{"id":606,"date":"2011-11-04T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-04T20:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=606"},"modified":"2011-12-29T09:12:26","modified_gmt":"2011-12-29T17:12:26","slug":"john-smith-reboots-w-dix-bailey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=606","title":{"rendered":"John Smith Reboots w\/ Dix & Bailey!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"<\/a>The last time U.S. sprint fortunes were in the precarious position we are now was coming off the 1996 Olympics. Yes, Michael Johnson won the long sprint double \u2013 the 200 in WR time. But for four straight Majors (\u201992, \u201993, \u201995 & \u201996), we had lost the men\u2019s 100 meters \u2013 and Donovan Bailey (CAN) took possession of the WR with his \u201996 win. In \u201995 & \u201996 we lost the 4×1 relay as well \u2013 botched handoff in \u201995, poor personnel management in \u201996. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

Early during that same time frame, Coach John Smith was nurturing quarter milers Steve Lewis, Danny Everett and Quincy Watts who won Olympic gold in \u201988 (Lewis) & \u201992 (Watts); a couple of bronze (Everett, \u201988 & \u201991); and a silver (Lewis \u201992). But in the middle of the decade Smith rebooted, and started attracting pure sprinters.<\/p>\n

He began with Jon Drummond in 1993 \u2013 and he lead off a WR 4×1 in Stuttgart. Then added Ato Boldon (TRI) in \u201895, who took bronze in Goteborg and that \u201996 Olympic final. A year after Atlanta he added one Maurice Greene, who didn\u2019t perform as well as expected in Goteborg in \u201995 and missed the team entirely in \u201996. The rest as they say \u201cis history\u201d \u2013 Greene going on to win 100 meter gold medals in \u201997, \u201999, \u201900, and \u201901 \u2013 and set a WR 9.79 in \u201999. Like John Wayne leading the cavalry, John Smith and his sprint crew came in to bring U.S. sprinting back to a place of prominence in the world.<\/p>\n

Well it\u2019s starting to look like 1997 all over again, because we\u2019ve lost the 100 in the last three Majors \u2013 and the 200 to boot. We\u2019ve lost the WR in the 100 \u2013 and the 200 too. And we\u2019ve lost the last three 4×1\u2019s \u2013 all to poor baton work. And once again, it looks like John Wayne, make that John Smith, may be riding in to save the day \u2013 with a group that closely resembles that \u201997 group.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a>I received confirmation from Coach Smith this afternoon that this year\u2019s \u201creboot\u201d will have Trinidadian Richard Thompson \u2013 silver medalist in the Beijing 100; and Americans, Walter Dix \u2013 this year\u2019s double silver medalist in Daegu \u2013 and Ryan Bailey \u2013 the 6\u2019 4\u201d National Jr. College Record holder in the 100 meters! Dix and Bailey both have great top end speed and finishes, but often give up much ground early race. As luck would have it, Smith is a pioneer of the \u201cDrive Phase\u201d \u2013 the starting technique that saw Jon Drummond blaze to the front of races time after time, and that allowed Maurice Greene to be right where he needed to be to execute his own tremendous top end drive home.<\/p>\n

They will join a squad that already has Daegu gold medalists Carmelita Jeter (100) & Jason Richardson (110H), and 4th<\/sup> placer Jaysuma Ndure (200). In September I asked<\/a>what happened to U.S. sprint camps, well this has the potential to be the best ever!<\/p>\n

If I sound excited, it\u2019s because I am. Coach Smith has the history and the pedigree, and the new additions to his camp certainly have the potential. Now if only 2011 will mirror 1997. This is going to be an Olympic season to watch!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last time U.S. sprint fortunes were in the precarious position we are now was coming off the 1996 Olympics. Yes, Michael Johnson won the long sprint double \u2013 the 200 in WR time. But for four straight Majors (\u201992, \u201993, \u201995 & \u201996), we had lost the men\u2019s 100 meters \u2013 and Donovan Bailey (CAN) took possession of the WR with his \u201996 win. In \u201995 & \u201996 we lost the 4×1 relay as well \u2013 botched handoff in \u201995, poor personnel management in \u201996. Sound familiar? Early during that same time frame, Coach John Smith was nurturing quarter milers Steve Lewis, Danny Everett and Quincy Watts who won Olympic gold in \u201988 (Lewis) & \u201992 (Watts); a couple of bronze (Everett, \u201988 & \u201991); and a silver (Lewis \u201992). But in the middle of the decade Smith rebooted, and started attracting pure sprinters. He began with Jon Drummond in 1993 \u2013 and he lead off a WR 4×1 in Stuttgart. Then added Ato Boldon (TRI) in \u201895, who took bronze in Goteborg and that \u201996 Olympic final. A year after Atlanta he added one Maurice Greene, who didn\u2019t perform as well as expected in Goteborg in \u201995 and missed the team entirely in \u201996. The rest as they say \u201cis history\u201d \u2013 Greene going on to win 100 meter gold medals in \u201997, \u201999, \u201900, and \u201901 \u2013 and set a WR 9.79 in \u201999. Like John Wayne leading the cavalry, John Smith and his sprint crew came in to bring U.S. sprinting back to a place of prominence in the world. Well it\u2019s starting to look like 1997 all over again, because we\u2019ve lost the 100 in the last three Majors \u2013 and the 200 to boot. We\u2019ve lost the WR in the 100 \u2013 and the 200 too. And we\u2019ve lost the last three 4×1\u2019s \u2013 all to poor baton work. And once again, it looks like John Wayne, make that John Smith, may be riding in to save the day \u2013 with a group that closely resembles that \u201997 group. I received confirmation from Coach Smith this afternoon that this year\u2019s \u201creboot\u201d will have Trinidadian Richard Thompson \u2013 silver medalist in the Beijing 100; and Americans, Walter Dix \u2013 this year\u2019s double silver medalist in Daegu \u2013 and Ryan Bailey \u2013 the 6\u2019 4\u201d National Jr. College Record holder in the 100 meters! Dix and Bailey both have great top end speed and finishes, but often give up much ground early race. As luck would have it, Smith is a pioneer of the \u201cDrive Phase\u201d \u2013 the starting technique that saw Jon Drummond blaze to the front of races time after time, and that allowed Maurice Greene to be right where he needed to be to execute his own tremendous top end drive home. They will join a squad that already has Daegu gold medalists Carmelita Jeter (100) & Jason Richardson (110H), and 4th placer Jaysuma Ndure (200). In September I askedwhat happened to U.S. sprint camps, well this has the potential to be the best ever! If I sound excited, it\u2019s because I am. Coach Smith has the history and the pedigree, and the new additions to his camp certainly have the potential. Now if only 2011 will mirror 1997. This is going to be an Olympic season to watch!<\/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":[76,77,12,93,88,91,146,92],"class_list":["post-606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bailey","tag-dix","tag-jeter","tag-ndure","tag-richardson","tag-smith","tag-sprint-camps","tag-thompson"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-9M","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":270,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=270","url_meta":{"origin":606,"position":0},"title":"An Identity Crisis, Not a Paradigm Shift","author":"CHill","date":"February 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It happens every once in a while. The greatest sprint force on the planet loses its way and forgets who it is. We get complacent. Someone rises up and knocks us down. We get up dazed and shaken - and have to remember who we are. Then we get back\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Sports - May 22, 2005","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/7\/4\/b\/7\/6c.JPG?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":610,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=610","url_meta":{"origin":606,"position":1},"title":"Bolt Wants Four London Golds \u2013 But are Any Certain?","author":"CHill","date":"November 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Usain Bolt stated recentlythat he now wants to add the 4x4 relay to his repertoire in an attempt to go for four gold medals at the London Olympic Games. The last time we saw a four medal haul at the Olympic Games was by Carl Lewis in 1984 \u2013 before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Bailey\"","block_context":{"text":"Bailey","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=bailey"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":302,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=302","url_meta":{"origin":606,"position":2},"title":"Hot Weekend of Match Ups in Store","author":"CHill","date":"April 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A lot of action on tap this weekend as the season begins to hit stride with several interesting match ups and possibly the top in season high school invitational of the year scheduled all over the country.In Eugene we get two of the country\u2019s top collegiate programs as Oregon and\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=302#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Track and Field: NCAA Championships","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/5\/2\/e\/c\/Track_and_Field_8cad.JPG?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1286,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1286","url_meta":{"origin":606,"position":3},"title":"Trials Preview – Men’s 100 Meters","author":"CHill","date":"June 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The very nature of the Trials makes this meet exciting - the best in the country come together with only three competitors per event moving on to the Olympic Games. That alone puts a spotlight on every event - and I will be keeping an eye on them all. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"100\"","block_context":{"text":"100","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=100"},"img":{"alt_text":"Justin Gatlin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Justin-Gatlin_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":823,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=823","url_meta":{"origin":606,"position":4},"title":"Has the U.S. Lost Its Sprint Mojo?","author":"CHill","date":"January 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Talking with a neighbor who is a fan, but not an \u201cuber\u201d fan, of the sport after this weekend\u2019s U.S. Open, I was asked \u201cwhat\u2019s wrong with the U.S. sprinters?\u201d When I asked what he meant, he basically said that we didn\u2019t win either sprint (won by Asafa Powell &\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Bailey\"","block_context":{"text":"Bailey","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=bailey"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ofwnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/image\/_2010\/august\/tyson%20gay%20and%20usain%20bolt.JPG?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1129,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1129","url_meta":{"origin":606,"position":5},"title":"It’s Time to Talk About the 4×1","author":"CHill","date":"May 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok, between the indoor season and the last few meets, we've seen most of the world's top sprinters on the track. So, with some 80 days until the start of the London Games, it's about time to start looking at the relays. Of course the race that will draw the\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 11 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 11 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1129#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Batons","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Batons_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606","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=606"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":704,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions\/704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}