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World Points Standings: Women’s Events
Posted September 3rd, 2008 at 10:51 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Rankings, World Standings
With just one Golden League meet remaining, Friday’s Ivo Van Damme Memorial in Brussels, let’s take a look at the overall standings in the women’s World Points Standings.
1. Pamela Jelimo (KEN, 800m) 235
2. Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS, PV) 229
3. Blanka Vlašic (CRO, HJ) 224
4. Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH, 5k/10k) 203
5. Melaine Walker (JAM, 400H) 180
6. Lolo Jones (USA, 100H) 177
7. Jenn Stuczynski (USA, PV) 173
8. Sanya Richards (USA, 400m) 171
9. Allyson Felix (USA, 200m) 165
10. Maurren Higa Maggi (BRA, LJ) 164
Despite Isinbayeva’s three World Records this year, Pamela Jelimo retains the top spot. It should be noted that the pole vault is a rapidly improving event, where World Records are relatively easy pickings. In contrast, the women’s 800 meter record was set during the era of the Eastern Bloc sports machines and lax drug testing. The points system takes this into account and rewards Jelimo well for consistently running times not seen in a decade or more.
What does Isinbayeva need to do in Brussels in order to overtake Jelimo for #1? Making a safe assumption that the Kenyan wins in a time of 1:55 or so, the Russian needs to win with a height of 5.02 or better. A tall order, but never underestimate Isinbayeva.
Read the rest of this entry »
Meet Preview: Zurich Golden League
Posted August 28th, 2008 at 1:46 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Tommorrow the IAAF’s Golden League comes to Zurich for the Weltklasse meet, the fifth out of six competitions in the series.
TV / Web coverage:
- ESPN Classic, 4-6 p.m. Friday (replays Saturday at 7 a.m.)
- CBC, 4-6 p.m. Saturday (replays Monday at 12:30 a.m.)
- Trackshark.com, 2 p.m. (live)
Still in the hunt for the $1 million jackpot are Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo in the 800 meters and Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic in the high jump.
Other superstars among the 41 Olympic medalists slated to compete are Usain Bolt, Kenenisa Bekele, Dayron Robles, and Yelena Isinbayeva. Great matchups are the sixth faceoff of the year between Jeremy Wariner and Kerron Clement, a rematch between Vlasic and her Olympic spoiler Tia Hellebaut, and a men’s 4×100 relay featuring the USA and Jamaica.
A deeper listing of top entrants can be found at The Track & Field Superblog.
World Points Standings: Men’s Events
Posted August 28th, 2008 at 11:58 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Rankings, World Standings
The post-Olympic update in the men’s World Points Standings concentrates on the overall lead. The system was designed not only to rank athletes within events, but across them as well. Your current top ten:
1. Jeremy Wariner (USA, 400m) 186
2. Dayron Robles (CUB, 110H) 185
3. LaShawn Merritt (USA, 400m) 184
4. Usain Bolt (JAM, 200m) 181
5. David Oliver (USA, 110H) 177
6. Kenenisa Bekele (ETH, 5k/10k) 164
7. Yevgeniy Lukyanenko (RUS, PV) 161
8. Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR, JT)154
9. Kerron Clement (USA, 400H) 152
10. Andrey Silnov (RUS, HJ)149.5
So how in the world can Usain Bolt rank only fourth after two Olympic wins in world-record time? In 2008 he has only run in two major invitationals, whereas Wariner has run in six of them. Since only an athlete’s seven best meets count towards their point total, that means Bolt has more room to move up than Wariner. After tomorrow’s Zurich Golden League meet, Bolt will almost assuredly be the top man, followed by Robles and whoever wins the sixth round of the Wariner/Merritt battle.
Individual event leaders: Read the rest of this entry »
What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast
Posted August 28th, 2008 at 7:46 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: Columns, What To Watch
Here are the track & running-related events coming your way for the next week. As always, all times are EDT; if you know of anything I’ve missed, please add it in the comments section.
A brief programming note: Olympic sprint champion Maurice Greene will be among the contestants on the seventh season of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars”. The season premiers on September 22.
AF Golden League: Weltklasse Zurich
ESPN Classic, 4-6 p.m. Friday (replays at 7 a.m. Saturday)
CBC, 4-6 p.m. Saturday (replays Monday at 12:30 a.m.)
Trackshark.com, 2 p.m. (live)
The penultimate event in the IAAF’s Golden League series is nicknamed “The Olympics in One Night” as it is the deepest invitational in the world. Pamela Jelimo (800 meters) and Blanka Vlasic (high jump) are the two athletes remaining in the hunt for the $1 million jackpot. Others slated to run include double Olympic champions Usain Bolt and Kenenisa Bekele.
Meet Website
Aviva British Grand Prix
Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com, 9:55 a.m. Sunday (live)
The IAAF’s World Athletics Tour comes to Gateshead, England. Top Americans slated to compete include Tyson Gay, Shannon Rowbury and Bernard Lagat.
