My rankings are being run on a pilot program this summer and I’m sharing them with the track community via The Final Sprint. Last year I did a trial run on just the men’s 100 meters and it correctly predicted the World Championships medalists in order, and then by the end of the summer readjusted to match Track & Field News’ world rankings nearly exactly.
The system is based on that of the IAAF’s World Athletics Tour standings, but with a few twists–most importantly, all kinds of meets are included in the standings and athletes can earn bonus points for fast times. At this early time in the season, athletes are given points for the results of their best four meets (one of which can be in a different event).
100 meters
1. Usain Bolt 46
2. Nesta Carter 42
2. Olusoji Fasuba 42
4. Kim Collins 38
4. Mike Rodgers 38
6. Darrel Brown 34
6. Tyson Gay 34
8. Derrick Atkins 32
8. Michael Frater 32
10. Ivory Williams 30
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Sebastian Coe: Real Damage to Track & Field Inflicted By Americans
British Middle-Distance Great Sebastian Coe has written a scathing indictment of America’s role in the doping scandal in track & field and our attitude toward the sport. Perhaps most telling are his words, “American athletes who remain anonymous in their own towns are lauded in the Golden League in Europe.”
More: Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom
Lagat Remains a Student Of the Sport
The Guardian has posted a profile of Beijing 1500m favorite Bernard Lagat who, after all of his experience and success, remains a careful student of the sport who learns something every day.
More: guardian.co.uk, UK
Bolt Undecided About Olympic Double
Having only run five 100m races in his entire life, world-record holder Usain Bolt is still not sure whether or not he will attempt a 100m/200m double in Beijing. He said he would run the 200m “for sure” but that he would leave the decision about the 100m up to his coach, Glen Mills.
More: CBC
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Walter Dix Advances To 100m and 200m Finals at NCAA East Regional
FSU senior Walter Dix has been hampered by a hamstring injury all season so it’s no wonder he coasted to the finish line in both the 100m and the 200m heats at the 2008 NCAA East Regional Championships. In fact, he finished 3rd behind his FSU teammates. With Dix’s help, the Seminoles are in good position to win their 4th straight NCAA East Regional team championship.
More: Tampa Tribune
Aussie Tamsyn Lewis Prefers Stiff Competition
Surprise world indoor 800m champ Tamsyn Lewis of Australia begins her outdoor campaign by facing 2007 outdoor champ Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya at the DKB-ISTAF 2008, an IAAF Golden League meet in Berlin . Her reasoning? “I’d prefer to be in a field like that than an easier race. The only way to get ready for the Olympic Games is to race against these women some time. It might as well be now.”
More: The Age, Australia
Kara Goucher Aims For Olympic “A” Standard Tonight
The USATF recently announced that all Team USA athletes must have met their Olympic “A” standards either before or during the Olympic Trials, not after. It is much easier to achieve that standard without the added pressure of having to claim one of three spots in a major competition. That may be why Kara Goucher has decided to go for her “A” standard of 31:45 in the 10000m at a low-key meet in Oregon tonight. Galen Rupp will be running the 5000m.
The Oregonian
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An eagerly anticipated 100m face off between World champion Tyson Gay of the U.S. and world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica has been set for the Aviva London Grand Prix on July 25-26, organizers announced.
With both sprinters gearing up for the Olympic Games, the race at London’s Crystal Palace will likely be their only face-to-face prior to Beijing.
“London will be very crucial for me,” said Gay, who last year stormed to World titles at both the 100 and 200m in Osaka. “It is one of the biggest meets of the year right now and that is where it is going down between myself and Asafa. He has the title of being the World record holder and I have the title of being the World champion, and I think that is really good for the sport.”
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Politics Rears Its Ugly Head
Political friction between Qatar and Ethioipia has resulted in a boycott by the Ethiopian federation of the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix meet. Indoor world champions Deresse Mekonnen (1500m) and Tariku Bekele (3000m) had been scheduled to run.
More: PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria
Instead…
of the Ethiopians, look for some superstars at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix meet. Jeremy Wariner will run the 200m, Allyson Felix will run the 400m and Blanca Vlasic will compete in the heptathlon. Just kidding, she’s sticking to what she knows - the high jump (with Wariner and Felix branching out from their usual events, I couldn’t resist!).
More: IHT
Where In The World Is…
Tuvalu? It’s a tiny island nation in Oceania located northeast of Australia. It boasts a population of 11,992 and a land area of 10 square miles. “So what?” you ask. Well, it is the newest member country of the IAAF, the world’s governing body of track & field, which now has a membership of 213.
More: Afrique en ligne, France
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Bryan Clay Faces Risky Combination of Beijing Pollution and Asthma
The Honolulu Bulletin features an article about native son, Athens Olympic silver medalist Bryan Clay, and the challenges he faces in dealing with asthma, challenges which could be compounded in the polluted air of Beijing.
Read more at: [Honolulu Star-Bulletin]
Canadian Equivalent of Hanson’s-Brooks Running Project
The Hanson’s-Brooks Running Project has its equivalent up in Canada and it’s called Brooks Canada Marathon Project. Husband-and-wife team members Andrew Smith and Tara Quinn-Smith, who won the men’s and women’s Canadian Half Marathon Championships, and other Brooks Canada runners are featured in an article by the Toronto Sun.
Read more at: [Toronto Sun]
Hamburg Marathon Preview
German correspondent Jörg Wenig has written a preview of the Hamburg Marathon for the IAAF. He spotlights Spaniard Julio Rey, who has won the race four tines and Kenyan Wilfred Kigen, who has won three times, as the favorites in the men’s race. Compatriot Ulrike Maisch, the 2006 European Champion, is the favorite in the women’s race. She told Wenig that “I will definitely have to run 2:29 to qualify for the Olympics. But I believe that I can achieve 2:28.”
Read more at: [IAAF]
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Tyson Gay “Your Season Starts Now”
The Jamaican tourism board’s current slogan is “Your Vacation Starts Now.” Well, Tyson Gay is paying no heed to that sentiment. He’s headed there to do some work. He will begin his 2008 season at the Jamaica International Invitation meeting on May 3rd, 2008 where he will run a 200m dash.
Read more at: [Xinhua, China]
“Glimmer of Hope” For USA Cross-Country
An article in the UK’s Herald discusses the recent 2008 IAAF World Cross-Country Championships and mentions USA cross-country as “show[ing] a glimmer of hope” in being able to compete against the Africans in future championships. The US is also seeking to host the event in 2010 and has asked the Scots for help in conducting a successful event. My advice? Invite a bunch of Africans.
Read more at: [The Herald, UK]
Sanya Richards: “This is what I’ve been training for all my life”
Sanya Richards is ready to claim the Beijing Olympic Gold in 2008 in the 400m, having suffered a setback in 2007 that caused her not to qualify for the Osaka World Championships in that event. Her coach, Clyde Hart said, “I think she’s probably better (now) than she’s been since I’ve had her.”
Read more at: [USA Today]
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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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Wanjiru Wins Spanish Half-Marathon in 59:26,
Sets Sites on London, Beijing
Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru won the 21st Mitja Marató (half-marathon) de Granollers near Barcelona, Spain with a time of 59:26. proving that he is fit and ready for the Flora London Marathon this April. He also has his sites set on the Beijing Olympic Marathon this summer.
Read more at: [IAAF]
Maurice Greene Reaches “Journey’s End”
Former Olympic and world 100m champion Maurice Greene announced his retirement after unsuccessful battles with nagging injuries. Read more about this story at: [IAAF] Read more about Greene at: [Wikipedia]
Field Events Dominate Governor’s Cup Indoor Meet in Samara, Russia
A sellout crowd at the Governor’s Cup Indoor Meet in Samara, Russia was treated to world-class performances in the field events by a top-notch international field of athletes from 17 countries.
