Instant Analysis - Prefontaine Classic

Never, ever doubt the abilities of Nike.  The 2009 Prefontaine Classic may go down as one of the best fielded meets in it’s glorious history.  The Portland-based shoe maker pulled in international stars such as Pamela Jelimo and Asbel Kiprop to pull off a meet that equally talented in the sprints and distance races.

She never went anywhere, so talking about a come back is ridiculous.  Sanya Richards ran a classic race strategy delivering a startling 49.85 seconds.  She is a talent runner and it would be a mistake to discount Richards regardless of what other athletes are doing on the track.  Richards is the first runner in the world to dip under 50 seconds this season.

At this point in the game, she is definately the favorite until someone else stands up.  I am of course talking about the rip that Carmelita Jeter is on in the 100 meters.  She is not scared. No. No. Jeter pulled out a huge come from behind victory in a field including with Jamaican Kerron Stewart, Muna Lee and Shelly Ann-Fraser.

LaShawn Merritt is clearly running with a great deal of swagger.  The Virginia native cruised to 31.30, the second fastest time ever run and look very controlled throughout the race. The tension in the men’s 400 meters between Merritt and Jeremy Wariner seems to increase with each race but fans will more than likely have to wait until Berlin as Wariner is competing in the 200 meters at Nationals.

In the process of joining the exclusive sub 10-second club, he is making believers out of doubers with each win. Michael Rodgers ran 9.94, his first legal race under 10 seconds against a field that included Asafa Powell, Walter Dix, Travis Padgett and Walter Dix.  That’s quite an impressive feat.

Dwight Phillips unleashed a monsterous jump of 28-08.25 making him the five ranked long jumper of all-time and signaling that he is in the best shape of his life.

Can track and field get out its’ own way?

Last year, I spoke out against the criticizism from everyone with an opinion on Usain Bolt’s celebration.  Today the tv commentators incorrectly criticized an athlete they thought was celebrating before the finish line.  In retrospect, he was thanking the crowd for their tremendous support and purchasing a ticket for the event.

Mean while, Bolt is not currently on speaking terms with NBC for putting him on blast during the Beijing Olympics and the network is sore because he is the hottest thing in the sport since starting blocks were invented.

Let’s not forget that some of the sport’s biggest starts such as Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis and Maurice Green brought a tremendous level of showmanship to the sport that brought in new spectators.  Unwarranted and in this instance inaccurate criticism by the media just serves to shut down the expression of athletes and produces generic post-race interviews and meets that go unnoticed by the average sports fan.

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