Daily Daegu: Matt Centrowitz surprises with Bronze Medal

Matt Centrowitz did big things in 2011

From NCAA Champion to surprise USA Champion to World Championships 1500 Bronze Medal, it's been quite a season for the University of Oregon's Matt Centrowitz. Once again, Centro executed an excellent race plan in getting to the podium in Daegu. New Zealand's Nick Willis took the early lead at right about 3:45 1500 pace and Centro tucked in right behind, not giving up the rail. The proved to be an excellent tactic in the semis and it proved the same in the final. When the group behind him began to charge, he maintained his composure and began to kick with 250 to go. He closed harder than anyone in the final 100, looking super smooth in his shifting of gears and rolling past everyone but Kenyan favorites, Asbel Kiprop (Gold) and Silas Kiplagat (Silver) to finish a strong third in 3:36.08. What a way to finish an excellent season.

The field saw a lot of Bolt's back tonight

The Women's 4x400 team matched the Men with another Gold, and Danielle Carruthers took the Silver and Dawn Harper the Bronze in the Women's 100 hurdles (aka the Sally Pearson Party). The Usain Bolt show closed the night with an excellent win in 19.40. Walter Dix ran the second fastest time of his life in 19.70 for the Silver, while a hard charging Christophe "White Lightning" Lemaitre broke 20 for the first time, bringing home the Bronze in a French National Record of 19.80.

Day 9 kicks off tonight for us in America (and in the morning in Daegu) with the Men's Marathon at 8pm eastern. Once again, it will likely look like a Kenya vs. Ethiopia dual meet up front, but with a stronger Ethiopian contingent than on the Women's side. Watch out for NYC Marathon winner, Ethiopian Gebre Gebremariam, to sit and try to take it from one of the Kenyans at the end. Vincent Kipruto, Benjamin Kiptoo and Abel Kirui will lead the Kenyan assault against Gebremariam and countryman, Feyisa Lilesa.

The final session on the track kicks off at 6:40am eastern with the Men's 5000. This is an event that many distance fans have been waiting for. Is this Bernard Lagat's chance at Gold? Is this Mo Farah's chance at redemption? Can Galen Rupp run as smart and tactically as Matt Centrowitz, and sneak on the medal stand? Will Imane Merga throw anyone to the track? Lots of questions for the 5k, but it should be a good one. To make the medal stand, you better be ready to run a sub 4:00 final mile and possibly a sub 53 final 400 if it gets real tactical.

Next up is the final distance race of the championships, the Women's 800. This will be another excellent race as no one is quite sure which Caster Semenya will show up. If she runs like she did in the semis, it's over. If she runs like she has the rest of the season, it's anyone game. Jamaica's Kenia Sinclair  has had an excellent season, but barely snuck in. Same with Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei. Can Maggie Vessey or Alysia Montano make the medal stand? They've surely got a great shot. If Vessey closes like she did in the semis, finishing second to Russia's Yuliya Rusanova, she should be in the cards. We'll know at 7:15am.

Closing it all out will be the Women's 4x100 at 7:35am and the Men's 4x100 at 8:00am. Can the Women and/or Men top Jamaica for Gold? Can both teams finish without dropping the baton? We'll know in less than 24 hours!

Watch the action unfold on Universal Sports.

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Daily Daegu: Maggie Vessey powers into Women's 800 Final

Vessey drops the hammer in the last 10
(TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Maggie Vessey got things started in the night session of Day 7 at Daegu by running a near perfect race in the semis of the Women's 800. Vessey glided by Great Britain's Jenny Meadows in the final meters to secure a spot in the final and thus eliminating Meadows, a medal favorite in the process. Her time was a quick 1:58.98 and was the slowest of the 8 qualifiers for the final. Alysia Montano sprinted into the final as well with one of the two time qualifiers. The other non-auto qualifier was Jamaica's Kenia Sinclair, another favorite. The final is going to be a good one, but watch out for Caster Semenya. As I mentioned on Twitter this morning, it looks like she's been sandbagging. Her final 200 in the semis was lightning fast. If she unleashes something like that in the finals, it will be a fight for Silver.

