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What Can van Niekerk Do?
I recently saw the question posed on the internet, "Can van Niekerk break the world record in the 200 meters?" To wit the response from most was a loud, "NO". That tends to be the response when talk of a long standing record arises. Longevity tends to breed the notion that a mark is invincible. I’ve seen enough records however, to know that eventually they all fall. Bob Beamon’s legendary 29′ 2.5" long jump elicited the phrase "Beamonesque" it was deemed so awesome and unbeatable – and it did last from 1968 until 1991. Then out of nowhere, in one meet, we had Carl Lewis (expected to break there record)…
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Doha DL, Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
OK, now that we’ve had our first sub10 of the year, it finally feels like track season. And right on time we get the first of the Diamond League meets in Doha on Friday, which means a lot more elite athletes should be competing. While I have many issues with the way the DL has been set up – chief among them the lack of promised head to heads with the upper tier elite sprinters – this series of meets does run through some of the sport’s best venues. Which combined with the elite athletes that do show up at each meet is enough to ensure that we get some…
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My Favorite All Time Sprinters
It’s that time of year for lists – typically “Top Ten” lists. And I am in the process of doing research to put together my end of the year lists. While I’m doing that however – there is lots of data to go over – I thought I would start by sharing some of my “Favorites” in list form. Favorite hurdlers, middle distance runners, field event athletes, etc. Since the world’s most recognizable athletes right now are sprinters – Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Justin Gatlin, et al – I thought I would start with sprinters. Let me state up front, that I am not going to list anyone…
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London Olympics – The US Finds Its Stride
We’re roughly half way through with the track and field portion of the Games and though there has been a medal here and there,US troops haven’t really gotten untracked – until today. The team that’s expected to leave with the most medals in t&f, had struggled a bit to this point, as several athletes didn’t quite hit the mark. That happens in big time meets as we’ve seen with athletes from many countries, but you had to figure that at some point things would change – today was that day. I knew it would be a good day when I looked at the schedule and saw that the morning would…
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Trials Final Weekend
After over a week of action, the Trials wrapped things up in nice style this weekend. There were only 2 finals on the track on Saturday, but 5 on Sunday. With 2 field finals each day. One would almost think they could have had single day “finale” and did it up right for the fans. Still there was some great action over the final two days. There were only four finals on Saturday, but they were something else. In the field we got what we expected in triple jump with Christian Taylor and Will Claye setting the pace. They did it early with Taylor hitting 17.32m/57’10.25” and Claye 17.55m/57’7” in…
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Kansas Gets Things Rolling Early
Weekend results are coming in early as the Kansas Relays have already gotten started with some "Downtown" events. On Wednesday evening the shot putters were up, throwing in a ring placed in the middle of downtown Lawrence. The result was a stunning competition as Reese Hoffa (21.73m / 71′ 3.5") out dueled Christian Cantwell (21.71m / 71′ 2.25"). Hoffa takes over the WL with Cantwell becoming #2 on the year. Both men had a pair of throws over 71 feet and were extremely consistent throughout the competition. It’s still a bit early, but both men are looking like the perennial Majors competitors that they are. The shot put is going…
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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…