Posted: August 28, 2007

Athletics: Williams and Jeter go 2-3 in women's 100; Davis gets TJ bronze

OSAKA, Japan - Thanks to a stunning women's 100 meters and a fine performance in the men's triple jump, Team USA brought its medal tally toseven Monday night at the 2007 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In easily the most dramatic race of the Championships thus far, Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.) initially looked as though she may have won her second world title in the women's 100. The defending world champion, who has struggled since winning the 2005 world title, got off to an outstanding start and led the field at halfway. In the latter portion of the race, however, Olympic bronze medalist Veronica Campbell of Jamaica led a surge by the rest of the field, and five women - Williams, Campbell and Americans Carmelita Jeter (Long Beach, Calif.) and Torri Edwards (Corona, Calif.) and Belgium's Kim Gevaert - crossed the line virtually simultaneously. But the gold was down to rivals Williams and Campbell, with Williams appearing to have won when seen with the naked eye. The scoreboard first flashed Edwards as the winner, which was clearly in error. Several more minutes passed before the final results were posted - Campbell first in 11.01 (-0.2 mps), which brought an audible gasp, and some gentle grumbling, from the crowd. Williams was listed as second in an identical time. (Although the photo finish picture was available, results listing thousandths of a second were not.) Jeter, who got her best start of the meet and employed her typical strong finish, was a surprising third in a personal-best 11.02, and Edwards was fourth in 11.05. Gevaert finished fifth, also in 11.05, with Christine Arron of France sixth in 11.08, Kerron Stewart of Jamaica seventh in 11.12 and Oludamola Osayomi of Nigeria eighth in 11.26. The semifinal round had given no indication that the final would reap those results for Team USA. Edwards (11.02) and Williams (11.09) had gone 1-2 in the first semifinal, while Jeter made the final by placing fourth in the second semi (11.08). Mechelle Lewis (Raleigh, N.C.) just missed the final, placing fifth in Heat 2 (11.16). Davis wins another medal Defending World Champion Walter Davis (Baton Rouge, La.), took home bronze in a dramatic men's triple jump final, while Aarik Wilson placed fifth. Nursing a sore right shin, Davis opened by jumping a season-best 17.33m/56-10.75, and Wilson leaped 17.21m/56-5.75 in round 2 to sit in second and third, respectively, behind Nelson Evora of Portugal (17.41m/57-1.5) after two rounds. Osniel Tosca of Cuba overtook Wilson in the third round with a mark of 17.32m/56-10, and in round 5, Jadel Gregorio of Brazil popped off a jump of 17.59m/57-8.5 to bump Davis down to third and Wilson to fifth. Wilson improved to 17.31m/56-9.5 on his last jump but remained in fifth, while Davis did not improve on his last jump, winning the second World Outdoor medal of his career. Evora improved to 17.74m/58-2.5 for the gold, with Gregorio second. The field in the Tuesday's men's 10,000m final separated within the first mile as two-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) stuck with the lead pack of 11 runners, clicking off 1,000m splits in the 2:45 range. Dathan Ritzenhein (Boulder, Colo.) and Galen Rupp (Portland, Ore.) worked together much farther back in the chase pack. With nine laps to go, 7,200m passed in 19:45.26, Abdi fell off the pace and faded to eventually place ninth in 27:56.62, with Ritz 10th in 28:28.59 and Rupp 12th in 28:41.71. World record holder Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia outsprinted countryman Sileshi Sihine to win his third world title in 27:05.90, with Sihine second in 27:09.03. Martin Irungu Mathathi of Kenya was third in 27:12.17. Lagat, Webb, sprint to M1,500m final; Trotter and Wineberg make W400 final Team USA will have two men in Wednesday's 1,500m final for the first time since 1987, but American 1,500m record holder Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.) and mile American record holder Alan Webb (Reston, Va.) qualified in very different ways. In Heat 1, Lagat, a two-time Olympic medalist, sprinted well clear of the field in the final stretch to win comfortably in 3:42.39. Running in the faster of the two heats, Webb came from last place off the curve to make a frantic sprint to fifth place in Heat 2, earning the final automatic qualifying spot and finishing in 3:41.08. The women's 400m final, also on Wednesday, will have two American women as well. After a slow start, USA Outdoor champion Dee Dee Trotter (Knoxville) made an aggressive stretch run to place third in Heat 2, qualifying on time in 50.31. Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) was second in Heat 3 in 50.27 to advance automatically. Natasha Hastings (Columbia, S.C.) was seventh in Heat 1 in 51.45 and did not advance. Chief Blogging Officer USATF CEO Craig Masback continues to update his blog from Osaka. Be sure to check the USATF Web site regularly for updates. Masback's latest blog can be found at USATF.org. Team USA Medal Table Gold (2) Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, Ark.), M100m, 9.85 Reese Hoffa (Athens, Ga.), MSP, 22.04m/72-3.75 Silver (2) Adam Nelson (Charlottesville, Va.), MSP, 21.61m/70-10.75 Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.), W100m, 11.01 Bronze (3) Walter Davis (Baton Rouge, La.), MTJ, 17.33m/56-10.75 Carmelita Jeter (Long Beach, Calif.), W100, 11.02 Kara Goucher (Portland, Ore), W10,000m, 32:02.05 For complete results, quotes and Team USA reports, visit USATF.org. Fans can watch Team USA on national television broadcasts on NBC and Versus, or online via live, daily Webcast at www.wcsn.com. For complete TV listings, visit USATF.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest