‘Comeback’ Taylor is faster than ever
Tuesday 5 June 2007
Among the many surprises that this athletics spring has already sprung has been the “comeback” of Angelo Taylor. Undefeated in seven races this outdoor season in both the flat 400 and the 400m Hurdles, the 28-year-old American has gradually reemerged from the relative obscurity his career had fallen into in recent years to become, at least for now, a global force in both events.
After a low-key season opener in Atlanta in late March, the 2000 Olympic 400m Hurdles champion won his two initial outings in his specialty, first a 49.40 victory at the Mt. SAC Relays before a season’s best 48.68 to take the IAAF World Athletics Tour race in Dakar.
Angelo Taylor after his victory in Dakar
(Mark Ouma)
But his true form was illustrated at the Georgia Tech Invitational, again in Atlanta, on 12 May when he cruised to a 44.35 win, his first sub-45 since 2002 to expunge his career best of 44.68 set in 2001. Clearly Taylor, who defied the odds when winning Olympic gold from the narrow confines of lane one in Sydney, is faster than he’s ever been before.
Surprised but than again maybe not!
“Yeah, it kind of caught me by surprise,” he said of his May PB. “I never really focus on times, I focus on winning.”
Angelo Taylor (USA)
(Lorenzo Sampaolo)
But Taylor said he saw indications of his improved foot speed before his run in Atlanta, which currently places him as No. 2 in the world behind Jeremy Wariner’s 44.02 from the IAAF World Athletics Tour meet Osaka. Particularly after his 1 May victory in Baie Mahault,
After my race in Guadeloupe when I ran 45.21, I thought, ‘man, I got a whole lot left.’ So I just broke down the race in practice, and then tried something new.”
“But when I ran the 44.35 I wasn’t surprised because I’ve run that fast in practice. Now I just need to get in major competitions and run against the big boys.”
Staying healthy the number 1 priority
Big races have been few and far between in recent years for Taylor, who first showed signs of promise after taking bronze at the 1996 World Junior Championships over the full-lap hurdles. But nagging injuries, usually minor, curtailed his training and cut his seasons short. He qualified for the 2004 Olympics, but as with the 2001 World Championships, he didn’t reach the final.
Taylor said his training regimen didn’t change much in his run-up to 2007, but his approach is now of a more holistic variety, and is apparently paying some early season dividends.
“The main thing I’m doing is focusing on staying healthy,” Taylor said after his dominating 400m victory in Belgrade a week ago, the first sub-45 of his career on the European continent, and one he likened to a practice run. “That’s where I’ve kind of gotten into problems in previous years. I always had injuries. It’s injury preventive stuff, chiropractic work, taking vitamins. I’ve never done none of that. So I know that if I take care of my body, I’ll run fast.”
Yet despite his obvious speed, Taylor said doubling at the U.S. Championships later this month is not on the agenda.
“I didn’t get a big enough base in the fall to double,” he admitted. “This is really like my first year coming back and running fast and I didn’t really plan on (doubling). That might be something to do in the future.”
Which event he’ll contest in the World Championships qualifying meet will be made sometime soon after Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic - IAAF World Athletics Tour - meet in Eugene, where he’ll again race the 400m. But while he’ll be gunning for one individual medal in Osaka –he already has a pair of World Championship golds in the 4x400m Relay- he will continue to run both events throughout the summer, for which his goals are crystal clear.
“My goals are to keep running faster,” he said, listing a pair of round numbers. “To run 43 seconds in the 400, and under 47 seconds in the 400 hurdles.”
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
