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[SAMPLE ISSUE] TRACK PROFILE REPORT #38, 25-May-2003 [Please note that subscribers received a highlight summary just a few hours after the meet.] [ The TRACK PROFILE REPORT is written, compiled and edited by Bob Ramsak. Copyright (c) 2003 by Bob Ramsak and TRACK PROFILE. All rights reserved. Reproduction, republication and retransmission in any form is strictly prohibited without express permission from the editor. Small portions may be reproduced only if accompanied by source citation and notice in writing to Track Profile. Please contact the editor at bob@trackprofile.com or 216.731.9648 for reprint permission. More info at http://www.trackprofile.com ] ----- ----------------------------------------- The TRACK PROFILE Report is sponsored in part by Shooting Star Media, Inc., publisher of the magazines American Track & Field, ATF Athletes Only, and California Track & Running News. Besides its publications, Shooting Star Media manages three websites and is an advertising representative for The Running Network, a group of 28 regional and national specialty running magazines. American Track & Field [ http://www.american-trackandfield.com ] is a professional magazine geared to coaches, athletes and enthusiasts of track & field, race walking, road racing and cross country running. Links to all Shooting Star Media publications can be found on its website at http://www.shootingstarmediainc.com . ------ ----------------------------------------- --------------- INSIDE --------------- 01. Prefontaine Classic Report and Notebook 02. About TPR [Publication Note: The next prize money update will be released on Thursday, 29-May.] ----------------------------- [01] - Prefontaine Classic Report and Notebook ----------------------------- EUGENE, Oregon -- Befitting a week when Annika Sorenstam's two rounds of golf at the Colonial were transmitted incessantly around the globe, it was the women that dominated the attention of 11,097 fans --another sell-out-- at the Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix yesterday afternoon at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. With nearly a dozen new world-leading performances, the afternoon's Nike/Prefontaine Classic proved its worth as the premiere track & field event in the United States. With her debut 49.34, Ana Guevera displayed precisely why her race was broadcast live to millions of fans by Mexico's Televisa. Winning by more than a second --Bahamian Tonnique Williams was second in 50.39-- the 26 year-old not only showed that she is indeed a serious contender to become only the eighth women to threaten sub-49 territory, but that she is doing so with little competition. "Yes, I'm very surprised," said Guevara while patiently signing autographs for hundreds of fans after her race. "I came to run maybe 50.6, but I was really surprised when I saw the time. It's very exciting. I have to say I felt very good in the race." Never challenged, last year's undefeated one-lap revelation forged ahead strongly down the backstretch, making up most of the stagger by the time she headed into the final turn. After the race, the World Cup champion said she doesn't pay too much attention to her wide victory margins. "I just think about me. I always enjoy the competition. When I come onto the track, I always think that someone wants to beat me." But in the current state of affairs in the women's 400, it seems that the Mexican's strongest challenger is the 49-second barrier. After a debut that was just 18 one-hundredths shy her personal best, even that opponent isn't too far ahead. "I just have to work hard to break 49 seconds," she said, while signing an eager fan's training bra. "Now with 49.3 so early in the season, it's fantastic. With the work in the next few months, it will be possible to break 49." Olympic Champion Cathy Freeman continued her comeback after her long time off, finishing fifth in 51.70. Said Guevara, "I'm very happy for her. I think she'll be ready by the Olympics next year. I expect a very competitive race then." Focused primarily on winning the world title in Paris in August, Guevara plans to race sparingly this season. Next up is Saturday's Home Depot Invitational in Los Angeles, before she returns home for races in Guadalajara and Jalapa. She will contest the Pan-American Games, but only one European race --Zurich-- before Paris, and will set-up a temporary training base in Slovenia after the Pan-Ams. Speaking of Slovenia, it was Jolanda Ceplak's fierce homestretch sprint in the 1500, the meet's first track event, that got the ball rolling for Women's Day at Pre. Ceplak, the 800m record holder indoors, ran down Suzy Favor-Hamilton to win the 1500 in 4:02.44, more than a second clear of the American, and the fastest performance in the world this year. Pace-maker Sara Schaaf ran the first 400 in 62.9, but Hamilton, with Ceplak tucked in a step behind, ignored the eager rabbit from nearly the outset, reaching the 400 in 64.7. A 66.4 second half made it a three-woman race, with 16 year-old