with 5th place in the Tokyo Olympics, continued with silver last year in Eugene, and now gold on the banks of the Danube.</p><p>There was plenty of tension throughout the competition as it took some time for other throwers to get unwound.</p><p>The best of these was Janee Kassanavoid (US), who moved into 2nd place with her second throw of 76.00 (249-4), a place she fiercely defended, especially against DeAnna Price. She improved to 76.36 (250-6) in the 3rd round, a mark which would stand up for silver.</p><p>Price got off to a slow start with two fouls to the right - a bit uncharacteristic of her fouls, which tend to drift left. Still, she pulled it together in the 3rd round with a 73.28 (237-2) that qualified her for three more throws. Then, her 5th round 75.41(247-5) vaulted her into bronze medal position and secured her place on the podium. </p><p>Three-time major meet medalist Zheng Wang of China had an uncharacteristic performance. Only her first two throws were legal. Her 2nd round 72.12 (236-7) got her into the final and and three more throws, all of which were fouls. </p><p>In addition, a very disappointed Hanna Skydan of Azerbaijan finished 4th after having set a national record of 77.10 (252-11) in qualifying. She has made the top eight at Worlds three times in her career, but has yet to leave with a medal.</p><p>Sharing in her disappointment was Poland's Malwina Kopron, London and Tokyo bronze medalist, who opened with three fouls and was done for the day.</p><p>Had defending World Champion Brooke Andersen (US) not failed to advance from qualifying, they might have had to add a 4th step to the podium! Most unfortunately, she has been dealing with serious shoulder pain this season.</p><p>Now Rogers, Price, and Kassanavoid each has two World Championship medals: Rogers gold ('23) and silver ('22), Price gold ('19) and bronze ('23), and Kassanavoid bronze ('22) and silver ('23). </p><p>Add Andersen's gold from 2022 and we have a region of the world that dominates women's hammer in a way that Central Europe once did.</p><p>And with the emergence of young (21) Canadian gold medalist Ethan Katzberg on the men's side, North Americans won 4 out of the 6 hammer medals on offer - with both golds to Canada.</p><p>"I cannot be any happier," said the newly golden Rogers. "Competing in the final with such amazing and talented throwers makes this piece of history even better. It enriches the experience knowing you are among amazing people who are all aiming for the same goal. ... I am excited about what next year will bring. Paris will be huge."</p><p>In an extraordinarily busy day of seven finals, here are several additional highlights.</p><p>*Femke Bol of The Netherlands won the 400m hurdles in 51.70, cementing her position as #2 in history, while Jamaica's Rushell Clayton, 30, won bronze, her first major medal in a long career. Shamier Little (US) won her second World silver; the first was 8 years ago in Beijing.</p><p>* Greece's 2021 Olympic Champion Miltiadis Tentoglou came back from what was for him a disappointing silver in Eugene to win the long jump by a scant 2 centimeters over Jamaica's Wayne Pinnock, 8.52-8.50. Jamaica took places 2-3-4, with 2019 World Champ Tajay Gayle 3rd and Carey McCloud 4th. Gayle and McLeod tied at 8.27 and McCloud won bronze with a longer 2nd-best jump.</p><p>*Jamaica's Danielle Williams upset the form charts by winning the 100m hurdles by 1/100th of a second over 2021 Olympic Champion, Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. This should not have been as much of a surprise as it may now seem; Williams won World gold in Beijing (2015) and World bronze in Eugene in 2022. Former world record holder Keni Harrison (US) was 3rd.</p><p>*21-year-old Antonio Watson of Jamaica unexpectedly took down a stellar 400m field in in 44.22. Four-time European champion Matthew Hudson-Smith moved up from bronze in Eugene to silver today (44.31), while Quincy Hall (US) set a personal best of 44.37 to nab bronze. Multiple relay gold medalist Vernon Norwood (US) missed his first major individual medal by .02.</p><p>*The men's and women's 35 kilometer racewalks were staged in conjunction with each other. Spain did well enough, thank you, and walked away with two champions: Maria Perez and Alvaro Martin, with Perez nailing a championship record and Martin a national one.</p><p>Second and third for the men were Brian Daniel Pintado of Ecuador in an area record, and Japan's Masatoro Kawano. </p><p>Canada's Evan Dunfee finished 4th in both walks. </p><p>He oughta take up hammer.</p><p>Second and third for the women were Kimberly Garcia-Leon (Peru) and Antigoni Ntrismpioti (Greece). </p><p>Considering Ntrismpioti's first name, I'd say this turned out rather well.</p><p><br /></p><p>~ by Mark Cullen, written in Seattle</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ever Seen This Before?</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW6IZshWnHJBUmvmp8tLaZsPuM7bvlbnKZKaxvj-SY-gXId7ZHRGhCCozUfbcNaboccNYRXZEul9vY4ZGjcamsRuHk_PZBnp_-CTfaY6DAzhr3MTancXwcKAisoJk09TTMkRaie1UERY5OZ4EfteNe9vyKqeaLjCxCL3yvG-IEbnd0Tja44FatIS4mUo/s2281/Joint%20Racewalk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2281" data-original-width="1521" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW6IZshWnHJBUmvmp8tLaZsPuM7bvlbnKZKaxvj-SY-gXId7ZHRGhCCozUfbcNaboccNYRXZEul9vY4ZGjcamsRuHk_PZBnp_-CTfaY6DAzhr3MTancXwcKAisoJk09TTMkRaie1UERY5OZ4EfteNe9vyKqeaLjCxCL3yvG-IEbnd0Tja44FatIS4mUo/w426-h640/Joint%20Racewalk.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The men's and women's 35 kilometer walk races </span></b><b><span style="font-size: medium;">were held jointly on the same course in Budapest.</span></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-58656266007434657202023-08-23T19:04:00.002-07:002023-08-23T19:04:56.581-07:00Day of the Beasts - Budapest Day 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9NjOrA9Fd6kSPBD223t-t0xUUpNjnIvXH62FIT37-bixwZNB12OSeZmTDagJAhdbRzDpA2ggGHIzEvSMwsYxYKK5RMy_IEY5bGXjd7pS9eFGkthxDk-abCFo1XoILNLuAdAm9pdAJAri4tzPmF0fZvD7ao9UMQa2j34lTcXOR_2O6O7I9xhZob2h0tM/s4527/Paulino.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3018" data-original-width="4527" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9NjOrA9Fd6kSPBD223t-t0xUUpNjnIvXH62FIT37-bixwZNB12OSeZmTDagJAhdbRzDpA2ggGHIzEvSMwsYxYKK5RMy_IEY5bGXjd7pS9eFGkthxDk-abCFo1XoILNLuAdAm9pdAJAri4tzPmF0fZvD7ao9UMQa2j34lTcXOR_2O6O7I9xhZob2h0tM/w640-h426/Paulino.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Dominican Republic's </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Marileidy Paulino </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Wins the 400m</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Marileidy Paulino made history when she became the first woman from the Dominican Republic to win an Olympic medal - silver at 400m - in 2021. She made history again the next year when she won individual silver and mixed relay World gold in Eugene in '22. </div><div><br /></div><div>The third time was indeed the charm, and 250 meters into today's race there seemed little doubt as to who the winner would be. Paulino stormed down the final straightaway, increasing her lead with every powerful stride, and became the first woman from her country to win individual World gold, in a national record 48.76.</div><div><br /></div><div>A stirring battle was waged over the silver and bronze medals, with Poland's Natalia Kaczmerik edging Sada Williams of Barbados 49.57 to 49.60.</div><div><br /></div><div>"This national record means a lot to me," said the dominant Dominican. "It is really incredible. But I have been preparing for this for a long time, working hard to achieve a goal like this. The gold medal was my dream, and I had the talent to turn this dream into reality."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1YpUWbWSjlqtzV_EgL3rRXhCA9rcXUa2-_EUnkW4UZqguZX9zT1R-w0jLN57flIPZ694koasloaUF1IYkYLhqJhWnWWDfpRoC3COySP37DhO5VtkBF_ZXPYK81Y-t2bOFm-A_y11daevdmsEi-3-jj2iYiExgws6QGn0diuYTu_Mjv8k9ExEi1hQR14/s4766/Kerr.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3254" data-original-width="4766" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1YpUWbWSjlqtzV_EgL3rRXhCA9rcXUa2-_EUnkW4UZqguZX9zT1R-w0jLN57flIPZ694koasloaUF1IYkYLhqJhWnWWDfpRoC3COySP37DhO5VtkBF_ZXPYK81Y-t2bOFm-A_y11daevdmsEi-3-jj2iYiExgws6QGn0diuYTu_Mjv8k9ExEi1hQR14/w640-h436/Kerr.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Josh Kerr</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Brooks Beast Strikes 1500m Gold</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Brooks Running Company world headquarters is located in Seattle, Washington, 4 blocks from where I am writing. Brooks sponsors the Brooks Beasts Track Club, with Danny Mackey its head coach.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Beasts arrived on the international scene when Drew Windle struck World indoor 800m silver in Birmingham, England, in 2018, and further raised their profile when Josh Kerr won Olympic bronze at 1500m in 2021. </div><div><br /></div><div>Kerr knows how to win - he won the 2017 NCAA 1500m title in Eugene for the University of New Mexico Lobos - far away from his native Edinburgh. In addition, he won two NCAA indoor mile titles, in 2017 and '18.</div><div><br /></div><div>But he had loftier goals. Today he played his hand perfectly as he won the World 1500m title. This race was all about being in the right position at the top of the final curve, and there he was, perfectly placed on Jakob Ingebrigtsen's shoulder one moment and in the lead the next.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ingebrigtsen showed his hand with 30 meters to go when he looked at the scoreboard, an indication of surrender. </div><div><br /></div><div>Look at Kerr in the race video - he is completely dialed in to the finish line, as was none other than Ingebrigtsen's teammate, Narve Gilje, who came storming to the finish and just missed pipping Ingebrigsten for second, 3:29.65 to 3:29.68. Kerr won in 3:29.38. </div><div><br /></div><div>And much consolation to Kenya's Abel Kipsang who broke 3:30 and did not medal, in 4th. Imagine running 3:29.89 and not medaling!</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, US entrants Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker finished 5th and 7th, Hocker in a personal best of 3:30.70. </div><div><br /></div><div>18-year-old Niels Laros continued his prodigy-ish ways by finishing 10th in 3:31.25 - a Dutch national record.</div><div><br /></div><div>Said Kerr, "For me this is the be all and end all. You saw about 16 years of emotion at the end there. You just watched a kid achieve a dream that he has been having for a very long time."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pXfzj2BCPoT9tPtBcjWAYx0u8VrnlfVlpF-8TScTBUUBuwXMvwXuoiEUHzA0TDr1a-otVGUStPKNuUrOymXGwDqYWvRZIb7dAcFPyLUm63VQx95BBjPQTwswI6CcwTYLoYQG2Uc_alLMyyknY5gfKZjpG7__x3xQ_gpvp16xBkDNbKyWB4NdZobX29s/s6000/Warholm.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pXfzj2BCPoT9tPtBcjWAYx0u8VrnlfVlpF-8TScTBUUBuwXMvwXuoiEUHzA0TDr1a-otVGUStPKNuUrOymXGwDqYWvRZIb7dAcFPyLUm63VQx95BBjPQTwswI6CcwTYLoYQG2Uc_alLMyyknY5gfKZjpG7__x3xQ_gpvp16xBkDNbKyWB4NdZobX29s/w640-h426/Warholm.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Karsten Warholm</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">World 400m Hurdles Champion - Again!</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Interesting that meet organizers put the men's 400m hurdles at the end of Wednesday's stupendous program. It's an indicator of the status the event has achieved since Karsten Warholm's stunning world record run in the Tokyo Olympics.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the Eugene World Championships, Warholm was injured, and his streak of major meet medals came to an end.</div><div><br /></div><div>Temporarily, as it turns out. Today, Rai Benjamin (US) looked strong coming off the 8th hurdle and it seemed Warholm might be vulnerable. But that did not last for long. </div><div><br /></div><div>Warhold powered away from Benjamin just as Benjamin also faded. They finished 1-3, as Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands stormed past Benjamin to win silver. </div><div><br /></div><div>Their times were 46.89 - 47.34 - 47.56. This was no consolation to a bitterly disappointed Benjamin, who had thought this might be his golden day. "I expected so much of myself at these championships," he said. "I can run 46 seconds with my eyes closed."</div><div><br /></div><div>For Warholm, coming off injury, this World gold was particularly satisfying. </div><div><br /></div><div>"It feels a bit sweeter this year," he said. "You have to fight and I have a fighting spirit in these moments. It gets the best out of me. I'm still hungry for more and more. You need to have that to chase the gold medals."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlRZ3U5OZGuqAkbaYiL_fu1Sy6Ghc9-fNVvnz-_-xTmN0zWrLmqu3w3cwgAzJmS4pevR4J8VrACUYROZdDCBroHVm9eVuyoPsuP8tmGwDUMhx-0c-yLu5AgcSUaodWglVPjzCB-xIhEgW-bRj5F7KrTkDtDACCXkKXNRZog372H067is8uvdN68UIP8c/s3710/Nina%20Kennedy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2473" data-original-width="3710" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlRZ3U5OZGuqAkbaYiL_fu1Sy6Ghc9-fNVvnz-_-xTmN0zWrLmqu3w3cwgAzJmS4pevR4J8VrACUYROZdDCBroHVm9eVuyoPsuP8tmGwDUMhx-0c-yLu5AgcSUaodWglVPjzCB-xIhEgW-bRj5F7KrTkDtDACCXkKXNRZog372H067is8uvdN68UIP8c/w640-h426/Nina%20Kennedy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chsitian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Australia's Nina Kennedy</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Same form.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Same effort.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Same number of jumps.</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Same number of clearances.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Same number of misses.</b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Same ultimate height.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Same outcome.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Gold</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>United States' Katie Moon</b></i></span></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1RqjnROY9sinQGOK62--oc7VxVNg59xAGjlxWRxLIHrmT8E8InFrV0RDGZziPLFLjgX7CkdZdOjTmBr96sp453p-pUVqmzC4heXyzytBVCJhoG9uSSa8xPG0w2VbyGvY-HBmR_9X4eGXKZDp2tRLcki9aw96HAK3voGjwdT_lKgkfxGkxbCvjB6DEQlU/s3835/Moon%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2556" data-original-width="3835" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1RqjnROY9sinQGOK62--oc7VxVNg59xAGjlxWRxLIHrmT8E8InFrV0RDGZziPLFLjgX7CkdZdOjTmBr96sp453p-pUVqmzC4heXyzytBVCJhoG9uSSa8xPG0w2VbyGvY-HBmR_9X4eGXKZDp2tRLcki9aw96HAK3voGjwdT_lKgkfxGkxbCvjB6DEQlU/w640-h426/Moon%202.