We’ve had quite a few meets since the close of the indoor season. In the grand scheme of things however, they amount to little more than "ads" – like the scrolling ads on the theatre screen before the previews that lead up to the featured movie.
In the world of track and field, now that the ads have run while we settled in, the first set of previews are about to begin – the spring relay/invitational meets including the first half of the Diamond League. The second preview will be the National Championships/Trials. Third preview the European Circuit, including the second half of the Diamond League. Then the feature presentation, the World Championships in Moscow!
With April just getting ready to start, and the World Championships not until the end of August that’s about five months of track and field ahead. Now for true track fans that’s a very good thing, but with the feature presentation so far away, what will be watching during the previews? Here’s my suggestion on what to keep an eye on during this first preview session.
Key Meets
The early part of the season is dominated by the relay circuit. The first big one being the upcoming Texas Relays. We’ll also be treated to the Florida Relays, Mt SAC Relays and Penn Relays among a host of "relay"oriented meets. Pay close attention to the sprint and hurdle events when offered individually in these meets as globally ranked athletes like to appear and test out their early fitness in these types of "low key" settings. Except in the cooler climates of Stanford and Eugene where you’re likely to see some high level distance runners testing their fitness.
There are no relays in the Diamond League meets, but we should be treated to lots of globally ranked athletes and potential finalists in Moscow. So watch the meets in Doha, Shanghai, New York and Eugene to see the early form of many elite athletes. Aries Merritt was beginning to show what kind of season was in store when he ran 12.96w in Eugene last year! And New York gave us our first glimpse of Tyson Gay as he tested himself before heading to the Trials.
Major Debuts
So let’s take a look at elite athlete’s debuts. We’ll probably get a first glance of some of the sport’s major stars at Penn in the safety of the "US Against the World" relay competition. That’s usually when we get a sneak peek at many of the top elite sprinters, hurdlers and middle distance runners. Of course as nice as it is to see athletes in relay mode, it’s with great anticipation however, that we await the individual debuts of many of the sport’s brightest stars – typically the elite sprinters – during this part of the season. Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Allyson Felix, Tyson Gay, Aries Merritt, Veronica Campbell Brown, among others will typically choose a Diamond League event to test out their early season form. Though don’t be surprised to see someone take on an off event in a low key meet, or perhaps "down under" in Australia. I know I’ll be watching with interest at the health/fitness of Tyson Gay, Jeremy Wariner, LaShawn Merritt, David Oliver, Walter Dix, Liu Xiang, Chris Solinsky, Kenenisa Bekele, Christin Wurth Thomas, and Morgan Uceny. All ended last year with injuries of some sort (Gay coming off rehab), but are expected to have an impact on this season if back to full strength.
Top Colleges
Of course early on, and heading into June, expect several collegiate programs to make noise as they try to peak for the NCAA Championships. The SEC should be the powerhouse with Florida, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and LSU leading the way. But don’t overlook the West Coast with Oregon out front along of resurgent programs at UCLA, USC, and Arizona State. Pay particular attention to the jumpers and sprinters because I expect several collegiate jump stars to earn trips to Moscow once the NCAA Championships are under their belts and they head to the USATF championships.
High School Athletes
I know it’s a bit odd to say that high school athletes could be a part of the excitement of the first preview section of the season, but there are some exciting high schoolers out there right now. The best of whom should be Mary Cain who lit things up during the indoor season. Look for Miss Cain to get dangerously close to 4:20 in the mile. And while they may not make as big a splash against their seniors as Cain will, there are several hot young sprinters out there that bear keeping an eye on. Levonte Whitfield, who held his own against Marvin Bracy last year; Cameron Burrell, son of former WR holder Leroy Burrell; and Michael Cherry, who surged to the fore indoors; should spice up the early part of the season – and give us a glimpse of the future of US sprinting.
So, grab your popcorn and your favorite drink because things are about to get interesting.