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Lead Stories: Monday, October 13, 2008

In Failure, Xiang’s Sad Story Exemplifies True Olympic Lesson

Posted August 18th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

The 95,000 fans who packed into Beijing’s Bird’s Nest and exploded with cheers when native son and 2004 gold medalist Liu Xiang was announced, groaned just as loudly only moments later when he withdrew from heat 6 of today’s 110 meter hurdles.

Xiang was limping and wincing in pain as he lined up for his first race after months of battling foot and hamstring injuries. Then, after a false start was called on the field, he came out of the blocks hobbling and proceeded to rip off his race number. As Xiang walked off the National Stadium track and into the tunnel, the reality of the nightmare scenario set-in: the national hero of the world’s most populated country would leave their own Olympic Games without a medal.

Sun Haiping, Xiang’s personal coach, broke down several times during the post-race press conference and cited a pre-existing, chronic foot injury as the cause of the withdrawal. While that may be true, I have to wonder whether the pressure of having more than a billion people expecting absolutely nothing less than a gold medal may have led to the type of overtraining that would exasperate such an injury.

Tonight marks a sad ending to a sad story for Liu Xiang, a truly phenomenal athlete who seemed almost destined for disaster by being forced on the impossible quest for perfection.
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2008 Beijing Olympic Preview: Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles

Posted August 13th, 2008 at 5:30 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

110 Meter Hurdles

The Schedule: heats, Monday Aug 18; quarterfinals, Tuesday Aug 19; semifinals, Wed Aug 20; finals, Thursday Aug 21
The Americans: #1 David Oliver, #3 Terrence Trammell, #9 David Payne
The Contenders: #2 Dayron Robles (CUB), #13 Xiang Liu (CHN)
The Stats: Records, 2008 List, 2007 Worlds, 2004 Olympics
The Medal Picks: T&FN - Robles, Xiang, Oliver;
SI - Robles, Xiang, Trammell
The Story: This event is stacked. In 2008 Dayron Robles set the World Record, ran three of the seven fastest times ever, lost just once (by .01 seconds), and is only a sidelight in a feature-length Sports Illustrated article on his rival. That rival, Liu Xiang, has the weight of 1.3 billion Chinese squarely on his wide shoulders. And American American Oliver has been running so well that he’s challenging for the overall World Points Standings lead when all events are combined. Forget the 100, 1500, decathlon or marathon: this is the race of the 2008 Olympics, and if Xiang wins the country will erupt (and scare its totalitarian government to death).
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World Points Standings:
Men’s Hurdles

Posted June 13th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Rankings, World Standings

Over the last two days I’ve rolled out my World Points Standings for the men’s sprints and the middle & long distance events. We continue with the various barrier events:

110m Hurdles
1. David Oliver, 73
2. Joel Brown, 54
3. Liu Xiang, 42
4. Dayron Robles, 38
5. Ryan Wilson, 24
6. Anwar Moore, 23
7. Allen Johnson, 22
8. Antwon Hicks, 21
9. Andy Turner, 20
10. Thomas Blaschek, 20

As is usual, the USA dominates this event with six of the top ten positions. Oliver is clearly the dominant hurdler of the early season, but expect Brown to come back to the pack fairly quickly. Xiang’s recent problems (injury in New York, false start in Eugene) have kept us from finding out how good he really is right now. Robles dominated the indoor season but has raced only twice outdoors, losing to Oliver by just 0.01 in Berlin.
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TFS News Briefs: 6/03/2008

Posted June 3rd, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, TFS News Briefs

Fleshman’s Feat Overshadowed By Bolt’s Record
The track world is abuzz with talk of Usain Bolt’s sizzling 100m world record of 9.72 at the Reebok Grand Prix, but Lauren Fleshman brought some heat of her own that day, winning the women’s 5000m in 14:58.48, the 8th fastest time ever run by an American.
More: The Register-Guard, OR

Bislett Games to Host Greatest Female Steeplechase Ever?
Oslo, Norway’s Bislett Games have long been known for their premier event, the “Dream Mile.” This year, the “Dream Steeplechase” is loaded with talent and threatens to overshadow it. World-record holder Gulnara Samitova-Galkina takes on Yekaterina Volkova, Tatyana Petrova and Eunice Jepkorir, who finished 1-2-3 at the Osaka world championships
More: IAAF


Coach: Liu Xiang Not Injured
Although world and Olympic champion and world-record holder Liu Xiang withdrew from the Reebok Grand Prix 110m hurdles this past weekend, his coach Sun Haiping claims that move was precautionary and not due to an injury.
More: Yahoo! Eurosport, UK
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The Week in the Rear View: Racing News May 26 – June 1

Posted June 2nd, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jay Hicks

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, Week in Rear View

The Week In the Rear View is a weekly column wrapping up the week’s events in running and track & field. I am normally found at PreraceJitters.com, writing about the fast life of track and field.

Everyone in the track world is talking about Usain “Lightening” Bolt. He shut ‘em down—literally! Bolt quieted his critics with a 9.72 seconds World Record performance with World Champion Tyson Gay in the race. Tyson Gay looked in good shape for this time of season running 9.85, which was good enough for second. Doesn’t that sound crazy? Bolt is now the favorite in Beijing, but two months is certainly a long time from now.

You could call it the law of averages. The Jeremy Wariner vs. LaShawn Merritt race in Berlin resulted in the end of Wariner’s winning streak that dates back to 2005. Merritt was superb. He executed a perfect race strategy to deliver the win. Before the media writes the early demise of Wariner, it should be noted that he isn’t in top shape, not yet—that will be in Beijing.

