Once again the Wanamaker mile run was the showcase event of the Millrose Games in New York on Friday, but for the first time since 2004, the winner was not Bernard Lagat.
Ethiopia’s Deresse Mekonnen fought off three desperate bids by American Lagat in the final 400m to win the race in three minutes, 58.58 seconds.
With 9,611 Madison Square Garden fans roaring encouragement, the 23-year-old Mekonnen had just enough strength to hold off the 36-year-old Lagat, in the 104th Millrose meet.
Photo: EPA
Mekonnen bided his time, then moved up to the front with four of the 155m laps to go.
“Earlier in the race, I thought I would have to settle for second,” Mekonnen said. “Of course, like everybody else, I knew how good Bernard always is, especially indoors. But when Bernard couldn’t pass me the first time, that’s when I started believing I could win.”
Mekonnen unleashed a 55--second final 400m to win it by two strides.
Lagat settled for second in 3:59.01, with the US’ David Torrence third (4:00.13) and Britain’s Lee Emanuel fourth (4:04.91).
When US pole vault star Jenn Suhr missed her three attempts at 4.64m, the women’s vault crown went to Brazil’s Fabiana Murer, who won it with a second-attempt clearance of 4.74.
With the gold medal clinched, Murer failed to clear three cracks at 4.84.
With Bryan Clay, the reigning Olympic champion, Trey Hardee and Ashton Eaton, the US has three of world’s top medal prospects for the decathlon at this year’s World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and next year’s London Olympic Games.
This year Millrose organizers staged the Multi-Event Challenge — a mini-meet of its own featuring shot put, 60m hurdles and high jump. Hardee won the shot put (15.94m), but Eaton led the way in the hurdles (7.64) and high jump (2.05) to win the three-discipline event with 2,666 points. Hardee (2,640) and Clay (2,609) were close behind in second and third.
In other events, two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown (7.11 seconds) of Jamaica beat the US’ Lauryn Williams (7.22) in the women’s 60m dash, while Nesta Carter (6.52), also of Jamaica, edged Mike Rodgers of the US (6.56) in the men’s 60m dash.
It was the same story in the women’s 60m hurdles, with Jamaican Vonette Dixon (8.00) nosing out the US’ Danielle Carruthers (8.03).
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