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Track Died (but I didn’t get the memo)
They keep telling me that the sport of track and field has died in the United States – but fortunately I didn’t get the memo. They say that no one cares. That only in resolute areas like Eugene Oregon and Des Moines Iowa is there enough support to scrap together a decent meet. I’m told that San Jose (formerly Speed City), Los Angeles (host of two Olympic Games), and New Orleans (former Trials host, Super Bowl host and annual host of one of the world’s biggest parties in Mardi Gras) just aren’t capable of pulling off a big meet any more. They say that Berkeley (home to Jim Ryun’s 3:51.3)…
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We (USA) Need to Utilize Better Venues
This was supposed to be one HOT weekend of track and field. The NCAA was hosting its Regional "meets" and the third round of the Diamond League was taking place in New York. Yet after all was said and done, I came away from the weekend realizing why the sport continues to lose popularity in this country – and why only we track "Die Hards" are watching the sport here in the U.S. Today I will talk about New York, where a great line up of athletes was reduced to average performances in horrible weather conditions. Tyson Gay easing to 10.02. Christian Taylor freezing his way to a 53’10" leap.…
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NCAA Regionals On Tap This Week
The championship portion of the collegiate season kicks into high gear this week with the Division I East (Greensboro NC) and West (Austin TX) Regionals. These meets are the precursor to the NCAA Division I Championships in Eugene in June. In many ways these meets are also a preview of the USATF National championships and World Championships, as many of the top collegiate programs are peppered with elite, world class athletes. So let’s take a look at the top programs and athletes that will be on display this week. Following are the top ten men and women’s programs as ranked by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches…
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Kirani James’ 44.02 Highlights Shanghai DL
Perhaps Doha raised the bar a bit high, but I didn’t come away from Shanghai with the same WOW factor that I had following the Diamond League opener. A nice set of marks were turned in, but that special something was missing in most of the events on the track. One running event that hit on all cylinders however, was the men’s 400 as both LaShawn Merritt and Kirani James showed up to compete. Both men took it out down the backstretch and add they headed around the second bend, James began to seriously work, emerging with a slight lead that he increased with each stride up the straight, and…
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Shanghai Preview
It’s time for the second installment of the Diamond League, and if Doha was any indication of how the year is going to go then Shanghai should be a real humdinger! Looking at the start lists, things should once again be exiting from start to finish. As usual however, there are some events that I am especially looking forward to: Men’s 110 Hurdles Aries Merritt, David Oliver, Jason Richardson This is one of those wonderful events where the best compete head to head quite often – and the anticipation never drops. That said, this trio could end up being the threesome that represents the US in Moscow, and Shanghai…
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Bryshon Nellum Leads Weekend Highlights
Doha kick started the track season into high gear on Friday with a meet full of stellar performances and competition. It seems like the rest of the sport was inspired, especially the college kids, as they lit the track up the rest of the weekend. This was conference weekend, and all across the country the chase for NCAA titles began. From the Pac12 on the west coast to the SEC on the east coast, young college stars went head to head for team titles before heading to the regional meets. For my money the best of these, in a weekend full of outstanding performers was Bryshon Nellum of USC who…
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Reese 7.25m/23’9” in Highlight Filled Doha
With the Diamond League starting in Doha yesterday it was expected, at least from me, that the yearly lists would get some revision. After all, this would be the first real gathering of the elites outdoors in 2013 – and indeed the yearly lists took a beating. What wasn’t quite expected however, was the extremely high level of performances that were turned in, as several events had results that looked like they were made in August, not early May. Perhaps the best of these was Brittney Reese’s 7.25m/23’9” leap in the long jump. Reese’s mark was a WL, PR, and moved her ever to within .07m of 24 feet –…
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Doha DL, Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
OK, now that we’ve had our first sub10 of the year, it finally feels like track season. And right on time we get the first of the Diamond League meets in Doha on Friday, which means a lot more elite athletes should be competing. While I have many issues with the way the DL has been set up – chief among them the lack of promised head to heads with the upper tier elite sprinters – this series of meets does run through some of the sport’s best venues. Which combined with the elite athletes that do show up at each meet is enough to ensure that we get some…
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T.G.I.F. Again – Tyson Gay Is Fast Again
He’s baaacckk. That’s the only conclusion I can come to after watching Tyson Gay blitz a world leading 9.86 in Kingston over the weekend. The slow start. The mid race, drag car acceleration. The race was vintage Tyson Gay. Most impressive however, was the way he overcame the blitzkrieg start of Nesta Carter and out ran the seasons early sensation, Doc Patton. Gay laid waste to these athletes like a sprinter who has few peers -and at=#2 all time that exactly how he should look. On the heels of a trio of 45 second quarters – two open and one relay – Tyson opened sharp. Sharp enough that we should…
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Mt SAC Leads HOT Weekend
We’re a weekend away from the Penn Relays, which is typically the meet that sets things off for the outdoor season. After this weekend’s performances however,I think things were set of just fine and we’re on our way to one hot track season. Things started off on a down note with word that Yohan Blake won’t be competing until the Jamaican championships in June. The cramp he suffered last week turned out to be a tear, so no more racing til then. Of course the way the top sprinters compete we won’t be missing much in terms of head to head competition, but it could affect his sharpness at Trials.…