Where Your Dreams Become Reality


Main Front Page

What's Let's Run.com?

SAVE ON SHOES

Training Advice

World Famous:
Message Board

Turn Back The Clock!
Today's Top Runners Talk About Their High School Careers

Opinions
Miler Scott Anderson's Journal

Wejo Speaks

Rojo Speaks

JK Speaks

LetsRun.com Privacy Policy

Contact Us

Advertise on LetsRun.com 
Click Here for More Info

 

LRC: LetsRun.com Recap of Day 1 of 2008 London Grand Prix
July 25, 2008
LetsRun.com
*Watch Meet on Demand Here (Video Highlights Below)
*Photos
*Full Results

The 2008 London Grand Prix was a shocker on a number of fronts. Coming into the meet, it seemed as if many were expecting Beijing to serve as an easy coronation for Allyson Felix as queen of the 200m and for Bernard Lagat as king of the men's 1,500m (and possibly the 5k). Today's meet showed that nothing will be easy. You must be totally on top of your game to win Olympic Gold.

Men's Mile (48:20 into WCSN.com broadcast)
The rabbits took the race out hard (57.39 at 409m) but the field wasn't intersted in going with them. The field ran bunched together about 1.5 seconds behind the rabbits (who passed 809m in 1:57.98 and 1,209m in 2:57.82) throughout the first three laps. When the last of the two rabbits stepped off the track at the bell, Kenya's Shedrack Korir and America's Bernard Lagat were in perfect position in second and third. Lagat was on the inside but the veteran then made a rookie mistake. Heading down the backstretch, he let Andrew Baddeley pass him on the outside. Once this happened, Lagat didn't feel comfortable in trying to pull a Nick Symmonds move and wait for things open up on the inside (in reality, if he'd just stayed where he was he probably would have gotten an opening).

Instead, Lagat tried to move out but before he could do so, the big Aussie Craig Mottram had also moved up on the outside. Thus Lagat was forced to move back before he could get out and a slew of guys moved ahead of him, including former FSU Seminole Tom Lancashire.  Thus with 110m to go, Lagat was only in 6th running in the outside of lane two. Once he broke free, Lagat was moving as fast as anyone in the field (Baddeley was probably equally as fast over the final 100m) but it was too late as he finished a well beaten third. Korir, the bronze medallist at last year's World Championships, stayed in the lead the entire last circuit, controlling the race once the rabbits left.  Baddeley made a furious charge at Korir in the final 30m and almost got him just before the tape but ran out of room.

It was a nice consolation win for Korir as he's not going to be running in Beijing this year. This was his 2nd big mile win of the year as he also won the Pre Classic.

*Message Board Thread on Shedrack Korir's Win In Men's Mile at 2008 London Grand Prix

18:40 - Emsley Carr MILE Men OFFICIAL RESULTS
1 Shedrack KORIR KEN 3:54.68
2 Andrew BADDELEY GBR 3:54.76
3 Bernard LAGAT USA 3:55.20 SB
4 Craig MOTTRAM AUS 3:55.44 SB
5 Michael EAST GBR 3:55.54 SB
6 Tom LANCASHIRE GBR 3:55.69 PB
7 Kevin SULLIVAN CAN 3:55.87 SB
8 Chris LUKEZIC USA 3:56.03 SB
9 Mitchell KEALEY AUS 3:57.27 PB
10 Nick MCCORMICK USA 3:58.04 SB
11 Chris WARBURTON GBR 3:58.20 PB
12 Bobby CURTIS USA 4:00.21 SB
Gideon GATHIMBA KEN DNF
Bernard KIPTUM KEN DNF
Stefan EBERHARDT GER DNS
Alan WEBB USA DNS
Split Times
409m Bernard KIPTUM KEN 57.39
809m Bernard KIPTUM KEN (1:00.59) 1:57.98
1209m Gideon GATHIMBA KEN (59.84) 2:57.82
Finish Shedrack KORIR KEN (56.86) 3:54.68

Women's 1,500m (1:47:00 into WCSN.com broadcast)
In the women's 1,500m, Americans Erin Donohue and Amy Mortimer had the lead after lap 1 and with a lap to go but in the end, it was the British champ Lisa Dobriskey who ended up with an convincing win.

This race was very entertaining. The pace dawdled for the first two laps. At 800m (2:19.38), Donohue was in a decent position (third), but on the rail. The problem with being in on the rail in a slow race is that the entire field can pass you on the outside and that's seemingly what happened as with a lap to go Donohue was in 8th.

Donohue made a gigantic move to the lead from 300m to 200m to go. Her bid for glory was very spirited but in the end Dobriskey responded and got the win as Dobriskey and Donohue proved themselves to clearly be the class of the field. Dobriskey won in 4:08.97 thanks to a stellar last two laps. Her last 800m was roughly 2:06 with her last lap being sub-60 seconds.

1 Lisa DOBRISKEY GBR 4:08.97
2 Erin DONOHUE USA 4:09.63
3 Agnes SAMARIA NAM 4:11.50
4 Lindsey GALLO USA 4:11.65
5 Hannah ENGLAND GBR 4:11.89
6 Amy MORTIMER USA 4:12.33
7 Lidia CHOJECKA POL 4:13.63
8 Konstadina EFEDAKI GRE 4:13.98
9 Deirdre BYRNE IRL 4:14.25
10 Lisa CORRIGAN AUS 4:15.63
11 Faye FULLERTON GBR 4:17.85
12 Mika YOSHIKAWA JPN 4:19.62
Veerle DEJAEGHERE BEL DNS
Split Times
400m Erin DONOHUE USA 1:10.26
800m Lidia CHOJECKA POL (1:09.12) 2:19.38
1100m Amy MORTIMER USA (48.97) 3:08.35
Finish Lisa DOBRISKEY GBR (1:00.62) 4:08.97

Other Events
Allyson Felix ran a head-shakingly poor 23.00 and only finished 4th in the women's 200m.

In the men's 100, Asafa Powell  was challenged by Marc Burns (9.97) but got the win in 9.94.

In the women's steeplechase, former Providence Friar Roisin McGettigan got the win in 9:33.

But the highlight of the day came from the women's heptathlon 100m hurdles where the third hurdle was put in the wrong spot. Fortunately no one got hurt just a few weeks before the Olympics. A must watch highlight however. 2:04.00 into WCSN.com broadcast.

We must mention (since we often give the announcers a hard time) that Carol Lewis's announcing for the men's mile and women's 1,500m was surprisingly pretty good. She was also on top of the fiasco in the women's hurdles right away. Just by the way so many competitors were thrown off stride, she realized the hurdles had to be out of place.

*Full Results

*IAAF Recap: Andrey Silnov Jumps World Leading 2.38m (7'9.75) He was only 4th in the Russian champs.
*Asafa Powell Wins 100m In 9.94
*Kelly Sotherton Upset After Hurdles Fiasco One of Brtiain's best hopes for gold in the heptathlon avoided disaster after the 3rd hurdle was put in the wrong spot.
*Mottram Call His 4th Place Run "Solid"



Tell a friend about this article
(Dont worry we won't email your friend(s) again. We send them a 1 time email)
Enter their email address(es), separated by a comma.
Enter your name:

Don't Worry: We
Back to Main Front Page
Questions, comments or suggestions?Please email the LetsRun.com staff at suggestions@LetsRun.com.



Runner's World &
Running Times


Combined Only $22

a Year
Save $87



Running & Track and Field Posters


Search the Web
or LetsRun.com
Google

Web

LRC


Offers of interest: Nike Lunar Glide Discount
Discounting on this shoe not allowed until recently.


Advertise on LetsRun.com

Contact Us

Privacy Policy