While I’m discussing speed, and since I have yet to touch on the field, I think the long jump will make a good speed to field transition. A crew of solid jumpers in both the men’s and women’s fields should give us quite a bit of excitement in Daegu.   Men’s Long Jump         World Record 8.95 / 29’ 4.5” Mike Powell USA Meet Record 8.95 / 29’ 4.5” Mike Powell USA 2009 Gold 8.54 / 28’ 0.25” Dwight Phillips USA   2011 Best   8.54 / 28’ 0.25” Mitchell Watt AUS   8.40 / 27’ 6.75” Ngoni Makusha ZIM   8.40 / 27’ 6.75” Irving Saladino…

Something tells me that this is one event that will be previewed to death on message boards around the world. Then reviewed just as much once it’s all over. Mostly because of all the rivalries in this sport, the short sprint is the hottest and by default this relay is a close second! So let’s get to it.     Men’s 4×1         World Record 37.10 Jamaica JAM Meet Record 37.31 Jamaica JAM 2009 Gold 37.31 Jamaica JAM   2011 Best   37.90 USA – Red USA   38.20 All Stars Mixed Nat.   38.23 Stars & Stripes USA   38.33 Jamaica JAM   38.38 Texas A&M…

One of the most exciting events at any track and field championships is the 4×4 relay. Traditionally the 4×4 closes out a meet, but this time around that duty is transferred to the 4×1. It will seem odd not watching the give and take that often occurs in the long relay. Because this year’s races promise to be quite exciting.     Women’s 4×4         World Record 3:15.18 Soviet Union URS Meet Record 3:16.71 United States USA 2009 Gold 3:17.83 United States USA   2011 Best   3:22.92 United States – Red USA   2:23.17 United States – Blue USA   3:23.82 Jamaica JAM   3:26.31 Texas…

Today is August 18th. The last big meet on the circuit was in London back on August 5-6th. The World Championships are STILL a week and a half away – starting August 27th. Can someone tell me why we have such a LONG break before the World Championships? We’re looking at a 3 week break with no track and field, smack dab in the middle of the European Circuit – the heart of the sport’s most visible time of the year! We’re talking about a marketing fiasco of the highest order. I’m not sure how you sell the general public on watching your World Championships when your athletes are on…

The 400 hurdles is an event where we are fortunate enough this year to have very solid and strong fields on both the men and women’s sides. Several veteran athletes, some great young talent, and a couple of hurdlers looking for redemption.   Women’s 400 Hurdles         World Record 52.34 Yuliya Pechonkina RUS Meet Record 52.42 Melaine Walker JAM 2009 Gold 52.42 Melaine Walker JAM   2011 Best   52.79 Kaliese Spencer JAM   53.29 Zuzana Hejnova CZE   53.31 Lashinda Demus USA   53.56 Melaine Walker JAM   53.68 Vania Stambolova BUL   53.75 Natalya Antukh RUS This event has all the elements necessary for an…

Ah the deuce. Taking place as it does near the end of the meet, it is somewhat difficult to predict. Sometimes athletes are tired by the time the deuce rolls around, as it’s often the second half of a double. Sometimes injuries come into play. There’s the opportunity to become a double winner for some, and the redemption factor for those that lost earlier in the week. All of those things should come into play in Daegu, as we have two races with some outstanding players that I believe are going to follow the script – historical scripts that may surprise some.   Men’s 200 Meters        …

I know that this is the event that many have been waiting for, but I wanted to wait until the drama of the recent drug positive played out a bit before previewing both this race and the 200. While the news of Steve Mullings (JAM) positive test is extremely disappointing, I will wait until the Anti Doping Process has run it’s course before commenting further on those circumstances. Right now the World Championships deserves our attention, and it is in that vein that I take a look at the 100 meters.     Women’s 100 Meters         World Record 10.49 Florence Griffith Joyner USA Meet Record 10.70…

The hurdles are always exciting and there should be no shortage of excitement in Daegu. Heading into the World Championships, we have two events that each have four athletes capable of taking to the podium – unfortunately only three get that privilege!   Men’s 110 Hurdles         World Record 12.87 Dayron Robles CUB Meet Record 12.91 Colin Jackson GBR 2009 Gold 13.14 Ryan Brathwaite BAR   2011 Best   12.94 David Oliver USA   13.00 Liu Xiang CHN   13.04 Dayron Robles CUB   13.08 Jason Richardson USA   13.12 Aries Merritt USA   13.15 Dwight Thomas JAM This is one of those rare moments when a…

The 800 meters will be exciting in Daegu. On the men’s side because of the presence of World Record holder David Rudisha. On the women’s side because the event is potentially wide open.      Men’s 800         World Record 1:41.01 David Rudisha KEN Meet Record 1:43.06 Billy Konchella KEN 2009 Gold 1:45.29 Mbulaeni Mulalaudzi RSA   2011 Best   1:42.61 David Rudisha KEN   1:43.13 Abubaker Kaki SUD   1:43.15 Asbel Kiprop KEN   1:43.83 Nick Symmonds USA   1:43.99 Yuriy Borzakovskiy RUS   1:43.99 David Mutua KEN The MAN in this event for the past two seasons is WR holder David Rudisha (KEN). Last year…

The Metric Mile, is one of the showcase events in the sport, and lately one of those hard to predict events. In large part because of the tendency for milers to get “tactical” in the big meets as opposed to simply “racing”. I don’t see an end to that trend on either the women or men’s sides in Daegu. That said, let’s take a look at the Metric Mile.     Women’s 1500         World Record 3:50.46 Qu Yunxia CHN Meet Record 3:58.52 Tatyana Tomasova RUS 2009 Gold 4:03.74 Maryam Jamal BRN   2011 Best   4:00.33 Maryam Jamal BRN   4:00.97 Kalkaden Gezahegn ETH   4:01.02…