{"id":278,"date":"2010-02-24T16:42:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-25T00:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=278"},"modified":"2010-02-24T16:42:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-25T00:42:00","slug":"what-happened-to-the-fast-starters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=278","title":{"rendered":"What Happened to the Fast Starters ?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/default.aspx?term=track and field starts&#038;iid=4163512\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/a\/4\/b\/0\/PicImg_Track_and_Field_0910.JPG?resize=380%2C242\" width=\"380\" height=\"242\"  border=\"0\" alt=\"Track and Field: USA Track &amp; Field Indoor Championships\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.pis.picapp.com\/IamProd\/PicAppPIS\/JavaScript\/PisV4.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With the championship portion of the indoor season at hand, we will finally get to see the best of the best going head to head. At least the best of those that have decided to participate during this indoor season.<\/p>\n<p>This is the point in the season where we look forward to sizzling times. With the spotlight typically falling squarely on two headline events &#8211; the short sprint (60) and the mile\/1500. Unfortunately, neither has been too stellar this year &#8211; though I fully expect both to pick up considerably when we get outdoors. <\/p>\n<p>The mile seems to be lacking that someone with &#8220;oomph&#8221; this year. That Ryun, Keino, Coghlan, ElGuerrouj type. The races have been good races &#8211; they&#8217;ve just lacked that special someone. The short sprint, however, should be exciting in spite of the lack of big name stars competing under cover. <\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s because the 60 is typically such an explosive event. Six seconds of pure speed. But this year something has been missing from the 60 this year aside from last year&#8217;s outdoor World&#8217;s medalists &#8211; that explosive starter that electrifies the crowd!<\/p>\n<p>You know the guy I&#8217;m talking about. He&#8217;s the one that as soon as the gun goes off seems to be in full flight! He sets the tone, the pace, of the sprint. The &#8220;catch me if you can&#8221; guy that either just blows the field away and gives you chills, or gets reeled in by that imposing sprinter with the serious finish that leaves everyone breathless. Either way it&#8217;s that super starter that makes the race feel fast &#8211; and that&#8217;s been missing this year. Which is why I think we have yet to see anyone under the 6.50 mark this year. <\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s indoor leader at 6.50 is Dwain Chambers. A solid sprinter, but no match as a starter when compared to Asafa Powell, who is clearly the world&#8217;s current best starter. Powell, the best of the New Millennium, is the latest in what has been a rich history of fast starters in the sport. A few that are ingrained in my memory are:<\/p>\n<p>Mel Pender &#8211; 1968 Olympic team member. Great reaction to the gun and great turnover.<\/p>\n<p>Herb Washington &#8211; An indoor master in the early 70&#8217;s. So quick that the Oakland A&#8217;s signed him just to serve as a pinch runner.<\/p>\n<p>Houston McTear &#8211; Perhaps the greatest high school short sprinter ever. The gun went off and he was instantly a couple of meters up on the field! Ran a WR 9.0 for 100 yards in high school as well as 10.16 in the 100 meters.<\/p>\n<p>Ivory Crockett &#8211; Crockett was the adult version of McTear during the 70&#8217;s. He was the first to 9.0 for 100 yards. Great early turnover and acceleration.<\/p>\n<p>Steve Riddick &#8211; Was the indoor master during the late 70&#8217;s. One of the few tall sprinters that seemed able to master starting and accelerating early in the race.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Johnson &#8211; Yes I know he was banned for drug use, and therefore some never want to include him in any conversation. But there is no denying that Ben&#8217;s unorthodox &#8220;hop out of the blocks and run&#8221; style was perhaps the most explosive start the world has ever seen.<\/p>\n<p>Andre Cason &#8211; Cason&#8217;s career was riddled with injury, but when healthy his acceleration was among the best.<\/p>\n<p>Jon Drummond &#8211; Drummond was another, like McTear, that seemed to instantly create separation as soon as the gun went off. He was undoubtedly the best lead off leg the world has ever seen combining his infallible start with a very smooth turn.<\/p>\n<p>This is the type of sprinter that has been missing this indoor season &#8211; the burner who creates excitement right from the gun. For an example of true early race explosion, watch the following video of the current indoor record of  6.39 as Maurice Greene burst clear of the field from the gun on his way to that sizzling mark.<\/p>\n<p><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/aU3yxIlcmhY&#038;hl=en_US&#038;fs=1&#038;\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the championship portion of the indoor season at hand, we will finally get to see the best of the best going head to head. At least the best of those that have decided to participate during this indoor season. This is the point in the season where we look forward to sizzling times. With the spotlight typically falling squarely on two headline events &#8211; the short sprint (60) and the mile\/1500. Unfortunately, neither has been too stellar this year &#8211; though I fully expect both to pick up considerably when we get outdoors. The mile seems to be lacking that someone with &#8220;oomph&#8221; this year. That Ryun, Keino, Coghlan, ElGuerrouj type. The races have been good races &#8211; they&#8217;ve just lacked that special someone. The short sprint, however, should be exciting in spite of the lack of big name stars competing under cover. That&#8217;s because the 60 is typically such an explosive event. Six seconds of pure speed. But this year something has been missing from the 60 this year aside from last year&#8217;s outdoor World&#8217;s medalists &#8211; that explosive starter that electrifies the crowd! You know the guy I&#8217;m talking about. He&#8217;s the one that as soon as the gun goes off seems to be in full flight! He sets the tone, the pace, of the sprint. The &#8220;catch me if you can&#8221; guy that either just blows the field away and gives you chills, or gets reeled in by that imposing sprinter with the serious finish that