Aviva British Grand Prix
Gateshead, UK
July 10, 2010

World Indoor Champion Fabrice LaPierre (College Station, TX/Australia) jumped 26' 11" (8.20m) on his last attempt to win the Long Jump competition at the Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead, UK.  This is the 8th stop of the 14-meet series and LaPierre currently sits atop the Long Jump rankings with 9 points coming from his win in Gateshead and Shanghai and 3rd place finish in Rome.  

World Indoor Champion and newly crowned US Outdoor Champion Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) continues to dominate the 100m hurdles this season with yet another convincing win this weekend.  Jones was never challenged and crossed the finish line in 12.79sec, almost .2sec faster than the second place finisher.  Jones is also the points leader (14 points) in her event and has won all Diamond League races contested this year.

You can watch Lolo's winning run on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WksqA8hOmNY

American Record Holder and 3-time Outdoor Champion Kara Patterson (Chula Vista, CA) placed 2nd in the Javelin Throw and is now 2nd in the Diamond League point standings (6 points).  Fresh from her victory at the Prefontaine Classic last weekend, Patterson has proven her AR was not a fluke and has set herself as the first American thrower to challenge the Europeans in over 30 years.  Her winning throw at Pre of 216' 2" (65.90m) was 5 feet further than the second place finisher.  At the Aviva British Grand Prix, Patterson moved up from 5th to 2nd place on her last attempt with her best throw of the day measuring at 207'.  

All three athletes listed above plus the addition of US 400m Outdoor Champion Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) will next compete at the Diamond League Monaco on July 22. 

USATF Championships
Des Moines, IA
June 26, 2010

On a hot and humid day where the temperature on the track topped 105 degrees, Team ASICS had a memorable day where we saw the hometown hero come away with a victory and the first time an ASICS athlete stand atop the podium in the 400m and Decathlon.

2008 Olympian and 2010 World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) did not disappoint the hometown crowd by winning her 2nd outdoor national title this afternoon in dominating fashion.  Jones' winning time of 12.69sec was run into a negative 2.1 headwind and was .15sec ahead of the next finisher.  Jones felt the pressure of being the hometown girl but was able to keep her focus and deliver a win in front of a very supportive crowd.  After crossing the finish line and celebrating her victory, the crowd began to chant "Lolo, Lolo, Lolo"  as Lolo made her way back up the track to thank her many fans.  After the race, Lolo said of "there was so much pressure, I felt, for me to perform well here, especially since I didn't have such a strong outing at Drake Relays. I really just wanted to come back and come away with the victory.  I just kept telling myself not to think about the crowd for that moment, just to think about what I had to accomplish in the race. I literally just started focusing on one thing: have a good start. That's all I kept telling myself because that kept distracting me from the fact that my Dad was sitting two feet away with my sister and brothers.  I was just so glad that I could come back and make them proud that I was an Iowan born and raised on Des Moines tracks, so it was a great moment, really. I know they watch me on TV overseas, but this time it was in my backyard. It was a great moment."  Jones will now head to Europe to race in the European Summer Circuit.  

2010 World Indoor Relay Gold Medalist Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) shocked the crowd as he powered down the homestretch to win the 400m crossing the finish line in 44.61sec, the fastest time in the world this year and a new personal best by almost .5sec.  The most amazing part of his victory is that Nixon ran the race from lane 8 where he was not able to see any of his competitors until after 300m into the race.  At that point of the race, Nixon saw that he was in a good position to win and sprinted away from the other sprinters to win his first outdoor title.  Nixon's feat makes him the first ASICS athlete to win a US 400m Outdoor title.  Nixon will head to Oregon to compete in next week's Diamond League Meeting in Eugene.

3-time US Indoor Champion Jake Arnold (Tucson, AZ) started the day 178 points behind the day 1 leader but slowly erased the deficit by winning 4 out of the 5 events contested in day 2 in the Decathlon.  PB's in the 110m Hurdles (14.06sec) and Discus Throw (161' 2") got Arnold rolling as he continued a stellar 2nd day with wins in the Pole Vault, Javelin Throw, before finishing 3rd in the 1500m, the last event of the grueling 10 event competition.  His point total of 8215 points was 114 points better than the second place finisher and day 1 leader, a 292 point swing.  After winning his 1st US outdoor title, Arnold said "I came out today personal bests in the hurdles and discus, right off the bat. That really helped out. Pole vault, had a very good pole vault, just no mistakes really until I got to higher heights. Javelin, I had higher heights than I had recently. It really all just added up to me being within striking distance of the leader.  I live in Tucson so I'm used to heat, but the humidity was a different story.  Even when you're sitting in the shade, you're just feeling hot. The humidity definitely took a toll on me."  Arnold is the first ASICS athlete to win an outdoor Decathlon title at the US Championships. 

Lolo Jones	Greg Nixon	Jake Arnold
From the prelims

Doha Diamond League
Doha, Qatar
May 14, 2010

2010 World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) overcame a poor start to win the inaugural 100m Hurdle race in the Diamond League series with a winning time of 12.63sec. Jones was surprised to win the race given her poor start. She did not lose her focus and, after the 10th hurdle, was able to outrun the field to the finish line. Jones' winning time is the second fastest time in the world this year.

Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting IAAF World Challenge Series
Daegu, South Korea
May 19, 2010

2010 World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) ran 12.78sec in the 100m hurdles for a 2nd place finish. Jones reacted poorly to the sound of the starters pistol and was clearly behind at the 2nd hurdle. However, she worked her way through over the next 8 hurdles and almost caught the winner, missing out on the top spot on the podium by .01sec.

I was sitting in front of the fireplace making a s’more and reflecting on how exciting the World Championships were. It inspired a blog. Watching the last few days of event finals taking place half a world away have brought so much motivation as I ready myself for the New York City Half Marathon.

Our Mammoth Track Club does hurdle work at the gym to loosen up our hips. If only I could make it look as smooth as Lolo Jones did to capture the Gold Medal in Doha. I’m not asking to completely dominate a field of the world’s best hurdlers like she did, just to make it look as graceful.

Then there is Fabrice Lapierre who won Gold in the awesome Long Jump competition. My standing long jump has never impressed Coach Mahon in our weight room tests, but I’ll visualize myself having a similar mid-air float that seemed to carry Fabrice the extra inches to win Gold in Qatar.

These two athletes were sound in mind and body to completely dominate the world in their events. As I get excited for the New York City Half Marathon this weekend, I can’t help but feel sound in mind and body for putting in so many weeks of great training. There is great comfort in knowing you have done the work, and done it well. The intervals. The miles. Conquering hills. Going the distance. Shortening the rest. Extending past previous limitations. When you feel your body gaining strides week after week, it is hard not to feel a certain high.

There is a rich feeling when you make progress toward your goal and a giddy elation from feeling you’ve timed it perfectly, ready when it counts the most. Lolo and Fabrice were on top of their game when the World Championships rolled around. How awesome. I look forward to riding the same momentum through the NYC Half and into April where I am focused on the Virgin London Marathon. The grace and fluidness of Lolo and Fabrice will continue to inspire a few more miles of training.

IAAF World Indoor Championships
Aspire Dome
Doha, Qatar
March 13, 2010

2 Events, 2 Golds

2008 World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones  (Baton Rouge, LA) won her second consecutive 60m Hurdles title with her record breaking performance this evening.  Jones' time of 7.72sec is a new American Record, a new Championship Record, and her lead at the finish of .14sec was the largest margin of victory in the history of the event.  She also became the first woman to defend a 60m Hurdles World Title and moved to third on the all-time world indoor list.  Jones barely qualified for the finals as she was the last qualifier in the 2nd semi-final heat and was the slowest (8.04sec) out of all the finalists.  The final, however, was a different story.  She rocketed out of the blocks and led from the first hurdle, increasing her lead with each passing hurdle, before putting the rest of the field away at the finish line.  After the race, Lolo commented: "I had a bad semi, I almost lost it, but I finally put it together at the most important time. Now, it’s joy for me after last year’s frustration and all that happened in 2008. I am so happy to be back.  This is the biggest day of my career, my best race. Finally I broke one of Gail Devers’ records that I was hunting over the last few years. I’m back on track after 2008 in Beijing and 2009 injury."

In the Men's Long Jump final, 2-time World Athletic Champion, Fabrice Lapierre (Australia/College Station, Texas) won his first major medal in dominating fashion.  After fouling on his first 2 attempts, Lapierre moved to the top of the leader board with a jump of 8.01m in the 3rd round.  His fourth and fifth jumps were measured out at 8.09m and 8.17m respectively.  In the sixth round, Lapierre knew he had won the gold medal and tried to improve on his last attempt but instead bailed on the jump as he was mid-flight.  Lapierre, who established a new Australian Indoor National record yesterday with his leap of 8.19m, is the first Australian to win an Indoor Long Jump title. 

Greg Nixon (Los Angeles, CA) ran the first leg of the Men's 4x400m relay team which qualified the fastest out of all the teams who advanced to tomorrow's final. 

LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (US Virgin Islands/Houston, TX) will see action in the semi-finals of the Women's 60m dash tomorrow afternoon.

IAAF World Indoor Championships
Aspire Dome
Doha, Qatar
March 12, 2010

Fabrice Lapierre (Australia/College Station, Texas) led Team ASICS in today's qualifying action at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. Lapierre set a new National and Area Record in the qualifying of the Men's Long Jump. His leap of 8.19m (26' 3/4") was the farthest qualifying mark of the day and qualifies him for tomorrow night's final.

LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (US Virgin Islands/Houston, TX) blazed down the track and dominated the 3rd heat stopping the clock at 7.14sec, easily the fastest qualifying time of the day in the Women's 60m dash. She advances to the semi-finals which will be held on Sunday afternoon.

Defending World Indoor Champion Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, LA) ran the second fastest time in the qualifying round of the Women's 60m Hurdles crossing the finish line in 7.94sec.  Jones will run the semifinals tomorrow afternoon.

Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) ran 9:04.25 in the Women's 3000m and did not advance to tomorrow's final.

Lolo Jones talks about her 26 hour trip to Doha, Qatar for the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and shares her footwear secret for those long flights.