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Lead Stories: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Despite Bumpy Start, Webb Confident Prior to U.S. Olympic Trials

Posted June 25th, 2008 at 8:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

When Alan Webb finished 16th at the U.S. 8-K Championships last March, then stepped off the course with about 800m to go at the Carlsbad 5000 three weeks later, alarm bells went off amongst America’s track fans. A panic practically ensued when he withdrew from the mile at the Drake Relays a week after the Carlsbad race. Was Alan Webb in trouble in this all-important Olympic year?

Not according to Webb or his coach, Scott Raczko. With the opening of the U.S. Olympic Trials just two days away in Eugene, Ore., Webb feels he’s on target to perform at his best at the Trials and make his second Olympic team. For him, his season is just getting started.

“Basically, going back to last fall to now I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the fall and winter,” said Webb in an interview on his cell phone. “I had a little hiccup around the 8-K and Carlsbad, but things have been going great since then.”
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Walker breaks AR, Mutola wins for 16th time at Nike Prefontaine Classic

Posted June 8th, 2008 at 11:34 PM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Meet records fell across all event groups, none bigger than Brad Walker’s American record in the pole vault, and Maria Mutola had a historic exit Sunday at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.

The fourth event of USATF’s Visa Championship Series, the Nike Prefontaine Classic drew a meet-record 14,221 fans to Hayward Field, site of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field June 27-July 6. They were treated to a formidable show, including no fewer than eight meet records and Walker’s AR.

The 2007 world champion, Walker looked magnificent throughout the competition. He had just one miss, at his opening height of 5.70m/18-8.25, then passed to 5.90m/19-4.25, which he cleared on his first attempt and which won the competition for him. Walker then elevated the bar to 6.04m/19-9.75. On his very first attempt, he cleared, brushing the bar just a bit, but leaving it up.
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Prefontaine Classic Preview: Sprint and Middle Distance Events

Posted June 6th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Women’s 400 meters
4:03 p.m. EDT (1:03 p.m. local)
Competitors have not yet been announced.

Men’s 100 meters
4:12 p.m. EDT (1:12 p.m. local)
The favorites are Michael Frater (Jamaica) and Churandy Martina (Netherlands Antilles), who are #7 and #8 respectively in my World Rankings points system. Veteran sprinter Francis Obikwelu (Portugal) is just starting his season and could challenge for the win as well. Other entrants include Darrel Brown (Trinidad) and Americans Mark Jelks, Shawn Crawford and Ivory Williams.
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Jon Rankin: Before It All Begins, I Imagine
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #14)

Posted June 5th, 2008 at 11:30 AM by Jon Rankin

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/

As I sit on the bench by the track today and I start to prepare for my training session, I find myself staring off into space. I stare at the trees that surround the track as they rhythmically sway back and forth with the quietly blowing wind; my mind dances from one thought to the next, seeming to follow their oceanic pace. My thoughts are daydreams of a grand performance that I hope to have this coming Sunday in Eugene at the Prefontaine Classic.

These thoughts that I have are often so vivid because I’ve convinced myself a long time ago that they are real moments that have not yet happened. I can’t imagine continuing to pursue what are seemingly pretty wild goals without the belief that they are possible. Honestly, I think that it would make the task of achieving a goal that much harder if I didn’t believe deep down inside that I could really make it happen.
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Video: Jon Rankin Training Segment Featured on NBC

Posted June 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Announcements, Running & Training, Track & Field, Olympics

The below video segment, entitled “Olympic Hopefuls Add Weights To Workouts”, was originally aired on NBC affiliate KCRA-3. It was filmed at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA and features rising American middle distance star and TFS Elite Athlete Bloggger Jon Rankin.

Learn more about Rankin as he gets ready to compete in the Bowerman Mile at this weekend’s Prefontaine Classic and continues his quest to become an Olympian by checking out his bi-weekly blog entries at: http://jonrakin.thefinalsprint.com

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Prefontaine Classic: Recap of middle & long distance events

Posted June 11th, 2007 at 1:57 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

If the late Steve Prefontaine was watching this meeting from above his beloved Hayward Field, he surely had a smile on his face as gutsy performances in the middle and long distance events dominated this meeting.

For the second year in a row, the meet was held in cool and sometimes rainy conditions, and that was just perfect for the rollicking two-miler which was won by Australian Craig Mottram in the fastest time every on U.S. soil. John Jefferson and Bernard Kiptum set the early pace, and Tariku Bekele and Mottram were running 1-2 when Kiptum left the track after about 2000 meters.

