Things I Like: Universal Sports (and UniversalSports.com)

If you're a Track & Field fan, you probably already know Universal Sports. If you don't, it may be because Universal Sports is not offered in your area. Living in Raleigh for the past 10 years, I've been lucky enough to tune into Universal Sports on television for every Diamond League meet, Tour de France race and if it's your thing, beach volleyball match (Complete listings here).

One thing that everyone (in the United States at least) has access to is UniversalSports.com (in particular, their Track & Field page). What started as a way to follow my friend, Gary Kikaya, run abroad during the Golden League days, quickly turned into THE way to watch professional Track & Field. What they offer on UniversalSports.com that they don't offer on television is live coverage of Diamond League meets. They also have the British television crew working the live coverage with the popular Tim Hutchings making many of the calls.  There is also another excellent feature this year on the website that has Ato Boldon, who headlines the American television coverage, doing a "Cooldown," which is a post meet recap and Q&A. Check it out here. Ato is excellent at what he does and is a must follow if you are on Twitter.

When you need more coverage, Ato's got you

What annoys me most about the Olympics is the lack of live coverage. With all this in mind, those wanting live coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea, Universal Sports is offering complete coverage of the meet for only $14.99. With NBC getting the rights to the next few Olympics, I am hoping they use this outlet to show the events as they were supposed to be!

Also, check out Universal Sports on Twitter and Facebook.

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Return of the ever enigmatic Lauren Fleshman

Sweet Relief! (TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Lauren Fleshman could possibly be the easily track athlete to root for in America. Why? Well, there are multiple reasons, but no matter how cool Lauren Fleshman comes off or how entertaining her blog is, the bottom line is, she can run. After her win last year at USATF nationals in the 5000, it seemed as though she was finally healthy and would be a force on the American Distance Running scene once again. Then she got hurt, again.

After what seemed as another full year of rehab, Fleshman was entered in the 2011 USATF 5000 Championships. It didn't go so well, she finished 8th. My, how things have changed in the past six weeks, as at noon today, all signs appear that Fleshman will be tagged to represent Team USA in the 5000 at Daegu. This comes mostly on the strength of her excellent showing at the Aviva Grand Prix in London last Friday, where she ran a dominating last 500m to take the win in a strong 15:00.57, only a second off of her PR.

Almost as exciting as being named to Team USA for the 2011 Track & Field World Championships in Daegu, is the report today, from Ron Bellamy at the Eugene Register Guard, that Fleshman will run the 2011 New York City Marathon in November as well. She mentions she'll be turning 30 in September (30's a good age for a first time marathon) and has seen the way that marathon training has helped people like Desi Davila, when they come back to the track (Speaking of Davila, check out Fleshman's Twitter Icon tribute to Desi today for giving up her spot on the 5000 team).

All this in mind, the future looks very bright for Lauren Fleshman. The "official" announcement of Team USA will be at noon today via USATF and while you're waiting, go pick up some of Fleshman's Picky Bars.

And by the way, this video never gets old:


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The Run Down: Manzano, Wheating and Centrowitz get A-Standard in Paris 1500

In a field with 19 competitors, there wasn't much room for error today at Areva Paris. Luckily, all three Americans (and Bernard Lagat) achieved the A-Standard for guaranteed entry to the World Championships in Daegu, Korea. Amine Lalou led a strong field in 3:32.15, with Bernard Lagat finishing on the podium (3rd) in a season best time of 3:33.11.

The Americans competing in Daegu finished in 3:33.66 (Leo Manzano, 6th), 3:34.39 (Andrew Wheating, 9th) and 3:34.69 (Matt Centrowitz, 11th). The standard is 3:35.00 and the 3:34.69 is a big PR for Centrowitz. Official results are here

Also of note, Shalane Flanagan narrowly missed the American Record in the 5000, finishing in 4th in 14:45.20 (Molly Huddle's record in 14:44.76).

The event will be broadcast tonight at 8pm (with the American broadcast team) on Universal Sports.

Official Men's 1500 results:

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