Edmonton Track Classic: What We Saw
In the first of three legs for us in Canada, the Edmonton International Classic provided some dominating performances by the favorites who were able to smash the previous meet records. I’ll break down exactly what we saw and what it means for the rest of the season. Perhaps no one was favored in their event more than Duane Solomon heading into Edmonton. In Sunday’s men’s 800, Solomon cruised to a meet record time of 1:44.92, besting the previous mark 1:47.47. Not bad for a days work in Alberta, eh? Okay, I’ll stop now. Solomon’s time was impressive not only because of the stiff head wind he faced coming home, but also because of the gap he created on the field after 500m. After Pacer Extraordinaire Matt Scherer stepped off the track, Solomon was alone the rest of the way, clearing the next best man by 3.23 seconds. While Duane wouldn’t say when he would target that American Record, his next meet in Monaco will be worth paying close attention. Better conditions and the help of a certain David Rudisha could mean something special is on the horizon. Like several other athletes in Edmonton, LaShawn Merritt made the quick turnaround from the Lausanne Diamond League on Thursday and won convincingly in the Men’s 400. Merritt’s meet record time was 44.30, and today’s performance came on the heels of his 43.92 in Switzerland to finish second behind Kirani James.
Jul 6, 2014
