Event Recaps
by Jim Spier Women
1500m
This was ever so typical. Go out under control (66.79), slow it down (2:21.05), pick up it up slightly (3:32.03), then race to the finish. Nelya Neporadna of the Ukraine was the winner in 4:15.90, followed by Anna Alminova of Russia (4:16.32, a PB) and Siham Hilali of Morocco (4:17.39). The last lap was 60.13.
4x100m
The team of Ashley Owens (Liberty, Colorado Springs, CO), Juanita Broaddus (Barton County JC; William Penn, Philadelphia, PA '03, Jasmine Baldwin, Bishop Amat, La Puente, CA and Shalonda Solomon, Poly, Long Beach, CA) had their work cut out for them. Owens, with a great start, gave the US a lead and Broaddus ran a solid race, but France (who had the fastest qualifier yesterday) gained the lead. Baldwin seemed to give the US a slight lead on the third leg but pesky Jamaica was still "hanging tough". It was somewhat even at the final exchange but, once Shalonda Solomon got the baton, we knew it was over. For the US, the winning time of 43.49 was a World Junior Leader and #5 all-time. Jamaica's 43.63 and France's 43.68 for second and third, are numbers 6 and 7 all time World Junior.
4x400m
Now there can be no controversy about the World Junior Record. The record before today was 3:28.39, set by East Germany in 1988, a team suspected of using illegal drugs. That's now off the books with a spectacular solo effort by the US team of Alexandria Anderson (Morgan Park, Chicago, IL - 53.1), Ashlee Kidd (Georgia Tech; St. Petersburg, FL 03 - 51.6), Stephanie Smith (South Carolina; Northeast, Macon, GA '03 - 51.0) and Natasha Hastings (AP Randolph, New York, NY - 51.9), setting the new record of 3:27.60. Russia, with a great anchor from Katya Kostetskaya, running down Sonita Sutherland, got second in 3:30.03, #5 all-time. Kostetskaya ran 51.4. Tatiana Bell, her coach yelled to me, " .. .I told you she'd run 51.5!" Jamaica's time was 3:30.37, #6 all-time.
High Jump
It was a great Day - for Sharon Day. Leading through part of the competition, she got the bronze medal, jumping a personal best 6-3.25. And she made that height on her third attempt, whereas silver medallist Svetland Shkolina made on her second attempt. Gold Medallist Iryina Kovalenko (Ukraine) also made 6-3.25 on her second attempt, but then went on to be the only one to clear 6-4, that on her final attempt.
Men
5000m
A gutsy run by Galen Rupp got him a creditable 13:52.85, a PR. It ranks as the fourth best time ever by a US high schooler. Only Gerry Lindgren (13:44.0), Dathan Ritzenhein (13:44.70) and Steve Prefontaine (13:52.8) have ever run faster in the high school ranks. Rupp held with the leaders until 2 1/2 laps to go, passing 1600 meters at 4:22.5 and 3200 at a spectacular 8:45.1. He could not keep up those from Kenya, Ethiopia, Qatar, Uganda, Tanzania and Morocco but, nonetheless, got ninth place. The only other American to finish in the top 9 was Eric Mastalir, who got 9th in 1986 in Athens, running 14:01.40. But Rupp's time is the fastest ever by an American at these championships. Josh Mc Dougal ran a similarly great race, working himself up through the pack passing 1600m at 4:26.5 and 3200m at 8:54.0, finishing 12th in a PB 14:07.55. It was truly a great day for US high school distance running. The winner was Augustine Kiprono Choge of Kenya in 13:28.93, a yearly best, followed by Bado Worku of Ethiopia in 13:30.45, a personal best, and Tariku Bikele of Ethiopia in 13:30.86.
110m Hurdles
"The Cuban will be dangerous." So said Tennessee assistant Vince Anderson, when discussing the chances of his athlete (soon-to-be Tennessee soph) Aries Merritt. Instead of Merritt and teammate Kevin Craddock together for half the race, it was Merritt and Dayron Robles of Cuba. Merritt began to pull away after 6 hurdles, with Robles trailing slightly and Craddock 1 meter back. At that point, Craddock made a charge and almost caught Robles at the end, with both running 13.77 and Robles getting the nod. Merritt was the winner in a comfortable 13.56.
4x100m
What a difference great exchanges make! Today it was 2 great and one near-great exchange, resulting in a World Junior Record of 38.66. Trell Kimmons (Coldwater, MS), Demi Omole (Wisconsin; Dominican, Whitefish Bay, WI '03), Ivory Williams (Central, Beaumont, TX) and La Shawn Merritt (Wilson, Portsmouth, VA). They were nearly flawless, knowing they good get the WJR with good passing. And they took the record down in grand fashion, knocking .26 off the old record held by the US team from 2002. That US team took .08 off the prior record set in 1983 (US). Jamaica was second in 39.27, #8 all-time, and Japan's 39.43 for third is #10 all-time.
4x400m
Cedric Walker, the US relays coach, had predicted this one. And he had the relay order set yesterday, just after the US won. He got 3 world records, this being the fourth. This was a fitting way to end these championships. The US ran virtually solo in getting the 3:01.09 record, bettering one of the oldest in the books, that set by the US team in Athens in 1986 (3:01.90). It was the team of Brandon Johnson (UCLA; West Orange-Stark, TX '03 - 45.3), La Shawn Merritt (Wilson, Portsmouth, VA - 44.8), Jason Craig (Rend Lake College; Wayne, Huber Heights, OH '03 - 46.1) and Kerron Clement (Florida; La Porte, TX '03) with the great performance. It was a great race all around, with South Africa getting the African Record in second (3:04.50 - 7th all time) and Japan getting the Asian Record in third (3:05.33). And in fourth was Brazil, with a South American record of 3:05.44.
Triple Jump
After the first round, it was Shujing Zhu (China) leading with a jump of 54-7.25, with Viktor Kuznetsov (Ukraine) tied with long jump silver medallist Godfrey Khotso Mokoena (South Africa) at 54-4.7. Kuznetsov and Zhu did not improve and would finish third and second respectively, after Mokoena's third round jump of 54-8.75. Mokoena jumped 55-0.25 in round 5, his ultimate winning jump.
Discus
Luka Rejuvic of Serbia and Montenegro took the lead in round 1 with a throw of 195-6. Ehsan Hadadi of Iran moved into second round 2 with a 194-1 toss. In round 3, Rejuvic extended his lead by throwing 196-3, only to bested in that round by Hadadi who threw 196-10. Hadadi cemented his win in round 4 with his winning throw of 203-10. Oleg Pirog of Russia moved into second on his final throw of the competition (197-9), moving Rejuvic into third. It was Iran's first-ever gold medal in these championships. |
