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Weekend Action, Jan 28/29
Sometimes we spend so much time wishing that the Bolt’s, Gays, and Bekele’s of the sport were competing, that we forget just how much talent there is in this sport! That was evidenced this weekend, because as early as it is in the season, there is still plenty to talk about while many stars have yet to take to the track. Case in point is the 21.87m (71’ 9”) heave by Reese Hoffa in Chemnitz, Germany. It was the best throw in the world so far this year, and Hoffa’s best indoors since ‘06 when Hoffa tossed the shot 22.11m (72’ 6.5”). That’s a good sign for Hoffa, since he…
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Time to Talk Doping
At least that’s the impression I’m getting as I scan the news, as doping has been a very prominent topic this winter. Of course it is an Olympic year, and while on one hand there is the anticipation of watching the world’s best athletes produce stunning performances, the specter of “drugs” and just how “natural” those performances may be seems to be on everyone’s mind, as evidenced by the plethora of articles there are on the topic. Everything from gushing over how “modern” the Olympic lab is; to early warnings to drug cheats; botched tests; a plea for athletes and others to blow the whistle on known cheats; to an…
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U.S. Open Preview
The U.S. Open Indoor meet will be held this weekend, and there are several events worth keeping an eye on, as there will be many top level athletes competing. So let’s take a look at what I think will be the top competitions. Men’s 50 Meters Easily one of the deepest fields of the meet, the men’s 50 has former Olympic & World 100 champion Justin Gatlin (USA); former 100 Meter WR holder Asafa Powell (JAM); and #4 all time in the 100 Nesta Carter (JAM) among the entrants. Powell and Carter are both known as super-fast starters, which should give them an edge in the shortest event on the…
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Weekend Action, Jan 21/22
Now it feels like track season, as several performances that were turned in this weekend were truly up to par. As usual for this time of year the best of them were in the field – specifically the pole vault. In Reno, Nevada at the annual pole vault summit, Brad Walker (USA) cleared 5.80m (19’ 0.25”). An excellent mark for January – so good in fact that it would have won last year’s U.S. Outdoor Championships! As a matter of fact, Walker only jumped better (5.84) on one occasion in all of 2011 – so hopefully we are seeing a return of the 2007 vaulter that won the World Championships…
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Top Collegiate Programs In Action This Weekend
We’re a week away from the U.S. Open in Madison Square Garden. So it still seems like the indoor season really hasn’t gotten under way yet. But there are a couple of meets this weekend in College Station,Texas and Gainesville, Florida that should provide a good show ahead of the bright lights on Broadway. The first is the indoor dual between Texas A&M and LSU on Saturday. Both schools are perennial powers indoors and outdoors, and should be in the running for this year’s Indoor Championships. The USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) preseason rankings have LSU #3 men and #2 women; and A&M #12 men…
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Will 2012 be the Year of the Double?
I was reviewing the Marathon Trials finish last night and wondering how well Shalane Flanagan will do doubling in the 10,000/Marathon, when it hit me: we may have more legitimate “doublers” heading into London than ever before! In Beijing we had 5000/10000 double victories turned in by Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba; and a sprint double (100/200) by Usain Bolt. We also had double silver by Elvan Abeylegesse (5000/10000) and Tatyana Lebedeva (LJ/TJ); a double bronze performance by Walter Dix (100/200); and a silver & bronze performance by Kerron Stewart (100/200). Heading into this Olympic season of the ’08 doublers, Bekele, Bolt and Dix seemed best positioned to double again…
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It’s Time to Focus on the Indoor Season
With the Olympic Marathon Trials in the book, it’s time to start to focus on the indoor season. Most of the sport’s top athletes probably won’t debut until April or May – a trend started around the start of the New Millennium. Still there will be lots to look for under cover. For starters there are the collegiate athletes. There is an annual NCAA Indoor Championships, and by late March we will see many of the top collegians hitting top stride indoors, as the battle for the team title is a big deal in the collegiate ranks. That means high profile programs like Florida, Oregon, LSU and Texas A&M will…
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Flanagan & Kefelzighi Lead Way to London
The U.S. began the first stages of putting together the Olympic squad for London today with the running of the Marathon Trials. If the results in Houston are any indication of the overall team we’ll be sending to London, then we’re going to be loaded by the end of June, because the marathoner’s came through in awesome fashion! The goal at the Trials is to make the team, but the men and women in the lead packs in both races were clearly out to win and run fast – and that bodes well for their ability to compete in London. In the men’s race Ryan Hall lead for most of…
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How to Create a True World Championships
I was taken aback when reading the TFN Editorial for January, as it stated that the writer saw no way that there would ever be a “True” World Championships. It seems, among other reasons given, that the thought is the various member nations would never vote for a “True” World Championships because it would shut many out of the competition. On the surface I would say that that’s probably correct. If we went to a World Championships where the “only” invitees were those that were among the top sixty four individuals (eight opening round heats of eight individuals in a system of heats / quarters/semis/finals), then yes many nations could…
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Olympic Marathon Trials are in Three Days
It’s time to start the selection process for the U.S. Olympic Team. First stop, Houston and the Marathon Trials, which astonishingly will be the first time that the men and women’s teams will be selected at the same time! The storyline that everyone was looking forward to with this race was the anticipated first ever marathon of Galen Rupp – American Record Holder in the 10,000 meters. That will now be a non-story as Rupp has withdrawn from the Trials, having decided to put all of his eggs into his 10,000 meter basket. His withdrawal has taken away much of the mystery from the men’s race, which should be dominated…