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What to Watch in 2016
Olympic years are always exciting for sports fans because that global showcase will take place this summer. That means we will see the best that track and field (among other sports) has to offer – the best athletes competing head to head. Sad that I can’t say that in any other year, but unfortunately we don’t get this type of competition in any other year with any regularity. One would have hoped that the World Championships would have become THAT meet by now – having been around since 1983. But alas, though we get some scattered excellence around Worlds, it’s still "The Games" that the world aims for and "EVERYONE"…
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It’s Beijing Time
How times flies when you’re having fun! One minute I’m watching Prefontaine, NCAA’s and US Nationals and suddenly it’s almost time for the World Championships. In between there have been a slew of meets streamed online. So many that I’ve literally had little time to just sit and absorb and comment. Youth Championships, Jr Championships, Pan Ams, European Championships (Jr & Sr). Literally a smorgasbord of track and field. For the first time I feel like the internet has truly paid homage to the sport! This is what I’ve dreamed of my whole life. It’s been a wonderful summer in that regard. Now the general news coming out of the…
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You Know It’s an Off Season When …
Track and Field exists in its own alternate universe where semi finals consist of THREE heats, and the focus on promoting the sport is NOT on the competition, but individual performances! In that same vein, it’s the rare sport where its most outstanding performances tend to occur outside of championship settings and in seasons where there is no major championships at all – the Off Season. We’re not like swimming where records and sensational times fall like leaves from the trees when their World Championships and the Games come around. Especially in events longer than one lap where running fast – for whatever reasons – takes a backseat to tactics.…
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Reese 7.25m/23’9” in Highlight Filled Doha
With the Diamond League starting in Doha yesterday it was expected, at least from me, that the yearly lists would get some revision. After all, this would be the first real gathering of the elites outdoors in 2013 – and indeed the yearly lists took a beating. What wasn’t quite expected however, was the extremely high level of performances that were turned in, as several events had results that looked like they were made in August, not early May. Perhaps the best of these was Brittney Reese’s 7.25m/23’9” leap in the long jump. Reese’s mark was a WL, PR, and moved her ever to within .07m of 24 feet –…
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London Olympics – Track Hot on Fri / Sat
The athletes finally got to do their thing on Olympic Stadium, and of the first two days are any indication this is gonna be one humdinger of a meet. So double up on the popcorn and drink, because the athletes have come here ready to compete! That was clear when Jessica Ennis started things off by blazing 12.54 in the 100H in the heptathlon! Setting a heptathlon WR and indicating that Mondo did it’s job well when it laid this track – because it’s fast! That race set the stage for a fast and competitive first half of the weekend. Friday only had two finals as most of the action…
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Early Weekend Results – Oslo / NCAA
It’s only Friday, but we’ve already had enough track to fill a weekend – and we’re just getting started! The early results are in, and while Oslo wasn’t quite as hot as I had hoped, the "kids" we definitely ahead of expectations at the NCAA Championships! Let’s start with Oslo where vets Usain Bolt (JAM) and Sally Pearson (AUS) confirmed their status as early London favorites. Fresh off his 9.76 in Rome last week, Bolt cranked out a 9.79 in Oslo. Again his only competition came from teammate Asafa Powell who was second in 9.85. Powell seemed more relaxed today as he wasn’t right next to Bolt, and no one…
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Pre–Outstanding Results, Lots of Questions
Trying to put something together on this meet has been giving me fits. Once again the Pre Classic was the best non championship meet on US soil. From the distance races Friday night (streamed live thank you) to the Bowerman Mile that closed out the NBC broadcast, the fields were top notch across the board. And at the end of the day, the results show 10 world leading performances, led by the very deep Kenyan 10,000 meter Trials. But while the results were outstanding, in many cases they were also confusing, as favorites didn’t always perform like favorites; and American athletes often didn’t look like the Trials were a scant…
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Lessons Learned From Women’s Day in Rome
The results are in, and after watching the Rome leg of the Diamond League I think I learned a few things. Prefontaine is only two days away, so things could change a bit over the next 48 hours. Results of the meet can be found here, so without going into each and every race and result, here are my thoughts on what happened in Rome. Men’s 100 meters. After watching Bolt today (9.76, -0.1) Ostrava was a matter of jet lag – or perhaps being out too late the night before. Either way, “sluggish” Bolt gave way to a sprinter that had the race under control by 30 meters –…
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Liu (12.97) and Dibaba (3:57.77) in Shanghai
The Doha Diamond League event set a standard that may be difficult to match. And it didn’t help that the weather wasn’t very cooperative in Shanghai, as it was rainy throughout, keeping performances down.That made the world leading races by Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) and Liu Xiang (CHN) that much more phenomenal, as sterling marks were hard to come by in China. The women took to the track for the 1500 chasing the world leading time of 4:05.92 set last night by Shannon Rowbury (USA), and in spite of the conditions the pace maker set sail with splits of 62.3 / 2:08 with several women tucked in behind. Then Dibaba took…
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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)…