So without further ado - these are your athletes!
THE GUYS:
My coworker asked me who was my top Olympic athlete I wanted to hit on, and after a quick second, I responded with Kerron Clement. Clement is kind of my favorite crush of the 2012 Olympic Games - he's at least my Track & Field crush this year. One, because I like to like the guy that not everyone else is liking, you know? And two, because, shoot - look at that face. He's just super cute and looks like a total sweetheart. And three, because he runs the 400m hurdles. Having run the 300m hurdles in high school, I am more than just impressed by Clement's general athleticism, like people who never ran track are generally impressed by people of great strength and speed. The 300m hurdles were hard enough, I thought (I had a love/hate relationship with them - more hate than love); this guy runs an extra 100m, which means an extra hurdle or two, and he runs it faster than I ever ran my shorter race (obviously - Olympian!), and he just makes it look so freaking easy. I'm swooning right now. Literally drooling of admiration. he's just so cute! I can even get past the earrings - which is a big deal for me. He's darling. I love him.
Oh man, this guy is so impressive to me. He's a decathlete - let me just tell you what that means - that means he does 10 events at each meet. TEN! Really well! Most runners focus on 2 or 3 events max. He does 10! The decathlon is comprised of: the 100m; long jump; shot put; high jump; 400m; 110m hurdles; discus throw; pole vault; javelin throw; 1500m. Now he doesn't compare to athletes who specialize in each of these individual events, but he's pretty close to them. Eaton set a new world record in the Olympic trials, and I think he could probably surpass it at the Games. Boy just keeps getting better! I'm just so impressed. Talk about a well-rounded athlete.
Tyson Gay is probably our best bet to beat Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake in the 100m. Can I be honest here? That's a really tough matchup. I mean, I'm kind of hoping Blake beats Bolt, but that's kind of the upset I'm anticipating. Now, the upset I'm hoping for? Tyson Gay, first place in men's 100m, for sure. And really, I think he could do it - if he runs his absolute best race ever. Which, despite hip surgery only a year ago, he seems in good condition to deliver on, so I will feed my hopes for him to succeed! Because he's a fighter, so I like him. However, the relay is another story. For that race, I'm just hoping we don't disqualify ourselves mid-race, like we seem to do so often...
Oh LaShawn. Served a 21-month doping ban. He blames the results on an over-the-counter drug that, um, guys take sometimes for, um, non-sport related performance...ahem...and that he didn't read the fine print on. I'll allow that excuse, because I want to cheer for him, and I don't like cheering for dopers. Plus, he's just so freaking fast, and I like to think he's naturally gifted, and that he works hard to improve upon his talents. Super plus, his apology statement seemed meek enough for me. So I'm allowing it, get over it. I'll also allow him to dominate the 400m again, and to basically win the 4x400 relay single-handedly like he did at the World Championships earlier this year.
Rupp will be running the men's 5,000m and 10,000m. He's looking particularly impressive in the 10,000m though, breaking the American record last year, and winning the last 3 US titles in that distance.
I don't know how Americans can compete in this long distances against the runners from some of the African nations like Kenya and Ethiopa, but between him and the very seasoned Bernard Lagat and Lopez Lomong, I'm hopeful about our chances of doing well.
Symmonds is running the men's 800m. He's won 4 consecutive US titles in this race, I believe, which isn't too shabby, no? He's a bit of a shorty at 5'10 (short for his race of choice), but a cutie still. My favorite little trivia about him? He auctioned off some real estate on his left shoulder for advertising - and it sold for about $11,000! Don't worry, it was a temporary tattoo. He's so edgy. He's so cute. So obviously I'm pulling for him to do well.
I realize I'm kind of only focusing on runners (other than the decathlete is a star of both track AND field events), so Reese Hoffa is my token field guy. And why shouldn't he be spotlighted? Look at that face! Such happiness. He works hard at his event, and he's just kind of a character. Hoffa hasn't quite shown up at the Olympics, as far as performance goes, but he's constantly in the top rankings each year, and he does really well in other meets, so I'm hoping this is his year to really stand out as an Olympian. Plus he can solve a rubik's cube in under a minute! And that fact was important enough to him that he put it as one of his 3 "get to know Reese Hoffa" bullet points. Sounds like a goofy guy I can cheer for!
THE LADIES:
Spotlight: Alysia Montano - women's 800mI really like this girl. She's a great 800m runner. She had the year's fastest race time at one point this year, so she's in good standing to do well, if not win gold, at this Olympics. She's funny (I may have come across her twitter feed somewhere the other day, and she certainly made me laugh). And she wears a giant flower when she runs. In every race. Of every meet. Since she was little. And it's not just because she wants to be all girly or unique or whatever. Those may play a part, but she's given it depth - the flower has meaning to her. According to her bio on NBCOlympics.com, "she started wearing the flower in her hair to drive home the point that the boys [she ran against in her neighborhood] were losing races to a girl." Girl's got sass, spunk, and spirit. She also notes the flower represents femininity and strength, so yeah. She's deep. And fast. And I hope she wins!
Allyson Felix - women's 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay
Okay these next three - Felix, Jeter, and Richards-Ross - I kind of clump all together in my thoughts, because they're all connected by the 200m, which they're all running. This is how I see it: the 200m feels like Felix's race to me, so if they were each going to win one race, I'd say she gets the 200m. Jeter gets the 100m, and Richards-Ross gets the 400m. But who knows? I sure don't. I do know that I like Allyson Felix whenever I hear her talk, and she just runs so smooth, like butter. It looks so relaxed and confident, it's really hard for me not to want her to win everything. Plus, she had the strongest race in the 200m at the Trials, so I see it as hers to take.
Carmelita Jeter - women's 100m, 200m, 4x100m
Jeter is my choice for the 100m. Which will be a hard race, as will the 200m, not only because we've got a strong US trifecta competing in that event, but also because Jamaica's best 100m runner is probably the favorite going in to the Games. But I think Jeter can take her - she did win gold at the 2011 World Championships, after all, so she's got the power and speed and ability to take gold at the Olympics, too.
Sanya Richards-Ross - women's 200m, 400m, 4x400 relay
Yeah, I have a soft spot in my heart for 400m runners. It's a tough race, but it was always one of my favorites. Wait, that's a bit of a lie; I never ran the individual. But the 4x400 - I loved that relay. Don't ask me why, but I loved it. Maybe because I was good at it, so I felt such accomplishment there. And no one else liked it, so it made me unique. Okay, this is too much soul-searching. Back to Sanya. If anyone's going to take the 200m gold from Felix, I want it to be SR-R - as long as she also wins the 400m. If she wins gold in both, I believe she'll be the first woman ever to accomplish that. In fact, I think Michael Johnson's still the only person to have ever done that. So...that's a pretty big deal. Here's hoping she has better luck in this huge stage than she's had in her history of large races before.
Dawn Harper - women's 110m hurdles
First, I love Dawn Harper's name. I like to say it with a Boston accent - Go Dawn Hoppa! Yes, I know she's from Illinois, not Massachusetts. There's just something about that last name, Harper, that always makes me go all Boston on its pronunciation. Second, Dawn was the gold medalist and Beijing, and she's still great. Lolo Jones also runs the 110m hurdles, and she gets more of the fanfare maybe, but she's a wild card - who knows how she'll do in any given race. Hoppa is tough and consistent, and I like her chances best, out of our female 110m hurdlers.
Lashinda Demus - women's 400m hurdles
And then there's our 400m hurdles. You already know how I feel about this race. And I just learned that no American woman has ever won the 400m hurdles at an Olympics. What?! Please let this be the year! I think Demus still holds the American record in this race, which she set last year, and she just seems to be getting better and better. I think she at least places - though if I'm going to hold out extra hope for a win by anyone on this list, it's her. I mean c'mon, she's a mother of twin boys, and she's running record times?! I'm so impressed by her athleticism and determination. Team Lashinda Demus all the way. (Plus, her last name always makes me want to yell "San Demus high school football rules!!!" So...she's go that going for her.)
So those are my athletes to watch in Track & Field this year. Yes, I do realize I looked mainly at sprinters, ignoring both the field and distance events generally. I just focus on what I know. And I know that I love high jump and triple jump and long jump, but the broadcasts just don't focus on those events enough to really be able to follow a specific athlete. Unless someone turns into the modern day Carl Lewis, those events aren't going to get much play. So I will follow those athletes still, but you might actually hear about these athletes more. I also know that I just don't love distance events in track - those races are the times when the field events actually get attention, so...there's that. We've got some interesting distance runners to watch too, though, on our team, so I'll be cheering hard-core for them, as well.
Stay tuned, swimming is up next!
*Source: All pictures came from NBCOlympics.com. I also used the athletes' bios on NBCOlympics.ofor some quick fact-checking.
And then there's our 400m hurdles. You already know how I feel about this race. And I just learned that no American woman has ever won the 400m hurdles at an Olympics. What?! Please let this be the year! I think Demus still holds the American record in this race, which she set last year, and she just seems to be getting better and better. I think she at least places - though if I'm going to hold out extra hope for a win by anyone on this list, it's her. I mean c'mon, she's a mother of twin boys, and she's running record times?! I'm so impressed by her athleticism and determination. Team Lashinda Demus all the way. (Plus, her last name always makes me want to yell "San Demus high school football rules!!!" So...she's go that going for her.)
So those are my athletes to watch in Track & Field this year. Yes, I do realize I looked mainly at sprinters, ignoring both the field and distance events generally. I just focus on what I know. And I know that I love high jump and triple jump and long jump, but the broadcasts just don't focus on those events enough to really be able to follow a specific athlete. Unless someone turns into the modern day Carl Lewis, those events aren't going to get much play. So I will follow those athletes still, but you might actually hear about these athletes more. I also know that I just don't love distance events in track - those races are the times when the field events actually get attention, so...there's that. We've got some interesting distance runners to watch too, though, on our team, so I'll be cheering hard-core for them, as well.
Stay tuned, swimming is up next!
*Source: All pictures came from NBCOlympics.com. I also used the athletes' bios on NBCOlympics.ofor some quick fact-checking.
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