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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

Prefontaine Classic Preview: Special Distance Races

Posted June 6th, 2008 at 8:03 AM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

This weekend’s Prefontaine Classic promises to be a great meet as always. This year we’ll get something extra: a morning session has been added featuring a women’s 5k and a men’s 10k, and each race has the world record holder who will be trying to break it again. Today I will preview these races, with the remainder of the meet to come over the next few days.

TV coverage will be live on NBC from 4 to 6 p.m. EDT (1 to 3 p.m. local). For more information go to the Prefontaine Classic home page.

Note: In these previews I refer to the “Superfan World Rankings”. These are objective rankings based on meet results from the current year. Complete event-by-event rankings will be posted next week.

To the nitty-gritty: an event-by-event preview…
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TFS News Briefs: 11/29/07

Posted November 29th, 2007 at 2:46 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

X-Man Moves to Gainesville To Train for Beijing
Xavier “X-Man” Carter, history’s 2nd alltime fastest 200m runner, has moved to Gainesville, FL to train with his coach Mike Holloway and to focus on qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Read more at: [Total Sports Management]

Asafa Powell To Begin 2008 Campaign in Australia
Enthused by the Australian track and field fans, 100m world record holder Asafa Powell (JAM) will begin his 2008 track & field season there. He will train in Australia and compete in two meets: the Sydney Athletics Grand Prix on February 16th, 2008 and the IAAF World Athletics Tour meet in Melbourne on February 21st, 2008. Read more at: [IAAF]

Precedents May Favor Marion Jones’ Teammates in Their Bids To Keep Medals
Several precedents may allow the US women’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams (other than Marion Jones, of course) to keep their medals. An article in the LA Times pleads their case for them.Read more at: [LA Times]
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World Athletics Final:
Who and how many qualify?

Posted September 8th, 2007 at 2:59 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007 nearing its conclusion, we can really start looking forward to an exciting climax of the season at the 5th edition of the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, which is taking place in Stuttgart, Germany, on 22 and 23 September 2007.

The World Athletics Final is closely linked to the World Athletics Tour, because athletes qualify for the Final by scoring points on the Tour throughout the year. The World Athletics Tour (WAT) is composed of 24 Permit Meetings, divided into two levels. The first comprises the IAAF Golden League and Super Grand Prix, and the second level, the Grand Prix meetings, with each IAAF Continental Association represented by at least one WAT meeting.

Click here for the current IAAF World Athletics Tour Standings
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IAAF Fantasy Athletics Game: Osaka 2007

Posted August 2nd, 2007 at 2:15 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

I’ve never been one to join fantasy sports leagues. I’ve just never seen the point. In fact, I’ve never been much of a joiner, period. Perhaps that individualistic streak is an inherent trait in runners.

Now that the IAAF is starting up a fantasy “game” for Osaka, however, I might just have to reevaluate the whole concept. After all, it seems painless enough: from August 25th, 2007 through September 2nd, 2007 I just have to pick the athletes I think will score points during finals at Osaka’s 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Each day of the competition, the person with the highest points total will win an Osaka 2007 t-shirt autographed by a competitor at the world championships. Nice.
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Richards and Powell after some speed and jewels in Sweden

Posted July 31st, 2007 at 8:12 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Sanya Richards plans to double in the 100m and 400m Dashes next Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at the DN Galan meet, a Super Grand Prix event in Stockholm, Sweden that is part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007. The DN Galan is the largest sporting event in Sweden. (That a track & field meet is the largest sporting event in Sweden is a testament to the high intelligence and impeccable taste of the Swedish people!)

First Richards wants to do some speed work in the 100m Dash to prepare for her run at a gold medal in the 200m Dash at the world championships next month in Osaka. She plans on improving on her PB of 11.28, a mark she set back in 2003. Then she has a weightier goal in mind: a one-carat diamond valued at $10,000.00. Athletes who break a stadium record in this meet are awarded that beautiful 200mg gem. The stadium record for the women’s 400m Dash is 50.13 seconds. Richards’ time of 49.52 seconds is the world’s fastest in 2007. Her PB of 48.70 seconds is an American record.

Asafa Powell also plans on earning his second DN Galan diamond. Powell won one last year with his 9.86 stadium record in the 100m Dash. Since 1994, 52 diamonds have been awarded at DN Galan.
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Ostrava Preview: Defar, Haile, Isinbayeva and more

Posted June 26th, 2007 at 5:00 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With an impressive slate of Olympic, World and continental champions and a handful of World record assaults, the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007 resumes with a bang on Wednesday at the 46th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava.

DEFAR LOOKING FOR FAST OSLO FOLLOW-UP

While organiZers have again lured a strong collection of talent to this eastern Czech city, one of the most keenly observed will Olympic 5000m champion Meseret Defar. Hot on the heels of her staggering 14:16.63 World record in Oslo 10 days ago, Defar returns to action to try and take that 5000m mark down even further.

After breaking her own mark by almost eight seconds, the 23-year-old Ethiopian said in a quite straightforward fashion in Oslo that there’s no reason not to try again in Ostrava. Besides compatriots Gelete Burka and Meselech Melkamu, organizers have also brought in Russian Olga Komyagina to set the pace, just as she did in that unforgettable run in Oslo.
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VIDEO: Jeremy Wariner edges Gary Kikaya in the 400m

Posted May 28th, 2007 at 4:01 PM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

World and Olympic 400m champion Jeremy Wariner missed a $10,000 bonus after missing the 44 second barrier, but won his specialty handily in 44.43, well outside his season’s best and world-pacing 44.03 from Osaka. Gary Kikaya of the Democratic Republic of Congo was second.

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VIDEO: Hellebaut wins high jump at Dutch meet in IAAF World Athletics Tour

Posted May 27th, 2007 at 10:01 PM by Steven Schiff

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

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VIDEO: Barber wins 100m race at the IAAF Grand Prix in Hengelo

Posted May 27th, 2007 at 1:07 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

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Wariner wins in Osaka

Posted May 8th, 2007 at 8:28 PM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Olympic and World champion Jeremy Wariner won the men’s 400m with a world leading time Saturday at the 2007 Osaka Grand Prix in Japan, which is a stop on the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Tour.

Wariner dominated his fellow competitors at Nagai Stadium in finishing in 44.02 seconds, while easing up towards the finish line. Wariner’s training partner Darold Williamson was the runner-up, crossing the line in 44.68. Wariner’s performance was a Japanese all-comer’s record and the fastest ever recorded in the month of May.
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