Two US Women Advance to WC 5,000m

Heptathlon
The heptathlon standings were shuffled after the sixth event.
Jennifer Oeser of Germany threw a personal best of 51.30m to move into
the medal standings, bumping Hyleas Fountain into fourth. The current
standings are: Tatyana Chernova in first (5887), Jessica Ennis of Great
Britain in second (5754), Oeser in third (5613) and Fountain only two
points behind in fourth (5611). Sharon Day (Costa Mesa, Calif.) is now
in the 19th spot with 5161 points.

Fountain set a season best in the javelin throw as she sent the
javelin soaring 43.42m/142-5. Day’s best was 39.14m/128-5.

In the long jump, Fountain recorded the fourth best mark of the
field in leaping 6.45m/21-2, for 991 points. Day jumped 5.87m/19-3.25
to add 810 points to her tally. At the conclusion of five events,
Fountain sat in third with 4878 and 210 points behind Ennis’ lead. Day
was 17th with 4510 points.

Women’s 5,000m semifinal
For the second time in history, Team USA will have more than
one woman in the 5,000m final. Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and
Lauren Fleshman (Eugene, Ore.) ran very different races, but both
advanced to Friday night’s final. Hastings moved positions throughout
the first heat and took the lead with 1,000m remaining, but was unable
to hold on and finished in sixth place in 15:29.49. Fleshman ran a very
different race in the second heat and stayed towards the front of pack
running in the third position through much of the
race. Fleshman began her kick with 200m to go and was able to hold on
for fourth in 15:34.04. Fleshman qualified automatically, and Hastings
was able to qualify on time. American record holder Molly Huddle
(Providence, R.I.) was unable to qualify as she finished 10th in the
second heat in a time of 15:42.00.

Men’s 1500m qualification
Matthew Centrowitz (Arnold, Md.), the reigning U.S. national
outdoor champ, battled his way through the fastest of the three heats
and was able to hold his own at the line as six men finished within half
a second of each other. Centrowitz claimed the last automatic
qualifying spot, finishing sixth in 3:39.46. Leo Manzano (Austin, Texas)
was just shy of claiming an automatic spot in the third heat, but with
his time of 3:40.77 allowed the eight-place finisher to advance to the
semi-finals. 2008 Olympian Andrew Wheating (Eugene, Ore.)
also finished eighth in his heat; however, he was unable to advance to
the finals with his time of 3:42.22.

Men’s High Jump qualification
World leader Jesse Williams (Eugene, Ore.) was the only
American to advance into Thursday’s final, achieving automatic
qualifying mark of 2.31m/7-7) on his second attempt. Williams cleared
the bar at 2.21m/7-3, 2.25m/7-4.75 and 2.28m/7-5.75 on his first
attempts. Erik Kynard (Manhattan, Kan.), the 2011 NCAA outdoor champ
cleared 2.28m on his first attempt, but failed to clear the qualifying
stand of 2.31. Dusty Jonas (Lincoln, Neb.), the 2010 World Indoor champ
bronze medalist, had a frustrating day. After clearing the opening
mark at 2.16m/7-1, he missed all three attempts at 2.21

Women’s Triple jump qualification
Amanda Smock (Minneapolis, Minn.) was unable to advance to the
finals. On her second attempt, Smock recorded her best jump of
13.48m/44-2.75. This was Smocks first major international meet and her
first time wearing the USA jersey.

QUOTES

Lauren Fleshman, women’s 5,000m
“It’s hell out there. It’s really hard to concentrate with all
of those people and the sounds and the cameras and things are just
different. There is a lot going on, and I’m really grateful that we have
rounds in the 5K, just to get that all worked out. I didn’t expect the
jitters to get that bad when I walked on the track. I kept them under
control pretty well till then, then I was like, “Oh, God.”

“At 600 meters to go, my plan was, if we were all together, I
was going to kick then. but they created a humongous blockade – like an
intercontinental blockade. They were talking to each other, and I could
believe that Bahrain, Ethiopia and Kenya were working together, so I was
stuck.

“At 200m, I was like ‰Û¢There are seven girls left’ and I didn’t
know what was behind me. I thought if I get out around these people, I
should at least be able to hold off a couple of them if they get me
back. So, it was sort of like an all or nothing effort, and I’m glad it
worked out. But it hurt really bad.

Amy Hastings, women’s 5,000m
“It was not so good, I mean I ran as hard as I could, but I
didn’t run as smart as I should have. Yeah, taking the lead with a K to
go, it felt so easy. Then I went to the lead and tried to push it, and I
think I ran about the same pace we were running, which is never a smart
move. With the heat today, I probably should have waited. My best bet
probably would have been to sit and try to kick at the end; at least my
time would have been better. I can tell you if I’m happy with it or not
in about 20 minutes.”

Molly Huddle, women’s 5,000m
“I was trying to stay comfortable, but honestly it didn’t even
feel comfortable going 5-minute pace, so that was disturbing. I just
tried to hang on to the back of the pack, but I just wasn’t prepared,
that’s what it came down to. I totally was off the mark, but it is still
a good experience being here. I just learned how the procedures are,
how the rounds go and what to look for. All in all, I’m absorbing a lot,
I just wish I could have taken advantage of it.”

Matthew Centrowitz, men’s 1,500
“I felt all right. I was a little sluggish, but that’s what
happens when you’re in the World Championship events. You can’t expect
to go through these prelims like I did in the U.S. It was a good effort.
Luckily, I got one of the automatic spots and that is what I was
shooting for. I did a little head count with 100 yards left. I probably
shouldn’t have been doing, that but I was kind in a bad position for
last 100. I was aware that it would be more physical than other races.

Andrew Wheating, men’s 1,500
“To be honest I’m not as fit as I should be right now. I’ve had
a hamstring issue since June. I’m just trying to get from point A to
point B without hurting too much. I took a week and a half off when
coming back from Europe and I’m not quite where I should be. I didn’t
have any expectations coming here. I would like to think this season is
similar to 2009 when I was coming off the Beijing Olympics. Everything
has been stressful. This year you kind of have a bigger target. My life
is changing from
going to college to turning pro. I could use excuse after excuse. But
next year all the dust will be settled.”

Leo Manzano, men’s 1,500
“I came here to win. That’s the plan… Of course, there are
always going to be challenges along the way. Usually in the first round
you have all this pushing because you have a lot of experienced runners.
It was rough out there today. With 300 meters to go I really tried push
it to go off with the leaders but around 200, but my legs weren’t going
anywhere.

Jesse Williams, men’s high jump
“Today’s competition was really unbelievable. There were seven
people in the world who jump 2.31m (the A standard) last year and today,
alone, there were 10 people. So it really shows you how deep the high
jump is. I think that is going to carry on into the finals to show that
it will take some really big heights to medal.

“I was a little too relaxed and I knew that I needed to make a
little adjustment and on the second jump I did. You can make these
little mistakes in the qualifying round. But you can’t in the finals.
I’m glad I was able to get another jump at a bar like that (2.31m/7-7)
because that really brings the momentum into the higher heights. I think
that second jump was really good and I think I made a statement today.

“I have a lot of friends following this back home. So when I go
back to the Athletes Village, I’m going to be back on the computer for a
few hours, soaking up the air-conditioning and re-hydrating and talking
to all my friends back home. It is awesome to know they are going to be
behind me. I have a bunch of friends who will be going over to my house
early Thursday morning to watch me. So that will be cool knowing that
many people will be watching me that early.”

Dusty Jonas, men’s high jump
“Today was very frustrating. I’m really disappointed. I woke up
with some spasms today but that is no excuse. I will be working hard
for next year and I plan on being in the finals in London (2012
Olympics.)”

Amanda Smock, women’s triple jump
“Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to put it together which was
obviously very frustrating to me. But I felt physically like I was
ready to get a big jump in there, but it just didn’t happen for me
today. I haven’t had a ton of time to hash it over yet, but right now at
this point I am just a little bit mystified by it all. Getting this
qualifying mark at the last minute for me was a huge relief and I was
really proud to be able to get that mark. It was a great feeling to make
the team, when I wasn’t
expecting to just a few months ago. I have a lot to take away from it
all as an experience.”