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Lausanne/Paris –Turning the Corner to Moscow
Suddenly the World Championships are very close, and we got a couple of very good “tune up” meets on back to back days (Thu/Sat) that I think started to set the stage for Moscow. Now’s the time when we either watch athletes start to reach their peak or begin to falter a bit. Either way, we’re starting to get a clue at where the best battles may be when the first events begin at the World Championships. Judging from what I saw in Lausanne and Paris there’s going to be some great action in Moscow. A lot of this season’s top action has been turned in by the women. This…
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Prefontaine – Post Meet Thoughts
Ok people, like Christmas the Prefontaine Classic has come and gone – and just like Christmas I find myself the day after trying to figure out how it compares to meets past. It’s not a question of whether or not I liked the meet. It was track and field, of course I liked it. The question is to what degree was my appetite for the sport satiated? Perhaps because of the discussion about the sport in general over the past week I may be a bit more "critical" than usual, but I found the meet to be "just ok" for me. Somehow the "Wow" factor was missing. You may or…
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Kirani James’ 44.02 Highlights Shanghai DL
Perhaps Doha raised the bar a bit high, but I didn’t come away from Shanghai with the same WOW factor that I had following the Diamond League opener. A nice set of marks were turned in, but that special something was missing in most of the events on the track. One running event that hit on all cylinders however, was the men’s 400 as both LaShawn Merritt and Kirani James showed up to compete. Both men took it out down the backstretch and add they headed around the second bend, James began to seriously work, emerging with a slight lead that he increased with each stride up the straight, and…
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Shanghai Preview
It’s time for the second installment of the Diamond League, and if Doha was any indication of how the year is going to go then Shanghai should be a real humdinger! Looking at the start lists, things should once again be exiting from start to finish. As usual however, there are some events that I am especially looking forward to: Men’s 110 Hurdles Aries Merritt, David Oliver, Jason Richardson This is one of those wonderful events where the best compete head to head quite often – and the anticipation never drops. That said, this trio could end up being the threesome that represents the US in Moscow, and Shanghai…
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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…
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Who Will Emerge in 2012 – Women
Now that we’ve taken a look at the men, it’s time to do the same with the women, because there will certainly be those women that step out of the shadows to make headlines. After getting drubbed by the Eastern Bloc sprinters in ’76, Evelyn Ashford became Kryptonite to the Iron Curtain Superwomen demolishing them at the ’79 World Cup before making headlines at the ’84 Los Angeles Games. The ’88 Games in Seoul saw both Jackie Joyner Kersee and Heike Drechsler blossom, as one of the sport’s greatest rivalries was born. And the Games of 2000 saw Gabriella Szabo burst onto the scene. The question now is who will…
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2011 in Review – Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles
The women had a much better season relative to their male counterparts. Whereas the men seemed to have difficulty coming up with quality times, the women had no such troubles. Right off the bat, the women started asserting themselves as Lashinda Demus (USA) turned 54.85 to set a solid world lead on May 7th. A week later she lowered her SB to 54.58, but found herself behind the rapidly improving Kaliese Spencer (JAM) at 54.20. Two weeks later they would take to the track in Eugene with Demus turning the tables with a 53.31 to 53.45 win over Spencer – with defending World and Olympic champion Melaine Walker 3rdin 53.56…