Run to Win

This has been a jam-packed weekend; there was a lot going on! If only NBC actually broadcast the races, I’d be all set. I’d sit there and watch commercial after commercial.

First, the women’s marathon. I almost cried when Deena Kastor broke her foot barely 3 miles into the race. Magdalena Lewy Boulet made it a bit further, but also dropped out due to an injury. Blake Russell was the only American to finish, taking about half a minute longer than it did in the Trials back in April and coming in 27^th overall.

It was an exciting race, though. After a pedestrian pace over the first half of the course (I could have kept up), Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania was the only runner to have the courage to go for it. Nobody ever came close to catching her as she crossed in 2:26:44. The race for the next two medals was close, though, as Catherine Ndereba edged out Zhou Chunxiu for the silver medal. Catherine was the only woman to medal that I had predicted before the race, as Paula Radcliffe fell apart and finished in 23^rd. (Deena was my other pick.)

The men’s 100m proved pretty interesting, as Tyson Gay failed to make the finals so he didn’t win the silver medal I thought he’d get. Usain Bolt ran away with it as expected, though, crossing the line in a world record 9.69 seconds despite showboating the last few steps.

The women’s 100m finals was very interesting, with 3 quarters of the field made up of Jamaicans and Americans. The Jamaicans swept, though, keeping every other country off of the medal stand.

On the 1500m front, Bernard Legat missed making the finals by 0.02 seconds. He didn’t even realize it until after he’d left the track.

And of course, last but not least, we go back to Friday and the women’s 10,000m, where Shelane Flanagan managed to set the American record in 32:22 to bring home the bronze medal.

I realize that I’m skipping over the women’s steeplechase, but I don’t want to know the results of that race until I find a video somewhere of the entire race.

It was not too long ago that Tyson Gay ran the fastest 100 meters that any human has ever done. He had the assistance of a good tailwind, which will keep him out of the record books, but that is still impressive none the less.

Even so, he is stronger in the 200 meter distance than in the 100 meter distance, and was one of the favorites to challenge Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell at the Olympics. Unfortunately, he pulled his hamstring during the Trials and so he won’t be competing.

“Before I went out on the track I felt a little tightness in my hamstring. So I had kind of a bad feeling. When I came off the curve the first two steps were fine, and then I felt it, sort of a pull, about 40 meters in. Once I was on the ground it didn’t hurt as much as when it happened.”

If you haven’t seen Tyson Gay’s fall yet, here’s a video:
(Click here to continue reading…)

After falling halfway back into the field in the 4^th heat of the opening round in yesterday’s 100m Olympic Trials, Tyson Gay had a lot of ground to make up. He did well for 70 meters, but then started to slow down. Only a late surge in the last 7 to 10 meters got him into the top 4 of his heat to allow him to continue on to the quarter finals.

In the quarter finals, he did not disappoint. Gay ran his second attempt in 9.77 seconds, breaking Maurice Green’s American record of 9.79 seconds and Olympic Trials record of 9.91 seconds. His performance also broke the Hayworth Field record of 9.81 seconds.

Jeff Demps followed Gay to the finish line in 10.01 seconds, breaking the American Junior record of 10.06 seconds and the American high school record of 10.08 seconds. He also tied the world junior record.

In the second heat, Travis Padgett broke the American collegiate record of 9.90 by running 9.89 seconds.

So far there have been 7 men who have run under 10 seconds. The US is going to have a formidable sprint team to send to Beijing in a month.

Update: Tyson Gay ran a wind-assisted 9.68 seconds today. He had a 4.1 meters per second tailwind. That’s a world’s fastest when disregarding wind assists.

(More Info: USATF)

Usain Bolt has proven to be the first person to break Asafa Powell’s mark of 9.74 seconds in the 100 meter race on a track.

He was up against American sprinter Tyson Gay (9.85 seconds) this weekend at the Reebok Grand Prix, and was aided by a false start that wasn’t called back until the runners were 20 meters down the track.

“I was glad for the first false start,” Bolt said. “My first start wasn’t that good. I knew if I got Tyson on the start, I’d get him.”

Gay said he knew it was over after he saw Bolt push out.

The Olympics this year should provide some great competition, which is as it should be.

Bolt is normally a 200m/400m runner, but his recent successes almost guarantee that he is going to stick with the 100m as his signature race in Beijing.

(Photo Credit: Victah Sailer courtesy of Runner’s World - More Info: AP)

Update: I crunched a few numbers about how fast Bolt was moving:

Photo by Jim HarrisMaurice Green, who has won the 100 meter race in both world championship and Olympic races, has decided to hang up his spikes in order to pursue coaching and business opportunities.

“Today I’m officially announcing my retirement from the sport. I don’t think I can have that mental battle with myself coming back from injury anymore … I want other people in the sport to shine.

“It’s a little sad for me but it’s happy at the same time because I’ve had a great career. I’ve done a lot of great things,” Greene said.

Maurice Green is one of only 3 men to receive 3 gold medals at a world championship, the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter relay in 1999.

I remember watching him race when I was in high school, and I wish him luck in his post competitive-running pursuits.

(Sources: ESPN - IAAF - USATF)

Photo by Jonas WittDespite a bout of tendonitis earlier this year, Asafa Powell has set a new 100 meter world record this weekend in Rieti, Italy.

He won his heat in 9.74 seconds with a 1.7 m/s tailwind, which falls inside of the guidelines set by the IAAF, Track & Field’s international governing body.

“I was nervous in Osaka because I did not compete much this season (before the champs). I forgot how I should have run in the last 40m of a race.

“I will not say today was a revenge after Osaka. There the expectations were too high. I thought too much about the World record, but I have have done a lot of work in the last two weeks. I learnt again to run from the start and to be more relaxed.”

I am happy to see that my prediction on May 30^th this year came true and that he did set a new record this season.

(Sources: IAAF - BBC - ESPN)

Tyson Gay followed up his gold medal in the 100 meters with another gold in the 200 meter race yesterday in Osaka. Usain Bolt of Jamaica came on hard after a bad start, but Tyson Gay was able to keep a lead of about 2-hundredths of a second to win the goal.

Jeremy Wariner took in the gold in the 400 meter race as he led an American sweep despite being the last person off of the line. He ran a personal best 43.46 seconds, which is the fastest on a track so far this year. LaShawn Merritt and Angelo Taylor took the silver and bronze medals.

World record holder Asafa Powell won the 100 meters Tuesday with the fastest sprint in the world this year. Powell led from start to finish to clock 9.97 seconds in his season-opening return from a bout with knee tendinitis at the Artur Takac Memorial meet.

It is good to see that he is back on his feet and has managed to avoid gaining any rust. Having had tendonitis in my knee before, I can sympathize with what he had to go through. Hopefully the tendonitis was not very bad, because he has bounced back quickly and is pretty close to top form. We may even see a new record out of him later in the season.

(Source: ESPN)