Preview – Paris Diamond League

The Diamond League seems to be out of it’s doldrums. I mean does anyone really remember Doha, Shanghai, or even Oslo? Yes these meets had their sprinkling of stars, but, as even the Diamond League itself is proving, it’s matchups that truly drive this sport. And now that we are getting some serious head to head confrontations, things are spicing up a bit more and Paris will provide us with some very nice head to heads tomorrow.

 

Men’s 100

WL: 9.82, Asafa Powell – JAM        9.82, Usain Bolt - JAM

Best Entry: 9.82, Asafa Powell – JAM                  9.82, Usain Bolt - JAM

Last week’s 100 in Gateshead, gave us our first match up among the Big 3, with Tyson Gay taking the decision over Powell. Powell gets to take another shot at victory as he goes up against countryman and WR holder Usain Bolt. Bolt, like Gay, is coming off injury. In their early absence, Powell had been running roughshod over the competition. After the loss to Gay he will be looking to get back on track against Bolt, who equaled Powell’s world leader in his return to the 100 in Lausanne last week. The field will be better than most with newcomer to the sub10 club Christophe Lematrie (FRA) looking to battle with Yohan Blake (JAM), Daniel Bailey (ANT), and Richard Thompson (TRI) for the title of “Best of the Rest”. Because make no mistake, this race is about Powell v Bolt as once again the lightning starting Powell takes on a strong finisher in Bolt. With Bolt being a better starter than Gay I don’t expect to see Powell nearly as much at 30 meters. Which means that I don’t expect Bolt to win by as slight a margin as Gay did in Gateshead. The “race within the race” also bears watching with Thompson trying to get back to Olympic form (silver ‘08) and youngsters Lematrie and Blake trying to climb up the food chain.After watching his last two races (9.98 & 20.16) expect another sub10 from Lematrie.

 

Women’s 1500

WL: 3:59.28, Gelete Burka - ETH

Best Entry: 3:59.28, Gelete Burka - ETH

This is a very deep field with world leader Burka, Russian Anna Alminova, Brit Lisa Dobrinski, Kenyan Nancy Lagat, and Americans Shannon Rowbury, Kristin Wurth Thomas, and Anna Pierce. Burka’s my favorite to win, she can run off any pace, and is tough as nails. I’m curious, however,  to see how the American’s handle the pace. Pierce’s training partner Morgan Uceny has been running up front with the leaders in her recent races. It would be nice to see this trio follow suit in what should be a very hot race! Burka’s blistering finish ran down both Dobrinski and Lagat in Lausanne – so everyone should be focused on getting out away from her before the bell lap. Expect Alminova, Dobrinski and Lagat to put the hammer down by 800. Pierce and Wurth Thomas have both been running the 800 lately so hopefully their speed will be sharp and they will keep pace – especially Wurth Thomas who loves to push the pace herself. Burka should win, but the American’s should be competitive. Expect a very competitive and exciting final lap with this field.

 

Men’s 800

WL: 1:41.52, David Rudisha - KEN

Best Entry: 1:42.23, Abubaker Kaki - SUD

In Oslo Abubaker Kaki ran just off of David Rudisha while setting a new PR and season’s best of 1:42.23 behind the Kenyan’s 1:42.04. This past weekend, Rudisha upped the stakes with his world leading bomb. If Kaki hopes to have a shot at Rudisha in the future, he too will have to get under that 1:42 barrier. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (RSA) should provide some assistance in Paris. He ran 1:42.86 in last year’s Rieti race (won by Rudisha in 1:42.01) and he likes to drive a hard pace – something that will be needed to get anywhere near 1:42. Also in the field are American’s Khadevis Robinson, Nick Symmonds and Andrew Wheating. This race represents an opportunity for all to get in range and compete with the rest of the world. Robinson (1:43.68) and Symmonds (1:43.83) have PR’s that are close but not quite. While Wheating (1:45.03) still has a ways to go. The plus for Wheating is that he is young and has the most upside of this group. And having just dropped his mile best down to 3:51.74 indicates he may be ready to surpass these two. That will be the race within the race. As Kaki tries to battle Mulaudzi and get close to 1:42, can Wheating outrun his countrymen and get down near 1:43? If I’m betting I say he can. Kaki wins in 1:42 mid, with Wheating getting under 1:44.5.

 

Women’s HJ

WL: 6’ 8.75”, Chaunte Lowe - USA

Best Entry: 6’ 8.75”, Chaunte Lowe - USA

One of the sport’s best budding rivalries will be on tap in Paris as world leader Lowe takes on venerable Blanka Vlasic of Croatia. These two have clearly put themselves ahead of the rest of the field and are now battling each other to become queen of the event. So far their confrontations have been decided on fewer misses, even though Lowe has appeared to be the better of the two jumpers. Such is the will of Vlasic that she just refuses to give way. Which is why I expect these two to push each other close to the WR in this event at some point this year. Both have shown on various jumps that they are indeed capable of such a height. Judging from pervious competitions I am going to say that it will take 6’ 9” to win in Paris – as both have been jumping very well.

 

Men’s TJ

WL: 59’ 0”, Teddy Tamgho - FRA

Best Entry: 59’ 0”, Teddy Tamgho - FRA

The Triple Jump is perhaps the most loaded event of the meet with six of the year’s top seven jumpers in attendance – headlined by Mr. “Fifty Nine Feet”, Teddy Tamgho of France. Qualifying this event as a true “summit” meeting among the world’s triple jumpers. Only Christian Olsson (SWE), currently 5th on the lists, is missing among the world’s leaders. Tamgho is the headliner however, as he has jumped much better than his competition so far this season. What I’m looking for here is that with a field this deep, at least one or two others should step up into the 58 foot range. And hopefully if that occurs there may be enough pressure on Tamgho early to get him to unleash something beyond his current best. He needs to go beyond 59’ 4” to take the #2 spot all time held by Kenny Harrison of the US. Paris would be a nice place for this Frenchman to do something special.

 

Paris should be an outstanding meet. In addition to the above match ups, we will get to see Allyson Felix in her first 200 since New York where she opened up in 22.03, just losing to Veronica Campbell Brown’s 21.98. Since then she’s won the national title at 100 and beat world leader Debbie Dunn over 400. We could see her run a sub22 of her own on Friday. I will also be looking for further improvement from Jeremy Wariner in the 400. He took the world lead with his 44.57 in Lausanne and looked like the quarter miler that many remember from the mid to late 2000’s. The man that he replaced as WL, Greg Nixon (44.61), will be in the field seting up a nice little head to head. And also look for another sizzling flight of hurdles from David Oliver. He was scheduled to take on Dayron Robles in Paris, but Robles has since pulled from the meet citing the need to recover from his 13.01 effort in Lausanne. Oliver has been on a roll, however, and could possibly get under 12.90 in Paris. Ironically the meet record is 12.88 run by Robles in 2008. So perhaps we will see a new meet record by Oliver – which would mean a tie or new WR.

The meet should be exciting. One of those that you won’t want to miss!

Revive the Sports Festival

After watching this year’s version of our national championships, it clearly paled in comparison to the Olympic and World Championship selection versions. As a matter of fact, it paled in comparison to this year’s NCAA championships. With little to gain by attending in an “off season” many chose not to. There were bright spots mind you. David Oliver, Kara Patterson, Wallace Spearmon, and Bershawn Jackson had noteworthy performances.  But for the most part it was a lackluster meet – prompting some to question the fan loyalty of host city Des Moines.

But alas, the real issue, as it oft seems to be with this sport, is how to get your top athletes to the track when in this case there isn’t much on the line. No spots on a World or Olympic team, and as I’ve thought about it there are no competitions that require the brand “Team USA” once the athletes leave the stadium! Not much incentive to participate other than having your name on a piece of paper saying “National Champion”.  That and the pride of having competed against your peers – which doesn’t seem to mean much these days.

