LAGAT ROCKS THE REGGIE WITH AMERICAN 5-K RECORD
By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

BOSTON (06-Feb) -- He may have been wearing number 13 on his hip, but tonight's Reebok Boston Indoor Games at the Reggie Lewis Center here was anything but unlucky for two-time Olympic medallist Bernard Lagat.  The 35 year-old three-time world champion uncharistically ran from the front to win his first-ever indoor 5000m in 13:11.50, breaking Galen Rupp's one year old American record by 7 seconds.

"Which I normally don't do," Lagat commented about the nine laps he was in the lead during the middle of the race.  "You know, it's like different territory."

Lagat found himself in the lead when the second of two pacemakers, Kyle Miller, took the field through 2000m in 5:19.31 then dropped out.  Lagat looked a little tense leading the race, but said afterwards that he was relaxed and in control.

"As long as you're comfortable in front, you can do it," he said.

Rupp, who had been running steadily in the pack behind Lagat, jolted the field when he surged with five laps to go and took the lead.  Lagat followed, along with the Ethiopian trio of Bekana Daba, Dejan Gebremeskel, and Markos Geneti.  Rupp continued on the front until about 300 meters to go when Lagat shot past him on the backstretch in his bid for victory.  Pouring it on, Lagat scorched a 27-second final lap to get his second victory of this indoor season after his historic 8th Wanamaker Mile title last Friday in New York.

"I was determined to push it hard," said Lagat who was spurred by chants of, "USA, USA" from the crowd.

Gebremeskel and Daba nearly caught the American in the final 50 meters, and both were timed in 13:11.78 as they finished second and third, respectively.  Rupp, who arguably made the race, had to settle for a personal best of 13:14.21, also breaking his own national record.

"The plan was just to relax as much as possible," said the former Oregon Duck who slept 13 hours last night to fight off a lingering cold.  He added: "It ended up being a real kicker's race, but I'm real happy with where I'm at right now.  My strength is better than it's ever been."

Olympic silver medallist Nick Willis of New Zealand also won a classic kicker's race in the men's mile.  And like Lagat, he got help from another competitor, Will Leer, who strung out the field after a sluggish 2:59 split was recorded through the three-quarter mark.  Willis followed Lear, the two men were about even at the bell, but Willis pulled in front for good on the backstretch to win in 3:55.26, 4/10ths of a second up on Leer.

"I felt great with 400 to go, but when I crossed the line I was exhausted," said Willis slumped in a chair speaking with reporters.  "Not having raced for a while it's been so long since I dug that deep."

Kalkidan Gezahegn, the 2008 World Junior Championships silver medallist at 1500m, didn't look as though she was exhausted when she won the women's 3000m in 8:46.19.  Off of a pedestrian pace of 3:01 through the first kilometer and 5:59.13 through the second, Gezahegn, Ethiopian compatriot Genzebe Dibaba, and American Shannon Rowbury split from the field to fight it out for the top three spots.  Striding smoothly, the tiny Gezahegn took the lead with five laps to go and simply couldn't be caught.

"Based on my training I thought I would win," said Gezahegn, 18, through an interpreter.  She was particularly excited about the many Ethiopian fans who had come to the Reggie Lewis Center to cheer.  "Because people of my country are in the crowd, it was giving me a lot of moral support, and giving me a lot of encouragement," she added.

Dibaba, the younger sister of Tirunesh and Ejegayehu, finished second in 8:47.01.  Rowbury, last summer's world championships 1500m bronze medallist, finished third in a personal best 8:47.18.

"It was fun just to practice running tough, keeping myself in the race as long as I could," said Rowbury who turned a 30.5-second final lap and said that she had been basically doing 1500m training.  "Thirty feels more comfortable than 35's in a way."

Anna Pierce, the reigning USA 1500m indoor champion, didn't win the women's 1000 meters as she had hoped, getting pipped on the line by Jamaica's Kenia Sinclair, 2:38.62 to 2:38.76.  Neither woman came close to Jen Toomey's USA record of 2:34.19, a six year-old mark which seemed likely to fall here.

"I think I need a few more weeks; I don't think it gets any simpler than that," said Pierce.  "You know, I'm in good shape.  It's just a matter of whether that translates yet.  I think I just need a couple of more weeks, and by USA's I'll be ready to go."

The two junior miles were won with strong kicks, especially the girl's race where 17 year-old Roslyn High School senior, Emily Lipari, avenged her loss last Friday to Pass Christian's Cory McGee at the Millrose Games.  Lipari, who is barely five feet tall, blazed past McGee on her way to a 31 second final lap and a meet record and personal best 4:46.77.

"I came on this track with a vengeance," said Lipari who was very disappointed with her 5th place Millrose finish.  "Knowing it's my senior year, I put it all out there."

On the boys' side, Alex Hatz got a surprising victory after Millrose champion Pat Schellberg wilted badly on the last lap after leading most of the race, and Hatz surged home with a two-second victory in 4:12.08.

"I just wanted to be in it with 400 to go and just be competitive," said Hatz, a senior at Manlius High School in Upstate New York.  "You never know with this kind of race.  Today is my day."

In the final race of the evening, the 5000m and 10,000m Olympic champion from Beijing, Tirunesh Dibaba, faced the impossible task of running for a 5000m indoor world record when both of her pacemakers quit just five laps into the 25-lap race.  Lap after lap, Dibaba circled the blue Reggie Lewis track alone to finish in 14:44.53, well off of her own meet record of 14:27.42 set back in 2007.  Former Texas Tech star, Sally Kipyego, kept Dibaba within sight, and was rewarded with a personal record 14:52.67.