Read more at: [European Athletics]
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If you take a peek at the top women sprinters so far in this early 2008 indoor season, you’ll see that the lists are dominated by the Russians in the 60m, 200m and 400m dashes.
That will soon change, for the Americans and Jamaicans are sprinting juggernauts. Veronica Campbell and Torri Edwards dominated the 100m in 2007 with 8 out of the top 10 times. Campbell led the way with a 10.89 clocking in Kingston, Jamaica last June.
That’s a long way off from Florence Griffith-Joyner’s incredible (incredulous?) world record of 10.49 way back in 1988,and the slowest “fastest” time of the year since 1981 when Evelyn Ashford ran a 10.90, but certainly not too far off the mark when compared to the fastest times of recent years.
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Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones, winner of 3 gold and 2 bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has finally acknowledged that she took steroids. In a letter to family and friends she admits to taking, beginning in 1999, a designer drug known as “The Clear” or THG (Tetrahydrogestrinone), a powerful anabolic steroid.
She also, according […]
Gay Wins, Powell Injures Hamstring in Yokohama
Tyson Gay ended his season strongly by finishing 1st in the 100m in a steady rain at the Super Track and Field Meet in Yokohama, Japan Sunday. In the same meet Asafa Powell pulled a hamstring muscle while running the turn of the 200m. Tyler Christopher of Canada went […]
2007 World Outdoor 200m bronze medalist Wallace Spearmon and 2007 IAAF Golden League winner Sanya Richards stole the show in 100 meter action at the 2007 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.
A 4×100m gold medalist at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships, Spearmon edged out reigning World 100m and 200m champion Tyson Gay in the men’s 100m, crossing […]
Wallace Spearmon’s dazzling time of 9.96 seconds today in the 100m Dash at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix ties him with Carl Lewis as the 4th fastest man of all time when adding his 100m and 200m times together. Each man’s combined 100m/200m time is 29.61 seconds. Michael Johnson is number one with a combined […]
Huge Names to Run in Shanghai This Friday
Tyson Gay and Veronica Campbell (100m), Asafa Powell (200m), Jeremy Wariner (400m) and Kenenisa Bekele (1500m) are all set to run this Friday in Shanghai, China in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix at the University Town Stadium. For most of the athletes, it will be the last meet […]
A slew of sensational performances, topped by Dayron Robles’ 12.92 victory in the 110m hurdles, highlighted a thoroughly entertaining second and final day of the 5th IAAF/VTB Bank World Athletics Final in Stuttgart this afternoon.
Continuing his impressive late season campaign, the 20-year-old Cuban slashed the year-old meet record set by Liu Xiang, leaving thoughts of […]
Wallace Spearmon was the clear favorite going into the men’s 200m of the 5th IAAF World Athletics Final from Stuttgart, Germany. With a bronze medal from the Osaka world championships to his credit nd a couple of fast recent times of 19.88 (Brussels) and 19.82 (Berlin), the race was his for the taking, especially since […]
The women’s 200m dash at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany was a wide open race. The only world championships’ finalist in the race was LaShauntea Moore (USA) who had finished 7th in Osaka. Lauren Williams, a 100m specialist, was in the race with a PB of 22.27. Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (BAH) with a […]
Khadevis Robinson: A Change is Going to Come in US Track
In an interview with Cecil Harris of MensRacing.com, a New York Road Runners website, Khadevis (pronounced kuh-DAY-vis) Robinson talks about his 2007 season, his intellectual approach to preparing for his event, the 800m Run, and how it relates to chess (and life!), the upcoming birth […]
There’s an interesting discussion over at the Track & Field News Message Boards about “dream” track events, that is, events that are not currently held but which would be interesting to see. Some, such as the straight-course 200m (world record: 19.4 by Tommie Smith [Pictured], back in 1966), are obsolete events; while others, such as […]
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