What’s your state’s best female athlete ever?

Yesterday, in celebration of National Girls and Women in Sport Day, Sports Illustrated did something really cool – they featured the best female athletes from each state (totaling 51, of course).

Special thanks to @LegacyDirect for tweeting about this.

The time frame of this feature goes back to the 1920′s. As an athlete, it’s really neat to learn about women who excelled back in the day.

As a native of New Jersey, it was interesting for me to learn about distance runner Mary Decker Slaney, someone who I had previously never heard of (probably because she was successful in 1984, the year before I was born).

Here are some details about her:

She set American records in every middle and long distance event on the books — the 800, 1,500, mile, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000. She won the 1983 World Distance Championships in the 1,500 and 3,000. After qualifying for her first Olympics at 21, she went on to qualify for three more teams. She is perhaps best known for her failures on the Olympic stage, including a fall at the ’84 Games that sent her onto the infield writhing in pain during the 3,000-meter race she was heavily favored to win.

Currently a resident of Washington, DC, it’s also interesting for me to learn about backstroker Melissa Betole Ripley.

Here are some details about her:

Sixteen at the 1972 Games in Munich, Ripley won three golds (100- and 200-meter backstroke, one with the relay team), setting a world record in the 200 and an Olympic record in the 100.

Who’s the best female athlete in your state? Check it out, here.

Obama’s sister says “He is proud” of Kenyan runners at Honolulu Marathon

President-elect Barack Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, met with Kenyan runners last week, before Sunday’s 36th Honolulu Marathon.

“He is proud of the Kenyan runners,” she said.

Soetoro-Ng, a teacher in Honolulu, met with the Kenyan runners at a private dinner on Thursday and told them President-elect Obama will be delighted to learn that she met with them, according to an article in the International Herald Tribune.

She greeted each runner, seven men and one woman, with a hug and posed for pictures with them.

Kenya’s male runners finished the top 5, and the other came in eighth. Woo hoo!

Kenya’s female runner Alice Timbilili (pictured left), who also met with Obama’s sister proir to the race, came in third, just behind second place finisher Kaori Yoshida and winner Kiyoko Shimahara (both from Japan). Shimahara won the Honolulu marathon on her first try with a time of 2:32:36.

Hat tip to Adam Jacobs from The Final Sprint for posting about this last week.

Her Sports Rounds… The Best of Women’s Sports

Below is my roundup – hope you enjoy!

Lauren at Feministe discusses the beauty and power displayed in the image of female bodybuilders – an image that “isn’t that of a delicate orchid.”

Jane from Pretty Tough gives a great recap of what’s happening in the women’s figure skating industry. I know I’ve said this before, but I think Jane probably has the best coverage of women’s sports out there.

Diane from Women Who Serve talks about “who’s hot and who’s not” for women’s tennis in ’09. This is a very interesting read, and a great blog – I’m so glad Diane decided to start this blog – a life-long fan of women’s tennis… what a great way to express her passion.

Rob from the Athletic Women blog discusses the importance of strength training for female athletes.

Apryl Delancey from Women Like Sports discusses how Lisa Guerrero from Inside Edition and TV Guide has decided to become a sports blogger!  I hope she takes the lead in covering women’s sports!!!

Ted and Sara at the Women’s Hoops Blog give great recaps of what’s happening in college hoops – check out their post from November 23 – what great coverage!

Lyndsey from Girls Dig Sports (B5 Media) says that Alicia Sacramone, from the Olympics gymnastics team, is considering a reality show with Lou Reda Productions.

Erica Ortiz discusses what she’s thankful for at Horsepower & Heels.

Keri Mikulski heads back to Texas for a book signing at The Ronald McDonald Tournament which benefits the Ronald McDonald House in Houston.

Our Bodies Our Blog linked to me this week – blogger Christine took a liking to a YouTube video I posted this week about five year old basketball phenom Milan Simone Tuttle.

Sara from Rock Climber Girl is attempting to bring together the rock climbing community by to making a directory of climbing-related Twitter-ers.  I think Twitter is awesome – I’d love to see a community of female athletes raising influence on Twitter.

Stanford FBC gives us the back story on how a musician (Bud Anderson) and a graphic artist ( Sarah Boruta) are the new videographers for the Stanford women’s team.These two seem to be responsible for Stanford’s viral videos and possibly a music video for the team.

Adam Jacobs at The Final Sprint discusses corruption at the top of the track and field industry. He came out with Part III and Part IV of his Dysfunction Run Amuck series. I highly recommend you read them – very, very interesting.

Dysfunction Run Amuck: USA Track & Field and the Need for Change

Adam Jacobs from The Final Sprint has written a very interesting article about USA Track & Field. Titled Disfunction Run Amuck: USA Track & Field and the Need for Change, this article is a great read for those interested in investigative journalism and corruption at one of the highest levels of the sport. Hopefully this series will bring the much-needed change that Adam highlights.

From The Final Sprint:

“TheFinalSprint.com’s investigation into this matter uncovered disturbing accusations and issues of dysfunction, including infighting, power struggles, racial tension, lack of oversight, and conflicts of interest within the board of directors. While the allegations may not rise to the level of criminality, they do threaten to undermine the organization at a time that it desperately needs cohesiveness and efficiency. With the belief that sunlight is the best disinfectant, TheFinalSprint.com will publish an article each day for the next week providing an inside look at USATF and its current situation.”

Below is the schedule. I highly enourage my readers to check follow its progress.

• 11/20 – Introduction
• 11/21 – How Did We Get Here?
• 11/22 – USOC Mandates / State of Dysfunction at USATF
• 11/23 – Financial Mismanagement / “Jets vs. Sharks”
• 11/24 – Racial Tensions / Infighting / Overstepping
• 11/25 – Conflict Of Interest / USATF Pres. Election
• 11/26 – Reasons For Hope / Restructuring

Check out The Final Sprint this month for great podcasts on womens track & field

The Final Sprint, a site dedicated to news and information on track and field as well as and healthy, active lifestyles has a theme this month for its podcasts… women.

I’d like to congratulate The Final Sprint’s CEO/President Adam Jacobs on a job well done in covering women’s track and field. I used to write for Adam, and as long as I’ve known him, he’s always been an advocate for female athletes and a true fan of the sport of track and field.

I highly encourage you to check out the TFS podcasts… they’re great! So far, they’ve interviewed Steeplechaser Lindsey Anderson and Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards. Keep checking The Final Sprint to see when new podcasts are posted.

Note: These posts are sponsored by Secretsport.com, a who has deemed women’s track and field important enough to invest in. I cannot thank Secret enough for their support of great sports information.

Donohue stops at qualifier

Yesterday morning, Erin Donohue ran in a big, BIG race: the 1500m qualifier. Maybe it was all the hype, maybe it was all the attention, or maybe she just wanted it too much. Regardless, her Olympic performance ended on the track in Beijing yesterday, as she finished eighth. She needed to be in the top three to advance.

After the race, it was clear that she was disappointed. As reported in the Baxter Bulletin,

“I really wanted to perform well here. Maybe that was part of the problem,” she said. “I really wanted it bad.”

She was in the top four, on the rail, but didn’t close as planned. She collided with Kenya’s Viola Kibiwott in the home straightaway. However, these type of things are to be expected.

At 5-foot-7 and 143 punds, Donohue is bigger than most other milers, so she said she doesn’t mind physical races.

She said,

“You can’t be surprised when all these girls come up on you,” Donohue said. “You’ve got to be ready to get out and go. I didn’t have it to go. Maybe I’m not as fit as I thought I was.“

Donohue will stay in Beijing until Sunday, but only for closing ceremonies. I think it’s important for Erin (and the rest of NJ) to focus on what’s important -  not winning. but taking part.

Donohue (and town of Haddonfield, NJ) prepare for race of a lifetime

Below is an article that my mom sent me from Haddonfield Online, a Web site dedicated to what’s going on in Haddonfield, NJ (I know, exciitng, right?)

If you didn’t already see from my previous post, Erin Donohue is from my hometown, and she competing in the women’s 1500-m race this week. You can see her Olympic profile here.

Anyway, I thought this was actually well-written. Not surprisingly, there is a Rocky Balboa reference (so typical for South Jersey). I think maybe the townies are going a little bit overboard with singing her praises (I was told that they practically threw her a parade), but still, it is exciting to see someone from a small town achieve something so great.

Take a look at this article (written by Christian Giudice of Haddonfield Online)…

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place. It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! ” Rocky Balboa

Hyperbole, overstatement, guilty as charged. But the analogy is so inviting.

As Haddonfield Memorial High School product Erin Donohue takes the track on Thursday (August 21) between 7am and 7:20am (EDT time)* in a heat of the Women’s 1500M, the Rocky storyline presents itself: gutty local hero and underdog fighting her way up the ranks (insert Donohue), running the cold, lonely streets of Philly when no one’s around (C’mon Rock), a crafty trainer who taught her the ropes and changed her style (John Cook as Mickey), and the controversy surrounding the Russian super power (Yelena Soboleva as Ivan Drago suspended for drug tampering).

It’s all there.

You see where I am headed with the underdog theme. Unfortunately in Beijing, there’s not just one Drago, but add a couple Apollo Creeds, Clubber Langs and very few Spider Rekos.

Judging by times alone (4:05:55 her personal best), conventional wisdom suggests that Donohue, the runner, isn’t worthy of medal contention; yet, times have nothing to do with Donohue, the competitor. By the time the field is whittled down and the final comes around in less than a week (Aug. 23), something tells me that despite the punishment, Donohue will still be standing.

Getting ahead of myself, probably. I won’t take in to account that Bahrain’s Myriam Yusuf Jamal ran a 3:59 in Europe this year already or that Donohue’s college rival, Duke’s Shannon Rowbury nearly matched that time in the same race. University of Arkansas product Christin Wurth-Thomas also eclipsed Donohue’s personal best with a 4:05:00.

Please don’t remind me that oddsmakers believe Donohue to be little more than a burgeoning pimple on the face of the 1500 women’s field. There’s no chance I’ll even mention the lack of experience or the nerves that deter any young athlete on such a grand stage.

I know little about the fierce Bahrain champ or the capability of Rowbury, and I have never heard of the three Russian girls who were banned from the Olympics before it began. What I do know is that since 2005, Donohue has cut nearly 30 seconds off her 1,500 time.

What I do know is that Donohue will casually pat you on the back before the race, wish you well, wait patiently for the race to develop, and she will fight, scrap and claw her way to position, using every trick in her running repertoire to mentally and physically ravage you. Those athletes, like Donohue, with nothing to lose are often the most dangerous. She doesn’t have significant weight pulling her down, or media members following every step; unlike others she can just focus on the race.

If I were only leading with my heart on this one, Donohue is headed to the final round. But it’s more than that, because everything I’ve witnessed about her as a competitor tells me to disregard times and previous matchups.

Maybe I’m being a naïve outsider looking in on a sport that determines its winners solely by times and favorites, but Donohue doesn’t discourage easily. As a sports journalist, I have fallen prey to that miracle curse that we all suffer from. I believe in Erin Donohue, and that among the world’s monstrous athletes, she is merely a small-town fighter struggling to, and will be heard.

She’s Rocky Balboa in running shoes swinging haymakers and hooks. When no one expects anything out of an athlete like Donohue, that’s when she counters.

By the final – 7:50am on Saturday (EDT) – the world will finally see what she’s made of.

—– Please note that the date/time of her race in this article are wrong. On Thursday, August 21 at 7am (Haddonfield time), the first of two heats will be run. The second heat will start 7:10am. Each heat will have up to 18 runners. The Start List has not been posted, so it is not yet known officially which heat Erin will run in. It is also not known how many runners from each heat will advance to the final, but it is believed that several other runners with the next fastest times will advance also. The final will take place on Saturday, August 23 at 7:50am (Haddonfield time).

Women’s Performances in Beijing Thus Far (some highlights)…

An exciting weekend in international sports as Beijing gets started. It’s only been just over three days and we’ve already seen some incredible performances. Below are some highlights of what’s happened for the women over the weekend, broken down by sport.

I thoroughly enjoy the positive impact that Wikipedia has made on my life, as well as to the quality and access of information available. Therefore, trusting the online contributors, I took what’s there and compiled a list of updates on women’s performances from the weekend. If you have anything to add, please do so in the comments field at the bottom of this post.

Friday, 8/8

Soccer:

Norway beat defending champion United States 2–0 in group G for soccer (women’s football).

Norwegian striker Leni Larsen Kaurin‘s second-minute goal was the fastest-ever goal in the women’s Olympic football tournament.^[2] Meanwhile, reigning World Cup champion Germany drew 0–0 with Brazil in group F.^[3] Host China won its opening game by beating Sweden 2–1 in group E.^[4]

Saturday, 8/9

Archery:

South Korea set an Olympic record in the ranking round of women’s team archery.

Weight lifting:

Chen Xiexia of China won the Women’s 48 kilogram (that’s 105 lbs) Weightlifting competition, successfully completing all her attempts winning the gold with 95kg (209 lbs) in the snatch and 117kg (257.4 lbs) in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 212kg (466.4 lbs) a new Olympic Record.

Fencing:

The United States swept the medals in the women’s sabre event, the first U.S. podium sweep of a fencing event since 1904. Mariel Zagunis took gold.

Soccer:

Norway qualifies for the quarterfinals of the women’s football tournament with a 1–0 win over New Zealand.

Air Rifle:

Kateřina Emmons of the Czech Republic wins the first gold medal of the games, setting an Olympic record for both the qualifying (with a perfect 400) and final scores, in the women’s 10 m air rifle.

Sunday, August 10

Archery:

South Korea set a world record for a 24-arrow team match, in their victory over Italy in the quarter finals of the women’s team archery event.

Air Pistol:

Guo Wenjun of China wins gold in women’s 10 metre air pistol and sets a new Olympic record for final score with 492.3 points, after Natalia Paderina of Russia had bettered the Olympic qualification record to 391.

During the medal ceremony, Pederina and bronze medalist Nino Salukvadze of Georgia shared a symbolic embrace as their two countries continued to war; the two had been friends since they both competed for the Soviet Union. (see picture to the right)

Swimming:

Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice sets a new world record in women’s 400 m individual medley, winning Australia’s 400th Summer Olympics medal. Second place Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe also finished below the previous world record.

The Netherlands team wins women’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay final with a new Olympic record of 3:33.76.

Darra Torres won the silver in the 400m Free Relay.

Weight lifting:

Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand wins gold in women’s 53 kg weightlifting and sets a new Olympic record for clean and jerk. This is Thailand’s first medal in the 2008 games

Cycling:

Nicole Cooke of Great Britan took the gold medal in the Women’s Road race.

Women’s Springboard:

Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia of China took the gold medal in the women’s synchronized springboard competition.

Judo:

Xian Dongmei of China took the women’s Judo gold medal.

Swimming:

Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo,Femke Heemskerk, Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands took the gold medal in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.

… and much more to come later.

Women’s Performances in Beijing Thus Far (some highlights)…

An exciting weekend in international sports as Beijing gets started. It’s only been just over three days and we’ve already seen some incredible performances. Below are some highlights of what’s happened for the women over the weekend, broken down by sport.

I thoroughly enjoy the positive impact that Wikipedia has made on my life, as well as to the quality and access of information available. Therefore, trusting the online contributors, I took what’s there and compiled a list of updates on women’s performances from the weekend. If you have anything to add, please do so in the comments field at the bottom of this post.

Friday, 8/8

Soccer:

Norway beat defending champion United States 2–0 in group G for soccer (women’s football).

Norwegian striker Leni Larsen Kaurin‘s second-minute goal was the fastest-ever goal in the women’s Olympic football tournament.^[2] Meanwhile, reigning World Cup champion Germany drew 0–0 with Brazil in group F.^[3] Host China won its opening game by beating Sweden 2–1 in group E.^[4]

Saturday, 8/9

Archery:

South Korea set an Olympic record in the ranking round of women’s team archery.

Weight lifting:

Chen Xiexia of China won the Women’s 48 kilogram (that’s 105 lbs) Weightlifting competition, successfully completing all her attempts winning the gold with 95kg (209 lbs) in the snatch and 117kg (257.4 lbs) in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 212kg (466.4 lbs) a new Olympic Record.

Fencing:

The United States swept the medals in the women’s sabre event, the first U.S. podium sweep of a fencing event since 1904. Mariel Zagunis took gold.

Soccer:

Norway qualifies for the quarterfinals of the women’s football tournament with a 1–0 win over New Zealand.

Air Rifle:

Kateřina Emmons of the Czech Republic wins the first gold medal of the games, setting an Olympic record for both the qualifying (with a perfect 400) and final scores, in the women’s 10 m air rifle.

Sunday, August 10

Archery:

South Korea set a world record for a 24-arrow team match, in their victory over Italy in the quarter finals of the women’s team archery event.

Air Pistol:

Guo Wenjun of China wins gold in women’s 10 metre air pistol and sets a new Olympic record for final score with 492.3 points, after Natalia Paderina of Russia had bettered the Olympic qualification record to 391.

During the medal ceremony, Pederina and bronze medalist Nino Salukvadze of Georgia shared a symbolic embrace as their two countries continued to war; the two had been friends since they both competed for the Soviet Union. (see picture to the right)

Swimming:

Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice sets a new world record in women’s 400 m individual medley, winning Australia’s 400th Summer Olympics medal. Second place Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe also finished below the previous world record.

