So far I’ve been having a hard time getting into the Sochi Winter Olympics (maybe because of America’s paltry medal count), but this is guaranteed to make them LOTS more interesting…Enjoy!
As I’m watching the Men’s Olympic Marathon go through loop after loop this morning I keep thinking about this movie…“Hey kids, look, Big Ben, Parliament.”
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
My favorite race so far in these Olympic games has been the men’s 10,000m with Mo Farah and Galen Rupp taking Gold and Silver. However, tonight’s men’s 4 x 100m relay was fantastic. As much as I wanted the U.S. to win Gold, I was blown away by Usain Bolt’s final leg. Ryan Bailey had no chance at all to hang with him. He is just amazing to watch, and his stride is absolutely stunning. What a great way to close out the track and field events with a new world record anchored by the fastest man on the planet.
Plan to be up at 5am to catch the action live.
What a great race by Mo Farah from Great Britain to win Gold in the Olympic 5000m. I LOVED the look on his face as he was crossing the finish line. Was really hoping Lagat or Rupp would have a big kick at the end to make the podium, but it didn’t happen.
Despite the controversy surrounding his “blade” prosthetics, I have found the efforts of double-amputee Oscar Pistorius (“Blade Runner”) in the Men’s 400m during the 2012 London Olympics to be nothing short of inspiring. It’s hard to think about making excuses after watching him compete…
Yesterday, during the 400m semifinal in which Pistorius did not qualify for the finals tonight, I was blown away by the act of sportsmanship exhibited by eventually 400m gold medalist Kirani James. After completing the semifinal, James walked over to Pistorius and asked if they could exchange bibs. He took Pistorius’ bib, embraced him, and then held it high in the air as he walked around the track…
James offered the following when asked about the exchange…
“Just spur of the moment,” James said. “Oscar should be a huge inspiration for everybody, whether you’re a track athlete or a normal person. You can be somebody no matter what kind of disability you have.
“Being out there and competing against Oscar is a huge honor for me. He’s a great guy, very down to earth. I’m happy to be here and compete against Oscar.”
Tonight Kirani won the first ever gold medal for his home country of Grenada, which seems fitting after such a classy move and show of sportsmanship.
These are some of the reasons why I LOVE the Olympics! Congrats to Kirani and Oscar!
Congratulations to Tiki Gelana, Priscah Jeptoo, and Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova on finishing 1-2-3 at yesterday’s Olympic Women’s Marathon in London. It was pretty impressive to watch them pull away during final miles. I was especially impressed by Arkhipova who seemed to be losing contact with the leaders, and then had a surge to catch back up. You don’t see that very often.
However, I’ll admit I was pretty disappointed after the race from an American perspective. It was tough to watch Desi with such a noticeable limp in her running gate, and then have to pull out after only 5k. I also thought that Shalane had a legitimate chance at a medal, but this obviously didn’t come to fruition. However, I know Shalane and Kara poured their guts out during the race, and I’m proud of them for finishing strong. It was also cool to see Kara helping Shalane as they walked off the course together arm in arm. Hoping to see all three of them bounce back quickly, and can’t wait to cheer for them in their next race.
Women’s Olympic Marathon…Go Shalane! Go Kara! I feel really bad for Desi. She started the race, but is obviously in significant pain.
I’m just now catching up on my DVR, and was blown away by the finish. So cool that they are training partners and both coached by Alberto Salazar. What a race!
I can’t wait for the track&field to start. Sorry, but I hope Mo Farah smashes it!
I’d be worried about you if you weren’t pulling for Mo 🙂
As a follow-up to my post on Tuesday with the schedule for the middle and long distance runs at the 2012 Olympics, the following is the schedule for the short distance runs and hurdles. All events should be available via live stream on NBCOlympics.com.
London Time (CDT)
Friday, August 3
- 10:40 AM (4:40 AM) – Women’s 100 Meters Preliminary Round
- 11:15 AM (5:15 AM) – Men’s 400 Meters Hurdles Heats
- 12:00 PM (6:00 AM) – Women’s 400 Meters Heats
- 7:05 PM (1:05 PM) – Women’s 100 Meters Heats
Saturday, August 4
- 10:00 AM (4:00 AM) – Men’s 100 Meters Preliminary Round
- 10:35 AM (4:35 AM) – Men’s 400 Meters Heats
- 12:30 PM (6:30 AM) – Men’s 100 Meters Heats
- 7:00 PM (1:00 PM) – Men’s 400 Meters Hurdles Semifinal
- 7:35 PM (1:35 PM) – Women’s 100 Meters Semifinal
- 8:05 PM (2:05 PM) – Women’s 400 Meters Semifinal
- 9:55 PM (3:55 PM) – Women’s 100 Meters Final
Sunday, August 5
- 7:00 PM (1:00 PM) – Women’s 400 Meters Hurdles Heats
- 7:45 PM (1:45 PM) – Men’s 100 Meters Semifinal
- 8:40 PM (2:40 PM) – Men’s 400 Meters Semifinal
- 9:10 PM (3:10 PM) – Women’s 400 Meters Final
- 9:50 PM (3:50 PM) – Men’s 100 Meters Final
Monday, August 6
- 10:05 AM (4:00 AM) – Women’s 100 Meters Hurdles Heats
- 7:20 PM (1:20 PM) – Women’s 200 Meters Heats
- 8:15 PM (2:15 PM) – Women’s 400 Meters Hurdles Semifinal
- 8:45 PM (2:45 PM) – Men’s 400 Meters Hurdles Final
- 9:30 PM (3:30 PM) – Men’s 400 Meters Final
Tuesday, August 7
- 10:10 AM (4:10 AM) – Men’s 110 Meters Hurdles Heats
- 11:50 AM (5:50 AM) – Men’s 200 Meters Heats
- 7:15 PM (1:15 PM) – Women’s 100 Meters Hurdles Semifinal
- 8:25 PM (2:25 PM) – Women’s 200 Meters Semifinal
- 9:00 PM (3:00 PM) – Women’s 100 Meters Hurdles Final
Wednesday, August 8
- 7:15 PM (1:15 PM) – Men’s 110 Meters Hurdles Semifinal
- 8:10 PM (2:10 PM) – Men’s 200 Meters Semifinal
- 8:45 PM (2:45 PM) – Women’s 400 Meters Hurdles Final
- 9:00 PM (3:00 PM) – Women’s 200 Meters Final
- 9:15 PM (3:15 PM) – Men’s 110 Meters Hurdles Final
Thursday, August 9
- 11:35 AM (5:35 AM) – Men’s 4×400 Meters Relay Heats
- 8:20 PM (2:20 PM) – Women’s 4×100 Meters Relay Heats
- 8:55 PM (2:55 PM) – Men’s 200 Meters Final
Friday, August 10
- 7:10 PM (1:10 PM) – Women’s 4×400 Meters Relay Heats
- 7:45 PM (1:45 PM) – Men’s 4×100 Meters Relay Heats
- 8:40 PM (2:40 PM) – Women’s 4×100 Meters Relay Final
- 9:20 PM (3:20 PM) – Men’s 4×400 Meters Relay Final
Saturday, August 11
- 8:25 PM (2:25 PM) – Women’s 4×400 Meters Relay Final
- 9:00 PM (3:00 PM) – Men’s 4×100 Meters Relay Final
I’m totally getting geeked up for the 2012 Olympic Track and Field events on Friday. Here’s the schedule for the middle and long distance runs. All events should be available via live stream on NBCOlympics.com.
London Time (CDT)
Friday, August 3
- 1:00 PM (7:00 AM) — Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase, First Round
- 8:05 PM (2:05 PM) — Men’s 1,500m, First Round
- 9:25 PM (3:25 PM) — Women’s 10,000m, Final
Saturday, August 4
- 11:35 AM (5:35 AM) — Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase, First Round
- 5:00 PM (11:00 AM) — Men’s 20K Race Walk, Final
- 9:15 PM (3:15 PM) — Men’s 10,000m, Final
Sunday, August 5
- 11:00 AM (5:00 AM) — Women’s Marathon, Final
- 8:15 PM (2:15 PM) — Men’s 1,500m, Semifinal
- 9:25 PM (3:25 PM) — Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase, Final
Monday, August 6
- 10:50 AM (4:50 AM) — Men’s 800m, First Round
- 11:45 AM (5:45 AM) — Women’s 1,500m, First Round
- 9:05 PM (3:05 PM) — Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase, Final
Tuesday, August 7
- 10:55 AM (4:55 AM) — Women’s 5,000m, First Round
- 7:55 PM (1:55 PM) — Men’s 800m, Semifinal
- 9:15 PM (3:15 PM) — Men’s 1,500m, Final
Wednesday, August 8
- 10:45 AM (4:45 AM) — Men’s 5,000m, First Round
- 11:35 AM (5:35 AM) — Women’s 800m, First Round
- 7:45 PM (1:45 PM) — Women’s 1,500m, Semifinal
Thursday, August 9
- 7:30 PM (1:30 PM) — Women’s 800m, Semifinal
- 8:00 PM (2:00 PM) — Men’s 800m, Final
Friday, August 10
- 8:05 PM (2:05 PM) — Women’s 5,000m, FInal
- 8:55 PM (2:55 PM) — Women’s 1,500m, Final
Saturday, August 11
- 9:00 AM (3:00 AM) — Men’s 50K Race Walk, Final
- 5:00 PM (11:00 AM) — Women’s 20K Race Walk, Final
- 7:30 PM (1:30 PM) — Men’s 5,000m, Final
- 8:00 PM (3:00 PM) — Women’s 800m, Final
Sunday, August 12
- 11:00 AM (5:00 AM) — Men’s Marathon, Final
I know this has been blowing up on the net and Twitter since the Detroit Free Press claimed to have received an email from her coach, Kevin Hanson, saying that Desiree Davila had withdrawn due to her lingering hip injury…
Shortly after that story broke, Desi went to Twitter with this…
Not sure exactly what is going on, but the Free Press has now retracted the story….
