US track & field television coverage has a cancer of stupid. It began to go into remission during the Worlds, but relapsed with a vengeance today.
The double whammy that plagues the broadcasts is 1) wasting huge amounts of time with introductions, previews, slo-mo replays, and vacuous post-race interviews and 2) failing to cover huge amounts of the meet. This has to be the worst offender in this way in recent memory, even worse than the awful Adidas Classic last May.
There were sixteen events on the program of the Zurich Weltklasse meet. Only eleven even got mentioned on the air, and two of those (women's pole vault and high jump) got only the most cursory coverage--the dreaded "here is their winning attempt" crap that denies the existence of an actual competition.
No coverage of the men's 1500, steeplechase, triple jump or javelin. Most inexplicably, no women's 1500, where America's Anna Willard came up just 0.23 seconds short of beating the World/Olympic champ, and two more Americans toook 4th and 5th. In terms of depth of performance, this is without a doubt the greatest single women's 1500 race in US history. Nothing.
This may not actually be the worst telecast of a track meet ever on national TV, as the mind-bending pair of Larry Rawson and Carol Lewis were mercifully absent. But coming as it did on the heels of a week where the producers seemed to begin to figure out what we wanted to see, it is without a doubt the most disappointing.
Showing posts with label Golden League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golden League. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Zurich Reactions
SPOILER ALERT: if you're planning on watching this on TV on Sunday, don't read this. But if so, why are you on the internet anyway?
Results / IAAF recap / video-on-demand
This is the penultimate round in the final go-round of the Golden League. Good riddance, too. The whole jackpot thing is just a bit too contrived. For example, Kerron Stewart had the 4-for-4 thing going into today, and there was speculation that World champ Shelly-Ann Fraser would hold back to keep her compatriot in contention. If Fraser didn't hold back on purpose, then she just ran a piss-poor race. In any case, Jeter won, and made next week's final Golden League women's 100 meters mean...well, I guess it doesn't directly affect anything.
The big news on the world stage was the return to top form by Isinbayeva, who broke her own World Record (video link).
But to me, the bigger story is Ritz. He's legend around here, as the best schoolboy runner the rust belt has ever seen. His performance level after high school has been spotty, and rarely has he strung together several big things. So today's 5k American record, on the heels of his 10k PR for sixth in Berlin, means a lot. (Let's Run story / T&FN video interview)
That's one story, and a big one to me because it stands the conventional wisdom on its head. Here's why. The meet was on during my planning period, but I couldn't watch it on UniversalSports.com because I don't have administrator priveleges to install Flash player 10 at work. So I had to follow the meet on the various message boards and blogs. As my team was getting ready for practice, I told them the final event was the men's 5k, featuring one American, ten Kenyans, two Ethiopians, and a Ugandan. They laughed and predicted the American would be last. And through 1600 meters, they were right...but Ritz was on 12:55 pace at the time.
And after practice I delivered the shocking news that he'd taken third, to the World record holder and one other, and had run 12:56. Earlier in the meet, the USA took places 2-4-5 in the women's 1500, beating back a lot of damn good runners in the process. That the USA took 7th in the men's 800 and went 7-9 in the men's 1500 was considered well below expectations. This is a vastly different scenario at a Weltklasse meet than we've become accustomed to.
Do you remember what Golden League distance races looked like even five years ago? Americans couldn't get a spot on the starting line in any of them, and deservedly so. We were minor-league. Now we're major-league, and while we haven't won any championships (aside from Lagat's '07 double), we have a whole crew of younger runners all within spitting distance of them. Now, there is a reason for American TV to show distance races in their entirety. We're in them, and we affect the outcome of them.
Results / IAAF recap / video-on-demand
This is the penultimate round in the final go-round of the Golden League. Good riddance, too. The whole jackpot thing is just a bit too contrived. For example, Kerron Stewart had the 4-for-4 thing going into today, and there was speculation that World champ Shelly-Ann Fraser would hold back to keep her compatriot in contention. If Fraser didn't hold back on purpose, then she just ran a piss-poor race. In any case, Jeter won, and made next week's final Golden League women's 100 meters mean...well, I guess it doesn't directly affect anything.
The big news on the world stage was the return to top form by Isinbayeva, who broke her own World Record (video link).
But to me, the bigger story is Ritz. He's legend around here, as the best schoolboy runner the rust belt has ever seen. His performance level after high school has been spotty, and rarely has he strung together several big things. So today's 5k American record, on the heels of his 10k PR for sixth in Berlin, means a lot. (Let's Run story / T&FN video interview)
That's one story, and a big one to me because it stands the conventional wisdom on its head. Here's why. The meet was on during my planning period, but I couldn't watch it on UniversalSports.com because I don't have administrator priveleges to install Flash player 10 at work. So I had to follow the meet on the various message boards and blogs. As my team was getting ready for practice, I told them the final event was the men's 5k, featuring one American, ten Kenyans, two Ethiopians, and a Ugandan. They laughed and predicted the American would be last. And through 1600 meters, they were right...but Ritz was on 12:55 pace at the time.
