That was a really good meet this weekend. Here are some takeaways.
Craig Engels is having fun out there. Not sure if you can get the video of last night's International Mile but actually the entire field was having fun in the "B" race (won in 3:54).
Sifan Hassan looked tired but was still dominant, and so far ahead of anyone else. Americans Alicia Monson (10000 m Olympian in Tokyo) and Abby Cooper (2016 5000 runner and comeback of the decade off of that awful knee injury in Rio) both ran PBs.
Francine Niyonsaba has arrived. The former 800 runner, now excluded from the event due to high testosterone levels, has moved up to the 5000 and 10000. She dispatched a couple of Olympic medalists (Helen Obiri and Lesbet Gidey) in the rarely run 2 mile. Likely to win some medals in future championships.
Men's 800 was a surprise with Canadian Arop outrunning a star-studded field including the Olympic gold medalist, the Americans looked disappointing again, after running so well for so many years.
Athing Mu is a star for the ages--another AR and crushed the field in the women's 800. That world record of 1:53 (very suspicious from Eastern Europe doping era, going back to 1985) is probably going down in the next year or two.
Sha'Carri who? DFL as the Jamaicans sweep--USA's Teahna Daniels runs a nice PB. Richardson's interview was an embarrassment, contrast with Mu's a few minutes later. Too much Dennis Mitchell time.
Courtney Frerichs ran another great steeple. Who now is the greatest American women's steepler? Coburn (who scratched earlier in the week--steepler's version of the twisties?) has won 18 of 20 head to head match ups and has won 9 US titles to go with a World Championship gold, and Olympic bronze medal. Frerichs has held the American record for 3 years now, and is now first sub 9 American, and 4th fastest all time. Has an Olympic silver and world championship silver to match. Either way, this is probably changing of the guard.
I think I like Delilah Muhammed better than Sydney McLaughlin--although as a fan it's impossible to tell. She just seems cool.
And speaking of changing of the guard, hand mile king to Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Timothy Cheruiyot hung back with the pack, while only Jakob and Austrailia's McSweyn took off after the rabbits.
Some good Diamond League meets coming up: Paris, Brussels, Lausanne, Zurich, and Rabat coming up over the next month. I think a lot of the Americans are going to drop off now, but some (Coburn in Zurich? A Richardson revenge tour?) might fight it through to the end.
