More than anyone, I know what it’s like to get wrapped up in the numbers of track and field. It is a numbers-based sport after all; athletes are timed against the clock or measured against the tape, opening up a realm of sporting statistics. It’s easy to forget about the stories behind some of the incredible people involved in this sport. Of course, any athlete who reaches world-class level is amazing for that reason alone. But ...
Back in October, decathlon world record-holder Ashton Eaton announced that he’s going to give the 400m hurdles a try this summer. And so began the speculation about how fast he can run over the barriers around one lap of the track. This week he said that he is aiming for somewhere between 47 and 48 seconds, a time that would put him among the world’s best for the event. Others think that he’ll be lucky to break ...
This isn’t a normal retrospective piece about the 2013 athletics year. I’m not simply listing the highest-achieving athletes of the year or the top 10 performances. Instead, these are my personal favourite moments of the year. And for a bit of balance, I’ve also listed five disappointments. They’re not intended to be critical of anyone in any way; they’re simply a small handful of unfortunate moments when I really sympathised with the athletes. But first, in reverse ...
Athletics is often described as a “sport of many sports” with a discipline to suit every body type. So perhaps it’s little surprise that many stars from other sports started out in track and field before specialising in a different sport. But athletics isn’t always the losing sport. For every top talent that walks away from the track, there are many people who have ditched other sports in favour of athletics. Daley Thompson, for example, put ...
Following on from my recent athletics bucket list, I’m continuing with the theme of “lists that all athletics fanatics should keep” with my set of spectator PBs. In other words, the best athletics performances that I have witnessed in person. The thought of making note of my spectator PBs hadn’t even crossed my mind until I came across a discussion on the subject on an internet message board. It has since become a mild obsession. Like all ...
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