LIVE Coverage at the 2008 adidas Track Classic: Women's 100 Is Hot!

Fans in Carson, CA were treated to a prime time race. Although the women’s 100-meters did not dip below 11 seconds, there was intense drama on the track.

The race has major implications on the Olympic Trials and Beijing. The race survived two false starts, the first by Allyson Felix and the second by Marshevet Hooker, which resulted in her disqualification from the race. On top of those issues, the field faced a head wind of -.9.

Veronica Campbell of Jamaica won the star-studded race in 11.14, just narrowly edging out Lauryn Williams in 11.15. Jamaica’s Kerron Stewart was barely third in 11.16. Just behind Stewart was Allyson Felix in 11.21. Felix seemed to be unable to find the top gear that fans are accustomed to seeing in her races.

Carmelita Jeter took fifth in 11.26 – the same time as sixth place finisher Sanya Richards. Seventh place was taken by Torri Edwards in 11.31, and Lisa Barber rounded out the race in 11.30. Marshshevet Hooker was disqualified due to a false start.

By Jay Hicks.

The Final Lap: Around the Globe in 60 seconds

With all of the excitement and preparation for this week’s upcoming U.S. indoor national championship meet. Let’s not forget about the great week that was had in track & field.

Athletes will compete at the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday to win a national title and a roster spots for Team USA roster spots for the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 7-9 in Valencia, Spain.

You can tell it’s an Olympic year because no one wants to get left at home. This last week in track & field has produced a lot of impressive performances.

• Steven Spielberg rolled out! The Chinese are looking to save face after the maker of Schindler’s List resigned his Olympic duties in protest of the China's support of the human rights abuses in Darfur.

• Watch out Stuczynksi! American outdoor record holder Jenn Stuczynski has been served notice. Russian Yelena Isinbayeva improved her own world indoor record in the pole vault to 4.95m (16-2 3/4) in Donetsk, Ukraine.

• I won’t say I Told You So but..Carmelita Jeter, one of PRJ’s preseason picks to watch closed another big race in 60-meters at Tyson Invitational. That’s three major wins indoors, but who is counting, right?

• Big Poppy gets crazy! Adam Nelson is adding mad sportsmanship and attention to the men’s shot put. Oh, by the way, he’s number three all-time indoors after belting a throw of 73 feet, 6 inches.

• Who said distance runners can’t sprint? Kenenisa Bekele ran a smoking last 200-meters in 27.9 seconds to break the world 2mile record in Birmingham. Bet that bonus check spends nicely!

  
  

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist

PRJ Insider: Tyson Invitational Preview

Spearman has personal best time of 19.65 in outdoor 200-meters

The Tyson Invitational typically draws big crowds. This year is no exception. In a mere seven years, the meet has developed a reputation for exceptional indoor races.

The Tyson Invitational is set to run Friday, February 15 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville. The first event begins at 8 p.m. The meet is to be televised February 17th from 5:00 to 7:oo p.m (ET) on ESPN .

Not only is Adam Nelson worth watching, but so is the men’s shot put. Nelson shook up the shot put world in New York heaving 72 feet, 5 inches. Current indoor and outdoor world champion Reese Hoffa, as well as Christian Cantwell and Dan Taylor will want to avenge their losses. The event should be a ruckus.

Carmelita Jeter has been coming on strong by narrowly winning the 60-meters at the finish line. Miki Barber has had trouble holding off Jeter, but you can rest assure Barber has been tweaking her workouts to adjust accordingly. Sanya Richards, a 400-meter specialist, is making a surprise appearance in the race.

Getting her first Visa Championship Series start of her career is Natasha Hastings. The 2007 NCAA 400-meter champion from University of South Carolina competed professionally outdoors last year after the collegiate season and is debuting indoors at 200-meters.

Jenn Stuczynski, who lost to Jillian Schwartz on misses two weeks ago in New York, is back to confirm her status as the queen of pole vault. Schwartz, Chelsea Johnson, Lacy Jansen, and Arkansas alum April Steiner certainly have plans to spoil the campaign. The line up is hot!

Might want to watch Wallace Spearman this week. He is coming off a superb 2007 outdoor season, running 19.82 at the Reebok Grand Prix meet in New York and winning bronze at world championships in Osaka. This race is ‘must-watch TV’. PRJ announced that Wallace is looking to break the current 200-meter world indoor record of 19.92.

Speaking of great races, the men’s and women’s collegiate 4 x 400 meter relay races are stacked. Five of the top 10 ranked teams populate this week’s race. The LSU Tiger women come in with the nation’s second fastest time and Arkansas, Miami, Penn State and South Carolina are all ranked in the top 10. Whew!

Likewise, reigning NCAA indoor and outdoor champion 1,600-meter relay team, Baylor University, will be defending their title against stiff competition. Baylor could not have chosen a more challenge field to defend their title. Kentucky, LSU, Georgia and Texas Tech are all top ranked teams and will push this to be a hotly contested race.

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist

2008 Millrose Games Wrap-Up: Lagat & Nelson Win Big

World-leading 72 feet, 5 inches for Adam Nelson at Millrose

Lagat leaves field in dust.

They say timing is everything. So far in 2008 – and specifically Friday at Madison Square Garden – that adage held true for Bernard Lagat.

Lagat was off to a slow start in the race before Craig Mottram took the lead at mid-race point fearing the pace was too slow. Bernard took the lead with one and a half laps to go and blistered the field to win his 6th Wanamaker Mile in 3:57.51 over Mottram, Nick Willis and Galen Rupp.

After the race Lagat said, “It might have looked easy. Like always, I have to prepare myself for a great race. I have run with him [Mottram] several times and stick to my strategy that I had prepared coming into the race. Before I came to the arena, I had envisioned the race as it happened. I passed him with two laps to go.”

Other Millrose highlights

Women’s 60-meter: Carmelita Jeter has been putting together solid finishes lately. She surged at Osaka to place third in the 100-meter world final. At Fresno State, she sealed the deal at the finish line. On Friday at Millrose, she continued her streak to win in 7.29 seconds at the finish line over Miki Barber (7.30) and Daigel-Bowen(7.32).

Men’s 60-meter: Reigning World Indoor 60-meter champion Leonard Scott demonstrated his indoor dominance again in winning the Metro men's 60-meters in 6.59 seconds.

Women’s high jump: Amy Acuff showed why she’s a three-time Olympian with a first-place finish of 6 feet, 3.50 inches.

Women’s pole vault: Jenn Stuczynski will have to wait another year for a Millrose victory. Both Jenn and 2004 Olympian Jillian Schwartz cleared 15 feet, 2¼ inches, but Schwartz won because she had fewer misses.

Men’s shot put: Men’s shot put was a highlight of the Millrose events with an energetic performance by Adam Nelson. Nelson stole the show heaving a massive 72 feet, 5 inches throw while setting a MSG record in front of 12,647 screaming fans. Christian Cantwell took second with 69 feet, 11 inches in front of reigning world champ Reese Hoffa’s 69 feet, 4 inches. For his sick performance, Nelson has the world’s top throw and was named the Millrose Games Athlete of the meet.

The women’s mile came down to sprinting power. Sarah Hall swung wide coming down the homestretch giving 10,000-meter runner, Kara Goucher, enough room to slide inside to narrowly win in 4:36.03.

600 yards is a difficult event. Quarter mile runners find the distance too long and 800 meter runs have found the race too short to get going. Bershawn Jackson found the race to be the perfect length in a narrow victory over two lap star Khadevis Robinson. Jackson took the early lead and finished in 1:10.34 over Robinson’s 1:10.53.

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist

Carmelita Jeter Off To Quick Start

U.S. Sprinter Carmelita Jeter

This year's inaugural USA Track & Field's 2008 Visa Championship Series meet brought out runners that typically do not compete indoors, such as Allen Johnson. This was the first team-scored meet in series history. Athletes from 12 nations created a global team, which took on a team of American athletes. Both squads included former Olympians.

The meet, held at Fresno State's Save Mart Center in California, is the brainchild of Fresno State track coach Bob Fraley and is held in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. It is the second running of the meet, which last year was held on the wooden track used at the L.A. Invitational. The meet was cancelled for 2007.

The meet did have its’ share of highlights.

Carmelita Jeter, a preseason selection of Prerace Jitters “6 Runners You Oughta Know By Season’s End,”
narrowly edged out hometown favorite and 2005 Visa Indoor champion Angela Daigle-Bowen in the women's 55m dash, crossing the line in 6.84 to Daigle-Bowen's 6.85. A win is a win, no matter how slim the margin.

One false start and one call back was not enough to throw off the game of hurdler, Allen Johnson. The permanent fixture on the track scene easily won the 55 meter hurdles in 7.21 over 2001 NCAA Indoor Champion Aubrey Herring who finished in 7.27.

