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The Second Third
By Bryan Green ( @bryangreen1 )
This article is Part Two of my three-part review of the World Championships.
When you look at a distance race, the first third is always about getting out to a good start, finding a good position, and doing so without any major issues. The last third is about covering dramatic moves and finishing with a bang. As for the middle third...it can go any number of ways. Sometimes it's filled with surges, sometimes an athlete goes all Zersenay Tadese on the field and just
starts punishing people, and sometimes everyone is content to just not screw things up. You can't predict how the middle third of a race will go.
When I look at this World Championships, I feel like we're seeing something similar happening. The first third of the meet gave us just what we wanted. Favorites winning races, some predictable upsets, and a few dramatic moments. The middle third has been predictably unpredictable. The fourth day saw a bunch of warm fuzzy victories. The fifth day was pretty fluky. And the sixth...well, I think the sixth day thought it was part of the last third, because it got pretty crazy over there.
Day Four - The Warm & Fuzzy Fourth Day
Watching day four of the World Championships unfold, I realized every event left me with a smile on my face. Had these finals all been spread throughout the meet, it might not have warranted any attention. But it seems if you were a perennial silver medallist, day four was the day to be competing. (Sadly, Terrence Trammell didn't race until day six...)
This was to be the night that Sanya Richards finally won gold. But for the Germans in the stadium, it will no doubt be remembered as the night Steffi Nerius won gold. Heaving a first throw of 67.30 meters in the javelin, she took the early lead and managed to hold onto it for the remainder of the competition. Amazingly, Nerius had never won gold at a major championship, despite being a world class competitor for well over a decade. She ended her career the best way possible, with a gold in front of her home crowd.
Sanya Richards, aka Queen of the Quarter, had for various reasons missed out on winning a gold since 2004. In Athens she finished sixth, in Helsinki second, she missed Osaka entirely in the 400m, and then finished third in Beijing. But she exorcised those "big meet demons" and gleefully took her first individual world title in dominant fashion. It will likely be the first of many.
A similar story unfolded in the steeplechase, where Ezekiel Kemboi won his first gold medal after taking silver at the World Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Even better, the race was spectacular , with four Kenyans and France's Bob Tahri hanging on to the world record pace, and Tahri outkicking Paul Koech for the bronze. Other big victories were had by Phillips Idowu of Great Britain and Kerron Clement of the USA, two well-deserving men.
My Most Warm & Fuzzy Victories of the Fourth Day
1. Sanya Richards - 400m - 49.00s -- I'm an American, so I'm biased, but come on, she deserved this one.
2. Steffi Nerius - javelin - 67.30m -- The German veteran wins her first gold in her last year of competition. Story book.
3. Ezekiel Kemboi - steeple - 8:00.43 -- After three silvers, he finally wins his World Championships gold
4. Phillips Idowu - triple jump - 17.73m -- The man's got red hair for crying out loud.
5. Kerron Clement - 400m hurdles - 47.91s -- Honestly, he seems like the nicest guy.
Day Five - Unpredictable Parity and a Predictable Problem
Let's talk first about the parity, because it seems people are only talking about the problem. The events on Wednesday were amazingly competitive! Completely up for grabs. It should have been the story of the day.
In the only field final, the men's discus, pre-meet favorite Gerd Kanter proved he is indeed mortal. Despite coming in with a season's best that was two meters longer than his competition, he struggled and only managed a bronze. Without Kanter dominating, it was anyone's game. Poland's Piotr Malachowski was up for the challenge, throwing two national records in the first and fifth rounds. But it wasn't enough, as Germany's Robert Harting channeled the home crowd and threw an amazing 69.43m PB in the final round to take the gold.
On the track, the first race was the men's 1500m. This race appeared to have a clear favorite in Asbel Kiprop. Yet as Len Johnson described, the race appeared to be run in a shoebox, with no major moves and no one getting dropped. As a result,
favorites like Lagat, Baala, Kiprop and Laalou found themselves boxed in and stuck at the back. The advantage went to those who found their spots near the front, namely Youssef Saad Kamel and Deresse Mekonnen, the gold and silver medallists, respectively. As someone once said, the problem with the 1500m is that everyone in the field thinks they have the best kick. I'd add: and they never seem to learn it's not true when they get smoked in final after final.
The race of the night was the event with probably the most parity across the world stage, the women's 100 hurdles. Amazingly, the top 8 athletes in the world all have season bests between 12.47 and 12.55, and the world leader, Lolo Jones, didn't even qualify for the meet! it turned out to be a day for hyphenated last names, as Brigette Foster-Hylton took gold, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep took silver, and Delloreen Ennis-London took bronze. Now seriously, did anyone pick Jamaica's 34 year-old Brigitte Foster-Hylton to win that one? Only in the hurdles!
The race everyone will remember from this day, the one that may very well be talked about for years to come, was the women's 800 meters, won by South African teenager Caster Semenya. Semenya, said to be a hermaphrodite, dominated the field and ran a spectacular 1:55.45. And to be frank, it looked like a high school boy dominating a field of women. Whether she will retain her title after the testing that will no doubt be required by the IAAF I have no idea. But this testing could have and should have been
dealt with months ago. As it is, this simply can't end positively for all parties. It's particularly despicable that Caster Semenya is going to be put through this now, in public, rather than in a more discreet setting.
As for the race, what I hope people remember is that the battle for second was awesome, with Janeth Jepkosgei (1:57.90), Jenny Meadows (1:57.93), and Yuliya Krevsun (1:58.00) all finishing within a tenth of a second of each other. I was also impressed to see the entire pack go out in 56-point, and really battle for the entire second half.
My Biggest "Oh Crap" Moments of Day Five
1. Dawn Harper - 100m hurdles -- when Dawn hit the first hurdle and fell behind by a meter
2. Asbel Kiprop - 1500m -- when he had a chance to swing wide with 500 to go, but didn't and got boxed in
3. Gerd Kanter - discus -- after seeing his face after his first throws, you could tell he wasn't there mentally
4. Caster Semenya - 800m -- when she slowed down on the last 100m, instead of breaking the world record
5. Bernard Lagat - 1500m -- when he bolted from lane 1 to lane 3 with 80 meters to go, but this one worked out
Day Six - Berlinian Rhapsody
"I see a giant silhouetto of a man
Jamaica, Jamaica, will you do the fandango
Usain Bolt is lightning, very very frightening me!"
When people think back on this World Championships, I think they're going to remember Day Six. I don't believe the IAAF could have planned a
better day of track and field than the one we saw today. Usain Bolt in the 200m, the Friedrich-Vlasic in the women's high jump, two amazing hurdles finals and the finish of the men's decathlon. And that's just the finals!
Usain Bolt is scary. He actually has me afraid. Specifically, I'm afraid that once he reaches his limits--and I'm not sure we're there--he's going to make the short sprints boring. It's only so easy to continually get yourself up for watching a battle for second. With that said, his 19.19 in the 200m was a sight to behold, and I can't wait to see what he does with good conditions and no preliminary rounds. Could the record go down even more this summer?
Oddly enough, the moment of the night for me was not that 200m. It was Ariane Friedrich's 3rd jump for 2.02m to stay in the competition. First she hushed the crowd, and it was literally dead silent. As she approached the bar, you could hear her footsteps on camera. And as she sailed over it, tens of thousands of fans erupted in unison and she hopped up with perhaps the best fist pump I've ever seen. I had chills. And when she did it again at 2.06m, and just barely missed, I think I threw my arms in the air and then immediately covered my mouth as the bar fell off. On Bolt's night, she was the woman of the moment.
Ultimately, it was Blanka Vlasic who celebrated, however, taking her second World Championship gold. (Friedrich actually ended up third, behind Anna Chicherova.) What I wonder
is, isn't this the best rivalry in track right now? Off the top of my head, here's my top three:
1. Blanka Vlasic vs Ariane Friedrich - high jump - gotta love the fire these women display after every jump
2. Allyson Felix vs Veronica Campbell-Brown - 200m - round 5 to be settled tonight!
3. LaShawn Merritt vs Jeremy Wariner - 400m - would be higher if they weren't both Americans
The next great rivalry could come from the women's 400 meter hurdles. Melaine Walker of Jamaica won the final with an amazing 52.42, making her the second fastest ever in the event. But Lashinda Demus of the USA, the silver medalist in 52.96, has looked like she might challenge that record all year. I hope they keep going head-to-head and push each other into the record books.
The 110 hurdles was missing its biggest star, as Dayron Robles went out with an injury. It seemed as though Terrence Trammell had his best chance in years to win his first outdoor gold medal at a major championships. If only the race had been run on the Warm & Fuzzy Fourth Day, he surely would have won it! Unfortunately, he was beaten to the line by Ryan Brathwaite, who won Barbados's first ever World Championships medal in a PB and national record 13.14. The finish was so close that I'd bet if we went to thousandths, it was less than one second between first and third.
