LetsRun.com's IAAF Grand Prix Stockholm DN Galan Comprehensive Recap

By LetsRun.com's Robert Johnson and Emory Mort
July 31, 2009

DN Galan Results

On a cool, windy, Swedish summer night, Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix wowed the Stockholm crowd with excellent sprinting performances in one of the world's most iconic track and field stadia. Americans went 1-2 in the women's 1500m, Jeremy Wariner won again, and Jesse Williams took home a top win in the high jump against excellent competition. In the mid-distances, upsets were the story of the day, as Yuriy Borzakovskiy and Abubaker Kaki stumbled to defeat in surprising fashion.

Premier Event

Men's 100m - Tyson Gay Shows He's Fine With Win Over Powell In Stellar 9.79
On a night where American sprint fans were more than a little nervous to watch Tyson Gay after his injury worries, Usain Bolt's only world rival showed he is ready to put on a sturdy defense of his Worlds title in Berlin with a wind-aided 9.79. In a relatively distant second was Asafa Powell, who can't seem to get into full gear this year. Even with Gay more than halfway through the race, Powell nonetheless was blown away in the final 30m. In the loss, Powell broke 10.00, extending his world record for most times under the barrier.

Gay looked calm pre-race, smooth en route to victory, and relieved post-race as he smiled to the cameras and signed autographs for the awed fans. Gay earned himself a diamond prize with a stadium record, while his time ties Usain Bolt's best of the year, though Bolt ran his under considerably less wind. Gay's best of the year remains a non-wind-aided 9.77 from July's Rome meet.

If one compares the wins of Bolt and Gay this year in the 100m, both are impressive, but Bolt's have an air of invincibility to them. Tyson Gay, however, has proven that he could be a worthy rival to Bolt, especially with the expectations squarely on Bolt's shoulders and the rounds of a major global championship added to the mix.

Results Wind +2.6m/s

1	Tyson Gay	USA	9.79	20
2	Darvis Patton	USA	9.95	16
3	Asafa Powell	JAM	9.98	14
4	Churandy Martina	AHO	10.01	12
5	Jaysuma Saidy Ndure	NOR	10.07	10
6	Monzavous Edwards	USA	10.07	8
7	Kim Collins	SKN	10.10	6
8	Marc Burns	TRI	10.16	4

Distance

Men's 1,000 - Kaki Is Beaten As Lagat Is A Non-Factor
Those expecting to see a clash between Abubaker Kaki and Bernard Lagat in the men's 1k didn't get what they wanted as Lagat was never a factor. Instead, they got a great battle between Kaki and Bahrain's Belal Mansoor Ali.

2003 World Indoor champ David Krummenacker rabbitted the men's the field through 600 (passing 400 in 52.63). After Krummenacker stepped off, Kaki had the lead and he didn't want to give it up. As he approached 800 (1:49.82), he was challenged by Ali and Kenya's Geoffrey Rono and there was some contact, but Kaki accelerated to keep the lead.. Coming into the homestretch, Kaki dug extremely deep to try to hold off Ali. However, it was obvious with roughly 30 meters to go that Kaki wasn't the Kaki of old. Clearly, his recent injury in Oslo on July 3rd has caused him to lose some fitness as he totally ran out of steam. The question was, would he remain upright or fall flat on his face?

Kaki remained upright but Ali sped by him as did Rono.

Ali got the surprise win in a new Bahrain national record of 2:16.55 to Rono's 2:16.82 to Kaki's 2:16.98.

Those three were clearly the class of the field. Behind those three, Australian Jeff Riseley earned the "best of the rest" tag as he was 4th. Bernard Lagat made a late charge in the last 100 from next-to-lastlast to finish 5th. Leonel Manzano, who had made a big move from the back of the pack to third early in the race, faded badly and ended up almost two seconds behind everyone else in the field.

1	Belal Mansoor Ali	BRN	2:16.55
2	Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono	KEN	2:16.82
3	Abubaker Kaki	SUD	2:16.98
4	Jeffrey Riseley	AUS	2:17.35
5	Bernard Lagat	USA	2:17.52
6	Thomas Lancashire	GBR	2:17.63
7	Christian Smith	USA	2:17.65
8	Peter van der Westhuizen	RSA	2:17.81
9	Nathan Brannen	CAN	2:17.87
10	Leonel Manzano	USA	2:19.73
	David Krummenacker	USA	DNF

Women's 5k - Barringer Kicks To Victory
American steeplechase record holder Jenny Barringer blistered a 63 second last lap to get the win in the women's 5,000 meters in a new outdoor pb of 15:05.25.

