by Larry EderEleven days from now, the World Championships will start. The first event will be the Men’s marathon, starting at 7:10 A.M. Arguably the strongest track and field team on the planet, USA Track & Field has named its strongest team ever at a World Championships. There is a real chance that the U.S. will medal above 400 meters this year on the distance side, and Tyson Gay should be one of the big stories of the World Champs as well.
For me the men’s shot, women’s pole vault, women’s 5k and 10k, plus mens’ 100/200 and 400 meters will be barn burners. The best event of the entire World Champs? I am picking either the men’s 1,500 meters or the men’s 5,000 meters. For Japan? The men’s hammer throw will be the event for Japan, as Koji Murofushi, the Japanese Hammer throwing star, will have the stands shaking!
(The following release was from USATF, dated August 13, 2007):
14 Olympic medalists, 22 World Outdoor medalists lead Team USA to World Champs
INDIANAPOLIS – Led by superstars Jeremy Wariner, Allyson Felix, Tyson Gay, Sanya Richards, Adam Nelson and Michelle Perry, Team USA will look to continue its role as the world’s #1 track and field team at the 2007 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships. USA Track & Field on Monday announced the Team USA roster for the 11th edition of the Championships, which will be held August 25-September 2, in Osaka, Japan.
Team USA set an all-time record in winning 14 gold medals at the most recent World Outdoor Championships held in 2005 in Helsinki, Finland. The Americans added eight silver medals and three bronze medals to win 25 overall, matching the Team USA medal tally at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Experience leads the way
On the Team USA roster are 14 Olympic medalists – including 2004 individual or relay gold medalists Jeremy Wariner, Sanya Richards, Darold Williamson, Dee Dee Trotter and Dwight Phillips. Other Olympic medalists include Angelo Taylor, Terrence Trammell, Bernard Lagat, Bryan Clay, Adam Nelson, Lauryn Williams, Torri Edwards, Allyson Felix, and Deena Kastor.
Team USA will feature 22 previous World Championships medalists, including reigning individual world champions Allyson Felix, Lauryn Williams, Michelle Perry, Tianna Madison, Sanya Richards, Bershawn Jackson, Dwight Phillips, Adam Nelson, Walter Davis and Bryan Clay. Relay gold medalists include Darold Williamson and LaShawn Merrit. Other previous World Championships medalists on the roster include Wallace Spearmon, Angelo Taylor, Bernard Lagat, Terrence Trammell, James Carter, Tom Pappas, Brad Walker and Torri Edwards.
The roster also is peppered with no fewer than 10 individual American record holders.Suzy Powell, Matt Tegenkamp, Jenn Stuczynski, Breaux Greer, Shalane Flanagan and Alan Webb all have set ARs in 2007, while Sanya Richards, Deena Kastor, Bernard Lagat, Dominique Arnold, Tim Seaman and Teresa Vaill all previously broke, and still hold, American records.
World leaders
As of August 13, 11 athletes on the Team USA roster had combined for 13 world world-leading marks in their events thus far in 2007. Men’s world leaders are Tyson Gay (100m, 9.84 & 200m, 19.62), Jeremy Wariner (400m, 43.50), Alan Webb (1,500m, 3:30.54 & Mile, 3:46.91), James Carter (400m Hurdles, 47.72), Brad Walker (Pole Vault, 5.95 meters/19-6.25) Reese Hoffa (Shot Put, 22.43m/73 feet 7.25 inches) and Breaux Greer (Javelin, 91.29 meters/299 feet 6 inches)
Women’s world leaders are Allyson Felix (200m, 22.18), Sanya Richards (400m, 49.52), Michelle Perry (100m Hurdles, 12.44) and Tiffany Williams (400m Hurdles, 53.28).
NBC, Versus to broadcast meet
The 2007 World Championships will be broadcast in the United Stated daily on NBC and Versus. The broadcast schedule is as follows. All times Eastern; subject to change; check local listings.
August 25: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Versus
August 26: 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. on NBC
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Versus
August 27: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Versus
August 28: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Versus
August 29: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Versus
August 30: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Versus
August 31: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Versus
September 1: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. on NBC
9:00 – 11:00 p.m. on Versus
September 2: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. on NBC 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Versus
The full Team USA roster by event is listed below. Team roster notes and additional rosters – sorted alphabetically, by age and by residence – also are forthcoming and are posted on the USATF Web site, at: Team USA Roster
Men’s Roster by event – As of 8/10
100 meters: Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, AR), Mark Jelks (Kansas City, KS), J-Mee Samuels (Fayetteville, AR)
200 meters: Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, AR), Wallace Spearmon (Fayetteville, AR), Rodney Martin (Los Angeles, CA)
400 meters: Jeremy Wariner (Waco TX)*, Angelo Taylor (Decatur, GA), LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, VA), Lionel Larry (Los Angeles, CA)
800 meters: Khadevis Robinson (Santa Monica, CA), Nicholas Symmonds (Springfield, OR), Duane Solomon (Los Angeles, CA)
1,500 meters: Alan Webb (Reston, VA), Leonel Manzano (Austin, TX), Bernard Lagat (Tucson, AZ)
3,000-meter steeplechase: Joshua McAdams (Provo, UT), Aaron Aguayo (Phoenix, AZ), Thomas Brooks (Eugene, OR)
5,000 meters: Bernard Lagat (Tucson, AZ), Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, WI), Adam Goucher (Portland, OR)
10,000 meters: Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, AZ), Galen Rupp (Portland, OR), Dathan Ritzenhein (Boulder, CO)
Marathon: Mbarak Hussein (Albuquerque, NM), Simeon Sawe (Santa Fe, NM), Fernando Cabada (Bloomington, IN), Mike Morgan (Rochester Hills, MI), Kyle O’Brien (Shelby Township, MI)
20-kilometer race walk: Kevin Eastler (Aurora, CO), Tim Seaman (Chula Vista, CA)
50-kilometer race walk: Kevin Eastler (Aurora, CO)
110-meter hurdles: Terrence Trammell (Ellenwood, GA), Dominique Arnold (Irvine, CA), David Oliver (Orlando, FL)
400-meter hurdles: Bershawn Jackson (Raleigh, N.C.)*, James Carter (Raleigh, N.C.), Kerron Clement (Gainesville, FL), Derrick Williams (Fayetteville, AR)
High jump: Jim Dilling (Fond du Lac, WI), Jamie Nieto (Chula Vista, CA), Jesse Williams (Raleigh, N.C.)
Pole vault: Brad Walker (Mountlake Terrace, WA), Jeff Hartwig (Jonesboro, AR), Jacob Pauli (Cedar Falls, IA)
Long jump: Dwight Phillips (Snellville, GA)*, Miguel Pate (Tuscaloosa, AL), Trevell Quinley (Sacramento, CA), Walter Davis (Baton Rouge, LA)
Triple jump: Walter Davis (Baton Rouge, LA)*, Aarik Wilson (Bloomington, IN), Lawrence Willis (Lafayette, LA), Kenta Bell (Decatur, GA)
Shot put: Adam Nelson (Charlottesville, VA)*, Reese Hoffa (Athens, GA), Dan Taylor (Carbondale, IL), Noah Bryant (Santa Barbara, CA)
Discus: Michael Robertson (Beebe, AR), Ian Waltz (Chula Vista, CA), Jarred Rome (Chula Vista, CA)
Hammer Throw: A.G. Kruger (Ashland, OH), Kibwe Johnson (Ashland, OH)
Javelin: Breaux Greer (Scottsdale, AZ), Eric Brown (Fayetteville, AR)
Decathlon: Bryan Clay (Glendora, CA)*, Tom Pappas (Knoxville, TN), Paul Terek (San Luis Obispo, CA), Robert Arnold (Santa Rosa, CA)
4x100m Relay Pool: Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, AR), Mark Jelks (Kansas City, KS), J-Mee Samuels (Fayetteville, AR), LeRoy Dixon (Los Angeles, CA), Darvis Patton (Fort Worth, TX), Leonard Scott (Greenville, NC), plus anyone on the team roster
4x400m Relay Pool: Jeremy Wariner (Waco TX), Angelo Taylor (Decatur, GA), LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, VA), Lionel Larry (Los Angeles, CA), Darold Williamson (Woodway, TX), Jamaal Torrance (Raleigh, NC), plus anyone on the team roster
*Denotes IAAF Wildcard as defending world champion
Women’s Roster by event – As of 8/10
100 meters: Lauryn Williams (Miami, FL)*, Torri Edwards (Corona, CA), Carmelita Jeter (Long Beach, CA), Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, CA)
200 meters: Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, CA)*, Sanya Richards (Austin, TX), Torri Edwards (Corona, CA), LaShauntea Moore (Akron, OH)
400 meters: De’Hashia Trotter (Knoxville, TN), Natasha Hastings (St. Albans, NY), Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, OH)
800 meters: Alysia Johnson (Canyon Country, CA), Hazel Clark (Knoxville, TN),Alice Schmidt (San Diego, CA)
1,500 meters: Treniere Clement (Knoxville, TN),Christin Wurth (Springdale, AR), Erin Donohue (Haddenfield, NJ)
3,000-meter steeplechase: Jennifer Barringer (Boulder, CO), Anna Willard (Ann Arbor, MI), Lindsey Anderson (Morgan, UT)
5,000 meters: Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, NC), Jennifer Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, CA), Michelle Sikes (Winston Salem, NC)
10,000 meters: Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, CA), Kara Goucher (Portland, OR), Katie McGregor (Saint Louis Park, MN)
Marathon: Mary Akor (Gardena, CA), Zoila Gomez (Alamosa, CO), Ann Alyanak (Bellbrook, OH), Samia Akbar (Herndon, VA), Dana Coons (Vienna, VA)
20 km race walk: Teresa Vaill (Gainesville, FL)
100-meter hurdles: Michelle Perry (Santa Clarita, CA)*, Virginia Powell (Los Angeles, CA), Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA), Nichole Denby (Champaign, IL)
400-meter hurdles: Tiffany Williams (Columbia, SC), Sheena Johnson (Los Angeles, CA), Nicole Leach (Los Angeles, CA)
High jump: Amy Acuff (Isleton, CA), Erin Aldrich (Dallas, TX)
Pole vault: Jennifer Stuczynski (Churchville, NY), Nikole McEwen (Medford, OR), Jillian Schwartz (Jonesboro, AR)
Long jump: Tianna Madison (Los Angeles, CA)*, Grace Upshaw (Santa Monica, CA), Brittney Reese (Gulfport, MS), Rose Richmond (Bloomington, IN)
Triple jump: Shani Marks (Brooklyn Park, MN)
Shot put: Kristen Heaston (Palo Alto, CA), Jillian Camarena (Tucson, AZ), Sarah Stevens (Tempe, AZ)
Discus: Suzy Powell (Modesto, CA), Rebecca Breisch (Chula Vista, CA), Cecilia Barnes (Fresno, CA)
Hammer throw: Brittany Riley (Carbondale, IL), Kristal Yush (Baton Rouge, LA), Jessica Cosby (Mission Hills, CA)
Javelin: Dana Pounds (Colorado Springs, CO)
Heptathlon: Hyleas Fountain (Kettering, OH), Diana Pickler (Pullman, WA), Virginia Johnson (State College, PA)
4x100m Relay Pool: Torri Edwards (Corona, CA), Lauryn Williams (Miami, FL), Carmelita Jeter (Long Beach, CA), Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, CA), Mechelle Lewis (Columbia, SC), Mikele Barber (Raleigh, NC), plus anyone on the team roster
4x400m Relay Pool: De’Hashia Trotter (Knoxville, TN), Natasha Hastings (St. Albans, NY), Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, OH), Sanya Richards (Austin, TX), Monique Hennagan (Stockbridge, GA), Me’Lisa Barber (Raleigh, NC), plus anyone on the team roster
*Denotes IAAF Wildcard as defending world champion
