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Olympic Trials Predictions
Here we go. We’re a week away from the “Almost” Big Dance – the US Olympic Trials. And to be honest I’m not sure I have any more clarity today than I did a month ago! There have been some outstanding performances followed by so so performances. Some athletes haven’t seemed to get untracked while some seem to be in near Olympic form. And of course there is always that spectre of injury hanging out there, but even in this age of the internet athletes/camps are keeping a tight lid on the fitness of many athletes. But here we are and it’s time to make some predictions. Based on what…
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The Top Collegians Heading Into the Trials
It’s finally here – the Olympic Trials. The biggest meet outside of the Games themselves. And with the first half of the Diamond League and the NCAA Championships concluding this past weekend, I think I’ve seen enough to stick my neck out there and make my predictions on the crap shoot that is the Trials. The toughest road to London may be the one taken by those still in college. College athletes are part of programs that compete for indoor titles, and outdoor titles before they finally get to line up to take their shot at making the Olympic team. So while the elite athletes get to take their time…
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Super Saturday of Track
If you love track and field, then you loved Saturday. The final day of the NCAA Championships, followed by the Adidas Classic in New York. TONS of tremendous competition – and that was really the key as the wind hampered the NCAA meet. Let’s start there, since it was first on the schedule. After sizzling semifinal rounds, the wind turned on the athletes and seriously slowed down results. Maybe that was a good thing, because it brought focus back to the competition itself as the athletes went toe to toe time and time again – and we the fans were treated to several photo finishes and another men’s championship that…
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Early Weekend Results – Oslo / NCAA
It’s only Friday, but we’ve already had enough track to fill a weekend – and we’re just getting started! The early results are in, and while Oslo wasn’t quite as hot as I had hoped, the "kids" we definitely ahead of expectations at the NCAA Championships! Let’s start with Oslo where vets Usain Bolt (JAM) and Sally Pearson (AUS) confirmed their status as early London favorites. Fresh off his 9.76 in Rome last week, Bolt cranked out a 9.79 in Oslo. Again his only competition came from teammate Asafa Powell who was second in 9.85. Powell seemed more relaxed today as he wasn’t right next to Bolt, and no one…
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Next Up – Oslo & New York
Ok, we’re nearly at the end of the first half of the season. Tomorrow Oslo, Saturday New York – and then National Championships & Olympic Trials. We’ve pretty much seen most of the major players, so not sure we will learn much more before the Trials in a couple of weeks. Still, there is nothing like great competition, and Oslo and New York should provide that in bunches. And there are some things I’ll be watching over the next few days. First up will be Oslo, where the following matchups will be interesting: Christian Taylor (US) v Sheryf El Sheryf (UKR) in the triple jump. We know that Taylor…
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Tyson Gay to Debut in New York
I know that the next meet up is the Oslo leg of the Diamond League and not New York, but the big news heading into the last two “big” meets before the Olympic Trials is that Tyson Gay will run before the Trials and he will do so this weekend in New York. Huge news when you consider that he is a) the American Record holder in the 100 meters; b) the second fastest man ever in the event; c) the last man to beat Usain Bolt in either the 100 or 200 meters. So, knowing that he is ready to compete is big news – trust me I’ve gotten…
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My NCAA Championships Favorites
Wow, we’re in the middle of what will be the hottest week of elite track and field this side of the Trials and Games and I nearly forgot that the NCAA Championships are also this week! So this week we get treated to Oslo, New York, the NCAA’s and I’ll throw in the Golden West Invitational out here on the West Coast for high school fans. This is going to be one hot weekend! It’s really hard to handicap the NCAA meet because they don’t have a lot of dual meets to gauge competitiveness and the Regional meets are merely the heats and quarterfinals for the championship meet. NO finals,…
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Pre–Outstanding Results, Lots of Questions
Trying to put something together on this meet has been giving me fits. Once again the Pre Classic was the best non championship meet on US soil. From the distance races Friday night (streamed live thank you) to the Bowerman Mile that closed out the NBC broadcast, the fields were top notch across the board. And at the end of the day, the results show 10 world leading performances, led by the very deep Kenyan 10,000 meter Trials. But while the results were outstanding, in many cases they were also confusing, as favorites didn’t always perform like favorites; and American athletes often didn’t look like the Trials were a scant…
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What Happened to Track?
There is much conversation these days about the impending death of track and field, and with good reason. After all here in the US, we’ve seen a once thriving sport wither down to a handful of elite meets – with embarrassingly poor attendance, and poor television coverage. A far cry from the golden era of the sport from the 60’s thru the 80’s. That said, I’m not sure that the "panic" approach called for by some is the way to make things better. By panic approach, I refer to those that call for such drastic measures as ripping meets apart into mini meets of distance only, sprint only, throws only…
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Lessons Learned From Women’s Day in Rome
The results are in, and after watching the Rome leg of the Diamond League I think I learned a few things. Prefontaine is only two days away, so things could change a bit over the next 48 hours. Results of the meet can be found here, so without going into each and every race and result, here are my thoughts on what happened in Rome. Men’s 100 meters. After watching Bolt today (9.76, -0.1) Ostrava was a matter of jet lag – or perhaps being out too late the night before. Either way, “sluggish” Bolt gave way to a sprinter that had the race under control by 30 meters –…