Track And Field News
Discuss (0 comments)April 20, 2008WITH COMEBACK RUN, KASTOR WINS OLYMIC TRIALS MARATHON
WITH COMEBACK RUN, KASTOR WINS OLYMIC TRIALS MARATHON By David Monti (c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved BOSTON (20--Apr) -- Keeping her cool after Magdalena Lewy-Boulet had built up a one minute and 56 second lead through the 14th mile, Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor zipped through the second half to win today's USA Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon in 2:29:35. For Kastor it was her third Olympic team berth and her second as a marthoner. "It was a tough race," Kastor told NBC Sports' Ed Eyestone after the race. "I was panicking out there." Kastor's panic was caused by Lewy-Boulet's brave front run which began right from the Boyleston Street starting line in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. Although Lewy-Boulet was not running particularly fast, around a 2:30 marathon finish time, the pack did not chase her. By the 14th mile, her lead had fattened to nearly two minutes. "I was a little but surprised and confused when nobody went with me," said Lewy-Boulet. She said she planned to run an even pace because she didn't have the fitness to "drop a 1:12 second half like Deena." Lewy-Boulet was consistently running miles in the low 5:40's, and sometimes faster. But a 5:57 for the 21st mile signaled that she was tiring. Kastor, surged away from the chase pack and was quickly closing in on Lewy-Boulet, gaining as much as 15 seconds per mile. "Doubts go through your mind out there," said Kastor who knew she needed to get her legs going, soon, in order to insure victory. Nearly two hours and 16 minutes into the race, Kastor caught Lewy-Boulet in the 24th mile. Running 5:35 miles to the finish line, Kastor won easily, waving a small American flag and blowing kisses to the crowds along the finish straight. "The crowds at Boston never disappoint," she said. Lewy-Boulet easily held on for second place, to set a personal best 2:30:19 and make her first Olympic team. The Polish-born athlete, who became a U.S. citizen on 9/11/2001, the day of the terrorist attacks in New York City, was bursting with emotion. "It's a dream come true," she said, her voice cracking. Shaking off the jinx of finishing fourth in 2004, Blake Russell finished a solid third in 2:32:40, making her first Olympic team. "Redemption, finally!" she exclaimed. The U.S. will send an all-California women's marathon team to Beijing as Kastor (Mammoth Lakes), Lewy-Boulet (Oakland) and Russell (Pacific Grove) all live in the Golden State. ENDS
Discuss (0 comments)April 19, 2008A Novice Is Hoping to Make the Team
Kate O’Neill has run one marathon in her life. In some ways it was a disaster. In other ways it was a huge success. Her second marathon will be on Sunday in Boston at the United States Olympic trials for women, and she is hoping to finish in the top three and qualify for the United States team in Beijing.
Discuss (0 comments)April 17, 2008
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Oregon, UCLA Having a Dual Meet This Weekend Track and field athletes from across the nation are lining up to make the pilgrimage to Hayward Field this year. |
Changing Speeds to Go the Distance
SARA HALL experienced an instructive epiphany in 2006. In the fall, she’d won the national road-running championship for 5K (3.1 miles), a distance she specialized in at Stanford. At the time, she considered herself a 5K runner. So did everyone else. A few weeks later, everything changed when she won the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York, a glamour event in American road racing. “Afterward, I thought, ‘That’s my distance,’ †she said. “It plays to my strengths. I loved the fast pace. I’m not a patient runner.†Today, Hall, 25, is laser-focused on training for the 1,500 meters (0.93 mile) in hopes of making the United States Olympic team in middle distance running.
Discuss (0 comments)April 16, 2008
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Wedgie proof (Australian Olympic team uniforms) Australian hurdler Sally McLellan is just happy that her green Olympic briefs were "wedgie" proof. World champion Jana Rawlinson is satisfied because the high-cut one-piece in which she hopes to win Olympic gold covers her post-baby "tummy". The female stars of the Australian track team headlined the Olympic uniform launch yesterday and the cut of the lycra was the buzz under the Big Top at Luna Park. "I won't get a wedgie, I don't think," McLellan said. "That's what all sprinters want ... it can be really uncomfortable wearing briefs that go right up your butt. It's really annoying, but I feel these are pretty good." |
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Interview with Jordan Boase of Washington... Jordan Boase of the University of Washington broke the school record in the 400m set by Ja'Warren Hooker in 2000, when Boase ran 44.82 on April 12th at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Arizona. What makes this story even more remarkable is that Boase, a product of Bothell High School, took the entire 2006-07 season off. |
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New mother Ritzenhein makes her Pear debut a success With Daddy Dathan Taking Care of Child, Kalin Ritzenhein Wins 10 Mile in 1 Hr |
Discuss (5 comments)April 15, 2008
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IAAF Comes In To Defend Greene The world governing body for track and field raced Monday to support Maurice Greene, a four-time Olympic medal winner, after he disputed a report from a federal informant that he had used performance-enhancing drugs. |
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Gebrselassie rethinks Beijing Marathon Haile Gebrselassie, the marathon world record-holder, may change his mind and run the event at the Olympic Games in Beijing. The Ethiopian's manager, Jos Hermens, yesterday confirmed that the two-times Olympic 10,000m gold medallist has been consulting scientists about his fears of pollution in the Chinese capital triggering off an asthma attack. |
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Ralph Lauren to outfit U.S. team at Beijing Olympic Games Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. has been named the official outfitter for the U.S. team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. |
