It was something this crowd had never seen before. On a day of finals that resulted in first-time medal winners, some coming in events the U.S. had never won in before, and the rise of new stars going into an Olympic year, the U.S. put together two relays that matched the level of competition and took their 22 and 23 medals to break the record for most medals of any country at a single World Indoors.

Natasha Hastings burst out of the blocks for U.S.A. to take the lead and never looked back. As they raced around the corner with the crowd cheering, Jamaica's first leg fell, unable to get up. The crowd hushed while the rest of the teams raced on. Medical attention was called over and eventually used a wheelchair to get the injured runner.

From there, the U.S. steadily built on their lead. Natasha Hayes and Courtney Okolo both split 51 seconds for the second and third laps while Ashley Spencer capped off the finish almost five seconds ahead of the field. Their final time of 3 minutes, 26.38 seconds is the world leading time this year and the fastest time run by any team indoors on U.S. soil.

Poland, Romania, and Nigeria battled for the other podium spots switching leads throughout the race. Poland finished second in 3:31.15 and Romania took third in 3:31.51.

To finish the day and the championships, the U.S. men's victory was almost as definitive. Kyle Clemons matched the Bahamas stride for stride on the first leg, but an excellent handoff to Calvin Smith allowed the U.S. to start to separate. Smith handed off to Chris Giesting who was able to gain a few steps ahead of the field. On the final leg, Vernon Norwood took the baton and immediately created a visible gap as the crowd gasped. The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica were left to sort out the rest of the places.

Team U.S.A.'s 3:02.45 leads the world this year and is the third fastest ever run indoors. Bahamas' second place 3:04.75 and Trinidad and Tobago's third place 3:05.51 both set new national indoor records.

As the crowds dispersed, they discussed what they had seen. Tomas Rees' favorite event was the relay and long jump. He came with his dad David. And while he is more of a soccer fan, he said he was impressed. He was even able to take a photo with Mo Farah (did not compete) who also happened to be in the crowd.

They reside in Portland and since David was a runner in high school and college, he is a longtime fan. They planned to attend shortly after tickets went on sale. Others came from Bend, OR, San Francisco, CA, the East Coast, and all over as fans mingled with longtime followers of the sport, Masters athletes, former Olympians, current professionals (particularly those in the Portland training groups like Mo Farah, Shalane Flanagan, Amy Hastings Cragg, and others), and people who had never seen anything like this before.

The organizing committee gave high school relays time during the meet which brought in their coaches and families who had never been to a meet of this scope while there were still people who had attended multiple Olympic Trials and other events throughout the years.

Medal ceremonies were held in Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland and people wandered in and out to see what was going on on one of the first nice weekends Portland experienced all winter. On Saturday afternoon, kids ran up and down on the green turf while their parents enjoyed the sun. And that evening during the medals ceremony, the square was full of track fans who got to high-five athletes on their way up to the medals podium and then hang out with them after as some chose to wander through the crowd while the live band played. As the Portland Timbers game finished, some of those attendees trickled in to see what was going on.

Rees enjoyed the format of the meet. "I thought they staged it particularly well. The meet moved really quickly. The way they engaged the crowd was great," he said. "I really, really liked the way they did the pole vault on Thursday night. I've gone to a lot of track meets and I've watched the pole vault in passing, but to actually have a focus on it made it much more interesting and kind of got to know the jumpers more because you're watching them in sequence and paying more attention to it. I thought that was a stroke of brilliance."

And for him and his son, having been so close to the action will make this summer's Rio Olympics much more relatable. Rees said, "I'll probably root for some of the people I watched here."

For RunBlogRun

Hungary's Anita Marton had just hurled herself to the lead in the final round of the women's shot put at the IAAF World Indoor Championships after trailing in third for most of the competition, but New Zealand's two-time Olympic gold medalist Valerie Adams and the U.S.A.'s nine-time national champion Michelle Carter, who had led the entire competition, were to follow.

Adams, coming off an abbreviated 2015 season due to shoulder surgery and working to maintain her position as one of the sports premiere throwers, readied herself and stepped into the ring. It came up short.

Carter stepped into the ring after a brief break while Boris Berian of the U.S. stormed to a win in the men's 800 meters bringing the sold-out crowd in the Oregon Convention Center to a roar. Carter crouched and jumped backward, throwing the shot and immediately raising one hand in the air.

--------

Carter had never placed higher than bronze at an international competition in spite of her senior career extending back to 2005. In head-to-head contests with Adams, she lost 39 straight. But in the last four, Carter has found a breakthrough while Adams struggles to return to her former dominance.

They are a study in contrasts. Adams is tall and comes out of the introduction tunnel with a wave, but bouncing on her toes a bit like a boxer entering the ring. Carter uses both her hands to wave while grinning and twisting from side to side acknowledging the full crowd.

On the field, both are relatively silent. Carter retreats to the track and the infield in between throws to continue practice and often stands staring off with her hands on her hips, but is relatively still. Adams, on the other hand, is usually in some form of slight motion - shifting her weight from side to side, short pacing, and rewrapping her many wraps - both knees, all the fingers of her throwing arm, her back brace, and elbow. While the rest of the field seems a little more ready to make small talk, both Adams and Carter are aloof. They may watch other throwers, but generally don't look to see how far the throw went.

--------

On the first round of the competition, Adams threw seventh and went straight into the lead. Carter followed with a foul that careened off the net and knocked into the markers. But while Adams' second throw didn't improve, Carter's was able to take the lead. Carter was able to match every increase as she threw last in the order.

And while the rest of the infield was busy getting crowd support, the women's shot putters were stoic. The men's triple jumpers kept motioning to get the crowd clapping as they lined up on the runway. The men's high jumpers would dance with each clearance, performing their versions of touchdown dances. But the women's shot putters would simply slap their hands together or walk up to the railing to talk with their coaches, showing little emotion and biding their time.

On the third attempt, Adams would take the lead at 19.25 only to have Carter improve to 19.31 on the very next throw after which the field was cut to the top eight throwers. Adams intentionally fouled on her fourth throw and Carter fouled her fifth and they cut the field to four as meet organizers tested a new format to allow full attention for the final throws.

Carter's last throw improved Marton's mark (19.33 meters) by nearly a meter. Her 20.21 meters set a new American indoor record. Adams settled for bronze with 18.31 meters, unable to earn her fifth consecutive world title.

As the sold-out crowd gave Carter a standing ovation, Carter's face finally broke into a smile and the competitors loosened up - clapping, cheering and hugging. Carter's U.S.A. teammate Jillian Carmina-Williams, whose record Carter bettered, made a beeline for Carter while Adams managed the throng and soon started to pack up her backpack.

At the medal ceremony, the throwers entered through the crowd at Pioneer Courthouse Square, high-fiving fans on both sides. Carter accepted her first gold and the first American gold in this event. As the flags were raised and anthem played, Carter beamed. When asked afterward what it meant to have the energy of the crowd for her final throw, Carter said, "To have this sort of championship here at home, and to have everybody here with their love and support cheering for me, I really appreciate it." And the crowd drowned out the rest.

RunBlogRun, March 2016