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Olympic Trials Part 1 – Upsets & Speed
We’ve finally arrived to that part of the season that really matters – Olympic team qualifying! That means EVERYONE had to show up. That means some of the best competition of the year. That means watching track and field the way it is supposed to be watched – in a stadium; with ALL of the events represented! And guess what? No one leaves early. No one is worried about "attention spans". No one needs bands playing in the parking lot, or portions of the meet in the street! Why? Because when you get the best athletes available to compete, the sport in its purest form is as good as ANY…
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Pre Trials Status Check
With the Olympic Trials less than two weeks away, I thought I would take a quick look at where we’re at. First a word on doping which once again seems to lead the discussion. Doping This sport just CAN’T seem to get away from the issue of doping! Ben Johnson (1988) opened the door to sub 9.80 in the 100, and to an open conversation on doping! It took until 2002 and BALCO before that conversation became loud – though many wanted to pretend it was an American problem – despite all evidence to the contrary. Now, in 2016, it’s clearly a global epidemic in which even the IAAF has…
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NCAA Championships – WOW
The track season just went into overdrive. It’s Championship time – NCAA’s with the Trials in a few weeks! The only thing more exciting is the Olympics. If this weekend’s NCAA’s was any indication, the summer of 2016 is going to be HOT and memorable. Personally I’m not a fan of the current NCAA format – I said that last year. The Regional meets can’t even be called championships since there are NO finals – athletes just move en mass to the NCAA Semi Finals. Then the men and women are separated – alternating days between semis and finals. The Regional meets are definitely unexciting, and pretending that the championships…
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Prefontaine & NCAA Regionals – WOW
The Pre Classic is the best meet on US soil annually – if not one of the best period outside of a major championship. This year was no different as we saw two American records, among outstanding performance after outstanding performance. And while the Regionals lacked the depth and excitement of a big meet, there was much to learn on the way to Rio. For example, in each Regional one of the college scenes top female 200 sprinters failure to advance – Hannah Cunliffe (Ore) and Kyra Jefferson (Fla)! I watched the Western Regional online and Cunliffe seemed to be done in by a bad lane draw in her heat.…
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A Month From the Trials
We’re about a month away from the Trials and the crystal ball is still pretty murky! Usually I have a pretty good idea how the Trials are going to go by now, but so many elites have been quiet – especially the distance crowd. This may be one of the most surprising Trials in awhile. The colleges have yet to have their Regionals and Nationals – those will take place in the next two weeks. Though I’m not seeing a lot of collegiate athletes making this team. Mainly because a lot of top talent has already gone pro. We’ve had three Diamond League meetings with this weekends competition in Rabat,…
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Conference Weekend 2016
Conference weekend is always busy as every major collegiate conference decides it’s champions. Add to the mix the Diamond League’s Shanghai stop, and the Cayman Invitational with the seasonal debut of Usain Bolt, and you had one exciting weekend of track and field! With the NCAA Championships, Olympic Trials, and multiple national Trials around the corner, did we learn anything of significance? I think so. For starters, the known top elite men’s sprinters are starting more slowly this year. Justin Gatlin won Shanghai handily at 9.94. Fast, but significantly slower than the 9.7’s he was running at this time last year. Word is he’s been nursing an ankle injury. But,…
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Doha and Kingston Heat Up the Season
Penn was the unofficial start to the outdoor season. The "USA v The World" is sort of the kick off to things. That was last weekend. This weekend sh*t got real, as the Diamond League got under way with the first stop in Doha on Friday. And to make sure that things were underway, the Jamaican International Invitational in Kingston made sure that there was plenty of hot action. We’re now officially on our way to Rio! As usual, the sprinters are in mid-season form – especially the women. Not that the men weren’t impressive. LaShawn Merritt is proving to be in fine form. After running 19.78/44.22 the past few…
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Penn – And Another Relay Debacle
We’re within 100 days of the Olympics, which means that the Trials are around the corner. Penn, with its "USA v the World" format, and Drake with its invitational fields, tend to give us a solid preview of where our elite sprinters are in their development. The weather at Drake was horrible – it often is which is why I personally don’t like it for National meets – but we did get an awesome men’s 400 with Kirani James (44.08) and LaShawn Merritt (44.22) running the world’s two fastest times! Nothing surprising there given they’re already two of the world’s best. For me, although James won the race, I’d say…
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The 400 WILL Be THE Event of 2016
We’re only a few weeks into the 2016 outdoor season, and in spite of what’s been crazy weather, it’s clear that the men’s "quarter" is going to be THE premier event of the year! Why do I say this? Look at what we’ve already seen. At the high school level, the recent Arcadia Invitational saw a 45.51 to 45.94 battle among Michael Norman and Josephus Lyles – last year’s high school leaders at 45.19 & 45.46. Neither was nearly this fast last April. Josephus honed his speed during the indoor season, leading the high school 60 at 6.65! Since the outdoor season has begun, Norman has set a 100 PR…
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Wow, I Agree with Carl Lewis
It’s been the rare occasion that I’ve been in agreement with Carl Lewis. He’s been "controversial" during much of his association with the sport of track and field going back to the 1980s. But as I read this article I found myself nodding my head in agreement. While I’ve been trying my best to just enjoy the competition this indoor season, DOPING continues to dominate the headlines. Stories about the various finalists from the women’s 1500 final in London, discovered to have doped. Continuing issues with Russia and it’s "anti"doping program. Doping revelations in Ethiopia. Not a week goes by without discussions of doping in track and field in the…