TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

TFS News Briefs: 04/22/2008

Posted April 22nd, 2008 at 7:04 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

John McDonnell To Retire After 36 Years, 42 Titles
Thirty-Six years, 25 Olympians, 42 NCAA National Titles, 181 All-Americans who have earned 643 All-America honors. That’s just some of the legacy the incomparable John McDonnell leaves behind when he retires from his head coach position at the University of Arkansas at the end of the 2008 season.
Read more at: [Google News]

No Positives at the 2008 World Indoor Championships
We all know what kinds of positives I mean, too. Positive tests for steroids, juice, gym candy. Whatever you want to call it, there was none of it at the 2008 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Valencia, Spain. Has our sport managed to clean itself up? This is certainly a good sign. Now we’re just left with the unenviable task of cleaning up our image. (Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that ESPN is covering the sport of Track & Field!)
Read more at: [ESPN]

“Bird’s Nest” Architect Discusses Efforts To Fine-Tune Beijing Olympic Stadium
Li Xinggang, the chief architect of the Beijing Olympic Stadium (dubbed the “Bird’s Nest” because of its shape) discusses the fine points of getting his creation ready of the Olympic Games, which begin on 8/08/2008. “We did find some minor problems. For instance, we designed duo doors for the washrooms. Users were meant to enter and exit from different doors, but Chinese users are not accustomed to this and they just turned back and exited from the same door. Now we have to rethink the design: do we revise it and yield to conventional practice or insist on our own design and ask users to learn a new way?”
Read more at: [Beijing08]
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

McDonnell, McDougal Win Regional Awards in D1 Men’s Cross Country

Posted November 16th, 2007 at 6:15 PM by Andrew Goodman

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, College

John McDonnell (Pictured) of Arkansas and Josh McDougal of Liberty lead a select group of coaches and athletes being honored as regional award winners for the Division I men’s cross country season.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced today the men’s coaches and athletes of the year for nine Division I regions.

McDonnell, the legendary Arkansas coach who has won 11 NCAA cross country championships, is the South Central Region Men’s Coach of the Year. The USTFCCCA Hall of Famer led the seventh-ranked Razorbacks to their 18th straight regional title.

McDougal is the Southeast Region Men’s Athlete of the Year. The Liberty senior won his third regional title Saturday in Louisville.

Each of the men’s coaches and athletes of the year advanced to Monday’s NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Mark Wetmore of defending NCAA champion Colorado is the Chick Hislop Mountain Region Men’s Coach of the Year.
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

TFS News Briefs: 11/14/07

Posted November 14th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs

Kiplagat to Run in Brussels X-C Meet
Reigning world cross-country champion Lornah Kiplagat will run in the ‘Lotto Iris Crosscup’ cross-country meet in Brussels, Belgium on December 23rd in preparation for the Dubai Marathon on January 18th, 2008. The 33-year-ols world-record holder in the 20k sees the race as ideal for testing both her speed and strength. Read more at: [IAAF]

Focus on European Athletes Who Made IAAF Performance of the Year Shortlist
An article on the EAA website focuses on the 6 European athletes who have made the IAAF’s short list for the IAAF 2007 Performance of the Year. The performances of Roman Sebrle, Yelena Isinbayeva, Lornah Kiplagat, Carolina Klüft, Blanka Vlasic and Yekaterina Volkova are featured. Read more at: [European-Athletics]

Fraudulent “Coaches” Overtake Kenya’s Great Rift Valley
Frauds who are posing as athletes and coaches have invaded the famed Great Rift Valley in Kenya, home to many of the world’s greatest distance runners. The “quacks” have set up unregulated training camps, are over-training young runners and are harassing schoolgirls, in some cases even impregnating them. Read more at: [Standard, Kenya]
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Coach McDonnell Honored by the Southeastern Conference

Posted October 31st, 2007 at 8:31 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Arkansas’ John McDonnell was chosen as the SEC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, it was announced by the conference on Tuesday.

The award marks McDonnell’s 13th consecutive SEC Cross Country Coach of the Year award and 16th overall after guiding his Razorbacks to another SEC Championship. The Hogs won Arkansas’ 34th-consecutive cross country conference title and its 17th-consecutive SEC cross country title. The title win also marks Arkansas’ 82nd conference title (cross country, indoor and outdoor).

McDonnell has been named National Coach of the Year 12 times in indoor track, 11 times in outdoor track and seven times in cross country for a total of 30 awards. He has been Conference Coach of the Year a remarkable 48 times, and Region Coach of the Year 61 times.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

34 in a Row, Hogs Win SEC Cross Country Championships

Posted October 29th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Damp and chilly weather in Lexington didn’t slow the Hogs down as John McDonnell’s team took the 2007 SEC Cross Country title at Kentucky Horse Park on Saturday. The Hogs won Arkansas’ 34th-consecutive cross country conference title and its 17th-consecutive SEC cross country title. The title win also marks Arkansas’ 82nd conference title (cross country, indoor and outdoor).

“(The consecutive streak of conference championships) is my greatest achievement,” McDonnell said. “I take great pride in it because so many things can happen, good and bad. It’s unpredictable. To have enough depth is really the key. To win something like this for 34-years straight is pretty special.”

The Razorbacks won the team title with 36 points. Florida was second in the team race with 74 points. Alabama was third with 82 points. The Crimson Tide’s Emmanuel Bor was the race winner with a time of 23:50.45.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Podcast 79: Univ. of Arkansas XC & Track Coaching Legend JOHN MCDONNELL

Posted September 12th, 2007 at 7:40 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Running & Training, Cross Country, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years BR Sportswear is closing out their line of high -quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

Episode 79 of The Final Sprint Podcast features my interview with legendary University of Arkansas track and XC coach John McDonnell.

In the interview, Coach McDonnell reflects on the stellar IAAF World T&F Champ performances by former Razorbacks Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon, explains why Gay was one of the most disciplined and driven athletes he ever coached, and responds to those critical of the recruitment of international runners, such as former Razorback Alistair Craig, for NCAA Teams.

Download the podcast to hear Coach McDonnell discuss these topics, as well as, the benefits and challenges of his current XC squad’s youth, how to develop a young runner possessing incredible, pure talent (i.e. incoming frosh Duncan Phillips), his lower mileage training regimen vs. 100+ miles/week philosophies of coaches like Colorado’s Mark Wetmore, and when and why he would eventually decide to cap off his Hall of Fame career and retire from coaching.

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: Coach John McDonnell
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File Size: 12.5 MB | Length: 18:15 MIN

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Collegiate milers to compete against young gun Nick Symmonds at Tyson

Posted February 6th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

Adam Perkins is a fighter; there is no denying that.

After almost losing his junior outdoor season because of an Achilles’ tendon injury, the Liberty, MO native has battled back for his senior campaign.

Now he’s ready to try and take on the top milers on the collegiate and professional scenes at the Tyson Invitational Friday night.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink