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Final Day at US Track & Field Championships

2009 US Track & Field Championships
June 28, 2009
Eugene, OR

Team ASICS had a fantastic final day at the US Track & Field Championships with four athletes punching their tickets to Berlin, Germany for the 2009 IAAF World Championships (August 15-23, 2009).

Harris Soars to 2nd Outdoor Title
The qualifying party was started by 2004 Olympian Tora Harris (Chula Vista, CA) when he stunned the field by clearing 2.31m (7' 7") to win the competition. This is Harris' 2nd US Outdoor title and he dedicated his victory to the R & D Center in Kobe, Japan for producing custom made shoes for him which he wore for the first time in competition today. With windy conditions and a big field of 26 jumpers, Harris commented that "I was just hanging in there and staying tough. I had to make adjustments because of the conditions. It was a great day to jump despite having too much tail wind. It was a big field with 26 guys, so in that situation you need to make adjustments and settle down."

Brown to Berlin
Soon after Tora's winning jump, Ryan Brown (Seattle, WA) stepped on to the track for the final of the Men's 800m. Brown was in 7th place at the halfway mark coming through in 53.39sec but slowly moved his way to 5th place at the 600m mark in 1:19.55. Brown slowly made his move around the last turn and ran past the two runners in front of him to finish in 3rd place and win a plane ticket to Berlin. The 2-time NCAA Champion crossed the finish line in 1:46.67 to secure his spot on his first World Championship team.

1-2 Finish in the Heptathlon
As Brown was celebrating at the finish line, 2008 Olympians Diana Pickler (Manhattan, KS) and Sharon Day (San Luis Obispo, CA), along with the other heptathletes, were brought onto the track for the final event of the heptathlon, the 800m. Pickler, by virtue of the lead she had going to the last event, was guaranteed a spot on the World Championship Team as long as she finished the race. Pickler finished sixth in the 800m with a time of 2:16.99 but scored enough points overall to win the competition with a new personal best score of 6290 points. This is her first outdoor title to go along with the two indoor titles she won in 2007 and 2008. With only four competitions under her belt this year, Pickler said "I definitely felt it a lot in speed and timing. But I'm just looking at the big picture really and trying to focus on what I'm trying to accomplish in the next few months." Pickler makes her second trip to the World Championships after competing in Osaka, Japan in 2007 where she finished in 25th place. Day, however, had to run 2:19.10 or faster in order to hit the "A" standard of 6100 points to guarantee her place on her first World Championship Team. Day was in 2nd place at the halfway mark and broke away from the pack of 14 athletes with 300m to go en route to running a new personal best of 2:13.54, almost 2 seconds faster than the 2nd place finisher. "I knew what I needed (going into the 800). I wasn't running the race to just make it, I was running the best that I could," commented Day after the race. She finished second overall with a new personal best score of 6177 points and, with her 3rd place finish in the HJ on Thursday, will be going to Berlin looking to compete in two events.

In the Women's Pole Vault, 2008 Olympian April Steiner-Bennett (Springdale, AR) finished in a tie for 4th place clearing 4.45m (14' 7 ¼"). In the semi-finals of the 100m Hurdles, LoLo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) bumped into the runner in the lane next to her, was thrown off balance, and was unable to finish the race.

ASICS Athletes headed to Berlin:
Jake Arnold Decathlon
Ryan Brown 800m
Tora Harris High Jump
Amy Acuff High Jump
Sharon Day High Jump/Heptahlon
Kara Patterson Javelin Throw
Diana Pickler Heptathlon