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Regina Jacobs wins 1,500

Jearl Miles-Clark competes in the 800m semi-final ahead of Chantee Earl at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

On a day dominated by youngsters, including teenage sprinting sensation Allyson Felix, 17, the ageless Regina Jacobs put on quite a show Saturday at the US track and field championships.

Jacobs won her 12th national title in the 1,500m, pulling away from longtime rival Suzy Favor Hamilton on the final straightaway, with a time of 4 minutes, 1.63 seconds that is the fastest in the world this year.

The Stanford alum earned the right to celebrate her 40th birthday this August at the world championships in Paris.

"It's awesome," Jacobs said of her dozen national titles. "I was very nervous today. I knew Suzy was in great shape."

Asked about the secret to her success, Jacobs joked it was a matter of defying the laws of physics.

"I run around the track in the regular direction," she said, "but I also do a lot of laps in the opposite direction."

Jacobs has won five straight national titles in the 1,500m, and nine of the last 10. Her first US crown in the event came in 1987, when Felix was 1 year old.

Felix, who graduated from Los Angeles Baptist High School on Friday, easily won her first-round heat Saturday in the 200 in 23.19. Already touted as the next great US female sprinter, she has the fastest time in the world this year with 22.11.

Kelli White, who won the 100m on Friday, also easily qualified for the 200m semifinals today.

The race is considered wide open because of the absence of five-time defending champion Marion Jones, who is due to give birth in July.

Sanya Richards, 18, won the women's 400m and her college teammate, Raasin McIntosh, won the 400m hurdles.
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