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Lead Stories: Saturday, September 6, 2008

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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Team USA Stars to Meet and Greet Junior Olympians

Posted December 4th, 2007 at 2:58 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Two of America’s outstanding distance runners, American record holder Dan Lincoln and national champion Katie McGregor (Pictured), will be special guests at the 2007 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships presented by Finish Line this weekend in Lawrence, Kansas. The duo will be on hand to sign autographs, cheer the runners on, and participate in the commencement awards ceremonies.

More than 3,000 athletes will compete at the event, to be held December 8 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.

The American record holder in the 3,000m steeplechase, Lincoln is a three-time national champion in the event. He was a three-time NCAA champion in the steeplechase and won the 2003 NCAA 10,000m title. While at the University of Arkansas, he was a 12-time All-American, including earning the honors in cross country.
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Greatest American Middle- and Long-Distance Track Runners of All Time

Posted November 10th, 2007 at 11:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

In an earlier post I wrote about my obsession need to think about my favorite sport – Track & Field (specifically, middle- and long-distance events) – even during the off-season.

I went to my favorite statistics site, alltime-athletics.com, to gather some statistics for analysis. This time around, I want to take a look at American middle- and long-distance track events. What single American has run the most world-class times of all time in events ranging form 800m to 10000m? In the past ten years? In 2007? In each event? Some of the answers might surprise you.
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Fast times take Webb, Robinson & Johnson to
U.S. Outdoor T&F Titles

Posted June 24th, 2007 at 7:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

The air was warm and definitely sticky, but that didn’t prevent Alysia Johnson, Khadevis Robinson and Alan Webb from posting fast times as they each won their respective events on the final day of the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Michael A. Carroll Stadium at Indiana University-Purdue University.

Johnson, the University of California star who won the NCAA 800m title on June 9, needed to run nearly the same fast time here to beat back the challenges of Hazel Clark, three-time USA 800m champion, and Alice Schmidt, the 2006 USA indoor champion.
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AT&T USA Outdoor T&F Champs: Robinson tops Symmonds in 800m; Other middle-distance results

Posted June 24th, 2007 at 3:00 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Khadevis Robinson put on a brilliant display in the Tyson men’s 800 meters, leading from start to finish as is his custom and finishing in 1:44.37 to win his fourth national title. It is the fastest time by an American this year and second-fastest in the world. USA indoor champion Nick Symmonds was second in 1:45.17, with Duane Solomon of USC third in 1:45.69. Robinson and Symmonds are the only two athletes currently with the A standard of 1:45.40.

The men’s steeplechase was as exciting as its outcome was uncertain. Max King took early leading duties as the packs strung out closely behind him. American record holder Dan Lincoln, currently a full-time medical student, sprinted to the lead with 600m to go, but BYU grad and 2007 U.S. leader Joshua McAdams passed him with 250m to go.
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Lagat completes first half of double title defense

Posted June 23rd, 2007 at 12:11 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

After finishing second in the first heat of the 1500m preliminaries tonight, a reporter asked Bernard Lagat where he would be at 8:35 p.m. when the 5000m final would begin. Smiling mischievously, the 32 year-old from Tucson, Ariz. said simply, “We will see.”

A little more than two hours later, with the daylight in this Midwest city just beginning to fade, Lagat was standing on the 5000m starting line, and he was indeed ready to race.

“Every time I go on to the track I want to win,” he said later.

And win he did, using the kind of leg speed that only a two-time Olympic medalist can summon so late in the race. Running a distant second to Matt Tegenkamp at the bell, Lagat blasted down the backstraight after Adam Goucher launched a long kick 300m from home and tried to pass him. Lagat not only beat back Goucher’s challenge, but as he pulled away rounding turn three, he could see the gap to Tegenkamp was closing. Coming out of turn four, Lagat got past the tall redhead, and kept his speed to the line, breaking the tape in 13:30.73. Despite starting his kick fairly late, he still recorded a swift 56.1 second final lap.
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