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></span></b>Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div><br /></div><div>Same quotes? Not quite, but close for the two pole vaulters who shared everything today, including gold.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nina Kennedy said, "I jumped out of my skin tonight."</div><div><br /></div><div>And Katie Moon, seemingly for all of us:</div><div>"What an amazing night. I hope everyone enjoyed that one. We did."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>~ Mark Cullen, writing from Seattle</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-18855043028974968962023-08-22T18:06:00.002-07:002023-08-22T18:07:15.261-07:00Faith in Faith - Budapest World Championships Day #4<p>Having faith in Faith is rather easy. That is for the best of reasons: Kenya's Faith Kipyegon is a generational talent.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMp2Wmug_3Pq9kWcP35I9rf0gGfgeoxbXgVwE3Ky3tLqZLZ-cC-5RHS8y3qEidMoHE6Q6a2kno4leOjAw07JSgPLZziyzbeW9TQYE332-KLh-bXK5kqlhMar_XW7MtOVziIS84CnYEaKU68KzHApakiNblSgqswMqwPMKPCeNKvB49YAkJP2AZZn1-kYY/s3555/Faith.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2370" data-original-width="3555" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMp2Wmug_3Pq9kWcP35I9rf0gGfgeoxbXgVwE3Ky3tLqZLZ-cC-5RHS8y3qEidMoHE6Q6a2kno4leOjAw07JSgPLZziyzbeW9TQYE332-KLh-bXK5kqlhMar_XW7MtOVziIS84CnYEaKU68KzHApakiNblSgqswMqwPMKPCeNKvB49YAkJP2AZZn1-kYY/w640-h426/Faith.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Faith Kipyegon wins the 1500m</span></b></p><p>To be a generational talent in Kenya puts you in high company, indeed, and that is where Faith Kipyegon finds herself today. Not only once in a generation in Kenya, but in the entire world.</p><p>She proved it again today in the 1500m final, and turned back the challenges no matter where they came from. She won going away in 3:54.87 to Diribe Weltiji's (Eth) 3:55.69, and Holland's Siffan Hassan won bronze a few blinks back in 3:56.00.</p><p>A notable 4th was Ireland's Ciara Mageean in a national record 3:56.61.</p><p>In possibly the most succinct race summary I've ever heard, the legend in the making said, "I just got myself in front after 300m and nobody was coming." </p><p><i>For the next 1200 meters!</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdlb8-3KXUJ9sCrlr5mL10b04TkGPkd1hvhrHnXrisGafLUFkCeGQZxSjZz9249RbKRos6yfgpS-kEVJ3YfvO86BdWQTLHG6qt6Is1FPNld_YFS57YZq8ycQC0mG_XGMq9zMl43T5PKE11CsG0H2CHGLLr45vYJPrQisHrSYKbQEoCGJYrvhJNon4b7s/s5357/El%20Bakkali%20Selfie.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3606" data-original-width="5357" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdlb8-3KXUJ9sCrlr5mL10b04TkGPkd1hvhrHnXrisGafLUFkCeGQZxSjZz9249RbKRos6yfgpS-kEVJ3YfvO86BdWQTLHG6qt6Is1FPNld_YFS57YZq8ycQC0mG_XGMq9zMl43T5PKE11CsG0H2CHGLLr45vYJPrQisHrSYKbQEoCGJYrvhJNon4b7s/w640-h430/El%20Bakkali%20Selfie.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">It's Selfie Time!</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">World Steeplechase Champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco</span></b></p><p>"I came ready and prepared and believed I could win, " said Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali, who proceeded to do just that. The Tokyo Olympic and Eugene World Champion now adds a third major gold medal to his steeplechase collection, in addition to his Worlds silver from London in 2017.</p><p>Many expected Lachme Girma - who set the world steeple record of 7:52.11 this June - to mount a stronger challege to El Bakkali, but El Bakkali took the lead with about 200m to go and was never headed, turning back Girma 8:03.53 to 8:05.44 in sweltering conditions in Budapest.</p><p>Remarkably, though, Girma now has three World and one Olympic silver medals in the same event. He must be at least as old as the 27-year old El Bakkali, no? </p><p>No - Girma is 22. He began his silver medal streak in 2019 (Worlds) and continued it in 2021 (Olympics), 2022 (Worlds), and now 2023 (Worlds). </p><p>"I keep fighting and dreaming about World's gold," a somewhat dejected Girma said. He needn't worry - in his bright future, there is gold in them thar waterjumps.</p><p>Kenya's Abraham Kibiwott won his first international medal in spite of a fall late in the race. "I came here to finally take a medal home with me... I feel so great, this is even more than happiness."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeqJNPblN7Hm9xgxg7_ZBFWfqzj2hdeGBJyJrLVEizop1GGuLnV6r1LO0oti75DhVYwvdbwYnLS9W3jeXFhlu0TfZ_mQgruiKJWnJF1M8OJQhWnj179HnS1Iw3LBAyj7XFVk1S6-1aWFa4ARJ67xJ0Wk9a_x04uH6IsYRv9qa9zvBPIn1xKWk8DcZS68/s6000/Tausaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeqJNPblN7Hm9xgxg7_ZBFWfqzj2hdeGBJyJrLVEizop1GGuLnV6r1LO0oti75DhVYwvdbwYnLS9W3jeXFhlu0TfZ_mQgruiKJWnJF1M8OJQhWnj179HnS1Iw3LBAyj7XFVk1S6-1aWFa4ARJ67xJ0Wk9a_x04uH6IsYRv9qa9zvBPIn1xKWk8DcZS68/w640-h426/Tausaga.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Laulaula Tausaga Stuns the Discus World</span></b></p><p>"More than happiness" best describes the unlikely scenario that played out in the women's discus today. Olympic champion Varalrie Allman was blindsided at Worlds last year in Eugene by China's Bin Feng, who finished third today.</p><p>Today the blind side came from US teammate Laulauga Tausaga. </p><p>"No one was expecting me and I just showed up."</p><p>Did she ever. </p><p>The competition was slow to unfold. The most dramatic moment of the first three rounds came when Tausaga had fouled her first throw and recorded a legal mark of only 52.28 in her second round. She was nowhere near qualifying for the final 8.</p><p>Tausauga came into the meet tied for 9th on the all-time US performers list at 65.46, and she uncorked a personal best of 65.56, which earned her three more crucial throws in the final.</p><p>While Allman held a steady lead from the start, the tension in the competition was that any of five throwers might overtake her. She threw 68.57 to open the meet, and then strengthened her lead with 3rd and 4th round throws of 68.79 and 69.23. It had every feeling of an inexorable climb to gold.</p><p>Until the 5th round, that is, when Tausaga oncorked the throw of a lifetime - a 69.59 monster that turned the competition upside down.</p><p>Suddenly, she was in the lead with Allman second, but Allman had two more throws left. Only her 68.61 final throw came close to toppling Tausaga.</p><p>Suddenly, she was World Champion.</p><p>Suddenly, the US had a 1-2 finish in the women's discus.</p><p>Suddenly, Tausaga found herself the #2 thrower in US history with the #9 performance ever.</p><p>Suddenly, she had improved her personal best twice for a total of over 4 meters in one meet.</p><p>And to back up her new lofty status, Tausaga closed with a 68.61.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Ever resilient, Allman said, "... most importantly, I am hungry and I am not done with the fight. I am going to work for the victory."</p><p style="text-align: left;">"There was an Olympic champion and a World champion in that final," Tausaga reflected, "so I had to fight for this gold medal. It's going to be hard next year but it's going to be unbelievable."</p><p style="text-align: left;">Actually, it turns out there were three Majors winners in that final. We just didn't know it at the start of the day. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpr6_lrV-Y6ZA2ptUJ_7Rj1bYCJDPtnMIoIMx2Nhj4QGpJu1jlbs0OJ3nksaavkmd1E9BgivgguF2-94mb_pyCUfjrY1wp2_yH48y_25S8Wato1JB39APFEtXid9aF60gPVl-z5t1JnLTYoHi8FJov9XlM-QbcJZ_WDyxx1X4c0_x-CylxqgfpehPvfk/s3828/A%20Gold%20of%20His%20Own.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3828" data-original-width="2541" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpr6_lrV-Y6ZA2ptUJ_7Rj1bYCJDPtnMIoIMx2Nhj4QGpJu1jlbs0OJ3nksaavkmd1E9BgivgguF2-94mb_pyCUfjrY1wp2_yH48y_25S8Wato1JB39APFEtXid9aF60gPVl-z5t1JnLTYoHi8FJov9XlM-QbcJZ_WDyxx1X4c0_x-CylxqgfpehPvfk/w424-h640/A%20Gold%20of%20His%20Own.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">A Gold of His Own</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Gianmarco Tamberi wins the High Jump</span></b></div><p style="text-align: left;">The high jump was taking place at the same time as the women's discus, so it's assumed this left many frayed vocal cords.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The final boiled down pretty quickly to the three favorites: Tokyo Olympic twin gold medalists Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, and the new kid on the block, Ju'Vaughn Harrison of the United States. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In spite of first jump misses by Tamberi and Barshim, each righted the ship and were even until the bar reached 2.36. This was the point of separation, as Barshim went out with three misses but earned bronze, while Tamberi cleared on his first try at the height. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This was crucial as Harrison missed his first attempt at 2.36 but cleared it on his second. When both were out at 2.38, Tamberi had first World Championship gold, and Harrison had silver and his first senior international medal.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Looking forward, Tamberi said, "There is no high jumper who won two Olympic golds, so making history in Paris would be amazing. But first the party tonight. I need to celebrate this medal because after one year of sacrifices and diet, I deserve it."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh102QjKfncNUJC-2UKGNq9gxytstF0Cv3U6cNVQp6Kut65_Z2M_GtJ9X0nHRdgm5IVog8nvecvRCKKiZfcsqLX-poE9460L7N0T8ZQTPUk52xCeoQhj8fdMD2desv6qvODb1mWmlHE_vzW4QeYsO6wpwOZJorxI58M4IKgCqTDPMiUbXb6thPjBWR3czk/s4466/Tamberi%20and%20Barshim.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="4466" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh102QjKfncNUJC-2UKGNq9gxytstF0Cv3U6cNVQp6Kut65_Z2M_GtJ9X0nHRdgm5IVog8nvecvRCKKiZfcsqLX-poE9460L7N0T8ZQTPUk52xCeoQhj8fdMD2desv6qvODb1mWmlHE_vzW4QeYsO6wpwOZJorxI58M4IKgCqTDPMiUbXb6thPjBWR3czk/w640-h574/Tamberi%20and%20Barshim.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">It's Them Again!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But this time Gianmarco Tamberi (center) has a gold of his own</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">while Mutaz Essa Barshim wins bronze.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><p style="text-align: left;">~ Mark Cullen from Seattle</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-17674161548593348552023-08-21T19:50:00.003-07:002023-08-21T20:17:48.525-07:00Budapest World Championships Day #3<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">When this leads to</span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDw-1R1Za0HlaZ9tegsvNzC87MIdgpDxHIidjqKha7T5EEX5CEA0aa3cEIGxJ8mPZnaCAJAnKMiwT9fR0T1WEdS1Ew_13Tly7l9RJX92lPfByExoBWZ6ik4eAJmn9HmvalLIwsSrzx8S08e_JZPwa0bdFqJcw0BWaHM9qYTd7bMTyJeKQPhZxpxiktzU/s3724/Sha'Carri%20Richardson.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2497" data-original-width="3724" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDw-1R1Za0HlaZ9tegsvNzC87MIdgpDxHIidjqKha7T5EEX5CEA0aa3cEIGxJ8mPZnaCAJAnKMiwT9fR0T1WEdS1Ew_13Tly7l9RJX92lPfByExoBWZ6ik4eAJmn9HmvalLIwsSrzx8S08e_JZPwa0bdFqJcw0BWaHM9qYTd7bMTyJeKQPhZxpxiktzU/w640-h430/Sha'Carri%20Richardson.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">this...</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn3R8CS-7-Xpl6xjnsFGWxCtwmQDsmXHIkFG1vhp_T9HyLaWhavG4taJCh7IAQ8HzBKxMKruo3vrgAR9JOZ8UfrlcOvZCN67UzmJPp1-t5OlaJqvwFaNr7gQeEmPp1Tzzxf5JG7T7RzU4mXdG5uu3rx5IZJVztVDak2mdy6QKJo-J6t9nec6EiPuqj9c/s5825/Three.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3848" data-original-width="5825" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn3R8CS-7-Xpl6xjnsFGWxCtwmQDsmXHIkFG1vhp_T9HyLaWhavG4taJCh7IAQ8HzBKxMKruo3vrgAR9JOZ8UfrlcOvZCN67UzmJPp1-t5OlaJqvwFaNr7gQeEmPp1Tzzxf5JG7T7RzU4mXdG5uu3rx5IZJVztVDak2mdy6QKJo-J6t9nec6EiPuqj9c/w640-h422/Three.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>and in between...</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">this</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcv4GjJAmH3C7I464UAY1U39VSm6wLIBl57AeyuQXiZR7H9cTLTwDVLF5NhsHnxCrdu-oV5QdvQiwLKmbWeocTe7b2VJfTm6JNIsLoKKDCTKkyfvy651ode4022v4d03XGMp-eoBg5DTTuIUZD_6mwAfheJn43FME1ujNuam1_mlui6C4-YbfBqNmqOk4/s4162/Zango.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4162" data-original-width="3172" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcv4GjJAmH3C7I464UAY1U39VSm6wLIBl57AeyuQXiZR7H9cTLTwDVLF5NhsHnxCrdu-oV5QdvQiwLKmbWeocTe7b2VJfTm6JNIsLoKKDCTKkyfvy651ode4022v4d03XGMp-eoBg5DTTuIUZD_6mwAfheJn43FME1ujNuam1_mlui6C4-YbfBqNmqOk4/w488-h640/Zango.JPG" width="488" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">leads to</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">this...</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7mI7O5jXBeZeAN2qYy5Yl1dKaMV84zihVjw9cWLsFjly9IxUEKwoH_bXcc0kkUTHQ8VmPyYsXQ05HnkHyzlPxeE2sXqOmt3U6OLBRaRdolQMhKEabzDLDymvx2nVeqdbmjHKSet7orNcqo4xKf6Yrr_1I-9VdBECjluirnt1F6zVK7Qyj3VcTjcDDgQ/s5333/Stahl.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3449" data-original-width="5333" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7mI7O5jXBeZeAN2qYy5Yl1dKaMV84zihVjw9cWLsFjly9IxUEKwoH_bXcc0kkUTHQ8VmPyYsXQ05HnkHyzlPxeE2sXqOmt3U6OLBRaRdolQMhKEabzDLDymvx2nVeqdbmjHKSet7orNcqo4xKf6Yrr_1I-9VdBECjluirnt1F6zVK7Qyj3VcTjcDDgQ/w640-h414/Stahl.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">and this,</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquD7ZZSit76z-8rXJRzIy5KI8WEovFlkJPJCN5OsD4chSJDnC9JjTZl4GjPWouIRPphUgHuZDue8Zom0X1OC954vxO_gw-8R7psjzeo7X-M7hLWyQ6jebzKfCAr2dealPjt-qW2C3DrmPq3lopFHGyyaZu1RWgGOZ2juiGz0CoetFjfb6cW0uqd4C7fo/s5414/Holloway.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3609" data-original-width="5414" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquD7ZZSit76z-8rXJRzIy5KI8WEovFlkJPJCN5OsD4chSJDnC9JjTZl4GjPWouIRPphUgHuZDue8Zom0X1OC954vxO_gw-8R7psjzeo7X-M7hLWyQ6jebzKfCAr2dealPjt-qW2C3DrmPq3lopFHGyyaZu1RWgGOZ2juiGz0CoetFjfb6cW0uqd4C7fo/w640-h426/Holloway.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>perhaps a few words of explanation are in order.</p><p>In the semi-finals of the women's 100m today, Sha'Carri Richardson got off to a slow start, finished 3rd, and then spent time in the waiting room to see if she would advance to the final based on time.</p><p>While much has been made of her third-place finish in her semi, it should be noted that her 10.84 would not only have won the other two semi-final races, but she found herself in what Ato Boldon called "The Semi-Final of Death." </p><p>Lined up on either side of her were Jamaica's Shericka Jackson and Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou, two of the greatest sprinters in history. In addition, they were the 3 fastest of the year, and #5-7-8 fastest all-time. In a <i>semi!</i></p><p>No woman had ever won the 100m after either qualifying by time or by running in the outermost lane. Today, Richardson did both. In a fantastic display of poise and reserve, Richardson steadied the ship and stole the race with mere meters to go. </p><p>It was Jamaica 2-3, with Shericka Jackson in silver and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in bronze. That Fraser-Pryce should even conceive of being on the podium at age 36 is remarkable; this was her 6th 100m Worlds medal - and the other five were gold.</p><p>To top it off, Richardson set a Championship record of 10.65, with 10.72 and 10.77 earning the remaining medals. </p><p>She said, "I'm here. I'm the champion. I told you all: I'm not back, I'm better."</p><p>Triple jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango already had made history in Burkina Faso by winning his country's first Olympic medal, a bronze in 2021. </p><p>Today he became his country's first World Champion when he bounded out to a 17.64 in the 5th round to finish comfortably ahead of Lazaro Martinez (17.41) and Cristian Napoles (17.40), both from Cuba. </p><p>Zango also completed a set of World Championships medals. With bronze from 2019, silver from 2022, and now gold, he completed the kind of progression that coaches only dream of.</p><p>In our 'it ain't over 'til it's over' department, Sweden's Daniel Stahl and Slovenia's Kristjan Ceh gave the thrilled crowd one of the most dramatic finishes in recent Worlds memory. Last year, Ceh won the discus in Eugene and set the championship record while Stahl uncharacteristically finished out of the medals. Many saw this as a changing of the guard, especially with then-19-year-old Mykolas Alekna (Lithuania) second. </p><p>If this was supposed to have been a changing of the guard, the guard has been to slow to change. Today, Ceh and Stahl were the last two up, and it appeared Stahl was poised to win. Until, on his last throw, Ceh sent one into the lead. </p><p>Done? No, Stahl had one throw to go. He sent it sailing past Ceh's championship record of 71.13 from Eugene to a victory and new record of 71.46. Alekna finished 3rd and now has silver and bronze in a throwing event.</p><p>Stahl, who is not known for being overly smiley, could not keep the smile off his face during a lengthy celebration. </p><p>Said Stahl, "This was my best performance ever." </p><p>Grant Holloway won his third consecutive gold medal in the men's 110m high hurdles, and is joined on the podium by countryman and bronze medalist, Daniel Roberts. Olympic gold medalist Hansle Parchment was second. Holloway had an explosive start and was leading after the first hurdle.</p><p>"I knew they were going to close really quickly," he said, "so my main goal was to keep smooth to the line."</p><p>Mission accomplished.</p><p><br /></p><p>A note for fans in the Pacific Northwest:</p><p>All of Washington State's eyes were on women's pole vault qualifying. Hana Moll, the 18-year-old high schooler from Olympia, WA, finished 3rd at USATF to make the World Championships team. </p><p>Until today, when she PRed in qualifying at 4.65, someone else had exactly the same personal best.</p><p>Her twin sister, Amanda, at 15' 1.5/4.61! </p><p>Both will be entering the University of Washington this fall.</p><p>Watch out Pac-12!</p><p><br /></p><p>Photo credits: </p><p>All but the photo of Hugues Fabrice Zango are by Christian Petersen for Getty Images for World Athletics</p><p>The photo of Zango is by Stephen Pond, Getty Images for World Athletics.</p><p><br /></p><p>~Mark Cullen, written from Seattle</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-50603524052182725872023-08-20T17:24:00.001-07:002023-08-20T17:39:11.941-07:00Budapest World Championships Day #2<p>After a dramatic first day of falls and upsets, the track and field world settled in for a more predictable second day of Budapest's World Championships.</p><p>Not so fast.</p><p>Well, that's what Fred Kerley might have said. </p><p>The defending world champion looked, if anything, sluggish in his semi-final 100m race and was a shocking non-qualifier for the final. All looked good for Kerley for the first 60m but his strength - sustaining his top end speed - was absent today, and Kerley failed to advance. </p><p>Picked by many (including me) to repeat as World Champion, he missed the final by 1/100th of a second.</p><p>In the final, Christian Coleman showed himself to be the greatest male starter in the world for the second race in a row. But it did not last and 2019's champion finshed fifth.</p><p>Living up to his own pre-meet prediction that he would win, Noah Lyles did just that. He wasn't in first place until less than 20m to go, and he stormed to victory in 9.83 - short of his much-ballyhooed prediction of 9.65, but a World title nonetheless. And the 200m is his better event. Watch out!</p><p>A statistical oddity: 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places were all timed in 9.88, and they had to go to thousandths to determine the remaining medalists. Much history here: Botswana's Letsile Tobogo (silver) became Africa's first men's medalist at 100m, while Zharnel Hughes in bronze won Great Britain's first men's 100m medal at Worlds in 20 years.</p><p>Serbia's Ivana Vuleta's 5th round 7.14 secured her long jump victory, while Tara Davis-Woodhall (US) settled for second at 6.91. Roumania's Alina Rotaru-Kottmann spolied Nigeria's Ese Brume's party by jumping onto the podium with her final round 6.88. Until then, Brume had been in 3rd at 6.84.</p><p>The women's 20k walk saw an unusually high number of warnings during the early stages of the race, but Spain's Maria Perez put down the hammer over the last 5 kilometers and walked away with the win. Through 15k the fastest kilometer had been 4:19; she put down splits of 4:06, 4:09, 4:05, and 4:06 for kilometers 16-19. She took some risk by walking the last several steps with a flag in her hand. No card was issued, and besides, it would have been her first.</p><p>Australia's Jemima Montag acknowledged issues with self-confidence over much of her career, but when she found herself in a position for a breakaway for silver, she asked herself "Why not me?" and set an area record of 1:27:27 while she was at it. "This year," she said, "I really work on my mind."</p><p>Olympic champion (2021) Antonella Palmisano (Italy) won bronze in spite of a mid-race fall. While I have great confidence that the course met all technical specifications, might it be time to take a second look at how tight the turns don't need to be?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBW8CDfhdUQLLZ-3_yt_FVj1yMCHsotkVoexAZJbmlhp-YMfR0DuCsW7IFLWvypBt6VnpPdjYAVwNxIibkbIkTY0u5NGncten1VKQRfBI2RoJMLh5prxPahrp2dITmQ7ltq1UFD2IDgTAnKvxLOqm7Eazi1NRTqV2pCH0TIIVKDWxDTySt4o6rFVWNHOM/s4730/20k%20Walk%20Women.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3153" data-original-width="4730" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBW8CDfhdUQLLZ-3_yt_FVj1yMCHsotkVoexAZJbmlhp-YMfR0DuCsW7IFLWvypBt6VnpPdjYAVwNxIibkbIkTY0u5NGncten1VKQRfBI2RoJMLh5prxPahrp2dITmQ7ltq1UFD2IDgTAnKvxLOqm7Eazi1NRTqV2pCH0TIIVKDWxDTySt4o6rFVWNHOM/w640-h426/20k%20Walk%20Women.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Women's 20 kilometer walk</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p>Katarina John-Thompson (GB) set personal bests in both the heptathlon javelin and 800m to turn back the spirited campaign of Anna Hall (US) by a scant 20 points, 6740-6720. </p><p>Holland's Anouk Vetter won bronze. Fill in your own line about the advantages of remaining standing right here!</p><p>Speaking of remaining standing... the men's 10,000m was run in hot and humid conditions. The temperature was upwards of 94F with 43% humidity. It's a wonder anyone remained standing at the finish. </p><p>Uganda's Joseph Cheptegai won his third consecutive World 10,000m title, with Daniel Simiu Ebenyu (Ken) second and Tokyo Olympic champion Selemon Barega (Eth) third. As one announcer pointed out, not only did Cheptegai close in 53 seconds, that's exactly how fast he closed to win his first two World titles!</p><p>US runners wilted in the heat as Woody Kincaid, Sean McGorty, and Joe Klecker finished 11-16-20.</p><p>Hometown hero Bence Balazs kept the stadium rocking in the men's hammer, and he won a well-deserved bronze; he found himself sandwiched between Poland's dynamic duo of Olympic Champion Wojiech Nowicki and 5-time World champion, Pawel Fajdek. Fajdek's streak of 5 consecutive World titles came to an end.</p><p>US throwers Rudy Winkler and Daniel Haugh were 6th and 8th last year in Eugene, and this year they traded places.</p><p>21-year-old Canadian phenom Ethan Katzberg came into the meet with a hammer best of 78.73 and set a national record 81.18 in the qualifying round to lead all qualifiers by over 3 meters. That should have gotten people's attention.</p><p>Today, he added 7 cm to his national record. His series was remarkable; he had five fair throws and each was farther than his pre-meet personal best.</p><p>A 21-year-old hammer gold medalist from Canada? This is why we run the races - and throw the throws. "I felt a little nerves coming in," he said, ...but with the first throw, I gained some confidence and I was very satisfied with how I was progressing during the competition."</p><p>Katzberg is coached by shot put World and Olympic medalist, Dylan Armstrong, who of all things, was a subject of my very first post when I launched my trackerati.com website 10 years ago:</p><p><a href="http://www.trackerati.com/2013/08/placing-and-chasing.html">http://www.trackerati.com/2013/08/placing-and-chasing.html</a></p><p style="text-align: center;">Finally, I've decided not to post a prediction of the women's 100m winner. However, I will post a hint:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mXTuZOLZZZsMmQsKuhtewtFaG31D9C9KOXTuJsqxYE6LDIGEhDNjlJIgxQjH9acLv6uDN-LP53ILnDbTMIgkJOToOgVmcmak4KUDolofjjba4A1kbYjikr3vVveFNILFAP7-ILzH7XPe-U_6PEJIGikY_L6A23Ux1m5q5e5dRTZU_7SyIptPwZTZnJg/s5158/SAFP%20Stadium.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3292" data-original-width="5158" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mXTuZOLZZZsMmQsKuhtewtFaG31D9C9KOXTuJsqxYE6LDIGEhDNjlJIgxQjH9acLv6uDN-LP53ILnDbTMIgkJOToOgVmcmak4KUDolofjjba4A1kbYjikr3vVveFNILFAP7-ILzH7XPe-U_6PEJIGikY_L6A23Ux1m5q5e5dRTZU_7SyIptPwZTZnJg/w640-h408/SAFP%20Stadium.JPG" width="640" /></a><b>SAFP </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics</div><p>~Mark Cullen</p><p>(written from Seattle)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-22424201151644988842023-08-19T17:10:00.001-07:002023-08-19T17:14:01.246-07:00Walkin' in the Rain<p>Note: I am writing from Seattle. I am deeply grateful to Natalie Uhl at USATF Communications and Tania Evesque at World Athletics Communications Operations for their help in getting me set up for remote coverage of these World Championships.</p><p><u><b>Saturday, 8/19, AM Session</b></u></p><p>The first email message from World Athletics this morning said that the men's 20k race walk had been postponed due to lightning in the area. It came complete with a deluge, but the hardiest of track and field's athletes - and often the most obscure - delivered a thrilling race once the storm had passed. </p><p>Spain's Alvaro Martin won gold in 1:17:32, with Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom 7 seconds back in silver and an ecstatic Caio Bonfim of Brazil 8 seconds behind him.</p><p>What does it mean to win a medal? Getty Images' Christian Petersen captures that moment beautifully in this image of Brazil's Caio Bonfim at the finish of the men's 20 kilometer walk:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczHfkGljQPLE_2m018YKOKHp4NObnMU-OCUPy4YMzs67VDj6OBuQpilwzXDhqLLl-1kIJuq6mrUb4pVK6b8lkuc_qOebZvnr6HlKhB2pEOJdq0dLsOX56pLfeOCS92fY-bT9xQt-054gNQZ8sjWJwoAT6Na5qSWOwEyXE-QEk7f-aAOg5IOy1OHW5vDo/s4937/Ecstasy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3415" data-original-width="4937" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczHfkGljQPLE_2m018YKOKHp4NObnMU-OCUPy4YMzs67VDj6OBuQpilwzXDhqLLl-1kIJuq6mrUb4pVK6b8lkuc_qOebZvnr6HlKhB2pEOJdq0dLsOX56pLfeOCS92fY-bT9xQt-054gNQZ8sjWJwoAT6Na5qSWOwEyXE-QEk7f-aAOg5IOy1OHW5vDo/w640-h442/Ecstasy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Karlstrom (silver), Martin (gold), and Bonfim (bronze)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>celebrate their medals</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">by Christian Petersen of Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;">Note Canada's Evan Dunfee in 4th.</div><p> Interesting 20k walk stat of the day: 5 of the top 6 finishers set national records - and the only one who didn't was the winner!</p><p>The men's hammer final is Sunday and qualification was led by Canada's Ethan Katzberg in a national record of 81.18m. Katzberg has been on fire this year. In 9 competitions he has finished first, second, or third in every one. 9 podiums out of 9 is a pretty remarkable record. Will he make it 10/10? </p><p>A note about the 100m - the men's final is Sunday. There are 4 rounds in the course of two days - 4 rounds in less than 30 hours, actually. The winner is not only the swiftest but the strongest. Defending World Champion Fred Kerley brings his stellar 400m background to this race. I think that in the final, his race will be over before anyone else's.</p><p>Walla Walla's Kenneth Rooks won his steeplechase opener by a scant 1/1000th of a second over one of the heavy favorites, Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali. This year's NCAA and US Outdoor national champion knows how to win.</p><p>The 2021 Prefontaine Classic featured Sifan Hassan's attempt at a 5,000 meter world record. While she finished and won the race, the world record chase was off early. After multiple races in the Tokyo Olympics, she had become visibly tired, and she acknowledged her fatigue. </p><p>Today she embarked upon another triple as she is attempting to win the 1500 (have you heard of Faith Kipyegon?!), 5,000, and 10,000 meter races. She says she is fresh and ready to go. She began her day's work with a 1500m round which she polished off with a win in a last lap under 60 seconds. She won her heat - and was 9th with one lap to go. Time will tell if this unnecessary expenditure of energy will take its toll.</p><p><b>Saturday, 8/19, PM Session</b></p><p>Perhaps it didn't take much time. This day is not one the Dutch will remember fondly. Both Sifan Hassan and Femke Bol finished their quests for gold in, respectively the 10,000m and 4x400m mixed relay, flat on the track and mere meters from the finish line. </p><p>In their stead, Ethiopia swept the distance medals, while US anchor Alexis Homes scorched a 48.82 and stormed past a falling Bol to bring redemption to a US program that was criticized for not fielding its strongest team at home in Eugene last summer. A world record 3:08.80 ought to put some distance on that issue.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7ABLJ2Isq3_v0bldQOyv71XxvD47UjYCcJxemqAyFQ5m13RenYrpqDx3WJeYFRjlcOwqjgTNChHu9hvMMdHEBGQtPxfzO_4s_IunsCedUEvnVr5o3z7_z-x7Wfrp3EnfvEhiNwWpAO1BibawpasQwS0fUmFXYaAhy1XmBa_4289DQHRbL8R0ZVBtAO0/s3781/Finish%20W%2010k%20Budapest.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2521" data-original-width="3781" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7ABLJ2Isq3_v0bldQOyv71XxvD47UjYCcJxemqAyFQ5m13RenYrpqDx3WJeYFRjlcOwqjgTNChHu9hvMMdHEBGQtPxfzO_4s_IunsCedUEvnVr5o3z7_z-x7Wfrp3EnfvEhiNwWpAO1BibawpasQwS0fUmFXYaAhy1XmBa_4289DQHRbL8R0ZVBtAO0/w640-h426/Finish%20W%2010k%20Budapest.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by Stephen Pond - Getty Images for World Athletics</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>It's a Sweep!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay leads teammates </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Letesentbet Gidey and Ejgayehu Taye</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>to a 1-2-3 finish for Ethiopia in the 10,000m</b></div><p>Ryan Crouser continued his definitive year in the men's shot put as he won with the second longest throw in history, a 23.51m monster that scared his own 23.56m.</p><p> As is often the case when an athlete nails a truly superb performance, Crouser sensed that his 6th round mega-throw was a great one - the Great One had his arms in the air before his round of steel hit the grass. After a week in which he had to deal with a blood clot in his leg and questions about whether he could compete or not, Crouser summarized the day succinctly "... it was the best performance of my life."</p><p>Painting a masterpiece of his own was Italy's Leonardo Fabbri, who set a personal best of 21.99m in the morning's qualifying. After an opening foul and an inauspicious second round, his third throw changed his standing in the sport. He launched the 22.34m throw of a lifetime to win silver. Once he gets home to Italy, he'll never have to pay for dinner again.</p><p>University of Washington's Joe Waskom has had a remarkable year, yet inexperience showed today as he ran in a box for much of his qualifying 1500m and took no decisive action to get out. The new qualifying procedure of top six to the next round produced surprisingly fast times in both the men's and women's heats. Three of the men's four heats were won right at 3:34, except Waskom's, which was won in a pedestrian 3:46.77. Had Waskom positioned himself to take advantage of his prodigious kick, he might well have advanced.</p><p>In our "Dudes, What Happened?" category, two Americans failed to advance to finals in the shot put and hammer, respectively. One of the most popular medal wins of the Eugene World Championships was Josh Awatunde's unexpected bronze in the shot put, but he did not crack the top 12 today. And Alex Young failed to advance to the final of the hammer throw with an uncharacteristic 69.10m. My best guess from afar is that the throwers were dealing with wet throwing rings after the morning's downpour.</p><p>By this time tomorrow, we'll know who the men's 100m champion is, who wins the sure-to-be epic men's 10,000m, who the heptathlon winner is - the US has three of the top four places after the first four events - and whether or not the US men will score a long-sought medal in the hammer. </p><p>In closing, I've gotta give the Hungarian hosts credit. Widely reported is their intense pride in hosting these championships. This was evidenced this morning when they sent a guide for the 27-minute Opening Ceremony - it was 9 pages long! If there's anything you'd like to know about Hungarian folksongs, I'm now your guy.</p><p>Leonardo Fabbri reminded us all of just how meaningful a breakthrough performance is on this stage.</p><p>"This silver medal opens up new doors for me as the Olympics are coming. It's strange but this was my first final at a global event. That is how I wanted to start this journey."</p><p>~Mark Cullen</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-50785635890570701782023-07-09T12:12:00.003-07:002023-07-09T21:21:34.148-07:00Resilient Washingtonians Take Center Stage<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">by Mark Cullen</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was an epic evening for runners raised in the high schools
of Washington State.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">College Place High School’s (and Brigham Young University’s)
Kenneth Rooks took the hard way to victory in the steeplechase. He fell early
in the race and seemed a bit disoriented for a moment, as if deciding whether
or not to continue.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">He asked himself, “Is the race over? Am I done?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">He gradually made up a deficit of 40-50 meters and rejoined
the pack.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rooks unleashed a ferocious kick to win in 8:16.78 which,
remarkably, is his personal best. Given the number of precious seconds he spent
on the ground, he seems quite clearly to be in sub-8:10 shape.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I just lost track of the barrier, so I ran just into it and
fell over and I rolled,” he said.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I just reminded myself of Henry Marsh who ran from the back
of the race… I wanted to run competitively today, whether I was able to be in
the top three or not.”</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6aDGrbpEfEg6pDsyKC2ts7iObVv8RasFiyRZskaEYoBFLeglo1B1Su4rEuoc4HdHKZg54E356pvzCoGtTsT4oy-oQZ_NRWUS9RyjkLXBKf1fNeZuUkNCZMEuGnM75QS5O8PROns18a7W5cEAtaB3MUeGpbt3FjM995G-MIr5xbR9GvYGjYp3fVEKiTY/s8256/Rooks%20-%20Merca.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6aDGrbpEfEg6pDsyKC2ts7iObVv8RasFiyRZskaEYoBFLeglo1B1Su4rEuoc4HdHKZg54E356pvzCoGtTsT4oy-oQZ_NRWUS9RyjkLXBKf1fNeZuUkNCZMEuGnM75QS5O8PROns18a7W5cEAtaB3MUeGpbt3FjM995G-MIr5xbR9GvYGjYp3fVEKiTY/w640-h426/Rooks%20-%20Merca.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Paul Merca Photograph</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kenneth Rooks</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Steeplechase Champion</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, in the 1500m, Mt. Si High School’s Joe Waskom,
the 2022 NCAA 1500m Champion for the University of Washington, powered his way
into the mix on the final lap and showed no fear in challenging the likes of
winner Jared Naguse and third-placer Cole Hocker.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I was a little bit further back than I wanted to be at
800m,” he said. But his plan was to be in the top two or three at 300m, and he
executed his plan to perfection.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Coming off that final turn, I knew I had enough speed in my
legs to at least get to the finish line and at least maintain pace. Jared
(Naguse) went flying by me and I was like ‘just try to go with him’ and crossed
(in 2<sup>nd</sup>) and couldn’t really believe that.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">While it seems likely that Waskom will qualify for Worlds, we'll hold off declaring that here until the official entries are announced by World Athletics on August 2nd.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsSij6NajKeufgmxoK1sJmftp8ec-SrDapN64tITp3BkDDpCMdCx35ZlPyLbHDdBevfljo0xcKBbqt7FO0RtC8Yb9K1A2Wl6_tHwvEjpVTbDq5F_LkI8_sursNanAzmzzN240lhI_R2PGUyGVDexZbUWKVZe5Twmf-ThseAwse4tq9dL6v5kHCVutdY4/s8256/Waskom%20-%20Merca.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsSij6NajKeufgmxoK1sJmftp8ec-SrDapN64tITp3BkDDpCMdCx35ZlPyLbHDdBevfljo0xcKBbqt7FO0RtC8Yb9K1A2Wl6_tHwvEjpVTbDq5F_LkI8_sursNanAzmzzN240lhI_R2PGUyGVDexZbUWKVZe5Twmf-ThseAwse4tq9dL6v5kHCVutdY4/w640-h426/Waskom%20-%20Merca.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span><div style="font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Paul Merca Photograph</span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>UW's Joe Waskom Second in USATF 1500m</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It wasn’t only these two Washington distance stars who were
brilliant last night. With Paul Merca’s kind permission, I am linking to his
website story about the more than one dozen athletes with current or past ties
to Washington who excelled last evening:<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><a href="https://paulmerca.blogspot.com/2023/07/kenneth-rooks-joe-waskom-highlight.html#more"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://paulmerca.blogspot.com/2023/07/kenneth-rooks-joe-waskom-highlight.html#more</span></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*The men’s hammer had a familiar podium of Rudy Winkler,
Daniel Haugh, and Alex Young. All three expect to go to Budapest, with Young on
the ever-changing Worlds qualifying bubble.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Winkler’s series was impressive as five of his six throws
would have won the competition; his second round 79.04/259-4 was the winner.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“My focus has been to try to be as consistent as I can,”
said the now 4-time national champion. “My ceiling is much higher than it’s
ever been, so it’s really just about connecting the dots now. I feel really
confident going into Worlds.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Connect them he did at the USATF Throws Festival in Tucson
at the end of May when Winkler won with the second farthest throw in the world
this year, 80.88/265-4.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Haugh was pleased to come back from injury to make the team
after resuming training only five weeks ago.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Overcoming that was a huge challenge for me in every area –
mentally, physically,” Haugh said. In only his third meet of the season, he
threw over 77 meters and finished 2<sup>nd</sup> at nationals. Quick comeback,
indeed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I’ve got more meters in the tank,” he said. “I believe in
myself and that never faltered.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Alex Young had all six throws over his previous season’s
best.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Winkler has a meet in Poland next week, home of the #1 nation
in men’s hammer. Credit him for going into the lion’s den of men’s hammer
throwing; nothing could be better preparation for Worlds.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Speaking of fast finishes in the steeplechase, Krissy Gear
pulled off a big upset win over 2017 World Champion Emma Coburn with a personal
best time of 9:12.81.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*The eight finalists in the women’s 100m hurdles all ran
12.70 or faster. With Nia Ali winning in 12.37, only .33 of a second separated
1<sup>st</sup> from 8<sup>th</sup>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">* Another silly little centimeter margin, this time in the
men’s long jump – twice. That margin separated Marquis Dendy and Jarrion Lawson
between first and second, 8.14 – 8.13 (26’ 8 ½” to 26’ 8 ¼”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">But it also separated JuVaughn Harrison from Steffin
McCarter – at stake? 3<sup>rd</sup> from 4<sup>th</sup> and a trip to Worlds:
8.08-8.07; 26’ 6 ¾” to 26’ 5 ¾”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Dominating the women’s shot put was Maggie Ewen; each of
her six throws would have won the competition.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Nikki Hiltz charged down the homestretch to win the women’s
1500; she outkicked the likes of Athing Mu (World and Olympic 800m champion).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record holder in the
400m hurdles, lived up to the highest of expectations by winning the 400m in 48.74,
making her the 3<sup>rd</sup> American ever under 49.00.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Curtis Thompson won the men’s javelin and seems a lock for
Worlds. While his winning throw of 80.92(265-6) is well below the automatic
entry standard of 85.20, he is currently #6 in the world based on accumulated
points.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*A mild upset in the men’s 400m as Bryce Deadmon ran a
stellar personal best of 44.22 over pre-meet favorite Vernon Norwood who was 2<sup>nd</sup>
in a season’s best 44.39.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Zach McWhorter, ranked 41<sup>st</sup> in the world before
the pole vault began, set a personal best of 5.86/19-2 ¾” to take second and
qualify for Worlds. In such a media friendly and high profile event, when was
the last time someone unattached made the US pole vault team?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><p></p></div>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-1757988725465339992023-07-08T10:29:00.000-07:002023-07-08T10:29:34.813-07:00Battle of the Brands<p><span style="font-size: medium;">by Mark Cullen</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">You know when someone says, “This is why we run the race,”
that something unexpected has happened.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cravont Charleston won the USATF men’s 100m title by a scant
1/100<sup>th</sup> in turning back two of the greatest stars of this show, Christian
Coleman and Noah Lyles. Collectively, their 9.95-9.96-10.0 finish upset every
form chart except, perhaps, those kept by closest relatives and friends.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Charleston was ranked #14 in the world (by World Athletics)
coming into the meet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The madness continued in 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup>
places. Brandon Carnes (4<sup>th</sup>) and JT Commerce (5<sup>th</sup>) were
ranked 17<sup>th</sup> and 46<sup>th</sup>, respectively.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Charleston was not completely off the radar screen as he ran
a windy 9.87 in April and a 9.90 just three weeks ago. He was coming, but not
many saw it, including those he now counts among his rivals.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I thought I had it,” said Christian Coleman. “Honestly, I really
thought I had it.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">A deeply religious man, Charleston, when asked if he sensed
his life having changed yet as US 100m champion, said, “I try to stay calm and
not let it get to me. I’m still the same person and I always give glory to God.
I’m not going to let it change me too much.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">He calmed himself during the day by playing gospel music. In
this he finds peace, and it “keeps me grounded and sane.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In addition to running the open 100m, Charleston is looking
forward to relay duty and being part of the camaraderie of that team.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P4zCdtsq6XHym36oyjAWWhEyJKKlXVL3uuETQGA2qBqK2XPTcBzHcRRYJAptFmLkyYjo4LDiibmqKVVxIxDOZgQ0rsYMDfKkGv_u6PG6wcUi0-74vlprPZfhglloJ8Gp2Qzf5DjOS-bCzRNiwgraz9OWLAv7vU7PnGZ8fLTDQzwXJY63Zv9DTn9283s/s3024/Charleston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P4zCdtsq6XHym36oyjAWWhEyJKKlXVL3uuETQGA2qBqK2XPTcBzHcRRYJAptFmLkyYjo4LDiibmqKVVxIxDOZgQ0rsYMDfKkGv_u6PG6wcUi0-74vlprPZfhglloJ8Gp2Qzf5DjOS-bCzRNiwgraz9OWLAv7vU7PnGZ8fLTDQzwXJY63Zv9DTn9283s/w640-h640/Charleston.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Cravont Charleston, US 100m Champion</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mark Cullen photo</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the women’s 100m, Sha’Carri Richardson completed a nifty
three-race triple of 10.71-10.75-10.82 to win her national title.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tamari Davis had the
start of a lifetime, and while she couldn’t hold her lead over <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richardson, her start surely propelled her
onto the World Championships team.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“My semi-final start was great – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> this start!” Davis said. “I’ve been working on that, and I know
if I have a great start the race will be great for me.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">She is still working on the last 10 meters of her race and “once
I really complete everything, I’m ready to see how I do.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Brittany Brown set a personal best of 10.90 in winning
silver. The 2019 World silver medalist at 200m said, “It’s been a whirlwind and
I’m glad to be back.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">With coaching changes, a period of time without a contract,
and the pandemic – to name a few life changes - since her Doha medal, Brown is
delighted to find herself back on the US team.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I’m glad to be back here in a different event, but it feels
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been whole different journey,”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">She is enjoying the challenge of a new event.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I feel like it’s just me coming to terms with (the fact)
that I can do the 100, the 200, the 300 – I can even do the 400 if you want!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Her road from silver in Doha to making this World
Championship team in a personal best 10.90 has been a rocky one, but her resilience
has only served to increase her self-confidence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I am multi-faceted and when I put my mind to it, I can do
it.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Friday notes</span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">* Harrison Williams took almost 10 years to achieve a
personal best in the decathlon and he won! In the decathlon 1500m, Austin West
won the race within the race and set a PB by 4 seconds, but still needs a qualifying
mark to make the World Championships team.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*News you can use: Jenna Prandini did not start her 100m
semi. Upon further reflection, this is not a complete surprise considering her
strength in the 200m this year and her likely membership once again on the
sprint relay team.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Anna Hall won the heptathlon with a score of 6677 - by 358
points over Taliyah Brooks, but this was well shy of her personal record of
6988. Will 7000 be in her future in Budapest?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*In the first men’s 800m semi-final, the top three all broke
1:46.00 in impressive semi-final times of 1:45.26 (Bryce Hoppel), 1:45.67
(Clayton Murphy), and 1:45.92 (Isaiah Harris).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*A similarly impressive first semi of the women’s 800m – Nia
Akins 2:00.02, Raevyn Rogers 2:00.44, and Ajee Wilson 2:00.66 led the way.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Donald Scott, Will Claye, and Chris Benard, made the triple
jump team. It’s hard not to wince and hope for his good health when Christian
Taylor jumps. He suffered a grievous Achilles rupture in May 2021 and has not,
quite understandably, been quite the same since.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>*Vashti Cunningham won her 13<sup>th</sup> US high jump
title. Pause and absorb.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>*In the women’s 400m, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran a 49.60
to win her semi-final by .99 of a second, marking her 2<sup>nd</sup>
consecutive day under 50 seconds. Makes you wonder what’s in store for
Saturday’s final.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>*Possibly unsettling… the feature on the scoreboard – make
that the ‘experience’ board - that counts down how many meters are left in a
race.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>Don’t we already know? Is this news for the runners? Did it
really help the 10,000m m runners Thursday evening to know they had 6,785
meters to go?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span>*Though on second thought… that self-same scoreboard shows
how many meters a runner is from the winner. It certainly gave fresh
perspective to the women’s 10,000m when Elise Cranny finished 108 meters ahead
of Natosha Rogers, who was 3<sup>rd</sup>. That certainly does add meaningful
perspective to understanding the margin of Cranny’s win. Rogers was at the 100m
start when Cranny was crossing the finish line.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>Let’s make a deal: we’ll keep the scoreboard but we’ll drop
the ‘experience’ board. All in favor?!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p>*</o:p>Meanwhile, in the battle of the brands… while the women’s
top five 100m sprinters included two athletes representing Nike and three
representing adidas, the men’s top five looked like this:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">1. Tracksmith<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">2. Nike<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">3. Adidas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">4. unattached<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">5. Texas A&M Commerce</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Take a screenshot of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that!</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-47901499532348921792023-07-07T14:44:00.001-07:002023-07-07T16:23:16.759-07:00Giving It the College Try<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> by Mark Cullen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">www.trackerati.com</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">www.theguywiththeshoes.com</span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hayward Field has been doing just fine without me, thank
you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">But it’s good to be back.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Back?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Well, there’s been this interlude.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two weeks short of a year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">On July 24, 2022, a day track fans know as the last day -
the epic two world record day - of the Eugene World Championships, I got Covid.
Had a wicked bout for 19 days, and by fall, it was clear I was suffering from
its aftereffects – the dreaded long Covid, more precisely named ‘post-Covid fatigue.’</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">‘Fatigue’ sounds a bit genteel and doesn’t do this condition
justice. It’s disruptive, and when the fatigue approaches, it's like a tidal wave. You’re in its thrall and not it in yours. Surrender - sleep - is a good idea,
no matter the time of day. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">But for watching two nighttime 10,000 meter runs at Hayward
earlier this spring, this is my first track meet in almost a year. An
experiment, to be, sure – can I manage all 4 days?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The return welcome from peers has been heartening, as a year
away likely seems much longer to me than to them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m sitting in the media tent surrounded by the current and
next generations of track writers in the United States. It goes without saying
that three of them are connected to class of the University of Oregon’s ground
breaking sports journalism professor, Lori Shontz.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Behind me is a world class miler who is now a world class
writer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I take my seat, a young man to my left says, “Hey, aren’t
you the guy with the shoes?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Guess I haven’t been away as long as I think.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, back at the meet…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-8syqAWDuFtGMd0JbHvP3_-WGuDds7OuQ_Yi4AQ5CLtvUSnNm6zu11w1q_Yl9TAiUWBiNvBwKsp-xgzYr6LmQjhnWnrm56lXr0X6DVwo8HPAlRhoPJnXPJB8mFG-7DRXCq---fd4nhlvlQJMfMNCSDIHfkxELYnt0fJfS3FoTRya470smN6vKv8DbK4/w640-h640/Hayward%2023.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-8syqAWDuFtGMd0JbHvP3_-WGuDds7OuQ_Yi4AQ5CLtvUSnNm6zu11w1q_Yl9TAiUWBiNvBwKsp-xgzYr6LmQjhnWnrm56lXr0X6DVwo8HPAlRhoPJnXPJB8mFG-7DRXCq---fd4nhlvlQJMfMNCSDIHfkxELYnt0fJfS3FoTRya470smN6vKv8DbK4/s3024/Hayward%2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mark Cullen photo</div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Olympic and World silver medalist Courtney Frerichs took a
nasty fall early in the steeplechase qualifier but bounced back to qualify on
time. “This year is about doing really well but also keeping an eye on next
year,” she said. The stadium held its collective breath while, for a moment,
that seemed in doubt. “The body is healthy,” she said, but for a scrape on her
hand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Nothing says close like a silly little centimeter. Tori
Franklin and Kenturah Orji continued their epic triple jump rivalry as Franklin
won by a centimeter, 14.44 to 14.43 (47’-4.5 to 47’-4.25).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Athing Mu 4:10.33 finished 3<sup>rd</sup> in her qualifying
heat of the women’s 1500m.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The World and Olympic 800m champion is the focus of much
intense discussion and speculation. As defending World Champion, she has a bye
to Worlds. If she qualifies in the 1500m as well, will she run both?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Maddie Harris (60.73/199-3) won the javelin, and after
years of ascendency through Kara Winger’s memorable World Championships silver,
the US is resetting in this event. Ariana Ince, however, has the only World
Championships qualifier to date. Let the chasing of marks begin.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Sam Mattis won the discus and has a Worlds qualifier.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*There are few things I’d rather do that watch a 10,000m
race at Hayward Field.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">How about two? Yesterday Elise Cranny and Woody Kincaid
demonstrated their preternatural abilities to apply speed just when it’s needed
most. When you think of speed demons, do you think of 10,000m runners?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Elise Cranny polished off her national title with her 62.16
closer to outdistance Alicia Monson by over 5 seconds on the final lap.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">And Woody Kincaid relentlessly turned the screws on a distinguished
field by closing over his last three laps in 60.59 – 60.40 and a withering 54.76.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“In a lot of ways I feel really, really strong,” said
Kincaid. And, at the same time, he acknowledged feeling tired as well from
increased training volume. He seems to be striking the right balance and it’s
paying off.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It will be fascinating to see how he comes back in the
5,000m on Sunday evening.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I think it’s more mental preparation than physical,”
Kincaid said of the interval between the races. He reminds himself of when he’s
had two hard workouts in a week. “You have to get as much rest as you can,” he
said, “but you have to mentally re-engage for the 5k.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">*It’s not every day that the speed of the distance runners gets
more press that the speed of the sprinters.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">But the speed of sprinters did not go unnoticed. Sha’Carri
Richardson blasted down the 100m straightaway in a personal best 10.71, which ties the meet record, is the world leader, and is an epic
way to spend a Thursday evening in Eugene.</span></p></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-13155068860684707272023-05-02T12:03:00.000-07:002023-05-02T12:03:25.692-07:00On Meeting One's Heroes: The Legends of Gold<p> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><b>by Mark Cullen</b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Legends of Gold Dinner, held in
conjunction with the 2001 IAAF World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta,
brought together twenty-six of the greatest living track and field stars from
around the world. For many in attendance, this proved to be the highlight of
these or any other championships. The evening began with a reception at the
Shaw Center in downtown Edmonton, followed by seating at dinner tables for the
introduction of the Legends.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Each Legend was introduced with video
highlights of his/her career, accompanied by music provided by the Edmonton
Symphony Orchestra. Each was paraded through the cavernous dining area to
cheers and applause, and then was seated at a designated table for the feast to
follow.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The rules of the road were this: leave
the Legends alone during dinner, but they would be available afterwards for
autographs in a meeting room downstairs. The magnificent printed program - with
photos and career summaries - provided plenty of room for autographs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The lines at the autograph tables were
lengthy, and I had time to reflect on the encounters to come: what would I say
to make this more than just an autograph-collecting venture? How could I honor
the Legend in front of me, to give him or her something to take away from this
exchange, just as I assuredly would?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The answer, of course, was that it was
impossible to find the right thing to say twenty-six times in an evening. But
four of my encounters stand out as most memorable.</span></p>
<h4><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Frank Shorter, United States<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marathon gold medalist in 1972, silver
medalist in 1976</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I arrive at the front of Shorter’s
line, he is talking about the performance-enhancing drug, EPO. “EPO makes a
difference of four minutes in the marathon,” he is explaining to a disbelieving
fan. The fan isn’t convinced. “The answer to EPO is this,” Shorter says, “DUH-DUH-DUH.”
The fan backs away, a bit embarrassed, and Shorter extends his hand to me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Nice to meet you,” he says.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Actually,” I say, “it’s been 23 years
– a long time since the West Seattle Diet Pepsi 10k run.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Oh, NO!” he laughs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Oh, yes!” I reply.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I know, I know - my PW – my personal
worst!” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He finished 40<sup>th</sup> that day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As he signs, I say, “There’s something
else.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He looks at me, expectant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I wonder,” I ask him, “if you still
have the photograph I gave you a week after Steve Prefontaine died. It’s the one
I took one of you and Prefontaine jogging together on the infield at Hayward
Field after his last race.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His head and shoulders slump.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“<i>You</i> gave me that photo?” he
asks incredulously. “It means so much to me to have it to this day.”</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Alberto Juantorena, Cuba<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Double gold medalist in the 400m and
800m in 1976 and </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the only man ever to win both events in
the same Olympics.</span></i></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I approach Juantorena’s table, I
turn to the woman behind me, hand her my camera, and say, “If he’s willing,
would you be so kind?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Just as long as you’ll be so kind,”
she says, handing me hers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Juantorena signs and I ask if he’d
stand with me for a photo. He agrees eagerly, his legendary energy and
enthusiasm apparent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He wraps his huge arm around me, pulls
me towards him, and as the woman is about to click the camera he interrupts,
“Wait, wait!” He lunges forward, grabs his gold medal off the table, and puts
it around my neck. “Now we take the picture!” he says, triumphantly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stunned, I hold the shimmering medal -
apparently he polishes as well as he runs - and stammer, “I have never touched
a gold medal before.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He beams, even more pleased.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The photo is taken, we shake hands, and
it’s time for others to get their chance. I begin to turn away when Juantorena
says, tentatively but quite politely, “Ahh… I would like my medal back now,
please!”</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Nawal El Moutawakel, Morocco<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gold medalist in the 400m hurdles in
1984, she was the first North African woman to strike Olympic gold. An unknown
entering the Games, her win is widely regarded as one of the most unlikely in
Olympic history.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even though Herb Elliot, Peter Snell,
and Kip Keino were among the Legends I met that night, I was most thrilled to
see the name of Nawal El Moutawakel on the program. I had long held a special
place in my heart for her. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have always enjoyed entering the
Track and Field News Olympic Prediction Contest. In 1984, I noticed early in
the collegiate season that a young woman from Iowa State was running
exceptionally well in the hurdles… and you can guess the rest; she remains my favorite
pick to this day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I approach her table. She is elegant,
serene, and delightfully open and approachable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I introduce myself and say, “I’m going
to say something to you that not many can say.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What’s that?” she asks in impeccable
English.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I picked you to win in 1984.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She is astonished. “What is your
secret?” she wants to know, and I explain how I came to make her my golden
choice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have a delightful conversation -
longer with her than with any of the other Legends. She takes her time signing
my program, seemingly not wanting the conversation to end.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I have traveled in your country,” I
say.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Really,” she says with surprise and
interest. I describe my trip, which I took just before going to the ’99 World
Championships in Seville, and indicate my plan to return.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“When you return you must visit me,”
she says emphatically, and writes her phone number underneath her autograph.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Actually, I hadn’t planned on going to
Casablanca next time, but I do believe my itinerary just changed.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Parry O’Brien<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1952 and 1956 Olympic Champion; 1960
Olympic silver medalist</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">As
I sat down at my dinner table, I was thrilled to see a placard with O'Brien's name on it. I
was considerably less thrilled when, moments later, someone plucked it off our
table and moved it to an adjacent one. In a hall filled with 26 of the most
notable track and field gold medalists, ours was, sadly, a table without a
legend.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Each
legend was given a rousing introduction by the emcee, Canadian television
broadcaster, Brian Williams. When he introduced Dick Fosbury, he said that
Fosbury held the singular distinction of being the only athlete in the room to
have transformed an event.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">After
dinner, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">O’Brien
sat leaning forward at his autograph table; it gave him a hunched effect: shoulders
forward, head down.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">O’Brien
struck me as a shy man of great depth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Humble,
certainly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">We
exchanged greetings, and as he signed my program, I said, “Mr. O’Brien, many of
us cringed tonight when the announcer said that there was one person in the
building who transformed an event. Everyone knows there are two.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
had not anticipated how much this would touch him; I think I had given voice to
what he thought but could not say.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">With
great feeling he said,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Thank
you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">He
looked down quickly and then up again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Thank
you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">He
is trying to tell me something important.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Thank
you very much.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></i></b></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-78954256973883153332022-07-24T14:18:00.004-07:002023-08-30T13:13:01.389-07:0050 Meters Spans 50 Years<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">by Mark Cullen</span></span></b></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Monday, September 27, 1971.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bill Bowerman walked out of a Hayward Field West Grandstand tunnel
and said to 40 startled beginning runners, “Hi, I’m your coach.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Startled because we expected a graduate assistant to be teaching Bowerman’s famous beginning jogging class.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It's not every day that your beginning running teacher was
selected Head Coach of the US Olympic Track and Field team just the week
before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Or that he ignited a running boom in his country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Or that he transformed shoe technology and design.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Or that he co-founded a small sporting goods company (it was more
than running shoes almost from the start).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Or that he was the key fund-raiser for rebuilding Hayward Field’s West
Grandstand. Yes, we have been down this road before.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Without Bill Bowerman, we are not all gathered here today from around the world.</span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Below us, athletes' workouts were underway: Steve Prefontaine,
Todd Lathers, Gary Barger, Mac Wilkins, Mike McClendon, Steve Bence, Craig
Brigham, Patrick Tyson and many more. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">All men, as women's sports were then at the club level, if at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On that first afternoon of what would prove to be a lifetime in
track and field, what did I do before class? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Went downtown to The Athletic Department and bought a pair of
shoes. I would not have wanted to be underprepared for class – for Bill
Bowerman’s least of all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When I was finished with those shoes months later, I put them in
my sister’s green Army duffel bag – the first I placed there, but by no means
the last. 28 pairs of shoes and over 270 pieces of memorabilia later, I had
what most call a collection, though ‘archive’ is more accurate. The archive of
a college kid who was fascinated by wondrous things transpiring around him and
kept a record of it all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 7.9pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 7.9pt;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was drawn to this class by my early interest in all things
track and field, most notably the Olympic stars of 1964 and 1968. While I came
to track and field from the dark side - that would be soccer - I had always
liked to run, and six years of soccer provided me with a solid base.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 7.9pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 7.9pt;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bowerman cared deeply about each and every one of his runners, and what he said mattered. He would greet us on campus, review race results, and make us beginners feel part of an Oregon track and field heritage and family. For years after I graduated in 1975, I would make the pilgrimage across the track to the Bowermans' seats in the East Grandstand at the end of a meet. He didn't always remember our names, but he remembered us.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 7.9pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 7.9pt;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">"How are <i>you?"</i> he would ask earnestly and the update was on.</span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">One
benefit of being in Bowerman's class was people's general reluctance to take
him on about administrative details.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">He
knew them well enough, thank you; his abilities as an administrator don't always
get the attention or full credit they deserve. </span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bowerman
was vocal and influential; his Olympic team head coaching gig was not the least
of it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bowerman did not suffer fools lightly, and he took on sports
entities like the NCAA and AAU and their sometimes arcane and archaic rules.
Steve Prefontaine got more attention for doing the same, but it’s clear who set
the example.</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 7.9pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 7.9pt;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I started running in Bowerman's class just three years after
Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in eloquent protest in Mexico
City. </span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In 1968, the United States established a high altitude
training camp at Echo Summit, CA, where Olympic Trials were held as well. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 7.9pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 7.9pt;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When asked the question of who led a place that has left an
enduring impact on US Civil Rights history, almost to a person contemporaries
in age guess that it must have been a leading honcho of the AAU or the US
Olympic Committee.</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nope. Bill Bowerman was in charge, and in fact, it was Bowerman
who chose Echo Summit from among four candidate locations. He helped US track
and field to navigate the churning waters of what was in many ways one of the
most devastating years in US history. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Having a teacher with this much clout served his class members
well, especially when we came, most reluctantly, to the end of the fall
quarter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">"Just register under varsity track and I'll sign for
it," Bowerman said, while trying to contain his delight that so many of us
wanted to continue running.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is how I came to have varsity track in my University of
Oregon transcript - a status not well-supported by my beginner's times.</span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The tunnel Bowerman came through is replaced by tonier digs now,
but that spot<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is only 50 meters from
where I’m now sitting in the press tribune, having realized in 2013 when I
started my first website that the choice I made when I was 19 between
journalism and history as majors need never have been a choice.</span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I am asked, often, if I “ran for Bowerman.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I need to answer that carefully,” I always reply.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">began</i> running in his
class.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I have taken a 10:25.5 two-mile about as far as I could!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And he’d be proud of that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9FAHAuJV-y4LZp78N_0NaJcs-5dD3nFlS4UIvDqphBqT8-MaK-Y2fzP0xTXJYg-rVh85KLKI1xyZwWIVfov1DIERcksSLJn6kr9VmVTkDDJXzaReiASxE9hCLHnkAeMo6-HkHZoMa1ZC7Z1i0nIT_g0mB-Qfe07Q6Wfd_9XU3fL_wm7nPjG5WTCJ/s4128/BowermanNewHaywardField20210820_165125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="3096" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9FAHAuJV-y4LZp78N_0NaJcs-5dD3nFlS4UIvDqphBqT8-MaK-Y2fzP0xTXJYg-rVh85KLKI1xyZwWIVfov1DIERcksSLJn6kr9VmVTkDDJXzaReiASxE9hCLHnkAeMo6-HkHZoMa1ZC7Z1i0nIT_g0mB-Qfe07Q6Wfd_9XU3fL_wm7nPjG5WTCJ/w480-h640/BowermanNewHaywardField20210820_165125.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bill Bowerman Statue at Hayward Field</b></div><p></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Photo copyright Mark Cullen 2020. All Worldwide Rights Reserved.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-13826913622058117202022-07-22T10:03:00.000-07:002022-07-22T10:03:09.572-07:00Back to Back!<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Shericka Jackson (Jam) and Noah Lyles (US) set the 200m world on fire at Hayward Field Thursday evening with two of the greatest 200m races ever run.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The women were up first and were treated to a deafening welcome by the Hayward Field denizens.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Shericka Jackson became the second fastest 200m runner in history with her mind-boggling 21.45. Her decisive stretch run put any doubt about who is #1 in Jamaica - much less the world - to rest. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Jackson is the #2 performer all-time with the #2 performance. Only Florence Griffith Joyner's controversial (there are questions about the wind gauge) 1988 21.34 is faster.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Teammate Shelley-Anne Fraser-Pryce (SAFP) was second in 21.81 with Great Britain's defending world champion Dina Asher-Smith third in 22.02.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Next, Noah Lyles led a US sweep with a stunning 19.31 which makes him the #3 performer ever with the #4 performance. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Kenny Bednarek, who suffered a broken toe earlier this season, completed a resounding comeback for silver in 19.77. 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton won bronze in 19.80.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">To put this in context: remember Michael Johnson with his golden spikes in Atlanta in 1996 when he set the world record?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This is faster than that, and makes Lyles the new 200m American record holder.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It gets better.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In the audience were Tommie Smith and John Carlos. They were introduced before the 200m races and received a warm, lengthy, and sustained standing ovation from the appreciative Hayward Field crowd.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDC6UEzDxQgRZ6qzojrCs8w4j3RgTiHVKBVaDoH9atavXUYFNyybFzn9rcSsdz3gwIlIaII6UnmiVwuPCt1s7PYG67L2Rlwl7GRCHWFfiKNYqb0QScXsLP8ouhTbtloBb3NKgAw6A-9eIIicl583iT-LjJlZxVXZQDpApjxes1P454KXoJnYL3z8q/s4756/Jackson%20Looking%20at%20Clock.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3171" data-original-width="4756" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDC6UEzDxQgRZ6qzojrCs8w4j3RgTiHVKBVaDoH9atavXUYFNyybFzn9rcSsdz3gwIlIaII6UnmiVwuPCt1s7PYG67L2Rlwl7GRCHWFfiKNYqb0QScXsLP8ouhTbtloBb3NKgAw6A-9eIIicl583iT-LjJlZxVXZQDpApjxes1P454KXoJnYL3z8q/w640-h426/Jackson%20Looking%20at%20Clock.JPEG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shericka Jackson</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPiCCTXKkUcE3o4tyvu8siycx-P8EIP4Iwz1o6ETI7Iannebq_W8BI3XbmY9QMrSjlK-n_n73tHVsA81CTzoyc0DbsPf7ToL1udLsZnAPpQaTI0whMwKF6jHBoC4PG3my-ZT-xbe7e0pGmmDuKkJNLcVH4F1JRUD_vIHnb_aSG5gXgvYQ1gEqT39Lu/s4014/Lyles.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2676" data-original-width="4014" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPiCCTXKkUcE3o4tyvu8siycx-P8EIP4Iwz1o6ETI7Iannebq_W8BI3XbmY9QMrSjlK-n_n73tHVsA81CTzoyc0DbsPf7ToL1udLsZnAPpQaTI0whMwKF6jHBoC4PG3my-ZT-xbe7e0pGmmDuKkJNLcVH4F1JRUD_vIHnb_aSG5gXgvYQ1gEqT39Lu/w640-h426/Lyles.JPEG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Noah Lyles</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFrq3F71YAtMWIGWejmXb39w1MMdQ-HdaoKV-9w5RHzxrs2szt4uiDcWtvfJ9-k2b7d8mFjD2AQQb4jytNv5T4yfjrRWYGghxNPcHVwQq-P_2_UZ6wYQRUNgzcpkDVPHIEkv_yQNH1kjW-cM3YD76rnYvOJ8RPArRvXcMtqAxV9MG6mwkweLSSucC/s5085/Carlos%20and%20Smith.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3390" data-original-width="5085" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFrq3F71YAtMWIGWejmXb39w1MMdQ-HdaoKV-9w5RHzxrs2szt4uiDcWtvfJ9-k2b7d8mFjD2AQQb4jytNv5T4yfjrRWYGghxNPcHVwQq-P_2_UZ6wYQRUNgzcpkDVPHIEkv_yQNH1kjW-cM3YD76rnYvOJ8RPArRvXcMtqAxV9MG6mwkweLSSucC/w640-h426/Carlos%20and%20Smith.JPEG" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">John Carlos and Tommie Smith</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">All three photos courtesy Getty Images for World Athletics</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-68120706522259417642022-07-19T23:28:00.007-07:002022-07-31T12:41:23.126-07:00Sonia's Bouquet<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sonia
O’Sullivan’s 1500m race at the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships remains one
of my favorite races I've seen in person.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">In a brief window of history, China was the dominant distance running nation
under the tutelage of the very controversial coach, Ma </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Junren; his
runners’ spectacular results came under much suspicion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ireland’s O'Sullivan was one of the few to
take on his crew of distance runners, even though their spectacular results
made any efforts to dethrone them daunting.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">During
the meet, O'Sullivan's parents were sitting just behind me and to
the right. We had some pleasant exchanges about the competitions and greeted each other every day.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
the 1500m final, O'Sullivan charged down the straightaway and crossed the
finish line.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">As
if counting to a beat - 2-3-4-5 - after O'Sullivan had crossed the finish line, Mrs. O'Sullivan said,
"Can I open my eyes now?"</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Open she could, as her daughter had just won silver.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mr.
and Mrs. O'Sullivan left for the victory ceremony and were gone a long time.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">When
they returned, Mrs. O'Sullivan was carrying Sonia's bouquet of flowers.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
have told this story many times over the years, and long hoped to meet
O’Sullivan and tell it to her myself. I even recounted it this morning when I
compared Laura Muir’s hard-charging style to that of O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
afternoon, 29 years after the race, I was at a track and field display on the
University of Oregon campus.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Excuse
me,” I said to the woman standing next to me, “Are you Sonia O’Sullivan?”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
now have told my story twice today.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">~Mark Cullen</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDc7j7JdYctUw-KLSv6U-dpFqtr7ApsWQN8D6sk75jWPbi0oDoqx3A9xAprB2ITbWxXg2Zhs-VTc2_pZDTDOSBdn0Llop712D-mkwofb35KZlIvJCdHrSXCUI75Hd7bpVseTvD0wbidpuKEuO2crz14kQ-3pxuNoYB8TaZ44pCQW5Yi8xeZ2s-ihu/s2573/O'Sullivan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2573" data-original-width="1715" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDc7j7JdYctUw-KLSv6U-dpFqtr7ApsWQN8D6sk75jWPbi0oDoqx3A9xAprB2ITbWxXg2Zhs-VTc2_pZDTDOSBdn0Llop712D-mkwofb35KZlIvJCdHrSXCUI75Hd7bpVseTvD0wbidpuKEuO2crz14kQ-3pxuNoYB8TaZ44pCQW5Yi8xeZ2s-ihu/w354-h640/O'Sullivan.jpg" width="354" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Sonia O'Sullivan</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">1993 World Championships</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Stuttgart, Germany</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Allstar Picture Library Ltd.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-34687266842626044932022-07-16T08:26:00.002-07:002022-07-20T07:25:51.813-07:00Day 1 Reflections<p style="text-align: center;"> <b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">First Day Reflections</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">by Mark Cullen</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">US 1<sup>st</sup>, 2<sup>nd</sup>,
and 5<sup>th</sup>, with Canada 4<sup>th</sup> and 9<sup>th</sup>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">US 2<sup>nd</sup>, 5<sup>th</sup>,
and 12<sup>th</sup>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Looks like North America is
dominating the downhill again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There has never, ever been a
hammer throw performance like this for the United States.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All three men made the final.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All three women made the
final.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In World Championships
history, never had more than two men and women <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">combined</i> made their finals. Today’s performance shattered that
record by 4.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Add Canada’s two women’s
finalists and you have North American domination of the women’s hammer throw qualifying.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Not so fast I hear you say,
and you’re right: the recent US history has been of throwing well in
qualifying, getting tight in the finals, and not executing to pre-meet
potential.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And yes, Daniel Haugh in 2<sup>nd</sup>
is surrounded in 1<sup>st</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> by the defending World and
Olympic champions from Poland. Duly noted.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nonetheless, the US throwers
are performing as a team in a way that has been unheard of until now.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But it’s not a team
competition, I hear you say.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Right again. Yet the opportunity
for changing the face of an event lies in the hands of these six.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">US men’s hammer finals
qualifiers: Daniel Haugh, Rudy Winkler, and Alex Young.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">US women’s hammer finals qualifiers:
Brooke Andersen, Janee Kassanavoid, and Annette Echikunwoke.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(At the conclusion of this
post are quotes from Janee Kassanavoid and Daniel Haugh.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Meanwhile, the qualifying
rounds of the men’s 100m showed once again that while we are welcoming the
world… well, not everyone who cannot get a visa for this meet would agree.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In rather dramatic fashion –
would lane 3 of the 100m be occupied or not? – Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala did
indeed fill lane 3 after a tense week that saw him landing in Eugene only a
few short hours before his race. He advanced to the semi-finals and has less
than a day to prepare.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Via Track and Field News, the
BBC’s article on marathoner Chris Thompson depicts the human cost of this situation: </span><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2022/07/15/chris-thompson-absolutely-devastated-visa-farce-ruins-world/" style="font-size: 14pt;">https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2022/07/15/chris-thompson-absolutely-devastated-visa-farce-ruins-world/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">One of the more engaging
aspects of World Championships is often the 100m preliminary round in which single
athletes are entered as the only representatives of their countries - in the
entire meet. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The whole world is watching as they run times in the 10.50 – 12.00
range. Today, Bhutan’s Mipham Yoezer Curung ran a personal best of 11.86, while equaling
his PB of 12.22 was Tonga’s Nehumi Tuihalamaka.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the saddest sight of all
on this first day was seeing Fiji’s Ratu Benuve Tabakaucord walk away from his
blocks, disconsolate at having false started. And the margin by which he missed
a fair start?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">4/1000 of a second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That will be one long plane
ride home.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Meanwhile, all of you who
picked the Dominican Republic to win the 4x400m mixed relay with the Dutch 2<sup>nd</sup>
and US 3<sup>rd, </sup>well, step right up – there’s room on the pickers’ podium
for you!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of the many statistics provided
us by World Athletics about Allyson Felix’s stellar career, this one struck me
the most: she won World medals over a span of 17 years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCyvcV2Ei3NihrqUMemibf4FBY8ewCwQ5ypsK6ah4LMQFQPioc8t5AtoBZ8Ry23rgnxmS-o5-J_AoJB2MUp5fn_F_YmpZSpbGico1f902D1x3N_O9GRAMLNGWo4uDe4oXwZVkEjUM5P_mXXLPdMibHQk9wIsbAHpvBD9XeelLkevf55KJWTLgH1Kpc/s5198/FelixHP2_5956_8df5332e-7955-415e-b861-626e4d9c3ff4_20220715092500.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3465" data-original-width="5198" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCyvcV2Ei3NihrqUMemibf4FBY8ewCwQ5ypsK6ah4LMQFQPioc8t5AtoBZ8Ry23rgnxmS-o5-J_AoJB2MUp5fn_F_YmpZSpbGico1f902D1x3N_O9GRAMLNGWo4uDe4oXwZVkEjUM5P_mXXLPdMibHQk9wIsbAHpvBD9XeelLkevf55KJWTLgH1Kpc/w640-h426/FelixHP2_5956_8df5332e-7955-415e-b861-626e4d9c3ff4_20220715092500.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>If you think this photo needs a caption,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>you just haven't been paying attention.</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Photo credit: Getty Images for World Athletics</span></div><div style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Daniel Haugh</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If you have the right
intensity, you’ll produce a large throw. You have to have a good plan and
execute it. If you execute a bad plan, it’s not going to turn out well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I really wanted to open up
with the standard and go home. I think it ended up working well… at the end of
the day I got 5 throws up there: 2 warmups and 3 competitions, so it’s 5 throws
now in the circle and now I’ve got my physical and my visual Q points and I
feel comfortable and ready to put some big throws tomorrow in the final.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Haugh on Japan’s Olympic gold medal
hammer legend, Koji Mirofushi: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I look up to him, he has
beautiful technique, and he was a guy - in high school I’d bring my lunch into
the library and I’d watch him throw on You Tube. He’s a guy I’ve always looked
up to and studied his technique. I’d love to meet him one day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m in personal best shape –
training has indicated that… I’d love to open up right in that 77-80 meter
range and then just build it and keep improving like I did today. If I can
leave here with a personal best it’s hard to be upset. Just want to execute and
get a throw I’m proud of.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The field is absolutely
stacked. There are some big guys and they’re older, they’re veterans. I kind of
like the baby in this!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I need to focus on me, on my
throw, and I believe I’ll be on the podium.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Janee Kassanavoid</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> (courtesy USATF)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In her comments today,
Kassanavoid echoed what she said at US Nationals: that she needs to pause and
focus and take a deep breath.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I am ready to go, just had to
take a deep breath when I got in. Then I just did what I have been doing every
day. Got the Q with the first round and now ready for the next one. I think the
hammer throw is open no matter who is number one or the last person to make it
to the meet. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I know that I am capable of making great things, PR, WR and things
like that. So it is about who wants it the most. My personal coach is here and
I got couple of my friends coming here to support me. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I love my journey.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-8275617683348260222022-07-12T18:43:00.001-07:002022-07-20T07:30:20.741-07:00The Barbers of Brisbane<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">by Mark Cullen</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPmxaBjpA_OoQp6guTBZ--nOcxwnTtklSnY9-zUyFuEDMLSEUEZv6QOY-ujxMqN6-qFFuHo96ZvgoXiq_e12cOue-vuTU8kpAr2iCd4qNMhVc6ak8kzjnD8OAhWixsiPot6sP5QMgLMlHjab9eEK0RzoL2ssohiBHNHyZgcmFZ9a0kj1pj-XmZgDu/s3024/BarbersofBrisbane.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPmxaBjpA_OoQp6guTBZ--nOcxwnTtklSnY9-zUyFuEDMLSEUEZv6QOY-ujxMqN6-qFFuHo96ZvgoXiq_e12cOue-vuTU8kpAr2iCd4qNMhVc6ak8kzjnD8OAhWixsiPot6sP5QMgLMlHjab9eEK0RzoL2ssohiBHNHyZgcmFZ9a0kj1pj-XmZgDu/w640-h640/BarbersofBrisbane.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Mike and Kelsey-Lee Barber</b></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The 7th in my series of memorable World Championships
experiences wrote itself at the University of Washington track this morning,
where Australia, Greece, and Poland were holding practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After Kelsey-Lee Barber's epic last-round Worlds javelin win
in Doha in 2019, I struck up an online correspondence with her husband and
coach, Mike, about my track and field collection. I promised him it would be on
display in Eugene and that I'd give him a personal tour. Alas, it's not on
display, and yet I wanted to keep my promise to Mike, at least in part. So on
what was really a last-minute inspiration, I went to my bank on my way to the
track and checked out the Bowerman waffle iron shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I arrived to hear that 'the Australian team had left 15
minutes ago.' Gut punch! I was really disappointed to have missed them. Not
that the Polish hammer throwers didn't give me a lot to observe (3 athletes
respresenting 5 World/Olympic golds were here), or the Greek Olympic champion
in the long jump... you get the idea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I waited for my track and field friend and guru Paul Merca
to return, but by 11:00 it was hot and I needed to get ready for Eugene. I was
on my way out when two Australians (identifiable by their green and yellow
outfits, which ought to get them far in Eugene!) walked across the track.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Barbers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was astonished and delighted; 30 seconds either way and we
would have missed each other. Turns out only part of the team had left. I am
very appreciative of their keen interest in this part of track and field history,
and a terrifically engaging conversation was had by all. Then off we went with
good wishes both ways for a successful time in Eugene.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> (The first 6 experiences can be found on my facebook
page at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cullen.7946)</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><br /></div><p> </p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-47174791182145434332022-04-29T06:46:00.000-07:002022-04-29T06:46:18.598-07:00The Guy with the Shoes.com <div><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m launching my new website featuring my collection of running shoes and memorabilia from the University of Oregon’s 1970s Golden Age of track and field. </span></div><div><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.theguywiththeshoes.com">TheGuywiththeShoes.com</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">30 pairs of shoes and over 270 pieces of memorabilia are featured.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are all items I saved when I was in Eugene from 71-76; I have never intentionally added to this archive, though I have been given several items over the years.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are <b>140 pages of text and over 35,000 words in the website</b>. The website is best utilized when you click on <b>Read More</b>, which will get you a closeup of the artifact, more text, or both.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Highlights include: </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Bowerman waffle iron shoes</b> (yes, handmade by the master himself, with waffle soles from the waffle iron).</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two pairs of shoes handmade by <b>Dennis Vixie</b>, prototypes of the Waffle Trainer and the LD-1000. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Blue Ribbon Sports</b> shoes, receipts, and boxes.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Nike</b>’s first product catalogue</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">1968 Mexico City victory stand image signed by <b>Tommie Smith and John Carlos</b>.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two of the earliest books on <b>women’s running</b>.</span></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The classic 1972 Track and Field in Oregon poster featuring Rich Clarkson’s photo of steeplers at the water jump at Hayward Field.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Among the first items I ever saved were the famous <b>Afro Ducks</b> - a t-shirt and a window decal. Designed by Tinker Hatfield, who later designed the Air Jordan for Nike, the Afro Ducks are believed to be the first representation of an NCAA Division I school mascot as African American.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sadly, a photo of <b>Steve Prefontaine</b> taken May 29, 1975 – this may well be the last photo taken of Pre in a competitive setting. It has not previously been seen by the public.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I especially hope that this website will serve as a resource for the 2022 World Championships, to be held in Eugene, Oregon, July 15-24, 2022, and that it might enhance the exerience of all who attend.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope you will enjoy this website as much as I have enjoyed developing it. It is a true labor of love, and I hope it will become a lasting and trusted resource for this remarkable era of track and field.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 18.75px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I welcome your responses, especially new information and insights. With 300+ items in the collection, it will always be a work in progress.</span></span></div>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-91208687924032736982021-09-03T15:31:00.003-07:002023-05-05T12:24:49.555-07:00Tired Legs<p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note: this website was down for several weeks and I sincerely apologize for that. Thank you, loyal readers, for returning to the fold! Special thanks to Jake Willard for assuring the joyous reunion of Trackerati's content with its domain name.</span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am resuming with an article I posted on Facebook during the Prefontaine Classic:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9Fqa4LhIZxYGipeaL9Pw_xPBuyApiZGU7eY7mh-a4jRN6MUXBnIF5NErvkUAGEonjeDsVgmY9cqtM0TnOl_jbTDtVoAESEw-3jV7SMJaP6MdaSQN-twwXYLR60KKiGyEoVNbqHt0jSs/s2048/Sifan+Hassan.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9Fqa4LhIZxYGipeaL9Pw_xPBuyApiZGU7eY7mh-a4jRN6MUXBnIF5NErvkUAGEonjeDsVgmY9cqtM0TnOl_jbTDtVoAESEw-3jV7SMJaP6MdaSQN-twwXYLR60KKiGyEoVNbqHt0jSs/w640-h480/Sifan+Hassan.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sifan Hassan</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">22:35 on August 20, 2021 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">after her 5,000m world record attempt at the Prefontaine Classic</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mark Cullen photo</div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Tired Legs</span></b></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-size: 0.9375rem;">During the Olympic Games, many worried that multiple event athletes like Sifan Hassan or Katie Ledecky might 'explode' from all the racing - that there might be a physical or mental breaking point. W</span><span style="font-size: 0.9375rem;">hile that, quite fortunately, hasn't happened, late last evening Sifan Hassan acknowledged feeling fatigue in her legs as early as the 3rd lap of her 5,000m world record quest at the Prefontaine Classic. This after her double gold with a frosting of bronze at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. </span></span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I'm not fresh," she acknowledged.</span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">"It was actually physically the hardest. I was so tired and I had to push to the limit."</span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">She then said, quite cheerfully, that she'll be racing in the Diamond League soon. When one reporter suggested that being only 5 seconds off her PB and recording a seasonal best was, when all is said and done, not a half-bad result, Hassan offered perhaps unexpected perspective by saying, "I'm really happy! I was so tired ... I'm proud of today and I push myself, and I think Tokyo made me stronger." She was, indeed, quite pleased that she finished the race. </span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">While the pace lights eventually became irrelevant to this race, she likes them nonetheless. </span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">"If I don't feel OK, I can do without lights. It's good, actually, to have it," she said, but she did not feel discouraged when the pace lights got ahead of her.</span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of the enthusiastic and supportive Hayward Field crowd, Hassan said, "I'm so happy to see them... because I have so many fans everywhere," and she looks forward to her return to Hayward in 2022. </span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">On a night when a world record attempt was the focus of the meet, Hassan gently reminded us that </span><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">there was much to celebrate in a 14:27.89.</span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were three PBs behind her, most notably Alicia Monson's nineteen second drop from 15:07.65 14:48.49.</span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, Francine Niyonsaba took the measure of a star-studded world class field in the 2 mile, as her 9:00.75 left 5k and 10k world record holder Letesenbet Gidey and two-time world 5k champion Hellen Obiri in her wake. </span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rebecca Mehra won the North American 1500m in 4:06.35.</span></p><p><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish found himself a surprise winner of the International Mile in a stellar 3:54.86, while Craig Engels revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship of athletes to </span><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hayward Field fans: Dude, they wave at you.</span></p><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="stjgntxs ni8dbmo4 l82x9zwi uo3d90p7 h905i5nu monazrh9" data-visualcompletion="ignore-dynamic" style="border-radius: 0px 0px 8px 8px; font-family: inherit; overflow: hidden;"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="tvfksri0 ozuftl9m" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 12px; margin-right: 12px;"><div class="rq0escxv l9j0dhe7 du4w35lb j83agx80 pfnyh3mw i1fnvgqd gs1a9yip owycx6da btwxx1t3 ph5uu5jm b3onmgus e5nlhep0 ecm0bbzt nkwizq5d roh60bw9 mysgfdmx hddg9phg" style="align-items: stretch; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row nowrap; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: inherit; justify-content: space-between; margin: -6px -2px; padding: 4px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="rq0escxv l9j0dhe7 du4w35lb j83agx80 cbu4d94t g5gj957u d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz rj1gh0hx buofh1pr n8tt0mok hyh9befq iuny7tx3 ipjc6fyt" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 1 1 0px; font-family: inherit; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; padding: 6px 2px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div aria-label="Send this to friends or post it on your timeline." class="oajrlxb2 gs1a9yip g5ia77u1 mtkw9kbi tlpljxtp qensuy8j ppp5ayq2 goun2846 ccm00jje s44p3ltw mk2mc5f4 rt8b4zig n8ej3o3l agehan2d sk4xxmp2 rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 pq6dq46d mg4g778l btwxx1t3 pfnyh3mw p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x tgvbjcpo hpfvmrgz jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso l9j0dhe7 i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of du4w35lb lzcic4wl abiwlrkh p8dawk7l" role="button" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; align-items: stretch; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: var(--always-dark-overlay); border-left-color: var(--always-dark-overlay); border-right-color: var(--always-dark-overlay); border-style: solid; border-top-color: var(--always-dark-overlay); border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: inherit; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><div class="rq0escxv l9j0dhe7 du4w35lb j83agx80 g5gj957u rj1gh0hx buofh1pr hpfvmrgz taijpn5t bp9cbjyn owycx6da btwxx1t3 d1544ag0 tw6a2znq jb3vyjys dlv3wnog rl04r1d5 mysgfdmx hddg9phg qu8okrzs g0qnabr5" style="align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row nowrap; flex: 1 1 0px; font-family: inherit; height: 44px; justify-content: center; margin: -6px -4px; min-width: 0px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 0;"><div class="rq0escxv l9j0dhe7 du4w35lb j83agx80 cbu4d94t pfnyh3mw d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz ph5uu5jm b3onmgus iuny7tx3 ipjc6fyt" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: inherit; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; padding: 6px 4px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v lrazzd5p m9osqain" color="var(--secondary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="n00je7tq arfg74bv qs9ysxi8 k77z8yql i09qtzwb n7fi1qx3 b5wmifdl hzruof5a pmk7jnqg j9ispegn kr520xx4 c5ndavph art1omkt ot9fgl3s" data-visualcompletion="ignore" style="border-radius: 4px; font-family: inherit; inset: 0px; opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; transition-duration: var(--fds-duration-extra-extra-short-out); transition-property: opacity; transition-timing-function: var(--fds-animation-fade-out);"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="cwj9ozl2 tvmbv18p" style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 4px;"></div></div></div></div>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-66761823774294877762021-08-03T15:12:00.003-07:002021-08-31T12:40:13.155-07:00Golden Disc<p>Valarie Allman won the gold medal in the discus on Tuesday. The Stanford graduate nailed her first throw at 68.98/226-4 and was never headed in the diffcult conditions, which featured a Helsinki-esque downpour during which the event was suspended.</p><p>Germany's Kristin Pudenz picked a mighty fine time to record a personal best and won silver with her 219-4/66.86. Cuba's Jaime Perez was the defending world champion, and her 215-7/65.72 won her first Olympic medal.</p><p>In early 2020, Allman's coach Zeb Zion, the assistant at the University of Texas (and someone who should really renegotiate his contract now that he has coached an Olympic gold medalist) posted a video on Twitter of Allman's first throw of the year. This was over 17 months ago.</p><p>Here is the link to that video:</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1232348391390240769">https://twitter.com/i/status/1232348391390240769</a><br /></p><p>And here is my response:</p><p><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-1dbjc4n r-1loqt21 r-1hmxhwc r-1ny4l3l r-1udh08x r-thmkab r-1vvnge1 r-o7ynqc r-6416eg" href="https://twitter.com/trackerati/status/1232361198454235137" role="link" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; align-items: stretch; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px calc(-18px); min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; outline-style: none; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 18px; position: relative; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, box-shadow; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; z-index: 0;"></a></p><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"></div><p></p><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-16y2uox r-1wbh5a2 r-1ny4l3l" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-flex: 1; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; align-items: stretch; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 1 1 auto; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz" data-testid="tweet" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-h7e6lq r-18kxxzh r-1hbzrj0" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-flex: 0; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 0 0 53px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px 13px 0px 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: normal; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-18kxxzh r-1wbh5a2 r-13qz1uu" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-flex: 0; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 0 1 auto; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 53px; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 1; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><a aria-hidden="true" class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-1dbjc4n r-14lw9ot r-sdzlij r-1loqt21 r-1adg3ll r-1h3ijdo r-1ny4l3l r-1udh08x r-o7ynqc r-6416eg r-13qz1uu" href="https://twitter.com/trackerati" role="link" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border-radius: 9999px; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: block; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 53px; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, box-shadow; width: 53px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="-1"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-sdzlij r-1adg3ll r-1udh08x" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border-radius: 9999px; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="r-1p0dtai r-1pi2tsx r-1d2f490 r-u8s1d r-ipm5af r-13qz1uu" style="bottom: 0px; height: 53px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 53px;"><div aria-label="" class="css-1dbjc4n r-sdzlij r-1p0dtai r-1mlwlqe r-1d2f490 r-1udh08x r-u8s1d r-zchlnj r-ipm5af r-417010" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border-radius: 9999px; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; inset: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1niwhzg r-vvn4in r-u6sd8q r-4gszlv r-1p0dtai r-1pi2tsx r-1d2f490 r-u8s1d r-zchlnj r-ipm5af r-13qz1uu r-1wyyakw" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: url("https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/683432366828695552/N3zTwJDS_reasonably_small.jpg"); background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; height: 53px; inset: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 53px; z-index: -1;"></div><img alt="" class="css-9pa8cd" draggable="true" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/683432366828695552/N3zTwJDS_reasonably_small.jpg" style="height: 53px; inset: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 53px; z-index: -1;" /></div></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1twgtwe r-sdzlij r-rs99b7 r-1p0dtai r-1mi75qu r-1d2f490 r-1ny4l3l r-u8s1d r-zchlnj r-ipm5af r-o7ynqc r-6416eg" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border-radius: 9999px; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02) 0px 0px 2px inset; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; inset: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, box-shadow; z-index: 0;"></div></a></div></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1iusvr4 r-16y2uox r-1777fci r-ig955" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-flex: 1; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-pack: center; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 1 0 0px; justify-content: center; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 13px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: normal; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-zl2h9q" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px 0px 2px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-k4xj1c r-18u37iz r-1wtj0ep" style="-webkit-box-align: start; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: justify; align-items: start; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; justify-content: space-between; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1d09ksm r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2" style="-webkit-box-align: baseline; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: baseline; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 1; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 1; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-1dbjc4n r-1loqt21 r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs r-1ny4l3l" href="https://twitter.com/trackerati" role="link" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs r-1ny4l3l" id="id__lnr6id068e" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 1; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-dnmrzs" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-1awozwy r-18jsvk2 r-6koalj r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-b88u0q r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-1udh08x r-3s2u2q r-qvutc0" dir="auto" style="-webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: flex; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">Mark Cullen</span></span></div><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-xoduu5 r-18u37iz r-1q142lx r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="auto" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline-flex; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2 r-13hce6t" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0px 4px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-14j79pv r-18u37iz r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #536471; display: inline; flex-direction: row; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">@trackerati</span></div></div></div></a></div><div aria-hidden="true" class="css-901oao r-14j79pv r-1q142lx r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-s1qlax r-qvutc0" dir="auto" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #536471; display: inline; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 4px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">·</span></div><a aria-label="Feb 25, 2020" class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao r-14j79pv r-1loqt21 r-1q142lx r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-3s2u2q r-qvutc0" dir="auto" href="https://twitter.com/trackerati/status/1232361198454235137" id="id__han5hw3pwsk" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #536471; cursor: pointer; display: inline; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;"><time datetime="2020-02-25T17:46:20.000Z">Feb 25, 2020</time></a></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-uzqwk8" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px 0px 0px 22px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1h0z5md" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: start; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; justify-content: flex-start; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-label="More" class="css-18t94o4 css-1dbjc4n r-1777fci r-12sks89 r-1ny4l3l r-bztko3 r-lrvibr" data-testid="caret" role="button" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-pack: center; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; justify-content: center; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><div class="css-901oao r-1awozwy r-14j79pv r-6koalj r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-1h0z5md r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-o7ynqc r-clp7b1 r-3s2u2q r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-pack: start; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #536471; display: flex; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; justify-content: flex-start; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: color; white-space: nowrap;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1niwhzg r-sdzlij r-1p0dtai r-xoduu5 r-1d2f490 r-xf4iuw r-1ny4l3l r-u8s1d r-zchlnj r-ipm5af r-o7ynqc r-6416eg" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border-radius: 9999px; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; inset: 0px; margin: -8px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: absolute; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, box-shadow; z-index: 0;"></div><svg aria-hidden="true" class="r-4qtqp9 r-yyyyoo r-1xvli5t r-dnmrzs r-bnwqim r-1plcrui r-lrvibr r-1hdv0qi" viewbox="0 0 24 24"><g><circle cx="5" cy="12" r="2"></circle><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="2"></circle><circle cx="19" cy="12" r="2"></circle></g></svg></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: normal; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" id="id__7jpitkk94gn" lang="en" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">Did you notice? That discus landed on the podium. </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/vallman123" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">@vallman123</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/CoachSion" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">@CoachSion</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/oiselle" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">@oiselle</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/oiselle_sally" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">@oiselle_sally</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hashtag_click" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">#Tokyo2020<img alt="" class="r-4qtqp9 r-dflpy8 r-9cviqr r-zw8f10 r-10akycc r-h9hxbl" draggable="false" src="https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags/Tokyo2020_Olympics/Tokyo2020_Olympics.png" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.2em; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 0.075em; vertical-align: -20%; width: 1.2em;" /></a></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TokyoOlympics?src=hashtag_click" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">#TokyoOlympics</a></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/nationalthrows" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">@nationalthrows</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> @McthrowsDotcom </span><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThrowsBySion?src=hashtag_click" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">#ThrowsBySion</a></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/MTCthrowers" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">@MTCthrowers</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> @GreyhoundPrezX </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/SOJCtrack" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b95e0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; white-space: inherit;">@SOJCtrack</a></span></div></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: normal; z-index: 0;"><div aria-labelledby="id__scc1un7o7ih id__ochvnsxyzz" class="css-1dbjc4n" id="id__zm3oue9ugpj" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-rpnbwx" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 13px 0px 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n" id="id__scc1un7o7ih" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-901oao r-4iw3lz r-1xk2f4g r-18jsvk2 r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-109y4c4 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-1udh08x r-wwvuq4 r-u8s1d r-92ng3h r-qvutc0" dir="auto" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; height: 1px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 1px;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">Quote Tweet</span></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1ets6dv r-1867qdf r-rs99b7 r-1loqt21 r-2t2l5v r-1ny4l3l r-1udh08x r-o7ynqc r-6416eg" role="link" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; 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margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2 r-dnmrzs r-1ny4l3l" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 1; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-dnmrzs" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div aria-hidden="true" class="css-1dbjc4n r-14lw9ot r-sdzlij r-1q142lx r-18yzcnr r-1d4mawv r-1ny4l3l r-1udh08x r-yc9v9c" role="presentation" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; 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height: 22px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 22px;"><div aria-label="" class="css-1dbjc4n r-sdzlij r-1p0dtai r-1mlwlqe r-1d2f490 r-1udh08x r-u8s1d r-zchlnj r-ipm5af r-417010" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border-radius: 9999px; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; inset: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1niwhzg r-vvn4in r-u6sd8q r-4gszlv r-1p0dtai r-1pi2tsx r-1d2f490 r-u8s1d r-zchlnj r-ipm5af r-13qz1uu r-1wyyakw" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: url("https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1393246216478019591/2zWHFqBt_normal.jpg"); background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; height: 22px; inset: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 22px; z-index: -1;"></div><img alt="" class="css-9pa8cd" draggable="true" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1393246216478019591/2zWHFqBt_normal.jpg" style="height: 22px; inset: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 22px; z-index: -1;" /></div></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-19z6qd4 r-sdzlij r-rs99b7 r-1p0dtai r-1mi75qu r-1d2f490 r-1ny4l3l r-u8s1d r-zchlnj r-ipm5af" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border-radius: 9999px; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02) 0px 0px 2px inset; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; inset: 0px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; position: absolute; z-index: 0;"></div></div><div class="css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-1awozwy r-18jsvk2 r-6koalj r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-b88u0q r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-1udh08x r-3s2u2q r-qvutc0" dir="auto" style="-webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: flex; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">Zebulon R. Sion</span></span></div><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-xoduu5 r-18u37iz r-1q142lx r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="auto" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline-flex; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2 r-13hce6t" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0px 4px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-14j79pv r-18u37iz r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #536471; display: inline; flex-direction: row; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">@CoachSion</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="css-901oao r-14j79pv r-1q142lx r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-yrgyi6 r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #536471; display: inline; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre;"> · <span aria-label="Feb 25, 2020" class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-14j79pv r-1q142lx r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-3s2u2q r-qvutc0" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #536471; display: inline; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;"><time datetime="2020-02-25T16:55:27.000Z">Feb 25, 2020</time></span></div></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-dr54s0 r-c7oifj" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px 13px 13px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-14gqq1x r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 4px 0px 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">First full throw of 2020 for </span><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" dir="ltr" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">@vallman123</span></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><img alt="Fire" class="r-4qtqp9 r-dflpy8 r-sjv1od r-zw8f10 r-10akycc r-h9hxbl" draggable="false" src="https://abs-0.twimg.com/emoji/v2/svg/1f525.svg" style="display: inline-block; height: 1.2em; margin-left: 0.075em; margin-right: 0.075em; vertical-align: -20%; width: 1.2em;" title="Fire" /><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">
•
</span><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" dir="ltr" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">#ThrowsBySion</span></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" dir="ltr" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">#Discus</span></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"> </span><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" dir="ltr" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;">#Athletics Tokyo</span></span></div><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-14gqq1x r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 4px 0px 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" color="inherit" dir="ltr" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-14gqq1x r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 4px 0px 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, a note about the next several days... I was about to post this when a certain 400m hurdle race took place. There's another one tonight and I urge you all to watch. With the current and former world record holders going head-to-head in a matchup that is every bit as good as Warholm/Benjamin, Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McGloughlin - and Holland's Femke Bol - are sure to light up Olympic Stadium once again.</div><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-14gqq1x r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 4px 0px 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-hbpseb r-14gqq1x r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en" style="border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22px; margin: 4px 0px 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;">I now move into a two-day period of writing for Track and Field News, and I'll post links to my hammer throw articles for them once they're posted. See you all on Thursday - and keep watching!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div aria-label="3 replies, 12 Retweets, 28 likes" class="css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wtj0ep r-rpnbwx r-1mdbhws" id="id__533uce6kjgw" role="group" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: justify; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; justify-content: space-between; margin: 13px 0px 0px; max-width: 425px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1h0z5md" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: start; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; justify-content: flex-start; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><a aria-label="View Tweet activity" class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-1dbjc4n r-1loqt21 r-1777fci r-12sks89 r-1ny4l3l r-bztko3 r-lrvibr" href="https://twitter.com/trackerati/status/1232361198454235137/analytics" role="link" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-pack: center; align-items: stretch; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; justify-content: center; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; min-width: 0px; outline-style: none; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: inherit; text-decoration: none; user-select: none; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-901oao r-1awozwy r-14j79pv r-6koalj r-1qd0xha r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-1h0z5md r-hbpseb r-bcqeeo r-o7ynqc r-clp7b1 r-3s2u2q r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-pack: start; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; justify-content: flex-start; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: color;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="r-4qtqp9 r-yyyyoo r-1xvli5t r-dnmrzs r-bnwqim r-1plcrui r-lrvibr r-1hdv0qi" style="color: #536471; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: nowrap;" viewbox="0 0 24 24"><g><path d="M12 22c-.414 0-.75-.336-.75-.75V2.75c0-.414.336-.75.75-.75s.75.336.75.75v18.5c0 .414-.336.75-.75.75zm5.14 0c-.415 0-.75-.336-.75-.75V7.89c0-.415.335-.75.75-.75s.75.335.75.75v13.36c0 .414-.337.75-.75.75zM6.86 22c-.413 0-.75-.336-.75-.75V10.973c0-.414.337-.75.75-.75s.75.336.75.75V21.25c0 .414-.335.75-.75.75z"></path></g></svg></div></div></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648918599298765451.post-36030486629556047152021-08-02T10:47:00.004-07:002021-08-03T18:08:23.242-07:00The Signature Moment of These Games<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Every year Sports Illustrated chooses their Sportspeople of the Year. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 2021 competition is now over.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">With their historic decision to share gold in the men's high jump, Mutazz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) made SI's job much easier. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Nothing will top this this year, though it's not a reason to stop trying. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Consider the worldwide reaction to the decision of these two close friends. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Consider that Gamberi used his cast as his place marker for determining his steps, as if to thumb his nose at the injury.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Such profound admiration they have for each other.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Such deep and abiding respect.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Such caring during their respective devastating injuries, ones which for others might well have been career-ending.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The signature moment of these Games.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02913267569924264736noreply@blogger.com2