Osaka 2009 - M400; Jeremy Wariner USA 44.69

[Vault-emort]

1 Jeremy Wariner USA 44.69 10
2 Yuzo Kanemaru JPN 45.16 8
3 Sean Wroe AUS 45.32 7
4 John Steffensen AUS 45.35 6
5 Reggie Witherspoon USA 45.98 5
6 David Neville USA 46.35 4
7 Yoshihiro Horigome JPN 46.82 3
8 Cory Innes NZL 48.12 2
9 Yuki Yamaguchi JPN 48.46

[trackdug]

44.69 is not the time I was hoping for. I'm starting to wonder...

[Half Miler]

I was hoping for something around 44.3, and 44.69 is not too far outside that. What are the conditions in Osaka right now?

[trackdug]

Perfect. 80 degrees and very little wind. The thing that bugs me about his time is that he ran 44.02 in this same race in 2007.

[Half Miler]

Did he shut it down with 20 to go, as is his wont?

[Irish100m]

Was he easing up?

[LopenUupunut]

Not much.

[MJR]

jeez, people...its early may & the world champs are in august. absolutely no reason to be running that fast right now.

[tandfman]

I agree with MJR.

[Jacksf]

44.69 is not a bad time, but even Wariner himself was predicting low 44s.
On the other hand, I am sure that the jet lag from traveling to Asia has to be a factor. It's a 12 or 13 hr difference, so day is night and night is day.
I think his next race will be a better indicator of his current fitness.

[justblaze1011]

Never knew 44.69 could get so much negative attention.

[paulthefan]

Impressive PR by 2nd place Kanemaru at 45.1. As for JW, does he still have plans to run the 200m nationals .

[EPelle]

Wow. Exactly two people have run under 45,00 this season. One is the current Olympic champion, the other one is a former champion, the returning world champion and runner-up in last year's biggie in Beijing. There are only 0,19 seconds separating the two of them. I'd say 44,69 was rather decent, no?

[joeltetreault]

44.69 seems on par with his past May performances (sources: tilastopaja.com, alltime-athletics.com, TFN). And most of the times below that were a tenth or so faster were run in mid to late May, not early May like his Osaka run.

2008
44.42 - Carson

2007
44.02 - Osaka
44.60 - Carson
44.43 - Hengelo

2006
44.84 - Modesto

2005
45.16 - Modesto
44.53 - Carson

[trackdug]

You forgot the 44.12 JW ran at Waco on 4/22/06. So in both '06 and '07 Wariner had run low 44 by the first week of May. From past experience it seems the ones who run fast early are in the best shape to win championships. Even Merritt ran 44.34 at Gualalope last year. And JW ran 44.56 at Waco last year on 4/19. So already he's behind last year pace and we all know what happened last year.