Our British Hopefuls

If you haven’t already heard, London is hosting the Olympics this year. Therefore, it is a better time than ever for our British Track & Field athletes to show us what they are made of. The likes of Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Holly Bleasdale are showing brilliant indoor form and I have no doubt this will translate into the outdoor season.

Only yesterday did Jess Ennis destroy a field of accomplished hurdlers with a 60mh personal best time which a single-eventer would be proud of. She is also showing improved performances in shot-putt and long jump, not to mention her impressive high jump ability. She has become an athlete who it is not only hoped to earn gold, but expected to. Needless to say, I have no doubt she will achieve great things during the Olympics.

Mo Farah. Need I say more? An inspirational athlete who appears to be world class at any middle or distance event. We agonised during his loss in the 10km at the World Championships last year and Marvelled at his win in the 5km only a few days later. These performances displayed his admirable maturity and resilience. By far the best distance runner ever to compete for Britain and I would expect not only one but two gold medals come August.

One of my favourite breakthrough athletes of this indoor season is 800m runner, Joe Thomas. With four personal bests on the trot this indoor season, he is obviously doing some serious winter training. Yesterday he performed brilliantly against a very strong field, beating his fellow countryman Andrew Osagie and finishing close behind three of the best runners in the world. He holds real potential for the future and even though I do not expect him to medal in the 2012 Olympics, he could soon become one of the best in the world.

Other athletes of Olympic note are Nicola Sanders and Shana Cox. Both 400m runners who could do well this year. Sanders’ career has been very up and down due to injury and so she is not as well known as other 400m runners. With crossed fingers I think she could have a strong summer and hopefully make the final in August. Putting the controversies of nationality switching to side, Cox is a dedicated athlete that will be a strong addition to the 4×400 team. She could also be a strong contender for medals come the Olympics.

Young athletes do not come much better than Perri Shakes-Drayton; a confident and immensely talented 400 meter hurdler who gives flat runners a run for their money. Last summer showed how dominant she is in Britain winning gold for both the hurdles and the flat (to the embarrassment of Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders). She is yet to race this season but assuming she remains injury free, she is one to watch.

Being a 400m man myself, I have always been disappointed by the lack of men’s 400m talent in this country. It seems Martin Rooney, Michael Bingham and Conrad Williams have been content with being internationally uncompetitive. Thankfully, there are two athletes who threaten to change that. Richard Buck and Nigel Levine who are both blessed with 60m and 200m speed have rocked the indoor circuit and have caught the old-timers off guard. Could we beat the Americans in the 4x400m for gold this year?

Hannah England is a bit of a dark horse. She unexpectedly claimed a silver medal last summer In Daegu and since then she has showed signs of building on the achievement. Even though there are much faster athletes than her over 1500m in the world, she is a tactically accomplished athlete with a strong finish and she is a strong medal contender.

Finally on the track we have Andy Turner who, like Hannah England is a bit lucky to have a World Championship medal in his cabinet. He is currently suffering with an achilles tendon injury and he hopes to be back on the track in the next week. We all hope that this is just a blip in his career though as he is our only hope of a medal in the 110mh later this year. Nevertheless, with a decent block of training, Andy is an athlete that could make the likes of Liu Xiang and Dayron Robles nervous.

I could write a book on the medal contenders for the Olympics. Some that I haven’t mentioned are:

Philips Odowoh – Worlds gold and Olympic silver – triple jump

Jeanette Kwakye – Worlds semi-finalist – 100m

Shara Proctor – Central American and Caribbean Championships gold – Long jump

Jennifer Medows – Worlds bronze and world indoor silver – 800m

Holly Bleasdale – UK Championships gold – pole volt

Paula Radcliffe – Current Marathon record holder – legend

These are the athletes I am excited about. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

 

Warm up for sprinting

Clubs and groups with which I have trained in the past often warm up in a format similar to this:

1. jogging – often a few laps of the track
2. static stretching
3. a small amount of drills
4. a lot of strides

If you are reading this and thinking “I do this” or “my athletes do this” then listen up!

Warm ups, no matter what the racing or training distance should start with some kind of dynamic/aerobic activity (such as running or skipping). Most people would do a lap or two but some athletes prefer to do slow strides (Usain Bolt does about 10). This is to initially warm the muscles so that when stretching, they are less likely to pull. As well as this I often walk for 5 minutes before the jog. This is especially useful after a drive to training and just increases blood flow to the legs before any extended exercise.

Then athletes should stretch. This stretching should be dynamic. No matter what people tell you, do not stretch statically prior to sprinting. Experimentation shows us that static stretching slows an athlete sprinting up to 40 meters. After 40 meters the athlete is not slowed but they do not gain back the time they lost in the first 40 meters. This happens because static stretching excessively lengthens muscle fibres so that there is an increased distance from the origin to the insertion of the muscle increasing the time from extension to flexion. Also, it reduces the muscles ability to contract fully and therefore, reduces power. Some of these stretches may be quite challenging so you may want to break this section of your warm up with some skipping.

These are some of the dynamic stretches I do:

• 8 x press ups
• 8 x drop squats
• 8 x lunges on each leg
• 10 x trail legs on each leg
• 10 x up and backs on each leg
• 10 x Front leg swings each
• 10 x prone cross over
• 2 x inchworms
• 6 x sky kicks

Drills are designed to imitate running motions in an exaggerated fashion. This is so that the athlete performing the drill replicates the exaggerated motion when sprinting and hopefully performs a wider range of motion. The ordering of the exercises goes from slow motions (such as the walking lunge or knee left) to fast motions (such as A-runs and the fast leg). Each exercise should be performed for at least 10 meters and no more than 50 meters with a walk back between each exercise.

These are some of the drills I do:

• backwards running
• A-skips
• A-runs
• knee lift
• ground sweeps
• carioca
• skips for height
• fast legs

A maximum of 4 strides should be done at varying speeds of 70% with flats to 100% with spikes and if using, blocks. I often see athletes before races doing countless strides on the gun of their previous heats and this just tires them and they perform badly, especially over 200m or 400m.

Timing your warm up before a session is easy because you can start when you are ready. However, races almost never start on time at amateur events so timing the warm up is more difficult. My advice would be to warm up slowly over an hour and do your final of 4 strides when the officials ask you to set up your blocks. Make sure there is 5-10 minutes between the end of your warm up and the start of your race and never rush your final drills and tire yourself – just do the ones you deem to be important.

To summarise this article here is what to do in a warm up before racing and training:

1. jog or skip slowly – no more than 800m (this may follow a walk)
2. dynamic stretching
3. drills – going from slow movements to fast
4. strides of increasing speed – no more than four