In the aftermath of this year’s championships I’ve even seen the suggestion thrown out there that we simply not have a championships in “off years” – just skip the meet altogether. As I’ve entertained that thought it seems rather harsh – sort of like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Yes the meet was somewhat of a downer, but the goal should be to get the athletes to the track not simply get rid of the track. So I went back in my mythical time machine to a time when the sport was a bit more robust to look for ideas. Then it hit me – the Sports Festival!

What’s a Sports Festival you ask? Well once upon a time, before there was a World Championships, we only had the Olympics every four years with nothing at all in between. The old Soviet Union used to hold their own version of the Olympics that they called the Spartakiad. They brought together all the different Republics (now individual nations) as teams to compete among themselves. They used these competitions to prepare their athletes for the Olympic Games.

After our boycott of the 1980 Games we did something similar, as our various athletic teams had a long layoff facing them with the last Games being in 1976 and the next one not taking place until 1984. So, beginning in 1981 the USOC began the “Sports Festival” as a replacement for the Olympic Games. The US was broken up into four regions (North, South, East and West) and we competed against each other in several Olympic sports, like swimming, basketball and of course track & field. These competitions were held throughout the 80’s skipping the Olympic seasons. The track portion of the Festival was held in various places across the country: Syracuse (‘81), Indianapolis (‘82), Colorado Springs (‘83), Baton Rouge (‘85), Houston (‘86), Durham, NC (‘87), and Norman OK (‘89). The most memorable of these being the 1983 edition which saw Evelyn Ashford (10.79) and Calvin Smith (9.93) both set new WR’s in the 100 meter dash in back to back races.

The meet was discontinued heading into the 90’s. I’m guessing because by then the World Championships were firmly in place and scheduled to be run every two years starting with the ‘91/’93 versions. Giving us the three year championships cycle we now have. But during the course of the 80’s the Sports Festival gave us the opportunity to not only have a meet to emulate the Games, but provided an opportunity for a lot of up and coming athletes to compete in a championship environment and begin to hone their competitive skills. It provided a forum for coaches and athletes in different regions to work together and create some camaraderie, and for athletes all over the country to display and work on their relay skills under pressure. In short it brought us together as a national team under the guise of four regional teams. And I think it’s time to bring it back!

Instead of a National Championships in the off seasons we could run a Sports Festival (Regional Championships) meet. Choose head coaches by region (North, South, East and West) and allow them to select their regional staffs as well as team personnel. Team selection would be based on the area that athletes attended high school as their “home” region. Teams would consist of eight athletes per discipline which would allow for quarters, semis and finals – and not lead to the meet becoming just for the elite. Relays would be included (two per region) and team scoring would take place just like the NCAA Championships.

The concept would work on several levels. Getting coaches together from all over the country would serve as a sort of clinic/mentoring environment as they could all share ideas. Same for all the athletes that would have a chance to both learn from each other, as well as being introduced to ideas from coaches other than their own. Athletes working together as “teams” would have an opportunity to begin to develop bonds – especially those working together on relays. Ah those pesky relays. Sports Festival squads could be the beginning of developing some national teams for the majors! And participation in the Sports Festival could be used as a criteria for selection to national teams. Even if a top level athlete did not compete they could be required to attend to serve as a mentor or to perform some community promotion duties. The idea being to have our top athletes all gathered together for the event to provide the fans with a great meet during the off season.

It can work. It’s worked in the past. We can simply update it for the present. It would be a great promotional tool for the sport, a great developmental tool for the athletes, and a great competition for the fans. It’s an idea whose time has come – again.

10 Reasons to be Excited at the Mid Point of 2010

With our National Championships complete and the Diamond League at the mid point it seems like an appropriate time to take a look at what’s happened so far this season. As with any endeavor there have been ups and downs but I want to start off looking at the positive things that have happened in the sport this year – especially for US fortunes going forward.

So here are 10 things I have found exciting about the first half of the 2010 season. The first two focus on the international sport. The third on the future in general. And the rest focus on reasons to be excited about the sport here in the US.

 

David Rudisha

If there is an athlete out there that should have his name featured on the marquee of any meet he attends it’s David Rudisha. One can debate the relative merits of individual events, but arguably the two toughest events out there are the 400 hurdles and the 800 meters. Both require speed AND endurance in amounts that are just short of world class in other events. To think that a human can run a full lap of the track in 48/49 seconds THEN run another lap before stopping is simply awe inspiring – as is the current WR of 1:41.11 seconds set by Wilson Kipketer (KEN)! I’ve long felt that this is one of the toughest WR’s on the books, and for almost 13 years no one has been remotely close – until now. This young man is only 21 years old, yet his recent 1:41.52 has him on the brink of one of the most venerable marks in history. And should he manage to get under 1:41 it will be one of the greatest achievements ever. He doesn’t get the headlines but he is not only one of today’s greatest athletes, but one of history’s best. He is one of the most under appreciated stars in the sport, but a star none the less.

 

Teddy Tamgho

Right up there in terms of all time WR’s is the 60 foot blast in the triple jump by Jonathon Edwards (GBR) in 1995! Like the 800 record, this mark has been truly untouchable. Only Kenny Harrison (US) at 59’ 4” has ever gone more than 59 feet – a year later in 1996. So for a decade and a half 59 & 60 feet have simply been marks in the sand. But in 2010 Teddy Tamgho lept 59’ in New York to once again breach that barrier. This was no fluke as Tamgho first emerged indoors with a surprising WR of 58’ 8.75”. Tamgho is for real! And like Rudisha is one of those young underappreciated athletes that truly deserves a lot more attention than he is getting. Go outside and mark off  FIFTY NINE FEET. Then imagine skipping your body across the track three times and landing THAT far away! Tamgho and Rudisha are two athletes this sport needs to figure out how to market quick, fast, and in a hurry.

 

The Collegiate Championships

If there was a meet that epitomized what track and field is about and what a meet can be, it was this year’s NCAA Championships. It had all the elements of good sports – great head to head match ups, exciting relays and a team competition that came down to the very last event! All accomplished through a group of young people that easily contained some of the future stars of the sport. Lisa Koll, Christian Taylor, Andrew Wheating, Kirani James, Ryan Whiting, Ashton Eaton, Blessing Okagbare, and Johnny Dutch, are all names almost guaranteed to appear on the startlists of upcoming Olympics and World Championships. It was a pleasure watching them prepare for the big stage at this meet.

 

David Oliver

If USA Track and Field is looking for an athlete to provide a “face” for the sport as we head into the next series of global championships they couldn’t do much better than to start with David Oliver. This young man is personable, articulate and is beginning to dominate is event in the mold of the legendary Renaldo “Skeets” Nehemiah. I know that he has more races ahead with WR holder Dayron Robles. But even should he lose his share, it simply will set up what could become one of the sport’s biggest and best rivalries – something the sport desperately needs more of. Oliver v Robles could well become the second coming of Nehemiah v Foster, and Oliver seems well suited to play the role of Nehemiah. USATF needs to look at developing a marketing program around this AR holder that focuses on his considerable strengths on and off the track.

 

Kara Patterson

Here is another newly minted AR setter that is articulate and has personality – and she’s in the field, long an area of US weakness! Patterson has emerged this year as one of the world’s most consistent javelin throwers and is on her way to being a serious medal threat in the event. Since her AR series in Des Moines she’s been on a tear, throwing well over 200 feet in each outing while going up against some of the world’s best throwers. Like Oliver she is a tough competitor, a good interview and is a face that the public would welcome into their homes. In my opinion potentially one of the new faces of the sport in the US as we look for ways to sell the sport here in the US – especially looking to highlight the field events that traditionally get a lot less attention than the track.

 

Chaunte Howard Lowe

In that same vein is Ms Howard Lowe – a field event performer that is in contention with the best globally. Another recent AR setter, Howard Lowe is also a good interview and a crowd pleaser. AND she has a budding rivalry with one of the sport’s higher profile athletes in Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic. The two of them have gone head to head a couple of times already and neither has blinked as the winning margin has been a matter of a single miss here or there. The marketing possibilities just scream! Like Patterson and Oliver she is a tough competitor that has reached that “next level” and appears ready to stay there. Giving us strong medal hopes heading into the next series of majors and an athletes we can most definitely market around. Who could ask for more?

 

Walter Dix

For a few seasons now I’ve seen waiting for someone to step up along side Tyson Gay as we take on the world in the sprint wars. We’ve gone far too long without a venerable 1-2 punch in the sprints. Dix has been on the cusp of being in that position for some time now. He had an outstanding collegiate career, but since then has been on and off, hot and cold. Between a decision to skip Worlds in ‘07, an outstanding Games in ‘08, and then injury and agent issues last year it’s seemed that Dix may just vanish back into the sprinting landscape. But this year he has come out with a vengeance – sprinting with determination and purpose. This is the sprinter I’ve been waiting to see take the track. He looks every bit the man that is ready to fulfill his destiny. Which means we should have a viable two headed sprint monster heading into Daegu/London/Moscow.

 

Bershawn Jackson & Johnny Dutch

This pair is exciting because they give us hope today AND tomorrow. If we have an event that I would say seems medal set for a while it is the 400 hurdles. Jackson seems to be rejuvenated. He’s healthy again, is back to his old stride pattern and looks like he is going to be VERY hard to beat in the near future. As a matter of fact, “Batman” seems to be getting his “second wind” in his career at age 27 and the best may yet be ahead of him. If so, the 21 year old Dutch could be primed to be the perfect “Robin” – fighting the hurdle wars side by side with Jackson as he prepares to take over when Batman retires in some far off future. Jackson is clearly the best of the world’s veteran hurdlers right now, and Dutch has emerged this year as arguably the best of the young guns coming up. Together they could provide us with solid medal potential in the long hurdles going well into the 2020’s.

 

Phoebe Wright & Morgan Uceny

Last year was a very exciting year for American women in the middle distances as Jenny Barringer, Anna Pierce, Kristin Wurth Thomas, and Maggie Vessey moved into the upper reaches of world class – giving us solid medal hopes in the 800 & 1500 meters. This year another young dynamic duo is emerging as Phoebe Wright (800) & Morgan Uceny (1500) are following in their footsteps. Wright barreled through the collegiate season as if she were on a mission heading to the front of the pack and staying there all season long with a front running, catch me if you dare style. A style that won her a national title and has kept her in contention against the best in the world – earning her a 1:58.22 PR at Pre. Ditto for Uceny. I must admit I didn’t pay much attention when she won the US indoor title this winter – chalked it up to a lot of other athletes focusing on getting ready for the outdoor season. But all this young lady has done is drop her PR steadily all season long including big runs in New York (PR 4:04.01 for 6th) and Lausanne (PR 4:02.40 for 2nd). And like Wright (and training mate Anna Pierce) she’s displayed a gritty, hang on to the leaders, running style that is necessary in international competition. My gut says these two young ladies are going to be heard from for some time and I won’t be surprised to see either in an upcoming major.

 

Andrew Wheating

The search for America’s next great middle distance runner (male version) may finally be over. Watching Andrew Wheating compete at this year’s NCAA Championships I felt he displayed all the skills necessary to grow into the job. He’s competitive, has good endurance, and his long limbs help give him a nice turn of speed. His heroics at the NCAA meet gave indication of a young man who could be part Dave Wottle and part Jim Ryun. I didn’t have to wait long for confirmation as Wheating showed just how competitive he could be when he went back to Eugene for the Pre Classic and ran 3:51.74 in his #2 event as he held his own with the world’s best over the mile. His current PR’s (1:45.03, 3:37.52, 3:51.74) don’t scream medal hope, but his competitive nature and the drive that he shows on the track tells me he just might be our best hope on the big stage. He could very well end up being the best middle distance runner to come out of the University of Oregon, and that alone says it all.

