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Reese 7.25m/23’9” in Highlight Filled Doha
With the Diamond League starting in Doha yesterday it was expected, at least from me, that the yearly lists would get some revision. After all, this would be the first real gathering of the elites outdoors in 2013 – and indeed the yearly lists took a beating. What wasn’t quite expected however, was the extremely high level of performances that were turned in, as several events had results that looked like they were made in August, not early May. Perhaps the best of these was Brittney Reese’s 7.25m/23’9” leap in the long jump. Reese’s mark was a WL, PR, and moved her ever to within .07m of 24 feet –…
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Doha DL, Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
OK, now that we’ve had our first sub10 of the year, it finally feels like track season. And right on time we get the first of the Diamond League meets in Doha on Friday, which means a lot more elite athletes should be competing. While I have many issues with the way the DL has been set up – chief among them the lack of promised head to heads with the upper tier elite sprinters – this series of meets does run through some of the sport’s best venues. Which combined with the elite athletes that do show up at each meet is enough to ensure that we get some…
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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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The Top Performances of 2012
It’s time to start looking back on what turned out to be a pretty awesome season. I figure the best place to start reviewing is with the top performances, since that will certainly lead into discussion about the top athletes. This year there was no dearth of outstanding performances, even more than usual in an Olympic year. We can start with the fact that there were five WR’s this year – three individual and two relays – as an indication of just how good the performances were in 2012. I separate them out as individual and relay, because the relays sort of skew the conversation a bit since they are…
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Drizzle Fizzle and Sizzle in Zurich
Zurich has traditionally been one of my favorite meets over the years. Mostly because, even before there was a Diamond League (or Golden League) Zurich has always attracted the world’s top sprinters – and this year was no exception. Don’t get me wrong, Zurich is annually one of the world’s best meets overall with high level fields in all of their events, but the sprints have always been special in Zurich. Today however, after watching this meet I’m left with a bag of mixed feelings labeled drizzle, fizzle and sizzle. The drizzle is from the rain that feel during the meet. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a year…
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London Olympics – Rudisha 1:40.91!
Today may have been the most exciting and memorable day in Olympic history. Once again we only had four finals on the day – but oh what finals they were! So let’s get right to it. Yes there was qualifying – women’s 800 semis, women’s 4×1 semis, and men’s 4×4 semis – with everyone expected to move through moving through. The big news being 1.) The US women screamed 41.63 in the relay which was the only mark under 42.00; 2.) The US men were led off by Manteo Mitchell who broke his fibula during the race yet completed his leg as the US moved on with the equal fastest…
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Post Trials Notes and Paris
Everything is happening fast a furious now, and I’ve been a bit under the weather and trying to get caught up. So with the Diamond League already back under way,a few thoughts on Paris and where everyone is at this point with only weeks to go to London. First topic Usain Bolt. In spite of some amazing performances being turned in from several athletes, "what’s wrong with Bolt" seems to be leading the conversation. I wish we could focus on who IS performing at a high level – that’s the problem when your marketing is so narrowly focused on one individual When that individual isn’t running well, you don’t think…
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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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D.oha A.thletes M.ake N.oise!
D.A.M.N.! If today’s meet in Doha was the”opening act” of the Olympic year, I can hardly wait for the denouement in London – it’s going to bring down the house! Today’s events were Olympic in quality across the board and began to fuel plot lines that will only be answered by a gathering of all the world’s best into one stadium. As several athletes were clearly looking to send/answer statements to and from their peers. Take the sprints for example. Last week Usain Bolt’s 9.82 in Kingston let the world know he was up to the challenge of defending his Olympic title. Mid week Yohan Blake said, not without a…
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2012 Outdoor Preview – Middle Distances
The middle distance events (800 / 1500) should be very interesting this year. There is the potential of a world record, some very competitive women’s events, and the potential for a sweep. Above all, however, I expect them to be very exciting, both during the season as well as in the Games themselves, as middle distance competitors tend to compete fairly often and we should see some solid matchups outside the Games, as opposed to the sprints where we may see only one loaded race all season. So let’s take a look at the players in the middle distances. Men’s 800 – Can Rudisha be challenged? David Rudisha (KEN)…