{"id":337,"date":"2010-06-04T16:04:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-04T23:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=337"},"modified":"2010-06-04T16:04:00","modified_gmt":"2010-06-04T23:04:00","slug":"a-fast-800-and-5000-american-record-highlight-oslo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=337","title":{"rendered":"A Fast 800 and 5000 American Record Highlight Oslo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/default.aspx?term=bernard lagat&amp;iid=8321748\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Track and Field: IAAF World Indoor Championships\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/b\/a\/c\/4\/Track_and_Field_9b61.JPG?resize=380%2C253\" width=\"380\" height=\"253\"><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.pis.picapp.com\/IamProd\/PicAppPIS\/JavaScript\/PisV4.js\"><\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Oslo is often a distance runners paradise and today was no exception as several fast middle and long distance events stole the spotlight in Oslo. <\/p>\n<p>The event that drew the most pre meet interest was the men\u2019s 800 featuring David Rudisha (KEN) and Abubaker Kaki (SUD). The race was a burner from the beginning as the rabbit took the field through a fast 48.97 first lap. Rudisha and Kaki were just off the pace and went by the rabbit down the final backstretch. Both athletes sizzled around the track but Kaki was never able to make a serious challenge to Rudisha as they ran 1-2 on the final lap, well ahead of the rest of the field. The result a world leading 1:42.04 for Rudisha and a new PR of 1:42.23 for Kaki. Both men were under the meet record of 1:42.33 \u2013 a world record at the time it was set by Sebastian Coe back in 1979. <\/p>\n<p>Hopefully we will get more of these two competing against each other this year. Both should be able to run under 1:42 this season \u2013 which would give us the first ever season with two men under 1:42. More importantly, they have the potential to run each other close to Wilson Kipketer\u2019s venerable mark of 1:41.11! A standard that has now lasted for over 12 years.<\/p>\n<p>Taking to the track right after the 800 men were the 5000 meter runners. Prior to the meet, I expected Eliud Kipchoge to dominate the race, but such was not the case. Instead the group ran like a swarm of bees for most of the race \u2013 no one ever too far out front and no one ever too far back. The result was a finish that saw TEN men run under 13:00! Leading the way was Ethiopian Imane Merga in a new PR of 12:53.62 \u2013 taking down his previous best of 12:55.66. In what looked like the finish of the 400 meters, just off the pace in 3rd was Bernard Lagat in a new American Record of 12:54.12 \u2013 taking down Dathan Ritzenhein\u2019s 12:56.27 from last year! Chris Solinsky just missed that mark as he finished close behind in 6th in 12:56.66 \u2013 making him the #3 all time American. <\/p>\n<p>This should be a very exciting race for American\u2019s. Before last year, we only had Bob Kennedy (12:58.21) and Bernard Lagat (12:59.22) under 13:00. Now we\u2019ve added three more in just the last two seasons \u2013 Solinsky, Ritzenhein, and Matt Tegenkamp (12:58.56, last year). With Lagat barely under the mark \u2013 and it being nearly four years since he had broken 13:00 \u2013 and advancing in age, I had left him off my Thirty Watch list, figuring he \u201cshould\u201d be slowing by the \u201811\/\u201912\/\u201913 championship cycle. Looks like I was wrong. Lagat looked as spry and competitive as ever, and given his competitive nature will probably be a factor in Daegu. <\/p>\n<p>I also liked the way Solinsky hung with the \u201cbig boys\u201d in this race. Though the one thing I would like to see him add is a bit more speed\/turnover. He\u2019s clearly strong and can hold pace. If he can develop enough speed for a \u201ckick\u201d he may be able to challenge in the final stretch the way Lagat did today. As Lagat showed that even at 35 he can still sprint to the finish with the best of them. <\/p>\n<p>Another athlete that showed her competiveness was Chaunte Howard-Lowe. Fresh off her American record earlier this week, she went toe to toe with the current queen of the high jump, Blanka Vlasic. Both women women were flawless up to 6\u2019 7\u201d \u2013 a height Vlasic cleared with no misses and Howard-Lowe cleared after one miss. The one miss gave Vlasic the victory as neither athlete was able to clear 6\u2019 8\u201d. Howard-Lowe was once again consistent at the high heights, and showed that she can compete under pressure. More and more I\u2019m liking her chances in the majors. <\/p>\n<p>The Bislett track also once again did its magic in the mile giving us the top NINE times on the season lead with two under 3:50 \u2013 Asbel Kiprop (KEN, 3:49.56) and Mekonnen Gebremedhin (ETH, 3:49.83). The second fast \u201cmiles\u201d by this duo coming off 2nd and 3rd place (and corresponding marks on the yearly list) in the Shanghai 1500.<\/p>\n<p>The track also gave us four men under 10.00 in the 100 meters \u2013 albeit slightly wind aided. Asafa Powell JAM, (9.72w) lead Richard Thompson (TRI, 9.90), Churandy Martina (AHO, 9.92) and Michael Frater (JAM, 9.97) in the fastest sprint ever seen in Bislett. Powell lead start to finish in what has become standard for Powell \u2013 minus Bolt &amp; Gay. With 62 legal sub 10 marks to his credit (7 under 9.80), we know that Powell is fast. But so far his best in either a major or against Usain Bolt or Tyson Gay was the 9.84 he ran for 3rd in last year\u2019s World Championships. Powell seems to be in fine form this season, its unfortunate that we\u2019re not seeing him against Bolt and Gay \u2013 perhaps not until the end of the season in Brussels \u2013 as it would give him the opportunity to try his form in the true heat of battle. Something that the Diamond League promised but so far isn\u2019t delivering \u2013 lots of big time match ups. <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s 800 showed just how exciting track can be when you get top level athletes together on the track \u2013 as Rudisha and Kaki pushed each other to the edge of the 1:42 barrier. With both Rome and New York on tap within the next seven days hopefully we will get more of this kind of excitement.<\/p>\n<p>Below is the 800 from Bislett<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px\" id=\"scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:3b8d500e-b697-4199-bbde-d9a9bffc07b3\" class=\"wlWriterEditableSmartContent\">\n<div id=\"381a7a2c-fe18-46bb-9425-1e51ab97cccb\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;\">\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kAo-_xG1k94&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;\" target=\"_new\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_q69RXDGKhjE\/TAm4PMpHZfI\/AAAAAAAAACs\/lV4q__F0hG4\/videocf47d12affdc%5B3%5D.jpg?w=960\" style=\"border-style: none\" galleryimg=\"no\" onload=\"var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('381a7a2c-fe18-46bb-9425-1e51ab97cccb'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = &quot;&lt;div&gt;&lt;object width=\\&quot;425\\&quot; height=\\&quot;355\\&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=\\&quot;movie\\&quot; value=\\&quot;http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/kAo-_xG1k94&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;&amp;hl=en\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/param&gt;&lt;embed src=\\&quot;http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/kAo-_xG1k94&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;&amp;hl=en\\&quot; type=\\&quot;application\/x-shockwave-flash\\&quot; width=\\&quot;425\\&quot; height=\\&quot;355\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/embed&gt;&lt;\\\/object&gt;&lt;\\\/div&gt;&quot;;\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oslo is often a distance runners paradise and today was no exception as several fast middle and long distance events stole the spotlight in Oslo. The event that drew the most pre meet interest was the men\u2019s 800 featuring David Rudisha (KEN) and Abubaker Kaki (SUD). The race was a burner from the beginning as the rabbit took the field through a fast 48.97 first lap. Rudisha and Kaki were just off the pace and went by the rabbit down the final backstretch. Both athletes sizzled around the track but Kaki was never able to make a serious challenge to Rudisha as they ran 1-2 on the final lap, well ahead of the rest of the field. The result a world leading 1:42.04 for Rudisha and a new PR of 1:42.23 for Kaki. Both men were under the meet record of 1:42.33 \u2013 a world record at the time it was set by Sebastian Coe back in 1979. Hopefully we will get more of these two competing against each other this year. Both should be able to run under 1:42 this season \u2013 which would give us the first ever season with two men under 1:42. More importantly, they have the potential to run each other close to Wilson Kipketer\u2019s venerable mark of 1:41.11! A standard that has now lasted for over 12 years. Taking to the track right after the 800 men were the 5000 meter runners. Prior to the meet, I expected Eliud Kipchoge to dominate the race, but such was not the case. Instead the group ran like a swarm of bees for most of the race \u2013 no one ever too far out front and no one ever too far back. The result was a finish that saw TEN men run under 13:00! Leading the way was Ethiopian Imane Merga in a new PR of 12:53.62 \u2013 taking down his previous best of 12:55.66. In what looked like the finish of the 400 meters, just off the pace in 3rd was Bernard Lagat in a new American Record of 12:54.12 \u2013 taking down Dathan Ritzenhein\u2019s 12:56.27 from last year! Chris Solinsky just missed that mark as he finished close behind in 6th in 12:56.66 \u2013 making him the #3 all time American. This should be a very exciting race for American\u2019s. Before last year, we only had Bob Kennedy (12:58.21) and Bernard Lagat (12:59.22) under 13:00. Now we\u2019ve added three more in just the last two seasons \u2013 Solinsky, Ritzenhein, and Matt Tegenkamp (12:58.56, last year). With Lagat barely under the mark \u2013 and it being nearly four years since he had broken 13:00 \u2013 and advancing in age, I had left him off my Thirty Watch list, figuring he \u201cshould\u201d be slowing by the \u201811\/\u201912\/\u201913 championship cycle. Looks like I was wrong. Lagat looked as spry and competitive as ever, and given his competitive nature will probably be a factor in Daegu. I also liked the way Solinsky hung with the \u201cbig boys\u201d in this race. Though the one thing I would like to see him add is a bit more speed\/turnover. He\u2019s clearly strong and can hold pace. If he can develop enough speed for a \u201ckick\u201d he may be able to challenge in the final stretch the way Lagat did today. As Lagat showed that even at 35 he can still sprint to the finish with the best of them. Another athlete that showed her competiveness was Chaunte Howard-Lowe. Fresh off her American record earlier this week, she went toe to toe with the current queen of the high jump, Blanka Vlasic. Both women women were flawless up to 6\u2019 7\u201d \u2013 a height Vlasic cleared with no misses and Howard-Lowe cleared after one miss. The one miss gave Vlasic the victory as neither athlete was able to clear 6\u2019 8\u201d. Howard-Lowe was once again consistent at the high heights, and showed that she can compete under pressure. More and more I\u2019m liking her chances in the majors. The Bislett track also once again did its magic in the mile giving us the top NINE times on the season lead with two under 3:50 \u2013 Asbel Kiprop (KEN, 3:49.56) and Mekonnen Gebremedhin (ETH, 3:49.83). The second fast \u201cmiles\u201d by this duo coming off 2nd and 3rd place (and corresponding marks on the yearly list) in the Shanghai 1500. The track also gave us four men under 10.00 in the 100 meters \u2013 albeit slightly wind aided. Asafa Powell JAM, (9.72w) lead Richard Thompson (TRI, 9.90), Churandy Martina (AHO, 9.92) and Michael Frater (JAM, 9.97) in the fastest sprint ever seen in Bislett. Powell lead start to finish in what has become standard for Powell \u2013 minus Bolt &amp; Gay. With 62 legal sub 10 marks to his credit (7 under 9.80), we know that Powell is fast. But so far his best in either a major or against Usain Bolt or Tyson Gay was the 9.84 he ran for 3rd in last year\u2019s World Championships. Powell seems to be in fine form this season, its unfortunate that we\u2019re not seeing him against Bolt and Gay \u2013 perhaps not until the end of the season in Brussels \u2013 as it would give him the opportunity to try his form in the true heat of battle. Something that the Diamond League promised but so far isn\u2019t delivering \u2013 lots of big time match ups. Today\u2019s 800 showed just how exciting track can be when you get top level athletes together on the track \u2013 as Rudisha and Kaki pushed each other to the edge of the 1:42 barrier. With both Rome and New York on tap within the next seven days hopefully we will get more of this kind of excitement. Below is the 800 from Bislett<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-5r","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":550,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=550","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":0},"title":"World Championships Preview \u2013 800 Meters","author":"CHill","date":"August 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The 800 meters will be exciting in Daegu. On the men\u2019s side because of the presence of World Record holder David Rudisha. On the women\u2019s side because the event is potentially wide open.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Men\u2019s 800 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 World Record 1:41.01 David Rudisha KEN Meet Record 1:43.06\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/-QUN-c72DPRo\/TkU02TMeliI\/AAAAAAAAAVI\/Httgizw3AUM\/image_thumb%25255B5%25255D.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=336","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":1},"title":"Oslo, Diamond League Preview","author":"CHill","date":"June 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The third installment of the Diamond League takes to the track tomorrow in Oslo. It will mark the beginning of a nine day period where we\u2019ll get a blitz of three Diamond League events \u2013 Oslo, Rome and New York. Oslo has a rich history of strong distance running and\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=336#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":604,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=604","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":2},"title":"2011 in Review \u2013 Men\u2019s 800 Meters","author":"CHill","date":"November 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Just as in 2010, David Rudisha (KEN) was the story of the 800 in 2011 \u2013 this time carrying the heavy mantle of WR holder. And, just as in 2010, the question on the table was whether or not Abubaker Kaki (SUD) would find a way to upset his rival.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"800\"","block_context":{"text":"800","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=800"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/-F1xdnFThq3U\/TrHhHtrdyLI\/AAAAAAAAAjw\/WvbQ5CE1Wac\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":389,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=389","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":3},"title":"Preview \u2013 Brussels Diamond League","author":"CHill","date":"August 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday will mark the end of the inaugural Diamond League with the Ivo van Damme meeting in Brussels. This meet will mark the second half of the \u201cfinals\u201d that began in Zurich, with the final \u201cDiamonds\u201d being awarded. As in Zurich all the fields are loaded, so the events that\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":978,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=978","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":4},"title":"2012 Outdoor Preview &ndash; Middle Distances","author":"CHill","date":"March 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The middle distance events (800 \/ 1500) should be very interesting this year. There is the potential of a world record, some very competitive women\u2019s events, and the potential for a sweep. Above all, however, I expect them to be very exciting, both during the season as well as in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"1500\"","block_context":{"text":"1500","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=1500"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rudisha","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Rudisha_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":858,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=858","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":5},"title":"Adam Kszczot &ndash; A New 800 Challenger","author":"CHill","date":"February 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week Adam Kszczot (POL) took the indoor world lead in the 800 with a 1:45.44 run in Dusseldorf \u2013 fast enough to prompt me to suggest that we get used to spelling his name. Yesterday he dropped his PR, and the world lead, down to 1:44.57 \u2013 in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"800\"","block_context":{"text":"800","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=800"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.google.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTwnFpBiN5vgmCeSh7Kkl_M4uS47D4NkQrHqFf9Xm2NFpuXoQN3UA","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","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=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}