A "German" Invasion Worth It's Place in History

Story written by Eric.

Achtung! Achtung! A skinny soldier-of-one has been on the loose, and no one has been capable of finding the "off" switch to keep the 17-year-old kid from Riverbank, CA from marching forward and destroying everything in site through the Great War of 2008 - also known as one of the best prep athletics seasons on record in the United States of America.

He's been armed with two spiked shoes, a white uniform and a desire to be all he can be, and he has pushed, pulled, strained and leaned his way into the promised land one kampf at a time. His has not been a personal engagement to take over the top - at least not any of the 50 states which make up his country, but to fire the traditional limits people have placed on running fast times and excellent races.

That he'd be on the top when all was said and done - when the great "German" invasion had finally reached its climax, was going to be a given. The question was how much real estate would he conquer, and how many roads along the prep record books would lead through Riverbank, and not Rome, so-to-speak.

He was brought up in the wake of "AJ's Nation", but failed this past winter to deliver the national title the state of California and the Footlocker West Region expected of him following his victories over iconic names like Marc Davis and Jeff Nelson; the precocious prep was not merely battling his contemporary state rivals, he was left chasing the footprints left long ago by national champion and national-record holding legends on the fields as well as around oval tracks.

He promised to take no prisoners as he stormed through the national prep scene during the final year he would spend discovering what the essence of becoming a man was all about, but was left in want in San Diego last December.

Following a record run (14.24) at the California state meet (in which he shoved Davis out of the record books following a 21-year footprint left on the highest peaks of Woodward Park's course - I race I witnessed after having competed in a junior division) and a victory the following week in the West Regional (14.53), the regionally-tested solidier could not muster enough energy to stampede past the gates his toughest opposition were guarding.

He returned home an All-American, but not the best American on that given day.

He couldn't break down the barriers in the United States when the winter months had drawn near, so he expanded his battle ground further, to a point on another continent - Europe - and attempted to find solace in a country called Scotland.

There, running on the same grounds covered in another race by world-record holder Kenenisa Bekele, the young American, who doesn't know much about the history of his sport, would march a long way around an 8km course in search of the magic of perfection and winning whilst fighting against the best.

Winning, though he competed well and ran fast, would once again elude him as he found his finishing drive more than a minute short of his counterparts - this, despite having won the American battle against people of the same age group a few weeks before setting sail to Europe.

German Fernandez returned home to the United States following a 25th place effort at the IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships in March and set off on a series of paces, times and efforts which, when compared to any American prep boy in the past 40 years, has never been rivaled.

Fernandez has made it straight past "go", and into the upper echelons of running where high school gods before him reside, and he're why:

He has fired "impossible" and hired a mindset of never giving - a strategy which has cost his closest rivals every good sense of pace and has also caused them to lose state and national titles.

Fernandez did so at the CA CIF State Meet three week-ends ago when, having run a 4.11 1.600m qualification race the previous evening, ran the best one-day prep distance double in USA history on Saturday, 2008-May-31. He reached the finish line first at Cerritos College in Norwalk, CA in the 1.600m in 4.00,29 - a state record, and returned two-and-a-half hours later to complete the eight-lap 3.200m race in a National Federation record time of 8 minutes 24,23 seconds.

No prep had ever run 3.200m in a high school-only race faster than 8.41,10 which Dathan Ritzenhein, who won not one, but two coveted national cross country titles which had eluded Fernandez, had accomplished in the spring of 2000. Fernandez found his revenge to a degree, but had accomplished his feat at the bastard distance of 3.200m - one which required a conversion to compare to Nelson's 2-mile high school record of 8.36,3.

He ran his 1.600m with such ease and an even pace that pundits from across the globe began wondering what he could have accomplished had he set out at a faster earlier tempo and didn't have the second race on schedule that evening.

What could he have run in the mile had he gone full-out? Could he have gone sub-4.00?

A moot point according to the Fernandez camp.

The question became one of if he could run under 8.36,3 for 2 miles - or run two 4.18 times without stopping - in a prep-only race. That was the answer for which they were searching.

They received their answer in grand fashion on Friday evening, 2008-June-20, when Fernandez, after running a 4.19,6 first mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals - 1,3 seconds over pace, dug down and covered the next four laps in 4.14,8 - a spirited finish which gave Fernandez the new title of national champion, and, more importantly, entrance into the upper echelons where national record-holders like Jim Ryun and Gerry Lindgren also resided during their prep years.

And so "air-MAHN" Fernandez, as it is pronounced in his modest home in the Sac Joachin Valley of California - a place he's found quite restful after having moved more than 10 times before his parents settled down from Watsonville, has invaded the record books, leaving behind scattered names and debris in the CAL state 1.600m and 3.200m; a National Federation 3.200m record; and a 3.000m and 2-mile record to match his cross country state record.

His has been a long battle against injury and frustration, but the humble boy from a humble home has now catapulted himself up and over every single, solitary person who has ever contested a high school 2-mile, and he's now wisely called it a season.

Fernandez is headed to Oklahoma State University, where he will compete for the Cowboys.

Sooner or later, Fernandez will elevate his status among the collegiate men and again take no prisoners as he reaches for his next set of goals.

Right now, however, with his legs trained, tried and tired, it's time for the Applebee's employee to step away from the whirlwind which he created and move on to better days - if there is such a thing following this dream season.

Dave Kemp, Nelson's high-school coach, said none were comparable to Nelson.

"The guy was from another planet," Kemp said in an interview printed on 1990-August-11.

"He was a one-in-a-million kid. The first time I saw Jeff run, I couldn't believe someone could come out of the woodwork with that kind of talent."

It has taken 27 years to find that second talent among the millions who have competed year in and year out since Nelson graduated and attended the University of Oregon, though one hopes and trusts that the pitfalls which eventually broke the bank on Nelson's career do not crop up in the future Fernandez camp.

Fernandez has exemplified the traits which make a winner a champion - the two are not always synonymous. He has personified the very rare ability to stop, look and listen whilst moving as quickly as he can, one determined step at a time into a future in which only time will tell what it holds in store.

Before he is ushered off into the real world - where his steps around the track and over the cross country courses will help pay for his meals and books, here's hoping Fernandez enjoys a nice break from this chapter in his life, which, though it has been a surreal experience, can never be repeated.


Jeff Nelson's 1979 season at 2 miles:

• 8.55,0y Burbank Invitational
• 8.36,3y Pepsi
• 8.51,3y CIF the 3-A finals
• 8.49,1y CIF Masters
• 8.47,35y CA State

German Fernandez's season in 2008:

• 8.53,60m WAC/TVL Challenge
• 9.00,10m CA SJS D-3
• 8.45,08m CA SJS Masters
• 8.34,23m CA State
• 8.34,40y NON

C.F.P.I. Timing & Data - Contractor License
   Nike Outdoor Nationals - 6/19/2008 to 6/21/2008    
    North Carolina A+T University, Greensboro, NC     

