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Early Season Track Q & A
Finally. The indoor season is done and we’re outdoors. We’ve had Penn, Texas, and Florida. The World Relays just ended, and the Diamond League is ready to begin. Time to look at a few questions facing the speed events as we get serious outdoors. So, I’m going to address some questions I’ve seen floating around on the internet, as well as some issues raised at the close of l last year. Is Botswana now the team to beat in the 4×4 relay? The answer is no. Botswana is definitely a global power in the event, having run 2:54 in two different seasons. They also pulled off a rare win over…
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2025 Athletes of the Year
As we end the year that was 2025, the “powers that be” attempt to tell us who the best athletes of the year were. Unfortunately however, many people believe that they typically fail in their assessments, and I tend to agree. Personally, I’m not fond of trying to take a year’s worth of competition from several extremely elite individuals, and condense it all down to a single athlete, as it serves only to attempt to diminish the work of so many others. That said, it is what happens, so I’m going to give my two cents as my way of bringing balance to the conversation. Before I give that two…
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World Championships Review
The 2025 World Championships have come and gone, but will not soon be forgotten. As great as the Paris Olympics were, it’s my opinion that Tokyo was equal in excitement, competitive intensity, and results. Simply put, it was one hell of a meet. If you’re a fan of the sport, you’ve already gotten the results, so here, I’m going to review some of what I considered to be some of the best moments from these championships. Starting with Ryan Crouser. Crouser has not been seen all year. Not indoors. Not early outdoors. Not at Nationals. Not at all. He’s been at home, nursing an elbow injury dating back to last…
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Women’s 100m Outlook, 2024
I’ve given my opinion on the men’s 100m, so it’s time to do the same for the women. I’ll start by saying that there are fewer women currently competing in the top thirty all time performance list than the men. BUT five of the top ten fastest women ever are currently competing! The women are not as deep overall, but have better depth on the top end. The women’s WR of 10.49 has been on the books since 1988! And for all these decades it’s appeared to be unapproachable – until recently, as there has been an explosion of performance post Covid. Elaine Thompson Herah (10.54), Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce…
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NCAA Preview
We’re a day out from the NCAA Championships and I think I’m nearly as nervous as the athletes and teams are! Based on what I’ve seen during the conference and Regional competitions, there should be some serious fireworks in Eugene this week, because this year, we’ve got serious matchups in just about every event on the program. If there are any “clear” favorites, they’re probably two hurdlers – one male, one female. On the men’s side that would be Trey Cunningham (FlSt). The clear leader (13.07) heading into the heats. He’s been running like he’s the second coming of Grant Holloway this season – at least in the high hurdles.…
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Regional Forecast – HOT
This has been a very interesting weekend of track and field. Here in the State of California, the various high school “sectional” Championships were held. The qualifiers for next week’s State Championship meet. So there was excitement up and down the state, as those cut throat meets whittled the playing field down to about 27 competitors per event. As a matter of fact, we ended up with a new state record of 10.14 in the 100 – by a junior no less. As we head to Clovis and what will certainly be one firecracker of a competition. At the elite level, the two primary meets were in Birmingham England and…
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USATF Match Ups
The NCAA’s are in the books, and it was exciting as usual. There’s something about the combination of great head to head match ups; team scoring; and relays that makes track and field everything it’s supposed to be. At its core; it’s why the Olympics are so exciting and well watched. Pay attention USATF and IAAF – especially Sebastian Coe. Next up will be a slew of National championships, headlined by USATF Nationals. The prelude to the upcoming World Championships in London. While there will be several exciting Championships – Kenyan mid distance, Jamaican sprints among others – the US Championships are exciting across the board. The next best thing…
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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…