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U.S. squad dashes 37.90 400m Relay world lead in Lignano Sabbiadoro

Published by
Chris Nickinson   Jul 20th 2011, 11:23am
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Wednesday, 20 July 2011

U.S. squad dashes 37.90 400m Relay world lead in Lignano Sabbiadoro

Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy – A U.S. quartet clocked a world season’s best of 37.90 in the men’s 4x100 relay (37.90) to highlight the 22nd edition of the International Meeting “Sport e Solidarietà” in Lignano Sabbiadoro on Tuesday (19), a fascinating seaside resort in the North-Eastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The Lignano Sabbiadoro meeting also produced meeting records in the 100m by Jamaican stars Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce (11.11) and Steve Mullings (9.98).


Lignano has been a popular training base during the European season for Asafa Powell and his training group for six years and many other stars especially from the U.S. followed their example choosing the city for a short training camp to prepare for the relays for the upcoming IAAF World Championships in Daegu.


A star-studded U.S. squad made up of Trell Kimmons, Michael Rodgers, Justin Gatlin and Walter Dix cruised to a new world seasonal best of 37.90. An international All-Star team formed by Norway’s Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, Maurice Mitchell, Daegu-bound Jeremy Dodson and Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson finished a distant second in 38.20. A Jamaican squad composed of Ainsley Waugh, Winston Barnes, Jacques Harvey and Andrew Hinds took third place in 38.66.


“The changeovers were good,” said Gatlin, who finished second in the 100m at the U.S. championships. “I felt a twinge in my hamstring but we ran a clean race. I enjoyed staying in Lignano and I would like to spend a period here next year.”


But a bad day for U.S. women’s quartets


The women’s 4x100 relay was expected to be a clash between two U.S. teams – the U.S. Blue formed by Janeba Tarmoh, Lashauntea Moore, 200m U.S. champion Shalonda Solomon and Alexandra Anderson, and the U.S. Red squad with Mikele Barber, three-time World 200m champion Allyson Felix, Mershevet Myers and national 100m champion and world seasonal leader Carmelita Jeter - and an All-Star team (Bianca Knight, Jessica Young, Lauryn Williams and Barbara Pierre, but the clash never materialized. Both the U.S. Blue and Red teams did not finish the race and the All-Star team was left alone. Anchorwoman Barbara Pierre crossed the finish line unopposed in 42.45.


100m meet records for Mullings and Fraser-Pryce


Steve Mullings set a new meeting record in the 100m with 9.98, the fastest time ever recorded in Lignano. The Jamaican sprinter, winner of Samsung Diamond League meetings in Eugene and New York this season, stripped the track record from his compatriot Nesta Carter who won last year in 10.10. Mullings won a star-studded race beating Darvis Patton (10.07), and Daegu-bound Mike Rodgers (10.09). Reigning Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson from Trinidad and Tobago took the win in the B- race in 10.06 ahead of a world-class field which featured Jeffrey Demps (10.14) and Trell Kimmons (10.16). And they name it a B-race!


Reigning Olympic and World 100m champion Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce completed the Jamaican sprint sweep by setting a new meeting record in the women’s 100m by clocking 11.11 on the track where she trains during the summer. Fraser-Pryce also broke the track record held by her compatriot Carrie Russel who won last year in 11.22. Fraser won the Lignano meeting in 2008 some weeks before her Olympic triumph in Beijing.

Russel was in Lignano this year as well and finished runner-up improving her last year’s time to 11.20, edging U.S. 200m champion Shalonda Solomon by jut 0.01. Some minutes earlier Barbara Pierre of the U.S. won the B-race in 11.22.  


No-height for Isinbayeva


It was a night to forget for Russian pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva who could not follow up Saturday’s 4.60m victory in Heusden Zolder with another good performance. The two-time Olympic and three-time World champion opened her competition at 4.60m but failed to produce a valid clearance. The win went to Becky Holliday of the U.S. with 4.40m on count-back over Mary Saxer. Italian record holder Anna Giordano Bruno finished third with 4.30m but she returned to her best form earlier this year by vaulting 4.50m, which qualifies her for Daegu.


Uceny continues impressive streak


Morgan Uceny is in the form of her life. After winning the U.S. 1500m title in Eugene and collecting Samsung Diamond League victories in Lausanne and Birmingham, Uceny won a world class 800m race in 1:58.37, leading four more women - all from the USA - under the two-minute barrier. Alice Schmidt also dipped under 1:59 clocking 1:58.61 beating Molly Beckwith (1:59.12), Maggie Vessey (1:59.17) and Geena Gall (1:59.62). The women’s 800m race has lived up to the reputation for producing very fast times, especially last year where Alysia Johnson clocked in a meeting record of 1:57.85.


Khadevis Robinson, winner at this year’s Compeed Golden Gala and Padua and second at the U.S. championships, continued the US domination In middle-distance races by winning the men’s 800m in a hugely impressive 1:44.45 beating his compatriot David Torrence (1:45.96). Robinson holds the meeting record with 1:44.25 set in 2006.


South African Oscar Pistorius finally fulfilled his dream to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. In his last chance to obtain the A Standard, the 24-year-old won the 400m in 45.07, shattering his previous career best of 45.61.


The men’s 1500m win went to Henok Legesse from Ethiopia in 3:36.45.In the women’s Long Jump Slovakia’s Jana Veldakova and Funmi Jimoh of the U.S. leapt to 6.50m but the win went to the Slovak who had a second best jump of 6.41m.


It was one of the best editions of a meeting which combines world class athletics and races for disabled athletes in a highly entertaining atmosphere. Big crowd packed the stands of the small Teghil athletics stadium.


Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF  




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