Angelo Taylor | Angelo Tops the Field in England | Official Website www.AngeloTaylorUSA.com

08/27/2012 - 07:37
Angelo Tops the Field in England
by Devon Jeffreys

Less than a month removed from competing in the Olympics there, Angelo Taylor's return to England brought a more satisfying result.

Angelo took first at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix on Sunday, winning the 400-meter dash in a season's best 44.93 seconds. The victory was Angelo's third of the 2012 season and first in the 400-meter sprint.

"I'm happy with the race. I got a win. Gotta be happy with a W," Angelo said. "I did exactly what I wanted to do. I came out here and ran fast, finishing off the season strong. I beat the Olympic silver medallist – finally. Season's best so I think I've still something left in the tank."

Running out of lane seven, Angelo got off to a tremendous start off the blocks and took the lead almost immediately. By the halfway mark he was firmly in control and as the race hit the homestretch he remained in first.

Luguelin Santos and Jonathan Borlee gave AT all he could handle coming to the line, but he held them off at the line for the victory. To watch the race in full, click here.

"I just wanted to go out well, get into a rhythm and then go strong," he told FloTrack. "I knew my competitor in lane eight [Rabah Yousif] didn't go out very hard. I just wanted to get on him real quick and ride him down the backstretch so I could move at 200. I think I executed pretty good the rest of the way."

Despite missing his goal of a third Olympic 400-meter gold, Angelo carries a fresh perspective into the final few races of the season. He plans on running three more times in 2012 and then taking some time off to get ready for the 2013 season.

"I'm still feeling good, as you can see, just won a race against a top-notch field. I'm just gonna have fun. I told myself I'm going to ride this thing until the wheels come off," he told FloTrack. "I'm blessed. I've had a long successful career and I've been running fast for a long time, two-time Olympic Champion. I have everything in the world to be happy about. My focus now is just to finish the season out strong. "

Watch Angelo talk more below about his race, what he did during a brief break last week and his future in the sport, courtesy of FloTrack:

Watch more video of 2012 Diamond League: Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix on flotrack.org

NEXT UP
Angelo will be right back on the track this week in Zurich where he will run the 400-meter hurdles at the Samsung Diamond League Weitklasse Zurich meet.

The event begins at 5 p.m. local time with the 400mH scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (2:05 p.m. EDT). For a full list of races and results during the event, click here.

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