Coming into the race, Barringer was hoping to break 15:00 but it was clear pretty early on that was unlikely to happen. After an opening 1k of 3:01.94, the pace slowed and the rabbit only made it 2,200 meters. Halfway was passed in roughly 7:39. After the rabbit dropped out, Barringer was left to lead until the runners started to get ready for the kick in the final 1k.

Heading into the final lap, six women, including US Olympian Jen Rhines, were still tightly bunched. Barringer was in the back of the pack but as they came off the next-to-last turn, Barringer moved wide and made her bid for glory, grabbing the lead with 250 to go. Russia's Natalya Popkova, the 5k and 10k gold medallist at the under-23 Europeans earlier this year, didn't go without a fight, however, as she tried to stay with Barringer. However, a final 200 of 31 was too much for the Russian as Barringer won in 15:05.25 to Popkova's 15:05.95, as the last kilometer was covered in 2:51.82. 2009 European XC bronze medallist Ines Monteiro was 3rd as Rhines ended up fourth.

After the race, Barringer was please to have win but a bit disappointed the race wasn't faster. "I wish I could have run a little faster today ... I'd love to come back. It's a great venue."

1	Jennifer Barringer	USA	15:05.25	20
2	Natalya Popkova	RUS	15:05.95	16
3	Inês Monteiro	POR	15:07.08	14
4	Jennifer Rhines	USA	15:07.78	12
5	Ana Dulce Félix	POR	15:08.02	10
6	Beylanesh Fekadu	ETH	15:14.94	8
7	Renee Metivier-Baillie	USA	15:26.49	6
8	Netsanet Achamo	ETH	15:29.03	4
9	Kayoko Fukushi	JPN	15:36.02	3
10	Katie McGregor	USA	16:11.08	3
	Nataliya Panteleeva	RUS	DNF
	Jessica Augusto	POR	DNS

Women's 1,500 - Wurth-Thomas Defeats Rowbury
Christin Wurth-Thomas' rivalry with Shannon Rowbury was renewed in the women's 1,500. In the end, Wurth-Thomas, who was racing for the first time since dipping under the magical 4:00 barrier in Rome on July 10th, got the win and some revenge on Rowbury, who defeated Wurth-Thomas at USAs this year and last.

From the start, it was clear that Rowbury wanted to run fast. She was right on the rabbit after the first 400 (64.28). At 800 (2:09.31), Rowbury's dream of a sub-4:00 didn't appear likely to happen as the pace was just a tiny bit too slow.

Unlike recent matchups between Rowbury and Wurth-Thomas, Wurth-Thomas was content to run from behind in Stockholm, as she was roughly five meters behind Rowbury, with Erin Donohue in 3rd. The rabbit stayed in the race until the bell but the pace continued to slow ever so slightly and Rowbury was basically forced to pass the rabbit as she hit the bell in 2:59, with Wurth-Thomas now only three or so meters beind. 1,100 was reached in 3:15.00 and at this point, Wurth Thomas had almost caught Rowbury. Wurth-Thomas would pass Rowbury with 220 meters to go. Rowbury tried to respond but halfway through the turn, it was clear she was out of gas.

Wurth-Thomas ended up winning convincingly in 4:03.01 as she ran a very smart race and closed in 63-ish. Rowbury faded to 4:05.47 for 2nd.

Donohue, who ran in 3rd for most of the race, faded all the way back to 10th.

Hannah England, who was left off the British World Championships team this week, ended up third and defeated Stephanie Twell, who is going to Worlds, in the process. The two have raced three times in the last week and England has won twice, although Twell has the better PR, which came on Tuesday (4:03.48).

1	Christin Wurth-Thomas	USA	4:03.01	20
2	Shannon Rowbury	USA	4:05.47	16
3	Hannah England	GBR	4:06.28	14
4	Stephanie Twell	GBR	4:06.35	12
5	Anna Mishchenko	UKR	4:06.45	10
6	Siham Hilali	MAR	4:07.95	8
7	Sonja Roman	SLO	4:09.10	6
8	Nikki Hamblin	NZL	4:09.49	4
9	Ingvill Måkestad	NOR	4:09.96	3
10	Erin Donohue	USA	4:10.27	3
11	Malindi Elmore	CAN	4:10.45	3
12	Kaila McKnight	AUS	4:11.57	3
13	Hilary Stellingwerff	CAN	4:13.27
14	Ulrika Johansson	SWE	4:16.48
	Iryna Lishchynska	UKR	DNF
	Yevgeniya Zinurova	RUS	DNF

Men's Steeplechase - Swede Mustafa Mohamed Clobbers Barrier On The Last Lap
In a tactical affair that did not feature most of the world's best steeplechasers, Mustafa Mohamed was among the leaders with 300m to go but fell after hitting the next barrier. Clipping his toe on the wooden barrier then plowing his leg in to the sharp edge, Mohamed was flattened on the track but still finished the race. Kenyan Mike Kipyego outkicked Wesley Kiprotich coming off the final barrier to get the win in the final event.

