August 2008 Track and Field Articles

The leaves have yet to change but fall sports are beginning. This weekend, collegiate athletes across the nation are attending preseason camps or moving back onto campus. With the unofficial start of the fall cross-country season, it is time to preview what is to come and to speculate the outcome. There are sure to be new names, faster times, and plenty of excitement in this upcoming season. (Readers are encouraged to post constructive and respectful comments).   The Division II National Cross Country championship will take place on November 22 and will be held by Slippery Rock University at Coopers… more »

Victoria, BC - August 23, 2008 - Jack Wallace Memorial Track - The 2nd Annual Harrier's High Performance Invitational took place under perfect summer conditions, no wind, mild and with a start time of 8:00 pm PST, cooling temperatures. The primary event, (although three distances started together), was the 10,000m race between David Jackson, Jim Finlayson and Todd Howard all of Victoria and Jason Warick of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan who DNF'd. All are tuning up for a crack at an autumn marathon where they will attempt qualifying for the Marathon World Championships, which will take place in Berlin, Germany. Warick explained after the race… more »

(c) Christopher Kelsall - 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Victoria, BC - Saturday, August 23, 2008 - Harrier's High Performance Invitational 10,000m, 5,000m and 3,000m. For the second year in a row this low profile race will take place at the Jack Wallace Memorial Track in Victoria, BC (Oak Bay).Dave Jackson, Todd Howard, Jason Warick and Jim Finlayson are all preparing for fall marathons and their first attempts at the minimum 2009 World Championship standard of 2h18'00". Dave Jackson is returning to defend his title. In 2006 and 2007 he ran Varsity for the University of Victoria Vikes. Jackson is back training for the fall marathon… more »

(c) Christopher Kelsall - 2008 - All Rights Reserved Although Dave Scott-Thomas is not an official Canadian Olympic Team Coach (Athletics), rather Varsity with the University of Guelph Gryphons, he is in Beijing anyway. Scott-Thomas is there to view the track action and discuss pre-race strategy with rising stars, Eric Gillis and Taylor Milne, who have already competed in the 10, 000m and 1500m respectively - by the time of this interview submission.   Oddly, getting a hold of Scott-Thomas is easier while he is in Beijing than when he is at home in Guelph, Ontario. Perhaps he has more free… more »

Day 7 | Results | 6 Medals (Total=20)MERRITT TAKES GOLD!!! (PB 43.75) | USA SWEEPS! | Wariner Silver, Neville Bronze***USA MEN AND WOMEN DROP BATTONS IN 4x100, OUT Of RELAYW200 Jamaica Gold & Silver, Veronica Campbell runs PB (21.74) | Felix 2nd (21.93) | Muna Lee 4th, Hooker 5thM110H Robles (12.93) easily wins the GOLD | US Silver & Bronze, Payne (13.17) beats out Oliver (13.18)W1500 semis underway | Rowbury to Finals | Donohue & Wurth-Thomas OUTNick Symmonds OUT of 800 | Gary Reed of Canada thru to finalBreaux Greer throws JAV, does not advance to finalDEC  Bryan Clay leads after Day 1 | Trey Hardee sits 3rd Day 6 | Results |  3 Medals (Total=14)***BOLT WR, 19.30  200M GOLD with .9… more »

Usain Bolt dazzled the crowd once again with Dance moves and another World Record. The race was over at 100 meters and all that was still to be determined the home stretch was how fast the Bolt would run. Bolt did not disappoint, he crossed the line and broke Michael Johnson's 12 year record with a 19.30. The rest of the field was scattered over the ground while reggie blasted and Bolt danced. Usain Bolt has now set two World Records and won two gold medals but he still has one medal left to capture when the Jamaicans go head… more »

By Bob Ramsak(c) 2008 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved (used with permission)BEIJING (18-Aug) -- Continuing one of the most spectacular rises from obscurity that the sport has witnessed in recent years, Kenyan teenager Pamela Jelimo ran away with the Olympic 800m title tonight at Beijing's National Stadium.With the year's five fastest performances and with eight victories in as many races this season, Jelimo was the overwhelming favourite to take the gold, and she hardly disappointed, clocking 1:54.87, her fourth World junior record of the summer. Notably, the 18-year-old claimed the first ever Olympic gold medal for Kenya in an… more »

Liu Xiang left the birds nest this morning in Beijing, amidst a chorus of nothing. The Chinese superstar who was pressured and poised to be a potential gold medal winner for China, if healthy, failed to complete Round 1 of the 110 hurdles out of lane 2.Closed circuit TV followed Xiang's every movement from the warm-up track, to under the grandstands, and then into the starting blocks. Despite appearing to be in pain on the warm-up track, Xiang continued over to the underneath the grandstands to rest and receive his hip numbers for Round 1. When television showed him going… more »

Deena Kastor has dropped out of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon.  Story below   The Olympic Marathon got underway at 7:30am Beijing time/7:30pm Eastern US time.  Through the first 1k the pace was about 2:43 marathon pace so nothing too crazy.  There was a large pack that included favorites such as Paula Radcliffe and Deena Kastor.  At about 20 minutes into the race, Deena Kastor stepped off the side of the road, reached down and grabbed her foot.  The pack continued on as Deena stood there on the streets of Beijing. No word yet on exactly what happened to Deena,… more »

Usain Bolt showed the world he is still the fastest man on Earth.  Bolt became the first man to ever break the 9.70 barrier (in legal conditions 0.0 m/s) for 100m.  Bolt was not the first out of the blocks, but he soon after took the lead and never looked back.  His celebration started about 10 meters before the finish line.....could you imagine the time if he ran straight threw the line!! Richard Thompson, the 2008 NCAA Champion, ran a strong race to to set his PB (9.89) and win Silver for his native country of Trinidad.  Walter Dix set… more »

By David Monti(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reservedBEIJING (16-Aug) -- Competing in her sixth Olympic Games and in her final year of elite competition, Maria Mutola will compete in her fifth Olympic 800m final next Monday here in Beijing's National Stadium, the Bird's Nest.In tonight's semi-finals, Mutola survived some rough stuff on the final turn of the first heat, when Tetyana Petlyuk stumbled, extended her right hand and contacted Mutola's chest."It's very hard work to get into the final," said Mutola after the race.  "I almost fell over there.  I just struggled to finish it."Mutola, 35, has compiled… more »

TYSON GAY QUOTES: Quotes from Tyson Gay after he finished fifth in his semifinal and failed to advance to the final of the men's 100m. Tyson Gay (Lexington, Ky.): "Toward the finish line I couldn't tell if I made it to the finals or not. I looked up there and realized I didn't. It was kind of devastating. I may have needed more races, but I don't really have any excuses. I just didn't make it. My hamstring feels good, it's not bothering me. I wasn't too overwhelmed with it being the Olympics. It just was one of those things… more »

Bronze Medalist in Women's U.S. Olympic Track and Field TeamTo Race in 2008 CVS Caremark Downtown 5KFrom Beijing to Providence, R.I., Shalane Flanagan – Bronze Medalist in the 10,000M – to hit the ground runningWoonsocket, RI (August 15, 2008) -- Officials spearheading the 2008 CVS Caremark Downtown 5K announced today that Shalane Flanagan, a top member of the Women's 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team and American record holder of the 3K, 5K and 10K, will come to Providence following the Olympics to participate in this year's race on September 21. Flanagan, who today won the bronze medal in… more »

Mark was lucky enough to be sitting near the finish line as Shalane Flanagan made history.  Here's what he saw.... The day started off with the sun (yes the sun!), blue skys, cool temperatures and doom for the American 10k team. Cool temperature brings a hot pace and no American is close to the world record or the 30 min barrier.  Even though the good weather is a good thing it usually means the Americans drop off after the pace starts to roll, anywhere between 3 and 5k.  But this is not your usual US distance team and last year… more »

There is a live feed on the internet to watch the track events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  When there are no live events, you are able to watch a loop of the earlier action.  Here is how to watch the 2008 Beijing Olympics live on the internet:   MAC Users: this will not work in Safari, need to use Firefox   1) Go to the following website, http://www.aelling.lir.dk/public/ 2) In the center of the page, click on the TV (says "ONLINE TV Click Here to Play") (will open the play.....may need to give it a minute to load) 3) Once… more »

THE SILICON LABS AUSTIN MARATHON RELAY ISSUES $100,000 CHALLENGE TO RUNNERS Powered by RunTex, the Roger Beasley Sub 2 Challenge calls on elite runners to beat two-hour mark   AUSTIN, Texas – August 11, 2008 – Premiering this year, the Roger Beasley Porsche Sub 2 Challenge, powered by RunTex, will award $100,000 to the team that can set a record pace at the Silicon Labs Austin Marathon Relay on September 21 and clock a final time of less than two hours on the 26.2 mile course.  If the world's best athletes come together to meet this challenge, it will be… more »

By David Monti(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reservedBEIJING (13-Aug) -- Defending Olympic Marathon champion, Mizuki Noguchi of Japan, has withdrawn from the Beijing Olympics due to injury.  The announcement was made by Japan's Olympic committee here yesterday.After returning to Japan from her high altitude training in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in advance of the Games, Noguchi complained of both fatigue and pain in her left upper leg.  She received injections to treat the problem locally, but it was apparently not enough to allow her to be ready for Sunday morning's race."I've tried everything I can to recover, but when… more »

For a fleeting moment the idea of asking Jon Brown a thousand more questions crossed my mind. I could have, but Flotrackians would assign me to ice-fishing in Siberia aboard the good ship, Skidoo and Mr. Brown would see me off at the aeroport applauding my exit. So we kept this one short(er).    Distance running is a simple sport. It may not be easy, but it is a simple sport nevertheless. Well meaning coaches and athletes may attempt to complicate the training that is required to run well however; success often boils down to compounding years and years of… more »