Adidas Showcases Its Top Athletes With Fan-Friendly Environment And A Few Seldom Run Race Distances

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

Photos courtesy @adidasatlcitygames

Alison Dos Santos threw down a dominating performance in the men’s 200-meter hurdles at the adidas Atlanta City Games, handily beating two-time NCAA champion Caleb Dean and picking up a new world best along the way.

Dos Santos finished in 21.85, finishing nearly half a second ahead of Dean, who ran 22.30. His time won’t be recognized by World Athletics, as the organization doesn’t recognize the 200-meter hurdles as an official event, but it is nonetheless the fastest time ever recorded. He is also the first person to run faster than 22 seconds in the event.

Favour Ofili, meanwhile, broke the world best in the 150 meters, running 15.85 to beat Tamari Davis. Like Dos Santos’ mark, Ofili’s is not a world record, as World Athletics also does not recognize that event. Both are labeled world bests.

Zharnel Hughes continued the theme of “unofficial dominance,” winning the men’s 200 meters in 19.55, the fastest all-conditions time in the world this year by nearly three tenths of a second. Due to the design of the track (a 200-meter straightaway) and the 2.3 m/s tailwind, that mark won’t count on any official lists. 

Still, it is the best performance of Hughes’ season. He beat Jereem Richards, who won the long sprints at the Miami Grand Slam Track meet two weeks ago, as well as 400-meter world record holder Wayde Van Niekerk, who made his season debut Saturday. Richards ran 19.63 for second and Niekerk finished third in 20.03.

Akani Simbine and Trey Cunningham, meanwhile, added wins to their already productive seasons; Simbine won the 100 meters in 9.86 seconds (with a 2.3 m/s tailwind), and Cunningham won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.16. 

Claire Bryant pulled off the upset of the day in the field events, beating Olympic bronze medalist Jasmine Moore in the women’s long jump. Bryant jumped 7.03 meters (23-0.75) on her last jump, beating Moore by a quarter inch.

Matt Ludwig also produced an upset in the men’s pole vault, beating American record holder KC Lightfoot. Ludwig cleared 5.83 meters (19-1.50) for the win, while Lightfoot finished third with a clearance of 5.50 meters (18-0.50).

Lynna Irby-Jackson ran a personal best of 22.22 to win the women’s 200 meters over Tamara Clark and Talitha Diggs.

Atlanta TC Runners Show Out In Distance Events

Luciano Fiore and Laurie Barton picked up wins in the men’s 800 meters and women’s 1,500 meters, respectively, giving Atlanta Track Club two out of four wins in the elite distance events. 

Fiore led a 1-2-4 finish for the club, running 1:46.41 for a narrow win over Sean Dolan. Alex Amankwah (Under Armour) took third, followed by Luke Houser.

Barton won by over a second in the 1,500, closing in 64 seconds to beat her teammate Yolanda Ngarambe. Barton ran 4:06.71 and Ngarambe ran 4:07.92.

Isaac Basten won the men’s 1,500 in 3:37.61, making his way from fifth to first in the last lap to beat a stacked field that included Eric Holt, Christian Noble and Ben Allen.

Emily Richards won a close women’s 800 meters, crossing the line in 2:00.22, just ahead of Rachel Gearing, who ran 2:00.75.