– LetsRun.com (we have no idea if you actually wish someone a Happy Boxing Day but are certain the US needs to celebrate Boxing Day)
LRC Scandal? Rigged!? LetsRun.com’s Jonathan Gault Wins LetsRun.com Running Warehouse XC Prediction Contest Insiders dominated the RunningWarehouse prediction contest as in addition to Gault’s win, a guy coached by Karissa Schweizer‘s grandfather won as well. Another winner wrote one of the greatest emails we’ve ever received.
Jordan Geist Breaks National High School 16-Pound Shot Put Record With Massive 68-4 He broke Ryan Crouser‘s indoor record of 63-11 by more than 4 feet and also beat Michael Carter‘s outdoor record. Could he possibly break Carter’s legendary 81-3 with the HS shot that has stood since ’79?
*End-Of-Year Review IAAF: Throws
LRC WTW: Europe’s Teen Phenoms Appear To Be The Real Deal And Buzunesh Deba Breaks The Boston Marathon Course Record We look at foreign transplants, junior phenoms and note it’s been 975 days since an American went sub-2:10 in the marathon. We also discussed the ailing Miruts Yifter, the 1980 Olympic 5k/10k champ, who passed away on Thursday.
LRC Feature Growing Pains: How Donavan Brazier Went From Breaking A 50-Year-Old NCAA Record To Bombing Out Of The Olympic Trials 21 Days LaterIn the span of three weeks, Donavan Brazier went from the highest of highs – running 1:43.55 to win an NCAA title by breaking Jim Ryun‘s legendary record – to the lowest of lows – bombing out of the 1st round of the Olympic Trials. What the heck happened and what has the teen phenom and his team learned so history won’t repeat itself? Jonathan Gault tells you in 4,000+ words.
*MB: How did Donavan Brazier go from running 1:43.55 and winning NCAAs to bombing out of the US Trials 21 days later?
And She Jumps Too:Olympic High Schooler Sydney McLaughlin Gets #11 All-Time Indoor Mark In The Long Jump With 6.28m
Beer Mile: World Record Holder Corey Bellemore Dominates FloTrack Beer Mile Bellemore ran 4:49 to beat the former WR holder Lewis Kent by 10 seconds. US’s Grace Morgan initially finished first for the women in a 6:07 WR, but was DQed for having too much liquid left in her bottles, giving Caitlin Batten (6:29) the win.
Former Arkansas Star Jarrion Lawson Wins The Men’s Bowerman Award Lawson had an extremely impressive 2016, competing in four events at NCAAs (winning three of them), finishing runner-up at USAs in the LJ and 4th at the Olympic Games.
Courtney Okolo Wins Women’s Bowerman Award The former Texas star won four NCAA titles last year and set the NCAA 400m record, becoming the first collegiate woman in history to go sub-50 as she ran 49.71. The low point of her season unfortunately came at the Olympic Trials, where she ran very sub-par and missed making Rio.
LRC Q&A Emma Coburn Discusses Her Big 2016 Season, Leaving Mark Wetmore & Heather Burroughs, & the Future Of The Women’s Steeple Coburn had an incredible and hectic 2016 – she set two American records, won an Olympic bronze medal and got engaged to longtime boyfriend (and now coach) Joe Bosshard. After the dream year, she surprisingly announced she was splitting from coaches Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs. LRC caught up with her on Wednesday to talk about all of that as well as the biggest thing she’s learned from training with Jenny Simpson.
Miruts Yifter, Inspiration To Haile G & Double Olympic Champ, Dies Yifter won 5,000 and 10,000 gold in 1980 and bronze in 1972. He was jailed upon returning to Ethiopia after 1972 and was a huge inspiration for Haile Gebrselassie.
*A Good Primer For Those Of You Who Don’t Know Much About Him: Athletics Weekly Remembers Miruts Yifter “The Shifter”
*IAAF Remembers Ethiopian Great Miruts Yifter
LRC Book Review: “Collision Course” By Jason Henderson – A Terrific Summary Of The Events Before, During And After One Of The Most Memorable Races Of All TimeHenderson, a lifelong track nerd and the editor of Athletics Weekly, traces the paths of American favorite Mary Decker and teen phenom Zola Budd of South Africa (who wound up competing for Great Britain) to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where they tangled in the 3,000-meter final, resulting in Decker’s famous fall.
LRC Book Review: Pat Butcher Travels To The Czech Republic For “Quicksilver: The Mercurial Emil Zátopek”; How Does It Compare To The Other Zátopek Biographies? And the verdict is in … which of the three biographies of Emil Zatopek – the man RW called the greatest of all-time – is the best?
LRC Analysis LetsRun.com Breaks Down Galen Rupp’s Boston Marathon Debut – Will He (And Should He) Be The Favorite? How Well Suited Is He For The Course? + Conspiracy Theories GaloreAn American-born man hasn’t won the Boston marathon since 1983. That very well may change in 2017. In this LetsRun.com debate, the LRC staff goes back and forth about Rupp’s Boston debut. They start by debating if Rupp is the favorite but before it’s all over the venture into the conspiracy theory front: Is it possible that the Nike sub-2 attempt was created to water down Boston to ensure Rupp’s victory?
*MB: Galen Rupp to run Boston Marathon. He will need volunteers to hand him new hats throughout the race.
*MB:Calling it now, Rupp wins Boston 2017 2:07:04, prove me wrong.
Galen Rupp And Entire US Olympic Marathon Team Minus Amy Cragg Running 2017 Boston Marathon – Plus Jordan Hasay’s Debut Galen Rupp is running his first big city major marathon and it’s not inconceivable he will be the favorite to WIN the 2017 Boston Marathon (international field hasn’t been announced) as Meb runs his final Boston and Shalane Flanagan and Desi Linden go for Boston glory with Jordan Hasay making her debut.
Indiana State Coach McNichols In Critical Condition After Suffering A Stroke Our our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
Course Record Holder And Rio 2016 Olympian Desiree Linden To Lead 5,000 Runners At NYRR Midnight Run In Central Park To Ring In 2017 Linden will face returning winner Sarah Pagano and GB’s Hannah England while Daniel Winn will try to defend his title against GB’s Andy Vernon.
LRC Column Morgan Uceny Was No Quitter – The Former World #1 Calls It A Career It’s fair to say that Uceny never won a medal at a global championship but it’s not fair to call her a quitter simply because she didn’t finish the 2012 Olympics. Uceny was a fighter.
*MB: Morgan Uceny Retires
*Press Release: US Olympian Morgan Uceny Announces Her Retirement From The Sport
*LRC Archives:Disaster Strikes Twice As Morgan Uceny Gets Tripped Again And A Former Doper Wins Gold
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