This was the 15th edition of the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, and the meet once again drew a standing-room-only crowd of about 5000.  Despite bitterly cold temperatures outside, hundreds of fans lined up waiting to pick up tickets before the meet.  It was well worth the wait.

ENDS

For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 6, 2010
   
Contact:
Ivan Cropper
USA Track & Field
Senior Director, Marketing & Communications
317-713-4656; [email protected]

Lagat gets it right the first time
BOSTON -   As the Mid-Atlantic weathered a blizzard, a drive up Interstate 95 found the world's best track and field athletes scorching the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in front of a capacity crowd at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games.   The star of the night was World Champion, Olympic medalist and President of the Millrose Games boards, American Bernard Lagat.
 
Lagat had stated his goal: to break the American record at 5000m in his maiden race indoors at the distance.  Despite the enlistment of pace-setters, Lagat's goal looked unlikely as the field was more than two seconds behind record pace early on. By the 3,000m mark, the record seemed so improbable that the in-stadium announcer had stopped announcing lap splits.
 
But with 1000m to go, the reigning American record holder, Galen Rupp, seized the lead and pushed the pace.  Lagat and Ethiopians Dejen Gebremeskel and Bekana Daba covered the move, the pace benefiting from Rupp's efforts. 
 
With 300m to go Lagat narrowly escaped being boxed in and moved to the front. Employing his miler-trained kick, he took the win and set the American Record in 13:11.50. Gebremeskel pushed his way to second in 13:11.78 with Bekana Daba taking third in 13:11.78.
 
For the second straight week, Lagat was named the Team USA Athlete of the Meet presented by Visa.  Lagat will once again donate his $2500 bonus for the award to the Haitian Relief Fund.
 
Trammell takes hurdles again
 
The defending Indoor Visa Champion and Millrose winner, Terrence Trammell crashed into the first three hurdles while storming to his second victory of the Visa Championship Series season in the Visa men's 60m hurdles.  His victory, in 7.49 seconds, broke his own meet record (7.53). American Eric Mitchum moved up for second in 7.61, followed by 2005 world champion Ladji Doucoure of France, third in 7.68.
 
Ethiopia-U.S. battle in women's 3000m
 
The 3,000m became a three-woman race with four laps remaining as Ethiopian stars Kalkidan Gezahegn and Genzebe Dibaba joined American 1,500m star Shannon Rowbury in rousing the crowd.  Gezahegn fended off a final move by Dibaba on the bell lap to take the victory in 8:46.19.  Dibaba was second (8:47.01) and Rowbury followed in third (8:47.18)
 
Batman heroic
 
Bershawn "Batman" Jackson worked hard for his second win in as many weeks.  Batman went from first to third on the final lap of the men's 400m after being jostled. Using a strong move on the back straight, he pulled even with World Outdoor bronze medalist Renny Quow of Trinidad.  Jackson surged to the lead with 15m to go and finished first (46.86), with Quow taking second (47.15) and Jamaal Torrance third (48.00).
 
Dibaba the destroyer
 
In the highly anticipated Visa women's 5,000m, Ethiopian legend Tirunesh "The Baby-faced Destroyer" Dibaba put on another solo-running workshop, completing the final 10 minutes of her race alone before winning in 14:44.53. Former 8-time NCAA champion Sally Kipyego was second in 14:52.67.
 
Barber does it again
 
Millrose Games winner Lisa Barber proved once again that she is fully recovered from her 2009 achilles injury.  Showing her usual, explosive start, Barber led from start to finish to take the victory in the women's 60m in 7.22. Marshevet Myers (7.29) took second followed by Muna Lee (7.30).
 
Ivory coasts
 
New week, same result as Ivory Williams bested 2009 US Outdoor 100m champion, Michael Rodgers, for the victory in the Visa Men's 60m.  The race unfolded similar to the Millrose Games as Williams (6.51) took the lead from the start and hung on for a close victory over Rodgers (6.53).  Daniel Bailey moved up for a third place finish (6.54).
 
Around the Reggie
 
In other events, DeeDee Trotter showed she has fully recovered from a knee injury in 2008 and a subpar 2009 to return to the top of the podium, leading wire-to-wire in the women's 400m, winning in 53.09. Jeremy Scott won the men's pole vault with a clearance of 5.60m/18-4.5, while Chelsea Johnson won the women's vault for the second straight week, with a clearance of 4.55m/14-11. Shalonda Solomon won the Reebok women's 200m in 23.53, and Damu Cherry came from behind to win the women's 60m hurdles in 8.00, just ahead of Canadian Perdita Felicien (8.01).
 
Winners of exhibition events Saturday night included Emily Lipari in the high school girls' mile, setting a meet record in 4:46.77. Alex Hatz won the boys' high school mile going away in 4:12.08. Chris Teague waited until the last lap to take the lead of the men's masters mile run and held on for the victory in 4:29:05, and the Cambridge Jets won the youth 4x200m relay in 1:42.93.
 
For more information and full quotes from the 2010 Reebok Boston Indoor Games, visit  www.bostonindoorgames.com.  For more information on the2010 Visa Championship Series, visit www.visachampionshipseries.com.