By Len Johnson (reporting from Doha) - Runner's Tribe
For eight of her nine throws in Doha, Kelsey-Lee Barber was struggling. All the throwers were. No-one was finding it easy to produce good throws in the heavy atmosphere inside Khalifa International Stadium.
“Trust the feel, trust the rhythm,” coach and husband...
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
There were five gold medals awarded on the fourth day of the world championships and each of them was special in its own way.
There was the emotion of Daniel Stahl’s gold medal in the discus after several years of world-leading throws coupled...
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Sometimes our sport seems to flirt with danger, recklessly loading the gun, pointing it floorwards, then professing surprise that it has shot itself in the sport.
It seemed that day three of the world championships might be such a time. Just three real...
Hassan closes with deadly speed
After Herb Elliott had destroyed Ron Delany and the rest of the field to smash the world mile record in Dublin in 1958, a priest asked Delany how would you beat the great Australian.
“I don’t know, father,” replied Delany. “Maybe tie his legs together.”
Sifan Hassan...
Many tried. Only a handful succeeded.
Context is everything. One day you’re writing that one good thing about the first day is that you get to see every competitor in the day’s heats and qualifying rounds, even if they’re not yet going head-to-head; the next, you’re hit by the painful...
Written by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
I don’t know what size shoes Sally Pearson wears but, metaphorically at least, they are big shoes to fill.
Those of us who followed the Australian campaign towards the Sydney 2000 home Olympics had a running joke (in the interests of field & track,...
Written by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Usually, we go to a world championships knowing what to expect. We may not get all, much or any of what we expected, but we go with a clear vision.
Doha 2019 is not like that. It doesn’t fit the norm. We don’t even...
Written by Len Johnson - (c) Runner's Tribe
We haven’t become so blasé as to not welcome a sub-13 5000 metres. Not to mention two performances behind of 13:00-point.
That being the case, let’s say “WOW! WOW! wow” about the performances of William ‘Woody’ Kincaid, Lopez Lomong and Matt Centrowitz in...
RT's lead columnist Len Johnson's feature article on one of Australia's and the world's top middle distance athletes, Mellisa Duncan is now available to read on Runner's Tribe ADDICT. (Word count 2500+).
ADDICT members please click on the link below.
https://www.runnerstribe.com/members-only-features/melissa-duncan-athlete-feature/
To read this feature (2507 words by RT and IAAF lead...
By Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Herb Elliott didn’t lose too often.
Never, in his junior and senior career over his specialty, 1500 metres and the mile. There might have been a mile in his schoolboy days at Perth’s Aquinas College he lost to a schoolmate three years his senior. But...
