Finish Line Pundit - A Track and Field Blog

RSS Feed Homepage

FLP Announcement
2007-07-29 00:24:00
Well, folks, writing about the sport of track & field is no longer just a hobby for me, but a career. I am now a writer over at The Final Sprint, The Internet's Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication. Thank you to everyone who has supported me by frequenting my blog. I will still be posting here at Finish Line Pundit, only I will be doing so less frequently. To get your daily dose of the Finish Line Pundit and my track and field musings, you can now click here.
More About: Announcement , Anno

Hot 800m Action in Belgium Saturday
2007-07-27 16:20:00
Alan Webb is scheduled to race again on Saturday , July 28th, 2007 at the KBC Night of Athletics meet in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium . He will race in the 800m this time, taking on Gary Reed of Canada, Dutch European champs Bram Som (outdoors) and Arnout Okken (indoors) as well as Nick Symmonds of the USA. Since the 800m is not his specialty, Webb is in for a hot race. Will he be able to hold his own?Johnny Gray's American record of 1:42.60, set way back on August 28th, 1985, shouldn't be in jeopardy, but – with Webb in the shape of his life – you never know. He will certainly set a new PB. Reed and Som seem to be the class of the field, both boasting sub 1:44 personal bests, but Symmonds can claim a faster time than Som in 2007. Look for this race to be one of the highlights of the 2007 season.
More About: Action

Bad News Day for Track & Field
2007-07-26 18:16:00
Bad news seems to come in bunches. Yesterday the IAAF announced that it has provisionally suspended Jolanda Ceplak for a doping violation. Both her "A" and "B" samples failed in an out-of-competition test, showing positive for the blood-doping agent EPO. The Slovakian middle-distance runner is the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and the indoor world record holder for the 800m Run. For what it's worth, Ceplak proclaims her innocence.Today Walter Dix announced that he will not be competing at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. Here's the pertinent section of the article in case the link gets removed:FSU's Dix decides to 'call it a season'By Steve Ellis DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITERWalter Dix won't be adding to his impressive 2007 resume in track. The ACC male athlete of the year has decided against competing in the IAAF World Championships next month in Japan.“He just decided to shut it down,” Florida State assistant coach Ken Harnden said. “It's been a long year. He's fini...
More About: News , Bad News , Track , Field , S Day

Oh, Joy! My First Internet Troll
2007-07-26 16:23:00
I received a comment this morning from Anonymous:I feel bad I have to give traffic to this website.. I wont [sic] be coming back. It sucks that the internet has the power to give complete idiots a voice. You are clueless if you are talking about the nation as a whole.How about this? If one of our American boys, including Webb, (he is a MD athlete), medal at worlds you shut your website down and never return. P.S. Look at how many HS boys broke 9 min in the 2 mile this past year. AndrewIt's ironic that "Andrew" is complaining about "the internet [having] the power to give complete idiots a voice" since he is the spokesman and poster child for their group. "Andrew" likes to disagree – and I certainly don't mind disagreements on this website – but "Andrew" states no position of his own, other than offering up some nonsense about high school runners breaking 9 minutes in the 2 mile. Not only that, but he hides behind a veil of anonymity, not leaving his e-mail message so t...
More About: Internet , Troll

FLP: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!
2007-07-24 17:32:00
Yesterday I wrote that there is no resurgence in American middle-distance running. Today I received a challenge from Christina and Ash Huzenlaub to back up my words. They wrote:Would you be prepared to shave your head should you be proven wrong (that with the exception of Webb, the US grabs a middle distance medal in Osaka) and post the picture on your blog? I immediately accepted their challenge in an e-mail reply. Let's define terms: I consider middle-distance running to be events that are between 800m and 3000m long. Other than Alan Webb, whom I expect to be crowned world champion in the men's 1500m run, if any American – man or woman – wins a gold, silver or bronze medal in either the 800m Run, 1500m Run or 3000m Steeplechase, I will shave my head and post a photo on my website. I could be persuaded to include the 5000m Run, but I would need to see some compelling evidence that the 5000m Run is a middle-distance, not a long-distance, race. Since no American has ever medale...
More About: Money , Mouth

There is No Resurgence in American Middle-Distance Running
2007-07-23 23:53:00
The most overused word in marketing is "revolutionary." Similarly, the word "resurgence" is bandied about so often in American track circles lately, one would think that the Kenyans have decided to boycott the World Championships next month. But other than Alan Webb's season in the sun, who do we have in United States Middle -Distance Running ? Let's take a peek at the IAAF top lists. In the women's mile, American Donna MacFarlane's time of 4:33.52 is some 18 (17.89, to be exact) seconds behind Russian Yelena Soboleva's world-leading time of 4:15.63. In the 800m, Alice Schmidt has posted a respectable 1:58.75 for 3rd place in 2007, just 0.42 seconds behind Maria Mutola's 1:58.75. But a quick look at the 2006 top list reveals that, at season's end, the American women weren't even within striking distance of the indomitable Mutola or the Russians. The top 800m runner was Hazel Clark, who finished the 2006 season with only the 19th fastest time. This year, once the season-en...
More About: Urge

Alan Webb Breaks 25-Year-Old American Record
2007-07-21 22:11:00
Alan Webb Broke Steve Scott's 25-Year-Old American Record in the Mile today at the Atletiek Vlaanderen meet in Brasschaat, Belgium. The video should be available soon on Flotrack.com.Webb's time of 3:46.91 is the 16th fastest Mile ever run. Webb is the 8th fastest miler of all time, only behind the following men:3:43.13, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)3:43.40, Noah Ngeny (KEN)3:44.39, Noureddine Morceli (ALG)3:44.60, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)3:44.90, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)3:44.95, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)3:45.19, Noureddine Morceli (ALG)3:45.64, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)3:45.96, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)3:46.24, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)3:46.32, Steve Cram (GBR)3:46.38, Daniel Komen (KEN)3:46.70, Vénuste Niyongabo (BDI)3:46.76, Saïd Aouita (MAR)3:46.78, Noureddine Morceli (ALG)
More About: Alan , Breaks

Do Taller Women Make Better Steeplechasers?
2007-07-20 16:47:00
The Message Board over at Track & Field News has a discussion about whether or not height gives women an advantage in steeplechasing. I contacted Ann Gaffigan, 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials champion in the steeplechase with a PB of 9:39.35, to ask her for her input into this question. In addition to being a world-class steeplechaser, Gaffigan is also the webmaster at Steeplechics.com and a computer programmer/ web systems developer at Gazelle, Inc. where she has built athletics-related databases. You can read a two-part interview with Gaffigan over on HerActiveLife.com (Part 1 | Part 2).This is her reply to my question:I think the switch from the flat 3K to the steeple depends on the person. And it is hard to predict. A lot of times, my coach (Jay Dirksen of Nebraska) has picked out the tall women and asked them to try it, and so far the success hasn't been great. I am not tall (5'5") and he asked me to try it because, as he put it, I'm an all-around athlete (I grew up playing every s...
More About: Women , Make , Eple , Hase

Take the FLP Poll! Would You Do "Whatever It Takes" To Win?
2007-07-19 14:32:00
MSNBC.com contributor Mike Celizic has weighed in to the Pistorius debate with this cynical attempt at wit:What if, the IAAF is saying, [Pistorius'] prosthetics give him an advantage that able-bodied runners don’t have? What if, in other words, the people with legs and feet are the ones who are disabled? What then? Do athletes start chopping their legs off in order to get the Pistorius pistons and win more races? (And you know that if the prosthetics are declared legal and really do give an advantage, there will be lines around the block waiting for amputations (emphasis mine-FLP). That’s how it is with athletes.)I couldn't imagine purposefully crippling myself for life just to try and gain athletic advantage. Of course, steroids can do the same thing, but many people have no problem taking those. I'd never take steroids, either. Is it just me, or is Celizic right? Would you really consider having your legs chopped off just to gain athletic advantage?
More About: Poll

NCAA Proposal: America Rejects the Metric System
2007-07-19 04:51:00
NCAA is proposing some amendments to the 2007 Rules Book that would reject the metric system in favor of the imperial system of measurement during collegiate track meets. to summarize the proposals, the 1500m Run would revert to the gold ol' Mile Run, and the field events would all have to be measured, displayed and announced as imperial units. Measuring in metric units would still be allowed for ratification of possible NCAA, America n and/or world records. Why? Apparently Americans have rejected the metric system. I for one, never tried to embrace it in the first place. (Just give me a good old quarter-mile track to run on so I can run a few 220's!)The rabid proponents of metrication (metricationists?) on the activist website Go Metric are appalled at such backwards thinking. The track and field fanatics over at the T&F News message boards are engaged in a furious debate. The purists are considering a boycott of NCAA meets while the pragmatists (including E. Garry Hill, Editor of...
More About: System , Proposal , Stem

Webb Set To Challenge Steve Scott's Mile Record
2007-07-19 00:24:00
Alan Webb , who already broke a couple of Steve Scott's records this season (his 28-year-old Drake Relays meet record in the Mile Run and his 25-year-old U.S. National Outdoor Championships meet record in the 1500m Run) is going for perhaps Scott's most prestigious record: the American Mile Run record of 3:47.69. He has lined up a couple of rabbits to pace him at the Atletiek Vlaanderen Meeting in Brasschaat, Belgium on July 21st, 2007.According to this article, Webb will need ideal conditions and good pacing. The forecast for Saturday in Antwerp is partly cloudy with highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s, which is ideal for middle distance running.As he tries for the record, we have to wonder: Is Webb peaking to soon? Probably not. If we look at his 2005 timeline, he showed a remarkably steady progression (see chart. I converted his Mile times from both years to their 1500m equivalents) all the way from May to August (the sole spike on the 2005 line is his 9th place finis...
More About: Challenge , Record

Top 5 Sports Films of All Time
2007-07-18 02:48:00
Film Critic Kevyn Knox has an ongoing weekly "Top 5 Films " project on his website Cinematheque. Just this past week he and 20 other critics, film students, film historians and film enthusiasts took on the challenge of listing their favorite sports movies. One film boxing-film fanatic listed 5 boxing movies as his favorite sports movies. (How's that for wearing your biases on your sleeve?) Some of the nominations could hardly be considered sports movies. Spelling bees? Chess? Billiards? The Big Lebowski!!!? (Nothing against bowling as a sport, but the movie was hardly a ringing endorsement of athleticism.) How do you suppose films about track & field and/or running fared?Running/Track & Field movies did not make the overall top 5 (Raging Bull, Hoop Dreams, Bull Durham, The Hustler and Million Dollar Baby topped the list), but there were a few pleasant surprises:David Sterritt, Chairman of the National Society of Film Critics, voted The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (To...
More About: Sports , Time , Ports

Wariner/Pistorius Race All Wet
2007-07-17 01:34:00
Here's the video from the rainy 400m at the IAAF British Grand Prix in which Jeremy Wariner lost his footing coming out of the blocks and Oscar Pistorius finished last then got disqualified for stepping out of his lane:Legendary miler Steve Cram offers his opinion about that race as well as Kenenisa Bekele's commanding performance in the men's 3000m in which he destroyed the field, including Australia's Craig Mottram.
More About: Race

Online Preview of Master's Track & Field Book
2007-07-15 20:46:00
If you've ever wanted to explore the history of the master's track and field movement, you can read an online preview of Masters Track and Field : A History by Leonard T. Olson (Preface: 3 pages; Ch. 1, 3 pages; Ch. 2, 3 pages, Ch. 3, 2 pages, Ch. 4, 1 page) in order to determine whether or not the hefty ($65.00) price of the hardback is worth it.From Amazon.com:Book DescriptionIt all began in 1968, when prominent civil lawyer David Pain introduced and implemented the idea of age-group competition for track and field. What began as a special mile run soon expanded into North American, then world, meets. This is the first book-length account of how the Masters Track and Field program (for men over the age of 40 and women over 35) was started, how it developed nationally and internationally, and where it is headed in the future. Key pioneer promoters of the sport are profiled. In addition to covering how the movement grew and spread, the work reviews the effects of aging on performan...
More About: Preview , Online

Norwich Union British Grand Prix - Sheffield (GBR)
2007-07-15 07:47:00
Live video stream (pay site: Monthly Pass $4.95, Annual Pass $49.95)IAAF Previewuk:athletics PreviewEntry Lists/Results: Women | MenWorld Athletics Tour StandingsRESULTS:WOMEN200 metres400 metres800 metres3000 metres3000 metres steeplechase100 metres hurdles400 metres hurdleshigh jumpMEN100 metres200 metres400 metres1500 metres3000 metres110 metres hurdlespole vaultlong jumptriple jumpjavelin throw
More About: Union , British , Grand , Grand Prix

Thermodynamics in Track and Field and Other Geeky Stuff
2007-07-14 20:03:00
I like to explore the depths of track and field websites. Geeky , huh? The IAAF website, for instance, has some 62,200 pages (62,400 pages, just 4 hours later) over which I can obsess. While exploring the web pages of our sport's international governing body, I ran across a section titled New Studies in Athletics that I had previously overlooked for some reason.While exploring it I found some easily-digestible summaries of some fascinating track and field research studies. These summaries are so short that even the complex scientific information they contain can be absorbed within a minute or two. Here's one that is so short, I'll just quote it in its entirety:The effects of warm-up and pre-cooling on endurance performance in high ambient temperaturesWednesday 18 April 2007By Sandra Ückert and Winfried JochIt is well established that warm conditions have a detrimental effect on endurance performance. If skin temperature is exceeded by the ambient temperature, heat dissipation is...
More About: Stuff , Track , Track and Field , Field

ExxonMobil Bislett Games
2007-07-13 23:35:00
If you missed the original live video coverage of the ExxonMobil Bislett Games back on June 15th, 2007, here it is in its entirety. The "official coverage" doesn't begin until 5:05 into the video, but the announcer – not realizing that he's broadcasting live – begins testing his microphone 3:56 into the coverage. By the way: before you begin watching, be sure the stove is turned off. The video is 3 1/2 hours long.

Golden Gala Event Coverage & Links
2007-07-13 19:40:00
Click here for highlights of the pre-race press conference. Click here for some (awkward Italian/American-translated) video coverage of the press-conference.Links to the complete results can be found below. RESULTSMEN100 metres 400 metres 800 METRES 1500 metres 5000 METRES 110 METRES HURDLES 400 metres hurdles long jump triple jumpjavelin throw WOMEN100 metres 400 metres 800 METRES 5000 metres 100 METRES HURDLES 400 metres hurdleshigh jump pole vault
More About: Event , Golden , Coverage , Gala

USATF Selection Process "Strongly Favored by the Athletes"
2007-07-13 16:26:00
I recently corresponded with Jill Geer, USATF Director of Communications, regarding the USATF's current selection process. Here is the exchange:Hi, Jill. I hope all is well. Sanya Richards should trounce TEAM USA in the women's 400m dash at the Golden Gala in Rome. Once she does, questions will arise again about the seemingly imperfect selection process that the USATF currently has. If she wins, it could be easily argued that we aren't sending our best women's 400m team to Osaka. It could also be argued just as easily that she should have made the team when she was required to do so. Care to comment on this dilemma?Regards,Jimmie R. MarkhamFinish Line PunditHere is her reply:Jimmie:Any selection system is imperfect, but our system is strongly favored by the athletes, since under this system, they select themselves to the team – not somebody sitting in an office ordaining a team. They understand the system and know what they need to do to make the team, instead of being su...
More About: Athletes , Process , Selection , Favor

Pole Vault & 100m Showdowns Take Center Stage in Rome
2007-07-13 01:09:00
Click here to read an interview with meet director Luigi D'Onofrio, who complains about the depletion of his long-distance events, "some of the best distance races of the year." The entire Ethiopian contingent has withdrawn from the Golden Gala meet. They were "diverted by their national federation because of the African Championships." Here's a lengthy preview of the meet. It is an IAAF Golden League event with a million bucks at stake. Perhaps the premier event of the meet will be the Pole Vault showdown between Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, who is still vying for the jackpot along with three other athletes, and Jenn Stuczynski of the USA. Click here to read an article specific to that Pole Vault showdown.Also featured will be a Caribbean 100m duel between 2nd cousins – Jamaican Asafa Powell and Bahamian Derrick Atkins. Powell, fresh off an injury, anchored a 4x100m victory for Team Jamaica in Lausanne Tuesday night then declared himself fit for the season.An interesting – bu...
More About: Rome , Center , Stage

Internet Still Abuzz About Webb's Paris Victory
2007-07-11 19:04:00
The internet is still buzzing about Alan's Webb's superb victory (and 2007 world-leading time of 3:30.54) in the men's 1500m Run at the Meeting Gaz de France (Paris Saint-Denis) last week. There's even chatter by Track and Field journalists about a World Championships victory by Webb in Osaka later this season. Here's the video of the race. Watch how Mehdi Baala gives up toward the end of the race when he realizes that he's beaten. (Could this race be a preview of the Osaka 1500m final?) Notice, too, (take notice, ESPN, CBS and NBC) how much better the British commentators are at covering a track event than their American counterparts:Click To Play
More About: Victory , Internet

No Bull: These Heavyweights are Swift Middle-Distance Runners
2007-07-10 22:50:00
Yep, it's that time again, time for "El Encierro" (literally, "the enclosing") or, as it's more-commonly known, "The Running of the Bull s" at the Fiesta of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain. This tradition dates back to the end of the 16th century. You might know that hundreds of young (and sometimes not-so-young men) try to outrun six bulls as they make their way from the corrals on the outskirts of town to the Plaza de Toros. What you might not know is how far and how fast these bulls run.The course is 850 meters long. Today's encierro was covered by the bulls in a time of 2 minutes and 46 seconds, the equivalent of a 2:36 800m run, or a 5:14 mile. That's right, folks. These are 1,422 lb. bulls running at a pace that's faster than many well-trained high school middle-distance runners! It's no wonder that most people are unable to outrun the bulls and so they have to earn their rite of passage into manhood by nearly being trampled to death. And that's no bull. Update: Anonymous ...
More About: Middle , Swift , Heavyweight , Weigh

The Ugly American Goes to Rio
2007-07-10 02:51:00
Americans have been losing big international-relations points in South America lately. First there was the story of a simpering Cameron Diaz wearing a Maoist messenger bag while visiting Peru's historic Machu Picchu, oblivious to the fact that tens of thousands of Peruvians had died at the hands of the wicked Maoist Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Path") guerillas. Now we find out that members of the United States Olympic Committee have been perpetuating the "Ugly American" stereotype yet again while visiting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the Pan-American Games.One of the USOC workers wrote "Welcome to the Congo!" on a dry-erase board in the Pan-American Games media Center. USOC media employee Kevin Neuendorf claimed that the words were written because "it’s really hot in Rio." Of course, anyone with an inkling of a notion about world travel would know that July is wintertime in the Southern Hemisphere, so the excuse he gave is dubious at best. Once we discover that the temperature that ...
More About: American , The Ugly , Goes , The Ugly American

Dorcus Inzikuru: Is She Playing 'possum?
2007-07-09 00:17:00
Reigning 3000m Steeplechase World Champion Dorcus Inzikuru is bowing out of this year's World Championships in Osaka, claiming that "she has encountered health and fitness problems." She hasn't competed since her DNF at the World Cross Country Championships this past March in Mombasa, Kenya. Is she really finished for the year, or is she simply employing a classic pre-race psychological tactic to take the pressure off of her?This article from Uganda's Daily Monitor details her health problems (sinus trouble) and claims that she "won't be defending her gold medal at the World Athletics Championships due August 25 -September 2 in Osaka, Japan." Even so, Dr. Flavio Pasquato, part of her Italian management team, "believes it is too early for Inzikuru to pull out of Osaka and that she can return on time to fitness":"Inzikuru faced similar problems last year before she travelled for the Commonwealth Games and she surprised everybody with a gold medal triumph in the finals, I can’t...

Salazar "Coaching From His Bed"
2007-07-08 04:04:00
An article in The Oregonian indicates that Alberto Salazar is coaching from his bed. Salazar had a heart attack a week ago at the Nike World Campus and was rushed to St. Vincent. A stent was inserted to open an artery.The article states:He remains in the St. Vincent Cardiac Care Unit, listed in fair condition. He was unavailable Friday for interviews but apparently was monitoring his athletes' training.Galen Rupp, coached by Salazaer, said, "from what I can tell, he's doing pretty well. He's anxious to get back to doing what he loves to do. We just have to make sure it's not too much too soon."I wish him well, but can you say "Type A Personality?"
More About: Coaching