{"id":380,"date":"2010-08-12T05:39:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-12T12:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=380"},"modified":"2010-08-12T05:39:00","modified_gmt":"2010-08-12T12:39:00","slug":"bolt-cuts-season-short-still-plenty-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=380","title":{"rendered":"Bolt Cuts Season Short \u2013 Still Plenty to Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/entertainment\/sports-news-july-2010\/image\/9367747?term=david+oliver\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view1.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9367747\/sports-news-july-2010\/sports-news-july-2010.jpg?resize=380%2C252\" border=\"0\" width=\"380\" title=\"Sports News - July 17, 2010\" height=\"252\" oncontextmenu=\"return false;\" ondrag=\"return false;\" onmousedown=\"return false;\" alt=\"July 17, 2010 - 06183190 date 16 07 2010 Copyright imago Panoramic Athle Meeting Areva Stade de France David Oliver 110m Haies  PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxITAxBEL Athletics Meeting Areva IAAF Diamond League Paris men Action shot Vdig 2010 horizontal premiumd.\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:left;height:0px;overflow: hidden;\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/\/JavaScripts\/OTIjs.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The word this week on just about every media outlet available \u2013 track and field web sites, major newspapers, even USA Today and ESPN \u2013 is that Usain Bolt is calling it a season. Within days of his loss to Tyson Gay in Stockholm, Bolt announced that due to lower back pain he will be calling it a season. With Asafa Powell also complaining of lower back pain following his losses to Gay and Bolt, this ensures that 2010 will have had only 1 showdown each among the world\u2019s top three sprinters. Leaving the sport with almost as much publicity over Bolt\u2019s end of the season as we\u2019ve had regarding the races of the Big Three. <\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, like most of the rest of the world, I am saddened that Bolt\u2019s season has come to an end. Not so much because I will miss his races this season, but because I was hoping that we would get at least one more race between he and Tyson Gay \u2013 they had been set since the beginning of the year to run in Brussels on August 27th. <\/p>\n<p>But given how much space the world\u2019s media outlets have given to his departure for the season, perhaps the media and the fans can begin to focus on some of the other outstanding talent this sport has to offer. Something I have been asking for all season long. So for those that feel that the sport has suffered a loss to whit it cannot recover until 2011, here are some other male athletes that warrant attention during the month or more of the season that is still left. <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"401\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"178\">\n<h3>David Oliver<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"88\">\n<h3>USA<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>110 Hurdles<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>While the Big Three of sprinting has been banged up, nursing injuries, and running slightly below their potential this season, David Oliver has been putting together one awesome season in his event. Oliver is unbeaten this year \u2013 13 wins in a row and counting \u2013 and has run under the elite 13.00 barrier on four occasions. He has run an American Record twice \u2013 12.90 &amp; 12.89, the 4th and 5th fastest times ever \u2013 and is just .02 away from the World Record. Oliver has done all of this without yet running anything close to a \u201cperfect\u201d race. If you\u2019re looking for an athlete that\u2019s a threat to set a WR on any given day, David Oliver is your man and the 110 hurdles the race you want to keep your eyes on.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"401\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"178\">\n<h3>Christian Cantwell<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"88\">\n<h3>USA<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>Shot Put<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Another athlete in the midst of a stellar season. Cantwell has won 12 straight competitions outdoors to go with 7 indoors. While only 5 other men have tossed the shot over 70 feet this year and struggled with consistency, Cantwell has done so in 11 of his 12 outdoor meets (5 indoors) and leads the world at 73\u2019 6.25\u201d \u2013 just .20 cm from the top 10 throws all time. If you add the last two meets of last season, he\u2019s on a string of 21 straight wins. Not too shabby. Cantwell is putting on a clinic on how to shot put spin style in 2010 \u2013 and he\u2019s doing so against some of the best competition any event has to offer up. He\u2019s the Olympic silver medalist and the reigning World Champion and has taken over as the King of the Ring. <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"401\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"178\">\n<h3>David Rudisha<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"88\">\n<h3>KEN<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>800 Meters<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>1:41.11. That\u2019s a mark that until this year has stood for over a dozen seasons as being unapproachable. This year however, may go down as The Year of Rudisha, because he has come within inches of this mark with plenty of season left. Rudisha started the year hot with a 1:43.15 \u2013 only 1 other athlete has run as fast this year \u2013 and currently sits atop the yearly list with the #3 time in history, 1:41.51 \u2013 making him #2 all time behind the legendary Wilson Kipketer. Undefeated in 8 meets this year, he\u2019s fresh off of a 1:42.84 win at the African Championships. Without jinxing him, he\u2019s almost certain to run under 1:42 again, with Kipketer\u2019s mark a definite possibility. As a matter of fact, he has enough speed (45.50 PR set earlier this year) that, dare I say, he could make real history and surpass the 1:41.00 barrier. If so that would be every bit as impressive as 9.58 or 19.19 \u2013 possibly more so. <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"401\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"178\">\n<h3>Bershawn Jackson<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"88\">\n<h3>USA<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>400 Hurdles<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Bershawn took a couple of losses early this year (Oslo &amp; New York) but has been on a tear since then. He started with a 47.32 win at Nationals. The world leader and a time bettered by only 9 men in history. Jackson is undefeated in his last 4 races, but more importantly has run under 48.00 in each! The ease with which he has been running this past month suggests that he may be able to run in the 47.20 area \u2013 a zone that only Edwin Moses has visited more than once. Jackson has won 6 of his&nbsp; 8 competitions this year \u2013 a season where he\u2019s already run 4 of the 10 fastest times of his career. Jackson seems to have a youthful exuberance to his competing this season and he\u2019s been fun to watch.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"401\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"178\">\n<h3>Walter Dix<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"88\">\n<h3>USA<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>100\/200<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"401\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"178\">\n<h3>Nesta Carter<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"88\">\n<h3>JAM<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>100<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"401\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"178\">\n<h3>Yohan Blake<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"88\">\n<h3>JAM<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>100\/200<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>And if you have to get your fix via the sprints, these are the top three up and coming sprinters on the scene this year. Typically in an off season one or two sprinters emerge to become threats during the following major championships trifecta. This trio seems to be the emerging group of 2010. Dix set a 100 PR of 9.88 just last week, and defeated Tyson Gay earlier in the season in the deuce with a 19.72. Carter defeated Dix in that 100 and set a PR of 9.86.&nbsp; And Blake gave Gay a run for his money over 200 earlier this season while setting a 19.78 PR. Dix was in Beijing in \u201808 and picked up bronze in both sprints. All three could show up in sprint finals in Daegu, London, and\/or Moscow. They are young and talented and improving rapidly. While most have been eyeing the Big Three this year (Bolt, Gay, Powell) this new trio could well be in position to score medals of their own soon. Dix and Blake are scheduled to go head to head against Tyson Gay this weekend in London. Then the pair is slated to go one on one in the 200 in Zurich. Could be a preview of the futures next hot showdown.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>All of these individuals are having sensational seasons in their own rights, and deserve the same sort of attention we\u2019ve been giving to Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell. Quite frankly they\u2019ve been having better seasons overall, and hopefully they can get a bit of the limelight now that we know there will be no more \u201cShowdowns\u201d this year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The word this week on just about every media outlet available \u2013 track and field web sites, major newspapers, even USA Today and ESPN \u2013 is that Usain Bolt is calling it a season. Within days of his loss to Tyson Gay in Stockholm, Bolt announced that due to lower back pain he will be calling it a season. With Asafa Powell also complaining of lower back pain following his losses to Gay and Bolt, this ensures that 2010 will have had only 1 showdown each among the world\u2019s top three sprinters. Leaving the sport with almost as much publicity over Bolt\u2019s end of the season as we\u2019ve had regarding the races of the Big Three. On the one hand, like most of the rest of the world, I am saddened that Bolt\u2019s season has come to an end. Not so much because I will miss his races this