Bolt tells Krishnan Guru-Murthy of London’s Channel 4 News how long legs and “looking cool all the time” helped him become the fastest man in the world. He talks about the need for more street meet events - and confirms that he intends to break a few more records.
For Sean Quigley running is a way of life. It informs his decisions: where he lives, who he hangs with, and how he structures his days. His passion for the sport affects how he thinks; Sean is one positive and thoughtful guy.
This past weekend Sean wanted to secure his spot on the US World team. He finished 7th. Some might see that as failure, but not Sean. He chooses his words thoughtfully, his eyes searching the space around him for the right vocabulary.
“This weekend went well. I was in ideal shape 11 and a half laps in. I felt great even going into that last lap - I just couldn’t close the door and finish off a great race.”
“It proved to me that I’m this close (placing his hands just inches apart) to breaking through to that next level. Those guys closing that fast - I’ve never witnessed that in a race before. I was mentally getting prepared for that last lap and then - I just wasn’t expecting those guys to close like that. Talk about a wake up call.”
As he adjusts his position in the chair, the PUMA on his chest seems to move - forward.
“Going into the race my goal was to get in the top three. To make U.S. World and Olympic teams is no easy feat. You have to beat at least 10 guys, who are trying to achieve the same goal as you. You have to dig deeper. You’ve got to believe in yourself and the training you’ve done.”
His smile widens. “Getting seventh wasn’t a let down. It was a motivator. I still have work to do to get to that next level. I know what I need to do.” After a quick pause he finishes the thought. “I know I can do it!”
Without any prompting he moves to the big picture. “It’s definitely cool to be a part of this resurgence in American distance running. It’s unbelievably motivating to have so many athletes out there, and you know they’re doing the work. It’s forces you to step up your game. Push harder. Get faster.”
So what’s next for Sean: “I leave tomorrow for Europe. I’ll be staying in Holland in a small village on the Belgian border called Hulst. It’s a quiet town with some great trails and a nice little downtown section to kill some time. To refocus. I’m going to do a 3k in Oordegem, 1500 in Kotrijk, 5k in Heusden, and either a 1500 or 3k at Brasschaat. So, I’ll be on a tour of Belgium. I’m stoked.”
As he gets up to leave, he gives one final thought. “Today was awesome. Did some kick drills. Hopefully I’ll be ready to throw down some 53’s in Europe.”
That’s in reference to the fact that the winner in the 5k at nationals ran his last lap in 53 seconds, which is - fast. But it’s a skill you have to have if you want to finish in the top three at any major international competition. Sean knows this and he has already secured his next goal: getting mentally and physically prepared to close in 53.
The trend in Lausanne is Alpine Urban Street - “where alpine roots meet urban creativity.” A hip mash-up of tradition and NOW that makes perfect sense looking at the history of its culture and Lausanne‘s vital street scene.
the picture above is a photoshopped version of Mark Ramstead’s photo ‘Vintage Mt. Baldy Pipeline”
Michael Johnson has some interesting thoughts on Usain Bolt and the need for competition
Reflecting on recent meets like Manchester and Toronto where Bolt went basically unchallenged, Michael Johnson is concerned that building events around one man is not what the sport should be about.
“The biggest asset of track and field is pure competition, and nobody talks about that any more,” said Johnson. “It’s all about the star athlete. If that’s the case, you may as well send them out there and let them run by themselves in an exhibition.”
“We’re overlooking the greatest thing about the sport which is the most attractive thing to the fan base that you can grow, and that is competition.”
The problem facing promoters is finding opponents who can give Bolt a run for his money. On the evidence so far this year, only American Tyson Gay looks capable.
“Competition is good for the sport, whether it’s Tyson or anyone else,” said Johnson. “Am I hoping that Usain Bolt loses? No. I just hope we see competition and that athletes like Tyson Gay are able to step up to his level and run with him.”
After two false starts in Toronto, Bolt admitted that he held back on the throttle because of the poor weather conditions, not wanting to risk injury so early in the season.
Johnsons‘s response: “That’s the right thing to do. You’ve got to be very careful because you have a lot of running to do and you can’t manage to get injured at this time of the season.”
He also has an article here about the three steps required to save the sport. It’s a thought provoking read.
Yesterday I mentioned Lausanne’s avant-garde. Decided to travel that road when discussing their visual arts.
