-
What are the Sport’s Best Rivalries (pt2)
The last time around I took a look at some rivalries on the men’s side of things that l think would be a good sell to build the sport from a marketing perspective. Today I want to broaden that to include the women (and a hybrid) – who actually tend to compete against reach other on a more regular basis than the men. The first rivalry I want to look at really hasn’t become one yet but I think could be a doozy – Allyson Felix v Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce over 200 meters. Both women have experienced rivalries in other events – Felix v Veronica Campbell Brown over 200,…
-
Blake Jumps Starts the Weekend in Lausanne
Well, I said the Lausanne start list had an Olympic feel to it and several athletes showed that they were still in Olympic form. In a meet with several Olympic caliber performances the best was turned in by Yohan Blake (JAM) who nailed the start and never looked back in the 100 meters, stopping the clock at 9.69 – making him the =#2 performer all time with the =#3 performance. The man he tied with for #2 performer, Tyson Gay (USA), was second in this race at 9.83 – maintaining his streak of 9.8’s on the season but not yet dipping below that 9.80 level. Blake meanwhile joined Usain Bolt…
-
Stockholm Begins Post Olympic Season
The post Olympics season began today in Stockholm and I proved to myself just how big a track junkie I am as I watched the meet on my cellphone as I drove around taking care of business today – such is the life of a track nerd! Unless the first meet after a major is Zurich, that first one is usually a bit “down” compared to the Games – and Stockholm fit that description. There were some very nice fields, but for the most part the competition was a cut below what we got used to during the Olympics – duh. While the marks weren’t as stellar as those we…
-
London Olympics – THAT Was Exciting !
OK, my feed was working all day, and it was a great day to watch live track and field at the Olympics. I’m a day behind, but so much happened not enough time or room to catch up on everything. I will say an outstanding win in the pole vault for Jenn Suhr (USA). Primarily because Yelena Isinbayeva was in the field and finished with the bronze. A great win for Jenn who upgraded from silver in Beijing, but more so the signal of change in the event, as “Isi’s” best days are clearly behind her. Remember a couple of weeks ago I said this was going to be a…
-
Trials Day 2 – Ashton Eaton, 9039 WR
Excitement and drama. That’s standard when talking about the Olympic Trials. And while there were only three finals, Day Two just might be one of the most exciting and dramatic Trials days ever! Let’s start with the decathlon, since it did start the day off. Ashton Eaton entered the day with a score of 4728 pts, putting him on WR pace as he, Trey Hardee, and Bryan Clay looked to be on their way to sending the greatest trio of decathletes ever to the Games. A 13.70 to open up things in the hurdles kept Eaton on pace. Unfortunately for Bryan Clay however, it all went wrong. First he hit…
-
Robles and Merritt Open Fast
The “relay” season is over which means that the pattern of meets is about to change, as we move from domestic competitions to IAAF sanctioned international meets with the Diamond League at the core. So instead of weekend meets running two or three days long we now move to single day competitions sometimes on the weekend, sometimes running mid week. That schedule started yesterday with several athletes starting their path to London at the Baie Mahault meet in Guadeloupe just outside France. With the international season under way and literally weeks to go before the start of most country’s Olympic Trials we’ll start to get a rush of big name…
-
8 Must See Trials Events
I’m getting antsy, it’s Friday night and no big results can be found – everything major will be happening Saturday. So my mind is wandering in the direction of the Trials. After all, once the smoke clears everything comes down to two meets this year – National Trials and the Olympic Games.In some countries the Trials may be the years most important meet, beside if you don’t get past the Trials you’ll never see the Games – at least not from the stadium in London. So I’m anticipating the Trials almost as much as the Games. With everything on the line and great depth in several events, the US Trials…
-
2012 Outdoor Preview – Hurdles
If you like speed and competition then you must like the hurdles. Unlike the pure sprinters, who seem to avoid each other as much as possible until forced to toe the line for championships, the hurdlers compete often and face each other with regularity. The sprinters tend to get more publicity but of the four hurdle events three of them have legitimate shots at having WR’s broken – two by more than one individual. The hurdles are among the hottest events in the sport, with some of it’s best athletes. If you’re not watching the hurdles you’re missing some of the best competition the sport has to offer. Here’s…
-
2011 in Review – Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles
If there is an event that I would hold up as a model for how I’d like to see a season go it would be the women’s 100 meter hurdles! These women did it all. The top women competed from early season through the World Championships – most competing in over 10 meets, and some over 15. They competed against each other often, and did so at a fairly high level for most of the season. If more events had this level of competition throughout the season we wouldn’t be talking about a decline of the sport! The season got started early as Sally Pearson (AUS) ran 12.85 at the…