Athlete Quotes, USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships: Day Two

Open Men's 100 meter dash, prelims:

Justin Gatlin, Nike, Heat 1 false start:

"Obviously, there was a first flinch off the first gun and the second time I reacted to another athlete in the field and I guess that wasn't called and I was off with the first athlete that left the blocks. So I reacted to somebody else and that's all I can really say about it."

"I'm protesting it, and if it comes out my way, hopefully, people understand, and my fans will still be behind me. And if it doesn't, then I'll go on and cross my fingers for the 200m."

"This is the first time this has happened to me, but things happen for a reason and hopefully something big will happen later on in the season for me."

Explanation of Justin Gatlin's advancement to men's 100m semifinal:

A protest was filed on behalf of Justin Gatlin after he was disqualified for a false start in Heat 1 of the men's 100 meters first round. Head men's referee Ed Gorman studied a print-out of the start of the race and determined that the runner in lane 5 (adjacent to Gatlin in lane 4) was not motionless prior to the start. Therefore, Gatlin's protest was approved by the referee and he will compete in Saturday's semifinal round.

Statement from USATF's Men's Track and Field Chair John Chaplin concerning sprinter Justin Gatlin

The referee, after looking at all the facts, has decided to seed, and to advance Justin Gatlin into the semi-final round of the 100 meters.

What that means in practical terms is that we'll have three heats of six (6), six (6), and seven (7), and we'll take two (2), two (2), two (2) from the heats, and next three (3) fastest to the final.

Open Women 100m dash, prelims:

Heat 1 winner

Angela Daigle, Nike, 11.40

"It was tough out there, there was a lot of a wind, but I pushed through. I'm just trying to get through the rounds and take it from there."

Heat 2 winner

Marshvet Hooker, Texas

On race,

I felt it was a little windy, but I just kept running all the way through the line. It was a quick race.

Finals:

We have semis and then finals, and I'm taking one round at a time. It's a bunch of great competitors, so I don't take it as a win, I take it as a qualifying for the next round.

Heat 3 winner

MeLisa Barber, adidas, 11.04 (PR)

"I have a different program now. I'm injury free and more dedicated this year. I've always been a 100/200 winner. I always liked the short races."

On her coaching change from Curtis Frye to Trevor Graham:

I'm with Trevor because he's a great sprint coach. (On Frye) He's a great coach too.

Muna Lee, Nike, Heat 3 second place, 11.21.

"The race went alright. I think it will be a good final."

Open Men's 100m dash, prelims:

Heat 1 winner

DaBryan Blanton, Nike, 10.17

On the false start in heat 1:

"I didn't think about it. I just went over my race in my head and stayed focused."

On his race:

"I felt good. I didn't run well at NCAAs, and I'm just tried to redeem myself here."

Heat 2 winner

Maurice Greene, adidas, 10.12

On the false start:

"It's the starter. He's not any good, That's the bottom line. He's holding us for a thousand years. At every championship meet, adrenaline is rushing, but I can't remember this many false starts at any meet I've been in."

On Tim Montgomery pulling out of the event today:

"I didn't even know he pulled out. I didn't know who was in my heat. I've been focused on me and my group the last two weeks, and that's it."

On Gatlin's exit:

"I'm disappointed, because he's a good competitor. I went up to him and said I'm sorry he's not going to be in the 100, but he's still going to be in the 200."

On making it to Helsinki:

"There are only three tickets. Who's going to get it? I want one."

Heat 3 winner

Leonard Scott, Nike, 10.20.

"I'm real surprised about Gatlin, I've known him as a teammate at Tennessee, he's a very focused person, and a very will-minded person, he wants to do it. I truly think it was a lack of concentration today, on his part."

What did Maurice say to you after his race:

"He was scared, wasn't he, I'm like the first person out of the blocks, but after today, after all those false starts, he said 'I'll just play catch up today". Just to be on the safe side. I'll take my chances tomorrow. Today is just trying to qualify."

On the starter:

"He's really bad. I mean, usually, we have a count in our head, 1000-1, 1000-2, 1000-3, pow, then he shoots it. You gotta stay focused and keep your composure."

Heat 4 winner

Walter Dix, Florida State, 10.27

"I got out of the blocks good. I just want to make it through to the next round. I hope to make the team. My ultimate goal is to win and show the old men that this young man is ready."

On Justin Gatlin's false start:

"Sometimes you make mistakes, and sometimes you have bad days."

Heat 5 winner

Shawn Crawford, Nike, 10.10.

On the starter:

"The starter seemed to be holding the runners a little bit longer than usual."

On running 10.10:

"All I can tell you is that the 10.10 won the 5^th heat, and gets me into the semifinals."

Can you recall when we've had this many false starts?

"Whew, I don't even pay attention to track and field when I'm not running."

Open Men's 400m dash, semifinals:

Tyree Washington, Nike, 4^th in heat

It was a good race. It was good for me to get through. It's good to keep on racing. I'm having fun, and getting ready for it to get better.

On youth:

Half the kids I don't know. I'm the only one left from my crowd. When I finish my career, I'm not going to hang my head low. I had a great career. The youth showing shows a lot of depth in the US. We are deeper in the 400 than we've ever been.

Open Women's Long Jump, final: Grace Upshaw, Nike, 6.70m/21-11.75, 1.3 wind.

"I feel grateful to win, because I knew it was going to be great competition out there."

On her jump:

"It's a little less than what I had hoped for, but it's just about making the team."

Men's 800, heat 1

Khadevis Robinson

The race went pretty good. I wanted to push the pace and come through at 51 seconds. My time should have been faster, but I just chilled the last 50 meters. The name of the game is qualifying and making it to Sunday.

Men's 800 heat 2 winner

Jebreh Harris

I ran a smart race tonight. The main thing was to make it through to the next round. Last year I gave it my all, but I didn't run smart. Coach says I have to run smart.

Men's 110 meter hurdles

Allen Johnson 12.99

Race:

I was in lane 2, away from the action. The gun went off and I ran as hard as I could, bc I knew domnique and trammel were there. I got nervous in the middle, and I didn't know if I had won off of the last hurdle, until the offical announced it, and I saw the scoreboard.

Three fastest times:

We're going to be running fast all summer and I feel sorry for the rest of the guys in the world.

Dominque

I didn't think I'd be this fast. There was no inidcaiton that we would all run this fast. My start was shaky, but I've been working on coming off my last hurdle. Today I PR'd, and I'm excited. I always knew I could run faster than 13.11, but injuries have hindered me. To run that fast now is great.

Trammel

We are sweeping worlds, and you can quote me on that. We don't know what order, but it will happen, just like it did tonight.

To me, finishing 3^rd today is a victory, bc I ran 13.02. I got beat by big times, and that's not too good.

About Allen:

The old man just won't go away, but I couldn't be happier for him.

Open Men's 110 meter hurdles, final:

Allen Johnson, Nike, 12.99, first place.

On the race:

"I was in lane 2, away from the action. The gun went off and I ran as hard as I could, because I knew Dominique and Trammell were there. I got nervous in the middle, and I didn't know if I had won off of the last hurdle, until the official announced it, and I saw the scoreboard."

On the top three in the race getting the three fastest times in the world this year:

"We're going to be running fast all summer and I feel sorry for the rest of the guys in the world."

Dominique Arnold, Nike, 13.01, second place:

"I didn't think I'd be this fast. There was no indication that we would all run this fast. My start was shaky, but I've been working on coming off my last hurdle. Today I PR'd, and I'm excited. I always knew I could run faster than 13.11, but injuries have hindered me. To run that fast now is great."

Terrence Trammell, Mizuno, 13.02, third place:

"We are sweeping worlds, and you can quote me on that. We don't know what order, but it will happen, just like it did tonight. To me, finishing 3^rd today is a victory, because I ran 13.02. I got beat by big times, and that's not too bad."

About Allen Johnson:

"The old man just won't go away, but I couldn't be happier for him."

Open Women's 400m, semifinals:

Heat 1 winner:

De'Hashia Trotter, adidas, 51.18.

Her objective in the first round:

"To qualify well enough to put yourself in a good position for a lane, that's my main objective. Qualifying is very important, so that can also be a goal too. A second goal is qualifying high enough to get a good lane for the next race."

On the wind:

"The wind is not going to give us a break. Not even a little one. Our times are going to be consistently slower, even though, this is a group of girls that runs 49s here. With this wind, I can't see us doing that."

Heat 2 winner:

Sanya Richards, Nike, 51.09.

On her race:

"I felt real good. Me & my coach wanted to execute the first 300m, and I did so."

On finals:

"It's going to be tough. There's a lot of fast women in the field."

Open Men's Hammer Throw, final: James Parker, USAF, winner, 74.15m/243-03.

On winning his third title:

"I'm always nervous at every USA outdoor championship. I feel like I'm the new guy."

On going to World Championships:

"I have to turn it up now. I'm coming up little by little. I hope by the World Championships, I'm able to qualify for the finals."

Open Men's Hammer Throw, final: A. G. Kruger, Ashland Elite, third place, 71.48m/234-06.

"My first throw was my best throw. I came close to something big, but just didn't do it. Some days are great days and some days you struggle. Today was a 'struggle' day. It was a little frustrating. I had some great foul throws, but fouls don't count."

Are you going to Worlds?

"James Parker and I already have the "A" standard, so both of us will qualify for worlds."