Lausanne is home to one of the most interesting museums - the Collection de L’Art Brut, an internationally renowned museum for outsider art. The museum presents artists, who live on the fringe – many of them in psychiatric institutions – who have each created, through their art, an individual world of their own, characterized by great aesthetic intensity and passion. The paintings and graphics, sculptures and objects of these artists are presented together with touching documentary films that convey an impression of their lives, their particular circumstances, and their ways of working.
The collection of art has no particular theme, but the artists all share something in common: none of them have had any formal art training. Reading the short bios of the artists is worth the trip alone. One sculpture was carved by a man in a prison cell with the handle of his spoon. When they took his spoon away he began using a pot handle instead (I’m talking resourceful here.) A woman drew onto a huge scroll of paper in near darkness and due to the cramped space she was in, never actually saw her drawing unrolled. And that’s just the beginning of the strange.
About the piece to the right: Aurie Ramirez, a 46 year old Filipino-American woman, may have suffered slightly from a form of autism and perhaps dyslexia. Whichever the case, her art speaks volumes. She expresses herself in a unique language that is dreamy, haunting, fashion inspired and often humorous. Some of her work was inspired by television’s ‘The Addams Family.’ Her art is often vivid with color - or almost austere in its grays. Google her if you’re interested.
Henry Darger is the world’s most celebrated lifelong menial laborer, having worked unnoticed as a janitor, a dishwasher and a winder of gauze bandages. Darger is exposed in John MacGregor’s In the Realms of the Unreal, a definitive, 10-year, 720-page critical study of his life and work. Darger was mentally ill in the unspecific way of the self-muttering recluse, and his fame comes from what was discovered during the cleaning out of the room he inhabited for 40 years. The photo on the left was found in his 19,000 page illustrated manuscript. You can find much info about him online, as well as photos of his most famous works. The deranged man was clearly an outsider, and some believe the murderer of Elsie Paroubek, a Chicago girl whose murderer was never found. A loft in the museum contains excerpts from the novel found after his death.
Being home to the Collection de L’Art Brut says much about the cultural pulse of Lausanne.
‘jump rope’ is a great summer song. this is not a music video - just the song. crank the speakers, get energized and smile while you read today’s entries about Switzerland’s sexiest city, and Bolt’s thoughts after the Jamaican Championships.
‘life’s like a jump rope.’
Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt secured the top spot of the world rankings with his performance at the Jamaican Championships in Kingston. In the press conference following the event he offered the following insights.
On his 200m win in 20.25 ahead of runner-up Steve Mullings (20.40) and Marvin Anderson (20.63) in third place:
“There were a lot of fast guys behind me so I ran the corner pretty hard and then I came off and saw where I was and shut it down. I was a little bit tired because I am not really in the best shape but I’m okay.”
After winning the 100m over rival Asafa Powell on Saturday, Bolt declared that American world champion Tyson Gay has little chance of breaking his world record.
“No disrespect to Tyson, but that is going to be a hard task for him. Tyson is more of a 200 runner than a 100 runner so it is going to be very hard.”
Reflecting on the Jamaican Championships, Bolt said:
“It was a good time.” (not sure if he was referring to his finishing times - or that he had fun.)
“I’m a little tired, but I’m okay. I really have to buckle down. I still have a lot of work to do but I am getting there.”
Beijing was when he was in his best shape. “I’m probably a little bit back, compared to that,” he said. “It’s day by day, but I am ready to do it. It is great to go and defend your title. That would be a great feat for me. I want to be a legend and if I am going to be a legend that would be a milestone for me. I am hoping by Berlin [World Championships] I will be 100 per cent. I don’t want to peak before and I try to work towards it race by race.”
He finished the press interview with this teaser. “You can always expect great things from me. I go out there to perform at my best.”
His final thought was delivered with a small laugh. “I’m hoping I can break a few more records this season.”
Doing some research for our trip to Lausanne, Switzerland this week and my first surprise was to learn that ice hockey and soccer are their top two sports. Who knew? Let’s get started.
Lausanne is in Romandy, the French speaking part of the country, and is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva with the Jura Mountains to the northwest. 31 miles northeast of Geneva, the city is the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It lies in the middle of a wine region.
Lausanne tends to inspire hyperbole. In a country of spectacular natural beauty it is the most beautiful of cities with steep hills that have been developed into a tiered succession of compact, south-facing terraces. Vistas of blue water, glittering sunlight, and the purple and grey of the white-capped Savoy Alps frame the interior landscape. The city is still wooded with plenty of parks, and the tree-lined lakefront promenades spill into beds of vibrantly colorful flowers. It is Switzerland’s sexiest city.
If Switzerland has a counterculture, it lives in the clubs and cafés of Lausanne, a fact that supports its tradition of fostering intellectual and cultural innovation. From medieval times, Lausanne has been Swiss culture’s avant-garde. Students flock to Lausanne’s pioneering and prestigious University of Lausanne, while restless Romantics seek and find inspiration in its magnificent panorama and revolutionary cultural. It is a city that values and supports pleasure, generously subsidizing art and culture of all shades, resulting in a range of festivals, live music, clubs, theater, opera and dance to rival a metropolis ten times its size (merely 300,000 inhabitants.)
Along with the University of Lausanne, hundreds of language schools and private academies enhance the city’s reputation for learning, along with the world-famous Ecole Hoteliere, which is a world renowned training ground for top chefs and hotel staff. This array of international study helps define Lausanne’s uniquely diverse multi-ethnic makeup. The youthful spirit, and the city’s hilly aspect, have also given Lausanne a new role as Europe’s blading and skateboarding capital: when the sun shines, every public space hisses with the spinning of tiny wheels.
Fun fact: It’s a mark of Lausannois spirit that given the chance to host the 1994 winter games, they voted it down to instead host the annual International Roller and Skateboarding Contest.
Photo to right ‘Geneve-Lausanne l.’ by Szilard Torok. Prints are available at redbubble.com.
bolt won the 200m dash yesterday, the last event of the jamaican champs. so much for having “to run hard to get into shape” for the event . . . bolt let up the last 40 meters of the race, as this video shows. of note: check out ramon mackenzie wearing the batman mask. he did that in April at the boys & girls champs. unfortunately, he finished 4th at the champs so won’t be competing in berlin. (damn - i was so hoping to see batman in berlin!)
now bolt heads to europe where he’ll race several times prior to the world champs. next up athletissima lausanne.
in other news, delilah finished 9th in the steeple on the final day of the US Championships, missing out on a chance to represent the United States for the second time this year (she made the World XC team, finishing 33rd at the Championships in Amaan, Jordan). she’ll also head to europe for a summer of racing.
Fast History: In 1976 track and field barely existed in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Given the lack of adequate infrastructures, major national competitions rarely took place outside German-speaking Switzerland, specifically the Letzigrund track in Zurich.
Former 800m runner Jacky Delapierre was asked by Stade Lausanne to help organize the inauguration of the Pierre de Coubertin stadium. Delapierre decided to think big; he wanted to inaugurate the stadium with an annual international event.
For the first year, prestigious names were announced: John Walker, 1500m Olympic champion in Montreal in 1976; Mac Wilkins, 1976 Olympic champion in discus throwing; Dick Quax, who smashed the 5000m world record just a couple of days before; and Dwight Stones, the greatest track and field show man the sport had ever known, who wanted his world record in the high jump back since Soviet Yatchenko had just taken it away.
Everything was ready for a wonderful celebration of the sport, but at 6pm sharp, it started raining like hell. It looked like the end before the beginning, but the public was hungry. With umbrellas in hand, 5,600 spectators stormed the entrance gate. The star athletes were stunned, but since they didn’t want to disappoint the crowds, they gave it their all.
The skies were not as cooperative. But Stones and Walker were so impressed by the support of the crowds that they told Delapierre, “What is happening here tonight is fantastic. We want to come back in three weeks to offer this crowd the show it deserves.”
At the beginning of August, a second international meet was held - then another and another. The tradition of Athletissima Lausanne began thanks to Dwight Stones, John Walker and Jacky Delapierre.
Bolt won the 100 meters on Saturday in 9.86 seconds, the fastest wind-legal time in the world this year.
Running into a 0.2m/sec headwind and racing in lane four next to rival Asafa Powell, Bolt - with a finger across his lips at the finish - secured his ticket to the World Championships in Berlin.
“I’m feeling good.”
