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The Best of 202One
We had to wait two years for 202One. The athletes had to adjust to what amounted to the craziest circumstances ever faced in an Olympic build up. After all was said and done however, and the Olympic season was one of the best ever! ! Hats off to the athletes who performed most admirably. Literally every week of the season produced performances that could stand on their own in any year of competition. Leaving me to attempt the nearly impossible. Identify the best athletes of 202One. Don’t get me wrong. There were easily a hundred outstanding races, vaults, throws, jumps over the course of the year. What I’m going to…
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Tokyo Recap
I have to admit, I didn’t realize just how tough it would be to watch the Olympics live! Here on the West Coast, that meant getting up at 3:00am. Watching the Games. Then a full day of work. Then more track and field. Then bed long enough to get some rest before repeating – for a week and a half. Literally track and field Nirvana. However, my goal of writing something every day, went out the window on Day 3. So, here is my recap of one of the most interesting Games I’ve watched in my lifetime. For the first time ever, I spent almost the entirety of the Olympics…
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It’s Prediction Time – US Trials Relays
This season has been moving along so quickly, that it’s been too fast to keep up with – pun intended. Literally every few days something extraordinary has occurred. Athing Mu, Trayvon Bromell, Allyson Felix, Kenny Bednarek, Gabby Thomas, Terrance Laird, and this is just the tip of the iceberg! It’s now mere weeks from the NCAA Championships and the Olympic Trials – and time to start to spec out who’s going to be taking that trip to Tokyo. So that’s what I’m going to start doing – give my predictions of who I think us young to represent the US at the Games. I’m going to begin a bit differently…
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Doha Review
The 2019 World Championships just concluded. And I have to look at it from two perspectives. From the perspective of location, it was an abject failure. Temperature wise it was so hot that the only time to go out comfortably was midnight. Prompting the walks and marathons to be held – at midnight. And even then athletes were dropping like flies. Too hot for “fans” to attend until local hero Mutaz Barshim competed. Leaving an empty stadium for much of the meet. With athletes taking victory laps in front of no one! And forcing the meet to move to the beginning of October instead of the usual August timeframe –…
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Doha Will Be Remembered for the Four
World Championships are the highlight of the sport. They showcase the best that track and field has to offer. During each one, the absolute best of the best rises to the top to create the meet’s most lasting memories. The inaugural championships in 1983 was the debut of Carl Lewis to the world. The followup in ’87 was the debut of Been Johnson. Ninety one was the most epic long jump competition in history and the fall of the world record. So what will Doha be remembered for? What event(s) and competitor(s) will capture the crowd and our imaginations? After much thought, I’ve come to the conclusion, that this will…
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Marketing the Face of Track and Field
Between 2008 and 2017 many people considered Usain Bolt to be the face of track and field. The athlete that the IAAF built their promotion around. The sprinter they proclaimed to be the “clean” representation of track and field, because the IAAF felt that such a representation was needed. When Bolt said that it was time to retire, Seb Coe basically said, “woe is me whatever will we do.”. Because really the marketing plan for this sport has been centered around the idea of the sport having a singular face! I’m really not sure why, given the diverse nature of the sport itself. Running, jumping, throwing. Men and women. Speed…
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USATF Championships Review
For four days America’s best track and field athletes got together in Des Moines Iowa to decide who would represent the US at the World Championships. Lots to say, some good, some bad, so let’s start with the bad. I’m not sure what the selection process is for championship sites, and I understand that this meet is going to be held in the summer, but how many times have I seen this meet affected by rain? So on Championship Sunday we’re hit by rain yet again. Now we know USATF’s (*cough * Nike’s) affinity for Eugene where it rains most of the year. And similarly Des Moines where it rains…
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USATF Preview
We’re a little over a week from the USATF Championships. No more competitions to watch. The time has finally arrived. And after months of meets – we still don’t know much! With Worlds being so late, some athletes have been very cautious. Then there are the collegiate kids that have already peaked for a championship. Following are my best guess at who will emerge for Doha. Men’s 100 Justin Gatlin has a bye and only needs to show up and run once. Christian Coleman is the leader in the clock and the track. Noah Lyles has decided against the double so now it’s pot luck after Coleman – we get…
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Ten Predictions for 2019
I’m going to start the new year right. One, I’ll be posting more. Not as much as I used to because I’m coaching. But a lot more than I have since my illnesses/surgeries. That said, I’m going to start with my predictions for 2019 – the first being that it’s going to be a fun year for track and field. We’ve got a whole lot of new talent all over the track (& field) and many will be competing in their first World Championships. My second prediction is that Doha will be a blast! The performances are going to be crazy good; and the competition is going to be off…
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Future NOW
The US sprint corp has been aging for some time now. The world has been mourning the retirement of Usain Bolt, but the truth is that America’s best for more than a decade are right behind him. Consider that our top sprinter last year, World Champion Justin Gatlin, was 25 years old. Remarkably his title came 13 years after his Olympic title in Athens! Our global medal hopes have been in the hands of Gatlin, Allyson Felix, Tyson Gay, LaShawn Merritt, Sanya Richards Ross, Wallace Spearmon, and a few others for well over a decade. Begging the question, what happens when they retire? Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had athletes…