{"id":1872,"date":"2013-06-06T23:08:17","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T06:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1872"},"modified":"2013-06-06T23:08:17","modified_gmt":"2013-06-07T06:08:17","slug":"upsets-in-rome-while-collegians-sizzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1872","title":{"rendered":"Upsets in Rome While Collegians Sizzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Justin<\/a>If you’re a true fan of the sport then you are in Heaven like me, because we have wall to wall track and field \u2013highlighted by the NCAA Division I Championships and today’s Golden Gala in Rome. So far both have been full of surprises, for different reasons.<\/p>\n

I’ll start with Rome, the fourth entry in the Diamond League. The Diamond League is supposed to be the "Circuit" where the elite meet to complete (if you use that tag line I want my royalties) and today we got to see Usain Bolt line up against Justin Gatlin \u2013 a match up of the last three Olympic Champions!<\/p>\n

The result was a stirring competition, if not the result many expected as Gatlin "upset" Bolt \u2013 9.94 to 9.95. Bolt got the better start, Gatlin the better acceleration, and we saw once again the key to beating Bolt \u2013 mid race pressure and relentless finish! Don’t get me wrong everyone can’t do it because it’s only been done by men that have run under 9.80 – Gatlin, Gay, Blake and Powell \u2013 and only once each. But he is human, and frankly races are so much more fun to watch when there is an air of uncertainty – at least for me.<\/p>\n

Which takes me to the women’s 200 in Rome, because another "sure thing" was upset when Muriel Ahoure defeated Allyson Felix in stunning fashion. Again the "pattern" for defeat was replicated \u2013 with Felix you have to best her big off the bend and pray she doesn’t reel you in. Ahoure did this to perfection as she blazed the turn a la VCB and ran solidly down the stretch to a NR 22.36. Meanwhile Felix almost appeared disinterested on the turn, then lacked turnover down the stretch as she finished in a slow for her 22.63. Clearly the quarter is just not compatible with her deuce – and my guess is we see her back in the hundred real soon.<\/p>\n

Not all favorites lost mind you. LaShawn Merritt, Renaud Lavillenie, Amantle Montsho, and Abebe Aregawi are just a few of the "favorites" that continued their winning ways. The two ladies in particular beginning to look like they’re ready to take control of their events. With Aregawi showing she can run fast and win AND win in a tactical race! And we got a taste of what Moscow might be like with Blanka Vlasic clearing a SB 1.95m\/6’4.75" before succumbing to Anna Chicherova’s 1.98m\/6’6". This will be one of Moscow’s most electric battles – I’m calling it now.<\/p>\n

I’m also calling two HOT days of track and field in Oregon because the NCAA semis have been blazing! Granted we’ve seen lots of "windy" marks, but these kids have putting down some serious times. Consider that it took 10.08 to make the men’s 100 final and four relay squads ran under 39.00. How about Freeman (10.99), Scott (11.00), Gardener (11.00), and Duncan 11.02 heading into that women’s sprint final? <\/p>\n

But that’s just the beginning. Windy or not Bryshon Nellum screamed 19.99 \u2013 and Anaso Jobodwana (20.02), Ameer Webb (20.05), & Isaiah Young (20.12) are close enough to keep him from winning! On the other hand, Kimberlyn Duncan (22.15w) and Brianna Rollins (12.47) set themselves well ahead of the field. By the way, Rollins mark is a collegiate record and she’s still got the final to make it better. And while we’re talking about hurdlers, can you imagine a collegiate final starting with Spencer Adams (13.24w), Wayne Davis (13.25w), and Eddie Lovett (13.29w)? They could have filled lanes in any Olympic final. <\/p>\n

Then after all is said and done, Texas A&M 3:02.38 & Florida 3:02.64 will square off in the closing 4×4 with teams faster than the majority of national teams that will toe the line in Moscow! Bottom line is that this could be one of the most blazing NCAA Championships ever. So fire up the grill, get your popcorn and pour your favorite drink, because this is about to get fun!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re a true fan of the sport then you are in Heaven like me, because we have wall to wall track and field \u2013highlighted by the NCAA Division I Championships and today’s Golden Gala in Rome. So far both have been full of surprises, for different reasons. I’ll start with Rome, the fourth entry in the Diamond League. The Diamond League is supposed to be the "Circuit" where the elite meet to complete (if you use that tag line I want my royalties) and today we got to see Usain Bolt line up against Justin Gatlin \u2013 a match up of the last three Olympic Champions! The result was a stirring competition, if not the result many expected as Gatlin "upset" Bolt \u2013 9.94 to 9.95. Bolt got the better start, Gatlin the better acceleration, and we saw once again the key to beating Bolt \u2013 mid race pressure and relentless finish! Don’t get me wrong everyone can’t do it because it’s only been done by men that have run under 9.80 – Gatlin, Gay, Blake and Powell \u2013 and only once each. But he is human, and frankly races are so much more fun to watch when there is an air of uncertainty – at least for me. Which takes me to the women’s 200 in Rome, because another "sure thing" was upset when Muriel Ahoure defeated Allyson Felix in stunning fashion. Again the "pattern" for defeat was replicated \u2013 with Felix you have to best her big off the bend and pray she doesn’t reel you in. Ahoure did this to perfection as she blazed the turn a la VCB and ran solidly down the stretch to a NR 22.36. Meanwhile Felix almost appeared disinterested on the turn, then lacked turnover down the stretch as she finished in a slow for her 22.63. Clearly the quarter is just not compatible with her deuce – and my guess is we see her back in the hundred real soon. Not all favorites lost mind you. LaShawn Merritt, Renaud Lavillenie, Amantle Montsho, and Abebe Aregawi are just a few of the "favorites" that continued their winning ways. The two ladies in particular beginning to look like they’re ready to take control of their events. With Aregawi showing she can run fast and win AND win in a tactical race! And we got a taste of what Moscow might be like with Blanka Vlasic clearing a SB 1.95m\/6’4.75" before succumbing to Anna Chicherova’s 1.98m\/6’6". This will be one of Moscow’s most electric battles – I’m calling it now. I’m also calling two HOT days of track and field in Oregon because the NCAA semis have been blazing! Granted we’ve seen lots of "windy" marks, but these kids have putting down some serious times. Consider that it took 10.08 to make the men’s 100 final and four relay squads ran under 39.00. How about Freeman (10.99), Scott (11.00), Gardener (11.00), and Duncan 11.02 heading into that women’s sprint final? But that’s just the beginning. Windy or not Bryshon Nellum screamed 19.99 \u2013 and Anaso Jobodwana (20.02), Ameer Webb (20.05), & Isaiah Young (20.12) are close enough to keep him from winning! On the other hand, Kimberlyn Duncan (22.15w) and Brianna Rollins (12.47) set themselves well ahead of the field. By the way, Rollins mark is a collegiate record and she’s still got the final to make it better. And while we’re talking about hurdlers, can you imagine a collegiate final starting with Spencer Adams (13.24w), Wayne Davis (13.25w), and Eddie Lovett (13.29w)? They could have filled lanes in any Olympic final. Then after all is said and done, Texas A&M 3:02.38 & Florida 3:02.64 will square off in the closing 4×4 with teams faster than the majority of national teams that will toe the line in Moscow! Bottom line is that this could be one of the most blazing NCAA Championships ever. So fire up the grill, get your popcorn and pour your favorite drink, because this is about to get fun!<\/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":[440,26,106,155,222,328],"class_list":["post-1872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ahoure","tag-bolt","tag-felix","tag-gatlin","tag-ncaa","tag-rome"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-uc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1220,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1220","url_meta":{"origin":1872,"position":0},"title":"Rome to Begin 10 Hot Days of T&F","author":"CHill","date":"May 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The US Olympic Trials begin in just a few weeks - June 22 to be exact - with several other national Trials around the same time period. Assuming that most athletes will want to rest award of the big meet, the next couple of weeks are going to be critical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Rome\"","block_context":{"text":"Rome","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=rome"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sprinter Shadow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Sprinter-Shadow_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":499,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=499","url_meta":{"origin":1872,"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":1224,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1224","url_meta":{"origin":1872,"position":2},"title":"Lessons Learned From Women’s Day in Rome","author":"CHill","date":"May 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The results are in, and after watching the Rome leg of the Diamond League I think I learned a few things. Prefontaine is only two days away, so things could change a bit over the next 48 hours. Results of the meet can be found here, so without going into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Abakumova\"","block_context":{"text":"Abakumova","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=abakumova"},"img":{"alt_text":"Usain Bolt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Usain-Bolt_thumb1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":492,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=492","url_meta":{"origin":1872,"position":3},"title":"Robles & Campbell Brown Now Lead World","author":"CHill","date":"May 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a very long weekend for track and field. The NCAA regionals, and lower divisions started mid week. Rome was on Thursday. The NCAA meets continued through the weekend. Then following a three day Memorial Day weekend, Ostrava started the week. One would think that with SO much action\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/-5VCMJz-QGJo\/TeWRoiWtWLI\/AAAAAAAAAMI\/0J9A5wv6Qa4\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":344,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=344","url_meta":{"origin":1872,"position":4},"title":"Weekend Wrap Up \u2013 NC\u2019s & DL","author":"CHill","date":"June 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Texas A&M Double Champs Once AgainCongrats to Pat Henry and the Aggies of Texas A&M as once again they pull off the double team championship! In a meet where rivals Florida and Oregon had the big time performers \u2013 Eaton, Taylor, Theisen, Demps, Wheating, et al, the Aggies ground it\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Jun 12, 2010; Eugene, OR, USA; The Texas A&M women pose with the championship plaque after winning the team title for the second year in a row in the 2010 NCAA Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field.Photo by Image of Sport Photo via Newscom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view3.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9097507\/track-and-field-ncaa\/track-and-field-ncaa.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":491,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=491","url_meta":{"origin":1872,"position":5},"title":"Bolt, Felix & Van Zyl Pass Tests in Rome","author":"CHill","date":"May 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"If this year\u2019s World Championships is the ultimate \u201cFinal\u201d test of the season, then meets such as yesterday\u2019s Golden Gala in Rome are a series of minor tests and pop quizzes. Several athletes were taking early tests in Rome \u2013 Usain Bolt (his season debut), Allyson Felix (a look at\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/-CdZMyqoB3ZU\/Td-y2CaLrAI\/AAAAAAAAAMA\/5mOnphf_Ax8\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872","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=1872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}