Two-time USA champion and 2008 Olympic Games seventh place finisher Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco, Calif.) posted the best finish by an American in a world outdoor championships women's 1,500-meter final in 10 years. And then it got better.
Rowbury was up near the front the entire way and trailed Great Britain's Lisa Dobriskey by a few yards down the final stretch. Although Rowbury couldn't catch her, she finished fourth in 4:04.18, which is the highest finish by an American in this event since Regina Jacobs placed second in 1999 in Seville, Spain.
However, during the last lap, race winner Natalia Rodriguez of Spain tripped Ethiopia's Gelete Burka from behind. Following the race Rodriguez was disqualified and Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BRN) was declared the winner (4:03.74). Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britain (4:03.75) was awarded the silver medal, and Rowbury became the bronze medalist.
2009 USA Outdoor Champs runner-up Christin Wurth-Thomas (Springdale, Ark.) also had a strong race in finishing fifth in 4:06.19. 2008 Olympian Anna Willard (Ann Arbor, Mich.) finished sixth in 4:06.19.
This marks the first time ever that three U.S. women (Rowbury, Wurth-Thomas, Willard) have ever finished in the top ten in this event.
Team USA Medal Table - 2009 World Championships in Athletics
Gold (10)
Christian Cantwell (Columbia, Mo.), men's shot put, 22.03m/72-3.50
Sanya Richards (Austin, Tex.), women's 400 meters, 49.00
Kerron Clement (Gainesville, Fla.) men's 400m hurdles, 47.91
Trey Hardee (Austin, Tex.) men's decathlon, 8,790 points
Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, Calif.) women's 200 meters, 22.02
LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.) men's 400 meters (44.06)
Dwight Phillips (Snellville, Ga.) men's long jump (8.54 meters/28 feet .75 inch)
Brittney Reese (Gulfport, Miss.) women's long jump, 7.10 meters/23-3.50
Team USA women's 4x400m relay, 3:17.83
Debbie Dunn (Norfolk, Va.), Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Lashinda Demus (Palmdale, Calif.), Sanya Richards (Austin, Tex.), Natasha Hastings (Los Angeles, Calif.), Jessica Beard (College Station, Tex.)
Team USA men's 4x400m relay, 2:57.86
Angelo Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.), Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Tex.), Kerron Clement (Los Angeles, Calif.), LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.), Lionel Larry (Compton, Calif.), Bershawn Jackson (Savoy, Ill.)
Silver (6)
Tyson Gay (Clermont, Fla.), men's 100 meters, 9.71
Chelsea Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.), women's pole vault, 4.65m/15-3
Lashinda Demus (Palmdale, Calif.), women's 400m hurdles, 52.96
Terrence Trammell (Atlanta, Ga.), men's 110m hurdles, 13.15
Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Tex.), men's 400 meters, 44.60
Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.) men's 5,000m,13:17.33
Bronze (6)
Carmelita Jeter (Inglewood, Calif.) women's 100 meters, 10.90
Bershawn Jackson (Savoy, Ill.) men's 400m hurdles, 48.23
Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.) men's 1,500 meters, 3:36.20
Wallace Spearmon (College Station, Tex.) men's 200 meters, 19.85
David Payne (Covington, Ky.) men's 110m hurdles, 13.15
Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco, Calif.) women's 1,500 meters, 4:04.18
Team USA won more gold medals than any other country (10)...2nd place Jamaica (7)
Team USA won more medals than any other country (22)...2nd place Jamaica (13)
Team USA dominated the placing table with 231 points...2nd place Russia (154)
