Faith in Faith - Budapest World Championships Day #4

Having faith in Faith is rather easy. That is for the best of reasons: Kenya's Faith Kipyegon is a generational talent.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics

Faith Kipyegon wins the 1500m

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.

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.

A notable 4th was Ireland's Ciara Mageean in a national record 3:56.61.

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." 

For the next 1200 meters!

Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics

It's Selfie Time!

World Steeplechase Champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco

"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.

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.

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? 

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). 

"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.

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."

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics

Laulaula Tausaga Stuns the Discus World

"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.

Today the blind side came from US teammate Laulauga Tausaga. 

"No one was expecting me and I just showed up."

Did she ever. 

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.

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.

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.

Until the 5th round, that is, when Tausaga oncorked the throw of a lifetime - a 69.59 monster that turned the competition upside down.

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.

Suddenly, she was World Champion.

Suddenly, the US had a 1-2 finish in the women's discus.

Suddenly, Tausaga found herself the #2 thrower in US history with the #9 performance ever.

Suddenly, she had improved her personal best twice for a total of over 4 meters in one meet.

And to back up her new lofty status, Tausaga closed with a 68.61.

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."

"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."

Actually, it turns out there were three Majors winners in that final. We just didn't know it at the start of the day. 

Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics

A Gold of His Own

Gianmarco Tamberi wins the High Jump

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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."

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics

It's Them Again!

But this time Gianmarco Tamberi (center) has a gold of his own

while Mutaz Essa Barshim wins bronze.

~ Mark Cullen from Seattle

Budapest World Championships Day #3

When this leads to

this...

    

and in between...

this

leads to

this...

and this,

perhaps a few words of explanation are in order.

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.

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." 

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 semi!

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. 

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.

To top it off, Richardson set a Championship record of 10.65, with 10.72 and 10.77 earning the remaining medals. 

She said, "I'm here. I'm the champion. I told you all: I'm not back, I'm better."

Triple jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango already had made history in Burkina Faso by winning his country's first Olympic medal, a bronze in 2021. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

Stahl, who is not known for being overly smiley, could not keep the smile off his face during a lengthy celebration. 

Said Stahl, "This was my best performance ever." 

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.

"I knew they were going to close really quickly," he said, "so my main goal was to keep smooth to the line."

Mission accomplished.

A note for fans in the Pacific Northwest:

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. 

Until today, when she PRed in qualifying at 4.65, someone else had exactly the same personal best.

Her twin sister, Amanda, at 15' 1.5/4.61! 

Both will be entering the University of Washington this fall.

Watch out Pac-12!

Photo credits: 

All but the photo of Hugues Fabrice Zango are by Christian Petersen for Getty Images for World Athletics

The photo of Zango is by Stephen Pond, Getty Images for World Athletics.

~Mark Cullen, written from Seattle

Budapest World Championships Day #2

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.

Not so fast.

Well, that's what Fred Kerley might have said. 

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. 

Picked by many (including me) to repeat as World Champion, he missed the final by 1/100th of a second.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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."

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?

Women's 20 kilometer walk

photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images for World Athletics

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. 

Holland's Anouk Vetter won bronze. Fill in your own line about the advantages of remaining standing right here!

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. 

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!

US runners wilted in the heat as Woody Kincaid, Sean McGorty, and Joe Klecker finished 11-16-20.

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.

US throwers Rudy Winkler and Daniel Haugh were 6th and 8th last year in Eugene, and this year they traded places.

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.

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.

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."

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:

http://www.trackerati.com/2013/08/placing-and-chasing.html

Finally, I've decided not to post a prediction of the women's 100m winner. However, I will post a hint:

SAFP 

photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics

~Mark Cullen

(written from Seattle)

Walkin' in the Rain

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.

Saturday, 8/19, AM Session

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. 

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.

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:

Karlstrom (silver), Martin (gold), and Bonfim (bronze)

celebrate their medals

by Christian Petersen of Getty Images for World Athletics

Note Canada's Evan Dunfee in 4th.

 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!

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? 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Saturday, 8/19, PM Session

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. 

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.

Photo by Stephen Pond - Getty Images for World Athletics

It's a Sweep!

Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay leads teammates 

Letesentbet Gidey and Ejgayehu Taye

to a 1-2-3 finish for Ethiopia in the 10,000m

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.

 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."

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Leonardo Fabbri reminded us all of just how meaningful a breakthrough performance is on this stage.

"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."

~Mark Cullen

Resilient Washingtonians Take Center Stage

by Mark Cullen

It was an epic evening for runners raised in the high schools of Washington State.

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.

He asked himself, “Is the race over? Am I done?”

He gradually made up a deficit of 40-50 meters and rejoined the pack.

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.

“I just lost track of the barrier, so I ran just into it and fell over and I rolled,” he said.

“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.”

Paul Merca Photograph

Kenneth Rooks 

Steeplechase Champion

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.

“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.

“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^nd) and couldn’t really believe that.”

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.

Paul Merca Photograph

UW's Joe Waskom Second in USATF 1500m

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:

https://paulmerca.blogspot.com/2023/07/kenneth-rooks-joe-waskom-highlight.html#more

*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.

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.

“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.”

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.

Haugh was pleased to come back from injury to make the team after resuming training only five weeks ago.

“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^nd at nationals. Quick comeback, indeed.

“I’ve got more meters in the tank,” he said. “I believe in myself and that never faltered.”

Alex Young had all six throws over his previous season’s best.

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.

*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.

*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^st from 8^th.

* 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”.

But it also separated JuVaughn Harrison from Steffin McCarter – at stake? 3^rd from 4^th and a trip to Worlds: 8.08-8.07; 26’ 6 ¾” to 26’ 5 ¾”.

*Dominating the women’s shot put was Maggie Ewen; each of her six throws would have won the competition.

*Nikki Hiltz charged down the homestretch to win the women’s 1500; she outkicked the likes of Athing Mu (World and Olympic 800m champion).

*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^rd American ever under 49.00.

*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.

*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^nd in a season’s best 44.39.

*Zach McWhorter, ranked 41^st 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?

Battle of the Brands

by Mark Cullen

You know when someone says, “This is why we run the race,” that something unexpected has happened.

Cravont Charleston won the USATF men’s 100m title by a scant 1/100^th 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.

Charleston was ranked #14 in the world (by World Athletics) coming into the meet.

The madness continued in 4^th and 5^th places. Brandon Carnes (4^th) and JT Commerce (5^th) were ranked 17^th and 46^th, respectively.

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.

“I thought I had it,” said Christian Coleman. “Honestly, I really thought I had it.”

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.”

He calmed himself during the day by playing gospel music. In this he finds peace, and it “keeps me grounded and sane.”

In addition to running the open 100m, Charleston is looking forward to relay duty and being part of the camaraderie of that team.

Cravont Charleston, US 100m Champion

Mark Cullen photo

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.

 Tamari Davis had the start of a lifetime, and while she couldn’t hold her lead over  Richardson, her start surely propelled her onto the World Championships team.

“My semi-final start was great – and 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.”

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.”

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.”

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.

“I’m glad to be back here in a different event, but it feels good.  It’s been whole different journey,”

She is enjoying the challenge of a new event.

“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!”

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.

“I am multi-faceted and when I put my mind to it, I can do it.”

Friday notes

* 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.

*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.

*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?

*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).

*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.

*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.

 *Vashti Cunningham won her 13^th US high jump title. Pause and absorb.

 *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^nd consecutive day under 50 seconds. Makes you wonder what’s in store for Saturday’s final.

 *Possibly unsettling… the feature on the scoreboard – make that the ‘experience’ board - that counts down how many meters are left in a race.

 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?

 *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^rd. 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.

 Let’s make a deal: we’ll keep the scoreboard but we’ll drop the ‘experience’ board. All in favor?!

*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:

1. Tracksmith

2. Nike

3. Adidas

4. unattached

5. Texas A&M Commerce

Take a screenshot of that!

Giving It the College Try

 by Mark Cullen

www.trackerati.com

www.theguywiththeshoes.com

Hayward Field has been doing just fine without me, thank you.

But it’s good to be back.

Back?

Well, there’s been this interlude.

Two weeks short of a year.

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.’

‘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. 

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?

The return welcome from peers has been heartening, as a year away likely seems much longer to me than to them.

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.

Behind me is a world class miler who is now a world class writer.

As I take my seat, a young man to my left says, “Hey, aren’t you the guy with the shoes?”

Guess I haven’t been away as long as I think.

Meanwhile, back at the meet…

Mark Cullen photo

*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.

*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).

*Athing Mu 4:10.33 finished 3^rd in her qualifying heat of the women’s 1500m.

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?

*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.

*Sam Mattis won the discus and has a Worlds qualifier.

*There are few things I’d rather do that watch a 10,000m race at Hayward Field.

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?

Elise Cranny polished off her national title with her 62.16 closer to outdistance Alicia Monson by over 5 seconds on the final lap.

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.

“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.

It will be fascinating to see how he comes back in the 5,000m on Sunday evening.

“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.”

*It’s not every day that the speed of the distance runners gets more press that the speed of the sprinters.

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.

 

On Meeting One's Heroes: The Legends of Gold

                                                      by Mark Cullen 

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

                                                Frank Shorter, United States

Marathon gold medalist in 1972, silver medalist in 1976 

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.

“Nice to meet you,” he says.

“Actually,” I say, “it’s been 23 years – a long time since the West Seattle Diet Pepsi 10k run.”

“Oh, NO!” he laughs.

“Oh, yes!” I reply.

“I know, I know - my PW – my personal worst!” 

He finished 40^th that day.

As he signs, I say, “There’s something else.”

He looks at me, expectant.

“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.”

His head and shoulders slump.

“You gave me that photo?” he asks incredulously. “It means so much to me to have it to this day.”

                                                    Alberto Juantorena, Cuba

Double gold medalist in the 400m and 800m in 1976 and the only man ever to win both events in the same Olympics.

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?”

“Just as long as you’ll be so kind,” she says, handing me hers.

Juantorena signs and I ask if he’d stand with me for a photo. He agrees eagerly, his legendary energy and enthusiasm apparent.

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.

Stunned, I hold the shimmering medal - apparently he polishes as well as he runs - and stammer, “I have never touched a gold medal before.”

He beams, even more pleased.

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!”

                                                Nawal El Moutawakel, Morocco

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.

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. 

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.

I approach her table. She is elegant, serene, and delightfully open and approachable.

I introduce myself and say, “I’m going to say something to you that not many can say.”

“What’s that?” she asks in impeccable English.

“I picked you to win in 1984.”

She is astonished. “What is your secret?” she wants to know, and I explain how I came to make her my golden choice.

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.

“I have traveled in your country,” I say.

“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.

“When you return you must visit me,” she says emphatically, and writes her phone number underneath her autograph.

Actually, I hadn’t planned on going to Casablanca next time, but I do believe my itinerary just changed.

Parry O’Brien

1952 and 1956 Olympic Champion; 1960 Olympic silver medalist

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.

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.

After dinner, O’Brien sat leaning forward at his autograph table; it gave him a hunched effect: shoulders forward, head down.

O’Brien struck me as a shy man of great depth.

Humble, certainly.

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.”

I had not anticipated how much this would touch him; I think I had given voice to what he thought but could not say.

With great feeling he said,

“Thank you.”

He looked down quickly and then up again.

“Thank you.”

He is trying to tell me something important.

“Thank you very much.”

50 Meters Spans 50 Years

by Mark Cullen

Monday, September 27, 1971.

Bill Bowerman walked out of a Hayward Field West Grandstand tunnel and said to 40 startled beginning runners, “Hi, I’m your coach.”

Startled because we expected a graduate assistant to be teaching Bowerman’s famous beginning jogging class.

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.

Or that he ignited a running boom in his country.

Or that he transformed shoe technology and design.

Or that he co-founded a small sporting goods company (it was more than running shoes almost from the start).

Or that he was the key fund-raiser for rebuilding Hayward Field’s West Grandstand. Yes, we have been down this road before.

Without Bill Bowerman, we are not all gathered here today from around the world.

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. 

All men, as women's sports were then at the club level, if at all.

On that first afternoon of what would prove to be a lifetime in track and field, what did I do before class?

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.

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.

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.

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.

"How are you?" he would ask earnestly and the update was on.

One benefit of being in Bowerman's class was people's general reluctance to take him on about administrative details.

He knew them well enough, thank you; his abilities as an administrator don't always get the attention or full credit they deserve. Bowerman was vocal and influential; his Olympic team head coaching gig was not the least of it.

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.

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. In 1968, the United States established a high altitude training camp at Echo Summit, CA, where Olympic Trials were held as well.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

The tunnel Bowerman came through is replaced by tonier digs now, but that spot  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.

I am asked, often, if I “ran for Bowerman.”

“I need to answer that carefully,” I always reply.

“I began running in his class.”

I have taken a 10:25.5 two-mile about as far as I could!

And he’d be proud of that.

Bill Bowerman Statue at Hayward Field

Photo copyright Mark Cullen 2020. All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

Back to Back!

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.

The women were up first and were treated to a deafening welcome by the Hayward Field denizens.

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. 

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.

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.

Next, Noah Lyles led a US sweep with a stunning 19.31 which makes him the #3 performer ever with the #4 performance. 

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.

To put this in context: remember Michael Johnson with his golden spikes in Atlanta in 1996 when he set the world record?

This is faster than that, and makes Lyles the new 200m American record holder.

It gets better.

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.

Shericka Jackson

Noah Lyles

John Carlos and Tommie Smith

All three photos courtesy Getty Images for World Athletics

Sonia's Bouquet

Sonia O’Sullivan’s 1500m race at the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships remains one of my favorite races I've seen in person.

In a brief window of history, China was the dominant distance running nation under the tutelage of the very controversial coach, Ma Junren; his runners’ spectacular results came under much suspicion.

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.

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.

In the 1500m final, O'Sullivan charged down the straightaway and crossed the finish line.

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?"

Open she could, as her daughter had just won silver.

Mr. and Mrs. O'Sullivan left for the victory ceremony and were gone a long time.

When they returned, Mrs. O'Sullivan was carrying Sonia's bouquet of flowers.

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.

This afternoon, 29 years after the race, I was at a track and field display on the University of Oregon campus.

“Excuse me,” I said to the woman standing next to me, “Are you Sonia O’Sullivan?”

I now have told my story twice today.

~Mark Cullen

Sonia O'Sullivan

1993 World Championships

Stuttgart, Germany

Allstar Picture Library Ltd.