My Most Berlinian Rhapsodic Performances of Day Six
1. Usain Bolt - 200m - 19.19 WR -- Just an amazing thing to watch. For now.
2. Melaine Walker - 400m hurdles - 52.42s -- Proves she's the top big meet 400 meter hurdler in the world.
3. Ryan Brathwaite - 110m hurdles - 13.14s -- Huge PR to become Barbados's first world champion ever.
4. Blanka Vlasic - high jump - 2.04m -- Not her highest ever, but arguably her most pressure-filled victory.
5. Ariane Freidrich - high jump - 2.02m -- She owned that crowd, and almost pulled off the jump of the decade.
The Decathlon
I've never seen so much decathlon coverage in my life, and I have to tell you, I like it. There were some absolutely stunning performances throughout these couple days.
Trey Hardee won with a world leading 8790 points, with Cuba's Leonel Suarez coming back for silver in 8640 after a rough opening two events, and Russia's Aleksandr Pogorelov holding on for bronze with 8528. You don't truly appreciate how insanely athletic these men are until you watch each event.
My Most Impressive Individual Event Performances in the Decathlon
1. Yunior Diaz - 400m - 46.15s -- It's easier to see total domination when it's on the track.
2. Trey Hardee - long jump - 7.83m -- He would have almost qualified for the final in the actual long jump competition.
3. Aleksandr Pogorelov - high jump - 2.08m -- The biggest, strongest shot-putter was almost the best high jumper, too!
4. Yordani Garcia - high jump - 2.08m -- Thing is, he did it off a five step run up!
5. Laarbi Bouraada - 1500m - 4:12.15 -- Gotta give the fastest 1500m guy props.
Silvers With a Silver Lining
I'm not going to describe the scenarios in full detail, but there were yet again a number of spectacular silver medal performances. From personal bests to national records to just plain old good racing, these athletes deserve to be called out.
My Top Silver Medal Performances
1. Piotr Malachowski - discus - 69.15m -- Two national records (Poland), only to be out-thrown on the last round!
2. Javier Culson - 400m hurdles - 48.09 -- A national record (Puerto Rico) to go with his silver.
3. Janeth Jepkosgei - 800m - 1:57.90 -- It was a gold-medal worthy lean at the tape.
4. Deresse Mekonnen - 1500m - 3:36.01 -- The first guy to make a break for it ended up with a silver. Funny how that works out.
5. Terrence Trammell - 110m hurdles - 13.15s -- He probably doesn't see the silver-lining to yet another silver medal right now.
USA Distance: Not Bad, Not Great
I'll wrap up this beast of a recap with a short discussion of the USA distance team's performance over the second third of the meet. There were only three finals run--men's steeple, women's 800m, and men's 1500m--but we only had runners in the 1500m.
The race itself has been described above. It was disappointing to see Lagat get himself stuck in the shoebox, but it seemed like everyone but Kamel and Mekonnen were destined to that fate. Lomong was boxed in behind Lagat, even further out of contention, and Manzano never got stuck inside, but instead ended up running the entire race on the outside. That and the rounds and the pressure left him flat in the last lap, and he finished last. Lagat's third place could best be described as making the best of a bad situation, and Lomong finished right about where he should have.
The only other distance developments were the heats for the men's 800 and both 5000 races. In the 800m, Nick Symmonds and Khadevis Robinson advanced as expected. In the women's 5000, we only sent two athletes, with Rhines advancing to the final and Culley eliminated. On the men's side, we put three in the final--Lagat, Tegenkamp, and Solinsky--with only young Evan Jager being eliminated. Most exciting was seeing Matt
Tegenkamp finish stride for stride with Bekele, looking equally comfortable. Then again, he looked like that in the semis in Beijing, so let's hope this final is closer to a replay of Osaka than Beijing!
My Top US Performances
1. Bernard Lagat - 1500m - 3:36.20 -- Bronze isn't bad when you barely get out of the box alive.
*. Matt Tegenkamp - 5000m - 13:19.87 -- Sure it was a prelim, but I may never see him kicking with Bekele again.
Looking Forward to the Final Third
It always gets dramatic in the final third of the meet. Friday is rivalry day with the women's 200m and the men's 400m. We've also got both marathons, all of the relays, both 5000 meter races, and a bevy of interesting events, including the women's 1500 and the men's 800. Big times await!
This article is Part Two of my three-part review of the World Championships.
When you look at a distance race, the first third is always about getting out to a good start, finding a good position, and doing so without any major issues. The last third is about covering dramatic moves and finishing with a bang. As for the middle third...it can go any number of ways. Sometimes it's filled with surges, sometimes an athlete goes all Zersenay Tadese on the field and just
starts punishing people, and sometimes everyone is content to just not screw things up. You can't predict how the middle third of a race will go. When I look at this World Championships, I feel like we're seeing something similar happening. The first third of the meet gave us just what we wanted. Favorites winning races, some predictable upsets, and a few dramatic moments. The middle third has been predictably unpredictable. The fourth day saw a bunch of warm fuzzy victories. The fifth day was pretty fluky. And the sixth...well, I think the sixth day thought it was part of the last third, because it got pretty crazy over there.
Day Four - The Warm & Fuzzy Fourth Day
Watching day four of the World Championships unfold, I realized every event left me with a smile on my face. Had these finals all been spread throughout the meet, it might not have warranted any attention. But it seems if you were a perennial silver medallist, day four was the day to be competing. (Sadly, Terrence Trammell didn't race until day six...)
This was to be the night that Sanya Richards finally won gold. But for the Germans in the stadium, it will no doubt be remembered as the night Steffi Nerius won gold. Heaving a first throw of 67.30 meters in the javelin, she took the early lead and managed to hold onto it for the remainder of the competition. Amazingly, Nerius had never won gold at a major championship, despite being a world class competitor for well over a decade. She ended her career the best way possible, with a gold in front of her home crowd.
Steffi Nerius Press Conference
Sanya Richards, aka Queen of the Quarter, had for various reasons missed out on winning a gold since 2004. In Athens she finished sixth, in Helsinki second, she missed Osaka entirely in the 400m, and then finished third in Beijing. But she exorcised those "big meet demons" and gleefully took her first individual world title in dominant fashion. It will likely be the first of many.
A similar story unfolded in the steeplechase, where Ezekiel Kemboi won his first gold medal after taking silver at the World Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Even better, the race was spectacular , with four Kenyans and France's Bob Tahri hanging on to the world record pace, and Tahri outkicking Paul Koech for the bronze. Other big victories were had by Phillips Idowu of Great Britain and Kerron Clement of the USA, two well-deserving men.My Most Warm & Fuzzy Victories of the Fourth Day
1. Sanya Richards - 400m - 49.00s -- I'm an American, so I'm biased, but come on, she deserved this one.
2. Steffi Nerius - javelin - 67.30m -- The German veteran wins her first gold in her last year of competition. Story book.
3. Ezekiel Kemboi - steeple - 8:00.43 -- After three silvers, he finally wins his World Championships gold
4. Phillips Idowu - triple jump - 17.73m -- The man's got red hair for crying out loud.
5. Kerron Clement - 400m hurdles - 47.91s -- Honestly, he seems like the nicest guy.
Day Five - Unpredictable Parity and a Predictable Problem
Let's talk first about the parity, because it seems people are only talking about the problem. The events on Wednesday were amazingly competitive! Completely up for grabs. It should have been the story of the day.
In the only field final, the men's discus, pre-meet favorite Gerd Kanter proved he is indeed mortal. Despite coming in with a season's best that was two meters longer than his competition, he struggled and only managed a bronze. Without Kanter dominating, it was anyone's game. Poland's Piotr Malachowski was up for the challenge, throwing two national records in the first and fifth rounds. But it wasn't enough, as Germany's Robert Harting channeled the home crowd and threw an amazing 69.43m PB in the final round to take the gold.
On the track, the first race was the men's 1500m. This race appeared to have a clear favorite in Asbel Kiprop. Yet as Len Johnson described, the race appeared to be run in a shoebox, with no major moves and no one getting dropped. As a result,
favorites like Lagat, Baala, Kiprop and Laalou found themselves boxed in and stuck at the back. The advantage went to those who found their spots near the front, namely Youssef Saad Kamel and Deresse Mekonnen, the gold and silver medallists, respectively. As someone once said, the problem with the 1500m is that everyone in the field thinks they have the best kick. I'd add: and they never seem to learn it's not true when they get smoked in final after final.The race of the night was the event with probably the most parity across the world stage, the women's 100 hurdles. Amazingly, the top 8 athletes in the world all have season bests between 12.47 and 12.55, and the world leader, Lolo Jones, didn't even qualify for the meet! it turned out to be a day for hyphenated last names, as Brigette Foster-Hylton took gold, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep took silver, and Delloreen Ennis-London took bronze. Now seriously, did anyone pick Jamaica's 34 year-old Brigitte Foster-Hylton to win that one? Only in the hurdles!
