The Olympics Have Begun But They May Be Over Before They Start For Some Track & Field Stars
Say It Ain't So
*UK Paper Says Radcliffe Will Pull Out of Olympic Marathon Soon Radcliffe has responded and says a decision hasn't been made but things aren't looking good.
At Least Bolt & Powell Are Having Fun At The Olympics
Lost
In Translation: Press Member Ask Bolt How Does He Relax off Track Since
He Is Gay? Another Asks Bolt & Powell Who "Their Partners" Are In
Village *Discuss
*Usain Bolt & Asafa Powell Want To Break 37.00 in 4 x 100 The World Record is 37.04
*Warm Weather & Lots of Usain Bolt Billboards Is Making London Feel LIke Caribbean For Jamaicans
This proves what we already knew - track and
field is the Olympics.
Some Aren't Happy That The Symbol of The Olympics - The Olympic Flame - Isn't Visible To Fans Unless You in Track Stadium Well it's visible if you have track and field tickets as it's down low
in a corner of the stadium.
Give Them The First Track & Field Gold
Pat Butcher: Are the Moroccans The Gold Medallists Win It Comes To Doping? "The Moroccans have long built up an unenviable reputation for doping.
They are, of course, not the only nation whose athletes indulge in
drug-taking, but for a numerically small athletics country, the band of
high achieving athletes caught drug-taking puts them close to top of the
doping league."
LaShawn Merrit Hoping He Once Again Has A Small Sleight Problem His coach is hoping his hamstring problem is just "slight." The good news is Merritt can still flex it.
What media from around the world said about Opening ceremony MBoarders may not have agreed but the mainstream media loved it. NY Times: "hilariously quirky."
Opening Ceremony News
- London Given Licence To Thrill As Games Begin With A Bang *MBoarder Disagrees: Worst opening ceremony for anything I've ever seen in my life *Cauldron lighting letdown
- Mayor Pleased: "Mayor Boris gets his wish: London 'knocks their socks off' with magical Olympic Opening Ceremony"
- Roger Bannister Is Snubbed - Little Kids Light Flame
- Roger Bannister: Olympic Failure Led To Sub-4 Mile His 45-minute, 5-day-a-week training regime left him ill-prepared for the 3 straight days of racing in the Olympics.
- Here's The Opening Ceremony Tribute To Terrorism Victims NBC Doesn't Want You To See This was for the July 7, 2005 attacks in London. Meanwhile, the Jewish athletes who were massacred in 1972 get nothing.
- Kenya's President Attends Games For First Time *MB: WTF?! The Kenyan flag was just carried in by a white swimmer?! *White dude carries flag for Kenya
Non-Opening Ceremony Olympic News
- Tweet Of The Week: Paula Radcliffe Happy To See Selsouli Gone Radcliffe tweeted: "World 1,500m leader (strike that off) Alaoui Selsouli (MAR) will miss Olympics as she's tested positive at Paris DL. Good riddance, no surprise."
- Malcolm Gladwell & Nicholas Thompson To Blog About Track & Field In New Yorker: Episode I - Mo Farah & Galen Rupp Gladwell spent time with Rupp and Farah in Park City and it's clear who won the charisma contest.
- Bolt: "I don't think it will be the end of the world if I lose." To be fair, he did later say, "I don't think I should be talking about losing anyway as there are friends of mine who will not appreciate that."
- Greek Far Right Party Not Happy With Ban Of TJer "The only racism in Greece is the racism against the Greeks. Anybody who says even a word against illegal immigrants is held up to public ridicule," the party added.
- This Isn't A Joke: From 1912 To 1948, The Olympics Gave Out Medals For Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, Literature, And Music
- Nor Is This - Proof That Racewalking Is Not A Legitimate Sport - IAAF Makes 2-Page User-Friendly Document To Help You Have A Better Understanding Of Racewalking
- 400H Man Javier Culson Justifiably Feels Weight Of Puerto Rican Expectations Puerto Rico has never won Olympic gold in any sport and never won a track and field medal of any color.
- 20 Greatest NZ Olympic Moments - Peter Snell's 800/1,500 Double From 1964 Is #2
- 20 Greatest NZ Olympic Moments - Lydiard's Boys Double Gold (Snell/Halberg) In 1960 At 800 & 5k Is #1
- Where Will Britain's Medals Come From - 8 Likely T&F Medallists & 10 Strong Contenders
- UK Athletics' Chief Executive, Niels de Vos, Believes Phillips Idowu Will Be Fit In Time For The Games
- Female Muslim IAAF Council Member Named Vice President Of IOC Executive Board
New York City Half And Peachtree Winner Peter Kirui Running Bogota Half This Weekend
We Wish This Was An April Fools Joke, But We Believe The Date Is July 27, 2012
LRC Beyond Stupidity: The NCAA Says Its Coaches Can't Coach In The Olympics Please take two minutes to read this article and another two minutes to pick up the phone and contact the NCAA as you are going to be outraged. The bean counters at the NCAA have hit an all-time low and recently told collegiate track and field coaches that they can't coach their athletes in the biggest track meet in the world - the Olympics.
Three Reasons The British Empire Isn't What It Used To Be
1. Has The Result Been Leaked? Betting On Flame Lighter Suspended As Tons Of Money Is Bet On Roger Bannister Just as LRC demanded.
2. Brits Show S. Korean Flag At North Korea Soccer Match - North Koreans Refuse To Take Pitch For 40 Minutes
3. Olympic Soccer Program Lists Welsh Star As Being English
Usain Bolt Gets His Own Section As Usual
*Usain Bolt Says Screw The Start - I'm Just Going To Compete "The
more
I focused on (the start), I think the worse it got" and "(my coach) said stop worrying about the start and compete. So that is the plan (in London). Forget the start and get it (the race) right."
*Bolt To Carry Flag In Opening Ceremony "I would like to inform you that our flag bearer for the Olympic opening ceremony will be doctor, the honourable Usain Bolt."
You need to click on this link to take a recommended trip down memory lane so you can watch Bolt's 100, 200 and 4 x 100 brilliance in 2008. Just re-watching it gave us goosebumps.
*Bolt: "I think I am probably 95% fit."
