2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
Aspire Dome
Doha, Qatar
March 14, 2010

More Medals

In the last race of the evening, Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) ran the second leg of the Men's 4x400m relay which won the gold medal.  This is Nixon's second indoor relay gold medal (2008 Valencia). 

In the finals of the Women's 60m dash, LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (US Virgin Islands/Houston, TX) was slow at the start and finished in second place. Her time of 7.03sec is the second fastest of her career.    More importantly, Laverne's silver medal is the first medal in a major World Championship or Olympic Games for the island nation of US Virgin Islands. 

Overall, Team ASICS brought home 3 Golds and 1 Silver Medal from Doha. 

IAAF World Indoor Championships
Aspire Dome
Doha, Qatar
March 13, 2010

2 Events, 2 Golds

2008 World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones  (Baton Rouge, LA) won her second consecutive 60m Hurdles title with her record breaking performance this evening.  Jones' time of 7.72sec is a new American Record, a new Championship Record, and her lead at the finish of .14sec was the largest margin of victory in the history of the event.  She also became the first woman to defend a 60m Hurdles World Title and moved to third on the all-time world indoor list.  Jones barely qualified for the finals as she was the last qualifier in the 2nd semi-final heat and was the slowest (8.04sec) out of all the finalists.  The final, however, was a different story.  She rocketed out of the blocks and led from the first hurdle, increasing her lead with each passing hurdle, before putting the rest of the field away at the finish line.  After the race, Lolo commented: "I had a bad semi, I almost lost it, but I finally put it together at the most important time. Now, it’s joy for me after last year’s frustration and all that happened in 2008. I am so happy to be back.  This is the biggest day of my career, my best race. Finally I broke one of Gail Devers’ records that I was hunting over the last few years. I’m back on track after 2008 in Beijing and 2009 injury."

In the Men's Long Jump final, 2-time World Athletic Champion, Fabrice LaPierre (Australia/College Station, Texas) won his first major medal in dominating fashion.  After fouling on his first 2 attempts, LaPierre moved to the top of the leader board with a jump of 8.01m in the 3rd round.  His fourth and fifth jumps were measured out at 8.09m and 8.17m respectively.  In the sixth round, LaPierre knew he had won the gold medal and tried to improve on his last attempt but instead bailed on the jump as he was mid-flight.  LaPierre, who established a new Australian Indoor National record yesterday with his leap of 8.19m, is the first Australian to win an Indoor Long Jump title. 

Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) ran the first leg of the Men's 4x400m relay team which qualified the fastest out of all the teams who advanced to tomorrow's final. 

LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (US Virgin Islands/Houston, TX) will see action in the semi-finals of the Women's 60m dash tomorrow afternoon.

IAAF World Indoor Championships
Aspire Dome
Doha, Qatar
March 12, 2010

Fabrice LaPierre (Australia/College Station, Texas) led Team ASICS in today's qualifying action at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. LaPierre set a new National and Area Record in the qualifying of the Men's Long Jump. His leap of 8.19m (26' 3/4") was the farthest qualifying mark of the day and qualifies him for tomorrow night's final.

LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (US Virgin Islands/Houston, TX) blazed down the track and dominated the 3rd heat stopping the clock at 7.14sec, easily the fastest qualifying time of the day in the Women's 60m dash. She advances to the semi-finals which will be held on Sunday afternoon.

Defending World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) ran the second fastest time in the qualifying round of the Women's 60m Hurdles crossing the finish line in 7.94sec.  Jones will run the semifinals tomorrow afternoon.

Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) ran 9:04.25 in the Women's 3000m and did not advance to tomorrow's final.

US Indoor Combined Events Championships
Indiana University in Bloomington
Bloomington, IN
March 6-7, 2010

2008 Olympian Diana Pickler (Manhattan, KS) won her third consecutive US Indoor Pentathlon Championship over the weekend and became the only woman to ever win three titles in this event.  Pickler scored 4,544 points, a new personal best by 102 points, and won 2 out of the 5 events contested (60m Hurdles and Long Jump).  Sharon Day (San Luis Obispo, CA), a 2008 Olympian in the High Jump, finished in third place with a new personal best score of 4,467 points, 2 points away from second place. 

In the Men's Indoor Heptathlon, Jake Arnold (Tucson, AZ) also won his third consecutive championship by winning the 3 events contested on the second day of competition.  Arnold was in 3rd place after day 1 and rallied to win the 60m Hurdles, Pole Vault, and 1000m run to secure his third title with a 2 day point title of 5,861 points.  Arnold is the second athlete to win 3 Heptathlon titles, joining former ASICS multi-eventer, Paul Terek.

