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Eight American Track and Field Athletes Who Inspired at Worlds

Published by
DyeStatPRO.com   Aug 31st 2015, 2:47pm
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Despite Team USA Struggles, Some Stars Impressed

 

By Scott Bush

Team USA struggled at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Beijing. While early expectations put the American squad possibly securing 30 medals, their end total of 18 showed weaknesses in the team and rising strength among a variety of other countries.

Despite the hardships in China, there were a number of athletes who made USA track and field fans proud. Here are eight of our favorites:

Ashton Eaton: He was the only athlete to break a world record in Beijing and it came as a bit of a surprise. Eaton hadn’t competed in a decathlon in 2015. In fact, he hadn’t competed in his gold medal event since 2013. No one questioned Eaton would win gold, having shown plenty of success in the 400 meter hurdles in 2014 and the other individual events he competed in, but it took a mad dash to the finish for Eaton in Beijing for him to best his 2012 world record, breaking the mark by a mere six points. Talk about close, talk about exciting, talk about another gold for the greatest decathlete of all-time.

Allyson Felix: An individual gold and two relay silvers made it another impressive medal haul for Felix at the World Championships, setting up what could very well be a golden opportunity to bring home some serious hardware in Rio next summer. Felix left no doubt she’s the best one-lapper in the world this season, setting a new PR and world leading mark of 49.26.

Throw in her relay performances in the 4x100m relay and especially 4x400m relay, and she showed why she’s ready to challenge for potentially four gold medals in Rio. If the IOC sets up the schedule in Rio to where Felix can double in the 400m and 200m, and the Americans can somehow beat Jamaica in the two relays, Felix could come away as the biggest winner in the Olympics.

Christian Taylor: 59-09. Fifty nine feet and nine inches! That’s how far Taylor flew in his final attempt in the men’s triple jump as he soared to a gold medal, new American record and a near world record. There was pre-meet talk of Taylor and rival Pedro Pablo Pichardo (CUB) going after Jonathan Edwards’ (UK) 1995 world record of 60-0.25, but it wasn’t until Taylor’s final leap that fans saw just how serious the American took the mark. Taylor now owns four of the top ten furthest leaps in history and has one more shot this season, in Brussels, to take down the world record.

LaShawn Merritt: Similar to Felix, Merritt brought home some serious hardware from Beijing, taking silver and setting a new personal best over 400m, then anchoring the American 4x400m relay to gold, the only U.S. relay squad to win. Heading into Beijing, it was worth questioning just how good of shape Merritt was in. He had a slow start to his season, lost to David Verburg at the USA Outdoor Championships and seemed in control, but vulnerable, in the rounds at Worlds.

The 29 year old veteran came up huge in the final, pacing himself perfectly, taking home silver in what was arguably the fastest 400 meter final of all-time. Merritt then bounced back to anchor the victorious Team USA 4x400 squad, holding off challenges from Jamaica’s and Trinidad and Tobago’s anchor legs, showing once again why he is one of the all-time greats in the one-lap event.

Emily Infeld: Team USA produced few shocking performances that truly turned heads. In fact, every athlete who won a medal was considered a heavy favorite to bring home a medal, every athlete but Infeld. At the USA Outdoor Championships, Infeld finished third in the women’s 10,000 meters, well behind winner Molly Huddle and just behind teammate Shalane Flanagan. Competing in her first major international championship, Infeld showed grit and determination, putting herself in the top six for much of the race, hanging on mightily with 800 meters to go as the race really started to shape up.

With 100 meters to go and Huddle pulling away for the third spot, Infeld put her head down and charged to the finish, never giving up, and as Huddle raised her arms in what she thought was a medal-winning effort, Infeld leaned under her left arm, shocking distance fans around the world, winning bronze.

Aries Merritt: Announcing he was to undergo a kidney transplant only three days after the World Championships, on September 1, Merritt’s performance in Beijing made his story truly inspirational. The 110m hurdle world record holder stated before competition he was performing at 80%, leaving many to wonder just how he would perform in the prelims.

Well, Merritt came through in a very big way, bringing home the United States’ only short hurdle medal with a 13.04 bronze medal performance, shocking even himself. What an inspiration! Merritt now turns his competitive spirit to his major surgery. Here’s to hoping that goes smoothly, he recovers quickly and can get back in 100% shape by next spring.

Tianna Bartoletta: One…last…jump. Sitting in a tie for third heading into her last attempt, the top-ranked long jumper in the world seemed as though she might miss out in a big opportunity to come away with gold. For the past two years, Bartoletta has shown she can fly further than her competition, but consistency has been the lingering challenge for the American.On her final attempt in Beijing, Bartoletta silenced her doubters, soaring to a 23-05 (7.14m) victory, besting rivals Shara Procter (GBR) and Ivana Spanovic (SRB).

This was a big win for Bartoletta and broke a World Championship record of length in between gold medals. Bartoletta, at the age of 19, won the long jump in Helsinki. Winning top prize in Beijing, two days before her 30th birthday, put a decade in between wins. Impressive.

Joe Kovacs: In an event American track and field fans often assume is simply dominated by Team USA, Kovacs won the first gold medal in the shot put for the U.S. since Christian Cantwell won in Berlin in 2009. The rise of Kovacs into a global star has been fun to watch the past two seasons, but it took to another level of amazement as he unseated the two-time defending world champion David Storl (GER) on his second-to-last throw in the final. Kovacs v. Storl is a rivalry that’s going to continue on into the Rio Olympic Games, so fans better learn about both of these gentlemen.



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