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July 6, 2006 - IAAF Regional Permit Meeting, Luzerne , Switzerland

4:08.99— So close to a 1500m

Last evening in Luzerne, Switzerland, Hilary Stellingwerff came through with her second fastest 1500m ever, clocking a 4:08.99, good for 5th place. However, she almost did not get the chance to run in this 1500m race.

Stellingwerff, along with Canadian coach Dave Scott-Thomas, have decided to primarily focus on 800m and 1500m racing, but this has been harder to do than hoped. Every summer all of the world’s best middle-distance runners descend upon Europe to race, and the demand of the number of high-quality athletes tends to outstrip the supply of high-quality races. So originally, Stellingwerff traveled to Luzerne with expectations of racing the 3000m event, but hoping to race the 1500m instead (she was 3rd on the waiting start-list). The night before the meeting, Stellingwerff found out that she had indeed been granted a spot in the 1500m race; and she made the most of the opportunity.

Pace setter Alice Smidt (USA) leads Maria Mutula through the first lap of the Luzerne 1500m.

“Part of being an athlete is being adaptable, so mentally I was prepared to run either the 3000m, but more ideally, the 1500m race,” said Stellingwerff. “With knowing how tough it is to get into the really prestigious track meets in Europe, I knew that I needed to make the most of this opportunity, and run fast over 1500m; as this will help with getting into meets over the next few months.”

And Stellingwerff did just that, clocking the second fastest time of her career over 1500m by running a 4:08.99 to place 5th overall, only about 2 seconds behind the winner.

“For me the race was at a perfect level for right now, as we went through 800m in 2:12. But then, the race slowed a little bit over the next 300m or so, until we started kicking for home again. The 2:12 for 800m felt fine and I still felt strong with 400m to go, so I hope that with some more race sharpening, I should be able to go faster yet.”

Women - 1500 m

1. Tobias Natiya UKR UKR 4:06,07
2. Holovchenko Tetyana UKR UKR 4:06,35
3. Tadesse Mestawet ETH ETH 4:06,52
4. Lyne Rebecca GBR 82 GBR 4:06,85
5. Lehtinen Johanna FIN 79 FIN 4:08,57
6. Stellingwerff Hilary CAN 80 CAN 4:08,99
7. Elmore Malindi USA CAN 4:11,36
8. Fischer Sabine SUI 73 LC Rapperswil-Jona 4:13,73
9. Wooton Katrina GBR 85 GBR 4:15,81
10. Schwald Asrah USA USA 4:18,29
11. Britton Fionula IRL IRL 4:18,92
12. Järvenpää Mari FIN FIN 4:19,10

For full meet results see:
http://www.spitzenleichtathletik.ch/