Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/
I’m a very emotional guy. There is no denying that. If any of my friends or family members were to be asked to describe me in one word I would venture to say that emotional would be the most popular word used. And so, as I write this final blog entry prior to the Olympic Trials, I write the following words with a hazy view of the computer screen. Why? Well, I’m dually overwhelmed by the feelings of anxiety and gratefulness. I know how lucky I am to be heading the Olympic Trials both healthy and positively motivated. Don’t get me wrong, I’m terrified because I realize how momentous the occasion will be. And yet, I am more terrified because I believe I’m ready and I believe I have a real chance . . . . Holy cow, I might be an Olympian!!
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800 Meters
1. Pamela Jelimo, 88
2. Yelena Soboleva, 57
3. Maria Mutola, 43
4. Maryam Yusuf Jamal, 40
5. Liliana Popescu, 39
6. Tamsyn Lewis, 35
7. Lucia Klocová, 34
8. Kenia Sinclair, 33
9. Tatyana Petlyuk, 32
10. Jennifer Meadows, 29
Jelimo’s sudden dominance is jaw-dropping; three races in the 1:54-1:55 range plus another 1:58 (without a pacemaker and at a mile-and-a-half of altitude). Soboleva’s indoor campaign was so good that she ranks second on the strength of just two meets. Supervet Mutola is the best of the rest; milers Jamal and Popescu are using the 800 as tune-ups (and doing very well at it). Lewis is proving what I thought back in March, which is that her World Indoor Championships win was a lucky fluke.
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Yesterday I posted the first edition of my World Points Standings, the men’s sprints. Today I continue with the men’s distance events.
800 meters
1. Abuber Kaki Khamis, 75
2. David Lekuta Rudisha, 63
3. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, 59
4. Abraham Chepkirwok, 53
5. Yusuf Saad Kamel, 46
5. Alfred Kirwa Yego, 46
7. Dmitrijs Milkevics, 35
8. Khadevis Robinson, 32
9. Richard Kiplagat, 30
10. Dmitriy Bogdanov, 29
Our two great newcomers, Kaki and Rudisha, are head and shoulders above the rest.
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Today on Episode 142 I had a chance to speak with German Fernandez of Riverbank High School in Riverbank, California where he was preparing to run the 2 mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals which will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina from June 19th through the 21st, 2008.
German recently broke Ryan Hall’s state record in the 1600m run by winning in 4 minutes, 0.29 seconds and then followed that by eclipsing Dathan Ritzenhein’s National High School Federation 3200m Record by winning in 8:34.23. He is headed to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he will major in Criminal Justice and run track with Colby Lowe, another outstanding member of the class of 2008 runners.
In the interview German talks about Colby and fellow seniors Michael Fout, Luke Puskedra and Chris Derrick and compares them to the outstanding class of 2001 (Hall, Ritzenhein and Alan Webb). He explains why he decided not to run the 2 mile at the Prefontaine Classic. Download the podcast to hear German discuss these topics, as well as, his outstanding double, the type of training he does, his plans for the rest of 2008 and for the long-term, and to check out his answers to our rapid-fire questions segment.
TO DOWNLOAD: Right click here and select “Save As”
Host: Jimmie Markham | Guest: German Fernandez
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 10.7 MB | Length: 00:15:35
Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/
As I sit on the bench by the track today and I start to prepare for my training session, I find myself staring off into space. I stare at the trees that surround the track as they rhythmically sway back and forth with the quietly blowing wind; my mind dances from one thought to the next, seeming to follow their oceanic pace. My thoughts are daydreams of a grand performance that I hope to have this coming Sunday in Eugene at the Prefontaine Classic.
These thoughts that I have are often so vivid because I’ve convinced myself a long time ago that they are real moments that have not yet happened. I can’t imagine continuing to pursue what are seemingly pretty wild goals without the belief that they are possible. Honestly, I think that it would make the task of achieving a goal that much harder if I didn’t believe deep down inside that I could really make it happen.
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Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/
Every time I step on the track I ask my self this simple question: why? I ask my self again and again why I put my body and mind through all this trouble and pain. And before I know it I hear Coach Cruz yell ‘GO!’ and I’m off without a second thought or answer. I just start running. Occasionally I’ll hear the voice of a teammate as I run by or the sound of the wind howling past my ears as I put one leg in front of the other as fast as I can. All the while hoping I don’t cave in before they give out. And before I know it the workout is a blur or the race is over, my erratic heart beat has slowly subsided to a subdued pitter-patter and I come to eventually find that I’m still in one piece. And as I cool down I think back to the question that always plagues my mind before every race and every workout: why? And the only answer, in the midst of all the heavy breathing, drowned out voices and splits that have no meaning, which seems to unveil itself to me, is that running is the one thing I love most. And that’s why I’ll never stop.
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The sprint events, topped by Usain Bolt’s (Pictured) sizzling 9.76 in the 100m, stole the headlines at the Jamaica International Invitational this past weekend.
To relive the action, check out the following slide show that we put together using photographs courtesy of Getty Images. In addition, official race results for highlighted middle & long distance events can be found below.
Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds. Be sure to check every other Monday at http://nicksymmonds.thefinalsprint.com/ for Nick’s latest entry! For more information about Nick, also please visit: www.nicksymmonds.com
Most mornings I wake up excited at the physical challenges I have planned for me that day. Whether it is an intense set of 200s, a grueling day of mile repeats, or just an easy jog followed by some lifting, I usually roll of out of bed anxious to start my workout. Today however, I woke up and was literally dreading my morning session. On the schedule I had a 5 mile tempo run averaging 5:05 pace. As an 800 meter runner this is a difficult workout, but I’m usually able to key off my teammates and literally let them drag me down the marked bike path that runs along the Willamette River. Today however, I did not have the pleasure of working out with any of them and was left tackle this 5 mile monster by myself.
I am part of a very unique training group here in Eugene, Oregon; there is no other running team in the United States as talented or as deep as the Oregon Track Club Elite. It is a group that has been carefully selected by the great coaching minds of Frank Gagliano and Vin Lananna as well as the higher ups at Nike. We have guys who have run 45 seconds for 400 meters, guys who can run well under 13:30 for 5000m and guy who can race the lights out of any distance in between. It is an honor to be part of this group and sometimes I forget just how important my teammates are to me and how much more difficult and less enjoyable my life would be without them.
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Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds. Be sure to check every other Monday at http://nicksymmonds.thefinalsprint.com/ for Nick’s latest entry! For more information about Nick, also please visit: www.nicksymmonds.com
At the age of 18 I was applying to colleges and, though I wanted to stay in the Pacific Northwest, I also knew that I had to get out of Boise, ID. Boise had been my home for 15 years and while it was a great place to grow up, I needed a change of scenery and wanted to see what life was like in other cities. However, returning to Boise has always been extremely important to me. This Friday I will be going home for the weekend and this got me thinking about why I return home every few months.
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The Modern Olympic Era
Of the 336 medals that have been awarded thus far in the men’s middle and long-distance track events during the Modern Olympic Era (1896-2004) here are some interesting statistics:
· A total of 42 Countries have won medals in these events.*
· Kenya (no surprise) has won the most medals, having won 43.
· USA is a close 2nd with 42.
· Finland (yes, Finland) is 3rd with 41.
· Great Britain is 4th, having won 35.
· Ethiopia rounds out the top 5 with 15 medals.**
· Finland can claim the most gold medals with 21. Kenya is 2nd with 15, followed closely by the USA and Great Britain with 13 each.
· In the silver-medal count, it’s Kenya (17), then United States (13), then Great Britain (12), then Finland (11). France rounds out the top 5 with a total of 9 medals.
· The top 5 in the bronze-medal count are: United States (16), Kenya (11), Great Britain (10), Finland (9) and Sweden (7).
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Episode 115 of The Final Sprint Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my two-part interview with JAY JOHNSON; middle-distance track coach at the University of Colorado, Director of the Boulder Running Camps and now the producer/editor of a new DVD series for runners.
In part two of the interview Coach Johnson […]
Episode 114 of The Final Sprint Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my two-part interview with JAY JOHNSON; middle-distance track coach at the University of Colorado, Director of the Boulder Running Camps and now the producer/editor of a new DVD series for runners.
In part one of the interview Coach Johnson […]
MinnPost.com has published a feature story on USA middle distance runner and 2004 Olympian Carrie Tollefson.
The article covers an array of topics including her rehabilitation following surgery, starting to train again this past September, focusing on the 1500m at the June/July 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, and her “laser-beam focus” on […]
Thailand Track & Field Golden at the Southeast Asia Games
Thailand doesn’t seem to be in a sharing mood at the Southeast Asia Games. A total of 150 gold medals are up for grabs and Thailand has already won 33 of them on day 1 of the track competition. Read more at: [Google News]
Profile of British […]
In an earlier post I wrote about my obsession need to think about my favorite sport – Track & Field (specifically, middle- and long-distance events) – even during the off-season.
I went to my favorite statistics site, alltime-athletics.com, to gather some statistics for analysis. This time around, I want to take a look at American middle- […]
The Track & Field off-season is a little rough on us trackies. At least we can console ourselves with the fact that the indoor season is just a couple of months away. We can also take comfort in knowing that the statistics for the current season are just sitting there, waiting to be analyzed. Middle-distance […]
There’s an interesting discussion over at the Track & Field News Message Boards about “dream” track events, that is, events that are not currently held but which would be interesting to see. Some, such as the straight-course 200m (world record: 19.4 by Tommie Smith [Pictured], back in 1966), are obsolete events; while others, such as […]
“Records don’t mean much. Racing is about people and not clocks.”
- Steve Ovett, middle distance runner
A new world champion will be crowned in the men’s 800m on Sunday as defending champion, Rachid Ramzi of Bahrain (Pictured), finished eighth and last in his heat and was eliminated from the competition.
“My left knee hurt, but this was not the reason why I was last,” Ramzi told IAAF interviewers after tonight’s semi-final race. […]
When was the last time you saw a world record in a World Championship or Olympics Games in a middle distance or long distance event?
Sprinters take advantage of the Championship atmosphere, the multiple rounds, and faster tracks to set their world records.
You have to go back to Alberto Juantorena’s 1.43.50 800 meters at the 1976 […]
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