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Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Track Events That Ought To Exist … the Track Decathlon?

Posted September 8th, 2007 at 6:25 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Tommie_Smith There’s an interesting discussion over at the Track & Field News Message Boards about “dream” track events, that is, events that are not currently held but which would be interesting to see. Some, such as the straight-course 200m (world record: 19.4 by Tommie Smith [Pictured], back in 1966), are obsolete events; while others, such as the 100m Dash for shotputters, have never been held in a competition.

My dream event? The track decathlon:

Day One: 100m, 200m, 10000m, 3000m, 1500m.
Day Two: 400m, 1000m, 5000m, 800m, Mile.

What type of runner would win a grueling event like this? A Sprinter? A Middle-Distance runner? A Long-Distance runner?
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Podcast 21: Interview with Tommie Smith, Olympic sprinter & civil rights activist

Posted February 27th, 2007 at 2:03 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

I had the honor of being joined by Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith for Episode 21 of The Final Sprint Podcast.

Tommie is the only man in track and field history to simultaneously hold eleven world records and, among his many other accomplishments, won a gold medal in the 200m at the 1968 Olympic Games.

Standing on the victory podium at the ‘68 Olympics, with the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background, Tommie and fellow American John Carlos (who won the bronze) thrust their fists into the air in the name of human rights and as a symbolic protest against racial inequality. [pictured above]

In the interview, I speak with Tommie about his new autobiography, “Silent Gesture” from Temple University Press, and he reflects on, and dispels the myths surrounding, this iconic and controversial moment in history.

Download the podcast to hear Tommie discuss these topics, being an elite African American athlete during the civil rights movement, the current state of American running, equality in the 21st century, being an educator and coach, his advice for the younger generations of runners 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: Dr. Tommie Smith
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 19.8MB
Length: 00:28:54