leaves everyone breathless. Either way it&#8217;s that super starter that makes the race feel fast &#8211; and that&#8217;s been missing this year. Which is why I think we have yet to see anyone under the 6.50 mark this year. This year&#8217;s indoor leader at 6.50 is Dwain Chambers. A solid sprinter, but no match as a starter when compared to Asafa Powell, who is clearly the world&#8217;s current best starter. Powell, the best of the New Millennium, is the latest in what has been a rich history of fast starters in the sport. A few that are ingrained in my memory are: Mel Pender &#8211; 1968 Olympic team member. Great reaction to the gun and great turnover. Herb Washington &#8211; An indoor master in the early 70&#8217;s. So quick that the Oakland A&#8217;s signed him just to serve as a pinch runner. Houston McTear &#8211; Perhaps the greatest high school short sprinter ever. The gun went off and he was instantly a couple of meters up on the field! Ran a WR 9.0 for 100 yards in high school as well as 10.16 in the 100 meters. Ivory Crockett &#8211; Crockett was the adult version of McTear during the 70&#8217;s. He was the first to 9.0 for 100 yards. Great early turnover and acceleration. Steve Riddick &#8211; Was the indoor master during the late 70&#8217;s. One of the few tall sprinters that seemed able to master starting and accelerating early in the race. Ben Johnson &#8211; Yes I know he was banned for drug use, and therefore some never want to include him in any conversation. But there is no denying that Ben&#8217;s unorthodox &#8220;hop out of the blocks and run&#8221; style was perhaps the most explosive start the world has ever seen. Andre Cason &#8211; Cason&#8217;s career was riddled with injury, but when healthy his acceleration was among the best. Jon Drummond &#8211; Drummond was another, like McTear, that seemed to instantly create separation as soon as the gun went off. He was undoubtedly the best lead off leg the world has ever seen combining his infallible start with a very smooth turn. This is the type of sprinter that has been missing this indoor season &#8211; the burner who creates excitement right from the gun. For an example of true early race explosion, watch the following video of the current indoor record of 6.39 as Maurice Greene burst clear of the field from the gun on his way to that sizzling mark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-4u","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":456,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=456","url_meta":{"origin":278,"position":0},"title":"Collegiate Indoor Athletes of the Year","author":"CHill","date":"March 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released their choices for Collegiate Indoor Athletes of the Year. Their choices: Men Track Miles Batty Mile BYU Men Field Derek Drouin High Jump Indiana Women Track Jordan Hasay Mile\/3000 Oregon Women Field Brianne Theisen Pentathlon Oregon All had outstanding\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":444,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=444","url_meta":{"origin":278,"position":1},"title":"Solinsky 3:54.52 and Myers 22\u2019 6\u201d in Weekend Action","author":"CHill","date":"February 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Lots and lots of high level action this weekend! Let\u2019s start with Chris Solinsky. He opened eyes last year with his outdoor opener in the 100000 where he turned in a new AR becoming the first American under 27 minutes. In his indoor opener in Seattle this weekend he turned\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=444#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_q69RXDGKhjE\/TVnOKPaNaSI\/AAAAAAAAAG8\/Ss_C9rDMYj0\/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":860,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=860","url_meta":{"origin":278,"position":2},"title":"Aviva Grand Prix Preview","author":"CHill","date":"February 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With several National Championships on tap next weekend, this weekend looks to be fairly quiet. There will be some major action taking place in Britain however, as the Aviva Grand Prix has some loaded races and outstanding individuals scheduled to compete. Here are a few events and individuals that I\u2019m\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"scan0008","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/scan0008_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/scan0008_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/scan0008_thumb.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=119","url_meta":{"origin":278,"position":3},"title":"NCAA Indoor Championships Closes Out Indoor Season","author":"CHill","date":"March 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The collegians put a nice close on what has been a rather lackluster indoor season. The University of Oregon showed that it is indeed the nations top team (at least indoors) with a convincing victory in College Station Texas this past weekend - lead by distance star Galen Rupp who\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":120,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=120","url_meta":{"origin":278,"position":4},"title":"High School News","author":"CHill","date":"March 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The preps also closed out their indoor season this past weekend with two championship meets - Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston, and the National Scholastic Championships in New York City.While the high school kids typically don't get a lot of attention, they are the future of our sport here in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1790,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1790","url_meta":{"origin":278,"position":5},"title":"Big Weekend &ndash; Birmingham &amp; Millrose","author":"CHill","date":"February 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The indoor season is just about ready to come to an end. It's short and sweet and usually ends with a bang as the athletes that are competing indoors like to really test their fitness before hitting the track outside. These \u201cseason ending\u201d meets usually a test of early fitness\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Ahoure\"","block_context":{"text":"Ahoure","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=ahoure"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mary Cain","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Cain_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}