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Lead Stories: Monday, October 13, 2008

Gatlin Doping Ban Reduced to 4 Years; Ineligible for 2008 Olympic Title Defense

Posted January 1st, 2008 at 3:03 PM by Adam Jacobs

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

Earlier today The Washington Post reported that American sprinter Justin Gatlin’s doping ban had been reduced by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to four years.

Although the 25-year old sprinter had originally faced a possible eight-year ban, the reduction will not be enough to make him eligible to defend his Olympic 100m gold medal in Beijing.

The USADA announced that the ban, which had been reduced as a result of Gatlin’s help with the federal investigation of former coach Trevor Graham, will expire on May 24, 2010. Gatlin needed the ban reduced to two years in order to compete in the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials this June in Eugene, OR.

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Eugene set to host 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and ‘09, ‘11 Championships

Posted December 13th, 2007 at 7:40 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

USA Track & Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced their intent to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field in Eugene, Oregon, USATF CEO Craig Masback announced Wednesday. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference on the University of Oregon campus.

Eugene, which next year will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, also will host the 2009 and 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Masback announced.

Site of the 1972, ‘76, ‘80 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field and the 1999 and 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field will be the site of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where the roster for Team USA will be selected for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In 2009, Team USA will select its roster for the 2009 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany, and 2011 will see the selection of the American squad for the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
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Kastor Looking Forward to Another Race in Boston

Posted October 10th, 2007 at 10:29 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Less than a day after winning the 2007 U.S. 10-K championships at the Tufts Health Plan 10-K, on Monday, Oct. 8, Deena Kastor was up for a Tuesday-morning run on a similar course, the criterium loop which will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials - Women’s Marathon next April. The Trials course will feature four laps of a circuit which criss-crosses the Charles River between Boston’s Back Bay and Memorial Drive in Cambridge, sharing large sections with the Tufts course.

Kastor and her coach, Terence Mahon, said the course tour was the second of two reasons to come to Boston this weekend, the first being the opportunity to race hard on the course during the 10-K on Monday. Kastor won that race easily in 32:01, and admitted that it also represented an opportunity to “redeem myself” after a disappointing race at the Boston Marathon in April.

The 2007 Boston Marathon has framed Kastor’s approach to the Olympic Trials as well. “Boston taught me not to believe in favorites,” Kastor said on a conference call with reporters today. “Anything can happen over the marathon distance.”
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Deena Kastor tours U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon course

Posted October 9th, 2007 at 5:41 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Following her first tour of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon course, Deena Kastor spoke with reporters via teleconference from the Boston Athletic Association’s office. Kastor, along with her coach Terrence Mahon, was guided on a running tour of the Olympic Trials course on Tuesday morning. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon is scheduled for April 20, 2008, the day before the 112th Boston Marathon.

Kastor, who was the runner-up in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon, captured the bronze medal in the marathon at the Athens Olympic Games and is the American record holder in the marathon (2:19:26).

“It looks like a wonderful course for the women toeing the line next April,” Kastor told reporters following her run. “I think the criterium [multi-loop] course allows the crowds to see things changing and evolving over the course of the race, which is exciting. It makes the crowd more involved.” She also saw a benefit for the runners: “To be able to see your competition at all times [on the course’s long straightaways] is great for all of the athletes.”
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Registration for the U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials to Open Friday

Posted October 4th, 2007 at 7:30 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

USA Track & Field and the Boston Athletic Association have announced that registration for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon will open tomorrow, Friday, October 5. The event will be held on April 20, 2008 on a unique multi-loop course through downtown Boston and Cambridge.

To enter the Olympic Trials, women must first qualify. The event’s “A” standard is 2:39:00, while the “B” standards are 2:47:00 in the marathon or 33:00.00 in the 10,000 meters. The qualifying standards must be met from January 1, 2006 through March 23, 2008 or at the 2005 USA Marathon Championships (October 2, 2005).

Currently 127 women have qualified for the Olympic Trials, with 16 having met the “A” standard. Among the qualifiers are Joan Samuelson (1984 Olympic Trials champion and 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist), Colleen De Reuck (defending U.S. Olympic Trials champion), and Deena Kastor (2004 Olympic bronze medalist).
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Podcast 86: KATE O’NEIL on making her 26.2 mile debut at Sunday’s Chicago Marathon

Posted October 2nd, 2007 at 12:24 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years BR Sportswear is closing out their line of high -quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

Episode 86 of The Final Sprint Podcast features my interview with 2004 Olympian KATE O’NEIL about making her marathon debut at Sunday’s Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

In January, Kate finished second and ran a personal best 1:11:47 at the Aramco Half-Marathon in Houston. She continued her success with third places finishes at the Falmouth Road Race in August and the New Haven 20-K in September (where she also set another PR).

In the interview, Kate talks about her mental and physical preparation for Chicago, plans to run in next April’s U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon Trails in Boston, and why she chose Chicago over other fall marathons (i.e. - New York) for her debut.

Download the podcast to hear Kate discuss these topics, as well as, how Deena Kastor and the other members of Team Running USA in Mammoth Lakes, CA have helped with her approach to the marathon, her views on the role of pacesetters, how cheering fans have confused her with her twin sister Laura when they ran together at Yale, and much more!

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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Kate O’Neil
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 12.0 MB | Length: 17:30 MIN

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

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Podcast 85: SARA HALL on the Fifth Ave Mile, Olympics, parenthood, faith and more!

Posted October 1st, 2007 at 4:37 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years BR Sportswear is closing out their line of high -quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

Episode 85 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast features my interview with SARA HALL.

Hall capped off her 2007 running campaign with a third place finish at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile and heads into the off-season with hopes of an Olympic bid – for both herself and her husband Ryan.

In the interview Sara talks about the Fifth Avenue Mile, racing in Europe, bouncing back from the disappointment of missing the U.S. World Championship team by less than a second and being inspired by Ryan’s breakthrough year.

Download the podcast to hear Sara discuss these topics, as well as, her NCAA career, how the recent birth of Dathan Ritzenhein’s first child has affected her own thoughts of parenthood and plans to adopt a child, the newest addition to the Hall family (a miniature Siberian Husky named Kyla), the importance of faith in her life & career, and much more!

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[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and 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: Sara Hall
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File Size: 9.03 MB | Length: 13:09 MIN

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

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Possible Papal Visit Could Conflict With Marathon Trials

Posted September 25th, 2007 at 7:15 PM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

A visit by Pope Benedict XVI would thrill millions of Boston-area Catholics but could raise havoc with ongoing plans for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, scheduled the day before the 112th Boston Marathon.

If he comes to Boston after speaking at the United Nations, the pope’s visit would coincide with the marathon trials on April 20.

The trials include a lap around Boston Common, the likely site for a Papal Mass similar to one offered by Pope John Paul II when he visited Boston in 1979.

For more information: Click Here
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New ‘Chasing Glory’ Pre-Marathon Trials Video

Posted September 20th, 2007 at 5:07 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

As part of the New York Road Runners’ unprecedented promotional and media build-up to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon race on Saturday, November 3, “Chasing Glory,” a seven-week series of web videos offering exclusive athlete and coach interviews and insight will premiere today on the NYRR website, it was announced by NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

Leading Olympic Trials contenders Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi, Brian Sell, and Ryan Hall, along with top coaches Brad Hudson, Keith and Kevin Hanson, and Terrence Mahon will be among those featured in the weekly videos. Other segments will highlight behind-the-scenes footage of the challenging Olympic Trials course in Central Park, facts and figures about the race, and a glimpse of how the USA’s runners compare with those of the rest of the world.

The five- to seven-minute videos will be launched every Tuesday and Thursday from September 17 to October 26. The videos are produced by videographer Matt Taylor, whose other credits include “Chasing Kimbia” and “Chasing Tradition.” The videos will be supplemented by three text-based commentaries each week, written in conjunction with television analyst Toni Reavis.
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Eugene ‘08 Website Launched for Olympic T&F Trials

Posted September 19th, 2007 at 9:00 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Drugs In Sports

Eugene08.com, the official site for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track and Field is now live.

Eugene08.com is the primary source for key information for coaches, spectators, and volunteers, as well as plenty of photos and feature stories. Viewers can click on links to the competition schedule, qualifying standards, housing and transportation information as well as community links to discover more about Track Town, USA, and amenities of Eugene and the surrounding area.

A link to the Eugene 08 Festival offers information on the dynamic center adjacent to Hayward Field that will connect to the U.S. Olympic Trials competition inside the track and field venue.
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