News
Published Jan 01, 0001
The USATF should look outside Eugene at least occasionally.
It's a good piece, and it touches on some advantages Des Moines has over Eugene. By July of 2016, Eugene will have staged the Olympic Trials three consecutive times. -- Start with geography. Des Moines is centrally located and has a bigger airport, which makes it a more convenient destination for many fans, officials and athletes. -- Des Moines is larger than Eugene, and has more hotel rooms. Booking a room in Eugene for a big event is a major challenge. Because of the scarcity of rooms, it's expensive if you do find one. To bolster a bid for the 2019 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Vin Lananna, president of the TrackTown USA local organizing committee, has talked of the need to build some high-end dormitories to ease the crunch. But I haven't seen a plan in place to start construction. In an earlier piece, I wrote about two, clear advantages Eugene has over Des Moines. That said, I think Des Moines and Drake Stadium do a good job of staging major events. For the health of the sport, it's time for the USATF to look outside the Eugene bubble at least occasionally. Otherwise, the national takeaways will continue to be that Eugene is quirky and U.S. track & field irrelevant. The USA Championships begin this week in Des Moines. The USA Junior multi-events start Wednesday. The meet gets going in earnest on Thursday. I'll be there, and I'll be interested to see whether Track Central embraces the event. Lots of empty seats in Drake Stadium won't help make the case for Des Moines. On a related note, it's a long travel day for me tomorrow and it starts early. The Oregon Track & Field rundown will be taking the day off. OK, more links: Ben Enowitz has an ambivalent take on PEDs, as he explains for the Daily Relay. Andrew Bumbalough talks to Flotrack from Team Schumacher's altitude camp at Mammoth Lakes about the differences between the 5,000 and 10,000. Oregon's Elijah Greer recounts his victory in the NCAA Championships from earlier this month. The Jamaica Observer suggests the case against Veronica Campbell-Brown could be overblown. The links package from LetsRun.com. The links package from Track & Field News. The USTFCCCA Daily roundup. Runner's World's daily wrap of racing news. The links from Duck Sports Now. 
Vin Lananna Shalane Flanagan
-- Ken Goe
Published Jan 01, 0001
Former Oregon pole vaulter Becky Holliday is entered.
Analyst Jesse Squire continues his preview series on the Daily Relay website for the USA Track & Field Championships which begin Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa with looks at the women's jumps and the women's throws. Squire doesn't mention her, but West Albany High School high jumper Rachel Proteau is
among the entries. Proteau cleared 6-1 at last month's Oregon Class 5A state high school championships to break the all-time state best that Olympian Joni Huntley had held since 1974. Proteau will attend Kansas State in the fall. Proteau
also is listed among the entries for the USA Junior meet, which begins
with the first day of the multi-events competitions on Wednesday at
Drake Stadium. Former Oregon pole vaulter Becky Holliday gets a mention. Holliday was a big story at the U.S. Olympic Trials last year when she surprisingly made the U.S. team. Local throwers on whom to keep an eye are Liz Podominick of the Mac Wilkins
Throwers Academy in the discus and javelin throwers Brianna Bain, who
prepped at Aloha High School and is now at Stanford, and Kim Hamilton of Illinois Valley High School, who transitioned to the javelin while at Kent State. The javelin is wide
open. University of Oregon graduate Rachel Yurkovich isn't competing
this season and Kara Patterson, a grad of Mountain View High School in
Vancouver, Wash., is rehabbing a knee injury. Yurkovich and Patterson
both are Olympians. Chris Derrick talks with Flotrack about his first year with Jerry Schumacher's training group, and his preparation for the USA Championships. Dorian Ulrey, the self-described phantom of the Oregon Project, talks about where he has been since the indoor season. Video by Flotrack. Pac-12 video profile of UO hammer thrower Greg Skipper. Tyson Gay's target for the IAAF World Championships: three golds. Emma Coburn withdraws from the USA Championships because of a lower back problem. Molly Huddle gears up for the USA Championships. Track & Field News sorts through confusion about "A" and "B" qualifiers and explains how athletes will be pick for the U.S. World Championships team. Alan Webb fails in an attempt to get the USA Championships "A" standard in the 1,500 on Saturday in Indianapolis. Corvallis-based Geena Gall was second in the women's 800 in 2:04.31. Elite hammer thrower Kibwe Johnson has a nuanced view of drug cheats, as he explains on his blog. Jamaican official says one of the country's sprinters failed a drug test, and says he is awaiting results of tests on a backup sample. The Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner, reports the "B" sample confirmed the presence of a diuretic that has been used as a masking agent in Veronica Campbell-Brown's system. Track Focus offers this primer on diuretics and how they function as masking agents. Red Shannon of Bleacher Report says the test Campbell-Brown reportedly failed is a two-by-four to the shins of the sport. Campbell-Brown is a three-time Olympic champ. If found guilty, Campbell-Brown would the highest-profile athlete to be banned since Marion Jones. In Jamaica, disappointment and disbelief about the positive tests. Campbell-Brown is yanked from the advertising campaign for the Jamaican Championships. Usain Bolt's coach cautions against a rush to judgment about Campbell-Brown. The links package from LetsRun.com. The links package from Track & Field News. The USTFCCCA Daily roundup. RunBlogRun's world survey of news about track & field and running. The links from Duck Sports Now.West Albany's Rachael Proteau, pictured here en route to the all-time state best in the high jump at the 2013 Oregon state high school championships. Becky Holliday
-- Ken Goe
Oregon track & field rundown: Why former USA Track & Field CEO Doug Logan is completely wrong
Published Jan 01, 0001
Don't punish those trying to do it the right way.
Writing in SpeedEndurance.com Logan repudiated his past opposition to the use of PEDs. Logan compared the fight against PEDs to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, which is stretching an analogy well past the breaking point and in awful taste besides. He wrote that the fight is unwinnable because drug cheats are ahead of those who enforce the rules. He wrote that well-funded athletes have a huge advantage over others within the current rules because they can afford better coaches, better doctors and technological aids that legally mimic the benefits of PEDs. I think Logan has gone completely off the rails. Do some athletes cheat? Unquestionably. Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown is the latest big name to reportedly test positive for a banned substance. Some people brazenly break traffic laws. Some cheat on their taxes. But here is the thing, many don't. Many people are upright, honorable and try their best to do the right thing. All athletes do not cheat. Many choose to live within the rules. Giving up the fight against cheaters punishes those who have made a conscious decision not to cheat. Worse, it further pushes the non-cheaters into even more difficult decisions that could have complicated and far-reaching implications for the health of themselves as individuals and the overall health of their sport. To Logan's point about inequitable funding, imagine how much more of an advantage the well-heeled training groups would have if we threw out the rulebook, unlocked the pharmacy cabinet and gave them carte blanche. Logan's argument is bankrupt, logically, morally and ethically. OK, off my soapbox and onto the links: Team Schumacher's Evan Jager talks with Flotrack about his quick transition to the steeplechase, what he has mastered and what he still has to work on. Elliott Heath, also a member of Schumacher's group, tells Flotrack training has gone well at altitude camp and he is ready for the USA Championships. British voters pick Mo Farah as Celebrity Dad of the Year. Oregon recruit Jake Leingang wins the 5,000 at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Leingang takes 13 seconds off the previous record mark, which had been set by future Duck Edward Cheserek. Ben True talks to Flotrack about why it didn't work out for him in Eugene, and why he is again training in Hanover, N.H. With Olympian Ian Dobson at the helm, Team Run Eugene reaches out to the community. Coaching legend Ed Nuttycombe retires at Wisconsin. Boise State hires Corey Ihmels away from Iowa State to be head track coach. Bryshon Nellum on Bryshon Nellum Part II for Fox Sports West. Track & Field's Jon Hendershott has this Q-an-A with hurdler Jason Richardson. Brianna Rollins leaves Clemson early, turns pro. Rollins isn't scared of the more established professionals. Olympian Brigetta Barrett has made the most of her time at Arizona. Pat Price asks five questions of Abby D'Agostino for the Daily Relay. Up next for D'Agostino, the USA Championships. Paul Merca: Brad Walker clears 19-0 1/4. Analyst Jesse Squire previews the men's throws at the USA Championships for the Daily Relay. Conway Hill forecasts which college athletes will fair best in Des Moines for the Chill Zone. No Ducks make his list. Olympian Guor Marial makes an emotional return to South Sudan. Jamaican star Veronica Campbell-Brown reportedly tests positive for a banned substance. The links package from LetsRun.com. The links package from Track & Field News. The USTFCCCA Daily roundup. RunBlogRun's world survey of news about track & field and running. The links from Duck Sports Now. Doug Logan English Gardner
-- Ken Goe
Published Jan 01, 0001
The men's 800 will be formidable at the USA Championships.
There will be a crowded field in the men's 800 meters if you can believe the entry list for the USA Track & Field Championships, which begin next week at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Two-time Olympians Nick Symmonds and Andrew Wheating show up there. So do Duane Solomon,fourth in last summer's Olympic final, and Brandon Johnson, who clocked the fourth-best time in the world so far this year, 1 minute 44.05 seconds. Tyler Mulder dipped under 1:45 this year by winning the Portland Track Festival's high performance race in 1:44.79. With all the professionals in the field, don't forget Oregon's Elijah Greer, who just wrapped up his college career by adding the NCAA outdoor title to the NCAA indoor championship he claimed in March. The experts at LetsRun.com note how difficult the 800 indoor/outdoor double is to pull off in The Week That Was In Running. Greer always has been a rare talent, but this year he added maturity and confidence to his repertoire. It makes for a formidable combination. Here is the profile of Greer I wrote prior to the NCAA regional meets. I don't know if Greer can finish top three against that kind of competition, and he almost certainly would still need to run the World Championships "A" standard to make the U.S. team. But I wouldn't bet against him. Here is the the meet schedule for the USA Championships. OK, more links: Big leap pays off for Evan Jager. Oregon's Robert Johnson is named Pac-12 men's and women's coach of the year; UO sprinter Jenna Prandini tabbed conference women's newcomer of the year. Johnson also led the Ducks to the NCAA women's indoor title. The retiring Ron Allice leaves a big footprint at USC. Excerpts from the USATF teleconference with Brianna Rollins and Brigetta Barrett. Bryshhon Nellum on Bryshon Nellum Part I for Fox Sports West. South Dakota's Bethany Buell overcomes the odds to win the NCAA pole vault title. Usain Bolt runs a blistering 19.79 in Oslo, sets the course record. Bolt makes good on his word; Meseret Defar says the world record is within reach after winning the 5,000. Bolt back with a bang; Defar dominates. Analyst Jesse Squire has these five takeaways from Oslo's Bislett Games for the Daily Relay. The experts at LetsRun.com dig into the Bislett games with recaps of the men's steeplechase, the women's 5,000, the men's 200, and other events. Universal Sports video of Bolt running away with the 200 in Oslo. Universal Sports video of Defar running a world-leader in the 5,000 in Oslo. Ato Boldon is predicting a big year for Tyson Gay. Gay is the subject of this edition of Jamie Nieto's Holla Atcha Boy! Yohan Blake is fueled by bananas. Canadian shot putter Dylan Armstrong says its time to take the doping fight to the national federations. Belarusian shot-putter gets a lifetime ban for doping. Jamaican long sprinter Dominique Blake is hit with a six-year, doping ban. The links package from LetsRun.com. Runner's World's daily wrap of racing news. The USTFCCCA Daily roundup. The links package from Track & Field News. The links from Duck Sports Now. The links from Addicted to Quack. Oregon's Elijah Greer bursts out of the shadow and across the finish line in the final of the NCAA 800 meters. Jordan Hasay
-- Ken Goe
Published Jan 01, 0001
Moser will remain entered in the 5,000 to keep her options open.
Moser, the former Treniere Clement, won consecutive USA titles in the 1,500 from 2005 to 2007. She has had a career rebirth in Portland since joining the Nike Oregon Project last fall. Her 1,500 best this year of 4:02.85 is a personal record and ranks 10th on the 2013 IAAF world list. Although new to the 5,000, her best of 15:11.00 this year ranks 25th on the 2013 world list. She and coach Alberto Salazar have been examining their options for the USA Championships in recent weeks. "I'm going to focus on the 1,500," Moser said. "The 4:02 changed things. We're going to ride that out." Moser might also run the 5,000 in Des Moines, depending on circumstances. She said she could appear in the 5,000 "if something goes wrong in the 1,500. Or something can go right and I'm just feeling good and want to show up that last day and race again. We're leaving that open right now." I'll have more on Moser next week, leading into the USA Championships. OK, links: Track & Field is just one, small piece of the physical and intellectual entity that is Arkansas decathlete Nathanael Franks, who prepped at Gresham's Barlow High. Ex-Duck runner Melody Fairchild takes a coaching job at a small Colorado high school. British performance director Neil Black praises Mo Farah's decision to run in the European Championships. Former UO runner Bria Wetsch quits her job in Portland and moves to Mammoth to train fulltime. Martin Bingisser: Sorting through unconvincing excuses about why all but one (the Prefontaine Classic) of the Diamond League meets exclude the hammer. Arizona says goodbye to Olympians Brigetta Barrett and Georganne Moline, but coach Fred Harvey says the future is bright. The USTFCCCA names USC's Bryshon Nellum and Indiana's Derek Drouin as men's athletes of the year. Barrett and Clemson hurdler Brianna Rollins picked as women's athletes of the year. USATF selects Rollins as athlete of the week. Christy Cazzola, Division III champion and mother of two, will run the 800 at the USA Championships. Jim McDannald reviews the Team USA selection process for the World Championships in this Daily Relay piece. Writing in Spiked Up/Psyched Up, Kevin Liao suggests the the USTAF selection rules for the World Championships team could be deliberately confusing. Off the beaten track, Donn Cabaral is doing it in his own, unconventional way. Robby Andrews talks to Flotrack about whether he will be ready for the USA Championships. Mary Wineberg tells Flotrack the Toronto International Games were just another step toward Moscow. Ben Johnson answers six questions from the Toronto Star about
his return to the track at 51 as anchor of a winning 4x100 at the
Toronto International Games. He says the appearance was for charity. In yet another argument for why it's a good thing Doug Logan no longer is CEO of USA Track & Field, he calls the battle against performance drugs unwinnable and advises capitulation. Track & Field News editor Garry Hill, who has attended NCAA meets over five decades, reflects on the experience. The links package from LetsRun.com. The links package from Track & Field News. RunBlogRun's world survey of news about track & field and running. Runner's World's daily wrap of racing news. The links from Duck Sports Now. The links from Addicted to Quack.Treniere Moser Jill Geer
-- Ken Goe