*Bolt - Bad Back Messed Me Up At Jamaican Trials
Morton Games OTB Flash Results *Results
Will Leer Wins Morton Mile As Ten Go Sub-4 David Torrence was initially announced as the winner, but the decision was reversed. Leer ran 3.56.39 to Torrence's 3.56.40 and Ryan Gregson's 3:56.45. Ciarán
Ó Lionaird only managed 6th.
*Centro 1:47.69 800m PR To Win
*Symmonds PRs At 47.45 In 400m
*Ben True 7:44 For 3,000 Today, 13:20.53 For 5,000 Just 5 Days Ago
US Team Updates With 2 Recommended Reads
- RR1: Tim Layden Catches Up With Jeneba Tarmoh In Birmingham On The Aftermath Of The 100m Conteroversy Tarmoh: "I thought it was fishy. And I think it still stinks. But I can't put my finger on what it is. I don't think it should have been a dead heat." *MB Thread
- RR2: Great Blog By Kim Conley On Making The Olympics: "The journey was never just about making an Olympic team, it was about becoming the best runner I could be." She says at 3k she thought the "A" standard was out of reach and almost gave up, but didn't because she owed it to those who had supported her "to leave her heart on the track."
- Lolo Jones Talks About What It's Like Being A Virgin At 29 And Finding The Man Of Her Dreams
- Brief Chat With Shannon Rowbury She talks about training/peaking and the "logistical nightmare" that is the Olympics.
- Not How You Want To Spend Your Time Before The Biggest Race Of Your Life: Top Athletes Talk About The Extremely Complicated Process That Is Warming Up At The Olympics With multiple call rooms in cramped quarters and having to be there for an hour, most athletes' warmups are less than optimal.
- Amy Hastings Talks About Her Arrival In London And Stay At The US Camp In Birmingham They mixed her up with Natasha Hastings, so the bus that to the Olympic Village left without her, so she got to take a new Olympic BMW.
- LaShawn Merritt Wants To Join Michael Johnson As Only The Second Person To Win Two 400m Golds
- Four-Time Olympians Aretha Thurmond & Angelo Taylor Selected By Peers As US Team Captains
- Shalane Flanagan: "I've Made So Many Sacrifices to Get Ready" "When I step on that starting line, I want to have absolutely no regrets about my preparation. If anything is within my control and I can control it this time, I will."
- Lisa Uhl Says She's Trying To Avoid Another Shoe-Tying Mishap In London "I changed out my laces. Those were my unlikely laces. I've been double-knotting and triple-knotting them. I think we will be fine from here on out."
- Tyson Gay Says He's Healthy, But Nervous As 100m Approaches
The Boltlympics
- Usain Bolt: "A lot of legends, a lot of people, have come before me. But this is my time." Bolt talks about his rivals, the horror of false starts and how he plans to make history.
- Usain Bolt Turns Down Wallace Spearmon's Challenge For A Drag Race Spearmon said. "Because if we race our cars, I'd kill him."
- Jon Gugala Reviews Usain Bolt Video Game "Bolt!" An iPhone App Largely Developed By LRC Guest Columnist Matt Taylor "Think of Bolt! as the Angry Birds for the track and field fan. ... a fun diversion from whatever you're supposed to be doing."
- Members Of The Media Finally Allowed To See Jamaican Team At Practice, But Usain Bolt Is A No-Show
- Teammates And Coaches All Confident Bolt Is Healthy And In Good Form
- Actor Mickey Rourke Says He Beat Usain Bolt In Drunken Foot Race Outside Exclusive Members-Only Night Club
Olympic News #2
- Brief Chat With Bob Larsen (Meb's Coach) On being honest with the media about Meb's fitness he said, "It's what I’ve always done. ... When I was a college coach, I'd hear other coaches bragging about the workouts their kids did. I'd stand up and say, 'My kids could never do that.' But then we'd beat the other teams in the big races."
- Shannon Rowbury Says The Intense Rounds Of The Olympics Give Her An Advantage "I feel like I can get better as the rounds progress because because I'm able to recover quickly and bounce back. Also, I'm kind of a strength-oriented 1,500m runner; I have that endurance."
- Asbel Kiprop Says A Kenyan Will Definitely Bring Down The Olympic 1,500 Record (3:29.77)
- Olympic 1,500m Runner Mohamed Hassan Mohamed Trains In Rough And Dangerous Conditions In Somalia He had to flee Somalia once after being threatened with beheading by a militia group, and their Olympic committee waited to select its squad so they wouldn't turn the athletes into targets.
- BOA Steps In And Makes Public Request To See Philips Idowu's Medical Records His coach revealed that he has a "trapped nerve" and may not be ready in time for the Games. Idowu was angry with the BOA for making the request public.
- IAAF Profile On Beijing 2008 Heptathlon Champion Nataliya Dobrynska Dobrynska's was destined for the multi's as her mother played volleyball, and threw shot put while her father was a cross-country runner, skier, shooter and diver. That's a good mix of skills.
- RRW: Aussie Distane Runners Have High Hopes Ahead Of Games David Monti gets some brief comments from Ben St. Lawrence, Collis Birmingham and Jeff Riseley on their thoughts going into London.
- Aussie Relay Runner Threatening To Boycott Games If He Isn't Told Why He Wasn't Selected For The 100m As An Individual
- Milcah Chemos And Mercy Njoroge Looking To Get Kenya's First Women's Steeplechase Olympic Gold
- Ciaran O'Lionaird Says Despite Achilles Problems, He Has High Hopes For The Games
*Radio Interview With Ó Lionáird On Achilles And Hist First Race Back (A 3:58.84 Mile) - UK Team Hiding Out At A Golf Resort In Portugal For The Next Week Or So Before The Start Of The Games
US Olympic News
- Evan Jager Talks About Breaking The American Record And What's To Come In London "I had to go through this race to be able to put any expectations on myself at all. I hadn't been tested in a hard race before ... I didn't know what it was like to run against the Kenyans."
- Catching Up With 4th Place OTrials Finisher Molly Beckwith After Monaco "I haven't even peaked yet, I don't think. I still have that really big one in me right now."
- Three Interesting Pieces From NY Times: Video And Interactive Diagrams On Proper 4 X 1 Handoff Technique US Olympic relay coach Jon Drummond breaks down what goes into making a
good relay team and why it's so easy for disaster to strike.