The Netherlands team wins women’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay final with a new Olympic record of 3:33.76.

Darra Torres won the silver in the 400m Free Relay.

Weight lifting:

Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand wins gold in women’s 53 kg weightlifting and sets a new Olympic record for clean and jerk. This is Thailand’s first medal in the 2008 games

Cycling:

Nicole Cooke of Great Britan took the gold medal in the Women’s Road race.

Women’s Springboard:

Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia of China took the gold medal in the women’s synchronized springboard competition.

Judo:

Xian Dongmei of China took the women’s Judo gold medal.

Swimming:

Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo,Femke Heemskerk, Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands took the gold medal in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.

… and much more to come later.

Erin Donahue Qualifies for Beijing

It’s extroadinarily exciting to see that someone from your hometown has qualified for the Olympics. On Monday, it was announced that Erin Donahue from Haddonfield, NJ finished second in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials to earn a trip to Beijing.

Erin is living proof that hard work can pay off in the end, and that someone from rural south Jersey can actually make their way to the Olympics.

(From the Philadelphia Inquirer) “I wasn’t one of those runners who sticks out, who you say, ’Oh, she’s going to be an Olympian,’ “Donohue said. “When I graduated (in 2005), I didn’t get a whole lot of attention from shoe companies or agents. I had to work for it. I’ve improved a little each year and it’s got me to where I am now.”

I have known about Erin for about eight or so years now. Erin is from Haddonfield, NJ, the town near where I grew up. I actually played against her in basketball a few times, and was friendly with many of her teammates, who were a part of my AAU basketball program, the Penn Jersey Panthers.

Erin was a GREAT basketball player. But she was always a better runner, a true stand-out athlete. In fact, I frequently saw her run by my house and through the neighboring park on her daily runs. In the end, running is what she pursued. That said, if she wanted to, she could have easily played for a small Division I basketball program.

But I’m sure she’s glad she didn’t do that. Erin went on from high school to run at North Carolina, and now she finds herself headed to Beijing, to run on the world’s greatest stage.

“It feels so good to go out there and execute your plan,” Donohue said. “It’s not like the NCAA or the NFL, where there’s always another season. In track, your focus for four years is the Olympic trials and the Olympics.”

And now she’s got her chance. It’s truly exciting to see this, and you can bet, everyone from south Jersey will be watching the women’s 1,500.

High School Athlete Advances to Finals for Olympic Long Jump

Why this is not all over the news, I’ll never understand. 15-year-old Shanay Briscoe of Duncanville, TX jumped 5 feet, 10 1/2 inches in the preliminary round of the women’s long jump in the Olympic Trials Monday night to advance to the finals on Friday evening.

It will be interesting to see how she performs on Friday, and it would be very exciting to see her go to Beijing. Briscoe is one of only three high school female athletes to be invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Briscoe had the nation’s best high-school high jump mark this year, when she leaped 6 feet, 1.25 inches at the Great Southwest Track Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A total of 28 competitors will be vying for one of the six spots on the Olympic team. It has been said that Briscoe will need to at least break her personal best record to have any chance at qualifying to become one of the six female high jump representatives on Team USA’s roster in Beijing.

I’m hoping she does it; would be awesome to see her take the trip. But, as the Olympics motto goes, the honor is not in winning, but in competing. It’s just exciting to see her out there with a chance at only 15 years of age.

Running in the Race For the Cure

Saturday morning, I was among the 50,000 participants in the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure, a 5K event held in Washington, DC. The event raised $4.9 million to fund the breast cancer research community health programs for the medically underserved in the National Capital area.

Next year, the event will be named the “Susan G. Komen Global Race For the Cure,” as the event is now a global leader in the breast cancer movement.

It was a hot one on Saturday morning — temperatures reached a high of 98 degrees. With 50,000 sweaty bodies around you, I’d say it feels like that temperature almost doubles. And for some reason, when you’re on the National Mall, it feels hotter than ever.

But I got it in in about 30 minutes. 10 minute mile with a delayed start and extraordinary heat — not too bad.

Seeing all those people come out for this event really says something. With all those people at the event, it shows great support — but it also means that breast cancer is a real problem in this country.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 182,460 women in the United States will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2008. About 40,480 women will die from the disease this year. Right now there are about two and a half million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Taking action by participating in events such as the Komen Race for the Cure or the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life shows support toward a better future. I’d like to congratulate all the survivors, individuals, companies and sponsors for participation and support.

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