Golden League Brussels
Jelimo $1,000,000 Richer As Vlašic Falters, Bolt 9.77 Over Powell 9.83
*Results *Photos *IAAF Recap
ESPN cut away live from Sportscenter to show the greatest one-man show on earth, Usain Bolt, win a very close race at the end over Asafa Powell. Bolt ran 9.77 into a -1.3 m/sec wind amidst damp conditions and cool weather. Meanwhile, Blanka Vlašic couldn't come through in the high jump, leaving the million dollar jackpot for Pamela Jelimo, who crushed the field again to leave no doubt. In other action, Americans Marshevet Hooker, Jeremy Wariner, Kerron Clement and Miguel Pate all won, as did Sileshi Sihine and Vivian Cheruiyot, who defeated Meseret Defar with a late sprinting charge. See the meet replayed on ESPN classic at 11 pm.
*Bolt Powers Past Powell, Set To Return To Jamaica For Celebrations
*18-Year-Old Pamela Jelimo: First Olympic Gold, Now $1 Million Richer
*Belgian Sprinter Gevaert Retires In Front Of Home Crowd

Update: Bolt / Powell Showdown Live on ESPN at 2:25 pm Eastern, Rest of Meet on Tape Delay 11 pm Tonight
Please give ESPN the 2016 Games.
Final Stop On IAAF Golden League Circuit: Memorial Van Damme From Brussels, Belgium (2 pm Eastern)
*Tyson Gay Pulls Out!
*Preview Of What Should Be A Sick Meet In Brussels *Brussels Start Lists
*Live Video (2 pm Eastern) *TV Schedule (3 pm ESPN Classic)
We always assume Golden League fields will be incredible, but Brussels has absolutely stacked fields, intriguing showdowns, and high drama with the Golden League Jackpot on the line. It was revealed that Tyson Gay has pulled out at the last minute. But that will do little to dampen the intensity of the meet. Obviously, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell in the 100m, Blanka Vlašic and Pamela Jelimo going for huge paydays will be the high drama. Also look for Meseret Defar and Lucy Kabuu in the 5,000m, Jeremy Wariner in the 400m, Wilfred Bungei, Alfred Yego and Yusuf Kamel in the 800m, Nick Willis and Asbel Kiprop in the 1,500m, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Christine Ohuruogu in the 200m, Yelena Isinbayeva in the vault and Paul Koech in the steeple. Plus, Meb Keflezighi, Sileshi Sihine, Micah Kogo, Moses Masai and Boniface Kiprop will square off at 10k, and Matt Tegenkamp will run in a loaded 5,000m with the likes of Eliud Kipchoge.
*RRW: Brussels Golden League Distance Preview: Jelimo on Verge of Jackpot
*Jelimo And Vlašic Finish Golden League Jackpot Quests At Memorial Van Damme
*Powell Looking To Beat Bolt, Would Be A Huge Upset Despite Powell's Credentials
*Nick Willis Looking To Continue Unbelievable Season At Memorial Van Damme In 1,500m
*Wilfred Bungei Highlights The Men's 800m
*Sileshi "Silver" Sihine Will Hopefully Finally Get His Due As Bekele Will Be Absent

Liu Xiang To Undergo Undetermined Operation On His Injured Leg In US

IAAF Athletissima From Lausanne, Switzerland *Results
*Lausanne Recap: Powell Runs 2nd-Fastest Legal 100m in History - 9.72! Bolt 19.63! Asbel Kiprop Impresses at 800m and Smokes Olympic Medallists The men's 100 meters is going to be insane next year as Powell ran a PR. Also remember, the fastest 100 meters ever run in history belongs to Tyson Gay, who ran a wind-aided 9.68 at the US Trials. Powell was obviously thrilled with his PR, "After all my problems this year, it’s great to set a new personal best." In other news, Dayron Robles lost and Asbel Kiprop showed he's got good range as he ran a fine 1:44.71 and smoked the Olympic Champion and bronze medallist in the process. Also LaShawn Merritt broke 44.00 for the 2nd time in his career.  In the women's 1,500m, Maryam Yusuf Jamal and American Shannon Rowbury ran the races they wish they had run at the Olympics as they ran 3:59 and 4:01 respectively.
*Kiprop Takes Lausanne 800m in 1:44.71 and Kamel Takes 1,500m in 3:32.83
*Powell's 9.72 Threatens Bolt's World Record
*Oliver Defeats Robles In Lausanne

Stratton Faxon New Haven 20k - US 20k Championships *Race Website
LRC James Carney Dominates, Jill Steffens Prevails in 3-Way Battle
*Men's Results *Women's Results *Photos *Message Board Thread
James Carney led wire-to-wire although he was challenged for the first half. On the women's side, Elva Dryer had the early lead but it was a 3-way battle down the stretch with 19-year-old Ilsa Paulson and former Georgia star Jill Steffens. Steffens prevailed for the biggest win of her career. Saturday she's getting married. Plus, Joe Shay presented the first Ryan Shay Award.
*Recommended Read: *New Haven Road Race To Honor Ryan Shay The winner of the race will receive the Ryan Shay Award. Joe Shay will hand it out in honor of his son.
*A Brief Chat With Tera Moody The 5th-placer from the US Olympic Marathon Trials is running the New Haven 20k on Monday. One might be surprised to learn she has a new coach and a new focus on shorter events.
*Nice Profile of Andrew Carlson and His Up & Down Season Early in 2008, no one was really running better than he was on the roads, as he won the New Year's race in Central Park before finishing 2nd in the US 8k and 1st in the US 15k. Then things got ugly. Now he's got a new home (Flagstaff) and a new coach (McMillan).
*New Haven 20k Preview Carlson and Dan Browne are both out. Ignore the preview. Former champ Elva Dryer headlines the women's field.

Weltklasse Zürich - *Results *Web Replay of Meet *Photos
LRC Recap: "Olympics in a Day" Well Worth The $$$ "The Olympics in a day" certainly lived up to the billing as Usain Bolt electrified the fans once again, Dayron Robles was pushed all the way to the tape, Jeremy Wariner got some sweet revenge as did Blanka Vlašic (after nearly blowing $500,000) and Sanya Richards. In the distance, LetsRunners rejoiced as Ramzi lost and Bekele was simply sensational once again and Paul Koech showed he might have very well been the Olympic Champion had he competed in Beijing. But the performance of the meet belonged to Pamela Jelimo, who ran the fastest women's 800m since 1983. She was so good that the 4th-placer at the Olympics couldn't rabbit her even for 600m. *IAAF Recap Of Zürich
*Bolt Leaves Crowd Breathless In Zürich
*800m Legend Maria Mutola Calls It A Career at Her 2nd Home in Zürich Mutola won one Olympic gold, 7 World Indoor titles, and 3 World Outdoor titles. She will be missed.
*LoLo Jones Gets Revenge
Nothing Like An African Bureaucracy
*57 Kenyan Athletes Went to the Olympics ... and 60 Officials We're not making that up.

2008 Olympic Track Action *Results*LIVE Event by Event Report/Previews *Videos/Highlights
Daily Nation: Marathon Gold Caps Best-Ever Olympics for Kenya The sexists in Kenya ought to rethink their ways as thanks to their women, Kenya won a record 14 medals when its previous best was 9.

Jamaica Sprint Mania Continues:
*Bolt Says Success Won't Slow Him Down - Puma is giving their main man a BMW.
*Jamaicans Returning Home To Huge Celebration; For Some, Success Could Lift Entire Family From Extreme Poverty Olympic champ Shelly-Ann Fraser comes from big-time poverty. Her aunt says, "Me go down pon mi knee and me tell you she did set out fi get the gold ... She win! She win! She take we out of sufferation."
*Reflections On Past Olympics For Jamaica and Potential Tough Road For Olympic Athletes After Careers End
*Bolt: Genius At Work
*Bolt and Co.'s Positive Vibes Reverberate In Jamaica
*Bob Costas' Criticism, Not Bolt's Celebration, Was Inappropriate
*In Defense of Bolt

Sunday *Final Day Photos
Men's 5k
LRC: Kenenisa Bekele Completes The Double In Style - By Running The Greatest 5k Ever Run Bekele was simply sensational as he arguably ran the greatest 5k in history. Pushing the pace throughout, he ran an Olympic record 12:57.82 thanks to a ridiculous 3:57.01 last 1,600m, 4:56.97 last 2k, 7:35.53 last 3k and 53.87 last lap. Unbelievable. He clearly enjoyed this one as he showed great emotion in the last 150m as he won his first global 5k and became the 1st man to complete the Olympic 10k/5k double since his countryman, Miruts Yifter, in 1980. *IAAF Recap of Race *Reuters Recap of Race
IAAF: Kenenisa Bekele Joins Legends By Completing Distance Double
Recommended Read: Bernard Lagat Goes Home Empty-Handed But Looking Forward To The Future The New York Times gets the scoop on what has been ailing the double world champion from last year. Apparently, after the US trials he developed a serious achilles problem. Throw in a viral infection before the 5k final and you've got big-time trouble. He stayed in it until 1,200m left. Even if he was 100% on his game, no way was he staying with Bekele on this special night. *Matt Tegenkamp Finishes 13th *Nic Bideau Shocked by Mottram's Failure *Bideau Hoping To Rebulid Mottram "We feel like it's just a couple days prior to Christmas and we've found it's been cancelled." *Mottram's Career At Crossroads
*Matt Tegenkamp's Comments

Wilfred Bungei Wins Men's 800m - The Kenyan's 10 years of training in Verona, Italy finally paid off in a big way as he led the race at 400m, 600m and 800m. It's been a long time coming for Bungei, who showed great promise when he was ranked #1 in the world 6 years ago, running 1:42.34, and when he was the heavy favorite 4 years ago. The article has a great photo of the finish. *IAAF Recap of Race *Reuters Article
*4 Years After Being Favorite In Athens, Bungei Takes Home Gold Alan Webb can take heart in this story.

4 x 400m Mania
US Men Set 4 x 400m Olympic Record
Sanya Richards Comes From Behind To Take Women's 4 x 400m
*At last: Richards, Felix, Wariner get their golds
*Wariner Doesn't Do Redemption

Friday *Results *Photos
Tirunesh Dibaba Outkicks Rival To Complete Historic Double A 59-second last lap gave Dibaba a victory in a crazy, crazy race that went out at 5:50 mile pace for 1k. As a result, she is the first woman to ever win the 5k/10k double and now can officially be considered the greatest female runner on the planet. IAAF Recap of Race
*Tirunesh Officially The Empress of Women's Distance Running

Bolt Completes Historic Triple - 3 Races & 3 World Records Plus 3 ridiculous margins of victory - 0.22, 0.66 and 0.96 seconds. It was great to see Asafa Powell get a gold as well. Trinidad & Tobago was 2nd as Japan got the bronze - that's right, Japan. It was Japan's 1st Olympic track medal in 80 years - yes, 80 years.

Bryan Clay Wins Decathlon Gold - The world's greatest all-around athlete got silver four years ago. Bolt is clearly the world's fastest athlete.

Jamaica Blows Women's 4 x 100m as Russian Wins
*Australia's Steve Hooker Wins Men's Pole Vault *Drug Cheat Win's Women's Long Jump

Another Great Tim Layden Article: Putting The So-Called US Track Debacle In Perspective The US will end up with more medals than Sydney and likely more medals than the home field Atlanta Olymipcs. Plus you can't blame the US system as there is no US system. Additionally, Britain spent over $1 million on their relays and neither 4 x 100m finished - nor did the unbeatable Jamaican women.

Thursday *Results *Photos
LaShawn Merritt Crushes Jeremy Wariner As US Goes 1-2-3 in 400m The much-anticipated 400m duel turned into a rout as Merritt ran great (43.75) and Wariner was off his game. David Neville got a surprise bronze.*LaShawn Merritt Dedicates Win To His Deceased Brother *Texas Paper on Wariner's Loss *Merritt Studied Video of Bolt's Race To Come Up With Game Plan *Dick Patrick On Merritt's Win
This Is What the Olympics Are All About: David Neville Dives For Bronze He was a surprise team member and an even bigger surprise for the bronze. A great story. We enjoyed seeing him at Track Town Pizza the day he made the team. Pizza and soda to celebrate. A class act.

*Veronica Campbell-Brown PRs & Defends Olympic 200m Crown Allyson Felix ended up in tears with the silver but we think given her struggles so far this year, her sub-22.00 clocking was a hell of a performance.

*US Drops Baton In Both 4 x 100m Relays No one should truly be shocked as the US men botched it for the 5th time in the last 12 global championships. On the plus side, we won't get the opportunity to get smoked by Jamaica in the final. *Britain (Thanks To Craig Pickering) Blows It As Well
*Tim Layden Looks At Struggling US Short Sprinters - Personally, we think Americans are spoiled by the US sprint domination and think the media is overblowing the US failures (and taking for granted our domination of the 400m hurdles and 400m). Plus the Jamaicans just have some big time stars. But it is the first Olympics that the US will not win any of the 100m, 200m or 4 x 100m for at least one sex.
*Washington Post Puts Proper Perspective on USA's Performance - 6 Medals in 3 Finals is Damn Good

*Dayron Robles Masters 110m Hurdles The Cuban makes the hurdles look so effortless - unlike anyone we've ever seen before. The US got 2nd and 3rd. It's too bad Liu Xiang wasn't in this race or it would have been a huge spectacle.
*Bryan Clay Leads Decathlon After Day 1
*Nelson Evora Wins One of Best TJs in History You had to jump farther than ever before to get a medal as 7 men broke 17 meters.

Wednesday *Results *Usain Bolt 200m Photos
USAIN BOLT 19.30!!! Lightning struck twice as Bolt ran a ridiculous time into a .9 headwind. More than a half second behind Bolt, the race was marred by the DQs of the 2nd and 3rd place finishers.
IAAF Recap of Race *Video of the Race
*Bolt Stakes His Claim as the Greatest Sprinter Ever A good article with a great conclusion: "Perhaps it is too much to hope that he has also banished the suspicions that have undermined the integrity of Olympic sprinting for so long. But when you look at him, at his 6ft 5in, 13st 8lb frame and at the articulation of his limbs as he devours the track, you might be forgiven for believing that he, more than any leading sprinter for several generations, might just be able to achieve such feats without artificial assistance. There is none of the sense of physical distortion created by the excess muscle that powered recent generations out of the blocks. He looks balanced and natural."
*London Times: Usain Bolt Leaves Beijing Spellbound Again Bolt was very nice to MJ's legacy. Bolt: "Michael Johnson revolutionised the sport," he said. "I just changed it a little bit."
*Tim Layden: Bolt's 19.30 Cements Greatness This is a good article that follows up Layden's remarkable pre-race article. Sports Illustrated Vault: MJ Was Shocked by His 19.32
*Christine Brennan: Bolt Becomes an Instant Legend
*Dutch Antilles: US 200m Protest Not in Olympic Spirit We agree with their sentiment and think in the future the IOC should automatically look for blatant lane violations so countries don't get blamed. "It's a pity for a big country like the United States to make such a small statement."
*Usain Bolt 400m Mania Erupts - Apparently He's Promised To Run the 400m in 42.5 in 2014 This isn't some BS article. This is an article by the IAAF where the 1983 World 400-meter Champion Bert Cameron says that Bolt has promised him he'll run the 400m in 2014. Cameron thinks he'll run 42.5. Insane.
Other Action From Wednesday
Men's 800:*Nick Symmonds Advances As Andrew Wheating Is Edged Out in Tough Heat and Christian Smith Fails to Advance * Eugene-Register Guard Article on 800m IAAF: Men's 800m - Round 1
IAAF: Melaine Walker Wins 400m Hurdles In Olympic Record Rojo's favorite 400m hurdler Sheena Johnson Tosta gets a much deserved silver after being denied a bronze by a drug cheat 4 years ago.
IAAF: Men's 110m Hurdles - Semi-Finals

Tuesday *Results *Nick Willis Photos!!
Men's 1,500m: Nick Willis Wins Bronze!!!!! (as Rashid Ramzi Wins Gold) The men's 1,500m final was thrilling for sure. In the end, former Michigan Wolverine Nick Willis had given hope to Westerners across the globe as he won New Zealand's first track medal in 32 years, as Kenyan Asbel Kiprop won the respect of Letsrunners across the globe for his sensational silver medal performance. Meanwhile, Rashid Ramzi won gold and it seems that most LetsRun.com viewers aren't happy as they all seem to think he is a drug cheat. *Honest question: why is everyone so sure Ramzi is doping? *RAMZI WON - WHENEVER THE US SEES SOMEONE [From Another Country Win] WE ACCUSE THEM OF DOPING *Ramzi should have been DQ'ed Video: *Men's 1,500m Final Video
LRC: Recap of Men's 1,500 Final, Men's 400m Semis
The top two in the world proved it in the 1,500m, while Nick Willis put together the best possible race to come away with the bronze. The 400m semis had no major casualties, as Wariner and Merritt made their expected statements and other main medal contenders got through.
*Legends Hail Willis' Bronze
*Willis Cries for Those Who "Sacrificed" for His Victory
*Willis Takes Coach's Advice and Gets Medal
*Pre-Race: Nick Willis' Road to Bronze Ran Through Ann Arbor
*Rashid Ramzi Wins 1st-Ever Gold For Bahrain
IAAF: Men's 1,500m Recap
IAAF: Former Banned Brit Christine Ohuruogu Wins Olympic Gold Sanya Richards felt a cramp and ended up 3rd
IAAF: Both LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner Impress In 400m Semis Both won and both ran fast. Who will win the final?
IAAF: Dawn Harper Focuses On Herself and Wins 100m Hurdles Olympic Title The JJK protege shockingly won after pre-race Lolo Jones failed to medal.
IAAF: Andrey Silnov Wins Olympic HJ Title The guy was only 4th at the Russian Trials but was added to the team at the last minute after some good European performances.
Mens' 200 Semis: Usain Bolt Wins Easily And Then Pours Powerade Down Wallace Spearmon's Back
IAAF: Women's 5,000m - Round 1
Monday: *Results *Photos Day 4 (Discus, w800, 10k medals, Steeple) *Day 3 Updated (Men's 10k, W. Marathon, W. Steeple, M. 1,500m semis, W. 100m)
LRC: Steeple, 800m Recap: A Kenyan Wins A Steeple For The Ages As Pamela Jelimo Sensationally Captures The Women's 800m The men's steeple had it all - an American leading more than halfway through and then 3 competitors side-by-side going into the final barrier (and one of them was not a Kenyan). In the women's 800m, the 18-year-old was simply sensational from start to finish as was her teammate Janeth Jepkosgei. IAAF: 18-Year-Old Sensation Pamela Jelimo Wins Women's 800m Title A year ago she had never raced the distance in her life. Now she's an Olympic Champion. Simply unreal. *IAAF: Men's 3,000m Steeplechase Recap

*IAAF: Angelo Taylor Electrifies Beijing and Wins His 2nd Olympic Gold in the 400m Hurdles as USA Sweeps Taylor shockingly won in 2000 out of lane 1. Let's hope the USA puts him on the 4 x 400m as he looked sensational. Two years ago, he was up laying electric cable at 5 a.m. in Atlanta. *Nice ESPN Article on Angelo Taylor's Resurgence
*IAAF: Isinbayeva Puts on a Show! Sets WR & Wins Olympic Title Jenn Stuczynski was 2nd. *Isinbayeva Talks Tons Of Trash About Stuczynski After Winning Gold
*IAAF: Irving Saladino Wins Panama's First-Ever Olympic Gold in Men's Long Jump
*IAAF:Recap of 2nd Round of Men's 200m
Sunday: *Results *Photos (Marathon, Men's 10k)
LRC: Kenenisa Bekele Sets Olympic Record in Men's 10k The men's 10k produced great drama as you had it all - a fast pace, Haile G in the medal hunt and more.
*Video: 3 Minute 10k Highlight
LRC: Historic 1st Women's Olympic Steeple Produces A World Record And an American Record as Well
*Video: *Steeple Final
LRC: Men's 1,500m Semis Produce Shocker As Bernard Lagat Fails To Advance The two-time World Champion didn't advance as he was edged by Nick Willis, the lone athlete with NCAA experience to make the final. *Bernard Lagat Fails To Advance *Nick Willis Makes 1,500m Final He becomes the first Kiwi to make a men's final in any track event since 1996. *Canada's Kevin Sullivan Fails To Make Final - Doesn't Want To Talk About Retirement *Nate Brannen Fails To Advance
*Video: *Men's 1,500m Semi #1 (Kiprop, Lomong, Brannen) *Men's 1,500m Semi #2 (Lagat, Ramzi, Willis)
*IAAF: Jamaicans Sweep Women's 100m Video: Women's 100m Final
*IAAF: Women's Steeplechase Starts its Olympic History with a World Record
*IAAF: Radcliffe: Looking ahead to London 2012
*David Epstein of SI: Night To Forget For US Runners - Swept in the women's 100m, zero men's 1,500m qualifiers, etc.
*Phil Hersh: *American Track Athletes Off To Slow Start - In addition to what's already mentioned, the US also has no LJ finalist or HJ finalists for the 1st time in history.
*Pre-Race Article on Lagat's Preparations - Lagat ran a 2:19 1k time trial last Sunday. This and Alan Webb's time trials prove that it's easy for runners to use them to get a false sense of raceworthiness. The article said Lagat was hoping no one noticed how he ran in London.
*More Lagat: Seattle Times: Lagat Fails To Advance

Saturday *Results *PhotosUSAIN BOLT 9.69 The men's 100 meter final was arguably the most anticipated sprint matchup in history. It more than lived up to the hype, not because of the expected 3-way matchup of Powell/Bolt/Gay, but rather due to the sheer brilliance of Usain Bolt. It was truly stunning. The question now is how fast can Bolt run in the 200m?
*Tim Layden (and Ato Boldon) on Usain Bolt Ato did another excellent job on the commentary. Can the other announcers defer and let him do the distances as well? He is knowledgeable and injects excitement.
*Usain Bolt Skipped Breakfast and Ate Chicken Nuggets for Lunch and a Snack Before the 100m Final
*Jamaica Prime Minister Planning Huge Homecoming for Bolt
*Usain Bolt and Jamaica Celebrate USA Today
*On the boards: 9.69 is Believable?

