Willard wins in 1.58.80

hotcakes wrote:

Anyone else notice how the Russian "Superwomen" with 1:56 PB's are now struggling to break 2:00?

Most of their better middle distance runners were banned last year. A few haven't been caught.

The top 800m runners in the world this year and their PBs:

Savinova 1:57.90 (2009)

Kofanova 1:58.60 (2009)

Krevsun 1:57.32 (2008)

Willard 1:58.80 (2009)

Cusma 1:58.63 (2007)

Benhassi 1:56.43 (2004)

Zbrozhek 1:58.06 (2004)

Simpson 1:59.17 (2008)

Kostetskaya 1:56.67 (2008)

Okoro 1:58.45 (2008)

Guegan 1:58.93 (2008)

Andrianova 1:56.00 (2008)

Sinclair 1:57.88 (2006)

Petlyuk 1:57.34 (2006)

DiscoBob wrote:

I ended up watching the whole meet and was just stunned at everything about the production...the commentary, the camera work, the background insights on athletes. Good grief!...could our T&F broadcast coverage folks here in the states please please please be forced to sit and watch this kind of coverage and maybe learn a thing or two, or three, or four...

.

I don't understand why they are telling everyones times they have run. Wouldn't it be more interesting telling us about how some athletes dog died when he was four, setting him on a path of running from so much pain, it made him one of the best runners in the world?

proudamerican wrote:

or Hazel Clark with the 1:57 PB finishing in 2:03?

And please remind me, how many American MD runners were busted last year?

ripvanracer wrote:

I don't understand why they are telling everyones times they have run. Wouldn't it be more interesting telling us about how some athletes dog died when he was four, setting him on a path of running from so much pain, it made him one of the best runners in the world?

Please don't make fun of my wootle guinea pig sized wootsie doggie.

Is the race on youtube now?

Willard is my hero. Anyone who can bust a 1:58 with her gut is an f-ing maniac. HUGE PROPS. (BTW, I think she's hot, too.)

here is the race:

http://www.letsrun.com/2009/paris0717.php

hotcakes wrote:

And please remind me, how many American MD runners were busted last year?

USA! USA! USA USA! USA!

I'm excited for her success but if a non white american came out of nowhere to start running these times (and with that range), we all know this board would be saying something very different.

wow, that was quite a comeback. Kinda like the (now nonexistent) finishing kicks of the Russians.

proudamerican wrote:

hotcakes wrote:

And please remind me, how many American MD runners were busted last year?

USA! USA! USA USA! USA!

hey KUFI,

I hear what you are saying. You could be right. I don't spend enough time on the boards to really know.

However, it certainly is not true that Anna came 'out of nowhere.' She's a formal multiple-time Big Ten and NCAA champion whose credentials you can check out here:

http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Willard_Anna.asp

She is the real deal.

I clocked the last 200 off the video in 29.1(1:56 mid pace). So, she did pick it up, and it looked like her last 100 was faster than the bend as well.

She got very lucky. It was not a smart race at all. I've seen some of these races from Berringer as well. These big kicks at the end, hoping some will die or that the person in the lead is not paying attention will not work at World's. You have to be competitive in the race and she wasn't. By the way, I'm a big Anna fan.

you people criticizing her race are f'ing retards.

enjoy being slow you fvcktards.

But Fat Boy,

Anna came through the 400 in 56+,...and was tucked in for much of the second lap in fourth place or so. That was a more-than-honest first lap and she had to be thinking (rightly) that the women up front would likely not have strong finishes, while at the same time based on recent performances she could be confident in her kick. In light of no Jelimo-type performances by anyone in that race to date this year, Anna indeed ran a smart race. If she were running the 800 at Worlds, I suppose she might need to be more aggressive earlier in the race to stay close to the front, but not much. By the way, the tactic of sitting back and kicking late has worked pretty well for 800 meter specialists like Yury Borzakovsky and Nick Symmonds, while front running hasn't always worked out so well in international competition for others like Johnny Gray and Khadevis Robinson.

Fat Boy wrote:

She got very lucky. It was not a smart race at all. I've seen some of these races from Berringer as well. These big kicks at the end, hoping some will die or that the person in the lead is not paying attention will not work at World's. You have to be competitive in the race and she wasn't. By the way, I'm a big Anna fan.

That is just plain stupid. Anna went from like 3rd to 5th when all the other girls started their push a 100m too soon. She has no control over how the other runners run the race tiring out before the finish.

She ran just right, obviously....She was 57 something at 400....plenty fast for her, right on the edge I would think. How anyone can be critical of that run is beyond my comprehension.

She ran just right, obviously....She was 57 something at 400....plenty fast for her, right on the edge I would think. How anyone can be critical of that run is beyond my comprehension.[/quote]

I agree. I just watched the video and if you are critical of that effort than you are an idiot who views the 'glass of life' as perpetually half empty - I prefer to enjoy life.

For what she's capable of in the 800 right now, Willard ran perfectly.

Okay, what's next?