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Six Matchups I’m Looking Forward To in 2019
Ok. The 2018 track season is well behind us now as cross country and marathons dominate the landscape. As a matter of fact, the indoor season is right around the corner, which means that many athletes are already back grinding in preparation for the first of the upcoming three Championships ahead in this next major cycle. While there wasn’t a major championship in 2018, the performances of the athletes – particularly the youngsters, left me salivating for the action that 2019 promises. There were many performances that would’ve garnered gold medals in most Olympics and World Championships! As a matter of fact, there was a lot of altering of all…
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Prefontaine was HOT!
Once again Pre was as good a meet as any on the planet. Which begs the question, why can’t we do this more often? It’s a rhetorical question of course, because the simple answer is MONEY! It takes a boat load of money to put on a quality meet these days, and who has that kind of money laying around? Yes, Eugene touts itself as "Track Town USA", but let’s be real – it’s in Nike’s back yard! Nuff said. I’ve said for years that the answer to track and field’s "issues" with attendance is not tied to street races, concerts, or pole vaulting in the parking lot. The answer…
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You Know It’s an Off Season When …
Track and Field exists in its own alternate universe where semi finals consist of THREE heats, and the focus on promoting the sport is NOT on the competition, but individual performances! In that same vein, it’s the rare sport where its most outstanding performances tend to occur outside of championship settings and in seasons where there is no major championships at all – the Off Season. We’re not like swimming where records and sensational times fall like leaves from the trees when their World Championships and the Games come around. Especially in events longer than one lap where running fast – for whatever reasons – takes a backseat to tactics.…
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The Final Prep for Moscow is Done
The London Diamond League was pretty much what I thought it would be – best meet of the year and perhaps a preview of several events in Moscow. If this weekend was any indication, we’ve got a Wild West shoot out kind of World Championships coming up, because there just aren’t that many “sure things” out there this year. But that’s a good thing, because it means we’ll have a week of exciting track and field in store with so many event titles / medals up for grabs. In event after event, London showcased excellent competition with few winners decided before things got started, and a few surprises along the…
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HOT Weekend to End February
Just as I’ve been anticipating, this weekend saw track and field rise to its highest level of the season! The college ranks entered their biggest time of the year with conference meets galore add the athletes prepare for the NCAA Championships. Professional athletes laid down some marks of note, especially at the DN Galen in Sweden. Even the high schoolers got into the act with a new 300 record and some swift sprinting at the Brooks PR meet in Seattle. If the closing weeks of the indoor season are any indication this could be one HOT outdoor season on the horizon! There were far too many great marks to try…
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What are the Sport’s Best Rivalries?
Coming off a successful Olympics and 2012 season, it’s time to take a look at how the sport can improve moving forward. One of the glaring problems in the past few seasons in my opinion has been the false start rule which I addressed a couple of days ago. When I listen to what other people are saying, one of the biggest complaints that many people have about the sport of track and field is the lack of head to head competition among the sport’s best athletes. A complaint that I think stems more from their disappointment with the top end male sprinters, who just can’t seem to find each…
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Early Weekend Results – Oslo / NCAA
It’s only Friday, but we’ve already had enough track to fill a weekend – and we’re just getting started! The early results are in, and while Oslo wasn’t quite as hot as I had hoped, the "kids" we definitely ahead of expectations at the NCAA Championships! Let’s start with Oslo where vets Usain Bolt (JAM) and Sally Pearson (AUS) confirmed their status as early London favorites. Fresh off his 9.76 in Rome last week, Bolt cranked out a 9.79 in Oslo. Again his only competition came from teammate Asafa Powell who was second in 9.85. Powell seemed more relaxed today as he wasn’t right next to Bolt, and no one…
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Lessons Learned From Women’s Day in Rome
The results are in, and after watching the Rome leg of the Diamond League I think I learned a few things. Prefontaine is only two days away, so things could change a bit over the next 48 hours. Results of the meet can be found here, so without going into each and every race and result, here are my thoughts on what happened in Rome. Men’s 100 meters. After watching Bolt today (9.76, -0.1) Ostrava was a matter of jet lag – or perhaps being out too late the night before. Either way, “sluggish” Bolt gave way to a sprinter that had the race under control by 30 meters –…
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Multi’s WRs Lead HOT World Championships
It’s a bit ironic that today is “Selection Sunday” for the NCAA basketball tournament, because this weekend of track and field had the kind of wall to wall action associated with the NCAA Tournament. Between the NCAA & World Indoor Championships; Internet feeds; major time zone differences; and early outdoor track meets; I’ve been watching almost non-stop track and field from Friday afternoon until just a bit ago here on Sunday morning! Friday afternoon NCAA feed; late night/very early morning Worlds feed; out Saturday to a local high school meet; back in early evening in time to catch the NCAA feed; then very early morning to finish up with the…
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Hot Marks Indoors AND Outdoors
With the indoor season getting ready to wind down with various championships, some athletes are beginning to test themselves outdoors under the Australian sun. The result this weekend has been a combination of sterling marks both indoors AND outdoors, as the year looks ready to shift into Olympic Preparation Mode. The big indoor meeting of the week was the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham England, and it didn’t disappoint as several athletes left with world leading performances. Perhaps the most surprising being Jessica Ennis’ 7.87 60HH victory. Surprising because Ennis is foremost a Heptathlete, but clearly the hurdles are one of her strengths. She’s good enough to edge World silver…