Friday: *Results *Photos
*Greatest Women's 10k Ever Dibaba Smashes Olympic 10,000m Record as Two Dip Under 30 Minutes! Flanagan Gets Bronze and American Record Tirunesh Dibaba got the one thing missing on her resume, an Olympic gold, and she did it in grand style. She outkicked Elvan Abeylegesse to win in 29:54.66 as they became the 2nd and 3rd women in history to break 30 minutes for 10k and the first since Wang Junxia's unbelievable 29:31.78, 15 years ago. Shalane Flanagan came from behind to smash her American record (30:22.22) and get the first American medal in a track event over 400m since 1992. In other action, the American men bombed in the shot put (many expected a US sweep, but Christian Cantwell was the only American on the medal stand), the American women bombed in round 1 of the 800m and the USA was the only country to have all 3 of its entrants advance to round 2 of the 1,500m (Manzano on time), but Bernard Lagat didn't look great doing it. We'll hopefully have a letsrun.com recap of these races later, but in the meantime the IAAF has event recaps: *Men's 1,500m Round 1 *Women's 800m Round 1 *Women's Steeple Round 1 Recaps (Willard and Barringer advanced)
More 10k: NY Times Recap on Dibaba's 10k Victory, Flanagan's Bronze * Washington Post Recap on Flanagan
On the boards: *TWO women under 30 minutes in the Olympic 10000m final A historic day.
*1,500m Heats Talk Here
*USA's Flanagan wins bronze in 10,000 meters USA Today *Flanagan shows American distance runners can compete with best ... ESPN
*IAAF Recap of Day 1 - Kara Goucher 30:55 PR
Shot: Poland's Tomasz Majewski Surprise Shot Put Winner
*US Shot Putters Come Up Short New York Times
More:
*Pamela Jelimo Favored For 800m Gold
*Lagat's Goals Include Being Oldest 1,500m Gold Medallist
*Heptathlon: Kelly Sotherton Leaves Day 1 In Tears As American Hyleas Fountain PRs In 4 Events To Lead
*Famiglietti Advances To Men's Steeple Final With 8:17 PR!
*All 3 Americans, As Well As Michigan Alums Brannen and Willis, Advance To 1,500m Semis Rashid Ramzi Rolls, Kenyan Nicholas Kemboi Failed To Advance *1,500m Heats Talk Here
*
LRC Preview #2 - Women's Marathon & Pole Vault as Well As Men's 400m Hurdles The women's marathon will be one of the few athletics events shown live in the US. What a race - Radcliffe, Kastor, Ndereba and plenty of other Chinese, Japanese, and Africans to add even more drama.

LRC Beijing Olympic Day 1 Preview: Games Kick Off With Women's 10k Final, Men's Shot Final, Round 1 of the 100m Showdown, Plus Men's 1,500m Round 1, Women's 800m Round 1, Steeplechase Round 1 Tirunesh Dibaba will try to get the Games underway by getting the one thing missing on her resume - an Olympic gold. She'll face a slew of challengers as 9 other women have a decent shot at the medal stand, including Americans Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan. We preview the other events, including the men's steeple, where the favorite, Paul Koech, may not even get to run as he's the Kenyan alternate. We also give you a sneak peak at the LetsRun.com Prediction Contest predictions (where not a single person has failed to pick one of Bolt, Gay or Powell to win the 100m).
*US Men Going for the Medal Sweep in the Shotput USA Today

8/8/08 Dazzling Opening Ceremonies Kick Off Beijing Olympics A reader abroad wrote us saying, "I thought it was mind blowing ... it's like China is saying: 'We are the next power' ... I'm telling you, it was the most amazing visual display I have ever seen on television. And I'm not even watching on an HD or anything. London must be shitting their pants because that was unbeatable. It was amazing ... It just went on for 4 straight hours." We agree.
*America's a Great Country "For the rest of us, who have generally eaten well, felt safe and experienced total hopelessness only in sad movies, (Lopez) Lomong is a gift. He lights up the room again and puts a Band-Aid on the cynicism. If you are a writer, you want to tell his story, even if dozens have preceded you. You want to tell it better, to grip the reader just in case your predecessors haven't. And then you sit in the audience on the morning of the opening ceremony and realize you need do nothing more than listen and take notes, because Lomong is telling it to you, for you, and better than ever before ... We have a world full of politicians and diplomatic spinners and we have only one Lopez Lomong. Too bad it isn't the other way around."
-LA Times columnists Bill Dwyre writing on Lopez Lomong
*Washington Post Editorial by Thomas Boswell on Lopez Lomong
*Message board thread on the amazing opening ceremony

Advanced Poll

Who Will Win the Men's 100? Usain Bolt 41.8% Tyson Gay 41.8% Asafa Powell 14.0% Other 2.5% Total Votes: 1927

NY Times Looks at Liu Xiang's Decision to Not Run Any Races Before Olympics New York Times

LetsRun.com Rojo's Tour of China, Part 2 - The Great Wall Not too much about athletics in this one, except Rojo was too exhausted to make it to the top of the Great Wall and he did meet Leo Manzano's dad's employers. Rojo talks about the smog, the taxis being bugged, getting some digits, and getting only the money stolen from his wallet. Plus he's embarrassed about the American cyclists who showed up wearing black smog masks.

LetsRun.com Rojo's Tour of China, Part 1 - Hanging Out With Usain Bolt
Rojo went to the Puma Party put on for Usain Bolt. Open bar, Chinese dancers putting on their best sorority girl imitations, and then Rojo going 1-on-1 with Bolt. Rojo actually asked Usain about moving up to the 800m. Bolt hinted the Jamaicans want him to run the 4 x 400m. More importantly, Bolt apologized for visiting Facebook instead of LetsRun.com.

Thanou Refuses IOC Request to Appear for Herself at Hearing on Whether She Can Compete at Olympics

LetsRun.com Olympic Trials Prediction Contest Recap
The world-famous letsrun.com prediction contest for the Olympic Trials was a huge success. Football players, shot putters, DIII All-Americans and wives out to upstage their husbands did very well in our contest. We give you the run-down (and in case you're wondering., that guy on the left is on the home page today because the winner of the contest was given control of the home page for a day).
*Message board thread on front page photo

Again, Who Are The Idiots That Schedule USA Jrs and NON For The Same Weekend???
USA Jrs. *Schedule/Results*8:34.40!!!! German Fernandez Breaks Jeff Nelson's 2 Mile Record *Results 64.2, 2:10, 3:14.9, 4:19.4, 63.9, 64.7, 63.3, 62.9
*Message board thread
*Nice Recap from Dyestat Fernandez played basketball Friday afternoon before breaking the record.
*Videos of Race
On the boards: How long till Fernandez record goes down?
*Photos
*Neely Spence Won Girl's 2 Mile at NON

LetsRun.com London Men: Lel Leads 3 Under 2:05:30!!!, Ryan Hall 2:06:17
Ryan Hall Goes Through Halfway on World Record Pace
The 2008 Flora London Marathon will be remembered for a long time. The lead pack of 9 went through 5k at 14:21 (2:01 pace). They continued together (yes, all 9) through halfway on world record pace (1:02:13). Ryan Hall then went to the front soon after and asked the pacemakers to go FASTER. Soon Hall was off the back, but he would catch the leaders briefly again and go on to run 2:06:17. Until Sunday, only 7 guys had ever run under 2:06:15, now 11 have. Up front, it came down to a 3-man battle over the final mile before Martin Lel got his 3rd straight World Marathon Major win over the final quarter mile as he led 6 guys under 2:07 and to $50,000 bonuses each. Recap, photos, video above
This Guy Has Totally Won Back Our Respect
Maasai Warriors Finish Marathon link fixed One of them went back to the course and finished the race a day after being forced to go the hospital after a ceremonial wrap cut off his circulation. He said, "It was very important for me to do this. This is what I came to England for."
LetsRun.com Ryan Hall Reflects On His Incredible Run We tell you (and let you watch) what Ryan, his dad, his granddad, his coach and even Martin Lel had to say about Ryan. Lel was full of praise for the American and shocked by Ryan's attempt to get the pacemakers to go even faster. If Hall didn't already have your respect, he does after reading this article, as he pays homage to a throwback type of guy - Steve Jones. Text and Video.
LetsRun.com Video: Ryan Hall Talks About His 2:06:17 at the 2008 Flora London Marathon
*More LRC London Videos Here
*Photo Gallery

London Facing $500 Million Shortfall Of Funds
Word is there isn't enough money to build all the athlete housing for 2012. They're hoping  for additional public funds.

Balco Scandal Fallout
*Victor Conte To Publish Tell-All Book, Is Already Being Sued By Boxer Mosley For $12 Million
Book will detail drug programs of Marion Jones, Barry Bonds and others.
*Marion Jones Set Free After Completing 6-Month Prison Stint

Drunk Russian High Jumper Ivan Ukhov Asked To Explain Himself.  *Video
Fellow high jumpers claim he was downing Red Bull vodkas on the track.

Netherlands Antilles Appealing For Churandy Martina To Claim Silver Medal
Martina was DQed for running in the outside lane during the 200m. Walter Dix would lose his bronze and Shawn Crawford would drop down from silver if the appeal is successful.

Olympic Drug News Potentially Changing Medal Winners
*2 Belarussian Hammer Throw Beijing Medallists Tested Positive For Testosterone
Hungarian and Japanese hammer throwers would be awarded silver and bronze if urine tests confirm positive tests

Brief Chat With US 20km Champ Jill Steffens
The Georgia grad had a surprising win in New Haven after struggling with anemia as a post-collegiate. Now she's getting married this weekend. Quite the week!

65-Year-Old Ron Warhurst Takes A Step Down To Associate Head Coach At Michigan  He is switching positions with Fred LePlante.

High-Caliber European Meets Roll On Next Week:
6 Olympic Champs To Compete In Croatia On Tuesday

LetsRun.com! Louisiana Runners: Run For Your Life A Louisiana high school cross-country coach tells us why he ran a race in the midst of his Gustav evacuation and how a friend of his literally had running save his life in the middle of Katrina.

British News
*Britain May Ship Sprinters Off To Caribbean To Train With Jamaican Coach Glen Mills
*Paula Radcliffe, Hardest Working Woman In Sports, Says She Will Compete In 2012
*Ovett Ready And Willing To Work With UK Athletics To Get The Most Out Of Athletes

The PC Police Must Not Exist In Ireland
Irish Sports Minister: "Black and African" People Excel at Sprinting, Distance Running - Irish Need To Focus Elsewhere Much like an economist stressing comparative advantage, he thinks the Irish should focus on the sports that white Europeans are physically and mentally suited for like cycling and the pole vault. *2nd Article from Irish Sports Minister
*Meanwhile, Kenya Doesn't Agree: Kenyan Editorial Calls For More Support For Kenyan Javelin Throwers And Shot Putters

IAAF Gateshead (Aviva British GP) Was Sunday *Results *Timetable *Great News Gateshead was broadcast free of charge on Universalsports.com - the heir apparent to WCSN.com on Sunday. If you missed it, you can watch the whole meet on demand. Subscriptions no longer needed.
*Video Highlights: Ohuruogu thrills crowd at Gateshead *Powell impresses despite conditions
*Reuters: Olympic Flops Impress in Gateshead The big-name stars who didn't win individual medals in Beijing shined in England on Sunday. Asafa Powell, Lauryn Williams, Tyson Gay and Bernard Lagat all got wins. Powell, the man who only ran 9.95 in the Olympic final, clearly likes the Gateshead track as ran a 9.87 in the pouring rain - the same site where he set the WR two years ago. Meanwhile, Lagat won the much-anticipated men's 1,000 meter race as Beijing bronze medallist Nick Willis, who led most of the race, came up agonizingly short of John Walker's New Zealand 1k record of 2:16.57. Oh yeah, Kenenisa Bekele ended his season with another high - a world leader in the 3k.
*IAAF Recap of Meet
*Asafa Powell 9.87 in Pouring Down Rain!
*Ohuruogu Victorious on Homecoming
*London Times Profile: Christine Ohuruogu: She Can Never Do Enough to Silence the Doubters

Not A Surprise:
*Dave Collins Loses His Job as Performance Director for UK Athletics The tough Belgian, Charles van Commenee, is going to be Britian's new head coach.
*Dutch Coach Is Necessary Denise Lewis praises her former coach who once was incredulous that she was celebrating for winning a silver medal.

