CITIUS MAG Newsletter: MONACO PRODUCES WORLD RECORDS, FAST TIMES AS USUAL
For just a few hours, the track and field world felt normal as the Monaco Diamond League gave us some amazing performances to break down.
Donavan Brazier wears a mask and so should you.
The CITIUS MAG Newsletter is coming to you a little late this week because I’m in Colorado and still recovering from getting my butt handed to me on easy runs.
Without further ado, let’s nerd out.
Monaco Diamond League Recap
– The meet opened with Spain’s Orlando Ortega winning the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.11. Grant Holloway finished back in 4th in 13.19.
– In the men’s pole vault, Sam Kendricks was unable to compete because his poles never arrived in Monaco. You hate to see that.
– Donavan Brazier clocked a 1:43.15 to win the 800m. No real shocker there. Made it look easy as always. However, a really strong race from Bryce Hoppel to PR in 1:43.23 and finished second. He moved ahead of Boris Berian for No. 7 on the U.S. all-time list.
– In the women’s 5,000 meters, Hellen Obiri won in 14:22.12 but made the deciding move by making a pass on the inside. Never (!) let anyone pass you on the insider. My coach would have scolded me for that.
– Karsten Warholm is crushing. He won the 400m hurdles in 47.10. His PR is 46.92. This is his second-fastest performance. Kevin Young still holds the world record of 46.78 from 1992.
– Timothy Cheruiyot ran 3:28.45 to hold off Jakob Ingebritsen, who ran 3:28.68 for a new European record in second place. In other results, Jake Wightman dipped under 3:30. Yomif Kejelcha ran 3:32.69 in his first track race of the year. Craig Engels finished back in 11th in 3:35.42 for the U.S.
– Feels like I’m burying the lede here but I’m kind of going chronologically. MY GOODNESS JOSHUA CHEPTEGEI. Ran 12:35.36 to break Kenenisa Bekele’s 5,000m world record of 12:37.35 which stood since 2004.
Here’s the best part about it…
– In the men’s 200 meters, Noah Lyles raised his fist with a black glove before the start of the race. He kind of teased the move by tweeting a photo of John Carlos and Tommie Smith earlier in the day.
Lyles won the race in 19.76. It gets even cooler when his brother Josephus finished second in 20.30.
‘We cannot, at this point, have fall NCAA championships’
On Thursday, the NCAA announced its decision to cancel all of the Division I national championships. NCAA president Mark Emmert left the door open to the possibility that fall sports championships could take place in the spring. Not sure how that would work with outdoor track and field and cross country overlapping unless you do a shortened season for both?
On the note of eligibility issues that could arise from the canceled fall championships, he said if competition takes place then student-athletes must be given a chance to opt out of the season due to COVID-19 while also remaining on scholarship. The Division I Council also hit the NCAA Division I Board of Directors asking to push for the fact that if an athlete does play in the fall but participates in 50% or less of the competition, they should get an extra season of eligibility.
The Ryan Hall Film Is Now Streaming
If you’re looking for something to watch this weekend: My friend, Tim Jeffreys, has finally released his film “The 41st Day” – a portrait and look into the life and career of American marathoner Ryan Hall as he prepares for the 2012 London Olympic Marathon – on iTunes and Amazon. Leading up to the London Olympics, Hall was America’s shining star on the roads. He finished 10th at the Beijing Olympics, ran an American record in the half marathon, clocked some of the fastest times by an American and won the 2012 trials. Many track fans are familiar with what happens next...Hall gets injured, DNFs London and then is never the same ever again. This gives you an all-access look at that journey through his retirement in 2016.
The film took a long time to make. I’ve been friends with Tim since 2013 and I remember how hard and frustrating at times it was to see this project go over budget and appear to have no end in sight since Hall’s comeback just never came around. On the Runners of NYC podcast, we spoke about the creative process and how this was a major weight lifted off his shoulder when he started doing screenings in Fall 2019.
One thing you might find funny as you’re watching is the fact that Abdi Abirdahman makes a few cameos. To think that he was on the 2012 Olympic team and next year will make history as the oldest American distance runner to compete at the Olympics is kind of wild. He will turn 44 on Jan. 1.
