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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Lel Is Youngest Man Ever to Win Five Majors

Posted April 15th, 2008 at 1:11 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The good news just keeps coming for Kenya’s Martin Lel. The 29 year-old leader of the 2007/2008 World Marathon Majors points series has become the youngest man ever to win five Majors events: London three times and New York City twice.

Lel, who sprinted away from compatriot Samuel Wanjiru at the Flora London Marathon last Sunday to win in a course record and personal best 2:05:15, is also the first man to achieve this career milestone before age 30. The previous youngest five-time winner was Khalid Khannouchi, running for both Morocco and the United States, who was 30 years 295 days when he won his fifth lifetime Major at the 2002 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.
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Tips for a Toasty
Winter Workout

Posted November 7th, 2007 at 6:06 PM by Courtney Albon

Section: Health & Fitness, Exercise

For the active individual, winter is not an excuse to hibernate - or even cause to move workouts inside - instead, it’s reason to invest in some workout gear that will keep you warm as temperatures dip.

According to geartrends.com, when working out in cold weather you lose heat through the soles of your feet, through the cooler air circulating around you, the evaporation of sweat and the radiation of body heat.

The solution to heat loss? Layers, gloves, hats, socks–anything that will help your body pack in the heat.

Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com

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Wami, Cheruiyot Crowned First WMM Champions

Posted November 5th, 2007 at 5:59 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The World Marathon Majors crowned its inaugural male and female champions today at a ceremony held in New York City.

The two-year, 11-race series concluded yesterday at the ING New York City Marathon where Gete Wami’s (ETH) second-place finish earned her the final points needed to clinch the series women’s championship. Robert Cheruiyot (KEN) secured the men’s title with three first-place victories during the two-year competition.

Each champion received $500,000 for accumulating the most points in the series which included marathons in Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York as well as this summer’s IAAF World Championships Marathon.
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Stefano Baldini Enters NYC Marathon; Set to Compete Against World’s Best

Posted October 11th, 2007 at 5:27 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Stefano Baldini of Italy will add a touch of gold to an already sparkling men’s professional field at the ING New York City Marathon 2007 on Sunday, November 4, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race director Mary Wittenberg.

The announcement was made at a news conference in Milan, where Baldini appeared with the chairman of the New York Road Runners board of directors, George Hirsch.

“New York boasts a glittering honor roll of Italian champions, including Orlando Pizzolato, Gianni Poli, and Giacomo Leone, and we know Stefano doesn’t want his golden career to end without his name being added to that list,” Wittenberg said. “With him ride the hopes of a marathon-mad nation.”

Baldini will face off against a handful of former New York champions, including previously announced Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil (2006), Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa (2004), and Kenyans Martin Lel (2003) and Rodgers Rop (2002).
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Olympic great Al Oerter dies

Posted October 1st, 2007 at 3:05 PM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Four-time Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder and National Track & Field Hall of Famer Al Oerter died Monday of heart failure in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. He was 71.

The greatest athlete ever to compete in the discus, Oerter participated in four Olympics, always as the underdog, and always came out the winner. With each win he set an Olympic record in the event.

A native of Astoria, N.Y., Oerter won his first gold medal in 1956 while he was a student at the University of Kansas, upsetting fellow National Track & Field Hall of Famer Fortune Gordien in throwing an Olympic record 56.37 meters/184 feet 11 inches.
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Podcast 66: Female running pioneer and Lydiard protégé LORRAINE MOLLER -Part 2/2

Posted July 20th, 2007 at 9:51 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode 66 of The Final Sprint Podcast features the second and final installment of a two-part, in-depth interview with the legendary female running pioneer and passionate Lydiard protégé LORRAINE MOLLER. (Click here to listen to part 1 of this interview featured in Episode 65).

Lorraine began an unprecedented, 28-year international career by running barefoot in her native New Zealand. At the age of 41, she concluded her running her career with her fourth Olympic marathon, becoming the only woman in the world to have completed each of the first four Olympic marathons for women. Her multitude of other accomplishments include the longest debut winning marathon streak in history, a Boston Marathon title, and an Olympic bronze medal.

In part 2 of the interview, Lorraine talks about her upcoming autobiography “On the Wings of Mercury”, her decision to retire and her life since, coaching, the advent of the women’s marathon and the special relationship between herself and fellow women’s running pioneers: Kathrine Switzer, Grete Waitz, and Joan Benoit Samuelson.

Download the podcast to hear Lorraine discuss these topics, as well as, helping to create the Arthur Lydiard Foundation, her charity efforts and much more!

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to you

Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Lorraine Moller
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 13.9 MB
Length: 20:16

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

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Podcast 65: Female running pioneer and Lydiard protégé LORRAINE MOLLER -Part 1/2

Posted July 18th, 2007 at 6:24 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode 65 of The Final Sprint Podcast features the first installment of a two-part, in-depth interview with the legendary female running pioneer and passionate Lydiard protégé LORRAINE MOLLER.

(Note: Part two will be published on Friday in Episode 66).

Lorraine began an unprecedented, 28-year international career by running barefoot in her native New Zealand. At the age of 41, she concluded her running her career with her fourth Olympic marathon, becoming the only woman in the world to have completed each of the first four Olympic marathons for women. Her multitude of other accomplishments include the longest debut winning marathon streak in history, a Boston Marathon title, and an Olympic bronze medal.

In part 1 of the interview, Lorraine talks about the development and progression of her career, being driven by that “pioneering kiwi spirit”, the metamorphosis of female athletics, her bond with iconic running coach Arthur Lydiard, misconceptions about his training philosophies, and why her regimen so seamlessly prepared her for the marathon.

Download the podcast to hear Lorraine discuss these topics, as well as, the special meaning of being inducted to the Colorado Running Hall of Fame and her belief that running is a personal and spiritual journey that enabled her to develop the often under-appreciated, but yet crucial element to success in both athletics and in life: self-understanding and the mental framework of a champion.

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to you

Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Lorraine Moller
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 17.3 MB
Length: 25:15

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

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U.S. Javelin record for Greer in Indianapolis, 9.98 for Gay in Opening Round

Posted June 22nd, 2007 at 5:29 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

The AT&T USA Outdoor Championships got off with a bang in Indianapolis yesterday when Breaux Greer extended his own national record in the javelin throw to 91.29m [299-6].

“I didn’t hit it hard but I hit it clean,” said Greer, whose massive effort eclipsed the 90.71 [297-7] mark he set at last month’s adidas Track Classic in Carson, Calif. It was the fourth national record for the 30-year-old, and the performance extended his own 2007 world lead in the event.
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AT&T USA Outdoor T&F Champs: Veterans Abdi Abdirahman & Deena Kastor win 10,000m titles

Posted June 22nd, 2007 at 11:33 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

There were two familiar faces in the winner’s circle tonight as the first finals were contested at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships at the Michael A. Carroll Stadium at Indiana University-Purdue University here.

Abdi Abdirahman of Tucson, Ariz., and Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., won their third and sixth U.S. 10,000m titles, respectively, in dramatically different fashion.

For Abdirahman, 30, who won the same title in 2001 and 2005, he had the challenge of maintaining control of a stacked field of contenders, including defending champion Jorge Torres, two-time champion Alan Culpepper, national half-marathon record holder Ryan Hall, U.S. 10,000m list leader Galen Rupp, and 2005 U.S. 12-K cross country champion Dathan Ritzenhein.
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Conflicting reports regarding status of Israeli marathon winner from Bahrain

Posted January 31st, 2007 at 6:12 PM by Lisa Cieplechowicz

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The situation around Bahraini runner Mushir Salem Jawhar, which seemed resolved, is once again in flux.

In the past two weeks, it has been reported that Jawhar’s Bahraini citizenship was revoked due to his participation in a marathon in Israel, a country Bahrain refuses to recognize. Conflicting reports now indicate that Jawhar was never stripped of his citizenship, but has been banned from participating in athletics competition for two years as punishment for his time in Israel.
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