*Ping, Ping, Ping: The Sound No Relay Team Ever Wants To Hear Will 2012 be the year the US break its streak of relay miscues? Based on Monaco, the men are in good shape, but the women could be in trouble.
*NY Times Interactive Graphic: How Lolo Jones Runs The 100 Hurdles High school coaches who don't know the hurdles, maybe this will help you. - Aries Merritt Says He's Not The Favorite To Win Olympic 110H He might not want the added pressure, but with three straight WLing 12.93s and Liu Xiang nursing a nagging back injury, he probably is.
- Hall Of Famer And Olympic Silver Medalist Jack Davis Passes Away At 81 Years Old
- Track Focus Nick Symmonds Olympic 800 Flowchart ... What Do You Do?
EPO Cheats Out
LRC 1,500 World Leader Mariem Alaoui Selsouli Of Morocco Tests Positive The former EPO cheat has tested positive a second time. Let's just say people who follow the sport day in and day out are not surprised. Perhaps the bigger question is why would an AAM member represent her and Nike sponsor her? Kudos for drug authorities for targeting her for testing.
Weekend Action
Wow!!!17-Year-Old Frenchman Wilhem Belocian Runs Incredible 13.12 In Hurdles His previous PR was 13.44. Even crazier, he didn't even win World Juniors or run as fast on their shorter hurdles, as he ran 13.29 for 3rd.Correction: We got an email correcting us on this. Wilhem did set a PR which was a Youth World Record, but it was over 91.4cm hurdles, which are shorter than the senior and World Junior height.- Maggie Vessey Runs 1:59.98 To Erica Moore's 2:00.05 And Chanelle Price's 2:00.15 In Belgium
- Viktor Rothlin Edges Arata Fujiwara 41:41 To 41:42 In Battle Of Olympic Marathoners In 14.128km Race That's 29:28 pace for 10km.
- Steven Lewis Breaks British Pole Vault Record In Poland (5.82m - Former Record 5.80m) He breaks Nick Buckfield's 14-year national record on Saturday in Poland, but the real news may be that Steve Hooker and Brad Walker went 5.72m. *IAAF
- USATF: Ashton Eaton & Trey Hardee Do A Few Events In Multi Event - Bryan Clay Was A DNF
*MB: Eaton's lowest scoring event (JT) just got a bit better today - Sweden's Michel Torneus Sets New Swedish Long Jump Record Of 8.22m Also Finland's hopes for a javelin medal increased as Tero Pitkämäki went 84.90.
- Men Across The Globe Are Panicking Carolina Klüft Injured In LJ On Sunday - Might Miss Olympics
Phil Hersh Justifiably Celebrates: Guor Marial Will Be Allowed To Compete In Olympics He'll have to compete under the Olympic flag instead of S. Sudan since S. Sudan doesn't have an Olympic delegation. Big props to 2008 US Trials qualifier Brad Poore, who befriended Marial and took up his cause. Poore himself was a 2:08 800 guy in HS who made the 2008 Olympic Trials Marathon. *AP Article
Olympic News
- We 100% Agree:
Man Who Transformed Olympics Into Multi-Billion Enterprise Says Enforcement Of Olympic Sponsorship Agreements Has Gone Too Far In response to Seb Coe saying fans wearing a Pepsi shirt likely won't be let into the Games. "The public do get it. They do understand that Coca-Cola has paid, Pepsi hasn't, so Coca-Cola should be entitled to provide the soft drinks, but what's that got to do with a flaming torch baguette in a café?"
US Olympic News: First 2 Are Recommended Reads
- "Uneasy Tension" For U.S. Women's Hurdles Squad There seems to be some resentment by Dawn Harper that despite being the Olympic champ, she's always overshadowed in the media by Lolo Jones.
- A Few Years Ago, Ryan Bailey Was Living Out Of A Car With His Mom, Hanging Out With Gang Members, And Failing School ... Now He's An Olympian "I sit back and think, 'Wow, I could be like a couple of my friends - in jail or dead. I could be right there with them. But I'm not.'"
- Kind Of Amusing: Judge Tosses Out Bogus Lawsuit Accusing Galen Rupp Of Steroid Use Blatant harassment and defamation aside, the fraudster was pretty clever. He used a fake name so the case read "Prefontaine vs. Rupp." He did another one a month ago against Jerry Sandusky under the name Tom N. Jerry, so the case read Jerry vs. Sandusky.
- London Games Will Only Be Shalane Flanagan's Third Marathon Flanagan: "I will go through a lot of pain to beat someone. If there's pride and ego on the line, if I'm desperate, then I'm willing to go to a place where it hurts a lot more."
- For All Those Nuts Who Think Running Is Bad For You: 56-Year-Old Jerry Cahill Was Told He Might Not See 18 When He Was Diagnosed With Cystic Fibrosis As A Child He credits running and pole vaulting with keeping his lungs clear of mucus and strengthening his chest cavity.
Scientist Who Has Studied 100,000 Runners Says Don't Listen To Quacks - Running Is Good For You "It's important to not rush to any conclusions that 10 to 20 miles a week is the optimal dose."
US High School Record/Incredible World Jr. Results (More On Right Column)
LRC Mary Cain Smashes American High School 1,500m Record The 16-year-old sophomore ran 4:11.01 to smash Jordan Hasay's high school record by nearly 3 seconds to finish 6th at the World
Junior Championships in Barcelona,
Spain.
On The Boards: MARY CAIN 4:10
Half Of Competitors In Olympics And All Medallists Will Be Drug Tested At Olympics Let's hope they test 4th as well, as some medallists will get DQed.
*BALCO Scandal Head Victor Conte Says Anti-Doping System Is Flawed, High-Ranking Officials Have A Vested Interest In NOT Cleaning Up The Olympics
5,639-Word NY Times Front Page Sports Article On The Faith-Coached Ryan Hall Sara Hall: "The Bible is not going to tell you how to be a good runner ... I don't think Ryan is looking at the Bible for a formula, necessarily. There are certain things that God highlights for him that he applies to his training."
Blanka Vlasic Won't Compete In London Due To Injury Issues "I'm not interested in jumping below my usual level."
