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The Middle Distances Post London
I’m going to talk about the relays and hurdles, which are speed related, but I want to skip over to the middle distances because it’s become one of the most exciting areas of the sport. Heading into London, I think most people assumed that the 800 & 1500 were the exclusive property of Kenya, who annually dominates the yearly lists – though personally I had some reservations about said dominance. After watching the events play out in London, the lack of Kenyan dominance is just one of the key issues I see in these events moving forward. While the country of Kenya didn’t dominate in London, the most dominant single…
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Can US Male Milers Make the London Podium?
I ask that question on the assumption that the women CAN medal. After all, we went to Daegu and won gold AFTER our favored athlete was tripped and failed to finish the race! US women milers have made huge strides in the last few years. Three have gone under 4:00, and two others are knocking hard at the door. We had two finalists in Daegu and won gold with our #2. So the women are doing well enough that it would not surprise me to see three American women in the final in London. Nor would it be a surprise to hear the Star Spangled Banner being played during the…
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Women’s 1500 Trials Should be Fierce
I want to talk a bit about the false start rule, as well as some of the weekend’s upcoming meets, and Monday’s marathon – and I’m going to do that tomorrow as we head into the weekend. After putting together my early Trials favorites list however, I couldn’t help but take another look at the women’s 1500 because just like the men’s 110 hurdles, we have one of the best fields ever in US Trials history shaping up. The depth is not quite as deep as the men’s hurdles, but the quality at the top is just as good, if not better. Top Current American Women 1500 Runners 3:59.38 Anna…
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Memories of the Games – Paula Ivan
Before I take a look at the hurdles events for 2012, I want to go back to the middle distances for a moment. Because as I was looking at this year’s women’s 1500, visions of one of the most gutsy performances in Olympic history were running through my mind. I’m actually a big fan of the mile/1500 meters, I grew up during the era of Jim Ryun, Kip Keino, Ben Jipcho, John Walker, and Filbert Bayi – milers that ran fast and competed strongly. Having cut my teeth on competitors like these, I’m often disappointed by the slow, tactical affairs that milers often produce – especially in championship settings. Back…
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2012 Outdoor Preview – Middle Distances
The middle distance events (800 / 1500) should be very interesting this year. There is the potential of a world record, some very competitive women’s events, and the potential for a sweep. Above all, however, I expect them to be very exciting, both during the season as well as in the Games themselves, as middle distance competitors tend to compete fairly often and we should see some solid matchups outside the Games, as opposed to the sprints where we may see only one loaded race all season. So let’s take a look at the players in the middle distances. Men’s 800 – Can Rudisha be challenged? David Rudisha (KEN)…
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2011 in Review – Men’s 1500 Meters
Like the women’s version of the metric mile, the men’s 1500 final in Daegu was a far cry from the way the season itself played out. Not to mention the difficulty in sorting things out due to the constant change in leadership on the track. Things got crackin in earnest in Doha as young Nixon Chepseba (KEN) torched the track for a WL 3:31.84 to win over Silas Kiplagat (KEN, 3:32.15), Mekonnen Gebremedhin (ETH, 3:32.28), Caleb Ndiku (KEN, 3:33.05) and Haron Keitany (KEN, 3:33.39)- showcasing Kenya’s depth, and signaling that making the Kenyan team for Daegu would be extremely tough. A little over a week later, Chepseba torched the field…
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2011 in Review – Women’s 1500 Meters
Typically when in doubt, the result of the year’s Major championship does wonders to help sort out the top athletes on the season. When it comes to ranking this year’s women’s 1500 however, Daegu rendered itself fairly useless in the matter. The season got going in earnest as Anna Mishchenko (UKR) won the first stop on the Diamond League in Doha with a WL 4:03.00 – setting a decent early pace. Mishchenko showed consistency in Rome running 4:03.53, but that was only good for 4thplace as Maryam Jamal (BRN) laid the hammer down coming home in 4:01.60 for a new WL. Jamal would lower that SB three days later in…
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What Will Our Male Middle Distance Presence be in London
Looking back on 2011 & Daegu, and forward to 2012 & London, I find three areas in the U.S. that concern me. One is the men’s sprints & hurdles which I recentlytouched on. Another is our field events in general – something I’ll be talking about in the very near future. The other, that I’ll be addressing today, is our male middle distance runners. I say this in spite of Matt Centrowitz’ surprise bronze in Daegu, because it was just that – a surprise. Because right now there is only one middle distance runner that we can count on to produce when needed – Bernard Lagat – and his career…