A front page story in yesterday’s New York Times profiled Asics’s master shoe craftsman, Hitoshi Mimura, and his quest to make the perfect racing shoes for some of the world’s top marathoners. You can read the story, by my colleague Jeré Longman here:
We get a fantastic world record in the 100 meters, and one of the first questions is about drugs. From the New York Times:
When Usain Bolt of Jamaica set a world record of 9.72 seconds at 100 meters Saturday night, two questions became urgent:
Was the supporting tailwind legal?
Was Bolt himself legal?
Track and field has become so compromised by doping that any startling performance brings immediate suspicion. Even before the race at the Reebok Grand Prix meet on Randall’s Island, Bolt and his top challenger, the 2007 world champion Tyson Gay, faced inevitable questions from reporters about performance-enhancing drugs. The pre-race inquiries have become as routine as the postrace drug screens.
The purists and the pollyannas alike bemoan this state of affairs. And while the comedians and cartoonists have (rightly) turned their doping jokes towards baseball instead of track, they still don’t get the same treatment. Manny Ramirez smacked his 500th career home run this week and did not have to answer these kind of questions.
Will track ever be rid of this suspicion? I say not any time soon, and maybe never.
Read the rest of this entry »
A very nice profile of Blake Russell and her coach Bob Sevene by journalist Liz Robbins is posted on the website of the New York Times. Russell is in New York to run tomorrow’s NYRR New York Mini 10-K along with the other two USA Olympic women’s marathon team members, Deena Kastor and Magdalena Lewy Boulet.
You can read Liz’s story at this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/sports/othersports/07runner.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin
Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s New York Times has a story on the financial burden placed on families of potential USA Olympians should they want to attend the Games and see their sons or daughters compete. The article, by Katie Thomas, estimates that each traveler would have to shell out USD 5000 to 10,000 for the trip.
You can read the story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/sports/olympics/21olympics.html?ref=todayspaper
Jeré Longman’s series on Bernard Lagat in the New York Times continues today at this link, including several photos:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/sports/othersports/19lagat.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin
My colleague Jeré Longman has written a lenghty piece published in today’s NEW YORK TIMES on how the post-election violence in Kenya has impacted runners there.
The story, written in Eldoret, focuses on world marathon champion Luke Kibet, but also mentions and interviews athletes and officials at many levels, including Catherine Ndereba, Wesley Ngetich, Lucas Sang, David Okeyo, Moses Kiptanui and many others. Photos accompany the story.
You can read the story at this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/sports/othersports/13runners.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
New York Times science reporter Gina Kolata has a story today about how running actually produces a “high” in athletes. You can read it here at this shortened URL:
The following information was just released to the media and general public regarding the cause of death for Ryan Shay, 28, the U.S. distance runner who tragically collapsed and died during the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on November 3, 2007:
“Cardiac arrhythmia due to cardiac hypertrophy with patchy fibrosis of undetermined etiology. Natural Causes.”
The release was made by Ellen Borakova, the Director of Public Affairs of the New York Chief Medical Examiner. The full report of findings from the official autopsy will be made available exclusively to Shay’s family.
Ryan’s father, Joe Shay, told the The New York Times that all of the toxicology reports came back negative and that the family would make a statement later in the day to address the report’s findings.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Alicia and the entire Shay family. May Ryan’s memory, kind soul, and endearing spirit live on forever in our hearts.
There is an on-line story on Shalane Flanagan at the web site of the New York Times in advance of her participation in Saturday’s Central Park Challenge in New York City.
Flanagan will be looking to continue and build upon her success at the USA Cross Country Championships where she completely dominated the elite women’s field to earn the national title.
To check out the story, please visit the following link:
www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/sports/othersports/13runner.html?ref=sports
The news of Haile Gebrselassie withdrawing from the Olympic Marathon in Beijing broke while your editor was flying home from Spain. He told Reuters he’s very concerned about the air quality there, especially because he has exercised-induced asthma.
The New York Times picked up the story here (The link has been shortened): http://tinyurl.com/2papl4
In addition to The Final Sprint’s pre-race podcast interview with top American marathoner Peter Gilmore, I also highly recommend that you check out the following articles, athlete profiles, and interviews concerning the elite runners competing in tomorrow’s NYC Half-Marathon:
“Interview with Catherine Ndereba”
– FastWomen.com
“Haile Gebrselassie Takes on the Big Apple” (Video) — LetsRun.com
“A Brief Chat With […]
Writing for the New York Times, reporter Liz Robbins explores how American marathoners must bypass potentially lucrative appearance fees in order to compete in their respective U.S. Olympic Team Trials marathons. You can read the story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/14/sports/othersports/14marathon.html
The New York Times is reporting on their website that double Olympic gold medalist, Haile Gebrselassie, will be running the NYC Half-Marathon presented by NIKE on Sunday, Aug. 5. It will be the Ethiopian’s first ever race in New York City, and event organized by the New York Road Runners.
“I’ve been there many times,” […]
© 2006-2008 The Final Sprint, LLC | Privacy Policy | Design by The Blog Studio
The Final Sprint, LLC is owned and operated by Adam Jacobs
The Final Sprint