Finish Line Pundit: A Track and Field Blog

My New Home On The Web!

2008-06-28T23:09:00.003-05:00

Be sure to check out my new home in the blogosphere:

400meteroval.com

You can expect to read the same high-quality commentary and analysis there that you did here on FinishLinePundit.

Hot 800m Action in Belgium Saturday

2007-07-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

Alan Webb is scheduled to race again on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at the KBC Night of Athletics meet in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. He will race in the 800m this time, taking on Gary Reed of Canada, Dutch European champs Bram Som (outdoors) and Arnout Okken (indoors) as well as Nick Symmonds of the USA. Since the 800m is not his specialty, Webb is in for a hot race. Will he be able to hold his own?

Johnny Gray's American record of 1:42.60, set way back on August 28th, 1985, shouldn't be in jeopardy, but – with Webb in the shape of his life – you never know. He will certainly set a new PB. Reed and Som seem to be the class of the field, both boasting sub 1:44 personal bests, but Symmonds can claim a faster time than Som in 2007. Look for this race to be one of the highlights of the 2007 season.

Bad News Day for Track & Field

2007-07-26T11:16:00.000-05:00

Bad news seems to come in bunches. Yesterday the IAAF announced that it has provisionally suspended Jolanda Ceplak for a doping violation. Both her "A" and "B" samples failed in an out-of-competition test, showing positive for the blood-doping agent EPO. The Slovakian middle-distance runner is the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and the indoor world record holder for the 800m Run. For what it's worth, Ceplak proclaims her innocence.

Today Walter Dix announced that he will not be competing at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. Here's the pertinent section of the article in case the link gets removed:

FSU's Dix decides to 'call it a season'
By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER

Walter Dix won't be adding to his impressive 2007 resume in track. The ACC male athlete of the year has decided against competing in the IAAF World Championships next month in Japan.

“He just decided to shut it down,” Florida State assistant coach Ken Harnden said. “It's been a long year. He's finishing up some classes . . . he just decided to call it a season. I knew he was tired.”

Dix plans to graduate in the spring and has said he'll continue to run for FSU at least up to that point. He was honored by the ACC on Tuesday following a junior year in which he won the 100 meters and 200 meters at the 2007 NCAA outdoor championships. He was also part of the winning 4x100 meter relay team, becoming the first male athlete to claim national titles in each of those three events since 1969. He won the 200 meters in the NCAA indoor championships and also owns the NCAA record in the 200 meters at 19.69 seconds.

Next year's Olympic Games is the obvious target for Dix.

“Certainly it's something we'll discuss the beginning of next year as to how much he wants to run indoor and maybe push the whole training and competition season back a little bit and focus on the Olympics,” Harnden said. “I think his main focus is the Olympics but certainly he wants some collegiate records as well."

Oh, Joy! My First Internet Troll

2007-07-26T09:23:00.000-05:00

I received a comment this morning from Anonymous:

I feel bad I have to give traffic to this website.. I wont [sic] be coming back. It sucks that the internet has the power to give complete idiots a voice. You are clueless if you are talking about the nation as a whole.How about this? If one of our American boys, including Webb, (he is a MD athlete), medal at worlds you shut your website down and never return. P.S. Look at how many HS boys broke 9 min in the 2 mile this past year. Andrew

It's ironic that "Andrew" is complaining about "the internet [having] the power to give complete idiots a voice" since he is the spokesman and poster child for their group. "Andrew" likes to disagree – and I certainly don't mind disagreements on this website – but "Andrew" states no position of his own, other than offering up some nonsense about high school runners breaking 9 minutes in the 2 mile. Not only that, but he hides behind a veil of anonymity, not leaving his e-mail message so that I can have a chance to reply directly to his vitriol. That's how internet trolls roll, though. They are not interested in debating, they're only interested in being haters.

Let me give you some advice, "Andrew." Read a book about logic. Take a debate class. Learn some manners. See a psychotherapist. Do something, please, and do it before it's too late! You see, right now you've got nothing to offer society other than your hate. That's not enough. I'm glad you won't be coming back. Not only do you have unresolved issues from your childhood that I'd rather not have to deal with, but – frankly – you're not smart enough, and too cowardly, to debate with me.

P.S. Unfortunately for the rest of my readers, I am disabling the anonymous posting function of my blog. Life's too short to have to deal with trolls. I'm doing it for Andrew's sake. Maybe if we don't enable him by giving him an outlet for his cowardice and stupidity, he will finally seek the help he so desperately needs.

FLP: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

2007-07-24T10:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wrote that there is no resurgence in American middle-distance running. Today I received a challenge from Christina and Ash Huzenlaub to back up my words. They wrote:

Would you be prepared to shave your head should you be proven wrong (that with the exception of Webb, the US grabs a middle distance medal in Osaka) and post the picture on your blog?

I immediately accepted their challenge in an e-mail reply. Let's define terms: I consider middle-distance running to be events that are between 800m and 3000m long. Other than Alan Webb, whom I expect to be crowned world champion in the men's 1500m run, if any American – man or woman – wins a gold, silver or bronze medal in either the 800m Run, 1500m Run or 3000m Steeplechase, I will shave my head and post a photo on my website. I could be persuaded to include the 5000m Run, but I would need to see some compelling evidence that the 5000m Run is a middle-distance, not a long-distance, race. Since no American has ever medaled in a WC 5000m Run, I think it's safe to say that I'm not risking much by allowing that event to be included in the bet. Still, for those of you who think it should categorized as a middle-distance event, I'd like to hear your arguments.

As for the challenge I received from Christina and Ash Huzenlaub today, I would imagine that Ash, a former 1500m runner at TCU with a PB of 4:13.89, is banking on Khadevis Robinson (a fellow Horned-Frog) to medal in Osaka. Let me say this: I would dearly love to be proven wrong. Nobody is a bigger fan of middle-distance running than I am. If the Americans actually do have a resurgence, nobody would be more thrilled than the Finish Line Pundit. Unfortunately, I just don't think it's going to happen anytime soon. Why not? Two words: the Kenyans. Here's a list of all medals won by American middle-distance runners since the inception of the World Championships in Athletics in 1983:

1983
Steve Scott, 1500m, silver
Mary Slaney, 1500m, gold
Mary Slaney, 3000m, gold

1987
Jim Spivey, 1500m, bronze

1991
Mark Everett, 800m, bronze

1993
None

1995
None

1997
Rich Kenah, 800m, bronze
Regina Jacobs, 1500m, silver

1999
Regina Jacobs, 1500m, silver

2001
None

2003
None

2005
None

2007
?

There is No Resurgence in American Middle-Distance Running

2007-07-23T16:53:00.000-05:00

The most overused word in marketing is "revolutionary." Similarly, the word "resurgence" is bandied about so often in American track circles lately, one would think that the Kenyans have decided to boycott the World Championships next month. But other than Alan Webb's season in the sun, who do we have in United States Middle-Distance Running? Let's take a peek at the IAAF top lists.

In the women's mile, American Donna MacFarlane's time of 4:33.52 is some 18 (17.89, to be exact) seconds behind Russian Yelena Soboleva's world-leading time of 4:15.63. In the 800m, Alice Schmidt has posted a respectable 1:58.75 for 3rd place in 2007, just 0.42 seconds behind Maria Mutola's 1:58.75. But a quick look at the 2006 top list reveals that, at season's end, the American women weren't even within striking distance of the indomitable Mutola or the Russians. The top 800m runner was Hazel Clark, who finished the 2006 season with only the 19th fastest time. This year, once the season-end rankings are posted, is unlikely to be any different. American women just don't have the kicks or the stamina to compete with the world's best.

Same story over on the men's 800m side with Khadevis Robinson's 7th best time of 2006. I will admit that his times, both in 2006 and 2007, are much closer to the world's best than are the womens' mediocre times, but, there's much left to be desired. Nick Symmonds' name is often associated with the phrase "resurgence in American middle-distance running," but so far he's being eaten alive in the European circuit this summer. I could be surprised, but I'm not going to bet on him to win, place or show in Osaka. In the 3000m Chris Solinsky's American best time of 7:36.90 is over 10 seconds behind Kenenisa Bekele's world-leading 7:26.69. On the women's ledger, Jenelle Deatherage's 8:57.36 (21st in the rankings) isn't even within shouting distance of Vivian Cheruiyot's 8:43.85.

No, there is no resurgence in American middle-distance running, not even close. Our hopes rest solely on Alan Webb's Nike's. He may be the only reason we don't get a goose-egg in the middle-distance medal count in Osaka.

Alan Webb Breaks 25-Year-Old American Record

2007-07-21T15:11:00.000-05:00

Alan Webb Broke Steve Scott's 25-Year-Old American Record in the Mile today at the Atletiek Vlaanderen meet in Brasschaat, Belgium. The video should be available soon on Flotrack.com.

Webb's time of 3:46.91 is the 16th fastest Mile ever run. Webb is the 8th fastest miler of all time, only behind the following men:

3:43.13, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
3:43.40, Noah Ngeny (KEN)
3:44.39, Noureddine Morceli (ALG)
3:44.60, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
3:44.90, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
3:44.95, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
3:45.19, Noureddine Morceli (ALG)
3:45.64, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
3:45.96, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
3:46.24, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
3:46.32, Steve Cram (GBR)
3:46.38, Daniel Komen (KEN)
3:46.70, Vénuste Niyongabo (BDI)
3:46.76, Saïd Aouita (MAR)
3:46.78, Noureddine Morceli (ALG)

Do Taller Women Make Better Steeplechasers?

2007-07-20T09:47:00.001-05:00

The Message Board over at Track & Field News has a discussion about whether or not height gives women an advantage in steeplechasing. I contacted Ann Gaffigan, 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials champion in the steeplechase with a PB of 9:39.35, to ask her for her input into this question. In addition to being a world-class steeplechaser, Gaffigan is also the webmaster at Steeplechics.com and a computer programmer/ web systems developer at Gazelle, Inc. where she has built athletics-related databases. You can read a two-part interview with Gaffigan over on HerActiveLife.com (Part 1 | Part 2).

This is her reply to my question:

I think the switch from the flat 3K to the steeple depends on the person. And it is hard to predict. A lot of times, my coach (Jay Dirksen of Nebraska) has picked out the tall women and asked them to try it, and so far the success hasn't been great. I am not tall (5'5") and he asked me to try it because, as he put it, I'm an all-around athlete (I grew up playing every sport I could and played soccer until college). Well, last year he asked if anyone on the team would like to try it, because no one was really that tall. The 2 girls that wanted to try it are both about 5'3" and petite in frame. I thought "Well, I'm not going to tell them they can't do it". They really amazed us: they picked up the water jump in a matter of days and turned out to be very efficient hurdlers, despite the fact that they'd never hurdled before. They went 4-5 at the Big XII Outdoor meet in the steeple. Neither of they had even been on a Big XII team before except indoors for the DMR. Rachel Carrizales went on to then place 5th at the Midwest Regional and qualified for nationals. She ran a PR of 10:17 at nationals. Although she failed to qualify for the final, she ran a very respectable time!! Her first official time of the season, back in April, had been 10:51. So she really disproved the theory that it is better to be tall.

In watching steeplechases, I think it is more likely for the shorter athletes to be more efficient and more flexible. Maybe that helps them in the steeple.

Ann Gaffigan

Take the FLP Poll! Would You Do "Whatever It Takes" To Win?

2007-07-19T07:32:00.000-05:00

MSNBC.com contributor Mike Celizic has weighed in to the Pistorius debate with this cynical attempt at wit:

What if, the IAAF is saying, [Pistorius'] prosthetics give him an advantage that able-bodied runners don’t have? What if, in other words, the people with legs and feet are the ones who are disabled? What then? Do athletes start chopping their legs off in order to get the Pistorius pistons and win more races? (And you know that if the prosthetics are declared legal and really do give an advantage, there will be lines around the block waiting for amputations (emphasis mine-FLP). That’s how it is with athletes.)

I couldn't imagine purposefully crippling myself for life just to try and gain athletic advantage. Of course, steroids can do the same thing, but many people have no problem taking those. I'd never take steroids, either. Is it just me, or is Celizic right? Would you really consider having your legs chopped off just to gain athletic advantage?

NCAA Proposal: America Rejects the Metric System

2007-07-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

NCAA is proposing some amendments to the 2007 Rules Book that would reject the metric system in favor of the imperial system of measurement during collegiate track meets. to summarize the proposals, the 1500m Run would revert to the gold ol' Mile Run, and the field events would all have to be measured, displayed and announced as imperial units. Measuring in metric units would still be allowed for ratification of possible NCAA, American and/or world records. Why? Apparently Americans have rejected the metric system. I for one, never tried to embrace it in the first place. (Just give me a good old quarter-mile track to run on so I can run a few 220's!)

