Sarah at the World Championships 2009

Fellow Oregonian, Sarah Bertram recently finished competing at the 2009 World Championships in Goyang City, Korea.  She placed 16th, which makes her the 16 strongest woman on the planet in her weight class.  Put that way, what a bad-ass! Great job, Sarah!

I think she’s in a good position to be competitive in 2 years when the Olympics comes around.  I’ve competed “with” her many times, and she is very impressive to watch (as are her team mates).  It’s been cool to see her improve over the years, first winning Nationals, and now representing the US at the Worlds.

She hit an 89k snatch, and a 107k clean and jerk, for a total of 196k. The snatch was a personal record and the clean was only 2k off of her best.

All the results of the championships can be seen on the IWF website.

EDIT:  It turns out, Sarah is the first Oregonian (female or male) to go to the world championships–ever.  Fantastic.

Usain Bolt vs Tyson Gay

Tyson Gay just ran a 9.71 100 meter dash at the World Championships in Berlin smashing the American record.  This was the 3rd fastest time in history.  But, he only got second place and a silver medal.  Usain Bolt, the Jamaican 2008 Olympic sensation from Jamaica, got the gold with a 9.58!

Gay is still healing from a groin injury, but plans to compete on August 31 at the European Grand Prix.  Expect good things.  These guys are all so fast that all it takes is bad start off the blocks to change history.  As great as Bolt is, and he is, so is Tyson Gay.

And don’t count out men like Asafa Powell, who until now, held the record at 9.74. He’s still a great sprinter.   But both Gay and Bolt took that record down.  And, Bolt ripped it down so hard it may need a paramedic.

The truth is, some are arguing that Bolt still has room to improve:

Yes, he sprinted through the finish line for a change, even if he did turn his head to look at the clock before he crossed it. Yes, his reaction time out of the starting blocks was better than in Beijing and yes he was in the lead after just 20 meters, which is good work for a man of his height who usually loses the start to more compact sprinters.

But according to former world-record holder Donovan Bailey, Bolt straightened up too early on Sunday, thereby losing early propulsion.

“In Beijing, of all the finalists, he was the worst technically,” Bailey said. “He’s improved a lot, but he can still go faster and improve his first 30 meters.”

Guy Ontanon, a French sprint coach, analyzed the final Sunday for the French sports daily L’Equipe and also remarked on Bolt’s premature rise out of the drive phase.

“He really gave it what he had, which explains the time game,” Ontanon wrote of the race. “But he can still pick up five or six hundredths of a second. It’s monstrous to do what he did in this race despite that error.”

Monstrous indeed, Check out the video:

Total Prize money is up to $62,000!

Chabal impact
Don’t let this happen to you!

This is scary.

See my rant on Good Tithings.

USA Weightlifting’s Executive Director, Mr. Rodger DeGarmo, passed away while on a business trip this morning.

He really wasn’t very old, so the news comes as a bit of a shock.  I feel for his family, the wife and children he leaves behind.

Dan John has just released the latest issue of the Get Up! FREE newsletter.  As usual, it’s packed with great information!

Part 1

Part 2

Here’s a link to a NYTimes Article about the Hood to Coast Relay Race Marathon.

Bob Hill, the owner of Loprinzi’s gym runs it every year.  He’s also a Powerlifter, and just turned 60.  Not too bad.

While I’m not a big fan of steady state cardio (as an exercise), I am a big fan of putting your butt on the line.   And Hood to Coast is one sure fire way to do just that.