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Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

In Quest for Double Olympic Gold, Lagat has El Guerrouj on His Side

Posted April 19th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

As he sets out on his quest for double Olympic gold this summer, Bernard Lagat will have plenty of supporters. Among them is the man whose achievement he’ll be hoping to emulate in Beijing: world record holder and reigning double Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj.

“Bernard proved in Osaka, thanks to determination and passion, that he can do it,” El Guerrouj, the finest middle distance runner of his generation, said of his long-time rival, last fall.
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TFS News Briefs: 3/20/08

Posted March 20th, 2008 at 3:39 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Ten Out Of 3,277 IAAF Doping Tests Positive In 2007
The IAAF, the world’s governing body for Track & Field, released statistics for 2007 doping tests. Only 10 of 3,277 came back positive. Eight of the 10 positives were from out-of-competition tests.
Read more at: [IHT]

Mondo Extends Partnership With IAAF Until 2019
Looks like the name Mondo will continue to be synonymous with track surfaces until 2019 not only because of the high quality of the brand but because the IAAF has announced that the family-owned business in Italy is its official supplier until then.
Read more at: [IAAF]

Jeremy Wariner To Race In Four Texas Track Meets Beginning March 22nd
A quick look at Jeremy Wariner’s schedule reveals that he will race in his home state of Texas for three weekends in a row: the TSU Relays in Houston on 3/22/08, the UTA Relays in Arlington on 3/29/08 and the Texas Relays in Austin on 4/05/08. He’ll then take a week off from competition and resume racing on 4/19/08 in Waco for the Michael Johnson Relays, then head over to the Penn Relays on 4/26/08. Of course, the two big meets of the season are in Eugene and in Beijing.
Read more at: [JeremyWariner.com]
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Samuelson To Give Keynote Address At Napa Valley Marathon

Posted February 20th, 2008 at 8:30 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Athletes participating in the 30th edition of the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon on Sunday, March 2, will be tackling the course after getting advice from 1984 Olympic Marathon gold medalist, Joan Samuelson, who will give the race’s keynote address the previous afternoon.

Amongst that group, organizers say, will be six to ten women who hope to qualify for the USA Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon on Sunday, April 20, in Boston. The minimum time to make the Trials is two hours and 47 minutes. According to USA Track & Field, 175 women had officially qualified through January 16, while RRW has noted two more qualifiers since then: Melanie Peters, 2:46:45, Tampa, Feb. 10, and Becki Michael, 2:43:43, Austin, Feb. 17.
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USATF Comments on the Retirement of Maurice Greene

Posted February 5th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jeremy Sussman

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Three-time World Outdoor 100m champion and 2000 Olympic 100m and 4×100m gold medalist Maurice Greene announced his retirement from track and field Monday in Beijing, China.

Recognized as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, Greene won the 100m, 200m and 4×100m relay gold medals at the 1999 World Outdoor Championships in Seville, Spain. In so doing he became the second sprinter ever to defend the 100m world title and the first to ever to accomplish the 100m/200m sprint double at a World Championships. The 1999 World Indoor champion at 60 meters, Greene owns the world record in that event, and his former world 100m record of 9.79 seconds set June 16, 1999 in Athens, Greece, remains the American record.

The 2000 Olympic Trials 100m winner and Olympic gold medalist, Greene also won the 100m at the 2004 Olympic Trials, and later won the 100m bronze medal at the Games in Athens, where he also won a silver medal in the 4×100m relay.
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Podcast 14: Interview with legendary Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills

Posted February 14th, 2007 at 3:45 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

In today’s podcast, I am joined by Billy Mills - a true hero of running and a compassionate warrior.

At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Billy set an Olympic record and won a gold medal in the 10,000m; becoming the first and still the last American to win a gold in the event.

After his successful running career, Billy has channeled his love for running into a passion for fighting against poverty and discrimination as the national spokesperson of Running Strong for Native American Youth. He is also the subject of the 1983 movie “Running Brave”.

Download the podcast to hear Billy to discuss what has been called the “biggest upset in Olympic history”, running in borrowed shoes, how he has felt and been treated as a Native American athlete, teaching younger generations the importance of “Global Unity Through Global Diversity”, the possibility of him entering the 2007 Marine Core Marathon and much more!

Listen In
[MP3] Direct Download (Right click, 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: Billy Mills
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 24.0MB
Length: 00:35:04

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini plans 2007

Posted January 18th, 2007 at 11:09 AM by Doug Berger

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Italian marathon champion Stefano Baldini may never be able to top his 2004 season (when he won the Olympic gold in the marathon), but 2006 was certainly a successful season. Baldini won the European marathon title in Sweden, finished sixth at the ING New York City Marathon (2:11:33) and improved his own national record to 2:07:22 at the Flora London Marathon.

Although Baldini had hoped to do better in New York, he did have an average marathon time of 2:10:35 for the season and was anything but disappointed:

“Looking back at 2006 it was one of the best years in my career. I hope that 2007 will be as successful as 2006.”

So with 2007 now under way, what exactly are this champion’s plans for the new year?
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Running Brave: Classic running movie about Billy Mills & the heart of a warrior

Posted December 28th, 2006 at 11:27 AM by Kathryn Magro

Section: Motivation, Movies, Columns, SPOTLIGHT

This is part four of the 5-part series: “BILLY MILLS: Overlooked Hero of Running” (Links to the other installments in this series are located at the conclusion of this article).

Running serves a different purpose for everyone. For some, it is solely a method of exercise; others find it to be a means of escape. In Running Brave, a 1983 film showcasing the life and career of Billy Mills, we find that running can also be a way of life. it certainly is for Mills, who states: “Running has been my freedom; my happiness.”

The struggles that Mills (played by Robby Benson) endures throughout the film revolve around his life as an American Sioux-Indian and his use of running to both fit in and remain sane in a seemingly uncontrollable world.
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BILLY MILLS
Compassionate Warrior

Posted December 15th, 2006 at 7:00 AM by Jennifer Lipman

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Columns, Olympics, SPOTLIGHT

This is part three of the 5-part series: “BILLY MILLS: Overlooked Hero of Running” (Links to the other installments in this series are located at the conclusion of this article).

For nearly 50 years Billy Mills has channeled his love for running into a passion for fighting against poverty and for encouraging Native American youth to believe in the power of their dreams.

As we mentioned in Part 2 of this series, Mills is a descendant of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe and grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. After losing his parents at the young age of 12, he brought athletics into is life.

Since his historic 10,000m gold medal victory at the 1964 Olympics, Billy Mills has used his fame to help children that face the same poverty and rejection that he battled throughout his own life.
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BILLY MILLS
The Olympic Legend

Posted December 14th, 2006 at 9:19 AM by Jenna Sumara

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Columns, Olympics, SPOTLIGHT

This is part two of the 5-part series: “BILLY MILLS: Overlooked Hero of Running” (Links to the other installments in this series are located at the conclusion of this article).

Billy Mills was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota on June 30, 1938 in the Oglala Sioux Indian reservation. Billy’s Lakota name is Makata Taka Hela meaning “love your country” or more traditionally translated, “respects the earth”.

After losing his parents when he was only 12-yrs old, Mills became involved with running at the Haskell Institute; an Indian school located in Lawrence, Kansas. In the late 1950’s, Mills attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship.

At Kansas his hard work and natural abilities on the track continued to flourish. In 1958 and 1959 he was All-American in cross country. In the 1960 Big Eight Conference, Mills won an individual title in cross country. The following year, Mills again became the conference champion in the two mile race; coming in with a time of a little over nine minutes.
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BILLY MILLS
Overlooked Hero of Running

Posted December 4th, 2006 at 1:30 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, SoundOFF, Columns, Olympics, SPOTLIGHT

This year Runner’s World selected running legend Frank Shorter as one of it’s “Heroes of Running”. We don’t disagree with this designation; Shorter was an incredible runner and continues to be an inspiration to athletes around the world.

However, Shorter’s selection highlights a real injustice, but not because Shorter is in anyway undeserving of the award. Conversely, it serves to highlight how the media, and the running & fitness industry as a whole, have spent so much time focusing on runners like Shorter and Steve Prefontaine that many other heroes of running have sadly, been overlooked.

Want an example? How about Olympic Champion Billy Mills; the first and only American to win a gold medal in the 10,000m. Not only did Mills beat the top international athletes on the grandest of stages (Via one of the most dramatic come-from-behind wins in history), but he has also did so while battling prejudice because of his Native American background. Today, Mills has gone on to be a true role model and advocate for several generations of Native American youths.

So why have Mills and his amazing accomplishments been so overlooked? Read the rest of this entry »

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