Drugs & More Drugs
*Coach Of Greek 400m Hurdles Drug Cheat Fani Halkian Hit With Lawsuit Hakian says her sample was tampered with, but if you don't think she cheated her way to the 2004 Olympic title, you must think there is nothing unusual about dropping your 400m hurdles time from 56.40 to 52.70 in one year, when heading into the year your open 400m PR was 53.46. We say throw him in jail in Greece, where it's a crime to dope.
*Ukrainian Steroid Cheat Blonska Banned For Life After 2nd Offense

Recommended Read Ryan Hall Blog Talks About His Olympics Hall reveals all in a rare blog entry that is honest and full of great info. Hall admits that his marathon training was off heading into the Olympics - his tempos were 10-15 seconds per mile slower than normal - and he wishes now that he'd just gone with the leaders for as long as possible (we see why he says that, but that would have been 100% suicide).

Some Guys Are Just Naturally Cool - Bolt & Wanjiru
*Kenya Throws Party For Returning Olympians &Wanjiru Hires 3 Helicopters for Family and Friends to Come Party Fermented milk available in plenty!

"We've Always Been A Track Power" - Jamaica's Don Quarrie Scoffs At Media Quarrie, the 1976 200-meter champ, points out that the media surprised by Jamaica's big showing knows little about the history of track and field.

Bolt's Father Is Onto Something
*Bolt's Yams Contain Precursor To Steroid Hormones

*Hey NBC - What Happened To The Real Olympics? NBC went for ratings and instead did fans across the US a disservice by not showing more of the traditional Olympic events.

Men's Marathon *Photos
LRC: The Future Has Arrived as Phenom Sammy Wanjiru Runs Greatest Marathon In History To Give Kenya Its Long Overdue 1st Olympic Marathon Gold Wanjiru's early pace was outrageous (4:41 1st mile) and many people thought it was totally suicidal. And it was for mere mortals but not for this new species of marathoner who appears to have come back from the future. The 21-year-old relentlessly pushed the pace from start to finish and ended up shattering the Olympic record by nearly 3 full minutes. Unreal. American Dathan Ritzenhein had a fantastic race to finish 9th as Ryan Hall was 10th and Brian Sell 22nd. *The Guardian: Wanjiru makes marathon history for Kenya *IAAF Recap of Marathon
*Ryan Hall Talks About His Race And Sammy Wanjiru's "Insane" Pace *Dathan Ritzenhein Talks About His Surprising 9th Place Finish Ritz: "I thought I had a chance at a medal, and tried to put myself in it early. But I looked at the clock at 5k and we were already out at, I think, 14:55. I knew if I kept that up, that I wouldn't be finishing." *Brian Sell Hits Wall at 35k *Brian Sell's Family Rejoices
*Extensive Comments from all 3 Americans from Runnersworld

Women's 1,500m - "World, you’d better watch out, Kenyan women are on the march."
*Nancy Lagat Surprise Winner of Women's 1,500m Title Lagat showed great promise way back in 2000 when she was world junior champion at 800 meters but her career since then has been spotty as she had no results in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007. She was as surprised as anyone that she won and admitted she had no race plan. After this race, she won't surprise anyone anymore as she was simply sensational and knocked more than 2 seconds off her career best to blow away the field and win in 4:00.23.*IAAF Recap of Race
*Shannon Rowbury Records Highest-Ever American Women's 1,500m Finish Hard to believe an American woman has never finished higher than 7th. Rowbury seemed pleased despite the fact that she had the 2nd best seasonal best of all the finalists.
*Britain's Lisa Dobriskey Just Misses Olympic Medal A late kick got her 4th. "If you told me last year I would be 4th in the Olympics I wouldn't have believed you so I've got to take heart from that."

Unbelievable Women's HJ: Blanka Vlašic's 34-Victory Streak is Snapped Tia Hellebaut set a national record to steal gold from Vlašic, who had been perfect before missing once at 2.05m.

LRC Preview of Men's Marathon
*Online Betting Odds (Lel 4 to 1, Hall 17.5 to 1)
The final Track & Field event is on tap! Kenya has never won Olympic gold in the men's marathon but brings in two of the top five performers of all time. Oh, they have the World Champion, too. Can they finally do it? Can Ryan Hall end the three-decades-long American-born men's Olympic medal drought? *Defending Champ Stefano Baldini May Not Run *Good Weather Predicted For Marathon


*Ato Boldon Gets Praise From New York Times - The NYT is realizing what we knew a long time ago - Boldon is a great track announcer. When they hire Rojo for the distances, then we can all watch track with the volume on.
*Boldon Is Called "A Real Star" By SportsBusiness Daily We agree but think his blaming the US's 4 x 100m dropped batons on Craig Masback's departure was really off-base and totally stupid.

*NYTimes: Track Has Chance To Regain Wider Appeal
*Sports Business Journal Talks About Track's Chances To Get Big Again

Saturday: Men's 5k Final & 6 Other Finals
*Kenyans Will Use Sacrificial Lamb & Team Tactics to Try to Defeat Lagat & Bekele The Kenyans actually think Lagat is the man to beat.
*Ethiopian Paper Previews Men's 5k Final Will Tariku sacrifice himself for his big brother? It seems likely that team tactics will occur given what happened in 2004 and 2007. The race is loaded as this author thinks 10 guys could medal.
*The 10k/5k Double Is Officially Difficult - Bekele Leaves Actress/Wife Home From Games to Watch It on TV
*Day 9 Preview - 7 Track Finals They include the men's 800m, women's 1,500m and the men's 5k.

A Day After The Men's 400m
*Did Jeremy Wariner Switching Coaches Cost Him Gold?
*Clyde Hart Talks About Jeremy Wariner Getting Silver

Friday Preview: Women's 5k Final: A Recommended Read Dibaba vs. Defar It should be a hell of a race. Dibaba has the world record but Defar is fresh (but jet-lagged). They haven't met since 2006. Defar leads their head-to-head matchup all-time 12 to 10. This article talks about who roots for whom in Ethiopia and why. Don't discount steeplechase world record holder Gulnara Galkina-Samitova, as she was 6th in 2004 in the 5k. *IAAF Preview of Race
LRC Read Our Preview of Women's 5k from Monday
*Ethiopians Aiming To Sweep Women's 5k Final

Women's 1,500m Semis: Shannon Rowbury Advances To Final She was in a fast heat and had the lead on the 2nd and 3rd laps before fading a bit at the end to get in on time. Meanwhile Erin Donohue was eliminated as was Christin Wurth Thomas. Read Wurth Thomas' Blog Here. IAAF Recap of 1,500m Semis
On The Boards: *Why is SHANNON ROWBURY hardly getting any attention????