Two lap U.S. outdoor champ, Khadevis Robinson, proved he is in top shape to start the season and took the lead with one and one half laps to go and never looked back, winning the 600 yards, in 1: 09.97. Jamaican Olympian, Michael Blackwood narrowly edged out Bernard Jackson for second place running 1:10.58 and 1:10.61 respectively.

The world's top shot putter, Reese Hoffa, put on a show heaving 21.06 meters or 69 feet, 1.25 inches to defeat Dan Taylor's second place throw of 19.99 meters or 65 feet, 7 inches.

Team USA ran men's and women's 4x400 meter relay, winning both events.

Visa Athlete of the Week went to veteran high jumper Amy Acuff. The three-time Olympian jumped 1.95 meters or 6 feet, 4.75 inches after three near misses at the Indoor American record.

"I wanted to put the bar up for Fred Arnold, and for this track to have a record," Acuff said of the longtime track and field patron who donated $1 million for the Fresno track. "It's a really world-class facility. My goal for the season is to be steady and consistent and not jump myself to death."

The Reebok Boston Indoor meet is the next stop on Visa Championship Series and can be seen on ESPN 2 at 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST. Check your local listing.

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist

6 Track Runners You Oughta Know By Season’s End

Bahamian Donald Thomas on the way to winning World Championship gold in the high jump

Every season, thousands of enthusiastic fans watch track meets, guessing which elite runners will separate themselves from the pack.

The difficulty for fans is separating pretenders from contenders. New talent is always coming out of the college ranks, and some existing professional runners may have break-out seasons.

Prerace Jitters has the list of the hottest new and upcoming track runners that will pop their collars in this year’s season. Check out these unsung runners now, or run the risk of being left in the dust when they blow up.

1. Natasha Hastings - 400 M

Some runners are born great, others just have to work harder. Hastings, a University of South Carolina alum, proved by winning indoor and outdoor NCAA Champions and placing second at U.S. Nationals that she is an elite quarter-miler. The only question is whether Natasha is prepared to take on the challenge of facing 400-meter sensation Sanya Richards. We’ll find out this season if she’s a natural – or a talented hard worker.

2. Donald Thomas - High jumper

Donald “No Spikes” Thomas has accomplished more in under two years since picking up high jumping than other folks dream of doing in an entire career. This Bahamian native, who trains at Auburn by way of Lindenwood College, near St. Louis, has come a long way in a short period of time. This 2007 World Champion cleared 7 feet-8 ½ inches during a fairy tale season that left us imagining what he might do when he gets out of pole vault shoes and starts jumping in high jump shoes with spikes in the heel.

3. Carmelita Jeter - 100 M

Jeter’s debut on the international circuit made two things clear: First, she has played it cool and fought through a chronic problem with her right hamstring. Next, female sprinters have been put on notice. As good as she ran last season, it is now clear that a sub-11-second race is around the corner. Her 2007 bronze medal at Worlds may be the prelude to much greater things.

4. Jaysuma Saidy Ndure - 200 M

Who says Norway has no chance to medal in Beijing? Well, whoever it is, they obviously have never heard of Jaysuma Saidy Ndure. The Gambian-turned-Norwegian national may keep the 200-meters in Beijing from being a U.S. vs. Jamaica duel.

Jaysuma smashed the Norwegian 200-meter record running a blistering 19.89 seconds in Stuttgart to win the World Athletics Final. He did not get cleared to run for Norway until after the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. With that matter now settled, he may be the sprint medalist in Beijing whom you’ve never heard of . . . until now.

5. Asbel Kiprop - 1,500 M

Only 18, Kiprop is heir apparent to the Kenyan distance dynasty. The 1,500-meter specialist has been described as “brilliant” and “essential” by those in the know. He won the World Junior Cross Country title, the All-Africa Games 1,500 meter crown and took 4th at the 2007 World Championships, where he beat American Alan Webb. Now Kiprop has become a “senior” athlete and is ready to take over the 800 and 1,500 meters in Beijing.

6. Craig Mottram - 5,000 M

Craig Mottram is not a new face to die-hard track fans, but he is relatively unknown to the casual fan. Mottram is looking to change that. At the 2005 Helsinki World Championships, he became the first non-African to medal in the 5,000 meters since 1987. Last year, he posted some blistering times and while earning the respect of usually territorial Kenyan and Ethiopian runners, who are known to team run to cut an impudent challenger down. Earning this new found respect is a remarkable feat. But a hamstring injury slowed him to place 13th in the 5,000 meters at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

The big stage of the Olympic Games has been known to swallow athletes whole. Mottram has shown flashes of brilliance since 2004, but questions remain about whether he can have a brilliant season when it matters most.

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist