© Copyright – 2012 – Athletics Illustrated (via athleticsillustrated.com)
© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated
Ben Johnson - 30 for 30
If you have spent the last twenty-five years getting over the drama and disappointment of Ben Johnson’s world record gold medal win in the 100m at the 1988 Olympic Games and subsequent disqualification and positive test, I do not suggest watching the ESPN 30 for 30 special 9.79 which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this summer and aired on TSN this week.
Carl Lewis, who has long come off as somewhat arrogant and phony (and not exactly the best singer) shows that time has not dulled his worst attributes. Much of what was contained in the documentary was not necessarily new – the positive test by Lewis at the 1988 US Olympic Trials for a banned stimulant has long been in the public domain.
© Copyright – 2012 – Athletics Illustrated (via athleticsillustrated.com)
© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated
Steve Magness recently accepted a coaching position with the University of Houston, his alma mater. Previously he was assistant coach at Nike Oregon Project, leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games. He ran in the NCAA for Rice University and the University of Houston.
© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated
Photo: (Markus Schreiber/AP)
The World Marathon Majors series is pointless and does not accomplish what it has set out to do. Most world-class marathon runners that are focused on peaking for the Olympics and World Championships and are dealing with recovery or injuries are not able to compete in enough events to earn the points required to compete for the World Marathon Majors prize purse, so they don’t bother. There typically remains a field of just a handful of East Africans that compete to the end, which is not edge-of-your-seat sporting competition to say the least.
© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated
Khadevis Robinson is an American runner who specializes in the 800m distance. He has proven to be one of the fastest and most consistent 800m runners that the US has produced. A four-time US champion both outdoors and indoors, he has competed at seven consecutive IAAF World Championships in Athletics, from 1999 to 2011 and is a two-time Olympian.
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CASE STUDY AND INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR Dr. TRENT STELLINGWERFF
Dr. Trent Stellingwerff is a former track and field athlete who competed in the NCAA for division 1 Cornell University, where he was selected as a co-captain. He also competed in the CIS for the University of Guelph, where he twice earned All-Canadian status.
Stellingwerff was an academically decorated student who made the Dean’s list at Cornell University. In 2006 he took a position in Switzerland for the Nestle Research Centre (Powerbar) as a Senior Research Scientist in Sport Nutrition, Energy and Performance. Stellingwerff has also served as the Nutrition and Physiology Consultant for Athletics Canada. He now lives in Victoria, BC and is a Senior Physiologist working with the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific.
By Paul Gains
When Gilbert Yegon made his marathon debut in Amsterdam three years ago he instantly attracted attention as his time of 2:06:18 knocked two seconds off the course record held by the legendary Haile Gebreselassie.
Following the race he announced that, had it not been for muscle cramps suffered in the closing stages of that race, he would have also beaten the 2:06 barrier. Gebreselassie, of course, is also a two time Olympic 10,000m champion and held the world marathon record at 2:03:59 until last year.
by Paul Gains
The great rivalry between East African neighbours Kenya and Ethiopia continues on the Toronto roads October 14th with a world class field intent on chasing the women’s course record of 2:22:43.
Agnes Kiprop, who has a personal best time of 2 hours 23 minutes and 54 seconds from the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon, will carry Kenyan hopes into the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label race. Among her Ethiopian rivals is Netsanet Achamo who has a best of 2:24:12.
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Marilyn Arsenault of Victoria, BC will be racing the Toronto Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon Sunday, October 14th. She is back where she started two years ago, when she was planning on running the Toronto event, but had her plans derailed at the last minute by a rare infection that not only hospitalized her, but threatened her life. Even though she is now two years older (44) her goal time is more aggressive, she said, “my goal two years ago was in the 2:38-2:40 range. I am definitely fitter this time around and recent workouts have indicated I may be able to aim lower by a few minutes”.
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Natasha (Wodak) Fraser of Port Moody, British Columbia is preparing to compete in her favourite running discipline, cross-country. She plans to race the Canadian Cross Country Championships that take place at Jericho Beach near downtown Vancouver on Saturday, November 24th.
© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated
Kenyan distance runner Sally Kipyego won silver in the 10000m distance of the 2012 London Olympic Games. She finished in a personal best time of 30:26.37 in that race. It was her second silver finish in major international competition. During the thirteenth IAAF World Track a
nd Field Championships in Daegu, Korea, Kipyego won silver, finishing in 30:50.04 behind Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba.
