Sunday, July 6, 2008

I Knew It: Gay Suffers From Hamstring Injury

Eugene, Oregon- During the Olympic track and field trials of the second quarterfinal of the men’s 200 meter dash fans were in awe after watching sprinter Tyson Gay collapse on the track after running a blistering turn off the curb.

As Gay reached the 150 meter mark, he swung in the air and fell to the ground grabbing his hamstring.

Gay swung in the air and fell to the ground grabbing his hamstring.

It was first released that Gay had suffered from a cramp in his hamstring and it was nothing more. Yesterday, Gay stated that he felt tightness in his hamstring during his warm-up.

It was evident in yesterday’s semifinal that Tyson Gay didn’t suffer from a cramp, but strained his hamstring.

Of course, the Olympic track trails is a tedious task for athletes competing in one or two races because it requires athletes to run a quarterfinal, semifinal and final for each race entry.

That means Gay has to compete in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes which equals to racing six times.

This is equivalent to running 3x100 meters + 3x200 meters =900 meters. That’s almost like running 1,000 meters in elite competition.

However, this isn’t the first time athletes that were crowned as the “fastest man” suffered from hamstring injuries.

Remember at the 2000 Olympic track and field trials in Sacramento, California, Olympian and World Record holder Michael Johnson and former World Record holder in the men’s 100 meters, Maurice Greene, pulled up with hamstring injuries during the trial of the 200m dash.

Later they bounced back from their injuries to run at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games to win the 400 meters and 100 meter dashes.

So if, Johnson, Greene, and even the great Jackie Joyner Kersee can bounce back from a hamstring injury and claim Olympic Gold; certainly Tyson Gay can beat the odds.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Wariner loses final to former training partner Merritt

It was a compelling race between former training partners, LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner.

Merritt won the 400 meter race in 44 seconds flat beating defending Olympic gold medalist and former training partner Jeremy Warner.

Warner who finished 44.20 and is no longer under the expertise of former coach Clyde Heart, he found himself struggling the last 100 meters of the race.

Now training under a new coach and racing with a new track spike, Wariner is still managed by Olympian Michael Johnson.

Warner who admitted last night after the 400 meter final that he wasn’t excepting anyone to finish close to him in the race.

Merritt who continued to push the race passed Warner in the home stretch.

It’s interesting how athletes switch coaches once they reached a level of perfection.

Certainly, this can help or hinder an athlete.

In the case of Jeremy Warner, indisputably critics will say that this move has hindered his running performance.

But let’s keep in mind that he was beat at the Olympics Trials not at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Williamses Showdown at Wimbledon

Tomorrow marks the third time siblings Venus and Serena Williams will play each other in the Wimbledon final.

The family affair is sure to bring up a sibling rivalry between two sisters as one will only be able to win.

It’s their seventh Grand Slam title match and they will be able to share it together. The Williams sisters remind me of my relationship with my older sister Ashley.

Ashley and I were similar to the Williamses accept we ran track. But our skill level and devotion allowed us to push each other in track and field. Sure, we competed against each other and ran on relays together.

I guess the most annoying part about my relationship with sister was the fact that I was a middle-distance runner and she was a sprinter- I would always try to compete in her races.

Ashley and I would race against each other from the 100 meters to the 400 meters. We were definitely a dynamic duo known as “the Green sisters.”

Throughout high school and college we always told ourselves that we would be one and two no matter what.

It was in 1998 at the National Junior Olympics Trials that we set a standard for running the 1,600m relay. I would run the lead-off leg and my sister would always anchor the relay.

We were fast and we knew it-everyone envied the Green sisters.

Looking back at out relationship in sports, I can’t help but to imagine the memories the Williamses share competing against each other.

It’s nothing like competing against the best and my sister was the best sprinter I ever raced against.