| The Wednesday Comment
The decathlon and heptathlon work for track and field because they test a range of very different skills (sprinting, middle-distance running, jumping and throwing) and produce a genuinely world-class all-rounder. But this Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none event surely has no place on the velodrome.The proposed changes will favour the host nation, though. Victoria Pendleton will have a chance to equal Sir Chris Hoy's triple gold medal haul, with the addition of the team sprint and Keirin for women. And Great Britain will be favourites for the women's team pursuit too.Meanwhile, the UCI's annual brewery tour ended in confusion when president Pat McQuaid ordered lemonades all round.By the way, the omnium features an indvidual pursuit, a flying 200-metre time trial, a points race, a scratch race and a kilometre time trial (500m for women).PYRENEES BITE BACKIf the strong rumours of a mountain time trial on the Col du Tourmalet, and a vicious stage from Luchon to the Col d'Aubisque, prove to be true, the 2010 Tour de France will be tailor-made for Alberto Contador.The only snag for Contador is that he is currently stuck in an Astana team that is sinking with him on board.
Big punches fly at Little Athletics
Tony Coppini, of Colyton, said his daughter Victoria, the club's other co-captain, had been on the track competing in her long-distance running event when the altercation occurred. ''She didn't see anything, she was up near the railway end,'' he said. ''I was up the other end [of the stadium]. I heard he got hit.'' The incident is the latest in a string of fights to have broken out at junior sporting events this year. In July, Gary Harling was knocked unconscious in a brawl involving four men at an under-12s junior rugby league game at the Glenwood oval. Two men, including Mr Harling, were later charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. .
Distance running great misses out on world record
The distance running legend set new world records at the Berlin event in each of the last two years but warm weather scuppered his attempt this time around. Gebrselassie led from the front throughout the race and at one point a new record mark seemed possible for the Ethiopian. But his pace dropped off in the latter stages of the race and the 36-year-old eventually finished with a time of two hours, six minutes and eight seconds, just over two minutes outside his record mark. Kenyan Francis Kiprop finished 58 seconds behind to take second place while Negari Terfa was third in a time of 2:07:41. Hard After the race, Gebreselassie admitted that he was made to pay for his quick opening towards the end of the 42-kilometre course through the German capital.
Gear Review: Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor With Foot Pod
When combined with the S1 Foot Pod ($130), the heart rate monitor tracks your speed and distance as well — perfect for all the type A runners out there. For more of my opinion, keep reading. Although not as cute as the feminine raspberry FT60, I love this HRM. I have it in black, but it also comes in orange. The watch is a little beyond my experience as a runner, but it sure has motivated me to pound the pavement and add up miles. The RS300X stores up to 16 individual workout sessions and 16 week summaries. You can see the miles, speed, calories burned, and heart rate zones with the press of a few buttons. The S1 Foot Pod laces into your shoe strings and although it looks big, you can't really feel it when running. You do, however, need to tuck your laces in so they don't slap about on the hard plastic, because the repetitive sound can be really annoying.
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