Raevyn Rogers is all smiles after winning a silver medal in the women’s 800 meters. Photo by USATF
A lot happened at the fourth day of the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but admittedly, you might not realize it from looking at our coverage. Most of what we did — three of our four written stories, and a chunk of our videos — focused on the women’s 800-meter final.
It was a big event, and it was bigger because the silver medalist is Raevyn Rogers, a University of Oregon graduate, who used a monster kick to move from seventh to second on the final straightaway. Nate Mann detailed her race for the Register-Guard, and Alex Castle wrote about it for the Oregonian. And as in all sports writing, there’s more than one way to frame the result, and for DyeStat Brooklynn Loiselle focused on the favorite, Rogers’ U.S. teammate and training partner, Ajeé Wilson, who settled for yet another third-place finish.
Brett Taylor got video of Rogers discussing her experience, as well — along with comments from many of the top U.S. athletes rolling through the interview area.
But if you look a little deeper, we covered a lot on Monday.
Alex’s story for the Oregonian included details about a bronze medal in the men’s 5,000 by Mohammed Ahmed, a Canadian who runs for the Bowerman Track Club, and early-round performances by every athlete with an Oregon connection. Brooklynn also highlighted the women’s steeplechase and added a bit on most of the other finals. And Nate covered the 400-meter hurdles showdown between Karsten Warholm of Norway and Rai Benjamin of the United States for our own website.
Earlier on Monday afternoon, before the competition started, Brooklynn covered the medal reallocation ceremonies for U.S. 800-meter runners Brenda Martinez and Alysia Montaño, who were upgraded from the 2011 and 2013 world championships after a runner who finished ahead of them was stripped of her medal for doping. Martinez stopped for a video interview with me and Brett Taylor, as well. Montaño has been particularly outspoken about doping and problems within the IAAF, so particularly in light of today’s news about Alberto Salazar, you’re going to want to check out what she had to say.
