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Lead Stories: Monday, October 13, 2008

What To Watch: Running & Track Events on TV, Webcast

Posted October 10th, 2008 at 12:29 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Columns, What To Watch, Road Racing

Action is beginning to pick back up as we head into marathon season. Headlining the coming week’s action are the Chicago Marathon and the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships. As always, all times are Eastern; check your local listings.

Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Universal Sports TV, 9:00 AM Sunday
UniversalSports.com, 8:45 AM Sunday
Surprise Olympic marathon champion Constantina Tomescu-Dita leads the field in the penultimate stop on the World Marathon Majors tour. For more, go to Chicagomarathon.com.

IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships
UniversalSports.com, 7:30 AM Sunday
The free webcast coverage of the IAAF’s World Championships will be live. The men’s race, featuring defending New York City marathon champ Marilson dos Santos, begins at 7:45 a.m. The women’s race, featuring ‘07 World Cross Country champ Lornah Kiplagat, begins at 8:15 a.m. For more on the race, go to the IAAF’s website.

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Defar, Gay Named World Athletes of the Year

Posted November 26th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field

Meseret Defar and sprinter Tyson Gay were named the World Athletes of the Year for 2007 at the World Athletics Gala held in Monte Carlo last night.

Defar, 24, shattered her won world record in the 5000 meters, running 14:16.63 in Oslo in June, breaking her own previous standard by more than eight seconds. The reigning Olympic 50000 champion, Defar also won the event at the world championships and twice lowered the world best for 2 miles. She also set a world record indoors in the 3000, running 8:23.72 in Stuttgart in February.

“I don’t have word to describe how happy I am,” said Defar, who dedicated the award to women athletes in Ethiopia. Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele have earned the honor in the past, but Defar became the first Ethiopian to win the world governing body’s annual award.

Gay, 25, won three gold medals at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka last August, sweeping the 100 and 200 metres and running the third leg on the victorious 4×100m relay. In the 100, Gay clocked 9.85, relegating world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica to third. In the 200, he clocked 19.76, taking down Michael Johnson’s meet record. He was just the fourth athlete to collect three gold medals at a single world championships.
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Vincente, Csomor Win XTERRA Makena Beach Trail Run 10K in Maui, Hawaii

Posted October 29th, 2007 at 8:10 PM by Bart Moylan

Section: News & Results, Trail / Ultra

At the blast of a cannon, 355 trail runners from 14 different countries and 30 U.S. states took off for the XTERRA Makena Beach Trail Run on Saturday. With a backdrop of bright blue skies and palm trees swaying in the balmy breeze, this trail run is the kickoff event for a weekend of XTERRA adventures.

Competitors chose from two off-road courses, a 10K or a 5K - each serving up a plateful of Mother Nature’s finest ingredients including loose gravel and lava rocks, soft sand and humid temperatures.

Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: TrailFit.com

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Podcast 75: MICHELLE PERRY on her 2nd consecutive 100m hurdles World Championship

Posted September 3rd, 2007 at 6:24 PM by Adam Jacobs

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

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!

Welcome to Episode 75 of The Final Sprint Podcast featuring my interview with American hurdler MICHELLE PERRY who successfully defended her 100m hurdles title and added to Team USA’s historic gold and overall medal count at the now concluded IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan

In the interview Michelle talks about surging for the lead in the last 10m and how it felt waiting for the official results of the extremely close race.

Download the podcast to hear Michelle discuss these topics, as well as, her advice for less experience runners, the keys to her consistency and dominance, how she stays busy and calm in the days before a race and what her second consecutive 100m hurdle World Championship means for her quest for Olympic gold.

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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Michelle Perry
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File Size: 9.46 MB | Length: 9:14 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 25: Interview with sprinter Sanya Richards

Posted March 9th, 2007 at 1:54 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

I had the pleasure of being joined by 2004 4×400 Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards for Episode 25 of The Final Sprint Podcast.

Sanya is coming off of an incredible 2006; a year where she graduated from the University of Texas, was undefeated in 13 finals in the 400m, won a share of the IAAF Golden League Jackpot, lowered the long-standout American record in the 400m to 48.70 and was named World Athlete of the Year.

In the interview Sanya speaks about deciding to abstain from this year’s indoor competitions, training with Jeremy Wariner, goals for the World Champs, the impact of her Jamaican roots and representing the United States.

Download the podcast to hear Sanya discuss these topics, how her speed compares to that of Aaron Ross (her boyfriend and Univ. of Texas football standout), what she thinks of Oscar Pistorius (who also specializes in the 400m), her role models, drugs in sports, advice for others and much more!

Listen In

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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Sanya Richards
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 11.1MB
Length: 00:16:18

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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Tosa Defeats Takahashi at the 2006 Tokyo International Women’s Marathon

Posted November 19th, 2006 at 12:11 PM by Jenna Sumara

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Reiko Tosa defeated a competitive field, including 2000 Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi, at today’s Tokyo International Women’s Marathon. Tosa’s winning time was 2:26:15. Although Tosa was expected to place well, Takahashi had been the favorite to come away with this year’s title.

Takahashi was the first woman to ever break the 2:20 mark at the 2001 Berlin Marathon and last year’s Tokyo Women’s Marathon champion. Takahashi finished a disappointing third and ran her slowest time marathon time ever. In addition, this morning’s race marked the first time she had ever lost to another Japanese woman and her worst finish since her debut at the 1997 Osaka Ladies Marathon. Read the rest of this entry »

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Olympic medalist Shannon Miller to run the NYC Marathon

Posted November 4th, 2006 at 1:00 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

It turns out that Lance Armstrong is NOT the only celebrity athlete to give marathon running a try this weekend. Shannon Miller, the iconic Olympic gymnast, will also be giving 26.2 her best shot at Sunday’s ING New York City Marathon.

Arguably the most decorated American gymnast in history, Miller won 7 Olympic medals and five individual Word Championships.

Now 29-years old (and still adorable), Miller decided only a few weeks ago to run the world-famous marathon. Although she told me she has stayed very active since retiring form professional gymnastics, she has done only limited training for the marathon itself. Miller will be running with the Team for Kids, a Road Runners Foundation initiative that raises money for youth fitness programs. Read the rest of this entry »

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