Yesterday was travel day, as I was returning from a nice week long vacation. Of course I was traveling during the Stockholm meet so had to wait until last night to finally see the results. And of all the results the one I was most interested in was the men’s 400 as it was LaShawn Merritt’s first 400 in nearly two years – and there is only one month until the World Championships. With the way the event has gone this year, I was hoping for something in the 45.25 range. I figured since the world leader was 44.65, that that would get him within the leaders, and give him…

With each race we get a little closer to Daegu, and as the clock winds down there are only two more Diamond League meets until the big dance. The next one is in two days in Stockholm Sweden and there are potential stories in abundance. The return of Usain Bolt to a venue that has seen him lose two 100 meter races in the last three years – this time in the deuce. The return to action of defending World 400 champion LaShawn Merritt after a near two year layoff via suspension. Another Oliver / Robles head to head. And American milers get to test themselves ahead of Daegu. Events…

With a month to go to the World Championships, every performance is put under the microscope to try and decipher what it could mean for prospects in Daegu. The buzz last week was the still shaky form of defending double sprint champion Usain Bolt. Soon the form of another defending champion will get sliced, diced, and questioned multiple times – that of defending 400 champion LaShawn Merritt. The status of Merritt has been well documented. Suspended for using an over the counter male enhancement product (not of the track and field kind) Merritt’s suspension will be up in two days – July 27th. At that time he will be eligible…

The men’s 100 is always one of the most exciting events at any Major championship. But usually that excitement occurs during the rounds, especially in the final. This season, however, has already seen a lot of excitement. The first salvo came way back on April 16th when Steve Mullings ran 9.90 to get the season humming. That got fans anxious to see what Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay would do when they opened up! We finally got responses from the last two World Champions when Bolt went 9.91 twice (5/26 & 5/30) and then Gay motored 9.79 on 6/4 – the same day that Mullings went 9.80 in a different…

What a day of track and field. I had other things I had to immediately attend to following the live stream of the Monaco meet since I’d already watched a large portion of the European Junior Champs and had been simultaneously watching a stream of the Barcelona meet. So it gave my mind time to marinate over what had been a meet filled with exciting competition. Looking back on it now, it was an exciting meet for distance fans, but one that left you scratching your head if you are a sprint fan. So here is the long and the short of it. For distance fans you got to see…

There aren’t many opportunities left to check yourself if you are headed to Daegu. Three big ones as a matter of fact – Monaco, Stockholm and London! The first of these, Monaco, is tomorrow. I’ve learned to not take pre meet entry sheets as the end all be all, but there are some things/individuals that I will be watching for.   Women’s Long Jump Both Darya Klishina (RUS) and Brittney Reeese (USA) are scheduled to compete. They have both PR’d recently and are the only two women over 23 feet. Throw in Janay Deloach (USA) and you have the three longest jumpers in the world this year. Definitely a preview…

As we approach another World Championships I am once again struck by the fact that it will not be in the United States. Nor are we among the nations that are preparing bids to host any of the upcoming editions of the world’s biggest track and field event. Once again demonstrating that we have a big black hole in this country when it comes to hosting competitions outside of your standard “relay” meet. Don’t get me wrong, we do have Track Town USA. The Oregon burb of Eugene that is host to one of the world’s top meets in the Prefontaine Classic – one of the best meets in the…

With just about a month until the big dance, it’s time to start putting together predictions. Phase One is identifying what I think it will take to win gold. As we get closer to the meet – about two weeks out – I will add my thoughts on medalists. Most teams have been selected, so we have a pretty good idea who will be in attendance. The hard part, however, is that this has not been quite the stellar season that one may have expected. There have been lots of injuries and under performing athletes making it more challenging to predict performances – but I’m going to try. The biggest…

That’s the question I was asking myself this weekend as the final game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup came to an end. With Team USA a contender from the opening of the tournament, America was watching. ESPN showed our matches, and Americans across the country watched. And as Team USA advanced to the semifinals and then to the final game, living rooms and sports bars were packed to watch Team USA go for the FIFA Championship! If only I could say that the same would be true come August 27th through September 4th. But alas you and I both know that it won’t be. The real question is: why…

It doesn’t seem like it’s been nearly 28 years since the first World Championships. Yet twelve versions of the Championships are in the books, and Daegu will make it a bakers dozen. Not quite the 115 years the modern Olympics have been around, but rapidly closing in on the number of events that have been held – London will be the 30th (XXX) Olympiad. It would seem, however,  that there have been enough renditions of the World Championships to start looking at who the top performers have been. So I have come up with my Great Eight. Four men and four women that I feel have been the ultimate performers…