Doucouré, smooth win…Wariner, swift relay leg – Texas Relays, Day 4
Sunday 9 April 2006
Austin, Texas, USA - It was a good day for hurdling at the fourth day of the Texas Relays.
Most impressive were 400m hurdlers Melaine Walker (JAM) and Micheal Tinsley. Walker, a senior sturdent at the University of Texas, finished strongly to pass Dominique Darden in the final 80 meters and pull away to win by four metres in 54.87, a PB (Darden’s 55.27 was also a PB). Walker’s time makes her the second fastest performer in the world this year behind Commonwealth Games champion Jana Pittman of Australia.
Jeremy Wariner - unofficial 43.2 relay leg - Texas Relays
(Kirby Lee)
Tinsley had an easier time in the men’s race, taking a clear lead in the first 200m and winning by more than 10 metres in 48.70, a tad slower than the PR he set finishing third in last year’s NCAA, but mighty good for early April.
The sprint hurdles races weren’t as fast, relatively speaking, but the same kind of dominance was evident. Ladji Doucouré, star of a touring team of young French sprinters and hurdlers, showed the 20,000-plus crowd why he is the World 110m Hurdles champion. Despite getting off last, the 23-year-old caught everyone by mid-race and then pulled smoothly away to an easy two metre victory in 13.49w over Dexter Faulk (13.68w) and Jermaine Cooper, 13.78w.
The featured women’s 100m Hurdles race was won by NCAA indoor and outdoor champion Ginnie Powell, who didn’t need to catch anyone. She finished a half-second ahead of the field in a slightly wind-aided 12.79 (+2.3).
In the dashes, Marshevet Hooker won a fast, wind-legal 100m from Kelly Anne Baptiste (TRI), which looked even closer than the 0.01 margin of 11.13 to 11.14. The quickest of a series of men’s 100s was won by Churandy Martina (AHO) in 10.04 (+2.5). Martina dueled with Walter Dix until the final stride or two when Dix slowed and grabbed his right hamstring. No injury details were available.
There were a number of fast relay races, but it isn’t possible to say for sure who ran on all the winning teams. The ones I can identify include a 38.62 men’s 4x100 by a U.S. professional foursome of Mardy Scales, Rae Edwards, Tyson Gay and DaBlanton Bryan. The second fastest men’s 4x100, an all-university race, was won by Lousiaina State University in 38.97.
Louisiana State also won the university 4x400 in a dazzling 3:02.31, which split Reggie Dardar, 46.5; Melville Rogers, 45.4, Xavier Carter, 45.0 and Kellie Willie 45.4 eased up. An even faster race, a real thriller in fact, was by a USA “White” team, which ran 2:59.86 to edge the USA “White” team’s 3:00.04. One timer caught Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner’s second-leg split for the “Red” team in an unofficial 43.2.
The women’s 4x100s produced the three fastest times in the world so far this year. The fastest was a 42.28 by an unidentified “South Florida Elite” team, which almost certainly included Lauryn Williams; the other two were a USA “Red” team of Muna Lee, Torri Edwards, Stephanie Durst and LaTasha Colander, which ran 42.56, and a University of Texas team which included Melaine Walker and Marshavet Hooker, winning the collegiate race in 42.84.
The best field event performance of the day was a 5.60m clearance in the men’s pole vault by Robison Pratt of Brigham Young University.
James Dunaway for the IAAF
