Incredible Performances Highlight Conference Weekend

Welcome New Contributing Editor David Pickett To PreRaceJitters

Please join me in welcoming our new contributing editor David Pickett, as the newest member of the PreRaceJitters.com team.

David is joining our team to help improve elite track and field coverage, covering the sport’s top stories and sharing his unique views on the sport. He has some kick butt plans for PreRaceJitters.

He has been involved with track and field since 2004, as founder and editor of WNCPrepTrack.com covering the North Carolina high school and college running scene.

His presence is already being felt. PreRaceJitter’s Week In Review is a result of David’s leadership to help fill a void publishing a weekly column with the fastest collegiate times in the nation.

I’ve been managing PreRaceJitters since 2006 and look forward to working with someone with so much much passion, enthusiasm, and knowledge of the sport.

David’s first interview with North Carolina State assistant coach Terry Reese is going Live today.

We’re thrilled to add his keen prose into the mix, and hope that you enjoy it as much as we do. Welcome, David.

What Would I Do Without PreRaceJitters?

At the end of last season, there were plans of expanding operations, providing more coverage. Then the decision was made to shut down PreRaceJitters.com.

A second child on the way, new career opportunities that pull on the energy, and focus to continue running the online magazine, combined with frustration with the sport’s overall direction were good enough reasons to let it go.

My plate was too full. For the last four years, I’ve written countless columns, published dozens upon dozens of podcasts, and traveled the country interviewing some of elite track and field’s best known and most entertaining figures.

Selfish me. Selfish me.

Call it a Generation Me problem.

But then I began to think back to how it all got started. Four years ago when I first started writing, I lived in Las Vegas with the seemingly impossible idea of bringing a different media perspective on track and field to fans focusing on sprinting and commentary.

The majority of my professional career had been spent in the banking industry.

I started writing and creating the sort of track product that I want to consume. I began learning new things like blogging and social media which allows a person with a minimum investment to run a media platform from their home that ten years ago essentially took thousands if not hundred of thousands to create.

PreRaceJitters will continue operating with a goal to be more social and to give more to the sport- for example, by giving budding writers the unique chance to actually connect, to write, to produce something and send it out to the world. That’s what PreRaceJitters has done for me.

I’d stay up all night plotting the next interview, or meet coverage, or the editing the next PreRaceJitter.com Podcast episode with partner John W. Davis. I’d stay up until 3 or 4 am in the hotel lobby uploading videos at the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California.

I can’t let the online track and field website go to the dust. From Los Angeles to Little Rock to Austin Texas, PreRaceJitters has been like a friend, always there, always giving me a chance to write, to share my voice, to connect to others. And for that I’m eternally grateful.

Where would I be without PreRaceJitters?

Without PreRaceJitters, I’d probably not have a full-time career in new media within the broadcast industry. I’d be in the banking industry helping finance other people’s dreams, but not living my own dream.

The Big Ten Network would have never called me to provide commentary on Jesse Owens for the Big Ten Icon series. I’d never have met the countless college coaches and athletes whose relationships are so incredible. I’d never have interviewed Tyson Gay and gone on to write that he would eventually beat Usain Bolt.

I would not have come back to writing.

I would have never moved my wife and son back to Texas and returned to school earning a web design and development degree.

I would never have started a summer camp teaching inner city and rural high school kids about building websites and careers available in technology.

I would not have reconnected a relationship with my best friend.

The process of looking back to the early days of PreRaceJitters has put its impact on my life into perspective. Every friendship, every job, every step in my life since 2006 can be traced back to a point with PreRaceJitters.

And just now, I am like a young man training for a marathon, realizing it’s about the journey, not the final destination, and looking forward at the new, exciting road ahead of endless possibilities.

Thank you so much readers for a great first four years, and I hope you will stick around for 30 more years of covering the sport.

What do you think?

If you have questions or comments…let me know in the comments.

Jay F. Hicks is Editor-In-Chief and blog regularly about track and field. You can find him on Twitter.

Southern Passion Propels Texas Relays to the Top

So, uh, any good track meets this week?

For maybe someone new to the sport that’s a new question. For experienced track fans and maybe 40,000 Texas residents, the answer is becoming increasingly obvious as Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays hype builds to a fever pitch.

Texas Relays commands so much attention for many reasons, and several of the most important ones have little to do with track per se.

The 84th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays will kick off Wednesday, but the first high school event is not until Friday.

With all due respect, we don’t need lipping off to know the truth: The southern-based relay event which features high school, college and professional athletes is better than any other meet in the Midwest, West Coast or East Coast parts of the United States.

As a cultural event, Texas Relays has become an informal holiday. A community where friends meet up discussing when they ran at the meet or this years hottest teams. It’s become a right of passage for athletes and a cultural/social event for spectators.

Canny marketers help keep the meet viable even during the worst economic downturn of the last 100 years. The city of Austin is a big winner selling out rooms within a 20 mile radius and restaurant/night clubs are flush with paying clients.

Five reasons Texas Relays Is Tops:

Reason #5: Picking Early Favorites For the 2011 Season
Who are the top 10 early favorites to win at NCAA Outdoor Championships in June? Look no further than performances in Austin from a new legion of young guns to some ripe veterans to find out who will make this a year to remember. Winning at Texas Relays is a good start!

Reason #4: Looking For The Next Superstar

High schools converge on Austin to compete on the same track as Tyson Gay, Marshevet Myers, and Jeremy Wariner. Spectators, coaches, fans, and media -types get a chance to see some of the best talent in the county perform in a highly competitive environment.

Reason #3: Winter Is Over

Texas Relays signifies that the outdoor season is in full force. Temperatures typically hover in the high 80s this time of year in Austin, creating an ideal environment for fast times.

Many top tier West Coast schools such as Washington State led by Jeshua Anderson escape overcast skies to run in the warm weather.

Reason #2: Go Big Or Go Home

It’s where contenders and pretenders are separated.

The presence of the top five U.S. Track & Field and Cross County Coaches Association ranked men’s teams including Florida, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Florida State, and LSU makes the competition unparalleled.

Four of the top five U.S. Track & Field and Cross County Coaches Association women’s ranked teams including Texas A&M, LSU, Oklahoma, and USC will also compete in Austin.

Reason #1: Cultural Event

Texas Relays crosses boundaries into a cultural event with accompanying night life parties attracting celebrities such as former Longhorn Vince Young, concerts, and other related activities.

Where else can track boast this sort of existence? Not Eugene. Not Philadelphia. Not New York. Or Los Angeles.

Athletes Drive the Sport

So far the first half of the Diamond Leagues Series and other grand prix races have lived up to expectations.

Post-doping era, track and field was supposed to be lifeless. Sort of like baked chicken with no seasonings - bland.  The mainstream media has long written off the sport or at least will not write about the sport unless there is a drug scandal involved.

The bad press to the sport was a self-inflicted wound that was somewhat deserved.  During the last decade a parade of athletes were found guilty of doping. The sport became the running joke of late night television fueled by ESPN reports that broke into programming to announce to deliver the news.

With a major international championship, 2010 was written off by some.

But the competition within the sport as it must goes on and it does. David Oliver has rebounded from an injury plagued 2009 season to not only break the American Record once, but twice.  Almost immediately Kara Patterson became a household name among avoid fans after crushing the American Record in the javelin.  Oh, and Chaunte Howard Lowe has emerged to break her own American Record in the high jump not once but twice while also finding time to dabble in the long jump this season.

The compelling force behind track and field is the athlete’s story - the most important ingredient. Their journey. Their toil. Their condition behind the wins, defeats, and records. The story is what the community wants to hear about.  And we must never forget that athletes are center stage.

Who is the next Usain Bolt?

In 2004 there was concern. Handwringing. Consternation.

The worldwide screaming of BOLT! BOLT! BOLT! drowned out all of that. And thoughts of the greatness? Who cares about all that with the green and gold around?

The calendar flips one year and then ten years fly by and it’s 2012.

So who is the next Usain Bolt? It would make a great round table discussion at a nice restaurant. This is the stuff of internet chat board conversations that last for days.  But in actuality no one really knows.

That’s because there will never be another Usain Bolt.  How long did we wait for the next Jesse Owens? Usain Bolt’s feats do not to alter the accomplishments of the aforementioned except to distinguish the two as well before their time.  People weren’t ready for them.

Remember “the next” great was Carl Lewis whose nine Olympic gold medals and longevity make him royalty. Michael Johnson has left him stamp on track and field. And along the way there have been a number of phenoms who have had brushes with greatness.

The real question is who is the next phenom this time around.

If another athlete of Bolt’s caliber is coming up there is a distinct likely that he/she will not be an American, however there is a high likelihood that they will train the U.S. under some of the best coaches and facilities in the world.

There will be Tyson Gay who will more than likely accomplish enough to finish a legend.  There are shooting wonders like Johnny Dutch, Jeshua Anderson and the likes of Queen Harrison who are having outstanding careers.

There have been a share that have burned out before reaching their zenith and the of course the hazardous hamstring, knee and ankle injuries that make going through the motions of a full career nearly impossible.

Usain Bolt will probably be around in 2012 and and will probably take victory laps up to 2014. He is reportedly earning $250,000 a race and will have more than enough stacks to retire. 

It’s to be seen if Bolt has the business drive of Michael Johnson to become a CEO. Or the entertainment drive of Carl Lewis to take on Hollywood shine. And that is good because Bolt will be around to be the sport’s spokesperson. Which is when we may again be asking where is the next Usain Bolt.

Nearly a decade later - we may still may not have answer to the question.

Allen Johnson Announces Retirement Ending Epic Hurdling Career

The 110m Hurdler Retirement Leaves A Big Hole In Sport.

Allen Johnson announced his retirement on Saturday, said goodbye to a professional track career that seems the stuff of sports fiction.

“It’s just come to the point where my body can’t take it anymore,” said Johnson in a trackside interview.

“Maybe I can coach some hurdlers or some sprinters… give something back. I’m going to miss it, I really am, but it was fun,” added the former World and Olympic 110 meter hurdles champion.

One of the interesting things about his career is the University of Carolina graduate never won an individual NCAA title during his time at Chapel Hill but he quickly became a star as professional.

On Saturday, one of the unique chapters in professional track and field history closed when Allen, 39, announced his retirement after winning Olympic gold in Atlanta, and turned in countless outstanding performances.

He finishes with four World Outdoor Titles, three World Indoor Titles, finished the seasoned ranked number one four times, and one of greatest performances ever with a personal best of 12.92 seconds just .02 shy of the current American Record - is among the best in track history.

Few have been so good, for so long. In 2005, Johnson earned a bronze at the World Outdoor Championships at the age of 34. Johnson has run under 13 seconds more than an hurdler in history - nine times.

Allen showed grace even in defeat. I am him picking himself after falling in the early rounds of the 2004 Athen Games preventing him from competing for a second Olympic gold medal.

Allen never was one for attention. Yet he’s getting it now.

American record holder David Oliver said on his Twitter account, “Just talked to Allen Johnson, sad to see him call it a career and retire, a real genuine dude…”

“Allen Johnson is an inspiration for competition as lifelong pursuit. He embodies all the qualities you could ask for from a champion. Above all, he conducted himself with class, on and off the track”, said Doug Logan CEO of USA Track and Field.

“He won and lost with dignity, although clearly he won more than he lost. Allen set the standard for hurdling at the World and Olympic level and has inspired a generation of hurdlers, from the U.S. to Cuba to China, who continue to chase his achievements. That chase will continue for years to come.”

Lolo Jones once said, “”In track and field I most admire Allen because I have watched him growing up. I remember Allen, specifically, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I remember how he carried himself on TV and how he represented himself and his country was amazing.”

While Friday marked a bookend to Johnson’s career, to really appreciate his story you have to have met the man only once. He is widely known in track circles for mentoring young athletes on how to make it in the track game and befriending competitors. I’ve seen few hearts as big and as humble an athlete as Johnson.

The dashing, dazzling runs may be gone but Johnson’s contributions to this sport will never be forgotten.

Track & Field Used To Be Big…

Track and field was mainstream now it’s….soccer.

It’s a reminder.

As the old school hip hop lyrics go…”back in the days when I was young, I’m not a kid anymore. But some days I sit and wish I was a kid again.” No less than a decade ago, track was still a big deal in this country. In fact, I think back to the days when soccer and track were pretty much at very similar levels.

Recently fans draped themselves in U.S. flags, congregated at bars and have pretty much toasted the national team’s efforts. Sports fans of any persuasion including yours truly watched the matches with great anticipation.

It was a nerve racking affair.  Would Team USA win the match and move on past Algeria? Athletes delivering gut-wrenching performing, making sick moves in the nick of time.

Does it make track fans miss 1996?

Track and field once commanded the sort of attention that I could talk to most anyone and they knew would held the world’s fastest man title. Back in the day when Michael Johnson was flaunting his gold shoes on Jay Leno.  Carl Lewis earning his ninth Olympic gold with signs of gray in his whiskers. People came to the water cooler to talk about Gail Devers hitting the track just inches before the finish line.

The fact is however that I can not think of scenario that track and field captures the nation’s attention again.  In 2008, Olympic television coverage shifted to swimming and gymnastics while track failed to dominant headlines for even a week.  That is despite Boltmania sweeping the 400 meter oval.  Everthing went right. All of the ingredients for a perfect story. An athlete little known outside of the die-hards moved from the background just in time for track, Jamaican and quite honestly the United States. Boltmania provided a temporary energy boost but I can’t see a track event that draws millions to Twitter like has been seen during the World Cup.

Track was once mainstream at least every four years and as soccer is now.

What happens if Bolt is not in a race or even gasp he retires?  It will happen at some point.

Another thought is that maybe the answer does not lie in winning over more bandwagon mainstream fans that are track fans every four years. And instead catering more to existing die-hards.  We have niche fans that follow track and field regardless of the headlines. Track remains one of the world’s most popular sports because of it’s accessibility.

Is this real talk? In an age when colleges are slashing budgets and shuttering track and field programs faster than Usain Bolt can dance hall the 100 meters. Most everyone grows up running. It’s built into the country’s dna.

Track is the old school hip hop joint that you love. You want everyone to know about the cut. But in reality if million immediately flocked to the group you probably wouldn’t like the group quite the same if they

Is Tyson Gay Injury Prone Due to His Speed?

This needs to stop.

I’ve had countless conversations with my colleague John W. Davis and read a recent article and I seem to be in the minority that Tyson Gay is not a running Saltine Cracker.

Gay has done this.
1.  Hamstring injury
2. Groin injury
3. Tendon injury

Does any of that seem odd for a world class sprinter?

He recently injured his tendon.  That is a freak thing that can happen to anyone.  He injured his hamstring back at college days and injuries to the muscle is fairly common in the sport.

Gay’s fast movement has nothing to do with the fact this his tendon is sore. Absolutely nothing. He has been working out since the fall, practicing five days a week and hoping planes to compete in races around the globe. It happened to Usain Bolt, it happened to Maurice Greene, He injured his tendon. Same thing.

Shawn Crawford battled injuries in both feet in between making the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams.

Lui Chang injured his foot and leg after the pounding of hurdling. That is completely different story. There is nothing about Gay’s injuries that has anything to do with stress or wear and tear or anything brittle.

Freak thing, it could happen to anyone.

I don’t see anything in Gay’s injuries that tell me he’s anything more than incredibly unlucky. There was nothing in what happened recently that should tell us otherwise. 

Wariner earns close win over Taylor In Rome

 

Rome-Two races, two wins and the USA Nationals are only two weeks away.

Jeremy Wariner stands firm and holds off Angelo Taylor to win the Rome Gala - a Diamond League meet. 

Wariners winning time 44.73 to Taylor’s 44.74 - marks the first time the former Baylor runner breaks 45 seconds on the season.

Asafa Powell is coming into his own in 2010.

Powell got out slowly before hitting his stride to handily win the Rome Gala.

Powell time 9.82 seconds is the new world leading time and a big statement in Usain Bolt’s absence.

Guess whose back?

After a disappointing 2009 season, Walter Dix is back to a form similar to 2008.  Dix ran 19.86 seconds in Rome setting a new 200m stadium record and showing signs that big things may be in store for him this season.

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