Quick Hits
– World champion steeplechaser Conseslus Kipruto was unable to compete at the Monaco Diamond League after testing positive for COVID-19
– Elle Purrier clocked a 4:00.77 in a 1,500 meter time trial in Wellesley, Mass. At the same meet, Heather MacLean got down to 2:00.29 for the 800 meters. Both would be personal bests but the time trial was not USATF certified as an official meet.
– Russia paid up its $5 million fine and $1.3 million in costs to World Athletics to avoid getting expelled.
– Back in March, I remember when Wesleyan track and cross country alumni published long accounts about being body shamed and dealing with eating disorders while working with coach John Crooke. This week, The New York Times confirmed that Crooke retired last week. He did not respond to any request for comment to the Times. He was previously placed on leave and an investigation was launched by the university. The interesting part was that students didn’t ask for Crooke to be fired in the conclusion of its accounts. They called for recommendations to change the culture of the program and it appeared that he was set to coach the upcoming season (if there was one) up until recently.
– Jordan Hasay, who finished 26th in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, told Runner’s World that she plans on running the Valencia Marathon in Spain and is currently running 98 miles per week. The race is scheduled for Dec. 6. We’ll see if that race even happens. Spain lifted its nationwide state of emergency on June 21. It was one of the places hit worst by the virus with more than 28,400 people dead, according to the official count that might be understated. Spain is currently dealing with a resurgence in outbreaks due to rising cases among its younger population.
– For what it's worth, the Frankfurt (Oct. 25) and Paris Marathon (Nov. 15) fall races have been canceled due to the pandemic.
– Sondre Nordstad Moen ran 21,131 meters on a track in Kristiansand to set a new European record in the one-hour run, which will likely be broken by Mo Farah when he attempts this in Brussels on Sept. 4. (Moen hit the half marathon mark in 59:54, which is also wildly impressive) Haile Gebrselassie’s world record got a scare but still stands at 21,285 meters. There was a bit of talk about Moen’s choice of running with VaporFlys. A few days later, World Athletics published a list of approved competition shoes.
– The On Athletics Club in Boulder announced the rest of its roster including Geordie Beamis, Carlos Villarreal, Alicia Monson, Lea Falland (née O’Connor), Emily Oren and Alicja Konoeczek.
Podcast Palooza
“I’m cool. I’m chill but when I get on the track, there’s something about me where I don’t care what your name is. I don’t care what your PR is. I’m about to get out these blocks and you’re either going to catch me or I’m gone. That’s just always been me. I grew up being the smallest guy. I’ve never been that big name person growing up. Any opportunity I get to compete, I’m going to represent for the little people. Real talk. I’ve always had the odds against me because of my deficiencies. Me not being the tallest guy, everyone always counted me out. Once I step on the track, I have to give it my all…”
Trayvon Bromell is the 2015 World Championship 100 meter bronze medalist, the 2016 world indoor champion in the 60 meters and was a 100-meter finalist at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. However, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster for him as he’s battled Achilles injuries and setbacks with a bone spur in the past three years. In this episode, I told him straight up that I thought he was done. Then, last month, he popped a 9.90 in a small meet in Florida. In early August, he ran a wind-aided 9.87. It looks like the comeback is real. In this episode, we address everything that’s taken place since he came up as a high school star, losing some years in his 20s due to injury and why this has been a long road not only to success but out of poverty.
Support for this episode comes from GOODR SUNGLASSES – I’ve been rocking Goodr sunglasses throughout the past couple of months and they’re the best. No slip. No bounce. No fog. Polarized. Ridiculously affordable starting at $25 a pair. No discounts needed when they’re already the most affordable performance shades on the planet. | Visit GOODR.COM/CITIUS to check out some of my favorite pairs.
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If you made it this far down into this email, let me know what you thought of this edition of the newsletter. Did you learn something new? Enjoyed an episode of the podcast? Got something you want me to share? Feel free to hit me back: chris@citiusmag.com or just say hi!
As always, I’m super appreciative if you forward this newsletter to any friend who you think would also enjoy getting to geek out on the sport.
Cheers,
Chris Chavez