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There were a lot of winners and losers during the 2008 Nike Prefontaine Classic at the fabled Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus Sunday (6-8-08), but none were more historic than Maria Mutola’s 800 meter victory in 1:59.24.
The big deal was not the Mozambique-born Mutola breaking 2 minutes as her 1:57.57 in 1997 set both the Hayward Field and Prefontaine Classic records. It was that her win was her 16th career victory at the Nike Prefontaine Classic. Imagine for a moment running 16 highly competitive races over the years and NEVER losing.
Brad Walker’s American record-setting pole vault victory at 19-9.75 was impressive. The 2007 world champion’s vault was the highest clearance in the world since 2001, and even topped legendary Sergey Bubka’s meet record of 19-6.25.
That said, my neighbors could have heard me screaming encouragement while watching the telecast as it appeared that Mutola might lose when high school sensation Chanelle Price boldly took the lead down the backstretch, but Mutola reached down deep as she sprinted away to win, clearly overcome emotionally by what she was able to accomplish once again.
Mutola has become a huge crowd favorite at Hayward Field, and 14,200+ fans let her feel the love as they stood on their feet and screamed wildly when she turned on the jets to sprint past Chanelle Price. Experience does help in big meets.
A lot of runners have their day in the sun, setting American and world records for a few years, and then they fade away as newcomers rise up to steal their glory, but Maria Mutola is not one of those world beaters who faded away.
She has been recognized as the greatest 800-meter female runner in the world, and the most consistent and longest lasting 800-meter runner, winning no less than 14 world championships in outdoor and indoor competitions and a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Her Olympic gold medal was the first ever for an athlete from Mozambique.
Mutola came to the United States in 1991 to study and train with Margo Jennings, the track coach at Springfield High School in Eugene, Oregon, one of the great running centers in the world, and where running legend Steve “Pre” Prefontaine ran for the University of Oregon and the name “Pre” became a household word to runners worldwide. The Nike Prefontaine Classic keeps his legend alive and well, and honors the greatest middle distance runner America has ever produced.
In an appreciative and compassionate sort of way, Maria Mutola has captured the hearts of the Hayward Field fans because of her consistency in winning, reminding Eugene’s running faithful of Pre’s great legacy of running to win for those who cheered him on to greatness in his time.
Maria Mutola actually competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics for Mozambique as a 15-year-old phenom, running a personal best of 2:04.36 in the 800 meter. In 1991 she set a World Junior Record with a 1:57.63 clocking. She has run 400 meters in 51.37, 800 meters in 1:55.19, 1000 meters in 2:29.34 and 1500 meters in 4:01.50.
Other outstanding middle distance performances at the 2008 Nike Prefontaine Classic included:
World record holder and Olympic and world champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia’s 10,000 meter run in 26:25.97 (try running 6.2 miles while averaging UNDER 4:16 a mile).
Bekele’s countrywoman Meseret Defar clocked 14:38.73 in the 5000 meter to break National Hall of Famer Mary Slaney’s meet and Hayward Field record of 15:06.53 set in 1985, a record that stood for 23 years! Missed in the excitement over Defar’s great run was the fact that the USA’s Kara Goucher ran 14:58.10, a full 8+ seconds faster than Slaney’s record.
Bernard Lagat, who won both the 1500 and 500-meter runs at the 2007 world championships, cruised through the 2 mile to win in 8:12.45, much slower than last year’s winner, Craig Mottram of Australia who ran 8:03.50. Mottram was 5th this year in 8:18.19, simply outfoxed by a veteran field that slowed the pace to their liking.
Daniel Komen of Kenya, who holds the 2-mile world record at 7:58.61, finished 3rd in the mile, running 3:50.95 and losing to his Kenyan teammate Shedrack Korir, who ran 3:50.49. Think about Komen running 7:58.61, averaging less than 4 minutes a mile.
In that same mile race, America’s great hope in the Olympics-Alan Webb-ran his first race of the year, finishing 7th in 3:55.47. Two American runners-Lopez Lomong and Jon Rankin-both ran faster than Webb, who set the American record last year by running 3:46.91. The world record is 3:43.13 by the great Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998.
Interesting enough, Bernard Lagat, the current 1500 and 5000 world champion, holds the American record in the 1500 at 3:29.30. The Kenyan-born runner is now a U. S. citizen running for America.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
Read more of my other running articles: “Legendary High School Coach Pat Tyson Becomes New Coach at Gonzaga University”, “America’s Marketing Nightmare – The Runners Who Dominate the Boston Marathon” and “Arthur Lydiard, the World’s Greatest Middle Distance Coach, on How to Train Effectively.” Click on my Sports link.
Read my 5-Part series on Running: “Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the ‘Kiss of Death’ When Trying to Lose Weight – Part 1″, “How Lectins (Proteins in Foods) Are Very Negative in O Positive Blood Types – Part 2″, Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3″, “How Popular Running Magazines Are Constantly Giving Very Poor Diet Advice – Part 4″ and “There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5″. Click on my Sports link.
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