Week in Review: Throwers launch big weekend
Ceh and Kassanavoid make their mark on all-time lists
Saturday was a good day for athletes throwing implements far distances.
Just ask Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia and Janee Kassanavoid of the U.S.
Ceh moved to 10th on the all-time world performer list in the men’s discus throw in a meet in Birmingham, England, and Kassanavoid vaulted to sixth on the all-time list in the women’s hammer throw in a competition in Tucson, Arizona, later in the day.
Ceh, 23, entered the Diamond League meet at Alexander Stadium with a personal best of 70.35 meters (230 feet 9 inches) and topped that mark by nearly a meter when he threw 71.27 (233-10) on the third of his six throws. His second-best throw of 69.33 (227-5) was the second-longest toss in the world this year, and his third- and fourth-best efforts of 69.10 (226-8) and 66.70 (218-10) were farther than the best mark of 66.40 (217-10) of runner-up Andrius Gudzius of Lithuania, the 2017 World champion.
“Well, that was totally unexpected,” Ceh said in story posted on the World Athletics site. “To get a world lead, national record, meeting record and Diamond League record is amazing. To get a PB was my first goal of the season, so now I need to raise the bar of my goals.”
The website kristjanceh.com describes Ceh as “a simple and down to earth person originating from a hard working family of farmers. Because of his height of 206cm he is hard to miss anywhere he goes, just like his presence leaves a positive impression in anyone he encounters.”
For those wondering, 206 centimeters converts to 6 feet 9 inches.
While the world’s elite discus throwers are expected to meet numerous times this season, including in the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July, Ceh’s victory on Saturday should boost his confidence as it came against a field that included the top four finishers from the Olympic Games, as well as the thrower who placed sixth.
Daniel Stahl of Sweden, the defending Olympic and World champion, placed third at 65.97 (216-5), and Olympic bronze medalist Lukas WeiBhaidinger of Austria finished fourth at 65.14 (213-8).
Kassanavoid, whose Instagram handle is @naethrowsheavyrock, set two personal bests in winning the women’s hammer competition in the USA Track & Field Throws Festival at the University of Arizona.
The 27-year-old Kassanavoid’s second-round effort of 77.17 (253-2) topped her previous best of 76.42 (252-0) she set in finishing second in the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on May 7, and moved her to 11th on the all-time world performer list. She ascended another five spots in the next round when she unleashed a 78.00 (255-11) bomb.
“CAN’T BE GREAT WITHOUT HARD WORK ✨,” Kassanavoid wrote on Instagram. “My heart is SO full and I cannot be more thankful for this opportunity to throw heavy rocks! Back at it again with a PERSONAL RECORD of 78.00m for the WIN!!”
Kassanavoid, who placed fourth in the U.S. Olympic Trials last year, needed the second personal best to win as fellow American Brooke Andersen had a throw of 77.75 (255-1) in the third round.
Andersen, who was ranked sixth in the world last year by Track & Field News, has the farthest throw in the world this year at 79.02 (259-3).
More Throws Festival fireworks: Kassanavoid wasn’t the only high-profile competitor to set two personal bests in the meet at Roy P. Drachman Stadium.
Sam Mattis did likewise in winning the men’s discus with a best of 68.69 (225-4).
The eighth-place finisher in the Olympics entered the meet with a personal best of 66.69 (218-9) from 2019 before topping that with a throw of 67.54 (221-7) in the second round and improving to his top mark a round later. Mattis also had throws of 66.67 (218-8), 66.60 (218-6), 66.19 (217-2), and 65.06 (213-5).
Fellow American Andrew Evans finished second with a personal best of 66.74 (218-11).
World leader watch: In addition to Ceh in the men’s discus, four other athletes produced yearly world-leading marks in Birmingham.
In the men’s 110-meter high hurdles, 2021 Olympic champion Hansle Parchment ran a world-leading 13.09 to defeat fellow Jamaican and 2016 Olympic champion Omar McLeod, who clocked 13.17.
In the women’s long jump, Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany was an easy winner with a world-leading leap of 7.09 (23-3¼).
