Too Little, Too Late: Simpson's Run Comes Up Short in Boston

This past weekend when many of you were glued to your televisions watching the events in Sochi, runners and throwers at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix were creating new records- and also making mistakes.

Some of the impressive performances on the day included Mary Cain bettering the junior's 1000m mark, closing in on both the American record and world record in the process. Meanwhile, the men's 4x800m team of Richard Jones, David Torrence, Duane Solomon, and Erik Sowinski set a new indoor world record in their event with a time of 7:13.22. Another record was anticipated to be made in the final event of this meet as Jenny Simpson stepped onto the line in the 2 mile.

Simpson was well on pace to set a new American record, surpassing the 3rd place runner with 3 laps to go. She flew into second place and started to kick just before the bell, taking first place and leading the race. Naturally, Simpson slowly decelerated after crossing the finish line. One problem- the ringing of the bell traditionally signals the last lap of the race. Of course, this race was no exception to the norm, and too late Simpson noticed her competitors starting their final lap. After almost coming to a complete stop, Simpson wasn't able to get back in the race in time to take first. In lieu of setting a new record, Simpson had to settle with second place. Overall, she finished 3 seconds off the American record.

Professional athletes make mistakes, the same as any human. However, unlike "ordinary" people who will make minor mistakes at work or in school, athlete's blunders are often watched by thousands, if not millions- live. Oftentimes, they will be remembered by their errors instead of by their achievements.

Simpson can only look now to the future with optimism, and the past with perhaps a dash of regret. "It stings so bad. I was running really well and I was running so comfortable. That would have been a cool story if I had made that mistake and still gotten the AR. It’s a little bit of dash to my ego but a good confidence booster for the next thing.”

See the full results of the meet here.
The USA Indoor Track & Field Championships are scheduled to take place in Albuquerque, NM February 22-23.