Americans Josh McAdams and Kyle Alcorn had very different outings. McAdams was the first non-Kenyan, coming in 5th in 8:25, while Alcorn was dead last in a disastrous 8:53.

1	Michael Kipyego	KEN	8:17.17	20
2	Wesley Kiprotich	KEN	8:18.29	16
3	Abel Kiprop Mutai	KEN	8:24.76	14
4	Linus Kipwambok Chumba	KEN	8:25.43	12
5	Joshua McAdams	USA	8:25.66	10
6	Patrick Kipyegon Terer	KEN	8:26.00	8
7	Mustafa Mohamed	SWE	8:27.17	6
8	Collins Kosgei	KEN	8:30.08	4
9	Vincent Le Dauphin	FRA	8:33.36	3
10	Yusuf Kibet Biwott	KEN	8:35.51	3
11	Youcef Abdi	AUS	8:35.91	3
12	Elijah Chelimo Kipterege	KEN	8:41.31	3
13	Per Jacobsen	SWE	8:41.48
14	Kyle Alcorn	USA	8:53.35
	Filmon Ghirmai	GER	DNF

Men's 800 - Lalang Surprises Borzakovskiy
Former Rend Lake runner Boaz Lalang earned the biggest victory of his career as he shocked 2004 Olympic champ Yuriy Borzakovskiy in the men's 800. The rabbit went through 400 in 51.57, but none of the other runners wanted anything to do with the honest pace. Lalang, who was 4th at the Kenyan Trials last weekend, was the leader of the real race and he was roughly 52-mid. At 600, the pace wasn't any more honest (1:20). Coming off the final turn, Borzakovskiy, who had run 1:43.58 on Tuesday, was perfectly positioned to use his patented late kick to take the win. But surprisingly, it didn't happen. Borzakovskiy moved from 4th up to behind Lalang's shoulder but Lalang didn't give up the lead, and in the final 20 meters, he pulled away to get a clear victory.

1	Boaz Kiplagat Lalang	KEN	1:47.11	20
2	Yuriy Borzakovskiy	RUS	1:47.34	16
3	Olexandr Osmolovych	UKR	1:47.35	14
4	Nadjim Manseur	ALG	1:47.46	12
5	Yusuf Saad Kamel	BRN	1:47.65	10
6	Michael Rimmer	GBR	1:47.98	8
7	Mattias Claesson	SWE	1:48.05	6
8	Dmitrijs Milkevics	LAT	1:48.17	4
	Vincent Mumo Kiilu	KEN	DNF

Sprints

Women's 200m - Allyson Felix Dominates Stacked Field In Stadium Record & World Leader
2007 double Worlds gold medalist Allyson Felix ran her best performance in almost 2 years with a 21.88-second thrashing of Debbie Ferguson, Kerron Stewart and co. in the half-lapper. Felix became the first woman to break 22.00 seconds in Stockholm Stadion, earning herself a diamond prize as the meet record holder. Her 21.88 is also the world leader for 2009.

Jamaica's Kerron Stewart has dominated the 100m this year, but finished way back behind Felix of the USA and Ferguson of the Bahamas.

For much of 2009, Felix has not looked nearly as good as she did back in 2007. But this race was different from the crack of the gun, as Felix shot out of the blocks like a rocket. She never let up and sent a powerful message heading in to the Berlin 200m. She will be very difficult to beat, as the former world leader was Ferguson at 22.32. That's right, Felix set the world's best by over four tenths of a second.

Results Wind +1.3m/s

1	Allyson Felix	USA	21.88	20
2	Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie	BAH	22.23	16
3	Kerron Stewart	JAM	22.72	14
4	Marshevet Hooker	USA	22.84	12
5	LaVerne Jones-Ferrette	ISV	23.15	10
6	Cydonie Mothersill	CAY	23.27	8
7	Alexandria Anderson	USA	23.32	6
8	Yuliya Chermoshanskaya	RUS	23.70	4

Men's 110m Hurdles - Dayron Robles Dominates
World record holder and Olympic champion Dayron Robles took an impressive win in 13.11 after another clean run. Away well at the gun, Robles barely nicked a hurdle en route to another win in his World Championships buildup. He was flanked by a symmetrical arrangement of 2 Americans and 1 Swede to both the left and right. Neither David Oliver nor David Payne were in the race, but Antwon Hicks was in lane 6. Earlier in the season, Hicks came very close to defeating Robles.

