Brown’s breezy 9.88 dash at Trinidad & Tobago Champs

Sunday 24 June 2007

Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago - Darrel Brown sizzled down the 100m straight at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, on Saturday (23).

The 22-year-old sprint star scorched the Mondo track in a wind-assisted 9.88 seconds to strike gold in the Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championship men’s 100 metres.

World Junior champion Rhonda Watkins, 19, took her third national women’s Long Jump title.

Another 9.8? - “I have to. Tyson (Gay) is running” in Osaka

With a 3.0 metres per second wind at his back, Darrel Brown bolted to victory in the 100m, ahead of Richard Thompson, the silver medallist in 9.95, and 19-year-old Keston Bledman (10.05). Marc Burns was fourth in 10.06, one spot ahead of dethroned champion Jacey Harper (10.15).

Thompson, who clocked a personal best 10.09 in winning his semi-final heat, got out well in the final. Brown’s mid-race surge, though, was a bit too much for the Louisiana State University (LSU) sprinter to handle, the 2001 champion reclaiming his national sprint crown with a silky smooth dash.

“I’m satisfied,” Jamaica-based Brown said shortly after his breathtaking bolt, “because last week in Oslo I felt my left hamstring tighten up on me. Coach told me to come down here and just do enough to win but I had to go down a little more…Richard was some stiff competition.”

When the clockings were announced over the public address system, Thompson excitedly acknowledged the cheers of his supporters.

Brown was very impressed with the challenge offered by Thompson.

“I was told to hold back a bit. I held back but when I glanced and saw Richard a little way in front I had to get up in gear a little more.”

Like Thompson, Bledman produced a new PB (personal best) in the semi-final round, the junior sprinter finishing second to Thompson in heat one in 10.14 seconds.

Brown is planning to compete at a few meets in Europe, ahead of next month’s Pan Am Games, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 2003 World Championship silver medallist is hoping his European stint will produce another 9.8 run, but without an illegal following wind. “I have to. Tyson (Gay) is running.”

Bolt counters US 200m fireworks with 19.75 PB of his own – Jamaican Champs, Final Day

Kingston, Jamaica - World Junior record holder Usain Bolt has signalled his intention to challenge American Tyson Gay and others for the World 200m title in Osaka this summer with an impressive 19.75 run at the Jamaican National Championships on Sunday (24). Bolt's run makes him the 9th equal fastest runner of all-time which ties him with USA’s Carl Lewis (1983) and Joe DeLoach (1988).
National record


The 19.75 time is also a Jamaican record, beating the previous best of 19.86 held by 1976 Olympic Games 200m gold medallist Donald Quarrie since 1971.
The 20-year-old Bolt, who won his semi-final heat in 20.50, had promised the Jamaican record with good weather in the final, and held up to that pledge in a near perfect 0.2m/s wind.
He also said, watching Gay's blistering 19.63 seconds win at the USA Championships, the second fastest time in history, motivated him to run fast.

“I saw the race (on TV), and he was very impressive and that helped motivated me to run fast,” said Bolt, who defeated Chris Williams (20.24) and Clement Campbell (20.29).
Bolt also promised “I am getting there, I am still working hard towards that (beating Gay),” he added.

“It's a great feeling to break the record. I told Donald Quarrie the last time I saw him in Lausanne that I was going to break the record this season,” added the excited Bolt.
Bolt, who set the World junior record of 19.93 at the Carifta Games in 2004, said hard work this season was what paid off for him. “I guess the hard work pays off, because I have been working hard all season,” he added.
"Not surprised"

Quarrie, who went to congratulate Bolt on a very good run, said “I was not surprised” he broke the record.
“He ran very, very well, he ran relaxed, I think what helped a lot he was confident, know one in the race could beat him,” added Quarrie.
“What I am hoping is for him to take the same mentality with a relax attitude when he run against a guy like Tyson Gay,” said Quarrie.

Gay runs 19.62, the second fastest 200m in history – USA Champs,

Indianapolis, USA - Tyson Gay completed the sprint double on the fourth and final day of senior action at the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday (24) by running the 200m in the second-fastest time in history.
The championships were the national trials for the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka, Japan (25 Aug to 2 Sep 2007).


If you had any doubts about Tyson Gay, forget them. Today in the USATF men’s 200 metres, Gay ran a turn for the ages and strode home to win by nearly three metres in 19.62 seconds.
Gay’s teammate, Wallace Spearmon, was second in 19.89, and Rodney Martin was third in 20.18 and World and Olympic 400m champion Jeremy Wariner fourth in 20.35.
Spearmon, who last year had run 19.65, was in lane 5, just inside Gay. With Walter Dix and Xavier Carter not in the race, Spearmon was his only real opposition, and his strategy was simple: “to get away from Wallace Spearmon as fast as I could.”

Happiness and sadness for Powell camp

There was joy and agony for the MVP training group, as while World 100m record holder Asafa Powell powered somewhat stiffly to a 9.94 (+0.9m/s wind) win in the men’s 100m, his training companion Sherone Simpson, who was the fastest female 100/200m sprinter last summer, finished dead last in visible pain in the women’s dash. After being withdrawn from last weekend’s Eugene meeting the rumours had been that Simpson was carrying a quad injury, but after tonight’s disappointment her management confirmed that her right hip flexor has been troubling her for a couple of weeks and this accounted for her easing up at 60 metres.

Everybody Into the Pool

But over the past four days of twice-daily two-hour sessions, Olsen has shown just what a miracle worker a top coach can be. Thanks to a series of progressive drills, in-the-pool demonstrations, computerized stroke analysis and spot-on analogies, he has helped me reprise “Pygmalion” in the pool.Sometime on the second day, I had my breakthrough. I had just finished a drill Jon had invented to show how you can keep your arms in a fixed position but still pull water by rolling side to side. The drill had yet to be named, so I dubbed it the landed tuna.

As I caught my breath afterward, Olsen explained the arm positions he wanted me to assume during two key phases of the stroke: the underwater catch (where your arm and hand are outstretched in front of you and sink slightly before grabbing an initial “hold” on the water) and the recovery (where your opposite arm swings forward through the air before re-entering the water).

To explain the catch, Olsen described how he cleaned up logs after a hurricane. “This is how I want your catch to look,” he said, mimicking the curled-over, high-elbow position he used to reach over a log and scoop it up. I visualized my underwater arm moving from a sinking horizontal spear to this high-elbow, log-grappling configuration.

For the recovery phase, he had another apt analogy: a backhoe. At this, Olsen pointed his out-of-the-water elbow skyward while letting his forearm and fingertips hang down in a loose, relaxed posture. Pantomiming a backhoe, he moved his elbow forward while swiveling and extending his forearm until the fingertips naturally speared the water surface.

In Olsen’s view, efficient swimming is like rowing a single scull: a moment of explosive propulsion followed by a nearly effortless, recuperative glide. Plenty of swimmers focus on maximizing propulsion but ignore the glide. The fastest swimmers are not the most powerful but the most efficient.

As I stroke-glided, stroke-glided toward the wall on my final 150 meters, somehow everything was clicking. But I was officially dead, my limbs leaden with lactate.

Exhausted, I was no longer capable of thinking about what I was doing here, but it felt right — like when you finally relax your eyes enough for one of those 3-D pictures to snap into recognition.

“Your stroke held up pretty good,” Olsen said, beaming a little. “How’s it feel?”

When I was capable of speaking again, I started to blurt out, “Almost natural,” but caught myself. “Less unnatural.”

He smiled encouragingly. “The best time to fight old habits and make corrections is when you’re going smooth and slow,” he said. “Really think about what you’re doing during warm-up or warm-down or easy swims between hard sets. But when you’re doing hard sets or racing, turn the brain off and just let your body go on its own.” The new stroke, he said, will eventually become second nature.

After two months of practice, I find myself on the blocks at a meet in Virginia, awaiting the start of the 100-yard freestyle. It’s not my best competitive distance, but it’s the benchmark by which I measure my downward slide toward dotage.

My brain, as Olsen recommended, is completely shut off now, although the reason is less volitional than viral. I’ve never had a cold this bad at any swimming meet in my entire life. My original goal of breaking 54 seconds has changed drastically. I just want to finish without having to be fished out of the pool.

Even after a lifetime of “Rocky” movies, I can’t quite believe what happens next, because it has such a feel-good unreality to it: 52.69 seconds after the start, I hit the touchpad. I have to look at the clock three times to convince myself I’m not hallucinating.

This is the fastest I’ve swum in five years — and less than a half-second off my high school best. Bless you, Jon Olsen!

If I can just hold on to this speed a little longer, a world record in the 100-to-104 age group looks inevitable.

GO HERE TO STOKE YOUR STROKE

THE RACE CLUB

Specializing in “creative training for fast swimming,” the Race Club accommodates swimmers 8 years old and up year-round. The camps usually run from one to six days, but you can customize your own (starting at $265, not including hotel). theraceclub.net.

ADVANCED SWIM CAMPS

Five-day camps are held in Tampa and San Francisco for swimmers as young as 5. Twice-daily training sessions feature frame-by-frame video analysis to cut stroke count by a guaranteed 30 percent ($2,975, plus meals and hotel). somaxsports.com/swimcamp.htm.

LA LOMA ALTITUDE TRAINING CENTER

Located 6,233 feet above sea level in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, La Loma has played host to club swimmers as well as Olympians like Michael Phelps and Kaitlin Sandeno ($55 per day, including meals and lodging). Altitudeswimming.Com.

TOTAL IMMERSION

Specializing in stroke improvement, T.I. conducts hundreds of workshops around the country each year as well as an open-water swim camp in the Bahamas during the winter (starting at $495 for a weekend workshop). totalimmersion.net.

FASTER FREESTYLE

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JON OLSEN

1. Keep your head down. Forget the old idea of keeping your head high enough so that the water hits you in the forehead. You’ll move faster and with less resistance by keeping your head on an even plane with your body, as if you were standing and looking straight ahead.

2. Think scull, not plow. As much as possible, try to stay horizontal in the water. Good head position will definitely help. You don’t want your feet and hips to drop and drag, which only makes you plow through the water and, in effect, swim uphill. Avoid arching your back, and try to stay flat, long and streamlined — like a single scull skimming through the water. When your body position is right, it can almost feel like you’re swimming downhill.

3. Recruit the core. Coordinate your kick, body rotation, catch and pull to allow your core muscles to do as much of the heavy lifting as possible. Relying too much on your arms and shoulders will make you slower and more prone to injury.

4. Avoid crossing over. Imagine a line bisecting your body vertically. Many swimmers, especially when breathing, have a tendency to let their hands cross this line during the pull.

5. Finish your stroke. Pushing up or down against the water wastes energy and contributes nothing. Make sure your propulsive efforts keep you moving in a horizontal vector. From the initial catch to the final push of each arm stroke, keep your fingertips pointed toward the bottom of the pool. As your underwater hand moves in front of your head, and then parallel to your body, and then back toward your thigh, your wrist should adjust to ensure that your palms and fingertips pull, then push, the water horizontally toward your feet.

Everybody Into the Pool

Founders Park pool in Islamorada, Fla., is a 50-meter oasis of fresh water flanked by the turquoise Gulf of Mexico, a rock’s throw to the west, and the white-capped Atlantic, a quarter-mile to the east.

This self-proclaimed “sport-fishing capital of the world” is as close as I’ve come to finding aquatic paradise. I’m just trying my best not to, in the parlance of our sport, die here.

A four-time Olympic gold medalist, Jon Olsen, my instructor at the Race Club Swim Camp, has other ideas. “Go!” he says, clicking his stopwatch. Thus begins the last of 6x150-meter fast swims separated by 20 seconds of rest. Push off, streamline, glide, explosive kick, breakout, high-elbow catch, pull, recovery: with each facet of my newly refined freestyle technique, I try to stay focused on the minutiae Olsen has taught me.

Focus, alas, is becoming impossible. Lactate, the “make it burn” juice so familiar to competitive swimmers, is rushing through my bloodstream. My arms and legs are fast turning to stone, precisely my affable mentor’s intention. In the face of cognitive collapse and myofibril failure, will the new “muscle memory” hold? Or will I fall victim to muscle amnesia and beat a thrashing retreat to the familiar flaws I’ve come here to correct?

Since the Race Club was founded — in 2003 by Gary Hall Jr. and his father, Gary Hall Sr. (the only father-and-son duo to compete in three Olympics each) — ranks of us rank amateurs have flocked here in the hope of finding lasting improvement. Attendees have included middle-aged runners and cyclists whose goal of completing an Ironman had been thwarted by an inability to swim without floaties. Kids as young as 8 have come, too, bringing families in tow for a vacation in the Keys.

The most common species of camper seems to be masters swimmers, adults like myself who have become addicted to the way regular workouts make us feel. As is the case with recreational golfers, an amateur swimmer’s intrinsic abilities bear little relation to a willingness to invest in improvement. Take the fellow swimming next to me, a 29-year-old Ãbermensch from Germany whose strokes look unimprovable. This is his second pilgrimage to the Race Club. He’s hoping Olsen’s genius for stroke analysis and biomechanical tweaking will let him place higher at — maybe even win — the upcoming European Masters Championships.

I, by contrast, am a 54-year-old Untermensch from Pittsburgh, an old doggy hoping to master a new paddle to save my rotator cuffs, which have become so infirm that I’ve given up the butterfly and the backstroke. I now concentrate only on freestyle — my best hope for placing in the top 10 in the world rankings next summer when I “age up” to the 55-to-59 bracket.

To date, the best I’ve ever placed is fourth — in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle — which happened the last time I aged up, five years ago, to the 50-to-54 bracket. My only realistic hope for ever placing first is outliving the competition and winning in the 100-to-104 age bracket. This might seem like a joke, but it truly is my long-term goal. The only way I can accomplish it is to stay healthy. Hence my pilgrimage to the Race Club.

“Shoulders are our most priceless commodities,” Olsen, 38, tells me as we review my “before” underwater video on his laptop. “Swimming with the correct technique will take pressure off your shoulder joints and hopefully help you avoid the career-ending injuries we see in lots of swimmers.”

The key to doing this, he explains, is to shift the heavy lifting from my arms to my core muscles. The best swimmers are able to coordinate their kick, torso rotation and arm pulls to harness a much more powerful, and efficient, propulsion than those who rely on arm strength alone.

Truth be known, I’ve been reading articles on “core recruitment” for years now, but I’ve never been able to translate the words to the water. Moreover, a dispiriting series of salsa-dancing lessons last fall left me convinced that a guy with my spectacular lack of body awareness probably never will.

Hardcore Training

PLYOMETRIC TRAINING

PLYOMETRIC TRAINING

Plyometric exercises are the rapid deceleration and acceleration of muscles that create a stretch-shortening cycle. The exercises train the muscles, connective tissue and nervous system to effectively carry out the stretch-shortening cycle, thereby improving an athlete's performance. Plyometric drills can be a fundamental part of training for each and every event in sport. Most competitive sports require a rapid deceleration of the body followed by almost immediate acceleration in the opposite direction.

Plyometric drills help develop rhythm, speed, power and even muscular endurance. Plyometrics, used correctly and for a specific purpose, can be a tremendous asset to your individual athlete as well as to the general and specific conditioning of your entire sport program.
Coaches' Guidelines for Teaching Plyometrics
All plyometric exercises must be done in flats on a soft surface.
Start with one set of each exercise, working toward three more sets.
Judge whether the athlete has the proper motor skills for properly executing the drills. If the athlete has poor form, stop the drill.
Always start with simple drills and progress to more difficult.
Properly warm-up and stretch before each plyometric workout and follow with a proper cool-down.
Have the athletes execute the drills with 100 percent effort to ensure best training results.
Take a 1-2 minute rest between successive exercise sequences.
Perform a number of repetitions according to the intensity of the drill and the condition of the athlete. The athlete will only benefit from reps performed properly.
Never perform plyometric drills on the same day as a weight training session.
Each set should last no longer than 6-8 seconds.
Full recovery should occur between sets.
Start with easy exercises and develop in intensity and complexity.
Stop before fatigue breaks down technique.
Always emphasize proper technique.
Integrate plyometrics as a part of the training program.
Remember a large part of the initial training may be spent on teaching your athletes.

Plyometric Drills
Exploding Harvards
Reps: 10 jumps each leg; gradually increase to 20 jumps each leg

Purpose

Introduce athletes to plyometric training

Equipment
Box or step to create knee angle of 80-120 degrees

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position facing box
Step one foot up onto box; weight is forward and over flexed leg on box
Arms are in sprint motion
Powerfully push down leg on box, bring hips directly over leg on box; maintain "hips tall" position
Return to starting position
Repeat quickly

Points of Emphasis: A knee angle much less than 80 degrees puts undue stress on knee
Obtain maximum height

When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Bounding Drills

Low Slow Bounding
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops dynamic flexibility in the hip joint
Develops strength and power

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position and bend to squat position
Jump outward driving bending right knee to chest while extending left leg
Stay low
Upon landing, powerfully extend forward leg while driving back leg knee to chest
Arm swing is in sprinting action

Points of Emphasis: Briefly float at the top of bound — both legs are off ground
Foot strike is toward ball of foot

When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Power Bounding
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops dynamic flexibility in the hip joint
Develops strength and power
Creates greater responsiveness to exercises

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position
Jump outward and upward driving bending right knee to chest while extending left leg
Upon landing, powerfully extend forward leg while driving back leg knee to chest
Arm swing is in sprinting action

Points of Emphasis: Small beginning jog builds momentum and velocity
Hang time is long, longer than low slow bound
Torso and trunk are also tall
Foot strike is more of a flat foot

When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Speed Bounding
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops power

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position
Jump outward and upward, driving bending right knee to chest while extending left leg
Upon landing, powerfully extend forward leg while driving back leg knee to chest
Arm swing is in sprinting action

Points of Emphasis: Beginning run builds velocity
Short ground contact time — be very quick
No hang time
Foot strike is very active and toward ball of foot

When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Straight Leg Bounds
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops strength, especially quadriceps

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position, begin jogging
Extend left leg and drive up toward sky, foot is flexed
Alternate legs
Arm swing is in sprinting action

Points of Emphasis: Feels as if pulling ground past feet
Short ground contact time — be very quick
Ground contact time is slightly in front of body
Foot strike is very active and on ball of foot

When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Hops

Swedish Hops
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develop effective use of the legs

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position
Step out with one foot; jumping upward, drive up the other knee as high as possible
Flex the bent leg completely, with foot under buttock
Use arms to achieve maximum lift
Upon landing, jump quickly upward again driving back leg up toward sky, foot under buttock

Points of Emphasis: Emphasis is on maximum lift
Work at gaining height and distance, do not sacrifice repetition rate
Looks like continuous high skipping

When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Single Leg Hops
Reps: 2x30M, Gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops coordination and strength

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position, placing one leg in front of other; front leg is hopping leg
Drive hips up and forward powerfully
Pull heel of hopping leg to buttock, followed by swinging knee forward and up
When thigh is parallel to ground, abruptly extend leg
Strike ground with high backward foot speed
Opposite foot cycles as if used, yet does not touch ground
Arm swing is in sprinting action

Points of Emphasis: Foot strike is flat of foot
When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Double Leg Hops
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops strength

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position and bend to squat position
Bend at hips while driving arms back
Jump powerfully up and out, extending legs, driving arms up over head

Points of Emphasis: Foot strike is on flat of foot When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Hurdle Hops
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops dynamic flexibility in the hip joint
Develops explosiveness and power
Strengthens abdominals

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position
Jump, drive both knees toward chest
Arms drive up as you reach top of hurdle
Repeat over 5-8 hurdles


Points of Emphasis: High, powerful knee drive When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Skipping
Reps: 2x40-50M, gradually increase to 3x100M

Purpose
Develop effective use of the legs

Teaching Steps
Begin with one leg forward
Drive off the back leg; start short skipping step with opposite leg
Drive knee up toward chest
Upon landing, repeat with other leg

Points of Emphasis: Gain as much height as possible with maximum hang time
Good for long and high jumps

When to Use: Start in second week of training; stop two weeks prior to major competitions




Drum Major
Reps: 2x30M, gradually increase to 3x50M

Purpose
Develops dynamic flexibility in the hip joint
Strengthens abdominals

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position
Drive right knee toward chest
Extend leg out, foot flexed
Drive leg down to ground
Alternate legs

Points of Emphasis: High, powerful knee drive



Depth Jumping for Jumpers
Reps: 10 jumps each leg; gradually increase to 20 jumps each leg

Purpose
Develop leg power

Teaching Steps
Stand on box in "hips tall" position
Jump down from box and immediately drive knees up jumping onto next box

Or

Teaching Steps
Take "hips tall" position
Drive knees/arms up as jumping on box
Jump down from box and immediately drive knees/arms up jumping onto next box

Jump Variations:
Low Box — Ground — Low Box
Low Box — Ground — High Box
Low Box — Ground — High Box — Ground — Low Box
High Box — Ground — High Box — Ground — Low Box

Points of Emphasis: Single leg box jumps: box is approximately 12 inches high
Double leg box jumps: box is approximately 18-24 inches high

When to Use: 1-2 times per week with 1-2 days between sessions
Athletes need 10-14 days recovery before competition

Dix destined for double? – NCAA Champs, PREVIEW

Wednesday 6 June 2007

Sacramento, California, USA - This year’s National Collegiate Championships, familiarly the NCAAs, which take place from 6 to 9 June will be the first hard look at the next generation of young American athletes, some of whom will undoubtedly be on the USA for Osaka, and more of whom will make it to Beijing for the Olympic Games. Two developments of recent years have robbed the meet of some of its lustre: (1) extensive recruiting of undergraduates by shoe companies offering professional contracts, and (2) a superfluous regional qualifying system which discourages doubling and through injury or mishap usually eliminates a few stars. Nevertheless, there is plenty to look forward to, starting with Walter Dix, Natasha Hastings, and Donald Thomas, any one of which might well reach a podium in Osaka. In his NCAA debut here two years ago, Dix won the 100m and finished fourth in the 200 – behind Tyson Gay, Wallace Spearmon and Xavier Carter. In 2006, he was second in the 100, and won the 200 both indoors and out. This year he swept the NCAA indoor 60m and 200m, and has posted PBs of 10.05 and 19.69 outdoors. In the 100 here, Dix, who competes for Florida State University, should be challenged by Travis Padgett of Clemson University, who ran a windy early-season 10.05, and Trindon Holliday of Louisiana State, who has run 10.02 and 10.07 this spring. In the 200, Dix’s 19.69 is six metres ahead of the field – ‘nuf said.

To improve movement, each coach and/or athlete must have a firm understanding of the function of the kinetic chain and its relationship and interaction with ground reaction forces and momentum. Once this understanding is developed a logical progression can be implemented to correct and enhance movement skills.


Ground Reaction Forces


The foundation for all movement must reside in the knowledge that movement is completely dependant on the ability of the athlete to utilize and manipulate forces, most importantly the forces that interact with the ground (ground reaction forces GRF).

The ability to powerfully apply force to the ground is crucial to movement, but is only part of the equation. We must also be able to efficiently deal with the force the ground supplies back into the body, because in reality, these are the primary forces that propel and stop the body.

Thanks to Newton's laws of motion, we know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. With respect to movement, this means that when we push against the ground with X pounds of force, the ground is going to push back with that same (X) amount of force (dependant upon the surface).

I call this the FIFO (force in = force out) response. When you further examine the FIFO response you will see that the harder you push into the ground the harder the ground is going to push back. This concept will become increasingly important later when we start to discuss acceleration and deceleration.

During movement we must not only be concerned with the magnitude or amount of force we produce, but also with the direction of application of the force vector. For the purposes of this article, a force vector will be defined as an imaginary line that defines the direction of application of a force. Understanding force vectors will allow us to visualize the forces that we apply and receive.

Note: When you push against the ground with your foot, you are creating a force vector dependant on the direction of push. In response, the ground is going to directly oppose that force vector with its own. It is important to visualize both vectors when we start to analyze the movement.

We must know how to appropriately direct forces to create clean movement. If we misdirect the force we apply to the ground, the resultant reaction will not efficiently help us create or deviate movement.

Although the foot is the point of contact with the ground, it does not determine the force vector created by the push. Rather, one must consider the segment of the leg from the knee down to the foot. It is this segment that will determine the direction of that vector.

One must also consider the center of gravity (COG). The relationship between the location of the COG and the angle of the GRF becomes very important during movement.

Once again we are reminded of Newton's laws of motion. Newton stated that a body will stay in a constant state of motion (or motionless) until it's acted upon by an outside force. Typically what we see (when the body is motion) is that when the force vector created by the GRF opposes the direction of travel of the COG we create a breaking or decelerating moment which disrupts the current state of movement.

This becomes apparent when an athlete tries to rapidly decelerate and they sound like a Clydesdale stomping. They are creating substantial breaking forces to rapidly decelerate their COG. These forces directly oppose the COGs direction of travel.

Likewise, when the force vector angles the same direction as the COG, we are producing propelling or accelerative forces. If you were to analyze a sprinter coming out of the blocks you would notice that they maintain a significant forward lean for 8-12 yards (some more some less).

This forward lean puts the lower shank of the leg at a close angle to the ground. This angle creates a force vector that angles the same direction as the direction of travel of the COG. This means that they are propelling, or pushing the COG forward.

If we examine jumping from a stand still we see that the GRF's are parallel to the COG and perpendicular to the ground. This creates lift or vertical displacement since you are pushing the COG up.

Tirunesh Dibaba, Liu Xiang and a lot of speed scheduled for New York – IAAF World Athletics Tour

New York, USA – The Reebok Grand Prix, just two years old, has already seen world leaders, area records, and in 2006, a World record, when Meseret Defar ran an unexpected 14:24.53 for the women’s 5000m. In its third year, the meet, held in Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, will again look for stellar early-season performances this Saturday (2) from top athletes, this time as the part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007 and one of only two Grand Prix status meetings in the USA.

Dibaba to attack 5000m mark

While Meseret Defar's world mark last year took even meet organizers by surprise - most of the reporters on hand were in the interview room with the 100m winners while the record was run - Tirunesh Dibaba's arrival at the same track, four months after she lowered her own indoor 5000m mark, can only suggest one thing.

Dibaba has indicated that she will attempt to defend her 5000m and 10,000m World Championship double in Osaka, and in the shorter race Defar is chief among her opposition. If conditions allow, as they did in 2006, Dibaba may try to take the outdoor record from Defar and add it to her own collection.

Liu Xiang challenged


World 110m record holder Liu Xiang, whose 13.14 in Osaka was the 2007 world leader for only a few hours, will face the two men who have run 13.12 in 2007, Anwar Moore and David Payne. Liu Xiang ran in New York in 2005 as the new Olympic champion, losing to veteran Allen Johnson. He returns as the outright World record holder, but Moore and Payne are joined by Terrence Trammell and Aries Merrit, making four high class hurdlers who would love to score a win over Liu.

The women's 100m Hurdles includes Virginia Powell, the second-fastest hurdler this year, and Lolo Jones, the third, as well as 2003 World Champion Perdita Felicien.

Sprint battles on the schedule


World records aside, one of the top spectator attractions for this meet will be the sprints. New York's Jamaican population turns out to see their stars, just as they do at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia in April, and they have four good races to look forward to on Saturday.

Times were relatively slow in 2006, as the sprinters complained about the cool conditions which favoured Defar's distance record. However, should the warmer conditions which prevailed in 2005 return, fans may get to see just how fast the Icahn Stadium track really is.

In the men's 200m, Jamaica's mercurial Usain Bolt will challenge Wallace Spearmon, who last year became the third quickest man in history (19.65). Spearmon won this duel last year, and with a 19.91 two weeks ago in Carson he has signalled that he is already in top form. Bolt, the World Junior record holder, is also currently in form clocking 19.96 in Port of Spain last Sunday.


The women's 100m features the five fastest women of 2007, with Torri Edwards (10.90), Veronica Campbell (10.91), Me'Lisa Barber (10.95), Carmelita Jeter (11.05) and Marshavet Hooker (11.06) all scheduled to start. All five marks were set in Carson two weeks ago, and the sixth-fastest woman to date, Jamaica's Kerron Stewart, is in the 200m.

Stewart and LaShaunte'a Moore of the USA lead the half-lap field with the third and fourth fastest times this year, respectively.

Also joining the women's 100m field is reigning World champion Lauryn Williams. Allyson Felix, the 2005 World champion and current world season leader at 200m, will be running the 400m in New York.


The men's 100m doesn't have the world's fastest man, but it does have Tyson Gay, whose wind-assisted 9.79 in Carson is the fastest clock-stopper this year, albeit not the fastest legal mark. Gay, the sixth fastest man all-time at 100m (9.84) and fourth= at the 200m (19.68) will be joined on the line by World Indoior 60m champion Leonard Scott and fellow American Marcus Brunson. Olympic 200m champion Shawn Crawford is stepping down from 200m to join the 100m field as well.

Millrose rematch in men's Mile

Two more big names in New York are multiple Olympic medallist Bernard Lagat and Australian ace Craig "Buster" Mottram, the World 5000m bronze medallist. Lagat and Mottram duelled to the final lap in the Wanamaker Mile at this year's Millrose Games, and they will race that distance again in New York. Mottram, who was recently outrun in the Healthy Kidney 10K across the East River in Central Park, has his eye on the 5000m title in Osaka, and knows he'll need a miler's speed to get it. Lagat, long a runner-up at 1500m, wants gold in the shorter race.



Mottram and Lagat will be joined by two young Americans who wouldn't mind taking Lagat's place on the stand, Alan Webb and Chris Lukezic, as well as China's leading miler, Ming Gu.

Vaulters and middle distances

Current world leader Jennifer Stuczynski headlines the women's Pole Vault, with former World record holder Stacy Dragila now the challenger. Rising Chinese star Shuying Gao, this year's fifth-highest vaulter, will also jump in New York.


The men's vault also has 2007's highest vaulter, with World Indoor champion Brad Walker taking on Jeff Hartwig, Toby Stevenson and Nick Hysong, among others.

The men's 800m features two top-ranked two-lappers in Khadevis Robinson and Alex Kipchirchir; Diane Cummins leads the women's event.