Top Elite Track Athlete of the Year: The Next Challenge

For the next couple weeks everyone will be talking about who had the biggest season. And for good reason. Usain Bolt had a mind boggling season that shocked even his most ardent critics. Yes, Sanya Richards sealed her legacy in the sport and Kenenisa Bekele added another chapter to an already hall of fame career.

But this debate is officially closed.

This year Usain Bolt’s answered the one of the last questions for the Jamaican superstar. The Jamaican megastar proved that he can win great competition in the 100 meter race and also shattered his own 100 and 200 meter world records. It’s the litmus test of greatness. Carl did it. Michael did it. At the World Champions in August, Bolt bettered a Tyson Gay who said before the meet that he was in the best of his life by a comfortable margin.

That’s what the great ones do.

The other pressing issue is whether Bolt is big enough to save the sport. Sure it’s a lot of pressure for any athlete and especially in track and field. Legend Michael Johnson remarked this summer that he believes the sport is in decline. Rather than another article bemoaning the sport’s ills, we should focus on the man who can do something about changing the tide.

Sure Usain Bolt astonishes every time he gets in the blocks. But can the three-time world record holder put butts in the seats, sell overpriced hot dogs, and give the average sports fan a single reason to care even a morsel about the goings on in elite track and field?

That’s what the great ones do.

Bolt puts on a show and that is good for the sport. He is not afraid to pull up before the finish line or strike a pose after a win. He is quickly becoming a global superstar on the track. The next challenge is to do so off the track.

Considering his track record, you would be a fool to beat against him. Stay tuned and you may want to get your popcorn ready.

PreRaceJitters Podcast #41: Danielle Tauro is Michigan’s unquestioned leader

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Is this her year to shine? The leadership torch has been passed to her and Michigan’s Danielle Tauro is embracing her role as a team leader after the school has graduated a number of seniors from last years squad.

The 2009 Michigan women’s cross country team is fifty percent freshman and the squad is also battling some minor injuries.

In the initial athlete profile of PreRaceJitters’ Terre Haute or Bust series - Tauro talks about deciding to attend Michigan, pacing this young Michigan team and setting her goals high for her self-described “crucial junior season”.

That and more on this latest PreRaceJitters’ podcast.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, Episode #40

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The World Athletic Finals (WAF) provides to be a successful venture for the U.S. envoy. Is Sanya Richards latest feat good enough for her to be considered the greatest 400 meter runner ever?  Which performance was more impressive?  Kenenisa Bekele or Usain Bolt had impressive performances at the World Athletic Finals.

Send an email to comments@preracejitters.com to have your comments and questions discussed on the show.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show…where the real playas come to hang out!

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, Episode # 39

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The world record holder at 100, 200 and 4×100 meter relays and the world record holder at 5,000 and 10,000 might get it on like Donkey Kong.  Could Bolt beat Bekele in a distance that is fair to both athletes?  That and more is discussed in this latest episode.

-Bolt about get to paid in a major way

-Richards, Bekele, and Insinbeyva share winnings

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, where the real playas come to hang out!

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show - Podcast #38

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After a brief break, track and field’s top internet radio show returns with two weeks until the World Championships to discuss track and field’s hottest stories. Jay Hicks and John W. Davis chop up the issues.

-Gay vs. Bolt
-Is Allyson Felix unbeatable?
-Can the U.S. 1,500m women medal in Berlin?

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show…where the real playas come to hang out!

PreRaceJitters’ Podcast #37, Lauren Centrowitz PRJ’s Collegiate Female Breakout AOY

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You wanna to get upgraded? Here’s the recipe.

At the beginning of the season Stanford’s Lauren Centrowitz had a 4:16.13 pr at 1,500 meters and ended up shaving six seconds off her time, running 4:10.4 by seasons end, along with earning All-American honors for the ninth time.

But the real story here is consistency both on and off the track.

In 2009, Lauren Centrowitz placed third in the 3,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 9 minutes, 14.35 seconds.  She also ran a leg on Stanford’s distance medley that placed fourth at nationals with a school-record time of 10:58.49.

Outdoors Centrowitz outran all predictions, finishing third in the 1,500 at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Off the track, during her collegiate career the Arnold, Maryland native was named to Pac-10 All-Academic team and is pursuing her graduate studies in the fall.

In this special podcast, Centrowitz discusses her post-collegiate plans of running with 1500m runners Lindsey Gallo and Julie Culley, who are also training with her father, Matt Centrowitz and the Pacers Racing Team.

PreRaceJitters’ Off the Track with John W. Davis Podcast # 38 featuring Joe Battaglia

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For the 5th Episode of ” PreRaceJitters’ Off The Track with John W. Davis”, I collaborated with a highly respected Track and Field Journalist.

My guest, none of than Universal Sports Senior Producer, Joe Battaglia.

You probably know Joe as the lead reporter of Universal Sports’ Track and Field section.

I know Joe as a respected colleague, who I wanted to team up with, to breakdown T&F.

So, we decided to record an audio version of Joe’s weekly Inside Track interview/recap/preview article.

Here’s our podcast rundown:

1. Bolt v. Gay
2. The American Distance Scene
3. Marathon Match ups
4. The State of the Long Jump
5. Is Jelimo Back?
6. Who’s the Best Hurdler in The World?

Off the Track with John W. Davis. My Style… Their Stories… For Your Ears Only!

Don’t forget, Off The Track with John W. Davis is a PreRaceJitters.com exclusive.

PreRaceJitters’ Podcast #37, Ahmad Rashad Men’s College Breakout Athlete of the Year

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The 5 foot, 10 inch sprinter swept through the NCAAs earning runner up honors in the 100 meters in 10.10.  The race not only culminated in a personal best for Ahmad Rashad.

The Flint, Michigan native has fought through injuries to become one of the top American collegiate sprinters. For the aforementioned reasons and more, Rashad has been selected as the first men’s PreRaceJitters’ “Breakout Athlete of the Year Award.”

The results were fantastic stuff with the Flint, Michigan - serving notice that not only Rashad can more than run with the big dawgs, but a bigger indictment of more things to come in the future.

PreRaceJitters’ Off the Track with John W. Davis Show #36 featuring Perdita Felicien

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For the 4th Episode of “Off The Track with John W. Davis”, I had the pleasure to have a nice in-depth conversation with a stick jumper north of the border.

My esteemed guest is none other than the NCAA All-American, 2-time Olympian, and 2003 World Champion, Canada’s 100m-hurdler queen, Perdita Felicien.

2009 is shaping up to go down as Felicien’s year of recovery and road to redemption because of what happened around 3:30pm on February 8th, 2008.

Felicien on her career threatening foot injury:

“I couldn’t run or walk for like 10 months, (I was) on crutches, in a boot so I started training in November 2008 and the truth is I didn’t know what to expect with my season. So far my season is going better than any of my doctors or surgeons would have expected because the injury was so unpredictable.  It was to a point where they said you are going to be able to hurdle but we don’t know if it’s going to be world class.”

Although she didn’t compete in Beijing, she still had the best seat in the house, broadcasting trackside for the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

On Being a CBC Track & Field Reporter:

“I took five days, (to think about it), and I’m like shoot I’m going. One, it was good money. Let’s keep it real, I am practical. I loved the experience, looking back if I didn’t go, I would have regretted it because I had so much fun.”

Let me tell you, from start to finish, this was a great interview that even touched on a unique experience that Felicien will never forget from Beijing…”being in a freeway car accident!”

It may sound crazy but its 100% real and true just like Perdita.

Take this for example… Ms. Felicien actually quit track for not one but two years.  She didn’t run one meet in 9th or 10th grade but by 12th grade was able to earn a full scholarship to train under Gary Winkler, who she still trains with, at the University of Illinois.

Perdita capped her comeback on June 27th, with a huge win over the Olympic Bronze Medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep at Canadian Track and Field National Championships.

Now she’s off to Europe and will culminate her season this August at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Perdita believes she still has what it takes to be a legend in the game of hurdling:

“If I can be 2nd best to Gail to me that’s great for me.  Do I have enough time… absolutely I think age is (like Aaliyah said it) aint nothing but a number. But I truly believe in the hurdles, its not all about speed and power that decreases after 26, 27.”

There’s a technical component, 10 times over, so if you can become a student of that, if you can master that, and dedicate yourself to being as proficient technically as possible then it doesn’t matter what you lose for speed.

At 28, I started when I was 20 going to my 1^st Olympics but I’m kind of still in my prime, the choice years in my event.

So Can I be a legend… Yeah beyond 2012, absolutely I think I can. My thing is now am I hungry enough and can I stay injury free and I think both those things are do able.

Special thanks to Perdita, and don’t forget to check out at her blog the Chronicles of a World Class Stick Jumper.

For much, much, much more with Perdita Felicien, tune into Off The Track with John W. Davis, exclusively on PreRaceJitters.com.

Off the Track with John W. Davis. My Style… Their Stories… For Your Ears Only!

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show #35, U.S. Nationals Preview Show

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It’s not too much to say that the Road to Berlin starts this week in Eugene, Oregon. Jay Hicks and John W. Davis discuss athletes to watch at the 2009 National Championships and much more.

-U.S. Nationals

PreRaceJitters Track & Field Radio Show…Where the Real Playas Come to Hangout!

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