What caused the U.S. Track and Field meltdown?

It's been a sobering 10 days for the USATF, the body that oversees the United States Track and Field team. It's been decades since the U.S. Team performed so poorly at an Olympic Games. Swept off the track in the individual sprints by the mighty Jamaicans, the U.S. sprinters hit rock bottom on Thursday when both Men's and Women's 4X100M sprint teams dropped the baton in preliminary heats and didn't even qualify for the finals. Both were expected to be strong Gold medal contenders, although that is somewhat hard to believe after watching the Jamaican women sweep the U.S. Women right out of the medals in the individual 100m (pictured).










The list of failures is long and peppered with high profile names. Tyson Gay, the defending World Champ at both 100 and 200m was injured at the trials and didn't qualify for the 200m and was eliminated in the semis of the 100m, he was also involved in the botched relay hand-off that led to the relay DQ. 1,500m World Champion, Bernard Legat also failed to qualify for the finals. There was talk of a sweep in the shot put as Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson finished 1-2 at last year's World's and Christian Cantwell had been throwing as well as anyone coming in. Instead they won just a silver by Cantwell.

I could go on and on but the story remains the same. Almost a total collapse in what is typically the stage for some of the greatest U.S. successes. USA Track and Field announced today that they will start an investigation immediately following the Games to determine what went wrong and get a new program in place immediately. But sadly, like in many other high profile sports, it seems the rest of the world has simply caught up. What we saw as an American birthright has been snatched away by hungrier, more motivated and for the time being superior athletes from overseas.

Hopefully the forthcoming changes will be successful and in 4 years things will be back to what Americans are used to seeing on the Olympic track. But for now, all most fans can do is shake their heads in disbelief.

Beijing 2008: 6 names you'll know two weeks from now...

We all know about Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant and Jennie Finch. They have proven their talent before in front of the world, but who are the future American stars? Who are the athletes that will shine during these 2008 Olympics? Who will etch their names next to the likes of Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens? Here is a list of 6 American athletes competing in the Olmypics this year that you may not know, however in a couple weeks, we think you will.

#6 Ben Askren, Freestyle Wrestling
Askren (pictured right) is a talented wrestler, winning two NCAA titles for Missouri in the 174 lb division in 2006 and 2007. Askren will be competing in the 164 lb weight division here at Beijing. He has never competed in a big international event before, but he oozes talent and has the confidence to go alogn with it. "I'm going to win a gold medal" he told the AP.


#5 Thomas Finchum, Platform Diving Finchum was named the 2007 American Diver of the year after racking up numerous medals at international events, including a bronze at the 2007 world championships. Finchum is only 18 years old and is looking like Americas best hope for a gold medal in Men's diving.


#4 Kate Zeigler, Swimming
Zeigler (pictured left) is the American Swimming newcomer to watch. The 20 year old from Virginia will be swimming in the 400 and 800 meter freestyle events. She is a nedal favorite in both, especially the 800. She holds the world record in the 1500 free, however it is not an Olympic event.


#3 Lolo Jones, Track and Field
Jones is the next great American sprinter, following in a long line of US medal success. Jones is a 3 time NCAA champion in the 100 meter hurdles and will be making her Olympic debut in Beijing. She is considered a favorite to win the Gold medal.


#2 Shawn Johnson, Gymnastics
Gymnasitcs, America's favorite Olmypic sport...... every 4 years a new hero is made, just ask Keri Strug, Paul Hamm and Shannon Miller. So this year, who will be America's sweetheart? Our guess is Shawn Johnson (pictured right), the talented young gymnast is considered a heavy favorite for the womens all-around gold medal.


#1 Tyson Gay, Track and Field
Who will be the fastest man in the world? That may depend on the health of Tyson Gay. The world-class American sprinter is battling a leg injury. however the sprinter says that won't keep him out of his first Olympics. The defending world champ will be the favorite in the 100 meters if he can get healthy on time.