Henry Wynne (3:37.47) and Rebecca Mehra (4:04.90) won the 1500m races and Devon Allen took the 110H in 13.14.
Archived Homepage For August 16, 2021
Archived Homepage For August 16, 2021
Final American Track League
Kenya's First Sub-10
He broke the Kenyan national record twice, first running 9.96 in the heats.
Distance Action - Falmouth Road Race
Flanaga won by just three seconds over Biya Simbassa while Kiplagat won by a wide margin, coming in 27-seconds in front of Emily Durgin. *Discuss
- Canadian Charles Philbert-Thibout (3:52.97) And Amy-Eloise Markovc (4:41.03) Win Falmouth Mile Philbert-Thibout beat out Craig Engels (3:53.97) and Johnny Gregorek (3:54.18) while Markovc won by just .02 ahead of Helen Schlachtenhaufen.
- Reigning World Champions Joseph Gray And Grayson Murphy Win USATF Mountain Running Champs In Oregon 2011 world champ Max King was runner-up.
On The Boards
On The Boards
Doping News
- Olympic 100m Champ Marcel Jacobs Says CJ Ujah's Positive Test "Made Me Smile" Talking about the insinuations he's faced from the British media Jacobs said, "Having seen the investigation into Ujah I would say that perhaps it’s better [for the British] to look closer to home before attacking others. It made me smile.”
- CJ Ujah Says He's "Shocked And Devastated" By His Failed Drug Test He said, "To be absolutely clear, I am not a cheat. I have never and would never knowingly take a banned substance."
- British Olympic Association Head Says It Is "Tragic" That CJ Ujah's Positive Could Cost The Entire Relay Their Silver Medals It definitely does suck for the other team members, but is only fair if Ujah was doping. Usain Bolt said as much when he lost his 4x100 gold from 2008 due to Nesta Carter's failed doping test.
- Mexican 2016 Olympic Race Walk Silver Medalist Gets A Further 4-Year Doping Ban For Falsifying Evidence She was already banned 4-years for steroid use and got another 4-years for forging documents while trying to appeal that ban.
- World Athletics Grants Neutral Status To Four More Russians The total number is now up to 147.
Marathon News
Bekele won Berlin in 2019 with 2:01:41.
*MB: BEKELE RUNNING BERLIN
- Lonah Chemtai Salpeter Says Menstrual Cramps Caused Her To Crater At The End Of The Olympic Marathon She was fighting for the medals late in the race, but ultimately had to stop running for a while and eventually finished 66th.
- Charlotte Purdue (2:25:28) And Jonny Mellor (2:10:03) Will Lead British Fields For This Year's London Marathon
Coe Speaks
- Seb Coe Floats Idea Of Tokyo Hosting World Champs And Ekiden At World Road Running Championships A world ekiden championships would be pretty cool.
- Seb Coe Says Ban On Cannabis Should Be Reviewed
LRC Content
We saw some great races in Tokyo, but there are a few more we still need to see, including Sha'Carri Richardson vs the Jamaicans at 100. Karsten Warholm vs. Rai Benjamin vs. Steven Gardiner at 400, Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, and Athing Mu vs Shaunae Miller-Uibo at 400; and a showdown between the men's Olympic 1500, 5k, and 10k champs - Ingebrigtsen, Cheptegei and Barega - at 5000.
Kipchoge The GOAT
Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest marathoner in history, maybe two times over, but there is one hole on his CV -- he's never won a non-flat, non-rabbitted major marathon. Kipchoge needs to win Boston and New York and then complete the Marathon Grand Slam with a win in Tokyo.
Bolt Comeback?
Probably won't happen, but before you dismiss it, Hill was a US junior 100m and 200m champ and hasn't been retired for 4 years.
Discussion: Anyone else think that Tyreek Hill would beat Usain Bolt in 40m dash?
Big Sprint News
Big Sprint News
This will only intensify the doubt many had about him as he's not even injured. "It is simply that Marcell has given so much this year, all he had, so to insist [on competing] would only mean risking an injury," said his agent.
*MB: 100m Olympic champ Marcell Jacobs lied. Here's proof
Will Marcell Jacobs ever break 10.00 again?
