Calling all track fans

Al in NYC · August-7th-2005, 01:14 AM

World Championships have begun in Helsinki. Almost no U.S. TV coverage. But complete live and archived webcasts are available here for a low, low price. It's the best track coverage I've ever seen.

http://www.wcsn.com/index.jsp

Squaredancecalling Steve · August-7th-2005, 01:46 AM

No coverage is right! I didn't know they were happening. And with my dial-up, the link is probably useless. Damn!

Al in NYC · August-7th-2005, 01:05 PM

There is an hour a day highlight show on PAX TV in the afternoon, repeated on some local Comcast sports channels. It too is from the British feed and is of much higher quality than the usual witless U.S. T&F coverage.

Alastair · August-7th-2005, 05:50 PM

I assume you're getting the BBC coverage. It amazes me that there's no freely available coverage in the US. It's not as if you have no local interest.

Whereas UK athletics is hitting record lows...

burning dog · August-7th-2005, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alastair

Whereas UK athletics is hitting record lows...

Well at least they're hitting some kind of records!

Al in NYC · August-8th-2005, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alastair

I assume you're getting the BBC coverage. It amazes me that there's no freely available coverage in the US. It's not as if you have no local interest.

Despite having the world's best team, track has little interest in the U.S. as a spectator sport, and - outside of an Olympic year - damn near zero interest as a TV sport. Particularly for international meets. Our all sports cable network, ESPN, would prefer to show skateboarding and guys playing cards to showing world-class t&f competition.

claude · August-8th-2005, 07:47 AM

Christ I think I saw the 100 metre final three times yesterday on CBC. And we definitely don't have much for a track team since Donovan Bailey retired. They showed the 100 mtre final live in the afternoon then they showed three hours taped coverage in the evening then at midnight they were showing it again!

Al in NYC · August-8th-2005, 01:17 PM

Was a great run by Gatlin though, wasn't it? 9.88 on a cold night on a soft track with a neutral wind. Too bad Powell couldn't be there so Gatlin could beat him again in a major meet...

claude · August-8th-2005, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in NYC

Was a great run by Gatlin though, wasn't it? 9.88 on a cold night on a soft track with a neutral wind. Too bad Powell couldn't be there so Gatlin could beat him again in a major meet...

Yeah, he ran away from the field. There wasn't anyone who was even a remote threat past 50 metres.

GoodSpeak · August-8th-2005, 06:45 PM

Pardon my ignorance here....indoor or outdoor event?

Alastair · August-8th-2005, 07:23 PM

Outdoor.

picsou · August-9th-2005, 05:33 AM

And Kajsa Bergqvist did it again. But, God, she is thin! A bit worrying. Great hammer thriller between the two Letvians. And Christine Arron did not manage better than 3rd, obviously disappointed.

Squaredancecalling Steve · August-20th-2009, 06:44 PM

Two hot stories:

the African woman half-miler who may be of ambiguous gender (one of the doctors said that track and field regulations are clear cut, but nature is often messy)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...W9R3Pe5qfT7iWQ

&

the incredible Mr. Bolt has shattered the world 200 meter record by .11 to an unbelievable 19.19.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/8213036.stm

Sergio Zamora · August-20th-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squaredancecalling Steve

... And with my dial-up, the link is probably useless. Damn!

Holy Christ, Steve, get with the times.

Squaredancecalling Steve · August-20th-2009, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sergio Zamora

Holy Christ, Steve, get with the times.

Check the date on that one, Sergio!

These days I log on from a desktop with cable and a laptop with wireless.

Borat Pri Hagafen · August-20th-2009, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in NYC

Despite having the world's best team, track has little interest in the U.S. as a spectator sport, and - outside of an Olympic year - damn near zero interest as a TV sport. Particularly for international meets. Our all sports cable network, ESPN, would prefer to show skateboarding and guys playing cards to showing world-class t&f competition.

FWIW, This year's world championships have been on both NBC (weekends) and Versus for the last week and a half in the U.S.

Don't know how the ratings are, but Bolt's record in the 100 was live on NBC, which is cool and long overdue.

rollhead · August-20th-2009, 08:26 PM

Bolt is in a league of his own, indeed, but I want to put in some props for my man Tyson Gay, who set an American record in the 100 meters at 9.71.