season, but because I was hoping that we would get at least one more race between he and Tyson Gay \u2013 they had been set since the beginning of the year to run in Brussels on August 27th. But given how much space the world\u2019s media outlets have given to his departure for the season, perhaps the media and the fans can begin to focus on some of the other outstanding talent this sport has to offer. Something I have been asking for all season long. So for those that feel that the sport has suffered a loss to whit it cannot recover until 2011, here are some other male athletes that warrant attention during the month or more of the season that is still left. &nbsp; David Oliver USA 110 Hurdles While the Big Three of sprinting has been banged up, nursing injuries, and running slightly below their potential this season, David Oliver has been putting together one awesome season in his event. Oliver is unbeaten this year \u2013 13 wins in a row and counting \u2013 and has run under the elite 13.00 barrier on four occasions. He has run an American Record twice \u2013 12.90 &amp; 12.89, the 4th and 5th fastest times ever \u2013 and is just .02 away from the World Record. Oliver has done all of this without yet running anything close to a \u201cperfect\u201d race. If you\u2019re looking for an athlete that\u2019s a threat to set a WR on any given day, David Oliver is your man and the 110 hurdles the race you want to keep your eyes on. &nbsp; Christian Cantwell USA Shot Put Another athlete in the midst of a stellar season. Cantwell has won 12 straight competitions outdoors to go with 7 indoors. While only 5 other men have tossed the shot over 70 feet this year and struggled with consistency, Cantwell has done so in 11 of his 12 outdoor meets (5 indoors) and leads the world at 73\u2019 6.25\u201d \u2013 just .20 cm from the top 10 throws all time. If you add the last two meets of last season, he\u2019s on a string of 21 straight wins. Not too shabby. Cantwell is putting on a clinic on how to shot put spin style in 2010 \u2013 and he\u2019s doing so against some of the best competition any event has to offer up. He\u2019s the Olympic silver medalist and the reigning World Champion and has taken over as the King of the Ring. &nbsp; David Rudisha KEN 800 Meters 1:41.11. That\u2019s a mark that until this year has stood for over a dozen seasons as being unapproachable. This year however, may go down as The Year of Rudisha, because he has come within inches of this mark with plenty of season left. Rudisha started the year hot with a 1:43.15 \u2013 only 1 other athlete has run as fast this year \u2013 and currently sits atop the yearly list with the #3 time in history, 1:41.51 \u2013 making him #2 all time behind the legendary Wilson Kipketer. Undefeated in 8 meets this year, he\u2019s fresh off of a 1:42.84 win at the African Championships. Without jinxing him, he\u2019s almost certain to run under 1:42 again, with Kipketer\u2019s mark a definite possibility. As a matter of fact, he has enough speed (45.50 PR set earlier this year) that, dare I say, he could make real history and surpass the 1:41.00 barrier. If so that would be every bit as impressive as 9.58 or 19.19 \u2013 possibly more so. &nbsp; Bershawn Jackson USA 400 Hurdles Bershawn took a couple of losses early this year (Oslo &amp; New York) but has been on a tear since then. He started with a 47.32 win at Nationals. The world leader and a time bettered by only 9 men in history. Jackson is undefeated in his last 4 races, but more importantly has run under 48.00 in each! The ease with which he has been running this past month suggests that he may be able to run in the 47.20 area \u2013 a zone that only Edwin Moses has visited more than once. Jackson has won 6 of his&nbsp; 8 competitions this year \u2013 a season where he\u2019s already run 4 of the 10 fastest times of his career. Jackson seems to have a youthful exuberance to his competing this season and he\u2019s been fun to watch. &nbsp; Walter Dix USA 100\/200 Nesta Carter JAM 100 Yohan Blake JAM 100\/200 And if you have to get your fix via the sprints, these are the top three up and coming sprinters on the scene this year. Typically in an off season one or two sprinters emerge to become threats during the following major championships trifecta. This trio seems to be the emerging group of 2010. Dix set a 100 PR of 9.88 just last week, and defeated Tyson Gay earlier in the season in the deuce with a 19.72. Carter defeated Dix in that 100 and set a PR of 9.86.&nbsp; And Blake gave Gay a run for his money over 200 earlier this season while setting a 19.78 PR. Dix was in Beijing in \u201808 and picked up bronze in both sprints. All three could show up in sprint finals in Daegu, London, and\/or Moscow. They are young and talented and improving rapidly. While most have been eyeing the Big Three this year (Bolt, Gay, Powell) this new trio could well be in position to score medals of their own soon. Dix and Blake are scheduled to go head to head against Tyson Gay this weekend in London. Then the pair is slated to go one on one in the 200 in Zurich. Could be a preview of the futures next hot showdown. &nbsp; All of these individuals are having sensational seasons in their own rights, and deserve the same sort of attention we\u2019ve been giving to Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell. Quite frankly they\u2019ve been having better seasons overall, and hopefully they can get a bit of the limelight now that we know there will be no more \u201cShowdowns\u201d this year.