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.
What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast
Posted January 11th, 2009 at 8:09 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: Columns, What To Watch
Short notice on the first one–somehow it escaped my attention until now.
Prefontaine
ESPN Classic, 8-9:30 PM Sunday
(replays immediately)
The 1997 biographical classic stars Jared Leto as Steve Prefontaine.
Intervention
A&E, 9-10 PM Monday
(replays at 1 am Tuesday,
An update on the story of Tressa Thompson, a former NCAA shot put champion and recovering meth addict.
Read the rest of this entry »
Dysfunction Run Amuck
Part III: USOC Mandates and
A Question of Authority
Posted November 25th, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
This is the third article in a seven-part series titled “Dysfunction Run Amuck: USA Track & Field and the Need for Change”.
In case you missed them, make sure to go back and read part one & part two, as well. To view a publication timeline for the entire series, please scroll to the bottom of this article.
From 2003 to 2005, under pressure from the U.S. Congress to clean up its act, the scandal-ridden United States Olympic Committee (USOC) took a number of drastic steps to address its own dysfunction. Among other measures, USOC reduced its board of directors from 123 members to 11.
USA Track & Field CEO Doug Logan told Track & Field News (November, 2008), “the USOC itself went through a very uncomfortable internal restructuring process.” He added, “The Congress required USOC to modify the way they did things, and to restructure [itself] and to modernize into a body that can do the business of sports in the 21st century. They went through huge changes on the governance and management sides, and they have required other governing bodies to follow suit.”
Former USOC General Counsel and sports law expert Mark Muedeking contends that the USOC, “recognized that there needed to be reform and that USOC needed to lead the way … to franchise that reform to the national governing bodies that they regulated.”
But why was reform necessary?
Muedeking, now a partner at the global law firm DLA Piper, added that if money is being wasted, if there are ethics issues, or if there is mismanagement or dysfunction at the national governing body (NGB) for a particular sport, “Then it gives everyone in the Olympic movement a black eye.”
Read the rest of this entry »
101 Track / Running Books To Read Before You Die
Posted November 21st, 2008 at 9:56 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: Motivation, Books
This is the first installment in a monthly series on good books about running and/or track & field.
Recently a display at a bookstore titled “101 Books to Read Before You Die” got me thinking about books dedicated to my burning passion, and I decided this was my new project. It’s deceptive; 101 books is a lot, and some of them are very hard to find. Let me just say I’ve gained an appreciation of America’s public library system; even the most obscure tomes became available to me at no charge through inter-library loan.
These books are presented in no particular order. Reference books are not included, nor are books mainly on coaching or training. So as important as Daniel’s Running Formula or Archie Hahn’s How To Sprint may be, they don’t belong here. These are books one would read for pleasure or inspiration, but not for instruction.
Here is the first group of ten titles. You may want to use this to start a Christmas list.
Read the rest of this entry »
Dysfunction Run Amuck
Part II: How Did We Get Here?
Posted November 21st, 2008 at 5:03 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
This is the second article in a seven-part series titled “Dysfunction Run Amuck: USA Track & Field and the Need for Change”.
Click here to read part one and to view a publication timeline for the entire series.
Before plunging headlong into the tenuous situation facing USA Track & Field and the areas of dysfunction that threaten its future, it is important to take a step back and put everything into context by examining the relevant history of the organization, track & field, and the amateur sports movement.
One-hundred-and-fourteen years ago a French nobleman named Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, had a notion that moral and social fibers of young people would be fortified if they competed in amateur sports. That vision led him to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which of course, resulted in the founding of the Modern Olympic Games.
The sport of track & field has been the premier Olympic event ever since the first Olympic Games, which were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. As such, it exemplified de Coubertin’s ideal of amateurism, and was jealously guarded for decades by the IOC. For example, Olympic champion Jim Thorpe was famously stripped of his 1912 Stockholm Olympic medals once the IOC discovered that he had been paid for competing in professional baseball earlier that year.
Read the rest of this entry »
Running Film Festival:
“All My Life” Promo Video
Posted June 18th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Motivation, Movies
The Running Film Festival (RFF), scheduled for July 3-5 on the University of Oregon campus, is the first film festival ever devoted to the subjects of track & field, road racing, cross country, marathon and ultra endurance running. This inaugural event will coincide with the U.S. Track & Field Trials and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund.
Many of America’s most well known athletes and motivational icons will be featured in the feature films and documentaries screened over the three day event. In addition, today’s brightest stars, accomplished Olympians, and legends of the sport will make guest appearances and participate in Q&A sessions with the audience.
For more information, to view the complete film schedule and to purchase tickets, please visit: RunningFilmFestival.com
Walker breaks AR, Mutola wins for 16th time at Nike Prefontaine Classic
Posted June 8th, 2008 at 11:34 PM by thefinalsprint.com
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Meet records fell across all event groups, none bigger than Brad Walker’s American record in the pole vault, and Maria Mutola had a historic exit Sunday at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.
The fourth event of USATF’s Visa Championship Series, the Nike Prefontaine Classic drew a meet-record 14,221 fans to Hayward Field, site of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field June 27-July 6. They were treated to a formidable show, including no fewer than eight meet records and Walker’s AR.
The 2007 world champion, Walker looked magnificent throughout the competition. He had just one miss, at his opening height of 5.70m/18-8.25, then passed to 5.90m/19-4.25, which he cleared on his first attempt and which won the competition for him. Walker then elevated the bar to 6.04m/19-9.75. On his very first attempt, he cleared, brushing the bar just a bit, but leaving it up.
Read the rest of this entry »
TFS News Briefs: 6/04/2008
Posted June 4th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Columns, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs
Sebastian Coe: Real Damage to Track & Field Inflicted By Americans
British Middle-Distance Great Sebastian Coe has written a scathing indictment of America’s role in the doping scandal in track & field and our attitude toward the sport. Perhaps most telling are his words, “American athletes who remain anonymous in their own towns are lauded in the Golden League in Europe.”
More: Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom
Lagat Remains a Student Of the Sport
The Guardian has posted a profile of Beijing 1500m favorite Bernard Lagat who, after all of his experience and success, remains a careful student of the sport who learns something every day.
More: guardian.co.uk, UK
Bolt Undecided About Olympic Double
Having only run five 100m races in his entire life, world-record holder Usain Bolt is still not sure whether or not he will attempt a 100m/200m double in Beijing. He said he would run the 200m “for sure” but that he would leave the decision about the 100m up to his coach, Glen Mills.
More: CBC
Read the rest of this entry »
“Running Film Festival” in Eugene Sure to Be An Unforgettable Experience
Posted May 25th, 2008 at 3:30 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Announcements, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, Trail / Ultra, High School
I’m going to this summer’s Olympic Trials—my first-ever Trials trip—and I’m getting pretty excited. Not just about the meet, but everything else as well. It seems like everyone in Tracktown USA is going all-out to make it an unforgettable experience.
The community at large is putting on a massive “Eugene ’08 Festival” complete with a temporary sports bar, music stage, kids’ activities, and excursions to sites like Pre’s Rock and the Nike campus. The whole effect is like the NCAA basketball tournament combined with the Newport Jazz Festival and the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, with the Tribeca Film Festival on top.
In fact, one entry from Tribeca will be shown in Eugene. Without a doubt, the biggest off-track happening during the Trials will be the upcoming Running Film Festival (RFF)– where a percentage of ticket sales will benefit the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund. Entries are still being accepted, but the schedule of feature-length films, documentaries and shorts currently includes the following:
Read the rest of this entry »
Film Festival to Complement Olympic Trials in Eugene
Posted May 21st, 2008 at 3:30 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, High School, Road Racing
After spending hours at the track watching the 2008 USA Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field in Eugene, Ore., this summer, track fans can retreat to the cool darkness of a movie theatre to take in the inaugural Running Film Festival, presented by Nissan and sponsored by TheFinalSprint.com and Running Times magazine.
“Everyone knows ‘Pre,’ ‘Without Limits,’ and ‘Chariots of Fire,’ but there are dozens of other movies and documentaries that runners will enjoy,” said Adam Jacobs editor-in-chief of TheFinalSprint.com. “We created an event that brings together great films, talented directors, elite athletes, and people who simply love the sport. Movie makers have the chance to screen their films for appreciative audiences with entertainment that fits seamlessly with the spirit of Eugene 08.”
Jacobs said that while the festival would include some world premieres, the core of the festival would be established running films like “The Long Green Line,” “Spirit of the Marathon,” “Run For Your Life,” “Indulgence,” “Run Like Hell,” and “Showdown.” The entire line-up will be posted at http://www.runningfilmfestival.com.
Read the rest of this entry »
Quote of the Day: 4/20/08
Posted April 20th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Martha Jones
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“Some people create with words, or with music, or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, “I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.” It’s more then just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better then anyone else. It’s being creative.”
- Steve Prefontaine
Who had the more impressive Boston Marathon debut?
Recent Comments
Page 2 Articles
- Naibadu Makes NCAA History with Fourth Straight XC Title
Abilene Christian University senior Nicodemus Naimadu made NCAA history when he captured his fourth straight Division II cross country title on Saturday.
The 23-year-old native of Narok, Kenya, cruised to a 25 second victory at the D-II championships in Joplin, Mo., to become the first collegiate athlete to collect four individual cross country titles at any […] FINISH STRONG with TFS’s collection of famous quotes! From Jesse Owens to Dr. George Sheehan … from Steve Prefontaine to Sir Roger Banister … from ancient philosophers to runners just like you …
The Final Sprint has accumulated the most comprehensive anthology of motivational quotes to help you FINISH STRONG!
Pick out your favorites and read them before a big race or even […]- Quote of the Day: 9/11/07
“A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding”
- Steve Prefontaine - Quote of the Day: 8/18/07
“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”
- Steve Prefontaine - Quote of the Day: 8/7/07
“Having a true faith is the most difficult thing in the world. Many will try to take it from you.”
- Steve Prefontaine - Quote of the Day: 7/10/07
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift.”
- Steve Prefontaine - Famed Hayward Field prepares to continue legacy at 2008 Olympic Trials
Ground was broken on Monday at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, which hosted the legendary Prefontaine Classic last weekend in Eugene, OR; initiating the venues’ transformation as it prepares to host the fast-approaching 2008 Olympic Trials.
The first phase of renovations that will, when completed, amount to $7.39 million began with the excavation of the […] - Quote of the Day: 6/12/07
“Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.”
- Steve Prefontaine - Prefontaine Classic: Recap of middle & long distance events
If the late Steve Prefontaine was watching this meeting from above his beloved Hayward Field, he surely had a smile on his face as gutsy performances in the middle and long distance events dominated this meeting.
For the second year in a row, the meet was held in cool and sometimes rainy conditions, and that was […] - Quote of the Day: 6/9/07
“Life’s battles don’t always go to the strongest or fastest man, But sooner or later the man who wins is the fellow who thinks he can.”
- Steve Prefontaine
The Final Sprint
On June 9, 2009
Bridget said:
I completely agree with this article. Although I don't think moderate caffeine before a moderate workout...