Week in Review: Dueling putters push each other
Kovacs joins elite club while in pursuit of Crouser
For the first time in more than three decades – and only the second time in history – two shot putters have put the 16-pound (7.26 kilogram) implement more than 23 meters (75 feet 5½ inches) while in the midst of their competitive careers at the same time.
That first occurred in 1990 when Randy Barnes of the U.S. set a then-world record of 23.12 meters (75-10¼) to break the previous mark of 23.06 (75-8) set by Ulf Timmermann of East Germany in 1988, four months before defeating Barnes for the Olympic title in Seoul, South Korea.
It happened again last Wednesday when Joe Kovacs unleashed a 23.23 (76-2¾) effort in the Diamond League final in the Weltklasse meet in Zurich to move to second on the all-time world performer list behind fellow American Ryan Crouser, who set the current world record of 23.37 in winning the U.S. Olympic Trials at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, last year, Crouser also had a 23.30 (76-5½) effort in winning the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Kovacs’ put crushed his previous best of 22.91 (75-2) which he had set in winning the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, with a one-centimeter margin of victory over silver medalist Crouser and bronze medalist Tom Walsh of New Zealand.
Crouser, who defeated Kovacs for the gold medal in the World Championships in Eugene in July, finished second last Wednesday with a best of 22.74 (74-7¼).
“I am super excited,” Kovacs said in quotes posted on the Weltklasse meet site. “I had so many throws this year over 22.80. So I feel like I was building and building. It feels good to finally click the box and be a 23-meter shot putter.”
Kovacs, 33, had three puts of 22.89 (75-1¼) and another of 22.87 (75-0½) during the course of three meets earlier this season. But he had finished second to Crouser in two of those competitions.
The first loss came in the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene on June 24 when Kovacs’ top effort of 22.87 was bested by Crouser four times, capped by a 23.12 (75-10¼) put that was tied for the fourth best ever at the time.
Then came the World Championships on July 17 when Kovacs took the lead with a fifth-round effort of 22.89, only to see Crouser top that mark minutes later with a 22.94 (75-3¼) put that paced the U.S. to a 1-2-3 finish in the event.
Not to be deterred, Kovacs had a pair of 22.89 efforts in winning the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, on Aug. 8 before his 22.65 (74-3¾) best handed Crouser (22.05/72-4¼) a rare defeat in the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Aug. 26.
Kovacs, who won the first of his two World titles in 2015, talked about topping the 23-meter mark after the meet in Lausanne. The two-time Olympic silver medalist accomplished that goal on his second effort in Zurich after reaching 22.67 (74-4½) on his first attempt.
“We keep making the sport better,” he said. “Ryan is pushing it, I am pushing it, Tom is coming back. If you want to be good, you have to keep getting better all the time. As much as it is annoying as a competitor, as it makes it harder, it makes the sport better. And I am super thankful for that. I know that Ryan will throw further so I will have to throw even further next year. . . Now with a throw of 23, my goal for next year is to be able to achieve 23.50.”
Down, but not out: Although Crouser’s recent defeats had come as he returned to competition after a bout with COVID-19, he defeated Kovacs, 22.19 (72-9 ¾) to 21.97 (72-1) on Saturday during the second day of the Memorial Borisa Hanzekovica meet in Zagreb, Croatia.
That victory over Kovacs, coupled with wins over his friendly rival in the Prefontaine Classic in May, the USA Championships, and the World Championships, will most likely give Crouser his third consecutive No. 1 rating when Track & Field News releases its annual world rankings for this season.
Crouser was also ranked first for the 2016 and ’17 seasons, as well as second for the ’18 campaign.
Bouncing back: Olympic and World champion Emmanuel Korir of Kenya rebounded from a third-place finish in the men’s 800 meters in the Memorial van Damme meet in Brussels on Sept. 2 with a come-from-behind victory in Zurich last Thursday.
The 27-year-Kenyan moved from fourth place to first in the final straightaway while running a yearly world-leading time of 1 minute 43.26 seconds. Marco Arop of Canada finished second in 1:43.38, followed by Jake Wightman of Great Britain in 1:44.10, and Wyclife Kisasy of Kenya in 1:44.47.
Pace setter Patrick Sieradzki of Poland led the field through the first lap in 50.41, followed by Gabriel Tual of France, World 1,500 champion Wightman, and Kisasy.
Arop surged into the lead shortly before he passed 600 meters in 1:16.8. Korir was in fifth place at that point and trailed Arop, Kisasy, and Wightman entering the home straightaway. But he sped past Kisasy and Wightman with 70 meters to go before passing Arop in the last 5-6 meters of the race.
His winning time was the fifth-fastest of his career and avenged a previous loss to Wightman, who had run a personal best of 1:43.65 to win in Brussels.
“The last few meets were very tough,” Korir said. “I never expected it to be this tough, but I did it. I was still behind in the last 200 meters – maybe the first 600 were a bit too slow – so I had to push it hoping I could finish second or third. I managed to come first in the end, though.”
Continuing his roll: Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway ran a yearly world-leading time of 3:29.02 to win the men’s 1,500 meters in Zurich.
The young Norwegian, who will turn 22 next week, had a comfortable margin of victory over second-place Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya (3:30.27), but most of his advantage came in the final 70 meters of the race. Ollie Hoare of Australia finished third in 3:30.59 after closing well in the home straightaway.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for Ingebrigtsen since he had been upset by Wightman in the World Championships 1,500 on July 19.
Pace setter Matthew Ramsden of Australia came through 400 meters in 54.19 and the 800 in 1:51.41 before dropping off the race 120 meters later.
Ingebrigtsen took over at that point and never relinquished the lead. He came through 1,200 meters in 2:48.08 before running his final 300 in 40.94 seconds.
Cheruiyot, the silver medalist behind Ingebrigtsen in the Olympic Games last summer, was within a stride of Ingebrigtsen as they entered the home straightaway. But his finishing kick was no match for Ingebrigtsen, whose time was three hundredths of a second better than he had run in Lausanne on Aug. 26.
“Of course, I am happy with the win tonight, and also with the season overall,” said Ingebrigtsen, whose win streak began with a victory in the 5,000 meters in the World Championships. “There are always things you can improve, like you can always run faster – but of course I’m happy. You can always get better, and I will try to do that.”
Yearly world-leading mark No. 4: Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic also posted a yearly world-leading mark in Zurich when she became the 12th woman in history to break 49 seconds in the 400 meters.
Her 48.99-second clocking lowered her previous best of 49.20 that she ran in finishing second in the Olympic Games in Tokyo and it came six days after countrywoman Fiordaliza Cofil had broken the 50-second barrier for the first time while winning the Memorial van Damme race in 49.80.
Cofil finished second in 49.93 in Zurich, followed by Sada Williams of Barbados, who ran 49.98.
“Running a sub-49, a new national record, personal best, and a world lead feels amazing, and I should be very grateful for God for this,” said Paulino, 25. “He made this possible for me, so I am very happy.”
Final race of a historic season: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce put an exclamation point on the best season of her illustrious career by posting a runaway victory in the women’s 100 meters in Zurich.
The 35-year-old Jamaican, who had won an unprecedented fifth title in the 100 in the World Championships, ran 10.65 seconds while running into a breeze of 0.8 meters per second. The time was her second fastest of the season, the fourth best of her career, and gave her a large margin of victory over countrywoman Shericka Jackson (10.81). Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast finished third in 10.91.
Jackson, who won the 200 in 21.80 later in the meet, had handed Fraser-Pryce her only loss of the season in the 100 in the van Damme meet when her 10.73 clocking edged Fraser-Pryce by a hundredth of a second.
However, the rematch was no contest as Fraser-Pryce got off to one of her typically fast starts that gave Jackson little chance of running her down in the final 20 meters of the race, as she had in Brussels.
Fraser-Pryce has the top eight times in the world this season, during which she has run under 10.70 an unprecedented seven times. Her latest performance also gave her nine of the 19 sub-10.70 performances in history.
Countrywoman Elaine Thompson-Herah, the two-time defending Olympic champion in the 100 and 200, has the second-most sub-10.70 clockings with four.
“This was remarkable and I am very proud that I came away with a 10.65,” Fraser-Pryce said. “I started with a 10.6 and I finish with a 10.6 so there is nothing more I could ask for.”
Big finish to a monster year: Noah Lyles capped an undefeated season in the men’s 200 meters with another dominant victory in Zurich.
The 25-year-old American set a meet-record 19.52 while running into a breeze of 0.6 meters per second to defeat second-place Aaron Brown of Canada and third-place Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic by a gargantuan margin of half a second.
Lyles ran a strong curve to enter the straightaway with a lead of close to two meters on second-place Brown, and he had tripled that advantage over his closest pursuers when he crossed the finish line.
His time lowered the previous meet best of 19.66 set by Usain Bolt of Jamaica in 2012, was tied for the fourth fastest of his career, and equaled the 12th fastest time ever run. It also gave the two-time defending World champion six of the seven fastest times in the world this year and seven of the top nine.
“It has been an amazing season,” Lyles said. “It has been my best season ever. And that is what I set out to do this year. No pressure, just have got to enjoy it and let it happen.”
Victory caps breakout season: Tobi Amusan won the women’s 100-meter hurdles in Zurich to conclude her breakthrough year in the event.
Although the 25-year-old Nigerian had finished fourth in both the 2019 World Championships and Olympic Games last year, she greatly exceeded expectations this season when she set a world record of 12.12 in a semifinal race of the World Championships before winning the final in a wind-aided 12.06.
She did not get off to a great start in Zurich, but began to take control of the race by the fifth of 10 hurdles and pulled away from the field after that.
Her winning time of 12.29 was the second fastest of her career and gave her a comfortable margin of victory over second-place Tia Jones of the U.S. (12.40) and third-place Britany Anderson of Jamaica (12.42). Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico finished fourth in 12.49.
It was the 10th victory in 17 finals this season for Amusan. She really hit her stride after May as she was victorious in nine of 12 finals from June onward and finished second in the three races she did not win.
“I am just so thankful for all the season, I am full of emotions,” she said after winning the Weltklasse meet for the second year in a row. “While you are running against a very strong field, the only thing you really want is to win, no matter the meeting record.”
Another sub-47 clocking: Like Amusan in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Alison dos Santos is in the midst of a breakout season in the men’s 400 intermediate hurdles.
The 22-year-old Brazilian remained unbeaten in the Weltklasse meet when he set a meet record of 46.98 seconds to finish well ahead of Americans Khallifah Rosser (47.76) and C.J. Allen (48.21) in second and third place.
Rosser, who finished fifth in the World Championships in Eugene, ran even with World champion dos Santos for the first four flights of the 10-hurdle race and remained close to him through the eighth set of barriers. But dos Santos picked up ground on Rosser over the ninth barrier and really extended his advantage on the run-in to the finish line after he cleared the final hurdle.
It was the third time this season that the Olympic bronze medalist had run under 47 seconds and gave him three of the four fastest times in the world this year and six of the top 10. It also was his ninth race under 48 seconds.
Afterward, dos Santos admitted his life had changed after running the third-fastest time in history (46.29) in the World Championships, that he has a target on his back when he competes.
“Now everyone wants to beat me and I want to fight for the win,” he said. “Next year, Karsten Warholm will come back again, even stronger. So the next World Championships will be amazing. I have so many things to work on for next year.”
The 26-year-old Warholm, who set a world record of 45.94 in winning the Olympic title, had an abbreviated season this year after straining his right hamstring in his season-opening meet in Rabat, Morocco, in early June. In his first meet back, he finished seventh in the World Championships in 48.42, but ran a season best of 47.12 in winning the European Championships on Aug. 19.
Magnificent Mondo: When Mondo Duplantis of Sweden cleared a meet record of 6.07 (19-11) to win the men’s pole vault in Zurich, it marked the 15th meet this year in which he has cleared 6.00 (19-8¼) or higher indoors and outdoors.
