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8 Must See Trials Events
I’m getting antsy, it’s Friday night and no big results can be found – everything major will be happening Saturday. So my mind is wandering in the direction of the Trials. After all, once the smoke clears everything comes down to two meets this year – National Trials and the Olympic Games.In some countries the Trials may be the years most important meet, beside if you don’t get past the Trials you’ll never see the Games – at least not from the stadium in London. So I’m anticipating the Trials almost as much as the Games. With everything on the line and great depth in several events, the US Trials…
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Mt SAC Match Ups
What’s a sign that this is an Olympic year? That the Mt SAC Relays are loaded. Several fields have multiple world class/ranked athletes scheduled to compete, and the overall level of athletes is as high as I’ve seen in a while. Below is my list of names and events that I think deserve more than a causal look – and there are plenty. This could end up being one of those “memorable” meets. So much so that that I expect that we’ll have LOTS to talk about when this meet is over. For example, take a look at the men’s 400 where Jeremy Wariner will be competing against US indoor…
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A Crowd is Starting to Form in the Hurdles
It’s early in the season, and few of the top athletes have made it to the track yet, but the 110 hurdlers are doing what they do – compete! I love the hurdlers. For starters it’s one of the most exciting events on the track. There’s speed. The technique of the hurdles. The ebb and flow of the race. But most of all there’s the hurdlers themselves. No ducking and avoiding each other. You don’t have to wait all season to see the top guys going at it. They line up every week and compete. It reminds me of track and field back in the ‘60’s/’70’s/’80’s – when you could…
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2012 Outdoor Preview – Hurdles
If you like speed and competition then you must like the hurdles. Unlike the pure sprinters, who seem to avoid each other as much as possible until forced to toe the line for championships, the hurdlers compete often and face each other with regularity. The sprinters tend to get more publicity but of the four hurdle events three of them have legitimate shots at having WR’s broken – two by more than one individual. The hurdles are among the hottest events in the sport, with some of it’s best athletes. If you’re not watching the hurdles you’re missing some of the best competition the sport has to offer. Here’s…
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Potential 2012 Match Ups to Watch For
Things should start heating up pretty quickly now. The U.S. Marathon Trials are in less than two weeks, and the indoor season will be going strong by the end of the month. So we’ll be full gear into the buildup for London in just a few weeks. Of course one of the big questions in any Olympic year is: who will the major players. It might be a bit early to start identifying major players, but here are some matchups that I think bear looking for this year, that should have a major effect on medal distribution in London. Usain Bolt v Tyson Gay v Yohan Blake (Sprints) These…
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2011 in Review – Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles
This was supposed to be one of those “super events” with the three fastest men in history going head to head for hurdle supremacy in 2011. And for a quick minute it seemed like that was going to be the case – but at the end of the day things weren‘t quite what we had anticipated. David Oliver (USA) started things off hot once again running a WL 13.16 to open up his season on Apr 9th. Then he went to Daegu to test things out at the Pre Worlds competition on May 12th– the result a swift 13/24. Then three days later in Shanghai, we would get a peek…
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John Smith Reboots w/ Dix & Bailey!
The last time U.S. sprint fortunes were in the precarious position we are now was coming off the 1996 Olympics. Yes, Michael Johnson won the long sprint double – the 200 in WR time. But for four straight Majors (’92, ’93, ’95 & ’96), we had lost the men’s 100 meters – and Donovan Bailey (CAN) took possession of the WR with his ’96 win. In ’95 & ’96 we lost the 4×1 relay as well – botched handoff in ’95, poor personnel management in ’96. Sound familiar? Early during that same time frame, Coach John Smith was nurturing quarter milers Steve Lewis, Danny Everett and Quincy Watts who won…
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Zurich – Speed Upstarts Rule
One of the recurring themes of the recently completed World Championships was that of up and coming athletes breaking through to the big time. While it was clear in Zurich that it’s time for the season to end as many athletes are now weary, several of the upstarts in Daegu are clearly out to prove that their performances in Daegu were no flukes. Take the men’s 100 for example. Yohan Blake (JAM) became the youngest ever World champion, yet it rang a bit hollow as Usain Bolt (JAM) false started out, Tyson Gay (USA) was at home recuperating, and Asafa Powell (JAM) pulled out of the meet with a groin…
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Worlds Day Three – Montsho Derails the Double
On day three of the championships head to head competition finally took center stage. It wasn’t about World Records, as none were in any imminent danger, but rather stirring competition that brought the focus back where it belongs – on the sports’ outstanding athletes! After a couple of semifinal races (I’ll talk about the men’s 400 in a bit) the first final on the track was the women’s 400 meters. Yesterday’s semis left defending champion Sanya Richards Ross (USA) starting in lane one, and effectively out of contention. Race favorite Allyson Felix (USA) was in lane 3 with Amantle Montsho (BOT) in 4, Francena McCorory (USA) in 5 and Ana…