by Larry EderChris Solinsky, the recent UW Madison graduate, is a man on a mission. He has an agent (Tom Radcliffe at Kimbia), he has a footwear sponsor ( Nike) and he has two personal bests so far as he traverses Europe. His recent personal best, at 3,000 meters, moved him to 8th on the all time list.
At the Norwich Union British Grand Prix in Sheffield, England on July 15, 2007, the story was the weather as much as it was the meet. Tyson Gay ran 10.13 for a win at 100 meters. Jeremy Wariner stumbled in his blocks, then dropped out, and for the UK, Andrew Baddeley won a brilliant 1,500 meter race, in a personal best of 3:34.74 over Rui Silva and Bernard Lagat! Kaja Berquvist began to come around in the high jump again, as Nicola Sanders ran 51.01 on some sore achilles tendons. The UK
was also cheered by Joana Pavey’s 8:47 in second at the 3k, to Vivian Cheryuit’s 8:43.39.
The Norwich Union meets, run by Fast Track, are well orchestrated athletics meetings. One thing that Meet Organizer Ian Stewart does well is develop great middle distance races. The men’s 1,500 was a good example, but the real race of the day was the men’s 3,000 meters! Fast Track controls every aspect of the meetings in the UK, from in stadium entertainment and signage to the breadth of the fields. Stewart invests in developing young UK and US talent.
But the race of the day, to repeat myself, was the men’s 3,000 meters. Kenenisa Bekele versus Craig Mottram. Mottram had defeated Bekele in their last meeting at the World Cup of Athletics last September in Athens. And then, Mottram defeated Taruki Bekele, Kenenisa’s little brother, in the Prefontaine two mile on June 10.
Running a very strong pace from the beginning, Kenenisa Bekele proved that he was back on his game and that Osaka will be a real race if someone wants to defeat Bekele. Also in this race was recent Badger graduate, Chris Solinsky. Right behind him was Dathan Ritzenhein and the UK’s Mo Farah.
“The race was fast. We went through 4:03 for the mile and it was comfortable, ” Solinsky told reporters. The reason a 4:03 mile was fast was that Bekele kept going and the pace did not let up! Solinsky’s best time going through a mile before in a 3k had been 4:11. The race was moving!
Just after the mile, Bekele took off and broke up the pack. There was Bekele, Mottram and Solinsky hanging on and a second pack back about 20 meters. Bekele had a plan. Mottram had beaten Mottram in the past two meetings over 3k by pushing the last 1,000 meters. Mottram had won his recent two mile and his 5k in Ostrava with fast last 1,000 meters ( the final lap in 53 in Ostrava sure did not hurt either). Bekele was out to avenge his defeats and his brother’s defeats at the hands of Craig Mottram.
The 3,000 meters is seven and one half laps. A pure middle distance race, where milers and 5,000 meter runners meet. Chris Solinsky, coming off his second NCAA 5,000 meter title, and a sixth at the USA Outdoor, had just set a personal best in Malmo, Sweden in the 1,500 meters in 3:39.26, finishing one second behind first place with his fourth place finish.
Solinsky is a tough runner. He was a tough high schooler at Stevens Point Area High School, where he was a Wisconsin prep legend. At UW, Solinsky trained, as he still does, under the thoughtful approach of Jerry Schumacher, a man of few words, but strong, consistent training programs and training environs. What works, why change?
It works for Tegankamp, Solinsky, Reilly, among others.
Well, at this point of the 3k, with three and half laps to go, it is time for committment and Chris Solinsky kept that committment. He stayed focus and with 250 meters to go, was making up some room on Craig Mottram, who was in the process of being dusted by one Kenenisa Bekele.
Bekele went on to run 7:26.29 for 3,000 meters, breaking the UK record of one Haile Gebrselassie by five seconds! Craig Mottram looked back, increased his pace, and saved second with his 7:35 for 3,000 meters, and Chris Solinsky kicked it in, running a fine 7:36.90 for the 3,000 meters, giving him an eleven second personal best and putting him on the US all time top ten list, actually number 8. In his second race as a professional in Europe, Solinsky has run faster than Frank Shorter, Rudy Chapa, Alberto Salazar and the late Steve Prefontaine. Not bad company! ( Dathan Ritzenhein was fourth in a personal best of 7:39.20, and Mo Farah was fifth in 7:42.83, followed by Ian Dobson in 7:48).
Chris will run next on July 28 in Heusden, Belgium over 5,000 meters. To check out the video of Chris’ race, click here: http://www.kimbia.net/newsarticle000171.html
For full meet results, please read below:
Norwich Union British Grand Prix Sheffield 15-Jul-2007
Results MEN
Official Result Men – 100 Metres Wind:-0.4m/s
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Gay, Tyson USA 10.13 10
2 Devonish, Marlon GBR 10.23 8
3 Obikwelu, Francis POR 10.24 7
4 Edgar, Tyrone GBR 10.29 6
5 Gardener, Jason GBR 10.41 5
6 Thomas, Dwight JAM 10.42 4
7 Crawford, Shawn USA 10.44 3
8 Johnson, Patrick AUS 10.50 2
Official Result Men – 200 Metres Wind:+1.2m/s
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Spearmon, Wallace USA 20.08 10
2 Bolt, Usain JAM 20.08 8
3 Martin, Rodney USA 20.39 7
4 Hession, Paul IRL 20.44 6
5 Devonish, Marlon GBR 20.45 5
6 Abeyie, Tim GBR 20.77 4
7 Williams, Christopher JAM 20.82 3
8 Johnson, Patrick AUS 21.05 2
Official Result Men – 400 Metres
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Taylor, Angelo USA 45.25 10
2 Steffensen, John AUS 45.64 8
3 Williamson, Darold USA 45.74 7
4 Ayre, Sanjay JAM 45.95 6
5 Rooney, Martyn GBR 46.37 5
6 Modibo, Ato TRI 47.33 4
Wariner, Jeremy USA DNF
Pistorius, Oscar RSA DQ
Official Result Men – 1500 Metres
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Baddeley, Andrew GBR 3:34.74 10
2 Silva, Rui POR 3:35.92 8
3 Lagat, Bernard USA 3:36.24 7
4 Kemboi, Nicholas KEN 3:36.90 6
5 Myers, Rob USA 3:37.61 5
6 Fountain, Mark AUS 3:37.94 4
7 Speaight, Neil GBR 3:38.33 3
8 Davies, Stephen GBR 3:38.50 2
9 Riseley, Jeffrey AUS 3:38.56 1
10 McCormick, Nick GBR 3:38.58 1
11 Blincoe, Adrian NZL 3:38.66 1
12 Kiptum, Bernard Kiptanui KEN 3:39.07 1
13 Birmingham, Collis AUS 3:39.10
14 Chirchir, William KEN 3:40.08
15 Krummenacker, David USA 3:43.11
Dirshe, Rizak SWE DNF
Hoffman, Paul AUS DNF
Official Result Men – 3000 Metres
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Bekele, Kenenisa ETH 7:26.69 10
2 Mottram, Craig AUS 7:35.00 8
3 Solinsky, Chris USA 7:36.90 7
4 Ritzenhein, Dathan USA 7:39.03 6
5 Kipkorir, Edwin KEN 7:40.88 5
6 Farah, Mohammed GBR 7:42.83 4
7 Dobson, Ian USA 7:48.03 3
8 Chebii, Abraham KEN 7:53.64 2
9 Slattery, Steve USA 8:01.15 1
10 Mays, Jermaine GBR 8:05.87 1
11 Silva, Rui Pedro POR 8:07.19 1
12 Summerside, Seth USA 8:08.83 1
Bett, Charles Kiplangat KEN DNF
Kosgei, Shadrack KEN DNF
Official Result Men – 110 Metres Hurdles Wind:-0.5m/s
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Liu, Xiang CHN 13.23 10
2 Wilson, Ryan USA 13.27 8
3 Moore, Anwar USA 13.35 7
4 Robles, Dayron CUB 13.37 6
5 Johnson, Allen USA 13.39 5
6 Merritt, Aries USA 13.60 4
7 Alleyne, Richard GBR 13.90 3
8 Sharman, William GBR 14.01 2
Official Result Men – Pole Vault
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Hooker, Steven AUS 5.65 10
2 Mack, Timothy USA 5.55 7.5
2 Stevenson, Toby USA 5.55 7.5
4 Burgess, Paul AUS 5.55 6
5 Sawano, Daichi JPN 5.55 5
6 Lanaro, Giovanni MEX 5.40 3
6 Lobinger, Tim GER 5.40 3
6 Mesnil, Romain FRA 5.40 3
9 Cutts, Luke GBR 5.00
Walker, Brad USA DNS
Official Result Men – Long Jump
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Wind Pts
1 Johnson, Brian USA 7.99 +1.2 10
2 Morgan, Nathan GBR 7.92 +0.4 8
3 Tomlinson, Christopher GBR 7.90 0 7
4 Thornell, John AUS 7.82 +2.4 6
5 Garenamotse, Gable BOT 7.74 +0.8 5
6 Moore, Jonathan GBR 7.45 +0.2 4
7 Parravicini, Tim AUS 7.41 +1 3
8 Fivaz, Julien SUI 7.36 -0.5 2
Official Result Men – Triple Jump
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Wind Pts
1 Wilson, Aarik USA 17.19 0 10
2 Sands, Leevan BAH 16.75 +0.5 8
3 Valukevic, Dmitrij SVK 16.69 +0.9 7
4 Kapek, Julien FRA 16.55 -0.2 6
5 Oke, Tosin GBR 15.89 -0.2 5
6 Golley, Julian GBR 15.82 -1.3 4
7 Andersson, Anton SWE 15.80 -1.1 3
Official Result Men – Javelin Throw
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Arvidsson, Magnus SWE 84.74 10
2 Thorkildsen, Andreas NOR 83.55 8
3 Koski-Vähälä, Jarkko FIN 79.55 7
4 Järvenpää, Tero FIN 79.32 6
5 Janik, Igor POL 77.93 5
6 Wenk, Stefan GER 76.76 4
7 Pienaar, Gerhardus RSA 76.53 3
8 Doran, Lee GBR 63.97 2
Results WOMEN
Official Result Women – 200 Metres Wind:+0.3m/s
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Felix, Allyson USA 22.35 10
2 Richards, Sanya USA 22.44 8
3 Campbell, Veronica JAM 22.60 7
4 Moore, LaShauntea USA 22.88 6
5 Mothersill, Cydonie CAY 23.27 5
6 Freeman, Emily GBR 23.33 4
7 Maduaka, Joice GBR 23.35 3
8 Kallur, Jenny SWE 24.04 2
Official Result Women – 400 Metres
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Sanders, Nicola GBR 51.01 10
2 Hennagan, Monique USA 51.19 8
3 Cuddihy, Joanne IRL 51.56 7
4 Henderson, Monique USA 51.69 6
5 Lloyd, Shereefa JAM 52.24 5
6 Désert, Solen FRA 52.64 4
7 Robinson, Moushaumi USA 53.14 3
8 Fraser, Donna GBR 53.21 2
Official Result Women – 800 Metres
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Schmidt, Alice USA 1:59.99 10
2 Langerholc, Brigita SLO 2:00.54 8
3 Clement, Treniere USA 2:00.96 7
4 Simpson, Jemma GBR 2:01.23 6
5 Okoro, Marilyn GBR 2:01.27 5
6 Meadows, Jennifer GBR 2:01.30 4
7 Macharia, Faith KEN 2:02.22 3
8 Setowska-Drick, Ewelina POL 2:02.33 2
9 Lyne, Rebecca GBR 2:03.38
Official Result Women – 3000 Metres
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Cheruiyot, Vivian KEN 8:43.85 10
2 Pavey, Joanne GBR 8:47.39 8
3 Cullen, Mary Teresa IRL 8:48.17 7
4 Augusto, Jessica POR 8:50.92 6
5 Wangui, Lucy KEN 8:55.56 5
6 Deatherage, Jenelle USA 8:57.36 4
7 Janowska, Wioletta POL 8:58.58 3
8 Mortimer, Amy USA 8:59.60 2
9 Reed, Kate GBR 9:01.17 1
10 McCambridge, Maria IRL 9:19.07 1
Official Result Women – 3000 Metres Steeplechase
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Hinds, Korene JAM 9:34.83 10
2 Hyman, Mardrea JAM 9:37.70 8
3 Dean, Hattie GBR 9:38.56 7
4 Clitheroe, Helen GBR 9:45.22 6
5 Britton, Fionnuala IRL 9:47.58 5
6 Brown, Tina GBR 10:09.71 4
7 Ankier, Jo GBR 10:18.54 3
8 Thomas, Sonia GBR 10:21.14 2
9 Cruz, Clarisse POR 10:34.64 1
Entwistle, Claire GBR DNF
Official Result Women – 100 Metres Hurdles Wind:-0.2m/s
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Perry, Michelle USA 12.79 10
2 Jones, LoLo USA 12.89 8
3 Ennis-London, Delloreen JAM 13.04 7
4 Denby, Nichole USA 13.20 6
5 Klüft, Carolina SWE 13.31 5
6 Claxton, Sarah GBR 13.32 4
7 Adams, Jenny USA 13.37 3
8 Lamalle, Adrianna FRA 13.45 2
Official Result Women – 400 Metres Hurdles
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Rawlison, Jana AUS 54.59 10
2 Danvers-Smith, Tasha GBR 55.31 8
3 Glover, Sandra USA 55.54 7
4 McConnell, Lee GBR 56.04 6
5 Kubokura, Satomi JPN 56.51 5
6 Stoddart, Shevon JAM 56.77 4
7 James, Markita USA 56.82 3
8 Darden, Dominique USA 59.35 2
Official Result Women – High Jump
Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Bergqvist, Kajsa SWE 1.95 10
2 Acuff, Amy USA 1.89 8
3 Laláková, Barbora CZE 1.85 6.5
3 Styopina, Vita UKR 1.85 6.5
5 Dubnová, Romana CZE 1.85 5
6 Jones, Ifoma USA 1.85 4
7 MendÃa, Marta ESP 1.81 3
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