The Week That Was In Running - August 1 - 7, 2011
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By LetsRun.com
August 3, 2011
The final pre-world championship Diamond League meeting took place last week in London. All summer long, we've been trying to offer a lot of our insight into the action the day it takes place in our Diamond League recaps, so if you were on vacation and missed it, you can relive the action via the following links:
LRC Day 2: Leo, Lisa and Sanya Impress
LRC Day 1: Round 1 Of Kaki Vs. Rudisha Goes To Rudisha
*Results *Eurosport
Photos *Day 1 Highlights *Day 2 Video Highlights
New! 2011 London Diamond League Photos
Rudisha Over Kaki in London
In London, many of the top stars took the week off and many of the races were a lot more uncompetitive than you might expect to see at a Diamond League meet. In terms of what will be remembered come Daegu, we'd say Kenia Sinclair's status as the undefeated world champion favorite came to an end while David Rudisha's continued, but the possibility of Rudisha being challenged by Kaki at world's is very much a real one in our mind. Those two thoughts plus being reminded how good and competitive Leo Manzano is when he has a chance to win a race. That and Desiree Davila and Lauren Fleshman getting the 'A' standard in the 5000 so hopefully the US sends three to worlds in that event.
Since we broke down the Diamond League action as it took place, the weekly recap is shorter than it normally is as there wasn't a whole lot of other action to analyze. We provide you with some interesting quotes, some interesting reads and a few other pieces of info.
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Bureaucrats Strike Again
Peter Magill turned 50 this summer and has been setting US record after US record - or has he. Runnersworld reported the following about Magill's 31:11 for 10-k record:
But alas, as Peter Magill says on Facebook, "Well, turns out my 31:11 for 10K a week ago won't count as an American M50-54 road race record after all. Though the course was USATF Certified (measured accurately) and chip-timed (with two hand-time back-ups), the race didn't pay a USATF Sanction fee, making my result unofficial. Understandable that USATF wouldn't accept a record in a race they hadn't sanctioned, but still disappointing since everything about the race my time and the course distance was legitimate."
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Bureaucrats Almost Strike Again
Showing you the stupidity of the A and B standards, it's hard to believe that Olympic and world championship silver medallist Godfrey Mokoena was in danger of not going to world's because he didn't have the 8.20 A standard even though he was the Diamond League leader in the long jump until Stockholm. Mokoena had jumped over the A several times but always with a non-legal tailwind.
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7 Quotes Of The Week That Wasn't Quote Of The Day
#1 Carl Lewis Talking About How He Views Track And Field Now
The way I look at track now is the way I looked at high school after graduating. I loved it. I had fun. But Ive moved on. Would I want to go back now? No way.
The quote from Carl comes from a great Sports Illustrated feature on his long jumping prowess: The 30-Foot Jump
#2 Ex-FSU Star Ciaran O'Lionaird Commenting On How Satisfying It's Was To Run 3:34 and Qualify For World's After Not Scoring At NCAAs When FSU Lost NCAAs By A Single Point
From an individual standpoint, to turn things around like I have probably opens up a lot of doors that perhaps shut after NCAA's. But to lose by one point and for me to not score a single point, having been ranked so high still cuts rather deep. I credit Coach Braman for turning my running career around and having faith in me as a competitor and I wanted nothing more than to help us win NCAA's for himself and all those who help us student-athletes here. It was unfortunate how things turned out that weekend, but I suppose it's said you're not necessarily defined by your success so much as your ability to react to failure. I feel that since NCAA's I've gathered myself well and that's a credit to the amazing support group I have around me, with my family at home and my FSU track and field family at the core.
O'Lionaird had a massive 6-second pb to qualify for world's. The interesting thing is he was known as a 5000/10000 runner up until this point. The quote from a Florida State Q&A with O'Lionaird which was good but we think the Irish Times piece on him, which describes how he trained three doors down from a crack house at FSU, is a Must Read: Glorious Summer For Old-school
Ciaran O'Lionaird
More: FSU's Ciaran O'Lionaird Talks About His 6-Second 3:34 PR
They Run in Eugene
#3 Mo Farah On How Running Isn't Popular In His Native Somalia
"Nobody runs in Somalia. Its not like Ethiopia or Kenya where everyone runs. I went back there for a visit in 2008, I went out for a run and people stopped me to ask me what I was doing.
"Youre running? Are you mad? All the little kids were laughing at me, like: this guys crazy.
More: London 2012 Olympics: unfolding tragedy in Somalia puts life into perspective for Mo Farah
#4 Still Full Of Confidence, Vivian Cheruiyot Continues To Talk Big A Week After Saying She's Going To Be The First Sub-14 Woman
Whether or not they parade (Tirunesh) Dibaba will not stop my ambitions. I even prefer that she runs so as to raise the level of competition. Let her come and we will square it out.
-Cheruiyot talking about how she hopes Ethiopia enters double Olympic champ Tirunesh Dibaba at world's this year.
More: *Cheruiyot targets rare double at Daegu Worlds
#5 Carl Lewis On How A Champion Would Always Be A Champion No Matter The Era
Can anyone think that if Jesse Owens was running now, he WOULD NOT be the best? Of course he would. The best people beat anyone theyre supposed to in their time. I beat everyone in my time. I had my time.
-The quote from Carl comes from a great Sports Illustrated feature on his long jumping prowess: The 30-Foot Jump
#6 1:59 800 Meter Runner Eunice Sum Talking About How She's Gone From Being A Non-Running Mother in 2009 With A 2:09 PB To The Kenyan World Championship Team
I was just at home raising my daughter and looking after our cows when in 2009, Janeth came looking around for me. She told me I was young enough to develop my career and I decided to follow her."
-Sum's quote comes from an interesting article from Capital Sport on Sum's rise to the top of the 800-meter ranks. In 2009, Sum was a non-running mother who had once run 2:09 as a school girl. Sum was taken under the wings by world champion Janeth Jepkosgei , who remember her school girl prowess, and now two years later she's a 1:59 girl whom Jepkosgei things will soon dominate the world.
-Kenyan world championship team member Eunice Sum talking in a fantastic article that describes her rise to the sub-2 ranks after being a non-running mother thanks to Janeth Jepkosgei taking Sum under her wings as Jepkosgei remembered her from her school girl days.
#7 Hard Works Pays Of In Running
You want to know what Ive learned from being a runner? she says. Hard work pays off. What you put into something, you get out of it.
- Perri Shakes-Drayton, British champ at 400 and 400h in 2011, talking in a Telegraph article on her.
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Others News Of Note
We wanted to start with an apology. Not sure how, but we left out the men's steeple from our recap of the London meet so we wanted to start by listing the results.
3000 Metres Steeplechase - Men
1 Komen , Willy Rutto KEN 8:21.40
2 Olinger , Brian USA 8:23.36
3 Belabbas , Mohamed-Khaled FRA 8:24.63
4 Nelson , William USA 8:27.20
5 Abdi , Youcef AUS 8:27.88
6 Gunn , Luke GBR 8:31.56
7 Kirui , Gilbert Kiplangat KEN 8:34.44
8 Bruce , Ben USA 8:35.26
9 Wilkinson , James GBR 8:36.50
10 Kristensen , Bjørnar Ustad NOR 8:38.47
11 van Koolwijk , Krijn BEL 8:44.50
12 Draper , Mark GBR 8:45.72
Buc , Botjan SLO DNF
Kiplagat , Bisluke Kipkorir KEN DNF
Triathlon: Lukas Verzbicas Wins US Triathlon Junior Title, Then Crashes On Bike In Team Competition And Needs 13 Stitches
On The Boards: LV in bike wreck
Saturday: Micah Kogo And Aheza Kiros Hammer Fields At 2011 Beach To Beacon 10kDespite
feeling tired at the start, the Olympic bronze medallist Kogo soon got
going and went through 5k in 13:37 as he won in 27:46. Patrick Smyth (9th 29:28) and Sara Slattery (6th 33:36)
were the top Americans, as Deena Kastor was
uanble to start as she had the flu. State senator and former US star Louie Luchini was the first Maine finisher in 30:35. *Photos
Irish Nationals Recap: Youngters Impress John Coghlan, Eamonn's son, got second in the 1,500.
Latavia Thomas Runs 1:59.67 - Nearly A 2-Second PR!, Former World Junior Mile Record Holder Ilham Tanui Özbilen Runs 1:44.25, David Torrence Wins 1,500 Congrats to Thomas. Tanui Özbilen is William Tanui Biwott, the world junior record holder in the mile, who would be a darkhorse candidate for gold in Daegu, but he can't compete because he switched to Turkey.
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Looking Ahead (Time To Start Getting Excited For ...)
We mention Falmouth because with New Balance on as a sponsor, it's come out recently that they've increased their American prize money a ton. It's now equal to the overall prize money and is as follows. Last year, we think it was $5,000, $3,000, $2,000 for top three.
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Recommended Reads
*It's Been A Glorious Summer For Old-School Ciaran O'Lionaird
*Sports Illustrated Takes A Great In-Depth Look At Carl Lewis' Long Jumping Prowess And His Supposed 30-Foot Jump
*Inspired By Tragedy In His Native Somalia, Mo Farah Is Very Thankful To Be A Brit
*Humorous Take On Monaco 5k: Rupp And Solinsky Suffering From Rare Disorder - American Born Distance Runner Syndrome (ABDRS) (satire)
*Not A Running Star When In School, Eliud Kipchoge Has Gone On To Be A World Beater
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Quotes Of The Day From Last Week
- Virgin London Marathon director Dave Bedford talking about the pressure on Mo Farah in London next year.
- Excerpt from a fantastic profile in the Irish Times on Ciaran O'Lionaird, who unexpectedly dropped his 1,500 PR from 3:40 to 3:34 earlier this week after being told to have career-ending surgery last year.
Saturday: "Today was just to see where I am, to try a different strategy and go hard at the end."
- Britain's Mo Farah, who ran a 25-second last 200m to smoke the 3,000m field in London. Farah is a perfect 11-for-11 after moving to the US to be trained by Alberto Salazar. Bizarrely, Farah's only loss this year (pre-Alberto) was to a guy with one shoe.
- Britain's Mo Farah, who is a perfect 10-for-10 after moving to the US to be trained by Alberto Salazar.
Before Lewis, after Lewis, no man had ever won long jump gold medals at TWO Olympics. The sport simply features too many variables and demands, too many things to go right, to repeat. Carl Lewis won FOUR STRAIGHT long jump golds. It's like painting the Sistine Chapel at least twice."
- Excerpt from a fantastic piece by Joe Posnanski on Carl Lewis' amazing long jump prowess that is a MUST READ in our minds. Lewis once jumped more than 29 feet on three straight jumps.
Wednesday: "I think it blinds people to the rest of my career. I don't consider it one of the top five accomplishments in my running career, but the public has a fascination with the four minute mile. There are dozens of African kids who have run that fast by the time they were 18 years old, so it isn't really that big of a deal worldwide. What I did in high school is just that - what I did in high school. Only a handful of runners have ranked number one in the world at 1,500 meters which I believe that is a much more significant accomplishment."
- Marty Liquori answering the question: What does it mean to be one of only five US high schoolers to go sub-4 in the mile? Talking about the attitude which brough him success in running and life, he says, "My personality is such that I can't just do something a few times a year for fun - I have to achieve a certain level of competence."
Tuesday: "But it's wrong to say the Olympics 'has something for everyone' because ... whisper it ... there are lots of people who find watching sport, even in its broadest terms, a complete turn-off. We wouldn't dream of spending £10bn and two weeks' broadcasting on anything else, but there's a kind of Fascism about sport which decrees it will be forced on us whether we like it or not."
- UK writer Helen Martin expressing her lack of enthusiasm for the 2012 London Olympics. We must admit hearing it hyped every day for months on end would get annoying very quickly.
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