Sanya Richards named USATF Athlete of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS - Sanya Richards has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after winning a share of the $1,000,000 Golden League jackpot with her win Friday at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium.

The reigning world 400m champion, Richards dominated her signature event in leading from start to finish before crossing the finish line in a world-leading 48.83 seconds, which is her second best effort ever.

Richards’ performance equaled the second-best time ever by an American first posted by National Track & Field Hall of Famer Valerie Brisco-Hooks in winning the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The nearest competitor to Richards in Brussels was 2008 Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu, who finished 1.6 seconds behind in 50.43.

Richards split the $1,000,000 Golden League jackpot with Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) and Kenesia Bekele (ETH), who also won their respective events in Brussels. For Richards, this is the third time in her career she has won a share of the Golden League jackpot, having already earned shares in 2006 and 2007.

Now in its eighth year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2009 USATF Athlete of the Week Winners: January 6, Mason Finley; January 13, Amber Campbell; January 20, Josh Cox; January 27, German Fernandez; February 3, Ashton Eaton; February 10, Shalane Flanagan; February 17, Galen Rupp; February 24, Dexter Faulk; March 3, Terrence Trammell; March 10, Diana Pickler; March 17, Galen Rupp; March 24, Sumi Onodera-Leonard; March 31, German Fernandez; April 7, Cyrus Hostetler; April 14, Curtis Beach; April 21, Kara Goucher; April 28, Mason Finley; May 5, Chris Derrick; May 12, Natalie Willer; May 19, Will Claye; May 26, Nadine O’Connor; June 2, Tyson Gay; June 9, Dwight Phillips; June 16, Galen Rupp; June 23, Kami Semick; June 30, Dawn Harper; July 7, Raevyn Rogers; July 14, Ryan Crouser; July 28, Anton Krupicka; August 11, Rita Hanscom; August 19, Christian Cantwell; August 26, Trey Hardee; September 1, Dathan Ritzenhein; September 9, Sanya Richards.

BEST MARKS WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 6

MEN

100 - 9.94 Doc Patton (Nike) - Zagreb, CRO 8/31
200 - 20.19 Wallace Spearmon (Nike) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
400 - 44.94 Jeremy Wariner (adidas) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
800 - 1:47.16 Nick Symmonds (OTC Elite) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
1500 - 3:33.33 Leo Manzano (Nike) - Rieti, ITA 9/6
3000 - 7:36.68 Bernard Lagat (Nike) - Gateshead, GBR 8/31
3000SC - 8:14.69 Dan Huling (Reebok) - Brussels, BEL 9/4     U.S. leader
5000 - 12:58.56 Matt Tegenkamp (OTC Elite) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
110H - 13.39 Joel Brown (Nike) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
400H - 48.83 Bershawn Jackson (Nike) - Zagreb, CRO 8/31
HJ - 2.33/7-7.75 Andra Manson (Nike) - Gateshead, GBR 8/31
PV - 5.70/18-8.25 Derek Miles (Nike) - Gateshead, GBR 8/31
LJ - 8.39/27-6.5 Dwight Phillips (Nike) - Gateshead, GBR 8/31
TJ - 16.49/54-1.25 Brandon Roulhac (HPC Elite) - Rieti, ITA 9/6
SP - 22.16/72-8.5 Christian Cantwell (Nike) - Zagreb, CRO 8/31     World leader
DT - 62.11/203-9 Ian Waltz (Nike) - Helsingborg, SWE 9/5
HT - 71.09/233-3 Mike Mai (US Army) - Portland, OR 9/6
JT - 76.13/249-9 Mike Hazle (Nike) - Brussels, BEL 9/4

WOMEN

100 - 10.88 Carmelita Jeter (Nike) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
200 - 22.73 Debbie Dunn (Nike) - Rieti, ITA 9/6
400 - 48.83 Sanya Richards (Nike) - Brussels, BEL 9/4     World leader
800 - 1:59.14 Anna Willard (Nike) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
1500 - 4:03.46 Shannon Rowbury (Nike) - Rieti, ITA 9/6
3000 - 9:02.08 Jen Rhines (adidas) - Gateshead, GBR 8/31
3000SC - 9:37.53 Lisa Galaviz (Nike) - Rieti, ITA 9/6
100H - 12.57 Dawn Harper (Nike) - Dubnica, SVK 9/6
HJ - 1.97/6-5.5 Chaunte Howard (Nike) - Brussels, BEL 9/4
PV - 4.47/14-8 Stacy Dragila (Nike) - Dubnica, SVK 9/6
LJ - 6.70/21-11.75 Funmi Jimoh (Nike) - Rovereto, ITA 9/1
TJ - 13.48/44-2.75 Erica McLain (Nike) - Zagreb, CRO 8/31
DT - 59.35/194-8 Aretha Thurmond (Nike) - Rieti, ITA 9/6
JT - 55.04/180-7 Rachel Yurkovich (Oregon) - Gateshead, GBR 8/31

Brussels Golden League Start List

Event|Sex NAME Firstname Nationality

JAVELIN MEN FRYDRYCH Petr CZE
JAVELIN MEN GOYVAERTS Tom BEL
JAVELIN MEN KOVALS Ainars LAT
JAVELIN MEN MARTINEZ Guillermo CUB
JAVELIN MEN PITKAMAKI Tero FIN
JAVELIN MEN RUUSKANEN Anti FIN
JAVELIN MEN SMET Thomas BEL
JAVELIN MEN THORKILDSEN Andreas NOR
JAVELIN MEN VASILEVSKIS Vadims LAT
JAVELIN MEN WIRKKALA Teemu FIN

100 M MEN BURNS Mark TRI
100 M MEN CLARKE Lerone JAM
100 M MEN FRATER Michael JAM
100 M MEN GAY Tyson USA
100 M MEN MULLINGS Steve JAM
100 M MEN PATTON Darvis USA
100 M MEN POWELL Asafa JAM
100 M MEN RODGERS Mike USA
100 M MEN WILLIAMSON Simeon GBR

110 M H MEN BRATHWAITE Ryan BAR
110 M H MEN BROOTHAERTS Damien BEL
110 M H MEN BROWN Joel USA
110 M H MEN FAULK Dexter USA
110 M H MEN NOGA Artur POL
110 M H MEN OLIVER David USA
110 M H MEN SHARMAN William GBR
110 M H MEN SVOBODA Petr CZE
110 M H MEN THOMAS Dwight JAM

200 M MEN BOLT Usain JAM
200 M MEN CHRISTIAN Brendan ANT
200 M MEN CRIBARI Marco SUI
200 M MEN GULIYEV Ramil AZE
200 M MEN HAECK Joris BEL
200 M MEN HESSION Paul IRL
200 M MEN KIMMONS Trell USA
200 M MEN MBANDJOCK Martial FRA
200 M MEN SPEARMON Wallace USA

3000 ST MEN BUC Bustjan SLO
3000 ST MEN DESMET Pieter BEL
3000 ST MEN GARY Roba ETH
3000 ST MEN KEMBOI Ezekiel KEN
3000 ST MEN KESKISALO Jukka FIN
3000 ST MEN KIPTEREGE Elijah KEN
3000 ST MEN KIPYEGO Mike KEN
3000 ST MEN KOECH Paul KEN
3000 ST MEN KRISTENSEN Ustad NOR
3000 ST MEN LANGAT David KEN
3000 ST MEN LANGAT Patrick KEN
3000 ST MEN MATEELONG Richard KEN
3000 ST MEN MOHAMED Mustafa SWE
3000 ST MEN MUTAI Abel KEN
3000 ST MEN RAMOLEFI Ruben RSA
3000 ST MEN SZYMKOWIAK Tomasz POL
3000 ST MEN TAHER Tareq Mubarak BRN
3000 ST MEN VAN KOOLWIJK Krijn BEL

4 X 1500 MEN ALGERIE
4 X 1500 MEN AUSTRALIA
4 X 1500 MEN BELGIUM
4 X 1500 MEN ENGLAND
4 X 1500 MEN KENYA
4 X 1500 MEN MAROC
4 X 1500 MEN MIXED TEAM
4 X 1500 MEN SPAIN
4 X 1500 MEN USA

400 M MEN BINGHAM Michael GBR
400 M MEN BROWN Chris BAH
400 M MEN DJHONE Leslie FRA
400 M MEN GILLET Antoine BEL
400 M MEN GILLICK David IRL
400 M MEN KIKAYA Gary COD
400 M MEN QUOW Renny TRI
400 M MEN WARINER Jeremy USA
400 M MEN WROE Sean AUS

5000 M MEN ABDOSH Ali ETH
5000 M MEN BEKELE Kenenisa ETH
5000 M MEN BETT Josphat KEN
5000 M MEN CHEBII Abraham KEN
5000 M MEN CHEPKOK Vincent KEN
5000 M MEN CHERUIYOT Jonas KEN
5000 M MEN CHESARI Jacob KEN
5000 M MEN EBUYA Joseph ETH
5000 M MEN ESHO Benson KEN
5000 M MEN FARAH Mo GBR
5000 M MEN KIPCHOGE Eliud KEN
5000 M MEN KIPLIMO Joseph KEN
5000 M MEN KIPTOO Mark KEN
5000 M MEN KOMON Leonard KEN
5000 M MEN LONGOSIWA Thomas KEN
5000 M MEN MERGA Imane ETH
5000 M MEN NDIWA Mangata KEN
5000 M MEN ROTICH Lucas KEN
5000 M MEN SOLINSKY Chris USA
5000 M MEN TEGENKAMP Matt USA

800 M MEN AL-SALHI Mohammed KSA
800 M MEN BORZAKOWSKI Yuri RUS
800 M MEN KIRWA YEGO Alfred KEN
800 M MEN LEWANDOWSKI Marcin POL
800 M MEN MULAUDZI Mbulaeni RSA
800 M MEN MUMO KIILU Vincent KEN
800 M MEN REED Gary CAN
800 M MEN RUDISHA David KEN
800 M MEN SOM Bram NED
800 M MEN SYMMONDS Nick USA

TJ WOMEN ALDAMA Yamilé SUD
TJ WOMEN ALEKHINA Nadezhda RUS
TJ WOMEN BOLSHAKOVA Svetlana BEL
TJ WOMEN GAY Mabel CUB
TJ WOMEN NZOLA MESO Teresa FRA
TJ WOMEN PYATYKH Anna RUS
TJ WOMEN SMITH Trecia JAM
TJ WOMEN TOPIC Biljana SRB
TJ WOMEN VELDAKOVA Dana SVK

PV WOMEN BATTKE Anna GER
PV WOMEN DENNISON Kate GBR
PV WOMEN GADSCHIEW Kristina GER
PV WOMEN ISINBAYEVA Yelena RUS
PV WOMEN JOHNSON Chelsea USA
PV WOMEN KIRYASHOVA Aleksandra RUS
PV WOMEN MURER Fabiana BRA
PV WOMEN PYREK Monika POL
PV WOMEN ROGOWSKA Anna POL
PV WOMEN SPIEGELBURG Silke GER

HJ WOMEN AITOVA Marina KAZ
HJ WOMEN BEITIA Ruth ESP
HJ WOMEN CHICHEROVA Anna RUS
HJ WOMEN DI MARTINO Antonietta ITA
HJ WOMEN GORDEEVA Irina RUS
HJ WOMEN GREEN Emma SWE
HJ WOMEN HOWARD Chaunte USA
HJ WOMEN MELFORT Melanie FRA
HJ WOMEN RYAN Deirdre IRL
HJ WOMEN SHKOLINA Svetlana RUS
HJ WOMEN SLESARENKO Yelena RUS
HJ WOMEN VLASIC Blanka CRO

100 M WOMEN BAPTISTE Kelly-Ann TRIN
100 M WOMEN BORLEE Olivia BEL
100 M WOMEN CAMPBELL-BROWN Veronica JAM
100 M WOMEN FERGUSON Debbie BAH
100 M WOMEN FRASER Shelly-Ann JAM
100 M WOMEN JETER Carmelita USA
100 M WOMEN SIMPSON Sherone JAM
100 M WOMEN STEWART Kerron JAM
100 M WOMEN STURRUP Chandra BAH

100 M H WOMEN BERINGS Eline BEL
100 M H WOMEN CARRUTHERS Danielle USA
100 M H WOMEN DAVIN Elisabeth BEL
100 M H WOMEN ENNIS-LONDON Delloreen JAM
100 M H WOMEN FOSTER-HYLTON Brigitte JAM
100 M H WOMEN GOLDING-CLARKE Lacena JAM
100 M H WOMEN LOPES-SCHLIEP Priscilla CAN
100 M H WOMEN O’ROURKE Derval IRL
100 M H WOMEN OFILI Tiffany USA

2000 M WOMEN ALMINOVA Anna RUS
2000 M WOMEN BELETE Almenesh ETH
2000 M WOMEN BURKA Gelete ETH
2000 M WOMEN CHEMOS Milcah KEN
2000 M WOMEN CHENONGE Ines KEN
2000 M WOMEN CHERONO Mercy KEN
2000 M WOMEN CHERUIYOT Vivian KEN
2000 M WOMEN CHOJECKA Lidia POL
2000 M WOMEN HILALI Siham MAR
2000 M WOMEN KIBIWOT Viola KEN
2000 M WOMEN MISHCHENKO Anna UKR
2000 M WOMEN PLIS Renata POL
2000 M WOMEN ROMAN Sonja SLO
2000 M WOMEN WURTH-THOMAS Christin USA
2000 M WOMEN YEVDOKIMOVA Natalya RUS

400 M WOMEN DUNN Debbie USA
400 M WOMEN FIROVA Tatyana RUS
400 M WOMEN HARGROVE Monica USA
400 M WOMEN LLOYD Shereefa JAM
400 M WOMEN OHURUOGU Christine GBR
400 M WOMEN RICHARDS Sanya USA
400 M WOMEN SANDERS Nicola GBR
400 M WOMEN WILLIAMS Shericka JAM
400 M WOMEN WILLIAMS-MILLS Novlene JAM

800 M WOMEN CUSMA Elisa ITA
800 M WOMEN JEPKOSGEI Janeth KEN
800 M WOMEN KREVSUN Yulia UKR
800 M WOMEN OKORO Marilyn GBR
800 M WOMEN ROSTKOWSKA Anna POL
800 M WOMEN SAVINOVA Maria RUS
800 M WOMEN SIMPSON Jemma GBR
800 M WOMEN TSYGANOVA Natalya RUS
800 M WOMEN VESSEY Maggie USA
800 M WOMEN WILLARD Anna USA
800 M WOMEN ZBROZHEK Oksana RUS

2008 ÅF IAAF Golden League Brings New Age of Sport

Many of the sport’s biggest names are heading to the IAAF Golden League meets in Europe. Jeremy Wariner, LaShawn Merritt, Lolo Jones, and Bershawn “Batman” Jackson are running at the first stop on Sunday, June 1st at the DKB-ISA meet in Berlin, Germany.

What is surprising is that many big name stars have opted for the meets in the United States. This is a major coup for fans in this country but the decision to not run in Europe by some top athletes has left me scratching my head.

The IAAF meets in Europe have a $1 Million AF Golden League Jackpot. Both women and men athletes are competing for all or a portion of the winnings. On top of that, the bigger name stars get appearances fees and travel costs to run in Europe. Meets held in the U.S. offer performance money and travel costs–which is significantly less money.

The Adidas Track classic was fabulous and matchups at the 2008 Prefontaine Classic are ridiculous. Fans have complained about track & field in North America but the adidas Track Classic and Prefontaine Classic are now putting together meets that are normally reserved for the European circuit. But running in these U.S. meets means runners are walking away from potentially $40,000 to $1 million.

The improvements have come about because Adidas and Nike have put a great amount of resources into getting a superior product on the track at their U.S. track meets. The rival shoe giants have gone so far as to include the participation in U.S meets as a stipulation in athlete’s contracts.

More high profile meets in the U.S. means that low to mid-range athletes are getting pushed out of U.S. meets. Meet officials say athletes must be top 50 in the world at their respective events but there are eight lanes on the track. Real talk–it’s tougher than that. Athletes have to be top 10 to get in the Pre Classic depending on the event. Some of the low to mid-range athletes are getting pushed out of the U.S. races and struggle to get in good races in the weeks approaching the Olympic Trials.

Which means that some pros are sitting home this weekend during the Reebok Grand Prix, or running in a last chance meet. Moreover they certainly are not running in the IAAF Golden League meets because the European meets require even faster times.

By Jay Hicks.