The Women's 5000 was a hard fought battle between the Kenyans and Ethiopians, specifically the eventual winner, Vivian Cheruiyot, her teammate, Sylvia Kibet (Silver) and Ethiopia's Meseret Defar (Bronze). The only competitor to break up the Kenya/Ethiopia dual meet was our own Lauren Fleshman, who dug deep and kicked down Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba in the final steps, for a very respectable 7th in 15:09.25 (one place better than she finished at USA's). Amy Hastings didn't have it today, but for a marathoner to even make the 5000 Final at Worlds is quite the accomplishment.

In the sprints, Usain Bolt, Walter Dix and Christophe Lemaitre look like the medal favorites in the 200, where Veronica Campbell Brown took Gold in the Women's 200 Final, with Carmelita Jeter taking Silver and Allyson Felix taking Bronze. The Men's 4x400 Relay had to work for it, but in the end, LaShawn Merritt used a miler's sit and kick tactics and powered home on the last straightaway to secure the American Gold.

Day 8 has the Men's 50k Race Walk in the morning and then gets fired up on the Track at night (or the early morning Stateside). The fun starts at 7:15am eastern with the Men's 1500. Matt Centrowitz has surprised with his calm and veteran-like demeanor in qualifying for his first World Final. Should we really be that surprised though? Centro has proved to be an excellent rounds and tactical race runner. The final should see how good he really is. A medal shouldn't be out of the question, and at minimum, he should be there in the mix with 200 to go. He'll have quite the competition, with Kenyan favorites Asbel Kiprop ('08 Olympic Gold Medalist) and Silas Kiplagat ('11 World Leader), as well as Nick Willis ('08 Silver Medalist), Mehdi Baala ('08 Bronze Medalist), plus many others, including the most improved, and most beloved, "Bullet with the Mullet," Ireland's (via Florida State) Ciaran O'Lionaird. Check out Flotrack's prediction contest as well.

Closing out Day 8 will be three sprint races. The first is Women's 4x400 Relay at 7:40am. Can they match the Men's Gold? Next up is the Women's 100 hurdles at 8:00am, where they have to run the semis 1:45 beforehand. Closing out the day at 8:20am will be Mr. Bolt vs. the World in the Men's 200 final. Walter Dix looked great in the semis, but can he stay within a few tenths of the king? We'll see. He may not have to if Bolt "false starts" again.

Follow along at Universal Sports!

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Daily Daegu: Bolt false starts, Eaton finishes fast

Channeling teammate Andrew Wheating
(TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Day 2 at Daegu had many highlights, but one lowlight; Usain Bolt false starting in the 100. What a letdown! Something tells me he'll be sitting in the blocks in the 200 until the field is 5 meters up. Ashton Eaton's 60 second final 400 in the 1500 of the Decathlon was impressive. He wanted Silver and he got it. His strong 4:18.94 was enough to jump Cuba's Leonel Suárez on the medal stand to get one step closer to repeat Gold Medalist, Trey Hardee. Walter Dix was also second best in the 100, behind Jamaica's Yohan Blake.

On the distance front, an Ethiopian man won the 10,000, but not the one you'd think. Ibrahim Jeilan came out of nowhere and kicked down Mo Farah in the last 40 meters to take the gold. It was pretty gut-wrenching to watch Farah get passed at the end, but he'll be in contention for the win in the 5000 in a few days. Kenenisa Bekele stepped off the track with 10 laps to go, citing lack of fitness, but happy he gave it a shot. Galen Rupp hung in there until about two laps to go and proceeded to take seventh overall. A nice showing, but not what he was hoping for. He lapped Matt Tegenkamp and Scott Bauhs in the process, which tells you all you need to know about how their day went.

In the prelims, all three American Women advanced in the 1500, with Morgan Uceny, Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson all getting automatic qualifies to the semis. Nick Symmonds looked great in the 800 and will be the only American in the final as Khadevis Robinson failed to advance.

Day 3 kicks off this evening with the Men's Steeplechase prelims. Dan Huling, Billy Nelson and Ben Bruce will have their hands full, but hopefully can find their way into Thursday's final. That's the only distance race of the day, but there will be finals in the Women's 400, Men's 110 Hurdles and Women's 100 to close the day.

You can watch on television and online via Universal Sports. Results are on the IAAF's Daegu site.

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