I just read that Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell is going to be taking a run at the decades old 100 yard dash best. I say best because the book was closed on yard records back in 1976 (all save for the mile). The race itself will be over 100 meters, but meet organizers are planning to set up timing to catch Powell’s time at the 100 yard mark as well. This should be quite interesting. One because the race has virtually been non existent since the mid 70’s when the book was closed on yard marks and the metric system (and records) became the standard. Ironically it was approximately the…

Watching the early part of this season it’s clear that the new False Start Rule (none allowed) is a major problem waiting to happen. Already we’ve seen a 60 meter final at Nationals and a 4×1 at the Texas Relays run under protest. In a meet earlier this year in Australia, their #1 400 hurdler, L.J. van Zyl, was tossed out of the hurdle final at Australian Nationals – a race he would easily have won – because of a false start infraction. Now all we need is to have a Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, or Dayron Robles thrown out of a race after being the featured draw all week!…

(Martina in Berlin) Saturday’s action has been highlighted by some stellar sprinting coming out of El Paso Texas. The matchup of Churandy Martina and Ryan Bailey turning world leading performances twice today. In the 100 meters it was Martina (10.03) over Bailey (10.09) with a legal 1.6 mps wind. Excellent season opening times for both, with Bailey’s just .04 off his PR. The times bode well for both athletes this season. I’m sure some will say the altitude helped (3,762 ft), but clearly both athletes are in good shape and ready to roll. They proved as much when they took to the track again in the 200 with Bailey turning…

A lot of action on tap this weekend as the season begins to hit stride with several interesting match ups and possibly the top in season high school invitational of the year scheduled all over the country. In Eugene we get two of the country’s top collegiate programs as Oregon and Texas A&M will both be competing in the Pepsi Team Invitational. Oregon will take to the track with men and women’s programs that are both very strong in the distance events and multis. Texas A&M will counter on both sides with strong sprints and relays. This should be a mini preview of the NCAA Championships as both squads are…

With the springtime being dominated by collegiate athletes and programs there are many college rankings out there. The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) does a weekly Top 25 ranking of collegiate programs that can be found here. I like both of their current top 5’s. For the men they they rank: 1. Florida, 2. Texas A&M, 3. Oregon, 4. Texas Tech, and 5. Florida State. For the women they rank: 1. Texas A&M, 2. Oregon, 3. LSU, 4. Florida State, and 5. Florida. These should be the programs that we watch battle it out for the national championship this June in Eugene, Oregon. I’m going…

With the relay season getting under way and several collegiate squads looking to be strong early, here are the performances that these young people will be targeting this year. Men – 4 x 100 38.04 – TCU – ’9838.23 – TCU – ’8938.24 – LSU – ’9838.32 – LSU – ’0238.35 – Florida – ’0038.42 – LSU – ’0838.44 – LSU – ’0638.45 – South Carolina – ’0038.46 – TCU – ’8638.48 – LSU – ’02 Women – 4 x 100 42.36 – Texas A&M – ’0942.50 – LSU – ’8942.55 – LSU – ’0342.59 – LSU – ’0842.59 – Texas A&M – ’0842.61 – LSU – ’0442.63 – LSU…

The University of Florida’s men’s program won their first indoor national championship just last month. They’ve wasted no time establishing that they will be a factor outdoors as well blistering the track at this weekend’s Florida Relays that just closed this afternoon. Indoor 60 meter champion Jeff Demps wasted no time getting the Gators started as he blazed a collegiate and world leading 10.11 in winning the 100 meters. Demps is the high school and co-world junior record holder in the event off of his 10.01 mark set at the US Trials in 2008. Last year was a harder road for Demps as injuries from football slowed him considerably. The…

Watching the live streaming of the Texas Relays – thank you CBS Sports. The Invitational Section of the Men’s 4×1 just completed. At the initial start of this race the USA Blue Team in lane 4 was called for a false start and thrown out of the race. The fans reacted by booing vehemently, and stomping their feet for several minutes. Finally to satisfy the fans who had paid their hard earned money to see this event – among others – they inserted the team back in the race to run “under protest”. To the delight of the crowd, the Wallace Spearmon anchored team WON the event in 38.81! The…

One of the events that looks to be in for some movement among the elite could be the women’s 400. After years of dominating the event in non major competition, Sanya Richards (US) finally added that elusive gold medal at lasts year’s World Championships in Berlin. The question this year is: now that she has won gold how long will she be able to continue to dominate? On the surface a strange question when you consider that she is only 25 years old and should now be entering her prime. The talent that she could be facing this year, however, is also young and equally talented. For the first time…

Relay action gets underway this weekend with meets in Florida and Texas. Scanning the start lists for the Florida Relays looks like we will get to see some top level sprinting from 400 meter runners – and not all in the 400. Quartermiler Natasha Hastings looks to be working on her speed as she is entered in both the 100 and 200 in Florida. Hastings set her PR of 49.89 back in ’07 and has had a couple of down seasons since then. She will get a look at this year’s indoor sensation Francena McCorory (50.54 American Indoor Record) as both are entered in the 200 meters, as McCorory looks…