Ethiopian Meskerem Legesse tagging along, and actually moving ahead of Ceplak as the trio passed the bell. Favor-Hamilton, running her first race of the year, opened a slight gap on Ceplak heading into the final turn, until the Slovenian charged ahead for good entering the home straight. "Actually the first 400 was really quick, then the second 400 was a little slower but I had a problem from 800 to the last lap," Ceplak said. "Then I said, 'If I come into the last 200 and I still have power, I'm going to go', then in the last 100 meters, I said 'I'm going and I'm going to win this race.' " Down the straight, she said she had quite a bit of energy in reserve. "But I had some little problems in between, because I'm not really running the 1500. I don't have the training for the 1500. I'm doing everything for the 800. I decided to run my first race as a 1500 for training." It was a Slovenian national record for Ceplak, who despite an impressive early season showing in her "second" event, plans to focus on the 800 as the season nears the World Championships in Paris. Her next race will be the Golden Spike 800 in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 12, but indicated she might run another 1500 before the World Championships. "I might run a 1500 in a Golden League meet, but I'm not sure yet." While pleased with her performance, she wasn't particularly shocked. "Every year I run something really good in my first race, so I'm not surprised for the 1500. I've been training a lot. I think with more longer distance training I can run under four minutes in 1500." Despite her loss, Favor-Hamilton was nonetheless pleased. "I just wanted to take it out and try to take some of the kick out of the speedsters," she said of her decision to take control of the race. "But obviously she was pretty tough today and had a very strong kick. It's quite early so I was quite surprised that she was in such good fitness. But I'm terribly pleased with how it went today," she said, adding, "better than I thought it would go." Her next race will be next weekend's Home Depot/Los Angeles Invitational. "I'm just looking to run a good competitive race." Brigitte Foster was pleased but not necessarily surprised after her stunning 12.45 win in the 100m hurdles, breaking her own Jamaican national record. "Actually I didn't get out as fast as I ought to," said the 28 year-old who lives and trains in Kingston year round. "I knew I was in it, and if I just kept pressing, I knew it would be fine. Technically, I think it was a great race. I didn't hit any, and I have to be grateful for that." Foster, last year's World Cup runner-up, said she was aiming for a 12.5. "I thought 12.5 was a realistic time. My start has improved dramatically since last year and I think that's what made the big difference. I've gotten a lot stronger this year and technically I've been improving on my technique from the blocks and my technique over the hurdles. And I knew once I get those and execute those in the race that automatically my times would go down." Foster too will race next in Ostrava. Miesha McKelvy, who knocked nearly a tenth of a second from her PB to finish second in 12.51, was at a complete loss for words. "My coach changed everything around this year," she finally said. "Everything is just different so I didn't know what to expect this year. I was very much a sprinter the first half of the year. And that was just boring," she said, breaking out in laughter. "I want obstacles. I want technique. I sprinted for like six races straight and I was tired of it. I'm just happy to hurdle now." Gail Devers, testing a recent hamstring injury, pulled up late in the race, but still finished in 13.06. "I really don't know [what happened], to be honest," she said. "I had injured myself at Penn Relays. It's been exactly a month, and for three weeks all I did was the right treatment, rest, ice compression and elevation." With her hamstring problem setting back her training by three weeks, she hadn't even gone over a hurdle until last weekend. "Sunday was the first time I touched a hurdle since indoor worlds. I felt really high [over the hurdle] but I didn't feel the leg like I thought I was going to, so my thought was to come and just see what the leg was going to do in competition. The biggest thing coming back from an injury is mental. I can be out there in practice and think I'm pushing it but not really pushing it because you're always waiting to feel the leg." On her race yesterday, she said, "I felt OK coming out. I think at [hurdle] five I jammed my foot coming down and just couldn't find my way back. The positive of it is that I don't really feel the leg right now. It's no worse than when I came into the race so I know now that I can go home and actually get to training. I can't make up three weeks of no training in one day. What I needed this race to do was to give me an OK to run." Hardly shocking, Maria Mutola made her return to Eugene a memorable one, easily handling the field with her outdoor debut 1:57.98. Afterwards, she said she had plenty in reserve. "Oh yes, I think I can go a little bit faster than that, so to run 1:57 like that, I'm pretty happy. I think it was my fastest opener." It was a textbook performance by the World and Olympic champion, who powered off the final turn to finish unchallenged. US record-holder Jearl Miles-Clark (1:58.61) and Canadian Diane Cummins (1:59.41) passed a strong finishing Tanya Blake (1:59.56) to finish 2-3, while Jen Toomey (1:59.75) became the 28th American to dip below two minutes. "That's the fastest I've run in a long time," said Miles-Clark, who has mainly contested the 400 this year. "When [Mutola's] in the race, it's going to be fast." The two-time Olympian said she won't decide if she'll contest the 400 or 800 --or both-- at the US national championships until entry declarations are due. Testing her early-season fitness, Regina Jacobs finished sixth in 2:00.18. "It was time to start racing and stop training," said Jacobs, who set the world indoor 1500 record earlier this year. "And I've trained really hard. Running two-flat with the work I have in my legs is tremendous. I feel really strong. So now we'll start to rest and do more track workouts." Looking ahead to her competitive decision for the the US championships, Jacobs said, "Definitely the 1500, and we'll probably come back and do another just for the workout." Which event? "It's a surprise." Bouncing back from an injury that slowed her all of last year, Kelli White lowered her PB for the second time this season, running to a strong 10.96 win over training partner Chryste Gaines, who was second in 11.03. "I was very ready for this race," said White, who struck 200m bronze at the 2001 World Championships. "This was the first being here at the Prefontaine Classic, so I was excited about this for weeks." Displaying strong early season form, White is eagerly anticipating the season to begin in earnest, despite some difficulties with the longer sprint, which she describes as her favorite. "It'll be a great season. I'm really working on this to help my 200. I don't think it's going in the way I want it to go so this will help that. Right now it's just not going so well. I'm not lasting through the end. I'm just not getting out properly. I have a lot of different things to work on." Her 2002 campaign was marred by a torn plantar fascia, which she said is behind her now. "You have to realize that the entire indoor season and entire outdoor season I was in a lot of pain. So it was tough." This year, she definitely plans to double at the US championships, and may include more 100s in the mix as well. Her win at Pre, she said, "Gives me a lot of confidence. I never had confidence in the 100 meters. I don't know why. But to win against this field is great. And I know that I'll see them all summer long, so I have to get used to it." Gaines has run nearly identical times in her three races this month, but doesn't seem t frustrated, or worried. "I'm kind stuck on 11-0's," she said. "But when I break it, I'm going to break it big. I'm trying to be patient. 11.03 is nothing to complain about really. To be able to run 11.03 without having the start I wanted is saying a lot." With several wide-open events dotting the 2003 outdoor landscape, the men's side of the program certainly didn't lack luster. Kim Collins ended his Pacific Northwest Tour with his second 100m win in as many weeks. Collins won confidently in 10.00 over Darrel Brown's 10.08, but readily admitted his early season wins don't ultimately mean that much. "I don't think I've done anything to gain respect as yet. You have to win something like the world championships or the Olympics to get respect. Anything outside of that is just luck. This is a start." But the Commonwealth Games 100m champion thinks that others' opinions of him might change. "Everybody in the race is fast, so coming in here and winning does a lot for my confidence. That helps, because next time everybody's going to be coming to get me." While keeping his two recent wins in context, Collins, who plans to double in Paris, remains optimistic. "It means I'm on the right track. The training is paying off at this point." Briton Dwain Chambers, who finished a distant fourth in 10.17, admits that his southern California training stint, now near completion, has been a humbling experience. "You don't want any comments from me," he said, with a smile that failed to mask his frustration. "Obviously things aren't working right as I would like them to. I have to keep perseverance on my mind. It'll come around at the right time. I'm suffering through these performances right now, and when the time's right, I'll run fast. I'm just taking it on my chin," he said, before adding, "I don't know how many more hits I can take. I just had higher expectations with myself." He will spend another ten days in California before returning home. "I've had enough. I feel that when I get back home to my natural surroundings things will start to progress for me. Two more races, I'll get it right and I won't be sitting here moaning." Part of his early season difficulties, he believes, lie with his change in training. "My work tempo has increased and I'm getting a lot more strength, so obviously I have to convert that into running. At the moment, my strength and my running isn't matched together." Bernard Lagat pulled away from the field with 300 meters to go en route to 3:50.21 win in the Bowerman Mile, with Kevin Sullivan, for the second straight week, finishing second to the Kenyan in 3:53.34. "It went really well," said Lagat, who will race next in the Ostrava Meeting. "That tells me a lot about my fitness. That's where I wanted to be, around 3:50, while I'm at about 70 per cent of my fitness right now." While pleased with his late spring form, Lagat said that not a training day goes by when world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj does not enter his mind. "Especially when I'm doing long runs, speed runs, I visualize things and I know that this is the guy that I really want to challenge this year. It doesn't get away when I train. I always try to think about beating the best guy in the world. He's the best," he said, but quickly added, "And I like him too." Still struggling in his first season in the pro ranks, Alan Webb finished a distant 10th in 3:58.84. "I guess it's better than I've been running," he said, sharing his frustration. "I've taken a beating this year. I guess [this race] is a small step in the right direction. It's been rough to say the least. But it's not over yet. My training's been going really well and its not over yet. My focus race is really the USATF and that's where I really want to run well." Kenyan Abraham Chebii sped to a 52 second last lap en route to his 13:08.10 win the 5,000, more than three seconds ahead of compatriot Benjamin Limo. "I didn't want to run faster today, because I don't want to get too run down," said Chebii, who has trained in or near Palo Alto, California for four years. "The win gives me some morale, because I know very well that when I go back home I'll be in good position to make the World championships team. In Kenya, the competition is very stiff. We have about thirty guys who can make the team in the 5000." Kevin Toth's second round throw of 71-4.75 bested a surprise challenge by Christian Cantwell of the University of Missouri, who threw a PB best 70-5.25 in the first round. "After my first foul," Toth said, "I kind of got a little out of control. I slowed it down and got it right. Then I was going for the 74, 75. I'm not here yet. We're just trying to slow it down out of the back and accelerate to the front and I just don't have it quite down yet. I have it down enough right now where I can win big meets. I'm pleased with the win, I'm pleased that I improved (from last week). Each week we're going to get better and better." Tyree Washington scored an impressive win in the 400 to earn the role of early favorite for the world championships. "I think I had a lot to prove," Washington said after his 44.70 win. "I'm very pleased. It was very competitive and I'm happy with the victory. Actually, it was one of the best fields in the world." Last year's top one-lap runner, Michael Blackwood, was second in 45.03. Felix Sanchez, who said he is entertaining the possibility of a 400/400H double in Paris, was out of the race early, and finished seventh in 45.96. "I felt pretty good today," Washington added. "I'm just trying to get my rhythm back. Taking 18 months off, it was a long time. And indoors is different from outdoors, so I got to get that outdoor rhythm. But the more I compete the better I'm getting and more able to hit 43 (seconds) this year." His biggest stumbling block, he said, is the race's first half. "My first 200 I definitely need to work on. Sometimes I fall behind and have to catch them at the end. The more I train, of course, and the more I compete, it's going to help." Washington will line up in next weekend's Los Angeles meet as well. High hurdler Larry Wade broke his elbow five weeks ago. Four weeks ago he underwent surgery, and yesterday, with his arm still heavily wrapped, cruised to an easy 13.24 win. "The field was good but the race I ran was terrible," said Wade, ranked third in the world last year by Track & Field News. "I really expected to run fast here, [but] I didn't get out . Midway through I hit a couple of hurdles, and from there I knew it wasn't going to be fast. So I was just trying to win it from there." He said his most recent setback mainly affected him at the start, where the crouch forces him to put weight on the sore arm. A false start didn't help. "I couldn't believe it when they called us back." Two-time Olympic medallist Mark Crear, who finished seventh in 13.72, knows what it's like to compete with a sore arm. Crear, broke his just two weeks before the Atlanta Olympics where he finished second, offered his own diagnosis. "Ain't nothing wrong with him," he joked. "At nationals, I'm going to give him one of these," swinging an elbow jab in his direction. SUBSCRIBE RIGHT NOW! |
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