Open Women's Shot Put, final:

Elizabeth Wanless, NYAC, 3^rd place, 18.14m/59-06.25.

"I think my performance shows that I am starting to fit into my new skin. Last year I watched the girls in the stands. I finished 13^th at the Olympic Trials. My big improvement in one year is attributed to Coach Larry Judge's commitment to my goals."

"I want to thank the Bates Friends. I hope I will make you proud in Helsinki."

Open Men's Decathlon, final: Bryan Clay, Nike, winner, 8506.

On scoring 8506:

"It was alright. It wasn't anything special. I haven't been able to train the last couple weeks as I would have liked to, due to some injuries and things like that. We came out, got the job done, the score was decent, and now we'll get ready for Helsinki."

How was the track:

"I don't want to be rude, but it was tough. We had a lot of headwinds, the 100m for us was a 1.8 headwind, the hurdles were a 1.4 headwind, and even though the long jump didn't register wind, it was still affecting the jumps, and you saw it in a lot of people's performances. There wasn't a lot of blazing times, like you would expect from this track, since it's a very fast track. It's kind of too bad, since you'd hope that we'd come out here and things would be set up so we could have big marks, but it's left up to meet management, and that's what they decided to do. All in all, it was okay, but conditions weren't the greatest."

Did you miss competing against Pappas today:

"I always miss Pappas. I miss competing against a lot of the guys. I've been in contact with him. He's training, he's going to be back next year, and we'll put on a good show and start sending some strong teams to World Championships. We have a good group of guys that get along real well, want to help each other and work together, and I think it's showing in a lot of our scores."

What's your last favorite event?

"The 1500 sucks. That's definitely the toughest one for me. More than physically, it's a mental thing, you get down to the last event, it's been two days, and you've nine events prior to that, some go your way, some don't, so you're going up and down on an emotional roller coaster and by the time you get to the 15, you just hate it."

Open Men's 400m Hurdles Preliminaries:

Heat 1 winner

Bennie Brazell LSU, 49.94

"I felt really good about the race ... comfortable. I was glad to get it out of the way."

On getting to the finals:

"I just need to be consistent and change nothing. I just need to be consistent."

Heat 2 winner

Kerron Clement, Nike, 49.67

"I felt the race was kind of windy on the backstretch. I am looking forward to doing better in the finals."

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being an NCAA runner?

"The advantages are knowing who's out there; there are no disadvantages."

Heat 3 winner

Kenneth Ferguson, Unattached, 49.78

"It went well. I had a problem down the homestretch, stuttering over some hurdles. I won my first heat, and that's what I wanted - to move into the semis. In the semis, I just need to execute when needed and get through to the next rounds."

Heat 4 winner

James Carter, Nike, 49.65

On weather conditions:

"It's windy, but I can live with it. It's a pretty new track so it makes it fast."

On his age (27 years old):

"I have respect for the young guys. I'm the old man and experience helps. And 27 is not THAT old."

Heat 5 winner

Bershawn Jackson, Nike, 49.86

"I feel great. I had a long, hard season last year. Coming back ... Putting an exclamation on my season. It's a great benefit. My plans are to go out there and not to do what I did last year. I took forth in the Trials last year and I want to stay humble through the rounds. Take each round one at a time."

Open Women's 400 meter hurdles, semi-finals:

Heat 1 winner

Lashinda Demus, Nike, 54.19.

"My legs were a little tight, because I haven't run in a while. All of these rounds are getting me back into race shape. I hit a hurdle, and I'm never happy about that, but I'm happy to advance to the next round."

Heat 2 winner

Sheena Johnson, Nike, 55.22.

"I felt really good. My goal is to win the heat and make it to the final round. I accomplished that."

Her plan for making it to finals:

"I got to run a little faster and work out the kinks. Hopefully, everything will work out tomorrow."

Open Men's 5km, final: Tim Broe, adidas, 13:12.76 (fastest time in the world this year)

"I had a good start and felt good. I just tried to make it an honest effort from the get-go. It is the first time since 2001 that I have been 100% prepared, and it takes a lot of strength to not worry about the past."

On the young competition in this event:

"My hat is off to the young talent here tonight. They aren't afraid, and that's what we need at the world championships."

On future races:

"I've known the last month that on my best day, I could run 13.05, after today, I'm convinced that I can."

Open Women's 3000m Steeplechase, prelims.

Heat 1 winner:

Briana Shook, Nike, 10:07.37, fastest qualifying time overall

About your race:

I thought it was okay. To completely honest, I think it was a big waste of time (running prelims). I really disappointed that we had to do it.

Tell us about your good luck charm (she wears a picture of grandfather on her jersey):

"This is my grandpa. He passed away three years ago. He was one of my biggest fans. He's always running with me now."

On Sunday's race:

"I'm just going to run as hard as I can, and I think everyone else plans to too. I think it will be a good race and fun."

Heat 2 winner:

Rena Chesser, BYU, 10:17.81

"It was slow and windy out there. It was good for a trials race. Technically, it would have been a good race if everyone went all out, but it was only a trial. With only two or three runners not making it to the finals, it was going to obviously be a slow race. I'm satisfied with this race, for it being a trial."

Junior Women's 200m dash, final: Cleo Tyson, Tennessee, winner, 22.93, 0.6 wind.

"I feel very blessed. I just wanted to make a lot of non-believers believe after winning the 100m. Last year, I didn't even make the finals, and I won this year. My coaches told me that I had to do what I had to do, so I'm going out with a bang (in juniors). I just wanted to run my own race and not worry about anyone else."

Junior women's 800m run, final: Rebekah Noble, unattached, winner, 2:03.73

What was your plan going into the race?

"Run 2:03, that's what we just kept saying, run 2:03. I just tried to stay right behind them, cover their moves and stuff. I was really proud of the run. I was ready. I PR'd by three seconds."

Where were you after the 400m?

"I think I was last. I got sucked to the back and just went outside and stayed with them, covered the moves, and that's what really helped."

Junior Men's 400m Hurdles, final: Reuben McCoy, Auburn, winner, 50.69

"Technically, I could have run a better race, but I ran a good race. I'm looking forward to going to the Pan-Ams in Canada, and to run a fast race. Before that, I'm going home to train a little harder."

Junior Women's 400m Hurdles, final: Nicole Leach, Unattached, winner, 57.25

"My main goal was to win the race and make it to the team (Pan-Ams). I got a sweet spot with lane 4. I was able to run my race. I took off at the final 100."

On being a repeat winner at the US junior championships:

"It's better this time, this is my last high school title."

About running against her future teammate at UCLA, MacKenzie Hill:

"This is great. I've never had a training partner at this type of event. Being teammates will benefit both of us."

Junior Women's High Jump: Chelsea Taylor, Colorado Flyers, 5-10.00/1.78m.

On her performance:

"I felt real good. I knew I had to redeem myself from yesterday - in the women's junior long jump, I got fifth. I wasn't really happy with that."

On going to Pan-Ams:

"I'm really excited. It's going to be a great experience meeting new people, plus the uniform is really cool."

Junior Women's Pole Vault, final: Rachel Greff, Rice University, winner, 3.88m/12-08.75

On her performance:

"My performance today was just alright. I wish I would have done better. I didn't feel like I was jumping very well."

On going to Pan-Ams:

"It's really exciting. I've heard stories that it's very fun. I'm very excited about it.

Junior Men's Long Jump, final: Robert Rands, Bellevue Rec YTC, 7.49m/24-07.00, +0.0 wind.

"I'm satisfied; today's performance was okay. It was better than last week. I came in today wanting to get first and make it to Canada (where the Pan-Ams are being held).

Junior women's heptathlon, final: Shevell Quinley, Tracy Flyers, winner, 5142 points

"I had the mentality and confidence like I've been doing this for years. This is only my second time doing it (the heptathlon). I did it at Nationals last year, got 11^th, and only scored 4500 points. I have more extreme confidence because of my hurdles and my long jump. I had a really good jump today, and we've been working on those all year long. Coming back from state and winning the state championship gave me even more confidence going into the heptathlon. I wasn't scared at all. There wasn't one event I got nervous at; I was comfortable all the way through it."

Junior Women's 5k run, final: Nicole Blood, Saratoga Springs High School (NY), 16:30.90.

"Our training is focused on running lots of 5000s, so I felt very comfortable through most of the race, although the last mile was tough."

On her time:

"I've never run a 5k on a track, so it's a nice time."

Junior Men's 5k run, final: Paul Hefferon, Kansas, 14:15.18.

"I didn't even plan to do juniors. They told me I was young enough to run Junior Nationals, and I though, 'Cool, free trip to California!'. This was a PR by 5 seconds, and I knew I could do it because the 14:20 was a tactical 5k. Tonight, Diego Mercado set up a great pace. He made the race for us. On the last lap, I could feel and hear everyone stomping behind me, and I knew it was time to go."

Open Women's 10k run, final: Katie McGregor, Reebok, winner, 31:33.82.

"It was a fun race. I had a good time out there. It was a great field. It was hard to know when to take it and when not to take it. Things are coming together for me. I felt in good shape. Having the 'A' standard, that helped me tonight. I didn't have any pressure in the race."

Deena Kastor, Asics, 4^th place, 31:45.08

"My foot really wasn't bothering me, it was more just a loss of fitness. I had a really good attitude going into the race. I'm going to concentrate on road races now. I'm not disappointed. I would have been if I hadn't been out there."