■ The U.S. Olympic Trials2021, June 18-27 at the new Hay- ■ World Track & Field2023 Championships, Budapest, ward Field’s state-of-the-art setting at the University of Hungary. The 19th edition of the IAAF World Champi- Oregon. Required deposit $1750 per person. onships will be held at the Hungarian capital’s beautiful track stadium, August 19-27 (new dates). Budapest is a delightful travel destination, with lots to see and do. 2022 ■ The U.S. Nationals/World Championship Trials. And we’re sure to offer an attractive Diamond League Dates and site to be determined, but probably Eugene extension before or after the Championships. $250 per in late June. 4-5 day tour. This is certain to be a fantastic person deposit now accepted. meet as it will determine the team for the World Cham- pionships in Eugene in July. $100 deposit per person now accepted. ■ U.S. Olympic Trials.2024 Dates and site to be determined. ■ World Track & Field Championships. Eugene, OR, Probably late June. $100 deposit now accepted. July 15-24, 2022. The first outdoor Worlds to be held in ■ 2024 Games, Paris. Dates are July 26-August 11. $100 the USA. Lodging at the Village Green resort in Cottage deposit now accepted. Grove (busing included) and at motels in Eugene. Almost 300 signed up already. Current deposit requirement is $2,100 per person for this historic meet. T&FN has operated popular sports tours since 1952 and has taken more than 22,000 fans to 60 countries on five continents. Join us for one (or more) of these great upcoming trips. www.trackandfieldnews.com/tours Track & Field News Tours 2570 W El Camino Real, Suite 220 Mountain View, CA 94040 [email protected] Phone 650/948-8188 • Fax 650/948-9445 TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 73, No. 5 & 6 May/June 2020 From The Editor — What If All The Olympics Were Shunted By A Year? . 4 Seb Coe Talks Track After COVID-19 . 5 Mondo & Lavillenie Tie As Virtual Vault Comp Takes Off . 10 Stefanídi Takes Ultimate Garden Clash 2 . 11 Focus On The U .S . Men’s 110 Hurdles Scene . 12 “I Feel Like I Can Conquer Anything,” Says Grant Holloway . 14 Daniel Roberts Reflects On A Dream Season . 15 Devon Allen Makes A Major Move . 16 Freddie Crittenden Ready To Be In The Mix . 17 Jarret Eaton Still Has The Fire . 18 Focus On The U .S . Women’s 1500 Scene . 19 Shelby Houlihan’s Afterburners Ready To Be Lit Again . 21 Dog Days For Jenny Simpson . 23 Shannon Rowbury’s Final Games: 1500 Or 5000? . 25 Elle Purrier Spending Her Spring At Home . 27 Miler Nikki Hiltz’s Breakthrough Year . 29 Sinclaire Johnson Plays The Waiting Game . 31 Kate Grace Now Taking A Positive Approach . 32 Running Is In Shannon Osika’s Blood . 33 T&FN Interview — Rai Benjamin . 34 Life In The U .S . Without The Big Spring Meets . 38 Sha’Keela Saunders Puts Her Mind To It . 41 Steven Gardner—Volleyball’s Loss Is The 400’s Gain . 42 Cruz Culpepper Almost A Sub-4:00 Miler . 43 Book Review — Fast Girls . 44 All-Time Men’s World Rankings Leaders . 45 All-Time Women’s World Rankings Leaders . 48 ON YOUR MARKS . 51 TRACK SHORTS . 53 CALENDAR . 55 STATUS QUO . 56 LAST LAP . 57 LANDMARKS . 60 • cover photo of Shelby Houlihan by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport • Track & Field News May/June 2020 — 3 double, with Viren twice 2nd . Overall, Viren’s just another runner, never doing anything in a non-Olympic year . All of which brings us to Moscow ’79 . A FROM THE EDITOR pre-Afghanistan Moscow, which changes the results of every men’s event beyond recognition . You’ll notice I haven’t covered any women here . Not because of any intent to slight, rather — What If All The because I was u nable to f i nd a ny st r i k i ng exa m- ples of altered history . With far fewer events, and Olympics Were fewer Games in which to compete, there aren’t as many stars to consider . And nowadays, the domineering Soviets and East Germans seem Shunted By A Year? to be able to peak whenever it’s necessary… This whole diatribe is intended to illustrate by E. Garry Hill our need for a World Championships in the sport . Not a single track meet every 4 years, but an annual sorting-out of who’s best . Give the BACK IN THE FALL OF 1980 U .S . fans and in an hour in our now-Olympic year of ’35 . Would greats their due when it’s due . On to 1983! >> athletes