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Hot Relay Weekend – Post Meet Thoughts
The stars came out this past weekend and track and field shined brightly as a result. That’s the verdict of fans everywhere that watched either of the Texas or Florida Relays. Two of the hottest relay meets of the spring, and annually the coming out party of many of the sport’s domestic stars. Results are readily available. As a matter of fact, http://www.ustfccca.org/meets-result, is my weekly go to for meet information in general – including results. So, I’m not going to pretend to try to give you all of the awesome results here. What I am going to do however, is give you my impression of several races and performances…
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First Stop Women’s 100
And we’re off and running, literally. As the first few rounds of events have taken place and we’ve had our first couple of finals. The first actual final was themes 10,000 meters. Won by Ethiopian Selemon Barega. An interesting race given the heat and humidity as it turned into a wait and kick affair. That which hurts the distance runners however, tends to be good for sprinters and hurdlers. And so far, the conditions and the track have been to the liking of both sprinters and hurdlers. That was clearly evident as the top women’s 400 hurdlers – Sydney McLaughlin, Femke Bol and Delilah Muhammad – seemed to “stroll” the…
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Pre Trials, Trials, Next the Games
This has been one of the most exciting years ever for track and field. Thank you Covid-19. After all, the Covid virus has had an affect on everything that has happened on this planet for the better part of a year and a half – and continues to do so! It basically shut down the 2020 season of track and field. In effect forcing everyone to have a much longer “pre-season” to 2021 than normal. While the initial feelings by all were of sadness and despair, the unintended consequences seem to be the creation of stronger and better bases for training. The ultimate result being a season so far that…
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Prediction – US 100, Women
Since I’ve put my neck out there on the men, I may as well give the women a shot. This will not be nearly as easy however, because it seems like every year the names change on the women’s lists here in the US. I can tell you right now who’ll be lining up for every other country that’s a major player in the sprints. But here at home, I’m literally going to be guessing to a large degree. Strange given that we’ve been solid since the 1960’s when it comes to the women’s sprints. Tyus, Morehead, Ashford, Torrence, Devers, and Jeter are just a few of the names of…
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The Sprints New World Order
The “Old Guard” is officially gone. It took a long time as athletes have longer careers than in the past, but it still happens. The athletes that have dominated the world stage since 2004 have finally given way to the new generation of sprinters and hurdlers. When the next championship cycle begins in 2019, there will be a slew of new young athletes taking the podium. Predicting who is always difficult as injuries and the emergence of new talent makes things tenuous at best. Many of this year’s youngsters have an outstanding chance to be on the podium. Following are some athletes to watch in 2019. Men’s 100 Always…
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Where is US Sprinting Headed?
The US scored a huge medal haul in Rio – something always expected, but not always materialized. The expectations are always there because of our purported sprint and hurdle prowess. I say purported because in Rio it was our middle and long distance crew that led the way, as our sprint and hurdle crew has gotten a bit long in the tooth. We scored some "speed" medals, but not the haul we accumulated a decade or more ago. Where we were once THE single dominant power in the speed events, the New Millennium has seen vast improvement from the Caribbean nations. In addition, more recently a resurgence from Africa, Canada,…
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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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Olympic Trials Part 1 – Upsets & Speed
We’ve finally arrived to that part of the season that really matters – Olympic team qualifying! That means EVERYONE had to show up. That means some of the best competition of the year. That means watching track and field the way it is supposed to be watched – in a stadium; with ALL of the events represented! And guess what? No one leaves early. No one is worried about "attention spans". No one needs bands playing in the parking lot, or portions of the meet in the street! Why? Because when you get the best athletes available to compete, the sport in its purest form is as good as ANY…
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Doha and Kingston Heat Up the Season
Penn was the unofficial start to the outdoor season. The "USA v The World" is sort of the kick off to things. That was last weekend. This weekend sh*t got real, as the Diamond League got under way with the first stop in Doha on Friday. And to make sure that things were underway, the Jamaican International Invitational in Kingston made sure that there was plenty of hot action. We’re now officially on our way to Rio! As usual, the sprinters are in mid-season form – especially the women. Not that the men weren’t impressive. LaShawn Merritt is proving to be in fine form. After running 19.78/44.22 the past few…
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What to Watch in 2016
Olympic years are always exciting for sports fans because that global showcase will take place this summer. That means we will see the best that track and field (among other sports) has to offer – the best athletes competing head to head. Sad that I can’t say that in any other year, but unfortunately we don’t get this type of competition in any other year with any regularity. One would have hoped that the World Championships would have become THAT meet by now – having been around since 1983. But alas, though we get some scattered excellence around Worlds, it’s still "The Games" that the world aims for and "EVERYONE"…