The race everyone will remember from this day, the one that may very well be talked about for years to come, was the women's 800 meters, won by South African teenager Caster Semenya. Semenya, said to be a hermaphrodite, dominated the field and ran a spectacular 1:55.45. And to be frank, it looked like a high school boy dominating a field of women. Whether she will retain her title after the testing that will no doubt be required by the IAAF I have no idea. But this testing could have and should have been
dealt with months ago. As it is, this simply can't end positively for all parties. It's particularly despicable that Caster Semenya is going to be put through this now, in public, rather than in a more discreet setting.As for the race, what I hope people remember is that the battle for second was awesome, with Janeth Jepkosgei (1:57.90), Jenny Meadows (1:57.93), and Yuliya Krevsun (1:58.00) all finishing within a tenth of a second of each other. I was also impressed to see the entire pack go out in 56-point, and really battle for the entire second half.
My Biggest "Oh Crap" Moments of Day Five
1. Dawn Harper - 100m hurdles -- when Dawn hit the first hurdle and fell behind by a meter
2. Asbel Kiprop - 1500m -- when he had a chance to swing wide with 500 to go, but didn't and got boxed in
3. Gerd Kanter - discus -- after seeing his face after his first throws, you could tell he wasn't there mentally
4. Caster Semenya - 800m -- when she slowed down on the last 100m, instead of breaking the world record
5. Bernard Lagat - 1500m -- when he bolted from lane 1 to lane 3 with 80 meters to go, but this one worked out
Day Six - Berlinian Rhapsody
"I see a giant silhouetto of a man
Jamaica, Jamaica, will you do the fandango
Usain Bolt is lightning, very very frightening me!"
When people think back on this World Championships, I think they're going to remember Day Six. I don't believe the IAAF could have planned a
better day of track and field than the one we saw today. Usain Bolt in the 200m, the Friedrich-Vlasic in the women's high jump, two amazing hurdles finals and the finish of the men's decathlon. And that's just the finals!Usain Bolt is scary. He actually has me afraid. Specifically, I'm afraid that once he reaches his limits--and I'm not sure we're there--he's going to make the short sprints boring. It's only so easy to continually get yourself up for watching a battle for second. With that said, his 19.19 in the 200m was a sight to behold, and I can't wait to see what he does with good conditions and no preliminary rounds. Could the record go down even more this summer?
Oddly enough, the moment of the night for me was not that 200m. It was Ariane Friedrich's 3rd jump for 2.02m to stay in the competition. First she hushed the crowd, and it was literally dead silent. As she approached the bar, you could hear her footsteps on camera. And as she sailed over it, tens of thousands of fans erupted in unison and she hopped up with perhaps the best fist pump I've ever seen. I had chills. And when she did it again at 2.06m, and just barely missed, I think I threw my arms in the air and then immediately covered my mouth as the bar fell off. On Bolt's night, she was the woman of the moment.
Ultimately, it was Blanka Vlasic who celebrated, however, taking her second World Championship gold. (Friedrich actually ended up third, behind Anna Chicherova.) What I wonder
is, isn't this the best rivalry in track right now? Off the top of my head, here's my top three:1. Blanka Vlasic vs Ariane Friedrich - high jump - gotta love the fire these women display after every jump
2. Allyson Felix vs Veronica Campbell-Brown - 200m - round 5 to be settled tonight!
3. LaShawn Merritt vs Jeremy Wariner - 400m - would be higher if they weren't both Americans
The next great rivalry could come from the women's 400 meter hurdles. Melaine Walker of Jamaica won the final with an amazing 52.42, making her the second fastest ever in the event. But Lashinda Demus of the USA, the silver medalist in 52.96, has looked like she might challenge that record all year. I hope they keep going head-to-head and push each other into the record books.
The 110 hurdles was missing its biggest star, as Dayron Robles went out with an injury. It seemed as though Terrence Trammell had his best chance in years to win his first outdoor gold medal at a major championships. If only the race had been run on the Warm & Fuzzy Fourth Day, he surely would have won it! Unfortunately, he was beaten to the line by Ryan Brathwaite, who won Barbados's first ever World Championships medal in a PB and national record 13.14. The finish was so close that I'd bet if we went to thousandths, it was less than one second between first and third.
My Most Berlinian Rhapsodic Performances of Day Six
1. Usain Bolt - 200m - 19.19 WR -- Just an amazing thing to watch. For now.
2. Melaine Walker - 400m hurdles - 52.42s -- Proves she's the top big meet 400 meter hurdler in the world.
3. Ryan Brathwaite - 110m hurdles - 13.14s -- Huge PR to become Barbados's first world champion ever.
4. Blanka Vlasic - high jump - 2.04m -- Not her highest ever, but arguably her most pressure-filled victory.
5. Ariane Freidrich - high jump - 2.02m -- She owned that crowd, and almost pulled off the jump of the decade.
The Decathlon
I've never seen so much decathlon coverage in my life, and I have to tell you, I like it. There were some absolutely stunning performances throughout these couple days.
Trey Hardee won with a world leading 8790 points, with Cuba's Leonel Suarez coming back for silver in 8640 after a rough opening two events, and Russia's Aleksandr Pogorelov holding on for bronze with 8528. You don't truly appreciate how insanely athletic these men are until you watch each event. My Most Impressive Individual Event Performances in the Decathlon
1. Yunior Diaz - 400m - 46.15s -- It's easier to see total domination when it's on the track.
2. Trey Hardee - long jump - 7.83m -- He would have almost qualified for the final in the actual long jump competition.
3. Aleksandr Pogorelov - high jump - 2.08m -- The biggest, strongest shot-putter was almost the best high jumper, too!
4. Yordani Garcia - high jump - 2.08m -- Thing is, he did it off a five step run up!
5. Laarbi Bouraada - 1500m - 4:12.15 -- Gotta give the fastest 1500m guy props.
Silvers With a Silver Lining
I'm not going to describe the scenarios in full detail, but there were yet again a number of spectacular silver medal performances. From personal bests to national records to just plain old good racing, these athletes deserve to be called out.
My Top Silver Medal Performances
1. Piotr Malachowski - discus - 69.15m -- Two national records (Poland), only to be out-thrown on the last round!
2. Javier Culson - 400m hurdles - 48.09 -- A national record (Puerto Rico) to go with his silver.
3. Janeth Jepkosgei - 800m - 1:57.90 -- It was a gold-medal worthy lean at the tape.
4. Deresse Mekonnen - 1500m - 3:36.01 -- The first guy to make a break for it ended up with a silver. Funny how that works out.
5. Terrence Trammell - 110m hurdles - 13.15s -- He probably doesn't see the silver-lining to yet another silver medal right now.
USA Distance: Not Bad, Not Great
I'll wrap up this beast of a recap with a short discussion of the USA distance team's performance over the second third of the meet. There were only three finals run--men's steeple, women's 800m, and men's 1500m--but we only had runners in the 1500m.
The race itself has been described above. It was disappointing to see Lagat get himself stuck in the shoebox, but it seemed like everyone but Kamel and Mekonnen were destined to that fate. Lomong was boxed in behind Lagat, even further out of contention, and Manzano never got stuck inside, but instead ended up running the entire race on the outside. That and the rounds and the pressure left him flat in the last lap, and he finished last. Lagat's third place could best be described as making the best of a bad situation, and Lomong finished right about where he should have.
The only other distance developments were the heats for the men's 800 and both 5000 races. In the 800m, Nick Symmonds and Khadevis Robinson advanced as expected. In the women's 5000, we only sent two athletes, with Rhines advancing to the final and Culley eliminated. On the men's side, we put three in the final--Lagat, Tegenkamp, and Solinsky--with only young Evan Jager being eliminated. Most exciting was seeing Matt
Tegenkamp finish stride for stride with Bekele, looking equally comfortable. Then again, he looked like that in the semis in Beijing, so let's hope this final is closer to a replay of Osaka than Beijing!My Top US Performances
1. Bernard Lagat - 1500m - 3:36.20 -- Bronze isn't bad when you barely get out of the box alive.
*. Matt Tegenkamp - 5000m - 13:19.87 -- Sure it was a prelim, but I may never see him kicking with Bekele again.
Looking Forward to the Final Third
It always gets dramatic in the final third of the meet. Friday is rivalry day with the women's 200m and the men's 400m. We've also got both marathons, all of the relays, both 5000 meter races, and a bevy of interesting events, including the women's 1500 and the men's 800. Big times await!
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