2016 OUTdoors--In Review

Like time itself, this blog keeps evolving.
Which is another way of saying that you will NOT be getting a "Best & Worst" post this year!
At least not by that name!
Listen.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing those "B&W"s---and, you know, never say never!
But 2016 having been the "Olympic Year"--and having so much happen of an historic and sport-changing nature--I've decided to morph the "B&W" into a collection of historic facts, records, and marks, as well as opinions, ideas, trivia, and, well, bluster & blather!!
Heck, you might not even notice the difference.

The following will cover mainly the World & United States contributions, though I'll toss in some reminders of what happened with the younger sets---the HS'ers & Collegians.
It will be for OUTdoors ONLY!!
(See my March posts for my 2016 INdoor wrap-ups!)
This will NOT include my Athletes of the Year, as those will come--as promised--on the last day of the year!
But this blog being what it is---all about those Records & Marks--I begin with a simply astonishing HSR that, literally, was a SHOT (Put) heard round the world!!

Jordan Geist--in an all-throwers meet--entered the ring on what appeared to be a gymnasium set up for basketball games--holding a ball next to his neck that weighed SIXTEEN pounds--not the normal 12 you see most HS boys perform with!
In a pulsating exhibition of raw shapeless power, Geist opened with a Put of 62-3.
That placed him 2nd A-T HS on the rarely-held 16 lb list, behind only Ryan Crouser's HSR of 63-11.
His 2nd throw measured a mere one-half inch shy of that record, at 63-10.5!!
Then Mr Geist smashed it--hitting the floor at the new HSR of 64-4.50!!

But wait!--this kid wasn't done!!
His 4th throw went 1.50 inches farther--to 64-6--his SECOND High School Record of the day!!
And then?
Throw away all that went before--by Geist, Crouser, and even the legendary Michael Carter!!
Doing a neat acrobatic tightwire walk next to the ring's front wall--coming THIS close to a foul!!--Geist OBLITERATED all previous INdoor HS 16 pound SP standards!!
His 5th throw measured 68-4!
That's a full 4 feet 5 inches past Crouser's mark, and even 7 inches past Carter's OUTdoor HSR---although this blog (and my Record Book) does NOT compare INdoor to OUTdoor marks in any way!!
Thus, Geist's mark is the INdoor HSR, while Carter's 67-9 remains the OUTdoor HSR!!
(At least until Geist moves OUTdoors??)
He also got Crouser's Senior Class record!!
And he now owns the World Age 18 record, as his birthdate is July 21, 1998.
If a Collegian, he'd rank 19th A-T!
And he'd shatter the Collegiate Frosh Class record by over 2 feet!!
Oh, BTW, he also PR'ed in the WT with a good 76-6.
That makes him 20th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
This WT was the HS implement!

OK, on to my 2016 OUTdoor Review!

The Rio Olympics.
Were they all that great--and important?
Well, there are varying ways to look at them!

Simply put, without the Russians, a huge pit of scar tissue was left for all to see!
As I said numerous times, Ban the Criminals, but Let the INNOCENT compete!
Without THEM, this OG just wasn't what it should, and could, have been!

And the biggest name MIA was Yelena Isinbayeva, the OUTdoor WR holder in the PV!
Love her or hate her, you had to agree that, without her, the event would NOT be the same--not fully legit!!
Despite Isi's absence, it was still a GREAT competition--and all 3 medalists truly deserved their places!
But, really folks, what IF???
(As of year's end, the Russians remain a banned nation, while Isi is now deeply involved in the future of Russian Athletics!!)

Yet this same OG gave us the "D'Agostino/Hamblin" incident!
During their heat of the 5000, with about 2K to go, Abbey D'Agostino was tagging just behind Nikki Hamblin at the back end of the queue, out of the final, but still Olympians!
Hamblin tripped and fell, and Abbey went down too.
She got up, saw she had no chance in the race, and tugged on Hamblin's arm to rise up and run.
They trotted forward--humbled & torn--and then Abbey's seriously injured knee gave way, and she crashed to the track again--in dire pain!
So this time it was Nikki taking Abbey's arm and saying--"Get up, Mate!".
She did--slowly.
In a mincing jogger's shuffle, she finished the last 4 laps to massive applause and respect!
And the rest is HERstory!
Ms's D'Agostino & Hamblin are now BFF's--and an undeniable symbol of what the Olympic Games MEAN!!

