Sally Kipyego Leads Six World-Leading Marks at Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitation
By David Monti
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
April 29, 2012
PALO ALTO (29-Apr) -- Sally Kipyego's solo 14:43.11 for 5000m was just
one of six world-leading marks set in the middle and long distance
events at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University
here tonight. Athletes enjoyed near-perfect conditions: warm in the
late afternoon for the middle distance races, and cool at night for the
longer events.
Kipyego, last summer's IAAF World Championships silver medalist at
10,000m, surged immediately away from the field after the gun, getting
to 1000 meters in 2:58.4, and 3000 meters in 8:55.5 with a commanding
lead. She said it was important to her to feel comfortable in a fast
rhythm in advance of the Kenyan Trials in June which will pick her
nation's Olympic team.
"This is the only 5-K I will run before the Trials," Kipyego told
reporters. "We talked with coach and we thought --I thought-- that I
needed to run 71's, or close to that pace, because I needed to get my
body to realize that in a month or so I'll have to be able to run that
with maybe ten girls in the race. I needed to get comfortable and test
the way that I am."
Sporting a new shorter haircut, the former NCAA champion for Texas Tech
kept in the 70 to 71 second range for most of her laps, then sprinted
home in 65.2 to get the win. Her time was also a stadium record,
breaking Sonia O'Sullivan's 2004 mark of 14:58.43.
Behind Kipyego, her Nike Oregon Track Club teammate Julia Lucas had her best track race in years, and probably of her career. Lucas lopped 25 seconds off of her career best time, clocking a USA-leading 15:08.52, well inside of the IAAF Olympic Games "A" standard of 15:20.00. Her run was particularly satisfying because she had battled injuries for several years.
Running More Like a
Silver Medallist Than an NCAA Star
"I was just injured in so many ways," Lucas lamented. "I was a mess."
American Julie Culley (15:13.87), Britons Barbara Parker (15:14.26) and Steph Twell (15:15.24), and Jessica Tebo (15:19.43) also finished within the Olympic "A" standard.
In the men's 5000m, USA Olympian Lopez Lomong provided the small crowd
with a different kind of thrill. Making his 5000m debut on the track,
Lomong scooted away from the field with a 53.2-second penultimate lap,
then spread his arms as if he had won and stopped running, even though
there was still one lap remaining in the race.
"When somebody say you got one more lap to go, I was like, huh?" an embarrassed Lomong said.
Despite the long pause, he nonetheless ran 66.3 seconds for the final
lap to win in a world-leading 13:11.63. Kenya's Kevin Chelimo got
second (13:14.57) and Matt Tegenkamp third in 13:15.00. In all, seven
athletes got under the Olympic "A" standard of 13:20.00.
The women's 10,000m race saw a spirited battle between Iowa State star
Betsy Saina and marathoner Amy Hastings which resulted in yet another
world-leading time. Lisa Uhl of the Nike Oregon Track Club set a fast
early pace, passing through halfway in 15:39. She was still leading
with nine laps to go, but was overtaken 200 meters later by Hastings and
Saina.
"Unfortunately, I just didn't have it today," said Uhl who would
nonetheless run 31:35.50, well under the Olympic "A" standard of
31:45.00.
Hastings and Saina ran together for most of the final eight laps, until
Saina pulled away with 250 meters to go to get the win in 31:15.97, a
new collegiate record, to Hastings's 31:19.87, a personal best.
Ireland's Fionnuala Britton finished third in a career best 31:29.22.
Saina said she drew inspiration from Kipyego's record-setting race
which came earlier in the evening.
"I was just, like, I'm going to do my best," Saina said. "I think I got
a lot of motivation from her race. I love watching her race. I hope
one day, one time, I can run with her."
After Saina, Hastings, and Britton, Britain's Julia Bleasdale
(31:29.57), America's Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (31:33.50) and Uhl
(31:35.50) all got under the Olympic "A" standard. Former American
record holder Deena Kastor got close in her first track race in five
years, clocking 31:49.23 in seventh place.
"I really thought I could get the 'A' standard today," Kastor said. "I
was a little panicked in the beginning, getting a really terrible start.
I just tried to maintain my composure and gradually get up with a pace
that I felt good with. But, I think that the start really threw me
off, and I just need to get back to the aggressiveness of the track
which I am lacking."
The men's 10,000m turned into a rollicking contest between two
collegiate athletes, Southern Utah's Cam Levins and Stanford's Chris
Derrick, and former Liberty University star Sam Chelanga. Derrick took
the lead with seven laps to go, but when the pace slowed to a 67.5
second lap, Chelanga took the pace down to 64.9 seconds, then 63.7 for
the penultimate lap. Levins was planning his next move.
"I felt like I had a good shot with a few laps left," Levins said. "I
didn't know how strong the other athletes were, or how they felt. So, I
was just hanging around preparing to respond to whatever happened."
Levins was only running third at the bell, but blasted a 55.8-second
final lap to shake Chelanga and clock a world-leading 27:27.96 in his
debut at the distance. Chelanga got second (27:29.82), while Derrick
notched an American collegiate record of 27:31.38 in third place,
despite being spiked repeatedly on his shins.
The other two world leaders came in the 1500m races. In the men's
contest, Britain's Andy Baddeley closed very strongly in 3:35.19 to get
the win and narrowly beat the Olympic "A" standard of 3:35.50.
"How do you like them apples?" Baddeley quipped. "I felt so good. That's the best I felt in years."
Twelve men broke 3:40.00, including American mile record holder Alan Webb who clocked 3:38.86.
Anna Pierce won the women's 1500m with a powerful kick from 150 meters
out. Sweeping wide on the final turn, she passed Brenda Martinez and
Canadian Hilary Stellingwerff to win in 4:07-flat, her best time since
her 2010 season.
"I felt supremely comfortable," a delighted Pierce said. "I think when I
go into a race and say to myself, 'this is going to be very hard, it's
always hard at the beginning of the season, just prepare yourself, it's
going to be rough.' I just went into it; it's going to be a fight.
Someone's going to punch you, you punch back. So, I didn't give up any
space. So, with 500 to go I felt really good. You know, it's a great
feeling."
In the other distance events, no Olympic "A" standards were achieved.
Prince Mumba (1:47.04) and Morgan Uceny (2:02.46) won the 800m, and
Kyle Alcorn (8:26.66) and Shalaya Kipp (9:43.09) won the steeplechase
events. Kipp missed the "A" standard by 9/100ths of a second.
More Stanford: LRC Men's Recap
*LRC Women's Recap
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