Bolt took control of the race from the 50m mark. Powell, who was quicker out of the blocks, finished second in 9.97 followed by Michael Frater (10.02) in third.
last night sean quigley ran the 5000 in 13:31. he stayed with the lead pack until the last 500, but didn’t quite have the closing speed to hang on. he finished 7th. will try to get some insight from him this week.
delilah finished 5th in her heat of the 3000 steeple in 9:59 to qualify through. the final is on sunday,
in sunday’s final delilah finished 9th with a time of 10:02.14
no surprises in jamaica. bolt cruised through running 10.14 in the first heat of the 100m. all the athletes expected to advance, did.
have fun on your run today.
by Matt Taylor
As a society, we have ADD. There’s no doubt. Look at the last week and how our attention ricocheted from Jon & Kate to Virginia governor AWOL to Shaq to the Cavs to South Carolina governor found in Brazil to Ed McMahon dies to Farrah Fawcett dies to Michael Jackson dies. Three days ago I was running on the treadmill at the gym wondering if the Kate hairstyle would go mainstream; today her hair is a distant memory as an even more distant memory occupies my thoughts - my first vinyl album was Thriller. Poor Farrah and Ed.
Our collective ADD isn’t exclusive to pop culture; it extends deep into the world of track and field. We’re in the middle of another episode.
Two years ago Tyson Gay was the best sprinter on Earth. At the World Champs in Osaka, he won the 100 and 200m dashes as if uncontested. He opened the 2008 season as the favorite to take gold in Beijing. Until May 31st. It was a rainy night at Ichan Stadium in New York City; Bolt blasted by Gay to a World Record 9.72. Blink. We shifted our focus from Gay to Bolt.
But Gay didn’t disappear. He left NYC determined to win gold in Beijing and to prove he could do it, he showed up in Eugene, Oregon two months later at the US Olympic Trials with a mission. I was there. The stadium was electric with anticipation. American track fans needed that record back to prove that the US was faster than Jamaica. (I was conflicted . . . wanted to see my country do well, but also wanted our guy to be the world’s fastest man.)
Gay blasted out of the blocks and ran hard to the line. He hit the tape. 9.68 lit up the scoreboard. The stadium exploded. Then like a pin pricked balloon, the energy deflated. The wind reading was above the maximum allowed (+2.0 m/s).
Bolt was still the fastest man in the world, but Gay would give him a run in Beijing. Or so we thought.
A day or two later, during the final of the 200m dash, Tyson pulled his hamstring running into the curve. He couldn’t finish. His focus for Beijing became singular - win the 100m dash. Meanwhile, Bolt cruised to victories in the Jamaican Champs and then ran a nearly perfect European season, losing only once to Asafa Powell in Stockholm. As Beijing approached, questions surfaced about Gay’s fitness. He wasn’t racing and reports from his camp were that the injury was more severe than first thought.
We all know how it ended: Gay didn’t make it to the final and Bolt celebrated his way to not one, but three World Records. Since Beijing Bolt has been everywhere. His every move is documented (the infamous car crash, saucy dance floor photos, his philanthropy) and his every word dissected. In the track world he is the subject.
Until last night. Remember Tyson Gay?
At last night’s US Champs, Gay ran a wind-aided 9.75 to easily win his heat of the 100m dash. A few weeks earlier he blasted a 19.58 200m in NYC. A man we had dismissed - had totally forgotten - is back in the spotlight. Track fans are salivating for a monster clash in Berlin. Gay is clearly firing on all cylinders while Bolt is rounding into form. If both are 100% in Berlin we could see something special. 9.69 and 19.30 might be marks of the past.
So Gay is back big. Two races, two fast times - 19.58 and 9.75. He won’t run any more at the US Champs because he gets a buy to the Worlds in the 100m and 200m (defending Champions get an automatic buy to the next Champs).
Bolt has shown us flashes of his old form - 9.77 in Ostrava - but also turned in a pedestrian (I say that jokingly) 10.00 clocking in Toronto. He’s admitted that the post-Beijing hoopla wore him down and took him away from training. But he also says that he’s “almost” back to form.
This weekend’s Jamaican Champs will probably produce decent times, but I’m not expecting any world records. I’m guessing 9.75 in the 100m, letting up a bit the last 10 meters, but pushed all the way by Asafa and the youngster Yohan Blake. The 200m will be an easier race for Bolt, but he recently said he needs to run hard in the 200m to “get into shape.” So I’m guessing he runs all the way through the line in 19.58.
After the National Championships of the two fastest countries in the world, their respective fastest men will have the same season-best marks. Seven weeks till Worlds. Pass the Ritalin!
because i’ve become obsessed with jamaican traditions, today we’ve got ziggy, the oldest son of bob marley. matt taylor’s commentary on the bolt vs gay rivalry. where’s my ritalin? religion in jamaica. delilah dicrescenzo. a new bolt speak. hot young hollywood. and fresh updates as news comes in from jamaica and oregon. take a listen to ziggy while you’re reading the day.