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CJ Ujah - Britian's opening leg on 4 x 100 - provisionally suspended for doping in Tokyo 4 track athletes were busted in Tokyo. The other three were Bahrain’s 1500m runner Sadik Mikhou, shot putter Benik Abramyan of Georgia and Kenyan sprinter Mark Otieno Odhiambo. *Discuss
Podcasts
- Tokyo Recap Podcast: Favorite Moments, Biggest Disappointments, Biggest Surprises It's our weekly LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast. The #1 track and field podcast.
- SC: Friday 15: Marcell Jacobs is Done (for 2021), Should Craig Engels retire?, Usain Bolt comeback, Fall Marathon fields Plus how fast will they run at Pre. For Supporters Club members only.
After nearly two weeks of boots on the ground in Tokyo, Jonathan Gault shares his final observations from on and off the track. Did the US men disappoint? What was the race of the Games? And what is the difference between peanut cream and peanut butter?
More Post-Olympic News
It sounds like no matter what happens when his Nike deal expires, he's going back to get his MBA at Ole Miss and be a volunteer coach. *Discuss
- Japan Government officials are concerned about the impact that large crowds along the Olympic marathon course might have on pandemic Apparently crowds at the marathon finish area were 10% higher than they had been a week earlier.
- Long time State Island track fan recaps the Olympics George Kochman felt like the competition was amazing and loved the online coverage but hated the main NBC broadcast, saying at times it was "almost unwatchable."
- News of women's running pioneer's death goes overseas - Joan Ullyot obituary The author of the book "Women's Running" was instrumental in getting the marathon into the Olympics and quite good at running - running 2:47 at age 48.
Molly Seidel Related News
Frank Marshall, whose producing credits include legendary titles such as “Jason Bourne,” “Jurassic World” and “Indiana Jones”, is a producer. *Trailer *Full film
- Marc Bloom raves about Molly Seidel and Courtney Frerichs' brave runs in Tokyo "How did Seidel do it? I have no idea. She had no cutting edge training program. She didn’t do anything unusual to acclimate to the heat. There was no hi-tech wizardry in her approach. She just ran. That may be the best part. A “regular” runner did this, oh joy to the world!"
- Toni Reavis reminds everyone that Molly Seidel medalling in marathon #3 isn't that crazy Meb did it in marathon #3 and Deena in marathon #4.
- A closer look at Damian Warner's 9018 Olympic decathlon record in Tokyo
It's Going To Be A Busy Fall Marathon Season
Wow. With all of the majors taking place this fall, the majors were expected to be a bit diluted this fall. Don't tell that to London as they are going to destroy the record for most sub-2:05 men in a race (7, previous record 4) as well as sub-2:20 women (8, previous record 7)."
*MB: London does it again. 2021 London elite fields are released and they are faster than ever.
With all of the world's majors taking place this fall, the fields are likely to be weaker than normal and you see that in the Boston men's field as it features just two sub-2:05 men.
Awesome gestures
The Olympics were great for sportsmanship. The best of humanity was on display.
*110 hurdles gold medallist Hansle Parchment took wrong bus and was in danger of missing out on race but a good samaritan violated Covid protocols and gave him cash to get a taxi
*Jamaican prime-minister invites good-samaritan who paid for Hansle Parchment's taxi-cab to Olympic games to Jamaica
Sad News
Burrell ran at the University of Houston from 2013 to 2018 under his father, head coach and former WR holder Leroy Burrell.
Post Olympic News
Nike led the way with 73 with Puma 2nd at 16 and adidas third at 15. What's crazy is Nike's numbers are way down - from 89 in 2016.
- Intersex medallist Christine Mboma gets hero's welcome upon return to Namibia as she's the only the country's 2nd medallist Her plan was showered with a water cannon. "Outside the airport, traditional dancers, bikers and sports fans joined in the frenzied celebrations before she and fellow athletes were taken to the city in a convoy of hundreds of cars and bikes in a victory parade along the main Independence Avenue that culminated in Katurura, the capital city's largest township."
