TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Friday, August 29, 2008

TFS News Briefs: 2/15/2008

Posted February 15th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Tyson Invitational Has High Profile Athletes
The Tyson Invitational meet will be held this weekend at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Indoor Track in Fayettville. Some huge names will be competing, including Sanya Richards, Wallace Spearmon, Jenn Stuczynski and the shot put and an all-star shot put shootout that will feature Adam Nelson, Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell and Dan Taylor.
Read more at: [Google News][Tyson Invitational Start List]

Lagat To Run 10000m in London?
Bernard Lagat has hinted that he may move up in distance for the 2012 London Olympics, saying that, “athletes like Haile Gebrselassie [have shown] how possible it is to be stronger as you get older.” Lagat will compete in the 3000m event this weekend at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham, England.
Read more at: [BirminghamMail.net, UK]

IAAF Tokyo Marathon Preview
The Tokyo Marathon will be held this Sunday, February 18th and it will be doubling as Japan’s Olympic Men’s marathon Trials. A slew of speedy foreign runners has been invited, including Daniel Njenga of Kenya, a 2:06 marathoner. Historically, Japan has been strong in the marathon at the international level, so – with its mix of domestic and foreign talent – this should prove to be a high-octane race.
Read more at: [IAAF][Tokyo Marathon Website]
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya Wins Men’s 800m Gold

Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 6:57 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

The Men’s 800m final of the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics from Osaka, Japan was wide open. All of the finalists had personal bests within 2.44 seconds of each other.

Gary Reed led at 200m in 25.60. Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS) was tucked into the middle of the pack, an unusual tactic for him. He usually runs the first lap from the back of the pack and then hauls in the front runners with his devastating kick. The field went through 400m in a slow 55.08.

In the backstretch it was still Reed at the front. Borzakovskiy was boxed in so he had to work out of it before he could go out the middle lanes to attempt his patented kick. Reed tried to hold off Kenya’s Alfred Kirwa Yego but Yego took the lead in the closing few meters of the race and took gold in a slow 1:47.09. Borzakovskiy, all the way out in lane 4, didn’t have his highest gear. Reed held him off for the silver in 1:47.10 while Borzakovskiy took bronze in 1:47.39. Here are the final results:

1. Alfred Kirwa Yego (KEN) 1:47.09
2. Gary Reed (CAN) 1:47.10
3. Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS) 1:47.39
4. Abraham Chepkirwok (UGA) 1:47.41
5. Wilfred Bungei (KEN) 1:47.42
6. Amine Laalou (MAR) 1:47.45
7. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (RSA) 1:47.52
8. Mohammed Al Salhi (KSA) 1:47.58

Comment on this post | Permalink

Wins by Jamal, Sinclair the highlights in chilly Lausanne

Posted July 11th, 2007 at 7:55 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Running in chilly conditions that dipped below 50 degrees F (9 C.), Maryam Yusuf Jamal and Jamaican Kenia Sinclair produced the chief highlights at the Athletissima Super Grand Prix in Lausanne tonight.

After a dismal 13th place finish in Paris last Friday, Jamal was clearly trying to illustrate a point 1500. Running before a supportive hometown crowd –the 22-year-old Ethiopian-born Bahraini has been based in Lausanne since fleeing Ethiopia in 2002– Jamal cruised to a front-running victory in 4:03.61. Never seriously challenged –she had a near four second lead at the bell– Jamal easily held off the late race charge of Ukraine’s Iryna Lishchynska (4:04.27) and Russians Olga Yegorova (4:04.64) and two-time world champion Tatyana Tomashova (4:05.48).

U.S. champion Treniere Clement briefly followed Jamal and pacesetter Olga Komyagina’s solid tempo, but paid for it dearly 800 meters into the race. Fading badly over the final lap and a half, she finished 22nd in the 23 woman field.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Defar returns, Gebrselassie to chase hour run world record in Ostrava

Posted June 26th, 2007 at 11:10 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

On the track where Kenenisa Bekele succeeded Haile Gebrselassie as the 10,000m world record holder, the fabled Ethiopian and his younger compatriot Meseret Defar are poised to take center stage when the European international season resumes on Wednesday at the 46th Golden Spike Grand Prix in this sprawling eastern Czech city.

Just 12 days after her staggering 14:16.63 world record in Oslo, Defar returns to action again in the 5000. Although the 23-year-old Olympic champion hasn’t promised to take her record down even further, she hasn’t fully dismissed the possibility either.

“I’m in good condition right now,” Defar said. “I ran a very good race in Oslo and I’m hoping to perform well in Ostrava too.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Prefontaine Classic: Recap of middle & long distance events

Posted June 11th, 2007 at 1:57 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

If the late Steve Prefontaine was watching this meeting from above his beloved Hayward Field, he surely had a smile on his face as gutsy performances in the middle and long distance events dominated this meeting.

For the second year in a row, the meet was held in cool and sometimes rainy conditions, and that was just perfect for the rollicking two-miler which was won by Australian Craig Mottram in the fastest time every on U.S. soil. John Jefferson and Bernard Kiptum set the early pace, and Tariku Bekele and Mottram were running 1-2 when Kiptum left the track after about 2000 meters.

Bekele led out of turn-2 on the final lap, but Mottram started his long sprint with more 250 meter to go. Bekele just couldn’t answer, and the big Aussie motored to the line in a sparkling 8:03.50, blowing through Eliud Kipchoge’s U.S. all-comer’s best of 8:07.68 set at the same meet in 2005.

“It comes down to the size of your balls, really,” said Mottram on live television after the race.

Bekele ran a personal best 8:04.83, while a hard-charging Matt Tegenkamp broke Alan Webb’s U.S. best of 8:11.48 with a terrific 8:07.07 clocking. Dathan Ritzenhein nearly got under Webb’s mark, finishing in 8:11.74 in fourth place. As for Webb, he finished a disappointing 9th, surely a letdown after his commanding victory over Bernard Lagat in the Reebok Grand Prix last Saturday.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Runners wow Hayward Field crowd at 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic

Posted June 11th, 2007 at 8:04 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

2007 USA Indoor 3,000m champion Matt Tegenkamp set an American record in front of a standing room only crowd Sunday at the 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., which is the fourth event of USA Track & Field’s 2007 Outdoor Visa Championship Series.

Tegenkamp finished third in men’s two mile race in the American record time of 8 minutes 7.07 seconds, which betters the previous American standard of 8:11.48 set here in 2005 by Alan Webb. Tegenkamp was led to the finish line by Australia’s Craig Mottram, who won the race in 8:03.50, which is the sixth-fastest performance all-time in the two-mile. Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele was the runner-up in 8:04.83, which is the eighth-fastest time ever.

Komen wins amazing Bowerman Mile

Kenyan Daniel K. Komen ran the fastest time ever on American soil to win the signature event of the Nike Prefontaine Classic, the Bowerman Mile. In a race that saw nine competitors finish under the 4-minute barrier, Komen was victorious in a blistering time of 3 minutes 48.28 seconds, which is the fastest time in the world this year. Two-time Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat was the runner-up in 3:50.56, which is the fastest time by an American this season.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Borzakovskiy joins field for Golden Spike Grand Prix in Ostrava

Posted June 1st, 2007 at 9:47 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Olympic Champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy has joined the 800m field at the Golden Spike Grand Prix in Ostrava, Czech Republic on June 27, organizers announced today.

It will be the second outing of the year for the 26-year-old Russian who is scheduled to open his season at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., next weekend.

In the eastern Czech city, Borzakovskiy will face Kenya’s perrenial speedster Wilfred Bungei, this year’s world leader at 1:44.14 from the Qatar Super Grand Prix. After his 2007 debut victory in Doha, Bungei was upset at the FBK Games in Hengelo, The Netherlands, last weekend, by the young Ugandan, Albert Chepkirwok.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Symmonds to compete in Eugene for Pre Classic

Posted May 9th, 2007 at 5:30 PM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Reigning USA Indoor men’s 800m champion Nick Symmonds will face top fields twice at his home track over the next five weeks.

Coming off his impressive win last weekend at the Osaka Grand Prix in Japan, Symmonds will compete in the friendly confines of Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., at the Road to Eugene 08 on May 27, and the Prefontaine Classic on June 10, which is the fourth event of USA Track & Field’s Outdoor Visa Championship Series.

A member of the Oregon Track Club based out of Eugene, Symmonds was the surprise runner-up at the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis. He’ll face a strong field at the Pre Classic that includes reigning U.S. Outdoor champion Khadevis Robinson, who ended the 2006 season ranked #7 in the world and #1 in the U.S by Track & Field News.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink