Instant Analysis - Bolt Makes It Reign In Zürich

Usain Bolt meet the world’s sports fans. World sports fans meet Usain Bolt of Jamaica—the track’s newly crowned megastar.

-Zurich, Switzerland-The Golden League meet in Zürich was the perfect setting for lightening quick times. A sold out crowd of 22,000 spectators provided an electric atmosphere that produced some extremely fast times. A bit of fatigue from the Olympic Games appeared evident on the part of distance runners, but the sprinters put down some fast times.

Before the gun went off, it was the usual routine. Usain Bolt was bobbing and weaving and playing it up before getting into the blocks. When his name was called out, the fans gave went wild for the man who less than two weeks ago was apart of three world record performances. The Olympic champion could have at least made it look somewhat difficult. Bolt gave the fans their money’s worth. He got out to a slow start before blazing 9.83 seconds over 100-meters. The reigning Olympic champion was ahead of Walter Dix (9.93) and Richard Thompson (10.09).

Where was his kick when Wariner needed it the most two weeks ago? Reigning Olympic champ LaShawn Merrittt had the inside lane today, but it was not good enough to beat Jeremy Wariner. Coming down the final turn, Wariner had a one step lead that he opened up to about five meters winning in 43.82 over Merritt (44.43).

Lolo Jones picked up where she left off before hitting a hurdle in Beijing. The U.S. Olympic Trials champion won in 12.56, beating a field which included 110-meter hurdle Olympic champion Dawn Harper. Harper (12.73) finished in a distant seventh place.

It was certainly a win, but it was not the win that Sanya Richards has been dreaming about for quite some time. After winning bronze in Bejing, Richards won a commanding race today in a season’s best time of 49.75. There have been assertions that Richards choked in the 400-meter Olympic final. The real story is that Richards didn’t run fast enough to beat the world’s best. The looming question is why this season the American record holder has not been within a second of the 48.70 that she ran back in 2006.

The 110 hurdles was a close one. David Oliver, the only man to defeat Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba, almost accomplished that feat for a second time this season. Oliver raced Robles down to the end, but came up short.

It may not have been as clean as the 400 hurdle victory in Beijing. But Angelo Taylor (48.07) took it out extremely hard the first half of the race before finishing ahead of Kerron Clement (48.20) of the U.S. and Jamaica’s Danny McFarland (48.40). Bershawn Jackson (49.18) finished in seventh place.

Can’t Forget About the PUMA Clyde - Tommie Smith Gold List

Let the celebration of Usain Bolt ripping up the track in Beijing continue. It is only proper to remember the PUMA shoes that honor Tommie Smith. Everyone knows how Smith and John Carlos raised their hands on the medal stand in 1968 in honor of those who were suffering in the United States.

On the tongue - 19.83 appears to commemorate Tommie Smith’s record time.

Lightning Bolt To Strike In Zürich

Will Usain Bolt send Jamaica rockin’ by dropping another world record in Switzerland?

The international community is experiencing sleep deprivation from staying up late nights for the past two weeks watch Olympic coverage while at the same time going through track & field withdrawal from the Olympics.

That all ends very soon.

The ÅF Golden League picks up in Zürich, Switzerland on Friday 29 August. At this point, the race for the $1 Million Golden League Jackpot is two to two: 800-meter Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo and Olympic silver medalist Blanka Vlasic of Croatia.

Olympic medalist will compete in front of sold-out crowd of 26,000 in the venerable Letzigrund Stadium.

Olympic Medalist Heading to Zürich.

The 100-meters will look very similar to Beijing. Will Bolt run through the line this time and shock the world with another world record?

Six runners from Beijing final will step on the track in Zurich: Usain Bolt, Richard Thompson, Walter Dix, Shawn Crawford, and Churandy Martin.

The athletes headling in Zürich include: Blanka Vlasic, Lolo Jones against a field including Olympic champion Dawn Harper, Olympic champion Dayron Robles, new 400-meter Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner, Angelo Taylor, Yelena Isinbayeva, Jenn Stuczynski, Allyson Felix, and Sanya Richards.

Watch the Meet From Zürich:

• Web: Live at Trackshark or USA Track & Field.

• TV: Aug. 29, 3:00-5:00 p.m., ESPN Classic
• TV: Aug. 29, 7:00-9:00 p.m., ESPN2
• TV: Aug. 30, 7:00-9:00 a.m., ESPN Classic

Usain Bolt Should Be Thanked, Not Criticized

Steve McGill at Hurdlesfirst.com wrote a great piece about the ridiculous criticism of Usain Bolt’s exuberance and excitement that he displayed in making Olympic history and realizing his dreams.

