Outside of the Bolt-Gay matchup that rightfully dominated headlines there was a ton of great racing. Check out some detailed Cooldown breakdowns of the Men's 800, Women's 1500, Men's 5000 for all of the action and tidbits you might have missed below:
Men's 800:
Quick Recap: Marcin Lewandowski backed up his European championship with a Diamond League victory in a surprising race(and it really was a race and not a glorified time trial). With Abubaber Kaki in the field and consistent pacemaker Khadevis Robinson, the expected outcome for most was a 1:42-1:43 victory for Kaki with a 50 second first 400. Instead, the pace was pedestrian at 400 with Kaki coming in around 51.6 and mysteriously electing not to follow closely or draft. Even with the slow pace, nearly all of the deferential field apparently gave Kaki the alpha-male treatment. Nearly all of them bunched behind him making no attempt to pass the presumptive heavy favorite even as the pace was slow. That would be all of them besides an aggressive rail-hugging Lewandowski. He surged from 250 out, defiantly pushed a slowing Robinson out of his way and into Kaki's at 200 meters to go. He held the lead to the finish line holding off a hard-closing Michael Rimmer(later Dq'ed), last week's European silver medalist. Kaki was a casualty of Lewandowski's shove as Robinson got pushed in front of him and he was subsequently spiked. Kaki's subsequent pulling-out of the race took out Andrew Wheating who came to a near-stop to avoide the carnage. All in all, a confounding, but entertaining race.
Race Within the Race: With 100 to go, Leonel Manzano had a ton of run left. Unfortunately, as is the case when you are trailing a bunch of 1:43 guys who come through 600 in 1:19, so did everyone else. Manzano was in 6'th place, looking for the nearest spot for a clean run to the finish. In this pivotal moment, Manzano looked and started to the traditional spot, the outside(lane 3). Instinctively, he began moving there only to be blocked by Nick Symmonds, who was making the same exact move and had gotten their first. Manzano, thus gave up on that strategy and began a diagonal surge to the outside of lane 1, which was uninhabited except for the race leader, Lewandowski. He ended out finding space, but the extra running and maneuvering likely hurt his last 20 meters when he ran out of gas. Manzano still ran within four tenths of his PR and finished near a host of guys must faster on chalk. Manzano's PB might be 1:45.0, but this race further showed he is a 1:44 guy waiting to happen. Let's not forget he was running right with Amine Laalou, a 1:43 guy, and Boaz Lalang a 1:43 guy when he ran 1:45.0 on windy day earlier this year in Morocco.
What were they thinking?
The thought process of World #2 Abubaber Kaki Kamis is particularly impenetrable after a hard to explain first 600 meters. The pace was not overly fast yet Kaki gave Robinson room like it was. In addition, he allowed Lewandowski to pass on his inside without much of a battle. Even if Kaki laid off the pace because he figured the time was going to be pedestrian after a slow first 200, his lack of urgency in the race was somewhat alarming. Kaki, while undoubtedly a great time trialer, has yet to show that he can run in a non-paced outdoor race against top competition. He could have done that against David Rudisha at the African Championships, but opted to pass on the open 800m. The way the race transpired yesterday, he could have even maybe shown a small example of this type of racing prowess by not following the pacemaker and controlling the race the last 300 meters. Instead, with the Robinson collison, we have more questions than answers about what we can expect out of Kaki in next year's world championship.
Tidbits that might Interest Only Me:
1. 2009 1500m World Champion and 800m Bronze Medalist Yusuf Saad Kamel finished dead last in the race, and he did not have the excuse of being affected by the Robinson-Kaki debacle. He continues to struggle in his return from a career-changing championship season last year.
2. Andrew Wheating ran near the front of this race in the early-going. Wheating's race was ultimately ruined, but he showed a readiness to break from his at-the-back running that is truly encouraging.
