BATC Preview: Men's 1500m at the adidas Grand Prix
By Tom Kloos
Late Spring in New York City, and Central Park is swarming with joggers, forming a continuum of bodies moving counter-clockwise around the park’s interior. There will be no such joggers running counter-clockwise at Icahn Stadium for the 1500 event of the adidas Grand Prix – IAAF Diamond League meet. The start list is a who’s-who of men’s milers, featuring top Americans and Olympians representing four different countries.
Someone might innocently presume that BATC’s David Torrence would be intimidated by the high-caliber field, heading to the starting line with the second-slowest seed time of the group (3:38.39). That someone would be mistaken. “It’s a whole new season for me,” says David reflecting on the level of competition, “I am a whole new runner.”
Tomorrow will be David’s first 1500 in 2010, and his performances in other events thus far (800, 1600 relay, and road mile) in the year are demonstrative that he is indeed a new runner. With the pace set to go 3:32, David is determined to come away with a whole new PR. “…more than just be dragged along, I want to compete with the best…I have no expectation, and no limitations.”
Sunday morning in Central Park, when the number of New York joggers hits its peak, David might be moving among them at an easy recovery pace. Some New Yorker may get to enjoy going a few miles with one of America's finest young middle distance athletes, but they would be wise not to try and challenge David’s kick. The same holds true of any number of the other milers at the adidas Grand Prix!
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