Daegu, South Korea: American training partners Carmelita Jeter and Jason Richardson were two unlikely gold medalists at the athletics world championships on Monday.
Jeter because, well, nobody beats the Jamaicans in the 100 meters at major meets these days.
And Richardson because he was an afterthought in the highly anticipated 110 hurdles matchup. He originally captured silver but was stunningly bumped up to champion when Cuban world-record holder Dayron Robles was disqualified for smacking hands not once but twice with Liu Xiang of China over the final few hurdles.
"I can beat Robles' world record," said Richardson, who runs with his distinctive dreadlocks tied into a ponytail. "My next objective is to repeat the same thing in the Olympics."
This was definitely a strange day at the track.
It was supposed to be Allyson Felix's stage as she finished off the first leg of her difficult double, an accomplishment that would have firmly established her as America's biggest track star heading into next year's London Olympics. But Felix couldn't catch Amantle Montsho of Botswana in the 400 final, nudged out at the line.
There went the shot at the double.
Now, an exhausted Felix turns her attention toward capturing a fourth straight 200 title later in the week.
Jeter's chances at a 100-200 sweep have never looked better, besides the fact she's competing in Felix's signature event and has the Jamaicans riled up.
"We'll see her again," said Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who finished fourth to end her run as 100 champion.
Long known as the sprinter who couldn't win on the big stage, the 31-year-old Jeter ended that perception by winning in 10.90 seconds, .07 faster than Veronica Campbell-Brown. She jumped out to an early lead and said she felt as if she had held off the field.
After crossing the finish line, Jeter gazed all around the stadium looking for some kind of tangible proof of what her heart was already telling her — that she did indeed win her first world title.
Then, the camera began trailing Jeter, her image appearing on the big screen. Her name popped up — first.
She began screaming, "I did it!" and then fell to the track, bursting into tears.
"It's good not to have that jinx, that I can only win bronze medals," said Jeter, who finished third at the worlds in 2007 and '09. "I was just ready. This was just a different night."
Jillian Camarena-Williams captured the first-ever medal for the U.S. in the women's shot put by capturing bronze in an event won by defending champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand.
The race of the night, and possibly even the most compelling of the championships, was the 110 hurdles. It had the three fastest hurdlers in history in the field with Robles, Liu and David Oliver of the United States. Yet it was the unknown Richardson who crashed the party by jumping out fast and beating all but Robles.
A silver medal? Richardson was more than pleased with that.
Traded up to a gold? Now that was almost too good to imagine.
Liu appealed after Robles appeared to bang Liu's hand on several occasions, slowing down the 2004 Olympic gold medalist.
"I am really sorry about the situation. You know competition," Liu said. "Besides, we are good friends."
So are Jeter and Richardson, who train together under coach John Smith. And soon after making her rounds for various interviews, Jeter was told that Richardson had moved up.
"Jason, you got the gold?" Jeter screamed across a nearly empty room. "You didn't tell me that!"
That's when they hugged, with Smith standing close by.
Smith said he felt that Jeter was on the brink of a breakthrough. She had the world's best time this season, but was lacking in confidence, given her track record at big races. Smith told her she had worked too hard to throw it all away, to believe she could do this.
She did.
"It was her time," Smith said.
This appeared to be Felix's time as well. Hardly known as a 400 runner, she only got better as the race went along and was closing fast on Montsho before simply running out of track.
In retrospect, Felix said she wishes she would've kicked it into a higher gear a little sooner, even though she finished in a personal-best time of 49.59 seconds.
That was simply inexperience.
"I still don't feel as confident as I do in the 200. I know that race, when to move," Felix said. "I'm definitely disappointed. Anytime I lose, I'm disappointed. I have to keep moving forward."
Her teammate, defending champion Sanya Richards-Ross, finished a disappointing seventh. It's been a rough season for Richards-Ross as she rounds into form following an injury-plagued 2010.
But for Felix, this is all part of her plan to gather data to make a decision on whether to try both the 200 and 400 at the Olympics next year. Or if it's simply too ambitious.
Felix desperately wants an Olympic gold medal in the 200, the main thing missing from her storied career.
"What I hope to take away is how my body bounces back from the 200," Felix said, "to decide if I want to do this again."
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