Finally we get the start of the long awaited Diamond League. Fourteen meetings that begin in Asia, move to Europe, travel to the US, then journey back to Europe. The full schedule is as follows:

Links to the proposed entries are on the right. I have to say however, that after all the hype last year about the new Diamond League the sport has once again dropped the ball when it comes to marketing. This “debut” is a bit of a let down, as several of the sport’s top stars will not be in attendance – a point that I will continue to hammer unrelentingly over the course of the season, as we can’t seem to get enough of our stars on the track at any given time. Let me change that, we can’t seem to get our top stars on the track with any regularity!

It would have been nice to kick things off with Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Kenenisa Bekele, Abubaker Kaki, Carmelita Jeter, Valerie Villi, Dayron Robles and several others missing from this meet. I mean, how do you start what is supposed to be your flagship set of competitions and NOT have your star attraction on the start list? Or how about a couple of marquee matchups like Rudisha/Kaki, Jeter/Fraser, Vlasic/Friedrich, or dare I say Bolt/Gay. Hey, we’ll take Gay/Powell – #’s 2 & 3 all time in a head to head before taking on Bolt, to get the juices flowing.

In yet another marketing faux paux, however, we get none of that. We were told that we were going to get plenty of Bolt, Gay & Powell in the Diamond League – the sprints being a central focus since Bolt is the face of the sport. But what we get in Doha is Powell and a lot of guys still trying to make a name. The track and field equivalent of Gladys Knight and the Pips minus Gladys Knight. Hard to sell tickets to a Gladys Knight and the Pips concert when just the Pips keep showing up! But this is what happens when A) you focus your marketing efforts around one individual, and B) you lose track of what makes the sport great – competition. Without your headliner ticket buyers lose interest. Ironically Bolt and Gay will both be competing within days of the Diamond League’s debut – Gay in Manchester on Sunday, Bolt in Daegu on Tuesday. Just another case where the loose association of meets that seem to govern the sport are not working in the sport’s favor.

When those in charge of track and field begin to focus on the fact that what the fans really want is head to head competition among the best athletes, and therefore put more emphasis on putting together complete events as opposed to individual names on the marquees, it will have a better chance of success as it attempts to capture the imagination of the world’s sporting fans. Having said that, there are some athletes and match ups in Doha that should be presented/sold to the public – and that is what I will focus on. If we’re going to build a fan base we have to build exposure for more athletes. So for my money these are the athletes/match ups I’m most looking forward to in Doha:

Rudisha opened his outdoor season with a 45.50 quarter mile, then took to the track for his 1:43.15 world leader. He should get a good race here from Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (RSA) #2 on the season at 1:45.41. More importantly, however, Mulaudzi has broken 1:43 himself sporting a 1:42.86 PR set last year in Rieti behind Rudisha’s monster 1:42.01. If anyone else hopes to challenge it could be Cuban Yeimer Lopez who has a PR of 1:43.07. The real excitement of this race should be in the race against the clock, as Rudisha has shown the ability to run below 1:42. The question that I have for this race is just how close will he get to that barrier, as I expect Rudisha to move past Sebastian Coe (1:41.73) into the #2 all time position this year – and possibly challenge Wilson Kipketer’s 1:41.11 WR. Definitely an athlete to keep an eye on this year.

The excitement of this race lies in the entry of Allyson Felix the three time world champion over 200 who looks to be making a serious foray into the 400 this year. She’s going to be strongly tested in Doha with Olympic Champion Christine Ohuruogu (GBR), current world leader Novlene Mills (JAM), and World Indoor Champion Debbie Dunn (US) heading a strong field. Felix won this race last year (50.75) as part of her preparation for the 200. The aforementioned trio should make things a bit tougher this time around. Watch the final surge down the straight as Mills, Ohuruogu and Felix all tend to finish strongly. Hard to bet against Felix if she’s close, however. If the weather cooperates we should see the season’s first 49 second run. A win here could set Felix on a collision course with Sanya Richards for 400 supremacy this season.

The majority of men in this race have seen Olympic and World Championship competition. Angelo Taylor (US) is a two time Olympic gold medalist and Kerron Clement (US) a two time World Champion. I’m sure they, and the rest of the field, have had time to digest Javier Culson’s world leader from last weekend and should be out to show that they are still in that league! Taylor’s SB of 48.16 came two weeks ago as part of a 400/400H double (45.05/48.16) with less than an hour between. With a 20.39 also on the books this season, he’s my favorite to win here. It won’t be easy however, as Bershawn Jackson always brings his “A” game, and if Kerron Clement can navigate the final three hurdles clearly he will be tough down the final straight. While the head to heads in the 100 meters are rare, these guys go at it with regularity. If only we could get this kind of top level activity in more events.

No the current marks are not that great. But I’m including this event because of the presence of Anna Rogowska (POL) and the lack of Yelena Isinbayeva’s presence in the event this year. Rogowska won last year’s World Championships, defeating Isinbayeva. The only blemish on what was otherwise a perfect season for Yelena. Isinbayeva is not competing this year, however, taking something akin to a sabbatical from the sport. So having finally ascended to the top of the food chain after several years of hard work, I’m looking to see how Rogowska does in the role of #1 without the almighty Yelena breathing down her neck. Doha could go a long way towards determining if she’s now ready to become queen, or if the event has suddenly become wide open.

I’ve been a Cantwell fan for some time and it was nice to see him finally exercise his demons in Berlin and get that elusive gold medal. Now that he has become a “champion” he seems to be more relaxed out there – which could mean trouble for his competition and the all time lists. Cantwell’s PR is a huge 73’ 11.5” set during the 2004 season. He also threw 73’ 7.75” in ‘06 – the last “off year” without a major championship. Only four men in history have thrown over 75 feet – Brian Oldfield, USA (75’ 0”), Alessandro Andrei, ITA (75’ 2”), Ulf Timmerman, GER (75’ 7.75”) and WR holder Randy Barnes, US (75’ 10.25”). I believe Cantwell has the ability to join that group. He should get a good push in that direction in Doha from Reese Hoffa (73’ 7”) and Tomas Majewski (72’) two men with huge PR’s of their own.

With most of the major collegiate conferences on tap this weekend, that means the NCAA Championships are just around the bend. At the beginning of the season I gave my predictions for those collegians I felt were the favorites to win their respective events in Eugene. Seems like a good time to update that list as they begin to position themselves and their teams Read More...

No, I’m not talking about a category in the second round of the TV game show Jeopardy. I’m referring to the real life law (at least in this country) that you can’t be tried and convicted of the same crime twice. Once convicted and sentence served you are done with that particular crime. Once you’ve “done the time” you’re done with that crime Read More...

With Doha and the start of the Diamond League a week away, and no big meets on tap this weekend not a lot was expected in terms of upper level times. But with no global championship on tap it looks like we’re going to be treated to a lot of high level action this year. At least that’s how things worked out this weekend as Walter Dix and Javier Culson let everyone know that they are going to be major players in their events this year Read More...

The Diamond League will be starting in just over a week and so far the most hyped events have been the sprints. Not unexpected with Usain Bolt serving as the current face of the sport. What is surprising, at least to me, is that as we approach the heart of the season we (the US) don’t seem to have that 1,2 punch in the short sprint that has served us so well throughout most of the history of the sport Read More...

Chris Solinsky finally takes the American 10000 meter record under 27 minutes. Nearly 17 years after the world record first dipped under 27 - 26:58.38, Yobes Ondieki, Oslo, July 11, 1993. Almost 38 years after Frank Shorter became the first American to break the 28 minute mark – 27:58.2 at the Games  in Munich, August 31, 1972 Read More...

After seeing both Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay on the track in Kingston this past weekend  I’m sure that many are now wondering when will we get to see them going head to head? That’s what I want to know after watching their last set of races – Gay 44.89 & 45.05 and Bolt 8.79r & 19.56 Read More...

It’s been a rare feat when an American leads the world list over 10,000 meters at any point in the season, and until yesterday no American had run the event faster than 27:13.98. Well, Chris Solinski changed all those things as he ran a stunning 26:59.60 in Palo Alto to destroy the American Record and take the world lead while becoming the first American under the 27 minute barrier in the event – and he did it in his debut over the distance! Known as a 5000 meter runner (13:12 Read More...

At the end of ‘09, I viewed the men’s 400 as the sprint event with the most upside potential and room for an athlete or two to step in and make a name for himself. Now that it looks like we are going to lose Lashawn Merritt for a while, the event is more wide open than ever. We’re into the first part of May and we have yet to see Jeremy Wariner on the track – which could mean that injury rumors are true Read More...

With Penn in the rear view mirror it’s now time for things to start truly heating up. The Diamond League will debut in just about 2 weeks time in Doha, Qatar on May 14th. But the sprints will get a head start as several top sprinters will take to the track this weekend in Kingston Jamaica. While many were on the track at Penn stretching out in various relay events, this time the action will take place in individual events, as the season now begins in earnest Read More...