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World Championships in Athletics: American Jenny Simpson Wins Women's 1500m
Photo above by Giancarlo Colombo, www.photorun.net: A joyful Jenny Simpson reacts to winning the race.
From USA Track & Field with contribution by Drew
September 1, 2011; updated 9/2/11
Daegu, South Korea
Watch a 4 minute video of highlights from the women's 1500m race on UniversalSports.com.
Jenny (Barringer) Simpson of Colorado Springs, CO won the Women's 1500m (4:05.40) on September 1 in Daegu, South Korea, becoming just the second American woman to win a world 1500m title since Mary Decker in 1983.
Jenny Simpson is the first American distance runner to medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, which began on August 27. On September 2, Lauren Fleshman placed seventh (15:09.25) in the women's 5000m. American distance runners still in the hunt for a medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics: Matthew Centrowitz (Men's 1500m final on September 3); Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp (Men's 5000m final on September 4); Alysia Johnson Montano & Maggie Vessey (Women's 800m final on September 4); and the Men's Marathon squad (September 4).
Jenny Simpson, 25, started the women's 1500m final in mid-pack for the first 400m, then faded to the back. At the bell, Simpson was in seventh place; she began working her way back up to the leaders. Simpson started an incredible kick with 200m to go; coming down the homestretch in lane two, she moved into third, then second and ultimately into first place. She won the 1500m gold medal in 4:05.40, two-tenths of a second ahead of runner-up Hannah England of Great Britain. Jenny Simpson first appeared shocked, then overjoyed as she realized she had won the world championship title.
In a tight group of leaders, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri crashed to the track at 2:39 into the race (See Video). Morgan Uceny of Mammoth Lakes, CA was running directly behind Obiri, and also fell to the track. Both got up gamely to finish, with Uceny clocking 4:19.71 to place tenth. Morgan Uceny explained after the race, “With 500 meters left, people are trying to get fancy. Someone brushed me at the wrong place and at the wrong time and I got cut off. I had no time to react. It's no one's fault. It’s the nature of the beast. When you get in these big races you have to learn to get in a different spot.”Photo at left by Victor Sailer, www.photorun.net: Morgan Uceny (left) was seeking a podium finish, but a slow pace caused congestion, and she fell later in the race.
Jenny Simpson returned to racing in January, after a seven month layoff due to a hip injury. She is coached by Juli Benson, Head Cross Country Coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy; Coach Benson was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team in the 1500m. Simpson holds the American record in the women's 3000m steeplechase (9:12.50), and raced that event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games during her collegiate career at the University of Colorado.
At the 2011 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships presented by BMW during the end of February in Albuquerque, NM, Simpson won titles in the mile (4:34.96) and 3000m (9:02.20). She commented on her return from injury, “I missed the whole season last year. It was hard for me to go seven or eight months without racing. I needed to get back into the routine of it and show what I'm capable of.”
Quotes from Jenny Simpson in Daegu: “It is something that you dream about. It’s not like you just go and win a race. Everything has to come together at the right time. You have to make it through the first round, a prelim. This is the U.S. team--you have to make the U.S. team. Just making this U.S. 1500m team is difficult. I think I ran the same time tonight that I ran in the U.S. championships to get here [She ran 4:05.66 and placed second in the USA race]. Just getting here was such a thrill and I think I was really calm coming into tonight because what more can I ask for--I’m in the final and I’m healthy.
“Standing on the line, I was thinking about what this could mean for my life and what this could mean for my family. My little sister [Emily] is serving in the army, so I thought, ‘man, if I win gold, I get to play that national anthem for her.’ So coming down the last 100 meters I was thinking about my little sister and thinking, ‘let’s get that song playing.’
“Shannon (Rowbury) medaled at the last world championships and Morgan (Uceny) has been on fire all year, so I think this has been such an incredible American buildup to something that I was able to do tonight. I don’t want to lose sight of the way they pioneered back up to the world stage in the 1500m with me.”
Photo below by Jiro Mochizuki, www.photorun.net: With 50m left in the race, at least six women were in position to finish first. (Jenny Simpson is second from left.)
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