Results (Wind +0.3m/s)

1	Dayron Robles	CUB	13.11	20
2	Joel Brown	USA	13.38	16
3	Jason Richardson	USA	13.43	14
4	Eric Mitchum	USA	13.49	12
5	Shamar Sands	BAH	13.55	10
6	Philip Nossmy	SWE	13.67	8
7	Antwon Hicks	USA	13.68	6
8	Robert Kronberg	SWE	13.74	4

Men's 400m - Jeremy Wariner Gets Another Tune-Up Win
Jeremy Wariner ran a conservative race, pouring it on in the final 150m to take an easy win in Stockholm. Faced with the world's best 400m hurdlers in Kerron Clement and Bershawn Jackson, plus Wake Forest and Great Britain force Michael Bingham, Wariner cruised to an easy victory, 44.83 to 45.49 over Bingham, then Clement.

Swedish favorite Johan Wissman was out well to the inside of Wariner, making up ground on the world champion adidas signee. Down the stretch, Wissman tightened and finished near the back of the results sheet on a relatively windy, cool day. As they say in Sweden, they're having a Swedish summer of mid-60s weather with winds and overcast skies.

1	Jeremy Wariner	USA	44.83	20
2	Michael Bingham	GBR	45.49	16
3	Ricardo Chambers	JAM	45.54	14
4	Kerron Clement	USA	45.83	12
5	Johan Wissman	SWE	45.91	10
6	Sean Wroe	AUS	45.91	8
7	Rabah Yusuf	SUD	45.95	6
8	Bershawn Jackson	USA	45.96	4

Women's 400m - Shericka Williams Gets Win In Low-Key Race
With Sanya Richards resting this weekend, her competitors got the chance to actually win a race and Jamaica's Shericka Williams took full advantage with a powerful final 50m. Top Americans Monica Hargrove and Natasha Hastings were 3rd and 5th.

1	Shericka Williams	JAM	50.63	20
2	Antonina Krivoshapka	RUS	50.80	16
3	Monica Hargrove	USA	51.01	14
4	Novlene Williams-Mills	JAM	51.15	12
5	Natasha Hastings	USA	51.49	10
6	Aliann Pompey	GUY	51.49	8
7	Nicola Sanders	GBR	51.55	5
7	Yulia Gushchina	RUS	51.55	5

Women's 100m Hurdles - Priscilla Lopes-Schliep Gets Biggest Win Of The Season Over Lolo Jones
Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep overcame a strong start by Australia's Sally McClellan and a strong finish by American world leader Lolo Jones to take a big victory in Stockholm. Her winning time of 12.51 was a personal best and she needed every hundredth as Jones was right behind in 12.52.

Seemingly never on balance, Lolo Jones was weaving and stumbling, even stepping in to lane 3 in the final meters of the race. To only lose by 0.01 seconds has to be encouraging considering her apparent lack of ease on the course.

Results Wind +0.9m/sec

1	Priscilla Lopes-Schliep	CAN	12.51	20
2	LoLo Jones	USA	12.52	16
3	Brigitte Foster-Hylton	JAM	12.57	14
4	Sally McLellan	AUS	12.64	12
5	Perdita Felicien	CAN	12.65	10
6	Tiffany Ofili	USA	12.82	8
7	Anay Tejeda	CUB	12.96	6
8	Virginia Powell	USA	13.12	4

Field Events

Men's Pole Vault - Hooker Struggles Again, Falls To Another Disappointing Loss
Misses at 5.31m, 5.51, 5.61 and ultimately failure at 5.71 doomed 2008 Olympic champion Steve Hooker to another surprising defeat in Europe. Only 2 weeks remain until the start of the Berlin World Championships, and Hooker is having major problems with not only his run but his depth into the pit. At both 5.61 and 5.71m, Hooker had massive clearances on height alone but could not keep from hitting the bar on the way down.

American Toby Stevenson was relieved to at least clear 5.31 on his third attempt, but could progress no further. Swedes were delighted as homegrown Jesper Fritz won the competition in a tie with Maksym Mazuryk of the Ukraine.