Event 13  Boys 2 Mile Run
================================================================
Section 1 at 6:50pm; Section 2 at 8:00pm                  
National: $ 8:36.3h  5/6/1979    Jeff Nelson, Burbank, CA
   Meet: M 8:41.55  6/15/2007   Matt Centrowitz, Broadneck,
Freshman: F 9:04.4h  1973        Eric Hulst, Laguna Beach, C
Sophomore: O 8:50.6h  1974        Eric Hulst, Laguna Beach, C
 Junior: J 8:41.10  2000        Dathan Ritzenhein (m), Rock
 Senior: S 8:36.3h  5/6/1979    Jeff Nelson, Burbank, CA
 Freshm:   9:01.68  2005        Sintayehu Taye (m), Portlan
Name                    Year School                  Finals
================================================================
Finals                                                     
1 Fernandez, German         08 Riverbank, CA          8:34.40S
2 Puskedra, Luke            08 Ogden, UT              8:47.06O
3 Lowe, Colby               08 Southlake, TX          8:47.07O
4 Finnerty, Robert          08 Burnsville, MN         8:50.96F
5 Williams, Kevin           08 Lakewood, CO           8:51.30F
6 Darling, Maverick         08 Ovid, MI               8:57.80F
7 Aprill, Bobby             08 Dexter, MI             8:59.50F
8 Unterreiner, Miles        08 Gig Harbor, WA         9:02.48F
9 Kaulbach, Max             08 Philadelphia, PA       9:06.44
10 Keveren, Sean             08 Brentwood, TN          9:06.59
11 Medrano, Francisco        08 Lafayette, IN          9:06.75
12 Hill, Ryan                08 Hickory, NC            9:07.36
13 Haile, Solomon            09 Silver Spring, MD      9:07.66
14 Abdalla, Mohamed          08 San Jose, CA           9:08.61
15 Smith, Douglas            09 Succasunna, NJ         9:11.48
16 Bazell, Graham            09 Columbia, MD           9:13.06
17 Lovelace, Luke            08 Chapin, SC             9:18.61
18 Krause, Elliot            08 Appleton, WI           9:19.00
19 Springer, Andrew          09 Westerly, RI           9:21.13
20 Nicolls, Bobby            09 Parker, CO             9:23.42
21 Bodary, Chris             08 Downingtown, PA        9:23.45
22 O'Donnell, MacLean        08 Oak Ridge, TN          9:25.15
23 Udland, Tyler             10 Short Hills, NJ        9:25.80
24 Lachowitzer, Kevin        08 Perham, MN             9:26.62
25 Bosshard, Joe             08 Crested Butte, CO      9:36.33
26 Hernandez, Francis        10 Windham, NH            9:41.53
-- DelBene, Colby            08 Patterson, NY              DNF
-- Beabout, Ryan             08 Wheeling, WV               DNS
-- Sheinbaum, Julian         08 Scarsdale, NY              DNS 

Foto credit: Fresno Bee

About Track, News, Sharks and Things in Between

Story written by Eric.

When was the last time you made a re-discovery of something you knew was right under your nose, but had never really taken a peek to see it take off and flourish?

A recent jaunt over to Trackshark.com, a site created and run by Tom Borish - a man who sped to 21,29/47,22 sprint bests as a collegian, was more than a mild surprise to me during the NCAA Track and Field Indoor Championships.

I've always associated Trackshark as a specific niche market for collegians, so naturally I migrated there to search for information leading up to the two-day meet in Fayetteville.

What I got sucked into when I arrived was an entire new world of fandom which I had never before been part of in the several championship seasons I'd spent perusing other websites and bulletin boards.

The posters there were passionate. That's a great start when attempts to create synergy between what they have and what I had to bring. They were also possessed an incredible sense of knowledge and understanding, as the folks whom they were discussing were in fact their own peers.

Finally, one stark difference between my engagement with folks there and anywhere else on the internet is that looking in on the NCAA Indoor Championships felt like I had joined one huge, global party and everyone was celebrating great things happening in the sport.

Have you ever had one of those spectactor moments when the x's and o's were all perfectly aligned and information and results were published instantaneously through a live blog with scores of participants?

I experienced that at Trackshark thanks to a commitment Borish made to keep his faithful informed, involved and in complete touch with the throws, jumps, vaults and times young adults were achieving at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center.

Track & Field News, the "Bible of the Sport", had the only live journalist on-site providing up-to-date information via a blog which Dave Johnson was able to submit a total of 10 times each of the two days he was there.

The coverage was excellent. Splits, lanes, names and times were all accounted for from one event to the next, and the results were put up timely.

Track & Field News prided itself on being the only source actually on site watching the events unfold, and certainly they had every right to feel proud of that fact.

However, insofar as the NCAA permitted the events to be broadcast live through a link on the host university's sports site, anyone and everyone watching from around the world - including yours truly at god-awful times of the night - had an opportunity to update anyone else caught outside of the meet and away from a clear video stream.

Trackshark and Track & Field News, two successful and incredibly strong sites rich with information, commentary and expertise, provided an incredibly wealthy experience for any fan who happened to switch between the sites in search of the latest on Bianca Knight, Leonel Manzano, Scott Sellers or anyone else wearing university colours and ready to put their best foot forward on the national stage.

Track & Field News had an entire message board dedicated to meet.

Each event contested - heats and finals - had its own thread, and each thread was updated immediately after the main moderator there received the results from Johnson.

Their pre-meet form charts provided fans an opportunity to learn who was picked to finish in which spots, and the information proved to be useful where I lacked certain thoroughness on given athletes.

Garry Hill, the print magasine's Editor and a Chief Officer, was able to successfully flip-flop between heats and finals and keep fans updated on the turn of events by appropriately labelling thread titles and providing concluded events with a designated symbol easy to identify them as being such.

The service was greatly appreciated, and the fans on the site were also a top-notch, highly knowledgeable group who stated afterward that they appreciated the efforts and long hours put in by Hill, Johnson and any associates who were helping to bring the meet "live" through written words.

Trackshark also had one page which it dedicated to the meet, but went a step ahead of Track & Field News by having the story of the meet unfold in a live blog which posters took advantage of participating in once Borish let loose when the meet got underway.

Track & Field News migrated its board into the Current Events forum, and, unfortunately, I believe they lost out in being able to continually tell a story as it happened from the first event to the last.

One can search on the forum for keywords or take the time to attempt to look for the symbols used to signify finals had been contested, but the entire NCAA event seems to have disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

Trackshark's NCAA page is still active, though it takes two efforts to get to it.

Nevertheless, Borish's two blogs serve the public well insofar as one gets a feel of the meet through his own description of the events, and one captures the mood and feel of the atmosphere by reading comments others were making as the events were underway.

I spoke at the beginning of today's entry of being more than surprised at Trackshark when I payed them a visit about 10 days ago for the first time in perhaps two years. I've been there in the past to peruse week-end results and to search for photos following big meets, but hadn't taken a look at their message board after having been loyal to mainly one on the internet the past four years.

If you're a fan of the sport, and have a moment or two available to read about the collegiate scene, do take a gander over to the forums and lurk for a while; you don't have to jump straight in and put in your two cents, but you can find some very interesting and fascinating gems written by athletes and fans alike.

A place like Track & Field News can benefit from having more senior athletes take time to contribute a few topics of interest to the message boards, as it would help their subscribers and board contributors feel an even closer one-ness with the folks whom they discuss but rarely meet.

Allen Johnson made a few comments on a thread written about him before jetting off to Valencia to eventually win a silver medal in the 60m hurdles at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and Brandon Couts has been another US star who has frequented the message boards.

I'm sure more would come if word got out that folks really wanted to hear what they had to say - something they begin doing as high schoolers at Dyestat, and continue to do as collegians at Trackshark.

USA-based Dyestat, a site which has a majority handle on the high school scene, has a strong mix of contributions from stars-on-the-rise as it does from fans who enjoy watching them compete.

Mixing stars together with their fans on an anonymous message board can lend great support to the sport, as fans can gain a deeper, more satisfying understanding of the people who are competing on their television sets and at stadiums near them between January and September year-in and year-out.

Mixing together people's experience gained from participating in an event and keeping it in one spot to live on past its shelf-life also has its benefits.

Perhaps sites can learn a valuable lesson from one another's strengths and apply that to their own the next time a championship comes around.

In the meantime, I'll continue enjoying all I can from any place where discussion is good, people feel like home and everything track, some things field and a little of mustard in between is what's on tap for the evening.


Trackshark's two-day blog was a great asset to the NCAA championship experience. The blog, put together and moderated by Tom Borish, was a timely and lively event-by-event coverage piece which allowed fans from around the world to chip in during the height of the meet and discuss ups-and-downs with others in a live environment.

Q&A With Brandon Couts

Story written by EPelle

A rainy-day, exclusive Athletics in the News conversation with Brandon Couts.

(Original interview conducted in June 2007 and saved for such an occasion as this)

Brandon Couts was part of a great tradition at Baylor University, and lived outside of Michael Johnson’s long, far-reaching shadow to make a name for himself with his circle of peers.

Baylor University’s 4x400m team was once synonymous with Johnson's exploits, having once shut down his jets with 50m remaining in the NCAA qualifying rounds and still managing to split under 44-flat (43,5). Couts created his own ways in high school and emerged as a prolific and high-stakes player on the NCAA scene after choosing Baylor University -- a team with a rich tradition of excellent one-lap running.

Couts, by the time he turned professionial, had become synonymous with Baylor University, and had even raised a question on an the Track & Field News message board years later debating who had been Baylor’s best anchor man in its history - a discussion which generated lively answers from fans around the globe.

The Baylor Bears provided Couts a tremendous opportunity to grow personally and athletically, and he took an opportunity to discuss some of those events in his life which are most memorable -- including witnessing Baylor set a new school record at the NCAA championships in June 2007 -- a mark which continued building on the deep, rich heritage of which he had been a part.

In order to help give readers a better understanding of what the magnificence of the Baylor tradition, why Couts, himself, chose to sink his teeth into Clyde Hart’s training methodology and what legacy he left in the sport in general, I asked Brandon, now an assistant coach at the University of Colorado, a series of questions via e-mail in the first of two interviews -- questions which both required a few seconds of thought and others which took more time to reflect and consider.

This is the first of a multi-part exclusive Q&A session which Athletics in the News had with Couts.

Athletics in the News: What was your first experience with track and field as a fan?
Brandon Couts: The first race that I remember watching was the 1993 World championships. All I remember is Roger Black getting a distant second. I’m going to beat people like that one day.

AIN: What was the first sprint race you ever saw in person?
BC: I was at 1996 Texas Relays. I’m not sure who won the invitational 100m race, but Henry Neal got second. He’s from my Hometown. Would you believe he ran 20.1 on me in practice!!! I ran a distant 20.6 that day, lol

AIN: When did you begin competing in track and field, and what was your first event?
BC: My school had a rule it may have been statewide were you couldn’t compete until the eighth grade. It was changed when I went to the eighth grade L. My Coach Pat Brown, who went to college with my mother, made me a 400m runner. I wasn’t happy at all, but on a funny note. I couldn’t break 13 flat.

AIN: What was the first time/mark you recorded?
BC: I think that I ran 55 as an eighth grader. My first high school meet that I remember I ran 52.81. I hurt my back trying to triple jump and became infected with chicken pox from my sister. I didn’t run again for almost a month.

AIN: When did you first lose a race?
BC: This question should be “ when did I win my first race. , lol” I open up my sophomore year with a 50.0 in 40 degree weather. I didn’t lose again until the state meet with a 4th place finish 48.17. On the bright side, I learned to run the 400m dash that night.

AIN: What did losing that race teach you about the spirit of competition?
BC: It made me very hungry. I was supposed to win. I had too many people telling me that I couldn’t win. I couldn’t let go. I made up my mind that I would win the next year. I did with a 46.40 at the state meet. During my first season of summer track, I ran no slower that 46.30 and pr with 45.83

AIN: Who was your first role model in life?
BC: I’m going to have to say my paternal grandfather “Tommie Jay Couts” I wanted to be just like him growing up. I can’t even put into words what he means to me.

AIN: Who was your first track and field role model, and why? What did their winning/losing efforts teach you?
BC: I’m going to go out on a limb and say Henry Neal. In preparation for the 1996 trials he came back and trained in Greenville. I tried to beat him everyday, lol. He worked hard and wouldn’t let me slack up in my training.

AIN: Who was the first high school student you competed against who later became an Olympian?
BC: Ja’Warren Hooker… He won my 2000 semi-finals heat. If I would have executed my race instead of trying to imitate what Michael Johnson did in his semi-heat. I most likely would have medaled that year. I learned a valuable lesson. Do what it took you to get there.

AIN: Did you have Olympic aspirations as a child?
BC: Nope, I just wanted to beat people. I always thought I would be scoring touchdowns on Sunday afternoon.

AIN: What lessons did you learn about yourself during your grade-9 school year?
BC: It’s an adjustment year from junior high school, and the expectation level is raised by default. At the regional meet my freshmen year, my teammates asked me to false-start because we would be in the race. I couldn’t do it, but I gave them a 49sec leadoff leg, so they were in the race. I was still only a 52.8 open runner at the time. I learned people will doubt you until you have proven yourself.

AIN: Who was your high school coach, and what is the greatest lesson s/he taught you about yourself? About teamwork? About sacrifice? About college? About humility? About believing in a dream?
BC: Darren Duke was my high school coach. He basically taught me track workouts hurt, lol. It was a good lesson but a bad one as well. As I got older, I ran a lot of races hurt. Believe it or not I only lost 4 or 5 races healthy my entire collegiate career. Most of the championship races, I wasn’t healthy but I was a team player.

AIN: Who on your high school team most mentored you to achieve your goals?
BC: A guy named Calvin Hale who was a sophomore. He was a 50.0 400m runner. He would always tell me to come with me. I would try and die the last 100m, lol. He didn’t run anymore after my freshmen year.

AIN: Whom did you repay the favor to before you graduated?
BC: I mentored most of the underclassmen before I left. I had to other guys that ended up getting collegiate scholarships. I couldn’t help them with their grades, lol.

AIN: Tell me about your first state meet. What events did you compete in, and how did you qualify to the state meet?
BC: I went the first time my sophomore year in the 400m dash. In Texas the 2 top from each region go to state. I won because I was starting to live in the weight room. The top 4 times were 48.23, 48.23, 48.23, and 48.25

AIN: Who has the old scrap books of your newspaper clippings and all of your awards?
BC: Different family members have different things. I have a scrapbook with a lot of my high school articles in it and a couple of NCAA championship rings. My grandfather has all the plaques. My mother has a few items. One of my uncles has a couple of rings as well.

AIN: When did you first stand in the spotlight as a prep athlete and have your first interview?
BC: My first real interview most likely came after winning the National Scholastic Meet in 1997. At least 6 of the 9 runners ran under 47.0 seconds with Geno White and me run under 46 seconds.

AIN: Is Texas the most difficult sprint-state to compete in, and, if so, why? Many will argue that California has had a significant number of high school athletes fair well on the all-time lists – the prep ones, the NCAA ones and the USA lists.
BC: Yes, I think it is one of the most challenging states for sprinting. If we had a huge state meet with prelims times would be even faster. California has better weather year around.

AIN: What are you most proud of concerning your high school achievements?
BC: I was a clutch performer in both football and track. Whenever I was asked to step up, I was able to perform.

AIN: What are your parents most proud of with respect to you and high school?
BC: I’m going to say that I graduated and stayed out off trouble. I’m sure it help that I earned a full ride for college, lol.

AIN: What goals did you leave unfulfilled and unrealized?
BC: I really felt that I could have ran around 45.0 It’s hard running out front. I wished that we would have broken our school’s 4x400m record. If I had a little more help. The record was 3:16.50. My team ran 3:17, and I split 45.5

AIN: What one race sticks out most in your mind when you look back on your high school career?
BC: My last high school 4x400m anchor comes to mind. My coach clocked me at 44.5. I got the stick in seventh and it came down to a photo finish. We lost by .01

AIN: Who was your one main rival who continued to threaten – or defeat – you in invitational and championship high school events?
BC: It would have been Obea Moore if anybody. We raced in the 1996 Junior Olympics in Houston, TX. He won 45.83 – 46.10 It was my first big-time race and the only time I lost that year. We never raced again because of injuries.

AIN: When did the recruiting letters (or phone calls) start arriving at your home and/or to your high school?
BC: My letters started after my sophomore season, but I received more football offers than track offers at the time.

AIN: What was your first reaction to the very first recruiting letter you’d received?
BC: I thought the coaches had placed it in the wrong locker, lol. I saw the seniors receiving letters. It’s when I first started thinking about the possibility of an athletic scholarship.

AIN: Which universities did you visit on your recruiting trips?
BC: I visited Rice(football before I decided I was playing), Tennessee, Arkansas, and Baylor.

AIN: What did Baylor University have to offer on your recruiting trip?
BC: Honestly, it was about my teammates and having my own room in an apartment. I realized early on that my teammates would be my family if I didn’t like them then I wouldn’t be happy. My host was Brandon Terry. He was a state qualifier that I knocked out my in the photo finish my sophomore year. Marlon Ramsey was there, so he was my next target. I felt he would also be a good training partner as well. I liked the small classes also. I most of the classes had 30 to 40 people in them. I got a chance to chat with Michael Johnson as well. It was cool putting a name with the face. He called me a couple of times before my visit.

AIN: What was the interaction like with the Baylor track and field athletes with whom you spent time? What were some of the tougher questions you asked them to help you decide if, on the surface, Baylor could be a right fit for you?
BC: I felt like I was around my high school friends. Everyone was making an effort to at least come meet me. On the other track trips, I feel most of the athletes were intimidated by me, once we talked about times. I was also very shy, so I really hated talking about myself.

AIN: Did your parents accompany you, and what were their impressions of the university’s education system, student life and activities as well as your opportunities for growth in your athletic pursuits?
BC: I did all my visits by myself. I feel its better that way.

AIN: What did you do the summer prior to making the step between high school life and college life? Did you find yourself closer, as close or more distant to your friends and family as you prepared yourself to turn the page in your life?
BC: I went to Houston and ran summer track my junior and senior year. My Godfather wanted me to have more competition. I spent most of those summers running fast.

AIN: Describe your initial scholarship details.
BC: I was offered full athletic scholarships in both my sports. Even from places that did not normally offer full rides. I think track wise it was related to me consistently running below 47 seconds each week by myself.

AIN: What was the very first day of university life like? What memories do you have of the goings-on that day?
BC: It was exciting, since me and my recruiting class didn’t participate in Welcome Week activities. We did see all the intelligent beautiful women running around. I just remember people walking up to me and speaking. They knew that I was an athlete, but not my talent level.

AIN: What was your very first practice session at Baylor University?
BC: We went to the weight room a lot of the guys were surprised at my leg strength. After we finished lifting, we went outside ran 2 laps around the stadium.

AIN: Were you, in your opinion, transitioned into the program rather easily, or did you hit the floor running, so to speak?
BC: I think that I hit the floor running. I hit the times that I was asked to do then left it on the track after my last one each day.

AIN: What challenges did you face, personally, during your adjustment into college life?
BC: I was shy, so I had to be more outgoing. Otherwise, I would have been truly miserable. I’m an honest person, so I had to learn that some people have good intentions but aren’t reliable.

AIN: What challenges did you face on the practice field which differed from your high school background?
BC: I wasn’t use to off season. I would be in the American football field until late November. I started getting anxious and wanted to race. I had to be more patience.

AIN: What distance did you first time-trial, and what was your time?
BC: We ran a 350m. I’m not sure what the finishing time was that day, but Marlon Ramsey told me that I can through 21 low in my waffles and continued to move. We had this discussion recently it the only reason that I remember it.

AIN: Did you take everything Clyde Hart had to say in like a sponge, or did you incorporate his philosophies in with your own experiences?
BC: I incorporated what he said into my own philosophies.

AIN: What was Hart’s take on young 400m runners competing in the NCAA system, and how did he help you manage his expectations?
BC: I had a tendency to set my goals too high and not be able to achieve them. It’s a long season and I think it was more than twice as many races as I ran in high school. It took it’s toll on me towards the end of my freshmen season. I was pretty much done after the conference meet.

AIN: Did you have an induction program into the Baylor Bears track and field team, and, if so, what did it comprise of?
BC: A couple of the upperclassmen challenged me and I wasn’t the type to turn down a challenge. I got the funny prank phone calls with people disguising their voice and telling me what they were going to do to me on the track. I just listened.

AIN: Did you latch on to any one athlete – or group of athletes – during your first year in order to emulate what they were doing and create a model for your future success?
BC: I can’t say that I latched on anyone. I looked at everyone’s personal records compared to mine and decided I should always lead. I always lead by example. If I showed any weakness my team would most likely feel the repercussions.

AIN: Did you feel as though you were required to carry a big burden on your shoulders when you first put on a Baylor uniform due to the legacy left by others ahead of you?
BC: I knew of the legacy, but it wasn’t as strong for me. Marlon was still competing. It wasn’t my burden to bear. The first time I felt the burden was the frigid 1998 NCAA championship in Buffalo. Everything was going okay until the prelims of the 4x400m when Bayano Kamani hurt his hamstring on his 2nd leg carry. Instead of stopping, he limped home with a 49 sec split. We went from well out front to last place. I remember the announcer saying about Baylor had never missed a final. My third leg Stephan Bragner gave me a lifetime best 44.5 split and I went and got the auto qualifier with a 44.0 anchor.

AIN: Describe the first time you heard your name announced over a PA system as “Brandon Couts from Baylor University”.
BC: Unfortunately, I didn’t look too much into it. I was a school employee then , lol.

AIN: Describe the successes you enjoyed during your first season as a Bear – including your NCAA indoor title. Were they in line with what your coach had stated at the beginning of the training season?
BC: I feel that is something that I missed from my collegiate career. We never sat down and chatted about goals for the upcoming season. It’s something that I sit down and do with my athletes now. Just in case you didn’t now, I’m the sprint coach at the University of Colorado now.

AIN: What goals did you, personally, have set for your first year of college – both scholastically and athletically?
BC: I just wanted to be a good student. My freshmen year I had the highest G.P.A. on the men’s team. Athletically, I wanted the indoor and outdoor title.

AIN: How did you fare against your goals?
BC: Indoors, I smashed the fast heat which included Angelo Taylor and Milton Campbell, but unfortunately I finished 2nd overall to Davian Clarke out of the slow heat 45.86 – 45.90 Outdoors, the 4x400 leg took too much out of me. I did make finals though.

AIN: What was your biggest disappointment – your greatest challenge unmet – during your first year at Baylor, and what did you do to ensure you climbed past that hurdle?
BC: My biggest disappoint would have been my dismal performances at the NCAA championships. It was no excuse for me not finishing in the top 3 outdoors. If I would have kept running instead of watching the jumbo-tron, I would have most likely broken the collegiate record my freshmen year.

AIN: Did any of your high school peers make significant improvements their first year of university, and, if so, how did this affect your confidence in your own training?
BC: I can’t say any of my high school friends made huge strides our freshmen year. I was the only one that ran track out of my immediate circle.

AIN: Is there an unwritten Baylor Bear motto which you’d like to share with readers? BC: No Comment… It’s unwritten after all.

AIN: What one piece of advice did Clyde Hart give you which has transcended the playing field and continues to be as useful today as it was when he provided it?
BC: If you keep working hard you will eventually reap the benefits. I’m a collegiate coach now, I don’t think I would have had the opportunity at my age if I wasn’t the collegiate runner that I was.

AIN: When did you most please your coach – in which context? Was it a particular race, practice session, achievement?
BC: I’m going to have to say my last NCAA championships. I wasn’t 100% healthy at most maybe 85%. I didn’t want to anchor, because my leg hurt. Avard Moncur seemed to be running his best whenever I was hurt. I ran anchor and Moncur was trying to run me down 50m from the finish my hamstring started popping . We won in a photo finish. We placed 3rd overall with 6 people. I made the 400m finals and I was the last qualifier. I believe that if I didn’t have my name I most likely would have gotten in that year.

AIN: When did you feel you most let him down?
BC: Anytime I lost I felt that I let him down. I talent wise I was suppose to loose. Did I always execute, no where close may be 50/50.

AIN: What was the coach-per-athlete time like at Baylor during your career there?
BC: It was one top dog per event. I was the top collegiate runner but I took a seat to Mr. Johnson. I think that I would have benefited more if Michael had retired a few years earlier.

AIN: Were you well-known on campus, and, if so, did regular people uninterested in athletics support you as you competed during your four seasons there?
BC: Everyone knew of me , but most people did realize it was me burning up the track. I had classmates come to the meet looking to see the “Brandon Couts” run, but they didn’t realize that I was the man. I was just Brandon to them, most didn’t even know my last name. On the bright side, I was able to stay low key which always bode well for me.

AIN: Why does Baylor have a seemingly impenetrable grip on 4x400m racing?
BC: A lot of they guys come from high school teams where they were the only fast guys, so when you get a chance to run with your peers you tend to excel. Baylor normally has a lot of depth as well. Look at the number of people that can split 46.5 or faster on the roster. It’s a true plug-and play team. For example, my freshmen year my “B’ team ran 3.05.xx while we ran 3:02.XX.

AIN: When did you first meet Jeremy Wariner, and what promise did you see in him when you first saw him practice?
BC: I never actually saw Jeremy practice. A few races that I did see him run, I could tell he needed to get stronger. With his foot speed, I knew he should have been beating Darold to the breakpoint.

AIN: Did you have any idea he would find the amount of success he had in such a short stay at the university?
BC: In a way, I could see it coming about. The training methodology changed a lot after I graduated on how to handle the guys coming out of high school running 45.xx. They reaped the benefits of my struggles. Look back at the number of 200m/400m double for him in college. Hopefully you will start to understand.

AIN: Is it discouraged for track and field athletes at Baylor to leave the program early for the professional ranks?
BC: The leaving college early in a new fad in track and field, I would tell anyone that producing to leave if they can get a guarantee to be able to finish school. Track would be a totally different sport if we were guaranteed millionaires by signing a contract. This is one of the main reasons we continue to lose quality track athletes to football. It’s the opportunity for big bucks.

AIN: At what stage of your collegiate career did you consider the fact that you may have had several ingredients to become a successful professional runner?
BC: I realized it my freshmen year. As I look back, if I had made a few different choices not telling what kind of times that I would have run.

AIN: Describe your final NCAA meet. Did you feel yourself turning a corner to newer and greater prospects, or did you feel as though you were severing ties – by name only – with a great experience?
BC: I was happy to be finished with collegiate running. I couldn’t be force to race anymore when I wasn’t 100% healthy.

AIN: What is the most difficult short-sprint workout that you’d ever done at Baylor? The longest?
BC: We were running repeat 200m relay style. I ran a couple rally fast to get us back on pace. I finished on pace on my last one, but I broke down really bad. Marlon tried to walk across the infield. I ended up lying down halfway across the infield and didn’t get up until 30 minutes later.

AIN: Is there one memorable workout you can describe which made boys men, and grown men cry, so-to-speak?
BC: Mike and I were running a 2x 450m. The first one was on pace the second one, Mike started rolling. We had 4 people running that day. I tucked in behind him and I started to him pulling me. I wanted to stop, but I had to keep the distance respectful. Mike came through 46 flat and I was 47 flat in out tennis shoes. I was hurting bad and Mike disappeared. I found him laid out in the locker room where I joined him, lol. The told me it hot outside “ I’m not going to laid out in the sun lol”

AIN: Did you ever find yourself not buying into the Clyde Hart process, and, if so, how did you overcome your own personal objections?
BC: I thought we should have done more speed work for my teammates. If didn’t do any extra work because I realized it compromised the plan that he had for us.

AIN: When did you turn professional?
BC: After my final NCAA meet, they wanted to redshirt me my senior year after I had a serious hamstring injury at 2001 Big 12 indoor championship. When I look back, I wish that I would have redshirt. It would have worked out better for me. I got a really crappy contract..

AIN: How is the process undertaken to find a reputable agent, sign a shoe contract and seal a short-term future in the sport which rewards you for your merits?
BC: If our not a business person which I wasn’t, it falls on the hands of your coach to me. I don’t think I got anywhere near the deal I should have gotten, but its history now. I promise you that I will look out for my athletes completely.

AIN: I’m going to drop the name Michael Johnson on you. What is the first thought which comes to your mind?
BC: I think Michael was a phenomenal runner. He was blessed with a strong support system and no rival for his coach’s attention.

AIN: Carl Lewis?
BC: He was in my eyes a great team player. He opened many doors for the people in his training group. He was the only other runner that I knew besides Jesse Owens before I heard of Michael.

AIN: Steve Lewis?
BC: He was a freak of nature to me. I wished that I could have produced the times he product at his age.

AIN: Hicham El Guerrouj?
BC: I look at him as the “Pre” of the entire world in middle distance running.

AIN: Did you then, whilst you were in university – or do you now – ever find yourself focusing specifically on your own event and not knowing what occurs in other events?
BC: Only during finals would I focus on my event until I was prepared. After I was ready, I would be spectator until I got in the blocks then I would refocus on my execution.

AIN: Describe the camaraderie built with members of a relay team, and if you or your other three teammates on any given relay squad have ever done something outer-worldly to bring things back together when one person may have faltered a bit on his leg?
BC: We had each other back no matter what the issue. They believed in me as much as I believed in them. My junior and senior year we had ¾ of my summer track team Track Houston. We had run 3:06.xx but did break the record. Everyone stepped up somewhere along the line. I got the stick in 1st 90% of the time.

AIN: What friendships were the strongest you built whilst at Baylor?
BC: I can name a handful of people and were like family. Marlon Ramsey, Stephan Bragner, Bayano Kamani, Damian Davis, Martin Dossett, Michael Smith, and Randy Davis, Edrice Bell (trainer), Blake Rowe (student manager) , and Jeff DaCunha. I’m sure that I going to get in trouble but this was my track family.

AIN: What advice would you have for a high school star like Bryshon Nellum who is on the brink of stardom, but hasn’t hit the NCAA system yet? What are some eventual pitfalls which could await him in his transition period?
BC: I’m going to have to say cherish every moment. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be successful. Make sure you take good care of your body and handle your business in the classroom. If he feels that he not getting what he looking for training wise, don’t be afraid to move on. Being a good collegiate runner takes sacrifices.

AIN: Tyson Gay, Wallace Spearmon, Walter Dix, Xavier Carter. Who wins a one-off?
BC: I like this question for several reasons. It could unfold several different ways. Just looking at it I’m going to say Gay because of the 9.7s, Dix if he doesn’t run the first 100m too hard, and Spearmon. I think Carter is going to be right there but unfortunately loses on the dip. I really expect someone to pull out after the 100m dash finals. J So I’m saying Gay, Dix, and Spearmon.

Stay tuned for more on Brandon Couts, the former boy wonder sprinter from Greenville High School who turned into a leged as a Baylor Bear, then turned his life into one of mentoring as a man.

Facts:
Brandon Couts
Greenville High School, Texas (10,59s; 20,71s; 45,74s)
Baylor University (10,58s; 20,48s; 44,72s)
Conference: Big-12

Symmonds Becomes 284th US Sub-4 Miler

Story written by EPelle

First-year elite athlete Nick Symmonds of the Oregon Track Club became the 284th American sub-4 minute miler on Saturday, winning the Washington Preview Meet in Seattle, Washington, USA in 3 minutes 56,72 seconds.

Symmonds, whose previous personal best was a 4.03,85, won the race by nearly six seconds on the 307m unbanked, oversized track. Americans Courtney Jaworski (4.02,50) and Mike McGrath (4.04,08) finished second and third.

Symmonds, who graduated from Williamette University in the spring of 2006, was a seven-time NCAA DIII champion, winning both the 1.500m and 800m in 2003, 2005 and 2006, and winning the 800m in 2004.

Though he has shown promise as a 1.500m runner, Symmons' broke through last season in the 800m, winning his fourth-consecutive NCAA DIII 800m title, and finishing second at the USA Track and Field Championships, running 1.45,83 - a new personal record, school record and NCAA DIII record.

Khadevis Robinson won the race - his third national title - in 1.44,13, with Jebreh Harris finishing third (1.45,91). Symmonds sat comfortably behind the first half of the race, and moved from seventh to second as he picked runners off with a back-stretch move to the top of the home stretch curve.

Symmonds has done particularly well running in Oregon, as his outdoor personal mile best was set at the 2003 University of Oregon Twilight Meet.

Americans are now comparing Symmonds to David Krummenacker, the 800m/1.500m specialist who won the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships (1.45,69).

Symmonds has the 400m speed a good miler needs, possessing 48,15 (2006) speed over the one lap distance - a keen turnover component for a miler in a kicking situation.

He showed excellent ability last season with a 3.40,91 at Stanford in June - a time which demonstrated he was capable of running a 3.58 outdoor mile should he have been able to manage the pace over the full 1609 metre distance which is the mile.

"Its a big relief to break four (minutes)," Symmonds said to the Statesman Journal (link).

"It's phenomenal," said Willamette track and field coach Matt McGuirk. "When he came in his freshman year at Willamette, he ran a 1,000 meters in 2:27, and I new he was a sub-four-minute-runner."

"A lot of people out there say, 'I could have been a sub-four-minute-miler,' but didn't.

"He did," concluded McGuirk.

A product of Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho, USA, Symmonds was named 2006 NCAA Division III Male Scholar Athlete-of-the-Year - an award selected by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Symmonds was also named to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Men’s All-Academic Team for NCAA Division III.

Symmonds graduated from Willamette with a 3,27 cumulative grade point average while majoring in chemistry. He was one of 79 student-athletes chosen for the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Men’s All-Academic Team.

Each All-Academic selection was honored for earning a cumulative GPA of 3,25 or higher, while achieving an NCAA qualifying standard in one or more events during the 2006 season.

After graduating from college in May, Symmonds began training in Eugene, Oregon under coach Frank Gagliano, the long-time Georgetown University coach (and one of America's premiere coaches) who then made a move to Palo Alto to coach the Nike Farm Team, and then headed to Oregon with Vin Lanana.

"It's been great training under Gagliano. I'll train under him as long as he'll let me."

"I have no excuses to run slow now," Symmonds said. "I just train and take care of my body."

Click here for a list of the Track & Field News chronological order USA sub-4 list (last updated 2005-February).

2006 University Season:

• 3.49,23 Willamette Opener (4-mar)
• 1.49,57 Oregon Preview (18-mar)
• 0.48,15 Charles Bowles Inv (24-mar)
• 3.45,75 Willamette Inv (7-apr)
• 0.49,1h NWC Champs (21-apr)
• 1.57,73 NWC Champs (21-apr)
• 4.04,75 NWC Champs (22-apr)
• 0.49,56 NWC Champs (22-apr)
• 1.55,39 NWC Champs (22-apr)
• 1.47,34 TN Distance Classic (13-may)
• 3.50,57 NCAA DIII Qualifier
• 1.51,42 NCAA DIII Qualifier
• 3.49,24 NCAA DIII CHAMPION
• 1.49,59 NCAA DIII CHAMPION

2005 University Season:

• 3.52,77 Willamette Opener (5-mar)
• 1.54,62 Oregon Preview (19-mar)
• 3.47,04 Williamette Inv (2-apr)
• 0,49,0h Oregon Mini Meet (9-apr)
• 0,49,99 NWC Champs (22-apr)
• 1.57,38 NWC Champs (22-apr)
• 0.48,41 NWC Champs (23-apr)
• 1.52,60 NWC Champs (23-apr)
• 1.48,82 Ken Foreman Inv (14-may)
• 3.58,24 NCAA DIII Qualifier
• 1.52,67 NCAA DIII Qualifier
• 3.54,20 NCAA DIII CHAMPION
• 1.49,87 NCAA DIII CHAMPION

2004 University Season:

• 1.52,0h Oregon Mini (10-apr)
• 1.57,12 NWC Champs (24-apr)
• 1.55,51 NWC Champs (25-apr)
• 3.50,91 Ken Shanon Inv (8-may)
• 0.48,84 Willamette Last Chance (22-may)
• 1.51,29 NCAA DIII Qualifier
• 1.50,87 NCAA DIII CHAMPION

2003 University Season:

• 4.02,47 NWC 4-Way (15-mar)
• 1.51,18 Oregon Preview (22-mar)
• 3.57,63 Willamette Inv (5-apr)
• 3.54,1h Oregon Mini (12-apr)
• 1.57,43 NWC Champs (25-apr)
• 1.55,03 NWC Champs (26-apr)
• 3.54,92 NWC Champs (26-apr)
• 4.03,85 U of O Twilight Mile (3-may)
• 1.51,29 Stanford Qualifier (9-may)
• 3.55,04 NCAA DIII Qualifier
• 1.50,48 NCAA DIII Qualifier
• 3.46,66 NCAA DIII CHAMPION
• 1.49,51 NCAA DIII CHAMPION

Nick Symmonds' yearly in-season bests (Willamette homepage):

• 2006: 48,15 - 1.47,83 - 3.45,75
• 2005: 48,41 - 1.48,82 - 3.46,49
• 2004: 48,84 - 1.50,87 - 3.45,55
• 2003: 00,00 - 1.49,51 - 3.45,81 - 4.03,85y

Klüft Voted 2006 Waterford Crystal European AOY

Story written by EPelle

Carolina Klüft, our national athletics queen who has not lost a heptathlon competition in nearly five years, was voted the female Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year for 2006 - the second such accomplishment in her four-year professional career.

Klüft was voted number one by a tally of three different vote criteria which was open on the European Athletics Federation's homepage (click here for full press release) up to 31-December.

Klüft collected the fewest points (four) on the tally system, three fewer than runner-up Kim Gevaert of Belgium.

The Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year internet poll on the European Athletics website was open to Member Federations, the media and the public through three different voting forums.

All athletes' points were calculated by adding their position in each of the three voting categories.

Klüft, who was narrowly beaten for the award last year by pole vault world-record holder Yelena Isinbayeva - four points to seven - has not had a setback in the heptathlon or indoor pentathlon since finishing third (4535) to Russia's Yelena Prokhorova (4622) and Portugal's Naide Gomes (4595) at the 2002 European Indoor Championships in Vienna.

Klüft, according to our national federation's homepage (Friidrott) as well as the EAA, is planning on defending the pentathlon crown she won in Madrid in 2005 (4948) in Birmingham in March.

"For me the sport is all about performing at the major championships and I am really looking forward to the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham" she said.

"I won the World Indoor title there in 2003 and my great rival Kelly Sotherton (GBR) will have the home crowd willing her on this time, so it will certainly be a big challenge."

Sotherton (4733) finished second to Klüft in Madrid by 215 points, with Natalya Dobrynska (4667) of the Ukraine finishing third.

The three last met here in August at the European Championships, with Klüft (6740) winning the title over Holland's Karin Ruckstuhl (6423), with Germany's Lilli Schwarzkopf (6420) earning the bronze medal.

Sotherton finished a disappointing seventh with 6290 points.

Gevaert, who won the 100m/200m European sprint double here in Göteborg (11,06/22,68), and Isinbayeva - the 2005 Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year winner and 2006 European pole vault champion (4,80m - Championship Record), tied for second place just ahead of reigning Olympic long jump champion Tatyana Lebedeva (Russia) and high jumpers Kajsa Bergqvist (Sweden) and Tia Hellebaut (Belgium).

Lebedeva won the triple jump (15.15m) in exciting fashion over Greece's Hrisopiyi Devetzi (15.05m), jumping a championship record on her final attempt to secure her first outdoor European Championships title.

Bergqvist and Hellebaut were part of an exciting high jump final which saw no fewer than four women successfully manage the 2.00-metre barrier.

Hellebaut won the competition with a life-time best, national- and championship record jump of 2.03m, which was equalled by Bulgaria's Venelina Veneva, who finished with a silver medal on misses. Bergqvist, the indoor world record holder after a 2.08m jump in Arnstadt earlier in the year, jumped 2.01m in front of our home crowd, good enough for third. Blanka Vlasic, who had finished second to Bergqvist in the world-record meeting, finished fourth, also at 2.01m.

Klüft first won the prestigious trophy in 2003, following a spectacular break-out year where she improved from beating the best juniors in the world to winning two IAAF world titles (indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon).

Klüft is a finalist for the 2006 Gerringspriset, a very coveted prize which Radiosport here in Sweden awards for the year's best Swedish athletic performance. Susanna Kallur, who won the European Championships in the 100m hurdles (12,59) is also among the finalists.

One amazing feat which deserves notice is that Klüft has been atop the heptathlon world rankings for 223 weeks, and was awarded a spot among the world's top-10 best females by Track & Field News magasine (link) - the fourth-straight year she has appeared on the list. Klüfts appearances there are spectacular, because the magasine takes into consideration every athletic event when selecting its top-10 list. Klüft on average participates in three heptathlons per year.

Friidrott.se ran a great analysis (link) of Klüft through the years, netting the following great points:

• Three losses in her career, the latest in the 2001 European Cup; she's racked up 17-straight victories.
• Since she established herself as a senior in 2002, she has only twice (Euro Champs 2002 and World Champs 2005) not beaten her competition by at least 200 points, and her average score over 2nd-placers in those 15 competitions is 367 points.
• Her average hep the past 12 competitions (between 2003-2006) is 6,780 - a mark which only 12 other people in world history have surpassed in a single competition.
• 24 competitions without pulling out of one (she didn:t contest the 2000 Swedish Junior Nationals, because she was merely along to help a teammate chase the World Junior qualification mark).

