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What went wrong: The U.S. track and field team is on the decline
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realist | 6:30 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
Just because Usain Bolt isn't an American, everyone is in a panic. Dang,
give the guy some credit, and get off of the 'America" soapbox.
Watching Bolt run was awesome, forget what country he is from, and appreciate
the performance. Every man in the world is created equal, and if you want to be
a good distance runner, you've got to commit to it. That is why the kenyans
and somailians are so good, they commit to it, and live it. American has too
much focus on football and basketball. But running is a lifelong sport, and very
addictive.
arc | 7:08 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
Can you say DECATHOLON GOLD. Yes, NBC casually mentioned it during the closing
ceremonies. They didn't cover it at all. It didn't show up in the list
of medals for track and field on their website. His name is Bryan Clay.
The US won the best all around athlete and NBC could only show Bolt?
The US won the best all around athlete and NBC could only show Bolt?
Ahmed Edwards | 7:33 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
As a former High School Coach, I believe the problem is much greater than the
Olympics. There is a dramatic lack of focus by our youth with regards to
sports/training. Everyone wants to be a superstar but they want to skip the
foundation. Secondly, the lack of independent track clubs pose a problem.
Everyone is an independent contractor. Ask yourself would this happen with the
Santa Monica Track Club. There was a sense of team work when they stepped on
the track. You can't expect a weeks worth of practice to develop a relay
team. Terrence Tremel, Tyson Gay, Walace Spearman and Walter Dix should form a
track club and the WR will fall. Go back to fundamentals and working together
as a group/team(s).
Comments continue below
Willy | 8:05 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
Some of you are assuming that all of the Jamaicans attend US universities...
news flash ... most of the high profiles do not! Second, it is no fault of the
Jamaicans if coaches find it more appealing to recruit motivated youth from the
caribbean ( it also shows extreme goodwill on the part of the US!)
Others are assuming that there is no money in track and field. The high end track athletes fare very well overseas. Again it begins with youth that have a stomach for the solitary weight training, turn running, endless starting out the blocks, nutrition and patience and relative anonymity until there is an high profile meet
Others are assuming that there is no money in track and field. The high end track athletes fare very well overseas. Again it begins with youth that have a stomach for the solitary weight training, turn running, endless starting out the blocks, nutrition and patience and relative anonymity until there is an high profile meet
mcdumback | 8:11 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
America train Jamaican atheletes, dont make me laugh, veronica campbell the 2oom
winner is the only overseas based athelete competing for Jamaica all the other
medal winners are trained at home. The programme to have them train locally
started about 8 years ago Heres a short list. Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Michael
Frater, Shelly Ann Fraser, Melaine Walker, Sherone Simpson etc. etc.
Bakes | 8:39 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
"If we are serious about competing against the world, it makes no sense to
train our adversaries... We do this when there are hundreds of athletically
superior athletes right her in America."
This w/o doubt is the dumbest thing yet... if these "athletically" superior athletes live here in the US there would be no need for coaches to spend money scouting and recruiting inferior athletes the world over. Coaches don't care about assembling the United Nations... they want winners.
End of story.
This w/o doubt is the dumbest thing yet... if these "athletically" superior athletes live here in the US there would be no need for coaches to spend money scouting and recruiting inferior athletes the world over. Coaches don't care about assembling the United Nations... they want winners.
End of story.
Whatsitallabout | 10:54 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
One of the biggest blows to developing Track and Field athletes - just ask any
college track coach - is Title IX. Scholarships have to be equally distributed
and with most going to football, that only leaves just a few for track and
field. Therefore, the track programs of the Universities cannot be built as in
years past. Look at the number of women on track scholarships compared to men
and it's the Title IX problem. It doesn't help that the local
newspapers never carry any articles on track and field. When I was a
participant in the 50's, there was more on Track than football or
basketball. With a decline in the number of scholarships that can be offered by
universities to men, there is a corresponding dropoff of the number of athletes
who can obtain a scholarship. Doug Robinson is quite accurate in his
assessment, and don't forget that he was also a track athlete!
No Relish | 11:31 p.m. Aug. 26, 2008
It's called oscarmeyeritis: too many hotdogs.
Kady | 1:10 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008
FloJo record is not reachable now, or in the near future. She was a success at
beating the drug testing charade. The list of noteable offenders from the
Caribbean is minimal. Welcome to the new era.What is our name."The New
Sprint Capital"
dualcitizen | 4:02 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008
What are you smoking. Most of those names you mentioned for the US sprint
champions later admitted steriod use. That is the reason the US was dominant
before - cheating.
Tim | 6:29 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008
Who cares about track and field. Honestly I am a huge sports fan but never
remember watching a track meet on TV except in the olympics. Face it... people
in the US don't care about track, we are a football, baseball, basketball
and unfortunately soccer nation. Let Jamaica have it's glory, god knows
that's about all that country has going for it.
skinny | 6:35 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008
im sorry but i feel that we need to assemble our team a lil earlier and have a
camp that they can go and work out at as a tem..yes tracks and individual sport,
but we need to be a team when we head to the next olympics...and i also feel we
need to try and develop more of our own athletes her eon U.S soil instead of the
foriegn athletes that are kicking our butts
Coach James | 7:21 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008
Our track and field team had some problems; granted. However to look to place
blame is not the best method to seek new medals for 2012. I do think that the
men and women's 4 x 100 meter relay teams are finally selected, they should
run all of the trials and finals. It is only 100 meters, and it is not the
speed that has hurt us, it is the handoffs. Plus, the handoff that were used
are supposed to be the fastest, but not the most efficient. Let's go back
to the old underhand and very safe pass.
bob | 9:25 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008
If you have ever meet a Serious track and Field athlete you would probably
notice one thing...that they all have an amazing drive and passion for the
sport! Track is one of the few sports that can honestly say its not just for the
money. How could it be the most anyone is making is a couple milion maybe more
for Bolt who just got two WR. The only way they are making money is from
endorsments. I think thats what makes track and Field great real athletes that
really care about their sport not just the money! Not only are these athletes
dedicated to their training but alot of them excuse a few sprinters are very
humble. The reason why America doesnt like Track and field is there is not a
whole lot of money involved you actually have to be a dedicated athlete! I feel
bad that most of the U.S. is missing out on such a great sport!
