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,...
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...
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...
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’,...
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
There were two gongs for athletics at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame dinner in Melbourne this week. Raelene Boyle was elevated to Legend of Australian Sport status and Steve Hooker was admitted to the Hall of Fame.
They don’t admit mugs to...
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...
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...
Chronicler of our sport | A Column By Len Johnson
I never formally met Mike Agostini, who died in Sydney on Thursday (12 May), but I consider myself in his debt.
The debt is both personal and general. Personal, because my first published piece of journalism was a first-hand account of...
Grand week of 1500 | A Column By Len Johnson
Olympic 1500 metres qualifiers for Jenny Blundell, Ryan Gregson and Luke Mathews – it hardly needs saying that it has been a great week for Australian middle-distance running.
In fact, taking into consideration Mathews’s earlier qualifying performance at 800 metres, Melissa...
Easy as 1, 2, 3 – not!
A, B, C
It’s easy as 1, 2, 3
As simple as Do-Re-Mi . . .
One, two, three: that may be how easy love can be, as the Jackson 5 sang long ago. Selection? Now that’s another thing altogether.
Two recent controversies – one in Ireland,...
