Ajee’ Wilson, Charlene Lipsey, Chrishuna Williams and Raevyn Rogers after breaking the 4x800m world record at the Millrose Games (© Organisers / John Neopolitan)
A USA quartet broke the world indoor record* in the women's 4x800m to highlight the 111th edition of the NYRR Millrose Games in New York on Saturday (3).
Chrishuna Williams, Raevyn Rogers, Charlene Lipsey and Ajee’ Wilson teamed to clock 8:05.89, eclipsing the 8:06.24 performance set by a Russian squad in 2011. Williams opened the team’s account with a 2:05.10 effort before Rogers put them back on record schedule with a 2:00.45 split. Lipsey maintained their pace with a 2:01.98 third-leg clocking before Wilson ran a 1:58.37 anchor leg.
Wilson, from nearby Neptune, New Jersey, credited the sell-out crowd of 5,500 at The Armory Track and Field Center for helping to push her over the final lap.
“That is the loudest I’ve ever heard it,” said Wilson. “That’s the loudest I’ve ever felt it. That was insane. Every lap was high energy. The crowd definitely pushed me across on that last lap.”
There was excitement in a quality men's 800m race, won by Kenyan Emmanuel Korir in 1:44.21, the fourth fastest run of all time and an African indoor record.
Shadowing USA's Donavan Brazier for much of the race, Korir broke away in the waning stages to become the third fastest ever over the distance indoors. Brazier was second in 1:45.35 and Drew Windle third in 1:45.53 to move up to second and third on the North American indoor all-time list.
Miller-Uibo equals 300m world best
Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo made her 2018 debut an auspicious one, equalling the 35.45 world indoor best in the rarely-run 300m. Irina Privalova has held the standard since 1993. Canada's Sage Watson was a distant second in a national record of 37.08.
Last year’s world indoor 60m leader Ronnie Baker also made a notable seasonal debut. The two-time NCAA indoor champion was a clear winner of the 60m in 6.48, comfortably his fastest ever season opener. IAAF Diamond League 200m champion Noah Lyles was second in a PB of 6.59.
The women’s short sprint was much closer as two-time world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure held off world 100m champion Tori Bowie, 7.11 to 7.14.
Olympic finalist Devon Allen chopped 0.06 off his PB to win the men’s 60m hurdles in 7.50. 2012 Olympic champion Aries Merritt was a close second in a season’s best of 7.53. Tobi Amusan was a clear winner of the women’s 60m hurdles in 7.90.
O’Hare and Quigley take mile honours
Chris O’Hare of Great Britain built up an insurmountable lead heading into the last lap of the night’s signature event, the NYRR Men’s Wanamaker Mile, to hold off compatriot Josh Kerr and USA’s Ben Blankenship.
O’Hare ran 3:54.14 to become the first British winner of the Wanamaker Mile since 1965. Kerr caught Blankenship just before the line to finish second in 3:54.72 to Blankenship’s 3:54.77.
Colleen Quigley won the women’s Wanamaker Mile in 4:30.05, just managing to hold off a fast-finishing Kate Grace by 0.03.
Jamaica’s Aisha Praught-Leer won the women's 3000m, one of the night’s tightly-contested races, holding off training partner Emma Coburn. Praught-Leer’s winning time of 8:41.10 is a Caribbean indoor record, while world steeplechase champion Coburn clocked 8:41.16. Karissa Schweizer, a student at the University of Missouri, finished fourth in a collegiate indoor record of 8:41.60.
Olympic champion Ekaterini Stefanidi won her third consecutive Millrose pole vault title, beating Katie Nageotte on countback at 4.71m. Olympic silver medallist Sandi Morris was forced to pull out after suffering a back injury during warmups.
World indoor champion Vashti Cunningham won the high jump at 1.96m.
Bob Ramsak and organisers for the IAAF
*Subject to the usual ratification procedures
