Posted: June 24, 2005

Athletics: Pate returns to top of long jump heap at USA Outdoors

LOS ANGELES - Upset victories in the men's field events and close competitions in the men's 10,000 meters and women's discus provided plenty of drama Thursday at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, presented by Visa.

The concluding event of USA Track & Field's 2005 Visa Championship Series, the meet hosts more than 1,000 athletes at the Home Depot Center as they compete for the right to represent Team USA at the 2005 World Outdoor Track & Field Championships August 6-14 in Helsinki, Finland.

In addition, the Visa Championship will be up for grabs. The male and female athlete with the top overall single performances in the 2005 Visa Championship Series will be named Visa Champion and each receive a $25,000 bonus to assist them on their journey to achieve their athletic goals. In addition, each Visa Champion will be awarded an invitation to their choice of a premiere Visa-sponsored event.

Pate upsets Phillips in LJ, Walker takes PV

Two-time USA indoor champion Miguel Pate announced that he has fully recovered from a blown out knee suffered in 2003 by upsetting reigning Olympic and world championships gold medalist Dwight Phillips. Only the third man in history to jump over 28 feet indoors (8.59m/28-2.25 at 2002 USA indoor championships), Pate popped off a mark of 8.35m/27-4-.75 in the second round of jumping on Thursday, securing his win with the best mark by an American so far this year. The #1 ranked jumper in the world the last two years, Phillips was second with a leap of 8.28m/27-2. Former NCAA All-American Brian Johnson was third with 8.09m/26-6.5.

Yet another upset came in a windy men's pole vault competition, where 2005 U.S. leader Brad Walker, the 2005 USA indoor champion, topped an outstanding field with a clearance of 5.75m/18-10.25. 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong was second with 5.65m/18-6.5, and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Toby Stevenson was third at the same height. Reigning Olympic champion Tim Mack tied for seventh with a clearance of 5.40m/17-8.5.

Abdi -Meb show in men's 10 km

As has played out several times on American tracks over the last five years, two-time Olympic teammates Abdi Abdirahman and Meb Keflezighi made a two-man show of the men's 10,000 meter final. The 2001 U.S. champion, Abdirahman made it an honest race from the gun, seizing the lead and stringing out the field within the first 200 meters. Keflezighi, the Olympic marathon silver medalist, 10,000m American record holder and three-time U.S. 10 km champion was on his heels, and the two men set about striding around the track alone.

With Abdirahman leading the way, the duo came through 5,000 meters in 14:03 with no competition in sight. Keflezighi took over the lead with nine laps (3,600 meters) remaining, but Abdi took over once again with 800 left. Most observers likely expected Keflezighi's footspeed to prevail in the final meters, but it was Abdirahman who crossed the line, jubilantly in first, in 28:10.38. Keflezighi was inches back in 28:10.57, with Matt Downing third in 28:34.65.

Drama in the field

The women's discus throw, held concurrently with the men's 10,000m at the end of the evening, featured just as exciting a finish. 2004 NCAA champion Becky Breisch of Nebraska led the competition through three rounds, but in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds she was relegated to fourth by four-time U.S. champion Seilala Sua, 2004 Olympic Trials and two-time Pan Am gold medalist Aretha (Hill) Thurmond, and five-time USA runner-up Suzy Powell.

The 22-year-old Breisch made the final throw of the competition count, uncorking her winning toss of 62.92m/206-5 to vault from fourth to first. Sua ended in second with a best of 61.82m/202-10, while Thurmond was third with 61.77m/202-8.

Flanagan runs away with 5,000

Olympian Shalane Flanagan made a time trial out of the women's 5,000 meters, running well clear of the field for nearly the entire race and winning in a 2005 U.S.-leading time of 15:10.96 for her first national championship. Lauren Fleshman was second in 15:16.80 and two-time Olympian Amy Rudolph was third in 15:18.92.

Three-time Olympian Amy Acuff won the fifth U.S. outdoor title of her career in the women's high jumper, coming back from ankle injuries to win with a clearance of 1.90m/6-2.75. Fellow 2004 Olympian Chaunte Howard and 2004 USA junior champion Sharon Day of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo were second and third, respectively, at the same height.

2003 Pan Am Games gold medalist Kim Kreiner won her third U.S. title in the women's javelin throw with a mark of 58.95m/193-5. Ian Waltz, the 2004 Olympic Trials runner-up, won his first national crown in the men's discus with his throw of 64.54m/211-9.

Favorites advance in rounds

Top performers in their qualifying rounds on Thursday were Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner in the men's 400 (45.29), two-time Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell in the men's 110-meter hurdles (13.37), 2003 U.S. champion Sanya Richards in the women's 400 (51.79), Olympic Trials champion Daniel Lincoln in the men's steeplechase (8:35.32), Olympian Lashinda Demus in the women's 400m hurdles (54.68), Sarah Schwald in the women's 1,500m (4:13.25), Rob Myers in the men's 1,500m (3:38.96), and Duane Solomon in the men's 800m (1:48.90),

Olympic silver medalist Bryan Clay led the men's decathlon after the first day of competition (4,322 points), with marks of 10.70 in the 100m (929 points), 7.44m/24-5 in the long jump (920), 14.88m/48-10 in the shot put (782), 2.06m/6-9 in the high jump, and 49.62 (832) in the 400. U.S. indoor heptathlon champ Ryan Harlan was second with 4,193 points.

For complete results, athlete quotes and start lists from the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, visit USATF.org.