Meet Website
Read the rest of this entry »
TFS News Briefs: 8/26/2008
Posted August 26th, 2008 at 11:37 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Columns, Olympics, TFS News Briefs
ÅF Golden League Down to Two for Jackpot
Friday’s Zurich Weltklasse meet, the second-to-last event in the Golden League series, will have the remaining two athletes contending for the $1 million jackpot. Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo and Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic are undefeated in the series. Jelimo broke her own World Junior Record at the Beijing Olympics, while Vlasic suffered her only defeat in over a year. The meet, known as “The Olympics In One Night” due to the strength of the competition, will be carried on ESPN Classic on Friday afternoon. IAAF
Catherine Ndereba Confirms She Didn’t Know She Was Behind
Her agent tells Runner’s World’s Amby Burfoot that she lost sight of eventual marathon champion Constantina Tomescu-Dita when she made her break, and excessive security kept the information from being relayed to her. She never tried to close the gap because she thought her group was leading the race. Runner’s World
Coach deserves Texas-sized blame for Games
In a searing editorial, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette lays blame for Olympic disappointments at the feet of head coach Bubba Thornton due to his forcing legend John McDonnell off the US staff. That McDonnell was the coach at Arkansas while Thornton is at rival Texas had nothing to do with their analysis, of course.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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World Points Standings:
Men’s Running Events
Posted July 26th, 2008 at 12:16 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Rankings, World Standings
These standings are a numerical summary of race results for each athlete, and are based on an athlete’s six best races (two of which can be in another event). Since the last update of the men’s running events on July 9, the major competitions have been the Golden League meets in Rome and Paris and the Super GP meet in Stockholm.
100 meters
1. Usain Bolt, JAM, 109
2. Nesta Carter, JAM, 81
3. Tyson Gay, USA, 78
4. Derrick Atkins, BAH, 76
5. Walter Dix, USA, 66
6. Asafa Powell, JAM, 62
7. Kim Collins, STK, 62
8. Mike Rodgers, USA, 62
9. Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, NOR, 60
10. Olusoji Fasuba, NGR, 59
Bolt holds on to his #1 ranking despite his surprise loss to Asafa Powell in Stockholm, which powered Powell into the top ten. Carter’s consistency gets him into the second spot, ahead of the idled Gay.
Read the rest of this entry »
World Points Standings:
What Are They?
Posted July 26th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Rankings, World Standings
No doubt you’ve seen the World Points Standings that I regularly post here. But you might be wondering what they are and where they come from.
They are a numerical summary of each athlete’s accomplishments in the 2008 season. Wins and losses in big meets and small and times run under various conditions are a complex set of variables. My intention is to put it together in a meaningful form. But if you really need to know how I get them, keep reading.
The template from which I work is not original. The IAAF keeps points standings in each event for its World Athletics Tour of the globe’s top outdoor invitational meets. Those meets are classified into different levels: Golden League, Super Grand Prix, Grand Prix, and Permit. The scoring system originated in the 1980s and treated all meets on the circuit equally, even though they clearly were not, and the system has been adjusted. Golden League and Super GP meets score double that of the Grand Prix meets, and Permits score roughly half.
Read the rest of this entry »
World Points Standings:
Men’s Field Events
Posted July 18th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Rankings, World Standings
The current points standings in men’s field events (best five competitions totaled)…
High Jump
1. Stefan Holm, SWE, 73
2. Yaroslav Rybakov, RUS, 64.5
3. Andrey Silnov, RUS, 62.5
4. Ivan Ukhov, RUS, 51
4. Jesse Williams, USA, 51
6. Andra Manson, USA, 48
7. Dusty Jonas, USA, 38
8. Jamie Nieto, USA, 37.5
9. Kyriakos Ioannou, CYP, 30
9. Linus Thörnblad, SWE, 30
With four in the top ten, the biggest recent competition was the US Olympic Trials, where Jesse Williams triumphed, Andra Manson tied for second, and Dusty Jonas bombed. The next big meet is this weekend’s Russian Championships.
Read the rest of this entry »
IAAF Golden League Preview: Meeting Gaz de France Paris
Posted July 17th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
The fourth stop on the IAAF’s Golden League circuit, the Gaz de France meeting will take place this Friday in Stade de France in suburban Saint-Denis.
TV coverage: 4-6 p.m. Friday on ESPN2 and 2-3 p.m. Saturday on CBC
Web coverage: Trackshark.com, Friday (time TBA) and IAAF Radio, Friday from 1:30-4:00 p.m.
An event-by-event preview, in the order of competition…
Men’s Javelin
The best are not here, which is unlike a Golden League event. The top entrant is #5 Erik Rags, winner of Sunday’s Athens Grand Prix. His major challengers will be #6 Jarrod Bannister and #9 John Robert Oosthuizen.
Read the rest of this entry »
What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast
Posted July 17th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Columns, What To Watch
Here are the upcoming running and track & field events on television and the internet. All times EDT; as always, check your local listings. If I’ve missed anything, put it in the comments section.
Meeting Gaz de France Paris
ESPN2, 4-6 p.m. Friday
CBC, 2-3 p.m. Saturday
Trackshark.com, live Friday (time TBA)
replays at 11 p.m. Saturday on ESPN Classic and 1:30 a.m. Monday on CBC
The fourth stop on the IAAF’s Golden League circuit takes place in Paris. Still alive in the jackpot hunt are Pamela Jelimo (800m) and Blanka Vlasic (HJ). Great matchups include Jeremy Wariner versus LaShawn Merritt in the men’s 400, Yelena Isibayeva versus Jenn Stuczynski in the women’s pole vault, and Dayron Robles versus David Oliver in the men’s 110m hurdles.
Meet website
Read the rest of this entry »
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After her stunning breakout performance at the FBK Games in Hengelo last Saturday, Pamela Jelimo can be forgiven for getting just a little bit ahead of herself.
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Haile Chooses Berlin Over Beijing
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You can read up on all of the happenings in the World Indoor Championships by going to the IAAF’s Valencia ‘08 website. So far, gold medals have gone to Christian Cantwell (USA) in the men’s shot put, Angela Williams (US) in the women’s 60m dash, Tia Hellebaut (BEL) in the women’s […] - TFS News Briefs: 12/13/07
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On September 6, 2008
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I would like to participate in the 200 mile relay. Brenda