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Multi’s WRs Lead HOT World Championships
It’s a bit ironic that today is “Selection Sunday” for the NCAA basketball tournament, because this weekend of track and field had the kind of wall to wall action associated with the NCAA Tournament. Between the NCAA & World Indoor Championships; Internet feeds; major time zone differences; and early outdoor track meets; I’ve been watching almost non-stop track and field from Friday afternoon until just a bit ago here on Sunday morning! Friday afternoon NCAA feed; late night/very early morning Worlds feed; out Saturday to a local high school meet; back in early evening in time to catch the NCAA feed; then very early morning to finish up with the…
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Hot Istanbul Match Ups
The World Indoor Championships this weekend in Istanbul Turkey will close out the elite indoor season and provide a segue into the outdoor season proper. As such we should see the best performances yet on the 200 meter oval. Before I post my predictions tomorrow on who I think the winners will be (I’m still on the fence in a couple of events) here are a half dozen events that I’m really looking forward to based on the match ups that will be on the track. Women’s Pole Vault Yelena Isinbayeva has come back in a BIG way this indoor season. For starters, she took down her own WR…
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Claye, Isi, Lowe, & Kimmons Lead Busy Weekend
There was a lot of activity in what was a long weekend of track and field as multiple day meets took center stage with athletes looking to qualify for the NCAA and World Championships. Clearly we are witnessing the first “peak” of the year, as many folk showed up ready to rock and roll! So many, that I’m going to tackle the highlights by areas of disciplines instead of individuals or individual events. Jumps and Vaults I’m going to start here, because the first real highlight of the weekend happened before the weekend got fully under way as Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) solidified her return to the vaulting wars by a)…
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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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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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Batman & Robin – The Jamaican Sequel
I’ve seen this movie several times before during the professional era of the sport. A top level coach gets a sprinter to the top. Then others join the camp in hopes of having the same success. Soon another sprinter emerges from the group, and now two of the best sprinters in the world are training together daily. They try to coexist as 1a and 1b, but at some point they must meet outside of practice and 1a and 1b become Batman and Robin, as the dominant Alpha Male finally emerges. You see, while it sounds good to say “1a & 1b”, there’s no such thing in the egomaniacal world of…
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Six Underdogs I’m Rooting for in Daegu
It’s easy to throw your support behind a favorite. Bandwagons are full of those rooting for athletes like Usain Bolt, Yelena Isinbayeva, David Rudisha, and Allyson Felix. But while I too have favorites that I am pulling for, someone has to give the underdogs some love. So here are six underdogs that I am rooting for. Athletes that don’t always get the respect that I think they should, but that I think are very capable of making a big splash in Daegu. Morgan Uceny – 1500 meters I’ve watched the rise of Uceny over the past few seasons and she has become one of my favorite “milers” of…