At the World Indoor Tour meeting in Birmingham, Catriona Bisset chased home Keely Hodgkinson in the 800 metres, running 1:59.46. That sliced a massive 2.39 seconds off the previous Australian record which was set by Tamsyn Manou in the heats at the world indoor championships in Valencia. Manou went on to win the gold medal in the final.
Watching the men’s 5000 unfold, and the women’s the previous day, caused me to wonder whether track distance athletes have lost the ability to race, to vary their tactics in the search for a winning formula.
If you were seeking signs that the sporting world is getting back to pre-Covid normality, best you didn’t go looking for them at the World Athletics Relays.
We are still in the thank-heavens-there’s-something-on phase, it would seem, rather than back in full swing. Maybe the Tokyo Olympics will change that;...
A Column By Len Johnson
When Linden Hall ran 4:01.78 for 1500 metres at the Prefontaine Classic last weekend, she leapt to third place on the Oceania all-time list.
Hall’s fabulous performance was also good enough for third all-time Australian and third all-time Victorian.
Fair enough, you might reckon. The opposite of...
A column by Len Johnson
It’s easy to set a world record. Asked once how he felt about doing it, Ron Clarke responded that once you’ve set one it’s just a matter of running a personal best.
Clarke should know. He set anywhere from 18 to 21 world records in his...
Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
- Down Under, Men at Work, 1981
What do you do when you're trekking around and in need of transport?
Well, if it’s the 1970s and you are Australians in Europe, you get yourself a Kombi van. Many young Aussies...
Did you see that? (we didn’t) | A Column by Len Johnson
During my years as a full-time journalist, I worked many times with Roy Masters.
A senior sports journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald, Roy had previously been an average country Rugby League player, a teacher and a successful NSW...
Turn up the thermostat | A Column By Len Johnson
As a lawyer, Dick Pound has never been able to resist a pithy summation.
A few weeks ago, the current head of WADA was pontificating on Maria Sharapova. Critiquing the Russian tennis star’s defence of the failure by either her, or...
Australians know ‘schoolies’ as the week-long celebration for high school graduates that takes place after final exams in late November and early December.
The same calendar period brings the Australian All Schools championships. ‘Schoolies’ for high school athletes, if you like. Except for one thing: you only get one chance...
Best marathon ever (except for the others) | A Column By Len Johnson
If you think that the quickest marathon is automatically the best marathon, then don’t bother to read further. Save yourself some time.
Eliud Kipchoge won the elite men’s division of the London Marathon last Sunday in two hours...
