Kerley Runs PR 43.64 To Win Men's 400 Meters Title

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

DES MOINES – Fred Kerley knew much of the world was waiting for Michael Norman to win the 400 meters Saturday at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships.

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The former star at Texas A&M wasn’t having any of it.

Kerley ran a personal-best and facility record 43.64 seconds and overpowered Norman on the homestretch of the final. Norman, the 21-year-old world leader, was second in 43.79.

It was clear throughout the competition that Kerley believed in himself and wasn’t going to concede an inch.

“It’s track and field and anything can happen,” he said. “Today was my day.”

Norman revealed that he has practiced sparingly over the past two weeks due to an injury, but did not blame the lost time on his performance.

“Fred got the best of me,” Norman said. “He was the better athlete, so congrats to him. I’ve just got to go back and fix a couple of things.”

Nathan Strother also made the team in the 400 meters with a PR time of 44.29.

Double amputee Blake Leeper, who made a sensational run through the prelims to make the final, finished fifth in 44.48 seconds. Leeper holds out some hope of being named to the U.S. 4x400 relay pool for the World Championships in October in Doha, Qatar, but the IAAF is unlikely to allow him to compete.

Litigation is ongoing between Leeper’s legal team and the IAAF with an expected final decision coming in the next month. At issue is Leeper’s refusal to accept the new rules that govern Maximum Allowable Standing Height – a formula used to determine whether an athlete’s mechanical devices give him an advantage.

In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, Rai Benjamin breezed through the entire competition without any hiccups. In the final, he won handily in 47.23 seconds and will represent the U.S. for the first time when he goes to Doha, where he will be one of the favorites for the gold medal.

“I’m just happy to make that team and just be able to represent the U.S.A.,” Benjamin said. “It’s all about getting the rhythm down, and throughout my season my rhythm has been changing a lot.”

Still, Benjamin made it look effortless.

Elsewhere, in the men’s javelin, a rash of sixth-round throws gave a jolt to the competition. The final five throwers threw their best marks on their sixth and final attempt.

Riley Dolezal threw 271-9 (82.84m) to take the late lead and then Michael Shuey surpassed him with an effort of 271-10 (82.85m) to take the win.

Both throwers have not met the standard of 83 meters but are close enough that they are in the top 25 on the descending order list and expect to make the U.S. team for the World Championships.

In the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, a new champion was crowned for the first time since 2011 as Evan Jager was unable to compete. Hillary Bor of the U.S. Army broke the facility record by running 8:18.05 and he beat teammate Stanley Kebenei (8:19.12) and Andy Beyer (8:23.23).

“I’ve put in a lot of work, so to win a race in this kind of a place is a good feeling,” Bor said.