Bekele led out of turn-2 on the final lap, but Mottram started his long sprint with more 250 meter to go. Bekele just couldn’t answer, and the big Aussie motored to the line in a sparkling 8:03.50, blowing through Eliud Kipchoge’s U.S. all-comer’s best of 8:07.68 set at the same meet in 2005.

“It comes down to the size of your balls, really,” said Mottram on live television after the race.

Bekele ran a personal best 8:04.83, while a hard-charging Matt Tegenkamp broke Alan Webb’s U.S. best of 8:11.48 with a terrific 8:07.07 clocking. Dathan Ritzenhein nearly got under Webb’s mark, finishing in 8:11.74 in fourth place. As for Webb, he finished a disappointing 9th, surely a letdown after his commanding victory over Bernard Lagat in the Reebok Grand Prix last Saturday.
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Runners wow Hayward Field crowd at 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic

Posted June 11th, 2007 at 8:04 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

2007 USA Indoor 3,000m champion Matt Tegenkamp set an American record in front of a standing room only crowd Sunday at the 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., which is the fourth event of USA Track & Field’s 2007 Outdoor Visa Championship Series.

Tegenkamp finished third in men’s two mile race in the American record time of 8 minutes 7.07 seconds, which betters the previous American standard of 8:11.48 set here in 2005 by Alan Webb. Tegenkamp was led to the finish line by Australia’s Craig Mottram, who won the race in 8:03.50, which is the sixth-fastest performance all-time in the two-mile. Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele was the runner-up in 8:04.83, which is the eighth-fastest time ever.

Komen wins amazing Bowerman Mile

Kenyan Daniel K. Komen ran the fastest time ever on American soil to win the signature event of the Nike Prefontaine Classic, the Bowerman Mile. In a race that saw nine competitors finish under the 4-minute barrier, Komen was victorious in a blistering time of 3 minutes 48.28 seconds, which is the fastest time in the world this year. Two-time Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat was the runner-up in 3:50.56, which is the fastest time by an American this season.
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Webb to run 2-mile instead at Nike Prefontaine Classic

Posted June 7th, 2007 at 1:19 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Despite having recently run one of the fastest miles in the world this year (3 minutes 52.94 seconds), Alan Webb has elected to participate in the two-mile instead of the Bowerman Mile at Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.

Webb is a two-time U.S. Outdoor 1,500 meter champion and the 2007 U.S. Indoor champion in the mile, but has decided to pursue the two-mile where he also currently holds the American record. His record time of 8:11.48 was set two years ago at the Prefontaine Classic.

Webb drops out of an event that has been very kind to him in the past. His 3:53.43 in the 2001 Bowerman Mile remains the national high school record. Despite Webb’s scratch, the current record in the Bowerman Mile of 3:49.92 set by Hicham El Guerrouj may be in danger with defending champion Bernard Lagat and 2005 champion and owner of the fastest time in the world this year Alex Kipchirchir remaining in the field.
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World’s best to compete at 33rd Nike Prefontaine Classic

Posted June 7th, 2007 at 7:00 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Many of the world’s finest track and field athletes, including Jeremy Wariner, Allen Johnson, Asafa Powell, Michelle Perry, Bryan Clay, Reese Hoffa, Walter Davis, Maria Mutola, Bernard Lagat, Kenenisa Bekele and Liu Xiang, among many others, will compete Sunday at the 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

The fourth event of USA Track & Field’s 2007 Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the Nike Prefontaine Classic will be televised live on NBC, Sunday, June 10, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Lagat, Webb to continue rivalry in Bowerman Mile

As always, the headline event of the Nike Prefontaine Classic is the Bowerman Mile, which this year features nine runners with lifetime mile bests under 4-minutes. The Hayward Field and Prefontaine Classic record of 3 minutes 49.92 seconds set six years ago by Hicham El Guerrouj could be in jeopardy.
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Bowerman Mile features fast field at Pre Classic

Posted June 4th, 2007 at 7:30 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Four of the world’s top ten men’s milers will toe the line June 10 at the 2007 Prefontaine Classic at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field in Eugene.

The fourth event of USA Track & Field’s 2007 Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the Prefontaine Classic will be televised live on NBC, Sunday, June 10, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The field includes nine runners with lifetime mile bests under 4-minutes, which could jeopardize the Hayward Field and Prefontaine Classic record of 3 minutes 49.92 seconds set six years ago by Hicham El Guerrouj.

Americans leading the way include two-time Olympic medalist and defending Bowerman Mile champion Bernard Lagat, who ended the 2006 season ranked #3 in the world in the 1,500/mile by Track & Field News. Two-time U.S. Outdoor champion and reigning national indoor titlist Alan Webb returns to The Bowerman Mile, where he ran a 3:53.43 at the 2001 Pre Classic to set the national high school record.
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