{"id":1262,"date":"2012-06-08T09:56:51","date_gmt":"2012-06-08T16:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1262"},"modified":"2012-06-08T09:56:51","modified_gmt":"2012-06-08T16:56:51","slug":"early-weekend-results-oslo-ncaa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1262","title":{"rendered":"Early Weekend Results – Oslo \/ NCAA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pearson\"<\/a>It’s only Friday, but we’ve already had enough track to fill a weekend – and we’re just getting started! The early results are in, and while Oslo wasn’t quite as hot as I had hoped, the "kids" we definitely ahead of expectations at the NCAA Championships! <\/p>\n

Let’s start with Oslo where vets Usain Bolt (JAM) and Sally Pearson (AUS) confirmed their status as early London favorites. Fresh off his 9.76 in Rome last week, Bolt cranked out a 9.79 in Oslo.  Again his only competition came from teammate Asafa Powell who was second in 9.85. Powell seemed more relaxed today as he wasn’t right next to Bolt, and no one else was a factor. He led the race early but once Bolt came out of drive phase the the result was not in doubt. Powell will certainly be a contender in Kingston at the Jamaican Trials, but will have to produce this type of performance while running in traffic – and Saturday we’ll see what form Yohan Blake is in.<\/p>\n

Sally Pearson had her first competition away from home, but you’d never know it by the way she ran. She opened up with a swift 12.59 heat before blitzing a 12.49 in the final to equal her own world leading best. Surprising in second was Kristi Castlin (US) in a PR 12.56. Castlin entered this season with a best of 12.81 and so far this year has run the 6 fastest times of her career. She is starting to fulfill the promise she showed when she set an AJR 12.91 back in 2007, and is suddenly a Trials threat with a slew of women in that 12.5\/12.6 range.<\/p>\n

Two other women solidified their positions as a medal favorites yesterday, one being World 400 champion Amantle Montsho (BOT) who sizzled in with a 49.68 victory – showing a new consistency in that mid 49 range. She may have gone faster with some competition as this race was never in doubt as she totally controlled things with second place a block back at 50.71. Also becoming a solid medal contender of late is miler Abeba Arigawe (ETH) who took another 1500 victory against teammate Genzebe Dibaba – 4:02.42 to 4:03.28. This pair has suddenly become a threat to go one, two in London as they are dominating things early. Meanwhile, back in 6th was last year\u2019s #1 Morgan Uceny (US) who finished ahead of Anna Pierce (US) to stay ahead of her American competition – critical since it seems that her peak is timed for London. Uceny is still a favorite to take the American title, then will have her work cut out in London with the Ethiopians suddenly on a tear. <\/p>\n

Speaking of milers, Asbel Kiprop (KEN) won yet another mile, this time in a world leading 3:49.20. This man runs the easiest looking 3:49\u2019s I\u2019ve ever seen. I remember when Coe and Ovett were cracking the barrier and looking like they were all out round the bend and heading for home. Kiprop simply cruises around the track looking as if he isn\u2019t going to break a sweat! He and teammate David Rudisha in the 800 look like near sure bets to take the middle distance races in London. <\/p>\n

On the men’s side a couple of other competitors continued to look like medal bets as well. Javier Culson (PUR) won yet another 400 hurdle race this time becoming the first man under 48 seconds in 2012 with his 47.92 WL – in a romp over Jehue Gordon’s 48.78. Take note that World champion David Greene (GBR) was well back in 4th – and he has a lot of work to do to back up some of his earlier statements this year!. Also continuing to perform well is pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, winning this time with a leap of 5.82m\/19′ 1". Lavillenie is easily the most consistent vaulter out there right now and the only one clearing 19 feet on demand. Right now it looks like gold may be his to lose.<\/p>\n

