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Christian Coleman Suspended
If you know anything about track and field, you know that Christian Coleman has been suspended for his multiple whereabouts violations. A two year “time out” from the sport dating back to the first violation, which means he has zero shot at making the Tokyo Olympic team. No Trials, no Games. As a matter of fact he’ll barely be off probation before the trials for the next Worlds. Of course social media has gone crazy. “He’s being picked on”. “Others have gotten off”. Well, for what it’s worth, Christian got a pass in 2019, ran in Doha, and went out and missed another test – all before the end of…
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Were Meets Necessary This Year?
I am a track and field junkie! It’s easily my favorite sport. So I’ve been pleased to have track back to watch. But everyone hasn’t been as excited. I’ve had some people ask me, “why are they running?”. The position being that, a) it’s not safe to be competing right now. and b) what we’ve been watching isn’t really track and field. At least some of the earlier competitions. Valid questions. Having gone through this truncated season, some things worked, and some things didn’t. But, in the long run, I personally think it was necessary. Should we have had meets? Actually a question that’s been asked by many is, should we…
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A Question of Whereabouts
My previous post focused on Noah Lyles and Michael Norman, two of America’s best young sprint stars. While they have had some nice performances early, they aren’t the only ones that have been lighting it up. Allyson Felix has defeated Shaunae Miller Uibo in a virtual 150; Ryan Crouser has become #4 all time in the shot put with a monster 22.19m (75’2“) heave; and Shelby Houlihan set an American record 14:23.92 over 5,000. Of course the sprinters have been having a great time as Sha’Carrie Richardson has run a windy 10.79 and Elaine Thompson a windy 10.73. With perhaps the biggest news being Trayvon Bromell turning a legal 9.90!…
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Where is US Sprinting Headed?
The US scored a huge medal haul in Rio – something always expected, but not always materialized. The expectations are always there because of our purported sprint and hurdle prowess. I say purported because in Rio it was our middle and long distance crew that led the way, as our sprint and hurdle crew has gotten a bit long in the tooth. We scored some "speed" medals, but not the haul we accumulated a decade or more ago. Where we were once THE single dominant power in the speed events, the New Millennium has seen vast improvement from the Caribbean nations. In addition, more recently a resurgence from Africa, Canada,…
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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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How to Win the 4×1 in Rio!
It’s one thing to be dominated in the sprints by an athlete like Usain Bolt, but during the same time span we’ve seen a comedy of horrors take place in what was also an American staple – the 4×1 relay. The American men haven’t won a 4×1 in a major since 2007 – approaching nearly a decade! This is tragic, and the first step to righting this ship in my opinion, is to admit FAILURE and move on. I don’t want to hear about Bolt, because the races have been lost before Bolt has gotten the baton – he’s not had to catch anyone from behind. And the one time…
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What to Watch in 2016
Olympic years are always exciting for sports fans because that global showcase will take place this summer. That means we will see the best that track and field (among other sports) has to offer – the best athletes competing head to head. Sad that I can’t say that in any other year, but unfortunately we don’t get this type of competition in any other year with any regularity. One would have hoped that the World Championships would have become THAT meet by now – having been around since 1983. But alas, though we get some scattered excellence around Worlds, it’s still "The Games" that the world aims for and "EVERYONE"…
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US International Team is Changing
In today’s society age has become relative. Someone 60, used to be considered "old" – and 70 year olds were ready for the "old folks" home. Now of course, thanks to advances in medicine it’s not uncommon to have 80 year olds still driving cars and running marathons. Similarly athletics is undergoing an aging population. A couple of decades ago athletes in their late 20’s were looking to retire – while the early 30’s were inhabited by athletes that had stayed too long while trying to remain relevant. Recent advances in nutrition, training methods, and more money in the sport have allowed athletes to compete well into their 30’s approaching…
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US Sprint Future on Display in Eugene
The World Junior Championships closed out a near week long run Sunday in oft rainy Eugene – yes rain struck yet another big meet here. And while I continue to have my own thoughts about making this remote northwest corner of the country the focus of the sport here in the US, one thing that did become clear is that US sprint fortunes look better than they have for a couple of decades! First my two biggest beefs of the meet. One, it’s Eugene. Yes they know how to put on a meet. They should, playing in the back yard of Big Daddy Nike they get the backing to practice…
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NCAA Championships
This was a very busy week of track and field for the true fan of the sport. Oslo, the NCAA Championships, and the New York Grand Prix were all contested within a four day period, with some form of media broadcast available for all four days of action! Finally, technology and track providing fans with serious coverage of the sport. That said, there’s a LOT to talk about. Too much to deal with in a single post, so I thought I would begin by talking about the youth. After all, they are where the sport is headed – and frankly I can’t help but feel that a "Back to the…