The Diamond League released its inaugural schedule for 2010. The 14 meet series will expand outside of Europe and include meets in Asia, North America and the Middle East. The 2010 Schedule: Doha (QAT) – Fri 14 MayShanghai (CHN) – Sun 23 MayOslo (NOR) – Fri 4 JuneRome (ITA) – Thu 10 June New York (USA) – Sat 19 JuneEugene (USA) – Sat 3 JulyLausanne (SWI) – Thu 8 JulyGateshead (GBR) – Sun 11 JulyParis (FRA) – Fri 16 JulyMonaco (MON) – Thu 22 JulyStockholm (SWE) – Fri 6 AugLondon (GBR) – Fri 13 and Sat 14 AugZürich (SWI) – Thu 19 AugBrussels (BEL) – Fri 27 Aug The good news…

The European season started out with a reminder that even the seemingly unbeatable can be beaten as Ariane Friedrich (GER) defeated Blanka Vlasic (CRO) to win the first leg of the Golden League event. Friendrich’s winning jump of 2.06m was a national record, meet record, and took over the yearly lead from Vlasic. Quite a feat as Vlasic has owned the event for the past couple of seasons. The women were the top stars of the meet as Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) set a meet record of her own as she upped the world lead with her winning 4.83m vault and Sanya Richards (US) ran a world leading 49.57 in the…

The final day of the NCAA Championships was everything that championship meet should be. Drama with Oregon’s men and women’s teams having done their damage early in the meet, the question is would they be caught by the Texas A&M squads who had lots of potential points on the final day. And then there were the events themselves. There was the men’s 800 meters with Andrew Wheating (1:46.21) fighting to the last step against Texas’ Tevan Everett (1:46.27) to try and secure the final available points for his Oregon squad. Or how about the battle down the straight between Porscha Lucas, 22.81 (Texas A&M), Charonda Williams, 22.84 (Ariz St) and…

Friday and Saturday of the NCAA Championships showcase the majority of finals in the meet. And the Texas A&M women got things going in fine style as they won the opening event on the track – the 4×1 relay – going away in a Collegiate Record 42.36! This shattered a 10 year old record set by LSU in 1989 of 42.50 – and is the current world leader. The squad of Khrystal Carter, Porscha Lucas, Dominique Duncan and Gabby Mayo, was fast and passed the baton flawlessly as they put on a clinic in winning by nearly a full second. On the men’s side, Florida did not set a record,…

The Golden League Circuit begins Sunday with its first stop in Berlin. This year’s “golden” events are: Men – 100, 400, 3000/5000, 110H, JavelinWomen – 100, 400, 100H, High Jump, Pole Vault The individual(s) that can win their event at every stop of the tour will win or share in a $1,000,000 prize. The stops are Berlin (6/14), Oslo (7/3), Rome (7/10), Paris (7/17), Zurich (8/28) and Brussels (9/4). Berlin will not only be the first stop of the Golden League, but will also give individuals an opportunity at something of a dress rehearsal for the World Championships as this year’s Worlds will be held in the same venue. The…

No weather delays during Thursdays NCAA action as a handful of finals were mixed in with more qualifying in preparation for the barrage of finals coming our way today and tomorrow. Though the weather was more cooperative than Wednesday, the results were pretty tame in comparison. The one standout being Texas A&M speedster Porscha Lucas. Porscha lived up to her name Thursday as she hit her gears around the track in the 200 meter rounds. First with a collegiate leading 22.58 in the first round – taking over the top time from Baylor’s Tiffany Townsend. In her semifinal heat she really opened up with a blazing 22.38 – just missing…

The NCAA Champs started yesterday, and although there were just rounds of qualifying, they were some of the hottest rounds since the Olympics themselves. The distance runners conserved energy in their prelims of the steeple, and 5000 meters for men and women. Running just enough to get through. But the short sprinters went nuts in the first round! In the 4×1 Texas A&M’s women blew it out with yet another sub 43 second clocking cruising to a 42.93 and showing that they are clearly the class of the field. Similarly on the men’s side the Texas A&M men screamed a school record 38.51 to win their heat while the Florida…

The quest for NCAA Championships starts tomorrow in Fayetteville Arkansas. And as usual there are stories aplenty when trying to figure out who will win titles. On the Men’s side the teams to watch should be Florida, Oregon, Texas A&M, Arkansas and LSU. On the Women’s side the teams to watch should be Oregon, LSU, Texas A&M, Arizona State and Tennessee. The US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association maintains an ongoing ranking of schools. The current rankings can be found below. There are several hot athletes heading into the meet. Galen Rupp (OR) is perhaps the hottest distance runner on the men’s side and will be key…

This weekend I think we saw several break through performances, starting with Reggie Wyatt of La Sierra High School in Southern California smashing the HSR in the 300H with a stunning 35.02! The previous record was 35.28 set by Jeshua Anderson back in 2007. Video of this outstanding performance can be seen here. Wyatt also won the 400 meters in 46.13. This young man is a raw talent with tons of room to grow. He reminds me of a young Kevin Young – tall, lanky, with lots of speed. London 2012 is easily within his reach – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Daegu in 2011. Wyatt’s…

Men’s 400 Hurdles – Bershawn Jackson wins a deep hurdle field by making a strong move down the backstretch after hitting hurdle #2. Winning time of 48.38 was close to the yearly lead but still a bit from the 47 second range that we would expect from this level of hurdlers which included yearly leader Isa Phillips in second, Kerron Clement in third and Olympic Champion Angelo Taylor in fourth. Women’s 1500 – The field went out in 2:08 behind the pace setter with no one really wanting to make a move in the first half of the race. Geleta Burka (ETH) took over before the bell lap and Shannon…