The full results from Oslo can be found here. It was a good meet, but I have to say the real excitement the past couple days has been in the semifinal rounds of the NCAA Championships in Des Moines Iowa. Up to this point the collegians have been a tad dull so far this year. There has been the occasional hot mark, but for the most part this has not been one of the most exciting college season on record. It looks like things may do a 180 before the weekend is over because the semis were SIZZLING!<\/p>\n

Take the men’s 100, where Harry Adams’ (AUB) 9.96 made him the second fastest American on the season. He wasn\u2019t alone as he led 7 sprinters under 10.10 – in the semis! Then there was Tony McQuay (FLA) who won the 3rd semi of the 400 in 44.67 – and he needed to with Josh Mance (USC) 44.83 and Gil Roberts (TX TECH) 44.84 breathing down his neck! McQuay moves to #3 in the world and looks ready to make another international team. First however he’ll have to get past an NCAA final field where the slowest qualifier was 45.29! <\/p>\n

McQuay also anchored his Gator squad to a 3:02.34 semifinal win in their heat of the 4×4 – a mark that ended up as only the 5th fastest on the day as surprising Penn St led the way into the finals at 3:01.52 – with USC as the slowest qualifier to the final at 3:03.21! Several of those squads ran good enough to make the Olympic final. Did I mention that defending 200 meter champion Maurice Mitchell (FL ST) scorched a 20.22 to win his semi? Or that Marquis Goodwin (TX) won the long jump at 8.23m\/27′ 0" and Erik Kynard (KS ST) the high jump at 2.34m\/7′ 8" – and had a decent shot at 7′ 9"!<\/p>\n

But the star of this show just may be Kimberlyn Duncan (LSU) before the weekend is over. So far she’s cruised to an 11.11 semi win in the 100 – INTO a negative 1.2mps wind. Anchored a 42.68 semi win the 4×1 to lead all qualifiers. And finished up her semifinal efforts with a world leading 22.19 sec victory in her 200 semi – and she still has three more races to go! I\u2019ve said it before, and I\u2019ll say it again, this young lady looks like the second coming of Gwen Torrence – and the NCAA\u2019s could be just the beginning of her 2012 season!<\/p>\n

Suddenly this meet looks like it could be one of the most exciting championships ever, and an excellent precursor to the Olympic Trials. Prior to the pasts couple of days I felt that the Trials would be dominated by the professionals. We\u2019ll see what the next two days of competition bring, but expect to see the \u201ckids\u201d in contention in Eugene. The finals will be run today and tomorrow. And Saturday we have New York on tap. Then it\u2019s on to the Trials! Life is good. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s only Friday, but we’ve already had enough track to fill a weekend – and we’re just getting started! The early results are in, and while Oslo wasn’t quite as hot as I had hoped, the "kids" we definitely ahead of expectations at the NCAA Championships! Let’s start with Oslo where vets Usain Bolt (JAM) and Sally Pearson (AUS) confirmed their status as early London favorites. Fresh off his 9.76 in Rome last week, Bolt cranked out a 9.79 in Oslo.  Again his only competition came from teammate Asafa Powell who was second in 9.85. Powell seemed more relaxed today as he wasn’t right next to Bolt, and no one else was a factor. He led the race early but once Bolt came out of drive phase the the result was not in doubt. Powell will certainly be a contender in Kingston at the Jamaican Trials, but will have to produce this type of performance while running in traffic – and Saturday we’ll see what form Yohan Blake is in. Sally Pearson had her first competition away from home, but you’d never know it by the way she ran. She opened up with a swift 12.59 heat before blitzing a 12.49 in the final to equal her own world leading best. Surprising in second was Kristi Castlin (US) in a PR 12.56. Castlin entered this season with a best of 12.81 and so far this year has run the 6 fastest times of her career. She is starting to fulfill the promise she showed when she set an AJR 12.91 back in 2007, and is suddenly a Trials threat with a slew of women in that 12.5\/12.6 range. Two other women solidified their positions as a medal favorites yesterday, one being World 400 champion Amantle Montsho (BOT) who sizzled in with a 49.68 victory – showing a new consistency in that mid 49 range. She may have gone faster with some competition as this race was never in doubt as she totally controlled things with second place a block back at 50.71. Also becoming a solid medal contender of late is miler Abeba Arigawe (ETH) who took another 1500 victory against teammate Genzebe Dibaba – 4:02.42 to 4:03.28. This pair has suddenly become a threat to go one, two in London as they are dominating things early. Meanwhile, back in 6th was last year\u2019s #1 Morgan Uceny (US) who finished ahead of Anna Pierce (US) to stay ahead of her American competition – critical since it seems that her peak is timed for London. Uceny is still a favorite to take the American title, then will have her work cut out in London with the Ethiopians suddenly on a tear. Speaking of milers, Asbel Kiprop (KEN) won yet another mile, this time in a world leading 3:49.20. This man runs the easiest looking 3:49\u2019s I\u2019ve ever seen. I remember when Coe and Ovett were cracking the barrier and looking like they were all out round the bend and heading for home. Kiprop simply cruises around the track looking as if he isn\u2019t going to break a sweat! He and teammate David Rudisha in the 800 look like near sure bets to take the middle distance races in London. On the men’s side a couple of other competitors continued to look like medal bets as well. Javier Culson (PUR) won yet another 400 hurdle race this time becoming the first man under 48 seconds in 2012 with his 47.92 WL – in a romp over Jehue Gordon’s 48.78. Take note that World champion David Greene (GBR) was well back in 4th – and he has a lot of work to do to back up some of his earlier statements this year!. Also continuing to perform well is pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, winning this time with a leap of 5.82m\/19′ 1". Lavillenie is easily the most consistent vaulter out there right now and the only one clearing 19 feet on demand. Right now it looks like gold may be his to lose. The full results from Oslo can be found here. It was a good meet, but I have to say the real excitement the past couple days has been in the semifinal rounds of the NCAA Championships in Des Moines Iowa. Up to this point the collegians have been a tad dull so far this year. There has been the occasional hot mark, but for the most part this has not been one of the most exciting college season on record. It looks like things may do a 180 before the weekend is over because the semis were SIZZLING! Take the men’s 100, where Harry Adams’ (AUB) 9.96 made him the second fastest American on the season. He wasn\u2019t alone as he led 7 sprinters under 10.10 – in the semis! Then there was Tony McQuay (FLA) who won the 3rd semi of the 400 in 44.67 – and he needed to with Josh Mance (USC) 44.83 and Gil Roberts (TX TECH) 44.84 breathing down his neck! McQuay moves to #3 in the world and looks ready to make another international team. First however he’ll have to get past an NCAA final field where the slowest qualifier was 45.29! McQuay also anchored his Gator squad to a 3:02.34 semifinal win in their heat of the 4×4 – a mark that ended up as only the 5th fastest on the day as surprising Penn St led the way into the finals at 3:01.52 – with USC as the slowest qualifier to the final at 3:03.21! Several of those squads ran good enough to make the Olympic final. Did I mention that defending 200 meter champion Maurice Mitchell (FL ST) scorched a 20.22 to win his semi? Or that Marquis Goodwin (TX) won the long jump at 8.23m\/27′ 0" and Erik Kynard (KS ST) the high jump at 2.34m\/7′ 8" – and had a decent shot at 7′ 9"! But the star of this show just may be Kimberlyn Duncan (LSU) before the weekend is over. So far she’s cruised to an 11.11 semi win in the 100 – INTO a negative 1.2mps wind. Anchored a 42.68 semi win the 4×1 to lead all qualifiers. And finished up her semifinal efforts with a world leading 22.19 sec victory in her 200 semi – and she still