While I’m discussing speed, and since I have yet to touch on the field, I think the long jump will make a good speed to field transition. A crew of solid jumpers in both the men’s and women’s fields should give us quite a bit of excitement in Daegu.

Men’s Long Jump

2011 Best

This is an interesting year for the long jump with defending champion Dwight Phillips barely on the radar this at 8.07/26’ 5.75” If it were almost any other athlete I would say he doesn’t make the cut for the final, but Phillips is a veterans veteran and has the potential to at least make the cut. He’s come up big too many times – gold medalist in Berlin, Helsinki, Athens and Paris – to simply fade away with a whimper.

His path to a repeat however will have to go through Australia’s Mitchell Watt, who has easily been the top long jumper this season. He jumped well over 27 feet during the Australian season and won the Australian title at 8.44/27’ 8.25 in April. He repeated that performance in a win in Shanghai in May, won in Stockholm with his world leader, then jumped 8.45/27’ 8.75 to win in London. If anyone is on a roll entering Korea it’s Watt.

His biggest threat for gold could be another super vet in the form of Irving Saladino – defending Olympic champions and World champion in Osaka. Saladino is #3 on the world list and managed wins in Hengelo and Paris – though only 3rd in Stockholm and 4th London.  Like Phillips however, Saladino has proven to be a big meet performer in the past. So the question for both he and Phillips is just how much age has taken out of their legs.

Veteran Chris Tomlinson is another who could threaten. No major wins on his seasonal resume, but he heads to Daegu having placed second in Paris, Barcelona & London – and with a new PR 8.35/27’4.75”. More importantly he has been right at or over 27 feet since the end of June.

The most intriguing of all the competitors is Ngoni Makusha (ZIM). Number two on the yearly list, his big jump came as part of a LJ/100 double where he also ran 9.89! He hasn’t competed in the long jump since his NCAA victory. He also has previous international experience having placed 4th in Beijing. With his speed he must be taken as a serious threat. The next Carl Lewis?

There are a lot of questions here. Has Phillips been able to find his form while preparing this Summer? Will Saladino step it up one more time? Is Tomlinson’s consistency a sign that a break through is near? And will Makusha continue his fairy tale season with another blast in Daegu. The biggest question however, is can anyone stop Watt from becoming the first Aussie to win this event? It doesn’t look like it.

Women’s Long Jump

2011 Best

Defending champion Brittney Reese (USA) enters Daegu as the world leader and winner of DL competitions in Rome Lausanne and Monaco; second place finishes in Birmingham & Baie Mahault; and a 3rd in New York.

Number two on the yearly list, and Reese’s closest pursuer this season is European Junior champion Darya Klishina (RUS) who has finished just behind Reese in Lausanne, Monaco & Birmingham.

The woman who beat them both in Birmingham is Janay DeLoach (USA), but that has been her only victory in a season that, since her 2nd place at Nationals, has seen her 5th in Lausanne, 4th in Uden, 7th in Monaco and 3rd in Budapest.

The rest of the women near the top of the list have very mixed schedules and have competed in several off the grid competitions. Though I should take note that Russian Zaytseva PR’d at 23’ 0” at Russian nationals – one of only two competitions heading into Daegu.

That aside it really looks like a two woman competition for the gold medal. So barring an athlete coming out of the woodwork, this one seems to be fairly scripted:

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One of the most exciting events at any track and field championships is the 4x4 relay. Traditionally the 4x4 closes out a meet, but this time around that duty is transferred to the 4x1. It will seem odd not watching the give and take that often occurs in the long relay. Because this year’s races promise to be quite exciting Read More...

Today is August 18th. The last big meet on the circuit was in London back on August 5-6th. The World Championships are STILL a week and a half away – starting August 27th. Can someone tell me why we have such a LONG break before the World Championships? We’re looking at a 3 week break with no track and field, smack dab in the middle of the European Circuit – the heart of the sport’s most visible time of the year! We’re talking about a marketing fiasco of the highest order Read More...

The 400 hurdles is an event where we are fortunate enough this year to have very solid and strong fields on both the men and women’s sides. Several veteran athletes, some great young talent, and a couple of hurdlers looking for redemption.   Women’s 400 Hurdles         World Record 52 Read More...

Ah the deuce. Taking place as it does near the end of the meet, it is somewhat difficult to predict. Sometimes athletes are tired by the time the deuce rolls around, as it’s often the second half of a double. Sometimes injuries come into play. There’s the opportunity to become a double winner for some, and the redemption factor for those that lost earlier in the week Read More...

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The 800 meters will be exciting in Daegu. On the men’s side because of the presence of World Record holder David Rudisha. On the women’s side because the event is potentially wide open.      Men’s 800         World Record 1:41.01 David Rudisha KEN Meet Record 1:43 Read More...

The Metric Mile, is one of the showcase events in the sport, and lately one of those hard to predict events. In large part because of the tendency for milers to get “tactical” in the big meets as opposed to simply “racing”. I don’t see an end to that trend on either the women or men’s sides in Daegu Read More...