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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

World Points Standings:
Women’s Long Distance

Posted June 17th, 2008 at 10:00 AM by Jesse Squire

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

3000 meters
(includes no-pacemaker championship-type 5k races)
1. Meseret Defar, 68
2. Meselech Melkamu, 42
3. Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet, 38
4. Tirunesh Dibaba, 38
5. Gelete Burka, 35
6. Ejegayehu Dibaba, 32
7. Kim Smith, 28
8. Olga Komiagina, 26
9. Ruth Bisibori Nyangau, 26
10. Grace Momanyi, 21

World Indoor champion Defar is still the best at this distance, but hasn’t yet run against her rival, 5k world-record-breaker Tirunesh Dibaba.

5000 & 10,000 meters
1. Tirunesh Dibaba, 74
2. Gelete Burka, 50
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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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Men’s Olympic Middle & Long- Distance In the Modern Era

Posted March 27th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

The Modern Olympic Era

Of the 336 medals that have been awarded thus far in the men’s middle and long-distance track events during the Modern Olympic Era (1896-2004) here are some interesting statistics:

· A total of 42 Countries have won medals in these events.*
· Kenya (no surprise) has won the most medals, having won 43.
· USA is a close 2nd with 42.
· Finland (yes, Finland) is 3rd with 41.
· Great Britain is 4th, having won 35.
· Ethiopia rounds out the top 5 with 15 medals.**

· Finland can claim the most gold medals with 21. Kenya is 2nd with 15, followed closely by the USA and Great Britain with 13 each.
· In the silver-medal count, it’s Kenya (17), then United States (13), then Great Britain (12), then Finland (11). France rounds out the top 5 with a total of 9 medals.
· The top 5 in the bronze-medal count are: United States (16), Kenya (11), Great Britain (10), Finland (9) and Sweden (7).
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“Best” American Records: 800m - 10000m

Posted March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, SoundOFF, Columns

With the 2008 outdoor track & field season upon us, and all of the recent hoopla about the resurgence of American distance running, it’s time to analyze the current middle and long-distance American records, some of which are in jeopardy of falling this Olympic season. Some of them, on the other hand, are almost assuredly safe.

I calculated the variances between the American and World records in all of the “official” middle and long-distance events: 800m, 1000m, 1500m, Mile, 2000m, 3000m, 3000m Steeplechase, 5000m and 10000m runs. So which American record is the “best” according to this calculation?

Rick Wohlhuter’s American record of 2:13.90 in the 1000m, a mark he set way back on 07/20/74, is the “best” American record when compared to its % variance to the world record. The current world record in the 1000m was set by Kenya’s Noah Ngeny back on 9/05/1999. His time was 2:11.96. Wohlhuter’s mark is just 1.470% off Ngeny’s mark.
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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 Running Podcast 129: Anthony Famiglietti

Posted February 27th, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Today, on Episode 129 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast I got the chance to speak with with U.S. steeplechaser Anthony Famiglietti.

In the interview, “Fam” talks about his disappointment in having to pull out of the 2008 US Cross Country Championships and the reasons why he chose to do so. We also talked about his goals for 2008 which include winning the steeplechase in both Eugene at the trials and in Beijing at the Olympics.

Download the podcast to hear Fam discuss some of his creative outlets including helping his sponsor adidas design a revolutionary new XC spike, his follow-up to “Run Like Hell” - the documentary DVD he produced - his music and much more.

LISTEN IN:

TO DOWNLOAD: Right click and select “save as”

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Host: Jimmie R. Markham | Guest: Anthony Famiglietti
Executive Producer: Adam Jacobs
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 22.0 MB | Length: 32:08 MIN

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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2008 Track & Field
Previews & Predictions:
Women’s Middle-Distance

Posted January 25th, 2008 at 5:25 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Maria Mutola recently announced that she will retire at the end of the 2008 season. That’s a shame because she has been the ambassador of women’s 800m running ever since she broke on the world-class middle-distance running scene in 1991 with a time of 1:57.63. Since then she’s run between 1:55.19 and 1:58.98 a staggering 108 times. The only other woman to come even close to running that many world-class times in the 800m has been the great Cuban runner Ana Quirot, who ran between 1:54.44 and 1:58.95 a total of 72 times between 1986 and 1997. The 800m event will truly be diminished when Mutola retires.
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Moonlighting at the Marathon, Petrova Takes on Honolulu

Posted December 8th, 2007 at 8:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field

Last August 27th Tatyana Petrova demonstrated that she belongs in the top echelon of world athletics when she earned a silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. It was a run she made with confidence, and her performance put USD 30,000 in prize money in her bank account.

But on Sunday, she’ll be taking on a completely different challenge, one she admits she may not be entirely ready for: the 35th edition of the Honolulu Marathon.
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TFS News Briefs: 10/27/07

Posted October 27th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs, Trail / Ultra

Kenyan Steeplechaser Has Eye Marathon World Record
Boit Kipketer, a 35-year-old Kenyan who is one of just eight men to have finished a 3000m Steeplechase in under 8:00, now has eyes for Haile Gebrselassie’s marathon world-record time of 2:04:26. Read more at: [IAAF]

USOC Chair Ueberroth: Hayward Field Like Wrigley Field
United States Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth visited Eugene, OR, the location of next year’s U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, and made the storied Hayward Field his “first stop.” He compared Hayward Field to Wrigley Field, saying, “this community, with its heritage, with its magical facility, it’s kind of like Wrigley Field. That magical experience can provide a rebirth (and a) regeneration in track and field. I think it really is going to be wonderful.” Ueberroth also apologized to the whole world for Marion Jones’ actions, saying, “we damaged the Olympics. When you do something that hurts the organization, you better stand up and own up to it.” Read more at: [The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR]

Chariots of Fire, IRL
Sam Dobin, a 19-year-old economics student at Cambridge, has stolen a memorable scene from the movie Chariots of Fire and made it his own, in real life. You might recall the memorable scene in which Harold Abrahams, a central character in the movie, attempts to run all the way around Trinity College’s Great Court (pictured at right) before the clock finishes striking noon. Well, Dobin has done it, and he has done so in record time, and has been inspired to make a run at the 800m and 1500m runs in the 2012 Olympic Games. Read more at: [Daily Mail]
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