Klüft was voted the fourth-best European female athlete by a panel of European sports journalists at the New Year. Klüft tallied 13 points in the voting. Isinbayeva (21) ranked third, and Gevaert (11) finished two points behind Klüft with a fifth-place spot.

Tennis player Justine Henin-Hardenne pulled in the most votes with 28 points.

2006 Waterford Crystal European AOY results:

1. Carolina Klüft, (SWE), 4; 2. Kim Gevaert, (BEL), 7; 2. Yelena Isinbayeva, (RUS), 7; 4. Tatyana Lebedeva, (RUS), 14; 5. Kajsa Bergqvist, (SWE), 15; 6. Tia Hellebaut, (BEL), 17; 7. Susanna Kallur, (SWE), 25; 8. Tatyana Lysenko, (RUS), 26; 9. Lornah Kiplagat, (NED), 32; 9. Vanya Stambolova, (BUL), 32

2005
Results:

1. Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS), 3 points; 2. Carolina Klüft (SWE), 7; 3. Tatyana Lebedeva (RUS), 11; 3. Paula Radcliffe (GBR), 11; 5. Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE), 12; 6. Christine Arron (FRA), 18; 7. Tatyana Kotova (RUS), 26; 8. Yuliya Nosova-Pechonkina (RUS), 28; 9. Christina Obergföll (GER), 31; 10. Eunice Barber (FRA), 32; 10. Olimpiada Ivanova (RUS), 32

Klüfts heptathlon/pentathlon portfolio (Source: IAAF):

Pentathlon

• 1st 28th European Indoor Athletics Championships 4948 Madrid 04 03 2005
• 1st 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships 4933 Birmingham 14 03 2003
• 3rd 27th European Indoor Championships 4535 Wien 01 03 2002

Heptathlon

• 1st 10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics 6887 Helsinki 07 08 2005
• 1st 28th Olympic Games 6952 Athens 21 08 2004
• 1st 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics 7001 Paris Saint-Denis 24 08 2003
• 1st 18th European Championships in Athletics 6542 München 10 08 2002
• 1st IAAF/Coca Cola World Junior Championships 6470 Kingston, JAM 20 07 2002
• 1st IAAF/Coca Cola World Junior Championships 6056 Santiago de Chile 21 10 2000

Powell Vows to Break World Record

Story written by EPelle

Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, the current 100m world-record holder who is filled with confidence following a dream-filled 2006 season, claimed Friday to the Jamaica Observer, that his current off-season training is going superbly, and he is focussed on breaking his world record from the get-go when his outdoor season gets underway in a few months' time.

"And when the World Championships comes around it's to win that gold medal in the 100 and the (sprint) relay and if I'm doing any other event (200m) to win the gold medal and... finish the season healthy without injury and in perfect condition," he added.

Powell was recently selected the Commonwealth's Outstanding Male Athlete for 2006 following a list of accolades he has plucked along the way following his last race - a disqualification for a false-start at the Yokohama track and field meet in Japan.

Powell has been busy this off-season, taking home the prestigious Track & Field News Male Athlete of the Year award based off of professional votes collected around the world in addition to collecting the Jamaica Gleaner Sportsman of the Year and the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association awards.

I delivered the news to you on 20-December (read: Powell Considering Osaka Double) that Powell was considering doubling up at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka - possibly running the 100m and 200m dashes as well as the expected 4x100m relay.

The Jamaican, ranked number one in the world at 100m in 2006, recorded 12 sub-10,00 clockings over his specialty distance, twice equalling his world record of 9,77 seconds.

American Justin Gatlin also equalled Powell's original world-record of 9,77 in Doha in May, 2006, but has been suspended of his title pending a drugs charge levied against him after testing positive for testosterone or its precursors at the Kansas Relays last April. He risks an eight-year ban from the sport, something which will effectively retire him from professional sprinting in the future.

Powell, meanwhile, won every competition he finished, a false start in Korea his only blemish on the season.

American Tyson Gay appears on paper to be the closest competition to Powell, having run 9,84 and a pair of 9,88 marks in 2006 - his first year under 10,00. Gay broke 10,00 six times, and recorded sub 19,85 200m times. His 19,68 time is tied for the fifth-fastest time ever recorded. He is tied with Namibian Frank Fredricks as the fourth-fastest performer all-time in the distance.

Powell has broken 9,90 11 times in his career, with seven of those marks posted in 2006. A stronger, more driven Powell in 2007 may wreak havoc on record-keepers, as Powell sets his sights on taking down the 9,77 time he recorded in Athens two years ago, and subsequently tied in Gateshead in June and Zürich in August this past summer.

"I'm feeling a lot stronger... the work-load is heavier than last year and I'm managing a lot better, so that's why I'm so motivated," he stated to the Jamaica Observer.

Indeed, if Powell feels stronger and can handle the workload - and stay injury-free, the only limit on his potential over 100m will be one of physics.

Stay tuned for more.

2006 Commonwealth Sports Awards Winners (Full press release here)

Final Placings

Sports Administrator of the Year
1. Filbert Bayi (Athletics) TAN
2. Zainal Abu Zarin (Disability Sport) MAS
3. Jenny Shaw (Swimming) WAL

Outstanding Young Achiever
1. Melissa Wu (Diving) AUS
2. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs (Gymnastics) CAN
3. Asif Hossain (Shooting) BAN

Outstanding Male Athlete
1. Asafa Powell (Athletics) JAM
2. Chris Hoy (Cycling) SCO
3. Alexandre Despatie (Diving) CAN

Outstanding Female Athlete
1. Alexandra Orlando (Rhythmic Gymnastics) CAN
2. Michaela Breeze (Weightlifting) WAL
3. Sherone Simpson (Athletics) JAM

Outstanding Male Elite Athlete with Disability
1. Matthew Cowdrey (Swimming) AUS
2. Benoit Huot (Swimming) CAN
3. David Roberts (Swimming) WAL

Outstanding Female Elite Athlete with Disability
1. Chantal Petitclerc (Athletics) CAN
2. Sue Gilroy (Table Tennis) ENG

Most Outstanding Team
1. Silver Ferns (Netball) NZL
2. Men’s Hockey Team AUS
3. M2006 Swimming Team SCO

Lifetime Achievement Award
1. Dr Bruce Kidd (Athletics) CAN
2. Owen Le Vallee (Administration) GUER
3. Dave Haller (Swimming) WAL

Chambers Given Another Look

Story written by EPelle

Dwain Chambers has made an initial cut of NFL hopefuls, and has been invited to an additional two-day camp in Barcelona to be held 13-14 January.

I first reported to you on on 20-December that Chambers had gotten his act together, and was pursuing his dreams in the NFL (read: From Threads to Riches).

NFL Europe coaches were impressed with Chambers' raw speed and determination during his initial tryout in November, and would like to have a better look at him and other rookies in their camp - to be held over a Monday and Tuesday.

Scouts had known of Chambers' raw speed, but did not expect to see such blistering pace and use of it when he was put through a simple drill at the start of the one-week camp in November.

This bodes well for Chambers, as he would like to forge a name for himself in the NFL and gain confidence in a new sport. The odds are highly stacked against him, but he's giving it a go.

BBC accurately reported that Chambers will need far more than raw pace if he is to fulfil his initial ambition of becoming a wide receiver for one of the five NFL Europe teams, as catching skills, strength, determination, teamwork and tactical appreciation all count equally into the total package exhibited by the best NFL players.

Whether or not Chambers makes a successful journey to the NFL, he vows to return to the track.

"Part of my mind is saying, 'leave track alone' but it is not the wise thing to do. If it doesn’t work out in Tampa, I’ve time for track this summer," he is quoted as saying in the Daily Mail (2006-December-29).

"I plan to come back to track regardless. It’s something I still believe I have a passion for. At the moment, I don’t but I will in time."

Chambers has a great support system behind him, having his mother, Adlith and his partner, Leone backing him as he continues forward from a past filled with a commitment to excellence, but also a past which crossed over to a darker period he'd just as soon forget.

Of Leone, he states: "If I didn’t [listen to her], I’d get my ear chewed. And then I speak to Jonathan and he brings a whole different perspective to it. It’s tough because I am used to doing everything my way."

Chambers opens up candidly about his mother.

"She always said, 'be careful what you do', and then for her to have to go out still holding her head up when people made comments … that’s hard on her.

"She was fantastic. In her mind, as long as I am okay, she is okay. She always says what people write in the papers are just words. Mind, I only showed her positive stuff in papers. Mothers don’t understand negative stuff, do they?

"She’s strong and she has her church and that kept her uplifted a lot, and during that time I kept with her a lot which helped put her mind at ease, and now she gets to see my son a lot which takes her mind off the other things."

Being a team-player - one who does things the coach's way - is one characteristic NFL scouts will look for in Chambers and his rookie class next week. If he's successful there, his wait on hearing if he is one of 80 players selected for a camp in Florida in March will be duly rewarded.

If Chambers can make a successful leap between the two sports and become an NFL player, the only thing he'll have to do is explain to his mother why those big, helmeted men are running as fast as possible to knock Chambers off his feet.

Click here for a link to NFL Europe.

NB (2007-January-16): Video Q&A With BBC (link)

Alan Webb to Compete in Boston Indoor Games

Story written by EPelle

American miler Alan Webb has been added to the Boston Indoor Games on 27-January, organisers announced today through a press release.

This is great news for the American fans, as many of them have anxiously awaited both Webb's return to the track, and, more specifically, to the mile.

Webb, a two-time USA Outdoor 1.500m champion, a 2005 IAAF World Championships finalist and a 2004 Olympian at 1.500m, is making a bit of a comeback after injuring his hamstring in 2006 - a season which he took a few calculated risks by upping his racing distance to 10.000m -- 21 laps further than his specialty.

Webb had a break-through 2005 season, one which saw him run personal bests at every distance from 800m to 5.000m, and had added some intriguing international cross country races to his base last winter, running four races in Spain.

Webb and his agent, Ray Flynn, had planned on having Webb funnel down from strength to speed as the 2006 season unfolded.

Everything started off wonderfully for Webb, as he recorded the fastest-ever American debut at 10km, running 27.34,72, for a win at the Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

Flynn had stated during the course of 2006 that Webb's focus on longer distances earlier in the year would help him have strength to run fast miles in August and September.

"There is nothing wrong with running a 10 earlier in the year, then running some 5s, then getting down to the mile at the end of summer. (In fact), It's a great plan, it's a perfect plan... Time will only show, (but) Alan will perform really well during the summer.

Webb handled the 25-lap workload very well, running rather even splits (2.45,2, 2.43,9, 2.47,0, 2.46,3, 2.45,6, 2.47,1, 2.47,7, 2.47,0, 2.46,3, 2.38,6) in the race. Webb split 13.48,0 at the half-way point, and ran his second 5km in 13.46,7.

He showed that he had maintained the excellent strength level he had gained by running longer cross country meets overseas, and had recovered from his winter sickness which kept him out of the USA Cross Country National Championships.

Many of Webb's fans across the pond there in America disagreed with Flynn, however, and began questioning the tactic of running a 10km race of that quality so early in Webb's career, believing the plan would backfire on Webb.

Several spoke out on message boards, and stated that Webb needed more speed, not more strength. I was of the opinion that Webb had missed out on his mid-winter/early-spring goal of running longer cross country races when he ran afoul of illness, and had simply extended his winter training a few weeks into the spring campaign in order to get back on track.

The worst came to pass for Webb following that monumental effort, as he was described by his agent, Ray Flynn, as being a "little injured" heading into his next race, the 2006 Adidas Track Classic 2-mile. Webb finished sixth in the eight-lap race with a time of 8.33,92 - well off his American record time of 8.11,48 set the previous year in Oregon.

Webb further aggravated the injury a week later at the 2006 Prefontaine Classic - the last track race of his season.

Webb ran a frustrating mile in Oregon, running 4.00,87 after stepping off the track briefly coming around the final turn, grabbing the back of his leg and then continuing to the finish. Webb's time was 11,95 seconds off his personal best time of 3.48,92 set one year earlier in Oslo.

Bernard Lagat, the American record-holder in the 1.500m (3.29,30) and second-fastest miler in American history (3.48,38), won the race in a world-leading 3.51,53.

Webb traveled overseas at the conclusion of the summer campaign, running a 1.51,59 800m (3rd-place) in Scotland, and a solo 4.02,73 mile in the wind. They were not the greatest marks, but they put him back on track, gave him focus, and helped him end his season with a victory against international competition.

His return back to the international scene not only benefits the American fans, but provides us here in Europe, as Webb has set three of his four personal bests (1.500m, mile, 5.000m) on European soil.

Webb appears to have fully recovered from his injury and anemia, recording a 23.37 at the 2006 Mayor's Cup at Franklin Park in Boston, USA on 22-October, a time which was 18 seconds faster than Webb ran in a runner-up placing three years ago.

Webb went on to place fourth at the U.S. Cross Country Nationals 12K, win the U.S. 1.500m title to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games, and set a mile PR of 3.50,84 following his Mayor's Cup run in 2003.

Webb, who hasn't raced indoors since 2005, will toe the line in the mile against Chris Lukezic, the reigning U.S. 1500 metre champion indoors and 2006 World Indoor Championships finalist, among others. Lukezic and Webb were training partners two seasons ago.

Webb has an indoor mile best of 3.57,52 set in 2004 - a year which saw only two more of his countrymen break 4.00 indoors.

Results from the 2006 Boston Indoor Games Mile:

Mile: 1. Angwenyi (Ken) 3.55,95; 2. Lunn (USA) 3.56,77 (American Leader); 3. Rotich (Ken) 3.56,83; 4. Brannen (Can) 3.57,17; 5. Goucher (Nik)3.57,60 PR; 6. Woods (Can) 3.57,87 PR; 7. Sullivan (Can) 3.58,07; 8. Myers (USA) 3.58,24 PR; 9. Speaight (GB) 3.58,49 PR; 10. Lukezic (USA) 3.58,53 PR; 11. Kleimenhagen (USA) 3.59,00 PR; 12. Kiptum (Ken) 4.02,95.

HS Mile: 1. Coe 4.07,30 PR (High School Leader) (8, 8 HS); 2. O’Lionaird 4.09,41 PR; 3. Acosta 4.10,32; 4. McManamon 4.10,72; 5. Gauson 4.11,41; 6. A. Taye 4.11,44; 7. Harbor 4.12,68; 8. S. Taye 4.12,89; 9. Phillips 4.13,19; 10. Mitchell 4.13,42; 11. Rhodes-Devey 4.13,59; 12. Kelsey 4.15,35; 13. White 4.16,27.

Alan Webb's Personal Bests:

• 800m: 1.46,53 (2004)
• 1.000m: 2.20,32 (2005)
• 1.500m: 3.32,52 (2005)
• Mile: 3.48,92 (2005)
• 3.000m: 7.39,28 (2005)
• 2-Mile: 8.11,48 (2005)
• 5.000m: 13.10,86 (2005)
• 10.000m 27.34,72 (2006)

NB: Webb won the Father Diamond Invitational Mile held indoors at George Mason University on Saturday, 2007-January-6.

Full Results (Courtesy GMU)

Men 1 Mile Run 1, Webb, Alan, Nike, 3:59.34. 2, Burley, Sam, Asics, 4:09.58. 3, LaBoy, Andre, Georgetown, 4:09.70. 4, Scheid, Justin, Georgetown, 4:15.73. 5, Dalpiaz, Brian, Georgetown, 4:21.24. 6, Emerson, Zachary, Mount St. Mary's, 4:21.77. 7, Sanders, Thurman, Howard, 4:34.13. 8, Cavedo, Brent, Mary Washington, 4:39.53. 9, Boccher, Travis, George Mason, 4:41.12. 10, Cash, Matt, Mary Washington, 4:41.39. 11, Phillips, James, George Mason, 4:43.23. 12, Langat, Geoffrey, Virginia Union, 4:44.61. 13, Andes, Will, George Mason, 4:58.47. --, Pachella, Michael, George Mason, DNF. --, Smith, Richard, Unattached Athle, DNF.