The rabid proponents of metrication (metricationists?) on the activist website Go Metric are appalled at such backwards thinking. The track and field fanatics over at the T&F News message boards are engaged in a furious debate. The purists are considering a boycott of NCAA meets while the pragmatists (including E. Garry Hill, Editor of T&F News) see the wisdom of trying to resuscitate a sport that seems to be dying a slow death as a spectator sport in this country.

Here is the text from the NCAA proposals:

Item 12 – Amend Rules 4.4.4 and 10.3 as follows: Replace all occurrences of the 1500 Meters with the Mile Run.

Rationale: The mile run is an event that we, in the United States, understand. The general public understands the four minute barrier. They understand the quality of that performance and have over time used four minutes as a bench-mark performance. The general public has not and will never be able to make the correlation between the 1,500 meters and the mile run.

This is an event that allows us to promote our track meets. Once again, the general public has NO understanding of how fast many young men are running and the competitiveness of the event. There is ready-made history for this event, much like the 100-yard dash, that we should tap into as we try to attract more fans. It will also allow for the general public to understand how fast our women are running.

Item 20 – Replace Rule 6.1.16b through 16.1.16d as follows:
b. Imperial is the preferred system of measurement. Distances will be recorded to the nearest lesser quarter-inch.
c. Metric will not be displayed or announced at meets.
d. World records, American records and NCAA records will be recorded in metric and imperial. However, the imperial measurement must be displayed and announced instead of or in addition to metric.

Rationale: Metric has hampered the opportunity to properly communicate the sport of track and field to the media, spectators, parents and athletes. America has rejected the metric system. Metric may be a better, more specific way to measure, but it is not understood by most Americans. It does not work to indicate both forms of measurements. Metric is still being shown exclusively at meets on indicator boards, video boards, announced in papers without imperial interpretation. This has alienated the sport from American mainstream. A person trying to watch, understand or follow this sport should not require an interpreter or translation dictionary.

Webb Set To Challenge Steve Scott's Mile Record

2007-07-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

Alan Webb, who already broke a couple of Steve Scott's records this season (his 28-year-old Drake Relays meet record in the Mile Run and his 25-year-old U.S. National Outdoor Championships meet record in the 1500m Run) is going for perhaps Scott's most prestigious record: the American Mile Run record of 3:47.69. He has lined up a couple of rabbits to pace him at the Atletiek Vlaanderen Meeting in Brasschaat, Belgium on July 21st, 2007.

According to this article, Webb will need ideal conditions and good pacing. The forecast for Saturday in Antwerp is partly cloudy with highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s, which is ideal for middle distance running.

As he tries for the record, we have to wonder: Is Webb peaking to soon? Probably not.
If we look at his 2005 timeline, he showed a remarkably steady progression (see chart. I converted his Mile times from both years to their 1500m equivalents) all the way from May to August (the sole spike on the 2005 line is his 9th place finish at the 2005 Helsinki world championships).

Going into the last part of the current season, the trend for his 2007 timeline appears to be vastly different than, and superior to, his corresponding 2005 timeline. Not only that, but he is much more experienced in international competition and his tactics should be much different than they were in Helsinki. Back then, he shot to the front at 800m, in effect acting as the sacrificial lamb, err... rabbit. This year, he has exhibited much more confidence in his kick by waiting it out, even in slow, tactical races, and then outkicking his opponents. He did this in June by outkicking Bernard Lagat at the national championships and he did it again in Paris, this time outkicking Mehdi Baala.

Here's the video of the 2005 1500m final (plus Webb's semi-final race which he led for most of the race, ending up 2nd in his heat). I found it on You Tube, so I had nothing to do with the cheesy jazz overdub or the completely moronic descriptive text that reads, "in the final of the 1500 Alan Webb again 'attacks' which was a good strategy... You have to 'go for it' to win." Whoever typed that must not know anything about 1500m running, or must not have watched how Webb paid dearly for his "attack" at 800m by getting passed in the last lap by nearly the entire field! The Alan Webb you'll see in this 2005 video is a much different runner than the Alan Webb 2007. Back then, he was still just a prodigy. This time around, he's obviously a contender.

Top 5 Sports Films of All Time

2007-07-17T19:48:00.000-05:00

Film Critic Kevyn Knox has an ongoing weekly "Top 5 Films" project on his website Cinematheque. Just this past week he and 20 other critics, film students, film historians and film enthusiasts took on the challenge of listing their favorite sports movies. One ~~film~~ boxing-film fanatic listed 5 boxing movies as his favorite sports movies. (How's that for wearing your biases on your sleeve?) Some of the nominations could hardly be considered sports movies. Spelling bees? Chess? Billiards? The Big Lebowski!!!? (Nothing against bowling as a sport, but the movie was hardly a ringing endorsement of athleticism.) How do you suppose films about track & field and/or running fared?

Running/Track & Field movies did not make the overall top 5 (Raging Bull, Hoop Dreams, Bull Durham, The Hustler and Million Dollar Baby topped the list), but there were a few pleasant surprises:

David Sterritt, Chairman of the National Society of Film Critics, voted The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962) as his number 4 movie, ahead of Raging Bull.

Carrie Rickey, Film Critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, voted Leni Riefenstahl's 1938 documentary Olympia, about the 1936 Berlin Olympics, as the number one sports movie of all time. It was supposed to be a Nazi propaganda film, but – since it celebrated "multi-national themes and its celebrations of the athletic successes of peoples from all nations and all races" – it ended up working against Hitler.

Kevin Cassidy, Film Enthusiast, voted Kon Ichikawa's 1965 documentary film Tokyo Olympiad as his 2nd favorite athletics-focused film. Running greats Bob Hayes and Abebe Bikila are featured.

Rich Cline, Film Critic and Creator of Shadows on the Wall, voted Chariots of Fire as his number four sports movie.

Finally, Kevyn Knox, Film Critic, Essayist + Historian and founder of the website I'm covering here, gave The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner his nod as the number two sports movie. For this reason, and this reason alone, I give the "Top 5 Films" project on the website Cinematheque a thumbs up.

Here's the link to the top 5 sports films site.

Wariner/Pistorius Race All Wet

2007-07-16T18:34:00.000-05:00

Here's the video from the rainy 400m at the IAAF British Grand Prix in which Jeremy Wariner lost his footing coming out of the blocks and Oscar Pistorius finished last then got disqualified for stepping out of his lane:

Legendary miler Steve Cram offers his opinion about that race as well as Kenenisa Bekele's commanding performance in the men's 3000m in which he destroyed the field, including Australia's Craig Mottram.

Online Preview of Master's Track & Field Book

2007-07-15T13:46:00.000-05:00

If you've ever wanted to explore the history of the master's track and field movement, you can read an online preview of Masters Track and Field: A History by Leonard T. Olson (Preface: 3 pages; Ch. 1, 3 pages; Ch. 2, 3 pages, Ch. 3, 2 pages, Ch. 4, 1 page) in order to determine whether or not the hefty ($65.00) price of the hardback is worth it.

From Amazon.com:

Book Description
It all began in 1968, when prominent civil lawyer David Pain introduced and implemented the idea of age-group competition for track and field. What began as a special mile run soon expanded into North American, then world, meets. This is the first book-length account of how the Masters Track and Field program (for men over the age of 40 and women over 35) was started, how it developed nationally and internationally, and where it is headed in the future. Key pioneer promoters of the sport are profiled. In addition to covering how the movement grew and spread, the work reviews the effects of aging on performance and how the event standards and scoring were adjusted to accommodate aging. Current leaders discuss the most recent plans for the future of Masters Track and Field.

About the Author
Leonard T. Olson has been involved with the Masters since 1970 both as an award-winning competitor and administrator. A retired electronic engineer with extensive experience in technical writing, he lives in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Norwich Union British Grand Prix - Sheffield (GBR)

2007-07-15T00:47:00.000-05:00

Live video stream (pay site: Monthly Pass $4.95, Annual Pass $49.95)

IAAF Preview
uk:athletics Preview

Entry Lists/Results: Women | Men

World Athletics Tour Standings

RESULTS:

WOMEN
200 metres
400 metres
800 metres
3000 metres
3000 metres steeplechase
100 metres hurdles
400 metres hurdles
high jump

MEN
100 metres
200 metres
400 metres
1500 metres
3000 metres
110 metres hurdles
pole vault
long jump
triple jump
javelin throw

Thermodynamics in Track and Field and Other Geeky Stuff

2007-07-14T13:03:00.001-05:00

I like to explore the depths of track and field websites. Geeky, huh? The IAAF website, for instance, has some ~~62,200 pages~~ (62,400 pages, just 4 hours later) over which I can obsess. While exploring the web pages of our sport's international governing body, I ran across a section titled New Studies in Athletics that I had previously overlooked for some reason.

