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Weekend Action, Feb 4/5
It’s Super Bowl weekend and football and food are on most people’s minds. The track world seems to have had that in mind when scheduling meets, because the slate was rather sparse. Even so there were still some outstanding performances on the small ovals this weekend. It’s only the first weekend in February, but the field events are already on fire this year, and the event that is leading the way is the women’s pole vault. A couple of weeks ago we had Holly Bleasdale (GBR) emerge and become the #2 all-time indoor vaulter. Today she is only #2 on the season as Jenn Suhr (USA) screamed over 4.88m (16’…
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New Balance Indoor GP Preview
The indoor season really got rocking last weekend, and looks to pick up stream with the World Indoor Championships just a tad over a month away (Mar 9-11). One of the next steps towards Istanbul is this weekend’s New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. This year’s meet is focusing on the middle and long distance events, and there is no shortage of solid matchups. As a matter of fact, having odd distances sometimes leads to matchups that you wouldn’t normally get in an outdoor meet as athletes move up and down in distance and sometimes meet in the middle of their specialties. Keeping that in mind following are five…
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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…
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Weekend Action, Jan 28/29
Sometimes we spend so much time wishing that the Bolt’s, Gays, and Bekele’s of the sport were competing, that we forget just how much talent there is in this sport! That was evidenced this weekend, because as early as it is in the season, there is still plenty to talk about while many stars have yet to take to the track. Case in point is the 21.87m (71’ 9”) heave by Reese Hoffa in Chemnitz, Germany. It was the best throw in the world so far this year, and Hoffa’s best indoors since ‘06 when Hoffa tossed the shot 22.11m (72’ 6.5”). That’s a good sign for Hoffa, since he…
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Time to Talk Doping
At least that’s the impression I’m getting as I scan the news, as doping has been a very prominent topic this winter. Of course it is an Olympic year, and while on one hand there is the anticipation of watching the world’s best athletes produce stunning performances, the specter of “drugs” and just how “natural” those performances may be seems to be on everyone’s mind, as evidenced by the plethora of articles there are on the topic. Everything from gushing over how “modern” the Olympic lab is; to early warnings to drug cheats; botched tests; a plea for athletes and others to blow the whistle on known cheats; to an…
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U.S. Open Preview
The U.S. Open Indoor meet will be held this weekend, and there are several events worth keeping an eye on, as there will be many top level athletes competing. So let’s take a look at what I think will be the top competitions. Men’s 50 Meters Easily one of the deepest fields of the meet, the men’s 50 has former Olympic & World 100 champion Justin Gatlin (USA); former 100 Meter WR holder Asafa Powell (JAM); and #4 all time in the 100 Nesta Carter (JAM) among the entrants. Powell and Carter are both known as super-fast starters, which should give them an edge in the shortest event on the…
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Weekend Action, Jan 21/22
Now it feels like track season, as several performances that were turned in this weekend were truly up to par. As usual for this time of year the best of them were in the field – specifically the pole vault. In Reno, Nevada at the annual pole vault summit, Brad Walker (USA) cleared 5.80m (19’ 0.25”). An excellent mark for January – so good in fact that it would have won last year’s U.S. Outdoor Championships! As a matter of fact, Walker only jumped better (5.84) on one occasion in all of 2011 – so hopefully we are seeing a return of the 2007 vaulter that won the World Championships…
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Top Collegiate Programs In Action This Weekend
We’re a week away from the U.S. Open in Madison Square Garden. So it still seems like the indoor season really hasn’t gotten under way yet. But there are a couple of meets this weekend in College Station,Texas and Gainesville, Florida that should provide a good show ahead of the bright lights on Broadway. The first is the indoor dual between Texas A&M and LSU on Saturday. Both schools are perennial powers indoors and outdoors, and should be in the running for this year’s Indoor Championships. The USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) preseason rankings have LSU #3 men and #2 women; and A&M #12 men…
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Will 2012 be the Year of the Double?
I was reviewing the Marathon Trials finish last night and wondering how well Shalane Flanagan will do doubling in the 10,000/Marathon, when it hit me: we may have more legitimate “doublers” heading into London than ever before! In Beijing we had 5000/10000 double victories turned in by Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba; and a sprint double (100/200) by Usain Bolt. We also had double silver by Elvan Abeylegesse (5000/10000) and Tatyana Lebedeva (LJ/TJ); a double bronze performance by Walter Dix (100/200); and a silver & bronze performance by Kerron Stewart (100/200). Heading into this Olympic season of the ’08 doublers, Bekele, Bolt and Dix seemed best positioned to double again…
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It’s Time to Focus on the Indoor Season
With the Olympic Marathon Trials in the book, it’s time to start to focus on the indoor season. Most of the sport’s top athletes probably won’t debut until April or May – a trend started around the start of the New Millennium. Still there will be lots to look for under cover. For starters there are the collegiate athletes. There is an annual NCAA Indoor Championships, and by late March we will see many of the top collegians hitting top stride indoors, as the battle for the team title is a big deal in the collegiate ranks. That means high profile programs like Florida, Oregon, LSU and Texas A&M will…