3. European silver medalist Michael Rimmer was potentially robbed of some sweet revenge when Kenyan Jackson Kivuva pushed him out to lane 3 in the last 30 meters of the race. Kivuva took a noticeable glance at Rimmer, and in a wily fashion moved out about two feet forcing Rimmer to run some critical extra distance as Rimmer just came up short. Rimmer's DQ subsequently made this a moot point.
Women's 1500m:
Quick Recap: After a reasonable, but not particularly quick tempo was set by the pacemaker, unabashed frontrunner and world leader Anna Alminova took the reins and towed the lead through the bell in around 2:59. She would, however, relinquish the lead as the queen of 4:00+ 1500s, Nancy Lagat, crushed her and the competition with a sub 30 second last half lap. Lagat continued her domination of the event in 2010. Her only defeat came in Alminova's drug suspicion-inducing 3:57 Diamond League Victory a few weeks ago.
Race Within in the Race:
Only 90 meters into the race, sub 4:00 1500 runner Gelete Burka was running close to the rail and fell down. As anyone who has experienced this knows, deciding an appropriate course of action at this point of the race is as difficult as it is crucial. Burka chose the aggressive and adrenaline-laced route of surging to get back to where she was. In the subsequent 200 meters she passed about 10 runners and reestablished herself amongst the leaders. She ran hard on the turn(not ideal), but made her biggest injection of pace on the straight(could have been worse). She did get a nice spot once her move was finished, but ultimately finished a competitive 6'th in 4:02.84 just behind a hard-closing Morgan Uceny. While it's easy to say she should have moved up slowly, in a race with that many competitors and a pace that potentially could have been blistering(with Alminova in it), the top 4 or 5 could have pushed themselves out of contact from the rest of the field. In that case, Burka may have been forced to bridge the gap by herself, or had to deal with passing athletes one by one on the outside as everyone else ran single file.
What were they thinking?
After a disappointing front-running sixth place finish at the European championships, you would have thought World #1 Anna Alminova might consider allowing someone else to take the mantle as leader with 400 meters to go. Nope. Alminova left no doubt from the get-go of who was to assume the lead following the pacemaker's dropping out. I can recall Alminova not practicing a front-running strategy last year. I suppose old (but sort of new) habits die hard.
Tidbits that might Interest only Me:
1. World #1 Anna Alminova has closed her last 3 races in 62 seconds, 63 seconds, and 62 seconds respectively. Her times for those last 3 races: 3:57.65, 4:02.24, 4:01.53. 1'st, 6'th, and now a well-beaten 2'nd. Fitness appears to be a fickle thing.
2. Training partners Morgan Uceny and Anna Pierce continued on form with what are some hard-to-figure results. While Uceny has made a great step forward in the 1500, becoming a consistent 4:02 performer, Pierce has struggled to run faster than 4:05 after breaking through with a sub 4 last year. Pierce, to her credit, has run a 1:58.8 this year in the 800 while Uceny has improved to 1:59 .1.
3. The best kick in the world undoubtedly belongs to Nancy Lagat. Although she seems to have a mental block in terms of breaking 4, she's left no doubt about who is the best in a kicker's race with a host of victories and an extremely impressive close in Stockholm.
4. Hard-luck Ethiopian Gelete Burka fell down in almost the same spot as she did in Berlin last year. Granted it was 3 laps earlier. The person by her side (though at no fault for the falls) both times? 2007 and 2009 World Champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal.
5. There was no repeat of her wonderful performance in Paris for American Christin Wurth-Thomas. Most strikingly, she didn't make her presence felt early in the race. Usually, Wurth-Thomas attaches herself to the pacemaker and/or to the de facto one aka Alminova. Instead Wurth-Thomas was mostly anonymous during a race where she'd usually be competitive.
Men's 5000m:
Quick Recap: A fast, but uneven early pace (5:06 at two kilometers) gave way to a more manageable tempo in the third and fourth kilometers(around 2:39 for each). The first four kilometers preceded a quicker kilometer and last lap involving the much-decorated Eliud Kipchoge, Diamond League circuit clubhouse leader Imane Merga, African Championships Bronze Medalist Mark Kiptoo, solid Ethiopian youngster Dejen Gebremeskel, and the American record holder at 10,000 meters, Chris Solinsky. Ultimately, Kipchoge's bid to take it from 800 meters out fell short, as the other competitors queued behind him waiting to pounce at 100 meters to go. And, to put it nicely, a not quite aesthetically pleasing Merga surge was matched by Kiptoo who maintained his form and snagged the victory decisively. To Kiptoo's right, a late charge was made by Gebremeskel who pipped Merga at the line. Kipchoge, meanwhile, was bankrupt after his long run for the tape and he glanced longingly to his right with 50 meters to go at his opponents who had left him standing still. Chris Solinsky, too could not match the others' acceleration, but managed a creditable personal best of 12:55.
Race Within the Race:
Of course, usually, I would devote this space to an actual competitor within the race. However second race rabbit, Suleiman Simotwo, faced some interesting decisions with important impact as he took over the pace at 2000 meters. The pace, so far, had been probably too fast. These were 12:50 guys running an uneven 12:45 pace and oftentimes the easiest way to run a great time is a slight negative split. Simotwo, a 3:31 guy in his own right, was no doubt also hurting from the pace. Whether it was a conscious or unconscious decision, Simotwo slowed down to 63 high and 64 second laps. The field bunched up significantly and ran two wide for much of the rest of the race. His decision impacted the fastest athlete in the field, Eliud Kipchoge, who was stuck with the unenviable position of desiring a fast pace, but not wanting to be the one to rabbit the field and set it. Ultimately, Kipchoge held back until 800 meters. One wonders what he would have done if the pace had been fast for the third kilometer. Would he have take over earlier and tried to run 12:45 from the front?
Tidbits that might Interest Only Me:
1. 2010 World Cross Country Champion, Joseph Ebuya, finished well back in 13:13.14. Ebuya seemed to be at ease running with the lead pack when he mysteriously dropped back out of the main pack and then ran a slower pace to the finish. Ebuya may become infamous for this type of thing as he has still not quite picked up on competition on the track the way he has in cross country. His running began when he tagged along with nearby elite runners as a member of a nomadic family, and his acclimation to racing for victory on the track is a work in progress. This may be apocryphal, but there are stories of him jogging in and celebrating instead of kicking for the win in races- content with having kept up with his teammates.
2. 1500m standout Augustine Choge competed in the race and ran a solid, but disappointing 13:04.64. Choge has run about 10 seconds faster in the event, and his performance to win the 2006 Commonwealth Games 5000m over an on-form Craig Mottram was impressive. Choge has run great times in the 1500 since, but his performances in major championships have been a letdown. Choge does not possess a world-class kick, and he has been run out of medal position by athletes with slower personal bests consistently in kicker's races. I've always been of the opinion that he should move up as his 1500 speed in the 5000 could be a potent ingredient against all but the great Kenenisa Bekele. This performance does not back up my thoughts, as I expected more, but I'd still like to see Choge give the 5000 another shot because I'm not sure he will ever be able to close with the Asbel Kiprops, and Derosse Mekonnens of the world in the 1500.
3. American Chris Solinsky continued his stellar season PR'ing with a 12:55. Solinsky captured it well when he said that to finish with the quartet in front of him he needs to "stay aerobic" longer. Chris is exactly correct as I can almost guarantee you he could wallop Merga in a 400 time trial. The important key is Merga was sprinting flat-out the last 100 and Solinsky had already used a whole lot of his sprint to stick with the pack from 400 to 100. Nonetheless, Solinsky's competitiveness on the circuit is very encouraging.