Dawit Seyuam of Ethiopia won the women’s 5,000 in a yearly world-leading time of 14 minutes 47.55 seconds as two of her countrywomen also broke 14:50.
Sandi Morris of the U.S. won the women’s pole vault by clearing 4.73 (15-6¼), the highest outdoor jump in the world this year. She defeated a field that included 2016 Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi of Greece, who finished second at 4.65 (15-3), and 2021 Olympic champion Katie Nageotte of the U.S., seventh at 4.30 (14-1¼).
Disappointing times: The 100-meter races in Birmingham did not live up to their advanced billing.
Aaron Brown of Canada won the men’s 100 in 10.13 after Zarnel Hughes of Great Britain and U.S. Olympic Trials winner Trayvon Bromell were both disqualified for false starts.
Dina Asher-Smith of the host country edged Olympic bronze medalist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica in the women’s 100 by a hundredth of a second, but her winning time of 11.11 was not noteworthy.
Rolling along: Abel Kipsang of Kenya continued his fine season in the men’s 1,500 meters in Birmingham with a winning time of 3:35.15.
The fourth-place finisher in the Olympics defeated a field that included second-place Mohamed Katir of Spain (3:35.62), third-place Oliver Hoare of Australia (3:35.76), fifth-place Josh Kerr of Great Britain (3:35.92), and sixth-place Adel Mechaal of Spain (3:35.93).
Hoare was ranked fourth in the world last year, with Kipsang fifth, Katir sixth, Kerr seventh, and Mechaal ninth.
Jamaican to watch: The sub-10 100-meter club welcomed its 161st member on Saturday when Oblique Seville of Jamaica ran 9.86 in a meet at the National Stadium in Kingston.
The 21-year-old Seville crushed his previous best of 10.00 set in a meet on the same track two weeks earlier and moved to second on the yearly world list behind Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, who has run 9.85. Seville also moved to sixth on the all-time national performer list and became the 20th Jamaican to break 10.00.
Seville had run a then-personal best of 10.04 last June to finish third in the Jamaican Olympic Trials and he tied that mark in a first-round heat of the Olympic Games on July 31. However, he was eliminated in a semifinal the next day when his 10.09 effort placed him fourth in a race in which the top three finishers ran 9.98, 10.00, and 10.00.
Elaine Thompson-Herah, the two-time defending Olympic champion in the women’s 100 and 200, won those races with times of 10.94 and 22.55.
Big marks at small meet: The Castiglione International Meeting in Grosseto, Italy, on Sunday produced a yearly world-leading mark in the men’s triple jump and the second-fastest time of the year in the men’s 5,000 meters.
Andy Diaz of Cuba won the triple jump with an effort of 17.64 (57-10½) to add a centimeter to his previous best set last year when he was ranked ninth in the world. The mark also solidified his hold on fifth on the all-time Cuban performer list.
Addisu Yihune of Ethiopia placed first in the 5,000 with a time of 13:02.10 to narrowly miss the yearly world-leading time of 13:02.03 that Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway ran on May 6.
Fellow 19-year-old competitor Peter Maru of Uganda placed second in 13:08.89.
Sluggish opener: Sha’Carri Richardson’s season did not get off to a great start on Saturday as she finished fourth in a heat of the women’s 100 meters in the Duval County Challenge at the University of North Florida before placing first in what can best be described as an exhibition race later in the meet.
Aleia Hobbs won the aforementioned heat in 11.28, followed by Brittany Brown at 11.30, TeeTee Terry at 11.34, Richardson at 11.37, and Marybeth Sant-Price at 11.38 in a race that was run into a breeze of 1.5 meters-per-second.
The exhibition race, which was run into a breeze of 0.1 meters-per-second, saw Richardson run 11.27 while celebrating before she crossed the finish line. She was followed by Terry in 11.29 and Sant-Price in 11.34.
The meet was delayed for more than two hours due to heavy rains and Richardson ran her races on a wet track, but her times were significantly slower than I would have expected.
