Bolt vs. Powell


Where Your Dreams Become Reality

Quote of the Day

Another Dominant Victory
"I am happy, I realised my dream ... This is the same happiness as in Beijing."
- Pamela Jelimo, winner of the 2008 Golden League $1million Jackpot.

Another Crushing Defeat
"I couldn't find my technique on the wet track. I'm very sorry but not because of the money but because this was the consolation prize for this season but in the end I was just too tired because I had so many jumps."
- A devastated Blanka Vlašic, who lost gold and now a half a million dollars.

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Want to improve your mental outlook on running? Then Running Within is the book for you. Read our review of this excellent book.
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Ryan Shay
1979-2007

*Official Ryan Shay Remembrance Thread.
*Ryan Shay Photo Gallery

We interview one of our own:
LetsRun.com's Rojo talks about coaching at Cornell

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