were still reeling from having been he have won 3 individual events in Berlin? At So if in ’83 we had been embarking on an boycotted out of the Olympics . That got me to that year’s AAU he lost the 100 and LJ to Eulace Olympic year, not the first World Champion- thinking about how mere happenstance had Peacock and the 200 to Ralph Metcalfe, although ships, what major deviations from history would played a big part in creating the biggest Olympic his boosters insist he was letting down after a we have seen? heroes to that point: did an Olympic year(s) come tough collegiate season . Peacock also beat him First, having won Olympic gold in ’79, Re- along at the right point in someone’s career? in the 100 in 2 subsequent races . naldo Nehemiah wouldn’t have turned to pro Rafer Johnson, who had some injury prob- football and would instead be standing on the Suppose Baron de Coubertin had lems, may have traded gold medals . Instead of top step for the second time, rather than never “ winning ’59 (i e. ,. ’60) he’d win ’55 (‘56) . having made it to a Games . gotten his Olympics off the ground Jim Ryun is a classic example of an athlete Two of the hugest women’s stars of Helsin- a year earlier? who would benefit from this time warp . He ki—Mary Decker and Jarmila Kratochvílová— doesn’t make the ’63 team, but in ’67 he’s at instead of picking up double WC golds would Next year we’re back on track to create a the peak of his form and follows Snell as an see those transformed to Olympic wins . whole new set of Olympic winners, many of 800/1500 doubler . It’s at this point that Professor Peabody and them undoubtedly to become legends . But as Marty Liquori is at the top of his game in his WABAC Machine start finding less to hy- this non-season drags on, one has to wonder ’71 and follows Ryun as 1500 champ (or, Ryun is pothesize about . With the coming of the World how much a simple 1-year time shift will affect in such good mental shape after his ’67 double Championships and the attendant professional- history . How many of this year’s surefire faves that he comes back for another) . ization of the sport, careers got longer . Athletes for gold will find that ’21 is a year too late? Or Rudolf Harbig is a terror in ’39, setting WRs hung around longer getting more chances for the how many of ’21 breakthroughs simply wouldn’t in the 400 and 800 . He beats Alberto Juantorena h ig h e s t ac c ol ade s. But t h e r e a r e mor e e x a mple s: have been ready this year? to that Olympic double by 36 years . (Actually, Mike Powell has no shortage of fame, having It was thinking along those lines that Juantorena is hurt in ’75 and never wins a gold taken down Bob Beamon’s record and beating caused me to pen these words for my column medal in any event ). Carl Lewis in the process at the ’91 WC . But he of October ’80: Dutch Warmerdam is another star of the has “only” a pair of Olympic silvers . Imagine << Suppose Baron de Coubertin had gotten ’39 Games, winning one of the medals which what his reputation would be of it had been his Olympics off the ground a year earlier? WWII will actually steal from him . the ’91 Olympics where he had set his WR . What if the Games had begun in 1895, instead of Paavo Nurmi, probably the greatest of all Powell-esque, anyone? 1896, thereby moving up the date of subsequent Olympic heroes, would actually have his star Gwen Torrence was No . 1 in the world in Olympics by a year? enhanced by a shift . He does just as well in both the 100 and 200 in ’94 & ’95, but there was no We’d likely have some different Olympic the ’19 Games as he really did in ’20, and ap- double-gold for her in ’96, just a solitary bronze . heroes to worship . The point I’m trying to make proaches ’31 ready to add to his 9 golds and 3 And if the ’95 Torrence wins the Olympic is that there is usually a certain amount of good silvers . Pointing to the marathon, he wins his 200, there goes the golden double by Marie-Josée fortune implicit in any victory, but even more so first medal there (a gold of course) and picks up Pérec . in winning the Olympics, which only happen minor medals in the 5000 and 10,000. The next And let’s look at the Women’s AOYs of ’95 every 4 years . Some fine careers have come and year he is banned for professionalism .