That followed the 2021 season in which Duplantis has cleared 6 meters or higher in a then-record 12 meets indoors and outdoors.
The 22-year-old Duplantis capped the World Championships in Eugene in July when he cleared a world record of 6.21 (20-4½) on his second attempt after the women’s 1,600-meter relay had concluded the track portion of the meet. That came a little more than four months after he had capped the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, when he cleared a world record of 6.20 (20-4) on his third attempt, again after the women’s 1,600 relay had concluded the track portion of that meet.
“I had a lot of great competitions,” Duplantis said. “But I think being able to jump 6 meters so many times, it shows this is the kind of jumper I am right now.”
Hot high hurdler: Grant Holloway concluded his season with a pair of victories in the men’s 110-meter high hurdles last week.
On Thursday, the 24-year-old ran 13.02 seconds in Zurich to defeat the Jamaican duo of Rasheed Broadbell (13.06) and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment (13.26). On Sunday, he ran 13.19 on a wet track in Zagreb to turn back fellow American Freddie Crittenden, who finished second in 13.31.
Holloway had been upset by Parchment in the Olympics last year, but he won his second consecutive title in the World Championships in July and also won the 60 high hurdles in the World Indoor Championships in March.
As of Sunday, he had run seven of the 14 fastest times in the world this year in the 110 high hurdles, with 13.06 being the slowest of those performances.
“This was a great season,” he said after his victory in Zagreb. “A lot of people wrote me off just because I was not quick enough at some points, but it is all about showing where and when, and winning.”
Undefeated Ealey: Chase Ealey capped off an undefeated outdoor season in the women’s shot put with a winning effort of 20.19 (66-3) in the Weltklasse meet.
It was the seventh outdoor meet this year in which Ealey, who turned 28 in late July, had exceeded 20 meters (65-7½). Four other competitors had combined to top the 20-meter mark in five meets.
Ealey won the World Championships in July and she also placed second in the World Indoor Championships in March.
“I’m really happy with the way my event is going,” she said. “I love that we have thrown all over 20 meters all over the place.”
Sticking with her plans: Despite having the best season of her career, Kara Winger wrote in an email on Sunday that she has no plans of changing her mind about retirement.
The 36-year-old American javelin thrower had announced earlier this year that this would be her final season of competition. However, people began to wonder if she might rethink things after she won the silver medal in the World Championships in Eugene, threw a U.S. record of 68.11 (223-5) to win the Memorial van Damme meet on Sept. 2, and followed that with a winning effort of 64.98 (213-2) in the Weltklasse meet last Thursday.
“At this point, no, I have not changed my mind about retirement at the end of the season (aka now),” Winger wrote. “Got home on Friday and have been reflecting a lot, celebrating this incredible season, and feeling so fulfilled after 20 years of competition and doing my best with what I had.”
Winger has competed in four Olympic Games and six World Championships, but her second-place finish in Eugene marked the first time she had medaled in either global title competition.
18 and 2: Kristjan Ceh posted his 17th and 18th victories of the season in the men’s discus in Zurich and Zagreb last week.
The 6-foot-8, 23-year-old Slovenian threw 67.10 (220-2) to win the Weltklasse meet and had a best of 68.60 (225-1) in taking the Hanzekovic Memorial.
The fifth-place finisher in the Olympic Games has won 18 of 20 meets this season, including the World Championships. He finished second to 19-year-old sensation Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania in the European Championships in Munich last month and placed third in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, in June, but has a winning record against all of the top competitors in the world.
His top mark of 71.27 (233-10) came in a Diamond League meet in Birmingham, England, in May and moved him to 10th in the all-time world performer list. He also set a championship record when he won the World title with a throw of 71.13 (233-4).
Big win in season finale: Sandra Perkovic of Croatia delighted the home crowd on Sunday when she won the women’s discus throw in the Hanzekovic Memorial meet in Zagreb.
Perkovic, 32, threw a season best of 68.46 (224-7) in wet conditions to defeat second-place Valarie Allman of the U.S., who had a best of 67.55 (221-7). Each of them registered their best throw in the sixth – and final – round.
Defending Olympic champion Allman had defeated Perkovic in four meets this season, but Perkovic won the Bislett Games in Oslo in June ahead of Allman and she also finished in front of her in the World Championships, in which they placed second and third behind Feng Bin of China.
“I knew that I had this hit in me,” said Perkovic, the Olympic champion in 2012 and ’16. “At the end, I just said, It is the last throw of the season, it is now or never. Valarie was great and the competition was great, the weather was the only problem.”
New York, New York: Jake Wightman and Laura Muir of Great Britain won the men’s and women’s races of the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City on Sunday.
Wightman, who had placed third in the 800 meters in the Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday, ran 3:49.6 to win the Fifth Avenue race for the second year in a row and third time overall.
Jake Heyward of Great Britain finished second in 3:49.9, followed by Sam Prakel of the U.S. in third (3:50.4).
Wightman, countryman Josh Kerr, and Joe Klecker of the U.S. led the field through the three-minute mark of the race, but Wightman had moved into the lead 30 seconds later and maintained it to the finish line.
Although Wightman, 28, had established himself as one of the elite 1,500-meter runners in the world with his victory in the World Championships in July, he told Lewis Johnson of NBC Sports that it was “important to win this one.”
He added that he “knew I was going to make a move with about a 200 to go.”
Muir set a course record of 4:14.8 in winning the women’s race in New York, finishing well ahead of Americans Nikki Hiltz (4:17.8) and Eleanor Fulton (4:18.0) in second and third. Defending champion Jemma Reekie of Great Britain finished fourth in 4:18.3.
The 29-year-old Muir was amongst the leaders for the first two minutes of the race before making a definitive move that instantly opened up a gap on the rest of the field.
Although a look of pain and anguish was etched on her face for the final minute of the race, the World 1,500-meter bronze medalist was never in danger of giving up her lead.
“I just kept thinking, All you got to do is run for another minute,” she said. “Another 300 meters.”
Taking it to the streets: Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda and Hellen Obiri of Kenya were victorious in the men’s and women’s divisions of the Great North Run half marathon in Northeast England on Sunday.
Kiplimo, the bronze medalist in the men’s 10,000 meters in the World Championships in Eugene, ran 59 minutes 32 seconds over the course that starts in Newcastle and finishes in South Shields.
The 21-year-old Kiplimo finished well ahead of Olympic 10,000 champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, who placed second in 1:00:39. Kenesia Bekele of Ethiopia, the 2008 Olympic champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and the second fastest marathoner in history with a personal best of 2:01:41 from 2019, finished third in 1:01:01.
The women’s race was in sharp contrast to the men’s as Obiri ran 1:07:05 to edge second-place Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya by two seconds and third-place Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia by five seconds.
Obiri, 32, was the World Championship silver medalist in the women’s 10,000 meters, Jepchirchir is the defending Olympic champion in the marathon, and Ayana was the 2016 Olympic champion in the 10,000.
Wishing her well: Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic, one of the greatest women’s javelin throwers in history, is retiring at the age of 41.
In 2008, the two-time Olympic and three-time World champion set the world record of 72.28 (237-2) with the implement that has been in use since 1999.
She won Olympic titles in 2008 and ’12, and was the bronze medalist in ’16.
In the World Championships, she won titles in 2007, ’11, and ’17, and was the silver medalist in ’09.
In addition, Track & Field News ranked her as the top thrower in the world nine times during her career. She garnered four consecutive No. 1 rankings from 2007-10 and from 2014-17.
Although the mother of two did not compete in the World Championships in July, she placed third in the European Championships last month.
“Every fairy tale comes to an end, and mine had a wonderful happy ending in the form of a bronze medal at the European Championships in Munich, symbolically closing the circle,” she said at a press conference in Prague on Friday. “My body was clearly telling me that it was time to quit.”
