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London 2012 Has Arrived – The Athletes Games
The Games of the Thirtieth Olympiad have arrived and something tells me that this is going to be the athlete’s Olympics when all is said and done. Not that the British and the city of London haven’t already had their moment in the sun. As the opening ceremony was, well very British. British literature, British music, British history, British stars, and very well done. Just some things may have been missed for those that aren’t anglophiles. And there was sunshine – so the opening ceremony was quite literally Britain’s moment in the sun. With that, the Games were officially open with competition beginning Saturday morning – and almost immediately began…
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News Ahead of the Start of the Games
I’ve been very very busy outside of track and field the past couple of days. Doctor’s appointment; kids to the fair; trying to catch up on non track work/stuff. Have to clear my plate so I can focus on the Games with the opening ceremonies TOMORROW! Yet as I step away for a couple of days, the news/happenings of the sport seem to increase in volume. And so many things I’m compelled to comment on. Usually I prefer to give items individual attention – and I may do that later on with a few topics – but trying to keep pace with what is certainly going to be an exciting…
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Pre Games Thoughts – The Sprints
My predictions are out there, and I knew that there would be some disagreement. But then a wise man once said, "if everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking". So for those not understanding why we’re not thinking the same thing, I thought I would give a little insight into how I came to my conclusions. Between now and the start of track and field in London, I’ll try to cover the sprints, middle distances/distances, hurdles, and field. Before I get started let me say again that IMHO this is going to be an upset fest before all is said and done. We have a large number of top level…
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Will the Men’s 100 Live Up to the Hype?
The men’s 100 meters. Perhaps THE marquee event of the Olympic Games. Most of the world will remember who won the 100 long after the Games are over. Jesse Owens, Jim Hines, Hasely Crawford, Valery Borzov, Carl Lewis, Donovan Bailey, Linford Christie, Maurice Greene. Names that resonate still long after retirement, because they won 100 meter gold at the Olympics. Usain Bolt went from "who" to the face of the sport with his victory in Beijing, and would like to become the first man to repeat as champion. However, the fact that he would be the first to do so underscores just how difficult a task that is in light…
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Olympic Predictions – London 2012
OK, it’s time to do this. I’ve procrastinated long enough. I kept hoping that the “next meet” would clear things up, but even Monaco yesterday just made things harder. As a matter of fact you will see some changes even from my US medal hopes of a couple of days ago – things are that fluid in my opinion. Clearly this is going to be a meet with a lot of potential “upsets”, and I would expect that we will see a few new stars emerge. Frankly that’s a good thing, because the sport can never have enough stars – if only we would learn to maximize the marketing potential…
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American Medal Hopes
Ok, it’s time to climb out on that limb and stick my neck out. I’m sure by the time I’m done there will be several whacks taken at it. So I’m going out gingerly by starting with my list of American athletes that I think have medal potential. I’m sure the first comment will be that we will never win thirty eight medals! And I agree, all of those names will not translate into medals. Let’s be real, no one is going to the Games to roll over and hand over medals – to us or anyone else. At the end of the day they must be won. So in…
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Pre Games Prediction Thoughts
The Games are almost here, and I’m still shaky on most of the events with literally days left in the count down. I’m going to be watching every little meet that comes along for clues, but then along comes a meet like Luzern today that makes me pause yet again. The only thing that I’m certain of today is that these Games are going to be rather unpredictable. That said, here are a few thoughts ahead of London as I talk to myself before I put my prediction list together. The sprints are wide open – men and women – 100, 200, and 400. Yeah I said it. The closest…
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The Team is Set, How Do We Look?
Four years ago we had a poor performance in Beijing – one of our poorest ever. But as we prepare for London in approximately 30 days, we could be sending out best squad ever to a Major championship event. Yes, we have some events where we are just not up to standard, but overall this team is as strong, if not stronger, than any team I can remember – and I remember a lot of teams. I have to say that I’m very excited about the team that came together in Eugene. Let’s take a look at this squad. Sprints We have the second fastest man AND woman of all…
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Kingston Doesn’t Change the London 100
The defeat of Usain Bolt at the Jamaican Trials has not changed the Olympic 100 meters. Why? Because as I’ve said before Bolt has always been beatable. It’s not easy to do, and not everyone has the ability, but it’s always been possible. It requires two things: a sprinter with serious top end speed and a killer finish; and an average/typical start by Bolt. While the perception of Bolt over the last four years has been that he is Superman and invincible, his “defeatablility” has always been there. The issue isn’t that something has suddenly changed, but that the top sprinters don’t race enough for these things to come into…
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Memories of the Games – Paula Ivan
Before I take a look at the hurdles events for 2012, I want to go back to the middle distances for a moment. Because as I was looking at this year’s women’s 1500, visions of one of the most gutsy performances in Olympic history were running through my mind. I’m actually a big fan of the mile/1500 meters, I grew up during the era of Jim Ryun, Kip Keino, Ben Jipcho, John Walker, and Filbert Bayi – milers that ran fast and competed strongly. Having cut my teeth on competitors like these, I’m often disappointed by the slow, tactical affairs that milers often produce – especially in championship settings. Back…