6 Quick Takeaways From The 2014 Pre Classic

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An incredible 2014 Pre Classic is in the books. Over the span of just 2.5 hours, there were close to 10 events that were comparable to (or even in some cases better) than an Olympic final.

Right now, we don’t have time to recap all of the six mid/d-distance events held today (men’s 800, mile, and 5k, women’s 1500, steeple and 2-mile). Hopefully, we’ll find time to do a men’s race recap and women’s race recap later but in the meantime, we give our 5 Quick Takeaways from the 2014 Pre Classic.

1. What an incredible Bowerman Mile
The World Indoor champ was on top of his game once again today

The World Indoor champ was on top of his game once again today

Save the best for last. The Bowerman Mile is always the last event at Pre Classic and often the highlight of the Pre Classic, and though the other distance races were loaded as well in 2014, Ayanleh Souleiman ensured that the four-lap race delivered once again.

Souleiman made a big move with 300 to go, and Silas Kiplagat was the only man in the field to respond. Kiplagat, who won here last year, would end up second in 3:47.88 as Souleiman set a meet record, running 3:47.32.

Let’s put that 3:47.32 in perspective for you. That’s the fastest time in the world since Alan Webb’s American record of 3:46.91 in 2007.

But Souleiman wasn’t the only good guy to run well here. Just how good was this race? Well World silver medalist Matt Centrowitz set a new personal best of 3:50.53 and that only placed him 8th.

In all, 10 of the 14 runners set PBs, and four set national records (Souleiman for Djibouti, Aman Wote for Ethiopia, Johan Cronje for South Africa and Henrik Ingebrigtsen for Norway). The race had six men under 3:50 and four more under 3:52, as all-time records were set for the sixth through 11th finishers in this one.

Surprisingly, two-time defending world champion Asbel Kiprop was one of the guys who didn’t have a good race. He was nowhere to be seen once the move was made with 300 to go and almost looked as if he gave up once he realized he wasn’t going to win. Kiprop told us later that he thought the leaders would make their move with 200 to go and was caught off guard when they went earlier. He also added that he still plans on challenging on the world 1500 record of 3:26.00 later in the summer in Monaco on July 18.

While Centrowitz set a PB, he told us he was a bit disappointed to be so far from the lead and disappointed that he didn’t break 3:50.
2. Rudisha and Aman both lose/Amos wins

Coming in, the men’s 800 meters received a lot of attention and rightly so. It featured the return of Olympic champ and world-record holder David Rudisha against quite possibly the greatest 800 field ever assembled. The Hayward Field crowd loved Rudisha, and he got the loudest applause of the day when he was introduced prior to the race.

We saw flashes of the old Rudisha for the first 600 on Saturday, but when the race was over, it wasn’t Rudisha or world indoor/outdoor champ Mo Aman of Ethiopia celebrating. No, it was Olympic silver medalist Nijel Amos of Botswana, who used a strong last 100 to pull away for the win over Aman in 1:43.63.

The most interesting part of this race came with 200 to go when Aman accelerated rapidly in an attempt to pass Rudisha for the lead. Rudisha responded quickly, and the two were close to an all-out sprint as they began to gap the field.

Their impatience would cost them, however, as they both ran out of steam over the last 100, especially Rudisha. Aman held on for second behind Amos, who timed his move perfectly, while Rudisha fell all the way back to seventh, giving several guys a much-prized scalp.

Rudisha and Aman were so focused on beating each other that they ended up handing the race to Amos. It was a classic case of each guy focusing on a single opponent rather than the field, and they couldn’t afford to do that against such a stellar group of runners. Think about it: entering the meet, Aman was the only man to beat Rudisha since 2010. And Aman himself was riding a 13-race win streak entering Pre. They both saw each other as their biggest threats, and by countering each other with 200 to go, they left the door wide open for Amos.

You’ve only got one move in an 800 and an all-out acceleration 200 meters out from the finish is foolish when there is a third guy in the field who ran 1:41.73 as an 18-year old at the 2012 Olympics. After the 2012 Games, we wondered if moving forward if Rudisha would be able to handle the young upstarts in Aman and Amos. Amos, like Rudisha, was gone for most of 2013, but he was right with Aman in his first 800 of 2014 and ahead of them both in his second here.

Source Lets Run