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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Switching Roles, Kiprop & Kamel Prevail in Lausanne

Posted September 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Trying their hands at alternate distances, Olympic 1500m silver medalist Asbel Kiprop and 800m finalist Yusuf Saad Kamel traded places to take impressive victories at the Athletissima Super Grand Prix here tonight.

For Kiprop, the tall Kenyan who chased Rashid Ramzi to the line in Beijing, it wasn’t so much a case of moving down in distance, but more of a move back to where the 19-year-old began his breakout season. Battling with Olympic champion Wilfred Bungei heading off the final turn, he passed his compatriot with about 50 meters to go to take a convincing victory in 1:44.71, a personal best.

Just behind Kiprop, Alfred Kirwa Yego (1:44.77) and then Ugandan Abraham Chepkirwok (1:45.00) overtook Bungei, who faded badly down the homestretch to finish fourth (1:45.31).
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Bolt Amazes with 9.69 100m World Record in Beijing

Posted August 16th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Underscoring the world record performance that thrust him into the sprint spotlight late last spring, Usain Bolt did himself even one better in Beijing, cruising to a 9.69 world record to demolish the field in the final of the men’s 100 meters on the second day of action at the National Stadium.

“My aim was just to be the Olympic champion,” said Bolt, who lowered the 9.72 mark he set in New York City on May 31. “I wasn’t thinking about a world record.”

With a performance that defied the imagination, Bolt’s assessment seemed to be quite on target. Clearly ahead of Trinidad’s Richard Thompson 40 meters into the race, he then forged onward to build a lead so massive that some 75 meters into the race, he began to look side to side, dropping his arms and gesturing as if to ask, ‘Where is everybody?’
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TFS News Briefs: 5/31/2008

Posted May 31st, 2008 at 1:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

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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Gay, Powell Clash Set for London Grand Prix 7/25 - 7/26

Posted May 25th, 2008 at 9:30 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

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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Who Is the Greatest Male Runner Of All Time?

Posted April 16th, 2008 at 9:45 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Who is the greatest male runner of all time? If you ask ten different track aficionados, you’ll probably get ten different answers, but I thought I’d take a look at some statistics to try and arrive at my own conclusion. I based my analysis on the fastest 50 performances of all time in every Olympic running event from 100 meters all the way up to the marathon. I tallied the number of times each name appeared in any of the events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000m, Marathon, 110mH, 400mH, 3000mSC) and then added the totals if any athlete had top 50 performances in more than one event. Most of the athletes who had 10 or more top-50-alltime performances have done so in more than one event.

Of all the runners who had 10 or more top-50 performances, which nations were most represented? Not surprisingly, the United States was represented by the most with 6 athletes, followed by Ethiopia with 2 and then 6 countries with 1 athlete each: Denmark, Jamaica, Kenya, Morocco, Qatar, and Trinidad. Based on that information alone, you can probably guess some of the names on the list.
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TFS News Briefs: 2/20/2008

Posted February 20th, 2008 at 1:56 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

IAAF’s Preview Of Melbourne Grand Prix
At the Melbourne Grand Prix, a highly fit Craig Mottram will take on teen Ethiopian sensation Abreham Cherkos Feleke in the 5000m in front of a home crowd. Jeremy Wariner will run his first 400m of the 2008 season. Asafa Powell is still questionable for the 100m.
Read more at: [IAAF]

New Bookshop at Runner’s World
The Runner’s World website has a new feature: the Runner’s World Bookshop. Included among the offering is Runner’s World Guide To Road Racing, which offers “advice from the pros on training for and competing in the four most popular road races–5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon.”
Read more at: [Runner’s World]

No Indoor Championshipss For Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele will miss the IAAF World Indoor Athletic Championships. Instead, he will focus on the World Cross-Country Championships where he hopes to redeem himself after a disastrous 2007 race in Mombasa, Kenya. In that race he succumbed to the heat and the humidity and was forced to drop out.
Read more at: [Guardian Unlimited, UK]
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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: 2/18/2008

Posted February 18th, 2008 at 3:57 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Asafa: 80% Chance He’s Race Thursday
Asafa Powell, still healing after cutting his knee, says he is “70 to 80″ percent sure he start in Thursday’s Melbourne Grand Prix. He also wants a lifetime ban for drug cheats, against whom he says he’s certain to run in Beijing.
Read more at: [Melbourne Herald Sun][Jamaica Gleaner]

Central Florida: New Hotbed of Track
With new residents Tyson Gay and Veronica Campbell leading the way, Central Florida’s Clermont is the newest hotbed of elite track and field. Gay and Campbell, along with several other adidas-sponsored athletes are training there for the Beijing Olympics.
Read more at: [Orlando Sentinel]

Tariku Bekele - Craig Mottram Showdown Will Have To Wait
Tariku Bekele has pulled out of Thursday’s Melbourne Grand Prix, leaving Craig Mottram disappointed. Mottram had wanted to race the Ethiopian at the 5000m distance in front of a home crowd.
Read more at: [The Age, Australia]
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2008 Track & Field Previews & Predictions: Men’s Sprints

Posted January 22nd, 2008 at 6:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, TFS News Briefs

Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell will continue their 100m rivalry in 2008. Powell has yet to prove that he has the head game to win a big meet, so that leaves the gold medal in Beijing to Gay unless Powell can work past that deficiency. One of the two should break Powell’s world record of 9.74 in 2008. Bahamanian Derrick Atkins won’t be as lucky in Beijing as he was in Osaka when he snuck past Powell for the silver. The best he can hope for is bronze. Walter Dix will win the NCAA title and will again be too tired to make much of a difference at Beijing. He will make the finals but will not medal. Wallace Spearmon and Samuel Francis broke the 10 second barrier in 2007 and they should both improve in 2008. Spearmon is a 200m specialist, so look for him to focus on that event in this Olympic year. Look for Olusoji Fasuba and Francis Obikwelu to break 10 seconds if they can stay healthy.
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Wariner’s Olympic Preparation To Begin
in Australia

Posted December 7th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by J. R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

In lieu of a cold, harsh indoor season, world and Olympic 400m champion Jeremy Wariner will begin his 2008 Olympic-season campaign outdoors in Australia. Although he usually begins racing in March, he is set to begin his season next year in February, a warm summer month in the Southern Hemisphere. He will be joined in Sydney and Melbourne by 100m world-record holder Asafa Powell, his training partner Darold Williamson and his coach Clyde Hart.

The 23-year old Texan said, “I am looking forward to running in Australia in February. I am excited about competing here for the first time as I prepare for the summer Olympics in Beijing.”

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