Women's 800

The women's 800 meter contest came to close in fine fashion as Mariya Savinova clocked an astonishing 1:55.87, towing four runners to seasonal bests behind her. The pace did not dawdle as it did in the preliminary heats as Busienei took the runners through the first lap in a blistering 55.5. Behind her, Alysia Johnson Montano found herself in third place, hoping that the hot pace would be enough to separate her from the rest of those in the medal hunt.

Maggie Vessey meanwhile sat toward the back with the eventual leaders Savinova and Semenya. Vessey was surely having a frustrating time as she watched the chase pack hover in front of her, all the while her legs moving faster than they have all season yet still unable to close the gap. Moving into the final stages of the race, Johnson seemed poised to contend for the podium. Once Caster Semenya passed by her however, she was only able to maintain, powerless to respond as the medal stand slipped away from her.

In the end the Americans left without any hardware, but one can't discount their spectacular efforts. Those efforts were simply not enough today, but here's hoping that they can take back a few lessons with them from Daegu as they hope to return to the world stage next year.