Mile News


U.S. Teen Cain Qualifies for Worlds 1500m Final

August 13, 2013

"When I grow up I want to be Mary Cain." -  Nick Symmonds, newly minted 800m silver medalist; women's 1500m final, Thursday, August 15

By Karen Rosen, Special for USA TODAY

MOSCOW –The future of U.S. middle-distance running is 17-years-old, uses words like "gosh" and "geez" and yet is so race savvy a five-time U.S. champion once tweeted, "When I grow up I want to be Mary Cain."

That was 29-year-old Nick Symmonds, who won the silver medal Tuesday in the 800 meters at the IAAF World Championships.

"I think she's the most promising talent that we've ever seen," Symmonds told USA TODAY Sports.

His race came 25 minutes after Cain (above right, PhotoRun) used a finishing burst to place fourth in her 1500 meter semifinal and become the youngest finalist ever in the event. The final is Thursday night.

"I can't wait to watch that," Symmonds said. "She's so talented and races with wisdom and experience well beyond her years."

Among the more seasoned members of Team USA, LaShawn Merritt, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist and 2009 world champion, and Tony McQuay went 1-2 in the men's 400 meters, with Merritt clocking a personal best 43.74 seconds. Their performance made up for the U.S. shutout in the 2012 London Olympics final.

Olympic champion Jenn Suhr placed second in the women's pole vault behind home crowd favorite Yelena Isinbayeva to win her first World Championships medal. And Symmonds' silver was the first for the U.S. in the men's 800 in 16 years.

Cain's time of 4 minutes, 5.21 seconds was her second-fastest by about a second, "which is pretty crazy as you can imagine for me," she said.

Cain said her race came down to a dip at the finish line. "You know when I was younger," she said, "like, I'm still in high school now, but when I was running in high school competitions, a few times I got beaten by a dip. So I try to master that skill and I guess it worked out."

Continue reading at: www.usatoday.com

Tags: nick symmonds (13) , moscow 2013 (15) , mary cain (64)

Facebook Comments

Return the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.

ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.

CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance,
to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.

Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!

Join Us

Thanks for joining the movement and being a Mile Maniac. We'll keep you up to-date with our Mile wires as well as exclusive contests and opportunities. Help us spread the word by sharing our site and joining us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!