Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Former Villanova standout Bobby Curtis, who dominated Kentucky high school track during his days at St. Xavier, is keeping busy at a variety of distances this season.

Bobby Curtis

Thursday, at Minneapolis, Curtis placed third in the inaugural USA 1-Mile Road Championships.

Curtis, now based out of Ardmore, Pa., and Darren Brown hung with Jon Rankin as they broke from the pack at 1,200 meters, according to reports from USA Track & Field.

Also lurking, though, was David Torrence, who overtook Rankin to run the first sub-four road mile ever in Minnesota and earn a bonus of $10,000. First-place prize money, before the bonus, was $4,000.

Torrence, from Oakland, Calif., was timed in 3:59.3. Rankin took second in 4:01.7, followed by Curtis in 4:02.0. Brown was fourth in 4:08.0. John Richardson, the former Southeastern Conference champion for Kentucky, placed seventh in 4:10.1. 

Shannon Rowbury, the Olympic Trials 1,500-meter champion, took the women’s mile in 4:33.4. Sara Hall was runner-up in 4:39.1, followed by Sara Vaughn in 4:41.3.

Just about two weeks before heading to Minnesota, on April 24, Curtis turned in a sensational 5,000-meter victory in the Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Berkeley, Calif.

Curtis, sponsored by Reebok, clocked 13:29.12. Ben St. Lawrence (New Balance) edged Jorge Torres (Reebok) for second, 13:30.18 to 13:30.65, followed closesly by Scott Baughs (adidas) in 13:30.85. Further back in the international field was former Lexington Catholic and University of Kentucky standout Thomas Morgan (ZAP Fitness), 18th in 14:31.16.

Morgan’s ZAP teammate, former UK runner Allison Grace, took seventh in the women’s 5K (16:12.50).

Spanning the globe

Reese Hoffa

Danielle Carruthers

Louisville native Reese Hoffa was among several American winners Friday in the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix at Doha, Qatar.

Hoffa, the 2007 World Outdoor champion and a two-time Olympian, took the men’s shot put with the longest toss in the world this season, 71 feet. Poland’s Tomasz Majewski, gold-medalist at the Beijing Olympics, took second (69-7 1/2). Two-time Olympic silver-medalist Adam Nelson of the U.S. placed sixth (64-10).

Dannielle Carruthers, a former Indiana University standout and Kentucky high school champion out of Paducah Tilghman, placed third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles (12.73).

As for the other American winners:

* Brittney Reese, the NCAA and Olympic Trials champion out of Ole Miss, also won with a world-leading season-best — 22 feet, 11 1/4 inches in the women’s long jump. That also tops her all-time personal best of 22-9 3/4.

Allyson Felix

* Allyson Felix, a two-time World Outdoor champion and two-time Olympic silver-medal winner at 200 meters, doubled the distance to win the 400 at Qatar. Her time of 50.75 is fastest in the world this season.

* Travis Padgett, the NCAA 100-meter runner-up last year, took the Qatar century in 10-flat. That ties Olympic teammate Walter Dix for the fastest time in the world this season. Dix clocked 10.00 on April 11.

* Olympic bronze-medalist David Oliver repeated as the Doha champion in the 110-meter hurdles, although not as quick as last year (12.95). Still, his time of 13.09 is best in the world this year, topping his previous mark of 13.19.

For more details and results, see www.iaaf.org.

From USA Track & Field …

World Championships silver medalist Chaunte Howard is USATF’s Athlete of the Week, having cleared 2 meters (6 feet, 6.75 inches) Sunday to win the women’s high jump at the Rieti (Italy) Grand Prix.

Leading marks by Americans for the week ending Sept. 7

MEN

100 – 9.92 Walter Dix (Nike) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

200 – 20.54 Wallace Spearmon (Nike) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

400 – 43.98 LaShawn Merritt (Nike) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

800 – 1:45.33 Nick Symmonds (Oregon TC) – Rieti, ITA 9/7

1500 – 3:32.75 Bernard Lagat (Nike) – Rieti, ITA 9/7 U.S. leader

3000 – 7:47.03 Chris Solinsky (NIke) – Rieti, ITA 9/7

5000 – 13:25.71 Matt Tegenkamp (Nike) – Brussels, BEL 9/5

10,000 – 28:28.44 Meb Keflezighi (Nike) – Brussels, BEL 9/5

110H – 13.02 David Oliver (Nike) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

400H – 48.29 Kerron Clement (Nike) – BrusseLls, BEL 9/5

HJ – 2.27/7-5.25 Jesse Williams (Nike) – Moscow, RUS 9/6

PV – 5.85/19-2.25 Derek Miles (Nike) – Berlin, GER 9/7

LJ – 8.21/26-11.25 Miguel Pate (Nike) – Rieti, ITA 9/7

TJ – 16.85/55-3.5 Walter Davis (Nike) – Dubnica, SVK 9/7

SP – 21.39/70-2.25 Christian Cantwell (Nike) – Dubnica, SVK 9/7

DT – 60.14/197-4 Ian Waltz (Nike) – Paris, FRA 9/6

WOMEN

100 – 11.09 Marshevet Hooker (adidas) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

200 – 22.52 Carmelita Jeter (Nike) – Rieti, ITA 9/7

400 – 50.86 Mary Wineberg (Nike) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

800 – 1:59.67 Alice Schmidt (adidas) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

1500 – 4:01.97 Shannon Rowbury (Nike) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

Mile – 4:20.34 Shannon Rowbury (Nike) – Rieti, ITA 9/7 U.S. leader

3000SC – 9:45.28 Lindsey Anderson (Nike) – Paris, FRA 9/6

100H – 12.60 Dawn Harper (unat) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

400H – 55.65 Tiffany Williams (Reebok) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

HJ – 2.00/6-6.75 Chaunte Howard (Nike) – Rieti, ITA 9/7 U.S. leader

PV – 4.40/14-5.25 Jillian Schwartz (Nike) & Erica Bartolina (unat) – Brussels, BEL 9/5

LJ – 6.63/21-9 Grace Upshaw (Nike) – Lausanne, SUI 9/2

SP – 17.04/55-11 Kristin Heaston (Nike) – Paris, FRA 9/6

DT – 58.96/193-5 Aretha Thurmond (Nike) – Paris, FRA 9/6

The world’s greatest athlete also seems to be politically savvy.

Bryan Clay, Olympic gold-medal winner in the decathlon (thus, the world’s greatest athlete) appeared Thursday at the Republican National Convention and managed to avoid mentioning any candidate or political party.

According to reports from ABC News and USA Track and Field, Clay was introduced to the assembly in St. Paul, Minn., as an athlete who exemplified the strength, rigor and humility of the American spirit.

Clay reportedly told the assembly that “whether you are a decathlete or a politician, we must stand together and believe in each other and in this great nation. Mahalo and God bless you, and may God bless America.”

Ring of honor

Also on the Victory Tour circuit, Beijing Olympic track and field medalists Angelo Taylor, LaShawn Merritt and Walter Dix had the honor of ringing the opening bell Friday at the New York Stock Exchange.

Taylor won the 400-meter hurdles and ran on the gold-medal 4-by-400-meter relay at Beijing, matching the results he accomplished eight years earlier at the Sydney Olympics.

Merritt led off the 4-by-400 relay and also won the open 400 meters, edging teammate and 2004 gold-medalist Jeremy Wariner.

Dix, the NCAA champion out of Florida State, captured bronze medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at Beijing.