Anti-Drug News
- Recommended Read: A Peek Inside At The Top Athletes Looking for an Edge and the Scientists Trying to Stop Them Great article. A little doping science, history, and inside stories all wrapped up into one.
- Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Dwain Chambers Warns Olympic Athletes Of Doping Dangers "World records can be done cleanly. I got worse on drugs. It did not help me in any capacity. It made me a very unsociable person and ruined my career and the image of the sport."
LRC 2012 Ethiopian Olympic Track & Field Team Named: Mr. Silver Sileshi Sihine Stays At Home - Tirunesh Dibaba Only "Reserve" In Women's 5,000
*Crazy: After Diamond League Win, Swedish Govt. Gives 1,500 Ace Abeba Aregawi Citizenship & Files Suit With IAAF Saying She Should Represent Them, Not Ethiopia, In Olympics The article, which is based off an Ethiopian report, says Aregawi's citizenship request had been going nowhere until her sudden fame and that she wants to represent Ethiopia. Given Ethiopia's press manipulation,
this should be interesting to see how it develops.
*Update: Swedes Have Totally Different Story: Aregawi Really Wants To Compete For Sweden But Ethiopians Have Taken Her Cell Phone & Threatened Her (Translated from Swedish)
Amateur Hour II
Update: Nike Responds (Like We Thought They Would) "Gaining entry into the Nike box is an informal process and we plan to review our protocol for access for future events." *MB: Mark Block: Nike
Responds
LRC Why Was A Man In The Midst Of A 10-Year Doping Ban Enjoying The 2012 US Olympic Track & Field Trials From The Nike Sky Box? If you thought the days of looking the other way at doping were totally over, then you need to read this. Supposed former agent/coach
Mark Block, who is in the midst
of a 10-year doping ban, was seen by LetsRun.com njoying the Trials in the sky box of the #1 sponsor of both USATF and the Olympic Trials - Nike. All we can say is shameful. *MB: Discuss
2012 US Olympic Trials *Results *LRC Trials YouTube Channel *Photos: Day 1 (10ks), Day 2 (Eaton), Day 3 (100, 400), Day 4 (800), Day 7 (5,000s), Day 8 (W Steeple), Day 9 (200, 110H) *LRC Day-By-Day Coverage *Sunday Oregonian Photo Gallery
LRCThree Best Punch Their Tickets To London As Leo Gets US Title #1 Leo Manzano, the man who had been top three every year since 2006, finally got the win he deserved but even he didn't expect. Manzano chased down Centro to get his first national title as Wheating pulled away from Robby Andrews to get third. *Men's
Race Video
LRC World #1 Uceny, World Champ Simpson And Medallist Rowbury Get It Done The Big
3 came
through as US #1 Morgan Uceny got her second straight US title with Rowbury 2nd and Simpson third. LetsRun.com recap hopefully coming later. *Women's Race Video
*After Winning The State XC Title As A Freshman, Morgan Uceny Quit Her Junior Year To Focus On Basketball That's what you do when you live in Indiana in a small town of 10,033 that has a high school basketball gym that seats 4,600.
We Aren't Scared Of Rule 40 Even If Everyone Else Is
LRC $200,012 LetsRun.com London Prediction Contest The very future of LetsRun.com may be at stake, but our world-famous prediction contest is back and better than ever as it's up a full week before the 2012 Games. Even though every potential sponsor we approached wouldn't touch it out of fear of Rule 40, we have given you what you've demanded - a fantasy contest that we believe is allowed by the US Supreme Court. But because of the cowardice of everyone else, the prizes have been curtailed a bit. If you aren't good enough to win $200,012 for a perfect ballot or $2,012 for a perfect distance ballot, you will be just like the Olympic athletes themselves - competing solely for pride unless you are lucky enough to get top three.
Olympic M. Steeplechase, W. Marathon News & W. 800 News
- Evan Jager Fans, Read This: 3rd Kenyan Steepler Admits He Was Stunned He Made The Team "I was so surprised I made it since I did not believe I could beat champions. Brimin, Kemboi, Kipsiele and Mateelong have been making the Olympics and World Championships team and to compete with them and get a place left me in shock."
- Kipruto: I'm Up To Challenge Of Defending My Olympic Steeple Title "It's easier to win a title than defend it as everybody tends to watch over you because they consider you favourite. However, I am convinced that I am up to the challenge and I will emerge top in London."
Marathon - After Successful Marathon Training Camp, Edna Kiplagat Says She Wants Marathon Gold & Her Husband/Coach Says He Expects It She did win a gold at Worlds last year, but Mary Keitany is the favorite on paper.
- Recommended Read Learn All About The Life Of 2:18:20 Marathoner Liliya Shobukhova IAAF
Once a failed 1,500 runner who struggled to do speed work in -25 Celsius weather with no indoor track within 60 miles, she's now a marathon star.
800 - Semenya Says She Feels No Pressure But Is Inspired By Mandela She shouldn't feel pressure as she hasn't been running well at all. "He means a lot to me. He made me believe that I can do this, through thick and thin. Because when I met him he just told me to believe I can do it, (you) just have to be strong, that's all."
- Pamela Jelimo Wants To Defend Title - WR Isn't Important
Previous Olympic News
- Duane Solomon Says He Surprised Himself With His 1:43 & That He Loves Rounds "It was very surprising to see the time. It did a lot for my confidence."
- Guess They Didn't Go To Beijing: Scientists: London Pollution May Hinder Athletes The weather is hot and the ozone is up and so is the pollen. In all seriousness, the weather could hurt Galen Rupp as the pollen in the UK is high this time of year.
- Whites Need Not Apply Lemaitre Won't Run The 100m At The Olympics
- Bet Of Some Beers And Some Tickets For Champions League Football Tickets Inspires 41--Year-Old To Make Record 6th Olympics In HJ
- It's Official - The Discus Should Be Banned In Hungary Hungarian Discus Thrower Zoltan Kovago Refuses To Take Drug Test - Gets Boot The 2004 Olympic silver medallist now joins the one-time 2004 gold medallist Robert Fazekas on the sidelines with a doping violation. Fazekas has now cheated twice.
- Isinabayeva "Worried" After No-Height In Monaco
- BOA Studies Idowu Injury Report Does it really matter? The US is getting the gold.
