Memorial van Damme Recap (Minus The 5k) - Final Golden League Meet Of 2009, Perhaps Forever

By LetsRun.com
September 4, 2009

Men's 200m - Another Unbelievable Performance For Bolt! 19.57 Meet Record!
Usain Bolt ran another shocking race, destroying Wallace Spearmon and company in cold, rainy conditions with one of the fastest 200m times ever recorded. Only Michael Johnson has ever run faster, despite 50-degree weather, a 20m jog at the end of the race, and Bolt's weary legs after his 19.19 and 9.58 from Berlin.

The crowd roared both before the race and after the gun. Bolt made up the stagger on one man, two men and then three men in almost no time as he ran another brilliant curve. The race was, of course, over in a matter of meters, and Bolt gave the crowd a huge jolt of energy by smashing Tyson Gay's meet record and then posing in his now-famous "Lighting Bolt" pose. Fans were throwing things on the track and delighting in, as the track PA announcer proclaimed, "The Fastest Man In The Universe."

That statement, of course, makes a lot of assumptions about the rest of our galaxy and the millions of other galaxies in the universe, but Usain Bolt is certainly the fastest man the world has ever seen.

Women's 2,000m - Despite Excellent Pacemaking, Gelete Burka Misses Sonia O'Sullivan's WR
Sonia O'Sullivan's 5:25.36 2,000m world record withstood a double-rabbited attack by Ethiopian Gelete Burka. Burka was on pace the whole way but could not reproduce the big sprint finish necessary to get the record. American

Christin Wurth-Thomas took her through 1,500m in about 4:06 after opening laps of around 65 seconds each.

Women's Pole Vault - Isinbayeva Joins Richards As Jackpot Winner With Ease
Yelena Isinbayeva took care of the competition before attempting to better her world record for the umpteenth time. The Russian star took three shots at 5.07m and another $50,000 payday, but couldn't quite get over the bar. Her winning height was only 4.70m. She didn't even take a jump until 4.75 at the WCs, where she shockingly no-heighted.

Men's 100m
Asafa Powell "took it" to Tyson Gay, getting out front and staying well clear for his biggest win of the season. Powell, running in to a slight headwind in cool, damp conditions, ran 9.90 for his world-record 56th sub-10.00 clocking in his career. The big Jamaican has now won in Brussels five times, though Usain Bolt took his meet record last year (9.77).

Men's Steeplechase - Daniel Huling Runs 8:14
After a terrible performance in Beijing, American Daniel Huling comes back 2.5 weeks later to notch a 4th-place finish and big PR 8:14.69. Watch the video to the right and see Huling predict his fitness despite the poor performance at Worlds. The mark moves Huling to #6 all-time in the US.

Women's 100m - Another Huge Win For Berlin Disappointment Carmelita Jeter
After a trouncing in the Berlin final, Carmelita Jeter has come back with a fury against her Jamaican rivals Shelly-Ann Fraser and Kerron Stewart. Jeter trailed Fraser for much of the race today, but for the second consecutive GL meet, she came through with an impressive win. The temperature was in the 50s and damp, yet Jeter still clocked a 10.88.

Men's 800m
A very strong men's 800m field followed the rabbit through the bell at 51 seconds with young Kenyan David Rudisha in the lead. Rudisha would keep the lead throughout the 1:45.80 seconds he was on the course, to win over 2007 world champion Alfred Kirwa Yego, 2004 Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy and 2007 Worlds runner-up Gary Reed. American Nick Symmonds ran near the back for most of the race and when he started to move he ran into Gary Reed, who was passing him on the outside.

After he failed to make the Berlin WC final, Rudisha won in Zürich one week ago and now follows with another win in Brussels.

Women's 800m
The stunning year for American women mid-distance runners continued on Friday, September 4, as part-time steeplechaser, part-time 1,500m runner and part-time 800m runner Anna Willard overcame a solid but unremarkable field to notch her first Golden League win.

Willard ran intelligently throughout the race, remaining in the middle of the pack near the rail. Starting in the same lane as Maggie Vessey, Willard picked her way through the field in the final 400m, culminating with her big move from third to first in the final stretch to take an impressive victory in a career second-best 1:59.15.

4 x 1,500m - Kenyans Set New World Record (14:36.23), Breaking The Oldest T&F WR (14:38)
Message Board Thread Here: Golden League Meet is on Now, so you should be able to watch 4 x 1,500m
IAAF Recap

Women's 400m - Sanya Richards CRUSHES Top Field To Become First Jackpot Winner
Sanya Richards absolutely dominated with her now-mastered running style: Fast first 100m, easy second 100m, and then power for home. Richards made up the stagger on Shericka Williams in less than 60m, then had a 10m lead on the entire field as they straightened out for the final 80m. The gap only widened, as Richards clinched her 6th Golden League win and a share of the $1,000,000 jackpot in style.

Richards not only won a lot of money, but also broke the Meet Record of Marita Koch from 1982. She also set a world lead with her outstanding 48.83. Second place was 1.6 seconds behind in 50.43.

Men's 400m - Wariner Proves Again He Can Beat Everyone But Merritt; Clyde Hart Goes 2 For 2 In Brussels 400m Races
Jeremy Wariner came into the meet talking about taking down his agent Michael Johnson's meet record 44.06, but he had to settle for an easy win in the poor sprinting conditions. Racing the 2009 Worlds bronze medalist Renny Quow (45.50), Wariner took the lead early and did nothing but extend it. His winning time was 44.94. Wake Forest's Michael Bingham (GBR, 45.70) was close to Wariner for much of the race, but lost a lot of ground in the final 150m.

Women's High Jump - Vlašic Continues Strong Season By Jumping Well In Wet Conditions
Blanka Vlašic beat the top field again with a flawless performance through 2.00m. The track surface was wet, but Vlašic was able to clear 1.85, 1.90, 1.94, 1.97 and 2.00 on her first attempts before three failures at 2.02 derailed her efforts one week after becoming only the second woman to clear 2.08m.