{"id":586,"date":"2011-09-25T08:47:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-25T15:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=586"},"modified":"2011-12-29T09:10:36","modified_gmt":"2011-12-29T17:10:36","slug":"american-women-leading-the-way-to-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=586","title":{"rendered":"American Women Leading the Way to London"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we close to door on the 2011season all was not bleak for the U.S. on the track. While our men had their difficulties and many lament that the rest of the world has \u201ccaught up\u201d to us; the distaff side of things did remarkably well.<\/p>\n

From the 100 through the 1500, including the relay and hurdle events \u2013 U.S. women were on or very near the podium. In some cases \u201ccatching up\u201d to the rest of the world!<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a>Following the Beijing Games, many were ready to concede sprint supremacy and dominance to Jamaica. After a Jamaican sweep of the 100, another 200 win by Valerie Campbell Brown over Felix, Shericka Williams (2nd<\/sup>) finished one spot better in the 400 than Sanya Richards (3rd<\/sup>), and our women dropped the baton in the 4×1 \u2013 things couldn\u2019t have gone much worse for our women sprinters. And that was good compared to the licking out women took in events longer than 400 meters, where the only bright spot was a bronze by Shalane Flanagan in the 10,000. We didn\u2019t even have finalists in most events as Shannon Rowbury (8th<\/sup> in the 1500) Dawn Harper (1st<\/sup> 100H) and Sheena Tosta (2nd<\/sup>400H) the only other women able to make a final on the track.<\/p>\n

We closed that gap in Berlin, however, as Carmelita Jeter (3rd<\/sup> in the 100), Allyson Felix (1st<\/sup> in the 200), and Sanya Richards (1st<\/sup>in the 400) brought home sprint medals. And in the 1500 we place three women in the final as Rowbury moved up to bronze. We did drop that stick in the 4×1 again, and continued to have problems in the 800.<\/p>\n

Daegu completed the transformation, as American women were solid from the 100 through the 1500 with Carmelita Jeter winning the 100 and taking silver in the 200; Allyson Felix taking silver in the 400 and bronze in the 200; two finalists in the 800 with Montano centimeters from a medal; and in spite of our favored runner getting tripped in the 1500 we STILL came through with gold! Throw in gold in the 400 hurdles, silver and bronze in the 100 hurdles and a dominating sweep of both relays, and I would say that our women are in prime position as we head into the Olympic season, because in addition to the medalists form Daegu, we had outstanding depth over the course of the season.<\/p>\n

In the sprints, Marshevet Myers (10.86), Alex Anderson (11.01), Shalnoda Solomon (11.08\/22.15), Jeneba Tarmoh (22.28), and Bianca Knight (22.35) all stepped up their games in 2011. So did quarter milers Francena McCorory (50.24) and Jessica Beard (51.10) \u2013 McCorory finishing just off the podium in Daegu and both contributing legs to the gold medal 4×4 squad. \"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Similarly we\u2019ve built great depth in the middle distances. In the 800 we had eight women under 2:00 lead by Alysia Montano (1:57.48), Morgan Uceny (1:58.37), Maggie Vessey (1:58.50) and Alice Schmidt (1:58.61). Uceny lead the world over 1500 at 4:00.06, with Jenny Simpson (4:03.54), Christin Wurth Thomas (4:03.72), and Worlds semifinalist Shannon Rowbury (4:05.73) all among the world\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

In the short hurdles, we had the world\u2019s three best hurdlers not named Sally Pearson in Danielle Carruthers (12.47), Dawn Harper (12.47) and Kellie Wells (12.50). We could use a bit of work behind World Champion Lashinda Demus, but there is potential in Queen Harrison (54.78), jasmine Chaney (55.22), Turquois Thompson (55.53) and Ti\u2019erra Brown (55.59), all of whom seemed to be a season away in 2011 \u2013 and wouldn\u2019t 2012 be the season to shine.<\/p>\n

So on the heels of what was a subpar Beijing, our women have rebounded nicely, gaining ground on the rest of the world, leading the way in Daegu, and providing a great base rounding the corner towards London. Similar improvements in 2012 from our men on the track and thirty medals in London would certainly be within reach.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s to the women of 2011 who often don\u2019t get the recognition that their male counterparts get, but who carried the load for the U.S. this year. They\u2019ve rebounded well, and are leading the way into the Olympic season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we close to door on the 2011season all was not bleak for the U.S. on the track. While our men had their difficulties and many lament that the rest of the world has \u201ccaught up\u201d to us; the distaff side of things did remarkably well. From the 100 through the 1500, including the relay and hurdle events \u2013 U.S. women were on or very near the podium. In some cases \u201ccatching up\u201d to the rest of the world! Following the Beijing Games, many were ready to concede sprint supremacy and dominance to Jamaica. After a Jamaican sweep of the 100, another 200 win by Valerie Campbell Brown over Felix, Shericka Williams (2nd) finished one spot better in the 400 than Sanya Richards (3rd), and our women dropped the baton in the 4×1 \u2013 things couldn\u2019t have gone much worse for our women sprinters. And that was good compared to the licking out women took in events longer than 400 meters, where the only bright spot was a bronze by Shalane Flanagan in the 10,000. We didn\u2019t even have finalists in most events as Shannon Rowbury (8th in the 1500) Dawn Harper (1st 100H) and Sheena Tosta (2nd400H) the only other women able to make a final on the track. We closed that gap in Berlin, however, as Carmelita Jeter (3rd in the 100), Allyson Felix (1st in the 200), and Sanya Richards (1stin the 400) brought home sprint medals. And in the 1500 we place three women in the final as Rowbury moved up to bronze. We did drop that stick in the 4×1 again, and continued to have problems in the 800. Daegu completed the transformation, as American women were solid from the 100 through the 1500 with Carmelita Jeter winning the 100 and taking silver in the 200; Allyson Felix taking silver in the 400 and bronze in the 200; two finalists in the 800 with Montano centimeters from a medal; and in spite of our favored runner getting tripped in the 1500 we STILL came through with gold! Throw in gold in the 400 hurdles, silver and bronze in the 100 hurdles and a dominating sweep of both relays, and I would say that our women are in prime position as we head into the Olympic season, because in addition to the medalists form Daegu, we had outstanding depth over the course of the season. In the sprints, Marshevet Myers (10.86), Alex Anderson (11.01), Shalnoda Solomon (11.08\/22.15), Jeneba Tarmoh (22.28), and Bianca Knight (22.35) all stepped up their games in 2011. So did quarter milers Francena McCorory (50.24) and Jessica Beard (51.10) \u2013 McCorory finishing just off the podium in Daegu and both contributing legs to the gold medal 4×4 squad. Similarly we\u2019ve built great depth in the middle distances. In the 800 we had eight women under 2:00 lead by Alysia Montano (1:57.48), Morgan Uceny (1:58.37), Maggie Vessey (1:58.50) and Alice Schmidt (1:58.61). Uceny lead the world over 1500 at 4:00.06, with Jenny Simpson (4:03.54), Christin Wurth Thomas (4:03.72), and Worlds semifinalist Shannon Rowbury (4:05.73) all among the world\u2019s best. In the short hurdles, we had the world\u2019s three best hurdlers not named Sally Pearson in Danielle Carruthers (12.47), Dawn Harper (12.47) and Kellie Wells (12.50). We could use a bit of work behind World Champion Lashinda Demus, but there is potential in Queen Harrison (54.78), jasmine Chaney (55.22), Turquois Thompson (55.53) and Ti\u2019erra Brown (55.59), all of whom seemed to be a season away in 2011 \u2013 and wouldn\u2019t 2012 be the season to shine. So on the heels of what was a subpar Beijing, our women have rebounded nicely, gaining ground on the rest of the world, leading the way in Daegu, and providing a great base rounding the corner towards London. Similar improvements in 2012 from our men on the track and thirty medals in London would certainly be within reach. So here\u2019s to the women of 2011 who often don\u2019t get the recognition that their male counterparts get, but who carried the load for the U.S. this year. They\u2019ve rebounded well, and are leading the way into the Olympic season.<\/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":[140,52,106,12,108,141,139,145,143,115,54,18,142,144],"class_list":["post-586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anderson","tag-beard","tag-felix","tag-jeter","tag-mc-corory","tag-montano","tag-myers","tag-rowbury","tag-simpson","tag-solomon","tag-tarmoh","tag-uceny","tag-vessey","tag-wurth-thomas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-9s","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":573,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=573","url_meta":{"origin":586,"position":0},"title":"Daegu 2011 \u2013 General Comments and Awards","author":"CHill","date":"September 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"That was an interesting nine days of track and field. The results are well known at this point, as they\u2019ve been reported by everyone all over the globe \u2013 including here. What I want to take a look at over the next several days, or more, are my interpretations of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/-_8SzM5fsG88\/TmTt5M78-gI\/AAAAAAAAAdI\/mONm_qfpTug\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":203,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=203","url_meta":{"origin":586,"position":1},"title":"Berlin Match Ups – Women’s 200","author":"CHill","date":"July 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"In track and field the 100 is typically the showcase sprint at almost every meet. In Berlin, the women's 200 has the potential to upstage the 100 as two of the world's best sprinters happen to be competing in this event - Allyson Felix (US) and Veronica Campbell Brown (JAM).\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Olympics Day 13 - Athletics","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/4\/4\/c\/9\/Olympics_Day_13_95ef.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":494,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=494","url_meta":{"origin":586,"position":2},"title":"Will The U.S. Sprint Picture Be Clearer After Pre","author":"CHill","date":"June 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Identifying America\u2019s top sprinters used to be pretty easy. In spite of our depth, there were always two or three men and women that stepped up to stand above the rest. Jim Hines, Charlie Greene, Wilma Rudolph, Steve Williams, Harvey Glance, Evelyn Ashford, Gail Devers, Carl Lewis, Calvin Smith, Chandra\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=494#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh4.ggpht.com\/-pIjhRaEZT2A\/Tek1SppMbGI\/AAAAAAAAAMg\/U8ruhEWZ0As\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":570,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=570","url_meta":{"origin":586,"position":3},"title":"Worlds Day Seven \u2013 The Field Stars","author":"CHill","date":"September 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"There were a couple of great races on the track but the real action took place on the field today. In the women\u2019s javelin, Maria Abakumova (RUS) heaved a tremendous 71.25m\/233\u2019 9\u201d in the 2nd round to take a stranglehold on the competition. The mark took over the yearly lead,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Abakumova\"","block_context":{"text":"Abakumova","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=abakumova"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/-jOLs1xauoJY\/TmDj0b4NpGI\/AAAAAAAAAbU\/nVslX-Vg4ac\/image_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":529,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=529","url_meta":{"origin":586,"position":4},"title":"Allyson Felix – Double Trouble","author":"CHill","date":"July 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year Allyson Felix was undefeated \u2013 in two events! She won the Diamond League series in both the 200 and 400 meters \u2013 setting herself up for a potential run at a double in 2011. Since the end of 2010 the most oft question asked of Ms. Felix has\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh6.ggpht.com\/-DqajUnjqFyU\/ThxhdTCEy8I\/AAAAAAAAARY\/vMVoSeRqfkw\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":568,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=568","url_meta":{"origin":586,"position":5},"title":"World Championships \u2013 Intermission","author":"CHill","date":"August 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow. We\u2019re already half way through the World Championships, and so far we\u2019ve had a bit of everything. Some controversy; exciting competitions; and lots of young people stepping up! I know that the controversies are dominating most conversations \u2013 the Bolt & Robles DQ\u2019s \u2013 but to me the most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"World Championships\"","block_context":{"text":"World Championships","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=world-championships"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/-KAO4v8SUA9w\/Tl46wNXYSUI\/AAAAAAAAAac\/PaY9FoP0ap8\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586","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=586"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":701,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586\/revisions\/701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}