Good News for Some: Training is No Longer Necessary: Scientists Discover "Exercise in a Pill" for Mice
Latest on Russian Drug Scandal: Russian Federation Could Be in Trouble Over Doping Scandal *Sobolova Says She's Innocent *Romanians Busted for EPO - Elena Antoci and Cristina Vasiloiu Quit Sport
Please Don't Tell Us You're Surprised (unless you're surprised they actually got caught) Huge Doping Scandal in Russia: 6 Athletes, Including 1:54.85 800m world leader Soboleva and 2-Time 1,500m Champ Tomashova, Are Suspended This is big, big news. The 6 suspended include Yelena Soboleva, who had dominated the mid-d ranks in 2008 with 1:54.85 and 3:57.71 world leaders (the 3:57.71 was also a world indoor record) and double (2003 and 2005) 1,500m World Champ Tatyana Tomashova. Also suspended are Yuliya Fomenko (3:59.41 for 2nd at World Indoors this year, 2nd at the Russian Olympic Trials), European discus champ Darya Pishchalnikova, former world record holder in the hammer Gulfiya Khanafeyeva and distance runner Svetlana Cherkasova. The 6 suspended did not test positive for any substance, but the IAAF, by running DNA analysis on their samples, realized they were submitting fake samples for out of competition tests (which leads to involvement of some co-conspirators in the process). This shows the IAAF program to target suspected cheats (based on profiling samples) is making some progress, although it also shows the anti-doping authorities still cannot actually detect the drugs the cheats are taking. *Message Board Thread Latest: AP Article on Doping Scandal *Russian Suspensions Are Good News for Shannon Rowbury She's #2 in the world heading into Beijing. *Russian Positives Lead Many to Wonder If There was a Systematic Doping System in Place for Some in Russia New York Times *Anti-Doping Authorities Became Suspicious of Russians Because Everything was Too Perfect Times of London On the boards: Is Borzakovskiy Clean? *DNA Convergance, how exact is it?
2 Romanian Distance Runners Kicked Off Olympic Team for High Hemoglobin Levels Earlier this year, then-world outdoor 1,500m leader Liliana Popescu was dropped from the team for testing positive.
On the boards: *Wariner pays Johnson 20%? *Ethiopian Federation Suspends Jos Hermens *Is Arkansas program doomed to mediocrity due to loss of greatest coach in history? *Galen Rupp ... Houston???
Jeremy Wariner's Parents are Normal People dallasnews.com
Daley Thompson - Britain's Greatest Athlete But Still An Enigma in Britain
US 50 Mile Recap (Mike Wardian Wins)
Watch on WCSN on Demand Monaco: *Results World Record for Isinbayeva, Borzakovskiy Wins Tight and Fast 800m, Powell Runs Fast Kamel Gets Family 800m Record A nice final meet before the Olympics. The 23rd world record for Isinbayeva. The best race of the night was the men's 800m where Yuriy Borzakovskiy edged Yusuf Kamel as both ran 1:42.79 to become only the 2nd and 3rd athletes to run under 1:43 since 2003. Canadian Gary Reed set a Canadian record in the same race to finish 4th. Kamel finally got his family's 800m record (his dad was a 2-time World Champion and his uncle had the family record at 1:42.98). Other highlights were Asafa Powell running 9.82, Daniel K. Komen running a 3:31.49 world leader in the 1,500m, and Martyn Rooney going sub-45 again in the 400m. All-in-all, five world leaders were set (pole vault, women's 400m hurdles, women's long jump, men's 1,500m, womens 3k). Jen Rhines and Ian Dobson didn't have good runs in the 3k in their last race before the Olympics. Dan Huling ran 8:20 in the steeple, becoming the #2 American in 2008. *Brief LRC Look at the Men's 800m *Nick Willis Ran 3:33 in Monaco - He Was Hoping For a PR (Sub 3:32) *Gary Reed Feels Great after Canadian Record *On the boards: Solinsky at Monaco
A Quick Guide To Britain's Medal Hopes This guide lists Radcliffe, Pavey and Baddeley as bronze medal contenders. *Chris Tomlinson's Olympic Dreams In Doubt After Torn Calf
Drug News Girls Will Be Girls at the Beijing Olympics - Sex Tests Will Prove It Yes, that's right, a special lab has been created to make sure the women Olympians truly are women. *Disgraced Sprinter Katerina Thanou Named To Greek Squad This is likely to create a showdown with the IOC as she may still be banned from 2004.
London Grand Prix: *Results *BBC London Grand Prix Day 2 Photos London Aftermath: Usain Bolt's Coach Says He's a Long Way from Michael Johnson's 19.32 Times of London *Martyn Rooney's Sub-45 Clocking Turned Some Heads in Britain telegraph.co.uk *Jo Pavey (5th at Olympics, 4th at Worlds Last year) Is a Legitimate Medal Threat for Britain *Kelly Sotherton on Track for Hepathlon Gold after Win in London *Marilyn Okoro's London Grand Prix Win at 800m Was a Surprise thestar.com.my Day 2: Usain Bolt Continues Insane Performances As Veronica Campbell-Brown Impresses In Women's 100m Bolt ran 19.76 into a slight headwind and dusted World Championships bronze medallist Wallace Spearmon by more than half a second. Astounding. Meanwhile, Jamaica's Campbell-Brown ran within .02 of her PR, leading some to question whether she'll be added to the Olympic team. In the men's 800m, World Championships silver medallist Gary Reed, who appeared to be rounding into form at the perfect time, was tripped and did not finish. In the women's 800m, Morgan Uceny lost for the first time in Europe but still ran a 2:00.01 PR. In addition, Jen Rhines won the women's 3k. *Bolt Strolls 19.76 At Crystal Palace *Ohurougu Wins In Crystal Palace 400m *Recap Of Crystal Palace 800m, Gary Reed Tripped
Day 1: LRC Recap: Shedrack Korir Dispatches Bernard Lagat In Men's Mile As Lisa Dobriskey Prevails in Spirited Battle With Erin Donohue In Women's 1,500m Anyone who expected Beijing to be an easy coronation for Bernard Lagat and Allyson Felix had better think again as Lagat finished 3rd and Felix 4th.
