Okay, how’d I do (Doha edition)?

The Indoor World Championships are over!  Very exciting, some big surprises, some expected outcomes, but always very watchable.  The showstopper moment, as far as I’m concerned was Lolo Jones and not just the unbelievable race she ran, but her beautifully cathartic reaction to it.  But I made some predictions, so let’s see how I did, yeah?

Men:

60 Meters:  I said Daniel Bailey, Mike Rodgers and Dwain Chambers – just reverse the order.  I had the right names, wrong gold and bronze!  Chambers drugged ran a drugged strong 6.48 for the best drugged time in the world this year.

60 Meter Hurdles:  I said Trammell, Robles, Svoboda – Svoboda was 5th, but Robles and Trammell put on a freaking show, with Robles having to set a Championship record of 7.34 to just beat out Trammell’s American record 7.36!  In third was David Oliver, who I think I’ve overlooked before (my bad!)

400 Meters: I said Batman, and maybe a US sweep with Ireland’s Gillick possibly sneaking in the medals.  Turns out Chris Brown led from the gun to win in 45.96, followed by William Collazo and Jamaal Torrance, but the real story was Batman and Gillick tangling on the last corner and both winding up not just out of the medals, but badly out of the medals. Really tactically bad running, and Gillick was crushed by his mistake (Batman seemed none too pleased himself).

800 Meters: I said Ismail, Lalang, Kaki.  Close, but no cigar – Kaki won in 1:46.23, Lalang second, and the Pole Adam Kszczot (just pronounce that, I dare you) took the bronze.  Really glad I pooh-poohed the eastern Europeans in this one.

1500 Meters: I said Mekonnen, Ali, then took a pass.  I got Mekonnen right (3:41.86), silver and bronze went to Iguider and Keitany.  It was a pretty pedestrian, which was disappointing, but it was fun to watch for all the lead changes; it turned out to be exciting in the end!

3000 Meters: I said Choge, Lagat and Sanchez.  My man Kip wound up winning in a blazing 7:37.97, Sanchez was second (so I got that part of the order right), with Sammy Mutahi third.  Choge had a hugely disappointing race; way back almost 20 seconds off the pace.  Congrats, Kip!

Women:

60 Meters:  I said Jeter, Campbell-Brown and Jones-Ferrette, and as with the men’s 60, got the names right but order wrong.  Campbell Brown scorched a 7.00, followed by Jones-Ferrette and Jeter.

60 Meter Hurdles: LOLO! LOLO! LOLO! LO(squared)!  Okay, that’s out of my system.  I said Lopes-Schliep, Lolo, and Ginnie Powell. Turned out to be Lolo (LOLO! LOLO! LOLO!) in a Championship record 7.72 (seriously, watch it again.  I’ll wait), followed by Felicien (who I totally overlooked), and Lopes-Schliep, who just continues to grow on me.

400 Meters: Okay, I said Felix, Dunn and Firova.  It was pointed out to me that Allyson Felix didn’t make the team, with the unspoken assertion that I’m an idiot.  Sigh.  Anyway, I got Dunn and Firova right!  They were 1-2, with Dunn winning in 51.04, followed by Stambolova.

800 Meters:  I said Meadows, Pierce and a Russian in third – real brave on that bronze pick.  Turned out to be Savinova (hey, a Russian!) in 1:58.26, Meadows in a national record for second, and Alysia Johnson setting a PR in third.  Pierce PR’d too, but just missed out on the medals.  She’s going to be tough outdoors!

1500 Meters: I said Burka, Jamal and Gezahegne.  Would someone please remind me to check the actual start lists before I do this?  Jeebus.  Jamal didn’t run.  So it turned out to be Gezahegne in 4:08.14, Natalia Rodriguez getting some satisfaction after her Berlin disaster, and Burka in third.  Again, got two of the names right, wrong order.

3000 Meters: I said Defar, Ejigu and Cheruiyot – my prediction of a scorcher proved unfounded, as this was just painfully pedestrian, but I did get all three medalists right, although Ejigu and Cheruiyot switched. It was Defar in 8:51.17 with a crazy-fast kick, Cheruiyot and Ejigu.

Blanka screamed a bit, and won with a surprisingly low height, and Jessica Ennis blew away the Pentathlon field with a Championship record 4937 points. Bryan Clay won the Heptathlon, while Ashton Eaton was busy setting a new Heptathlon world record at the NCAA championships in Fayetteville – congrats to Ashton and Bryan, and I can’t wait to see a US sweep in the Decathlon in 2012!  :)

All in all, I think I did way better than my Olympic predictions; I guess I’ve got more cred on the indoor scene than I thought!