Ossie | 1:35 p.m. Aug. 27, 2008
Since the closure of Balco and Marion Jones going to jail the US sprint factory
has been on the decline. Countries like Jamaica will now excell because the
atlethes train hard just like the US, but the US drug factory is now closed.
Hush
Hush
Chery | 10:49 a.m. Aug. 28, 2008
Stop knocking US recruitment and training of foreign athletes. If US athletes
who have unparalleled opportunities to train and compete with the best cannot
make use of it, beating the zenophobia drum will not help. Furthermore, look for
the 'hidden Jamaicans" naturalized citizens and those with Jamaican
parentage competing for the US and other nations in sports. Sandra Farmer
Patrick,Linford Christie, Donavon Bailey, Germaine Mason were all born in
Jamaica. These are only a few. Much of your past glory was based on Jamaican
immigrants and their offspring. Note that the current Jamaican track team is
largely home trained.
Bulli | 11:10 a.m. Aug. 28, 2008
To SamFab: While YOU in the US might not play it to any significant degree, for
many years the best Caribbean athletes played cricket. For nearly 20 years the
Caribbean were unbeatable and we were playing against Pakistan, India, England,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh....These athletes
are well paid.
In addition British scouts come to the Caribbean to recruit footballers. Track and field until recently could not compete with those financial rewards in the Caribbean.
As for the 'only coach US athletes contingent" if I were a coach and I met a brilliant talent I would give my eye teeth to coach them no matter what country they came from. Coaching is about developing human potential.
In addition British scouts come to the Caribbean to recruit footballers. Track and field until recently could not compete with those financial rewards in the Caribbean.
As for the 'only coach US athletes contingent" if I were a coach and I met a brilliant talent I would give my eye teeth to coach them no matter what country they came from. Coaching is about developing human potential.
Garland | 3:42 p.m. Aug. 28, 2008
How dare you. Did you not pay attention to the entire 2007 season, or anything
leading up to it? Long decline in distance running? You mean Lagat's WC
double? Or since you seem to think naturalized Americans aren't really
American, I guess you mean Alan Webb's world leading 1500 time. Down year,
yes, but American records are falling in the distance events and you say our
athletes are still in a decline. Either pay attention to the sport all the time
or don't do it all. There's a whole lot more than the Olympics.
WOW! | 10:53 a.m. Aug. 29, 2008
It's amazing to me to read some of these comments and Doug's article.
It's amazing that we as human beings are so hard on the people who are
doing things we couldn't do. I commend the US track athletes who worked so
hard to even compete in the Olympics. So if I read this article I gather that we
should be hard on our Utah track athelets for not being on the podium.
That's outragious to think that way. I am thankful that we have athelets
locally and nationally that can achieve such a great thing that none of us have.
I am not jealous or dissappointed. I am proud that we have any local athletes
representing and I come from a country with the MOST track and field atheletes
at the Olympics.
trackfan | 11:30 p.m. Aug. 29, 2008
in jamaica we always cheer for the us team right along with our team. i am
really suprised that americans are so angry about their own team performance
going as far as to compare an industrialize country with a developing one. in
this olympics the sprints golds whent to the better team as always we have great
respect for the us team and the very same for our guys regardless if they are
bringing home the gold.
tony | 5:53 p.m. Aug. 30, 2008
The persons who won 100m male and female along with the entire 4*1 relay team
were all coached and attended college in jamaica ,so the premise that the US had
a great part to do with jamaica's performance doesn't hold water.On
the point of steriods The jamaican atlethes and different coaches so its nearly
impossible for them to collectively come togther and take steroids.That would be
the worst kept secret.
kaybee | 2:43 a.m. Sept. 20, 2008
Jamaicans are loyal people, and so are the sprinters. If they decide to
represent a foreign country, they will do so with dignity and pride. Currently
Jamaica, Sanya Richards and Germaine Mason proudly represent the United States
and Great Britain in track and field. Germaine Mason would be Jamaica only hope
for high jump glory, but he forego representing his native country, to represent
GB,like Linford Christie. I don't think that the United States, Canada Or
Great Britain should worry because the Jamaicans will always represent these
countreis on the grand stage in track and field. Such representation is because
of Jamaican longstanding intercultural relationship with these countries. The
pool of Jamaican sprinters will soon shrink to the U.S.A Great Britain and
Canada as more Jamaicans are exposed to other countries, such as China, Japan,
Italy,Sweden,Germany,Belgium etc...
mudfish | 2:43 p.m. Oct. 18, 2008
"Wow" never knew there would be so much verbage about USA not
dominating as usual, remember track & field has always been about U.S.A
winning and Jamaica second; did any one ever think that one day Jamaica would
catch up? I did I just did not know it would be so dominating and decisive. US
please dont think that you deserve credit for training foreign students athletes
in a particular sport because the raw tallent has to be there first, no college
takes on a no tallented bum and traines them from scratch to see if they can
develope tallent. The problem is that the rest of the world is catching up to
the USA, WATCH OUT BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, SWIMMING, BOXING, TRACK & FIELD,
AND EVENTUALLY FOOTBALL. America you cannot dominate everything everytime. Love
and respect, a proud Jamaican.
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