McGill wrote:

“Costas [Bob] spent a whole week kissing Michael Phelps’ butt, then when something other-worldly happens on the track, the first thing he does is find something critical to discuss. “

“Personally, I had no problem with Bolt’s celebration. Bolt is a breath of fresh air in a sport filled with a whole lot of pollution. He’s funny, he’s gregarious, he’s playful, and he gets down to business when it’s time to get down to business. What more could you want? And your boy Ato Boldon (shown on left) had the chance to school Costas on his ignorance, but instead, he agreed with him. You mean to tell me that someone who trained with Maurice Greene, Jon Drummond, and Larry Wade would agree that Usain Bolt needs to tone it down? Please tell me I’m dreaming, because this can’t be happening.”

Originally, I thought that somehow I had missed something. They don’t get the fact that Usain Bolt single-handily resuscitated the premiere event at the Olympic Games from the dark alleys and back into the mainstream.

Track is cool again.

IOC President Jean Rogge suggested that Bolt “showboated” too much. “I think he should show more respect for his competitors and shake hands, give a tap on the shoulder to the other ones immediately after the finish, and not make gestures like the one he made in the 100 meters,” Rogge said in an interview. He also said of Bolt’s actions that “you just don’t do that.”

Those sentiments are stuck in the past and smack of being out of touch. Let the 22-year-old Olympic champion have his day in the sun.

As far as I can tell, Bolt is well liked by the world and by his competitors. The NBC cameras revealed a light-hearted man who joked with his countrymen and competitors a like. There was not a statement of issue from any competing athlete on the matter.

Rogge ‘s criticisms are wrongly aimed at an athlete who brought excitement to the Olympic Games. Maybe the Belgian bureaucrat should have spent more attention focusing on the Chinese age scandal that unfolded right in front of the world‘s eyes. That is the kind of issue that really does chip away at the credibility of the games.

The IOC and folks at NBC should sending Bolt flowers and singing his praises for putting down three world record performances that the world is still talking about and that delivered better than anticipated television ratings.

The aforementioned parties should remain silent on the matter of showboating and just cash their bonus checks at the bank.

Beijing Olympic Games Close With A Bang

-USA Didn’t Fair Badly At All On The Track.

Winning an Olympic gold amounts to catching lightning in a bottle. Elusive. Precious. Difficult. No matter how great an athlete, in order to win an Olympic medal of any kind, everything must go perfectly.

If an injury develops, such as the case for hurdler Terrence Trammell, or if like Lolo Jones you clip a hurdle, then it’s done. There is nothing you can do if the recovery time is not enough for Tyson Gay to be 100%. Or, if your body is not feeling at its best, as was the case with Sanya Richards, then the favorite comes out with a bronze.

For the world, Usain Bolt walked away as the new megastar of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games—mainly because most countries care more about track than swimming. The precocious Jamaican cleaned up in the 100, 200, and 400-meter relay in world record time in all three events, along with the successes of his countrymen.

The outing for Team USA on the track was not quite as bad as the media would lead one to believe.

Sure the U.S. men and women botched hands-offs in the 4×100 meter relays. That almost certainly would have added to the medal count.

However, Team USA had an extremely good showing. Maybe, head coach Bubba Thornton saying, “This is probably the strongest team we’ve ever sent to the Olympic Games,” was an overstatement, but never the less, the US had great successes in Beijing.

Here’s a quick look at the facts.

USA Track & Field earned 23 medals. Of that seven gold, nine silver, seven bronze. That is just one gold and two total medals fewer than Athens, which had been the best U.S. performance since 1992.

Bryan Clay is the world’s greatest all-around athlete after dominating the decathlon, LaShawn Merritt scored an upset in the 400, Stephanie Brown Trafton unexpectedly won the first U.S. discus gold medal in nearly a century, Angelo Taylor led a U.S. sweep of the 400-meter hurdles, and Sanya Richards ran a legendary anchor leg to win gold for Team USA.

By any account that is pretty good stuff.

Yeah, USA Track & Field as an agency is in dire need of improvement, but that does not in any way diminish the U.S. athletes and their performances while representing this country.

Maybe the slight by NBC in television coverage, the disastrous relays results, and the less than desired results on the track will light a fire for change with USA Track & Field executive management.

The international landscape of track & field has been changing for at least the last decade, and much like USA Basketball, the Olympic selection process for track needs some minor modifications. I think some of the performance issues related issues were due to dead legs or fatigue in Beijing.

The process to provide for more recovery time after the grueling Olympic Trials must now be a priority. In order to earn a paycheck , a majority of Team USA ran in Europe at least several times after the Olympics Trials and before heading to Beijing.

The closing of the games feel as though something important is coming to the end. Something magical. Something we will have to wait another four years to see.

It’s safe to say they do everything big in China. The 2008 Beijing Games displayed state-of-the art venues, a sense of history & culture, and amazing athletic performances that sometimes left you in utter disbelief.

The ball is in your court now, London.

Air Force 1 Closing Ceremonies By Nike

Nike seems to have thought of everything except for… signing Usain Bolt to the company. With that the closing ceremonies are about to begin at any moment now.

Nike Air Force 1 “Closing Ceremonies” is Nike’s way of closing the games with a bang. It comes in a gold upper of course, along with a laser etched graphic all over the upper. The shoe as well as a special 080808 box will be released on August 25th.

U.S. Sets Olympic Record in 1,600-Meter Relay

-Beijing-The Team members were all smiles at the “Bird’s Nest” and why wouldn’t they be?

The winner of the 1,600-meter relay was never in doubt.

LaShawn Merritt (44.35) got the U.S. out to a comfortable lead before handing off to Angelo Taylor who blazed a 43.70 leg. On the third leg, David Neville added to the lead before Jeremy Wariner (43.16), nearly ran a 42 second anchor leg that added an exclamation point to the victory.

The team of LaShawn Merritt, the 400-meter champion, 400-meter hurdles gold medalist Angelo Taylor, David Neville bronze winner and Wariner the 2004 gold medalist and 400 silver medalist recorded a time of 2:55.39 in Saturday’s final.

The time was good enough to establish a new Olympic record, in an event that the U.S have dominated. The previous record of 2:55.74 was set by Americans Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Michael Johnson and Steve Lewis in 1992 at the Seoul Games. The U.S. continues a tradition of owning this event, having now won the 1,600-meter relay at the last seven straight Olympic Games.

Olympian Kerron Clement and former Baylor standout Reggie Witherspoon ran in the qualifying heats and also share in the Olympic gold.

That is not a bad way at all to close out the track and field events at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

By Jay Hicks.

Sanya Richards Leads U.S. Women to 1,600-Meter Relay Victory

Relays performances often times tell you a great deal about an athlete. The biggest factor in running is not statistics or splits–it’s heart.

Sanya Richards showed major heart when she got the stick seven meters behind Anastasia Kapachinskaya of Russia and quickly made up that ground in leading Team USA to victory.

The relay is the first gold medal for Richards and Allyson Felix at these games.

Mary Winberg (51.0), Allyson Felix (48.55), Monique Henderson (50.06), and Sanya Richards (48.93) brought home the gold in 3:18.55. It should also be noted that Natasha Hastings ran in the qualifying heat and will share in the gold medal victory.

By Jay Hicks.

Usain Bolt Reigns In Golden Era

-How PUMA dominated the competition.

The images are everywhere on television and online of Usain Bolt wearing the Theseus II spikes by Puma. It serves as a painful reminder to the executives of Nike and Adidas that they have been beaten.

The first blow was the sight of Li Ning, China’s former Olympic champion gymnast, circling the roof of the Bird’s Nest stadium to light the Olympic flame wearing his own line of shoes. Bolt hammered the second blow.

Bolt created an iconic moment as he crossed the line and held up the Theseus II as he circled the stadium while basking in the crowd praise. The world will remember his gold shoes, golden laces, and golden upper and soles.

Not only that. Bolt won the most highly anticipated 100-meter race in modern history. The results are legendary.

Three gold medals. Three world records.

PUMA received more value without spending nearly as much money as Adidas (reportedly $200 million) and Nike. Adidas star athletes in Beijing were: Jeremy Wariner, Tyson Gay, Yao Ming, and Veronica Campbell-Brown.

Nike tried to make some noise in Beijing with LaShawn Merritt, Sanya Richards, Asafa Powell, and Liu Xiang. But no one shined as bright in Beijing as the 6 foot, five sprinter.

The Jamaican national team is sponsored by PUMA, but Bolt is only athlete who is individually signed to PUMA.

PUMA not only has the hottest track superstar on the planet, it has soundly beaten Nike and Adidas in the shoe war.

By Jay Hicks.

Jamaica Sprinting Inspires Kicks

Nike iD has refreshed their Dunk High’s and Low’s for the Fall 2008 collection.

The second pair feature a floral jaquard in white or black, and the third are based a hero from the Olympics, Jamaican runner Asafa Powell the former world record holder as the fastest man on Earth. The pattern borrows the Jamaican Flag colors and a cheetah pattern seen in Powell’s custom Olympic spikes and makes a bold and bright Dunk High and low. Act quickly because availability is short. Nike iD Studios.

Via Kickaholic.

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