Non-Olympic News
- Sebastian Coe To Run For IAAF Head In 2015 "I'm ready. I know how to do this."
- Sub-2:20 Performers Lucy Kabuu And Florence Kiplagat Will Run 2012 BOA Chicago Marathon IAAF They each hope to be the first female Kenyan winner since Rojo rabbitted Catherine Ndereba in 2001.
It's Back: The Week That Was
LRC The Week That Was In Running: July 16-22, 2012 Just so we can remember how to do it, our famed "Week That Was" weekly recap is back after a two month vacation. This week we talk about another third-place tie, how an Olympic champ thinks computers are evil,
the declining fortunes of Meb Keflezighi and Deisree Davila and the rising fortunes of Duane Solomon.
Matt Taylor Redefine Running: Time To Ditch The Olympics? For the first time in decades the balance of power is shifting and many
bureaucrats are feeling the heat. They're looking for tweaks to a
broken system that they hope will appease the peasants. But I'm afraid
there's only one way for athletes and fans to permanently tip things in
their favor: Move away from the Olympic model. The sport will never
progress when every aspect of it revolves around an "amateur" event that
takes place every four years and is governed by a legal monopoly
granted "perpetual existence."
International Stuff
- This Truly Is The Social Media Olympics: Twitter Post Gets Greek TJer Paraskevi Papachristou Expelled From Olympics Her coach says expulsion from the Games is too harsh. What do you think? *MB: Greek hottie expelled from Olympics due to racist tweet
- Sally Kipyego Has Came A Long Way From Being "Fat And Out Of Shape" And Now She's Dreaming Of An Olympic Medal She said she's embarrassed that she still hasn't taken her World Champs silver medal out of the box.
- The Question Everyone Is Asking: How Did Athletics Ireland Screw Up The 4 X 4 Selection So Badly? "How do you take every athlete's dream and turn it into such a selection debacle that both of them are disgusted and damaged by the process?"
- Random Fact: Olympic Steeple Champ Brimin Kipruto's Name Is Actually Firmin? It was mistakenly transcribed by a clerk in 2001 when applying for a birth certificate and has been his official name ever since.
- Carolina Klüft Positive And Looking Forward Despite Missing Games Due To Injury
- Jamaican Doctor Says Bolt Is "100% Fit"
UK Team Running Into A Lot Of Injury Issues On The Eve Of The Games
- Paula Radcliffe Might Miss Out On Games Due To Foot Injury Charles van Commenee said the chances of her competing are about 50-50. Marathoner Mara Yamauchi is also struggling with a bruised right foot and hurdler Andrew Pozzi has a tight hamstring.
- Philips Idowu Could Be Out Of Olympics Depending On BOA's Fitness Ruling Van Commenee admitted that he almost deselected him back before the deadline.
- Marathon Runner Dave Webb Forced To Pull Out With Stress Fracture
- Jav Star Goldie Sayers Will Compete Despite Elbow Ligament Tear
Olympic News #1
- IAAF Afraid Of A Bolt-DQ Repeat: Twitch Or Flinch No Longer Considered A False Start Good call. Non-track fans don't pay much attention to World Championships, but imagine the uproar if Bolt was DQed at the Olympics for flinching.
- Jeff Demps Added To Olympic Team He was added to the 4 x 100m relay pool after Mike Rodgers pulled out with a stress fracture in his foot.
- Clever: NY Times: If Anyone Could Find A Way Around The Strict Olympic Advertising Regulations, It Would Be Nike Instead of showing ads with Olympians competing in London, England, they show average Joe's training in London, Ohio, London, Nigeria, London, Ontario, and Little London, Jamaica.
- Every Summer Games Olympic Medal Since 1896 Has Featured Nike, The Greek Goddess Of Victory Like Nike really needs the free advertising.
- UK T-Shirts Make Fun Of The Olympics And "Fat Americans" Slogans include: "I'm renting my flat to a fat American family," "They're all on steroids" and "It only took me three hours to get to work this morning."
- What Goes Around Comes Around: 400m Runner Catriona Cuddihy Wins Her Appeal Against Deslection From Irish 4 X 4 Team She will take the place of 19-year-old Joanna Mills ... who had originally taken Cuddihy's place on appeal.
Jump Start Your Tuesday With 4 Recommended Reads
- #1: Julia Lucas' Father Laments His Daughter's Lost Olympic Dream "I could not see the finish line, but I heard the collective groan ... I looked at Margaret - my wife, Julia's mother - and we shared a hard instant that stole a piece of our hearts. That collective groan was for Julia, and we knew it."
- #2: Childhood Accident Where A Drunk Doctor Refused To Help Her Friend Motivated Sally Kipyego To Get Her Nursing Degree Article talks about her start in running and how she showed talent early, but then quit for 3 years because of a tibial stress fracture. She says no one thought she could medal at Worlds last year and even the announcer didn't get her name right.
- #3: A Look At The Ultimate Struggles Of The Two Men Who Finished Behind Jesse Owens In The 200 In 1936 Mack Robinson, Jackie's older brother, went back to a racist Pasadena, CA, whereas Dutchman Martinus Osendarp ended up being convited of war crimes.
- #4: Road To The Olympics: Morgan Uceny Poised To Medal After Years Of Struggling Interesting look at Uceny's childhood as a farm girl in Indiana where she worked for her father hauling mortar and bricks and originally quit running to focus on basketball (even after she finished 3rd in the state as a freshman).
International Olympic News: Opening Ceremony Is Friday (Track Starts Aug. 3rd)
- Sweden: Carolina Kluft Officially Pulls Out Of Olympics With Injury First Darya Klishina and now this ...
- Jamaica: Many Top Jamaicans Still Missing From Pre-Olympic Camp Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Melaine Walker, Kaliese Spencer, among others.
- After Not Showing Up For Team Camp, There Is Talk That Asafa Powell Could Be Left Off Jamaican 4 X 1 Since He Missed Practices Remember, Powell wasn't on the team that set the WR last year in Daegu (Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt).
- Even With Limited Team Practices, Coach Says Jamaican 4 X 1 Will Be Ready To Defend Their Gold Medal
- Many Still Concerned About The Condition Of Usain Bolt's Hamstring However, if this article is accurate, he seems to be doing fine now.
