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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Feathers Falling From the Rooftops

Posted March 31st, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, SoundOFF, Columns

There is a scene in John Patrick Shanley’s Tony-Award winning play Doubt: A Parable in which Father Flynn is giving a sermon. During the sermon, he describes a woman who is racked with guilt after having gossiped about a man she hardly knew. Father Flynn describes in this parable how the woman goes to confession and asks for forgiveness. Instead of giving her absolution, the priest says:

“Not so fast!… I want you to go home, take a pillow up on your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me!” So she went home, took the pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer, went up the fire escape to the roof, and stabbed the pillow. Then she went back to the old priest as instructed. “Did you gut the pillow with the knife?” he says. “Yes, Father.” “And what was the result?” “Feathers,” she said. “Feathers”? he repeated. “Feathers everywhere, Father!” “Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind!” “Well,” she says, “it can’t be done. I don’t know where they went. The wind took them all over.” “And that,” said Father O’Rourke, “is gossip!”

I read a thread today on the message board at Track & Field News that is full of flying feathers.
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TFS News Briefs: 2/26/08

Posted February 26th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Controversial Front-Runner For USATF Presidency
Montreal 4×400m gold medalist Herman Frazier is being considered for the role of president, according to an article on the UH website. Frazier is a controversial choice, having made some unpopular decisions while athletic director at two different universities.
Read more at: [University of Hawaii][Wikipedia]

Incipient Shot Put Feud?
Christian Cantwell may have begun a feud with fellow shot-putter Reese Hoffa by calling him a hypocrite when Hoffa refused to bring Cantwell’s shot put to the US Indoor Championships. Hoffa defended himself against the volatile Cantwell, saying he wasn’t going to help his competitor. Adam Nelson was mentioned during the verbal exchange. Is this fuel to spark the big men’s competitive fires, or is it a major distraction in an Olympic year?
Read more at: [Boston Globe]

Pre-Worlds Profile of the Great Maria Mutola
The IAAF website has a profile of the great 800m runner Maria Mutola, who will toe the line in Valencia, Spain for her 8th gold medal in the indoor world championships. Mutola will retire after the Beijing Olympics to devote her time to her charity Foundation in Mozambique.
Read more at: [IAAF]
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Marion Jones’ Fall From Grace Now Officially Complete

Posted October 4th, 2007 at 8:50 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones, winner of 3 gold and 2 bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has finally acknowledged that she took steroids. In a letter to family and friends she admits to taking, beginning in 1999, a designer drug known as “The Clear” or THG (Tetrahydrogestrinone), a powerful anabolic steroid.

She also, according to a report in the Washington Post, “plans to plead guilty tomorrow in New York to two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use and an unrelated financial matter.” Jones is still, however, insisting upon using the ignorance defense, claiming that she thought she was taking flaxseed oil, a nutritional supplement, even though she “said she noticed changes in how her body felt and how she was able to recover from workouts.”
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Xavier Carter DQ’ed for stepping out of lane; stripped of 400m victory

Posted February 18th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

After winning the 400m yesterday at the Norwich Indoor Union Grand Prix, his only planned indoor race of the season, Xavier “X-Man” Carter was disqualified and stripped of the victory.

Race officials reported that Carter stepped out of lane before taking the lead from Britain’s Robert Tobin. Carter was said that he was “shocked” by the DQ and that he never stepped over the line.

Carter will have his eyes on Michael Johnson’s 200m (19.32 sec) and 400m (43.18 sec) records this season and aims to break the 200m mark at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.
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World record for Bekele in 2000m; Lagat breaks American 3000m record

Posted February 17th, 2007 at 5:13 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Kenenisa Bekele ran the fastest-ever indoor performance over 2000m today the Norwich Union Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham, England.

The 24 year-old Ethiopian, who already holds the world indoor record for 5000m (12:49.60), ran 4:49.99 to easily better Haile Gebrselassie’s 4:52.86 set in the same meeting in 1998. Kenyan Shadrack Korir was second in 4:55.72, a national best.

In the same meeting, American Bernard Lagat broke Tim Broe’s national indoor record in the 3000m with a 7:32.43 clocking, just a few tenths of a second ahead of Markos Geneti of Ethiopia (7:32.69), who set a personal best. Kenyans Augustine Choge (7:33.09) and Paul Kipsiele Koech (7:33.46) finished third and fourth, respectively, also recording career best indoor times.
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Gatlin to challenge his eight-year suspension

Posted February 17th, 2007 at 2:00 AM by Richard Quinn

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

Olympic champion Justin Gatlin will look to challenge his eight year suspension in an upcoming arbitration hearing.

The USADA suspended Gatlin last year after he tested positive for testosterone and its precursors. Although, testosterone is naturally occurring, Gatlin’s levels were considered well beyond that of an average person and therefore deemed to be from a performance enhancing drug.

Gaitlin has insisted that he never, knowingly used a banned substance and is looking forward to the opportunity to clear his name. The USADA senior managing director and general counsel told Reuters that Gaitlin will be awarded this opportunity, saying:

“When Justin Gatlin accepted a positive test and a doping offence, part of the agreement was that he had the right, if he chose, to challenge only the eight-year suspension”

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Lagat wins first 1,000m race at BW Bank Meeting in Germany

Posted February 12th, 2007 at 5:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Bernard Lagat had some unexpected company when Dutchman Arnoud Okken kicked by him at the bell of the 1000m at the BW Bank Meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Lagat was forced wide around the final bend, but held on and took the 2:18.12 victory. In his first race over the distance, Lagat fell 0.26 seconds shy of David Krummenacker’s 2:17.86 U.S. record from 2002.
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Tyson Invitational set to begin tonight at 7pm in Fayetteville

Posted February 9th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Some of the best track and field athletes in the world will be on hand to compete at the 2007 Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center, Fri., Feb. 9, beginning at 8 p.m. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

Former Razorbacks Wallace Spearmon, Alistair Cragg, Josphat Boit and April Steiner will compete along side Xavier Carter, Allyson Felix, Marshevet Hooker, Aries Merritt, Priscilla Lopes and Alan Webb to name a few.

Tyson Foods has upped the ante to athletes competing at the Tyson Invitational by increasing its world-record bonus to $50,000 to any individual or group who accomplish that task. Two world records fell at the event in 2006.
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Collegiate milers to compete against young gun Nick Symmonds at Tyson

Posted February 6th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

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

Adam Perkins is a fighter; there is no denying that.

After almost losing his junior outdoor season because of an Achilles’ tendon injury, the Liberty, MO native has battled back for his senior campaign.

Now he’s ready to try and take on the top milers on the collegiate and professional scenes at the Tyson Invitational Friday night.
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Alan Webb opts for 3,000m race at Friday night’s Tyson Invitational

Posted February 5th, 2007 at 9:09 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Middle distance superstar Alan Webb has decided to run in the 3,000 meters at the Tyson Invitational on Friday night, February 9, making for an intriguing distance race at the premier indoor track event of the winter.

Webb was originally scheduled to run in the mile, the race that made him a teenage superstar when he broke Jim Ryun’s high school national record, but elected to move to the 3,000-meter run to fit into his training cycle. During his career, Webb has taken one USA Championship and earned a spot at the 2004 Olympic Games in the 1,500-meter run.
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