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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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Can Felix Win the Double?
The big news recently is that the Rio schedule has been altered to allow for a 200/400 double for the women. The 1st rounds of the 200 & 400H were flip flopped – the hurdles moving to the evening, the 200 to the morning. Now, instead of the 200 opening rounds being just over an hour before the 400 final, Allyson Felix (or anyone else) will have all day to recover from the 200 before running that 400 final – making this a very doable double now. Great news for fans of the sport who have too often been denied watching great sprinters perform both events in major championships. That’s…
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World Records and the State of the Sport
British Track and Field has released a manifesto on the status of the sport – changes it feels are necessary to "clean up" the sport of track and field. Among these is the matter of the sports records and what it sees as a full scale revision of track and field’s world records. Lord Coe – a Brit and the current head of the IAAF – has stated that he favors the removal of selected world records. This is not the first time the issue of "record revision" has been brought up. Most recently it was a topic of discussion at the turn of the century. The thought of those…
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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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Welcome 2016
2015 was a crazy year. I started it in the hospital at the end of January having had an aneurism and losing my speech – literally unable to talk. I ended it a few days ago in the hospital having my thyroid removed. In between, to the chagrin of many, I’ve taught myself how to speak again; rebooted myself professionally and personally; and watched one of the most interesting track seasons in recent memory. Track, like me, seemed to be getting rid of its illnesses in 2015 – or at least they most certainly came to the surface and begged to be dealt with! Drugs, corruption, misperceptions, finger pointing, name…
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Beijing Review
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. If you’re a fan of the sport here in the United States, there’s little to be happy about. Only 18 medals. Only one individual gold from the men.…
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Bolt v Gatlin – Who Will Win Beijing?
Beijing is going to bear witness to one of the greatest sprinting showdowns in history when Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin take to the track – first in the 100, then hopefully again in the 200. It’s the thing that makes this sport great when it happens – a great head to head matchup of two of the best of all time. The question, who will emerge victorious. I’m going to give my two cents on who I think that might be. Before I do that however, let me debunk what has become a mainstream media attempt to devalue both Justin Gatlin and by default the matchup itself. The word…
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It’s Beijing Time
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). Literally a smorgasbord of track and field. For the first time I feel like the internet has truly paid homage to the sport! This is what I’ve dreamed of my whole life. It’s been a wonderful summer in that regard. Now the general news coming out of the…
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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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NCAA Championships – All About the Format
This year there were two things to talk about when looking at the NCAA Championships. One was the competition – and this year’s competition was as stellar as ever! The other was the format as the powers that be thought it was a good idea to split the meet into TWO separate meets – a men’s meet and a woman’s meet. Personally I would prefer to focus on the competition, but spending the week attempting to enjoy the meet I have to give my two cents on the format. For my money the format sucked. The announcers kept making reference to the fact that the athletes got a full day…