Capt America filming in Cleveland. Scarlett Johansson stunt double. Kiosk changed to read Washington DC. DC apartment guide box swapped in. But statue of Jesse Owens remains.

Whoops! Owens’ lower body is in the center at the top of the photo:

(Photo by Judge Mike Astrab.)

I’ll admit I’m going off memory here. I watched it live and didn’t record it, so I’ll have to wait for the ESPN3.com rebroadcast to be sure on all of these. But it was awful. The two errors that most require highlighting were so bad that my brother called me up and asked me if he had heard correctly what Dwight Stones and Larry Rawson had just said.

At the finish of the women’s 1500 meters, where Oregon needed major points to have a chance at the team title, Stones said that both Oregon runners scored. He didn’t see Becca Friday in last place for the last 100 meters or so, and even worse, he didn’t see Anne Kesselring stumble and fall on the homestretch. The Duck runners were, in fact, last and second to last.

That was bad. But the last was worse, far worse. Texas A&M led the team competition going into the 4×400 but dropped the baton and came up last. Noting the drop, Stones said that if Arkansas won the relay, they’d win the meet. Except that they wouldn’t, because they were 13½ points behind. But Florida would win the meet if they won the 4×400, which they did.

There are only two reasonable conclusions to draw: either Dwight Stones can’t add, or he can’t read. I suppose there might be a third conclusion, that he had no idea what was going on and didn’t take the effort to remedy that fact, but that doesn’t seem reasonable for someone employed by The Worldwide Leader In Sports.

There were a litany of other wrongdoings. Kansas clinched the women’s title after Oregon’s 1500 meter fiasco, but the announcing crew appeared completely unaware of that fact. They failed to understand the down-the-line implications in the men’s 5000 meters, as the door was left open by Texas A&M when Henry Lelei dropped off the pace and failed to score scored just one point, and Arkansas failed to take advantage of it due to a late fade by Kemoy Campbell. Rawson even said that Emma Coburn chose to go to Oregon for college and no one else corrected his error because they don’t listen to him if they can at all avoid it.

All of these things require a) doing their homework, which they obviously didn’t do, and b) Larry Rawson’s larynx having some function besides entertaining Larry Rawson, which hasn’t been the case for more than a decade.

It’s just shocking that people ESPN pays to announce a national championship simply didn’t know who won the meet.

WARNING: VACATION PHOTOS AHEAD!

I spent this past weekend on Pelee Island, a somewhat remote Canadian island in the middle of Lake Erie. I went with a purpose: the first ever Pelee Island Winery Half Marathon.

I saw something about the race back in December via Canadian Running magazine’s twitter feed and signed up almost immediately. I wanted a spring race to get myself motivated to train, and the late date of this one allowed for more prep time. But I’d also wanted to find a reason to go to Pelee Island and finally found one. (No lie: right after registering, I was able to scrounge up a Pelee Island ferry schedule sitting in my car since last summer’s trip to an American island in Lake Erie.)

The blue dot is on the north shore of Pelee Island

Phone booths are still in use

All of this means that things are slowed down. Very slowed down. Canada already has a reputation as being a friendly place, with a bit of small-town sensibility even in its biggest cities, but this place takes it to another level.

The stone house

And what a place. Made from island limestone on the outside and walnut on the inside, it has that pleasant smell of a summer cabin–a little musty, a little campfire, a little lake water. We would have booked this place from the get-go, but the normal rate is a bit beyond the means of a teacher and a professor.

View from the Stone House deck

What To Do

When I was asked about Pelee at work today, I said “you’d better bring your own fun.” What I mean is that it lacks distractions. There’s plenty of outdoor beauty; just sitting and looking at the lake filled a lot of my time. There are a couple of nature preserves and several beaches. There are relatively few restaurants besides the famous winery. Charters are easily available for fishing and sailing. Mostly, it’s a place to sit and relax and hang out with your friends, a place to enjoy the sun and water and sand….with one exception: the Pelee Island Winery.

The present winery dates from 1979, but this makes a cool t-shirt

The race

Postrace party area at the winery

The finisher’s medal was a work of pure genius: a replica of a tastevin, a “small, very shallow silver cup or saucer traditionally used by winemakers and sommeliers when judging the maturity and taste of a wine.”

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before the post-race awards and festivities was the race. The course was simple: along the lakeshore around a bit more than half the island, then across the middle to close the loop. The organization was good, with clear distance markers and ten water/gatorade stations along the course. Everyone on the island was either out to watch or volunteer or do a bit of both. The course wasn’t closed to traffic but everyone knew there was a race going on so no one was trying get anywhere anyway.

It was flat and turns were few, but it’s still not what you’d call a “PR course”. For one, the sun beat down on us for a good portion of the distance. It was warm. And the wind was fierce. All of these challenges came together in the final 5k, cutting through the island’s shadeless wheatfields while going straight into the teeth of the wind.

This guy was on the course

A gimmick?

Last week, my DailyRelay.com colleague Pat Price wrote about what he called “gimmick races” and what more charitable people might call “theme races”. These are things like the Warrior Dash and similar “mud runs”, Color runs, and other things where the party is more important than the race. What makes something a gimmick race? And was this one of them?

In high school English class we learn about conflict: man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature. Road racing offers all of these; we compete against other runners, against our own limitations, against the elements and the course. I faced all of those on Sunday. It was definitely not a gimmick race, because the party was clearly after the race, not during or before.

The Warrior Dash and some other “mud runs” originally meant to take the man vs. nature conflict to another level, but many have now devolved into little more than drunkfests. Other gimmick races basically remove all of those conflicts and the result is something that really can’t be called a “race”.

Another other common thread among gimmick races is their existence as a means to separate runners and their money. At $80 (CDN) per head, this race was not cheap, but it did offer me a lot. I got a well-managed course, a high-quality shirt and medal, and a great post-race meal (including a healthy amount of wine). Compare this to some gimmick races that charge for things like post-race refreshments or spectator entry, and I think I got my money’s worth.

Getting home

So this is the tale of our castaways,
they’re here for a long long time.
They’ll have to make the best of things,
it’s an uphill climb.

I had scheduled a 6:00 ferry to Sandusky but things did not go as planned. Those unusually strong winds wreaked havoc with ferry service. I hadn’t seen a ferry depart the dock all day. First I didn’t know if my ferry was going. Then I was told that it was going at 8:00. When I returned at 7:00 to get my car in line, I was then told that it was canceled and not running until 9:00am today. That was going to be a problem for me since I had to be back at school for final exams this morning. My mind raced through reprimand…disciplinary hearing…termination…

I seem to have a remarkable way of landing on my feet in tricky situations like this. On Saturday I ran into some people I knew that I had no idea were doing the race. Just as I found out I was screwed, they were in line to get on the last ferry out. They had room for one and offered to take me home once we got to Ohio. My wife stayed back with the car (she’s a professor and doesn’t need to be at work until about August) and came back this morning.

Yesterday I posted my women’s power rankings for the events contested at this weekend’s Prefontaine Classic. Now it’s time for the men’s events. Those in bold are entered at the Pre Classic.

100 meters

1. Tyson Gay (USA)
2. Justin Gatlin (USA)
3. Mike Rodgers (USA)
4. Nesta Carter (JAM)
5. Ryan Bailey (USA)
Disabled list: Usain Bolt (JAM), Yohan Blake (JAM), Doc Patton (USA), Asafa Powell (JAM)

Gay is head and shoulders above the rest right now, winning by massive margins. Gatlin is the only other athlete with a pair of major wins (Doha Diamond League, Beijing World Challenge).

200 meters

1. Warren Weir (JAM)
2. Nickel Ashmeade (JAM)
3. Jason Young (JAM)
4. Tyson Gay (USA)
5. Justin Gatlin (USA)
Disabled list: Usain Bolt (JAM), Yohan Blake (JAM), Wallace Spearmon (USA)

Weir has a pair of Diamond League wins in Shanghai and New York. Ashmeade beat Weir at the early May World Challenge meet in Kingston.

400 meters

1. Kirani James (GRN)
2. LaShawn Merritt (USA)
3. Luguelín Santos (DOM)
4. Kevin Borlée (BEL)
5. Josh Mance (USA)

The top three finished in that order at the Diamond League opener in Shanghai. Mance beat Borlée at the Adidas Grand Prix in a non-Diamond League race.

