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Lead Stories: Friday, December 5, 2008

HBO’s Real Sports to Feature Interview with Disgraced Sprinter Tim Montgomery

Posted November 15th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by Adam Jacobs

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

The next episode of HBO’s critically acclaimed sports series, “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”, will sit down with the now retired and embattled American track & field star Tim Montgomery. The interview will air when Real Sports returns on November 25, 2008 at 10pm ET/PT.

Montgomery, who fathered a child with fellow sprinter Marion Jones, earned a gold medal in the 4×400m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and a silver medal in the same event at the 2000 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In September 2002, he earned the moniker of “world’s fastest man” by breaking Maurice Greene’s 100m world record by 0.01 seconds for a time of 9.78 (with a 2.0 m/s tailwind).

However, Montgomery was stripped of his medals and all other awards and records earned since March 31, 2001 after being found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs by the court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) on December 13, 2005.
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New USATF CEO Takes a Stand Against Marion Jones’ Commutation Request

Posted July 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Stephanie Lowe

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

Doug Logan, the new chief executive officer of USA Track & Field, wrote an open letter to President Bush Tuesday in regard to Marion Jones’ plea for commutation of her prison sentence. Jones currently serves a six-month sentence that began in March for lying to federal agents about her performance enhancing drug use (tetrahydrogestrinone, also known as THG or “the clear”) and a check-fraud scheme.

In his letter, Logan asks Bush to deny Jones’ appeal for a pardon.

“As the new CEO of USA Track & Field, I have a moral and practical duty to make the case against her request. With her cheating and lying, Marion Jones did everything she could to violate the principles of track and field and Olympic competition,” Logan wrote. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Week in the Rear View: Racing News May 19-25, 2008

Posted May 26th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jay Hicks

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, Olympics, Week in Rear View

This is my first of what will be many weekly columns wrapping up the goings on in track and field. I am normally found at PreraceJitters.com, writing about the fast life of track and field.

This week the Trevor Graham trial had the full attention of track and field. So far, the trial has been a train wreck. Angela Heredia testified how he gave multiple drugs to Marion Jones before the 2000 Games. Antonio Pettigrew testified under oath that it was EPO and HGH that allowed him to run sub-44 seconds. Consequently, Pettigrew’s testimony puts the 4×400 meter relays teams of the 2000 Olympics and 2001 World Championships in jeopardy of losing their medals. Dennis Mitchell took the stand and testified Graham injected him twice with HGH. Jerome Young also testified that he took banned drugs.

On the track, Liu Xiang flew over the 110 hurdles in 13.13 at the warm up meet held at the Bird Nest in Beijing before the Olympic Games. The time marks Xiang’s fastest of the season, and the second fastest time run overall this year.

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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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TFS News Briefs: 3/31/08

Posted March 31st, 2008 at 2:41 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Reluctant IAAF Hands Jones’ Silver Medal To Thanou
Even though she herself is under a cloud of suspicion, the IAAF said they “had no other choice” but to hand Marion Jones’ silver medal from the 2001 World Championships 100m dash to Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou. Jones lost all her medals last year after confessing to doping.
Read more at: [Google News]

If Only Fan Reaction In the US Were This Rabid
Even though they won both men’s and women’s team titles in the 2008 IAAF World Cross-Country Championships, the Kenyan team returned home to mixed crowd reaction. Since the Ethiopians swept the individual titles, some of the Kenyan fans look at this outing as a failure. Here in the US, our own delegation was greeted with confused looks and people who were heard saying, “cross country? What’s that?”
Read more at: [Kenya Broadcasting Corporation]

The Day The Music Died
If you need more than the sound of your own breathing and footsteps to accompany you while you try to reach that marathon finish line before your glycogen level drops further south than a penguin during mating season, you might be troubled to learn that the IAAF is considering a world-wide ban on mp3 players during competition.
Read more at: [Guardian UK]
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TFS News Briefs: 3/08/08

Posted March 8th, 2008 at 11:25 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Robles Fails To Advance Past 1st Round
Cuban hurdler Dayron Robles, who owns 8 out of the 10 fastest times in the world this year, failed to advance past the first round of the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. Robles had thought Liu Xiang had false-started.
Read more at: [IAAF]

Marion Jones Reports To Prison
Federal Inmate Number 84868-054, aka Marion Jones, has begun serving her six-month sentence at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, TX. Jones is serving time for perjury relating to her use of steroids and for a check-fraud scam.
Read more at: [Bleacher Report, CA]

Defar Wins 3000m At Worlds
Ethiopia’s incomparable Meseret Defar handily won the women’s 3000m event at the World Indoor Championships with a time of 8:38.79, well off her world indoor record of 8:27.93. Fellow Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu placed 2nd in 8:41.50, just ahead of Moroccan Mariem Alaoui Selsouli, who won the bronze medal with a time of 8:41.66.
Read more at: [IAAF]
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TFS News Briefs: 2/08/08

Posted February 8th, 2008 at 4:56 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Eugene Businesses Give Back to Track & Field
Local Eugene, OR Businesses are donating to 100 Meter Club and partnering with Eugene ‘08 in order to “ensure that the hundreds of volunteers and the local organizing committee are able to do what needs to be done to prepare for the Olympic Trials.”
Read more at: [Register Guard]

Interview With Olympic sprint coach Brooks Johnson
Legendary Olympic sprint coach Brooks Johnson, in an interview by the St. Petersburg Times, said that Marion Jones’ tragedy was “unnecessary.” He also said that “at some point even a dirty world record will be exceeded by somebody who’s clean.”
Read more at: [SP Times]

Frank Shorter To Guest-Speak in NC
Running icon Frank Shorter will be the guest speaker at the Twin City Track Club in Winston-Salem, NC on March 1st to help the running club celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Read more at: [Winston-Salem Journal]
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TFS News Briefs: 1/26/08

Posted January 26th, 2008 at 12:17 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs

Jones Scandal Damaged Credibility of Track, Says Sprinter
Jamaican 100m world champ Veronica Campbell-Brown, training in Florida for Beijing, said that the Marion Jones doping scandal has “put a dark cloud over the sport” of track and field and damaged its credibility.
Read more at: [Jamaica Gleaner News]

Razorback Track Appealing NCAA Sanctions
The Arkansas Razorbacks track & field team is appealing sanctions put down on it by the NCAA, sanctions they call “excessive and inappropriate.”
Read more at: [ESPN]

Huckabee Officially Enters Boston Marathon
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has officially registered to run on a relay team in this April’s Boston Marathon. He was granted a waiver to run for Team Hoyt, a local charity that seeks to integrate the physically disabled into everyday life.
Read more at: [WCSH, Boston]
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TFS News Briefs: 12/13/07

Posted December 13th, 2007 at 2:38 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs, Trail / Ultra

Eugene Crowned Track Town, USA for Foreseeable Future
Despite sour grapes from some in track hamlets such as Sacramento, Eugene, OR will be getting all the track & field glory for the next few years. Its fable Hayward field – site of next year’s US Olympic Track & Field Trials – is now set to host the 2009 and 2011 US Championships and the 2012 Olympic Trials, allowing it to continue to be called “Track Town, USA.” Read more at: [The Register-Guard, OR]

NY Times Honors Life of Running Pioneer Ted Corbitt
The New York Times has honored running pioneer Ted Corbitt with an article that spotlights the running legend’s lifetime of achievements. Read more at: [New York Times]

Golden League Schedule Announced for 2008

The IAAF has announced the 2008 Golden League schedule. The season will begin on June 1st and end on September 5th. The venues will include Berlin, Oslo, Rome, Paris, Zurich and Brussels. The prize will be $1 million in gold and the events will be 100m, 400m, 1500m, 400m hurdles long jump and javelin (men) and 200m, 800m, 100m hurdles and high jump (women). 2007 winners Sanya Richards (400m) and Yelena Isinbayeva (pole vault) will not be able to repeat in 2008 – at least not in their specialties. Read more at: [Voice of America]
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TFS News Briefs: 12/11/07

Posted December 11th, 2007 at 3:38 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Possible ‘Doomdsay’ Scenario for Honolulu Marathon Results
Honolulu Marathon Association president Jim Barahal admitted that hundreds or even thousands of runners may have been given incorrect split and/or finish times. Even worse (and he called it the “doomsday scenario”) up to 3,500 runners may not have been recorded at all. The errors may have been caused by the event’s new timing system. Read more at: [Honolulu Advertiser]

IOC Delays Decision on Jones’ Sydney Medals
The IOC was expected to make a decision on Monday about redistributing Marion Jones’ 5 Sydney medals (3 gold, 2 bronze) but they have decided to delay that decision to study the potential ramifications that it would have on other athletes, like Jones’ relay teammates, who haven’t tested positive for steroids. Read more at: [Coos Bay World]

Norwich Union London Grand Prix Expands to 2 Days
The Norwich Union London Grand Prix, Britain’s largest track meet, is set to become even bigger by expanding to 2 days. Scheduled for July 25th and 26th, 2008, it will be the last major meet before the Beijing Olympics begin 2 weeks later. Read more at: [IAAF]
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