Reebok Boston Indoor Games
1 world record, 5 national records fall at Reebok Boston Indoor Games
Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia shattered the world record in the women's 5,000 meters, while Shalane Flanagan deconstructed the American record in the RBK women's 3,000m Saturday at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Two Australian national marks and a New Zealand AR also fell on the first stop of USA Track & Field's Indoor Visa Championship Series.
The double world champion at 5,000 and 10,000 meters, Dibaba put on a
solo effort in the 5,000 Saturday night that was nothing short of awesome.
Known in some circles as "the baby-faced destroyer," Dibaba destroyed in own
world and Ethiopian record, running 14:27.42 to crush her own record of
14:32.93 set at this meet in 2005.
The 2005 USA outdoor 5,000m champion, Flanagan ran 8:33.25 in the RBK
women's 3,000 to bury Regina Jacobs' previous 3, AR of 8:39.14. It was an
epic run by the Marblehead, Mass., native, who ran off the shoulder of
Meseret Defar as Defar went for the world record. Flanagan challenged Defar
on the backstretch, with 100 meters to go, bringing the capacity crowd to
its feet. Defar outlasted Flanagan to win in 8:30.31, the #5 performance
all-time. Flanagan improved her own personal best by more than 20 seconds,
while Kim Smith's third-place time of 8:38.14 also was a national record.
Record runs
Unofficial results provided by Parker Morse for the IAAF had Dibaba's kilometer splits at 2:55.23, 5:48, 8:44.30 and 11:40.98. Mile splits were 4:38.76, 9:19.35 and 13:57.70, with a final 200m of 29.72. Dibaba said it was with two laps remaining that she felt assured of the record, but the huge improvement on her own mark did come as a bit of a surprise.
"Indoors, I was concentrating on this race, so I had the confidence to break" the record, Dibaba said. Still, "I didn't think I could break it by this much."
Trailing Dibaba in the race were countrywomen Ejegayehu Dibaba - Tiru's sister and the Olympic 10,000m silver medalist - in 15:09.48 and Aheza Kiros in 15:26.43.
Oceania needs a new record book
Athletes from Down Under came out on top Saturday. Sarah Jamieson set an Australian national record in the women's mile with a time of 4:28.03. She was followed in the race by two-time U.S. Olympian Shayne Culpepper, coming back from pregnancy with 4:31.35.
In the men's pole vault, #1 world-ranked Steven Hooker vaulted to a NR 5.81m/19-0.75 in his first ever indoor meet, thanks in part to the generosity of American record holder Jeff Hartwig. With Hooker's pole's lost in transit, he jumped on his competitor's poles. "It's the second time I've used Jeff's poles and beat him," Hooker said sheepishly. "But he's won a lot more than me." U.S. champion Russ Buller was second at 5.61m/18-4.75, with Hartwig third at 5.51m/18-1.
Kim Smith of New Zealand was third in the 3,000, setting a national record with her time of 8:38.14.
New American stars emerge
Several young Americans emerged as stars in their respective events at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games.
Nick
Symmonds, a seven-time NCAA Division III champion, left no doubt
that he is a major player on the professional scene by winning the
Smartwater men's 800m run in style. Running a controlled race, Symmonds came
through 400m in third place, the second man behind the pacesetter's split of
53.2. Sam Burley then took control of the race, leading Symmonds by several
yards before Symmonds moved past him in the final straight to win in
1:48.15. Burley, who now trains with Alan Webb's training group, was second
in 1:48.66 with 2001 World Indoor champion David Krummenacker third in
1:49.29.
Recent Ohio State grad Dan Taylor quickly went from top collegian to
vanquisher of the world's best throwers in he men's shot put. The 6-6,
335-pound Ohioan put all of his throws over 21 meters, including two over 70
feet. He won the competition with a best of 21.57/70-9.25 to prevail over
world #2 ranked Christian Cantwell (21.36m/70-1) and #1 ranked Reese Hoffa
(68-4.5)
In her first race since forgoing her final year of eligibility at Texas,
multi-time NCAA champion Marshevet Hooker won the Visa women's 60 meters in
7.24 seconds over Miki Barber (7.28) and Sheri-Ann Brooks of Jamaica (7.29).
In the Visa men's 60m, 2004 Olympic 200m champion Shawn Crawford came on
late in the race to win in 6.55 seconds over DaBryan Blanton in 6.58.
Middle-distance kings
In the men's mile, Alan Webb turned in a bravura solo performance. The
two-time U.S. outdoor champion followed the designated pacemaker through
splits of 55.3 and 1:56.2, then went through 1200m in 2:56.8 before
finishing in a personal-best of 3:55.18. Kevin Sullivan of Canada was second
in 3:57.33 with Mark Fountain of Australia third in 3:57.76.
Craig "Buster" Mottram of Australia turned in an easy victory in the RBK
men's 3,000m, waving to the crowd as he cruised to a win in 7:39.24, with
Markos Geneti of Ethiopia second in 7:42.72.
Other winners included Jenn Stuczynski in the women's pole vault (4.63m/15-2.25), David Payne in the RBK men's 60m hurdles (7.58), Perdita Felicien of Canada in the women's 60m hurdles in 7.97 and Monica Hargrove in the women's 400m (52.85)
In exhibition events, Massachusetts native Mark Coogan won the men's masters mile in 4:24.71, Danielle Tauro won the American Track & Field Girls' Invitational Miles in 4:52.20, and Duncan Phillips to take the American Track & Field Boys' Invitational Mile in 4:09.20.
The 2007 Visa Championship Series continues Friday, February 2 with the 100th Millrose Games in New York.
Dan Taylor was named the Team USA Athlete of the Meet based on his breakout performance. His winning throw of 21.57m was his longest throw...ever. It also placed him in the top position in the race for the Visa Championship Title. Visa is proud to present Dan with a $2,500 bonus which will assist him with his training as he prepares for the 2007 IAAF World Championships and the 2008 Olympic Games.
Girls 1 Mile Run Juniors 1, Danielle Tauro, Manahawkin,, 4:52.20. 2, Jillian Smith, Manahawkin,, 4:53.58. 3, Alex Kosinski, El Dorado Hi, 4:54.05. 4, Lindsey Carson, Ontario, Can, 4:55.00. 5, Catherine White, Roanoke, VA, 4:55.38. 6, Brittany Sheffey, Bellport, NY, 4:56.30. 7, Ashley Higginson, Marlboro, NJ, 4:57.77. 8, Colleen Wetherbee, Yarmouth, MA, 5:00.14. 9, Jillian Rosen, Dallas, TX, 5:00.50. 10, Christine Babcock, Irvine, CA, 5:01.13. 11, Tori Pennings, Warwick, NY, 5:01.40. 12, Keely Maguire, Georgetown,, 5:05.88. 13, Siobhan Breagy, Exeter, RI, 5:16.09. --, Caitlin Lane, Greenwich, N, DNF.
Women 60 Meter Dash 1, Marshevet Hooker, USA, 7.24. 2, Miki Barber, USA, 7.28. 3, Sheri-Ann Brooks, JAM, 7.29. 4, Angela Diagle-Bowen, USA, 7.31. 5, Brianna Glenn, USA, 7.33. 6, Rachelle Smith, USA, 7.39. 7, Jordine Kimbrel, USA, 7.50. 8, Gabby Mayo, USA, 7.50.
Women 400 Meter Dash 1, Monica Hargrove, USA, 52.85. 2, Mary Wineberg, USA, 53.50. 3, Dee Dee Trotter, USA, 53.93. 4, Patrica Hall, JAM, 54.10. 5, Licretia Sibley, USA, 54.28. 6, Ronetta Smith, JAM, 54.61.