800 meters

1. David Rudisha (KEN)
2. Mohamed Aman (ETH)
3. Nijel Amos (BOT)
4. Leonard Kosencha (KEN)
5. Timothy Kitum (KEN)

There have been only two major races so far this year (Diamond League meets in Doha and New York) and Rudisha has won both.

1500 meters

1. Asbel Kiprop (KEN)
2. Mekonnen Gebremedhin (ETH)
3. Bethwel Birgen (KEN)
4. Silas Kiplagat (KEN)
5. Taoufik Makhloufi (ALG)

Kiprop won both Diamond League races. Gebremedhin and Birgen were each runner-up once. Kiplagat and Makhloufi rate solely on last year’s accomplishments.

Steeplechase

1. Conseslus Kipruto (KEN)
2. Paul Koech (KEN)
3. Hillary Yego (KEN)
4. Brimin Kipruto (KEN)
5. Abel Mutai (KEN)

The top three took the top three places at the Diamond League opener in Shanghai with the year’s three fastest times.

3000/5000/10,000 meters

1. Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)
2. Galen Rupp (USA)
3. Mo Farah (GBR)
4. Thomas Longosiwa (KEN)
5. Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku (KEN)

Gebrrhiwet has run very well this year and could be a challenger to Farah at the World Championships. He and Rupp split their two meetings (both indoors).

110m Hurdles

1. Orlando Ortega (CUB)
2. Ryan Brathwaite (BAH)
3. Jason Richardson (USA)
4. David Oliver (USA)
5. Hansle Parchment (JAM)
Disabled list: Aries Merritt (USA)

The Prefontaine Classic start list has not yet been released. It’s a mixed bag in this event, as the top three have each won a single major race and Oliver leads the world list.

High jump

1. Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT)
2. Aleksey Dmitrik (RUS)
3. Derek Drouin (CAN)
4. Sergey Mudrov (RUS)
5. Erik Kynard (USA)

Barshim leads the world list and hasn’t finished lower than second. Drouin has two wins over college rival Kynard. Mudrov beat Dmitrik for the European Indoor Championship gold medal.

Pole vault

1. Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)
2. Björn Otto (GER)
3. Malte Mohr (GER)
4. Konstadínos Filippídis (GRE)
5. Raphael Holzdeppe (GER)

Lavillenie dominated 2012 and picked right up where he left off. Otto managed to beat him at the Drake Relays. Mohr has been very consistent, but Filippídis beat him to pick up the first win on the Diamond League tour.

Long Jump

1. Aleksandr Menkov (RUS)
2. Li Jinzhe (CHN)
3. Michel Tornéus (SWE)
4. Marquis Dendy (USA)
5. Damar Forbes (JAM)

Menkov won the European Indoor Championship. Newcomer Li beat him at the Diamond League opener in Shanghai. Collegians Dendy and Forbes had a few dandy battles.

Discus

1. Robert Harting (GER)
2. Piotr Małachowski (POL)
3. Gerd Kanter (EST)
4. Virgilijus Alekna (LTU)
5. Ehsan Hadadi (IRI)

Harting hasn’t lost since August of 2010 and put up a world leader in his very first meet of the year. Małachowski won a pair of top-level competitions, the Diamond League opener in Shanghai and the Danek Memorial in Turnov, with Kanter second both times.

Who are the world’s best athletes right now? Here’s a rundown for the women’s events contested at this weekend’s big Nike Prefontaine Classic. Athletes slated to compete in Eugene are in bold.

100 meters

1. Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM)
2. Blessing Okagbare (NIG)
3. Kelly-Ann Baptiste (TRI)
4. Barbara Pierre (USA)
5. Tianna Madison (USA)
Disabled list: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM), Carmelita Jeter (USA)

Fraser-Pryce is on the current start list, but the rules of my power rankings are that any athlete who withdraws from a race citing injury stays on the disabled list until a return to racing. Campbell-Brown won her lone 100 meter race this year (Kingston in May), and Okagbare was second to Fraser-Pryce at the Diamond League opener in Shanghai.