Lolo Jones talks about her 26 hour trip to Doha, Qatar for the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and shares her footwear secret for those long flights.

US Indoor Track & Field Championships
Albuquerque Convention Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
February 27 and 28, 2010

February 27, 2010

By virtue of her second place finish in the Women's 3000m this evening, Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) earned a roster spot for the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships to be held March 12-14 in Doha, Qatar.  Hall lunged at the finish in an attempt to overtake the leader but was out leaned at the finish line.  Hall's time of 9.14.92 was .02sec behind the eventual winner.  Her last lap (200m) was clocked at 30.4sec, the fastest of any runner in the field.  This is Hall's second trip to the World Indoor Championships (2006 Moscow, Russia).

In other action on the track, Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) dominated his heat and easily advanced to tomorrow's final in the Men's 400m.  Nixon ran 46.34sec, a second faster than the second place finisher.  Kendall Stevens (Lima, OH), running in the first of three heats, advanced to tomorrow's semifinals in the Men's 60m dash based on his time of 6.70sec.  Ryan Brown (Seattle, WA) finished 3rd in his heat in the Men's 800m but did not advance to tomorrow's final.  In the Men's 3000m, John Pierce (Mammoth Lakes, CA) ran 8:27.28 and finished in 10th place. 

In field event action, Erin Gilreath (Muncie, IN) finished 3rd in the Women's 20 lb. weight throw with a toss of 71' 11".  In the Women's High Jump, Sharon Day (San Luis Obispo, CA), cleared 6' to finish in 4th place.  In the Men's High Jump, Norris Frederick (Chula Vista, CA) finished in 8th place with a clearance of 7' 1 1/2". 

February 28, 2010

Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA), seeking her 4th consecutive indoor championship, ran the fastest time in the semifinals, but a stumble over the fourth hurdle in the finals cost her the victory. Fortunately for Jones, she crossed the finish line in second place running 7.89sec earning a spot on the World Indoor Team.

Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) was out leaned at the finish line and was relegated to third place with a time of 45.77sec, .01sec behind the second place finisher.  He will go to Doha as part of the 4x400m relay team.  In 2008, Nixon earned a Gold Medal as part of the winning quartet for the United States. 

In other track action, Kendall Stevens (Lima, OH) ran 6.70sec in the 2nd heat of the Men's 60m and did not advance to the final. 

In the field events, April Steiner-Bennett (Fayetteville, CA) cleared 14' 7 1/4" to finish in 4th place and Russ Winger (Chula Vista, CA) put the shot 63' 11 3/4" for 6th place. Norris Frederick (Chula Vista, CA) placed 3rd in the Men's Long Jump with a jump of 25' 10 3/4.

IAAF Russian Winter Indoor Meet
Moscow, Russia
February 7, 2010

Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) concluded his European indoor campaign by winning the 400m at the IAAF Russian Winter Indoor Meet in Moscow, Russia Sunday, February 7, 2010.  Nixon ran 46.72sec in his last race before the US Indoor Championships (to be held at the end of the month in Albuquerque, New Mexico (February 27-28)).  Nixon has had an impressive indoor season with wins in all 4 races he has competed in.  Nixon won the 200m and 400m at the Lumberjack Invitational in Flagstaff, AZ, the 200m at the Gugl Indoor Meet in Linz, Austria, and the IAAF Russian Winter Indoor Meet in Moscow. 

LoLo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) running in her 9th race over 7 days, finished in 2nd place in the 60m hurdles running 8.02sec.  Jones' 5 European indoor races concluded with 2 first place and 3 second place finishes.  Her next race will be at the US Indoor Championships to be held at the end of the month in Albuquerque, New Mexico (February 27-28).

Sparkassen Cup
Stuttgart, Germany
February 6, 2010

Laverne Jones-Ferrette (US Virgin Islands/Houston, TX) became the first woman to run under 7 seconds over 60m in 11 years when she ran 6.97sec at the Sparkassen Cup in Stuttgart, Germany.   Her time is the sixth fastest all-time and is just .05sec over the current world record.  Jones-Ferrette is now the clear favorite to win the world title at next month's World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar.

LoLo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA), was relegated to second place in the 60m Hurdles in a time of 7.97sec. 

Reebok Boston Indoor Games
Boston, MA
February 6, 2010

April Steiner-Bennett (Fayetteville, AR) finished in 3rd place with a pole vault clearance of 4.45m (14' 7  1/4").  Better result for the 2008 Olympian as she no-heighted previously at the Millrose Games.

Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) finished 5th in the 3000m with a time of 8:55.17sec.  Hall will compete February 13, 2010 at the US Cross Country Championships in Spokane, WA.