(7-3-10) By David Monti, (c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - On a magnificent day of middle distance running at the 36th Prefontaine Classic, Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop of Kenya won the Bowerman Mile, the fastest of 20 men in two races to dip under the four-minute barrier here today. Today's meet was the sixth stop of the 2010 Samsung Diamond League series, and the second and final meeting of the series in the United States.
Before Kiprop won the Bowerman Mile, 20 year-old Ryan Gregson provided a perfect prologue in the "B" heat over the same distance, dubbed by organizers as the "International Mile." Pacemakers Mark Wieczorek of the Oregon Track Club and Rob Novak of the NYAC hit the first quarter in a swift 55.7 seconds, and the halfway in 1:55.3. Gregson, who plans to run the 1500m in the Commonwealth Games in October, was running comfortably in the pack, despite enduring a long trip to Eugene from Australia.
"Actually, in warm-up I didn't feel that great," he said after the race. "Like I said, I had a long haul flight and got in on Monday. Every time I've done that... I've run pretty bad."
But not today. Gregson stayed back when Kenyan Josphat Kithii started a long kick for home on the backstretch of the final lap. Gregson moved steadily into contention around the final two turns, sprinting away from South Africa's Juan van Deventer to run a personal best 3:53.19 and become the fifth-fastest Australian of all time at the distance.
"It's my first time to Pre, and I won," said Gregson bluntly. "I'm not complaining."
A.J. Acosta, who just finished his NCAA career at the University of Oregon, came from fourth to second in the homestretch to set a big personal best of 3:53.76. Van Deventer was third in 3:54.12. Ten of the 11 finishers in this heat --the last being two-time USA 10,000m champion Galen Rupp in 3:57.72-- broke four minutes.
The Bowerman mile was the meet's finale, and the sold-out crowd at Hayward Field were not disappointed. The presence of 6'-5" (196cm) Andrew Wheating in lane 1, the outgoing Oregon senior who won the NCAA 800m and 1500m titles last month, brought the crowd to its feet even before the race started.
"This was just something else," Wheating said of the excitement he felt on the starting line.
Australian Lachlan Renshaw and Kenyan Gideon Gathimba handled the pacemaking duties with aplomb, hitting the first quarter in 55.1 seconds, and the second in 58.5 (1:53.60), slightly slower than in Gregson's heat. Renshaw retired at halfway, and after Gathimba stepped off the track half a lap later, Kiprop was already in the lead, chased by compatriot Daniel Kipchirchir Komen. The impossibly thin 6'-1" (186cm) athlete was confident that the race was his.
"I did my personal best here last year (3:48.50), and currently have the world lead in the mile (3:49.56), so I knew I was strong," he said.
Kiprop "only" needed a 56-second closing quarter to finish in 3:49.75. He slowed down as he approached the tape, looked at the crowd to his right and waved two fingers in their direction.
"I wanted to show a sign of the second time," he said. "This is the second time I win here. I won here last year."
Morocco's Amine Laalou ran made his first-ever mile a memorable one, clocking 3:50.22. Ethiopia's Mekonnen Gebremedhin (3:50.68) and Komen (3:50.70) finished third and fourth, respectively.
But right behind the Africans, Wheating was having the race of his life. He was running in last place on the first lap, and was fourth from last in the 12-man field at half-way. He was saving his energy for the last lap, he said.
"We got to 400 to go and I was, like, I feel great," Wheating told reporters. "A little more, just a little more!" He added: "I got to 200 and I felt like I hadn't woke up yet."
Wheating stormed around the final turn, passing everyone but the front four to stop the clock at 3:51.74, slicing six and one half seconds off of his career best. He then want to the side of the track, tucked his thumbs under the arm openings of his singlet, and thrust the huge Oregon "O" towards the crowd, pointing at his chest. The crowd went wild.
"I just felt comfortable the whole way," said Wheating.
Like in the first heat, ten men went under four minutes, the last being Kenyan Haron Keitany (3:57.07). Bahrain's Yusuf Saad Kamel, the reigning world 1500m champion, was unable to finish the race and was seen limping out of the recovery area.
Sandwiched between the two miles, there were other terrific middle and long distance races. Sudanese sensation Abubaker Kaki won the 1000m race in a USA all-comers record, Sudanese record and world leading mark of 2:13.62. He was followed closely by Kenya's Boaz Lalang (2:14.83) and three-time American 800m champion, Nick Symmonds (2:16.35).
In the women's 800m, Russia's Mariya Savinova beat Maria Mutola's meet record by 1/100th of a second, clocking 1:57.56, another world leader. Nine women broke two minutes.
The women's 5000m was surprisingly fast, considering the windy conditions. Pacemakers Julia Howard and Treniere Moser got the race going with 69 and 70 second laps (14:35 pace), but the pace slackened to about 71 seconds for the middle laps after the pacers left and double Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba took over the lead.
"It was a bit windy," Dibaba said after the race.
Just like in New York on June 12, nobody could catch Dibaba on the final lap which she covered in 62.2 seconds to take the win in a meet record 14:34.07. Behind Dibaba, American Shalane Flanagan came within five seconds of her national record, clocking 14:49.08. It was Flanagan's last race on the track before she begins training for her marathon debut in New York in November.
"I wish today wasn't my last (track) race," she lamented. "I really fell like something special could happen in the perfect conditions. Today made the most of what we had, and it was still a great result. I'm happy."
In all, five women got under 15 minutes. Kenyans Sally Kipyego (14:54.50), Pauline Korikwiang (14:55.27) and Amy Begley (14:56.72) followed Dibaba and Flanagan.
In the men's 5-K, Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia ran the first-ever sub-13:00 on American soil (12:58.93), outsprinting compatriots Dejen Gebremeskel (12:59.30) and Imane Merga (13:00.18) in the final dash for the line. The younger brother of the double Olympic champion from Beijing, Kenenisa Bekele, was clearly satisfied with his race, which he topped with a sub-55 second final lap.
"I'm so happy today," said Bekele. "I run three times (here) before, but this is my first winning today so I'm very happy."
In the women's 3000m steeplechase Kenya's Milcah Chemos Cheywa pulled away from Spain's Marta DomÃnguez when the Spaniard stumbled coming out of the final water jump. Chemos ran a meet record 9:26.70 to DomÃnguez's 9:29.61.
Action in the Samsung Diamond League continues in Lausanne, Switzerland, next Thursday with the Athletissima meeting.