After all, she posted times of 10.72, 10.74, and 10.77 by the middle of May last year, and won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 10.86 in June while running into a small breeze. But that performance was disallowed after she tested positive for cannabis and she has yet to regain her previous form since returning to competition two weeks after the Olympic Games ended.
Consistent performer: Devon Allen turned in the best performance of the Duval County Challenge, winning the men’s 110-meter high hurdles in 13.17.
It was the third sub-13.20 clocking this season for Olympic fourth-place finisher Allen, who has also run 13.11 and 13.12.
Possible double off the table: Britton Wilson of the University of Arkansas, who became the first woman in history to win the 400 meters and the 400 hurdles in the Southeastern Conference Championships on May 7, will not attempt that double when the NCAA Championships are held at the University of Oregon from June 8-11.
That became official last week when Wilson was not among the entries in the 400 for the West Preliminary Rounds that will be held at Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field from Wednesday through Saturday.
Wilson, a sophomore, had run personal bests of 50.05 in the 400 and 53.75 in the 400 hurdles – plus a scintillating 48.60 anchor leg in the 1,600 relay – in the SEC meet. However, the schedule for the NCAA meet would have required her to run in a semifinal of the 400, which start at 7 p.m. on June 9, followed by a semifinal of the 400 hurdles, which start at 7:30.
Had she advanced to the finals two days later, she would have had to run in the 400 at 3:32 p.m. and the 400 hurdles at 3:57. In addition, it is expected that – barring anything unforeseen – she would be one of Arkansas’ four runners in the 1,600 relay at 4:51.
Full speed ahead: The entries released last week confirmed that Kyle Garland of Georgia and Anna Hall of Florida have entered the decathlon and the heptathlon, respectively, in the NCAA Championships.
Garland, a junior, had qualified for the U.S. team that will compete in the World Championships from July 15-24 when he finished second in the decathlon in the USA Track & Field Combined Events Championships on May 6-7. And Hall, a sophomore, had done likewise when she won the heptathlon in the same meet.
I, for one, wondered if they might not compete in those events in the NCAA meet in an effort to be as fresh as possible for the World Championships. However, my reasoning might have been flawed as the Georgia men and the Florida women will be clawing for every possible point in the NCAA Championships as they are expected to contend for team titles.
The decathlon competition in the NCAA meet could be a dandy as it is scheduled to pit Garland, who totaled a collegiate record of 8,720 points in the USATF Combined Events Championships, against Arkansas junior Ayden Owens-Delerme, who set a then-collegiate record of 8,528 points in winning the Mt. San Antonio College Relays competition in April.
Hall is entered in the 400 hurdles in the East Preliminary Rounds that run from Wednesday through Saturday at Indiana University, but her endurance will be put to a severe test if she advances – as expected – to the final of the event in the NCAA Championships.
That’s because the final of the 400 hurdles is scheduled to start at 3:57 p.m. on June 11 in the NCAA meet, 16 minutes before the final event of the heptathlon, the 800, is slated to begin.
Turning pro: Christian Noble, who set four NCAA Division II records for Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, this year, ended his collegiate career last week when he signed a professional contract with New Balance.
The graduate student set Division II indoor records in the mile (3:56.10) and 3,000 meters (7:50.98) in the Boston University Last Chance Meet on Feb. 27. Outdoors, he set Division II records in winning the 5,000 in 13:24.78 in the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State on March 24, and in placing first in the 1,500 in 3:36.00 in the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field on April 22.
State record: Junior Rodrick Pleasant of Serra High School in Gardena, California, continued his late-season surge in the sprints on Saturday when he broke the state record in the boys’ 100-meter dash in the Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High.
Henry Thomas of Hawthorne had run a then-state record of 10.25 in 1985 and Domani Jackson of Mater Dei High in Santa Ana had tied the mark last year. But Pleasant crushed it in the Masters Meet when he ran 10.14 to move into a three-way tie for eighth on the all-time national high school performer list.
Although Pleasant had run 10.32 in the 100 last year, he had not been as dominant as expected during the first half of this season, and finished a well-beaten fourth in 10.51 in the 100 in the Arcadia Invitational on April 9.
However, he ran a wind-aided 10.16 in the 100 and a personal-best 20.40 in the 200 in winning Division IV titles in the Southern Section divisional championships on May 7.
He won the 200 in 20.49 on Saturday and is the yearly national leader in that event, and the co-leader in the 100 with senior Jordan Anthony of Tylertown, Mississippi.
The California state championships will be held on Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
Impressive versatility: There is a lot of ongoing discussion on various internet track and field sites about whether Colin Sahlman of Newbury Park will break Alan Webb’s national high school record of 3:53.43 in the mile when he runs in the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field on Saturday.
But no matter what happens, the Northern Arizona-bound senior has displayed superb range this year.
Sahlman lowered his personal best in the 800 to 1:48.80 on Thursday when he finished second to Cooper Teare (1:47.90) in a heat of the USA Track & Field Distance Classic at Mt. San Antonio College. That mark adds to his current bests of 3:39.59 in the 1,500, 3:58.81 (indoors) in the mile, and 8:33.32 in the 3,200.
Webb, who set the aforementioned mile time during his senior year at South Lakes High in Reston, Virginia, in 2001, also ran 1:47.74 in the 800, and 8:45.19 (indoors) in the two mile, which converts to a time of 8:42.15 for 3,200 meters.
Hobbs Kessler, who set the national prep record of 3:34.36 in the 1,500 for Skyline High in Ann Arbor, Michigan, last year, might be the runner who showed range most comparable to Sahlman’s. He ran 1:49.67 in the 800, 3:57.66 (indoors) in the mile, and 8:39.04 for two miles, which converts to a 3,200-meter time of 8:36.03.
For those wondering, Jim Ryun of East High in Wichita, Kansas, did set an American record – which was obviously a national prep best – of 3:55.3 in the mile in winning the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) title in 1965. He also had a high school best of 1:50.3 in the 880-yard run, which is equivalent to an 800 in 1:49.7, and ran 9:04.0 in the two mile. That time was part of a victorious double in the 1965 Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, California, in which Ryun won the mile in 4:04.3.
Add Ryun: To get a true appreciation for the greatness of Ryun, consider what he accomplished during the following four-week stretch in 1965.
On May 29, he won the mile in 3:58.1 in the California Relays in Modesto.
On June 4, he finished third in the mile in 3:56.8 in the Compton Invitational in Compton, California.
On June 19, he won the mile in 4:04.3 and the two mile in 9:04.0 in the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento.
On June 27, he won the mile in a U.S. record of 3:55.3 in the AAU Championships in San Diego while defeating 1964 Olympic 800- and 1,500-meter champion Peter Snell of New Zealand (3:55.4) and fellow American Jim Grelle (3:55.5).
Ryun's time had been bettered by only three runners in history, and his last lap in 53.9 was the fastest ever in such a fast race.
The world record of 3:53.6 was held by Michel Jazy of France.
End of the line: Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic, the 2013 and 2015 World champion in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, confirmed last week that she has retired.
In addition to her two titles, the 35-year-old Hejnova placed seventh in the World Championships in 2011, fourth in 2017, and fifth in 2019. She also won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London and finished fourth in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janiero.
Her personal best of 52.83 seconds, which she ran in winning the World title in 2013, ranks 16th on the all-time world performer list.
Hanging them up: Marcin Lewandowski of Poland, the bronze medalist in the men’s 1,500 meters in the 2019 World Championships, announced last week that he is retiring.
The 34-year-old Lewandowski was a four-time Olympian who competed in six World Championships. He placed fourth in the 800 in the 2011 and 2013 World Championships, and finished seventh in the 1,500 in 2017.
His best time of 1:43.72 in the 800 ranks third on the all-time Poland performer list and he holds the Polish record of 3:30.42 in the 1,500.
“It was a beautiful 16 years of running, an amazing adventure that has come to an end,” Lewandowski wrote in a farewell message to his supporters.