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Weekend Highlights 2/8 & 2/9
Another weekend of indoor track is in the books, and I must say that without Mary Cain and Galen Rupp burning up the boards things were rather quiet. But that’s how the indoor season typically is as most of the big names are preparing for the more lucrative outdoor season. Things should be getting better in the next couple of weeks as the season begins to come to a close. That means the NCAA athletes will start having their conference and National Championship meet; various National Championships; and then the World Indoor Championships. This weekend saw several athletes starting to “peak” for these upcoming meets. Among them the short (60…
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Sport & Enhancement – Where to Next ?
I’ve tried my best to stay away from this topic for a while – drugs in sport. Primarily because it seems to result in a no win situation for the sport of track and field because the only time it’s discussed is on those occasions when high profile athletes are either caught using PED’s or are suspected of their use. However, the news is full of drug talk these days, and none of it is centered around track and field! So what better time to put the topic on the table? Can’t be accused of pointing fingers at anyone in the sport, so perhaps we can actually look at possible…
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Where are the Jump Stars?
This time of year my mind runs continuously to thoughts of how we can better market the sport. What can track and field do so that others can see the sport that I see when I sit and watch a meet? More often than not, I keep coming back to the fact that we live in a society that is obsessed with stars! With 24 hour news; highlights on ESPN; and social networking sites like Twitter and Instagram, an outstanding performance or two and a Colin Kaepernic can become a global sensation virtually overnight! Track too has had it’s overnight sensations – a total of 700 meters in Beijing made…
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Rupp (3:50.93) & Cain (4:32.78) HOT!
The Olympic year might be behind us, but it’s clear that winning at World’s means something too, because those athletes that are competing indoors are crankin out the marks. This weekend the mile was the star of the show, with the 600 making noise as well. And I must say that the internet played one of it’s greatest supporting rolls to date as those of us on Twitter were able to follow both Galen Rupp and Mary Cain and their fabulous mile runs simultaneously! Rupp showed tremendous extended range in the mold of the East Africans as he dropped his mile PR down to 3:50.93 to go with his 10000…
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Let the Deuce Shine
Early in every season I feel compelled to talk about the deuce – 200 meters. For starters, it’s one of my favorite events, combining the speed of the 100 with the strength/speed endurance of the quarter. Throw in that stagger on the turn that sort of makes you wait to see just how the race is developing, and you have what I consider the best of the sprint events. What really compels me to talk about the deuce every year however, is that the sport continues to treat the 200 as an afterthought, instead of the potential marketing dream that I believe it is. After all, being in the middle…
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They’re Off & Running
For those fans of the sport that have been waiting for the action of track and field THIS was your weekend! Lots of meets with tons of action. Especially on the collegiate scene , where all the major players were in action including Florida, Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida State , Arkansas and LSU among others. Below are my highlights from the weekend – those results I personally found most interesting. Early results are heavy on the short distances as usual, with a collegiate hurdle record being turned in by Clemson’s Brianna Rollins. Galen Rupp turned in a very nice mile however, making it look easy! And Casmir Loxsom blazed over…
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Let’s Make the Off Season a Challenge
I know that we’ve just started the World Championship year and are nearly 365 days away from the"Off Season". That’s exactly why I’m talking about it however, because change takes time, and perhaps there’s enough time to implement something that I think would be a benefit to the sport. You see, right now the Off Season is somewhat of a throwaway year in many respects. There is no championship meet, so many athletes feel that there is little to accomplish. Some females look upon it as a good time to have a child. Other athletes see it as a time to heal injuries or even have surgery. And yet others…
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Ten Things to Watch in Track & Field in 2013
Happy New Year to everyone! And welcome to the World Championship year of 2013. The start of a new year is always exciting, especially when it comes to track and field. The Olympic year of 2012 is now officially closed and a part of history – which means that everyone gets to start with a clean slate. That raises the question of who will be the dominant athletes of the new year? That journey starts now, and gives us fans much to look forward to and speculate about. Without question, the big story that will be followed all year is: who will win the medals at this year’s World Championships…
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2012 400 Meter Rankings – Men/Women
While the short sprints have been on fire since 2008, the 400 has struggled a bit. The previous two men’s Olympic champions – and sub 44 performers – have suffered injuries at the wrong times. While several emerging stars have been up and down, and injury prone. on the women’s side, we seem to have difficulty getting out of the 49 second zone – a barrier broken back in 1976! There was good news on the men’s side in 2012 however, as we saw the first non American run under 44.00. We also had several youngsters emerge from the Caribbean running in the 44.50 range. Now we just need to…
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2012 200 Meter Rankings–men/women
The 200 meters belongs to the United States and Jamaica. That’s the conclusion one must come to when looking at this year’s results on both the men’s and women’s sides. Yes, others are on the track, and even occasionally make an appearance in the 3rd or 4th position, but reality is that in spite of the lack of focus on the event outside of major championships, this event is undergoing major change and only two nations are keeping pace. On the men’s side, gone are the days when 20.0/20.1 made you a major contender. Sub 20 is required to even think about finishing in the upper half of a major…