The Week That Was In Running - May 23-30, 2011
To read last week's LRC Week That Was, click Here.
To read any 2010 LRC Week That Was, click Here.
By LetsRun.com
May 30, 2011
Last week, Usain Bolt shocked the world by barely winning, whereas Khadevis Robinson shocked the world by winning convincingly, World XC champ Imane Merga picked up the track season right where he left the XC season, and two female stars trying to rebound from sub-par 2010s had totally different results, as Maryam Yusuf Jamal shined and Sanya Richards-Ross struggled. Paula Radcliffe returned after an 18-month hiatus and struggled as well. Along the way, the NCAA regionals were held and Vin Lananna complained about the format even though his men and AJ Acosta greatly benefited from it. Along the way, Jos Hermens may have jinxed his star pupil Yenew Alamirew, who turned 21 last week.
****
Rome Golden Gala Diamond League - A Nervous Usain Bolt Wins (As Does Khadevis Robinson) *Results *Photos *IAAF Recap
The Rome Golden Gala was held last week and the meet was all about one thing - the return of Usain Bolt. It was Bolt's first race since losing to Tyson Gay last year.
Bolt won as he almost always does, but by no means did he look invincible. Bolt had to use a late race surge to catch Asafa Powell, who is incredibly good at running fast but losing big races that he likely should win.
What does it mean? Well, Tyson Gay fans should take heart as 9.91 is a good early season time but not one that will strike fear in Gay, as Gay ran 9.91 for the first 100 meters of his 150 meter race in the UK earlier this month. More importantly, after Beijing, Bolt had an aura of invincibility around him much like Tiger Woods had when he was in prime, and that aura of invincibility is gone - at least temporarily. Gay beat Bolt last year and now Bolt hasn't broken 9.80 for the 7th straight time that he's raced the 100.
That being said, it's way too early to really know what it means. In 2008 and 2009, when Bolt was on fire, his fastest first 100 of the season was just 9.93. Admittedly, in both of those years, he opened up in March at home in Jamaica, but Gay fans are likely saying to themselves, "If Bolt can run 9.91 as a rust buster and beat Powell in front of thousands in May, he likely can do much more in 2.5 months at the World Championships."
The key to look at will be to see what direction Bolt goes in from here. (Editor's Note: Bolt followed up his Rome run with a 9.91 win in Ostrava on Tuesday. Although the same time, the race in Ostrava was run into a headwind).
What was strange about Bolt's 100 was not the fact that he won but rather that he admitted to be nervous prior to the race.
Quote Of The Week #1 (That Wasn't Quote Of The Day)
"I think over time it should be OK. I got through my first race. I was so nervous. I
got a bad start and then kind of started to panic. My coach will analyse the race. I was not proud of the race, but I'm getting there. My
whole focus this year is getting ready for the World Championships."
- Bolt talking after his victory in Rome as reported by The Independent's Simon Turnbull.
Khadevis Robinson Beats Two World Champions And An Olympic Champion
In terms of the mid-d and distance action in Rome, we were thrilled to see one of the best interviews in the sport in Khadevis Robinson shock the world in Rome and win the men's 800. A week ago, this guy was running at 9 pm at night at Occidental College in front of basically zero fans and now he's defeating the last two world champions at 800 and the Olympic champion at 1,500 in the 800 in front of 47,000 in Rome? It doesn't get any better than that.
Kudos to Robinson for winning and even more kudos for Robinson for getting in the race (and also kudos for his agent for getting him a spot on the start line), as far too many Americans think track is about training for some race that's 4 away time or racing in front of zero fans than it is about racing in front of thousands and a worldwide television audience.
Other Americans getting Olympic "A" qualifying times were Christin Wurth-Thomas in the 1,500 (4:03.72 - 6th, winning time of 4:01.60) and Sara Hall (9:39.48 - 6th, winning time of 9:12.89) in the steeplechase.
However, the real story in the distances was that 2011 World XC champion Imane Merga got the win in 12:54.21. Merga won in Rome last year, but the 12:54 was just off his PR of 12:53.58 and was his best season opener by a ton (13:04.68 in 2009). At 22 years young, Merga looks like he might be a real force to be reckoned with this summer on the track, as the World XC title likely has given him a ton of confidence.
