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First Prediction – US 100 Men
It’s the end of the year, and a stones throw to the US Trials. That, and the suspension of Coleman has everyone trying to figure out the men’s sprint squad. That’s not going to be easy, because not everyone competed in 2020. Those that did had an abbreviated season and right now everyone is training for 2021. So picking this team today is going to be tough. As a matter of fact, it’s probably easier to pick the Tokyo final knowing who most of the rest of the world will be sending to the Games. But who said it has to be easy? This is the fun part of being…
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Can the US Return After a Decade?
Ten years. A decade. A lot can happen in 10 years. Ten years ago, the iPhone made its debut – now no one can remember how we lived WITHOUT smartphones. Blackberry and Nokia ruled the cell phone world, and if you were really cool you owned a Razr! Young people today can’t remember either of those names with a market dominated by iPhones and Galaxy’s. A decade ago was the last time the US men won a Major 4×1. Winning in Osaka against a Bolt/Powell lead squad 37.78 to 37.89 – Jamaica’s first sub 38! Believe it or not, that race was run with a substitute on anchor for the…
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NCAA Championships
Championship season is my favorite time of year. The relay circuit is fun. The Diamond League gives us a glimpse of the world’s elite athletes. But in today’s track and field it’s Championships that gives us the head to head competition between the sports best athletes at every level! The NCAA’s are always the first of the "elite" championships each year. What makes this meet so exciting for me is the depth of competition; the exciting competition; and the emergence of the elite athletes as they prepare to "graduate" to compete against their elders. Once again, this meet meet those expectations. In spite of the weather/conditions in Eugene once again…
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March Closes Out in Style
Now that’s the way to end a month of track and field – with some stellar competition! The Texas Relays officially signals the start of the relay season and went off in fine style. As is often the case, the it was the hot meet of the weekend – and as usual speed was on display. Take a look at the following results and comments. On the other side of the country, the Stanford Invitational saw tons of very good high school action with a smattering of high level elite competition thrown in. Scanning the results sheets I also noted some interesting/outstanding performances from several other meets this weekend. Following…
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HOT Weekend to End February
Just as I’ve been anticipating, this weekend saw track and field rise to its highest level of the season! The college ranks entered their biggest time of the year with conference meets galore add the athletes prepare for the NCAA Championships. Professional athletes laid down some marks of note, especially at the DN Galen in Sweden. Even the high schoolers got into the act with a new 300 record and some swift sprinting at the Brooks PR meet in Seattle. If the closing weeks of the indoor season are any indication this could be one HOT outdoor season on the horizon! There were far too many great marks to try…
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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…