{"id":462,"date":"2011-03-28T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-28T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=462"},"modified":"2011-03-28T09:30:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-28T16:30:00","slug":"van-zyl-44-86-leads-weekend-activity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=462","title":{"rendered":"Van Zyl 44.86 Leads Weekend Activity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With Kirani James heading outdoors this last weekend I felt that there would be a new WL in the 400 before the weekend was out. I was right \u2013 except it wasn\u2019t by James. The head turning performance of the weekend was the 44.86 by hurdler L.J. Van Zyl in Germiston South Africa.<\/p>\n

L.J. Van Zyl (RSA) is THE hot athlete of the early season. Last month he ripped a 47.66 over hurdles. Now it\u2019s 44.86 over the flat \u2013 another new personal best. He now leads the world in both events. The question is: can he hold this pace until August and the World Championships? Because most of his competition has yet to break a serious sweat in competition.<\/p>\n

One thing is certain, he is going to be a major player this year. His PR\u2019s this season make him the #10 all time combination hurdler\/sprinter over 400 meters \u2013 only behind a list<\/a> of impressive Olympic\/World medalists! Of course several are still competing \u2013 Angelo Taylor (USA), Kerron Clement (USA), Felix Sanchez (DOM) and Bershawn Jackson (USA) so Van Zyll may have to keep up his current pace just to get to the podium. But right now he is the one leading the way and his early performances should put everyone else on notice.<\/p>\n

Also blitzing one lap of the track was the LSU men\u2019s 4×1 squad as they christened their new track with a 38.87 to set the early season NCAA leader. Their baton efforts also produced marks of 1:20.99 in the 4×2 and 3:03.77. Both the men and women\u2019s squads had solid overall performances<\/a>, giving strong indication that they will once again be a factor in the NCAA title chase.<\/p>\n

Sticking with the one lap theme, sprinter Veronica Campbell Brown took a turn around the track and set a new personal best of 52.25. While not in the range of her top rival Allyson Felix (49.70) it is a significant lowering of her previous best of 52.77 and shows that we should expect a bit of added strength to Campbell Brown\u2019s deuce this year. With her race being primarily the first 100 of the race and Felix\u2019 being the second any little bit could help. I expect these two to do something special come Daegu. <\/p>\n

Overall a solid weekend of action. With weather beginning to stabilize things should get even better next weekend with what should be some hot meets in Gainesville, Fayetteville, Baton Rouge and Houston.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Kirani James heading outdoors this last weekend I felt that there would be a new WL in the 400 before the weekend was out. I was right \u2013 except it wasn\u2019t by James. The head turning performance of the weekend was the 44.86 by hurdler L.J. Van Zyl in Germiston South Africa. L.J. Van Zyl (RSA) is THE hot athlete of the early season. Last month he ripped a 47.66 over hurdles. Now it\u2019s 44.86 over the flat \u2013 another new personal best. He now leads the world in both events. The question is: can he hold this pace until August and the World Championships? Because most of his competition has yet to break a serious sweat in competition. One thing is certain, he is going to be a major player this year. His PR\u2019s this season make him the #10 all time combination hurdler\/sprinter over 400 meters \u2013 only behind a list of impressive Olympic\/World medalists! Of course several are still competing \u2013 Angelo Taylor (USA), Kerron Clement (USA), Felix Sanchez (DOM) and Bershawn Jackson (USA) so Van Zyll may have to keep up his current pace just to get to the podium. But right now he is the one leading the way and his early performances should put everyone else on notice. Also blitzing one lap of the track was the LSU men\u2019s 4×1 squad as they christened their new track with a 38.87 to set the early season NCAA leader. Their baton efforts also produced marks of 1:20.99 in the 4×2 and 3:03.77. Both the men and women\u2019s squads had solid overall performances, giving strong indication that they will once again be a factor in the NCAA title chase. Sticking with the one lap theme, sprinter Veronica Campbell Brown took a turn around the track and set a new personal best of 52.25. While not in the range of her top rival Allyson Felix (49.70) it is a significant lowering of her previous best of 52.77 and shows that we should expect a bit of added strength to Campbell Brown\u2019s deuce this year. With her race being primarily the first 100 of the race and Felix\u2019 being the second any little bit could help. I expect these two to do something special come Daegu. Overall a solid weekend of action. With weather beginning to stabilize things should get even better next weekend with what should be some hot meets in Gainesville, Fayetteville, Baton Rouge and Houston.<\/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-462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-7s","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":491,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=491","url_meta":{"origin":462,"position":0},"title":"Bolt, Felix & Van Zyl Pass Tests in Rome","author":"CHill","date":"May 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"If this year\u2019s World Championships is the ultimate \u201cFinal\u201d test of the season, then meets such as yesterday\u2019s Golden Gala in Rome are a series of minor tests and pop quizzes. Several athletes were taking early tests in Rome \u2013 Usain Bolt (his season debut), Allyson Felix (a look at\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/-CdZMyqoB3ZU\/Td-y2CaLrAI\/AAAAAAAAAMA\/5mOnphf_Ax8\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":609,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=609","url_meta":{"origin":462,"position":1},"title":"2011 in Review \u2013 Men\u2019s 400 Meter Hurdles","author":"CHill","date":"November 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This was a very interesting event. On the one hand it had the potential to be great with athletes like Angelo Taylor, Bershawn Jackson, Johnny Dutch, and Javier Culson returning from a hot 2010 season. And with L.J. Van Zyl blazing from the late winter, it looked like this might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"400 Hurdles\"","block_context":{"text":"400 Hurdles","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=400-hurdles"},"img":{"alt_text":"David Greene David Greene of Great Britain wins the gold medal in the Mens 400m Hurdle Final during day five of the 20th European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium on July 31, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www4.pictures.zimbio.com\/gi\/David%2BGreene%2B20th%2BEuropean%2BAthletics%2BChampionships%2BZikulfz5qgZl.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":450,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=450","url_meta":{"origin":462,"position":2},"title":"Sizzling 400\u2019s Highlight Exciting Weekend","author":"CHill","date":"February 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Now THAT was an exciting weekend of track and field! Hot races, hot team competitions and of course some stellar marks being put down by several athletes. But easily the best of the best on this weekend were a pair of 400 meter runs \u2013 a WJR for Kirani James\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_q69RXDGKhjE\/TWwUKXMJTSI\/AAAAAAAAAHo\/HFCyEqbzCS0\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":463,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=463","url_meta":{"origin":462,"position":3},"title":"Florida Relays \u2013This Year\u2019s Debut Meet","author":"CHill","date":"March 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"If accepted entries lists and tweets mean anything, then this year\u2019s Florida Relays should be the meet for seasonal outdoor debuts. A fixture on the US track and field scene for 72 years, the Florida Relays has traditionally drawn strong sprint and hurdle fields and this year is no different.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_q69RXDGKhjE\/TZHgjWtipxI\/AAAAAAAAAJQ\/L-MAqR7zhwU\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":467,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=467","url_meta":{"origin":462,"position":4},"title":"Season Starting Quietly","author":"CHill","date":"April 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I had expected to see a few bombs dropped by this point in the season. But aside from L.J. Van Zyl running first 47.66, then 44.86, the season has been rather somber so far. The Florida Relays had some promising entries early on \u2013 Tyson Gay in the 4x4, along\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":554,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=554","url_meta":{"origin":462,"position":5},"title":"World Championships Preview \u2013 400 Hurdles","author":"CHill","date":"August 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The 400 hurdles is an event where we are fortunate enough this year to have very solid and strong fields on both the men and women\u2019s sides. Several veteran athletes, some great young talent, and a couple of hurdlers looking for redemption. \u00a0 Women\u2019s 400 Hurdles \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=554#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh4.ggpht.com\/-YiWdedcD-gs\/TkvMrmJ-nLI\/AAAAAAAAAWI\/qGDDs3XbQG4\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462","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=462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}