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4×100 Meter and 4×110 Yard Relay Trivia

Here is some history of the 4 x 100 meter world record progression.
The first time the 40 second barrier was broken was in 1936 Berlin Olympics with Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper, and Frank Wykoff setting a WR in 39.8 seconds.
At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the 4×100m WR was 39.5 set by the American […]

Loyalty & Patriotism, Who do you Root for?

I often wondered…
What happens when you coach International athletes?  Who do you root for?  Your own country, or your own athletes?
Going back to the Rome 1960 Olympics, when Elvin "Ducky" Drake at UCLA coached both Rafer Johnson AND Yang Chuan-Kwang of Taiwan in the Decathlon, who was he rooting for?  During those incredible two days, […]

It was 20 Years Ago Today when the Berlin Wall was Torn Down

When did the Berlin Wall get knocked down?
The Wall was finally breached by Berliners on November 9, 1989, unifying a city that had been divided for over 30 years.
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the historic event.
As far as Olympics goes, Germany experienced the biggest challenge with a unified team.  After all, there are […]

Another 1968 Olympic Book by Richard Hoffer, Journalist

When you think of the Political Olympics, you immediately think of 1936 & 1972.  Some may include 1968 “up there” in the ranks.  While you`re at it, add 1980 and 1984.  Heck, add Montreal 1976 with the African boycott and the whole Taiwan mess.
That is why Ben Johnson’s 1988 Seoul race was so special.  For […]

Asafa Powell, Lolo Jones in the Olympics’ Best Of Us Challenge

  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) just launched The Best of Us Challenge, a global competition in which ordinary individuals compete against their peers and Olympic athletes such as Asafa Powell, Lolo Jones, pole vaulters Steve Hooker & Yelena Isinbyeva and multi-eventer Carolina Kluft.  Yes, it even includes Michael Phelps!
It’s all for a good cause […]

Good Luck and Bad Luck Superstitions - the Olympic 1952 110mH

Do you have any Track and Field Superstitions?  Hallowe’en is around the corner!
I used to always wear black and yellow sweat pants and sweatshirts.  Why?  Because they are the colours of a Tiger.  The last time I checked, tigers were fast animals.  (I stole the idea from a Rocky movie)
I also wore a T-shirt of […]

Italian Sprint Heroes - Livio Berruti 200m Rome 1960

During my prime running years, Pietro Mennea’s 200m WR was the holy grail.  19.72 was the 200m WR standard for 17 years.
In fact, Pietro Mennea won the 200m 1980 Olympics in the Moscow Boycotted Olympics.  He also won the Bronze medal at 1972 Munich Olympics at the same distance.  Mennea competed in 4 Olympics (72-76-80-84).
When […]

The 2016 Summer Olympics Winner is…

Chicago, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are bidding to host the 2016 Games with the IOC voting on the best bids on October 2 at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark.
In my opinion, Chicago has the edge only if President Obama attends the meetings and starts lobbying for it.  In the past, political figures such […]

Running Fast and Injury Free by Gordon Pirie

Gordon Pirie was a British long distance runner who died in 1991.  He is most famous for his silver medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in the 5000 meters.
If you read last week’s post about the end of the Adidas and Puma Feud, then you’ll be intrigued by the connection of Gordon Pirie and Adi […]

Bahamas Track and Field - From Vancouver To Athens

On September 28, 2009, a new book titled “From Vancouver To Athens (1954-2004)”.by Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson will be released in Bahamas.
Why 1954?
Because the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The first British Empire Games were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1930, and it was renamed to simply “Commonwealth […]

Otis Davis, 1960 400 meter and 4×400m Olympic Champion

In my last article about the Harry Jerome, Bill Bowerman and the University of Oregon connection, I didn’t mention Otis Davis, the Rome 1960 400 meter and USA 4×400m Olympic Champion.
I am currently in Rome, so there is a special connection every time I visit the Rome Olympic Stadium, whether it’s for the Rome Golden […]

Proposal to the IAAF - Scheduling the 100 200 400 for Usain Bolt

If Usain Bolt runs the 400 meters in 2010 or 2011 as promised, and sets the WR in the process, he might consider running the 100, 200, 400 and 4×100m relay all in the same Olympics to achieve his 4 Gold medal dream.  He will achieve iconic status if he accomplishes this incredible feat.
To beat […]

Rieti Italy Revisited

Complete meet information for the IAAF Grand Prix meet in Rieti, Italy can be found here.
Asafa Powell set the 100m WR of 9.74 on September 9, 2007 in Rieti, Italy.  Videos of that meet shows a very sparse crown in the hills of Italy.  Remember, Asafa ran 9.77 three times.
The WR lasted “only” 265 days […]

400 meters - The Numbers Game

Ever notice airline magazines and USA Today have those short articles with interesting stats and numbers?
I thought to give it a try with the 400 meters. 
Here goes…
The 400 meters
5800 – Number of subscribers to SpeedEndurance.com
3635 – Age of the current world record (in days)
2010 -  ? Year of the first sub 43 by Usain […]

Usain Bolt 4×100m Relay Anchor Leg at Zurich Video

Imagine if someone said to the Jamaican 4×100m Team:
“You can’t win, all you have is Usain Bolt”.
Afterwards, in victory of course, Jamaica would reply:
“All you need is Usain Bolt”.
In Zurich, 45 minutes after his 9.81 100 meter victory, we finally get a chance to see Bolt run the Anchor.
Bolt gets the final baton pass with […]

I Love Track and Field, but This is Ridiculous

Thoughts on the post 2009 World Championships in Berlin
I love Track and Field (Athletics to the rest of the world) primarily for one reason.  With the Track running events, the first person to cross the line is the winner. 
Usually.
In the Winter Olympics, all but one event is either a time-trial or a judging event.  […]

Video Casting – Comparing YouTube, Blip.tv, Viddler, Vimeo and now Dartfish.tv

By the time I hit “publish” on this article, it will already be out of date.
The online video casting industry changes by the minute.
It wasn’t long ago when YouTube (now owned by Google) was the only player in town.
I was an early adopter and beta tester for Blip.tv, and will continue to use their services […]

Pole Vault World Records should be Modified

Watching the Men’s Pole vault with an injured Steve Hooker inspired me to write this article.

In the past article on Technological Innovations in Track and Field,  I forgot to mention the Pole vault standards that support the bar were changed from 76mm to 55mm.
We are talking about the days of super dominant Sergey Bubka from […]

Usain Bolt 200 meter splits, Speed Reserve and Speed Endurance

19.19. Sounds like a year from the WWI history books.
What is the take home message, when you compare this with his 19.30 from Beijing 2008?
(1) The faster your 100m time (speed), the faster your 200m can potentially be, with a faster opening 100m (speed reserve) taking the curve in consideration.
(2) Everyone slows down the […]

2009 World Track and Field Championships - Half-time Report

Here are some thoughts and opinions from the 2009 World Championships in Berlin “half-time report”.
As usual, I’ll try to focus on coaching and training concepts.
Starting Blocks – Back to the Low Blocks
Track and Field at the elite level has gone back and forth from low blocks to high blocks during the last 3 decades.
With the […]

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