¶2012 OG: w1500–Aslı Çakır (Turkey) 4:10.23

[dj]

T&FN formchart advancers to final

1. Aslı Çakir (Turkey)
2. Abeba Aregawi (Ethiopia)
3. Morgan Uceny (USA)
4. Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia)
5. Katya Kostetskaya (Russia)
6. Ibtissam Lakhouad (Morocco)
7. Yekaterina Martynova (Russia)
8. Jenny Simpson (USA)
9. Maryam Jamal (Bahrain)
10. Tatyana Tomashova (Russia)

[nevetsllim]

http://www.iaaf.org/mini/oly12/Results/ ... 500_hash_h

I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I said Hannah England's heat is stronger than the world final line-up last year. Four sub-four athletes + Jamal, Rowbury, Rodriguez and a Turk with a 4:03 PB. What a stonker of a race.

[aaronk]

The 3 Americans are one in each heat.
But each heat has more than one sub-4:00 girl.
Some 3 or 4!!
Be interesting to see how they play it.
We could see some VERY fast heats!!

[mump boy]

What a ridiculous heat

Aragawi
Tomashova
Rodrigiez
England
Jamal
Rowbury
Obiri


they could all be medallists never mind finalists !!

[mump boy]

Rowbury out but quite a fast heat

[j-a-m]

Rowbury out but quite a fast heat

7th, that should be enough to advance with a q

[j-a-m]

What just happened with Simpson?

[j-a-m]

Simpson just finishes 6th, but why was she that far behind with 150 to go; did she stumble and I missed it?

[bruce3404]

Yikes! I don't know what the WC was thinking, but she came within an eyelash of going home. Distant 11th with 200 to go and 9th with about 70 to go before she finally got going. She was lucky today since 7th was .05 back and won't qualify for the next round.

[Flumpy]

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

What happened to Baby D???

[j-a-m]

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

What happened to Baby D???

Looks like injury, hamstring.

[andyjgt]

Mishchenko out! WTF was she doing staying so far back for so long?

[aaronk]

All 3 Americans to the semis!
Waiting to see if all 3 make it to the final, but isn't this one of the best showings by THREE Americans in the women's 1500 heats in the OG??

[mcgato]

It wasn't too long ago that the US had trouble getting three to the first round.

As for Jenny Simpson, I'm of the belief that she fell asleep for part of her race. Good thing that she woke up in time.

[bruce3404]

As for Jenny Simpson, I'm of the belief that she fell asleep for part of her race. Good thing that she woke up in time.

I hope it was just as you say and she isn't feeling ill. History shows her to be a pretty smart runner and she ran a similar race in Berlin in the first round of the SC and barely squeaked through; still, she took a huge chance today and had the race been a meter shorter, she'd be on her way home.

[Master Po]

Kind of expected all Kenyans & Ethiopians (note injury to Dibaba) through to sf, if not final. Glad to see England, Dobriskey & Weightman all through to sf; both Aussies, too, & Van Dalen (NZL).

Some odd running in this first round -- as if some of them were not made aware that this was an actual qualifying round in the OG 1500 (but I am sure I do not grasp the stresses of all of this stuff).

[mcgato]

Since it was asked, here are recent US Olympic performances at the Olympics:
2008: no heats, 3 semis (3 + 3 to final): 1 finalist (Rowbury) and 2 8th place semis
2004: 3 heats (5 + 9), 2 semis (5 + 2): 1 semi (Tollefson) and nobody else
2000: 3 heats (6 + 6), 2 semis (5 + 2): 2 finalists (Runyon and Favor-Hamilton), 1 heats
1996: 3 heats (6 + 6), 2 semis (5 + 2): 1 finalist (Jacobs), 2 heats
1992: 3 heats (6 + 6), 2 semis (5 + 2): 1 finalist (Plummer), 1 semi, 1 heats
1988: no heats, 2 semis (4 + 4): 2 finalists (Gallagher and Decker-Slaney), 1 semi
1984: no heats, 2 semis (4 + 4): 1 finalist (Wysocki) and 2 semi
1980: n/a
1976: heats (4 + 2), 2 semis (4 + 1): 1 finalist (Merrill), 1 semi, 1 heat
1972: heats (4 + 2), 2 semis (4 + 2): 2 semis and nobody else
1968 and before: girls couldn't run 1500 meters

[nevetsllim]

I think today was the first time I've ever seen Tomashova run from the front.

[CKuykendall]

Do a Google News search, and you'll get the following from Simpson from the Denver Post, which may or may not be identical to what the USATF posts eventually:

"I thought, 'I'm running really comfortable so I'll just get close with 200-300 meters to go,' which is such a dumb thing to do. "I knew with 100 meters to go, 'I gotta pull out something here, or I'm going to be sitting in my apartment in two days.'"

"Waiting for the names to come up on the board, I'm thinking, 'What a mistake, what a stupid mistake.' But then, once it comes up, I look on the positive. I move on to the next two rounds and I ran the slowest, easiest race to get in."

Conclusion: Close. Cigar. No apartment sitting. Whew!

[booond]

Watched the replay after knowing she'd made it and it's still a bit unbelievable. She definitely fell asleep.

[jeremyp]

It wasn't too long ago that the US had trouble getting three to the first round.

As for Jenny Simpson, I'm of the belief that she fell asleep for part of her race. Good thing that she woke up in time.

You can get away with falling asleep early on but on the penultimate straight her falling back was very troublesome.

[DrJay]

Simpson's move should have been on the backstraight with 700m to go, from behind all the traffic to the shoulders of the leaders, settle into the inside of lane two when possible and never let anyone go by, unless they were shot out of a cannon.

[DecFan]

All 3 Americans to the semis!
Waiting to see if all 3 make it to the final, but isn't this one of the best showings by THREE Americans in the women's 1500 heats in the OG??

They all have q's beside their names, but Simpson and Rowbury surely did not look like finalists today. Uceny, on the other hand, did.

[26mi235]

It wasn't too long ago that the US had trouble getting three to the first round.

As for Jenny Simpson, I'm of the belief that she fell asleep for part of her race. Good thing that she woke up in time.

You can get away with falling asleep early on but on the penultimate straight her falling back was very troublesome.

Part of the 'problem' is that everyone went full-out there, and several of them died on the home straight as a result. I would guess if you put a watch on her, you would find that she was not lolly-gagging. She must have run a pretty fast last 400 because the split was 59 and she was not as close at the bell as at the finish.

[EPelle]

SF-1
Kostetskaya and Uceny co-lead from start to 400m (1.06,05); continue side-by-side through 800 (2.15,32). Alpetkin through leading at 3.19,48, wins heat in 4.05, followed by Kostetskaya, one American and Stellingwerff. Dobriskiy followed after. 60-point final lap for Alpetkin.

[DrJay]

Is it 5+2 to the final?

[EPelle]

First five Q; both Americans Q. Uceny was the first American. Rowbury was the fifth-placer and last Q from the heat.

[EPelle]

SF-2
Tomashova 65,58 through 400m, injected a slight pace increase down the backstretch. 1.54 with 800m remaining with Tomashova continuing to lead. 2.10,93 with leader still in place. Bulut overtakes Tomashova near 1.000m. 3.15,35 Bulut. Aregawi took lead with 200m remaining with Obiri in tow. 4.01,03Q for Aregawi. Araegawi, Bulut, Tomashova, Jamal first across line.

[DrJay]

Simpson last....what happened?

[dj]

T&FN formchart advancers to final

1. Aslı Çakir (Turkey)
2. Abeba Aregawi (Ethiopia)
3. Morgan Uceny (USA)
4. Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia)
5. Katya Kostetskaya (Russia)
6. Ibtissam Lakhouad (Morocco)
7. Yekaterina Martynova (Russia)
8. Jenny Simpson (USA)
9. Maryam Jamal (Bahrain)
10. Tatyana Tomashova (Russia)

[gotti5000]

What live link are you guys using because ATDHENET.TV stop working ..............

[Master Po]

wow -- fast 2nd heat. 5 PB, & 10th place faster than 1st heat. As for Simpson, no idea -- it looked like someone pulled the plug in the last 300 or so. Prior to that, she seemed in a good spot in the middle of things. Of course, she needed to run around 4:01-4:02 to be in the thick of this heat at the end, and it may simply be the case that she doesn't have that form this year, for whatever reason -- her SB is 4:05.

Will they advance both Weightman and Klocova? Both @ 4:02.99 would be last q.
(edit -- I guess not -- Weightman has a q, not Klocova.)

[EPelle]

Weightman has been advanced.

[j-a-m]

As for Simpson, no idea -- it looked like someone pulled the plug in the last 300 or so. Prior to that, she seemed in a good spot in the middle of things.

Seemed completely out of the race out of a sudden.

[Master Po]

As for Simpson, no idea -- it looked like someone pulled the plug in the last 300 or so. Prior to that, she seemed in a good spot in the middle of things.

Seemed completely out of the race out of a sudden.

By no means criticizing Simpson, who is an athlete I admire, and have no insight into her condition, but I note: This was the fastest 1500 she's been in this year -- and today's result in terms of her time is consistent with her 2012 season. She has run 4:05-4:07 all year. Indoor she won Millrose in 4:07. She also had a nice double victory at USATF Indoor (at altitude) in February, which suggested good fitness for this year, though of course times were altitude-appropriate. Outdoor she was 2nd at Prefontaine in 4:06; 3rd at USOT final in 4:05; 2nd at London DL in 4:07. A couple of weeks ago she ran 8:48 at Monaco, which I think is roughly on par w her 1500 times. So, today she ran 4:06. Had it been a 4:05 sf as the first one was, she probably had a 4:05 in her. But that seems to be where she is this year.