-
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…
-
Potential London “Upsets”
Reading through the news I noticed that currently the sports books have Usain Bolt as an overwhelming favorite to win 100 meter gold in London. While Bolt has earned the right to be considered favorite vis a vis his competitive record in the last four years, the Olympics is the place where miracles – or at least upsets – occur with regularity. One need look no further than Bolt himself who emerged from last place finish in the ’05 200 final, and a silver in the ’07 race, to double sprint gold – and double WRs – in Beijing. Or how about the Seoul Games of ’88 where record holders…
-
2011 in Review – Men’s Long Jump
In spite of the fact that I tend to talk more about the running events than I do the field events, I’m actually a huge fan of the field events. It just seems that lately some of the excitement is missing in the field. I remember when the long jump featured great battles like the U.S. Championships in 1987 (San Jose) with Carl Lewis (8.65m/28’ 4.5”), Larry Myricks (8.63m/28’ 3.75”) and Mike Conley (8.55w/28’ 0.75”w) all over 28 feet. Then there was the Olympic Trials of 1988 (Indianapolis) with Lewis (8.76m/28’ 9”) and Myricks (8.74m/28’ 8.25”) dueling in the rain. And of course the epic 1991 World Championships final (Tokyo)…