*Article On Men's Mile & Andrew Baddeley
*Mottram Call His 4th Place Run "Solid"
*IAAF Recap: Andrey Silnov Jumps World Leading 2.38m (7'9.75") He was only 4th in the Russian Championships.
*Asafa Powell Wins 100m In 9.94
*Kelly Sotherton Upset After Hurdles Fiasco One of Brtiain's best hopes for gold in the heptathlon avoided disaster after the 3rd hurdle was put in the wrong spot.
*Watch Day 1 On WCSN.com (Mile is 48:20 in,1,500w is 1:47:00 in, hurdles fiasco at 2:04:00)
"If you didnt live through it, you couldnt know how their rivalry gripped
those who did. Seb Coe and Steve Ovett. Twenty million British viewers
watched the 800m final at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and there may not have
been a neutral among them. This was more important than Conservative or
Labour; more divisive than United or Liverpool. It was said that you could
tell a mans character by his preference in the Coe or Ovett debate." -David Walsh, writing about the Seb Coe / Steve Ovett rivalry in an excellent in-depth profile of Coe - the leader of the 2012 London Olympics.
Jordan Hasay Adjusting To New "Fame" Being Recognized In Airports *Hasay's Olympic Trials Performance Is High School Performance Of The Year German Fernandez's performance at the California state meet was pretty special as well.
The Great White Hope Is Back
*Mottram Camp Has Changed Things Up A Bit This Year
*Mottram, Australia's Greatest Hope For Medal, Will Continue to Prep at Crystal Palace He'll run the mile after his fine 54.6 last lap win in the 3k.
A Must-Read Profile of Cambodia's Olympic Marathoner Hem Benting The guy is so poor he lives in the stadium he trains in and tries to subsist on $50 a month. Someone please tell us why a shoe company doesn't at least give him free gear.
*Profile Of Jack Daniels
*Message Board Thread Here
A Woman's Biggest Dream/Worst Nightmare
A Woman Wins Overall Title While Another One Is Dragged Into Bushes and Attacked at South Africa's 2008 Washie Ultra
Complete Expected Elite Field For Sunday's New York City Half Marathon Presented By Nike Goucher/Ritz/Bizuneh and a ton of studly Africans on the men's side while Ndereba and Johnson lead the women's field.
DN Galan LRC Recap Defar 14:12.88, Robles 12.91, Asafa Powell 9.88 over Bolt's 9.89, Kaki 2:13.93 1,000m WJR, Richards Crushes Felix at 400, Craig Mottram is Back It was a great meet. The women's 5k record seemed out of reach until Defar threw down
a 60.37 last lap to give the record a scare. Craig Mottram ran 54.59 for his final lap to crush the field in the men's 5k. (Watch on Demand at WCSN) *Results *Video
Highlights *Heptathlon Star Kluft Looking to Focus on Long Jump Only *Scottish Paper Refers to Bolt as "Blunder Bolt" After Defeat by Powell
Friday: Golden League Paris *Results LRC Recap Shannon Rowbury 4:00.33 to Finish 2nd, Dayron Robles 12.88, Wariner Crushes Merritt, Jelimo and Vlasic Stay Perfect The meet was a great one, but that's what you should expect with the Golden
League. Dayron Robles gave the world record a scare, Jeremy Wariner ran his 4th fastest time ever, Pamela Jelimo dominated again but may have some trouble with the Russians. American Shannon Rowbury showed she's still a force to be reckoned with as she ran a very impressive 4:00.33. Alan Webb did not toe the line to defend his 2007 Paris title. *Message
board thread on Rowbury
Great Profile on Walter Dix: "If anyone thinks he runs a race just to run a race, he's got another
think coming. He's going to run a race to win the
race. I don't care how big or how small it is." - Walter Dix's dad. The article is full of interesting info. Walter cried after he lost his first race; he long jumped 23' 10" at age 14.
Judge Refuses to Overthrow Trevor Graham's Conviction
Drugs: Victor Conte: "I believe there's rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs in the Caribbean" Steroid Nation Article on Merlene Ottey *Should Drug Testing Be Banned?dopingjournal.org
3 Good reads: Pre: Rebel With a Cause Some youngsters can see Pre wasn't just hype. NFL coach George Seifert said of Pre, "Watching him run was a unique feeling I've never experienced anywhere
else in sports. It was an
electric feeling - the screaming and hysteria was like this big old
envelope that engulfed all of us. It was so emotional I'd have tears in
my eyes. It was a great natural high that you don't forget and you
can't duplicate chemically." A Look at Mel Sheppard, the Last US Olympic 1,500m Champ (100 Years Ago) "If it was necessary to die at the finish, why, that would be perfectly
satisfactory as long as I hit the tape first. It was
the proudest moment of my life." *ESPN the Magazine: "Track isn't a very big draw in our country. And that's just nuts."
Rome Golden League: *Photos
*Yelena Isinbayeva Is Pumped And Excited After New PV World Record The reigning Olympic champ said "anger" at talk that Jenn Stuczynski might be the favorite fueled her to the record.
LRC Recap: Wariner over Merritt, Jelimo Dominates 800, Asbel Kiprop in 1,500, Sihine and Dibaba in 5k, Isinbayeva World Record *Results Merritt walked down Wariner in the final 100m and appeared to have him
at the line but he leaned too soon, giving Wariner the victory by the slimmest of margins. Canada's Nate Brannen ran 3:34.6 to get the Olympic qualifier in the 1,500.
*Asafa
Powell Suffers Groin Problem and Pulls Out of Final The Jamaican had
the lead in his heat but then pulled up and didn't run the final.
*IAAF Recap of Rome Golden Gala: Yelena Isinbayeva Sets World Record
*AP Recap of Golden Gala - Portugal's Francis Obikwelu Wins 100m In 10.04 He was 2nd in 2004 to Gatlin.
Pre-Meet News *IAAF Preview Merritt vs. Wariner is the highlight but it should be a great meet. *Golden League
Betting Wariner Favored over Merritt
LRC: Recap of Final Day of Olympic Trials: Lagat Cruises, Rowbury Dominates, Alan Webb & Treniere Clement Left Off Beijing Team In both the men's and women's 1,500s, those having the best 2008 seasons made it to Beijing as the 3-time US champions Alan Webb and Treniere Clement picked a horrible time to have bad years. The US men's 1,500 team is all foreign-born, with Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong and Leo Manzano. We recap all of the action on the final day of a fantastic 2008 Trials.
*LRC Sunday Photos On the boards: Webb: How Did It All Go So Wrong? Rowbury
Dominates Women's 1,500 More on Men's 1,500: Steve Sherer on Webb: "Going from world leader to not making the team, that's sad." *Bernard Lagat Talks About Alan Webb Finishing Fifth *Update: Tyson Gay Has Mild Leg Strain, Will Miss 2 Weeks The big news in the prelims was Tyson Gay falling over in his 200m quarter and 3-time World Champ and Olympic champ Allen
Johnson stopping in the hurdle quarters.
*Video of Gay Falling
*Time Catches Up with Allen Johnson (Video and article)
*Tyson Gay's Family Says He'll Run In Beijing
Shocker:Current CU Star Billy Nelson Makes It, Former Buff Steve Slattery Comes Up Short Nelson peaked when it mattered most as he set his 2nd straight PR and got the Olympic A standard.
*Anthony Famiglietti Has Mixed Emotions on Beijing The guy loves the city but also feels for Tibet.
*A Look Back At How Lindsey Gallo and Morgan Uceny Did In Semis
*ESPN.com: Race Walk Gets No Respect
*1996 Olympic Champion Allen Johnson Bows Out of Hurdles He's been battling injury and says he hopes to be back next year.
A Look Back At Men's 10k.
*Rupp Rises To The Occasion.
*Column: Don't Get Carried Away About Rupp's Run This positive article on Rupp points out the allusions to Prefontaine are too much.
*Sports Illustrated Looks at Rupp's 2nd Place Run
*LA Times looks at Torres Twins' Quest For Olympics
Thursday: LRC Anna Willard Sets American Record, LaShawn Merritt over Jeremy Wariner Willard was super-impressive in the steeplechase as she got the American record before the appreciative
crowd. Merritt defeated Wariner for the 2nd straight time (after getting some advice from Alan Webb) and then Wariner didn't go on the Olympians lap and skipped the post-race press conference, although he did come back to address the press and we have a video with him. The other distance action on Thursday was the men's and women's Round 1 of the 1,500s and Round 1 of the men's steeple, which we recap below: LRC Round 1 of 1,500, Men's Steeple: Webb Returns and Impresses, Lomong Points His Finger, High Schoolers Advance (link fixed) We've got it all covered, from the return of Alan Webb to fine form to two high school girls advancing to round 2 to Said Ahmed talking about his new training
group with 800 sensation Kaki to Steve Slattery talking about his new training group. Text, photos and video.
*Anna Willard Wins Olympic Trials With New American Record Willard: "It's amazing. I can't even comprehend it. Especially four years ago,
thinking about where I was. I sucked four years ago. So to see how far
I've come, it feels really, really good." Willard isn't lying when she says she sucked 4 years ago. 3 years ago her steeple PR was 10:35. Now it's 9:27.
*Wariner Loses Again As Clyde Hart Coaches Richards To Women's 400 Title Dumping his coach wasn't too smart, was it?
*7-Year Itch? New York Times Looks at Alan Webb 7 Years After He Crushed HS Mile Record
*ESPN Columnist: "Why did we have to wait so long for the trials to return to Pre Country?" We agree but are worried they are going to oversaturate Eugene with track. In our minds, they ought to have the Trials here every 4 years and NCAAs in one of the middle two years, so there is a championship meet in Eugene every two years. *Great Read: Sports
Illustrated's Tim Layden Reflects On 1st Half Of Trials And Looks Ahead To The Men's 1,500
*Controversy Erupts In Eugene As Adam Goucher is Let Into Field For 10k Field With 32nd Best Qualifying Time While Runners 25-31 Are Left Out USATF doesn't seem to have a clear policy in place. And the USOC seems to be concerned about a lack of due process for the athletes. We wonder if ultimately the USOC will look at the no-bid awarding of the 2012 Trials as well.
*SF Chronicle Looks Back at 1st Half of Trials
*NY Sun Looks At 2nd Half of Trials & Rips NBC's Coverage of Trials
1,500s Start Thursday
*Chris Lukezic Hoping to Avoid 4th Place Again The former Georgetown runner was 4th in 2004 as a 20-year-old. He also was 4th in 2006 and 2007 but amazingly at only age 24 isn't viewed as being the future of the sport as he wasn't even invited to the USATF press conference for the event. He hopes to changes those sentiments this year.
Lukezic: "I couldn't have asked for better training. I've had no hiccups."
*Nice Profile Of Bernard Lagat in Boston Globe
*Alan Webb Profile in NY Times
*Jordan Hasay Added to 1,500 Field
More on Men's 800: *Video of Men's 800 Final *Men's 800 Sweep was Validation of Bringing Trials, Lananna to Oregon Registerguard.com *Oregon
Goes 1-2-3 in 800 Registerguard.com
Alan Webb, Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong Press Conference Result *Jenn Stuczynski Hoping for World Record at Trials USA Today *Doping Has
Taken Away Belief of Amazing Performances *Olympic Coach Bubba Thornton Throws Down Gauntlet To Usain Bolt *Meet Earning High Marks At Halfway Point *Bryan
Clay Just Misses Dan O'Brien's American Record in the Decathlon *5k Victory a "Walk in the Park" For Lagat USA Today *High Schooler Jordan Hasay on the Bubble for the 1,500
Trials Photos: *Monday (800s, 5k men) *Sunday (Men's 100) *Saturday (Bunch of Prelims Women's 100) *Friday (Womens' 10k)
Upcoming at the Trials: *PCS at Villard Street Pub Tons of stuff and a free coaching clinic Saturday. *Running Film Festival Thursday through Saturday. *Daily Eugene Running Co. Events
Monday: Men's 800 - Nick Symmonds Leads Eugene Sweep
The men's 800 more than delivered on its pre-race hype as the Eugene crew came through big time. Nick Symmonds got out of a box with 160 to go and catapulted to a 1:44.10 dominating PR victory. Wonder boy Andrew Wheating charged late for 2nd, and Christian Smith (the 29th seed out of 30 coming into the meet) outleaned three-time defending US champ Khadevis Robinson for the third Olympic spot.