<\/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-380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-68","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":433,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=433","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":0},"title":"The Event to Watch in 2011 \u2013 Men\u2019s 200","author":"CHill","date":"January 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Being a World Championship season, 2011 will no doubt have it\u2019s share of \u201chot\u201d events. I\u2019ve already taken a look at some of the stars that I think bear watching this year \u2013 and by association so should their events. But there is one event that I think could be\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2272,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2272","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":1},"title":"Who Wins the London 100?","author":"CHill","date":"August 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Personally I think the men's 400 presents the matchup of the meet. For the millions watching this year's World Championships however, most will be tuned in on Saturday to see if Usain Bolt can win one final 100 title before exiting, stage left. Entering the stadium, this is a very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Blake\"","block_context":{"text":"Blake","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=blake"},"img":{"alt_text":"Who Shadow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Who-Shadow_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":598,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=598","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":2},"title":"2011 in Review \u2013 Men\u2019s 200 Meters","author":"CHill","date":"October 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The deuce annually has the potential to be one of the best events of the season. Unfortunately two things always seem to get in the way \u2013 injuries and lack of competition. This year\u2019s casualties to injury were significant as Tyson Gay (USA) pulled out of Nationals due to injury\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"200\"","block_context":{"text":"200","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.insidethegames.biz\/images\/stories\/Usain_Bolt_wins_200m_Daegu_September_3_2011.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":377,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=377","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":3},"title":"Tyson Gay Defeats Usain Bolt in Stockholm","author":"CHill","date":"August 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Now we officially have a sprint rivalry with Tyson Gay\u2019s defeat of Usain Bolt (9.84 to 9.97) in the Swedish city of Stockholm. It was Bolt\u2019s first defeat over the distance since July 22, 2008 when he lost to countryman Asafa Powell on this same track. It was also Gay\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - AUGUST 06: Tyson Gay (2nd r) of USA wins the men's 100m from Usain Bolt (r) of Jamaica during the IAAF Diamond League meeting at the Olympic Stadium on August 6, 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Michael Steele\/Getty Images)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view1.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9501806\/iaaf-diamond-league\/iaaf-diamond-league.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":237,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=237","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":4},"title":"Sprinting &#8211; Track and Field&#8217;s &quot;Fringe&quot; Area &#8211; Part Two","author":"CHill","date":"September 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"As we closed out the seasons of 2006 and 2007, sprinters Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay had taken the standards of greats Carl Lewis, Donovan Bailey, Maurice Greene, Frankie Fredericks, and Michael Johnson and cranked it up a notch making 9.8 more common place, 19.7 a winning time in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"12th IAAF World Athletics Championships - Day Two","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/6\/a\/e\/0\/12th_IAAF_World_596f.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":205,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=205","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":5},"title":"Bolt and Gay Highlight London","author":"CHill","date":"July 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"We're heading towards the home stretch on our journey to Berlin and no one is blazing that stretch like Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt. London was the first time we've seen them on the track together this year - though it was in separate races. Neither had any difficulty dispatching\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380","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=380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}