Women 1 Mile Run 1, Sarah Jamieson, AUS, 4:28.03. 2, Shayne Culpepper, USA, 4:31.35. 3, Christin Wurth-Thomas, USA, 4:31.84. 4, Sarah Hall, USA, 4:32.24. 5, Lindsey Gallo, USA, 4:33.86. 6, Carmen Douma-Hussar, CAN, 4:33.97. 7, Mestawot Tadesse, ETH, 4:40.26. 8, Jenelle Deatherage, USA, 4:40.43. 9, Amy Mortimer, USA, 4:41.95. 10, Natalie Hughes, USA, 4:44.00. 11, Meskerem Legesse, ETH, 4:46.19. 12, Brooke Novak, USA, 4:54.50. --, Erica Sigmont, AUS, DNF.
Women 3000 Meter Run 1, Meseret Defar, ETH, 8:30.31. 2, Shalane Flanagan, USA, 8:33.25. 3, Kim Smith, NZL, 8:38.14. 4, Mary Cullen, IRL, 8:53.81. 5, Malindi Elmore, CAN, 8:57.59. 6, Sentayehu Ejigu, ETH, 9:09.74. 7, Yimenashu Taye, ETH, 9:09.96. 8, Clara Peterson, USA, 9:10.47. 9, Marie Davenport, IRL, 9:11.75. 10, Hilary Stellingwerff, CAN, 9:16.95. --, Keira Carlstrom, USA, DNF. --, Roisin McGettigan, IRL, DNF. --, Iryna Vaschuk, UKR, DNF.
Women 5000 Meter Run 1, Tirunesh Dibaba, ETH, 14:27.42. 2, Ejegayehu Dibaba, ETH, 15:09.48. 3, Aheza Kiros, ETH, 15:26.43. 4, Rene Metivier-Baillie, USA, 16:29.27. --, Marina Muncan, USA, DNF. --, Bridget Binning, USA, DNF.
Women 60 Meter Hurdles 1, Perdita Felicien, CAN, 7.97. 2, Danielle Carruthers, USA, 8.10. 3, Kellie Wells, USA, 8.11. 4, Aurelia Trywianksa-Kollasch, POL, 8.17. 5, Priscilla Lopes, CAN, 8.20. 6, Andrea Bliss, JAM, 8.22. 7, Ebony Foster, USA, 8.41. 8, Michelle Freeman, JAM, 8.41.
Women Pole Vault 1, Jenn Stuczynski, USA, 4.63m, (15-02.25). 2, Mary Sauer, USA, 4.43m, (14-06.25). 3, Jillian Schwartz, USA, 4.43m, (14-06.25). 4, Nastja Ryshich, GER, 4.28m, (14-00.50). 5, Dana Ellis, CAN, 4.28m, (14-00.50). 6, Chelsea Johnson, USA, 4.13m, (13-06.50). --, Tracy O'Hara, USA, NH.
Boys 1 Mile Run Juniors 1, Duncan Phillips, College Stat, 4:09.20. 2, Matthew Centrowitz, Arnold, MD, 4:10.85. 3, Mark Amirault, Walope, MA, 4:11.26. 4, Girma Mecheso, Lawrencevill, 4:11.67. 5, Evan Jager, Algonquin, I, 4:12.59. 6, Sintayehu Taye, Ashburnham,, 4:13.77. 7, Craig Forys, Howell, NJ, 4:16.92. 8, Michael Chinchar, KEN, 4:17.68. 9, Steve Murdock, Clifton Park, 4:21.06. 10, Brandon Burns, North Kingst, 4:21.99. 11, Brian Rhodes-Devey, Slingerlands, 4:29.00.
Men 60 Meter Dash 1, Shawn Crawford, USA, 6.55. 2, DaBryan Blanton, USA, 6.58. 3, Mark Jelks, USA, 6.60. 4, Larone Clarke, JAM, 6.66. 5, Jabari Fields, USA, 6.78. 6, Carlos Moore, USA, 6.92. --, Steve Mullings, JAM, FS.
