Day 4 morning quotes, 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships

Shawn Crawford (Los Angeles), Men’s 200

I did what I was supposed to do. I came out in the preliminary and qualified for the next round. I tried to get as many cobwebs out as I could.

Wallace Spearmon (College Station, Texas), Men’s 200

I ran easily for the first round, and tried to save as much as possible for the next round.

Casey Malone (Ft. Collins, Colo.), Men’s Discus

It’s great to be one and done! The throw felt technically sound, so I’m happy with it!

I couldn’t ask for a better performance in the morning then getting it done quickly. There are 15 competitors in that preliminary. If you don’t do it for your first throw, you are sitting around for 15 minutes before you get another. It’s the same thing if you don’t get it on that one. You really want to get it done early so you are not out there for 45 minutes, mostly on your feet.

(On the throw) That was the type of throw I was looking to get our here. I really want that type of performance regardless of whether it was a qualifier for not. That is the farthest throw I have ever had at a championship event. I’d like to build off that going into the finals. I’m not complacent to end it there. I’m pretty much happy with practice and how everything is going for the finals. I wanted to get it done early, get out of here and go rest.

Jarred Rome( Chula Vista, Calif.), Men’s discus

This is the best I have ever felt for a major championship. In 2005, I got seventh. I was a few centimeters away from medaling. This year, I started the year slow. I was feeling OK in nationals. I made the team. I’ve been over here for two months, since nationals, just training. My warm-ups were good, all over the qualifier. My first one, I think, I got the nerves a little bit. The second one, I hit really hard, 65.50. I’m ready to medal.

Lionel Larry (Compton, Calif.), Men’s 400 meters

I thought I could have gone a little bit better. It was kind of windy. If I had gone a little bit faster, I won’t have to play the waiting game. I still have to figure out what I am going to do for the next day. I have to wait and see. The wind was in my face for 300 meters.

Gil Roberts (Oklahoma City), Men’s 400 meters

I just had a bad race. I just didn’t have it today. It was windy. But I am not making any excuses. I lost because I lost. It was just not my time.

LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.), Men’s 400 meters

It was a good race. 45.2 I got out good. I ran pretty comfortable. I did what I had to do and that’s get ready for tomorrow. If there was a wind, there was a wind for everyone. Everybody felt the wind. But I didn’t feel it that much. I ran a comfortable race and finished up like I wanted to. Clocked in this morning, went to work and now I am going to clock out and get ready for tomorrow.

Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco), Women’s 1,500 meters

I was running. It was pretty packed up. I got tripped up by the same girl. I fell down at 200, got up, got back to the pack and the same girl cut me off again. It was a little bit frustrating. After falling, I tried to be smart catching up again, but I was a little timid by the time I got going again. I’m pretty disappointed. But that’s how it goes sometimes.

I’m hoping we will protest. I’m hoping to get another shot at it. That is definitely not what I am capable of. That’s how it goes when it’s a semi or a quarterfinal. You usually go slow and it’s usually packed up. I tried to stay on my feet. But unfortunately today, I was unable to. I was on the outside of lane 1, where everyone wants to be. It was kind of a messy race, with a lot of people moving around in there. I hope I get a chance at going again. I hope I have a chance of making the finals.

Anna Willard (Mammonth Lakes, Calif.), Women’s 1,500 meters

It was a physical race. There was a lot of shoving. But that’s fine. I expected that. You expect the physicality, especially in the first round. Everyone is super antsy, with all the waiting. It’s already been a couple of days of the championship and everyone is excited to go. When you are running slower than your PR pace, everyone wants the perfect position, so that’s going to happen.

Christin Wurth-Thomas (Springdale, Arkansas), Women’s 1500 meters

In the beginning, there was some jostling going on. I don’t like to feel that there are people on top of me, so I was telling myself, “‘This is butt-slow! We go faster than this at USAs, so let’s just go!’”

I felt comfortable during the race, and over the last 50 meters, I looked up at the monitor knowing where I was at, and basically shut it down. I was hoping that the pace would be faster, but hey, it’s the prelims, so you gotta go with it.

Amy Acuff (Isleton, Calif.), Women’s high jump

I’m really excited. I don’t take making the finals for granted. Everyone is a treasure. I’m really happy to be there, especially in Berlin. I felt like I got up at 6 a.m. I felt like it was early in the morning. I drank my little green tea, but it didn’t really kick me up. I think I will feel better in the final. I want to go back (to the hotel), take a nap and get rested and try to have a more fluid run. I’m just going to let myself go and not micromanage everything.

Chaunte Howard (Snellville, Ga.), Women’s high jump

(On getting excited after clearing at 1.89) I did get excited. I didn’t particularly feel great today. I’m usually a morning person. But this morning I felt kind of flat. To go ahead and clear 1.89 then clear 1.92 and 1.95 on first appearances let me know that it’s going to be a good result. (Clearing 1.95) That was a sigh of relief. I was up praying all night because I couldn’t sleep. I felt like everything was going to work out today.

For complete results, quotes and Team USA reports, visit www.usatf.org.

Fans can watch Team USA on national television broadcasts on NBC and Versus, or online via live, daily Webcast at www.universalsports.com. For complete TV listings, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/IAAFWorldOutdoorChampionships/mediaCoverage.asp.
For more information on Team USA at the World Outdoor Championships, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/IAAFWorldOutdoorChampionships/.

About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.

