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Kirani James’ 44.02 Highlights Shanghai DL
Perhaps Doha raised the bar a bit high, but I didn’t come away from Shanghai with the same WOW factor that I had following the Diamond League opener. A nice set of marks were turned in, but that special something was missing in most of the events on the track. One running event that hit on all cylinders however, was the men’s 400 as both LaShawn Merritt and Kirani James showed up to compete. Both men took it out down the backstretch and add they headed around the second bend, James began to seriously work, emerging with a slight lead that he increased with each stride up the straight, and…
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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…
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2012 200 Meter Rankings–men/women
The 200 meters belongs to the United States and Jamaica. That’s the conclusion one must come to when looking at this year’s results on both the men’s and women’s sides. Yes, others are on the track, and even occasionally make an appearance in the 3rd or 4th position, but reality is that in spite of the lack of focus on the event outside of major championships, this event is undergoing major change and only two nations are keeping pace. On the men’s side, gone are the days when 20.0/20.1 made you a major contender. Sub 20 is required to even think about finishing in the upper half of a major…
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Emerging Faces of 2012
The beginning of every year has those athletes that everyone is waiting on pins and needles to see. We can hardly wait to see what Usain Bolt, Sally Pearson, Allyson Felix and David Rudisha are going to produce. But while I enjoy watching the veterans do their thing, what’s really exciting is watching new talent emerge. After all, once upon a time every star veteran had a breakout season of his or her own. Every year we get to witness athletes coming of age and this year was no different. In recent seasons we’ve got to watch Kirani James and Yohan Blake, among others, blossom into verifiable “stars” internationally. Following…