Quote Of The Week #2 (That Wasn't Quote Of The Day)
"Last year I really didnt have a complete season, so I wasnt sure if I
could get into Prefontaine or the New York (adidas Grand Prix) meet. So
I needed a race. My agent and my coach convinced me to go."
- Khadevis Robinson talking to Runnersworld after his big win.
Allyson Felix Shines/Sanya Richards-Ross Struggles
One of the headlines out of Rome was that Allyson Felix won the 400-meter showdown over Sanya Richards-Ross. However, that headline was misleading, as if one didn't look closely at the results, they'd realize that Ross was way, way back:
1 |
Allyson Felix |
USA | 49.81 |
2 |
Amantle Montsho |
BOT | 50.47 |
3 |
Francena McCorory |
USA | 50.70 |
4 |
Debbie Dunn |
USA | 50.79 |
5 |
Sanya Richards-Ross |
USA |
50.98
|
Richards-Ross missed basically all of last year with a host of ailments (she only raced at USAs and didn't even run the final there). In addition to Behcet's Syndrome, she also had a bruised tailbone, twisted ankle and pulled quad. One of the big storylines to open the year is, "Will Richards-Ross return to the form that saw her win the world title in 2009?"
The early answer doesn't look promising. Back in early May, Richards-Ross spoke very highly of her prospects for the 2011 season as she told the Jamaica Gleaner:
"Preparation has been probably the best it has ever been. I started working out in September because I wasn't running last year so it's the earliest I ever started my off-season training. I have had a few little setbacks here and there but nothing major, so I feel really good and I'm really looking forward to running on Saturday."
That Saturday, Richards-Ross was just 5th in Jamaica in 51.62. In Rome, she was 5th again in 50.98.
The good news for fans of Richards-Ross is she's getting faster each week (her only other 400 was a 52.00 win on April 23rd). The bad news is she still has a ways to go. Remember, she is someone who ran 50.69 back in HS in 2002. (Editor's Note: Sanya Richards-Ross followed up her performance in Rome with a nearly identical 50.99 performance in Ostrava on Tuesday).
More Rome: LRC: Usain Bolt Nips Powell, Khadevis Robinson Storms From Last To First To Shock The World On The Boards: Khadevis Robinson beats start studded Rome 800m field to win in 1:45.10 *Allyson Felix Defeats Sanya Richards Ross In 400 In Rome *IAAF Recap Of Rome Golden Gala Meet *Bolt Edges Powell As - Believe it Or Not - Nerves Caused Him To Get A Bad Start *Video Of Usain Bolt Beating Asafa Powell In Rome *"Beefed Up" Bolt Wins *LJ Van Zyl Continues His Winning Ways In 400m Hurdles In Rome
****
Maryam Yusuf Jamal Returns To Form
Last year was a disastrous one for the 2007 and 2009 world champion at 1,500 meters, Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain. From mid-May to mid-August, she was simply awful, as shown by the following race record:
Time - Place - Meet - Location - Date
4:09.25 | 10 | Diamond | Doha | 14 May | |
4:10.53 | 9 | FBKG | Hengelo | 30 May | |
4:06.09 | 13 | Areva | Saint-Denis | 16 Jul | |
4:03.29 | 8 | DNG | Stockholm | 6 Aug | |
4:15.60 | 14 | Aviva | London | 13 Aug |
At the end of the year, Jamal returned to her normal form, running great in her last two races of the year, as she won in Rieti with the 2nd fastest time of the year (3:58.93) before easily capturing the Asian Games in November.
3:58.93 | 1 | Rieti 2010 | Rieti | 29 Aug | |
4:08.22 | 1 | AsianG | Guangzhou | 23 Nov |
How a two-time world champion never finishes higher than 8th or runs faster than 4:03 from mid-May to mid-August is beyond us, but her quick turnaround was equally puzzling.
As was the case for Richards-Ross, one of the big questions heading into 2011 was what could be expected of Jamal? Would the good or bad Jamal show up?
It looks we have an answer - the good one.
