THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
200 meters in 19.20 seconds.
Seriously.
And people said Michael Johnson's 19.32 would never be broken.
But Usain Bolt clocked 19.30 last year, and now he's taken 1/10th of a second off his own world record.
If you didn't see it live, here's the video:
You might have seen it a few hours ago, and kudos to NBC for actually showing it live.
Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt set a new world record in the 100-meter sprint today, crossing the line in an astounding 9.58 seconds at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
There was no easing up at the finish this time, unlike Bolt's previous record-setting run at the Olympics last year. But there was a slight look to the side.
Which makes you wonder: Can he go below 9.5? How low will the record eventually go? Surely there has to be a limit of some kind on how fast a human being can run.
But we don't know, and Usain Bolt keeps making us wonder.
You can see photos from the race above and video highlights below. Since the meet was in Berlin, let's see how the announcer for German national broadcaster ZDF called the race:
And so it's gone again.
Whereas this year's NCAA Tournament felt like it lasted a really long time, I feel like this year's Penn Relays went by faster than any I've ever covered.
Maybe that sentiment is fitting for a track meet.
Regardless, I leave you with one last photo gallery as this blog goes dark for a while. I'm sure I'll be back at various points over the summer, but I don't really know when.
So I thank you all once more for reading, and I'll talk to you again soon.
For being the host institution, Penn doesn't usually make much noise at its namesake Relays.
Yes, Max Westman won the Decathlon this year, and there was Brian Chaput in the javelin and Adam Chubb in the high jump a few years back.
But in track events, the only notable name from the school I've heard in recent years was Sam Burley, who won an NCAA title in the 800 meters and ran that distance for a USA DMR team at the 2007 Relays.
So I was surprised to see former Quaker Jesse Carlin, who I covered when she was in college, on the start list for the World All-Stars in the Sprint Medley Relay. That's not to judge her talent in any direction, just a statement about how rare it is for runners from the school to get on a big stage.
I caught up with Carlin after her race and asked her how she got on the World All-Stars team, as well as what it was like to run as a professional after competing at the Penn Relays in college and high school.
I should note too that the interview I taped with Andre Iguodala turned out to be a bust because my microphone wasn't plugged in right. Darn that technology. The short form is that Iguodala was definitely enjoying himself, and you might not have known that he ran track in high school.
Hey, it's better than nothing.
I am going to be on the infield from now through the end of the USA vs. the World races, posting updates in The Paddock via Twitter. I will duck back to the press room to approve your comments when I can, but in the meantime I'm going to move the Paddock chat window up into a blog post to make it easier for you to follow.
I'll be back later tonight with more photos and videos, apparently not including an exclusive interview with 76ers star Andre Iguodala because my microphone wasn't plugged in right.
Argh.
Jamaica won the USA vs. the World Sprint Medley Relay in a world record 3:34.56. Full results here.
If there's a school you root for, a race result you want to know about or a Penn Relays memory you want to share, leave a comment in The Paddock on the right side of the blog.
Engineering and Science won the race in 3:19.43. The event was contested in two sections, but the results were combined. Full results here.
If there's a school you root for, a race result you want to know about or a Penn Relays memory you want to share, leave a comment in The Paddock on the right side of the blog.
Father Judge won the race in 3:24.61. Full results here.
If there's a school you root for, a race result you want to know about or a Penn Relays memory you want to share, leave a comment in The Paddock on the right side of the blog.
And it's getting bigger.
If there's a school you root for, a race result you want to know about or a Penn Relays memory you want to share, leave a comment in The Paddock on the right side of the blog.
Just got a piece of paper with the start lists for the USA vs. the World races. Here are the highlights:
- Former 100m sprint world record-holder Asafa Powell will anchor Jamaica's 4x100 team. USA Blue looks to be the stronger of two American squads wint Walter Dix opening, Travis Padgett second, Shawn Crawford third and Darvis Patton anchroing.
Dix won bronze in the 100m and 200m at the 2008 Olympics. Padgett was on the 2008 Olympic 4x100 squad. Crawford won the 200m silver last year and the 200m gold in Athens. Patton won silver in the 4x100 in 2004 and made the 100m final last year.
- It will be an upset if USA Red doesn't win the men's 4x400 with a team of Kerron Clement, Angelo Taylor, David Neville and LaShawn Merritt. Clement won the 400m silver medal in 2008 and the World Championship at that distance in 2007; Taylor won gold in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay in Beijing; Neville was also on that relay team and won bronze in the 400m; Merritt did the gold double in Beijing with the 400m and the 4x400.
- USA Blue should be favored in the DMR. Leo Manzano will run the 1200m opening leg, Xavier Carter will run the 400m second leg, Khadevis Robinson will run the 800m third leg and Evan Jager will run the 1600m anchor leg. Canada could be the top challenger.
- The top two teams in the women's 4x100 will be right next to each other in Lanes 7 and 8. Jamaica will run Brigette Foster-Hylton, Sheri-Ann Brooks, Kerron Stewart and 2008 100m gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser. USA Red will open with stars Lauryn Williams and Allyson Felix, followed by Mechelle Lewis and Carmelite Jeter.
- In the women's 4x400, USA Red should win with Monica Hargrove, Natasha Hastings, Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards. Hastings and Richards were on the 2008 gold medal-winning 4x400 relay team, while Richards also won gold in that event in 2004.
USA Blue's team includes Harrisburg native Dominique Darden, who won the 4x400m Championship of America with Miami (Fla.) in 2006; Shana Cox; 2008 400m hurdles Olympic silver medalist Sheena Tosta; and 2000 and 2004 4x400m Olympic gold medal winner Monique Hennagan anchoring.
For Jamaica, 2008 400m Olympic silver medal-winner Shericka Williams will open, and 2008 400m hurdles gold medalist Melanie will run third.
Great Britain could win the Sprint Medley Relay. 2008 Olympic 400m gold medalist Christine Ohuruogu will open, and she'll have a lot of attention. Ohuruogu was quite controversially banned from all competition for one year in 2006 after nissing three drug tests, and by British Olympic Association rules any ban gets you kicked out of the Olympics for life. But she got the ban overturned and came back to win gold in Beijing.
2007 World Championships 400m silver medalist Nicola Sanders will run second, Perri Shakes-Drayton will run third and Jemma Simpson will anchor.
USA Blue, with Hazel Clark anchoring, is probably the stronger of the two American teams. Of note, 2008 Penn graduate Jesse Carlin will anchor the World All-Stars team.
At the moment, we're in the middle of three and a half hours of high school boys 4x400-meter relays. The Philadelphia-area schools will be on the track just before noon.
If there's a school you root for, a race result you want to know about or a Penn Relays memory you want to share, leave a comment in The Paddock on the right side of the blog.
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