Ten athletes with state of Washington ties to compete in Osaka at IAAF World Track & Field Championships

Former Washington State University standout Dominique Arnold, the current American record holder in the 110-meter high hurdles, is one of ten athletes with links to the state of Washington competing at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, Japan. /photo by Paul Merca

OSAKA, JAPAN--2004 Olympic 1500 meter silver medalist Bernard Lagat, a graduate of Washington State University, leads a contingent of ten track and field athletes with ties to the state of Washington into Osaka, Japan for the IAAF World Track & Field Championships, which begins on Saturday August 25th, and concludes on Sunday, September 2nd at Nagai Stadium.

Besides Lagat, who is the current American record holder in the 1500 meters, and a two-time US national champion in the 5000 meters, the state of Washington contingent includes Dominique Arnold (Washington State), the current American record holder in the 110 meter high hurdles; Brad Walker (University of Washington/University HS-Spokane), the 2006 IAAF world indoor champion in the pole vault; the reigning two-time American 100-meter hurdles champion Ginnie Powell (Rainier Beach High School); and 2004 US Olympians in the discus Ian Waltz (Washington State), and Jarred Rome (Marysville-Pilchuck High School).

Two athletes with Washington ties will compete at the world championships representing their native countries, led by sprinter Anson Henry (Washington State), a 2004 Olympian who will run on Canada’s 4 x 100 meter relay squad; and, Uli Steidl (Seattle University assistant track & cross country coach), an eight-time winner of the Seattle Marathon, who will run the marathon for Germany.

Rounding out the contingent with state of Washington ties are recent Washington State University graduate Diana Pickler, who will compete in the heptathlon; and former University of Washington standout Cecelia Barnes, who will compete in the women’s discus.

Dr. Bob Adams of Redmond, Washington will serve Team USA as one of its team physicians.

The IAAF World Track & Field Championships will be carried on a pay-per-view basis on the internet at www.wcsn.com. Daily coverage will be seen on the Versus network, and weekend coverage will be seen on NBC Sports.

Below is the list of athletes competing in Osaka, along with the local time of each athlete’s first appearance at the meet. Note that Osaka is 16 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight time. The complete event schedule is listed at http://osaka2007.iaaf.org.


NAME AFFILIATION EVENT DATE & TIME(S)
(local Osaka time)

Uli Steidl Germany/Seattle U. marathon 0700, 8/25

Diana Pickler Washington State heptathlon 1000, 8/25

Bernard Lagat Washington State 1500 meters 1125, 8/25
5000 meters 2045, 8/30

Ian Waltz Washington State discus 0930, 8/26

Jarred Rome Marysville-Pilchuck HS discus 0930, 8/26

Ginnie Powell Rainier Beach HS 100 meter H. 1010, 8/27

Cecelia Barnes Univ. of Washington discus 1000, 8/27

Dominique Arnold Washington State 110 meter H. 1140, 8/29

Brad Walker Univ. of Washington pole vault 1935, 8/30

Anson Henry Canada/Washington State 4 x 100m relay 2040, 8/31

How they got to Osaka:

Uli Steidl (marathon)—Selected by German federation on the basis of two sub-2:20 marathons in 2007 in Boston (2:19:54), and Duesseldorf (2:19:45) within a three-week span.

Diana Pickler (heptathlon)—Scored 6029 points to finish second at the US championships.

Bernard Lagat (1500m/5000m)—Finished third in the 1500 at the US championships (3:35.55); won the 5000 in a time of 13:30.73.

Ian Waltz (discus)—Finished second in the US championships with a throw of 208-8.

Jarred Rome (discus)—Finished third in the US championships with a throw of 208-6.

Ginnie Powell (100 hurdles)—Won her second straight national title, running 12.63.

Cecelia Barnes (discus)—Finished fourth in the US championships (182-1). Bumped third place finisher Summer Pierson, as Pierson didn’t have the IAAF qualifying standard of 193-7. Barnes has thrown 197-5 this year.

Dominique Arnold (110 hurdles)—Finished second in the US championships (13.17).

Brad Walker (pole vault)—Won the US championships with a jump of 18-8 1/4.

Anson Henry (4 x 100 meter relay)—Finished second in the Canadian championships at 100 meters in 10.37. Canada’s 4 x 100 meter relay team is one of the world’s top 16 teams.

MEDIA NOTES: Paul Merca will be in Osaka covering the IAAF World Track & Field Championships beginning Thursday, August 23rd, and will blog at http://paulmerca.blogspot.com. He can be reached by cell at 090-1726-4566. From the USA, dial +81 90-1726-4566. Please contact him at clubalrd@earthlink.net.