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Trials Preview – Men’s 100 Meters
The very nature of the Trials makes this meet exciting – the best in the country come together with only three competitors per event moving on to the Olympic Games. That alone puts a spotlight on every event – and I will be keeping an eye on them all. But some events carry even more intrigue and drama. So while I’ve already given my list of who I think will make the team for London, there are a couple of events that I want to take a closer look at starting with the Men’s 100 meters. The 100 takes on a bit of added importance in this Olympic cycle, because…
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The Pieces are Coming Together
The great thing about the Penn Relays is that it’s the first time we get a large gathering of top athletes together at the same meet. The tough part is that they aren’t competing head to head and they’re not competing in individual events – so "evaluating" where they are can be a bit more difficult. And with the Trials less than two months away, and the Games within there months, trying to figure out the pecking order of the top athletes is on everyone’s mind. Well I think several athletes had great early auditions yesterday in Pennsylvania. On the men’s side the US won both "heats" of the 4×1:…
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Hot Istanbul Match Ups
The World Indoor Championships this weekend in Istanbul Turkey will close out the elite indoor season and provide a segue into the outdoor season proper. As such we should see the best performances yet on the 200 meter oval. Before I post my predictions tomorrow on who I think the winners will be (I’m still on the fence in a couple of events) here are a half dozen events that I’m really looking forward to based on the match ups that will be on the track. Women’s Pole Vault Yelena Isinbayeva has come back in a BIG way this indoor season. For starters, she took down her own WR…
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Claye, Isi, Lowe, & Kimmons Lead Busy Weekend
There was a lot of activity in what was a long weekend of track and field as multiple day meets took center stage with athletes looking to qualify for the NCAA and World Championships. Clearly we are witnessing the first “peak” of the year, as many folk showed up ready to rock and roll! So many, that I’m going to tackle the highlights by areas of disciplines instead of individuals or individual events. Jumps and Vaults I’m going to start here, because the first real highlight of the weekend happened before the weekend got fully under way as Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) solidified her return to the vaulting wars by a)…
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Has the U.S. Lost Its Sprint Mojo?
Talking with a neighbor who is a fan, but not an “uber” fan, of the sport after this weekend’s U.S. Open, I was asked “what’s wrong with the U.S. sprinters?” When I asked what he meant, he basically said that we didn’t win either sprint (won by Asafa Powell & Veronica Campbell). I responded that many of our best weren’t at the meet, and his follow up was that we didn’t win the World Championships, or the one before that, or the Olympic Games either. We had a nice chat after that, and while I won’t bore you with the blow by blow conversation, it did make me realize a…