400 meters

1. Amantle Montsho (BOT)
2. Christine Ohuruogu (GBR)
3. Allyson Felix (USA)
4. Stephanie McPherson (JAM)
5. Novlene Williams-Mills (JAM)
Disabled list: Sanya Richards-Ross (USA)

The Prefontaine start list has yet to be released. Montsho has not been seriously challenged in either of her Diamond League wins. New Jamaican find McPherson won the World Challenge meet in Kingston in early May but hasn’t done much else since.

800 meters

1. Francine Niyonsaba (BDI)
2. Nataliya Lupu (UKR)
3. Mariya Savinova (RUS)
4. Pamela Jelimo (KEN)
5. Yekaterina Kupina (RUS)

Niyonsaba won the Diamond League opener in Shanghai and Lupu won the European Indoor Championships. Olympic champ Savinova will open her season at the Pre Classic.

1500 meters

1. Abeba Aregawi (SWE)
2. Genzebe Dibaba (TUR)
3. Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (KEN)
4. Maryam Jamal (BHR)
5. Jenny Simpson (USA)

Aregawi has dominated the season so far, with two Diamond League wins and the world’s best time. Kipyegon and Dibaba were second and third at the Diamond League meet in Doha. Jamal has yet to open her season.

3000/5000/10,000 meters

1. Meseret Defar (ETH)
2. Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)
3. Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)
4. Viola Kibiwott (KEN)
5. Gelete Burka (ETH)

As I did with the men last week, the track distances are combined into one category. Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba have been tops in these distances seemingly forever. Younger sister Genzebe is now crashing the party and won the Diamond League opener in Doha. Burka won the Carlsbad 5000 road race.

400m hurdles

1. Zuzana Hejnová (CZE)
2. Kori Carter (USA)
3. Angela Morosanu (ROU)
4. Georganne Moline (USA)
5. Kaliese Spencer (JAM)

Hejnová won the Drake Relays and the Diamond League opener in Doha, and leads the world list. Collegians Carter and Moline have raced twice, with Carter coming out ahead both times. Spencer, last year’s #1 hurdler, is off to a slow start in 2013.

Triple jump

1. Olha Saladuha (UKR)
2. Caterina Ibargüen (COL)
3. Olga Rypakova (KAZ)
4. Yamilé Aldama (GBR)
5. Irina Gumenyuk (RUS)

The Prefontaine start list has not been released. Saladuha won the European Indoor Championships but Ibargüen beat her at the Diamond League opener in Shanghai. There hasn’t been much action in this event in 2013 besides those two meets.

Shot put

1. Valerie Adams (NZL)
2. Christina Schwanitz (GER)
3. Yevgeniya Kolodko (RUS)
4. Lijao Gong (CHN)
5. Michelle Carter (USA)

Adams is probably the best female track/field athlete in the world right now and is basically unbeatable. Schwanitz is the only other putter over 20 meters yet this year and has three major wins to her credit. Kolodko won silver at the European Indoor Championships behind Schwanitz.

Hammer throw

1. Betty Heidler (GER)
2. Tatyana Lysenko (RUS)
3. Wenxiu Zhang (CHN)
4. Aksana Menkova (BLR)
5. Anita Włodarczyk (POL)

There have been two major hammer competitions this year and Heidler and Lysenko each won one of them (Frankisch-Crumbach for Heidler, Beijing World Challenge for Lysenko). Olympic silver medalist Włodarczyk will open her season at the Pre Classic.

Javelin throw

1. Christina Obergföll (GER)
2. Mariya Abakumova (RUS)
3. Vira Rebryk (UKR)
4. Lu Huihui (CHN)
5. Linda Stahl (GER)

Abakumova leads the world list but Obergföll beat her at the Diamond League opener in New York.

Yesterday I gave you my women’s power rankings for the events contested at this Saturday’s Adidas Grand Prix. Here are the current men’s power rankings for the events being held there. Names in bold are slated to compete.