Honorary Mention goes to Will Claye, who after his TJ competition ended, ran to his girlfriend Queen Harrison in the stands, and proposed marriage!
She accepted--before the eyes of millions!!

One can't speak of the Olympics without mentioning some of the shocks that emerged from America's Olympic Trials!

That Women's 800 final!
The tight finishes in the Women's 200 and 1500 finals!
And all the crashes & dives that made those events seem almost like a different sport!!

Goodbye to Alysia Montano, Brenda Martinez, and Molly Ludlow in the 800.
(Though Martinez returned to honor in that 1500!)
Amanda Eccleston's flying red hair following her to the track as her lean became a belly flop--just missing catching Martinez's spirited charge!!
And Jenna Prandini also "stumbling" as she came to the line--to the outside of Allyson Felix--then flying--hands and arms and body--somehow being judged as beating Felix--who also had another event to salvage her Olympic dream!

Let's move away from Rio for a bit!
What happened elsewhere?

Well, for one, a HUGE gap in the schedule was presented when a World Relays meet was NOT put on the schedule for 2016!
WHY??
There's nothing I can see that would have taken anything away from Rio!
The HUGE success of the 1st two versions clearly call for at least one ANNUAL meet a year!!
As of now, it seems to be getting the every-second-year approach of the cowardly and the brainless!!
They do return in 2017!

The Olympics (and other meets) saw many athletes competing for unfamiliar nations!
Look at the rosters of Turkey, Bahrain, Qatar, and even Greece, Spain, and several other nations!
American Alexi Pappas ran the 10000 for Greece.
David Torrence ran for Peru.
Africans--especially Kenyans and Ethiopians--were seen wearing many colors--and (NOT!) speaking many foreign tongues!
All while holding tenuous, if ANY, true residency in their adoptive country!!

Fair?
Yes and no.
Some DO have blood in their system that ties them to a nation other than their birth!
And in an Olympic year, they'll USE these thin bonds to become "Olympians"--which their HOME nation denies them--through lack of ability or through politics!!
Something must change, and if Seb Coe has his way, something will!!

Margaret Wambui, Francine Niyonsaba, Caster Semenya.
Are they WOMEN--or not?
Yes--for the most part!
And therein lies the teeth of one of the most controversial issues of our time--What constitutes a WOMAN--that makes her different from a MAN??
Other than the obvious--there are internal factors that determine the LEGALITY of the DNA, hormones, and other scientific bases that, together, determine---for the issue of Track & Field competition!!--whether these selfsame "persons" should be allowed to compete against women whose internal make-up falls under legally "normal" constraints!
As of the Rio Olympics, the IAAF and IOC and other governing bodies said YES, the above-3-named persons CAN compete in Women's events--in their case, the 800 meters!
BUT I SAID "NO"!!
Thus, if you refer back to my coverage of their races, you will see how I treated their marks and places!
To me, they were invisible---and remain so!!
I only hope the rest of the sport comes to agree with me!!

Teenagers were everywhere in the sport this year!
Eliza McCartney nabbed the PV's Bronze medal at 19.
Vashti Cunningham, at 18, was a HJ contender!
So was Sydney McLaughlin in the 400H, but at Age 17!
Konrad Bukowiecki filled the SP ring as a teen!

A few made some very loud noises at the US Olympic Trials--in some cases, JUST missing making the team!!
But others also made headlines as future Olympians, probably!
Noah Lyles, Donavan Brazier, Tia Jones, Tyrese Cooper!
Worldwide, we heard from Lisa Gunnarsson, Wilma Murto, Adam Hague, and Mondo Duplantis in the PV.
And coming up FAST (literally!) behind them was (then-) 12 year old Grace Ping, who shows MUCH promise!!
And what about that German lass Konstanze Klosterhalfen??

Speaking of young ones, the 2017 INdoor (and OUTdoor) season now has just ONE lonely member of the HS PRO Club--she being Candace Hill!!

For all intents, the 2016 OUTdoor season was essentially missing the following athletes--
Mary Cain, Sarah Baxter, Wesley & Ryen Frazier, Brigetta Barrett, and Demi Payne---not to mention all clean Russians except for Darya Klishina!!
Cain left NOP and Alberto Salazar, and returning from a slight knee ache, looks to return in 2017.
Baxter and the Fraziers competed sporadically in 2016---and even more sporadically--successfully!!
Barrett apparently is a RETIRED High Jumper--at Age 26!!
Ms Payne's status is unknown as of "press time"--but I'm guessing she'll return to PV'ing sometime in 2017!!

The US Marathon Army recruited two runners--one man, one woman--in 2016 that made a HUGE impact on the sport in our country--and the World---in their FIRST Marathons!!

Galen Rupp made TeamUSA in the LA race, winning it easily in 2:11 and change!
Molly Huddle waited until November's NYC race--where she took 3rd in a nifty 2:28 and a penny or so!
Both will still run Track in 2017--the 10000--but will then finish their careers as--Marathoners!!
And, I'm guessing, in MUCH faster times!!

On that note, let's switch gears here--and return to the old "meat & potatoes" of this blog--Records & Marks!!
All toward seeing how well--or ill--2016 measured--as a year!!

(Lots more to go, so hope you're with me!!)

In the 2016 OUTdoor season, we saw---
FIVE World Records (Almaz Ayana's 29:17.45 10K, Kendra Harrison's 12.20 100H, Anita Wlodarczyk's 272-3 HT, Ruth Jebet's 8:52.78 3000SC, and Wayde Van Niekerk's 43.03 in the 400!)
EIGHT United States Records--ALL by Women!!!  (Molly Huddle in the 10000, Shannon Rowbury in the 5000, Harrison's 100H mark, Keturah Orji's 48-3.25 TJ, Emma Coburn's latest Steeplechase mark, Michelle Carter's massive 67-8.25 SP, Sandi Morris's 16-4.75 PV, and, YES, Gwen Berry's HT of 250-4--embarrassingly NOT ratified by USATF!!)
And, just as reminders, there were SEVEN Collegiate Records and EIGHT High School Records, as well as TWO HS PRO Records broken in 2016's OUTdoor season!!
(There were actually MORE records broken, as some athletes broke their records more than once!!)

What about Place Records?
(Not forgetting that I EXPANDED my Place Record listings this year--thus, more Records were available for breaking!!)
SIX Place Records were broken in the Men's 4X100 Relay, leading the charge!
FIVE went down in the Men's 400!
And THREE fell in the Men's 1000.
(I'm only reporting those events with 3 or more!)
For the Women--
SEVEN crashed to the track in that iconic & historic 10000 in Rio!!
SIX fell in the Heptathlon!
FIVE went down in both the 4X100 Relay and 3000SC!
And THREE each were broken in the 100, 5000, PV, and JT!

What were the busiest Meet Record-breaking meets??
For the Men, the Olympics and the World Junior Champs led the way, with FIVE each!
The Florida Relays and the Birmingham DL saw FOUR MR's fall.
The US Olympic Trials, the NBN, and the SEC's saw THREE of these babies fall!!

The Women were MUCH more productive in this corner---as they were in most EVERY nook & cranny!!
Oh, BTW, I'm NOT including "new" meets--namely the Rabat DL, the American Track League affairs, and the shiny new TrackTown Summer Series!
For the Record, however, all 10 Men's TTSS events became MR's, and 6 MR's fell in Rabat, while the ATL's got 5.
In these same meets, the Women had 9 TTSS MR's, 8 from the ATL's, and 6 from Rabat!
In "regular" meets, the Women were quite productive!

The NBN meet led the way with SEVEN MR's!
SIX each went down in the USATF Jrs, Olympic Trials, and the Big 10 Conference meet!
FIVE were broken in the NCAA's and the WJC!
FOUR each fell in the Shanghai & London DL's, as well as the PAC-12, SEC, and ACC meets!
THREE were broken in the Van Damme, Pre, and Doha DL's, as well as the Portland Track Festival and the---Olympic Games!!

National Records??
Which nations saw the deepest revisions in their National Record Books??
Most shockingly, the United States Men STRUCK OUT in this department---while American Women saw EIGHT National standards come crashing down!!

Elsewhere, FOUR Men's NR's fell in Canada and Turkey!
THREE apiece were broken in Algeria, Spain, Bahrain, South Africa, and India!

The Women were led by the British, with GB getting FOUR NR's.
THREE each went to Canada, Kenya, Sweden, Switzerland, the Bahamas, and Australia!!

Finally (WHEW!!), let's see which EVENTS have the most Marks made in 2016 on my OUTdoor DDD lists!!
These figures basically determine my "Event of the Year" for each gender!!
Below are figures for the World and US ONLY!!

World--Men
Marathon (7)
1000 (5)
4X100 Relay (4)
200 (3)

World--Women
PV (8)
10000 & JT (6)
100 & 3000SC (5)
5000 & 4X100 Relay (4)
LJ (3)

So, once again, it was the "Year of the PV" OUTdoors in 2016 for the Women!
And it was the "Year of the Marathon" for the Men!!

US--Men
3000SC & LJ & JT (3)
A 3-way tie for Best Event & "Year of..."!!

US--Women
Much MUCH more productive here!!
3000SC  (8)
PV & SP  (7)
Mile, 400H, TJ, JT, HT--each with (4)
100, 400, 5000, 10000, LJ, DT, and Heptathlon--all with (3)
For the ladies, the "Year of the Steeplechase"!!

And I will---FINALLY!!--finish with a retrospective on---My Blog!!
Now 3 years and 3 weeks into its existence, this is post Number 334!!
Of those--including this one--122 are from 2016---a record number!!

As noted above, I expanded my Place Records listings!
Also as noted (in an earlier post), I began a United States Only Best Combined Events list--for the same categories as in my original listings covering the entire World!!
Those are pretty much done---waiting for massive revision!!

Lastly, here are the Highlights from my 122 posts from this year!
Personally, I enjoyed doing my "New Year's Wish List"
In the "Two HS Class Records (& a Book Review)", I detailed the great "World's Greatest in Athletics" book.
"Thoughts & Questions" was okay.
I did a detailed Preview of the OT Marathon, as well as a detailed report of the races!
The Millrose meet needed two posts--one exclusively for the distance events!!
"Explaining This Blog" was perhaps necessary!
The month of March saw 19 posts, with 13 of them being Previews, Predictions & Wrap-Ups of the Big INdoor meets!!
April 3rd's edition was titled--for obvious reasons!--For Blog Post 250"!
(Those took 847 days!)
I liked the title (& the message!) of "Absolute Lists Absolutely Not!".
In May, I did a 2-parter on "Those DDD's"!
In June, I concentrated 2 more on "The AGE of Records"!
The OT's got 3 Preview posts, 5 Results posts, and one B&W!
The World Juniors got three.

The Olympics??
WOW!!
I began on August 1st with "The Games of Rio".
Then came a full schedule.
I did four Preview posts, event-by-event, each gender!
Followed by TEN detailed posts of RESULTS!!
Rio's Best & Worst ended this run as OG Post Number SEVENTEEN!!!

Then came my HS & Collegiate Wrap-Ups!
"LIFE (& other news)" remains one of my best---and saddest!!
I've done EIGHT Previews of the 2017 INdoor Season!!

And of course I'll end with my World & US AOY posts--in about 48 hours!!

Thank you for staying with me!
Hope it was fun--or at least stimulating!!

See you soon!