Contact: Melissa Beasley
Communications Coordinator
USA Track & Field
317-261-0478 x335
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.usatf.org
USATF NEWS & NOTES
Volume 3, Number 49
Friday, May 17, 2002
Golden Spike Tour TV Alert
Track and field fans can tune into the adidas Oregon Track Classic, the
first stop on USA Track & Field's Golden Spike Tour, on Saturday (May 18)
from 8-9 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN2.
Please note that the 90-minute national broadcast for the Prefontaine
Classic on May 26 has been changed. The meet, the second stop on the Golden
Spike Tour, will air Sunday, May 26 at 11 p.m. on ESPN2.
Junior athletes tune up for summer events
Racewalking International (RWI) and USA Track & Field will host the USATF
National Youth Road Race Championships on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
The competition is open to all ages and will feature a 3k race for bantam
and midget entrants, a 5k for youth and a 10k for intermediate and youth
divisions.
Final results from Saturday's races will be on the RWI website,
www.worldwidewalkers.net.
Invaders to host USA National Club Championships
The Indiana Invaders will host the second annual USA National Track & Field
Club Championships at the Billy Hayes Track in the Haugh Track and Field
Complex on July 20, 2002. The Haugh Track and Field Complex is located in
Bloomington, Indiana on the campus of Indiana University.
More than 21 clubs and 12,000 athletes from communities in 16 states
competed in the inaugural championships in 2001. The Nashville Elite won the
men�s championships, while the host Invaders won the women�s team title and
the overall Club Championship.
The Invaders will also host the 2003 USA National Track & Field Club
Championships. For more information on the 2002 USA National Track & Field
Club Championships, visit the Indiana Invaders website at
www.indianainvaders.com.
USATF to host Advanced Coaching Summits
USA Track & Field has scheduled two Advanced Coaching Summits for July 6-8
in Boise, Idaho. The three-day event will be broken down to a jumping summit
and a sprints/hurdles summit, and will feature the top names in the sport.
Scheduled to appear for the jumping summit are former world record holder
and Olympic gold medalist Willie Banks and Randy Huntington, the former
coach of current world record holder Mike Powell. For the sprints/hurdles
summit, Loren Seagrave, from Speed Dynamics/IMG will appear along with
coaches from the University of Florida, the University of Tennessee and LSU.
Physiologists, sports psychologists and strength coaches also will make
presentations.
The Advanced Coaching Summits are open to anyone who wishes to attend. The
cost for the three-day seminar is $175, with housing and meals for an
additional fee. For more information, contact Mike Corn,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or login onto the USATF website at
www.USATF.org/coaches/education.
USOC polls movie favorites
Track and field fans are invited to cast their ballots on the United States
Olympic Committee (USOC) Web site, www.usolympicteam.com. (Click on the
Harris Olympic Poll link.) The USOC is conducting a poll to see which
current movie character would best fare in a decathlon. The choices are The
Scorpion King, Anakin Skywalker, Spider Man or Austin Powers.
Remember When - One man, one day, six world records
By Hal Bateman
May 25, 1935 was one of the great days in track and field history. The site
was at Ferry Field at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the meet was the Big 10
Outdoor Championships. One of the stars of the meet was expected to be Ohio
State�s Jesse Owens, who was already the national collegiate sprint
champion.
Owens was entered in four events but his status was questionable because he
had injured his back several days before the meet. On the day of meet, later
known in track and field lore as �The Day of Days,� the weather was warm and
Owens was able to warm up without discomfort. The action for Owens started
at 3:15 p.m. when he easily won the 100 yards in 9.4, equaling the accepted
world records of Frank Wykoff of the U.S. and Daniel Joubert of South
Africa.
At 3:25 p.m., Owens stood at the head of the long jump runway and he eyed
the pit located in front of the stands. Owens took only one jump but he flew
off the takeoff board and added another world record by landing at 26-8.25
(8.13m), a mark that was to last 25 years.
Twenty minutes later, the 220 yards on a straightaway was held and Owens
again won easily, clocking 20.3 to set world records at both 200 meters and
220 yards.
At 4 p.m., Owens had one race left, the 220-yard low hurdles on a
straightaway. Once again, Owens flew down the track and ran 22.6, again
setting records for 200 meters and 220 yards, this time in the hurdles.
Thus in the span of 45 minutes Owens set six world records in four different
events. It was certainly a fabled day in track history and one we may never
see again.
