As a boy growing up in Barbados it would have been impossible to avoid following the success' of Usain Bolt. The Jamaican sprinter has captured the world's imagination for the last nine years and is arguably the greatest sprinter of all time. Bolt announced that the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London would be his final competition, so everyone in the track & field world is waiting to see if someone can beat Bolt in his last race. Among those vying for Bolt's crown is Barbados' own Mario Burke. The rising junior for the Cougars has been getting primed for international competition these last two years. After missing out on the Olympics last summer, Burke is ready for his first senior level international meet. Burke punched his ticket to London by becoming the Barbados 100m national champion with a time of 10.12s. This after a season where Burke not only found success in the relay, helping the Cougars win the NCAA 4x100m national championship, but indivi
I know I stated this blog was dedicated to covering solely UH track and field, but there are things I've wanted to say and I have no other medium in which to publish it. I first learned of Tennessee's Christian Coleman when I went to interview Leroy Burrell for a feature about how Cameron Burrell had the countries fastest 60m time. It was then Coach Burrell informed me that actually Coleman had the top time. That day I learned how fast news changes in the track and field world. But I didn't think anything of it. I had seen what Burrell did the season prior, running 6.48s in the NCAA final and losing. I thought if he could run anything close to that time then he would be an NCAA champion. And for most of the season I had no reason to think otherwise. Burrell's time kept improving as the meets progressed. Coleman still had the top time at 6.51s, but I thought that was just one race he had run and that he wouldn't match it at the final. As the cha