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Mt. SAC Leads Weekend Full of Highlights
The 2012 Olympic season shifted into high gear this weekend with highlights galore popping up all over. What the Kansas Relays got started with their “downtown” events, Mt SAC multiplied with one of the best meets they’ve had in a while as performance after performance heated up the track AND the field. Where to start? How about the mile on Friday night where France’s Jamal Ahrass blitzed to a 3:52.21 WL in the mile (3:35.70 1500 en route) to lead 8 men under 4:00. Molly Huddle took her turn as she controlled the 5000 meters then put it away in the final lap to clock another WL with her 15:15.91.…
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Mt SAC Match Ups
What’s a sign that this is an Olympic year? That the Mt SAC Relays are loaded. Several fields have multiple world class/ranked athletes scheduled to compete, and the overall level of athletes is as high as I’ve seen in a while. Below is my list of names and events that I think deserve more than a causal look – and there are plenty. This could end up being one of those “memorable” meets. So much so that that I expect that we’ll have LOTS to talk about when this meet is over. For example, take a look at the men’s 400 where Jeremy Wariner will be competing against US indoor…
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Florida Relays Day One – Sizzling
Usually I wait through the weekend to talk about the highlights, but they were running so fast in Florida that Day One was just a repeat highlight reel. Tiffany Porter (GBR) started the afternoon off with a nice 12.96 (-0.5) – fastest time this side of last week’s blazer in Tuscon, and of course Sally Pearson (AUS). Then an early treat as the male hurdlers took the track. Crossing the finish line first in 13.10 (+3.0) was Ronnie Ash (USA), as he ran his way into the early hurdle conversation taking the scalps of Dexter Faulk (USA) 13.25, Dexter Faulk (USA) 13.25, Lehann Fourie (RSA) 13.31 and David Oliver (USA)…
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Richards Ross Highlights Weekend of Speed
Speed was on display this past weekend and nowhere was it more prominent than the speedy state of Texas and the annual Texas Relays. The first sign that things were going to be fast came in the qualifying rounds of the University 4×1 when Auburn scorched the track for a 38.95 in their heat. That’s the kind of time one expects to see collegiate teams run in the semis or final of the NCAA Championships, not an opening round of the Texas Relays – one of the first runs for college teams of the season. They proved that was no fluke however, as they flew to a WL 38.30 in…
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2012 Outdoor Preview – Hurdles
If you like speed and competition then you must like the hurdles. Unlike the pure sprinters, who seem to avoid each other as much as possible until forced to toe the line for championships, the hurdlers compete often and face each other with regularity. The sprinters tend to get more publicity but of the four hurdle events three of them have legitimate shots at having WR’s broken – two by more than one individual. The hurdles are among the hottest events in the sport, with some of it’s best athletes. If you’re not watching the hurdles you’re missing some of the best competition the sport has to offer. Here’s…
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Memories of the Games – The 110 Hurdles
We’ve got a bit of breathing room until the NCAA and World Indoor Championships get rolling next weekend, so I thought I would take another trip down memory lane to past Olympic Games. Looking over at my current poll where the men’s 110 hurdles is clearly winning as the WR most likely to fall this year, made me realize that the hurdles just may have been the most consistently exciting event of the auto timing era. I’m sure that statement will surprise many of you. After all young fans that have grown up with the Olympics of the last decade have grown up in the age of Mo Greene and…
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New Balance Indoor GP Preview
The indoor season really got rocking last weekend, and looks to pick up stream with the World Indoor Championships just a tad over a month away (Mar 9-11). One of the next steps towards Istanbul is this weekend’s New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. This year’s meet is focusing on the middle and long distance events, and there is no shortage of solid matchups. As a matter of fact, having odd distances sometimes leads to matchups that you wouldn’t normally get in an outdoor meet as athletes move up and down in distance and sometimes meet in the middle of their specialties. Keeping that in mind following are five…
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U.S. Open Preview
The U.S. Open Indoor meet will be held this weekend, and there are several events worth keeping an eye on, as there will be many top level athletes competing. So let’s take a look at what I think will be the top competitions. Men’s 50 Meters Easily one of the deepest fields of the meet, the men’s 50 has former Olympic & World 100 champion Justin Gatlin (USA); former 100 Meter WR holder Asafa Powell (JAM); and #4 all time in the 100 Nesta Carter (JAM) among the entrants. Powell and Carter are both known as super-fast starters, which should give them an edge in the shortest event on the…
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2011 in Review – Men’s 400 Meter Hurdles
This was a very interesting event. On the one hand it had the potential to be great with athletes like Angelo Taylor, Bershawn Jackson, Johnny Dutch, and Javier Culson returning from a hot 2010 season. And with L.J. Van Zyl blazing from the late winter, it looked like this might be THE hottest event of the year. But things just didn’t pan out in 2011, which ended up being a season that fizzled more than sizzled. L.J. Van Zyl (SA) started out like a house a fire blazing 47.66 in Pretoria on Feb 25 – faster than anyone in history had ever run so early in the season! He came…