The Final Sprint Interview with Tommie Smith

The crew over at "The Final Sprint" brings you another outstanding interview and podcast, this time with Tommie Smith, Olympic sprinter and civil rights activist. Tommie is the only man in track and field history to simultaneously hold eleven world records and, among his many other accomplishments, won a gold medal in the 200m at the 1968 Olympic Games.

Christian Cantwell Named USA Track & Field's Athlete Of The Week

Christian Cantwell has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after winning the 2007 men's Indoor Visa Championship and men's shot put national title Sunday at the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Boston, Mass.

The 2004 World Indoor champion, Cantwell cemented his victory in the men's shot put with his first throw of 21.72meters /71 feet 3.5 inches. Cantwell had led the Visa Championship Series since his winning heave of 21.88m/71-9 at the 100^th Millrose Games earned him 1,233 points. For his championship performance, Cantwell won $25,000 from Visa to support his Olympic journey.

2007 VS Athletics Track Club - The Season Is Upon Us

The VS Athletics Track Club is looking forward to a banner season after having had four qualifiers for the 2006 USA Outdoor Championships in its inaugural year and three individual champions at the 2006 USATF National Club Championships en route to its women placing 6th, and its men 7th, in the team standings.

“We are excited about several new members who have joined our VS family, and there are more on the way,” says director, Skip Stolley, who also coaches the club’s distance runners. Our goal is to grow to a team of about 30 athletes in 2007 and to have 40 team members in 2008.”

The Legendary Rafer Johnson Goes The Extra Mile To Help Kids

Six mornings a week, he gets up at 5:30a.m., puts on his sweats, and drives over the hill from his Sherman Oaks home to the track at his alma mater, UCLA.
Rafer Johnson is 72 now, but one would never know it. Age hasn't laid a glove on him.At 190 pounds, he's 15 pounds less than his Olympic Games weight. Read more.

Marion Jones To Wed Oba Thompson: Inquiring Minds Want To Know

OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALLIST OBADELE THOMPSON is sprinting to the altar on Saturday, with Olympic gold medallist Marion Jones, according to Jones' website.

And the finish line for the sprinting sweethearts is a small church in North Carolina.

UNM Lobos Track And Field Coaches To Retire

Henry twins tired of waiting for more program funds.

Just when the file cabinet for track and field is finally finding room to expand, the Henrys are too exhausted. After seven years of broken promises, University of New Mexico track and field coach Matt Henry and associate coach Mark Henry, Matt's brother, said Monday they have lost the patience it would take to wait for the program they always envisioned.

Read the full article or listen to their press conference.

Join Run Ohio Efforts To Save Ohio University Track

Ohio University has announced it plans to drop its 100 year old Men's Track and Field program. If they drop track and field they will join Bowling Green, Toledo, Ball State, Western Michigan, Marshall and West Virginia who all dropped track and field in the last few years.

At their meeting this Thursday-Friday, the OU Board of Trustees decided to not decide on this issue, but later stated they have the authority to decide if they want to.
How can you help? Contact the Board.

Simplot Games Video Clips from Dyestat

A nice selection of videos from the 2007 Simplot Games is now available for viewing on the Dyestat site.

Site Of The Day - US Track & Field Coaches Association

A great resource site for high school and college coaches.
Visit the site now.

Young Stars To Be Showcased At AT&T USA Indoor Champs

Many of today's brightest young track and field stars will try to win the first national titles of their careers in the men's 60m hurdles and pole vault at the 2007 AT&T USA Indoor Championships, February 24-25 at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Boston.

The final event of USA Track & Field's 2007 Indoor Visa Championship Series, the AT&T USA Indoor Championships will be televised on Sunday, February 25, from 4-6 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN 2.

Simplot Games Heats, Results And More On Dyestat

Once again the folks at Dyestat.com are doing a great job reporting on the Simplot Games.

Here's a link for live results.

2007 New Mexico High School Open Indoor Track & Field Meet Information

The 2007 New Mexico High School Open Indoor Track & Field Meet will be held Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The meet begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and resumes at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Admission is free both days.Over 250 athletes, representing 22 high schools from around the West are scheduled to compete. There are 15 New Mexico high schools and seven out-of-state schools among the field. Read more.Meet Schedule.

Podcast Interview With Legendary Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills

Adam Jacobs of TheFinalSprint.com website offers up an outstanding interview with Billy Mills - a true hero of running and a compassionate warrior. At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Billy set an Olympic record and won a gold medal in the 10,000; becoming the first and still the last American to medal in the event.
Download the Podcast.

Gatlin Request Arbitration Doping Hearing

Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Justin Gatlin has requested an arbitration hearing on doping charges against him, a US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) official said.

Gatlin, through his lawyer, requested the hearing ahead of Friday's request deadline, Travis Tygart, USADA's senior managing director and general counsel, told Reuters.

Read more.

Big 12 Announces Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week - Feb. 13

Andra Manson, Kate Sultanova and Destinee Hooker Honored By Big 12
Andra Manson (Texas) was named Male Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week while Kate Sultanova (Kansas) and Destinee Hooker (Texas) were named Co-Female Athletes of the Week for meets of Feb. 5-12. This marks the fourth time Manson has won this award, second for Hooker and first for Sultanova.

$3-M Boost For Eastern Track Championships

With over $3 million being injected from a collective group of sponsors, the Eastern Track & Field Championships received a major boost during its official launch at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel yesterday. The increase came through main sponsors Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) and Jamaica Citrus Growers Association, under its brand name Juciful. Click for the complete article.

USTFCCCA Indoor Track & Field Polls

Indoor Rankings as of February 13, 2007.

The Vault - Pole Vault Video Mix

"Hey Buddy, Can You Spare A Pit?" Buhach Colony High School in Atwater, CA In Need Of Used Pole Vault Pits

Dwayne Stafford, the head coach at Buhach Colony High School in Atwater, CA sent us a note that he is in need of a used pole vault pit. The school was opened 6 years ago and still does not offer pole vaulting. Coach Stafford says they've lost a number of meets because of this fact. If you know of anyone that has upgraded to new ones and would like to get rid of their old ones Dwayne would be more than happy to take them off their hands. You can emailCoach Stafford here.

Felix Sets American 300 Meter Record At Tyson Invitational

Reigning world outdoor 200m champion Allyson Felix made her season's debut a memorable one in posting an American record at the 2007 Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
2004 Olympic 200m silver medalist Allyson Felix set a new American record in the Tyson women's invitational 300 meters in a race that came down to the wire. Felix held the lead from the start in finishing in the new American record time of 36.33 seconds, which betters the previous U.S. standard of 36.67 seconds set three weeks ago by Hampton University freshman Francena McCorory. Felix's performance is also the fifth fastest performance in history.

Culpepper, Kastor dominate at USA Cross Country Championships

Olympians Alan Culpepper and Deena Kastor returned to the USA Cross Country Championships for the first time since 2003, and produced dominating victories on Saturday afternoon (10).Culpepper was timed in 37:09 for the men's 12Km course while Kastor cruised to victory in 26:47 over the women's 8Km.
Complete article at IAAF.