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Men's Pole Vault Final
Brad Walker (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.): It feels phenomenal! Packed house and the fans got behind us. 5.86 on the first attempt did the trick and I couldn't be happier! (on the miss at 5.76) It was one of those good misses. I knew I had the ability to clear 5.81, and the first attempt make at 5.81 put me back in the lead. First attempt clearances in a major championship are a huge thing, and it puts stress on the other competitors. I think the 5.86 first attempt clearance knocked the wind out of some people's sails, and I was lucky to get that jump. Conditions were perfect; the winds were calm. You couldn't ask for anything more.
Eight guys over 5.81 is a huge competition any way you cut it. This was one of the toughest competitions I've been in. I was gassed, and I had to dig pretty deep because my prep going into this meet wasn't exactly the way I would've liked it. I haven't lifted weights, and I'm a lot lighter than what I normally am. I have a couple of bulged discs, and it's been giving me a lot of pain, and I've had to back off the training.
[On his new haircut]: I have a really good record of jumping well after a haircut. We thought a lot of speedy lines would add some pizzazz. (The Mohawk) can be anything you want it to be. Jacob Pauli was the one who did this, so thanks to him! This win will give me a lot of momentum going into next year.
Women's 5,000-Meter Final
Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.): I thought that it would come down to a one-lap race. The heat plays a factor. In a big championship race, a lot of people aren't willing to lead. I'm happy with the place, but I'm just not happy with the way I executed the last lap. My coach and I talked about possibly leading late and seeing if I could shake some people, but it was hard to get around that pack. I was reaching too much for that finish line. I wanted it too bad. I felt that Jen & I worked well together. Top ten was what we were both hoping for, so that's pretty good. It was great to have someone like Jen with me to help motivate me and keep pushing.
Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.): It wasn't a surprise that it came down to a 300-meter race. I got boxed in and didn't make a move with a kilo to go to see if I could break it up. I'm not as quick as some of the other women, so maybe if I started earlier, maybe some of the other girls may have broken. I don't have any plans to run a marathon in the near future. Tonight was a trial run for next year; I've never run the 5 or made the final. I think I'm better suited for the shorter distances. Mentally, I'm a lot stronger in the 5k & 10k on the track than the marathon. My goal at the beginning of the year was to make top eight in the finals. I made a lot of tactical errors, but it's my highest placing at worlds.
Men's Decathlon
Paul Terek (San Luis Obispo, Calif.): It wasn't the performance I wanted and the place I wanted. I had a lot bigger aspirations, especially since it was so wide open after Bryan (Clay) and Tom (Pappas) dropped out. I'd rather have a great meet and finish well and have everybody there. Bryan and Tom came in a little dinged up. You feel for them. There's a certain brotherhood among decathletes. When one of them goes down, you might move up a place, but that's not important. You want to make sure they are OK. We lost a couple of them, but they will be back for next year. It's a two-day struggle out there. We put out our strengths and weaknesses out there in front of thousands and thousands of people out there. We can tough it out there for two days. There's a bond there. We see each other for every event.
Jake Arnold (Santa Rosa, Calif.): It's my first international meet this year. I had a long season this year. I'm so happy to come out here and score 8,000. I had a great first day. The second day was rough, real rough to get through. Overall, I'm happy. I'm looking forward to the [Olympic] Trials. I won't have the college season. I think I will come a lot fresher into Trials and put up a big score.
Men 4x400-Meter Relay Heats
Bershawn Jackson (Raleigh, N.C.): Our race was very good. It was my first race since the disastrous second round. Overall, I felt great. I executed pretty good and I'm with a good group of guys.
Kerron Clement (Gainesville, Fla.): I felt really good. We just passed the stick around and made it to finals, and get a good lane. I was very relaxed.
Darold Williamson (Woodway, Texas): We had Bershawn lead off, establishing a lead for the team. What was important for us today was execute, get the baton around safely and qualify for the next round. I haven't run all week. I wanted to come out and have some fun, and get myself some good work. What was most important for us was to have clean sticks and get to the next round so we could have a lot of fun.
Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.): I had a final yesterday, three rounds of the quarter. I was running pretty fast. I knew with the group of guys that we had that they would go out there and do their job, and get it out to me in the lead. I could pretty much cruise in. We are very deep in the 400 this year. I really trust those guys. I've known them a long time. All I knew is that we had to make safe passes and get the stick around to qualify for the finals.
Women's 4x400m Relay Heats
DeeDee Trotter (Knoxville, Tenn.): I think it went very well today. I think we can make it even more smooth, and we can even make this thing really pop down into the 3-teens possibly. We're looking do big things.
Monique Hennagan (Stockbridge, Ga.): I thought we looked great out there. We just wanted to execute so we can make it to the next round and get prepared to get the rest of the team ready for tomorrow. I think we have a great shot (at winning).
Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio): The key tonight was just getting the baton around the track and we executed that and I'm real excited and happy for everyone.
Natasha Hastings (St. Albans, N.Y.): We just wanted to make some clean handoffs and make it to the next round. Tomorrow night is the big show. I was relaxed just knowing who was on the team that I was running with. I knew they were going to take care of me regardless.
Men's 4x100m Relay Final
Darvis Patton (Fort Worth, Texas): I just tried to get the stick to Wallace, Tyson and Leroy. Once I knew I got those guys the stick they would take care of me, not me take care of them.
Wallace Spearmon (Fayetteville, Ark.): I got the stick even with Usain Bolt and just tried to make up ground and guarantee we'd get that first place spot. I'm thrilled. (On the exchange with Tyson Gay) He put his hand back and it was pretty close to my face. After that I just grabbed his hand and made sure he got that stick. He was not going anywhere without that stick and he had to get it in the zone. It was fun for me. I can't speak for everyone else. It was nothing but fun.
Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, Ark.): A lot of people think I need to be on anchor. When the coaches said I would go to the third leg I said I have no problem with it. I am tired, but the coaches told me to do it one more time. (On handoff from Wallace Spearmon): That wasn't the greatest handoff we've had in our careers. At the same time if we can get the stick around we can be victorious every time. I came into these championships thinking about three gold medals. I think I got a lot accomplished. I came out and had fun.
Leroy Dixon (Los Angeles, Calif.): I was just thinking bring it home for the USA. There was a question about the anchor. We thought the world's fastest man (Tyson Gay) should anchor, but I guess the coaches knew what they were doing. I guess that's why they are the coaches and we're the athletes. They told me last why they are the coaches and we're the athletes. They told me last night I was running anchor and that they had the confidence in me to bring it home. This does a lot for my confidence.
Women's 4x100m Relay Final
Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.): Gold medal! It feels great. I'm happy with my silver in the 100, but gold's always better. We had great chemistry out there tonight. We were all at relay camp, so there was no reason why we couldn't win the gold. We had four strong legs.
Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, Calif.): Lauryn brought it in to me. Our handoffs were decent. I wanted to run strong. It's my first relay, and I can't wait to do it again tomorrow night. I walked out to the track and I was amazed how full the stadium was. It was great to have it happen on the night of the relay.
Miki Barber (Raleigh, N.C.): All I was focused on was trying to keep the lead. I've run third leg a few times.
Torri Edwards (Corona, Calif.): Felt really good. I got the stick in a good position, and I was able to hold on. I didn't feel the other girl-I was so focused on getting to the line first. I certainly didn't want to go home empty-handed. I've got a gold medal, so I'm happy about that.
Women's 1500m wheelchair race
Amanda McGrory (Kennett Square, Penn.): This has been amazing. We have had a great time watching the events all week. To get our chance to get out there in front of the crowd was amazing. I have never raced with anything like that before.
Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Md.): It's a pretty exciting event. It's my first time in Japan. The crowd was very energetic. It's my first time being at an able-body meet. I was very nervous. I did all right, not as well as I wish I did.
Jessica Galli (Savoy, Ill.): It was great. We have been here since Wednesday. I was a little nervous and jittery about the race. It was great to get it over with. This is my first able-body world. I competed in the Paralympics twice, in Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. I have experience. The crowd was huge. I'm really glad everyone was out there. It makes you really pumped.
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