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<\/a> <\/p>\nI\u2019ve watched the rise of Uceny over the past few seasons and she has become one of my favorite \u201cmilers\u201d of all time. Her runs this year have been impressive, not just because she has been winning but for the way she has run. She\u2019s become the most race savvy middle distance runner of all the Americans \u2013 and one of the best in the world. The final 800 of her 1500 has become almost surgically precise. As she works her way into position over the third lap, then attacks with purpose in the final stages. She faces tough opposition in the 1500, but she is capable of getting on the podium \u2013 even of winning. I\u2019ll be rooting every step of the way. <\/p>\n
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Christian Taylor \u2013 Triple Jump<\/h4>\n
Decathlon champions are usually given the title of \u201cWorld\u2019s Greatest Athlete\u201d but if a poll were being taken I would have to cast a vote for Christian Taylor. This young man can do it all. He\u2019s run 45.34 in the 400 and 20.76 in the 200, running them only on rare occasions. He\u2019s split sub 45 in the 4×4 and run the backstretch on a 38.53 4×1 \u2013 he\u2019s good enough that he could be used in either event in Daegu if the need arose! All that and he\u2019s a JUMPER! Good enough to be a 26\u2019 10.5\u201d long jumper and a 58\u2019 0.25\u201d triple jumper. And it\u2019s the triple jump where he\u2019ll be competing in Daegu. This kid is a competitor \u2013 whatever event he\u2019s in he finds a way to be in contention to win. If our national teams were loaded with his kind of competitive heart, we\u2019d be talking about winning 40 medals instead of struggling to get to 25. He\u2019ll be a rookie at Worlds, but I don\u2019t think that will matter to him \u2013 somehow, someway he will be near that podium. <\/p>\n
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Walter Dix \u2013 100 & 200 meters<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not too long ago, in the middle of the last decade, Gatlin had all the respect in the world. Then there was a positive test in \u201806. That\u2019s all it took to send the Olympic & World Champion away from the sport for four long years. He returns to a sport that has advanced during his absence. He is no longer the defending Olympic and World Champion \u2013 that honor belongs to Usain Bolt. The 100 record he once set has long been erased and dropped nearly two tenths of a second \u2013 huge in such a short race. And the accolades and respect he once had now belong to others he once dominated \u2013 specifically Bolt and Tyson Gay. But Gatlin hasn\u2019t returned crying. He has returned determined to show that he didn\u2019t need anything but hard work to be an elite sprinter. He has returned to make yet another World Championships team \u2013 and now is attempting to return to the podium. Whether you believed he doped or not, one has to admire the perseverance of the man. He waited four years to prove himself once again on the big stage and I wish him luck in Daegu. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you think of distance events you think of Africans, because after all, runners from the continent of Africa have dominated everything above one lap since the 1990\u2019s. Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco, these nations and others are routinely atop the podium at major inter <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Patterson had a great year last year. She set a new AR in the Javelin at 218\u2019 8.75\u201d (66.67m); was routinely over 60 meters; and was often in the top 3 in DL meets (including a win at Pre). This year has been different, as this year she has only had one meet over 60 meters and her highest finish in a major meet was her 5th in London. But I\u2019m happy with that 5th in London, because it was the last meet before Worlds and Kara said at the end of last year that she peaked too early; that she was tired late season; and that she was going to time this year to peak in Daegu! And I believe her. I believe that she knows what she\u2019s doing and that we will see her best in Daegu. I also thing that her best means a potential top three finish at Worlds. So I\u2019m rooting for one of the few female field event stars that we have. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a>If Rodney Dangerfield ran track he\u2019d be Walter Dix, because Walter gets no respect. Yet, like Christian Taylor, he just always finds a way to get up on that podium. He stayed all four years in college, and was on the podium every year \u2013 mostly on top! He qualified for our World team in \u201807 but chose not to go and attended summer school instead. He then made the Olympic team and won double bronze in Beijing. Injury kept him out of Berlin, but he\u2019s been national champion in \u201810 & \u201811. Yet when you talk about who has a shot to win the 100 or 200 in Daegu his name rarely surfaces! In the 100 meter poll I ran last month he didn\u2019t get a single vote \u2013 yet even newbies Makusha & Lemaitre got votes! He\u2019s as tough a competitor as Tyson Gay, and with PR\u2019s of 9.88 & 19.69 is among the best in the world. Yet no one says he ever has a chance. Well I think he has a chance \u2013 a chance to go home with two more individual medals. And I\u2019m saying so today before that bandwagon starts loading up with people saying, \u201cI knew he could do it\u201d. <\/p>\nJustin Gatlin \u2013 100 meters<\/h4>\n
Shalane Flanagan \u2013 10,000 meters<\/h4>\n
<\/a>national competitions. Occasionally, however, a runner comes along that believes he\/she can work hard and compete against those that seemingly are unbeatable. On the women\u2019s side, Paula Radcliff and Gabriella Szabo come to mind \u2013 and now Shalane Flanagan. In an event dominated by athletes from Africa (10,000 meters), Shalane sits at #2 on the yearly list \u2013 ahead of athletes the stature of Mesert Defar (ETH) and Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN). Flanagan garnered the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing. In Berlin, however, she was only 14th. Flanagan is once again among the truly elite, and I am rooting for her to return to the podium \u2013 possibly with an upgrade! <\/p>\nKara Patterson \u2013 Javelin<\/h4>\n
U.S. Men\u2019s 4×1 Squad<\/h4>\n