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Who’s Windows are Threatening to Close?
A common phrase in the world of sports refers to an athletes "window" closing – to his or her window of opportunity expiring. In most cases we’re talking about the opportunity to win a title, but the term can also refer to obtaining records or other significant performances. Every couple of Olympic cycles or so, as the sport’s population begins to age at the top end, we get a group of individuals who’s windows begin to close. For these athletes, they start to compete against “Father Time” as much as their real world opponents. In that regard this year could be huge in the careers of several athletes – more…
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Swagger – Who has it in Track and Field?
I was watching SportsCenter yesterday and caught Deion Sanders talking about the evolution of defensive backs in the NFL. Of course it being “Neon Deion”, he talked about the “swagger” that he brought to the position, and how others have tried to emulate it. That made me think about track and field, wondering about the amount of “swagger” we have in our sport. I know what swagger is, and I think most people know what swagger is, but I decided to look it up to see what the official definition is before I started looking for it, and I found the following: Swag-ger: verb, 1) to walk or strut with…
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Whose Windows Could Close in the Olympic Year
In the world of elite track and field, there are three basic goals: World gold, Olympic gold, and World Records. These are the achievements that most athletes would like to have before the sun sets on their careers. With the end of each season a window of opportunity closes in the pursuit of these objectives. Fortunately for most athletes, the window reopens with the start of the next season. I say fortunately for most athletes because there are a couple of situations that change one’s fortune. One situation is for the athlete that is aging – because in the end it is hard to outrun father time. The other is…