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TFS Podcast 136: Drake Relays Teleconference w/ Olympic Gold Medalist Allen Johnson

Posted April 17th, 2008 at 2:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Today on Episode 136 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, I participated in the USATF-hosted, Drake Relays Media Teleconference which featured 110m hurdler Allen Johnson. In his distinguished career, Johnson has won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games, 4 golds and 1 bronze in the World Outdoor championships and 3 gold and two silvers in the Indoor world championships, including his 2nd place finish this year in Valencia, Spain.

I joined Mike Mahon, the media coordinator for the Drake Relays, Peter Gambaccini from Runner’s World and reporters from the Associated Press, Oakland Tribune and Reuters in the teleconference. We asked Allen questions that covered a wide range of topics, including his career, doping, promotion of track and field, the athletes’ ability to speak out at the Olympics, how much longer he plans to compete, and much, much more.

TO DOWNLOAD: Right click here and select “Save As”

Host: USATF | Guest: Allen Johnson
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 23.6 MB | Length: 00:34:24

Episode Sponsored By: U.S. Army Special Forces

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U.S. Army Special Forces.
Visit goarmy.com/specialforces.

There’s strong and then there’s Army Strong.

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TFS News Briefs: 4/16/08

Posted April 16th, 2008 at 2:50 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, TFS News Briefs

Liu Campbell and Williams to Headline Reebok Grand Prix
Lauren Williams will square off against Veronica Campbell-Brown and Liu Xiang will defend his hurdles title at the Reebok Grand Prix on May 31st, 2008 at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York. All three are expected to contend for gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Read more at: [Reebok Grand Prix]

Ryan Hall Earns USA TODAY Olympic Athlete of the Week Award
Ryan Hall seems to have won the hearts and minds of the mainstream media after his dazzling 2:06:17 PR at the London Marathon this past weekend. Hall won out over “soccer player Natasha Kai, swimmer Ryan Lochte and beach volleyball tandem Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.”
Read more at: [USA Today]

New Zealand Selects Lean & Mean Beijing Track Team
Two Kiwi marathoners who have met the Olympic “A” standard have not been selected for the New Zealand Olympic team. Athletics New Zealand secretary-general Barry Maister defended the decision, saying that they “would only select athletes who made the A standard and not only that but meet it consistently and in major events.”
Read more at: [New Zealand Herald]
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TFS News Briefs: 3/21/08
Special NCAA Track & Field Edition

Posted March 21st, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs

2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field: Week 1
The 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field season officially kicks off in fine style this weekend with 38 (count ‘em, 38!) meets throughout the country. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has links to all of them on their website. Schedules like this one are truly a track junkie’s dream come true.
Read more at: [USTFCCCA]

ASU Opens Outdoor Season At Home
ASU, the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Champions, will open their outdoor season at home this weekend at the Baldy Castillo Invitational. Both the men’s team and the women’s team won the NCAA national titles last weekend. The meet will be contested on the Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe, AZ.
Read more at: [Sun Devils]

Oregon Host First Meet At Revamped Hayward Field
The University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field has had an $8 Million facelift in preparation for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, and now the Ducks want to show her off to the world. Folks will get their first look at the freshly-reminted stadium by hosting the Oregon Preview on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008. Over 550 athletes from throughout the Northwest will be competing in the meet.
Read more at: [Go Ducks][Hayward Field]
Image courtesy of GoDucks.com.
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TFS News Briefs: 2/19/2008

Posted February 19th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs

Coe: Track & Field Can’t Survive Another Drug Scandal
Double Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe said that another scandal could wreck the sport of track & field, saying, “we cannot have another five years like the one we’ve just been through because I’m not sure the sport would survive that.”
Read more at: [The Age]

Oregon High Schooler Runs 1:52 800m With No Speed Work
Having done no speedwork yet, Elijah Greer, a junior from Oswego High School, ran an outstanding early-season time of 1:52.66 at the University of Washington’s Husky Classic. It is the best prep time of the season.
Read more at: [The Oregonian]

Pistorius May Have New Evidence To Help His Appeal
Oscar Pistorius, the South African 400m sprinter who has been banned by the IAAF, may have new evidence to help him when he appeals the ruling that his two prosthetic legs give him an advantage over runners with two legs.
Read more at: [News24.com, South Africa]
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TFS News Briefs: 1/27/08

Posted January 27th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics

Hayward Field Face lift Almost Finished
The renovation of historic Hayward Field, the site of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, is nearly complete. Included in the $8 Million face lift are an improved infield and press area, a new hammer cage, dual high-jump and long-jump stations, new sound system and a $1.5 Million scoreboard.
Read more at: [ESPN]

Liu Xiang Elected to Communist Party Advising Council
110m Hurdle world-record holder, world champ and Olympic champ Liu Xiang has been elected to sit on an advisory council to the Chinese Communist Party. Now we’ve got even more reason to cheer U.S. hurdler Terrence Trammell this season as he tries to dethrone Xiang in Beijing.
Read more at: [Guardian Unlimited]

Impressive Wins by Defar, Mottram at Boston Indoor Games
Meseret Defar ran a world-best (it would be a world-record, but the IAAF doesn’t recognize this distance) time of 9:10.50 in the women’s two-mile at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Craig Mottram, not to be outdone, ran an all-comer’s (best time ever on U.S. soil, regardless of nationality) record of 7:34.50 in the men’s 3000m, surpassing Haile Gebrselassie’s previous record of 7:35.24 at the same meet in 2004.
Read more at: [IAAF]
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