Men's 800m Semi Shockers - The story of the 800m semis was who didn't advance. The winner of gold (Yuri Borzakovsky) and silver (Mbulaeni Mulaudzi) from 2004 are out, as is the world leader and indoor champion Abubaker Kaki, who looked terrible. Thus Nick Symmonds, who also was eliminated, shouldn't feel too bad. In our mind, the IAAF needs to add a 4th round to the 800m as it's too much of a crap shoot. *MB Thread on Kaki Bowing Out *MB Thread on Symmonds Elimination

An In-Depth Look At Sex In The Olympic Village? According to this former athlete it's totally crazy - almost an orgy. A crazy dichotomy exists between the sexes however. Men go for the hot women while women go for the gold medallists apparently. Some men apparently look down upon the women who are the best athletes.

More Nick Willis Mania *Updated Day 5 Photos: Men's 1,500m (Nick Willis Bronze), Women's 400m, Women's 100m Hurdles Final
*Nick Willis To Cash In On His Olympic Bronze Willis thinks the bronze will pay off his mortgage. Hard to believe that Reebok, his sponsor, only had 4 US athletes make the team.
*Nick Willis Reveals Secret To His Success Having lost his mother at age 4 has had a profound effect on his life. Willis talks about growing up without a mom and the same article also reveals that he may currently be in hot water with his new wife as he took an eternity to get to her on the victory lap.
*John Walker: Willis Shows Africans Are Beatable Walker: "What Nick Willis has done is tremendous for New Zealand, tremendous for the spirit of New Zealand." The article also reveals that Walker placed a bet at the local sports betting place that Willis would win gold.
*Nick Willis Credits Drug Tests With Helping Him Get Bronze: Willis' views on drugs very much mirror LetsRun.com's. Willis: "I'm not saying any names. But I could name seven or eight guys [who] I think didn't perform anywhere near what they should have. I really believe that our prayers were answered and that people weren't able to fulfill the ability they normally show on a weekly basis on the circuit."
*Adrien Blincoe, Willis' Roommate in China, Gives Willis Advice On Kick That Helps Produce Bronze
*Willis Describes In Detail His Pre-Race Routine A 50-minute nap/ipod session, 15-20 minute jog, a chiropractic adjustment and prayers are key.
*Asbel Kiprop Gets Silver

IAAF: Men's 5,000m - Round 1
*Craig Mottram Out The big news is that Rashid Ramzi isn't running but K. Bekele is. In the heats, Matt Tegenkamp won his heat as did Lagat. The shocking news was that Aussie Craig Mottram was eliminated. Mottram offered no excuses.

NBC's Coverage Reaches An All-Time Historic Low - Men's 1,500m Was Broadcast at 2:15 a.m.
*Thank God: ABC/ESPN Promises to Show More Live Coverage if They Get Olympic TV Rights in Future

Tuesday: LRC Previews of Men's 800m and Men's 5,000m
Extremely deep fields highlight these events, as eight to ten runners in each race seem equally likely to come away with a medal.

Billy Mills-esque Shocking Win Occurs Again Over 40 Years Later
*Stephanie Brown Trafton Shocks World & Wins USA's 1st T&F Gold in Women's Discus: A Huge, Huge, Huge Upset. She was only 3rd at the US Trials and only qualified for the final on her last throw. What a story!!!
*Great Article on Stephanie Brown Trafton - The Shortest Winning Throw in 40 Years She says: So what? Let's throw out the drug-induced records. We agree. She also points out that no one cares if someone doesn't set a scoring record in the NBA finals.
*Article on Stephanie Brown Trafton's Preliminary Performance She qualified for the final on her last throw.

*NY Times Recap of America's Great Day Led by Angelo Taylor and Stephanie Brown Trafton
*Washington Post Article on USA's Fine Performances on Monday

Monday Morning: Shock and Disbelief as Chinese Hero Liu Xiang Pulls Out of Hurdles An inflamed Achilles tendon had the 2004 Olympic Champion noticeably grimacing. He made it to the starting line but after a false start by another competitor, he realized it would be futile to compete and walked out of the stunned, deathly silent stadium.
*Video: Liu Xiang Out

Olympics: (We will not publish results on the homepage of LetsRun.com until after an event airs in the US)
Monday: LRC Preview of Women's 5,000m
The top five women 5k runners of all time line up, with the Dibaba/Defar rivalry set to come to a head. It should be a great event.

Preview of Women's 1,500m
With the top Russians suspended, medals may be easier to come by, and American Shannon Rowbury is a real threat to grab one.

LRC: Women's Marathon: Constantina Tomescu Steals the Show Just after halfway, the Romanian surged to the front and no one went with her. For whatever reason, the large chase pack never threw down the gauntlet to go after the leader until it was just a battle for silver and bronze, as Tomescu ran very strongly the second half to steal the gold. Paula Radcliffe ran with the leaders for the first half, then her injury took its toll, but she limped gamely to the finish. The big surprise was American Deena Kastor dropping out just around the 5k with a foot injury. The incredible Catherine Ndereba did it again as she got silver with a great kick in the last 100m. In other distance action, Anthony Famiglietti made the steeple final and the favorites in the women's 800m advanced, including Maria Mutola.
*IAAF Steeple Recap *IAAF Women's 800m Semi
Excellent Read: Amby Burfoot on Women's Marathon He talks about"over the hill" Tomescu, Paula, Catherine, and Magdalena Boulet being injured (she banged her knee on a plane).
*Race Results Weekly Recap: Constantina Tomescu-Dita Wins Olympic Marathon
*On the boards: