In the world of the marathon Canadian's haven't recently existed. Canada hasn't sent a single marathoner to the past couple of Olympics (partically due to the country's refusal to lower the qualifying standards) and the national record of 2:10:09 set by Jerome Drayton hasn't been contested in it's 35 year existance. Though the Canadians have had problems reaching their goals in the past, the 2012 London Olympics looks bright for the marathoners and the Canadians have the Brooks Canada Marathon Project to thank. Brooks owner Mike Dyon (winner of the Around the Bay race in the 1980's) started the Canadian Project hoping to give selected athletes the chance to train and live with other Canadian marathon athletes, without concern for financial support. Brooks Canada provides the athletes with free room and board in a home not far from High Park trails, a great place in Canada to train, along with free cable and transportation. Brooks Canada hoped that the Project would help the Canadian marathoners represent Canada in the Marathon Event at either the Olympic Games or the World Championship within two to six years. The Project is over 1.5 million dollars in the making and has promising athletes who hope to break the tradition and send a Canadian marathoner to the 2012 Olympic games.
Brooks has spent 1.5 million to help Canadian
marathoners reach their dreams.
One of the Brooks Canada Marathon Project members Matt Loiselle, 26-year-old from Windsor, has proved the head of the group and will be competing in Sunday’s Toronto Waterfront Marathon where he will be attempting to hit the Canadian Olympic mark. This will be Loiselle's marathon debut and after running a 1/2 marathon best of 1:07:29 he looks poised to hit the mark of 2:11:29. An article of Loiselle can be found here in the Canadian National Post and results of the race can be found here.
Loiselle hopes to bring back the Olympic Marathon
to Canada
Usain Bolt, the Jamaican world-record holder in the 100 meters, is considering to attempt what many people are referring to as the "Michael Jordan". Bolt, who ran a world-record of 9.68 in the 2008 Berlin Olympics believes his body is only capable to sustain four more years of hard track running. After that Bolt believes he has the size, speed, and talent to spend two years kicking it up with professional footballers. The question many die-hard track fanatics will ask will be "Why?". My question is Why not?
Bolt's World Record run:
Bolt has already proven he's one of the best sprinters of all time by winning numerous Olympic Medals and beating record after record and has committed himself to a new world-record of 9.4, which he believes will stand as an unbeatable record, in the next four years. It's 2010, leaving the 24-year-old Jamaican two years until the 2012 London Olympics and 2 more years of World Championships and Diamond League races to achieve this goal. At 28 Bolt will have spent ten years in the professional world of track and field! Come on Track and Field fans give the guy a break! He's already won 6 Gold Medals (3 in the 2008 Olympics and 3 in the 2009 World Championships) and 2 Silver Medals in the 2007 World Championships. Who knows what more he'll accomplish in four years. Soak up the next four years of Bolt and then let him move on. This is a good thing for American fans.....maybe a new sprint star will capture our hearts, maybe he'll even be American, and some gold medals! An article on Bolt's future can be found here at NY Daily News.
September has arrived which means sport season is in full swing! All though September means the start of a clean slate for football teams, the last month before playoff competition for baseball and only a few months of training left for basketball season my blog is not going to pay any attention to them! I'm here to discuss stories and news in the less media-darling sports, sports that mainstream sports fans may pay no attention to. I'm here to give these sports the attention that they deserve! I'm also here to give the fans of these sports support and let them know that I understand their quest to find others who, like them, possess the love of these less publicized sports. I have heard the calling and I'm here to answer it by focusing on sports like boxing, soccer, running, NASCAR(though as you will later see I question the validity of this "sport"), tennis, horse racing and any other obscure sports I find along the way. I hope that my blog can serve as an outlet for fans that are searching for their source of news that they may not find on the 11 a.m. edition of SportsCenter. I hope everyone will enjoy my blog and give me some good feedback about my posts.
Cricket. A potential sport to discuss??
Now, though my sole purpose for this blog is 1. to give attention to the less popular sports and 2. for my Communication Media Writing class there is also a third reason for my blog. I love sports. I've always participated in sports and I want to be a sports broadcaster. Eventually, and in a perfect world, I want to work on ESPN doing either field reporting or have an awesome sports show like Michelle Beadle on SportsNation. In attempts to increase my chances of landing my dream job I've been working as a sports reporter for NC State University's TV station, WolfTV. I've had the chance to be on the field during football games, interview athletes and do some creative sports pieces as well. I'm telling you all this because recently female reporters have been having quite a rough time. Months ago it was Erin Andrews and the scandal which-will-not-be-named and now female reporters presents in the locker room is coming under question as well.
ESPN reporter Bonnie Bernstein reports from the field.
Personally I don't see the problem. Whether you are female or male reporting from a locker room there should be a sense of professional respect from both the reporters and the athletes. If an athlete hasn't dressed yet wait to interview them once they're dressed. If you're an athlete and you see reporters waiting to interview you quickly put on a pair of pants (and a t-shirt if you're a lady) and give the interview. By denying women the right to have access to locker rooms is putting them at a disadvantage professionally. If women can't access locker rooms wouldn't it just be easier for a station to higher men only? That way instead of having to send a female and male reporter to cover a game you would only have to send one, cuts half the salary, meaning women would no longer have the opportunity to be field reporters. I'm pretty sure somewhere in our legal system that would be classified under discrimination. The Washington Post ran a story by columnist Sally Jenkins, who spoke her opinion on women reporters and the broadcasting world. The story can be read here on the Washington Post online.
Here is a video of female reporter, Ines Sainz, discussing her issues in the locker room with male athletes. Happy Sporting!