100 meters

1. Justin Gatlin (USA)
2. Tyson Gay (USA)
3. Mike Rodgers (USA)
4. Nesta Carter (JAM)
5. Ryan Bailey (USA)
Disabled list: Usain Bolt (JAM), Yohan Blake (JAM), Doc Patton (USA), Asafa Powell (JAM)

Gatlin has two major victories (in Doha and Beijing) to Gay’s one (in Kingston) and has run nearly as fast. Rodgers was second to Gatlin in each of those victories while Carter was second to Gay in Jamaica. This is Bailey’s first serious race of the year. A massive number of sprinters have come up hurt recently.

200 meters

1. Nickel Ashmeade (JAM)
2. Warren Weir (JAM)
3. Jason Young (JAM)
4. Tyson Gay (USA)
5. Justin Gatlin (USA)
Disabled list: Usain Bolt (JAM), Yohan Blake (JAM), Wallace Spearmon (USA)

Ashmeade beat Weir at the World Challenge meet in Kingston, and Weir won the Diamond League meet in Shanghai. Gay ran a vary fast time, albeit wind-aided, but in an obscure meet that amounted to little more than a time trial.

400 meters

1. Kirani James (GRN)
2. LaShawn Merritt (USA)
3. Luguelín Santos (DOM)
4. Kevin Borlée (BEL)
5. Jonathan Borlée (BEL)

James, Merritt and Santos finished in that order at the Diamond League opener in Doha.

800 meters

1. David Rudisha (KEN)
2. Mohamed Aman (ETH)
3. Nijel Amos (BOT)
4. Leonard Kosencha (KEN)
5. Timothy Kitum (KEN)

Rudisha toyed with Aman in Doha. The others have yet to race and are ranked on last year’s accomplishments.

3000/5000/10,000 meters

1. Galen Rupp (USA)
2. Mo Farah (GBR)
3. Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)
4. Thomas Longosiwa (KEN)
5. Dejen Gebremeskel (ETH)

I combined the three classic track distances as it’s pretty much the same group of athletes running all of them. Rupp rates ahead of Farah based on his great indoor run in Stockholm. Gebrhiwet looked like the best of the rest at the Diamond League meet in Doha.

110m Hurdles

1. David Oliver (USA)
2. Jason Richardson (USA)
3. Orlando Ortega (CUB)
4. Hansle Parchment (JAM)
5. Ryan Wilson (USA)
Disabled list: Aries Merritt (USA)

Oliver won the Diamond League hurdle opener in Shanghai and Ortega won the World Challenge meet in Puerto Rico. Richardson and Parchment rank mostly on last year’s accomplishments. Supervet Wilson just keeps on hanging in there, year after year.

400m Hurdles

1. Michael Tinsley (USA)
2. Javier Culson (PUR)
3. Johnny Dutch (USA)
4. Cornel Fredericks (RSA)
5. Félix Sánchez (DOM)

Like Merritt, Tinsley may or may not be able to go on Saturday. Either way, this is probably the deepest men’s event in the meet. Culson has been consistent but hasn’t won anything of note. Dutch had a poor 2012 but beat Culson at the World Challenge meet in Puerto Rico. Sánchez rates in the top five solely from his successful 2012 season.

Triple jump

1. Daniele Greco (ITA)
2. Christian Taylor (USA)
3. Will Claye (USA)
4. Fabrizio Donato (ITA)
5. Ernesto Revé (CUB)

Greco had a good indoor campaign, topped by a European Championships gold. Taylor won the Diamond League meet in Doha with a modest distance off a short approach, indicating that he’s capable of a lot more. Claye and Donato are ranked off their 2012 seasons. Revé is a new star out of Cuba who hasn’t yet faced top competition.

Shot put

1. Ryan Whiting (USA)
2. Reese Hoffa (USA)
3. Justin Rodhe (CAN)
4. Germán Lauro (ARG)
5. Ryan Crouser (USA)

Whiting and Hoffa are clearly 1-2 in the world right now. They have met five times this year and Whiting won four. Whiting’s big 22.28m (73′ 1¼”) throw in Doha is, in my estimation, the single outstanding mark so far in the 2013 season. Rodhe is third on the world list and twice finished third to Hoffa and Whiting. Crouser is the lone US collegian in these men’s rankings.

Who are the world’s best athletes in each event?