And after practice I delivered the shocking news that he'd taken third, to the World record holder and one other, and had run 12:56. Earlier in the meet, the USA took places 2-4-5 in the women's 1500, beating back a lot of damn good runners in the process. That the USA took 7th in the men's 800 and went 7-9 in the men's 1500 was considered well below expectations. This is a vastly different scenario at a Weltklasse meet than we've become accustomed to.
Do you remember what Golden League distance races looked like even five years ago? Americans couldn't get a spot on the starting line in any of them, and deservedly so. We were minor-league. Now we're major-league, and while we haven't won any championships (aside from Lagat's '07 double), we have a whole crew of younger runners all within spitting distance of them. Now, there is a reason for American TV to show distance races in their entirety. We're in them, and we affect the outcome of them.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Future of the Golden League
While cleaning house today, I came across some notes I furiously scribbled down a few weeks ago regarding the IAAF's Golden League and World Athletics Tour.
This year, the Golden League was disjointed and hard to follow while the World Tour as a whole was an abject failure. Maybe the TV ratings were decent and so forth, but as far as a coherent structure for track and field it simply did not work.
What led me to this conclusion? I was at my in-laws' house, and NASCAR's Chase for the Cup series was on the TV. A few weeks before that, the PGA's FedEx Cup playoffs were on. Both have been highly successful efforts by their respective professional organizations.
By comparison, track's flagship series this year was disjointed. Two meets in early June, another two a whole month later, then another six weeks before the final two meets. The World Athletics Final was a real downer as the biggest stars, such as Bolt, skipped it. In terms of giving structure to the season, there was none.
By contrast, NASCAR and the PGA have taken the playoff mentality of team sports and successfully applied it to individual sports. Before trying to figure out how the IAAF could do the same, we need to carefully look at what it is that's being done.
NASCAR and the PGA have figured out what game shows have known for decades. Your standard 30-minute game show boils down to three stages: first round, second round, and lightning round. Jeodpardy! is the classic example, but pretty much everything on GSN follows this format. Points are accumulated all the rounds, but the second round counts much more than the first and the lightning round most of all. Why? So that everyone is still in the competition until the very end, because even big leads are not insurmountable. If the leader can't lose, why keep watching?
Likewise, the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Chase to the Nextel Cup reduce or eliminate any points lead built up during the regular season. The same happens in any team sports playoffs; the teams with the best regular-season records have to start all over again and win the playoffs to get a championship. The Patriots had no built-in advantage over the Giants in last year's Superbowl, even though they clearly had earned one, and the "best" team of 2007 didn't win the championship because they weren't the best on that one day. I'm not complaining; I hated the Patriots, and in fact the possibility of them losing made it that much more interesting to watch. If late-season competition is to be compelling, championship contention must be heavily (or completely) weighted towards that period.
If the IAAF wants a compelling end to the season, then, there must be some type of short-term chase to a championship. Of course, we had a great one this year called the Olympics. But to extend interest beyond those two weeks and into the professional circuit, we need something different than what we've got.
We also need to recall how things used to be. The forerunner of the World Athletics Final was the Grand Prix Final, and the IAAF got its best athletes to show up by giving out a big jackpot to a champion of champions, the single male and female athletes who had the greatest seasons (as determined by a points total). Once that went out the window, it got a lot harder to get universal participation. And in an Olympic year the need to be at peak form for the Games trumps all else.
So here's my idea in a nutshell. Meets before the Olympics or Worlds score points just like they do now, but the series expands to add some other events like the World Indoor, US Championships, the European Team Championships, and so on. Also, maybe bonus points for good marks. The Worlds/Olympics also add in very big points. Immediately after the WC/OG, the top five or six in each event qualify to a short series of meets held over about two weeks, capped by the World Athletics Final. Call it The Home Stretch or some such catchy thing. And not only have event championships, but an overall title as well. (Note: if bonus points for good marks are awarded, it is possible that the overall title could come down to two athletes in the same event. Head-to-head competition is the essence of sports!)
The other thing that must be kept in mind is that different years are, well, different. The schedule should be adjusted to account for the supreme importance of the Olympics, and the rapid downward spiral of public attention afterwards. World Championships years should likewise be treated differently than either Olympic or World Cup years.
This proposal would ash-can the Golden League as we know it. I wouldn't miss it. By the end of the year, the remaining contenders are attempting to not lose, which in sports is generally considered not interesting.
This year, the Golden League was disjointed and hard to follow while the World Tour as a whole was an abject failure. Maybe the TV ratings were decent and so forth, but as far as a coherent structure for track and field it simply did not work.
What led me to this conclusion? I was at my in-laws' house, and NASCAR's Chase for the Cup series was on the TV. A few weeks before that, the PGA's FedEx Cup playoffs were on. Both have been highly successful efforts by their respective professional organizations.
By comparison, track's flagship series this year was disjointed. Two meets in early June, another two a whole month later, then another six weeks before the final two meets. The World Athletics Final was a real downer as the biggest stars, such as Bolt, skipped it. In terms of giving structure to the season, there was none.
By contrast, NASCAR and the PGA have taken the playoff mentality of team sports and successfully applied it to individual sports. Before trying to figure out how the IAAF could do the same, we need to carefully look at what it is that's being done.
NASCAR and the PGA have figured out what game shows have known for decades. Your standard 30-minute game show boils down to three stages: first round, second round, and lightning round. Jeodpardy! is the classic example, but pretty much everything on GSN follows this format. Points are accumulated all the rounds, but the second round counts much more than the first and the lightning round most of all. Why? So that everyone is still in the competition until the very end, because even big leads are not insurmountable. If the leader can't lose, why keep watching?
Likewise, the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Chase to the Nextel Cup reduce or eliminate any points lead built up during the regular season. The same happens in any team sports playoffs; the teams with the best regular-season records have to start all over again and win the playoffs to get a championship. The Patriots had no built-in advantage over the Giants in last year's Superbowl, even though they clearly had earned one, and the "best" team of 2007 didn't win the championship because they weren't the best on that one day. I'm not complaining; I hated the Patriots, and in fact the possibility of them losing made it that much more interesting to watch. If late-season competition is to be compelling, championship contention must be heavily (or completely) weighted towards that period.
If the IAAF wants a compelling end to the season, then, there must be some type of short-term chase to a championship. Of course, we had a great one this year called the Olympics. But to extend interest beyond those two weeks and into the professional circuit, we need something different than what we've got.
We also need to recall how things used to be. The forerunner of the World Athletics Final was the Grand Prix Final, and the IAAF got its best athletes to show up by giving out a big jackpot to a champion of champions, the single male and female athletes who had the greatest seasons (as determined by a points total). Once that went out the window, it got a lot harder to get universal participation. And in an Olympic year the need to be at peak form for the Games trumps all else.
So here's my idea in a nutshell. Meets before the Olympics or Worlds score points just like they do now, but the series expands to add some other events like the World Indoor, US Championships, the European Team Championships, and so on. Also, maybe bonus points for good marks. The Worlds/Olympics also add in very big points. Immediately after the WC/OG, the top five or six in each event qualify to a short series of meets held over about two weeks, capped by the World Athletics Final. Call it The Home Stretch or some such catchy thing. And not only have event championships, but an overall title as well. (Note: if bonus points for good marks are awarded, it is possible that the overall title could come down to two athletes in the same event. Head-to-head competition is the essence of sports!)
The other thing that must be kept in mind is that different years are, well, different. The schedule should be adjusted to account for the supreme importance of the Olympics, and the rapid downward spiral of public attention afterwards. World Championships years should likewise be treated differently than either Olympic or World Cup years.
This proposal would ash-can the Golden League as we know it. I wouldn't miss it. By the end of the year, the remaining contenders are attempting to not lose, which in sports is generally considered not interesting.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Weltklasse Zurich Preview
I also have preview up at The Final Sprint. The nitty-gritty: ESPN Classic, 4-6 p.m. tommorrow. Here's who the top competitors are. I know there's a lot, but it's the Weltklasse for cryin' out loud. I have no idea why my HTML coding is giving such a gap to the table below.
| Time | Event | Key Competitors |
| 12:40 PM | Women’s Pole Vault | #1 Yelena Isinbayeva, #2 Jenn Stuczynski, #3 Svetlana Feofanova, #4 Monica Pyrek, #5 Yulia Golubchikova, #6 Fabiana Murer, #7 Silke Spiegelburg, #10 Carolin Hingst |
| 1:40 PM | Men’s Javelin | #1 Andreas Thorkildsen, #2 Tero Pitkämäki, #3 Tero Järvenpää, #6 Eriks Rags, #8 Ilya Korotkov, #9 Sergey Makarov, #10 Magnus Arvidsson, #11 Vadim Vasilevskis |
| 1:45 PM | Women’s High Jump | #1 Blanka Vlašic, #2 Anna Chicerova, #3 Yelena Slesarenko, #4 Tia Hellebaut, #6 Chaunte Howard, #7 Vita Palamar, #8 Ruth Beitia |
| 1:45 PM | Men’s 100m (race “C”) | |
| 1:50 PM | Men’s 100m (race “B”) | |
| 2:00 PM | Men’s Long Jump | #3 Hussein Taher Al-Sabee, #4 Mohamed Salman Al Khuwalidi |
| 2:05 PM | Men’s 1500 meters | #2 Daniel Kipchirchir Komen, #4 Shedrack Korir, #5 Asbel Kiprop, #6 Abdalaati Iguider, #9 Rashid Ramzi, #10 Juan Carlos Higuera, #12 Mehdi Baala |
| 2:15 PM | Women’s 400 meters | #1 Sanya Richards, #4 Shericka Williams, #7 Novlene Williams, #8 Amantle Montsho, #9 Mary Wineberg, #10 Tayana Firova |
| 2:25 PM | Men’s Steeplechase | #2 Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong, #3 Michael Kipyego, #4 Paul Kipsiele Koech, #4 Mehiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, #5 Ezekiel Kemboi, #7 Wesley Kiprotich, #9 Tareq Mubarak Taher |
| 2:40 PM | Men’s 110m Hurdles | #1 Dayron Robles, #2 David Oliver, #5 Joel Brown, #6 Anwar Moore, #8 Aries Merritt |
| 2:45 PM | Women’s 800 meters | #1 Pamela Jelimo, #2 Janeth Jepkosgei, #3 Maria Mutola, #4 Kenia Sinclair, #5 Yuliya Krevsun, #11 Elisa Cusma, #12 Marilyn Okoro |
| 2:55 PM | Men’s 100 meters | #1 Usain Bolt, #3 Walter Dix, #5 Richard Thompson, #7 Marc Burns, #8 Michael Frater, #10 Churandy Martina, #11 Darvis Patton |
| 3:05 PM | Men’s 400m Hurdles | #1 Kerron Clement, #2 Bershawn Jackson, #3 Danny McFarlane, #4 Angelo Taylor, #5 L.J. van Zyl, #6 Marek Plawgo, #8 Isa Phillips, #11 Markino Buckley |
| 3:15 PM | Women’s 200 meters | #3 Allyson Felix, #9 Marshavet Hooker, #12 Debbie Ferguson |
| 3:20 PM | Men’s 400 meters | #1 Jeremy Wariner, #2 LaShawn Merritt, #3 Chris Brown, #4 David Neville, #9 Johan Wissman |
| 3:30 PM | Women’s 100m Hurdles | #1 Lolo Jones, #2 Brigitte Foster, #3 Sally McLellan, #4 Delloreen Ennis-London, #5 Dawn Harper, #6 Joesphine Onyia, #8 Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, #11 Susanna Kallur |
| 3:35 PM | Men’s 5000 meters | #1 Kenenisa Bekele, #2 Moses Ndiema Masai, #4 Micah Kogo, #6 Joseph Ebuya, #7 Mark Kosgei Kiptoo, #12 Leonard Patrick Komon |
| 3:55 PM | Men’s 4x100 meters | Jamaica, USA, Trinidad |
Friday, February 08, 2008
Golden League coming to USA?
