Sunday, July 11, 2010
Prerace Jitters |
- Allen Johnson Announces Retirement Ending Epic Hurdling Career
- Gays runs past Powell in London
- Gay blasts by Powell & Allen Johnson announces retirement at Gateshead
| Allen Johnson Announces Retirement Ending Epic Hurdling Career Posted: 10 Jul 2010 09:37 PM PDT
Allen Johnson announced his retirement on Saturday, said goodbye to a professional track career that seems the stuff of sports fiction. “It’s just come to the point where my body can’t take it anymore,” said Johnson in a trackside interview. “Maybe I can coach some hurdlers or some sprinters… give something back. I’m going to miss it, I really am, but it was fun,” added the former World and Olympic 110 meter hurdles champion. One of the interesting things about his career is the University of Carolina graduate never won an individual NCAA title during his time at Chapel Hill but he quickly became a star as professional. On Saturday, one of the unique chapters in professional track and field history closed when Allen, 39, announced his retirement after winning Olympic gold in Atlanta, and turned in countless outstanding performances. He finishes with four World Outdoor Titles, three World Indoor Titles, finished the seasoned ranked number one four times, and one of greatest performances ever with a personal best of 12.92 seconds just .02 shy of the current American Record - is among the best in track history. Few have been so good, for so long. In 2005, Johnson earned a bronze at the World Outdoor Championships at the age of 34. Johnson has run under 13 seconds more than an hurdler in history - nine times. Allen showed grace even in defeat. I am him picking himself after falling in the early rounds of the 2004 Athen Games preventing him from competing for a second Olympic gold medal. Allen never was one for attention. Yet he’s getting it now. American record holder David Oliver said on his Twitter account, “Just talked to Allen Johnson, sad to see him call it a career and retire, a real genuine dude…” “Allen Johnson is an inspiration for competition as lifelong pursuit. He embodies all the qualities you could ask for from a champion. Above all, he conducted himself with class, on and off the track”, said Doug Logan CEO of USA Track and Field. “He won and lost with dignity, although clearly he won more than he lost. Allen set the standard for hurdling at the World and Olympic level and has inspired a generation of hurdlers, from the U.S. to Cuba to China, who continue to chase his achievements. That chase will continue for years to come.” Lolo Jones once said, “”In track and field I most admire Allen because I have watched him growing up. I remember Allen, specifically, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I remember how he carried himself on TV and how he represented himself and his country was amazing.” While Friday marked a bookend to Johnson’s career, to really appreciate his story you have to have met the man only once. He is widely known in track circles for mentoring young athletes on how to make it in the track game and befriending competitors. I’ve seen few hearts as big and as humble an athlete as Johnson. The dashing, dazzling runs may be gone but Johnson’s contributions to this sport will never be forgotten.
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| Gays runs past Powell in London Posted: 10 Jul 2010 07:54 PM PDT
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| Gay blasts by Powell & Allen Johnson announces retirement at Gateshead Posted: 10 Jul 2010 07:42 PM PDT INDIANAPOLIS - In his first 100m competition of the year, American record holder Tyson Gay used an impressive finishing burst in passing former world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica in winning the men’s 100m Saturday at the Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead, England. The British Grand Prix is a member of the prestigious new IAAF Samsung Diamond League series consisting of 14 of the greatest invitational track meets in the world. For more information visit: www.diamondleague.com Gay trailed Powell for most of the race before passing him with 20 meters to go. In the first battle this season between two of the ‘big three’ of men’s sprinting (Gay, Powell and Usain Bolt) Gay put an end to Powell’s unbeaten season by crossing the finish line first in 9.94 seconds. Competitors in the 100m dealt with a +1.7 meters per second headwind. “I felt good,” Gay told the IAAF. “Asafa’s one of my favorite competitors and I managed to get him today. I really had to stretch to the finish line and he didn’t see me coming. The wind maybe affected the time slightly, but not much.” In other events, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist and 2010 USA Outdoor Championships runner-up Walter Dix won the men’s 200 meters with his time of 20.26 seconds. Dix, who posted the second-fastest time in the world this year of 19.72 from his win last Saturday at the Nike Prefontaine Classic and won earlier this week in Lausanne, finished just ahead of two-time World Outdoor Championships bronze medalist and reigning national champion Wallace Spearmon, who was the runner-up in 20.29. Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (NOR) was third in 20.31 and Angelo Taylor was fourth in 20.50. U.S. women’s sprinters also were successful in Gateshead with 2009 national 100m champion and two-time World Outdoor Championships bronze medalist Carmelita Jeter winning her specialty in 10.95 seconds. Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad was the runner-up in 11.00, with Sherone Simpson of Jamaica third in 11.02. 2007 USA Junior champion and Pan Am Junior gold medalist Bianca Knight was victorious in the women’s 200m in 22.71. Rosemarie Whyte of Jamaica was the runner-up in 22.81, with Anneisha McLaughlin (JAM) finishing third in 22.95. 2007 USA and NCAA Outdoor champion Alysia Johnson posted an impressive win in the women’s 800 meters by crossing the finish line first in 1:59.84. Finishing second was Halima Hachlaf (MAR) in 2:00.49, with Yuliya Krevsun (UKR) third in 2:00.67. 2008 Olympian and 2009 World Outdoor Championships fifth-place finisher Christin Wurth-Thomas finished fourth in 2:00.75. Also posting a win today was two-time World Indoor champion and two-time Indoor Visa Champion Lolo Jones, who won the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.79 seconds. Jones, who is the 2010 USA Outdoor champion and posted the fastest-time in the world this year of 12.55 on June 12 in New York, finished ahead of runner-up Danielle Carruthers (12.98) and Canadian standout Perdita Felicien, who was third in 13.01. U.S. women turning in runner-up performances in Gateshead included reigning national 400m champion, 2009 World Outdoor Championships sixth-place finisher and current world 400m leader Debbie Dunn (50.66), and 2004 Olympic Trials fourth-place finisher Morgan Uceny (4:04.26), who posted the fastest 1,500m time by an American this outdoor season earlier this week in Lausanne when she finished fifth in 4:02.40, which is her career best. 2008 Olympian and Olympic Trials record holder Kara Patterson, who set the American record in the women’s javelin in winning at the 2010 USA Outdoor Championships, finished as the runner-up today with her best throw of 63.11m/207-0. Another impressive performance was turned in by 2010 USA Outdoor Championships runner-up Leonel Manzano, who posted the fastest time by an American this outdoor season with his 1,500m second-place finish in 3:33.51. His performance bettered the previous U.S. leading mark of 3:33.92 that he posted when he finished third in New York on June 12. Also turning in a strong performance was Ben Bruce, who was the runner-up in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the 2010 USA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines. Bruce finished third today in 8:22.88, which is his personal best time and the second-fastest time by an American this year. All-time hurdles great Allen Johnson retires at Gateshead According to a report by the BBC, 1996 Olympic gold medalist, four-time World Outdoor champion and all-time 110m hurdles great Allen Johnson announced his retirement today in Gateshead at the age of 39. “It’s just come to the point where my body can’t take it anymore,” said Johnson.”Maybe I can coach some hurdlers or some sprinters… give something back. I’m going to miss it, I really am, but it was fun.”
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