For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show - Podcast #38

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

After a brief break, track and field’s top internet radio show returns with two weeks until the World Championships to discuss track and field’s hottest stories. Jay Hicks and John W. Davis chop up the issues.

-Gay vs. Bolt
-Is Allyson Felix unbeatable?
-Can the U.S. 1,500m women medal in Berlin?

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show…where the real playas come to hang out!

Day 3 Wrap Up - 2009 U.S. Nationals

The action continues on day three of the 2009 USA Track & Field Championships. Fans and athletes enjoyed the sunny weather and exciting races.

It was a good day for LaShawn Merritt, who celebrated his 23rd birthday with another national title in the 400m. He ran it in 44.50 seconds and is undefeated in the event this season.

“When you’re in the #1 spot, you just know you have to work that much harder,” Merritt said. “Every time I come out I bring my A game.”

Merritt said he is happy with the team going to World’s, including runner-up Gil Roberts of Texas Tech and 3rd place finisher Kerron Clement. Jeremy Wariner is also on the team, but did not compete today. Merritt said he believes Wariner earned the right not to be here and will get his chance to race him in Berlin.

Sanya Richards reclaimed her US title in the women’s 400m final in 50.05 seconds. Richards said she was not happy with the time, but the wind was a factor. Debbie Dunn was second, and Jessica Beard proved herself against the senior women by finishing 3rd to make the world team.

A new Hayward record and fastest time in the world this year was set by Lashinda Davis when she ran 53.78 in the women’s 400m hurdle finals. Sheena Tosta and Tiffany Ross-Williams will join her in Berlin.

David Payne out-inched Terrence Trammel in the thrilling 110m hurdle finals. The race was so close that Payne said he had to check the jumbotron before he celebrated the victory. His time was 13.12 seconds.

The women’s 1500m was led almost entirely by Christin Wurth-Thomas. She ran to the front and looked strong, running about 62 seconds for the first lap.

“I knew once I went for it, I needed to throw in a 62,” Wurth-Thomas said.

Erin Donahue, Shannon Rowbury and Anna Willard went with with her. Rowbury was ready for the quick change of pace, due to her focus on sharpening her speed in training. No one else could stay with them.

“I thought someone would follow her, but they didn’t. I knew someone had to go,” Rowbury said.

Wurth-Thomas’s stamina could not match Rowbury’s speed. On the homestretch, Rowbury pulled into first, followed by Wurth-Thomas and Willard.

“I like to be the hunter, not the hunted,” Wurth-Thomas said. “I didn’t know if anyone was with me. I panicked.”

The 3000m steeplechase got off to a conservative start with William Nelson in the lead. Daniel Huling stuck behind him until the last three laps when he and Josh McAdams made a dash for the lead. At the bell, it was McAdams, Huling and Kyle Alcorn. McAdams pushed to the finish to win the national title.

Rowbury, Torrence win inaugural USA 1 Mile Road Championships

MINNEAPOLIS - 2008 Olympian Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco, Calif.) and David Torrence (Oakland, Calif.) took the respective women’s and men’s titles at the inaugural USA 1 Mile Road Championships Thursday night in Minneapolis, Minn. Rowbury’s time was 4:33.4, while Torrence was timed in 3:59.3.

In the women’s race Rowbury, the 2008 Olympic Trials 1,500 meter champion moved into the lead with 300 meters to go. Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) attempted to maintain contact but Rowbury extended her lead to win by 5.7 seconds, as Sara Vaughn (Boulder, Colo.) finished third in 4:41.3.

The men’s race saw Torrence, Jon Rankin (San Diego, Calif.), Bobby Curtis (Ardmore, Pa.), and Darren Brown (Austin, Texas) break from the pack at 1200 meters with Rankin holding a slight lead. As the course made a slight left turn, Torrence made his move to the inside to take the lead, hitting the finish line as the first man to break four-minutes for a road mile in the state of Minnesota and collect a $10,000 bonus. Rankin held on for second in 4:01.7, Curtis was third in 4:02.0 and Brown was fourth in

The championships featured a total prize purse of $22,500, with the men’s and women’s USA Champion earning $4,000 each.

Video highlights

Video highlights of the USA 1 Mile Road Championships and pre- and post-race video interviews with top athletes are available in cooperation with Flotrack.org.

About the USARC
The USA 1 Mile Road Championship was the third stop on the 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC). The 2009 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The 2009 USARC has ten events each for men and women.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.

The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information and video highlights from the 2009 USA 1 Mile Road Championships visit www.usatf.org.

About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.

For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show with Carmelita Jeter

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jay Hicks and John W. Davis recap the U.S dominate performances at Penn Relays, comment on building successful Team U.S. relay teams, and the duo catch up with Carmelita Jeter about anchoring the 4×100 meter relay at Penn Relays and the difference this year resulting in her world leading time of 10.96 in the 100 meters.

- USA vs. the World
- Sam Chelanga breaks NCAA 10 k record
- Runnerspace Video: Shannon Rowbury sets world lead in 5k

Special thanks to Carmelita Jeter. PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, where the real playas come to hang out!

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show with Shannon Rowbury

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

2008 Beijing Olympian Shannon Rowbury discusses the 2009 season with Jay Hicks and John W. Davis.  The 1,500 meter runner also discusses the recent changes to her training camp, her upcoming Carlsbad 5k run, and the demands of shopping for a new house.

-2009 82nd Clyde Little Texas Relays
-Tyson Gay’s fall season injury
-German Fernandez’s finish at World XC Championships

Special thanks to Shannon Rowbury.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show…where the real playas come to hang out!