Jamal opened her 2011 track season last week in fantastic fashion. She got things going by the field in Rome on Thursday with a world-leading 4:01.60 in Rome (winning by .62) before setting another world lead with another dominant victory in Hengelo on Sunday in 4:00.44 (winning by .64).
Of course, the year is 2011, so one should naturally expect good things for Jamal, as she thrives in odd years. In 2007 and 2009, Jamal won the world title and only lost once each year up through the World Championships. Looks like she's well on her way to another world title in 2011.
****
Paula Radcliffe Returns - But Not To Form
After being out for 18 months to have a second child, marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe returned to action on Monday with a disastrous 33:17 10k performance which saw her running way slower for 10km than she did for the marathon in her prime. That 33:17 time equates to 2:20:26 marathon pace, which is the type of effort Radcliffe will likely need if she is going to contend for the Olympic gold in 2012. Yes, it's a bad time, but we aren't willing to write Radcliffe off by any stretch of the imagination.
1) Does anyone remember how quickly Kara Goucher turned it around earlier this year? She knocked almost 5:00 off of her half marathon in the span of two months as she ran 74:02 on January 16th and 69:03 on March 20th.
2) Radcliffe may have returned to action, but she is suffering from a back injury which is limiting her power. Had she run 33:17 without an injury, then we'd be worried. Let's see what she does in her next race. That being said, injuries - not age - are the one thing that might prevent Radcliffe from contending in 2012.
Quote Of The Week #3 (That Wasn't Quote Of The Day)
"I know deep down if I'm healthy I can still
get in (to contention), but I also know deep down I'm not going to - and
I'm not trying to - run 30 minutes 20 seconds for a 10km race again
(her world record for the distance, set in 2003, is 30mins 21secs).
But I don't need to, I want to run a marathon, I want to be able to run a bit faster than the pace I ran Monday for a marathon. I'd be happy with that. I'm not going to run personal bests over 1,500m, or 3km any more and I don't need to."
- Paula Radcliffe putting her race in perspective to SportingLife.com and showing perfectly that she understands what she needs to do over the next 15 months.
More: Paula's Return Is A "Bit Of A Disaster" & Results In Tears At Finish The marathon world record holder hadn't raced in 18 months and her much-anticipated return to action went horribly wrong. A tear in one of the discs in her back resulted in her generating no power and running a slower pace for 10k than she'd like for a marathon (33:17). Radcliffe: "I didnt have any power."*IAAF Recap Of Bupa London 10,000- Jo Pavey And Mo Farah Win *MBoard: Paula third Mo wins
****
Quote Of The Week #4 (That Wasn't Quote Of The Day)
"Yenew (Alamirew) is more than Haile (Gebrselassie) and Kenenisa (Bekele) a runner for the 1,500 and 3,000
metres. With his speed and running style he looks a
lot like Daniel Komen, who is holder of the World record 3,000 metres
indoors and outdoors ... We think he can become a really good athlete. His
progression is huge, and all the things he does look really impressive."
- Agent Jos Hermens talking about Ethiopia's Yenew Alamirew, who turned 21 last week, prior to his 2011 5,000 debut in Hengelo. Comparing Alamirew to three of the greatest in history is high, high praise (and praise the he might deserve given his two wins earlier this year in 7:27 at 3,000 ), but Alamirew didn't quite live up the hype in Hengelo.
A compliment like that was bound to jinx him, wasn't it?
Alamirew did PR at 13:02, but he didn't get the win in a race won by 2008 Olympic bronze medallist at 5,000, Edwin Soi, who also is the reigning African champ at 5,000.
More From Hengelo: *Hengelo Photos *Hengelo Results *Senegal Results *Maryam Jamal Runs 4:00 World Leader In 1,500m, Dayron Robles Shows It's A 3-Man Battle In 110 Hurdles With 13.07 Win This is always one of the better non DL meets, but the withdrawal of Kenenisa Bekele and David Rudisha with injuries hurt. *Results
****
NCAA 1st Round Is Held
Last week, the first round of the NCAA D1 championships were held and - yet again - a few top coaches like Oregon coach Vin Lananna ripped the system as did a few in the media, who said the event is good for spectators. We'll take a few minutes now to rebut the criticisms that the NCAA first round gets from the top coaches - that it's a waste of time and bad for the stars - and discuss the media criticism that it is spectator unfriendly.
