2017 USATF Indoor ChampionshipsMar 1, 2017 by Taylor Dutch
USATF Indoor Championship Storylines: Women's Competition
USATF Indoor Championship Storylines: Women's Competition
With the USATF Indoor Championships fast approaching, FloTrack examined the most exciting storylines of the women's competition going down in Albuquerque, NM.
With the USATF Indoor Championships fast approaching, FloTrack is examining the most exciting storylines of the women's competition going down in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this weekend.
Equalizer distance showdown between Ajee Wilson, Courtney Okolo
With off-distance races highlighting the USATF Indoor Championships, athletes with different event specialties have the opportunity to face off in uncharted racing territory, and the women's 600m is a perfect example. Ajee Wilson, who is 800m world indoor silver medalist, and 4x400m Olympic champion Courtney Okolo will have the opportunity to compete in a distance that will test each of their strengths and weaknesses.
For Wilson, the 600m will be a gauge of her speed as an 800m middle distance specialist. She has already run the No. 4 all-time mark this year after notching a 1:24.48 win at the Armory Track Invitational. Only Russians Olga Kotlyarova and Yuliya Rusanova and Olympic finalist Alysia Montano have run faster marks. After her Armory performance, Wilson broke the American record in the indoor 800m with a stunning 1:58.27 world lead at the Millrose Games. It was her latest personal best in a series of improvements from the 500m to the 1000m this indoor season.
For 400m star Okolo, the 600m will be a test of endurance. She qualified for the event when she soloed a 1:25.21 at the Husker Invitational, which stands at No. 7 all-time. Prior to her 600m performance, Okolo blazed a 300m personal best of 36.87 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, and three weeks later, she ran the 500m world lead of 1:07.34 at the Millrose Games. The performance shattered the American indoor record and stands as the third-fastest 500m all-time, only behind Russians Olesya Krasnomovets and Olga Zaytseva.
Wilson ran her 600m personal best at the Armory with a two-second margin of victory. Okolo ran her 600m at Nebraska with a five-second lead on the runner-up. Neither has been challenged in the distance so far this season. As superstars in each of their respective specialties with different strengths and weaknesses, the 600m will present the ultimate equalizer distance.
Charlene Lipsey's first championship since running 1:58.64
Since graduating from LSU in 2013, Charlene Lipsey has been painfully close to breaking the two-minute barrier in the 800m. In 2014, she ran between 2:01.66 and 2:00.91 five times. In 2015, she continued improving with a then-personal best of 2:00.60. And in 2016, Lipsey ran 2:00.65 and made the semifinal of the Olympic Trials.
The steady momentum reached a major breakthrough at the 2017 Millrose Games when Lipsey ran 1:58.64 behind her training partner Wilson. Not only did Lipsey improve her all-conditions personal best by two seconds, but she also ran under the previous American indoor record.
This weekend, Lipsey will be competing in the 1000m to end an indoor season that has also seen three personal bests in the mile (4:40, 4:31, 4:30). It's always exciting to observe the marks of steady improvement, and in Lipsey's case, we are seeing a runner on the rise.
What is Heather Kampf's potential in the longer distances?
This weekend, Heather Kampf is competing as the fastest entry in the 2 mile. The entry came about after she qualified with an 8:51.27 3K win at the Armory Invitational. The performance is a seven-second improvement on her previous personal best and 3K debut of 8:58.34, which she ran last year at the same meet.
Since 2008, Kampf has competed in either the 800m or 1500m at every national championship she's entered. This weekend will mark the first time she has tested her endurance in a longer distance at a championship level. According to the Jack Daniels' VDOT Running Calculator, Kampf's 8:51 best converts to a 15:22 5K. With an 800m personal best of 2:00, a 1500m best of 4:04, and now a 3K best of 8:51, it's an exciting prospect to imagine Kampf's potential in a longer distance race.
Can Keni Harrison break the American record in the 60m hurdles?
It would be a stretch since the championship is at altitude in Albuquerque, but Keni Harrison is more than capable of breaking Lolo Jones' 60m hurdles American record of 7.72.
So far this season, Harrison has won every race she has competed in, highlighted by a world lead and personal best of 7.75 at the Rod McCravy Invitational. She continued her momentum with a 7.76 victory at the IAAF indoor meeting in Karlsruhe. The performances are reminiscent of the dominant racing executed by Harrison in 2016. She broke the American record in the 100m hurdles at the Prefontaine Classic last May but unfortunately missed out on making the U.S. Olympic team when she finished sixth in the Trials final. Harrison overcame the disappointment by breaking the world record at the London Diamond League meeting just a few days later.
Harrison enters the championship as a world record-holder in the 100m hurdles and as an improved 60m hurdler, which begs the question: Can she become the new American record-holder in the 60m hurdles?
Equalizer distance showdown between Ajee Wilson, Courtney Okolo
With off-distance races highlighting the USATF Indoor Championships, athletes with different event specialties have the opportunity to face off in uncharted racing territory, and the women's 600m is a perfect example. Ajee Wilson, who is 800m world indoor silver medalist, and 4x400m Olympic champion Courtney Okolo will have the opportunity to compete in a distance that will test each of their strengths and weaknesses.
For Wilson, the 600m will be a gauge of her speed as an 800m middle distance specialist. She has already run the No. 4 all-time mark this year after notching a 1:24.48 win at the Armory Track Invitational. Only Russians Olga Kotlyarova and Yuliya Rusanova and Olympic finalist Alysia Montano have run faster marks. After her Armory performance, Wilson broke the American record in the indoor 800m with a stunning 1:58.27 world lead at the Millrose Games. It was her latest personal best in a series of improvements from the 500m to the 1000m this indoor season.
For 400m star Okolo, the 600m will be a test of endurance. She qualified for the event when she soloed a 1:25.21 at the Husker Invitational, which stands at No. 7 all-time. Prior to her 600m performance, Okolo blazed a 300m personal best of 36.87 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, and three weeks later, she ran the 500m world lead of 1:07.34 at the Millrose Games. The performance shattered the American indoor record and stands as the third-fastest 500m all-time, only behind Russians Olesya Krasnomovets and Olga Zaytseva.
Wilson ran her 600m personal best at the Armory with a two-second margin of victory. Okolo ran her 600m at Nebraska with a five-second lead on the runner-up. Neither has been challenged in the distance so far this season. As superstars in each of their respective specialties with different strengths and weaknesses, the 600m will present the ultimate equalizer distance.Charlene Lipsey's first championship since running 1:58.64
Since graduating from LSU in 2013, Charlene Lipsey has been painfully close to breaking the two-minute barrier in the 800m. In 2014, she ran between 2:01.66 and 2:00.91 five times. In 2015, she continued improving with a then-personal best of 2:00.60. And in 2016, Lipsey ran 2:00.65 and made the semifinal of the Olympic Trials.
The steady momentum reached a major breakthrough at the 2017 Millrose Games when Lipsey ran 1:58.64 behind her training partner Wilson. Not only did Lipsey improve her all-conditions personal best by two seconds, but she also ran under the previous American indoor record.
This weekend, Lipsey will be competing in the 1000m to end an indoor season that has also seen three personal bests in the mile (4:40, 4:31, 4:30). It's always exciting to observe the marks of steady improvement, and in Lipsey's case, we are seeing a runner on the rise.
What is Heather Kampf's potential in the longer distances?
This weekend, Heather Kampf is competing as the fastest entry in the 2 mile. The entry came about after she qualified with an 8:51.27 3K win at the Armory Invitational. The performance is a seven-second improvement on her previous personal best and 3K debut of 8:58.34, which she ran last year at the same meet.
Since 2008, Kampf has competed in either the 800m or 1500m at every national championship she's entered. This weekend will mark the first time she has tested her endurance in a longer distance at a championship level. According to the Jack Daniels' VDOT Running Calculator, Kampf's 8:51 best converts to a 15:22 5K. With an 800m personal best of 2:00, a 1500m best of 4:04, and now a 3K best of 8:51, it's an exciting prospect to imagine Kampf's potential in a longer distance race.
Can Keni Harrison break the American record in the 60m hurdles?
It would be a stretch since the championship is at altitude in Albuquerque, but Keni Harrison is more than capable of breaking Lolo Jones' 60m hurdles American record of 7.72.
So far this season, Harrison has won every race she has competed in, highlighted by a world lead and personal best of 7.75 at the Rod McCravy Invitational. She continued her momentum with a 7.76 victory at the IAAF indoor meeting in Karlsruhe. The performances are reminiscent of the dominant racing executed by Harrison in 2016. She broke the American record in the 100m hurdles at the Prefontaine Classic last May but unfortunately missed out on making the U.S. Olympic team when she finished sixth in the Trials final. Harrison overcame the disappointment by breaking the world record at the London Diamond League meeting just a few days later. Harrison enters the championship as a world record-holder in the 100m hurdles and as an improved 60m hurdler, which begs the question: Can she become the new American record-holder in the 60m hurdles?