With World gold in his pocket, David Rudisha (KEN) went to Rieti in search of a shot at his own WR. While he came up just a hair short – 1:41.33, #5 all time – it was his 4th foray under 1:42.00 in the last two seasons. He now owns the #1, #2, #5 & #6 times in history. And the only marks better than today’s run were all WR’s at the time they were run Read More...
The CHill Zone of T&F: Conway's View From the Finish Line
Zurich – Speed Upstarts Rule
Sep 9th, 2011
4:58 am PDT
4:58 am PDT
One of the recurring themes of the recently completed World Championships was that of up and coming athletes breaking through to the big time. While it was clear in Zurich that it’s time for the season to end as many athletes are now weary, several of the upstarts in Daegu are clearly out to prove that their performances in Daegu were no flukes Read More...
Zurich Preview
Sep 8th, 2011
5:41 am PDT
5:41 am PDT
Zurich is once again in the position of following a global major, which means that it could serve as a “redemption meet” for several athletes – especially since there are only a handful of meets left before the close of the 2011 season. Most top athletes tend to shut things down once the championship meet is over Read More...
Daegu 2011 – The Felix Double
Sep 7th, 2011
5:15 am PDT
5:15 am PDT
One of the big news items heading into this year’s World Championships was the attempt by Allyson Felix to become the first woman to win a 200/400 sprint double at Worlds. The feat had been accomplished twice previously in the Olympics – by Valerie Brisco in 1984 and by Marie Jose Perec in 1996. But, as I outlined in a previous post, the others may have had a slightly easier time than Felix, as this year’s 200 field was potentially stronger than either Brisco or Perec had to face Read More...
Daegu 2011 – U.S. Report Card
Sep 6th, 2011
5:13 am PDT
5:13 am PDT
Daegu 2011 – U.S. Report Card So just how did the United States do in Daegu? By the numbers we brought home 25 medals – 12 gold, 8 silver, and 5 bronze – a definite improvement over Beijing and Berlin. But how does that compare to the rest of the world? The top 5 medal winning countries were: Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Read More...
Daegu 2011 – General Comments and Awards
Sep 5th, 2011
7:42 am PDT
7:42 am PDT
That was an interesting nine days of track and field. The results are well known at this point, as they’ve been reported by everyone all over the globe – including here. What I want to take a look at over the next several days, or more, are my interpretations of the results. I will be taking a closer look at some of the names from the meet; some the happenings during the meet; and the affect those results will have on the sport going forward Read More...
Worlds Day 9 – Bolt & Taylor Close Out in Style…
Sep 4th, 2011
4:50 am PDT
4:50 am PDT
Following the semis for the men and women’s 4x1’s, the finals got underway with the men’s 5000 meters. It became yet another championship race – which means they spent some 4200 meters warming up for a showdown between kickers. What made the race exciting is that this time it was not a set up for a showdown between Kenya and Ethiopia, because the U Read More...
Worlds Day Eight – Pearson & Bolt Shine
Sep 3rd, 2011
4:54 am PDT
4:54 am PDT
Friday it was the field events that were sizzling. Today that heat went back to the track as we had some stellar track performances headed by Sally Pearson and Usain Bolt who put down some outstanding times in a meet that has been devoid of fast times. It got started with the men’s 1500 meters Read More...
Worlds Day Seven – The Field Stars
Sep 2nd, 2011
6:10 am PDT
6:10 am PDT
There were a couple of great races on the track but the real action took place on the field today. In the women’s javelin, Maria Abakumova (RUS) heaved a tremendous 71.25m/233’ 9” in the 2nd round to take a stranglehold on the competition. The mark took over the yearly lead, was a national record, and improved her #3 all time position Read More...
Worlds Day Six – USA Day (Sort Of)
Sep 1st, 2011
7:31 am PDT
7:31 am PDT
With three gold medals in five finals, one would have to say that it was a very good day for the United States. But in one event it was a good news, bad news day that left me a bit sad in spite of the gold medal. That event was the final of the women’s 1500, where the field lined up twelve women of fairly equal ability Read More...