To The Coaches - Stop Whining - The NCAA Regional Format Is Actually Good For Your Stars
1) The NCAA regionals/first round is actually beneficial to the huge stars - guys or girls who are dreaming of big-time showings late into the summer - as it takes the pressure off of them and allows them to actually train between indoors and outdoors instead of chasing a big mark early in the year to ensure they qualify for NCAAs.
Someone like Sam Chelanga or Chris Derrick doesn't need to produce a top notch 10k and 5k early in the outdoor season to make sure they qualify. Or someone who has been hurt, like 2010 NCAA indoor 800-meter champ Robby Andrews of Virginia, can come back from injury slowly and focus on being ready in mid-June instead of chasing a time.
Lananna may get most of the press as he's in track-mad Eugene, but it appears to us that many coaches seem to be slowly coming around to the notion that the NCAA 1st round is actually good for the athletes, as they can really focus on doing what's best for the athlete and getting them ready for mid-June. We talked to one coach of an NCAA champion who told LRC, "I didn't think this regionals was going to be any good, but I'm starting to like it."
2) One of track and field's inherent beauties is its simplicity and regionals is the ultimate representation of this simplicity. Instead of giving huge advantages to programs with enormous budgets that can send athletes to chase times in California anytime they want, everyone gets to compete for NCAA finals on a level playing field. Plus, it's great practice for later in their careers, when the very best will have to deal with the pressure of the US Olympic Trials.
To The Media Members Saying Regionals Isn't Fan Friendly - You've Got A Point, But The Meet Isn't For The Fans; It's For The Athletes
We've got a lot more sympathy for media members who say that regionals is super-boring for fans than we do for coaches who complain because they worry one of their star athletes won't be able to qualify. We at Letsrun.com have said the sport of track and field needs to constantly be thinking of the fans. However, the whole notion that the first round of NCAAs should be scrapped because it's not a great meet for fans is ludicrous. Call us hypocrites on this one if you want. The regionals are about creating a better NCAA meet and the current regional qualifying system, where everyone has to qualify on merit, is fairer than the older system.
We like regionals for the following reasons:
1) The NCAA first round isn't primarily about the fans - it's about the athletes who have spent years trying to make it to nationals. The meet is by far the fairest way to advance people to NCAA finals and it's critical that this constituency - the athletes - not be forgotten. Last year, we did an exhaustive analysis of how the "Pure Regionals" is good, which you can read here (editorial), here (men's analysis), and here (women's analysis).
2) By getting the best athletes to the NCAAs, won't you agree the final round is more special and more spectacular for the fans, as shown by last year's meet? Instead of having 20% of the field being filled by athletes who peaked in March or April, the NCAA finals are 100% filled by in-form competitors.
3) What fans? We're tired of hearing that if only track and field were presented better it would be wildly popular. If you are a track fan and want to go to spectator-friendly meet, there were scores of high school state meets taking place last weekend. While the first round may not primarily be about the fans, 20,082 fans reportedly came out to watch in Eugene this past weekend. Hard-core track fans are going to be the main constituency for regionals regardless of the format. Prior to last year, there were four regionals with a hybrid automatic/time qualifying system and it was a scored meet. Fans didn't care who won the regionals as a team, as regionals is about one thing - qualifying for nationals.
4) Think about the alternatives. Are time trials in April exciting for fans and generating huge crowds? No they are not. So stop coming up with excuses to scrap a very fair system that takes away the huge advantages that rich programs have when NCAAs are all based on times, as they can chase times at numerous meets throughout the season. Additionally, track and field's obsession with time trials is killing the sport - the emphasis needs to be on racing, and regionals is all about competition.
LetsRun.com Proposes An Alternative - But One We Know The Coaches Would Hate
As we said above, we love regionals, as it appeals to the simplistic nature of track and field and it's fair for the athletes. The only way to make it more fan friendly would be to go a step further and go to a four-region system with the top six in each event qualifying - no time qualifiers That way, there would at least be a regional champion in each event.
