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LaShawn Merritt, Sanya Richards Reign Supreme
Posted July 3rd, 2008 at 11:45 PM by Jay Hicks
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
Image details: U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials - Day Five served by picapp.com
Sanya Richards put to bed all debate about who is the best women’s 400 meter, running 49.89 on Thursday night.
Afterwards Richards said “I was very happy to go sub 50 seconds. Today might have been the worst day for sprinting, it was very windy down the backstretch. I am extremely happy to have executed a race that allowed me to finish in the top three. Her fiancé, New York Giants corner back Aaron Glenn was in the stands to watch her victory.
Joining her on the Olympic Team is Mary Wineberg (50.85), and Dee Dee Trotter (50.88). Trotter managed to make the team even though her right knee needs surgery at the end of the season. “I was like Tiger [Woods] at the U.S. Open, only I was running at the Olympic Trials to qualify for Beijing.“
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Merritt Bests Wariner, Neville Rounds Out Men’s 400m Team
Posted July 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
Image details: U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials - Day Five served by picapp.com
1 LaShawn Merritt Nike 44.00
2 Jeremy Wariner adidas 44.20
3 David Neville Nike 44.61
4 Reggie Witherspoon Nike 45.01
5 Calvin Smith Florida 45.57
6 Darold Williamson Nike 45.58
7 Greg Nixon Asics 45.64
8 Lionel Larry U S C 45.82
Wariner, Merritt Easily Qualify for 400 Meter Finals
Posted July 1st, 2008 at 12:30 AM by Jay Hicks
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
All 400 meter roads lead to Waco, Texas, three runners from Baylor University made it to the 400-meter finals Saturday night in Hayward Field.
Jeremy Wariner said, “I came to qualify and get a preferred lane for the finals tomorrow. LaShawn [Merritt] and I were not trying to kill each other. Making the Olympic team is not guaranteed, so I have to focus on running my own race.”
In the first heat Reggie Witherspoon (44.99) a Baylor alum took the heat, followed by Darold Williamson, also a Baylor University alum.
In the second heat, number one ranked 400 meter runner Wariner (44.66) won his quarterfinal heat in 44.69, ahead of LaShawn Merritt (44.76).
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adidas Launches Olympic Website RoadsToBeijing.com
Posted June 21st, 2008 at 10:00 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
adidas has launched a new website focused on adidas-sponsored athletes who are likely to compete in the Olympic Games across the full spectrum of sports. The site, roadstobeijing.com, includes athlete profiles, videos, photos, blogs (still in development) and polls.
“Most of us only get to see the athletes in the competitive arena and, understandably, rarely fully appreciate what it takes to get to the top of their sport,” said Jocelyn Robiot, adidas’s head of global sports marketing through a media release. “RoadstoBeijing.com breaks new ground and offers a unique insight into that journey.”
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World Points Standings:
Men’s Sprints
Posted June 11th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Rankings, World Standings
My rankings are being run on a pilot program this summer and I’m sharing them with the track community via The Final Sprint. Last year I did a trial run on just the men’s 100 meters and it correctly predicted the World Championships medalists in order, and then by the end of the summer readjusted to match Track & Field News’ world rankings nearly exactly.
The system is based on that of the IAAF’s World Athletics Tour standings, but with a few twists–most importantly, all kinds of meets are included in the standings and athletes can earn bonus points for fast times. At this early time in the season, athletes are given points for the results of their best four meets (one of which can be in a different event).
100 meters
1. Usain Bolt 46
2. Nesta Carter 42
2. Olusoji Fasuba 42
4. Kim Collins 38
4. Mike Rodgers 38
6. Darrel Brown 34
6. Tyson Gay 34
8. Derrick Atkins 32
8. Michael Frater 32
10. Ivory Williams 30
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The Week in the Rear View: Racing News June 2 - June 8
Posted June 10th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jay Hicks
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, Week in Rear View
The Week In the Rear View is a weekly column wrapping up the week’s events in running and track & field. I am normally found at PreraceJitters.com, writing about the fast life of track and field.
This was a week that saw records drop. The Prefontaine Classic is one of the hallowed places in the United States to host a track and field meet. The standing ovation for Maria Mutola was griping. The track great won her 16th and final Pre Classic 800. One track expert I spoke with on the phone after the meet summed it up best saying, “The fans at Pre really get it. They really get the sport.”
