Wusstet ihr, dass Michael Phelps noch Skills im Minigolf hat? Das Rafael Nadal in 30 Sekunden 24 Tennisbälle unter seinen Armen, seinen Beinen und seinem Kinn einklemmen kann? – Und jetzt könnt ihr sie schlagen!!! Fordere die olympischen Athleten jetzt heraus…

Sutherland, Bronze medalist from Beijing, was 27. Photo from Getty Images

Boxing

Darren Sutherland of Ireland was found dead in his apartment in London. Sutherland was the bronze medalist in the middleweight division at last summer’s Olympics in Beijing. He was found by his manager Frank Maloney, who also trained former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. Sutherland was 4-0 in his professional career after the debut and was scheduled to have his next bout on Oct. 16. He was 27.

Track & Field

Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Carmelita Jeter, Sanya Richards, Bridgette Foster-Hylton and Kenenisa Bekele were among the big winners at the World Athletic Finals in Greece this past weekend. Bolt capped his electrifying 2009 outdoor season with a meet record 19.63 seconds in the men’s 200 meters. American Wallace Spearmon took second in 20.21 seconds. Meanwhile, Jeter ran the third fastest time in the 100-meters, beating out Jamaicans Shelly Ann-Fraser and Kerron Stewart with a blistering time 10.67 seconds.

Gay edged out Asafa Powell yet again in the men’s 100-meters, winning in 9.88 seconds over Powell who finished in 9.90. American Doc Patton was third. Richards continued her undefeated run in the 400 meters, storming back to win in 49.95 seconds over Novelene Williams-Mills (50.34 seconds) and Sherricka Williams (50.49) of Jamaica. Defending world champion Foster-Hylton continued her hot streak, edging out Dawn Harper of the U.S. in the 100-meter hurdles with a winning time of 12.58 seconds.

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia continued his dominance in distance running, beating out Bernard Lagat in the men’s 3000-meters with a time of 8:03.79. Other winners from the World Athletics Final included Americans Allyson Felix, who edged countrywoman Sanya Richards, in the 200, Lashawn Merritt in the men’s 400, Kerron Clement in the men’s 400 hurdles, Bittany Reese in the long jump and Christian Cantwell in men’s shotput. Also winning was world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia in women’s pole vault, Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic in women’s high jump, world champion Ryan Braithwaite of the Bahamas in the men’s 110 hurdles and Melanie Walker of Jamaica in the women’s 400 hurdles.

Soccer

Costa Rica has fired coach Rodrigo Kenton, following the team’s three-game slide in World Cup Qualifying that now has the club looking from the outside of the CONCACAF group which they once lead three weeks ago. Costa Rica is fourth in the group with the No. 4 team facing the No. 5 team from the South American group in a playoff for a spot in next year World Cup Finals in South Africa. They have matches coming up on Oct. 10 against Trinidad & Tobago and close qualifying at the United States in Washington D.C. on Oct. 14.

Gymnastics

Samanth Peszek, who was part of the U.S. women’s  gymnastics team that won silver last summer in Beijing, has pulled out of the gymnastics world championships scheduled to take place Oct. 10-13 in London. Peszek is scheduled to have surgury to repair a torn labrum. The shoulder injury also kept her from competing in the all-around competition in last month’s national championships, but she placed second in the balance beam. Peszek, who was one of the 10 gymnast selected to participate in the selection camp at the Karolyis ranch in Houston, is the second such gymnast to pull out for the Americans. Olympic all-around champ Nastia Liukin withdrew a couple of weeks ago, citing a lack of training for her reason.

-B. Cox

Het is Powell dat de knopjes bestuurde. Hij weet blijkbaar meer van bussen dan ik.

Voor alle duidelijkheid, het was een bedrijf dat bussen levert aan Jamaica. Dit was een specialer model met een Jamaicaanse vlag aan de voorkant van de bus geprint. (Voor op de foto natuurlijk)

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Vandaag had ik erg veel geluk toen ik met mijn moeder meekon naar een voorstelling van VDL Holding Belgium.
Ze legden hun medewerking met Jamaica uit en toonden hun atelier aan Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser, de coach van het Jamaicaanse team, de ambassadeur van Jamaica, focus WTV en nog enkele anderen.

Ik kon er vrij foto’s nemen en zal om te beginnen dit portret van Asafa Powell tonen.

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La Golden League continua en Zúrich, Suiza en su quinta y penútima fase.

Estos son los resultados más importantes:

• La rusa Yelena Isinbayeva registró 5.06 metros lo que es un nuevo récord mundial en el salto con pértiga. Isinbayeva con esto borra sus últimas presentaciones en las que fue derrotada por Anna Rogowska y a la vez batiendo su propio récord impuesto en Beijing 2008 de 5.05 metros.
• Usain Bolt sigue demostrando que es el hombre más rápido del mundo al adjudicarse la prueba de los 100 metros planos con 9.81 segundos por delante de su compatriota Asafa Powell que terminó con 9.88. El jamaiquino esta vez no impuso una nueva marca pero mantiene su hegemonía sobre los demás corredores.
• Kenenisa Bekele de Etiopía, triunfó en los 5000 metros con un tiempo de 12.52.32 minutos, que a su vez es el mejor tiempo de la presente temporada.
• La estadounidense Sanya Richards estableció el mejor crono del año con 48.94 segundos en la prueba de los 400 metros.
• Para finalizar en los relevos 4×100 masculinos, Jamaica derrotó a Estados Unidos por solo tres centésimas. Los jamaiquinos registraron 37.70 segundos y los estadounidenses 37.73.

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

~  Jack London

Photo: Mr. T in DC

I’ve received many questions as of late asking, in essence, what it is that I consider to be the proper method and duration for an adequate warm-up.  The truth of the matter is that — like the workout methodology itself — there is no one-size-fits-all, correct answer.  There are, however, a couple of basic, all-encompassing statements I can make about a proper warm-up, and those would be:

(1) make the warm-up ballistic and/or dynamic in nature, (2) make it intense enough, and of a long enough duration (but not longer), so that you’re primed (CNS and muscle/ligament structure) and ready for the actual meat of the workout, and (3) I’d much rather see someone go a little overboard on the warmup than to short-change the endeavor. Take it from someone who is (your choice) either (a) hard-headed or (b) just plain dim-witted enough to have made this mistake (and more than once, I hate to admit); just about every sporting injury I’ve suffered since my actual on-the-field days can be traced back to a poor warm-up prior to the injury. 

That said, when the warm-up is completed, your body ought to be primed to explode, and this includes the central nervous system.  Long, slow and passive stretching is no way to accomplish this task, as this type of stretching actually blunts the body’s speed/power response — the antithesis of what you want prior to hitting it hard and heavy in the gym or on the field or track.  Reserve static stretching, if you still wish to incorporate it, into the cool-down session.   I believe that yoga and yoga-like stretching is a fabulous workout in and of  itself, and can be a useful augmentation to a successful power-oriented, exercise program at certain distinct points within the overall marocycle (or even a stand-alone program in the right circumstance).   These types of movements are not, however, good lead-in’s to a dynamic, power-oriented session.  A skilled carpenter chooses the correct tool for each particular application, and methodology-matching for various training applications is no different.

I can tell you this: I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time warming up.  The fact that I don’t have the luxury of extra time to spend dilly-dallying has much to do with this.  The other thing is that I don’t particularly like to spend much time warming-up; I’d rather get to “the good stuff” as soon as possible.   Another thing I can tell you is that I’m not one to “ease” into my warmup, even prior to my early morning workout sessions.  For example, most mornings the first thing I do at the gym is alternating 20 meter skips and sprints.  The only “ease in” I incorporate is that I begin at about a 3/4 effort for the first 2 or 3 efforts.  After that, it’s full throttle, game-on.  In fact, many have mentioned to me things along the line of “damn, man — don’tcha warm-up before your workout?”  Uhh, well, this is my warm-up…