While exploring it I found some easily-digestible summaries of some fascinating track and field research studies. These summaries are so short that even the complex scientific information they contain can be absorbed within a minute or two. Here's one that is so short, I'll just quote it in its entirety:

The effects of warm-up and pre-cooling on endurance performance in high ambient temperatures
Wednesday 18 April 2007
By Sandra Ückert and Winfried Joch

It is well established that warm conditions have a detrimental effect on endurance performance. If skin temperature is exceeded by the ambient temperature, heat dissipation is impaired and heat storage is likely to occur. A warm-up, which by definition entails increasing body temperature, is generally considered a vital part of the preparation for competition - including endurance performances in hot weather. On this understanding, the question arises if cooling prior to competition (pre-cooling) might be a better alternative. Twenty subjects performed two laboratory endurance tests in conditions of high ambient temperature and relative humidity. One test followed a 20-minute warm-up and the other a 20-minute pre-cooling procedure. The comparison of results shows that pre-cooling significantly extends the time to exhaustion and slows the increase in both body core temperature and heart rate. The authors conclude that pre-cooling, as opposed to a warm-up, optimises thermoregulatory processes before physical effort in warm conditions.

I'd never imagined that a warm-up, as opposed to a hot-weather "pre-cooling" procedure, could be so detrimental to a distance runner's performance during a hot-weather race. Back in high school, we always warmed up prior to training runs and races whether it was 95° (usually late during track season) or 45° (usually late during cross-country season). The concept of a hot-weather "pre-cooling" procedure is so simple yet logical, I wonder why I hadn't thought of it myself.

ExxonMobil Bislett Games

2007-07-13T16:35:00.000-05:00

If you missed the original live video coverage of the ExxonMobil Bislett Games back on June 15th, 2007, here it is in its entirety. The "official coverage" doesn't begin until 5:05 into the video, but the announcer – not realizing that he's broadcasting live – begins testing his microphone 3:56 into the coverage. By the way: before you begin watching, be sure the stove is turned off. The video is 3 1/2 hours long.

Golden Gala Event Coverage & Links

2007-07-13T12:40:00.001-05:00

Click here for highlights of the pre-race press conference. Click here for some (awkward Italian/American-translated) video coverage of the press-conference.

Links to the complete results can be found below.

RESULTS

MEN
100 metres
400 metres
800 METRES
1500 metres
5000 METRES
110 METRES HURDLES
400 metres hurdles
long jump
triple jump
javelin throw

WOMEN
100 metres
400 metres
800 METRES
5000 metres
100 METRES HURDLES
400 metres hurdles
high jump
pole vault

USATF Selection Process "Strongly Favored by the Athletes"

2007-07-13T09:26:00.000-05:00

I recently corresponded with Jill Geer, USATF Director of Communications, regarding the USATF's current selection process. Here is the exchange:

Hi, Jill.

I hope all is well. Sanya Richards should trounce TEAM USA in the women's 400m dash at the Golden Gala in Rome. Once she does, questions will arise again about the seemingly imperfect selection process that the USATF currently has. If she wins, it could be easily argued that we aren't sending our best women's 400m team to Osaka. It could also be argued just as easily that she should have made the team when she was required to do so. Care to comment on this dilemma?
Regards,
Jimmie R. Markham
Finish Line Pundit

Here is her reply:

Jimmie:

Any selection system is imperfect, but our system is strongly favored by the athletes, since under this system, they select themselves to the team – not somebody sitting in an office ordaining a team. They understand the system and know what they need to do to make the team, instead of being subject to someone else’s judgement call or personal preferences. It is the only purely objective selection system.

Unfortunately, one consequence of this system is that sometimes you do have the stunning development such as Sanya not making the team or Dan O’Brien no-heighting in the pole vault in ’92 – situations where Team USA almost certainly loses a modal. However, the self-selection system also results in unlikely athletes making the team and then going on to win medals. For instance, in 2004, I doubt that Lauryn Williams would be on anybody’s ‘chosen’ list to make the team, but she won the Olympic silver medal and went on to become a World Champion at 100 meters. I remember Calvin Davis miraculously making the 1996 Olympic Team in the men’s 400 hurdles, taking third at the Olympic Trials. He ended up winning a bronze medal at the Games. There are countless examples like this.

It is very unfortunate that Sanya did not make the team in the 400 – to say everyone was shocked is an understatement. But it happened, and our selection system says the top 3 make the team. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best system we have, and the one that the athletes themselves want.

Also, I should point out that our system also is meant to mimic the rigors of the World Championship and Olympic models, with athletes running rounds. This helps self-select a team that is uniquely suited to Championship running. (This is an issue different from the Sanya issue but is relevant to how and why our system is what it is.) There is a difference between a runner who excels in one-off races and those who excel in the Championship model of rounds. Examples of the latter are Rich Kenah (’97 World Outdoor bronze medalist in the 800) and Lauryn Williams. Of course, many athletes excel at both.

Jill M. Geer
USATF Director of Communications

Her arguments make perfect sense to me. Besides, if we did have a subjective selection process, who would we trust to make those decisions? If I were a world-class athlete, I'd rather let my performances make those decisions for me than some committee over which I may or may not have any influence. And who could put up with all of the second guessing if the selections that were made resulted in poor showings at championship meets? Those types of irrelevent debates wouldn't be any good for the image of track & field.

Pole Vault & 100m Showdowns Take Center Stage in Rome

2007-07-12T18:09:00.000-05:00

Click here to read an interview with meet director Luigi D'Onofrio, who complains about the depletion of his long-distance events, "some of the best distance races of the year." The entire Ethiopian contingent has withdrawn from the Golden Gala meet. They were "diverted by their national federation because of the African Championships."

Here's a lengthy preview of the meet. It is an IAAF Golden League event with a million bucks at stake. Perhaps the premier event of the meet will be the Pole Vault showdown between Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, who is still vying for the jackpot along with three other athletes, and Jenn Stuczynski of the USA. Click here to read an article specific to that Pole Vault showdown.

Also featured will be a Caribbean 100m duel between 2nd cousins – Jamaican Asafa Powell and Bahamian Derrick Atkins. Powell, fresh off an injury, anchored a 4x100m victory for Team Jamaica in Lausanne Tuesday night then declared himself fit for the season.

An interesting – but ultimately meaningless – race will be the rematch between Sanya Richards and Team USA for the women's 400m Dash: DeeDee Trotter, Natasha Hastings, and Mary Wineberg. You might recall (see video below) that Trotter won the U.S. National race that determined the Team USA representatives for Osaka, while Hastings and Wineberg overtook a fading Richards for the final two spots. The 22 year-old sprinter will have to console herself by going for the $1,000,000.00 Golden League jackpot, for which she is still eligible, and by trouncing Team USA. If she wins tomorrow, should we again debate the seemingly imperfect selection process of the USATF, or should we simply resign ourselves to that reality (that there is no perfect selection process) and move on?

Internet Still Abuzz About Webb's Paris Victory

2007-07-11T12:04:00.000-05:00

The internet is still buzzing about Alan's Webb's superb victory (and 2007 world-leading time of 3:30.54) in the men's 1500m Run at the Meeting Gaz de France (Paris Saint-Denis) last week. There's even chatter by Track and Field journalists about a World Championships victory by Webb in Osaka later this season.

Here's the video of the race. Watch how Mehdi Baala gives up toward the end of the race when he realizes that he's beaten. (Could this race be a preview of the Osaka 1500m final?) Notice, too, (take notice, ESPN, CBS and NBC) how much better the British commentators are at covering a track event than their American counterparts:

Click To Play

No Bull: These Heavyweights are Swift Middle-Distance Runners

2007-07-10T15:50:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's that time again, time for "El Encierro" (literally, "the enclosing") or, as it's more-commonly known, "The Running of the Bulls" at the Fiesta of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain. This tradition dates back to the end of the 16th century. You might know that hundreds of young (and sometimes not-so-young men) try to outrun six bulls as they make their way from the corrals on the outskirts of town to the Plaza de Toros. What you might not know is how far and how fast these bulls run.

The course is 850 meters long. Today's encierro was covered by the bulls in a time of 2 minutes and 46 seconds, the equivalent of a 2:36 800m run, or a 5:14 mile. That's right, folks. These are 1,422 lb. bulls running at a pace that's faster than many well-trained high school middle-distance runners! It's no wonder that most people are unable to outrun the bulls and so they have to earn their rite of passage into manhood by nearly being trampled to death. And that's no bull.

Update: Anonymous has left a link to this website explaining that even Wilson Kipketer, the world record holder for 800m, couldn't beat the fastest bull. Amazing. Think about that the next time you consider trying to cut across a fenced-in pasture.

The Ugly American Goes to Rio

2007-07-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

Americans have been losing big international-relations points in South America lately. First there was the story of a simpering Cameron Diaz wearing a Maoist messenger bag while visiting Peru's historic Machu Picchu, oblivious to the fact that tens of thousands of Peruvians had died at the hands of the wicked Maoist Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Path") guerillas. Now we find out that members of the United States Olympic Committee have been perpetuating the "Ugly American" stereotype yet again while visiting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the Pan-American Games.

One of the USOC workers wrote "Welcome to the Congo!" on a dry-erase board in the Pan-American Games media Center. USOC media employee Kevin Neuendorf claimed that the words were written because "it’s really hot in Rio." Of course, anyone with an inkling of a notion about world travel would know that July is wintertime in the Southern Hemisphere, so the excuse he gave is dubious at best. Once we discover that the temperature that day in Rio was in the lower 80's, hardly unmanageable when we consider that some cities in the United States registered a temperature of 116 degrees this weekend, we realize that Neuendorf's excuse was merely a lame attempt at covering up the fact that self-centeredness and an American passport are an ugly, potentially-disastrous combination. In this climate of increasing hatred toward the United States in just about every corner of the world, the USOC should screen its ambassadors more carefully and leave the morons and bigots at home.

Oh, did I mention the fact that we have a pretty decent track and field team representing the USA in Rio? It's too bad that this fact had to be overshadowed by such despicable, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless behavior as exhibited by the USOC worker.

Dorcus Inzikuru: Is She Playing 'possum?

2007-07-08T17:17:00.000-05:00

Reigning 3000m Steeplechase World Champion Dorcus Inzikuru is bowing out of this year's World Championships in Osaka, claiming that "she has encountered health and fitness problems." She hasn't competed since her DNF at the World Cross Country Championships this past March in Mombasa, Kenya. Is she really finished for the year, or is she simply employing a classic pre-race psychological tactic to take the pressure off of her?

This article from Uganda's Daily Monitor details her health problems (sinus trouble) and claims that she "won't be defending her gold medal at the World Athletics Championships due August 25 -September 2 in Osaka, Japan." Even so, Dr. Flavio Pasquato, part of her Italian management team, "believes it is too early for Inzikuru to pull out of Osaka and that she can return on time to fitness":

"Inzikuru faced similar problems last year before she travelled for the Commonwealth Games and she surprised everybody with a gold medal triumph in the finals, I can’t rule her out in July, let's wait until the World Championships start."

If it is just a tactical ploy, Gulnara Samitova-Galkina of Russia and Eunice Jepkorir of Kenya are probably not too worried. After all, Samitova-Galkina has posted a world-leading time this year of 9:11.68 while Jepkorir has a time of 9:14.52. Both times are faster than Inzikuru's PB of 9:15.04. If she doesn't compete in Osaka, that means Uganda will not be represented this year by a female athlete.

Salazar "Coaching From His Bed"

2007-07-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

An article in The Oregonian indicates that Alberto Salazar is coaching from his bed. Salazar had a heart attack a week ago at the Nike World Campus and was rushed to St. Vincent. A stent was inserted to open an artery.

The article states:

He remains in the St. Vincent Cardiac Care Unit, listed in fair condition. He was unavailable Friday for interviews but apparently was monitoring his athletes' training.

Galen Rupp, coached by Salazaer, said, "from what I can tell, he's doing pretty well. He's anxious to get back to doing what he loves to do. We just have to make sure it's not too much too soon."

I wish him well, but can you say "Type A Personality?"