1	Jesper Fritz	SWE	5.61	18
1	Maksym Mazuryk	UKR	5.61	18
3	Steven Hooker	AUS	5.61	14
4	Pavel Gerasimov	RUS	5.51	12
5	Viktor Chistiakov	RUS	5.51	10
6	Paul Burgess	AUS	5.31	7
6	Sergey Kucheryanu	RUS	5.31	7
8	Toby Stevenson	USA	5.31	2
8	Alexander Straub	GER	5.31	2
	Fábio Gomes da Silva	BRA	NM
	Alhaji Jeng	SWE	NM

Men's High Jump - Huge Win For American Jesse Williams
Facing most of the world's top high jumpers, including the best from Russia, American youngster Jesse Williams earned one of the greatest wins of his career with a narrow victory over multi-time Worlds and Olympic medalist Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia. Left at lower heights were Jaroslav Bába, Andra Manson, Germaine Mason and notably Ivan Ukhov.

Barely a week ago, Rybakov and Ukhov went 1-2 in the Russian Trials in world-best tying 2.35m. In Stockholm, Williams was able to upend both of them with a first attempt clearance at 2.27m and a second attempt clearance of 2.30m. Rybakov also cleared 2.30m but lost on jumps.

American Tora Harris, 3rd in the US Trials in June, finished last in 2.14m, well below his seasonal best of 2.31m. Also surely disappointed was Mason of Great Britain, an Olympic medalist from 2008. He only managed 2.20m for 8th. 2004 Olympic medalist Jaroslav Bába continues to show that he is a dangerous entrant for Worlds with a 2.27m clearance for third place over Ukhov.

1	Jesse Williams	USA	2.30	20
2	Yaroslav Rybakov	RUS	2.30	16
3	Jaroslav Bába	CZE	2.27	14
4	Ivan Ukhov	RUS	2.24	12
5	Andra Manson	USA	2.24	10
6	Aleksey Dmitrik	RUS	2.24	8
7	Aleksandr Shustov	RUS	2.20	6
8	Germaine Mason	GBR	2.20	4
9	Kabelo Kgosiemang	BOT	2.15
10	Tora Harris	USA	2.15

Women's Long Jump - Close Competition Won By Russian Champ
The last round was the best round for Russian champion Yelena Sokolova, as she took the competition win by 2 centimeters over Estonia's Ksenija Balta and Brittney Reese of the USA. Most of the world's best in the long jump were in attendance, making it a big win for Sokolova. Americans Reese and Funmi Jimoh both competed admirably, but were narrowly outside the top 2 as they took 3rd and 4th.

1	Yelena Sokolova	RUS	6.84	+3.0	20
2	Ksenija Balta	EST	6.82	+2.2	16
3	Brittney Reese	USA	6.81	+1.6	14
4	Funmi Jimoh	USA	6.74	+1.0	12
5	Olga Kucherenko	RUS	6.65	+3.2	10
6	Jovanee Jarrett	JAM	6.59	+2.7	8
7	Tatyana Lebedeva	RUS	6.54	+2.4	6
8	Darya Klishina	RUS	6.50	+1.2	4
9	Olga Balayeva	RUS	6.34	+0.6
10	Viktoriya Molchanova	UKR	6.30	+2.6
11	Brianna Glenn	USA	6.28	+0.7

Men's Javelin - Thorkildsen Wins With Ease In Stockholm
Two-time Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen essentially iced the competition in the first round, besting every competitor by over 10 meters to the delight of the Scandinavian crowd. The Norweigan has been on a tear of late, and with the absence of rival Tero Pitkämäki of Finland, the win was almost a foregone conclusion for Thorkildsen.

But Thorkildsen wasn't content with an easy win. Over the course of the competition, he unleashed not only the 6 best throws of the day, but also 5 throws over 84.47m. Earlier in the season he was struggling to find consistency, but now Thorkildsen has hit his groove and looks to extend his global domination with a win in Berlin. His winning throw was an excellent 86.85m.

1	Andreas Thorkildsen	NOR	86.85	20
2	Oleksandr Pyatnytsya	UKR	79.15	16
3	Eriks Rags	LAT	78.67	14
4	Mike Hazle	USA	77.76	12
5	Petr Frydrych	CZE	77.07	10
6	Gabriel Wallin	SWE	74.95	8
7	Jonas Lohse	SWE	73.52	6
8	Sergey Makarov	RUS	72.43	4
9	Ainars Kovals	LAT	72.33
10	Thomas Smet	BEL	71.82
	Vadims Vasilevskis	LAT	NM