Outdoor track season kicks off in Melbourne
Lagat, Rudisha, Kiprop begin their outdoor seasons in Australia on March 3.
The outdoor track season got started early on March 3, with some very fast runs at the Melbourne Track Classic. Â
In the men’s 1500, local runner Jeff Risely got the surprise win over Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop in a time of 3:36.71. Kiprop took second in 3:37.63, while third place went to the mercurial American talent, Alan Webb, in a time of 3:37.82.
In the 800s, world record holder David Rudisha dominated the field with a 1:43.88 win, well up on American Nick Symmonds, who was second in 1:45.09. In the women’s race, Jamaica’s Kenia Sinclair was similarly dominant, ducking under the two minute barrier to win in 1:59.63.
The men’s 5000 featured a who’s who of American talent, including world champion Bernard Lagat, who got the win in 13:08.43. Australia’s Ben St Lawrence got a suprise second place finish, taking 15 seconds off of his former PB to cross the line in 13:10.08. Chris Solinsky was right behind him in 13:10.22, with his fellow American, Matt Tegenkamp, several seconds back in 13:16.27. The race was also a return to competition for former World Championships medallist and 12:55 man Craig Mottram, who finished 7th in 13:25.15.
Letsrun.com recaps the meet here
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