April 2, 2012
 Tirunesh Dibaba and defending champion Dejen Gebremeskel won the women's and men's elite races at the yesterday's Carlsbad 5000. Dibaba, who had last won at Carlsbad in 2005, was followed closely by Werknesh Kidane, Pauline Korikwiang, and Gotytom Gebreslase through the three kilometer marker (hit in 9:04), but pulling away in the final mile to a comfortable victory, winning in 14:59, with Kidane second, Korikwiang thrid, Gebreslase fourth, and defending champion Aheza Kiros in fifth. The men's race was a closer affair, with Gebremeskel repeating as champion in 13:11 (the same time he recorded last year, equalling the national record jointly held by himself and Dejene Berhanu) and teenage prodigy Hagos Gebrhiwet taking second in 13:14 over former World Champion Eliud Kipchoge. Read more... |
March 11, 2012
 Aries Merritt now has a senior title to add to the gold medal he won at the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships. Already having won the US indoor title last month in Albuquerque, Merritt went to Istanbul as the third fastest man in the world this year and was expected to figure into the medals, with most of the prerace attention focused on former Olympic Champion Liu Xiang, who had won the world indoor title four years earlier. After easily advancing through his heat and semi-final, Merritt took off in the final and never looked back, as he got out of the blocks ahead of Liu and most of the field and ran the smoothest race of the eight finalists, winning in 7.44 to Liu's 7.49. In the 15 times they have met, this is the first time Merritt has bettered Liu in competition. In the Women's 60m Hurdles, Tiffany Porter earned the silver medal for Team GB, taking second in 7.94 to Sally Pearson's Area Record 7.73. Four-time world indoor champion Meseret Defar led much of the second half of the Women's 3000m, and looked as if she was headed to her fifth world indoor title, only to be caught by Helen Obiri's sprint finish in the final lap. Read more... |
March 9, 2012
 Ryan Whiting had the biggest day of his professional career today, winning the Men's Shot Put at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul. The former Arizona State Sun Devil established himself as a medal contender with his first round throw of 21.59, and was in third behind Olympic Champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland and World Outdoor Champion David Storl of Germany until Whiting launched the shot 22 meters exactly on this fifth attempt, giving him 14cm to spare over Storl and making him the ninth farthest thrower in history. For added measure, Whiting's final attemp was only 2cm shorter than his winning throw. Read more... |
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February 27, 2012
 Former NCAA Champion Aries Merritt and former NJCAA Champion Trell Kimmons each won the first senior US titles yesterday at the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque. In the final of the Men's 60m, Kimmons gut out to his customary good start and never relinquished the lead, beating former Olympic Champion Justin Gatlin, 6.45A to 6.47A, the fastest time of Kimmons' career and the fastest time in the world for 2012. In the Men's 60m Hurdles, Merritt was initially behind early leader Dexter Faulk, but proceded to regain the lead over the final hurdles, winning in a lifetime best of 7.32A, a time that makes him the equal eleventh fastest American in history. Also qualifying for the IAAF World Indoor Championships this weekend was Ryan Whiting, who took second in the Men's Shot Put with a throw of 21.60m, and Jenn Suhr, who won the Women's Pole Vault with a first-time clearance of 4.67m. Read more... |
February 11, 2012
 Morgan Uceny, the top ranked 1500m runner in the world last year, picked up her first victory of the season today, winning the 800m at the Millrose Games in a time of 2:03:35 to Fantu Magiso's 2:03.72, with both finishing ahead of former NCAA Champion Phoebe Wright and IAAF World Championship finalist Maggie Vessey. Bianca Knight edged out a tight win in the Women's 60m, taking first in a seaosn's best of 7.25, followed by Jessica Young and Trisha-Ann Hawthorne in 7.26 and 7.27, respectively. Jenn Suhr, who cleared 4.88m for a new US record last week in Boston, won the competition in New York with a winning clearance of 4.58m. |
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