The coaches don't want to do this because various events in various regions would be way stronger/weaker than others and the top coaches can think of nothing worse than, say, having a guy who is #5 in the NCAA on paper finish 7th in his region and not make the show.
But let's be honest, no matter what the format, the regionals aren't going to draw huge crowds, as everyone knows it's just the warmup for the big meet two weeks later. Just as the trials of the 100 meters will never draw the same crowd as the final, neither will regionals.
Regionals/First Round 2011 - What Actually Happened
Below, we've broken down this year's regional field for the 800, 1,500, steeple, 5,000 and 10,000 to show you who got in and who didn't. Ironically, even though their coach thinks the NCAA 1st round is a waste of time, the Oregon men benefited from the format this year, as under a time-based system, 2010 NCAA 1,500 runner-up AJ Acosta wouldn't have made NCAAs, but he qualified easily last weekend.
More: NCAA Division I Preliminary Rounds (East Region) Results - NCAA Division I Preliminary Rounds (West Region) Results
2011 NCAA Regional 1st Round Women's Advancers 800 Through 10,000 |
|
Women 800 East
1 Chanelle Price JR Tennessee 2:04.22D |
Women 800 West 1 Anne Kesselring SO Oregon 2:02.44D 2 Lea Wallace SR Sacramento St. 2:02.95D 3 Anna Layman SR Washington St. 2:03.48D |
Women's 1,500 East
1 Sheila Reid JR Villanova 4:11.85D 2 Renee Tomlin SR Georgetown 4:13.15D 3 Lucy Van Dalen JR Stony Brook 4:15.13D |
Women's 1,500 West 1 Jordan Hasay SO Oregon 4:10.28D 2 Lea Wallace SR Sacramento St. 4:11.31D 3 Katrina Drennen JR Montana 4:15.34D 4 Stephanie Morgan SO Illinois 4:15.90D 5 Kristen Gillespie JR Arkansas 4:17.45D 6 Ashley Miller JR Nebraska 4:18.70D 7 Katie Flood FR Washington 4:18.80D |
Women's Steeple East 1 Stephanie Garcia SR Virginia 9:55.10D 2 Alyssa Kulik JR Clemson 10:05.51D 3 Keara Thomas SR Charlotte 10:09.50D 4 Nicol Traynor JR Richmond 10:11.20D 5 Genevieve LaCaze JR Florida 10:12.33D 6 Sarah Pease SR Indiana 10:12.38D 7 Katie Hursey JR Syracuse 10:13.39D 8 Meghan Cunningham JR Connecticut 10:14.07D |
Women's Steeple West 1 Emma Coburn JR Colorado 9:40.51D 2 Rebeka Stowe JR Kansas 9:53.12D 3 Shalaya Kipp SO Colorado 10:03.37D 4 Claire Michel SR Oregon 10:04.65D 5 Eva Krchova SO San Francisco 10:05.53D 6 Klara Bodinson SO SMU 10:06.63D 7 Kara DeWalt SR Montana 10:11.44D |
Women's 5,000 East 1 Bogdana Mimic SO Villanova 15:48.49D 2 Emily MacLeod SR Michigan State 16:00.40D 3 Lydia Kosgei JR Eastern Kentucky 16:07.14D |
Women's 5,000 West 1 Jordan Hasay SO Oregon 15:37.29D 2 Paula Whiting SR Tulsa 15:46.91D |
Women's 10,000 East
