With a crowd of 3,097 on hand during an overcast day, Sunday’s Road to Eugene ’08 meet didn’t have the same atmosphere as the previous day’s NCAA West Regionals.
But that didn’t stop its competitors from posting some of the best times in the world.
Maria Mutola, a two-time Olympic medalist from Mozambique, ran the 800m in 1:58.79, the fastest time recorded by a woman in the world this year.
“This was a fast time for a first meet of the season,” Mutola said. “I probably wouldn’t have run this fast in an opener if I was somewhere else.”
The Oregon Track Club’s Nicole Teter came in right behind Mutola at 1:59:91, posting the fastest time by an American in the event this year. And despite the dwindled crowd relative to the earlier events during the weekend, the atmosphere was still electric for the athletes competing.
“This crowd is great to have behind you no matter if the stadium’s completely full – they cheer you every step and they’re so knowledgeable,” Teter said.
The top runners were helped along by Oregon sophomore Leah Worthen’s pace-setting first lap of 56 seconds. After running in front of Mutola for the first 400m, Worthen dropped out having fulfilled her duties.
Mutola became the main attraction at the meet after American-record holder Sanya Richards dropped out of the women’s 400m after experiencing some discomfort in her knee that day. Richards apologized to the crowd, saying she wanted to keep it safe, making sure the knee is at full health when she plans on competing at the Prefontaine Classic in two weeks.
The men’s 800 meters featured Canadian record holder Gary Reed, who beat out 11 other runners to finish the race in 1:46.64. The race featured some jostling as members of the packed field tried to position themselves to win the race throughout the event.
“It was my first race with a really big field, so I got mixed up a little bit early,” Reed said. “On a day like today, I wasn’t concerned about my time.”
Mexico’s Giovanni Lanaro beat out Olympic medalists Tim Mack, Toby Stevenson, U.S. Champions Brad Walker and Russ Buller with a vault of 18-8 1/4.
Nike’s nine-time U.S. champion Stacy Dragila won the women’s pole vault, clearing 14-9 despite recovering from injuries.
“I’m about 70 percent right now physically, but I’m making some big strides now,” Dragila said. “Right now I’m most concerned about trying to get as healthy as I can, and will let the marks happen on their own.”
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