 

There are lots of others to be excited about as well. Allyson Felix looks primed for a potential 200/400 double attempt. Wallace Spearmon could be ready to challenge at the top.Anna Pierce is rounding back into ‘09 form. Jenn Suhr is getting healthy. Our shot putters have gone from a Big 3 to a Big 5. Jeremy Wariner is getting back to form and there are several young men improving in that event. Tyson Gay is running as well as ever. And I’m sure that by the time the curtain closes on the season this list of 10 could easily be a list of 25. But these are the things that stand out to me on the positive side of the sport as we head into what should be the most exciting part of the season.

Tyson – 1, Asafa – 0, Usain on Deck, Gateshead DL

The first meeting of the second half of the Diamond League series was the first to feature a head to head meeting of two of the world’s three top sprinters – Tyson Gay (US) and Asafa Powell (JAM).

Powell has been running well all season long. He co-leads the 100 on the clock at 9.82, and has three legal clockings under 9.90. Tyson Gay started his season with a 19.41 WR 200 on the straight, but since has been nursing a sore hamstring. His return to the track in Eugene was fast at 19.76 though the rust showed as he suffered defeat to Walter Dix and his 19.72. Gateshead was his first 100 of the season, although he was caught in 9.89 in route to his 19.41.

Add the fact that they are a contradiction in styles with Powell one of histories greatest starters and Gay one of histories best finishers, and this first “Clash of the Titans” was set to be a hum dinger. The race didn’t disappoint – unless of course your man lost – as both lived up to their own stereotypes. Powell was out blisteringly quick and looked to have the race put away after 30 meters. That is until Gay found that “other gear” that he finds so often, and ran Powell down in what seemed to be a replay of the Osaka World Championships in 2007 – pre Bolt explosion! Though the time was not what we’ve come to expect from these men  - 9.94 run into a headwind of –1.7 mps. – competitively it was a classic race.

We get our next “2 of 3” match when Powell takes on Bolt this coming Friday in Paris.

Meanwhile, there was other action in Gateshead, though headwinds hampered the events all day long. And with the Diamond League once again scheduling two events back to back within two days (a la Rome & New York) it really cut down on the available star power. The best of the rest:

• Asbel Kiprop (KEN) continued to be the lead dog in the 1500 meters with his third Diamond League win in 3:33.34.
• Fabrice Lapierre (AUS) leapt 26’ 11” to defeat a long jump field that included Irving Saladino (PAN).
• Britain’s Phillips Idowu won the triple jump with a nice 57’ 0.75” leap.
• Walter Dix (US) edged a late surging Wallace Spearmon (US) in the 200 20.26 to 20.29. The surprise of the race was the sterling turn run by Saidy Ndure (NOR) that found him leading all into the stretch and carried him to third in 20.31.
• Carmelita Jeter (US) turned back new challenger Kelly Ann Baptiste (TRI) in the 100 10.95 to 11.00.
• Alysia Johnson (US) got her first Diamond League win with her 1:59.84 800. Behind her in 4th 1500 meter runner Kristin Wurth Thomas (US) worked on her speed with a 2:00.75 PR.
• In the 1500 Morgan Uceny (US) was 2nd in 4:04.25 behind Britain’s World silver medalist Lisa Dobrisky (4:03.69). Uceny stayed close throughout and is beginning to show a lot of spunk as she continues to improve her position in these tough European races. She’s definitely becoming one of our tougher competitors, which I’m sure will soon begin to translate on the clock as well as high placings.
• Lolo Jones (US) once again dominated the womens’ hurdles with a 12.79 to 12.98 win over Danielle Carruthers (US).
• And Kara Patterson continued her consistent season with a 2nd place finish in the javelin throwing 207’ 0.5”. She’s been very consistent since nationals throwing well over 200 feet every time out.

All in all it was great day of competition in spite of the conditions. The Diamond League makes it’s next stop in Paris on Friday the 16th.

 

 

David Rudisha – 1:41.52 !!!

From the moment David Rudisha opened up over 400 with a 45.50 this outdoor season, he has looked capable of great things. A season opener of 1:43.15 simply confirmed that. This afternoon in Belgium Rudisha took the next step towards greatness with a sensational 1:41.52 over two laps that makes him the #2 man in history. Only Wilson Kipketer’s WR runs of 1:41.11 and 1:41.24 are faster in history. And judging from today’s run there is more in this young man. I dare say, that at 21 years old, we could be looking at the man who will be first to run under 1:41.00. Watch for yourself as he demolishes the field on his way to the #2 spot all time.

 

Lemaitre Breaks 10 second Barrier!

Forever and a day sprint fans have asked: who will become the first white sprinter to run sub 10? Other sprint barriers such as 20.00 in the 200 and 44.00 in the 400 have long ago fallen by the wayside, but since Jim Hines first cracked 10.00 with his 9.95 in Mexico City way back in 1968, 10.00 has remained the barrier for white sprinters.

Marian Woronin of Poland was on the brink when he ran 10.00 back in 1984. A mark equaled by Japan’s Koji Ito in 1998. But just as African distance runners have dominated the sub 27 minute ranks of the 10,000 meters, so have African and those with African blood dominated the ranks of the sub 10 100 meters. So it’s rather fitting that with Chris Solinsky cracking the 27 minute barrier, that France’s Christophe Lemiatre did the same to the 10 second barrier as he won the French title today in 9.98 sec!

Ironically, watching this young man’s race (see below) there is definitely room for improvement. With his height and potential use of his levers, there is could be much more in store. I think this is the tip of the iceberg for this young man. Especially now that the “mental barrier” has been conquered. Below is this bit of history.

Confirmation in Lausanne

Lausanne was the half way mark of this year’s Diamond League. And as we hit the mid point of the season there seemed to be more questions than answers out there on the track. How healthy was Usain Bolt? Had Walter Dix and Debbie Dunn arrived? Would Dayron Robles return to dominating form? Just where is Jeremy Wariner in the grand scheme of the 400? Watching Lausanne’s Athletissima competition, I think we got the answer to these and more as several superb performances were turned in on the Swiss oval.

Of course the big question that was on the mind of most was the status of Usain Bolt. Bolt had missed the New York meet and Jamaican nationals while nursing a sore Achilles. Recent word was that it could curtail his competing over 200 meters. Taking to the track in the 100 meters Bolt had an average start and then did what Bolt does, steadily accelerated away from the field to a 9.82 win – equaling Asafa Powell’s world leader. He looked smooth and relaxed and ready to resume his season.

Dayron Robles (CUB) had similar results in the high hurdles. Hampered by injury last year, Robles has been slowly rounding into form this year. He entered Lausanne having run 13.09 & 13.08 in June, yet watched as the event was being taken over by David Oliver, who thrice has run under 13.00, including his AR 12.90 just last week. Robles confirmed his fitness with a flowing flight of hurdles that ended 13.01 seconds after the gun – with a less than stellar start. Robles looked the part of the man that set the WR two seasons ago, which means that a race between he and Oliver could become something epic!

Something epic is where it appeared Jeremy Wariner was headed a couple of seasons ago. Heading into 2008 the question wasn’t would he win a second Olympic gold, but could he do so in WR time? After Beijing, however, the question on everyone’s lips was “why did he change coaches”? As a coaching switch began two seasons of losses and a reversion of times as Wariner got slower instead of faster. To the point where the question early on this season was “when is he going to run under 45”? A 44.73 in Rome answered that question, but a dnf at nationals raised another – “is he healthy”? I think Lausanne was the turning point in his two year battle as he nearly looked like the old “Pookie” with his 44.57 world leading win. I say “nearly” because his dominating finish is still missing. But his first 300 was very controlled (circa ‘04 to ‘07) and though he didn’t run away from the field in the stretch he was still under control and strong. Watching him in Lausanne if anyone hopes to beat him they’d better do it soon before he is fully “back to normal”!

