Analysis and takeaways from New Balance Indoor Grand Prix

BOSTON -- One of the major story lines coming out of the World Championships last summer was the absolute dominance of the Kenyan women in the distance races, highlighted by a medal sweep of the marathon, a 1-2-4 finish in the 10,000m and a 1-2 finish in the 5000m.

Of course, Kenya's supremacy also equates to an embarrassment by Ethiopian standards.

Meseret Defar, the only Ethiopian woman to medal in a distance event in Daegu, seems determined to prevent a repeat of that occurrence again this summer at the London Olympics.

"I don't think the dominance of Kenya will happen again this year," Defar said. "We are training very well and getting ready for that not to happen again."

While there otherwise would be little to glean from their romps through Saturday night's New Balance Indoor Grand Prix -- absurdly Tirunesh Dibaba ran a two-mile race and Defar the similarly-distanced 3000m, thus avoiding the type of marquee head-to-head match-up this sport is hungry for -- you could sense that both have taken to heart the mission of restoring Ethiopian distance-running pride.

Defar ran away from the 3000m field that included Americans Jenny Simpson, Shannon Rowbury and Sara Hall, winning by 13 seconds in 8:33.57. Earlier in the night, Dibaba came within five meters of lapping the entire field in the two-mile, winning by over 30 seconds in 9:21.60.

Perhaps the most positive sign for Ethiopia was seeing Dibaba healthy and racing again. Shin splints and problems with both Achilles tendons have kept the 2008 Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion sidelined for the majority of the time since Beijing. The "Baby-Faced Assassin" has missed the last two World Championships and said on Friday that she has only felt fit to race within the last two months.

"I feel very happy," Dibaba said. "I believe I have come through with very little training and I think I have done very well. I've been training for two months and just three times on the track. I am very much pleased with my performance."

Added Defar: "I did not see Tirunesh's race but I know she did not train very well so achieving this result she had today was very amazing. I believe that she will run very well in the summer."

Defar is also gearing up for a medal run, she said most likely in the 5000m, at the Olympic Games. She was hoping to run faster here but was generally happy with her effort.

"I was planning on running under 8:30 but it didn't happen," she said. "Still, I am pleased with the race I had."

Asked if she and her compatriots are feeling pressure to take down their counterparts from archrival Kenya, Defar said, "There is not a lot of pressure, but the Ethiopian federation is working very hard so that we can achieve a better result this year."

Stay tuned.

Suhr-ly a complete turnaround
Last weekend, American Jenn Suhr opened her season with three straight misses at her opening height and a disappointing exit from the U.S. Open in New York. Seven days later, the 29-year-old eclipsed her own American record, clearing 4.88m/16-0 to become just the second woman ever to clear 16-0 indoors. Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia set the world record of 5.00m/16-4¾ in 2009. Suhr took one attempt at a new world record of 5.01m/16-5½, but hit the bar off with her feet on the ascent.

Suhr discontinued after that. According to a USA Track & Field release, she was dealing with an apparent Achilles problem. On the ESPN2 broadcast, Lewis Johnson asked Suhr about the ice she had strapped to her ankle area and she indicated her injury was no big deal, saying it was "all good." Inexplicably, Suhr did not speak to the rest of the media afterward.

Maggie makes her move
Never one to run from the front, Maggie Vessey essentially lulled the crowd and her competitors to sleep for the first three laps of the women's 800m before pouncing late for a photo-finish victory. The race was shaping up to be a battle between Fantu Magiso of Ethiopia, winner of the 800m at the U.S. Open in New York on Jan. 28, and former heptathlete Erica Moore of the U.S. Vessey, who ran in fourth place for much of the race, began closing the gap on the bell lap and caught Nicole Sifuentes of Canada for third on the final curve. Entering the home stretch, Magiso and Moore began to drift wide, opening up a gap inside. Vessey shot through the opening and leaned at the tape to edge Moore, both women crossing in 2:02.37. Magiso was third in 2:02.57. "It definitely wasn't planned," Vessey said. "I have no idea where that jolt of energy came from. When I hit the opening, you just couldn't stop me."

Worth taking a shot?
For a veteran shot putter like Adam Nelson, the indoor season is geared primarily toward fine tuning training ahead of the outdoor campaign. The exception can be seasons like this one that feature a World Indoor Championship in March. After winning the men's shot put with a first throw of 21.27m/69-9½ on Saturday Nelson said he has little time to decide whether he wants to shift focus a bit to include the USA Indoor Championships later this month and the World Indoors in Istanbul in late March. It is a pivotal decision.

"Sometimes, it's sort of a double-edged sword," Nelson, who has trained through the indoor season so far. "If you pursue the indoors, you get sort of a war chest financially built up so you can pick and choose your meets for the outdoor season. Or, you can focus exclusively on the Olympic Trials and compete when you have to. It's a hard decision." He added that he basically has "one day" to make that decision.

Still working the start
The start still seems to be a work in progress for David Oliver, who was one of the last runners out of the blocks but somehow managed to win the 60m hurdles anyway in 7.60 seconds. Afterward, Oliver acknowledged that his coach, Brooks Johnson, always has him work on aspects of his race in reverse, meaning the start is one of the last things that gets fine-tuned. Nevertheless, he has vowed to get it right before the end of this indoor season.

"It was not a very good run," Oliver said of his race. "I can't give up segments like that. My first hurdle is completely messed up. But that's what indoors is for - to train and get a good accounting of myself. I don't think I did that today. I didn't execute my start; it's always a work in progress for me. I understand what the problem is; we'll get it eventually. That's what's cool about running indoors in the U.S. I run a race and get instant feedback from coach."

Big bounce back
When Mo Farah of Great Britain was tripped up on the third turn of the first lap of the men's mile, it marked the first time that the world 5000m champion was sent tumbling to the track since the European Indoor Championships 3000m heats in 2007. That day, Farah got back to his feet dazed and began running the wrong way before correcting himself and finishing fourth to advance. Farah displayed a similar show of strength in this race, moving his way up to second place at one point before finishing fourth in a personal-best 3:57.92.

Good showing
With Gillian Bristol, Grenada's ambassador to the U.S. in attendance, 19-year-old world champion Kirani James opened up his 2012 season with an impressive victory in the men's 400m in a world-leading 45.96. Afterward, James said that he was aiming to get a feel for where he is at after a short fall training block but solid weight-training work. "I think the race was exceptional," James said. "I just competed to see where I'm at and will make any adjustments. I'm happy with my conditioning and I'm happy with my opening time. My main motive is to go out and compete and represent my country well."

Another star in the making?
It seems like every season, a new Kenyan middle-distance star emerges from Nowhere, Rift Valley. We may have witnessed yet another such unveiling in the form of Caleb Ndiku, who showed world-class strength and some good get-up-and-go, particularly for a relatively large guy (6-0, 150), in winning the men's 3000m in 7:38.29. The win was the first significant triumph for the 19-year-old World Youth cross-country and 1500m champion and the youngster's first-ever race at the 3000m. It will be interesting to see where he factors as Kenya selects its Olympic team. 

Odds and ends
The women's meet featured a tweener-distance of 300-meters. In this case, the advantage went to strength over speed as 400m Olympian DeeDee Trotter got the better of 200m ace Bianca Knight at the end, 37.07 to 37.12...The women's 1000m was won by Morocco's Btissam Lakhouad, who edged Morgan Uceny, the top ranked 1500m runner in the world in 2011, by three-tenths in a world-leading 2:38.14...The women's 60m dash was won by Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast in 7.13. American Lauryn Williams was last in 7.34.