On being no.2 | A Column by Len Johnson
Someone observed of Merv Lincoln, who died on 1 May after a long illness, that it was difficult to do him justice as an athlete because you always had to start with the acknowledgment that he was never number one in...
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...
Muddy Waters | A Column By Len Johnson
Sometimes when you stir up the water you end up with a nice clear solution. Other times, muddy water just gets muddier.
Six months of marathons has delivered what appears to be an obvious selection of the three women to represent Australia in...
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...
Dreaded Lurgi ends Rio hopes | A Column By Len Johnson
Forty years after going to my first Olympic Games I have had to reluctantly accept that I have no chance of making the team for Rio 2016.
I arrived in Sydney on Thursday, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and thinking I...
https://youtu.be/ctWRhaUxzzY
Class act rewarded | A Column By Len Johnson
Cathy Freeman unzipped her body suit and sat down on the track. Sally Pearson let out a scream once her narrow victory had been confirmed.
Nathan Deakes dissolved into tears of joy. Rob de Castella, so injury-proof he was nicknamed ‘The Tree’,...
Meb just keeps bobbing up | A Column By Len Johnson
I suppose I had seen him earlier, but I first became aware of Mebrahtom Keflezighi when he bobbed up for the silver medal in the Athens 2004 Olympic marathon.
Keflezighi, who is the subject of a Runner’s Tribe video interview...
So, what’s the deal with the 800 metres?
No, not channelling Seinfeld, just wondering about the current state of Australian 800-meter running.
To some extent, a large extent, it’s the same deal as always. Gun goes BANG! Runners go FAST! Winner is the one who slows up the least* as everyone...
Thirty-six years after Dave Smith and Tim Erickson should have been Olympic teammates, their sons Dane Bird-Smith and Chris Erickson will be.
Bird-Smith and Chris Erickson have long since joined their fathers in representing their country in international competition, but Rio 2016 will mark their first appearance as Olympic teammates.
Bird-Smith,...
A few years ago, a friend invited me to address a primary school book club about The Landy Era.
The audience was year six students – so, 12 years old for the most part – and their parents. I’d noticed some sport publications on the library display shelf, including one...