Sweden's Aftonbladet (in Swedish) has a view of the IAAF's master plan, and it includes a Golden League event in Eugene. This is part of a plan to take the series global; not only to North America but to Asia and Russia as well.
Another part of the plan is a contract with top athletes requiring them to compete in a minimum number of GL events.
Discuss
Another part of the plan is a contract with top athletes requiring them to compete in a minimum number of GL events.
Discuss
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Berlin Golden League Review
Results
IAAF Review
AP wirestory
Richards and Isinbayeva hold on for the $1 million jackpot.
Event-by-event...
Men's 100: None of the top athletes ran; Ndure just nipped Devonish in 10.14 (-0.5 wind). Video
Men's 200: The only big names here were Americans Spearmon and Martin, who went 1-2 in 20.22 and 20.54 (-0.8 wind).
Men's 400: Even Jeremy Wariner is beginning to feel the effects of a very long season...but not as much as everyone else. He ran 44.05, while second place (Christopher Tyler) ran 45.10; US champ Angelo Taylor was third. Video
Men's 1500: If memory serves me, this was Lagat's first loss since July. He was passed by Daniel Kipchirchir Komen on the final turn but held off everyone else.
Men's 110H: Allen Johnson started his season very late and wasn't in form to make the Worlds team, but has been very good over the last week or so of the season. The three big stars (Liu, Trammell, Robles) were absent but most of the rest were here; Johnson topped them all in 13.33 (-0.5 wind) for his first win of the year. Video
Men's 400H: Marek Plawgo continued his late-season heroics, winning (49.01) by a scant 0.01 over James Carter, with Felix Sanchez a well-beaten fourth.
Men's Pole Vault: Germans Danny Ecker and Bjorn Otto went 1-2 with Brad Walker third (a countbakc loss to Otto).
Men's Triple Jump: Probably the event of the day. All the top jumpers were in attendance and it was a close one. Aarik Wilson and World champ Nelson Evora tied with 17.07, and their second-best jumps were also tied (17.02). They had to go back to the third-best mark to get a winner, which was Wilson. Gregorio, Davis, Sands and Lewis rounded out the top half-dozen.
Men's Javelin: Dueling northerners Pitkämäki and Thorkildsen each only took two throws. The Finn's mark of 88.58 held up (no one else in the field save Thorkildsen has beaten that this year). The Norwegian's 80.71 wasn't remotely close to good enough to hold second; Magnus Arviddson and Teemu Wirkkala both topped it, giving Thorkildsen his worst result on the 2007 World Tour.
Women's 100: Carmelita Jeter (11.15, -0.3 wind) ran well clear of Lauren Williams and Christine Arron (both 11.24). It was Williams' second race of the day (see below).
Women's 200: Williams led into the straight and held it through to the finish (22.95, +1.2 wind). Notables in the race included Debbie Ferguson (2nd, 23.07), LaShauntea Moore (4th, 23.10), Cydonie Mothersill (5th, also 23.10), and Muriel Hurtis (6th, 23.13). Video
Women's 400: Earlier this week it was reported that World champ Christine Ohuruogu was calling it quits for the season, but she was here in the race along with compatriate silver-medalist Sanders, Amy Mbacke Thiam, Novlene Williams, and hurdle champ Jana Rawlinson. Sanya Richards disposed of them all in world-leading time (49.27) to claim half a million dollars. Video
Women's 800: Another late-season meet, another good field decisively beaten by Janeth Jepkosgei.
Women's 5k: The only Osaka distance medalists entered were Vivian Cheruiyot and Kara Goucher. The former won fairly clearly (14:50.78) while the latter, back in third, broke her PR by 13 seconds (14:55.02)and moved to #4 on the US list behind Shalane Flanagan, Deena Kastor and (cue Darth Vader musical sting) Regina Jacobs.
