TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Former Olympic Marathon Champion Stefano Baldini to Retire

Posted August 26th, 2008 at 1:25 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

According to a report published by SPIKES Magazine, 2004 Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini has decided to end his decorated career as a word class distance runner.

“He’s retiring from international athletics, that’s certain,” a spokesperson for Baldini told the European-based magazine. “The marathon in Beijing was his last appearance for Italy. However, he’s definitely not stopping running. He’ll still do some races here and there, such as some events in Italy with less stress attached.”

Despite being plagued by an upper thigh injury for much of the year, Baldini was able to finish a respectable 12th at last weekend’s fast-paced Olympic marathon in Beijing.

The humble and widely respected Baldini is a national hero and leaves behind a pristine legacy of success and sportsmanship. In addition to edging out American Meb Keflezighi for the gold medal in Athens, Baldini also set the Italian marathon record (2:07:22), won the 2006 World Half-Marathon title and earned bronze medals in the marathon at the 2003 and 2001 IAAF World Championships.

3 comments, add yours | Permalink

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.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

TFS Podcast 136: Drake Relays Teleconference w/ Olympic Gold Medalist Allen Johnson

Posted April 17th, 2008 at 2:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Today on Episode 136 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, I participated in the USATF-hosted, Drake Relays Media Teleconference which featured 110m hurdler Allen Johnson. In his distinguished career, Johnson has won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games, 4 golds and 1 bronze in the World Outdoor championships and 3 gold and two silvers in the Indoor world championships, including his 2nd place finish this year in Valencia, Spain.

I joined Mike Mahon, the media coordinator for the Drake Relays, Peter Gambaccini from Runner’s World and reporters from the Associated Press, Oakland Tribune and Reuters in the teleconference. We asked Allen questions that covered a wide range of topics, including his career, doping, promotion of track and field, the athletes’ ability to speak out at the Olympics, how much longer he plans to compete, and much, much more.

TO DOWNLOAD: Right click here and select “Save As”

Host: USATF | Guest: Allen Johnson
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 23.6 MB | Length: 00:34:24

Episode Sponsored By: U.S. Army Special Forces

If your measure of success goes way beyond the mainstream, if you think limits are something to be pushed, if your greatest motivation is doing the impossible, we may have a career for you.

U.S. Army Special Forces.
Visit goarmy.com/specialforces.

There’s strong and then there’s Army Strong.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Gerry Lindgren: The Self-Proclaimed “Wimp” Who Revolutionized Running

Posted March 25th, 2008 at 1:34 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, College, High School

Despite protests of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, President George W. Bush recently stated that there will not be a boycott from the United States. According to CNN, Bush believes the Olympics “should be about the athletes and not necessarily about politics.”

Former U.S. Olympian Gerry Lindgren, 62, agrees. He thinks China will benefit from hosting the Games.

“I think they need to leave politics out of it,” he said. “China has made some great strides forward in the last few years.”

Lindgren recalls backlash of the 1980 U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics. He did not plan to compete in Moscow, but he knew how disappointed the U.S. team was to miss out on the Olympic experience. Lindgren said he was upset with former President Jimmy Carter’s decision and said the Olympics should have been “the only avenue in the world that wasn’t political.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

TFS News Briefs: 2/13/2008

Posted February 13th, 2008 at 1:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Pistorius Launches Appeal
Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee (both legs below the knees) who was banned from competing against able-bodied athletes by the IAAF because they were said to offer him a physiological advantage, has launched an appeal with the Court of Arbitration of Sport. His goal is to qualify for the Olympics in the 400m dash.
Read more at: [The Press Association]

British MP’s Say Cheats Should Be Banned For Life
Members of the British Parliament are weighing in on the recent decision to allow Dwain Chambers to compete again after a two-year suspension. MP Hugh Robertson said, “once somebody has taken drugs and been found out, that should be it.”
Read more at: [Kent Online, UK]

Coe: Cheats Aren’t “Sucked In” But Are “Absolutely Complicit”
Lord Sebastian Coe, twice an Olympic gold medalist for Great Britain, doesn’t buy cheating athletes’ arguments that they weren’t aware of what they were doing when they took drugs, sating, “I do not accept there are any circumstances where athletes like Dwain Chambers are sucked into something without being absolutely complicit.”
Read more at: [Times Online, UK]
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

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.
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Gatlin Doping Ban Reduced to 4 Years; Ineligible for 2008 Olympic Title Defense

Posted January 1st, 2008 at 3:03 PM by Adam Jacobs

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

Earlier today The Washington Post reported that American sprinter Justin Gatlin’s doping ban had been reduced by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to four years.

Although the 25-year old sprinter had originally faced a possible eight-year ban, the reduction will not be enough to make him eligible to defend his Olympic 100m gold medal in Beijing.

The USADA announced that the ban, which had been reduced as a result of Gatlin’s help with the federal investigation of former coach Trevor Graham, will expire on May 24, 2010. Gatlin needed the ban reduced to two years in order to compete in the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials this June in Eugene, OR.

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Jenner named to USATF Foundation Board of Directors

Posted December 7th, 2007 at 10:59 AM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

1976 Olympic decathlon gold medalist and National Track & Field Hall of Famer Bruce Jenner has been named as a Director of the USA Track & Field Foundation Board, USATF Foundation Executive Director Tom Jackovic announced Thursday.

The USATF Foundation provides a means to attract and guide funds to new and innovative track and field programs with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth athletes, emerging athletes and anti-doping education.

Bruce Jenner captivated the world when he broke the world record by scoring 8,634 points in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Jenner has since become a highly respected motivational speaker, sports commentator, entrepreneur, commercial spokesperson, television personality, actor, producer and author.
Read the rest of this entry »

4 comments, add yours | Permalink

IAAF Annuls all Marion Jones Results from September 2000

Posted November 23rd, 2007 at 5:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

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

Marion Jones should be stripped of five Olympic medals from the 2000 Games in the wake of her confession last month to using performance-enhancing drugs, the sport’s world governing body announced today.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council formally disqualified Jones from all competitions on or subsequent to September 1, 2000, in effect wiping nearly seven years from the sprinter’s competitive slate.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said that the Council will also recommend to the International Olympic Committee to disqualify the U.S. women’s 4×100 and 4×400 meter relay teams from the Sydney Games, “And to insist on the return of all medals and diplomas.”

But the governing body stopped short of recommending that controversial Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou, who was the silver medallist in the 100 behind Jones, be awarded the gold medal.
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Billy Mills to Welcome Youth Athletes at Junior Olympics

Posted November 16th, 2007 at 3:28 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics

Olympic legend and National Track & Field Hall of Famer Bill Mills will be the special guest of honor at the 2007 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships, USATF announced Friday. More than 3,000 athletes will compete at the event, to be held December 8 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.

The 1964 Olympic 10,000-meter champion and University of Kansas graduate, Mills will provide the young athletes attending the Junior Olympic Championships with an inspirational talk during the opening ceremonies. Mills will sign autographs and will be on-hand race day to support USATF’s young athletes.

“We are truly honored to have Mr. Mills attending the Junior Olympics and hope the young athletes can learn from his wonderful life story,” said USATF Missouri Valley President Gilbert Castillo, whose Association is hosting the Championships. “He’s not just a national hero, he is a local legend who is greatly admired by a wide range of people.”
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink