MEN'S 400

Final

Splitting the 400 isn't easy. An easy lane to split at Hayward Field is 7, the lane of Antonio Pettigrew here. Pettigrew started off very slowly, as Leonard Byrd and Derrick Brew were out well in lanes 2 and 4.

The author split 22.9 for Pettigrew. "I blew it," he remarked. But no, Pettigrew was that slow. And he ran that fast over the final 200. Pettigrew screamed the curve 100 in 10.5, reaching 300 in 33.4, but was still a good 7 meters behind. Pettigrew continued to drive the straight as others began to tie up. Over the last 15m, Pettigrew overtook Jerome Yound and then Byrd to win in a slow 45.08. Pettigrew negative split 22.9/22.1.

Byrd was second in 45.26 with Young nipping Brew for 3rd, 45.32-45.35. Pettigrew will have the chance to repeat the World Championship title he was 10 years ago in Tokyo. I wonder if he's still planning on retiring at the end of the year?

Calvin Harrison, who ran so well in the first round (too well, apparently) was last in 46.05.

Semis

Heat 1 of the men's 400 semis saw the surprising elimination of Tyree Washington, whom some saw as the lap's heir apparent in the aftermath of Michael Johnson's retirement from non-relay competition.

Washington got out quickly in lane 3 and had made up the stagger on Baylor's Brandon Couts to his outside, but had no answer in the homestretch as LSU alum Derrick Brew in lane 8 powered away to a 45.31 win.

Four others ran past Washington also as he faded to 6th in 46.02.

Veteran Antonio Pettigrew won heat 2 in 45.28. Calvin Harrison, who opened his season with a sub-45 heat Thursday, was unable to follow up here (overall fitness may be lacking). Harrison's hamstrings appeared to tighten in the homestretch, but he hung on for 4th and moved on to the final.

HEATS
The first round of the men's 400 went very much according to form, with the logical favorites winning each of the five heats: Tyree Washington 45.51, Calvin Harrison 44.97, Antonio Pettigrew 46.06, Andrew Pierce 45.07, Jerome Young 45.80.

It took 46.16 to advance to Friday's semis, with the major loss being Olympic Trials 7th-placer Danny McCray, who ran just 46.31 for 4th in his heat.

Fastest qualifier Harrison looked particularly impressive in his very first race of the year. Running out in lane 8 with nobody to key on, he went out hard and never let up.

No. 2 qualifier Pierce, the Big 10 champion, ran hard all the way to the tape, unlike at the NCAA Championships here two weeks ago, when he didn't push hard at the end and got caught up in the nasty numbers game the collegiate meet's time-based qualifying can generate.