Women's 100H: Susanna Kallur led from the gun for her third straight post-Osaka victory and a new PR (12.49). Michelle Perry was second, just ahead of Delloreen Ennis-Perry. Video
Women's High Jump: Blanca Vlašic again, but not as dominating. She only jumped 2.00 and needed three attempts to get it. Video
Women's Pole Vault: Isinbayeva was quite dominating here. She went 4.82, while the season's next-best vaulters (Pyrek and Feofanova) were second and third with 10 cm less.
Women's Javelin: German hero Christina Obergföll avenged her Osaka loss to Barbara Špotáková, 64.58 to 64.51.
IAAF Review
AP wirestory
Richards and Isinbayeva hold on for the $1 million jackpot.
Event-by-event...
Men's 100: None of the top athletes ran; Ndure just nipped Devonish in 10.14 (-0.5 wind). Video
Men's 200: The only big names here were Americans Spearmon and Martin, who went 1-2 in 20.22 and 20.54 (-0.8 wind).
Men's 400: Even Jeremy Wariner is beginning to feel the effects of a very long season...but not as much as everyone else. He ran 44.05, while second place (Christopher Tyler) ran 45.10; US champ Angelo Taylor was third. Video
Men's 1500: If memory serves me, this was Lagat's first loss since July. He was passed by Daniel Kipchirchir Komen on the final turn but held off everyone else.
Men's 110H: Allen Johnson started his season very late and wasn't in form to make the Worlds team, but has been very good over the last week or so of the season. The three big stars (Liu, Trammell, Robles) were absent but most of the rest were here; Johnson topped them all in 13.33 (-0.5 wind) for his first win of the year. Video
Men's 400H: Marek Plawgo continued his late-season heroics, winning (49.01) by a scant 0.01 over James Carter, with Felix Sanchez a well-beaten fourth.
Men's Pole Vault: Germans Danny Ecker and Bjorn Otto went 1-2 with Brad Walker third (a countbakc loss to Otto).
Men's Triple Jump: Probably the event of the day. All the top jumpers were in attendance and it was a close one. Aarik Wilson and World champ Nelson Evora tied with 17.07, and their second-best jumps were also tied (17.02). They had to go back to the third-best mark to get a winner, which was Wilson. Gregorio, Davis, Sands and Lewis rounded out the top half-dozen.
Men's Javelin: Dueling northerners Pitkämäki and Thorkildsen each only took two throws. The Finn's mark of 88.58 held up (no one else in the field save Thorkildsen has beaten that this year). The Norwegian's 80.71 wasn't remotely close to good enough to hold second; Magnus Arviddson and Teemu Wirkkala both topped it, giving Thorkildsen his worst result on the 2007 World Tour.
Women's 100: Carmelita Jeter (11.15, -0.3 wind) ran well clear of Lauren Williams and Christine Arron (both 11.24). It was Williams' second race of the day (see below).
Women's 200: Williams led into the straight and held it through to the finish (22.95, +1.2 wind). Notables in the race included Debbie Ferguson (2nd, 23.07), LaShauntea Moore (4th, 23.10), Cydonie Mothersill (5th, also 23.10), and Muriel Hurtis (6th, 23.13). Video
Women's 400: Earlier this week it was reported that World champ Christine Ohuruogu was calling it quits for the season, but she was here in the race along with compatriate silver-medalist Sanders, Amy Mbacke Thiam, Novlene Williams, and hurdle champ Jana Rawlinson. Sanya Richards disposed of them all in world-leading time (49.27) to claim half a million dollars. Video
Women's 800: Another late-season meet, another good field decisively beaten by Janeth Jepkosgei.
Women's 5k: The only Osaka distance medalists entered were Vivian Cheruiyot and Kara Goucher. The former won fairly clearly (14:50.78) while the latter, back in third, broke her PR by 13 seconds (14:55.02)and moved to #4 on the US list behind Shalane Flanagan, Deena Kastor and (cue Darth Vader musical sting) Regina Jacobs.
Women's 100H: Susanna Kallur led from the gun for her third straight post-Osaka victory and a new PR (12.49). Michelle Perry was second, just ahead of Delloreen Ennis-Perry. Video
Women's High Jump: Blanca Vlašic again, but not as dominating. She only jumped 2.00 and needed three attempts to get it. Video
Women's Pole Vault: Isinbayeva was quite dominating here. She went 4.82, while the season's next-best vaulters (Pyrek and Feofanova) were second and third with 10 cm less.
Women's Javelin: German hero Christina Obergföll avenged her Osaka loss to Barbara Špotáková, 64.58 to 64.51.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Berlin Golden League Preview
Meet website
Start lists
Timetable
IAAF preview
Net coverage:
Sportnet.com beginning around 8 AM
TV coverage:
CBC, 4:00-5:00 PM
Versus, 4:00-5:00 PM Monday
Start lists
Timetable
IAAF preview
Net coverage:
Sportnet.com beginning around 8 AM
TV coverage:
CBC, 4:00-5:00 PM
Versus, 4:00-5:00 PM Monday
Friday, September 14, 2007
Brussels Golden League Review
Results
IAAF recap
AP wirestory
A WR by Defar, while Richards and Isinbayeva stay alive in the jackpot race.
Event-by-event...
Men's 100: In the absence of any other big stars, Powell won convincingly: 9.84 into a 0.3 m/s headwind. This is probably the second-best race he's ever run.
Men's 200: Spearmon took it to Carter and Bolt on the turn and was never challenged, winning by a wide margin in 19.88.
Men's 800: Kenyan David Lekuta Rudisha, called the "dark horse" of the race by the meet director, took almost a full second off his PR for a clear win over tour leaders Mulaudzi, Kamel and Ali. Borzakovskiy ran like crap back in sixth.
Men's 1500: Daniel Kipchirchir Komen swept past a failing Rashid Ramzi in the last lap. Other than these two, no big names were entered save Asbel Kiprop, who finished third from last.
Men's Steeple: Paul Kipsiele Koech has won pretty much everything this year except the Kenyan Trials, which then kept him out of the World Championships. In what was described as a solo run, he took the yearly lead down to 7:58.80 to defeat World champ Kipruto, who himself ran a PR (8:02.89).
Men's 5000: This might be the race of the night. The unknown star, Seleshi Sihine, outsprinted Eliud Kipchoge to win by a mere 0.22 seconds (12:50.16); Osaka bronze-medalist Moses Kipsiro set a national record in third. The top seven were all under 13 minutes, but Tegenkamp looks like he might be past his peak as he "only" registered 13:07.41 way back in 11th.
Men's 10,000: It was supposed to be a record attempt, but it didn't take all that long for Bekele to figure out it wasn't happening. Then relative unknown Moses Masai started gaining on him and with two laps to go Bekele led by only 10 meters. Of course, Bekele pulled away for the win--he hasn't been beaten in the 10k in over 4 years--but it was an actual race. The first four all broke 27 minutes. Video
Men's 110H: Dayron Robles, 13.21, over most of the top Americans (except Trammell). In third, Allen Johnson continues to amaze; remember, he was Olympic Champ when Bob Dole was running for president!
Men's Triple Jump: Walter Davis continued his post-Osaka success, beating back a field that included all the top jumpers (Evora, Gregorio, Wilson).
Men's Javelin: Pitkämäki won on his final throw, Thorkildsen again in second. Those two have been first and second in every Golden League meet this summer.
Women's 100: Like in Osaka, Campbell came out the winner. Unlike Osaka, even Mr. Magoo could have picked the winner--0.11 seconds back were Arron and Edwards.
Women's 200: National hero Kim Gevaert's victory resulted in a "cacophony of noise". Second was Edwards, doubling back from the 100.
Women's 400: The field was fairly deep, including most of the Osaka stars save Ohuruogu. Sanya Richards left them all more than a second in arrears for a new seasonal best of 49.29. Video
Women's Mile: This was supposed to be a clash between Osaka gold- and silver-medalists. They did take places one and two, but it wasn't even remotely close; Jamal put four seconds on Soboleva in the final lap for a new Asian record (4:17.75), albeit for a rarely-run distance.
Women's 2 mile: Meseret Defar's world record 8:58.58 made her the hero of the night. How does this mark stack up? It's worth roughly 8:18.7, which would be the best mark ever made outside of the suspicious 1993 Chinese National Games. In other words, it deserves much more attention than it likely will get.
Women's 100H: Susanna Kallur stretched her Golden League win streak to two, the same length as Michelle Perry's third-place streak. Ennis-London just nipped the American for second. Video
Women's High Jump: Vlasic appears unbeatable this year. Her card was clean through the winning height of 2.03 and then she took three more shots at a WR height of 2.10.
Women's Pole Vault: The results make it look closer than it was; both Isinbayeva and Feofanova cleared 4.80 but the former did it on her first attempt versus the latter doing it on her third. Still, the jackpot was very much in jeopardy.
IAAF recap
AP wirestory
A WR by Defar, while Richards and Isinbayeva stay alive in the jackpot race.
Event-by-event...
Men's 100: In the absence of any other big stars, Powell won convincingly: 9.84 into a 0.3 m/s headwind. This is probably the second-best race he's ever run.
Men's 200: Spearmon took it to Carter and Bolt on the turn and was never challenged, winning by a wide margin in 19.88.
Men's 800: Kenyan David Lekuta Rudisha, called the "dark horse" of the race by the meet director, took almost a full second off his PR for a clear win over tour leaders Mulaudzi, Kamel and Ali. Borzakovskiy ran like crap back in sixth.
Men's 1500: Daniel Kipchirchir Komen swept past a failing Rashid Ramzi in the last lap. Other than these two, no big names were entered save Asbel Kiprop, who finished third from last.
Men's Steeple: Paul Kipsiele Koech has won pretty much everything this year except the Kenyan Trials, which then kept him out of the World Championships. In what was described as a solo run, he took the yearly lead down to 7:58.80 to defeat World champ Kipruto, who himself ran a PR (8:02.89).
Men's 5000: This might be the race of the night. The unknown star, Seleshi Sihine, outsprinted Eliud Kipchoge to win by a mere 0.22 seconds (12:50.16); Osaka bronze-medalist Moses Kipsiro set a national record in third. The top seven were all under 13 minutes, but Tegenkamp looks like he might be past his peak as he "only" registered 13:07.41 way back in 11th.
