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Finally a 4×1 Victory
The US did it! We won a major 4×1, coming home with gold in Doha. The monkey is off our back! I wouldn’t get too excited just yet however. That’s one win in the last twelve years. And behind us was the fastest finish for place in places 2-5 – because the world has gotten FASTER in the last decade plus. In Doha, Britain set a European record of 37.36 to take silver. While Japan set an Asian record of 37.43. Both marks as fast as anything the US has thrown down, well ever. So, while its nice that we broke the jinx, and fans feel like "we’re back"! This…
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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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March Closes Out in Style
Now that’s the way to end a month of track and field – with some stellar competition! The Texas Relays officially signals the start of the relay season and went off in fine style. As is often the case, the it was the hot meet of the weekend – and as usual speed was on display. Take a look at the following results and comments. On the other side of the country, the Stanford Invitational saw tons of very good high school action with a smattering of high level elite competition thrown in. Scanning the results sheets I also noted some interesting/outstanding performances from several other meets this weekend. Following…
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My Favorite All Time Sprinters
It’s that time of year for lists – typically “Top Ten” lists. And I am in the process of doing research to put together my end of the year lists. While I’m doing that however – there is lots of data to go over – I thought I would start by sharing some of my “Favorites” in list form. Favorite hurdlers, middle distance runners, field event athletes, etc. Since the world’s most recognizable athletes right now are sprinters – Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Justin Gatlin, et al – I thought I would start with sprinters. Let me state up front, that I am not going to list anyone…
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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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Myers Pregnant, Who Takes Her Place?
News out this weekend is that Marshevet Myers its pregnant and will be out for the season. While I wish her all the best , I can’t think of a worse time than an Olympic season. World Championships come often enough that if you miss one there’s another next year – or at worst in two years. But the Olympics only come once every four years – half a lifetime in track and field. For the 27 year old Myers, who is due in October, her next opportunity at a global medal could be the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. If not, she’s looking at 2015 and the Beijing World…
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The Players Begin to Emerge
WOW! Talk about a series of outstanding meets/marks. This weekend has been HOT! New York, Fayetteville, Dusseldorf, Albuquerque, Donetsk – great results have been pouring in from all over the globe. Initially I thought that the World Indoor Championships would be “down” with this year with most athletes preparing for the Games in August. But judging from the last couple of weeks, it’s looking like it will be the first of several peaks this year. There are plenty of articles all over the ‘net, and the results of the top events can be found here. Let’s take a look at a few meets, because I think we are already starting…
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Video Review – New Balance Boston Indoor
It’s often interesting to review results online, then later have an opportunity to watch video of a race – or in this case two hours of a meet on television. While times and distances certainly have meaning, sometimes it’s how those results are derived that tell a completely different story. Such is the case with this weekend’s New Balance meet in Boston. Because after watching the meet on television yesterday, I have some observations regarding several individuals that I didn’t have after just reading the results and a few articles online. It’s early in the year, but in an Olympic season everything ends up having meaning at the end of…
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Worlds Day Six – USA Day (Sort Of)
With three gold medals in five finals, one would have to say that it was a very good day for the United States. But in one event it was a good news, bad news day that left me a bit sad in spite of the gold medal. That event was the final of the women’s 1500, where the field lined up twelve women of fairly equal ability. And they ran like it as no one seemed to want to set the pace as the field was still bunched with 2 laps to go. At that point Morgan Uceny was back in 9th and began was has been her standard move…