JOEY BLUM / CHRONICLE PHOTO- Thoumas Seppänen shows Creswell how to Throw the Hammer. Want to learn more? Joey Blum breaks down the Finnish team make up online at Chronicle1909.com. Perhaps no athletic event embodies the slogan, Citius, Altius, Fortius, “Swifter, Higher, Stronger” than does the Hammer Throw. Fresh off[Read More…]
Author: JOEY BLUM for The Chronicle
Not ‘just a track meet’ at Hayward
Track and Field officials working at Hayward Field often share a saying when things get hectic, “It’s just a track meet.” It’s a settling reminder that keeps us focused when the pressure mounts, television producers breathe fire down our necks, or something goes differently than planned and meet directors start[Read More…]
Track championships are an opportunity to ‘elevate’
Postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The World Athletic Championships is the biggest prize in the 11-meet schedule. The “Worlds” are track and field’s (Athletics) biennial Super Bowl and they will fill Hayward from July 15-24. Having the World Games at Hayward Field (rather than in New[Read More…]
Not to drone on, but empty stands leaves viewers with empty feeling
TV IMAGE/NBCDrones form a globe over the stadium during the opening ceremony that was missing an in-person audience. “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I enjoy a philosophical question even if I don’t know the answer,[Read More…]
‘Covid Olympics’ are still must-see TV
Blum “The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.” – Pierre de Coubertin, on July 24, 1908 Fine words spoken by an aristocratic French educator, historian and founder of the International Olympic[Read More…]
Stream of consciousness: Rules are rules
Blum “Justice and law, well, I suppose they can be described as distant cousins.” – From “A Dry White Season” about apartheid When I was 23, I was stopped at 12:07 a.m. and cited for lewd contact in Olympia, Wash. My crime: Peeing in a public place, lewd conduct[Read More…]
Olympic Trials and tribulations left lasting impressions on all
Blum EUGENE – After working the past 10 days of The Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, I struggle to capture the story. TrackTown, NBC, USATF, and The USOC all are pumping out the hype, records, and “made for TV” excitement on their social and mainstream media platforms, so there’s no[Read More…]
‘Goosebump’ moments can come from anywhere
Sam Kendricks Reporting from The U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials … EUGENE – At long last, the new Hayward Field had fans in the stands as competition began on June 18 for spots on the United States Olympics team. Despite COVID-19 precautions in place, evidenced by masks and social[Read More…]
Trials bringing just the right energy to charge Hayward
FILE PHOTO Allyson Felix, the biggest start coming into the U.S. Olympic Trials. A close friend of mine likes to say that, “Life is a zero-sum game,” meaning things tend to balance out. Such was certainly true May 29, when news came to track and field aficionados that fans could[Read More…]
Hayward Field hosts track’s elite
KEVIN SCOTT/UO PHOTO The 10-story Hayward Field Tower pays tribute to the University of Oregon legacy with graphics depicting five Oregon track and field icons. Along with legendary coach Bill Bowerman, the tower depicts Steve Prefontaine, Raevyn Rogers, Ashton Eaton and Otis Davis, the first Oregon Ducks track athlete to[Read More…]