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 Read More...
The CHill Zone of T&F: Conway's View From the Finish Line
What to Watch in 2016
Jan 12th, 2016
1:24 pm PST
1:24 pm PST
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 Read More...
Beijing Review
Sep 2nd, 2015
7:05 pm PDT
7:05 pm PDT
The Beijing World Championships are over and if you're a fan of the sport you were pleased with the competition. When Worlds first began back in 1983 it was all about a handful of nations - Britain, Germany, Soviet Union, and United States, with everyone else as filler. Now we see gold medal performances from Kenya, Ethiopia, China, Jamaica, Netherlands, South Africa, and Eritrea among others winning medals all over the globe! That's great for the global brand of track and field Read More...
It’s Beijing Time
Aug 14th, 2015
8:33 pm PDT
8:33 pm PDT
How times flies when you're having fun! One minute I'm watching Prefontaine, NCAA's and US Nationals and suddenly it's almost time for the World Championships. In between there have been a slew of meets streamed online. So many that I've literally had little time to just sit and absorb and comment. Youth Championships, Jr Championships, Pan Ams, European Championships (Jr & Sr) Read More...
Events I’ll Be Watching at US Nationals
Jun 25th, 2014
7:41 pm PDT
7:41 pm PDT
Typically Nationals is one of the two hottest meets of the year behind only the World Championships or Olympics. This is an "off season" however, that once every four years non championship season. So the full complement of elites looking to make a global team is a bit lighter than usual. My biggest disappointment in this regards is the Men's 100 which is missing Justin Gatlin and the new kid on the block Trayvon Bromell, as neither of the year's two fastest Americans is entered in the competition Read More...
World Championships Review, Individuals Pt 2
Sep 5th, 2013
9:46 am PDT
9:46 am PDT
Time to finish up my thoughts on the individual performances from the World Championships. As this was not one of my favorite Worlds, for reasons already discussed, there were more performances that I was disappointed in than those I was ecstatic about. So many that as I started writing this I had to edit down to a reasonable number Read More...
It’s July Where Are We?
Jul 2nd, 2013
5:24 pm PDT
5:24 pm PDT
This has been a very interesting year so far. Lots of transition going on throughout the sport. Rising athletes. Injured athletes. Athletes returning from injury. More transition than usual in the year following the Games it seems. Then of course there are the usual off the track issues such as drugs, which never seem to go away Read More...
Where are the Jump Stars?
Jan 30th, 2013
12:31 pm PST
12:31 pm PST
This time of year my mind runs continuously to thoughts of how we can better market the sport. What can track and field do so that others can see the sport that I see when I sit and watch a meet? More often than not, I keep coming back to the fact that we live in a society that is obsessed with stars! With 24 hour news; highlights on ESPN; and social networking sites like Twitter and Instagram, an outstanding performance or two and a Colin Kaepernic can become a global sensation virtually overnight! Track too has had it's overnight sensations – a total of 700 meters in Beijing made Usain Bolt a household name Read More...
What are the Sport’s Best Rivalries?
Sep 18th, 2012
6:16 am PDT
6:16 am PDT
Coming off a successful Olympics and 2012 season, it’s time to take a look at how the sport can improve moving forward. One of the glaring problems in the past few seasons in my opinion has been the false start rule which I addressed a couple of days ago. When I listen to what other people are saying, one of the biggest complaints that many people have about the sport of track and field is the lack of head to head competition among the sport's best athletes Read More...