Justin Gatlin, Allyson Felix sizzle at Prefontaine Classic

By Nick ZaccardiMay 30, 2015, 6:34 PM EDT

U.S. Olympic champions Justin Gatlin and Allyson Felix put down statement times in winning sprints at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday, perhaps the top international meet before the World Championships in August.

Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic 100m champ five years removed from a four-year doping ban, clocked 19.68 seconds to win the 200m (video here). It matched his personal best set in 2014 and the fastest time in the world since the 2013 World Championships.

Full Prefontaine Classic meet results are available here.

“When I saw the time, I know I’m on course to go onto the World Championships [in Beijing in August],” Gatlin, 33, told Lewis Johnson on NBC. “It’s going to be a real rumble in the jungle,” he added when asked about 2015, 2016 and possible matchups with Usain Bolt.

Bolt, the world-record holder at 19.19 who was not in the Prefontaine Classic field, hasn’t run 19.68 or better since he won the 2013 World Championship in 19.66. At the 2013 Worlds, Gatlin took silver behind Bolt in the 100m but did not race the 200m.

“[Bolt] is the kind of guy who’s going to rise to the occasion when it’s time to go,” Gatlin said of Bolt on USATF.TV after the meet. “I’m looking for a time, every time he runs this year, the time’s going to steadily drop and drop and drop. By the time, maybe the [Worlds] semis like he did in 2012 [at the Olympics], he just woke up [9.87] jogging and he came out and ran [9.63] in the finals. That’s what I’m looking to see out of Usain Bolt coming in this year at the World Championships.”

Gatlin is questioned for running his fastest times at an advanced age of 33, after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2006.

“I think it’s more a gift than a curse,” Gatlin said of not competing from 2006 to 2010 to NBC Olympics analyst Ato Boldon on USATF.TV. “I think it gave my legs a little shelf life. I never had any major injuries, maybe a hamstring strain here or a quad strain there. I just really wanted to show everybody that I could come back. But it wasn’t [just] me. I want to say that guys like yourself, Ato Boldon, Frankie Fredericks, Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell, Linford Christie, those guys ran well into their 30s [editor’s note: Boldon and Burrell did not break 10 seconds in the 100m in their 30s]. I’m just taking that page out of their book. You know what, your career’s not over when you hit 30. I think a lot of guys this day and age think that.”

Earlier, Felix, the Olympic 200m champion, won the 400m over Olympic 400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross (video here). Felix clocked 50.05, her fastest 400m time since she took silver at the 2011 World Championships in 49.59, which marked the last time she ran the 400m at a global championship.

“I just want to explore it more,” Felix told Lewis Johnson on NBCSN of the 400m.

Felix has said she will run either the 200m or the 400m at the World Championships in Beijing in August, but not both. Notably, the 200m semifinals and 400m final at Worlds are 70 minutes apart.

Felix, who owns six Olympic medals and 10 Worlds medals, has an automatic berth on the World Championships team in the 200m but must finish in the top three in the 400m at the U.S. Championships in June to qualify in both races.

Tyson Gay won the 100m in 9.88 seconds, his fastest time since 2011 if excluding the times wiped out from his doping ban (race video here). Gatlin is the only other American to break 9.90 since the London 2012 Olympics.

Olympic and World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took the women’s 100m in 10.81, her fastest time since Sept. 6, 2013. Fraser-Pryce had not broken 11 seconds since 2013 before Saturday. Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure was second in an identical time, followed by American Tori Bowie, the fastest woman of 2014, in 10.82 (race video here).

Earlier, 2013 U.S. champion English Gardner outleaned Jamaican Elaine Thompson in a 100m B final. Both clocked a personal-best 10.84. Gardner, like Fraser-Pryce, had not broken 11 seconds since 2013.

“I’ve been struggling the past couple of two years, I switched coaches, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to bounce back,” Gardner tearfully told Lewis Johnson on NBCSN. “I’m overwhelmed because I started losing a little bit of faith in myself.”

Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada defeated U.S. rival and World champion LaShawn Merritt in the 400m, 43.95 to 44.51. James clocked the fastest time in the world this year.

American Jenny Simpson took the 1500m in 4:00.98. Simpson, the 2014 Diamond League champion, won gold at the 2011 World Championships and silver at the 2013 World Championships.

“This is where legends win, and where they’re born,” Simpson told Lewis Johnson on NBC on the 40-year anniversary of 1972 Olympic 5000m runner Steve Prefontaine‘s death. “I’m trying to write my name in the history books.”

Djibouti’s Ayanleh Souleiman captured the Bowerman Mile finale in 3:51.10, edging American Matthew Centrowitz by one tenth.

French Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie won the pole vault but missed three attempts at matching his world record of 6.16m.

In the 110m hurdles, France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde clocked 13.06, the fastest time in the world this year, beating Americans Olympic champion Aries Merritt (13.12) and World champion David Oliver (13.14).

Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim cleared 2.41m to win the high jump but took no attempts closer to the 22-year-old world record of 2.45m due to leg cramps.

U.S. champion Johnny Dutch edged 2005 World champion Bershawn Jackson in the 400m hurdles, 48.20 to 48.22. Olympic and World silver medalist Michael Tinsley was third in 48.79, completing a U.S. sweep. Jackson remains the fastest in the world this year at 48.09.

Two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi won the 3000m steeplechase, crossing the finish line in lane 3 and dancing in celebration, not unusual for the Kenyan. Kemboi won in 8:01.71, the fastest time ever in the U.S.

The Diamond League continues with a meet in Rome on Thursday. The U.S. Championships, also in Eugene, are June 26-28. The World Championships are Aug. 22-28 in Beijing.

Ashton Eaton withdraws before first decathlon since 2013

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*Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated there were two days between the women’s 400m and women’s 200m at the World Championships.

Ilia Malinin eyed new heights at figure skating worlds, but a jump to gold requires more

By Philip HershMar 25, 2023, 1:10 PM EDT

At 18 years old, Ilia Malinin already has reached immortality in figure skating for technical achievement, being the first to land a quadruple Axel jump in competition.

The self-styled “Quadg0d” already has shown the chutzpah (or hubris?) to go for the most technically difficult free skate program ever attempted at the world championships, including that quad Axel, the hardest jump anyone has tried.

It helped bring U.S. champion Malinin the world bronze medal Saturday in Saitama, Japan, where he made more history as the first to land the quad Axel at worlds.

But it already had him thinking that the way to reach the tops of both the worlds and Olympus might be to acknowledge his mortal limits.

Yes, if Malinin (288.44 points) had cleanly landed all six quads he did instead of going clean on just three of the six, it would have closed or even overcome the gap between him and repeat champion Shoma Uno of Japan (301.14) and surprise silver medalist Cha Jun-Hwan (296.03), the first South Korean man to win a world medal.

That’s a big if, as no one ever has done six clean quads in a free skate.

And the energy needed for those quads, physical and mental, hurts Malinin’s chances of closing another big gap with the world leaders: the difference in their “artistic” marks, known as component scores.

Malinin’s technical scores led the field in both the short program and free skate. But his component scores were lower than at last year’s worlds, when he finished ninth, and they ranked 10th in the short program and 11th in the free this time. Uno had an 18.44-point overall advantage over Malinin in PCS, Cha a 13.47 advantage.

FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Chock, Bates, and a long road to gold | Results

As usual in figure skating, some of the PCS difference owes to the idea of paying your dues. After all, at his first world championships, eventual Olympic champion Nathan Chen had PCS scores only slightly better than Malinin’s, and Chen’s numbers improved substantially by the next season.

But credit Malinin for quickly grasping the reality that his current skating has a lot of rough edges on the performance side.

“I’ve noticed that it’s really hard to go for a lot of risks,” he said in answer to a press conference question about what he had learned from this competition. “Sometimes going for the risks you get really good rewards, but I think that maybe sometimes it’s OK to lower the risks and go for a lot cleaner skate. I think it will be beneficial next season to lower the standards a bit.”

So could it be “been-there, done-that” with the quad Axel? (and the talk of quints and quad-quad combinations?)

Saturday’s was his fourth clean quad Axel in seven attempts this season, but it got substantially the lowest grade of execution (0.36) of the four with positive marks. It was his opening jump in the four-minute free, and, after a stopped-in-your tracks landing, his next two quads, flip and Lutz, were both badly flawed.

And there were still some three minutes to go.

Malinin did not directly answer about letting the quad Axel go now that he has definitively proved he can do it. What he did say could be seen as hinting at it.

“With the whole components factor … it’s probably because you know, after doing a lot of these jumps, (which) are difficult jumps, it’s really hard to try to perform for the audience,” he said.

“Even though some people might enjoy jumping, and it’s one of the things I enjoy, but I also like to perform to the audience. So I think next season, I would really want to focus on this performing side.”

Chen had told me essentially the same thing for a 2017 Ice Network story (reposted last year by NBCOlympics.com) about his several years of ballet training. He regretted not being able to show that training more because of the program-consuming athletic demands that come with being an elite figure skater.

“When I watch my skating when I was younger, I definitely see all this balletic movement and this artistry come through,” Chen said then. “When I watch my artistry now, it’s like, ‘Yes, it’s still there,’ but at the same time, I’m so focused on the jumps, it takes away from it.”

The artistry can still be developed and displayed, as Chen showed and as prolific and proficient quad jumpers like Uno and the now retired two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan have proved.

For another perspective on how hard it is to combine both, look at the difficulty it posed for the consummate performer, Jason Brown, who had the highest PCS scores while finishing a strong fifth (280.84).

Since Brown dropped his Sisyphean attempts to do a clean quad after 26 tries (20 in a free skate), the last at the 2022 U.S. Championships, he has received the two highest international free skate scores of his career, at the 2022 Olympics and this world meet.

It meant Brown’s coming to terms with his limitations and the fact that in the sport’s current iteration, his lack of quads gives him little chance of winning a global championship medal. What he did instead was give people the chance to see the beauty of his blade work, his striking movement, his expressiveness.

He has, at 28, become an audience favorite more than ever. And the judges Saturday gave Brown six maximum PCS scores (10.0.)

“I’m so happy about today’s performance,” Brown told media in the mixed zone. “I did my best to go out there and skate my skate. And that’s what I did.”

The quadg0d is realizing that he, too, must accept limitations if he wants to achieve his goals. Ilia Malinin can’t simply jump his way onto the highest steps of the most prized podiums.

Philip Hersh, who has covered figure skating at the last 12 Winter Olympics, is a special contributor to NBCSports.com.

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Shoma Uno repeats as world figure skating champion; Ilia Malinin tries 6 quads for bronze

By OlympicTalkMar 25, 2023, 10:47 AM EDT

Japan’s Shoma Uno repeated as world figure skating champion, performing the total package of jumps and artistry immediately after 18-year-old American Ilia Malinin attempted a record-tying six quadruple jumps in his free skate to earn the bronze medal.

Uno, 25 and the leader after Thursday’s short program, prevailed with five quad attempts (one under-rotated) in Saturday’s free skate.

He finished, fell backward and lay on home ice in Saitama, soaking in a standing ovation amid a sea of Japanese flags. Japan won three of the four gold medals this week, and Uno capped it off with guts coming off a reported ankle injury.

He is the face of Japanese men’s skating after two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu retired in July and Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama missed most of this season with leg and ankle injuries.

“There were many shaky jumps today, but I’m happy I was able to get a good result despite not being in a good condition these past two weeks,” Uno said, according to the International Skating Union (ISU). “I know I caused a lot of concerns to everyone around me, but I was able to pay them back and show my gratitude with my performance today.”

Silver medalist Cha Jun-Hwan became the first South Korean man to win a world championships medal. Cha, a 21-year-old who was fifth at the Olympics, had to change out broken skate boots before traveling to Japan, one year after withdrawing from worlds after a 17th-place short program, citing a broken skate boot.

FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Results

Malinin, ninth in his senior worlds debut last year, planned the most difficult program of jumps in figure skating history — six quads, including a quad Axel. Malinin is the only person to land a quad Axel in competition and did so again Saturday. He still finished 12.7 points behind Uno and 7.59 behind Cha.

Malinin had the top technical score (jumps, spins, step sequences) in both programs, despite an under-rotation and two other negatively graded jumps among his seven jumping passes in the free skate.

His nemesis was the artistic score, placing 10th and 11th in that category in the two programs (18.44 points behind Uno). Unsurprising for the only teen in the top 13, who is still working on that facet of his skating, much like a young Nathan Chen several years ago.

“After doing a lot of these jumps — hard, difficult jumps — it’s really hard to try to perform for the audience,” said Malinin, who entered worlds ranked second in the field by best score this season behind Uno.

Chen, who is unlikely to compete again after winning last year’s Olympics, remains the lone skater to land six fully rotated quads in one program (though not all clean). Malinin became the youngest U.S. male singles skater to win a world medal since Scott Allen in 1965. He was proud of his performance, upping the ante after previously trying five quads in free skates this season, but afterward weighed whether the risk was worth it.

“Sometimes going for the risk, you get really good rewards, but I think that maybe sometimes it’s OK to lower the risks and try not to take as much risk and go for a lot cleaner skate,” he said. “I think that’ll be beneficial to do next season is to lower the standards a bit.”

Malinin was followed by Frenchman Kévin Aymoz, who before the pandemic was the world’s third-ranked skater behind Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu, then placed ninth, 11th and 12th at the last three global championships.

Jason Brown, a two-time U.S. Olympian, was fifth in his first international competition since last year’s Olympics. He was the lone man in the top 15 to not attempt a quad, a testament to his incredible artistic skills for which he received the most points between the two programs.

“I didn’t think at the beginning of the year that I even would be competing this year, so I’m really touched to be here,” the 28-year-old said, according to the ISU. “I still want to keep going [competing] a little longer, but we’ll see. I won’t do promises.”

Earlier Saturday, Madison Chock and Evan Bates became the oldest couple to win an ice dance world title and the second set of Americans to do so. More on that here.

World championships highlights air Saturday from 8-10 p.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app.

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