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Post Trials Notes and Paris
Everything is happening fast a furious now, and I’ve been a bit under the weather and trying to get caught up. So with the Diamond League already back under way,a few thoughts on Paris and where everyone is at this point with only weeks to go to London. First topic Usain Bolt. In spite of some amazing performances being turned in from several athletes, "what’s wrong with Bolt" seems to be leading the conversation. I wish we could focus on who IS performing at a high level – that’s the problem when your marketing is so narrowly focused on one individual When that individual isn’t running well, you don’t think…
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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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Blake Upsets Bolt at Jamaica Trials!
Before I get to our Trials, everyone had been waiting on the Jamaica Trials to see what the sprinters there are doing. Well, London is going to be hot in the short sprints. In the women’s 100, Shelly Ann Fraser wins in 10.70 (+0.6) over VCB (10.82), Kerron Stewart (10.94), and Sherone Simpson (11.01). So there’s your 3 for London, plus relay – more than likely. On the men’s side we get an "upset" as Yohan Blake wins in a PR 9.75 (+1.1) over Usain Bolt (9.86), Asafa Powell (9.88), and Michael Frater (9.94). Their 3 for London plus relay – again more than likely. I haven’t seen video yet,…
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Early Weekend Results – Oslo / NCAA
It’s only Friday, but we’ve already had enough track to fill a weekend – and we’re just getting started! The early results are in, and while Oslo wasn’t quite as hot as I had hoped, the "kids" we definitely ahead of expectations at the NCAA Championships! Let’s start with Oslo where vets Usain Bolt (JAM) and Sally Pearson (AUS) confirmed their status as early London favorites. Fresh off his 9.76 in Rome last week, Bolt cranked out a 9.79 in Oslo. Again his only competition came from teammate Asafa Powell who was second in 9.85. Powell seemed more relaxed today as he wasn’t right next to Bolt, and no one…
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Lessons Learned From Women’s Day in Rome
The results are in, and after watching the Rome leg of the Diamond League I think I learned a few things. Prefontaine is only two days away, so things could change a bit over the next 48 hours. Results of the meet can be found here, so without going into each and every race and result, here are my thoughts on what happened in Rome. Men’s 100 meters. After watching Bolt today (9.76, -0.1) Ostrava was a matter of jet lag – or perhaps being out too late the night before. Either way, “sluggish” Bolt gave way to a sprinter that had the race under control by 30 meters –…
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Back to Code for Some After Ostrava
Well, that wasn’t quite what I expected! Let’s start with the obvious, Usain Bolt (JAM) 10.04 – the slowest 100 meter final of Bolt’s professional career! That’s what I said. He ran 10.03 (0.7) in Rethymno in his pro debut at the distance in 2007. Then opened up in Spanish Town in Mar ‘08 at 10.03 (1.8), before blowing out a 9.76 (1.8) in Kingston – and the rest you already know. His only other final that hasn’t been sub10 was a 10.00 (-0.9) in Toronto, June ‘09. His only other non sub10’s have been in qualifying rounds. Even last year when the world was bemoaning his races he was…
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Bolt and Jeter Lead Weekend Highlights
As expected, speed was on display this weekend at the Jamaica Invitational – over and over and over again. The usual suspects – Bolt, Jeter, Blake – did their thing, but there were also a couple of surprises. First the expected, and a touch of surprise as Carmelita Jeter (USA) powered her way to a WL 10.81 (1.0) in the 100 meters – running the event’s first sub 11 of the year. It wasn’t surprising that she took over the world lead in her first 100 of the year, it was surprising that she had to run that fast, as Kelly Ann Baptiste (TRI) got out ahead from the gun…
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2012 Outdoor Preview – Sprints
Now that we’re completely done with the indoor season, it’s time to start taking a look at how this outdoor season might possibly shape up. More importantly, at how the Games might shape up. So as I go through the various events on the Olympic slate, I’m going to try and Identify those individuals that I feel as of today ill be in the mix – the contenders and potential contenders. I’m going to start with the sprints because they tend to get going a bit earlier than other events. And this time around they’re already pretty well defined, as we have a large group of veterans that “should” be…
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What Role Will Injury Play in the London Sprints?
I ask that question because with approximately six months until London, we are already talking about injuries and/or potential injuries to top level athletes – most notably Usain Bolt’s visit to a German doctor. Coming on the heels of Bolt ending his 2011 season on an injury note, this could become a significant story line as we get closer to the Games. I say “could” become significant because there is still a lot of time on the calendar before we get into the June “qualifying” period of Olympic Trials across the globe. The injury story, however, almost always plays a role on the medal stand at the Olympics. Beijing lost…
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Has the U.S. Lost Its Sprint Mojo?
Talking with a neighbor who is a fan, but not an “uber” fan, of the sport after this weekend’s U.S. Open, I was asked “what’s wrong with the U.S. sprinters?” When I asked what he meant, he basically said that we didn’t win either sprint (won by Asafa Powell & Veronica Campbell). I responded that many of our best weren’t at the meet, and his follow up was that we didn’t win the World Championships, or the one before that, or the Olympic Games either. We had a nice chat after that, and while I won’t bore you with the blow by blow conversation, it did make me realize a…