Quantcast

Lead Stories: Tuesday, December 2, 2008

New York City Marathon 08: Radcliffe vs Wami the Talk of the Town in the Big Apple (Elite Race Preview)

Posted November 1st, 2008 at 3:00 PM by James Dunaway

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Paula Radcliffe Before NYC Marathon 2008 at NikeTownTwo icons of distance running head their respective fields for the 39th edition of what has itself become an icon, the ING New York City Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race and the final showdown in the World Marathon Majors series.

Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain, holder of the World record at 2:15:25 as well as the next two fastest ever run, heads a small but formidable women’s elite field. It also includes Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, the former World record holder at 2:18:47 and winner of the 2007 IAAF World Championships Marathon in Osaka and second in Beijing 2008; and Gete Wami of Ethiopia (2:21:34 PB), winner of the first $500,000 World Marathon Majors series. If these three are in any race, you can pretty much count on them being in at the finish.

Ndereba and Wami have an extra reason for running well – 500,000 reasons, in fact. They are in contention, along with Irina Mikitenko of Germany, for the World Marathon Majors winner-take-all 2007-2008 championship.
Read the rest of this entry »


4 comments, add yours | Permalink

IAAF Meet Preview: Herculis Monaco Super Grand Prix

Posted July 28th, 2008 at 11:21 AM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

On Tuesday, the IAAF World Athletics Tour comes to Monaco for the Herculis Meeting, a Super Grand Prix event in Stade Louis II. It is the final major meet before the Olympic Games.

Event-by-event Previews

The meet begins with two women’s field events, the start lists for each of which are quite strong. The long jump includes six of the world’s top ten: #1 Naide Gomes, #3 Brittney Reese, #5 Tatyana Kotova, #6 Tatyana Lebedeva, #8 Lyudmila Kolchanova and #9 Karin Mey. The pole vault should be even better, with only American Jen Stuczynski absent; #1 Yelena Isinbayeva, #3 Svetlana Feofanova , #4 Monika Pyrek, #5 Fabiana Murer, #6 Yuliya Golubchikova, #7 Silke Spiegelburg, #8 Anna Rogowska and #9 Tatyana Polnova make this competition potentially better than the Olympic final.
Read the rest of this entry »


Comment on this post | Permalink


IAAF Meet Preview: Aviva London Super Grand Prix

Posted July 24th, 2008 at 12:01 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

The IAAF’s World Athletics Tour comes to London’s Crystal Palace for a Super Grand Prix meet on Friday and Saturday.

TV coverage: Universal Sports, 1-4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
Web coverage: WCSN.com, 1-4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday (subscription required)
Note: free coverage will likely be available at BBC.co.uk; watch the comments section for details

  • Meet Website
  • Meet Schedule
  • IAAF Preview

    • Event-by-Event Previews:
    Friday’s headline event is the men’s 100 meters, where Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell will face off. Powell showed on Tuesday that he is once again a force to be reckoned with by defeating Usain Bolt, the world record holder. Will Gay be fully recovered from his injury at the Olympic Trials?
    Read the rest of this entry »


    Comment on this post | Permalink

    IAAF Super Grand Prix Preview: DN Galan

    Posted July 22nd, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jesse Squire

    Section: News & Results, Track & Field

    DN Galan Stockholm LogoThe IAAF’s World Athletics Tour comes to Sweden on Monday and Tuesday for the second of its five Super Grand Prix meets, the DN Galan, in the Stockholms Olympiastadion.

    Event-by-Event Previews:

    The men’s and women’s shot put competitions will be held Monday evening in downtown Stockholm. A ring has been set up along with seating for 500, and it will be held on live TV (Sweden only, unfortunately for us!). This special attention has attracted the top four putters from the US Olympic Trials, #1 Reese Hoffa, #2 Christian Cantwell, #3 Adam Nelson and #13 Dan Taylor, along with Canadian Record holder #15 Dylan Armstrong, Jamaican record holder #5 Dorian Scott, and German star #7 Peter Sack. The women’s competition will have #2 Nadzeya Ostapchuk facing off against #3 Nadine Kleinert.
    Read the rest of this entry »


    Comment on this post | Permalink

    Golden League Preview:
    Rome Golden Gala

    Posted July 11th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jesse Squire

    Section: News & Results, Track & Field

    The Golden Gala, the third stop in the IAAF’s Golden League, will take place this Friday in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.
    Meet’s own website — IAAF page

    TV coverage:
    live on ESPN Classic from 3-5 p.m. (EDT) Friday
    tape-delay on CBC from noon-1 p.m. Saturday
    also live online at Trackshark.com on Friday at noon

    An event-by-event preview, with references to The Final Sprint’s exclusive world points standings…

    Men’s Javelin
    The meet kicks off with an event traditionally dominated by northern Europeans, and the start list is heavy with them here. #1 Andreas Thorkildsen, #3 Tero Pitkämäki, #4 Jarrod Bannister, #5 Tero Järvenpää, #7 Eriks Rags and #9 Peter Esenwein make a deep field.
    Read the rest of this entry »


    Comment on this post | Permalink

    U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
    Day 1 Preview

    Posted June 27th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Jesse Squire

    Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

    u.s. olympic track and field trials logo june 27 - July 6 2008TV coverage:
    USA, midnight-1 a.m. Friday night / Saturday morning (available in HD format)

    USA Today preview

    Only two finals are on Friday; the women’s heptathlon (first day) leads off the entire meet, and the women’s 10k caps the day’s events.

    I cannot say that I’ve followed the heptathlon as closely as other events, so I will have to defer to Track & Field News. They pick Hyleas Fountain to win, followed by 4time NCAA champ Jacquelyn Johnson and then Diana Pickler. Fountain, the defending national champion, has not competed in a multi this year and has only the third-best qualifying mark. But she took the dreaded fourth spot at the ’04 trials and has been waiting for this moment ever since. Johnson has had a full collegiate season, capped by winning the NCAA in Des Moines just two weeks ago, and cannot possibly be as rested and ready as Fountain.

    In the women’s 10k, everyone’s favorite is Shalane Flanagan. She didn’t even consider running this event at the Trials until breaking the American Record in May. Her qualifying time is nearly a minute faster than anyone else’s, and she’s a proven ace both in cross country and shorter track distances. In other words, saving illness or injury, she’s essentially unbeatable.
    Read the rest of this entry »


    Comment on this post | Permalink


    Prefontaine Classic Preview: Sprint and Middle Distance Events

    Posted June 6th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jesse Squire

    Section: News & Results, Track & Field

    prefontaine classic 2008 poster

    Women’s 400 meters
    4:03 p.m. EDT (1:03 p.m. local)
    Competitors have not yet been announced.

    Men’s 100 meters
    4:12 p.m. EDT (1:12 p.m. local)
    The favorites are Michael Frater (Jamaica) and Churandy Martina (Netherlands Antilles), who are #7 and #8 respectively in my World Rankings points system. Veteran sprinter Francis Obikwelu (Portugal) is just starting his season and could challenge for the win as well. Other entrants include Darrel Brown (Trinidad) and Americans Mark Jelks, Shawn Crawford and Ivory Williams.
    Read the rest of this entry »


    2 comments, add yours | Permalink

    Prefontaine Classic Preview: Field Events

    Posted June 6th, 2008 at 9:33 AM by Jesse Squire

    Section: News & Results, Track & Field

    prefontaine classic 2008 posterContinuing with our preview of Sunday’s meet in Eugene, Oregon, here are the tentative start lists for the field events. The IAAF also has a field event preview.

    Women’s Hammer Throw
    3:10 p.m. EDT (12:10 p.m. local)
    Hawyard Field & Pre Classic records: 229′ 1″ / 69.82 meters, Erin Gilreath (USA), 2006

    Betty Heidler (Germany)
    Superfan World Ranking: #2
    PR: 76.55 meters (2006) 2008 best: 72.91 meters
    The defending World Champion has thrown over 70 meters five times already this season; her lone loss came at the European Throwing Cup.

    Ivana Brkljacic (Croatia)
    PR: 74.08 meters (2007) 2008 best: 73.62 meters
    Has competed only twice this year (and hence not in my World Rankings), but has put up very big marks both times.
    Read the rest of this entry »


    3 comments, add yours | Permalink

    Prefontaine Classic Preview: Special Distance Races

    Posted June 6th, 2008 at 8:03 AM by Jesse Squire

    Section: News & Results, Track & Field

    prefontaine classic 2008 posterThis weekend’s Prefontaine Classic promises to be a great meet as always. This year we’ll get something extra: a morning session has been added featuring a women’s 5k and a men’s 10k, and each race has the world record holder who will be trying to break it again. Today I will preview these races, with the remainder of the meet to come over the next few days.

    TV coverage will be live on NBC from 4 to 6 p.m. EDT (1 to 3 p.m. local). For more information go to the Prefontaine Classic home page.

    Note: In these previews I refer to the “Superfan World Rankings”. These are objective rankings based on meet results from the current year. Complete event-by-event rankings will be posted next week.

    To the nitty-gritty: an event-by-event preview…
    Read the rest of this entry »


    2 comments, add yours | Permalink

    USA Olympic Marathon Trials: Women’s Preview

    Posted April 16th, 2008 at 4:45 PM by Jared Markowitz

    Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

    US Olympic Trials - Women's MarathonThis weekend the women’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be held on a specially designed loop course through downtown Boston and Cambridge, MA. The race will feature 162 of America’s finest distance runners in a battle for the three coveted spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. With the famously unpredictable Boston weather expected to be nearly ideal and the course that is considerably flatter than the traditional Boston course, fast times and stiff competition are expected.

    Leading the way will be reigning Olympic bronze medalist and top qualifier Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, CA). Kastor conquered the heat of Athens in 2004 to help put U.S. distance runners back on the map and since then has continued her meteoric rise to the top of the marathon world. Her qualifying time of 2:19:36 is over 12 minutes faster than anyone else in this Trials race and is an American record. She is clearly the favorite and should be one of the top contenders in Beijing as well.
    Read the rest of this entry »


    Comment on this post | Permalink


    -->
    Add to Google

    Subscribe in NewsGator Online



    What's this?

    Or subscribe via email


    Which currently declared candidate would most improve USATF if elected as President of the Board of Directors?
    View Results