Lagat wins historic eighth Wanamaker Mile

NEW YORK -- As he stood on the track waiting for his formal race introduction, Bernard Lagat craned his neck up to the jumbo screens hanging from the rafters and watched a highlight reel of his past accomplishments.

It was perfect fodder to inspire his competitors, but it also served as motivation for Lagat.

"I actually debated whether I should watch it or not," Lagat said. "I decided, ‘You know what? I'm watching this.' I thought it might give me a boost. As I was watching, I noticed the gap right before the finish line and I remembered that I didn't feel so well at that time. I felt a lot better today and I told myself, ‘You're going to do this.'"

In a race that exemplified his mastery of winning indoor tactics, Lagat ran comfortably behind Olympic gold medalist Asbel Kiprop of Kenya before unleashing a kick that was punishing in both the quickness and effectiveness of its execution.

The final lap served as a coronation as the crowd of 11,510 saluted Lagat with a standing ovation as he cruised to an unprecedented eighth victory in the Wanamaker Mile in 3:56.34 Friday night at the 103rd Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden.

With the victory, Lagat snapped a tie with the great Eamonn Coghlan of Ireland, who earned the moniker "Chairman of the Boards" after conquering the famed banked wooden track here seven times between 1977 and 1987. After taking a victory lap, Lagat found Coghlan, who was trackside, and the two shared a warm embrace.

"To me it is like winning the Olympics today," Lagat, a winner of two Olympic medals and seven World Championship medals, said. "I've been coming here since 2001, and today I was signing autographs for kids who I'm pretty sure were not even born in 2001. I love the crowd here. They never say it's too late and leave. They stay every year to the end to watch this race. To me, that's special."

The fans were rewarded for the dedication by another special performance by Lagat.

After the opening gun, the 35-year-old settled into third place behind pacemaker David Krummenacker and Kiprop, with the always dangerous Andy Baddeley of Great Britain right behind him.

Krummenacker brought the field through 440 yards in 58.4 seconds and through the half-mile mark in 1:57.9. Positions did not change after he stepped off the track and the remaining runners continued to wind their way around the 11-laps-to-the-mile track.

"When I came over here, Coach (James) Li told me, ‘Make sure you run smart and fast towards the end,'" Lagat said. "I wasn't worried running behind Asbel. I was feeling very comfortable."

Lagat was a little more concerned with Baddeley running behind him. The Britton was coming off running a world-leading 3:55.64 a week earlier at the New Balance Games at the New York City Armory, a notoriously fast track. Lagat could be seen peering over his left shoulder a number of times checking his position in relation to Baddeley.

"Andy (Baddely) is a guy who has speed," Lagat said, "And if you remember last September, he passed me to win the road mile on 5th Avenue, so I was worried especially against a guy who has run 3:55."

With two laps to go, Baddeley was visibly hanging on, something Lagat no-doubt sensed as he peered over his shoulder. He also knew that Kiprop, who did most of the work in the race by running from the front, was ripe for the picking.

As the runners approached the start of the bell lap, Lagat exploded to the front, completely catching Kiprop off guard. In the matter of a few seconds, Lagat had opened an almost 20 yard cushion.

"He really surprised me," Kiprop, who was running the first indoor race of his career, said. "It wasn't just a quick move, but it was a strong move. When I saw him go by me, I just didn't get it going and then he kept going and going. I think maybe if I had more experience, I might have been able to do differently. But with this being my first indoor race, I didn't have anything for him."

Lagat acknowledged his vast edge in experience over Kiprop as being the determining factor in the race.

"It's just not speed that I've been working on," Lagat said. "I knew exactly when to make a move and I increased the pace when I went through the two corners. By the time I looked back, I knew the victory was mine and I was really happy with that. I looked back and there was no response from Kiprop, and I was free and clear."

Lagat, who will now turn his attention to running a 5000m race at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games next weekend, didn't make any predictions of a return to Millrose in 2011, but he didn't rule out the possibility of adding to his victory total here.

"It's too early to say for sure, but I would love to come back and try to win my ninth," Lagat said. "I love running in New York."

Christian Cantwell continued his dominance in the men's shot put, which has become one of the featured events at Millrose. The burly American unloaded his best throw in the fourth and final round of this modified made-for-TV format, a world-leading toss of 21.95m/72-0¼.

"It's 90 percent terrifying and 10% exhilarating," Cantwell said of the shortened competition. "All these people watching on TV. It's fun to throw here, it's hard. It's not like our normal competitions. You have to jump in the ring and nail one early. I'm a sixth-round kind of guy, so I would have liked to see what happened after another round or two. I was killing it this week - and I thought I would do a little bit better. Maybe if I'd had six throws."

Cantwell had good reason to ponder what might have been. All four of his throws sailed over 70 feet, remarkable consistency for this early in the season, and he appeared to be gaining momentum by the fourth round.

"I thought I was going to throw a little bit better," Cantwell said of his final mark. "But having all my throws over 70, that's pretty sick. If this is any indicator of the season, watch out."

On Cantwell's radar is winning a third World Indoor Championship in Doha, Qatar in March. He said he continues to work hard toward the goal and almost can't wait to throw most days.

"My goal is always hopefully to win the Indoor World Championship," Cantwell said. "No one's ever won three (world titles), so history is against me, but we'll see. I have trained at a high level for a long, long time. Every day I would wish there was another meet I could go to. My goal is the Indoor Championship. I'd also like to get closer to the World Record. The thing about this year is there's no world championship, no Olympics, so you can just pin your ears back and throw it as far as you can every time."

The post-Amy Acuff high jump decade has begun and in the absence of the now-retired star, the Millrose competition featured a number of new faces and a new champion. Sheree Francis was the winner, clearing 1.88m/6-2 for the victory.

"Competing in the Millrose Games for the first time, I was a little nervous," Francis said. "I just went out there, did what I always do in practice and at the end of the day I did well."

Mark Hollis was a surprise winner in the men's pole vault. The 2006 and 2007 NAIA champion cleared 5.60m/18-4½ and edged Olympian Derek Miles on a countback.

"It was a good competition," Hollis said. "I just came in wanting to compete and try to really do my best and make as many bars as I could."

One of the closer finishes of the night came in the women's 400m, where Monica Hargrove held off challenges from Aliann Pompey and Phyllis Francis to win the race in 55.07. Pompey was second in 55.18 and Francis was third in 55.82.

Lagat wasn't the only Tuscon-based runner to find Millrose success on the evening. His new training partner, Boaz Lalang, picked up a win in the men's 800m, crossing in 1:50.51. Lalang had been training in Illinois, but moved west at the urging of Lagat, and to escape the frigid winter weather.

Bershawn Jackson, always a crowd favorite, successfully defended his Millrose title in the 600m, winning in 1:11.26. But victory did not come easy. Jackson had to fend off Edino Steele of Jamaica (1:11.30), and Reny Quow of Trinidad & Tobago (1:11.60) at the tape.

"My race felt great," Jackson said. "My ultimate goal was to execute the race, whether I won or lost. It's very difficult to pass on this track, so once I started my position, I made it very hard to pass me."

One of the most thrilling finishes of the night came in the women's mile, where Hannah England of Great Britain held off a furious charge by American Sara Hall to prevail by just hundredths of a second.

England made a strong move over the final quarter -mile to take the lead from newly-minted pro Sarah Bowman, running in just her second professional race. But Hall, who has a history of comebacks on this track dating back to her high school days, did not go down without a fight and surged from fourth place into second. She closed hard an England at the end and appeared to have gotten her at the tape, but the results had England crossing in 4:31.48 to Hall's 4:31.50.

"I was able to make the move I hoped to make with only two laps to go," England said. "Jim Harvey, my coach in England who came up with my race plan, took a chance and some advice and it paid off."

Hall was not disappointed with her result.

"I was working with it as it came because it was my first race," she said. "This time I tried to use a different tactic. Last time I ran, I took the lead and was taken off in the end. But this is my fastest opener of the year, so that's a good sign."

In one of the more highly anticipated races of the night, it was Anthony Dorsett Jr. who ran away with the men's Super 60, a race between former NFL players. Dorsett, who played eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders, finished in 7.01 seconds.

"I'm stunned that it happened," Dorsett said. "I don't know when the last time any of us had really opened up and sprinted. It was fun. If you go back and read my resume from back in the day, I was a little faster, but if I keep doing things like that maybe I'll make my time. I'm fortunate to have some good genetics behind me. Everyone knows my dad is fast, but my mom is fast - my dad could never catch her."

Former Oakland Raiders cornerback Phillip Buchanon was second in 7.03.

"I've always loved track," he said. "I actually came out to see the actual track meet. Pretty much I came out just trying to have fun. I miss running the 60."

Former Chicago Bear wide receiver, world-class sprinter and 1988 Olympic bobsledder Willie Gault was third in 7.07.

"I felt good once I started running," The 49-year-old said. "I had a little bit of a disappointing start, but it's my first 60 in about four years so it's great. And it's great to get a chance to run with these guys. I enjoy track and field. It keeps me young. I train with guys that are 20 years my junior. It keeps me young, keeps me in a sport I love dearly."

Former Atlanta Falcons wide receivers/special-teams star Tim Dwight was fourth in 7.25.

"We had a lot of fun," Dwight said. "We also compete, but it was a lot of fun. When you make that transition over to the track, it brings some excitement. Football is all about positioning and with track, you can really see how fast guys can be. It gets exciting out there."

Former Indianapolis Colts defensive end Ryan LaCasse was last in 7.50.

"I think track and field might be out of the picture for the rest of my career," he joked.

There was a moment of trepidation during the men's 60m hurdles when officials called the runners back firing multiple shots from the starting gun, a signal that usually indicative of a false start. Beginning this season, any athlete called for a false start is automatically disqualified whereas last season, a first false start resulted in a warning to the field and a second earned the guilty runner a DQ.

