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Olympic Trials Part 2 – Tough on Vets
This was one tough meet! Youngsters had a great time – perhaps too young to realize they should be nervous or afraid. Here it was veterans and favorites that fell prey to injury, nerves, bad luck, and age. I knew going in that this was going to be a transition meet – a changing of the guard. But some of those that fell were certainly unexpected. Let’s start by talking about the kids. A year ago Candace Hill was the talk of the sport, following her sterling 10.98 HSR in the 100 and her double victory at World Juniors. She and high schooler Kaylin Whitney both turned pro and looked…
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Big Weekend – Birmingham & Millrose
The indoor season is just about ready to come to an end. It’s short and sweet and usually ends with a bang as the athletes that are competing indoors like to really test their fitness before hitting the track outside. These “season ending” meets usually a test of early fitness and sharpness. The best of this weekend were the meetings in Birmingham England and New York (Millrose). Both had great fields and therefore great competition – and fortunately I was able to actually watch the action in both meets . Thanks to the internet I watched the Birmingham competition live online – most meets in Europe are streamed live if …
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Trials Day 5 – More Rupp
On Thursday we got more rain, more qualifying, and more Rupp. I must admit I’m a bit tired of the rain. And I was hoping to get to see some of the 1500 heats – but NBC gave me nothing. But I’m starting to really like this Rupp dude! I’ll probably get booed, but one of the reasons I’m not a huge fan of holding major meets in Eugene is the weather. Eugene and Des Moines get bad weather as often as not – and this Trials has been inundated with bad weather. I still have memories of Xavier Carter going down to a knee injury on a wet track…
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Super Saturday of Track
If you love track and field, then you loved Saturday. The final day of the NCAA Championships, followed by the Adidas Classic in New York. TONS of tremendous competition – and that was really the key as the wind hampered the NCAA meet. Let’s start there, since it was first on the schedule. After sizzling semifinal rounds, the wind turned on the athletes and seriously slowed down results. Maybe that was a good thing, because it brought focus back to the competition itself as the athletes went toe to toe time and time again – and we the fans were treated to several photo finishes and another men’s championship that…
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Can US Male Milers Make the London Podium?
I ask that question on the assumption that the women CAN medal. After all, we went to Daegu and won gold AFTER our favored athlete was tripped and failed to finish the race! US women milers have made huge strides in the last few years. Three have gone under 4:00, and two others are knocking hard at the door. We had two finalists in Daegu and won gold with our #2. So the women are doing well enough that it would not surprise me to see three American women in the final in London. Nor would it be a surprise to hear the Star Spangled Banner being played during the…
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More Thoughts on Championship Weekend
Like I said yesterday, there was just too much to say after the weekend to put into one post, so I’m back to continue the conversation – and I think I’ll start with Sally Pearson (AUS). I didn’t include Sally yesterday because frankly she just didn’t have any competition – none. Yes there were other women out there, but we all knew she was running a time trial – and what a time trial! One meet, that’s all she’s had indoors all year. One meet and she clocked 7.73 making her equal 4th all-time – and she was only .05 off the WR! This woman is on track to do…
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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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Weekend Action, Jan 28/29
Sometimes we spend so much time wishing that the Bolt’s, Gays, and Bekele’s of the sport were competing, that we forget just how much talent there is in this sport! That was evidenced this weekend, because as early as it is in the season, there is still plenty to talk about while many stars have yet to take to the track. Case in point is the 21.87m (71’ 9”) heave by Reese Hoffa in Chemnitz, Germany. It was the best throw in the world so far this year, and Hoffa’s best indoors since ‘06 when Hoffa tossed the shot 22.11m (72’ 6.5”). That’s a good sign for Hoffa, since he…
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U.S. Open Preview
The U.S. Open Indoor meet will be held this weekend, and there are several events worth keeping an eye on, as there will be many top level athletes competing. So let’s take a look at what I think will be the top competitions. Men’s 50 Meters Easily one of the deepest fields of the meet, the men’s 50 has former Olympic & World 100 champion Justin Gatlin (USA); former 100 Meter WR holder Asafa Powell (JAM); and #4 all time in the 100 Nesta Carter (JAM) among the entrants. Powell and Carter are both known as super-fast starters, which should give them an edge in the shortest event on the…
