Morgan Uceny Emphatically Shows She's The Best In The World

Uceny Destroys 10 Of Top 11 In World And Runs World-Leading 4:00.06

By LetsRun.com
September 16, 2011

Editor's note: This is a recap of the women's 1,500 at the 2011 Brussels Diamond League meeting only. Full recap here. For a recap of the 10,000, click here.


We said it in July after and we'll say it again in September.

  Get Microsoft Silverlight Morgan Uceny Wins In Brussels

Let there be no doubt, "Morgan Uceny is the best 1,500 meter runner in the world." Let us repeat, "Morgan Uceny is the best 1,500 meter runner in the world."

We say that because Uceny, who went into the 2011 World Championships as either the favorite or number two choice behind Maryam Jamal but was knocked down in the final, has seemingly been forgotten in the aftermath of Jenny Barringer Simpson's shock victory in Korea.

Uceny won't be forgotten anymore, as she destroyed a loaded field over the final lap of the Diamond League final in Brussels on Friday night and got the win in a world-leading time of 4:00.06. Today's field included the world champion Simpson as well as Jamal and 10 of the top 11 women on the 2011 yearly list, but none were close to being the same class as Uceny. In the process of getting the victory, Uceny also secured the overall Diamond League title and won at least $50,000 in the process ($40,000 for the DL title, $10,000 for the win and we imagine there is more for a world leader). It was Uceny's third Diamond League victory on the year and one that will certainly result in her being world ranked #1 at the end of the year.

The Race
With a ridiculous 20 entrants, the race thankfully started fast got started fast, as Russian Irina Maracheva went through 400 in 61.91. Uceny and Jamal both started well and were sitting in third and fifth for most of the first lap, but as the pace slowed on the 2nd lap (66.94 for Maracheva), the field bunched up and Uceny found herself swallowed up. With two laps remaining, Uceny was boxed in on the rail in 8th and Barringer Simpson wasn't too far behind her in 10th.

But the pace started to accelerate again as the runners approached the bell. With 400 remaining, Uceny was just 6th, but things were opening up and Uceny had no trouble at all with traffic this time. Once free, Uceny just mowed down the entire field on the last lap and destroyed everyone.

She passed Jamal to move into second just before 200 remained. The only person in front of Uceny and the victory was Morocco's Mariem Alaoui Selsouli. Selsouli, the 2008 world indoor bronze medallist, had opened up her 2011 season in Rieti last week with a win in a stellar 4:01.04, and with 250 meters remaining, she had a big lead - at least 10 meters - but she was no match for Uceny as she ended up second some .71 behind.

The world champion Simpson ended up 13th in 4:03.68. The silver medallist Hannah England was 5th in 4:02.03 and the bronze medallist Natalia Rodriguez was 8th in 4:02.57.

Afterwards, Uceny told the IAAF, "Of course this is a sweet revenge for what happened in Daegu. I wanted to show I had to be among the best at those worlds. And I did it tonight with a personal best. Next year at the Olympics, one of the medals will be for me!"

Quick Thought #1: Uceny really deserved this. It was great to see her rebound after the worst possible disaster that occurred in Daegu. Is there any doubt she would have won in Daegu?

QT #2: Let us try to answer that question with reason, not emotion. At Worlds, we had Simpson closing in 61.5 in a 4:05 race. Uceny's finish here was even more impressive. We had her in 61.3 for the final 400 in a 4:00 race.

QT #3:
Anyone want to contrast the way Uceny handled her disappointment in 2011 with the way Mary Slaney handled hers in 1984?

QT #4: Anyone know where Mariem Alaoui Selsoul has been? If so, email us. Thanks for emailing. Selsouli is back from a doping ban.

Rank Athlete Nation Result Diamond Points Diamond Ranking
1
USA
4:00.06
WL
19
1
img
2
MAR
4:00.77
PB
4
4
 
3
BRN
4:01.40
11
2
 
4
UKR
4:01.73
PB
6
3
 
5
GBR
4:02.03
 
 
 
6
KEN
4:02.32
PB
 
 
 
7
KEN
4:02.42
PB
 
 
 
8
ESP
4:02.57
 
 
 
9
BRN
4:03.13
SB
 
 
 
10
ETH
4:03.38
3
5
 
11
RUS
4:03.48
 
 
 
12
POL
4:03.50
PB
 
 
 
13
USA
4:03.68
 
 
 
14
NOR
4:03.79
SB
 
 
 
15
ETH
4:06.28
 
 
 
16
MAR
4:07.19
1
7
 
17
ETH
4:13.17
 
 
 
 
RUS
DNF
 
 
 
 
MAR
DNF
2
6
 
 
RUS
DNF
 
 
 
Intermediate times:
400m - Maracheva, Irina (RUS) - 1:01.91
800m - Maracheva, Irina (RUS) -2:08.85
1,200m - Alaoui Selsouli, Mariem (MAR) -3:13.58



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