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.
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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
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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
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
People can be very selective about which doctor to seek. Some seek certain specialties, some (actually many of us) seek whatever our insurance will pay for, and some seek whatever is easiest and most convenient in terms of location. But—as an athlete—would you prefer doctor who is personally athletic? A recent article from the NY Times analyzed this exact question.
While it may not be proven that athletic doctors are better for athletes, a study of 4,000 female doctors found that those who are at least moderately active are much more comfortable giving advice about exercise to patients, and their advice would be more meaningful, since the active doctor sets the example about a healthy lifestyle. Athletic doctors are less likely to take off-the-wall conservative approaches to pain, such as, “Running destroys the cartilage in the knees.”
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HesFit.com
South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius is likely to appeal against the today’s ruling by the IAAF ruling that he gains an unfair advantage over able bodied athletes from his hi-tech false legs.
Below you will find a video report by our friends at Reuters.
In addition, please check out the front-page story in today’s New York Times by Joshua Robinson.
Today’s NEW YORK TIMES has a front page story on the thick smog which blankets the skies of Beijing and efforts to clean it up prior to next year’s Olympic Games.
You can read the story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/
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