The CHill Zone of T&F

The recent retirement, then retractment, by Haile Gebrselassie got me thinking about who the greatest athlete has been in this sport. Primarily because that could be Haile himself – if nothing else, he is probably the greatest distance runner of all time. Of course, track and field has a very long and storied history, so trying to determine the Greatest Of All Time is really a rather daunting task – especially given the various changes/stages that the sport has gone through. Because while individual PR’s are important, world records and all time lists will always get faster, farther, higher. What becomes important in trying to evaluate “The Best”, whether it…

I’ve talked before about what I feel is the need for the United States to be host to a World Championships. The sport’s biggest event has been around since 1983 and not once has the United States served as host. A travesty IMHO that the world’s greatest power in the sport has yet to host a Worlds. The next World Championships will be held in Daegu, South Korea in 2011 – a country that, outside of the marathon, has almost no presence in the sport. Berlin will host the 2013 version of the meet, and Beijing was just awarded the 2015 edition this past weekend – after just hosting the…

Once upon a time, when the Olympics were all there was, athletes’ lives revolved around the Olympic cycle. And, in general, athletes had roughly two cycles to accomplish their goals or leave the sport. That’s because prior to the 1980’s and “professionalism”, when track and field was truly an amateur sport, money was a scarce commodity in track and field. Yes, the best athletes were able to make money by getting paid “under the table”, but for most room and board and some travel expenses were as good as it got. So, many athletes had to find “real” jobs to supplement their participation in the sport – with training revolving…

The big event this past weekend was the New York City Marathon. An event won by Ethiopia’s Gebre Gebremariam in 2:08.14 – unspectacular when many of the world’s top races are being won in times of 2:04 / 2:05. The big news coming out of New York, however, was not who won, or even the results of the those that finished. Rather, the real news was the possible end to what may be the greatest career ever in the world of track and field. As Ethoipia’s Haile Gebrselassie – forced out of the race midway due to tendinitis – Gebrselassie said in his post race interview that injuries are bringing…

As I continue to take a look back at the 2010 season, I’ve looked at some standard “awards” (Athlete of the Year) as well as some not so standard (Top Breakthrough Americans). This is another of those non standard awards. Though I think there should be some way of  evaluating how well our meets do every year. If for no other reason than to tweak them for the better. Because the better we present our product, the better the sport should become. So, what meets caught my eye in 2010? Well, Stockholm’s DN Galan meet gave us the match up of the year as Tyson Gay defeated Usain Bolt to…

At the beginning of his short reign as CEO of USATF, Doug Logan set 30 medals as a goal for the US squad at the 2012 London Olympics. That bit of goal setting was the impetus for the creation of my “Thirty Watch List” – to  monitor our progress towards that goal. With Logan’s departure as CEO, I’ve asked myself if I should continue with this list. And after much consideration I’ve decided that keeping track of our progress towards earning medals is indeed a worthwhile endeavor. As part of any good plan involves some sort of monitoring progress towards the stated goals. With Logan gone, however, I’m not sure…

Having named the World Athletes of the Year, next on the list are the US versions. And as with the global AOY’s the choice for the men is fairly easy while that for the women is a little closer to call. For the men, it’s as easy as selecting the runner up choice for the Men’s World Athlete of the Year – David Oliver. Oliver was neck and neck in the selection for World Male AOY until a pair of World Records tipped the scales in Rudisha’s favor. Otherwise Oliver may have been the World Male AOY such was Oliver’s season. David Oliver was as dominating in the 110 hurdles…

As parents attempt to raise their children, they figure out at some point that a key to affecting their behavior is consistency. You have to deliver a clear message that is supported by consistent delivery of the message and consistent punishment that fits the transgression. The rules and punishments must be the same for all your children. And there can be no preferential treatment or you will lose credibility. If you can do these things you have a good shot at creating the type of behavior that you are trying to achieve from your children. As parents strive to create this environment for their children there is always the issue…

Today I pick up my end of the year reviews with my choice for this year’s Female Athlete of the Year. The competition for the title was a bit different than it was on the men’s side. While the men had two athletes that had record setting, all time list altering, undefeated seasons, there were several women that had outstanding seasons, marked by a hiccup or two. More than that, however, trying to determine an AOY on the women’s side made me examine how we evaluate athletes in track and field. In general we simply look at wins and losses as the method of evaluation in this sport. But as…

With the 2010 season now officially over in my book with the closing of the Commonwealth Games, I think it’s safe to dole out major accolades for the season. I started earlier with a look at the Top Breakthrough Americans this year and hope to continue with other segments of the sport. But of course the biggie each year, and one that has already started lots of conversation, is the annual selection of Male and Female Athletes of the Year. So, I think it’s safe to pick up my year end review with my selection of the Male Athlete of the Year. In an average season it’s fairly easy to…