Women's 800: Hazel Clark Goes Wire to Wire as Everyone Staggers Home USATF put 12 people in the final and as a result it went out in 56.8 (we had the split wrong earlier) seconds. The final 200 wasn't pretty but Hazel Clark held on for the win to make her third Olympic team, Alice Schmidt
was
second to make her first, and Kameisha Bennett was third. Bennett, however, was not under the Olympic qualifying time of 2:00.00 and as a result,
Nicole Teter made her second Olympic team.
*More Monday LRC Recap: Women's 5k and Steeple Semis, Mens and Women's 400 Semis
*Jenn Stuczynski Profile In USA Today Sunday:LRC Sprint Recap: Tyson Gay
9.68, Bershawn Jackson Storms Back, World Leader LaShinda Demus Comes up Short Gay ran the fastest 100m ever under any conditions (although the wind was 4.1 mps) as Walter Dix showed he's the real deal and Darvis Patton continued his fine 2008. World leader Lashinda Demus failed to make the team in the 400m hurdles. Queen Harrison and Tiffany Ross-Williams both made the team over Demus with their fathers in prison. *Race Videos from Sunday LRC Sunday Field Event Recap Olympic Champ Dwight Phillips Comes Up Short, Jeff Hartwig Makes Team at 40, Momma Power in the Discus Defending Olympic champ Dwight Phillips didn't make the team in the long jump. 40 year old Jeff Hartwig
made the team in the pole vault and the US is only sending two to Beijing in the triple jump. *Race Videos from Sunday
Day 2: LRC Tyson Gay 9.77, Muna Lee 10.85 Maybe
the greatest US day of 100m sprinting ever as six men went sub 10.00 in the QUARTERFINALS of the men's 100, not to mention Gay's 9.77 in his new beautiful adidas uniform and Jeff Demps blistering a 10.01 high school record. Muna Lee won the fast women's 100, Reese Hoffa got the shot, and the Olympic spots in the women's heptathlon came down to the wire.
*Muna Lee Overcomes Car Accident, Wins 100m Up until May 31st, she'd never broken 11.00 for 100m.
*Great Article on Tyson Gay Aiming High
*IAAF Recap of Day 2 Gay amost cried after barely advancing in round 1o f 100m. He more than made up for it in round 2.
*Hyleas Fountain Produces World-Leading 6667 To Win Heptathlon
*ESPN: Will We Ever Be Able To Enjoy Track?
*Ex-Drug Cheat Torri Edwards Moves Closer To Olympics By Finishing 2nd
OlympianDay
1 Women's 10k: Flanagan, over Goucher but Amy Yoder-Begley Steals the Show Shalane Flanagan outkicked Kara Goucher for the 10k win, but the story of the night was Amy Yoder-Begley running one of the gutsiest races ever at storied Hayward Field to make the US Olympic Team. Yoder-Begley squeaked
under the Olympic A standard by 1.6 seconds after running 10 seconds off her 5k PR the second half of the 10k in the hot Eugene conditions.
Recommended Read:16-Yr-Old Laura Roesler Gets Much Deserved Praise In NY Times The 3-time winner of 100, 200 and 400 at the ND state meet advanced to the 800 semis with a 2:03.
*Katie McGregor Agonizingly Finishes 4th For 2nd Straight Trials
*Dick Patrick's 10k Recap For USA Today
*Blood Testing Occuring at Track Trials
Awesome Read: Tyson Gay Profile In LA Times Philip Hersh wrote an excellent profile on America's sprint sensation Tyson Gay. Read about the man who is pleased to be the underdog in the 100m and who used to take two bags to Europe - one bag of clothes and one of junk food.
Previous:
Recommended Read: HS Stars Beware: A Profile Of One Of The Stars of the 1984 & 1988 Trials - Roy Martin The guy was a stud HS sprinter (10.18, 20.13) who absolutely killed Michael Johnson on a weekly basis. Pro stardom eluded him. 20 years after his Olympic performance, the Dallas paper catches up with
him. This
guy was a legend in our hometown. Great read.
*1968 US Olympic Team Greatest Ever?
*Sacramento Paper Looks at Trials Returning to Eugene
*Eugene Is Spending $6.5 Million - St. Kitts & Nevis Is Spending $45,000 On Their Trials
*World Champ Lauryn Williams Profile
*USATF OT Distance Preview from Norwich, CT This preview is full of inaccuracies but it's good to see the Trials getting publicity in small papers.
*Plenty of Activities in Eugene During OT's
Again, Who Are The Idiots That Schedule USA Jrs and NON For The Same Weekend???
USA Jrs. *Schedule/Results*8:34.40!!!! German Fernandez Breaks Jeff Nelson's 2 Mile Record *Results 64.2, 2:10, 3:14.9, 4:19.4, 63.9, 64.7, 63.3, 62.9 *Message board thread *Nice Recap from
Dyestat Fernandez played basketball Friday afternoon before breaking the record. *Videos of Race On the boards: How long till Fernandez record goes down? *Photos
*Neely Spence Won Girl's 2 Mile at NON
LetsRun.com
London
Men: Lel
Leads 3 Under 2:05:30!!!, Ryan Hall 2:06:17
Ryan Hall
Goes Through Halfway on World Record Pace
The 2008 Flora London Marathon will be remembered for a long time. The
lead pack of 9 went through 5k at 14:21 (2:01 pace). They continued
together (yes, all 9) through halfway on world record pace (1:02:13).
Ryan Hall then went to the front soon after and asked the pacemakers to
go FASTER. Soon Hall was off the back, but he would catch the
leaders briefly again and go on to run 2:06:17. Until Sunday, only 7
guys had ever run under 2:06:15, now 11 have. Up front, it came down
to a 3-man battle over the final mile before Martin Lel
got his 3rd straight World Marathon Major win over the final quarter
mile as he led 6 guys under 2:07 and to $50,000 bonuses each.
Recap, photos, video above
This Guy Has
Totally Won Back Our Respect
Maasai
Warriors Finish Marathon link fixed One of them
went back to the course and finished the race a day after being forced
to go the hospital after a ceremonial wrap cut off his circulation. He
said, "It was very important for me to do this. This is what I came to
England for."
LetsRun.com Ryan
Hall Reflects On His Incredible Run We tell you (and let you watch) what Ryan, his dad,
his granddad, his coach and even Martin Lel had
to say about Ryan. Lel was full of praise for the
American and shocked by Ryan's attempt to get the pacemakers to go even
faster. If Hall didn't already have your respect,
he does after reading this article, as he pays homage to a throwback
type of guy - Steve Jones. Text and Video.
LetsRun.com
Video: Ryan
Hall Talks About His 2:06:17 at the 2008 Flora London Marathon
*More
LRC London Videos Here
*Photo Gallery
|
Another LetsRun.com Rumor is True: Mick Byrne to Coach Wisconsin
Olympics News: 21-Year-Old Marathon Star Sammy Wanjiru Ready for First Olympics IAAF *Stefan Holm Ready to Defend His Olympic Title as Sweden Sends 12 to Games IAAF
This Weekend: 2008 Beach to Beacon Preview *Joan Benoit Gets Signed Poster from Every Competitor from 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials at TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon Photo here
Thanou Will Sue IOC If They Don't Give Her Marion Jones' Gold and Let Her Compete at This Olympics Times of London
USATF To Re-examine 1997 4 x 400m World Record We're not sure what needs to be re-examined but are glad to see new USATF CEO Doug Logan continuing the public relations fight. Antonio Pettigrew admitted to being a cheat in the period the record was set. Just wipe it from the record books.
Breaux Greer: "If I was healthy, they could just go ahead and send me the gold
medal. Not to be cocky, but to win something is easy when
I'm healthy. It's going to make it more fun now that we have a
competition. I can deal with the pain. Just put a little duct tape on
my hand."
Australian Marathoner Lee Troop Healthy and Fit and Ready to Go for Beijing
Lauren Fleshman Wishes She Had a Teammate Like This: Jo Pavey's Priority is the 10k in Beijing, But She'll Also Run the 5k Since She's Not Taking Anyone Else's Spot In the US, both Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan decided to double, keeping Fleshman out of the Olympics.
Oregon Warmup Olympic Time Trial Meet: Nick Symmonds 2:17.78 1000m, Andrew Wheating 3:39.86 Win Only a few hundred people showed up to watch. *Video *Message Board Thread
Yesterday's Quote of the Day: "If he doesnt run well, the detractors
jump on him. If he does (run well), its because he has
all these advantages. What advantages does he have? I guess running on these grass surfaces." -Alberto Salazar talking about protégé Galen Rupp. We've never forgotten here at LetsRun.com that Rupp trains the old fashioned way - with anti-gravity treadmills, Russian brain wave software, altitude tents, altitude rooms, breathe right strips, neuro-mechanical
stimulators, not to mention asthma medication and thyroid hormones, all while an amateur athlete (wired.com article here). But we didn't know about the grass fields. On the boards: *WEJO - UNACCEPTABLE *Galen Rupp ... why the hate? *Wejo, Why You Gotta Be Up in Galen's Grill Cheese? Wejo explained the front page a bit to those who didn't get it yesterday. The quote isn't anti-Rupp. Alberto shouldn't
apologize or try and pretend Galen doesn't have advantages over other
runners. He should just say "Galen wants to be the best in the world.
To do that we have to do everything possible short of doping."
*Nick Symmonds Talks About the Eugene Sweep at Olympic Trials
It's Official: Jason Dunn New Stanford Coach *Message board thread on this (started Tuesday before the announcement Wednesday)
With a Bronze from 2004, Kelly Sotherton Says She Deserves More Press If she wins the gold she'll get it. We still hope Kluft does the Heptathlon with 0 training and sees how it goes.
Good News: Paula Radcliffe Flying to British Training Camp on Sunday
In-Depth Look by Yahoo at Why Jeremy Wariner Dumped Clyde Hart The article presents it as a business decision and perhaps some jealousy of Sanya Richards, who supposedly gets more in endorsements than Wariner. If that's the case maybe Wariner should also cut back on his agent Michael Johnson.
IOC to Store Beijing Urine Samples for 8 Years USA Today
Iraqi Athletes to Be Allowed at Olympics Perhaps this Washington Post editorial pointing out the IOC's inconsistency with Iraq caused the IOC to change course.
Haile G to Run Great Australian Run in November
LRC: The Week That Was Once again we recap Famed coaching guru JK comes out of hibernation and recaps the action in the world of track and field and once again it is done in Top 10 style. So if you've been on vacation, read all about the top 10 athletes of last week as well as the top American performances, including one from a 15-year-old American sensation you may not have heard of. Update: Photos and Video Highlights added
Unbelievably Good News - Let's See Who Pulls A Regina Jacobs and Pulls Out Now *IAAF To Keep All Drug Testing Samples For 8 Years In the past, nothing was kept more than 90 days. This is what we always believed was the key to cleaning up the sport.
Isaac Macharia Wins Bogota Half Marathon In 1:03:34 at 8,530 Ft. Altitude To Kick Off ING New York Marathon Preparations The pace was hot from the start and 2006 New York champ Dos Santos was left in the dust.
Recap of Spanish Champs: Arturo Casado Wins Men's 1,500m - The 1,500m featured 5 Olympic A Qualifiers A pedestrian 2:14 opening two laps resulted in great fireworks at the end as Casado cruised the final 300m in 38.90, giving him a big win over two-time world bronze medallist Reyes Estévez. Casado seems very confident heading into Beijing: "Honestly, winning it has not been a surprise; I know my rivals are world-class
but I'm in the form of my life, I've set 800 (1:45.69) and 1,500 (3:33.14) PBs
earlier in July and that indicates I'm on the right path to Beijing."
The first crack in the armor? Jamaican Olympian Tests Positive & Is Pulled From Games The name hasn't come out but apparently it's not a big name.
New York Half Presented By Nike *Top 10 Results *Photos *Tadesse Tola Outkicks Patrick Makau, Ritz Runs Well, Ndereba Wins Women's Race The New York Half produced a thrilling finish as the 20-year-old Tola edged Makau to get the biggest win of his career and give Makau his first half marathon loss of the year (after 4 wins). American Dathan Ritzenhein ran a very strong 1:01:38 for third to give his Beijing bid a huge shot of confidence. Catherine Ndereba won the women's title. Anyone remember last year's race with Geb and Abdi? LRC was there to cover it. Relive last year's men's race here and women's race here.
Bix 7: Edward Muge Wins Bix 7 Miler after Maregu Zewdie Stops Short of Finish, Edith Masai Wins Women's at Age 41 *2008 Bix 7 Mile Results
More Road Action: UK: Rita Jeptoo Runs 31:36 Course Record at BUPA Wales RunIAAF Italy: Reigning World Junior XC Champ Ibrahim Jeilan Wins Giro di Castelbuono Road RaceIAAF
Sad, Sad News *NJ HS Star and 1:50.14 Runner Jason Walton Killed By Train The guy was known in track and field circles for having run a stellar 1:50.14 as a junior in HS and for being a complete class act and the ultimate sportsman. *Walton Rememberd For Having Giant Heart As Well As Giant Talent The young man celebrated a second-placer's first sub-2 in such sincere fashion that the opposing runner's coach was amazed.
Recommended Read: *Danny Harris Battling Back From Cocaine Addiction At 18, he was an Olympic silver medallist in the 400m hurdles. Three years later, he ended Edwin Moses' legendary 122-race win streak. Soon he was a cocaine addict living on the streets.
A Look at Kenya's Male 5k Olympic Entrants Edwin Soi, Eliud Kipchoge and Thomas Longosiwa are super-talented but they will have their hands full with Bernard Lagat and the Ethiopians.
It's Not Easy For Some Countries To Even Win Medals Recommended Read: *Iran's Discus Thrower Ehsan Hadadi Has Great Chance To Win Country's First Ever Track & Field Medal They have been going to the Olympics since 1948 and have never won a track medal. *Brits Coping With Reality: Medals Will Be Few And Far Between In Beijing *Japanese Facing Struggles To Collect Medals In Beijing They only had one medal at Worlds last year but they do have two defending Olympic champs entered. *Japanese Olympic Team of 40 Announced
Last Major Meet Before Beijing Is Thursday's Meet In Monaco
*Powell, Robles, Borzakovskiy, and Lagat Will All Compete It will be good to see how Lagat looks. The highlight of the meet may be Isinbayeva vs. Stuczynski in PV
LRC Recap Heusden Night of Athletics: Jenny
Barringer 9:22.73 American Record Win over Willard, Paul Koech 8:00.57
Steeple WL, Gary Reed 800 Win, Morgan Uceny Remains Undefeated in
Europe, Kiwi 5k Record for Blincoe, Alan Webb 3:35.86 Barringer and US Champion Anna Willard had another thrilling duel with Barringer winning by .03 as
both smashed the US record. In other action, Cornell alum Morgan Uceny remained undefeated in her European campaign as she won the 1,500. In the 5k, Chris Solinsky hung on 13-low pace until falling apart at the end. Kiwi Adrian Blincoe ran 13:10.19 to break Dick Quax's 30+-year-old Kiwi record. Alan Webb ran 3:35.86 for 6th in the 1,500. *Message board thread on Barringer/Willard *Race videos in LRC Recap and more at Flotrack *Heusden Results
New York Times Looks At Jamaica's Amazing Sprint Success The
Times article points out that no Jamaican-based sprinter has ever
tested positive for steroids. Impressive. The Times also points out
that Jamaica doesn't have its own out-of-competition testing (not a
surprise, since it's basically a third world country).
Not Only Was Hitler Evil, His Regime Also Supported Cheating In Track
*Amazing story about a man who posed as a woman as part of a plan to win the 'women's' high jump gold in 1936
He finished 4th in the ladies high jump. This pretty much sums up what
happened next: "At a train station in Germany, two ladies noticed him
in a skirt but
with a five o'clock shadow. A doctor was summoned, he lifted the skirt
and (his) career was over."
Non-Distance Action from Final Day of Olympic Trials: Men's 200: Walter Dix Leaves the Meet Atop the US Sprint Ranks *Pole Vault: Jenn Stuczynski
Nearly No-Heights,
Goes on to Break American Record in Pole Vault Women's 200: *Allyson Felix Cruises in 200 *Marshevet Hooker Falls
Across Line to Make Team in 200 After Finishing 4th in 100 110 Hurdles: David Payne Makes Olympic Team in Hurdles as Anwar Moore Falls After Clearing the Final Hurdle David Oliver ran 12.95 to defeat Terrence Trammell. Triple: Aarik Wilson Wins Triple Jump, Sets Hayward Field Record Javelin: Bobby Smith Wins Javelin But He Doesn't Have "A" Standard So He Won't Be in Beijing
LRC Fam Goes Wire to Wire in Steeplechase Anthony Famiglietti led from the gun to win the men's steeplechase at the Olympic Trials. Billy Nelson of CU
had a huge final lap to get 2nd, the Olympic A time and a ticket to Beijing. Last year's champ Josh McAdams ran a smart race to get third. Interviews with Fam, Olinger, McAdams and Nelson. More: Anthony Famiglietti Has Mixed Emotions on Beijing NYTimes
LRC Women's 1,500 Preview The men's race is getting all the attention but the women's should be a good one.
Friday: LRC Abdi Goes Nearly Wire to Wire, Outkicks Rupp; Kara Goucher Storms Back to Win 5k It
was a great night of action
at Hayward Field. We've got event-by-event recaps, photos, and video.
In addition to the finals above, high schooler Jordan Hasay made the
final of the women's 1,500, breaking the high school 1,500m record. All
the favorites made the 1,500 finals, including Lopez Lomong, who told us he's going to win the 1,500m final. More from Eugene Register Guard: *Interesting
Look at Rupp Hoopla, Don't Get Carried Away in the Mania Abdi stopped Rupp and the comparisons to Pre are unfair. *Galen Rupp Rises to Occasion in 10k *Kara Goucher Wins Women's 5k *Breaux
Greer Failed to Qualify in Javelin after Rotator Cuff Surgery *AJ Kruger Wins Hammer
Men's 5k Final: Bernard Lagat Makes It Look Easy
Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the double world champ, Lagat, made it look so easy, but he dispatched of the field over the final 200. 4th placer at Worlds last year, Matt Tegenkamp, was 2nd, as 2005 Worlds team member Ian Dobson was third. Bolota Asmerom was 4th and Chris Solinsky, who pushed the pace for 1,100 of the final 1,200m, finished fifth. Adam Goucher stepped
off the track with 2 laps to go as the race was not going to hit the
Olympic qualifying time
of 13:21.50, and he wasn't happy about it afterwards. Solinsky also was
left to do all the work after Matt Tegenkamp didn't follow through on
the tentative plan to take over the lead with 2 laps to go.
by John NepolitanSaturday: LRC 800 Semis: Chaos in Women's 800, Jacob Hernandez, David Krummenacker Out A
fall in semi #1 turned the day's proceedings into a waste of time as an
appeal put all 8 runners
into the final. Monday's final will be more like a high school race
with 12 runners as a result. On the men's side, the Olympic dreams of
former World indoor champ David Krummenacker likely came to an end as he now joins the list of great American runners to never make an Olympic team. NCAA champ Jacob Hernandez was eliminated. *Day 2 Photos 800: Nicole Teter: "I dont know what a protest would be based on" More Coverage: SI: Tim Layden of SI on Tyson Gay *Eugene
Register Guard: Heptathlon: Hyleas Fountain Wins 5 of 7 Events to Set World Leader in Heptathlon Shot: Hoffa Leads Big 3 in Shot Put to Beijing Pole Vault: Tommy
Skipper Chokes in Pole Vault Qualifying With 3 No-Heights
Bolt Defeats Powell & Wins Jamaican Trials The crazy thing is Powell's 9.97 would only be 6th in the US quarters. Bolt ran 9.85.
AgonyLRC Day 1 800/5k Prelims: Men's 5k Semis: Alysia Johnson Out, Khadevis Robinson Struggles Round
1 of the 800 had two shockers as defending women's champ Alysia Johnson didn't advance and defending men's champ Khadevis Robinson only finished 6th in his heat but advanced to the semi on time. The other favorites looked good in both races. Lopez Lomong won
his heat , but was disappointed with his time, and said he'll keep
running the 800 here until he runs 1:44 even if that means running the
final. Galen Rupp likely won't run the 5k final, but that didn't stop him from winning his 5k heat, and fist pumping to the crowd. *Defending Champ Alysia Johnson Finishes 9th, Taken Off Track in Wheelchair www.sfgate.com
Other News
Unbelievable
New York Times Give Press to Study Showing EPO Test Isn't Effective at Catching Cheats Researchers
gave 8 people EPO and then sent off blood samples to WADA-accredited
labs. They rarely caught any hint of EPO and some even gave off false
positives.
2008 NCAAs D1 Results NCAA Day 4: LRC Hernandez Edges Wheating,
Manzano Wins, Hannah England Runs NCAA Record The Wheating/Hernandez duel more than lived up to its hype. Leo Manzano went out in style, Hannah England ran very fast but she owes a big thank you to Sally Kipyego. A Cornell athlete won the men's triple jump for the 2nd straight year, Walter Dix took the 200, Cory Martin won the shot and the hammer. We recap the action. *Day
4 Photo Gallery *AP Recap: Florida State, Walter Dix Three-Peat, LSU Women Win Interviews: Wheating, Hernandez, Manzano, England, Kipyego, Bowman, Dix, Martin and more. *4 Guys Go Sub-45 in NCAA 400
ExxonMobile Bislett Games *Bislett Game Results 14:11.15!!!!!! 1:42.69 for Kaki *Photos Tirunesh Dibaba's
performance was simply amazing. Running in 78-80 degree weather, she
smashed the world 5,000m record. She averaged 4:15 each 1,500m and ran
her last 1,500 in 4:06-4:07. Jen Rhines ran a 14:54 PR. In other action, in the much-anticipated 800m matchup between teen sensations Abubaker Kaki and David Rudisha, Kaki was simply amazing. He led coming into the homestretch then blew away the field the final 100m, running 1:42.69, the first sub-1:43 clocking in 5 years and a junior world record as Rudisha ran a PR but lost for the first time in 12 races. Pamela Jelimo showed 1:55s are routine for her as she
clocked a 1:55.41,
Samitova-Galkina ran a 9:14 steeple and Andrew Baddeley went sub-3:50 to get the big upset in the mile that we're sure everyone in Britain will be writing about tomorrow. Jeremy Wariner
ran 43.98, his first sub-44 clocking before the Trials. Despite our
harping on his decision to switch coaches, he's running very well
(nonetheless, his loss may have cost him $200,000). *Tirunesh Dibaba: "I could have run faster" iaaf.org *Athlete Quotes from Bislett *Baddeley Breaks Through On the boards:
*Dibaba 14:11.15 WR! *Andrew Baddeley 3:49.38! *Wariner 43.98 at Bislett
LRC: NY Mini Hilda Kibet Wins, Deena Third Deena Kastor and Madaí Pérez put up a brave fight but Hilda
Kibet was too good on the streets of NY. Text, photos, video *NY Mini Results *Photos
Justin Gatlin's Suspension Upheld He can't compete until 2010. *Gatlin says his running career isn't over.
LetsRun.com Boston
08 LetsRun.com Party Photos The party hosted by Puma was a
smashing success. A packed house, as those passionate
about running (from ages 5 to 65+) came to celebrate a great weekend in
Boston. LetsRun.com fans celebrated with Rojo, Wejo, Matt Taylor, and a
few legends in the sport, including former marathon world record holder
Steve Jones and Olympic Silver Medallist Sonia
O'Sullivan. The Harpoon beer was flowing,
DJ Inkognito kept things going and contrary to popular
opinion, there was a healthy mix of males and females. The reviews were
excellent. "It's refreshing not to see the same 50
people (industry insiders) at a party." "Most favorable female-to-male
ratio I've seen in a long time."
You'll Be Hearing About This For a Long,
Long Time
*Maurice
Greene, HSI Linked to Steroids A
few HSI athletes have been caught doping in the past (Larry Wade the
most notable), but this NY Times article brings to
print some of the rumors some of you may have heard. And it is a sad,
sad day for American
sprinting if true.*Times
Of London Story on Maurice Greene Being Accused Of Doping
Maurice Greene Defends Himself He says he never used drugs but did pay for
teammates' bills without asking what it was for. Greene:
"This is a bad situation for me. My name's come up in something and
it's not true."
LetsRun.com London
Women: Mikitenko Wins Crazy Women's Race The
women's race went totally
not according to form. German Irina Mikitenko was
the surprise winner. The race went out slow, then picked up, then
slowed back down again. Then Gete Wami wiped
out at a water stop, nearly knocking her own teeth out, fell off
the back, then battled back only to get dropped again as Mikitenko
threw it down the final 5k. And a perfectly sunny day turned into a
cold, windy rainstorm at times. Text, Photos, and Video
Other London Coverage: *Yelling
Makes GB Team: A great moment when she looked rival
Hayley Haining in the eye at 19 miles. Amazingly, both ended up happy
as both PRd.
*British
Men Could Run 25 Miles, Everyone Else 26.2 Miles and They'd Still Lose
in London
*World
Marathon Majors Points Standings - Lel Has a Huge Lead; Wami's Is
Narrowed by Mikitenko
*Dick
Patrick of USAToday Writes About Ryan Hall
*American
Ryan Hall Mixes it with Kenyans
*AP
Story on Ryan Hall: Hall Confident About Beijing Chances
*Quotes
From the Top 3 in London
*Gas
Leak Causes London Marathon to Be Diverted
*Paula
Radcliffe Talks About Her Beijing Preparations
*Jon
Brown Blasts UK Performance Director Dave Collins The
4th placer in the marathon at the last two Olympics absolutely rips
Collins - a man who somehow managed to fail to show up at world cross
country last month when it was in Scotland.
101 Years Old, Still Smoking,
Running and Drinking: Buster
Martin: "I'm not worried about the fags because I'll carry them with
me. Everyone says smoking kills but it's taking a long time in my case." The 101-year-old legend plans on smoking while
running Sunday's London Marathon.
LetsRun.com
2007 Worlds Coverage:
*Sunday's Homepage Ndereba marathon
*Saturday's
Homepage
*Friday's
Homepage Tyson Gay
*Thursday's
Homepage Lagat
*Wednesday's Homepage
Lagat
*Tuesday's Homepage Bekele 10k
*Monday's Homepage Tyson Gay
*Sunday's Homepage Dibaba/Goucher 10k
*Saturday's
Homepage Kibet
Marathon
*NYC Reebok Grand Prix:USAIN BOLT 9.72 World Record!! *Meet Results *Video of Usain Bolt's 9.72
Bolt Runs 9.72.The Jamaican put on a show in the Big Apple to conclude a meet that showed exactly what track can be in this country - a large sold-out crowd, live TV and unreal performances. Tyson Gay ran a great race with 9.85 but was
soundly
beaten. In other action (like anything else matters), Veronica Campbell-Brown ran the fastest 100 of the year (10.91). In the distances, Paul Koech ran a U.S. all-comers record in the steeple, Lauren Fleshman went sub-15 for the first time, Lopez Lomong got his first big professional win and Yusuf Kamel edged Khadevis Robinson in a very close men's 800. *Message Board Thread Here *LRC Distance Recaps *Photo Gallery *Race
Results Weekly Distance Recap With Athlete Quotes *NY Daily News Recap (Only NY newspaper that delayed Sunday publication to include the Bolt article) *Ato Boldon Wonders Whether Bolt Can Get 100, 200, and 400 World Records USA Today *Usain Bolt Not Overly Excited about World Record USA Today *Athlete Quotes from Reebok Grand Prix Drug Talk: Hopefully Bolt can join some sort of baseline testing program like Tyson Gay to restore people's confidence. *Drug
Scandal Hangs Over Bolt's 9.72 Times of London *Progression of 100m World Record *NY Times: Is Bolt Clean? New York
Times Om the boards Please, Jesus, Let Bolt Be Clean We
think he should voluntarily join a baseline testing program like Tyson
Gay. And while we're at it, we think that everyone's baselines should
be published.
Olympic Trials:
LetsRun.com:
Deena
Triumphs in Boisterous Boston It was an incredible day on the streets in Boston.
The fans turned out in droves to cheer on America's finest and Magdalena
Lewy-Boulet made it interesting by opening up nearly a 2-minute lead
before Deena Kastor came from behind for the win.
We give you all the analysis, talk about Deena's strategy, and more (Joan
Benoit's final competitive marathon).
*LetsRun.com Boston Women's
Olympic Trials Photos
*4
Minute Highlight Video of Post Race Comments
Deena, Magdalena, Blake
Russell and Joan Benoit all give their take.
*Victah
Sailer Photos Link fixed. Photos reshuffled. A few
captions added.
More coverage:
*USAToday
article by Dick Patrick
*Joan
Benoit Article in NY Times
*Olympic
Trials Coverage Splits
for Every Mile Here
*LestRun.com Message Board Thread
Here
*Watch on Demand Here
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