Men's 10,000: It was supposed to be a record attempt, but it didn't take all that long for Bekele to figure out it wasn't happening. Then relative unknown Moses Masai started gaining on him and with two laps to go Bekele led by only 10 meters. Of course, Bekele pulled away for the win--he hasn't been beaten in the 10k in over 4 years--but it was an actual race. The first four all broke 27 minutes. Video
Men's 110H: Dayron Robles, 13.21, over most of the top Americans (except Trammell). In third, Allen Johnson continues to amaze; remember, he was Olympic Champ when Bob Dole was running for president!
Men's Triple Jump: Walter Davis continued his post-Osaka success, beating back a field that included all the top jumpers (Evora, Gregorio, Wilson).
Men's Javelin: Pitkämäki won on his final throw, Thorkildsen again in second. Those two have been first and second in every Golden League meet this summer.
Women's 100: Like in Osaka, Campbell came out the winner. Unlike Osaka, even Mr. Magoo could have picked the winner--0.11 seconds back were Arron and Edwards.
Women's 200: National hero Kim Gevaert's victory resulted in a "cacophony of noise". Second was Edwards, doubling back from the 100.
Women's 400: The field was fairly deep, including most of the Osaka stars save Ohuruogu. Sanya Richards left them all more than a second in arrears for a new seasonal best of 49.29. Video
Women's Mile: This was supposed to be a clash between Osaka gold- and silver-medalists. They did take places one and two, but it wasn't even remotely close; Jamal put four seconds on Soboleva in the final lap for a new Asian record (4:17.75), albeit for a rarely-run distance.
Women's 2 mile: Meseret Defar's world record 8:58.58 made her the hero of the night. How does this mark stack up? It's worth roughly 8:18.7, which would be the best mark ever made outside of the suspicious 1993 Chinese National Games. In other words, it deserves much more attention than it likely will get.
Women's 100H: Susanna Kallur stretched her Golden League win streak to two, the same length as Michelle Perry's third-place streak. Ennis-London just nipped the American for second. Video
Women's High Jump: Vlasic appears unbeatable this year. Her card was clean through the winning height of 2.03 and then she took three more shots at a WR height of 2.10.
Women's Pole Vault: The results make it look closer than it was; both Isinbayeva and Feofanova cleared 4.80 but the former did it on her first attempt versus the latter doing it on her third. Still, the jackpot was very much in jeopardy.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Brussels Golden League Preview
Meet Website
IAAF preview - Veronica Campbell - Kenenisa Bekele - Asafa Powell
Net coverage:
Sportnet.com beginning around 1:30 PM eastern time
TV coverage:
CBC, 2:30-3:30 PM Saturday
Versus, 3:00-4:00 PM Sunday
The meet is sold out, no doubt in part because fans will get free beer if a world record is broken.
IAAF preview - Veronica Campbell - Kenenisa Bekele - Asafa Powell
Net coverage:
Sportnet.com beginning around 1:30 PM eastern time
TV coverage:
CBC, 2:30-3:30 PM Saturday
Versus, 3:00-4:00 PM Sunday
The meet is sold out, no doubt in part because fans will get free beer if a world record is broken.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Weltklasse Review
If you don't want to know the results so you can watch it tomorrow, why are you online?
TV coverage:
CBC, Saturday, 2:00-3:00 PM
Versus, Saturday, 4:00-5:00 PM
Meet website
IAAF results
IAAF recap
Athletics Weekly recap
AP wirestories: #1 -- #2
In general, the stars of last week "looked tired and jet lagged". The meet must have been a bit of a downer. Unless, of course, you read the Voice of America.
Men's 100: Powell's asking price was too high, an exhausted Gay withdrew from the race, and Atkins dropped out with a cold. So we were left with decidedly second-tier sprinters remaining; Obikwelu over Saidy Njure in a pedestrian 10.17. Video
Men's 200: Carter came in more rested than Bolt and Spearmon withdrew. Result: a meet record 19.92 for the X-Man. Video
Men's 1500: The big news here? No rabbits. Webb faded down the stretch once again, finishing only 1.3 seconds out of first but a well-beaten seventh. Baala found redemption for his Osaka semi DQ by outsprinting the field for the win.
Men's 3000: No rabbits, Lagat wins on a convincing finish. You expected something different?
Men's 110H: Robles, the fourth man in Osaka, won by a decent margin over Trammell and Johnson.
Men's 4x100: The USA ran their same foursome as in Osaka, and Jamaica was missing Powell and Nesta Carter. Result: USA by a wide margin.
Men's pole vault: Anothe Osaka champ goes down. Igor Pavlov won on fewer misses over Otto and Lukianenko; world champ Walker only made one height.
Men's triple jump: Walter Davis beat Osaka champ Nelson Evora by a scant 2 cm, with Aarik Wilson third and everyone else well back.
Men's Jav: Pitkämäki lost for only the second time all year; as before, it was to Thorkildsen. The Norwegian put up a season's best in the third round and promptly quit throwing.
Women's 100: In the absence of Veronica Campbell, Christine Arron handily defeated Torri Edwards.
Women's 400: Most of the Osaka finalists lined up against Sanya Richards, who stomped them by a second and a half. Still alive in the jackpot hunt. Video
Women's 800: More domination by Jepkosgei.
Women's 1500: Miryam Jamal cemented her position as the undisputed #1 in this event.
Women's 100H: Just as in the men's hurdles race, 4th place in Osaka (Susanna Kallur) came back to win here. Michelle Perry suffered only her second loss of the season, but this time it cost her big money--she's out of the jackpot race.
Women's high jump: Vlasic continues to dominate this event. She again took legitimate shots at the world record. Video
Women's pole vault: Speaking of domination, we come to Isinbayeva. She may not actually be unbeatable but it sure seems that way. Also still alive in the jackpot hunt.
TV coverage:
CBC, Saturday, 2:00-3:00 PM
Versus, Saturday, 4:00-5:00 PM
Meet website
IAAF results
IAAF recap
Athletics Weekly recap
AP wirestories: #1 -- #2
In general, the stars of last week "looked tired and jet lagged". The meet must have been a bit of a downer. Unless, of course, you read the Voice of America.
Men's 100: Powell's asking price was too high, an exhausted Gay withdrew from the race, and Atkins dropped out with a cold. So we were left with decidedly second-tier sprinters remaining; Obikwelu over Saidy Njure in a pedestrian 10.17. Video
Men's 200: Carter came in more rested than Bolt and Spearmon withdrew. Result: a meet record 19.92 for the X-Man. Video
Men's 1500: The big news here? No rabbits. Webb faded down the stretch once again, finishing only 1.3 seconds out of first but a well-beaten seventh. Baala found redemption for his Osaka semi DQ by outsprinting the field for the win.
Men's 3000: No rabbits, Lagat wins on a convincing finish. You expected something different?
Men's 110H: Robles, the fourth man in Osaka, won by a decent margin over Trammell and Johnson.
Men's 4x100: The USA ran their same foursome as in Osaka, and Jamaica was missing Powell and Nesta Carter. Result: USA by a wide margin.
Men's pole vault: Anothe Osaka champ goes down. Igor Pavlov won on fewer misses over Otto and Lukianenko; world champ Walker only made one height.
Men's triple jump: Walter Davis beat Osaka champ Nelson Evora by a scant 2 cm, with Aarik Wilson third and everyone else well back.
Men's Jav: Pitkämäki lost for only the second time all year; as before, it was to Thorkildsen. The Norwegian put up a season's best in the third round and promptly quit throwing.
Women's 100: In the absence of Veronica Campbell, Christine Arron handily defeated Torri Edwards.
Women's 400: Most of the Osaka finalists lined up against Sanya Richards, who stomped them by a second and a half. Still alive in the jackpot hunt. Video
Women's 800: More domination by Jepkosgei.
Women's 1500: Miryam Jamal cemented her position as the undisputed #1 in this event.
Women's 100H: Just as in the men's hurdles race, 4th place in Osaka (Susanna Kallur) came back to win here. Michelle Perry suffered only her second loss of the season, but this time it cost her big money--she's out of the jackpot race.
Women's high jump: Vlasic continues to dominate this event. She again took legitimate shots at the world record. Video
Women's pole vault: Speaking of domination, we come to Isinbayeva. She may not actually be unbeatable but it sure seems that way. Also still alive in the jackpot hunt.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Weltklasse Preview
The "Olympics in one night" will be held in Zurich's new Letzigrund stadium on Friday at 8 PM their time, 2 PM Eastern time.
IAAF preview
Meet website
Start lists (discuss)
TV coverage:
CBC, Saturday, 2:00-3:00 PM
Versus, Saturday, 4:00-5:00 PM
Net coverage:
none that I know of, but sportnet.com might have it
IAAF preview
Meet website
Start lists (discuss)
TV coverage:
CBC, Saturday, 2:00-3:00 PM
Versus, Saturday, 4:00-5:00 PM
Net coverage:
none that I know of, but sportnet.com might have it
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Golden League
A few days back, the IAAF announced the setup for this year's Golden League jackpot. It's back to splitting the $1 million only between athletes who go undefeated, with a new safety net--if no one is undefeated, it's split between those who win at 5 out of 6 meets.
Over at the T&FN boards, the topic of discussion turned towards the slate of GL jackpot events, and how they seem to be the same events year after year (100m, 1500/mile, etc.). Garry Hill explains the reasoning, mainly marketability and meet promotion. Another points out that an event with two good athletes virtually guarantees that neither will win the jackpot. My reply:
Over at the T&FN boards, the topic of discussion turned towards the slate of GL jackpot events, and how they seem to be the same events year after year (100m, 1500/mile, etc.). Garry Hill explains the reasoning, mainly marketability and meet promotion. Another points out that an event with two good athletes virtually guarantees that neither will win the jackpot. My reply:
I think we've highlighted one of the problems with the whole Golden League setup in the first place. A back & forth season-long battle between two great athletes is probably the best thing that a sports tour could hope for (classic example: Arnold Palmer and Jack Niklaus). But the Golden League doesn't reward such a thing. In fact, the GP circuit's season-long standings haven't rewarded that since its inception, since the cash always goes to the athletes with more or less unopposed dominance.Got any? Post 'em in the comments.
Do any of our creative minds have alternative ideas?
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