This time of year everyone is focused on the big competitions – Rome, Paris, Zurich, Oslo, New York, Lausanne, London, etc. It’s those locations that have the big budgets and the ability to bring in the big names and provide the ticket buyer with the splashy results. Every once in a while, however, the little out of the way meets attract enough athletes looking for an extra meet, or a tune up prior to a “big” meet, to get some pretty good results. Such was the case yesterday, as the little town of Lignano Sabiaddoro in Italy, as American women did a number in the 800 meters. To be honest…

Over the past week or so results have been flying in so fast and deep that there have a few things that I have overlooked mentioning as I’ve tried to comment on various competitions. One of the biggest was the results of the NACAC Under 23 competition held last weekend – a regional (North and Central America) meet highlighting the areas youngsters. There were lots of sterling marks turned in at this meet, none more so than Curtis Mitchell’s (USA) 19.99 200 meters in his semi final. The mark was no fluke as he returned to run 20.06w in the final as he dominated both his semi and the final…

David Oliver is beginning to remind me of Sergei Bubka. You know how Bubka would improve a centimeter at a time as he raised the World Record. Now Oliver is taking his PR – which is now the American Record – down a notch at a time. In Eugene he ran 12.93 to get in reach of the AR. In Lausanne he tied it at 12.90. Yesterday in Paris he ran 12.89 to take it down one more inch! And the thing was, it was far from the perfect race. A less than good start was followed by some average hurdling over the first couple of flights before he seemed…

The Diamond League seems to be out of it’s doldrums. I mean does anyone really remember Doha, Shanghai, or even Oslo? Yes these meets had their sprinkling of stars, but, as even the Diamond League itself is proving, it’s matchups that truly drive this sport. And now that we are getting some serious head to head confrontations, things are spicing up a bit more and Paris will provide us with some very nice head to heads tomorrow.   Men’s 100 WL: 9.82, Asafa Powell – JAM       9.82, Usain Bolt – JAM Best Entry: 9.82, Asafa Powell – JAM                 9.82, Usain Bolt – JAM Last week’s 100 in Gateshead, gave us…

After watching this year’s version of our national championships, it clearly paled in comparison to the Olympic and World Championship selection versions. As a matter of fact, it paled in comparison to this year’s NCAA championships. With little to gain by attending in an “off season” many chose not to. There were bright spots mind you. David Oliver, Kara Patterson, Wallace Spearmon, and Bershawn Jackson had noteworthy performances.  But for the most part it was a lackluster meet – prompting some to question the fan loyalty of host city Des Moines. But alas, the real issue, as it oft seems to be with this sport, is how to get your…

With our National Championships complete and the Diamond League at the mid point it seems like an appropriate time to take a look at what’s happened so far this season. As with any endeavor there have been ups and downs but I want to start off looking at the positive things that have happened in the sport this year – especially for US fortunes going forward. So here are 10 things I have found exciting about the first half of the 2010 season. The first two focus on the international sport. The third on the future in general. And the rest focus on reasons to be excited about the sport…

The first meeting of the second half of the Diamond League series was the first to feature a head to head meeting of two of the world’s three top sprinters – Tyson Gay (US) and Asafa Powell (JAM). Powell has been running well all season long. He co-leads the 100 on the clock at 9.82, and has three legal clockings under 9.90. Tyson Gay started his season with a 19.41 WR 200 on the straight, but since has been nursing a sore hamstring. His return to the track in Eugene was fast at 19.76 though the rust showed as he suffered defeat to Walter Dix and his 19.72. Gateshead was…

From the moment David Rudisha opened up over 400 with a 45.50 this outdoor season, he has looked capable of great things. A season opener of 1:43.15 simply confirmed that. This afternoon in Belgium Rudisha took the next step towards greatness with a sensational 1:41.52 over two laps that makes him the #2 man in history. Only Wilson Kipketer’s WR runs of 1:41.11 and 1:41.24 are faster in history. And judging from today’s run there is more in this young man. I dare say, that at 21 years old, we could be looking at the man who will be first to run under 1:41.00. Watch for yourself as he demolishes…

Forever and a day sprint fans have asked: who will become the first white sprinter to run sub 10? Other sprint barriers such as 20.00 in the 200 and 44.00 in the 400 have long ago fallen by the wayside, but since Jim Hines first cracked 10.00 with his 9.95 in Mexico City way back in 1968, 10.00 has remained the barrier for white sprinters. Marian Woronin of Poland was on the brink when he ran 10.00 back in 1984. A mark equaled by Japan’s Koji Ito in 1998. But just as African distance runners have dominated the sub 27 minute ranks of the 10,000 meters, so have African and…

Lausanne was the half way mark of this year’s Diamond League. And as we hit the mid point of the season there seemed to be more questions than answers out there on the track. How healthy was Usain Bolt? Had Walter Dix and Debbie Dunn arrived? Would Dayron Robles return to dominating form? Just where is Jeremy Wariner in the grand scheme of the 400? Watching Lausanne’s Athletissima competition, I think we got the answer to these and more as several superb performances were turned in on the Swiss oval. Of course the big question that was on the mind of most was the status of Usain Bolt. Bolt had…