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!

Instantly Analysis: Campbell-Brown Leads Jamaican Entourage In Shanghai

-Shanghai, China-Anytime Olympic champion Yelena Isinbeyva of Russia enters a meet, there is bound to be fans in the seats. But on Saturday all eyes were focused on Vernonica Campbell-Brown, who lead a group of Jamaicans athletes wrapping up their season at the 2008 IAAF Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.

The show stopper was a Jamaican-surprise. The 200-meter Olympic champion from Beijing, Veronica Campbell-Brown won a blistering late season race in 11.01 at 100-meters. Lauryn Williams of the U.S., ran a solid 11.26 to earn second place honors.

She may have been tired from the long season but she was definately entertaining. Yelena Isinbeyeva, did not break her own world record, but she cleared a modest 4.60 meters. The greatest women’s pole vaulter ever cleared 5.05 meters in winning the gold medal in Beijing and in the process rewrote her own world record.

Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell did not compete in Shanghai, but Jamaican Michael Frater took the men 100 race in 10.05 and Nesta Carter was a close second.

It doesn’t matter if the one lap race has hurdles or not for the Atlanta resident. You have to respect the talent of Angelo Taylor. The 400 was won by Taylor in a very respectable 44.94 over Gary Kikaya of the Democratic Republic of Congo (45.09).

Not to be out done–Dawn Harper did a repeat of her Olympic gold medal performance. Harper flew over the 110n hurdles in first (13.56), which is a new stadium record. How good is Hyleas Fountain? The Olympic silver medalist Fountain took an impressive third place finish in 12.96.

Fresh off a winning the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart last week, he did it again. David Oliver finished strongly to win the 110s in 13.25.

Olympics gold medalist Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain continued her post-Olympic performance decline. She finished a distant fourth place (52.30). Jamaican’s Shericka Williams and Shereefa Lloyd took first and second place, respectively in 50.88 and 51.24.

Click here for full results.

Jay Hicks For Prerace Jitters.

Campbell-Browns Comes Back Hard in 200!

A champion may be momentarily down, but never out for the count. Not only did Veronica Campbell-Brown win the 200, she redeemed herself by running the best 200-meters of her life, dipping under 22-seconds for the first time in her career.

After finishing fourth in the women’s 100-meters, Veronica ran like a star, driven  by passion and determination to win (21.94) the women’s 200. It is amazing that an island of roughly 2 million currently has some of the best sprinters in the world.

The rest of the Jamaican sprint crew, Kerron Stewart (21.99)  and Sherone Simpson (22.11) were on her heals in the quick race.

Race spectators are reporting that Usain Bolt shut it down with 60-meters and still ran 19.97 to win the men’s 200. In what seemed like a practice jog, Usain Bolt completed his double with a strategy to merely qualify for Beijing.

Michael Blackwood won the men’s 400 in 45.21.

In the women’s 100 hurdles, Brigitte Foster-Hylton won in a very respectable 12.50 seconds.

There is a looming battle brewing between the Jamaican Olympic and U.S. Olympic teams in both the individual events and the 4×100-meter relay.

By Jay Hicks.

Clermont, Florida the Place to Be!

At this point, can anyone break Veronica Campbell-Brown’s strangle hold on the women’s 100? At a meet on her home track in Clermont, Florida the reigning 100-meter World Champion ran an astounding 10.88. I’m sure that premiere performance is what she and her coach Lance Braumon are looking for going into the Jamaican Olympic Trials in a couple weeks.

At the same meet, high school sprinter Jeff Demps ran 10.21 (+2.2) in the 100, letting any doubters know that he is ready to compete at the highest level.

The very capable Natasha Hastings won (51.45) the 400 over reigning World Champion Dee Dee Trotter (51.95) in Clermont. It’s not clear what to make of the results except that Hastings is further establishing her presence in the event. But Dee Dee is not a runner to count out because she has tremendous 400 experience.

Dyron Robles’ recent World Record in the 100-hurdles did not go unnoticed by David Oliver. Oliver won (13.10) the hurdles in his third fastest time of the year. Which shows that the top ranked American hurdler is sharp just two weeks before the Olympic Trials.

I’m ready for Wallace Spearmon to have a break out race this season in the 200-meters. He ran comfortably (20.4) to victory in Clermont but it is looking as though he will have to run sub-20 seconds to make the U.S. Olympic team in the heavily stacked event.