- Kenya: David Rudisha Will Go For The WR At Zurich DL After The Games Although he might be going for it "again" since he plans to go for it without pacemakers in London.
- Bedan Karoki Was Only 3rd Place At The Kenyan Trials, But He Wants 10k Gold In London He's also already planning on winning the 2016 Olympic marathon.
- "You Tube Man" Julius Yego Breaks His Own Kenyan National Javelin Record
- Down Under: Truth: Sally Pearson Says Rivals Will Have To Have The Race Of Their Lives To Beat Her In London Unless she races like she did in London DL, where she lost to Kellie Wells. But she blames that partly on a fall during her warmup. Talking about Wells' celebratory dance, she said ''She won't be doing the dance in London because she won't win.''
- Steve Hooker Gains Some Confidence From Finally Getting Over The Bar In Poland Over The Weekend Whatever he has to tell himself to get over the "yips." He's also seeing a sports psychologist.
- Steepler Genevieve LaCaze Just Snuck Under The "A" But She Wants To Be In The 9:20s In London
- UK: Concerns Grow Over Phillips Idowu As He Pulls Out Of GB Training Camp To Get Injury Treatment This from the guy who was just quoted as saying he wasn't injured.
- Ireland: Still No Word On Outcome Of Ireland 4 X 4 Relay Debacle Apparently they've made a decision but just haven't announced it yet.
RecommendedRead: Emil Zatopek Wasn't Just One Of The Greatest Olympic Distance Champions - He Also Was A Great Man Of Principle Who Stood Up To The Soviets (link fixed) As a result, the 4-time gold medallist was forced to work as a laborer in a uranium mine at the age of 45.
Running 3:30 Has Its Advantages After Big PR, Nick Willis Gets High-Speed Police Escort To Take Him To Have Dinner With Prince Albert Of Monaco
More Doping Positives
- Boston Marathon Runner-Up Jemima Jelagat Sumgong DQed For Doping, As Is Hamburg Marathon Winner Rael Kguriatukei (Kiyara) Both are Kenyan. Sumgong, who only has a 2:29 PR but came within 2 seconds of winning in the heat of Boston, goes out for a cortisone violation and Kiyara, who ran 2:23:47, for a steroid.
More News From Kenya - Kenyan Olympians Get Free Installation & One Month Of Free Satellite TV Before Leaving
- We Agree: Kenyan Coach On 1,500 Men - "They are our greatest hope in London."
Tarmoh & Felix Didn't Have To Wait This Long
Antonio Pettigrew Aftermath: Nigeria Wins 4 X 400 Gold From 2000
*Nigerian Gold Comes Too Late For Sunday Bada, Who Died 8 Months Ago
Steve Holman And Carrie Tollefson Chasing The Mayor At Belmar Chase 5k July 28th In New Jersey The mayor's got a chance, as he ran at GTown and gets a head start. 1997 bronze medallist Rich Kenah is the race director.
This Week's Signs Of The Apocalypse I & II
- I: Olympic Games Will Be Broadcast Live In Kenya Via YouTube
- II: Journalists Camp Out At Church But Leave Disappointed As Usain Bolt Skips US - Jamaica Church Service "Do you think he is out of bed yet?" one female photographer asked. Kerron Clement and Reese Hoffa did show.
Doping Corner
LRC Guess Who Was In Monaco On Friday? Banned Agent Mark Block The banned agent Mark Block, who just happened to be hanging out at the Nike hospitality suite for the Olympic Trials, just happened today to be in Monaco, site of the Diamond League meet. Evidence also points to him also being at the Penn Relays, Mt. SAC and the Jamaican
Invite.
Plus he was in Daegu
last year. And a trusted source says Block drank a celebratory beer in "Cap's Corner" at the Trials, where he also watched the women's 100 from the Nike box and not just the 200. Hey, Nike - It's pretty easy; why don't you ask John Capriotti, your Global Director of Athletics, if he knew Block was in the VIP area. If so, fine or suspend him for poor judgement. At a minimum, tell him, "Block's presence is unacceptable." And tell your star athletes Jason Richardson and
Carmelita
Jeter the same thing.
LRC 8:16 Spanish Steeplechaser Dropped From 2012 Olympic Team Amid EPO/HGH Doping Probe A local Spanish paper has released a reported email exchange between 8:16 steepler Angel Mullera and a doctor from last year's World Champs where the two discuss his required doping for the 2012 season. The Spanish federation was aware of the doping exchange months ago
but hadn't acted
on it until it was leaked to the press.
*MB: Spanish steeplechaser's leaked EPO discussion / doping plan for 2012
More Doping
THIS Is Why There Should Be Lifetime Bans:
*Hungarian Discus Thrower Robert Fazekas Out Of Games After Tests Positive For Steroids He was stripped of the gold medal in Athens 2004 for doping. He's also "coached" by someone who was stripped of a gold medal. How are these people allowed to stay in the sport?
*French Olympic
Steeplechaser
Nour-Eddine Gezzar Tests Positive For EPO He also served a 2-year ban back in 2006.
Recommended Read From Cycling: Running Needs A Fan To Do This: Fan Writes "An Open Letter To The Peloton" About Importance Of Anti-Doping Whoever writes it, please CC John Capriotti at Nike and the folks at USATF.
Sad News For Guys Everywhere: LJer Darya Klishina Not Selected For Russian Olympic Team
Pre-Monaco:
LRC A Fan's Guide To Monaco: Steeple Madness, Symmonds & Montano Hope To Get 800 Wins, Evan Jager Goes For The AR?
*Relive Monaco 2011
LRC Help Pick Ryan Hall's Shoes For The Olympics Asics made 3 pairs of specially-designed shoes for Hall and he wants your input as to what he should wear.
4 Recommended Reads
- Possibly Even More Amazing Of A Story Than Lopez Lomong
- RR #1: Once A Slave, Guor Marial, The 2005 HS Indoor Champ And Former Iowa State Star, Hoping To Run In Olympics For Newly-Formed South Sudan The IOC says he can't run for them as they don't have an Olympic delegation and asked him to run for Sudan, a country which killed off most of his family and put him into slavery. The article doesn't call him a former slave, but isn't that what forcibly working for a year with no pay is? He also is in the process of becoming a US citizen.
- RR #2: The 4th Placer From 1976 Olympic Marathon, Don Kardong, Writes A Letter Full Of Advice To The 6 US Olympic Marathoners For 2012 "Don't let anyone or anything discourage you from pursuing delusions of grandeur," said Kardong who said in 1976 that only two people believed he could medal - himself and his mom. Had it not been for a drug cheat, he'd have a bronze.
- RR #3: A Very Tough Olympic Trials: Lea Wallace's Father Passed Away Somewhat Unexpectedly The Night Before Her Race, But She Decided To Run As He Was Her #1 Fan Oh yeah, and a week before the Trials, she lost one vision in an eye while doing pushups, passed out and had a seizure.
- RR #4 Science Of Sport's Ross Tucker: Based On Power Outputs - Leading Riders At Tour de France Could Be Clean "So that's what we're all getting at when we say the Tour is getting slower. It is, and it's a good sign, because it brings everything back into the realm of expected physiology."
Ryan Hall Talks To LetsRun.com
LRC Ryan Hall Hoping To Have "Best Stuff Ever" At 2012 London Olympic Marathon On Friday, LetsRun.com spent over 30 minutes talking with Ryan Hall. An optimistic Hall talked about his training has turned around, his goal for London, how he still thinks he's learning a ton, how he thinks his best marathon is ahead of him, and a whole lot more. We got Hall to give us the specifics of his training which has recently been changed to emphasize speed more often. Is he back at altitude? Hint: He gave the interview from the birthplace of LetsRun.com. How much mileage does he do? 20 x 1k? 10 miles of in and out 400s? *Discuss
Saudia Arabia Sends Women To Olympics
LRC Meet Sarah Attar - Saudi Arabia's First Female Track & Field Athlete The woman who will make history in traditional Islamic attire at the Olympics is a Pepperdine sophomore who runs in shorts during the collegiate season. She's never run an 800
in college, but that's
what she'll run in London.
*NY Times: Attar's Family Asked School Website To Take Down Photos Of Her Competing In Singlet And Shorts
*Philip Hersh Says Recent Gender News Isn't Quite As Good As It Seems Still needs to generate change at home.
LRC What Does The Paris 5,000 Mean For Galen Rupp's Medal Chances? Before Friday, only 10 men in history had broken 12:50 for 5,000. Now after on amazing race, 16 guys have done it. Surely this is the end of Galen Rupp's medal chances, right? Wrong. We argue that once one gets over the initial shock of the "6 Guys Under 12:50 In Paris" headline, then one realizes there were plenty of encouraging results in Paris for Rupp. *Discuss
Samsung DL Paris *Results *MB Discussion *LRC Winners Photo Gallery
LRC Paris Recap: A Sensational Men's 5,000, A Troubling Women's 1,500, And David Rudisha's 1:41 Highlight Fans of Galen Rupp, Bernard
Lagat,
Kenenisa Bekele, Jenny Simpson
and Morgan Uceny probably had a hard time watching this meet as the results of the men's 5,000 and women's 1,500 were stunning to stay the least. Plus Tyson Gay vs. Justin Gatlin. Read all about it. *Discuss
*Results (video highlights for US visitiors in player on right)
*LRC Winners Photo Gallery
Down Goes Bolt #2: Blake 19.80 Over Bolt 19.83 Bolt had the lead in this one and ran horribly the last 100. Video here.
*Bolt: "It is not like I was blown away. I know what I need to do to get it right."
A Legend Passes Too Young
LRC Eight-Time US Cross-Country Champion Pat Porter Dies In Plane Crash Updated: We've added a great photo of Porter with 3-time World XC Champ Lynn Jennings.
*Authorities: "There are no indications as to what may have caused this accident." Porter and his 15-year-old son and a neighbohood friend have perished.
New York City Half And Peachtree Winner Peter Kirui Running Bogota Half This Weekend
IAAF Announces 9 Doping Suspensions And The Worldwide Press Eats It Up
Rojo Nine Over-Hyped Doping Suspensions Or A Savvy PR Move Gone Too Far? Headlines across the globe are talking about the 9 doing suspensions announced by the IAAF on Wednesday. Yet LetsRun.com co-founder Robert Johnson finds himself not happy with the way the development was announced and broadcast to the world. *MB:
IAAF finds 6 new dopers using biological passport
More Doping News:
*World Indoor HJ Champ Dimitrios Chondrokoukis Is Busted
*Mathew Kisorio (58:46 Philly Half Marathon) Busted
*New Test For HGH Available At Olympics
One Olympic Crisis Averted, Another Started
- UK Border Staff Strike Called Off At The Last Minute After Some Of Their Demands Were Met
- First Olympic SNAFU: North Koreans Furious As Organizers Accidentally Display South Korea's Flag Instead Of Theirs The game was delayed for an hour after the North Korean team refused to leave the locker room.
Other News
- Seb Coe Will Run For President Of The IAAF
- Ashley Higginson And Heather Kampf Among Elite Athletes Racing Ryan Shay Mile This Weekend
- Vin Lananna To Be Inducted Into USTFCCCA Hall Of Fame
- Huge Earth-Shattering News: Physical Activity Will Make You Healthier And Therefore Live Longer!
General Olympic Stuff
- At The London Olympics, You Even Have To Pay To Go To The Bathroom Journalist Shares His Unfotunate Experience Apparently it costs 20 pence (about 31 cents).
- In The Past, Countries Tried Anything For Olympic Edge, Even Spying New York Times
- Who Do You Follow? List Of Top 50 Tweeters To Follow During London 2012 For the US, Nick Symmonds made the list, but we couldn't believe they left off Lolo Jones, who has 154,479 more followers.
- Pressure Mounts Against IOC Head Jacques Rogge Refusal For Moment Of Silence For 1972 Olympic Massacre Advocates were unsatisfied with Rogge's 1 minute of silence during his Olymipc Village opening speech.
2012 Monaco DL *Full Results
Updated
LRC: Evan Jager Breaks The American Steeplechase Record Evan Jager got the AR in just the 5th steeple of his life. Medalling at London isn't out of the question. Only a steeple recap above, but in other action, Asbel Kiprop made running 3:28.88 look easy as Nick Willis ran a 3:30.35 PR.
And in the 800m Duane Solomon is now the fastest active American as he blitzed a 1:43.44 ahead
of Nick Symmonds.
*Evan Jager Race Highlight Video
LRC Asbel Kiprop Reasserts Himself As The Olympic Favorite By Running A Sensational 3:28.88 The defending Olympic champ made a statement by running a 53.43 last lap with a 26-flat last 200 to mark himself as the London favorite. At the same time, Nick Willis marked himself as a medal contender with a stellar 3:30. Robby Andrews was a DNF and Centro and Manzano
were DNSs. *Race Video
*Kiprop On His 3:28: "It was a very good race and I felt very, very good. Yes, it gives me confidence."
*Kenyan Columnist: Thank God Kiprop Didn't Follow Through On His Pledge To Switch To 5,000 Last year, Kiprop famously said, "I will switch to 5,000m if I do not run under 3:30," but thankfully he didn't follow through on that, as while he didn't break 3:30, he did win Worlds.
More Monaco
LRC Duane Solomon Is Now The 5th-Fastest American Ever At 1:43.44 Americans, it's official - you can dream of your first 800 men's medal since 1992 after Duane Solomon and Nick Symmonds both ran in the 1:43s, but on this night, the hype justifiably belongs
to
Solomon, who had a massive PR. *MB: DUANE!!!
LRC The Rest Of The Meet: Alysia Montano, Jenny Simpson And Caster Semenya Disappoint In the women's 800, Semenya was awful throughout and Montano didn't look like a medal contender. In the 3k, Simpson was unable to break 70 on her final lap.
Video Highlights Of Evan Jager's American Record (Larger Here)
Asbel Kiprop Makes 3:28 Look Easy, Nick Willis Runs 3:30
From Michigan Roads To Colorado Mountains
LRC Two-Time Olympic Trials Qualifier Sage Canaday Wins The US Mountain Running Championships On His First Time Out We catch up with former Hansons-Brooks marathoner, Sage Canaday, and talk to him about his switch in race focus, decision to leave Hansons-Brooks, and surviving as an unsponsored runner. Runners like Sage embody what could be called the "American running dream," as they put off pursuing what society says is practical or normal, making huge sacrifices to pursue their dreams.
Australian Hurdler's Provocative Pre-Race Dance Generates Thousands Of YouTube Hits
*MB: Michelle Jenneke Warm Up Routine. Oh, My...
Usain Bolt The Video Game Is Out
LRC Usain Bolt The Video Game For Iphone/Ipod - Q & A With Friend Of LRC Matt Taylor Bolt!, the Usain Bolt Iphone/Ipod free video game was released yesterday. We talk to LRC guest columnist Matt Taylor, who was
instrumental in the game coming
to
fruition.
*Can Usain Bolt Create An Olympic-Sized Brand?
*Puma Pinning Hopes On Usain Bolt
More Distance News:
Ciarán Ó Lionáird Returns Home Looking For Spark After Missing Lots Of Time With Achilles Injury - Will
Race
14 Sub-4
Guys O Lionaird, who recently took time from his rehab to call LetsRun "gutter press," is racing for the 1st time since World Indoors.
The 12 Best Moments From The World Junior Champs Mary Cain and Ajee Wilson aren't on it.
London Diamond League Was Friday/Saturday *Day 2 Results *Day 1 Results *Event-By-Event Results
LRC Day 2: Nick Willis Goes For It, The American Mid-D Men Struggle & Molly Beckwith Pulls Upset On Day Full Of Upsets Day 2 was full of a lot
of upsets, particularly
on the women's side, as Carmelita Jeter, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sally Pearson, Janeth Jepskosgei, Amantle Montsho and others were upset. The highlight from a LetsRun.com standpoint was wacky men's mile, where Nick Willis had a 3.5-second lead at the bell. It wasn't a good day for Bernard Lagat, an awful day for Leo Manzano, and a day to be remembered for Molly Beckwith, who
suffered heartbreak at the US Trials. But the American who had the best day may have been Nick Symmonds - and he didn't even run.
LRC Day 1:
Mo Farah, Vivian Cheruiyot Win With Ease As Maryam Jamal Shocks Women's 1,500 Field Mo Farah beat a week field that included training partner Dathan Ritzenhein, the American 1,500m women did not impress, Vivian Cheruiyot kept it going, and Aries Merritt stepped up again, as Tyson Gay came from behind to win.
More: Track & Field Athletes' Association Statement On Nick Symmonds & Lolo Jones Being Barred From Meet *MB Thread.
6 Guys Break 12:50
Paris DL Photo Gallery (Click Here Or Below)
Blake Beats Bolt X 2 In 200
Emma Coburn Gets Emotional With Teammate Shalaya Kipp After Making Olympics
The Race Of The Trials: Julia Lucas' Agony Of Defeat (Race Video Here, More 5k W Interviews Here, Men 5k Here, Men Steeple Here)
Alan Webb's 2012 Olympic Dream Is Over (More On This Here (Link Fixed)). More Trials Videos Here
Tyler Mulder Showing The Emotion Of The Trials
BAA 10k 2012 BAA 10k Results
Geoffrey Mutai Runs 27:29 In Boston, Kim Smith Wins
We think Sam Chelanga still has a good chance to win $100,000 despite being crushed by nearly a minute.
Kenyan Trials *Mid-D/Distance Results
- King David Rudisha Runs 1:42.12 Altitude WR To Put Kenyan Crowd Into A Frenzy King David wasn't the only one to excite the crowd as even bigger cheers went
to Ezekiel Kemboi, who set the crowd afire when he pulled up to eventual steeple winner Brimin Kipruto and seemingly motioned to let him win with 50m to go before re-enacting his famous "Daegu jig" at the finish. Asbel Kiprop barely qualified (3rd) as Olympic champ Nancy Lagat, Linet Masai
and Paul Kipsiele Koech fell by the wayside.
*Kemboi's Dance Gets More Cheers Than Rudisha's Win
*MB: Rudisha's 1:42.12 NEW ALTITUDE WR!!! Brimin Kipruto 8:11 steeplechase and Isaiah Koech 13:09 as well, if this isn't a troll.
*MB: Kiprop 3rd: "It's a good thing that I did not win the Trials since the pressure that comes with it is too much." - AP Recap: Rudisha, Jelimo And Cheruiyot Win