WILLLLLLSOOONNNNNN- Ajee takes down Sum in 1:57.67 looking relaxed!

Loot wrote:

Ajeelover wrote:

Ajee is still so young and so good and she always runs for the win. I feel like she has the ability to run some incredible times and I just hope that another women emerges to help push her to incredible times. Maybe Caster Se-man-ya will make a comeback?!?! I wanna see Wilson hit sub 1:55 in the next few years

You mean another woman like Sum? This has potential to be a great rivalry. Don't underestimate Sum based on one unexpected loss. She'll be back and she is still #1

It not like Sum had a bad race. Sum is a consistent 1:57/1:58 type; she ran about a well a she normally does and got beat.

Willlllllllllllsooooonnnnnnnnnnn (break the American record)

downspspwqw wrote:

Loved this race! Wilson is the real deal. Anyone know where Chanelle Price is? She didn't run at USA's either...

Good question. She was on fire for most of the year.

A remarkable year for US 800m women -- great times, great places, great depth.

And it's good to see Wilson get some high praise. The publicity over Mary Cain seems to have overshadowed her.

wejo wrote:

The fabulous day for the Americans continues. Ajee Wilson joins the sub 1:58 club and now could make claim for being #1 in the world by the end of the season.

#6 American ever. #5 when you take out drug cheat Mary Slaney.

What would be your reason for taking out Mary Slaney? Would it be a hunch that she was a doper during her record-setting years, or just some punitive impulse against athletes who may have taken banned substances at some point in their careers? Personally, I don't have any strong opinion about whether she took banned substances during her peak years. For a long time, I would have said "no way," because she was a phenomenally talented runner whose times seem entirely consistent with her talent, but I also understand that she was coached by one or more dubious characters in her career. Of course, the same may be said of a number of the top middle- and long-distance runners in the US today.

Rewriting history to satisfy a sense of outrage is a troublesome pursuit. It also tends to be highly selective. Al Oerter admitted that he took steroids when he was still setting personal records many years after winning his four gold medals. But I've never heard anyone suggest that Olympic history be rewritten to strip him of his medals in an event that was crawling with dopers. In fact, that admitted "drug cheat" is still treated as one of the greatest Olympians ever.

wejo wrote:

The fabulous day for the Americans continues. Ajee Wilson joins the sub 1:58 club and now could make claim for being #1 in the world by the end of the season.

#6 American ever. #5 when you take out drug cheat Mary Slaney.

1:56.40 is the AR

1. Ajee WILSON USA 94 1:57.67 WL

2. Eunice Jepkoech SUM KEN 88 1:57.92

3. Winnie NANYONDO UGA 93 1:58.63

4. Janeth JEPKOSGEI KEN 83 1:58.70

5. Yekaterina POISTOGOVA RUS 91 1:59.31

6. Molly BECKWITH-LUDLOW USA 87 1:59.32

7. Laura ROESLER USA 91 1:59.44

8. Jessica JUDD GBR 95 1:59.99

9. Renelle LAMOTE FRA 93 2:00.06

10. Justine FEDRONIC FRA 91 2:00.41

- Agatha JERUTO KEN 94 DNF

I don't Mary was doping when she ran the 800m AR, as far as I know, she starting doping during her comeback in the mid-90s.

Great race by Ajee!! She has the best mid distance coach in the world who you all have never heard of Derek Thompson. Remember the name.

Also, Roesler's first sub 2?

Sorry, forgot about US track champs.

ScottEvil wrote:

Sorry, forgot about US track champs.

Either way, that's a PR for Roesler, right? Breaking 2 ain't bad.

I love Wilson after watching yesterday's race. Great run. As others pointed out, it looked easy for her in the last 100M.

I thought Roesler might run faster, but she now has two sub 2's to her name after a long Oregon campaign and surely next year she'll be fresher for the European trip and run 1:58 or better.

BJiles wrote:

Great race by Ajee!! She has the best mid distance coach in the world who you all have never heard of Derek Thompson. Remember the name.

Derek is certainly a good coach and has done a wonderful job with Ajee, but he has a long-long way to go before I would say "best mid distance coach in the world who". Right now he is coaching a young phenom who is doing what most people expected or at least hoped for. Coaching greatness is taking an athlete with lesser talent and developing them into a champion and repeating that several times.

trackcoach wrote:

BJiles wrote:

Great race by Ajee!! She has the best mid distance coach in the world who you all have never heard of Derek Thompson. Remember the name.

Derek is certainly a good coach and has done a wonderful job with Ajee, but he has a long-long way to go before I would say "best mid distance coach in the world who". Right now he is coaching a young phenom who is doing what most people expected or at least hoped for. Coaching greatness is taking an athlete with lesser talent and developing them into a champion and repeating that several times.

Eighty percent of coaching (and life for that matter) is not screwing up your charges.

He starts from a solid "B" simply for not ruining her. Allowing her to take her time to develop for the long run-- which it looks like he has-- puts him well into the A's.

I wish Sum was capable of 1:56 yesterday so that Ajee would have gotten the AR, or at least close. Wilson looked that strong. She seemed to be running to the competition.

LetsRun.com's recap of the race is here:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/07/doesnt-get-much-better-ajee-wilson-snaps-eunice-sums-unbeaten-streak-wins-first-career-dl-title-world-leading-157-67/

Kiplacat wrote:

I wish Sum was capable of 1:56 yesterday so that Ajee would have gotten the AR, or at least close. Wilson looked that strong. She seemed to be running to the competition.

That's her MO; she's awesome on relays when she has someone to chase. I recall her her splitting 52x and close to 2 flat at age 17 on a realy. Kim Gallagher was the same way, except she ran from the front and held people off.

Well I disagree a little to some of what you are saying. "Ajee is doing what most people expected or at least hoped for." If Ajee would have went to Florida or Florida State not sure of which school that she was planning on attending, there is NO WAY that she would be close to the times that she is running!

There has been other 800 meter runners with similar ability as Ajee who have not come close to the time that she is putting up, Price is one who comes to my mind. I would say that a great coach would have the ability to adapt with their athletes, don't have a cookie cutter coaching style. You don't have to develop athletes into champions, but get them to believe and then take them places that they never thought would be possible on the track, if they happen to turn into a champion, then GREAT, however the goal is to get them to believe in what you are doing, and then getting them to run faster then they ever run before. In my personal opinion I think in order to be a very good 800 meter runner you need to have some speed.

Well, Ill say this Ajee is a phenom, but in the US we have had plenty of "phenoms" who have went in the opposite direction because of lackluster coaching and bad management. Ajee is the first american woman to win a 800 at a world championship at any level, she won two, world youth and world junior. If she had went to Florida State we wouldn't be having this conversation, her coaching has been a big part of her development. "best middle distance coach in the world who you all have never heard of" is what I said, I didn't say "best middle distance coach in the world" even though he may be in my opinion, but that would always be up for debate. Just give credit where credit is due.

I agree with you BJ,low key guy has been dominating age group and high school for years in the middle d

BJiles wrote:

Ajee is the first american woman to win a 800 at a world championship at any level, .

Unless you count Olympic champion Madeline Manning, 1968.