track Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The First Four-Minute Mile, In One Pain-Wracked Photo
Sir Roger Bannister died over the weekend at the age of 88 and, as to be expected, the glowing obituaries focused on his epochal mile of May 6, 1954, when he shattered the four-minute barrier on Oxford University’s Iffley Road track....
Oscar Pistorius Hurt In Prison Fight Over Telephone Use
Olympic runner and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius was hurt in a fight with another inmate that began over the use of a public telephone, a South African prison official has confirmed to the Associated Press....
52 Years Ago Today, Jim Ryun Ran The Fastest Mile In An All-High School Race
Fifty-two years ago today, Kansas held its state championship track meet. One of the runners who toed the starting line that day was Jim Ryun. By 1965, though, Ryun was already famous. The year before, he’d become the first high schooler to break four minutes in the mile. That summer, he competed in...
Oscar Pistorius Sentenced To Six Years In Prison
Three and a half years after Oscar Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home, following a conviction, an appeal, and another conviction on more serious charges, the track star was sentenced to six years in prison for murder....
Nike Exec: “I’m Gonna Fuckin’ Kill You”
On Wednesday, website LetsRun.com published a University of Oregon Police Department report of an incident on June 25 in a field just west of Hayward Field. It was around 7 p.m., toward the end of the first day of the USA Track and Field national championships, and coach Danny Mackey was sitting wit...
U.S. Steeplechase Runner Evan Jager Eats It, Triumphs
On the Fourth of July in Paris, Evan Jager did something perfect. The 26-year-old American lined up for a 3,000-meter steeplechase against nearly all of the best steeplers in the world, and over the first five minutes of the race, he joined Kenyan stud Jairus Birech in running away from the entire f...
US Track & Field Championships Simmering Til Done
Eugene, Ore., where the USA Track & Field National Championship is underway, is gripped in a heat wave. The steamy conditions produce a nice muscle-loosening affect on athletes whose events last less than 60 seconds, but it’s been less accommodating for the distance events. The preliminary rounds of...
Justin Gatlin Doesn't Owe You Anything
Imagine if David Ortiz were briefly suspended for doping in the minors, let off after it turned out that he had a convincing excuse, and then suspended again for four years after testing positive in November 2007, just after winning the World Series. Imagine that Papi came back a little rusty, but w...
Nike Coach Alberto Salazar Accused Of Drug Violations
The distance running world was shaken a few months ago by top-level Kenyan and Russian doping convictions, but, you know, that was somewhere else. It was over there, not here in the US of A. Until yesterday, ironically, National Running Day. Two Molotov cocktails—an article on ProPublica by David Ep...
Dancing Hurdler Michelle Jenneke Is All Grown Up
It's been almost three years since the Internet discovered Michelle Jenneke. Then an 18-year-old Australian with a peculiar warm-up, she became the most famous fifth-place junior hurdler ever. ...
2014 Sports Beard Of The Year: It's About Putting In The Work
Adding facial hair to the list of excellent things about track and field, mid-distance runner Will Leer has been awarded the 2014 Sports Beard of the Year. British blog BeardWatch bestowed the honors on the 29-year-old after a groundswell of support from track and manscaping fans pushed the spe...
Oscar Pistorius Could Be Out Of Prison In 10 Months
Immediately upon his sentencing to five years for his role in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, Oscar Pistorius was taken to a holding cell in the bowels of the courthouse. Today is his first day in prison, but his first of how many depends on who you ask....
Justin Gatlin's Glory Lap Turning Contentious And Weird
Justin Gatlin, track and field's most controversial athlete of 2014, has had a doozy of a last few weeks. And he's not even running currently....
Athletics South Africa Begs, Pleads For Mercy
No two ways about it, the governing body of track and field in South Africa has made itself into one big international boob. Nothing new there. But a recent lawsuit by a former athlete is threatening to take it to the cleaners, and Athletics South Africa, the country's governing body of sport, is be...
15-Year-Old Russian Twins Busted For Doping Because Russia
Famous for its dash cams and terrifying lo-fi drugs, Russia now adds a new blemish to its resume: doping up its youth....
Russia Too White To Be Good At Track
Once the reigning European king, this year Russia finished a dismal fourth at the European Athletics Championships. The reason, the head of its athletics federation says, is because Russia isn't black enough....
NCAA Unionization Means Sink-Or-Swim For Smaller Sports
At this point, the professionalism of collegiate athletics seems to be not a question of if, but when. This inevitability has triggered those high in the NCAA food chain to insinuate that every sport save football and basketball is doomed. Case in point: the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athl...
Can David Wilson Have A Second Career In Track & Field?
David Wilson, the former New York Giant who ended his career earlier this month due to a neck injury, announced yesterday in an interview with Yahoo Sports that he's planning a return to track and field....
John Carlos: "Individuals Have To Stand Up"
Iconic. There is no other way to describe the picture—that picture—from the 1968 Olympics. Two of the best athletes in the world, confirmed just moments before, stand on the medals podium raising their gloved fists in protest....
High School Runner Eats It Ten Meters From State Title
There are a number of pain-filled track and field disciplines, but none combine to break your heart and body quite as perfectly as the 3000-meter steeplechase. ...