By ELLIOTT DENMAN

The Armory was rocking and rolling.

Jam-packed to its sold-out capacity of 5,500, decibel levels inside the venerable edifice were soaring to record levels. This was appropriate for the virtually non-stop series of record performances being churned out by the brilliant cast of international athletes assembled for the 113th edition of the classic NYRR Millrose Games.

Millrose director Ray Flynn had outdone himself gathering the talent for this Hollywood-quality extravaganza.

Which title would have fit best?

Try this one: "The Fast and Furious" generating "Saturday Night Fever" "In The Heights." 

Millrose-goers craned necks for advantageous viewing positions from all areas of The Armory, including the southwest corner, the preserve of the media delegation. Also in this section were Millrose special guests in the "Hall of Fame" seating, along with an assorted group of coaches, athletes, and enthusiasts of all categories, all crowded into the vicinity.

That's where one would have spotted Mr. Derek Thompson.

While some spectators worked their lungs to the limits, screaming total encouragement to the racers duking it out in one big race after another and revealing their emotions to the world, Mr. Thompson was an obvious exception.

The strongest emotion he emitted was a knowing look of approval as event number 63 of the 64-event program began revving up.

The Millrose card had been underway since St. Peter's University, coached by 1984 800-meter Olympian John Marshall, had nosed out NJ Institute of Technology, by just 0.01 seconds in the first section of the 4x400m relay at 11:30 that morning.

It was now early evening at The Armory, and the audience had already been treated to a sensational series of events. Highlights included the Jane and David Monti Invitational 300m, won in a blazing 32.35 by Rai Benjamin, the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Men's 800m, where Donavan Brazier lowered the American record to 1:44.22, and the NYRR Women's Wanamaker Mile, where Elinor Purrier stunned the crowd with her own American-record performance of 4:16.85.

The knowing crowd thus realized that this penultimate Millrose event, the Jack and Lewis Rudin Women's 800 meters, would have to be pretty sensational if it was to outdo the earlier action. And as Thompson could have confidently predicted, that’s exactly how it would unfold.

It is easy to forget that Thompson has now been coaching Ms. Ajee' Wilson for over ten years, dating back to her high school days in Neptune, NJ. His star pupil checked in for the Jack and Lewis Rudin 800m as a ten-time USA national champion, the 800m American record-holder indoors and outdoors, the 2019 Diamond League champion, and as the winner of 15 straight Armory races, a true crowd favorite at the NYRR Millrose Games.

Thompson, a retired Philadelphia mailman who originally hails from Jamaica, is as knowledgeable about the intricacies of middle distance racing as anyone in the sport. For many years, he juggled his mail duties with directing the young athletes of the Juventus Track Club. After retiring from the U.S. Postal Service, he's not only continued his parallel coaching life, but has done it better than ever before.

However, few fans realize it. Thompson chooses not to be one of the big-name coaches who create more headlines than their athletes. Anonymity serves him perfectly,

His small group of athletes, headlined by Wilson and former Oregon star Raevyn Rogers, train outdoors all winter long, and shun certain popular training methods such as stints at altitude. "Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet is going to stop us," quips Wilson in a nod to Thompson’s mailman past. "Running outdoors all year, that's the altitude training we do. We toughen up our own way."

Wilson needed to be tough against the Millrose field that was assembled against her. Several potential Tokyo rivals were in the race, including Natoya Goule of Jamaica, Cynthia Anais of France, Shelayna Oskan-Clarke of Britain, and fellow Americans Olivia Baker and Ce'Aira Brown.

The race did not go as many Millrose-goers expected. While Wilson typically takes the pace out hard from the gun and holds her position until the end, it was surprisingly Anais and Goule up front once designated pacesetter LaTavia Thomas stepped away. it was Anais and Goule up front. Wilson waited until the final backstretch to put the hammer down, dropping a final lap of 29.87 to bring her home in 1:58.29, resetting her own American record.

Wilson’s burst of speed left the rest of the field in the dust. Goule was more than a second behind in 1:59.35, Baker took third in 2:02.86, Anais fourth in 2:04.51, and Oskan-Clarke fifth in 2:06.22.

The pressure on Wilson had been building for days. At the Friday morning Millrose press conference, Wilson was revealed as the cover girl for the annual Millrose program, which displayed her in full flight at three previous Millrose events. Once she clutched that program, Wilson knew that she had to deliver the next day, and she did just that, blasting away from her rivals to win in sensational style.

This come-from-behind win was the best kind of news to Wilson and her loyal band of enthusiasts.

Last fall, they were dismayed to see her run down by Halimah Nakaaiyi of Uganda and teammate/training partner Rogers in the final 100 meters of the World Championships in Doha. Wilson’s traditional front-running style had previously carried her to the Diamond League crown, but getting caught on the big stage made Thompson realize that it may not work in every racing situation.

Therefore, the 113^th NYRR Millrose Games may have signaled the arrival of a "new" Ajee' Wilson - ready to handle any strategic situation, and to do whatever it takes to win.

As the capacity crowd roared its approval, Thompson only flashed a knowing, modest smile. He'd guided his star pupil to yet another major triumph, and he showed there are multiple pathways to success over 800 meters.

And he was still an anonymous soul to those gathered elbow-to-elbow with him in the southwest corner of the Armory.