In this case, it turned out that there was no false start and all of the runners remained in the competition. After a second, and clean, start, veteran U.S. hurdler Terrence Trammell pulled away from the field to win in a world-season-best time of 7.49. World 110m hurdles champion Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados was second in 7.51.

"I'm happy with the win," Trammell, now in his 13th year as a pro, said. "I did expect to run just a little bit faster. I guess just doing the first start of the year with the new rule, I guess the system hadn't really been worked out. We had a clean race. I think the new rule is good for the sake of expediting start time and time that we actually have a clean race. I'm definitely in favor."

In the women's 60m hurdles, Priscilla Lopes Schliep surged over the final third of the race to pass early leader Tiffany Ofili for a slim victory in 8.01 seconds. Ofili was second in 8.04. Afterward, Lopes-Schliep said she needs to get used to having competition race in and race out this year.

"A lot of girls are going out there gunning because it's a World Indoor year," Lopes-Schliep said. "Overall I had a great finish. I just need to get my start a little better than it was, but it will come in time."

Fresh off her breakout outdoor season, Chelsea Johnson won her first women's pole vault competition of the year, clearing 4.51m/14-9½ to trump fellow American Becky Holliday, whose best clearance was 4.41m/14-5½. Johnson, who won silver at the World Championships in Berlin in August, missed all three attempts at 4.65m/15-3, but was generally pleased with her effort.

"I felt good, really fast, strong and prepared to jump high, which honestly I've never felt indoors, so it's a good feeling," Johnson said. "I did feel a little rusty. However, the future is looking bright, still early in the season."

In the women's 60m, Lisa Barber made a successful return to the track, edging Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown in a photo-finish victory in 7.24 seconds. American Muna Lee, who suffered a hamstring injury during heats of the women's 4x100m at the World Championships in Berlin, was third in 7.25 seconds.

For Barber, a product of nearby Montclair High School in New Jersey, the race was her first since the USA Indoor Championships in Boston last February. She won that race but immediately afterward further injured an already partially torn Achilles tendon and was forced to miss the remainder of the year while rehabilitating.

"I had some great doctors and it healed," Barber said. "I was nervous this time about the Achilles tear. I know a lot of people have not been able to come back from that. This was my first race back. I'm not too happy with the time, but I was up against the best in the world and I wanted to get a win."

The men's 60m race produced a mild surprise as Ivory Williams edged reigning U.S. 100m champion, and noted 60-meter sprinter Michael Rodgers, 6.59 to 6.60. Afterward, Williams said he hopes that the victory was the first of many more to come.

"My plans are to keep training hard, listen to my coach and stick with it," he said. "I'm my own competition."

Rachael Seaman, the Canadian race walk champion and wife of U.S. national race walk champ Tim Seaman, won the women's one-mile race in 6:49.20. She bested defending champion and four-time U.S. champ Teresa Vaill, who crossed second in 6:52.54.

Seaman said she had difficulty adjusting to the shorter distance, which is rarely competed on the professional circuit.

"It's really hard doing a mile when you usually race 20K," she said. "I was planning on staying with whoever was leading, then at 2½ laps to go, I made my move and tried to get around and away and pushed to the end."

Keeping victory all in the family, Tim Seaman won the men's one-mile race walk going away in 5:52.43. Andreas Gustaffson of Sweden was second in 5:54.97. The race doubled as the U.S. national championship at the distance, and the victory earned Seaman his 42nd career national title, a feat that tied him with Hall of Famer Henry Laskau for the all-time record.

 "It feels great to win my 42nd national title," Seaman said. "Henry Laskau was a Holocaust survivor, and for me to tie him is an honor - he had such difficulties in his life and fought tremendous difficulties, so to tie him 50 years later is a real honor."

Seaman had more to celebrate than just his and his wife's victories. One of the athlete's he coaches, Trevor Barron, finished third in the men's race in 6:03.48, breaking the national high school record of 6:11.00, set at the 1990 Millrose Games by Paul Tavares of Centereach High School in New York.

"I owe a lot to Tim (Seaman)," Barron said. "He started coaching me in ‘08 and I've really progressed since then. If it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't still be walking."

Seaman was thrilled for Barron after the race.

"It means a lot to me that Trevor Barron (took third) because the gentleman he took the record from I raced against and could not beat," Seaman said. "We have a good relationship, a good camaraderie and it's a lot of fun."

Prior to the start of running at The Garden, the men's and women's weight throwers competed at the New York City Armory. The men's event was won by Thomas Freeman of the U.S. The former Manhattan College standout registered only one legal throw in the competition, whirling his first attempt 23.57m/77-4 before fouling his subsequent five throws. Seid Mujanovic of Serbia was a distant second at 20.19m/66-3, which he registered on his final attempt.

U.S. Olympian Amber Campbell won the women's weight throw, also by a sizeable margin. Like Freeman, the three-time U.S. weight throw champ also had her best effort on her first attempt, launching a throw 24.20m/70-4¾ that stood up as the competition's best. Erin Gilreath of the U.S. was the next best competitor, with her first attempt measuring 21.60m/70-10½, good for second place.