Anwar Moore at the 66nd Modesto Relays (© Kirby Lee)
Hurdlers and throwers ruled the day at the 66nd Modesto Relays (5 May), as spring winds and warm (26C) temperatures in this central California agricultural community benefited athletes in those disciplines.
Early in the programme, Anwar Moore sped down the track in the men’s 110 Hurdles and posted a PB 13.12, being nudged along by a 1.9 wind as he held off Ryan Wilson at 13.17. Moore’s performance was the year’s best, clipping the 13.14 run only hours before by Liu Xiang at the Osaka Grand Prix meeting.
His previous personal best had been 13.23, which came two years ago on this same Modesto track, and Moore was quick to profess his fondness for the locale. “I love it here,” he exclaimed. “Every time I come here I run a PB. This is a hard, fast track—the best kind for me.”
The 2005 contest was a prelude to the 28-year-old Moore’s first international season, but 2006 had been curtailed by injury. “Now, I’m injury-free,” he proclaimed, adding that “my training is better now than ever before.” Moore didn’t point to any single factor which led to his superb performance today. “I got out as well as I wanted to. I ran hard, and it just came.”
Running in third with a season’s best 13.38 was Larry Wade, the 2003 Paris World Champs fourth placer, who has returned to action this year after being totally inactive since the midway through the 2004 season.
Kirkland just prevails over Adams
Moments before Moore’s accomplishment, the former indoor and outdoor World champion Anjanette Kirkland had held off Jenny Adams for a close victory in the women’s 100 Hurdles - 12.85 to 12.87. Like Moore, the 33-year-old Kirkland was marking a return to the track after injury had forced her out of action last July. “After my race last week in Dakar [13.13w], I was happy to run a legal time,” she said of her second competition of the season.
In third place, Athens Olympic 400m Hurdles finalist Sheena Johnson clocked a 12.94, her fastest time in the short hurdles since 2004.
Wind assistance
Over the years, the legendary Modesto winds have helped write much of the meeting’s history in the Discus Throw, and both the men’s and women’s events today were a case in point.
Jarred Rome, who had opted for the shot put in Modesto last year and had placed second with a near-PB, continued his hot year in the men’s Discus Throw with a 67.05 win. Only three weeks ago in Hawaii, the Helsinki World championships seventh placer had improved his PB to 68.37.
But the day’s most consistent series belonged to runner-up Ian Waltz. With a best of 66.54, the 30-year-old Waltz - the fifth placer in Helsinki - put together a collection of five throws at 64.25 or better.
The women’s Discus Throw went to Modesto native Suzy Powell, this year’s current world leader, who eked out a narrow win over Becky Breisch, 65.17 to 64.95. Powell, who set a North American record of 67.67 three weeks ago, had two other throws over 64 metres.
Cantwell takes centre stage victory over Taylor
Meet director Gregg Miller had decided it was time this year to move the men’s Shot Put from its almost hidden position in a corner of the infield to a prominent spot in the middle of the field. The new wooden circle constructed for today’s meeting met with the approval of winner Christian Cantwell, at 21.30, as well as Dan Taylor, whose late-round 21.17 came tantalizingly close to an upset of Cantwell.
“It was a fast, slippery ring, the kind I like,” noted Cantwell. “The wind was pushing me around a bit and messing up my rhythm. You ordinarily don’t think the wind is a factor in the shot, and of course it has no real effect after we let go. But our motion in the ring can definitely be altered by the wind.”
He continued, “I’m at the end of a long cycle of training right now, and I’m not as sharp as I might have been.”
The women’s Shot Put went to Liz Wanless in a tight contest with Kristen Heaston, 18.25 to 18.23.
Low height success for Stevenson
In past years, the Men’s Pole Vault has proven to be a headline event, and with today’s strong winds moving generally in the direction of the vaulters’ approach, it was surprising that only 5.50 was the best that anyone could leap.
Still, it was a fourth consecutive victory for Toby Stevenson, who has been the audience favourite ever since his six-metre leap in 2004 during a march to the Olympic silver medal later that year. Finishing second at the same height behind Stevenson was Modesto’s “ständiger Gast”, last year’s European silver medallist Tim Lobinger of Germany. Also joining in the party at 5.50 were former World Indoor silver medallist Tye Harvey and Derek Miles, who tied for third.
Gao 4.55m…Dragila back
The women’s Pole Vault was claimed by China’s Gao Shuying at 4.50, as a would-be Asian record 4.56 barely eluded her on her final attempt at that height. The 27-year-old Shanghai resident, who has been competing internationally since age 16, has been training in the US this spring at the US Olympic Training Center near San Diego.
Though finishing far back at 4.10, a pioneer of women’s pole vaulting, Stacy Dragila, made a return to Modesto after an absence of four years and following a period of rehabilitation after Achilles surgery last summer. The winner of the first two World championships in the event in 1999 and 2001, as well as the initial women’s pole vault Olympic gold medal in 2000, Dragila was upbeat about her condition and her outlook for the season.
“Well, at least my legs didn’t hurt,” she admitted. “It would have been an ‘OK’ day if I had had more training,” she added, citing the late-winter weather in her home base of Pocatello, Idaho.
“I had really turned up my training during the winter, but then I had lots of problems and I was fighting pain. I had to go to the Olympic Center in San Diego for rehab,” explained the 36-year-old Northern California native. “And I recently developed a problem in my left calf to go along with everything else.”
“I really don’t think my age is a factor. I’m otherwise in really good health. If I could finish in the top five in the world this year, I would be happy.”
Since the Helsinki World Championships in August 2005, Dragila had not competed in a Pole Vault event until last weekend, when she jumped 4.30 at a meeting in Provo, Utah.
Madison and Phillips victorious… Robinson for the fifth consecutive time
A pair of reigning World champions came away with wins in the Long Jump events.
Tianna Madison won the women’s contest with 6.60 over the 6.49 of Bahamian Jackie Edwards. Dwight Phillips, also the current men’s Olympic champion, used a wind-aided 8.28 to win over Tony Allmond (8.15w) and Brian Johnson (8.08w). Midway through the competition, Phillips found a relatively calm moment to post a wind-legal 8.20, which also would have stood up as the day’s winner.
The women’s 800m today was a strong statement from Alice Schmidt, who led the wind-buffeted unpaced contest virtually from start to finish and won with 2:02.77 in her season debut in the two-lap race.
Opening with a 61.6, the 25-year-old pulled ahead strongly on the final backstretch and negative-split a 61.2 for the final 400. Australia’s Madeline Pape continued her US tour with a distant second-place finish in 2:05.45.
The men’s 800m went, for the fifth straight year, to Khadevis Robinson. With a time of 1:48.61, the 30-year-old had to work hard to hold off a resolute final kick of Gabe Jennings, who was second in 1:49.06.
10.13 dash for former World Junior champion
Standing out among the remaining events of the day was the 10.13 PB win by Ivory Williams in the men’s 100m. Williams, the 2004 World Junior Champion in the event, had waited five long years for an improvement on his previous PB of 10.27 which came during his final year of high school. His 10.12w two weeks ago at the Kansas Relays was a harbinger of his Modesto result.
Ed Gordon for the IAAF
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