Day 3 Wrap - U.S. Ready For the World

The Nick Symmonds vs. Khadevis Robinson show unfolded beautifully in the 800m final. Tevon Everett led the pack through the first 400m in 51 seconds. As usual, Symmonds began his signature kick from fourth to first at 600m. Symmonds and Robinson were neck and neck over the last 100m, but Symmonds had the home turf advantage and the roar of the crowd to pull him past the line first in 1:45.86.

Two young stars, Geena Gall and Phoebe Wright, trailed three-time Olympian Hazel Clark in the women’s 800m. Clark led from the gun through a 59.43 first lap. She struggled some on lap 2, but pulled ahead to win it in 2:00.79.

Jenny Barringer and Anna Willard expectantly went 1-2 in the 3000m steeplechase. Willard has raced a lot over the past few days as she also competed in the 1500m, so she did not quite have enough left to challenge Barringer. She did, however, have a good race with Bridget Franek and Lindsey Anderson.

Barringer went to the lead and stayed there. She cruised along with Anderson and Willard close behind.

“It was really windy out there so I wanted to take command of the race from the beginning,” Barringer said.

The breeze was no problem for Willard because she had Franek and Anderson with her. With about 1200m left in the race, Barringer surged ahead to open a 30-meter gap. Franek made her move to second on the next lap and dropped Anderson. Then it was a battle for 2nd place as Willard went with Franek. Willard beat her to the line about 6 seconds behind Barringer.

Shawn Crawford ran a fast 19.73 in the 200m. He had a good start among the talented field. He dominated the race with Charles Clark behind him in 20.00 and Wallace Spearmon in 20.03.

“It was pretty controlled,” Crawford said. “I’ve been practicing driving through the first 120 and letting my body carry me the rest of the way.”

After winning the semifinals, Allyson Felix also started well in the women’s race to win her fifth national title in 22.02, followed by Muna Lee and Marshavet Hooker.

“What I wanted to do was just really focus on the start, and just work on driving out,” Felix said.

The 1500m was an exciting race. Leonel Manzano, Lopez Lomong and Will Leer led the first 800m, but then Stephen Pifer sprinted to the front. He could not hold the pace as he was passed by Lomong, Manzano and Leer. Lomong moved in front of Manzano with 200m to go, and Dorian Ulrey kicked for a surprising 3rd place. Ulrey came into the race as one of the underdogs and was elated with his race. Cloud nine is not the limit for Ulrey. He said he was on cloud 10.5 after this accomplishment.

In the 100m hurdles, Dawn Harper won her first national title and ran 12.36. Virginia Powell and Damu Cherry were close behind.

Bershawn Jackson ran the fastest time in the world this year in the men’s 400m hurdles, 48.03 seconds. Johnny Dutch was surprised by his 2nd place finish, ahead of Olympic gold medalist Angelo Taylor.

“I looked over to my left and noticed I was 2nd or 3rd and thought ‘oh I made the team!’” Dutch said.

Taylor seemed disappointed not to win, but said he was glad to be on the team. Jackson agrees that the main goal is Berlin.

“Once you make the team, everything will take care of itself,” Jackson said. “We have the greatest hurdlers in the world.”

No related posts.