Jeremy Wariner did more than “bounce back” from the rare loss to LaShawn Merritt in Berlin last week. The Olympic and World Champion ran 43.98 in the IAAF Golden League Meet in Oslo on Friday. Some of the pundits may have forgotten that Michael Johnson lost to Frankie Fredricks in the 200 after the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials and before going on to run 19.32 the Olympics Games.
The Week in the Rear View: Racing News May 26 – June 1
Posted June 2nd, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jay Hicks
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, Week in Rear View
The Week In the Rear View is a weekly column wrapping up the week’s events in running and track & field. I am normally found at PreraceJitters.com, writing about the fast life of track and field.
Everyone in the track world is talking about Usain “Lightening” Bolt. He shut ‘em down—literally! Bolt quieted his critics with a 9.72 seconds World Record performance with World Champion Tyson Gay in the race. Tyson Gay looked in good shape for this time of season running 9.85, which was good enough for second. Doesn’t that sound crazy? Bolt is now the favorite in Beijing, but two months is certainly a long time from now.
You could call it the law of averages. The Jeremy Wariner vs. LaShawn Merritt race in Berlin resulted in the end of Wariner’s winning streak that dates back to 2005. Merritt was superb. He executed a perfect race strategy to deliver the win. Before the media writes the early demise of Wariner, it should be noted that he isn’t in top shape, not yet—that will be in Beijing.
TFS News Briefs: 5/30/2008
Posted May 30th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports, High School
IAAF May Change Doping Rules
AP writer Raf Casert has reported that the IAAF is considering the possibility if changing its doping rules in the wake of the Trevor Graham trial. Olympic gold medalist Antonio Pettigrew admitted to having doped since 1997 which would have put him beyond the reach of the current IAAF doping rules. Current IAAF doping rules stipulate that retroactive sanctions can only go back 8 years.
More: WRAL
Wariner Says Golden League Schedule Will Benefit Him
Defending Olympic 400m Gold Medalist Jeremy Wariner has mapped out an ambitious season for himself. He wants to win another gold medal or two (400m and 4×400m relay), break Michael Johnson’s 400m world record of 43.18 and, to top it all off, he wants to win the million dollar Golden League jackpot. He’s got his work cut out for himself, but, according to an article by the Press Association, the 24-year-old Waco, Texas resident believes the timing of the Golden League events will benefit him. “We felt it was a great opportunity to get some competitions in before then (the US trials and Olympics)… It will allow myself to prepare mentally and physically for both big contests.”
More: Press Association
Jordan Hasay Eyes 3200m 4-Peat
Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo, CA) junior Jordan Hasay is going for a 3-peat of the 3200m California state title this weekend. But the ambitious 16-year-old runner is already contemplating doing something no other California high schooler has ever done: winning the state title in the 3200m run 4 years in a row.
Times Press Recorder, CA
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TFS News Briefs: 5/19/2008
Posted May 19th, 2008 at 2:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs
Trevor Graham Trial to Begin This Week
The trial of Marion Jones’ former coach, Trevor Graham, begins this week in a San Francisco, CA federal court room. Several prominent names expected to take the stand as prosecution witness include Antonio Pettigrew, Jerome Young, Calvin Harrison and Dennis Mitchell.
More: HeraldNet, WA
Sebastian Coe: Get These People Out Of Our Sport
Lord Sebastian Coe, a vice-president of the IAAF and one of the best middle-distance runners of all time is not pleased with Dwain Chambers’ attempt to get back into track & field, saying, “The way we move away from it [the drugs issue] is we have got to get these people out of our sport. I don’t recognise a particularly principled stand in the last few days.”
More: Times Online, UK
Wariner Not Too Concerned About Tight Hamstring
Despite a timid start because of soreness in his hamstring, Jeremy Wariner predicts that he will be ready to “run with everybody else” by the time he toes the line at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene next month.
More: Reuters
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US Track & Field Stars to Gather In Doha, Qatar
Posted May 9th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Reigning Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner and triple World Outdoor champion Allyson Felix headline the American contingent for the 2008 Qatar Super Grand Prix Friday, May 9, in Doha, Qatar.
A two-time World Outdoor 400 meter champion, Wariner will step down in distance, looking to improve on his personal best of 20.19 in the 200m. He will face stiff competition from 2007 World Outdoor 400m silver medalist LaShawn Merritt, who has already run a windy 19.80 (+3.2 mps) so far this year.
Felix, a two-time World Outdoor champion over 200m, will officially open her outdoor season at Doha and will try to repeat her 100-400 win from 2007. This is the fourth year in a row that she has opened up her season at the Qatar Super Grand Prix.
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Who had the more impressive Boston Marathon debut?
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- TFS News Briefs: 2/10/08
Interview With Wariner’s New Coach Michael Ford
Dr. Track has an interview with Baylor Associate Track and Field coach Michael Ford, Jeremy Wariner’s new Coach. Wariner recently split with long-time coach Clyde Hart after a contract dispute.
Read more at: [Dr. Track]
Specialty Running Stores Face Stiff Competition
An article in the New York Times discusses the stiff competition […] - TFS News Briefs: 1/31/08
Michael Johnson: I Played No Part in Wariner’s Decision
World-record holder Michael Johnson says he played no role in Jeremy Wariner’s decision to split with long-time coach Clyde Hart. He also said that it won’t affect Wariner’s chances of winning the 400m gold medal in the Beijing Olympics.
Read more at: [Guardian Unlimited]
Defar To Try For 3000m […] - 2008 Track & Field Previews & Predictions: Men’s Sprints
Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell will continue their 100m rivalry in 2008. Powell has yet to prove that he has the head game to win a big meet, so that leaves the gold medal in Beijing to Gay unless Powell can work past that deficiency. One of the two should break Powell’s world record of […]
- Wariner’s Olympic Preparation To Begin
in AustraliaIn lieu of a cold, harsh indoor season, world and Olympic 400m champion Jeremy Wariner will begin his 2008 Olympic-season campaign outdoors in Australia. Although he usually begins racing in March, he is set to begin his season next year in February, a warm summer month in the Southern Hemisphere. He will be joined in […]
- TFS News Briefs: 11/12/07
Galen Rupp: “I’m starting to come around”
Galen Rupp, in only his second cross-country race of the season (he had started his training cycle again after competing in the World Championships), finished 1st to lead the Oregon Ducks to a 1st-place team finish at the NCAA West Regional cross-country championships. He is considered to be a […] - U.S. stars nominated for Athlete of the Year honors
Tyson Gay, Allyson Felix, Reese Hoffa, Sanya Richards, Bernard Lagat and Jeremy Wariner have been named to the short list of candidates for the 2007 IAAF World Athletes of the Year Awards.
Fans will have the opportunity to contribute to the selection of the three finalists in the men’s and women’s categories via the IAAF website […] - Spearmon, Richards set personal bests in Shanghai
2007 World Outdoor 200m bronze medalist Wallace Spearmon and 2007 IAAF Golden League winner Sanya Richards stole the show in 100 meter action at the 2007 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.
A 4×100m gold medalist at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships, Spearmon edged out reigning World 100m and 200m champion Tyson Gay in the men’s 100m, crossing […] - U.S. stars invade Shanghai
Team USA standouts Tyson Gay, Sanya Richards, Jeremy Wariner, Michelle Perry, Allen Johnson and Lauryn Williams will lead an accomplished group of U.S. stars Friday at the 2007 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in China.
This third edition of the Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai has been designated as a qualifying event for the IAAF / VTB […] - On the Road & Around the Track: News Briefs 9/24/07
Huge Names to Run in Shanghai This Friday
Tyson Gay and Veronica Campbell (100m), Asafa Powell (200m), Jeremy Wariner (400m) and Kenenisa Bekele (1500m) are all set to run this Friday in Shanghai, China in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix at the University Town Stadium. For most of the athletes, it will be the last meet […] - On the Road & Around the Track:
TFS News Briefs 9/20/07World Athletics Final Middle- and Long-Distance Preview
In the latest WAF preview there are speculations about who will run the middle- and long-distance events this late in the season and why they will do it. Runners to watch (men): Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (800m), Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (1500m), Craig Mottram (3000m), Paul Kipsiele Koech (3000m SC), Sileshi Sihine […]
The Final Sprint
On March 15, 2010
SDrunner said:
Great review, I wrote one on the Ironman Road Trainer HRM, which is similar to this one, without the...