Cool to see her getting support from her U.S. teammates…
Also, the Free Press is getting a lot of heat for running the story…
Regardless of what happened, I really hope Desi gets to race. She is absolutely my favorite runner in the 2012 Olympic Games. Go Desi!!
Update: Joe Battaglia with NBC just posted an article, which provides further clarification. Looks like Desi and Kevin are on a different page.
Update #2: Looks more and more like the email did indeed go out from Kevin to the Detroit Free Press, but obviously Desi was not OK with it…
Update #3: More confirmation that Desi has not withdrawn from the Marathon. This tweet from her Olympic roommate and college teammate Amy Hastings…
Update #4: The following has been posted on the Hansons Brooks Original Distance Project Facebook Page…
Sorry for the misunderstanding earlier. Desi was frustrated with the fact that she is a long way from 100% both fitness wise and health. She had decided that it was probably best to pull out of the Marathon. After discussing her options with the Olympic coaches and medical staff, they convinced her that she deserves the entire experience and that means giving herself every chance to make it to the starting line.
One of the most intriguing things about the 2012 Olympic Marathon in London is the course, which is routed to include many iconic London sights. It is comprised of four loops. The first one is 2.2-miles and is where the race begins. Loops 2, 3, and 4 are basically a large, twisted, 8-mile figure eight (same loop repeated three times).
Check out some of the stats about the course:
- The course contains 111 turns
- The longest straightaway is 1/2-mile
- There are three sections of the larger loop which contain a non-paved running surface made out of either cobblestone or marble.
All of this makes me wonder if anyone will be able to go super-low with the turns and varied surfaces. However, no one thought it would be possible to go low in 2008 at Beijing due to the hot and humid conditions, but Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya set an Olympic record with a time of 2:06:32. Should be fun to watch!
London 2012 Olympic Marathon: Paula Radcliffe Ruled Out
This is crazy….in the last two days I’ve read that Desiree Davila and Meb Keflezighi are both dealing with significant injuries and might have to pull out of the Olympic Marathon for the U.S. team. Now I just found out that women’s world record holder Paula Radcliffe will not be able to compete due to a recent flare-up of a long-time foot condition.
I feel bad for Paula. She has won just about everything there is to win in marathoning, but has never won an Olympic medal. Since she is 38-years-old, this effectively means that her chances to finally stand on the podium in the Olympics are over.
Davila Will Make Marathon Decision Soon
I don’t know how I missed this, but I had no idea there was a possibility that Desi would be forced to pull out of the Olympic marathon due to injury. Really hoping she is able to compete.
Lolo Jones on HBO Real Sports – Very compelling interview with American 100m Hurdler Lolo Jones. The interview originally appeared on HBO Real Sports, and was conducted by former tennis player, and current sportscaster, Mary Carillo. I for one will really be pulling for Lolo this week in the Olympic Trials, and hopefully all the way to London for the Gold! Definitely worth a watch!
Go Lolo!
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Sammy Wanjiru’s death still a mystery by Shaun Assael – ESPN The Magazine
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru, at the age of 24, who was quite possibly on his way to becoming the greatest marathoner of all time. In his very short career Sammy was an Olympic Marathon gold medalist (2008), two-time winner of the Chicago Marathon (2009, 2010), winner of the London Marathon (2009) and twice the half marathon world record holder (59:16-2005, 58:33-2007).
His death really struck me last year especially because he was the winner of the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, which was my first completed marathon. During that race he ran the fastest marathon ever on U.S. soil (at the time).
The article linked above is by Shaun Assael with ESPN The Magazine, and is a compelling read regarding his life and the strange, sad, and tragic circumstances of his death.
Kenya’s Olympic Marathon Teams Announced
There is a lot of debate in the running world as to whether having a single race to determine an Olympic Marathon team (like the U.S.A.) is better or worse than hand-picking the competitors (like Kenya and others). Well today the hand-picked men’s and women’s Kenyan teams were revealed through various media outlets. The picks on the men’s side are definitely controversial in that top-ranked marathoner Geoffrey Mutai, and world-record holder Patrick Makau, will not be included.
What do you think about having a race to determine the team vs. hand-picking competitors? What do you think about Makau and Mutai being excluded?
Game Changers: Desiree Davila (ESPN) – Awesome video and article by Bonnie Ford of ESPN on American Olympic Marathon Qualifier Desiree Davila. Definitely worth a watch and a read. While I have serious doubts about the ability of our men’s team to compete for a medal in London, our Women’s team is gonna be tough. I’m especially pulling for Desi. Go U.S.A.!
(Source: http://player.espn.com/)