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In Failure, Xiang’s Sad Story Exemplifies True Olympic Lesson
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, SoundOFF, Columns, Olympics
The 95,000 fans who packed into Beijing’s Bird’s Nest and exploded with cheers when native son and 2004 gold medalist Liu Xiang was announced, groaned just as loudly only moments later when he withdrew from heat 6 of today’s 110 meter hurdles.
Xiang was limping and wincing in pain as he lined up for his first race after months of battling foot and hamstring injuries. Then, after a false start was called on the field, he came out of the blocks hobbling and proceeded to rip off his race number. As Xiang walked off the National Stadium track and into the tunnel, the reality of the nightmare scenario set-in: the national hero of the world’s most populated country would leave their own Olympic Games without a medal.
Sun Haiping, Xiang’s personal coach, broke down several times during the post-race press conference and cited a pre-existing, chronic foot injury as the cause of the withdrawal. While that may be true, I have to wonder whether the pressure of having more than a billion people expecting absolutely nothing less than a gold medal may have led to the type of overtraining that would exasperate such an injury.
Tonight marks a sad ending to a sad story for Liu Xiang, a truly phenomenal athlete who seemed almost destined for disaster by being forced on the impossible quest for perfection.
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Quote of the Day: 5/9/08
Posted May 9th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Hariz Siddiqui
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“You must have faith to succeed.”
- Anonymous
Quote of the Day: 3/11/08
Posted March 11th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Martin Kennedy
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
- Booker T. Washington
Josh Cox: Ad Finem
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)
Posted February 26th, 2008 at 12:15 PM by Josh Cox
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Track & Field, Famous Quotes, Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox
Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox.
Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry and for more information about Cox, also please visit: www.joshcox.com
In ‘97 Cox ran and won a 50-mile ultra, in ’99 he ran his first marathon making him the youngest Trials qualifier. The following year he clocked 2:13, which opened the door for him to train with the world’s best in Kenya. Cox has tried his hand at Reality TV, been all over magazine covers and is a fixture in the sport.
Ad Finem – The Dream Carcass
Ad Finem – Latin: To the end/towards the end (of a page, a chapter, or a three-part, Latin-laced blog at TheFinalSprint.com)
The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight.
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Well, I wake in the morning,
Fold my hands and pray for rain.
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin’ me insane.
It’s a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor.
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.”— “Maggie’s Farm” by Bob Dylan
“Don’t you let it all pass you by
Looking through life’s window pane
Don’t you sit around wasting time
That would be a crying shameThere’s a power that’s deep inside
And it burns just like a flame
Just believe and you’ll see that God
Will shower you like pouring rainIf you want it
You can change your world today
If you want it
Just break free and walk away”— “If You Want It” by Lenny Kravitz
It’s closing time. Clear the dance floor and move toward the exits. Club Latin is shutting down. The night was fun, the music was great but everything with a beginning has an end. Temet Nosce, Carpe Diem . . . Ad Finem. The music has stopped, the lights are on, but as the bouncers usher you out I hand you a promoter’s card—don’t worry, it’s nothing scandalous, I’m like Kix®, kid-tested and mother approved. Well, most mothers . . .
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Quote of the Day: 2/8/08
Posted February 8th, 2008 at 8:45 AM by Jamal Walker
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“Set you goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.”
- Bo Jackson
Quote of the Day: 2/5/08
Posted February 5th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jamal Walker
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”
- Vince Lombardi
Quote of the Day: 1/28/08
Posted January 28th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Martha Jones
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“I hope I have convinced you- the only thing that separates successful people from the ones who aren’t is the willingness to work very, very hard.”
- Helen Gurley Brown
Quote of the Day: 1/13/08
Posted January 13th, 2008 at 7:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb
Section: Motivation, Famous Quotes
“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.”
- Frank Lloyd Wright, architect
Jon Rankin:
A Letter to the Goddess of Victory: Falling In-Love
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)
Posted January 2nd, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Jon Rankin
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin
Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star
Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint.com’s
Elite Athlete Blog Series. Make sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry.
I assume you heard it at least one hundred times already, so bear with me as I say it to you one more time:
‘Happy New Year!’ to all of you.
In this entry I will be sharing a letter from my newly minted journal. It’s a letter that describes how I feel about the sport that I play (I want to achieve all that I’m capable of achieving) and also, a girl that has helped re-ignite my passion for life—a passion that I thought only existed in dreams before she won my heart.
I write this letter and will write any subsequent letters to a Goddess known as Victory. In these letters I personify the word victory because in sports victory and the idea of victory is talked about so much that it sounds like it’s something tangible, something that can be touched; and sometimes, even someone that is real. Victory is unique because the concept behind victory and what it really is goes beyond finishing first. I’ve gained a greater sense for the broadness of the definition and meaning of the word from a mentor of mine, Mebrahtom (”Meb”) Keflezighi who tells all that he meets: “RUN TO WIN.”
The interesting thing about his mantra is that it sounds like he is saying run to get first place, and that’s all. But what he is really saying is that you must run in such a way that you’re always giving your best. If you can do this then you’re truly “running to win.”
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Jon Rankin: Discovering my True Identity as a Runner (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)
Posted December 5th, 2007 at 1:00 PM by Jon Rankin
Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin
Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star
Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of TheFinalSprint.com’s
Elite Athlete Blog Series. Make sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry.
My name is Jon Rankin and I’m a professional Track & Field athlete for the United States of America. My sponsor is Nike, Inc. My primary events are the 1-mile and 1500 meters. I also compete in any event from 800 meters to 5000 meters on the track, up to 15 kilometers on the road and in the sport of Cross Country.
The end of the 2007 season marked my 10th year as a distance runner and it turned out to be my most significant season thus far. A little over one year ago I sustained a full fracture to the 3rd metatarsal of my left foot during the USATF National Championships. Psychologically the injury was devastating for me. I struggled to overcome the break I sustained to my spirit more so than I did the break in my foot. From the moment my foot broke in June of 2006 until the following June of 2007 I experienced a roller coaster of emotions. It would be twelve months before I got back on the track and competed.
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Who had the more impressive Boston Marathon debut?
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The Final Sprint
On March 15, 2010
SDrunner said:
Great review, I wrote one on the Ironman Road Trainer HRM, which is similar to this one, without the...