SPECIAL Coverage: Beijing Olympic Games

August 24, 2008 from USATF press release (BEIJING) Dathan Ritzenhein (Eugene, OR) and Ryan Hall (Mammoth Lakes, CA) were ninth and 10th , respectively, to put two Team USA athletes in the top 10 of the Olympic men's marathon for the first time since 1976 in competition Sunday morning. The race concludes Olympic track and field competition as Team USA won the medal race with 23 medals and seven golds.

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August 22, 2008 from USATF press release (BEIJING) Bryan Clay upgraded his 2004 silver medal to 2008 gold in the decathlon, dominating competition during Friday evening action at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium. Clay (Glendora, CA) got his evening off to a very strong start, throwing a season-best 70.97m/232-10 to place third in the javelin. The performance earned him 904 points, bringing his total up to 8,269 with one event remaining in the 10-event competition. Ahead of the field by 479 points, his only competition was himself in the final event, the 1,500m.

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August 21, 2008 from USATF press release (BEIJING) Felix wins second silver: The women's 200 was another matchup between U.S. and Jamaican sprinters, with the heavyweights being defending gold medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica and silver medalist Allyson Felix of the United States. Campbell-Brown got out very well, leaving Felix to play catch-up after a slow start and around the curve. There was no catching the Jamaican, however, as she powered home to win in a personal-best 21.74, with Felix second in 21.93. It was the second-fastest time of Felix's career. Kerron Stewart of Jamaica was third in 22.00, with a hard-closing Muna Lee (College Station, TX) just out of the medals, fourth in a personal-best 22.01. Marshevet Hooker (Austin, TX) was fifth in a personal-best 22.34.

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August 20, 2008 from USATF press release (BEIJING) After winning the 2004 Olympic Trials in a meet-record time, Sheena Johnson Tosta (Chula Vista, CA) finished a disappointing fourth at the Athens Olympic Games in the 400m hurdles. The 2008 Games had an inausipicious beginning, with Tosta running a poor first round and barely qualifying for the semifinals. All that history didn't matter Wednesday night. After leading the race early, she came off the turn just a whisker behind Melaine Walker of Jamaica. Walker powered ahead to win in an Olympic record time of 52.64, the #4 time in history, with Tosta second in 53.70 to win the first U.S. medal in the hurdles since 1996.

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NOT FOUND: RussellOlympics08.jpg August 17, 2008 from USATF press release (BEIJING CHINA) On a Sunday morning that featured much better weather conditions than had been expected, the women's marathon brought more difficult results than expected for Team USA. Blake Russell (Pacific Grove, CA) was the only American finisher, placing 27th in 2:33:13.

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August 15, 2008 Track and Field Olympic competition has finally started. Here's a USATF schedule link to the which has both Beijing and U.S. times. Americans had a rough go of it in the women's 800m first round as none of the three advanced. Alice Schmidt (Chula Vista, CA) was sixth in heat 2 in 2:02.33. Nicole Teter (Eugene, OR) pulled up shortly after the start of her race and did not finish due to an exacerbation of a lower left leg injury. Three-time Olympian Hazel Clark (Knoxville, TN) was fifth in heat 5 in 2:01.59.

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August 12, 2008 from Beijing Diary from Larry Eder, Publisher of California Track & Running News.
Day 4 from www.runblogrun.com PREDICTIONS: While everyone talks about Asafa, Tyson and Usain, my gut tells me Derrick Adkins, Darvis Patton and Walter Dix are not guys to forget. Adkins is dangerous and Dix is yet to be determined. His 200 win at the U.S. Trials was masterful! . . .