4. Young American Pro Galen Rupp dropped out with under 1000 to go prompting his wide range of naysayers to predictably question his toughness, manhood, and, sadly, probably even his sexuality. It turns out there have been multiple reports that he dropped out as a result of a fall. This was much more credible account than others' speculation because Rupp looked fully within himself and his drop-out was very late in the race. Rupp was clearly on his way to a PR, and I think a 13:00-13:05 5000 is in order for him in the next month.
5. In the anything "Burka can do I can do better" dept.: according to Solinsky, Vincent Chepkok, went down during the race. Chepkok finished in 12:58.17 in sixth. If Solinsky is correct in his identification of the Kenyan, Chepkok is certainly an athlete to watch in the next few Diamond League Meets.
6a. Winner and new 12:53 man Mark Kiptoo, expressed concern about making future Kenyan national teams on flotrack. Suffice it to say, these concerns for a 12:53 guy are completely legitimate. Only in Kenya (and, well once Bekele/Sihine return, in Ethiopia, too).
6b. African champion and Kiptoo's countryman Edwin Soi did not compete at the race. Silver medalist, Vincent Yator, did and ran 10'th in 13:06. Yator did not look comfortable running in the pack and was seemingly having his race dictated by Eliud Kipchoge once Simotwo dropped off. Kipchoge, of course, did not compete in the 5000 for Kenya at the African championships. Making the Kenyan 5000 team has got to be the hardest team to make in sports.
Men's 400m Hurdles:
I really love watching Bershawn "Batman" Jackson. If you didn't know that his entire race was completely choreographed, you might think he was toying with the field. Bershawn's switch back to 15 steps between hurdles the entire race has led to an evenly-paced race as his competitors seemingly run wild. Angelo Taylor appears to be going for broke the first 200m of every race, and likely prays to God that he holds on(2 Olympic gold would indicate they his prayers have been answered in the past). Javier Culson is a bit more measured, but runs the first 200 faster than the second as is the conventional strategy. Kerron Clement runs his back straight hard, struggles the last few hurdles and then has the best last 40 meters in the event. Jackson, on the other hand, runs the same rhythm all race and with excellent hurdling form usually blows out the field the last 200m. This year he's been consistently in the 47's and has reestablished himself as the best in the world for the first time since 2005. In this race, Bershawn got the stadium record in 47.64 and won easily over the field. Former World and Olympic Champion Felix Sanchez,
was a casualty of the rigid false-start rule, which likely did not have the 400m hurdles as an event in mind when it was proposed.
Women's 200m and 400m:
I grouped these together because both were missing big names and were won in unspectacular times (22.41 and 50.46 respectively). Big namer Allyson Felix looked sluggish and won late against a pretty weak field in the 200. The absence of rival Veronica Campbell-Brown undoubtedly left this field with little luster. In the 400, Russian Tatyana Firova was strongest over the final 100 meters to beat a game Debbie Dunn, the American Champion in 50.46. Dunn pulled out a sensational race to win the 400m at Nationals, but it is clear she is not a consistent 49 type and is eminently beatable. Firova has gone sub 50, too, and both are medal threats on their best days. This season's absence of Sanya Richards has left the 400m field without a dominant headliner athlete. A performance worth noting was Francena McCorory's 50.66 for third. I definitely took notice of her when she ran a staggering 51.91 on a FLAT track in HS. Sensational stuff, and she's backed it up with a good NCAA career, and I won't be surprised to see her break through as a professional.
Running Stuff I'm Too Lazy to Write About:
Paul Koech was dominant in winning the steeple as he maintains his status as a solid performer who can always be counted on for a low 8 clocking. If he can fix his tactics and mount more of a finishing kick in a major championship, he will be right in the mix for the gold.
Sally Pearson won the 100m hurdles in 12.57. This is truly a wide open event with any of about 6 athletes capable of taking the championship on the right day.
European Champion Yuliya Zarudneva won the steeple in 9:17.59 to defeat upstart Milcah Chemos Cheywa who's had a nice season.
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