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The Status of US Track – Sprints
The track season is over and cross country is under way. So it’s time to take a look back at 2013 while it’s still fresh – because a lot happened this year. So much so that I’ve started several different posts over the past week and each time decided that I really wanted to address something else! Topics I’ve considered have included Doping; College v Elite Track; The Structure of the Sport; and The predicament that Justin Gatlin Puts the Sport In, just to name a few. I decided however, to start with a discussion of US sprinting, because in many ways it covers several important topics related to the…
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World Championships Review, Individuals Pt 2
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. After all the entire meet wasn’t quite a disappointment. So, while I was disappointed in the time for the men’s 4×4 for example, it’s not listed. Nor are other events where I simply was down on the performances. I tried to keep my “disappointment” to the way the athletes performed. I’ve…
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World Championships Review–Individuals Pt1
Now for the fun part, looking at individual performances – and there were certainly some very good ones. First however, let’s get a bit of perspective by taking a look at medal counts. The double digit medal earners: United States 25 total, 6 gold, 14 silver, 5 bronze. Russia 17 total, 7 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze Kenya 12 total, 5 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze Ethiopia 10 total, 3 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze As expected Russians performed well at home. While traditional European power Germany continues to have difficulty getting back to Eastern Bloc prominence. In general there was no core of dominant nations, but a relatively even…
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World Championships Review, Events
As I said previously, this meet lacked the "Championship" feel for me. I think some of it had to do with the negativity leading up to the meet – the bans. But the competition/performances were lacking. In retrospect it’s what I predicted early on – a transitional championship dominated primarily by youth. When your meet is dominated numbers wise with youth, you don’t get the "peaked" performances of veterans. So many events were/felt down compared to other major championships this time around. We did however, get a lot of good competition lead by the veterans in most cases – age it seems does have its advantages! And with a championship…
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World Championships Review, Overview
It came, they competed, it’s over. After the wait and the build up the World Championships have come and gone. A little over a week of solid track and field, and a lot happened. Normally I would try to comment as things happen, but this year’s meet came at an odd time. School starting for my kids; one starting college; a trip cross country – and that’s just the peripherals. So I decided to try something different this year. Watch all the action; take notes; and then review. As I did this I began to look at the meet a little differently. I started grouping events and individuals. There were…
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Worlds Preview – Moscow Mid & Long Distance
Time to take a look at the middle and long distances before the starting gun goes off. Right off the bat, I have to say that we’ll be minus one of the biggest stars in the sport with the loss of David Rudisha – out due to injury. That won’t diminish things overall however, as London star Mo Farah and all time greats Bernard Lagat, Meseret Defar, and Tirunesh Dibaba are all healthy and on board for this one. So, while it’s unlikely we’ll get a WR performance like we got in London, we should get some tremendously exciting competition! And that, after all, is what a championships should be…
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Worlds Preview – Sprints & Hurdles
The preliminaries are done and now it’s time for the main event! The World Championships are about ready to begin and it’s crystal ball time. Although I’m not sure how well a crystal ball is going to work for this meet with so few sure things heading into Moscow. But this is the fun part, so I have to give it a try. I’ll start with the sprints, hurdles and relays – the speed events. Of all the events these are generally the least predictable as the margin for error is small and this time around we’re dealing with a lot of unknown entities as a lot of top talent…
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The Final Prep for Moscow is Done
The London Diamond League was pretty much what I thought it would be – best meet of the year and perhaps a preview of several events in Moscow. If this weekend was any indication, we’ve got a Wild West shoot out kind of World Championships coming up, because there just aren’t that many “sure things” out there this year. But that’s a good thing, because it means we’ll have a week of exciting track and field in store with so many event titles / medals up for grabs. In event after event, London showcased excellent competition with few winners decided before things got started, and a few surprises along the…
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London Final Test Before Moscow
The World Championships are just a few weeks away and athletes are in the final stages of their preparations. Some are looking to get that final meet in before the big dance. While others have had layoffs and are looking to see just how sharp they are. This weekend’s Diamond League meet in London is going to fit the bill nicely for both. London is unique in that it offers ALL of the events in the sport in one meet – albeit that it takes two days to do so. Still it gives everyone that wants to compete that final chance as it’s the last "big" meet before the World…
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Athletes Back on Track in Monaco
Nothing cures failure like success, and after a solid week of failed drug tests dominating the news about track and field, athletes got back to the track to do what they do best – compete. Well enough that, at least for me, thoughts ran back to Moscow and the upcoming World Championships. What better way to get things "back on track" than with a pair of world leading 4×1’s as the US screamed 41.75 and 37.59 with a 41.78 thrown in for good measure by the women’s "B" team! The men’s squad set their mark without Tyson Gay, almost as if to say to everyone that things would be just…