- Some in Kenya are outraged that there was no official recognition of Eliud Kipchoge and other gold medallists upon their arrival in Kenya Kipchoge was met by friends and family only. In Uganda, the medallists have paraded around in cars.
- Even the King of The Netherlands was impressed by Abdi Nageeye urging on his training partner and friend Bashir Abdi to the bronze in the marathon
More Post-Tokyo Distance News
- Recommended Read: The Independent: "After 12 Years Of Refining Plans And Expectation, 'Project Ingebrigsten' Delivers On The Biggest Stage Of Them All" Gjert Ingebrigsten's says his three sons are equally talented, but that Jakob benefited from what he learned coaching the first two. "Jakob is a product of accumulated knowledge over time because, when we started, we didn’t know anything."
- Reuters: "Sifan Hassan's Triple Quest Came From An Innocuous Question" Hassan: "A friend of mine, who doesn't understand athletics, said, 'Why don't you run three distances?' At first I had to laugh, but then I thought, ‘nobody does that’. So I started training very hard."
- Good Read: Runner's World: Inside Sifan Hassan's Unparalleled Attempt At An Olympic Triple Some interesting insights into what Hassan went through mentally and physically during her historic series of racing in Tokyo.
- Bahrain Mid-D Runner Alsadik Mikhou Provisionally Suspended For Receiving A Blood Transfusion During The Olympic Games Didn't help him anyway as he failed to advance past the first round of the 1500m in Tokyo. *Discuss
- MB: Nick Willis reckons Cole Hocker is in 3:29 shape & the 1500 final was the best ever
- MB: Gjert Ingebrigtsen: 'Cheruyiot will never beat Jakob again'
Olympic Covid News
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- Is This Reuters Article Really Taking A Jab At Italy For Training During The Pandemic? The author claims Italy's success in Tokyo was thanks to their "COVID-19 gamble" and writes, "While other nations were shutting gyms, pools and tracks as the pandemic claimed millions of lives globally, Italy provided an exemption for some 250 elite athletes to keep training..."
- 29 Olympic Dreams Lost: This Article Says 29 Athletes (Highlighted By Sam Kendricks) Were Forced To Miss The Olympics Due To Testing Positive For COVID When They Arrived In Japan The total number of COVID cases connected to Tokyo 2020 was 511. With more than 6750,000 tests conducted, there was a positivity rate of just .02%.
- Rules For Thee, Not For Me: Questions Asked After IOC President Thomas Bach Seen Walking Around Tokyo's Ginza District After Olympics Olympic athletes who left the Olympic Village to sightsee were reprimanded and sent home and under the Tokyo "state of emergency," residents are urged to avoid "nonessential and nonurgent outings."
*Government Shrugs Off Public Criticism of Bach Shopping Trip in Ginza Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa commented, "Whether something is necessary or an emergency is a judgment that must be made by the individual." He also said Bach has already been in the country 14-days. - Five Aussie Hockey Team Members Caught Flack In Tokyo For Leaving The Olympic Village To Buy Beer From A Convenience Store
- NY Times: "Tokyo's Olympic Bubble? Wait Till You See Beijing's" The NY Times writes, "China plans far more elaborate Covid-19 precautions than were taken at the Summer Olympics." Considering some athletes likened conditions in Japan to a "prison," this is pretty scary.
More From The Olympic Marathon
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- French Marathoner Morhad Amdouni Defends Himself After Water Bottle Knocking Over Controversy Amdouni said he was trying to grab just one bottle, but they were too "slippery."
- Tokyo Olympic Women's Marathon Form Analysis For Peres Jepchirchir, Brigid Kosgei, And Molly Seidel The three medalists each found success using very different running form.
- Runner's World: Why Eliud Kipchoge Smiles When He Runs "Training your facial muscles to lighten up can boost your performance when runs are feeling hard."
- Japan Head Marathon Coach Reports That Marathoner Yuma Hattori (Who Placed 73rd In The Men's Race) Had A Skin Temperature Of Over 104F (40C) At The Finish Hattori collapsed at the finish and showed signs of heat stroke.
