DOHA, Qatar - Nine medals and two American records. Team USA brought the team medal count to 17 Sunday night to win the medal table at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar.
Six years after first winning the men's 3,000m at a World Indoor Championships, Bernard Lagat won his second world indoor 3,000m title. Sitting mid-pack through most of the race, Lagat and defending champion Tariku Bekele (ETH) surged ahead of the group with three laps to go. Just before the bell, Lagat kicked again, opening up a 10m lead and leaving Bekele in his dust to win the gold medal in 7:37.97. 2008 Olympian Galen Rupp, who had sat in the back for much of the race, closed strong at the end to finish fifth in a personal best 7:42.40.
Two-time World Indoor champion Terrence Trammell had the race of his life tonight in the men's 60m hurdles and still did not come away with the gold. Clearing the final hurdle, it looked like Trammell had it. Instead he added another silver medal to his collection of two Olympic and three World Outdoor silver medals when he tied the American record, crossing the line in 7.36. 2008 Olympic bronze medalist David Oliver added another bronze to his collection after running a personal best 7.44. Reigning Olympic champion Dayron Robles (CUB) was the winner in a championship record 7.34.
Reigning World Outdoor champion Brittney Reese added another gold medal to her collection when she won the women's long jump. Opening up with a competition-leading leap of 6.70m/21-11.75, that mark held up throughout the competition and was enough to capture the title. It was the shortest winning mark in world indoor history.
Leading wire-to-wire, Team USA won their first-ever gold in the women's 4x400m relay at a World Indoor Championships in American record fashion, ending Russia's dominating eight-win streak. Running her fourth 400m in three days, World Indoor champion Debbie Dunn ran the lead off leg in 51.25 before handing off to DeeDee Trotter (52.55). Natasha Hastings (52.57) had third-leg duty before handing off to Allyson Felix. Russia was picking up speed on the final leg, but Felix was able to hold them off, closing in a blistering 50.87 to cross the line in 3:27.34. Russia finished second in 3:27.44.
Team USA dominated the men's 4x400m, claiming their third-consecutive gold medal in the event. The quartet of Jamaal Torrance, Greg Nixon, Tavaris Tate and Bershawn Jackson easily won the 4x400m in 3:03.40, over three seconds ahead of runner-up Belgium (3:06.94).
Two-time World Outdoor bronze medalist Carmelita Jeter won her third career bronze medal in the women's 60m. Jeter, who was out in lane 7, finished third in 7.05. Two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM) claimed the gold in a personal best 7.00 and LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (ISV) was the runner-up in 7.03.
In the women's 800m, Alysia Johnson took the early lead from the gun and led for the first 500m, before being passed by Great Britain's Jenny Meadows. Johnson worked hard to maintain contact and was able to hold on to finish third in a personal best 1:59.60. Anna Pierce, one of the pre-race favorites, raced from the back of the pack before surging over the final 150m. It was too late though to move in to medal contention, and Pierce settled for fourth in an indoor personal best 2:00.53.
2008 Olympian Dusty Jonas won the first major medal of his career with his third-place finish in the men's high jump. Jonas cleared 2.31m/7-7 to bring home the bronze. 2010 USA Indoor champion Jesse Williams finished fifth with 2.28m/7-5.75.
In the women's 1,500m final, 2008 Olympian Erin Donohue ran a hard-fought race. Sitting mid-pack at the half-way point, Donohue moved into second with 2.5 laps to go. But the pace proved too much and Donohue couldn't hold on, finishing sixth in 4:09.59. 2009 NCAA Indoor champion Sarah Bowman finished ninth in 4:10.72. It was an indoor personal best for both.
For more information on Team USA and the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, visit USATF.org.
Day 3 Team USA quotes from Doha
Erin Donohue, women's' 1500m final
"I wanted to start moving at 500m. I moved up to fourth or fifth with 1000m to go. I tried to follow Burka and got boxed in and couldn't get out. Sixth place and a personal best, I'm pretty happy with that."
Galen Rupp, men's 3000m final
"My goal was just to sit back, be as relaxed as I could be, close at the end and finish hard. I'm still getting there, I'm not at the top level yet. But I'm better than last year so I am getting there."
Alysia Johnson, women's 800m bronze medalist
"Amazing. I just tried to go after it. I was going for gold. I wanted to push myself and make it happen. I'm so happy, so, so happy right now."
Bernard Lagat, men's 3000m gold medalist
"My kids woke up at 7 am in the morning to watch their daddy. So I needed to show them something. I did exactly what my coach told me to do. During the last lap I felt a lot of energy from the crowd. I missed a lot since 2007 so I'm back. It felt so good for me. You're going to see me for a long time. I can see myself running for a lot longer.
I was expecting it to be faster, 28, 29 (per lap), but it was nothing like that.
This is the best team I have ever been on. We're all together, sprinters, jumpers, distance. And the organization has done a great job."
Jillian Camarena, women's shot put final
"It started really rough. My first three throws were rough and I was in ninth. I just had to go after it and each throw kept getting better. I knew it was there I just had to let it happen."
Brittney Reese, women's long jump gold medalist
"Hard. I just wanted to come out and try to win. I was expecting 6.80m or 6.90m but 6.70 will have to do. I'm so excited for my second world title. "
Debbie Dunn, women's 4x400m gold medalist - 1st leg
"It was tough (running 4 400s in three days). We came out to win though and I'm glad we did. We're a great team and we ran hard."
Allyson Felix, women's 4x400m gold medalist - anchor
"It was ok. My teammates made it easy for me. I wanted to run smooth and clean and get the win."
Carmelita Jeter, women's 60m bronze medalist
"I needed to be closer, I was too far out. I'm happy to be on the podium. I had a great start, transitioned well, I just didn't have it."
David Oliver, men's 60mH bronze medalist
"It's great to run a personal best. I'm not an indoor hurdler, more an outdoor guy. Getting bronze is great. I'm ecstatic."
Terrence Trammell, men's 60mH silver medalist
"I'm a little indifferent with the race. Glad it was a personal best. I really thought coming off the last hurdle that I had it but I lost control and it cost me. I still had a personal best, tied the American record. I felt a little pressure towards the end but I never felt outside myself. The highlight of the meet for me is the personal best. Coming in I felt like I could run between 7.26 and 7.28. Close but no cigar."
Dusty Jonas, men's high jump bronze medalist
"I'm happy with the result. I've been working so hard since last year. This is my best result ever so obviously something was going right so I can't complain. It was an awesome competition. It was great to medal in the first final I made."
Tavaris Tate, men's 4x400m gold medalist - 3rd leg
"It was great, I executed my leg. My main objective was to get Bershawn (Jackson) the stick in first place. It's been an honor to represent Team USA and my country."
Bershawn Jackson, men's 4x400m gold medalist - anchor
"I'm beat up, tired. I strained my hamstring a little. Every time I pushed, I felt it tug a little and I didn't want to jeopardize the gold so I backed off a little."
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit USATF.org.
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