First Again in Zurich
by Devon Jeffreys
Angelo Taylor's mission to finish the 2012 season strong is off to a great start.
On a rainy Thursday night in Zurich, Angelo won his second consecutive race by beating a stacked field in the men's 400-meter hurdles at Weitklasse Zurich. AT's time of 48.29 was his third best of the year in the event. The win was Angelo's fourth of the year overall and third in the 400mH. Watch it below:
The back-to-back wins for Angelo come after he took a week off from racing to head home and regroup. After a fifth place finish in the Olympic 400-meter hurdles final, a silver medal performance in the Olympic 4x400 and an eighth place finish a week later in the 400mH at DN Galan in Stockholm, AT knew he needed some time away. So he took a trip home, slept in his own bed and trained on his own track while enjoying time with family and friends.
"I went home after Stockholm," Angelo told FloTrack. "It just felt good. I got a chance to relax and regroup. I knew I still had more races to run."
The time away was clearly a rejuvenator. He returned to competition on Sunday in Birmingham to win the 400 meters in a season best time, then followed with a great 400mH run in Zurich, defeating all three medalists from the London Olympics.
As is his reputation, Angelo surged out of the blocks and took the lead within seconds of the gun, running strong out of lane six. He quickly passed competitors in lanes seven and eight as he held the advantage entering the homestretch. It was there that the rest of the field made a surge.
Angelo was neck-and-neck with Jerue Gordon down the stretch, but found that extra gear to win in Zurich.
Olympic gold medalist Felix Sanchez made a run at him, as did bronze medalist Javier Culson, yet it was a surprise competitor, Jehue Gordon of Trinidad that briefly took the lead. But Angelo found the extra gear he didn't have at the Olympics and edged Gordon and Cuba's Omar Cisneros at the line to win by five hundredths of a second in Zurich. The win boosted him to second in the Diamond League points race, which was won by Culson.
NEXT UP
Angelo has just two more races left to put a bow on his 2012 season.
He'll run the 400m next Friday, September 7 in Brussels at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme meet, the final race of the Samsung Diamond League season. Two days later, Angelo closes his season at the Rieti 2012 IAAF World Challenge in Italy.
RELATED STORIES
- Samsung Diamond League Results: 400-meter hurdles (Samsung Diamond League, August 30, 2012)
- Bolt dashes 19.66, Aman defeats Rudisha in Zürich (IAAF, August 30, 2012)
- 2012 Diamond League Zurich: Taylor wins 400m hurdles (Universal Sports, August 30, 2012)
- Meeting records for Bolt and Blake (Athletics Weekly, August 30, 2012)
- Angelo Taylor still has gas left in the tank at 2012 Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix (FloTrack, August 26, 2012)
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