Now, while I might not have the luxury of time, I do have the luxury of a 200 meter (roughly) indoor track at my facility, so the bulk of my warm-up, even prior to a weight session, is comprised of short sprints, skips, lunges, ballistic toe-touching and such.  Usually, I’ll throw in a few reps and varieties of power pull-ups as well.  Check out this video clip from Mike Young of EliteTrack, as he talks about a lot of the stuff that I like to incorporate into my own warm-up sessions.  These are the kinds of warmup exercise I do directly out of the chute, even on those before-the-ass-crack-of-dawn sessions.  Also, Mike has an informative companion article, here.  Then, if my session involves hitting the weights, I’ll perform a round or two of  the Bergener Warm-up.  From there, I might do a round or two of my actual workout for the day, building up to my working weight for that particular session’s exercises.  I can tell you that, as a rough gauge, my warm-ups, even on the coldest of days, rarely last longer than 15 minutes or so.  I am, however, in constant motion during that time.

Curious as to how a world class sprinter goes about warming-up prior to a working session?  Well, here are a couple of video clips of Asafa Powell and Powell’s (and the MVP club of Jamaica) coach, Steven Francis going through a pre-workout warmup routine.  Notice how none of the sprinters in these clips would necessarily be considered outlandishly flexible.  I think there is most deffinately a point of diminished returns when it comes to flexibility and speed and/or strength.  Also note that “flexibility”, per se, is not the point of the warmup routine — properly priming the CNS, musculature, ligaments and supporting structure, along with increasing the body’s core temperature (and an increased heartrate) is the focus and only goal of the pre-workout warmup.

…and part 2

And you certainly don’t have to have an indoor track available to perform an adequate warm-up.  Just be creative, with exercises such as the Russian Lunge Scissor Jump, for example, are great ways to warm-up.  The take home point here is that the pre-workout warmup ought to be ballistic manner, and challenging enough to prime your CNS and raise your core temperature; cool down, if you wish (I don’t, but that’s just my preference) with whatever passive stretching you feel you need.

In Health,

Keith

Read the debate intro and Loyal Homer’s argument that Usain Bolt is the most dominant athlete ever.

While some celebrate Bolt’s “energy-saving” runs (you know, the ones where he is playing to the cameras and crowds while the race is still taking place), have we ever seen Bolt actually give everything he has in a race? I do not think we have. It is that air of potential that fills the heads of admirers and keeps everyone believing there is something more… something greater he can do that we have not seen yet. For me, that is one of a few reasons why Usain Bolt cannot be considered the most dominant athlete of all time.

Competition

Is Usain Bolt facing the best sprinters – the cream of the worldwide sprinting crop – during his brief streak of dominance? No. Arguably the two most formidable opponents Bolt has raced against are fellow countryman Asafa Powell and the USA’s best sprinter Tyson Gay. Powell runs the anchor leg in the 4×100 meter and has held down gold for his country twice in the last years. But Powell did not place in the 100 meter race at the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing, China. In fact, the most recent World Championships in 2007 – where the stiffest track and field competition congregates – Powell is twice a bronze medalist. Gay swept to gold in the 100 meter, 200 meter and in the 4×100 relay race at the World Championships in 2007. However, those are easily the crowning achievements of his career, and though a hamstring injury complicated his training schedule, he claims it did not impact his below-expectations performance in the ‘08 Olympics. Thus far, those are the best runners Bolt has faced – and neither has put enough pressure on him to raise his game. It is truly Bolt versus the clock. Is Bolt facing the best track and field sprinters ever? Doubtful.

Regarding Bolt’s impressive margins of victory at the World Champions… the lack of a true competitor makes Bolt appear more dominant than he actually is. Using margin of victory to argue in favor of Bolt’s dominance is like saying the Florida Gator’s football team should be considered the most dominant of all time because they likely will beat Charleston-Southern by 73 points when the season kicks off. Using margin of victory as a primary metric for judging dominance is misleading.

Technology

“Which clock is Bolt racing?” you may be asking. It is the electronic one. The electronic clock that was not used to time races until 1968. The frustrating pace of technology, eh? We will never know if there was a more dominant runner because the time keeping devices were not as sophisticated then as they are now. Also, consider the technology of apparel. While Bolt would be fast in a lead coat and high heels, he is gaining the advantage of the lightest running shoes ever designed and specially designed aerodynamic clothing. My hunch is that a sprinter like Carl Lewis could have shaved a tenth off of his formerly impressive 9.86 100 meter run way back in 1991 with the advances in technology that have transpired since he last laced ‘em up.

Longevity

Bolt, basically, has had two really good weekends. To be considered the most dominant athlete of a sport ever, that dominance must be maintained over a long period of time. Consider USA sprinter Carl Lewis. Lewis won his first gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games – one of four he won at the event, three in running (the 100, 200, and 4×100 relay) AND one in the long jump. An impressive, truly dominant performance that goes beyond the confines of supposed specialized abilities in running. Four years later he again won the 100 meter race and the long jump, winning silver in the 200 meter race. In 1992 he again resurfaced to win two more gold medals in the 4×100 relay and the long jump. In 1996 – 12 years after he first won an Olympic gold – Lewis again takes the gold in the long jump. That is the picture of an athlete that dominated an era, at least. Lewis was a winner in multiple events over the course of 12 impressive years. Winning is great. To be considered dominant an athlete must win for many years. Bolt is not there yet.

Youth

Believe it or not, Usain Bolt is still a relative new comer to track and field. At just 23 years of age he has a bright future ahead of him. While he burst onto the scene in Bejing last year – winning gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and running the third leg of the 4×100 relay – the 2009 World Championships are just the second time Bolt has dominated the competition. At the World Championships in 2007 Bolt was defeated in the 200 meter race by USA’s Tyson Gay.

Renaissance Man?

Perhaps Bolt is a victim of the age of sports he lives in – the age of specialization. In a sports era that has berthed such oddities as the middle reliever in baseball, the third down back in football, and a defensive MVP in basketball, Bolt fits right in. He is very “now.” He might even be “next.” But he is not “context.” In an era of specialists and one-dimensional athletes Bolt is specialized in a way Carl Lewis was not. Lewis’ ability to branch out beyond his single defined capability – sprinting – vaulted him to dominant status.

Bolt is not even former US sprinter Michael Johnson, yet. Johnson’s excellence stirred up this same debate in the late 1990’s. Johnson, similar to Lewis, won a gold medal in three consecutive Olympic Games – an incredible feat (pun very much intended). But, for all the flash (remember those sweet gold shoes?) and the seeming dominance, history has put Johnson’s impressive accomplishments into context. He was a great runner, perhaps the finest of his era. But for all the dominance he exhibited during his time atop the sprinting mountain, he is simply the best of an era. Perhaps the same is true of Bolt… perhaps not. Bolt may be on the verge of writing an unprecedented chapter in history. Perhaps. Right now Bolt has a long way to go.

The just concluded 12th IAAF World Championship showed us what perservance and determination is all about from a Jamaican perspective.

I grew up seeing Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, Grace Jackson-Small and Winthrop Graham to name a few, competing and making us proud on the World Athletics stage. Even though we knew that Jamaica should be in the Top 5 it never happened at that time. The experts and sports enthusiasts wondered and pondered why. With all the success of our previous athletes at these meets we would come away with a 8th or 10th spot.

Even at the age of 12 I knew that these athletic meets were full of performance enhancement athletes and hence the ones who were running clean were unable to get their just rewards.

I am writing this to show us in the HIV community if we apply these two ingredients, perseverance and determination, as the Jamaicans have done, then we can make it. We all can be a Merlene Ottey and an Asafa Powell in our own little ways.

Merlene Ottey

We affectionately called her our Bronze Queen. Each time she ran a race it was done with grace and poise even when they cheated her. How can we apply this in our life as HIV-infected persons? Each time you are taking the medication don’t see it as a negative. Take the medication with love and understanding. Instead of saying “Time for the dreaded pills’ say “It is time for my vitamins.”

You will be surprised to see the difference in your body’s reactions. Remember your mind is a powerful tool and the message you send there is what will be forwarded to the rest of the body’s members.

Asafa Powell

He is affectionately called the Sprint Prince but for me he is the Sprint King. Asafa has never won an individual Gold medal but he is the first person to take the 100m World Record to this small island Jamaica. Other Jamaicans had it before, but not under the Jamaican Flag.

Asafa’s humility and persevering attitude as a team player is what stands out the most to me. He is always there when he is needed and never backs down even when negatives are spurted at him. By adopting this attitude we will fight self discrimination. You never hear Asafa talking negative, neither does he apply excuses if he doesn’t achieve his goal. If we want to live a long and fulfilled life living with HIV then we have to forget the negatives and stop the excuses.

HIV/AIDS discrimination has changed over the years just as how athletics has. It has now becoming a cleaner sport and its credibility is now creeping back thanks to those athletes that have maintained a performance enhancement drug-free life. The fight against self-discrimination can be stopped as well if we are determined to put aside the negatives that we build around HIV/AIDS in our lives.

Join a support group either in your country or online. Think positively and always remember to LOVE yourself because no one can LOVE you the way you do.

Congratulations to the Jamaican contingent to the 2009 Athletics World Championship; once again you make me very proud to be a Jamaican.

I have to admit that I am sentimental when it comes to former Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie, but no one can not deny Mr. Bolt for his talent and abilities. When I first heard of Usian Bolt, I was amazed of the fact that he was a 400m runner who wanted to switch to the sprint double. I was drawn to that story, because I was a track and field athlete in high school who actually moved from running the 400m to the sprint double. In fact its quite an adjustment from 400m to the 100m and 200m, and this takes getting used to.

At the last Olympics I could not help cheering for Usain although he was going up against Asafa Powell – and it can be said that I am an unapologetic “homer” when it comes to “Safa”. But in life, you have to appreciate greatness and recognize talent for what it is. So maybe you call it bandwagon jumping, but I call it loyalty to my roots or part of it so to speak.

Usain Bolt is this once in a life time phenomenal athlete that I believe have several more record breaking performance in him. He runs with such ease and unlike the other sprinters in the past, he manages to stay loose. You might be wondering how sprinters from this little island cranks it up race after race to finish on top. But Jamaica’s track and field stars are born at the elementary and middle school level. Athletes are able to determine their strengths and weaknesses at an early age.

Whether there is another specimen like Usain Bolt, one will never know until a few years from now when “Lightning” exits stage left, and in my ideal world become a high flying wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. Bolt’s record breaking sprint double at the recently concluded World Games will just be another measuring stick for his next race, as I feel he has a 9.4 seconds in him for that 100m.

So lets put out hands together and cheer for this freak of nature sprinter from the little island of Jamaica, not at all forgetting Asafa Powell and his contribution to the history books as well.

Qual o segredo da Jamaica?

O domínio indiscutível da Jamaica nas provas de velocidade, tanto femininas como masculinas, dos Jogos Olímpicos de Pequim e do Mundial de Atletismo de Berlim, com destaque para o fenômeno Usain Bolt, faz com que muitos questionem se a chave não reside no fato da ilha ter recebido os escravos mais fortes…

>>Clique aqui e acesse a Matéria Completa<<

I still can’t believe what I saw. I can tell you what I feel though: A surge of national pride from watching Usain Bolt stride past a pack of very fast men to break a second world record this week.

200 metres in 19.19 seconds.

100 metres in 9.58 seconds.

What?!

A few weeks ago, London hosted an athletics grand prix. A gang of us packed up bully beef an’ hardough bread sandwiches, bun an’ cheese and rum punch and drove down there to see The Bolt. And we weren’t disappointed. Surrounded by a stands pumping out yellow and green, Jamaica’s national colours, we watched The Bolt cruise to an easy victory. That was amazing. Like mouth-hanging-open amazing, even from 500 yards away.  He was dancing. We were dancing.

Fast forward a few weeks to Berlin and The Bolt is looking confident, his usual jovial self. And focused. Jamaica is at the top of the medal count in world athletics. Also today in Berlin, Melaine Walker made quick work of her hurdle final, leaving daylight behind her competitors. And yesterday, the 34-year old Bridget Foster-Jones finally got her gold medal. My likke island in the sun, man!

Celebrate this for a long time, folks. Big tings a gwan. I just called my mom and she was just bubbling with joy. I can’t stop smiling.

To all the Jamaican athletes, THANK YOU!

Bolt and Asafa Powell in yellow. Actually, Bolt towering over Powell, both in yellow.

Now squint and you can see the big man loose and relaxed, dancing.

And here was our opportunity to yell and scream as he made his victory lap.

By Chris Le

Another race, another world record.

On Sunday, at the Track and Field World Championships in Berlin, Usain Bolt pistol-whipped the 100-meter field, breaking the finish line in a world-record 9.58 seconds.

If you’re unfamiliar with track and field or if you’re the average, Customary System-loving Yankee who can’t quantify 100 meters and the idea of traversing such a distance in 9.58 seconds can’t register in your head, check this: Bolt ran, considering acceleration, at the average speed of 23.35 miles per hour and approached a top speed of 28 miles per hour.  That makes Bolt the fastest biped in the world that’s not an ostrich or kangaroo (which can reach a hopping speed near 44 miles per hour).

But it’s not just the speed at which he travels that amazes, it’s also his atypical body for a sprinter.  Past record holders hover around six feet: Tyson Gay, 5’11; Maurice Green, 5’9; Donovan Bailey, 6’0.  Bolt, who measures at six feet, five inches, one hundred ninety pounds, and endowed with the fastest of fast-twitch musculature, moves in ways a man his size shouldn’t be capable of.  Watching Bolt run, you begin to think that if there is a God, he was generous the day he created Bolt.

No other human comes close.  In the finals, to Bolt’s right ran Gay and Asafa Powell — holders of the next two fastest 100-meter times ever — and yet Bolt instantly eliminated any notions of contention.  Gay and Powell ran the race of their careers, and all they received in return was a feature in Bolt’s highlight reel.  No other athlete makes his craft seem so effortless.  Which naturally leads to the question: Who is the world’s best?

The only possible candidates for Most Dominant Athlete are Michael Phelps, Roger Federer, Manny Pacquiao, Tiger Woods, and of course, Usain.

But do any of them compare to the Lightning Bolt?

Take the Olympics.  Bolt so comfortably distanced himself from the field that he pulled up after 70 meters, jogged the last thirty and still broke the world record.  And this was in the Olympic Finals.  No other athlete has the ability and, most tellingly, the cajones to be so brazenly confident.

Michael Phelps can’t afford the luxury of decelerating to gaze back at his competitors on the final leg of a meet.  Roger Federer isn’t so assured as to cede a set, knowing he’ll win the next two (though, granted, he’s cocksure enough to make a jacket stitched with the number fifteen, before winning his fifteenth major).  I’ll make out with Emmanuelle Chriqui before Manny Pacquiao plays defensive and surrenders the championship rounds, thinking he has the previous nine in the bag.  And Tiger Woods — well, given his year and his recent withering at the PGA Championship, I think it’s safe to say Woods is out of the running … until next year.

I'm more likely to show her my 'O' face.

Only Pacquiao and Phelps can challenge Bolt for the title.

Since a late career metamorphosis, aided by trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao has sent back all challengers regretful, and usually in a heap on the canvas.  Entering boxing at flyweight (106 pounds) and being most comfortable at featherweight (126 pounds), Pacquiao has risen as far as welterweight (147 pounds) to face all comers, most recently against Ricky Hatton (KO 2), and most famously opposite Oscar De La Hoya (TKO 8).

Pacquiao is the best boxer in the world.  But I say that with a little hesitation, and that little hiccup is typically brought about by the recently retired and un-retired Floyd Mayweather, who not too long ago held Pacquiao’s pound-for-pound crown.

There’s no such pause when discussing today’s greatest runner.  The answer is immediately Usain Bolt.  Whether it’s sprinting or long distance, there’s no better track athlete.

But it can be argued that Michael Phelps, swimming wonder and out-of-pool douche, has the upper hand against Bolt.  Unlike Bolt, Phelps has mastered a wider range of strokes (butterfly, freestyle, medley) and distances (100-, 200-, 400-meter), amassing 14 Olympic gold medals and six world records.

Because of his range and overall dominance, I’m going with Phelps.

What say you?