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6568! – Oregon Track Club Elite’s Ashton Eaton breaks his own world record - Russell Brown and Sally Kipyego win big, set OTC records in BostonPublished by
6568! – Oregon Track Club Elite’s Ashton Eaton breaks his own world record Competing far from his home state of Oregon, in the Northern European country of Estonia, OTC Elite rookie Ashton Eaton crossed the finish line in 1,000 meters to a familiar feeling – a standing ovation and a world record in the indoor heptathlon. Eaton set three personal bests over the two-day competition in Estonia’s capital city of Tallinn, and totaled 6,568 points to better his previous mark of 6,499 (which was set last March at the NCAA Indoor Championships) by 69 points. The next closest competitor, in a field that contained decathlon world record holder Roman Sebrle, was Estonia’s Andres Raja with 6,114 points. “I am very happy to have made a new world record in Tallinn,” Eaton said to an Estonian news source. “Estonians sure do love athletics and combined events! High jump was the hardest for me this time but after the pole vault, I was sure I was going to make a new world record.” Eaton began the competition on Saturday, February 5, with a PR of 6.66 seconds in the 60-meter dash. Then he won the long jump with a mark of 7.77 meters (25 feet, 6 inches) and set another PR of 14.45m (47-5) in the shot put. The only disappointments of the day came in the jumping events. In the horizontal event, Eaton scratched his first jump and played it safe on his second – getting the 7.77 mark with a take-off that was a good two feet behind the board, according to OTC Elite coach Harry Marra. Then, in the high jump, Eaton felt his calves cramping and cleared only 2.01 (6–7) 10 centimeters less than his best of 2.11. On Sunday, Eaton finished off the event with his third PB. This one came in the 60m hurdles, where he was clocked in 7.60 seconds. He finished off the day by winning both the pole vault – in an indoor-best 5.20 meters (17-1) – and the 1,000 in 2:34.74. Ashton's maturity and composure in this competition and all his competitions for that matter on this trip, against more seasoned veterans, has really impressed me,” Marra said. “His performances aside—and they were great—this aspect of confidence will serve him well in the World Championships and Olympic Games ahead.” A little closer to home, in Boston, two more OTC Elite stars celebrated momentous wins at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. Russell Brown stunned the crowd with a win in the mile, and Sally Kipyego bested the field in the women’s 3,000 meters. Brown – who has been training alongside Andrew Wheating and under University of Oregon Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna – ran the race of his professional career. Surpassing the likes of New Zealand’s Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis and American record holder Alan Webb, Brown tailed former Stanford teammate Garrett Heath into the final 100 meters, then surged past him with an insurmountable kick – winning in a personal and OTCE record time of 3:54.81. “Coach Rowland has done a great job with Sally Kipyego and Harry Marra is doing wonders with Ashton,” said Lananna, who will lead the U.S. men’s squad through Track Town, USA to the World Outdoor Championships this summer. “I am pleased with Andrew and Russell's progress this fall and winter. The club looks forward to some exciting results from ‘down under’ later this winter.” OTC Elite sent the group of Nick Symmonds, Tyler Mulder, Jemma Simpson and Chris Thompson to Australia last Monday to train and compete in the warm weather. Kipyego, whose been training at altitude for the past month, held off a strong group of American Jenny Simpson, Canadian Megan Wright and Ethiopian Kalkidan Gezahegn, to win the 3,000 by over a second. Her time of 8:49.74 was both an indoor PB for Kipyego and a club record. “This result culminates a good period of winter training, it shows that she’s wintered well,” OTC Elite coach Mark Rowland said of Kipyego. “She hasn’t done much speed work, so I was happy to see she was able to challenge the competition in the final meters.” “Now we’ll figure out where we go from here,” Rowland added. “We’ll sit down and access whether we’re on track – and I feel that we are – to enable her to hopefully challenge for a world championship at the end of the summer.” The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix ran in a tape-delayed broadcast Sunday morning at 11 a.m. PST on ESPN.
Becky Radliff More news |