1 Kimberly Ruck JR Clemson 33:16.45D 2 Katie Matthews JR Boston U. 33:16.97D 3 Juliet Bottorff SO Duke 33:18.45D 4 Bridget Lyons SR Georgia 33:31.14D 5 Kara Millhouse JR Penn State 33:31.93D |
Women's 10,000 West 1 Tara Erdmann SR Loyola Marymount 33:10.15D 2 Tonya Nero SR Wichita State 33:11.71D 3 Betsy Saina JR Iowa State 33:13.87D |
2011 NCAA Regional 1st Round Men's Advancers 800 Through 10,000 |
|
Men 800 East
1 Fred Samoei SR Alabama 1:45.52D 2 Casimir Loxsom SO Penn State 1:46.45D 3 Sharif Webb SR Kentucky 1:47.19D 4 Sean Obinwa SO Florida 1:47.73D 5 Willie Brown SO Akron 1:48.13D 6 Jack Howard SR Notre Dame 1:48.24D 7 Felix Kitur SR VMI 1:48.41D |
Men 800 West 1 Charles Jock JR UC Irvine 1:45.19D 2 Ryan Martin JR UC Santa Barbara 1:45.34D 3 Cory Primm SR UCLA 1:46.20D 4 Elijah Greer SO Oregon 1:47.70D 5 Michael Preble JR Texas A&M 1:47.71D |
Men's 1,500 East 1 Kris Gauson SR Butler 3:40.59D 2 Dumisane Hlaselo JR Florida 3:40.66D 3 Jeremy Rae SO Notre Dame 3:41.11D 4 Julian Matthews JR Providence 3:41.72D |
Men's 1,500 West 1 Miles Batty JR BYU 3:36.25D 2 Duncan Phillips JR Arkansas 3:39.87D 3 Chris O'Hare SO Tulsa 3:41.08D 4 David Bishop SR New Mexico 3:41.12D 5 Patrick Casey SO Montana State 3:41.34D 6 Abdi Hassan JR Arizona 3:41.57D 7 Matthew Centrowitz JR Oregon 3:41.73D |
Men's Steeple East 1 Travis Mahoney JR Temple 8:37.23D 2 Donn Cabral JR Princeton 8:41.93D 3 De'Sean Turner JR Indiana 8:42.09D 4 Adrien Dannemiller SR Cornell 8:42.14D 5 Andrew Poore JR Indiana 8:43.45D 6 Matt Hughes SR Louisville 8:44.39D 7 Cory Leslie JR Ohio State 8:45.18D 8 Ryan McDermott SR Duke 8:45.42D 9 Matt Cleaver JR Georgia 8:45.76D 10 Andrew Benford SR Richmond 8:46.12D |
Men's Steeple West 1 Steve Finley SR Oregon 8:36.98D 2 Justin Tyner SR Air Force 8:37.54D 3 Brett Hales SR Weber State 8:39.64D |
Men's 5,000 East 1 Ryan Hill SO NC State 13:31.67D 2 Ben Cheruiyot JR Auburn 13:41.80D 3 Andrew Colley FR NC State 13:44.79D 4 Mark Amirault SR Princeton 13:45.69D |
Men's 5,000 West 1 Elliott Heath SR Stanford 13:26.14D 2 Thomas Farrell SO Oklahoma State 13:26.59D 3 Diego Estrada JR Northern Arizona 13:26.94D 4 Chris Derrick JR Stanford 13:29.74D |
Men's 10,000 East 1 Leonard Korir SR Iona 27:29.40D 2 Sam Chelanga SR Liberty 28:15.64D 3 Ciaran O'Lionaird SR Florida State 28:32.30D 4 Michael Fout SO Florida State 28:34.50D 5 Matt Llano SR Richmond 28:43.30D |
Men's 10,000 West 1 Stephen Sambu JR Arizona 27:28.64D 2 Keith Gerrard SR New Mexico 28:27.03D |
****
Recommended Reads/Watches/Listens
*Meet Temple's Unlikely Steeple Star Travis Mahoney A year ago, Mahoney had never broken 9:00. Now he's hoping to be Temple's first NCAA scorer in 40 years.
*Profile About The Details Of "Blade Runner's" Life And His Dream Of Becoming An Olympian
*Sammy Wanjiru's Dangerous Idea: What If We Ran The Marathon With No Fear?
*Q&A With Bolder Boulder Founder Frank Shorter
*BBC Audio Interview Of Teary Radcliffe, Who Says She Was "Embarrassed" But Explains Her Medical Problem
****
Other Happenings Of Note
Senegal: Caster Semenya Wins In 2:00.61, Prefontaine Up Next *Results
Comrades: Stephen Muzhingi Becomes First Man To 3-Peat, Elena Nurgalieva Recovers From Fall To Beat Her Twin Sister
Hypo Götzis: World Champs Jessica Ennis And Trey Hardee Dominate Heptathlon And Decathlon At Götzis
Canada: Taylor Milne Sets Canadian 2,000m Record Of 5:01.37
2011 Bolder Boulder *Elite Results With Mile Split
US Women Use Slow-Start Strategy To Finish Surprising 2nd As Ryan Hall Runs 30:29 Amy Hastings (34:19) led the US women with a 4th-place showing individually in a race that was dominated by Lineth Chepkurui (32:29). James Carney (30:16) was the #1 American man over Ryan Hall (30:29), as Crescent City winner Belete Assefa won in 29:22. For comparison's sake, in 2008,
Hall ran 30:07 at Bolder Boulder. MBoard: Bolder
oulder Race Coverage
Sammy Wanjiru Story Continues To Look More and More Like A Real Life Soap Opera
Wanjiru Died Because Of Blunt Trauma To Back Of Head (Could Be From Fall) Some in Kenya, including this guy,
are suspicious Wanjiru's injuries were on the back of his head. Meanwhile, the drama with the women claiming to be Wanjiru's wives and men claiming to be his dad continues.
*2nd Man Steps Forward Claiming to Be Wanjiru's Biological Father He's even got a photo to prove it, which the guy last week didn't. Plus Sammy's mom publicly confronted the first guy claiming to be his father.
Meanwhile, On The Wives Front: Wanjiru's 2nd Wife Gets DNA Testing Done To Prove The Child She Is Carrying Is His
Other NCAA Action: NAIA Championships
MEN: Shorter 66, Doane 59, Oklahoma Baptist 48 (74 teams)
WOMEN: Concordia (Ore.) 86, Oklahoma Baptist 69½, Shorter 63 (65 teams)
NCAA Division II Championships
Video Recap
MEN: DII-#1 Abilene Christian 68, DII-#4 Adams State 55, DII-#2 Lincoln
(Mo.) 51 (60 teams)
WOMEN: DII-#1 Grand Valley State 82½, DII-#2 Lincoln (Mo.) 68, DII-#3 Adams State 51 (65 teams)
NCAA Division III Championships
Video Recap
MEN: DIII-#1 North Central (Ill.) 58, DIII-#2 UW-La Crosse 56, DIII-#3 McMurry
50 (82 teams)
WOMEN: DIII-#1 UW-Oshkosh 80, DIII-#2 Wartburg 59, DIII-#3 Methodist 48 (83 teams)
****
Looking Ahead (Time To Start Getting Excited For ...)
This Weekend: Pre Classic
Next Weekend: NCAA Finals/adidas Grand Prix
****
Quotes Of The Day From Last Week
- American Marathon star Ryan Hall speaking before Monday's Bolder Boulder, where Hall is on the US Team. More Ryan Bolder Boulder here and here.
- Temple's Travis Mahoney, talking a fantastic piece that looks at his unreal outdoor season that has seen him go from over 9:00 to the #2 time in the NCAA after last night's 8:36.10 performance.
- Cory Primm, the fourth-fastest collegian 800 runner in history, talking about his expectations for the 2011 outdoor season after starting it injured. Last week, Primm ran 1:44.71.
- American Khadevis Robinson on his stunning 800m win yesterday in Rome, where he passed the entire field the last 250m, including the last 2 World Champions and 3 sub-1:43 runners.
- Lead runner on the US's World Championships marathon team, Nick Arciniaga, answering a question in his blog which asked what he will do for retirement since running makes him no money.
- Usain Bolt talking about Tyson Gay's dedication and work ethic. In Bolt's last race, Gay defeated him and that seems to have motivated Bolt. He has trimmed down, gained muscle, and is apparently not as much of a partier as he once was.
- LetsRun.com reader Elias Asch recapping his entertaining experience at the 100th Zazzle Bay to Breakers two weekends ago in San Francisco.
****
Last Week's Homepages
*Mon (May 30) *Sun (May 29) *Sat (May 28) *Fri (May 27) *Thu (May 26) *Wed
(May 25) *Tue (May 24)
|
|
|
Runner's World &
Running Times
Combined Only $22
a Year
Save $87
Running & Track and Field Posters
Offers of interest: Nike Lunar Glide Discount Discounting on this shoe not allowed until recently.