Tokyo Superlatives
- World Athletics Chooses Their "10 Magical Moments" From Tokyo After the 1500m, Timothy Cheruiyot gave his bracelet to Jakob Ingebrigsten. He said, “When I left my room earlier, I told myself that if someone beats me today, I will give him my bracelet. Jakob beat me, so I give it to him.”
- Gianmarco Tamberi And Brittney Reese Make USA Today's List Of Most Quotable Moments From The Games Reese complained how field events don't get as much attention as the track and she'd be the "Usain Bolt of long jump." Although to be fair, she still wouldn't be since she only has one Olympic gold.
- The Men's Marathon Was 2nd-Most Viewed Event At The Olympics (Japan Broadcast) The #1 spot went to the men's baseball final where Japan defeated the US to win gold.
- BBC Sport Broke Olympic Viewing Record At Tokyo 2020 BBC reported 104 million online viewing requests, far surpassing the 74.4 million during Rio 2016. The men's 100m was the most watched event on BBC tv.
- Tokyo Olympic Medal Count - Every Country's Medal Total After US and China, the "Russian Olympic Committee" was third, GB fourth and hosts Japan fifth.
- By The Numbers: How Past And Current Collegians Did At The Olympics 344 of the 1808 track athletes at the Games at one point competed in the US collegiate system.
- USA Today's Day-By-Day Most Unforgettable Moments From Tokyo
General Olympic News
- Paralympians Complain That The US Olympic Committee Isn't Providing Them Personal Assistants For Travel To Tokyo (Includes Story From Mikey Brannigan) Paralympians with physical and/or intellectual disabilities often need assistance when traveling. One champion swimmer who is deaf and blind withdrew from Tokyo 2020 because her mother wouldn't be allowed to accompany her.
- Joe Biden Imposes Sanctions On Belarus Olympic Committee As The US Wants To Punish The Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko Biden accused the Belarus Olympic committee of facilitating Lukashenko's regime.
- Belarus Olympic Committee Calls US Sanctions "Absurd" The BOC defended itself saying that it's activity is "scrupulously audited by the IOC and is in compliance."
- IOC Executive Board To Be Given Power To Suspend Sports From The Olympic Program Without Approval From The Session This could be trouble for sports like weightlifting which are facing potential removal for Paris 2024.
- IOC Accused Of Failure To Address Human Rights Concerns Prior To Beijing 2022 The IOC has been criticized for failing to condemn China's human rights violations.
- Olympic Flag Arrives In France From Tokyo For Paris 2024
More Tokyo Recaps
- Cathal Dennehy Gives His A-Z Recap Of The Tokyo Olympics We liked his "R is for Russian Olympic Committee" where he mocked their "Olympic ban" saying, "Sure, your kit and tracksuits can be red, white and blue and in place of an anthem, work away and play Tchfaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 if your athletes win gold. But you better bloody well call yourself the Russian Olympic Committee, and that’s not — I repeat, NOT — to be confused with Russia."
- Independent: "Hosts Deserve Our Gratitude For Saving These Ghostly Games" "The official line is visitors have been treated like plague-carriers to protect a city in a 'state of emergency.' But the emergency can be difficult to detect. Shopping centers are packed, streets are bustling, while even an 8pm curfew is arbitrarily enforced..."
- AP: "Fewer Medals, More Heart For United States At A Most Unusual Olympics" This was apparently the sentiment behind choosing javelin thrower Kara Winger as the closing ceremony flag bearer even though she didn't win a medal.
- NY Times: "A Memorable Olympics, But For The Right Reasons?" Many said Tokyo lacked the normal Olympic atmosphere and by the end of the Games Allyson Felix said she couldn't "wait to get home" and was "counting the days."
- "Highs Lows And Burritos - The Guardian's Standout Tokyo Moments" The burrito in this headline actually isn't a reference to Shelby Houlihan.
- NY Times: "Covering A Weird Olympics"
Upcoming Diamond League Action - Pre Is August 21st
- MB: Pre Classic - Women's 800 WR's Days are Numbered Athing Mu leads a field that includes Keely Hodgkinson, Raevyn Rogers, Kate Grace, Jemma Reekie and Ajee Wilson.
- Olympic Heroes Return To Action In Eugene For The Pre Classic The women's 5000m will have all three medalists in Sifan Hassan, Hellen Obiri and Gudaf Tsegay.
- Bowerman Mile Field Includes Jakob Ingebrigsten, Timothy Cheruiyot, Matt Centrowitz
- Tokyo Bronze Medalist Yaroslava Mahuchikh Leads Pre Classic High Jump Field As Olympic Champ Maria Lasitskene Awaits Visa
- August 26: Elaine Thompson-Herah Vs Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Set For Lausanne 100m
Sir Walter Miler
New Zealand's Beamish passed six runners in the final 200m to win in 3:54.91 over a field that included Craig Engles (5th in 3:56.00). In the women's race, Norris led nine women under 4:30 to win in a PR of 4:25.92, the fastest mile time in the world this year. Nikki Hiltz was second (4:26.48).
Results We Missed Before Tokyo:
Post Olympic News
- United States Tops The Medal Tables For The Third Consecutive Games China actually lead throughout the Games, but was passed by the US thanks to some wins on the final day. The US had 39 gold, 41 silver and 33 bronze while 38 gold, 32 silver and 18 bronze.
- Athletics Weekly Names Their Top 10 Moments From Tokyo Karsten Warholm's WR starts off the list.
- NY Times: Closing Ceremony Highlights "A final medal ceremony, a handoff to Paris and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame mark the Games’ finale." *USA Today article
- US Javelin Thrower And 4-Time Olympian Kara Winger Was Team USA Flag Bearer For The Tokyo Closing Ceremony She was chosen in a vote by her fellow US athletes. *USATF article
- Insane: Australian Athletes Have To Spend Two-Weeks In Mandatory Quarantine When They Return From Tokyo This isn't even a self-quarantine in their homes. They are all transferred to government-run hotels as soon as they land.
- USA Today: "Will Tokyo Olympics Be A Game-Changer In How We View Athletes' Mental Health?" Several track athletes including Noah Lyles talked about how they battle depression and anxiety.
Random Track News
- World Athletics Names Three New Championship Hosts 2023 World Relays are going to Guangzhou, China, the 2023 World Road Running Champs will be in Riga, Latvia and 2022 Race Walking is in Oman.
- T&F News Lists The US Sub-4 Miler's Club (Chronologically)
- World Athletics Ratify Several Of WRs Including Sifan Hassan's 10,000m And Letesenbet Gidey Breaking It Two Days Later
- Results Of Bowerman 2021 Fan Vote And USTFCCCA Membership Vote JuVaughn Harrison and Tara Davis won the fan vote. Harrison also won the USTFCCCA vote, but Athing Mu won the women's.
More Olympic Marathon Coverage
- France Marathoner Morhad Amdouni Accused Of Sabotage For Knocking Over A Row Of Water Bottles Before Grabbing The Last One For Himself An accident or was he trying to screw over the athletes behind him?
- Ireland Shot Themselves In The Foot And Missed Out On Having A 10th Placer In The Women's Marathon Back in 2015, Sinead Diver qualified for Worlds in the marathon, but Ireland imposed stricter time standards (just 15-seconds faster than Diver's time) so she started representing Australia instead. Now the 44-year-old she placed 10th in Tokyo and Ireland's top runner was 25th.
- Irish Trio Struggles In Humidity Of Sapporo 58th, 78th and a DNF.
Marcell Jacobs Doping Connection?
- Italy's 100m Champ Marcell Jacobs Says He "Cut Ties" In March With Fitness Expert Connected To Steroid Probe Jacobs' agent says Jacobs cut ties with the nutritionist as soon as he heard he was being investigated.
- Marcell Jacobs' Agent Says "He's Absolutely Sure That [Jacobs] Has Never Used Any PED"
- The Telegraph: "Who Is Marcell Jacobs? How A Struggling Italian Long Jumper Became The Olympic 100m Champion"
More Gender News
- Seb Coe Defends Testosterone Rules, Touches On Idea Of Eventually Moving To An "Open" And "Biological Women" Category “The reason we went from 400 to the mile was these were the distances that we were advised scientifically, biomechanically and physiologically were the ones that were most impacted. We’ve never said that there may not be advantages at lower levels elsewhere. But that was what we settled on."
- Online Uproar As China State TV Host Calls Shot Put Olympic Champ Gong Lijiao A "Manly Woman" She got some weird questions about boyfriends and if she would settle down into a "woman's life" after the Olympics.
- Opinion Piece: "Seb Coe's Comments Show That Women DSD Athletes' Wellbeing Is Not Enough Of A Priority" Some people want to pretend the participation of DSD athletes isn't controversial and apparently would rather Seb Coe not even address it
Olympic Marathons
Olympic Marathons
Eliud Kipchoge repeated as Olympic Marathon champ and cemented his status as the marathon GOAT as Galen Rupp was 8th.
Molly Seidel shocked the world by getting the bronze medal as Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kogei swept the top two spots. http://gty.im/1234517406
Throwing Medals
- Neeraj Chopra Wins Surprise Historic Javelin Olympic Title Chopra threw 87.58m to win India's first Olympic track gold ever. German's pre-meet favorite Johannes Vetter was a non-factor.
- Liu Shiying Wins China's First Olympic Javelin Gold
- Valerie Allman Won Discus Gold For The US With 68.98m Two-time Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic was back in 4th.
- Wojciech Nowicki Helps Poland Complete Sweep Of Hammer Golds In Tokyo Poland's pre-meet favorite Pawel Fajdek was third.
Men's 5000
Updated Cheptegei was too good the final 500 as Paul Chelimo had to dive for bronze in lane 3.
Women's 1500
updated Faith Kipyegon wins in 3:53.11 Olympic record while Laura Muir gets the silver (3:54.50) and Sifan Hassan the bronze (3:55.86).
- Supporters Club Day 8 Show: Cheptegei Legend, Chelimo's Dive for Bronze, Kipyegon GOAT, Rumor: Kipchoge Not Fit? Video and podcast for LetsRun Supporters Club members.
- Shaunae Miller-Uibo Retains Her Olympic 400m Title As Allyson Felix Makes History With Her 10th Olympic Medal Miller-Uibo ran 48.36 to dominate over Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino as Felix became the most decorated female Olympian ever with the bronze.
Hot Olympic Talk - Live Now
- Official SESSION 17 Live Discussion Thread - M5K, W 1500, W 400,....
- Who says he cant run a champonship 5k? Joshua Cheptegei proves the doubters wrong again
- Paul MF Chelimo USA Bronze - proves the doubters wrong!
- Kipyegon STEAMROLL Sifan Hassan
- Allyson Felix deserves all the attention
- When Will Faith Kipyegon Get Some REAL Love on These Boards?
- Cheptegai wins the 5000m with ONLY a 55.10 last lap. Would have lost to Jakob easily.
- Hassan goes home devastated- I’m a happy man
- Mo Ahmed proves the doubters wrong again!
- Men's 4 x4 "B" Team 2:57.77
- Jamaica misses 4x100m wr but wins gold
- Nick Willis says thank you and farewell on Instagram
Your latest American stars share their insights.
American Record Holders
American Record Holders
Keira D'Amato, the new American record holder in the marathon, was joined by Deena Kastor, who held the record for 15 years.
Sisson was the guest on the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast after she became the first American to go sub 67 in the half marathon on a record-eligible course. Podcast highlights above. Full pod here.
Woody Kincaid joined us after he broke the American record indoors at 5000. He talks above why he left the Bowerman Track Club. Podcast highlights and link to full podcast here.
Coogan's New Balance Boston team had 3 Olympians in 2021 and 2022 could be the biggest year yet for the program with 2 new additions and the TRACK at New Balance coming on March 1st.
Danny Mackey has taken the Brooks Beasts from an unproven club to the Olympic podium in its first decade.
Dathan Ritzenhein is the first of the top pro coaches to sit down and talk about his club heading into the 2022 campaign.
Best of Jon Gault
Best of Jon Gault
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
LetsRun Classics
LetsRun Classics
‒Israel's Lonah Chemtai Salpeter talking about the Olympic marathon where menstrual cramps caused her to go from 3rd to 66th in the last couple miles of the race.