Squaredancecalling Steve · August-20th-2009, 08:29 PM

Gay said Bolt was moving so fast he thought he was in a video game.

Al in NYC · August-23rd-2009, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat Pri Hagafen

FWIW, This year's world championships have been on both NBC (weekends) and Versus for the last week and a half in the U.S.

Don't know how the ratings are, but Bolt's record in the 100 was live on NBC, which is cool and long overdue.

I watched the entire meet live online on NBC Universal sports. Bolt's runs, particularly the 200, were indeed unbelievable.

A number of other events at this Worlds were great, such as Sanya Richards finally taking the women's 400 after so many tries, Trey Hardee with an huge improvement to win the decathlon, and Steve Hooker's amazing come-through win, overcoming a torn muscle in his leg, in the men's pole vault. Of course, watching the U.S. squad mess up both 4x100s was infuriating, as was the IAAF mishandling the whole Semenya (South African women's 800 winner) gender situation.

Al in NYC · August-24th-2009, 12:18 AM

Oh, and Bekele's double at 5k and 10k, especially his incredible stretch dual with Lagat in the 5k today.

rollhead · August-29th-2009, 06:03 PM

Dathan Ritzenhein considered a 10K and marathon runner, produced a stunning U.S. record in the 5,000 meters Friday at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich, Switzerland.

Finishing third behind 5,000/10,000 Olympic and world champ Keninisa Bekele of Ethiopia (12 minutes, 52.32 seconds), Ritzenhein's time of 12:56.27 broke the 13-year-old mark of 12:58.21 by Bob Kennedy.

Ritzenhein, coming off a sixth-place finish in the 10,000 in a personal-best 27:22.28 at the world championships in Berlin, had run a 5,000 best of 13:34.00 this year and a best-ever of 13:16.06 in '06.

Enforcer · August-29th-2009, 07:36 PM

Fixed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in NYC

World Championships have begun in Helsinki. Almost no U.S. TV coverage. But complete live and archived webcasts are available here for a low, low price. It's the best track coverage I've ever seen.

https://www.alinnyc.com/join.htm

GoodSpeak · August-29th-2009, 08:55 PM

Um.

Al's complaint was four years ago.

Squaredancecalling Steve · September-3rd-2009, 05:44 PM

BRUSSELS (AP) — Who is track's greatest runner? Long-distance star Kenenisa Bekele wonders what it would be like to race sprinting great Usain Bolt.

"If Usain agrees, if someone wants to organize this, I am ready," Bekele said Thursday, a day before the Memorial Van Damme Golden League meet.

Bolt, of Jamaica, is the reigning world and Olympic champion and world record-holder over 100 and 200 meters. Bekele, of Ethiopia, is the reigning world and Olympic champion and world record-holder over 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

The idea would be to find a middle ground — between 600 and 800 meters.

"I think I am pretty good at 600 meters," Bolt said last week. Above 800 meters, he said, "I have no chance."

Bekele also thinks the two could meet at about that distance.

"Six-hundred meters is a good chance for him," said Bekele, considering he would lose too much over the first lap. "I need some 800 meters, maybe 700 meters."

A Bolt-Bekele showdown would be the biggest match race since 200 and 400 Olympic champion Michael Johnson raced 100 champion Donovan Bailey over 150 meters in Toronto after the 1996 Atlanta Games. Johnson pulled up lame halfway through that race and the legacy of the event is more a joke than anything else.

Bekele's manager, Jos Hermens, realizes that Bolt dominates the sport to such an extent that even a superlative performance like Bekele's 5,000-10,000 double at the Olympics and worlds became merely a footnote.

"I will have to think about it this winter," Hermens said, referring to a potential matchup. He added that he will be in touch with Bolt's manager, Ricky Simms.

Bekele is often overshadowed and he is still chasing the worldwide acclaim enjoyed by compatriot Haile Gebrselassie. Bolt's showmanship and stunning performances have made him one of the most marketable athletes in any sport.

When it comes to official performances, the two get no closer than the 400 for Bolt and the 1,500 for Bekele.

Bekele set a personal best of 3 minutes, 32.35 over 1,500 two years ago, a time that would make him the 13th best performer of 2009. Bolt's top mark over 400 is 45.28 in 2007, which would be the 28th fastest time of this year.