It’s not necessarily the same ranking as on the world lists for each event (although there is quite a bit of crossover). We don’t have win-loss standings, and the Diamond League standings in each event aren’t always descriptive either, especially this early in the season.

It’s something that most fans more or less keep in their head–and if they don’t, then they lack the proper perspective when watching a race. They have no idea whether the result went to form, or there was an upset, and who moved up and down in this theoretical ranking.

So here I am to enlighten you. These rankings are based on a lot of things, including last year’s results. The more high-level competitions an event has seen in 2013, the more the ranking is based on this year.

Today I’m listing women’s events, and just the ones that will be part of Saturday’s Adidas Grand Prix in New York.

100 meters

1. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)
2. Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM)
3. Blessing Okagbare (NIG)
4. Kelly-Ann Baptiste (TRI)
5. Barbara Pierre (USA)
disabled list: Carmelita Jeter (USA)

No start lists are available yet for the Adidas Grand Prix in this event. Fraser-Pryce won the Diamond League opener in Shanghai and Cambell-Brown won the major early race of the World Challenge circuit in Kingston. The others have all taken runner-up spots in major races.

200 meters

1. Allyson Felix (USA)
2. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)
3. Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM)
4. Sanya Richards-Ross (USA)
5. Kimberlyn Duncan (USA)
disabled list: Carmelita Jeter (USA)

The top two, Felix and Fraser-Pryce, will face off in 150 meter street race on Sunday in Manchester’s Great City Games, and Campbell-Brown will run in New York. As is common in the 200 meters, there hasn’t been much high-level competition between top sprinters.

400 meters

1. Amantle Montsho (BOT)
2. Sanya Richards-Ross (USA)
3. Christine Ohuruogu (GBR)
4. Novlene Williams-Mills (JAM)
5. Stephanie McPherson (JAM)

All of the top four will be running at the Adidas Grand Prix. Montsho won the Diamond League opener in Doha, and Richards-Ross rates second on the strength of her outstanding 2012 season. New Jamaican find McPherson won the World Challenge meet in Kingston, but will need to back that up with another good performance to move higher.

1500 meters

1. Abeba Aregawi (SWE)
2. Genzebe Dibaba (TUR)
3. Maryam Jamal (BHR)
4. Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (KEN)
5. Jenny Simpson (USA)

Of the top five, only Aregawi will be running in New York. She’s head and shoulders above the rest right now. The top athletes have met only once, the Diamond League race in Doha, and so a lot of the ranking is based on 2012.

Steeplechase

1. Yuliya Zaripova (RUS)
2. Sofia Assefa (ETH)
3. Habiba Ghribi (TUN)
4. Lidya Chepkurui (KEN)
5. Milcah Chemos (KEN)

Chepkurui won the Diamond League opener in Doha, but Assefa still rates higher based on a stronger 2012. Zaripova and Ghribi have yet to race this year but still rank highly, again based on their 2012 seasons.

High jump

1. Anna Chicherova (RUS)
2. Ruth Beitia (ESP)
3. Tia Hellebaut (BEL)
4. Brigetta Barrett (USA)
5. Svetlana Shkolina (RUS)

Chicherova put up the 2013 leading mark just today in Beijing. Beitia won the European Indoor Championship but lost to Hellebaut earlier in the season. Barrett will jump in the NCAA preliminary round in Austin on Friday, then jump on a plane and fly to New York for the Adidas Grand Prix.

Pole Vault

1. Jenn Suhr (USA)
2. Yarisley Silva (CUB)
3. Holly Bleasdale (GBR)
4. Kylie Hutson (USA)
5. Anastasia Savchenko (RUS)

The top three will face off in New York, led by Suhr, the new world indoor record holder. Silva and Bleasdale have the most big wins this year, with Silva beating Suhr in their most recent meeting at the Drake Relays. It seems strange to have a power ranking without Yelena Isinbaeva, but she hasn’t yet earned it in 2013.

Long Jump

1. Brittney Reese (USA)
2. Janay DeLoach (USA)
3. Darya Klishina (RUS)
4. Olga Kucherenko (RUS)
5. Blessing Okagbare (NIG)

Reese is beatable (DeLoach did it at the Millrose Games) but when she hits a big one, no one else is in the same zip code. Klishina won the European Indoor Championships.

Discus Throw

1. Sandra Perković (CRO)
2. Nadine Müller (GER)
3. Yarelis Barrios (CUB)
4. Yanfeng Li (CHN)
5. Gu Siyu (CHN)

Perković is easy money in the IAAF Diamond Fantasy race and won the Diamond League season opener in Doha by a mile. With none of the other top throwers entered, the Adidas Grand Prix should be a walkover for her. Müller won this year’s other major competition, the European Winter Cup. Gu is a new find for China, throwing very well in a U-23 competition this week.

Javelin Throw

1. Mariya Abakumova (RUS)
2. Christina Obergföll (GER)
3. Vira Rebryk (UKR)
4. Barbora Špotáková (CZE)
5. Linda Stahl (GER)

The Adidas Grand Prix looks like it could be a good battle, as it opens the Diamond League for the women’s javelin with the top three in the power rankings. Abakumova leads the world list by nearly ten feet.

Pre vs UCLA in April '70, his first college meet at Hayward Field

A year ago I argued that dual meets were a huge part of why Prefontaine became the bigger-than-life Pre, the hero of Duck fans. All he did was win.

So many of his dual meet exploits require the word epic. There were crazy doubles, like a 3:56/13:06 mile/3-mile double. There were fast times, like his 13:29.6 American Record. But one race stands out above them all, possibly the greatest race ever held in a dual meet. It was against Oregon State on May 6, 1972. From the following day’s Eugene Register-Guard:

Pre during his epic 3:56/13:06 double in '73

In a race that those who saw will never forget — and in five years 100,000 people will say they were there — Steve Prefontaine reached back for more intestines than one man’s stomach should hold in repelling the inspired 1,500 meter challenge of Oregon State’s Hailu Saturday at Hayward Field.

Bill Bowerman called it one of the greatest races he has ever seen. It will forever overshadow Oregon’s obliteration of OSU in the dual meet…

The results say that Prefontaine won in 3:39.8 … and that Hailu was three strides back in 3:40.4.

As Pre said later, “I wanted the race to be a question of who had the most guts, not who had the most speed.”
…
The 800 meter lead went to Pre in 1:57 and he had it at three laps when Haile made his move.

The crowd [of more than 9,000] sensed the time had come for Pre to be tested. For a moment or two, as they battled stride for stride down the back stretch, there was a lingering doubt whether Pre could repel the challenge of the quicker African.

Pre used his superior experience, moving gradually over on the track as the two moved in front of the east grandstand. He forced Hailu to move wider than he wanted and the Ethiopian could never forge ahead.

Slowly, Pre pulled away around the turn and, although he wobbled the last 30 yards from sheer exhaustion, he hung on to win.

In his biography of the man, Pre!, Tom Jordan called it “the quintessential Prefontaine race”, and Eugene Register-Guard sportswriter Ron Bellamy listed it among the best races he ever saw.

Here is Pre’s complete record in collegiate dual meets.

Hudson was a four-time NCAA Champion, three times in the triple jump and once in the long jump. In dual meet competition she was a team player, regularly doing double duty in the jumps plus running on the 4×100 relay and sometimes the open 100.

My data on Hudson in dual meet competition is rather sparse, as she competed at a time when they were falling out of favor, but also because the late 80s and early 90s were a tough time for getting this kind of information. What I have shows her undefeated, putting up marks that remain near the top of the all-time dual meet lists.

What I have on her career:

Matson was the greatest collegiate thrower of all time. He lost just once in his entire college career at Texas A&M, setting collegiate and world records along the way.

In dual meet competition, he was unworldly. He broke the dual meet record in his very first collegiate shot put competition and broke it four more times in his three years of eligibility (and broke the discus record twice). Of course, going into that first collegiate meet, he was already the Olympic silver medalist.

He finished off his dual meet career with a world record 71′ 5½” throw (21.78 meters). Forty-six years later, it still stands as the dual meet record. Matson owns four of the top ten marks in dual meet history, and ranks #3 in the discus.

In later years, he continued to work with his alma mater in fund-raising and promotional roles, but has now retired.

His complete dual meet career: