Jordan McNamara becomes fastest Washington bred miler in London...
LONDON, England--Capping off his most successful stretch of races, Auburn/Riverside HS alum Jordan McNamara (left/photo by Paul Merca) set yet another personal best in the mile as he finished seventh in the Emsley Carr mile at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, the final stop on the IAAF Diamond League tour before the world championships break.
McNamara ran 3:52.42 to eclipse his previous personal best of 3:54.89 set in 2011.
In the process, McNamara, who attended the University of Washington for one season before transferring to Lane Community College and ultimately the University of Oregon, became the 23rd fastest miler in American history, and the fastest Washington-born miler in history, eclipsing the mark of 3:54.46 set by Chris Lukezic of Auburn HS in 2006.
McNamara was towards the back of the pack for most of the race, but made a huge move in the final lap, and picked off several runners in the final straightaway.
Courtesy of Universal Sports, here is video of the race:
On his Facebook page, McNamara said, "I capped my 2013 European season with a 2.4 second Lifetime best in the mile, running 3:52.42! Unforgettable- running in the Olympic Stadium, in front of 65,000 passionate spectators. I can't describe how it felt to walk onto the beautiful track and look up at the massive structure, floating helicopters, & countless faces. Thanks for all the supportive messages. At this point, I'm very content, & ready to get home to my wife. Mission accomplished from London."
Augustine Choge of Kenya won the race in a personal best of 3:50.01, with Galen Rupp of the Nike Oregon Project the top American in fifth in a PR 3:52.11.
In the men's pole vault, University of Washington alum Brad Walker cleared a best of 18-4 1/2 (5.60m) to finish sixth, as Renaud Lavillenie of France won with a Diamond League best jump of 19-9 (6.02m), as the top three finishers--Lavillenie, Bjorn Otto (18-11/5.77m), and Raphael Holzdeppe (18-8 1/4 /5.70m) replicated their placings from last year's Olympics held at this stadium.
The IAAF Diamond League series resumes after the world championships with meets in Stockholm on August 23rd, Zurich on August 29th, and Brussels on September 6th.
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