Bershawn Jackson is another athlete that had been battling with injuries over the past couple of seasons. Jackson has been healthy this year and running well as he has also returned to his old 15 step stride pattern in the 400 hurdles. With another win in 47.62, he was well under the 48 second barrier. More importantly “Batman” completely dismantled a field containing Angelo Taylor, Javier Culson, Felix Sanchez, Isa Phillips, and Kerron Clement – the best of the vets and the new blood – confirming his status as the king of the one lap hurdles.

Of course it wasn’t all about athletes “coming back”, for some athletes it was about confirming their newly found status among the world’s elite. And none did it better than Kenya’s David Rudisha. The world leader in the 800 Rudisha looked to have a battle on his hand entering the meet with South Africa’s Mbulaeni Mulaudzi scheduled to compete. Mulaudzi had shown the ability to defeat Rudisha, beating him in Berlin as he won the World title. But since then Rudisha has been a different runner as he showed in Lausanne. The two men followed the pace maker through a 50 second first lap before Rudisha took over controlling the race down the backstretch and into the final turn. It was there that Mulaudzi attacked and attempted to go past, and there that Rudisha very smoothly increased his tempo and began to move ever so slightly away as if to say “no not today”! Though only he and Abubaker Kaki have run faster this season than Rudisha’s winning 1:43.25, he was so under control that it looked more like a training run than a race. More and more he is looking like Wilson Kipketer in his prime – and he is only 21 years old!

At the other end of the age spectrum is Debbie Dunn. At 32 she’s just now “arriving” in the 400. She dipped under 50 seconds last year with her 49.95 best, but Lausanne marked her second sub 50 this season as she controlled this race handily with a 49.81 win. Dunn had looked very good at nationals, winning in 49.64, but Eugene provided somewhat of a hiccup as she finished a well beaten 4th behind Allyson Felix, Amantle Montsho and Sherika Williams. Dunn got back on track here turning the tables nicely on Williams and Montsho in what was the fastest race on the season depth wise. Dunn is definitely on par with the world’s best.

Of all the athletes looking to confirm their status yesterday, there was one who has competed this season with a definite chip on his shoulder – Walter Dix. Dix is clearly competing to show that the sprints aren’t “ a done deal” on the elite level. And his performances over 200 meters have been bringing him much attention. Once again in Lausanne he attacked the turn early and lead coming into the stretch. As with Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay, the race was over at that point as he powered up the straight to a 19.86 win – his 4th sub20 this season. He showed his competitiveness in Eugene in his defeat of Tyson Gay, and here he showed his consistency as he broke the sub20 barrier while easily handling the field. He is easily the next name to be mentioned after Bolt & Gay – pending further confirmation by Wallace Spearmon – and appears headed towards the 19.5 range. But what I’ve loved about Walter this season is his “I’m in it to win it” attitude. He’s not afraid. He may take his lumps, but he’s going to do so at full speed. Sort of a sprinting Prefontaine – he’s going to push himself to the limit and take on whoever is out there! And I wish him nothing but the best, because pound for pound and inch for inch he’s one of the toughest competitors on the track.

Confirmations aside Lausanne was a great meet. Brittney Reese got a big long jump win, as did Renaud Lavillenie with his pole vault victory over Steven Hooker. Hooker looked to attack Bubka’s record this year, he may end up trying to match Lavillenie. Geleta Burka was huge down the finishing straight with her mad sprint to win the 1500 in a world leading 3:59.28 – the year’s first sub 4. And behind her in 5th place American Morgan Uceny (4:02.40) appears to be another middle distance runner on the rise here in the states. Great competition all the way around with eight world leaders set on the day. And with only a day off it’s Gateshead tomorrow.