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ATHLETICS-USA-INDOOR
Rio champ Crouser wins shot put title at US Indoors
NEW YORK, Feb 24, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Reigning Olympic shot put champion Ryan
Crouser won a men’s title and new US 800-meter indoor record holders Donovan
Brazier and Ajee Wilson led their events Saturday at the US Indoor Track and
Field Championships.
Crouser won the shot put with an effort of 22.22m with 2015 world champion
Joe Kovacs, who claimed Olympic silver in 2016 at Rio, taking second on 21.40
as both look to the World Championships in September at Doha.
On the track, Brazier and Wilson — who each set a national record two
weeks ago at the Millrose Games — served notice they will be the ones to
beat in their events as the US meet offered some unusual distances in a non-
world indoors year.
Brazier led first-round runners in the 600 in 1:15.64 with Sam Ellison next
on 1:15.97.
“My body feels good. My mind feels like it is in the best place it has been
in a while,” Brazier said. “It’s less pressure. It’s not my main event. I’m
stepping down. It’s nice to get it over faster.”
Wilson led the women’s 1,000 first runs in 2:37.96, .20 ahead of Hanna
Green.
Brazier ran 1:44.41 to finish second in the Millrose 800 and break Johnny
Gray’s 1992 US record of 1:45.00 while Wilson took the women’s 800 in 1:58.60
to lower the 2002 mark of Nicole Teter by .11 of a second.
Vashti Cunningham, the 2016 world indoor champion, cleared 1.96m to win her
fourth consecutive US women’s high jump crown, the first woman in half a
century with such a title run.
The 21-year-old daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham is
also the two-time defending US outdoor champion.
Dontavius Wright won the men’s 300 title in 32.81, defeating runner-up
Marcus Chambers by .31 of a second with a solid run in the closing steps. “I
put in a lot of straight(away) work,” Wright said. “I knew if I had a good
place I could bring it home.”
Reigning US men’s outdoor high jump champion Jeron Robinson won the indoor
crown by clearing 2.24m.
Winning their first US indoor titles were Katie Hall in the women’s long
jump at 6.51m and Andrew Irwin in the men’s long jump at 5.80.
Brittany Brown edged Gabby Thomas by .03 of a second to win the women’s 300
title in 35.95.
– Quigley wins mile title –
Colleen Quigley, a 2016 steeplechase Olympian, won the women’s mile in
4:29.47, .45 ahead of 2017 US champion Shelby Houlihan, a 5,000m Rio
Olympian.
Andrew Hunter won the two-heat US two-mile final in 8:25.29 from the
slower-seeded heat, downing fast heat winner Eric Avila by 7.12 seconds.
“This is not the way i expected to win my first US title,” Hunter said. “I
was much more nervous watching that (second) race than running my own.
Interesting way to win it but I’ll take it.”
Tim Ehrhardt won the heptathlon with 5,868 points, beating Solomon Simmons
by 102 points. Ehrhardt won the pole vault, the penultimate event, to first
seize the lead then placed sixth in the 1,000m in 2:48.48 to claim the title.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0852 hrs