Men 1 Mile Run 1, Alan Webb, USA, 3:55.18. 2, Kevin Sullivan, CAN, 3:57.33. 3, Mark Fountain, AUS, 3:57.76. 4, James Nolan, IRL, 3:58.85. 5, Ivan Heshko, UKR, 3:59.14. 6, Chris Lukezic, USA, 4:00.50. 7, Rob Myers, USA, 4:00.52. 8, Gabe Jennings, USA, 4:12.13. 9, Tim Ramirez, USA, 4:22.41. --, Moise Joseph, HAI, DNF. --, Elkanah Angwenyi, KEN, DNF.
Men 800 Meter Run 1, Nick Symmonds, USA, 1:48.15. 2, Sam Burley, USA, 1:48.66. 3, David Krummenacker, USA, 1:49.29. 4, Justus Koech, KEN, 1:50.01. 5, Berhanu Alemu, ETH, 1:50.55. 6, Jebreh Harris, USA, 1:50.78. 7, Derrick Peterson, USA, 1:53.32. --, Dirk Homewood, USA, DNF.
Men 3000 Meter Run 1, Craig Mottram, AUS, 7:39.24. 2, Markos Geneti, ETH, 7:42.72. 3, Ali Abdosh, ETH, 7:45.96. 4, Alistair Cragg, IRL, 7:52.68. 5, Josphat Boit, KEN, 7:54.30. 6, Thomas Morgan, USA, 7:54.45. 7, Robert Cheseret, KEN, 7:56.86. 8, Gebre Gebremariam, ETH, 7:57.27. 9, Jorge Torres, USA, 8:04.84. 10, Michael Aish, NZL, 8:10.04. 11, Jason Jabaut, USA, 8:22.82. --, Alexandr Skvortsov, RUS, DNF.
Men 60 Meter Hurdles 1, David Payne, USA, 7.58. 2, Joel Brown, USA, 7.60. 3, David Oliver, USA, 7.61. 4, Dudley Dorival, HAI, 7.77. 5, Antwon Hicks, USA, 7.82. 6, Josh Walker, USA, 7.85. 7, Aubrey Herring, USA, 8.00.
Men Pole Vault 1, Steven Hooker, AUS, 5.81m, (19-00.75). 2, Russ Buller, USA, 5.61m, (18-04.75). 3, Jeff Hartwig, USA, 5.51m, (18-01). 4, Daniel Ryland, USA, 5.31m, (17-05). --, Robbie Pratt, MEX, NH.
Men Shot Put 1, Dan Taylor, USA, 21.57m, (70-09.25). 2, Christian Cantwell, USA, 21.36m, (70-01). 3, Reese Hoffa, USA, 20.84m, (68-04.50). 4, John Godina, USA, 19.25m, (63-02). 5, Vince Mosca, USA, 19.07m, (62-06.75).
Men 1 Mile Run Masters 1, Mark Coogan, New Balance, 4:24.71. 2, Kent Lemme, Greater Spri, 4:28.67. 3, Doug Martyn, Whirlaway Ra, 4:29.63. 4, Jason Cakouros, HFC Striders, 4:30.28. 5, Mike Cooney, Whirlaway Ra, 4:34.46. 6, Norm Bouthillier, Whirlaway Ra, 4:37.81. 7, Bruce Davie, Greater Boston, 4:38.10. 8, Terry McNatt, Cambridge Sp, 4:38.88. 9, Paul Hammond, Whirlaway Ra, 4:39.96. 10, Bob Collins, BAA, 4:41.03. 11, Tom Smith, Unattached, 4:47.09.
Mixed 4x200 Meter Relay Youth 1, Providence Cobras 1:49.26. 2, Dearborn 1:56.48. 3, Waltham Track Club 1:56.51. 4, Attleboro YMCA 1:56.53. 5, South Boston AC 2:00.78. 6, Nitehawks TC 2:06.35.
Mixed 1600 Sprint Medley Corporate 1, Raytheon 3:50.03. 2, MFS 4:17.77. 3, UNUMProvident 4:18.38. 4, Putnam Investments 4:32.95. 5, BISYS Hedge Fund 4:46.88.