First attempt success at 6.01 for Steve Hooker in New York (© Victah Sailer)
Olympic Pole Vault gold medallist Steve Hooker started his American tour nicely with a 6.01m clearance, then made three solid attempts at a World Record height of 6.16m at the 102nd running of the Millrose Games in New York on Friday (30) night.
Hooker, vaulting early in the meet order at Madison Square Garden, disposed of Derek Miles with a third-attempt clearance at 5.88m after both vaulters passed at 5.80m. Hooker had no misses until 5.88, but when he put the bar up to 6.01m he cleared easily on his first attempt.
6.01m makes Hooker the fourth-highest vaulter of all time indoors, and he not only set facility and event records but took the American all-comers record, a mark formerly held by the great Sergey Bubka.
Hooker – ‘Definitely an encouraging way to start my season’
Hooker was more interested in his three attempts at 6.16m, though, and definitely excited by the possibilities, particularly considering that he claimed only one full run-up in the weeks before the competition.
"I broke a pole at a short-approach competition in Perth four weeks ago," explained Hooker, and injured himself on the broken pieces as he came down. "I'm fine accelerating and jumping but slowing down really hurts, so I was warming up by rolling in to the pit."
"Having such good jumps at the World Record was surprising. It's the first time I've attempted a World Record. Hopefully there will be more in the coming weeks. I'm not going to get ahead of myself, but definitely it's an encouraging way to start my season. The last jump in particular was really good, if I'd used a bigger pole."
Lagat gets 7th win but Willis almost steals the show
The Wanamaker Mile has long held pride of place at the Millrose Games, and Friday’s was no exception, as World Champion and two-time Olympic medallist Bernard Lagat met 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Nick Willis.
Lagat equalled Millrose legend Eamonn Coghlan, dubbed "Chairman of the Boards" for his mastery of indoor tracks in general and Madison Square Garden's tight corners in particular, with a seventh Wanamaker victory. When Lagat re-took the lead from Willis on the final backstretch, it became clear that Coghlan now has a co-chair.
"It's good to come back again and win," said Lagat, who ran 3:58.44 for the win. "I did not end up well last year because of my injury. This is a race that means a lot to me, and winning now seven like Eamonn means a lot to me."
"I had enough in the tank" when Willis passed with two and a half laps remaining, Lagat explained. "After the pacemaker dropped off, I wanted a reserve in case something like this happened. I had already planned to take advantage of the far turn." The Madison Square Garden 145.5m track requires eleven laps for a mile.
"I went pretty much to plan for the first half," agreed Willis, who defeated Lagat in the Fifth Avenue Mile last fall. "I thought the rabbit would be a little quick, so I hung back. I was supposed to take the lead with 3.5 or 4 laps to go, but I wasn't quite feeling it then, and I waited. Because I waited I had to make a sudden move, and that took too much out of me."
"Hopefully the wider bends outdoors will suit my stride better," Willis added. "Maybe that's why I got him at the 5th Avenue Mile last year: no bends at all."
Nelson leaves it to the last round
After explaining earlier in the week that competition in the shot put starts with the first toss, Adam Nelson and Christian Cantwell left the real competition to the final two attempts. Cantwell, throwing fourth in the five-person order, got out to 20.53m on his fourth and final attempt, breaking a third-round 20.48m tie between himself and 2007 World Champion Reese Hoffa. Nelson, who had languished at 20.18m since the second round, then unleashed a 20.79m put to steal the victory from Cantwell on the last attempt of the evening. "It took a while to get my competition timing down," explained Nelson.
It was Nelson's first competition (and victory) since the birth of his daughter Caroline Grace, and rest has been coming hard. He found time away from Caroline didn't help: "Last night was my worst night of sleep in three weeks," he joked. "It's this city. It never sleeps."
With 4.71m world leader, Stuczynski breaks her ‘Millrose Curse’
Olympic silver medallist Jennifer Stuczynski, tabbed as the challenger to Pole Vault empress Yelena Isinbayeva for several years now, bested a challenge of her own by winning that event in her fourth try. Stuczynski was favored for the win in each of the previous three years here but had finished second, fourth, and second. This time, with a 4.71m clearance, outdoor national record holder Stuczynski bested Stacy Dragila, who cleared 4.61m. It was Dragila's highest clearance since she set the American indoor record of 4.81m in 2004.
With the win in hand, Stuczynski attempted 4.82m, which would have bettered Dragila's record, before taking her bows.
Two for Goucher in women's mile
With her last appearance in New York coming in November's ING New York City Marathon, Kara Goucher stepped a long way down in distance to defend her Millrose mile victory. In the midst of high-mileage training for her Boston Marathon in April, Goucher set out to break the pack at halfway, and "slowly squeeze the pace down," as she explained it afterward. "I kept waiting for the pack to catch me, but they never came." She won by more than four seconds in 4:33.19, a personal best.
Goucher defended the effects of her marathon training, calling her current stride "a shuffle, but it's really all about the turnover."
Goucher will run 18 miles on the Boston Marathon course on Sunday.
Trammell's double foiled
Terrence Trammell got a great start to win the men's 60m hurdles in a world-leading 7.45, with a clear lead at the first barrier and nearly a full stride on the field by the last. He was unable to double back to win the flat 60m, however, finishing second to Michael Rodgers, who powered home in 6.51, also a world leader and personal best for the 2008 World Indoor championships finalist.
Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep won a narrow decision over silver medallist Sally McLellan in the women's 60m Hurdles, 7.95 (another world lead) to 7.96, shading McLellan only in the last stride of the race. Bianca Knight won the flat 60m in 7.23.
Renny Quow of Trinidad won the seldom-run middle distance of 600 yards in 1:11.32, and Monica Hargrove the women's race in 1:19.50. These marks may stand as the world leaders for the rest of the season as further races at this distance are unlikely.
Amy Acuff bested Chaunte Howard in the women's High Jump, clearing 1.92m on her third attempt to win her 5th Millrose title in what she claims will be her last appearance at Madison Square Garden.
"I want to leave [the sport] before I'm really struggling [to compete]," she said. "Now I want to try all the dangerous things I couldn't do because I was training, like snow skiing."
Parker Morse for the IAAF
