2017 USATF Indoor Championships

Day 1 Recap: Lyles Sets World Best, Chelimo, Houlihan Win First U.S. Titles

Day 1 Recap: Lyles Sets World Best, Chelimo, Houlihan Win First U.S. Titles

Day 1 Recap: Lyles Sets World Best, Chelimo, Houlihan Win First U.S. Titles

Mar 5, 2017 by Dennis Young
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19-year-old Noah Lyles ran the fastest indoor 300 meters ever, and Olympians Paul Chelimo and Shelby Houlihan won their first U.S. titles.

Earlier at the USATF Indoor Championships, Gwen Berry set a world record in the weight throw and Sammy Watson ran a new high school record in the 1000 meters. We recapped those records here and here.

First-year-pro Lyles adapted to the altitude like a veteran. In the first round, he ran 32.16, then the sixth-fastest 300m ever. In the final, just three and a half hours later, he fended off a surprising challenge one lane to his left from Paul Dedewo. Lyles's 31.87 dipped under Wallace Spearmon's old world record by a hundredth of a second, and Dedewo's 31.92 now makes him the third fastest performer ever. The Lyles-Dedewo throwdown in Albuquerque replaces the 2006 race in which Spearmon, Kerron Clement, and LaShawn Merritt all broke the old world best as the best 300 ever.

COMPLETE DAY ONE RESULTS

It was a dominant win for Chelimo, who has said that he doesn't want to lose on the track in 2017. His 8:28.53 two mile was good for a ten-second win and his third win of the year. According to results service Tilastopaja, he only won three races total in 2015 and 2016. The 5K Olympic silver medalist was in control of the race from the beginning, leading by a second 400 meters into the race and opening that gap as wide as 12 seconds before Woody Kincaid closed in 26 seconds to slightly narrow the gap.

Chelimo was pleased after the race:



Last winter, Ryan Hill owned the 3K, beating Chelimo twice en route to a silver medal at world indoors. Hill was only third in the U.S. tonight and was outkicked by his Bowerman Track Club teammate Kincaid for second. Hill jokingly pointed out afterward that Chelimo and Kincaid were born at altitude and that he won the "non-altitude bracket."

The BTC had an even better women's mile, as Shelby Houlihan and Colleen Quigley went 1-2 in a somewhat bizarre race that only had five starters. (The prize money at this meet goes five deep, and fifth place was worth $1,000.) Other than the crawlingly slow pace--82, 2:38, 3:44--it was extremely similar to their race in Boston last month where Houlihan's kick was just slightly better and got her the win. Heather Kampf made a series of challenges in the second half, but once Houlihan took over, it was clear that she was going to win. Houlihan made the Olympics in the 5K and Quigley made it in the steeplechase, but both said after the race that they were looking forward to running fast 1500s this outdoor season.