Becky Breisch of Nebraska won the women's Discus 60.71m (© Kirby Lee)
With most of the running events involved in preliminaries, the throws and jumps produced several good early season performances on the third day of the 79th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at the University of Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Vikas Gowda of the University of North Carolina won the men’s Discus Throw with 61.76 and had three other throws past 60m, and Fabrice Lapierre, the indoor and outdoor NCAA champion, won the men’s Long Jump with 7.95m (+2.1).
Becky Breisch of the University of Nebraska won the women’s Discus Throw with a throw of 60.71m, and there were good wind-legal long jumps by Brenda Faluade (6.43m) and Brandi Stanfield (6.36m).
In the sprint and hurdles prelims, the University of Texas women’s team, which four weeks ago won the NCAA indoor championship, showed the way. Hurdler Melaine Walker had the fastest qualifying times in both her events. She led the 400m Hurdles, her best event, in 56.73, and the 100m Hurdles in a PB 13.19 (+0.6). Texas also turned in the fastest qualifier in the women’s 4x100 metres, 43.40.
In the late evening, two steeplechases produced good results. Trina Cox of Abilene Christian University won the women’s 3000m chase easily in 10:10.93 (a meet record, but then it has been on the programme for seven years) – and her teammate, Nicodemus Naimadu, won the men’s race in 8:35.87.
Naimadu’s hurdle clearing style is unique: he leads with his right leg and instead of hurdling as we know it here on earth he draws his trail leg up in a tuck, going over the barrier erect, with no body lean. He also takes the water jump in the hydrophobic style pioneered by Amos Biwott in 1968: Naimadu went through the entire race without picking up a drop of water.
James Dunaway for the IAAF
