Tyson Gay on his way to 9.75w for the 100m in the first round of the USATF champs (© Getty Images)
Eugene, USASeldom has one athlete claimed so many national team spots in so short a time.
As the 100m and 200m defending World Champion, Tyson Gay only needed to compete at the USA Championships here in Eugene to claim positions on the starting lines of both events at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin, Germany (15– 23 Aug).
As it happened, yesterday (25) at the first day of the nationals Gay needed only 9.75 seconds (with the aid of a 3.4 m/s tailwind) to pick up both spots, in what will likely be the fastest team qualification of the entire meet. Gay has announced that he has no intention of running further rounds, nor will he contest the 200m.
"I knew it was wind aided," said Gay, "so it wasn’t going to get in the books. At the same time, I got to know that I am able to turn over that fast. I'll be able to do that when I execute. Honestly, I ran a horrible race." Gay, who watched Usain Bolt's 9.69 from the sidelines in Beijing, suggested that he considers himself capable of improving on the World record if everything goes right, unlike today, where he faulted his start. "I got out of the box and just held on to the field until about 60 metres," he explained. "The false start kind of threw me off."
Clay out
Gay's show of speed was the most striking news when the other big headline, Olympic gold medallist Bryan Clay's non-start in the Decathlon (see detailed story in ‘Related Content’ under the photograph to the right of this text) was about a major competitor not making the team.
Other fast windy sprints
Gay wasn't the only sprinter taking advantage of the tailwinds to pick up fast marks, with seven runners under 10 seconds in the men's 100m.
Darvis Patton and Michael Rodgers both stopped the clock at 9.92 with Travis Padgett at 9.93 and three more runners at 9.98. Not one heat had legal wind. Similar marks were attained in the women's 100m, with Carmelita Jeter running 10.88 with a 3.1m/s tailwind and the relatively unheralded Alexandria Anderson running 10.92.
In a spin about Berlin
Beijing Discus Throw gold medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton nailed down her spot on the team for Berlin with a 64.25m spin on her third attempt.
Brown Trafton, winning her first national title, said, "My goal is to throw [64m] on a bad day every single time. If I can do that on a bad day, I can medal [again] on a good day."
Begley’s 10,000m surprise
Another Beijing medallist, Shalane Flanagan, was upset for the 10,000m title by her Beijing teammate, Amy Begley. Begley, who last year ran faster than her 5000m PB in the second half of the 10,000m to make the Olympic team, this year set a Hayward Field record of 31:22.69 to take down Flanagan (31:23.43).
"My husband gave me a new mantra this year," said Begley. "He said, just do it, don't think." Begley didn't hesitate when Flanagan took the lead with 200m remaining, covering the move immediately and slowly pulling away on the homestretch.
Flanagan said, "I have a lot of work in front of me over the next month, sharpening up," in expectation of the World Championships. "I felt really strong out there, but not necessarily the kind of sharpness I'm going to need in Berlin."
Relaxed Rupp
Athens marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi was among the leaders early in the men's 10,000m, but in the end it boiled down to a Beijing marathoner, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Galen Rupp, who carried the University of Oregon to a second-place finish in the NCAA championships earlier this month. Rupp, who may have been running his last race in his Oregon uniform (he's expected to sign a professional contract within a few weeks) shadowed Ritzenhein until the penultimate lap. With 500m to go, he pushed hard and immediately opened a gap of over 20m on Ritzenhein.
"It's been great for me to be able to relax and have a kick at the end," said Rupp. "The work I've been doing is paying dividends this year."
Hill – 83.87m
Chris Hill of the University of Georgia had a mark of 83.87m to win the Javelin Throw, the seventh-longest ever by an American. While the affable big man may not be the second coming of Breaux Greer, his mark, thrown into the teeth of the same breeze that was pushing the 100m runners, suggests that there may yet be an American among the finalists in Berlin. Hill had two throws over 80m, with his next-best at 82.36m; the second-place finisher, Mike Hazle, opened with 82.06m but fouled four of his remaining five attempts.
Chaunte Howard will lead the women's high jumpers, as she stayed perfect through 1.95m. Amy Acuff and Sharon Day were second and third based on their misses at that height; all three women could not clear 1.97m.
Brandon Roulhac was the Triple Jump winner with a wind-aided mark of 17.44m and a wind-legal 17.26m. Next best was 2005 World champion Walter Davis, who leaped to 16.84m.
In the other heats…
Sanya Richards and Lashawn Merritt both advanced in the heats of the women's and men's 400m, respectively, while Allyson Felix, an automatic entrant in the Berlin 200m, advanced to the semi-final round of the women's 100m today. Osaka 1500m/5000m double champion Bernard Lagat advanced to the second round of the 800m by running 1:48.59 in his heat.
Friday's competition in Eugene will see the conclusion of the Decathlon, and include finals in the women's Shot Put and Triple Jump, the men's Discus Throw, and both men and women's 100m and 5000m.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
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