has three more races to go! I\u2019ve said it before, and I\u2019ll say it again, this young lady looks like the second coming of Gwen Torrence – and the NCAA\u2019s could be just the beginning of her 2012 season! Suddenly this meet looks like it could be one of the most exciting championships ever, and an excellent precursor to the Olympic Trials. Prior to the pasts couple of days I felt that the Trials would be dominated by the professionals. We\u2019ll see what the next two days of competition bring, but expect to see the \u201ckids\u201d in contention in Eugene. The finals will be run today and tomorrow. And Saturday we have New York on tap. Then it\u2019s on to the Trials! Life is good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[178,330,26,338,79,204,246,61,339,220,249,47,105,336,28,18],"class_list":["post-1262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adams","tag-aregawi","tag-bolt","tag-castlin","tag-culson","tag-dibaba","tag-duncan","tag-kiprop","tag-kynard","tag-lavillenie","tag-mcquay","tag-mitchell","tag-montsho","tag-oslo","tag-pearson","tag-uceny"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-km","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1254,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1254","url_meta":{"origin":1262,"position":0},"title":"Next Up – Oslo & New York","author":"CHill","date":"June 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok, we\u2019re nearly at the end of the first half of the season. Tomorrow Oslo, Saturday New York - and then National Championships & Olympic Trials. We\u2019ve pretty much seen most of the major players, so not sure we will learn much more before the Trials in a couple of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"New York\"","block_context":{"text":"New York","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=new-york"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rome Stadium Finish Line","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Rome-Stadium-Finish-Line_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Rome-Stadium-Finish-Line_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Rome-Stadium-Finish-Line_thumb.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":499,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=499","url_meta":{"origin":1262,"position":1},"title":"Bolt Wins Oslo, Lightning Delays NCAA\u2019s","author":"CHill","date":"June 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Thursday was the \u201clull\u201d day in this weeks track and field action. In a week sandwiched between the awesome Pre Classic and will end with NCAA finals and what is promising to be an exciting meet in New York, yesterday was rather lacking. We did get Usain Bolt\u2019s seasonal 200\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/-nGwHYSLCxDM\/TfJrMmiCIuI\/AAAAAAAAANI\/p4qjS2Lpt7g\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1250,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1250","url_meta":{"origin":1262,"position":2},"title":"Tyson Gay to Debut in New York","author":"CHill","date":"June 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I know that the next meet up is the Oslo leg of the Diamond League and not New York, but the big news heading into the last two \u201cbig\u201d meets before the Olympic Trials is that Tyson Gay will run before the Trials and he will do so this weekend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Gay\"","block_context":{"text":"Gay","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=gay"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tyson Gay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Tyson-Gay_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":375,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=375","url_meta":{"origin":1262,"position":3},"title":"Preview \u2013 Stockholm Diamond League","author":"CHill","date":"August 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"August has arrived, and with it the final four events of the inaugural Diamond League. The competition has gotten better as the season has progressed and these final four meets promise to be some real barn burners. August should get off with a big BANG as we get our first\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Aug 17, 2009; Berlin, GERMANY; Men's 100m winner Usain Bolt (JAM), center, poses with silver medalist Tyson Gay (USA), left, and bronze medalist Asafa Powell (JAM), right, at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at Olympic Stadium. Photo via Newscom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view3.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/6040998\/track-and-field-12th-iaaf\/track-and-field-12th-iaaf.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":362,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=362","url_meta":{"origin":1262,"position":4},"title":"Preview \u2013 Paris Diamond League","author":"CHill","date":"July 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Diamond League seems to be out of it\u2019s 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\u2019s matchups that truly drive this sport. And now that we are\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=362#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=334","url_meta":{"origin":1262,"position":5},"title":"Howard-Lowe AR & Collegiate Regional Action Highlights Exciting Weekend","author":"CHill","date":"May 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"For a track junkie like me the last few days have been sheer nirvana. From Thursday through last night it\u2019s been wall to wall track and field!Out here in California the State high school championships are just around the corner and this past week the state sectional championships were held\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Chaunte Howard Lowe of US","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/9\/0\/e\/f\/Chaunte_Howard_Lowe_047b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1263,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions\/1263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}