GAINcast Episode 248: The championships
The World Championships in track and field recently finished, with some amazing performances and storylines. On this week’s GAINcast Vern and Martin break down some of the action, including the planning challenges of multiple championships in one season, hurdling technique, the role of speed in the jumping events, and much more.
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Notes and quotes

- 0:00 – Introduction.
- 1:00 – Coaching multiple championships.
- 5:00 – US throws performance and the home field advantage.
- 7:15 – Where the US underperformance and dissecting the long jump.
- 9:45 – Decathlon and heptathlon review.
- 13:30 – The role of speed in the long jump and triple jump.
- 18:45 – Hurdle technique and the women’s 100m hurdle world record.
- 25:30 – Other hurdle performances.
- 29:15 – Review of media coverage.
- 34:00 – Grass roots organization and the decline of all-comer meets.
- 39:45 – Moving beyond Eugene and the legacy of the World Championships.
To hear more about these topics you can listen to the full episode above. If you like what you hear on the GAINcast, don’t forget to give us a review and subscribe on iTunes.
Further reading
The following links were referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:
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- For more on the technique of triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas, check out this analysis from the Tokyo Olympics. We discussed the hurdle technique of Tobi Amusan. PJ Vazel posted some great slow motions video of it here. In our training talk with Gary Winckler we also looked at various aspects of hurdle takeoff and clearance technique.
- Vern also reference and article in Sports Illustrated about Sydney McLaughlin and her coach Bobby Kersee.
- Back on GAINcast 222 we broke down some of the top performances from last year’s Olympics as well.