Entries by Kibwé Johnson

2010 Year-End Review

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Hello! I was looking back on my training and with my two-week break on the horizon; I decided to share some insight on this past season, other thoughts, and the World Championship season ahead.

DecaNation: Bittersweet End to the Competitive Season

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I’m sitting in the Geneva airport and thought I should write some thoughts. I say ‘competitive season’ because my 2010 calendar season is not yet complete. I will continue training until our wedding in late October before taking my two week break. “Need grow!!” I can tell Bondarchuk believes that I can throw really, really far, which energizes me even more. DecaNation Results DecaNation is a competition pitting 8 counties in 10 disciplines in a team scored event. The selected events vary every couple years. Team events are always great for getting the competitive juices flowing and team camaraderie.

“Need Think About 80…” and video

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The last two weeks have really been crazy in training here. It’s been hot, and so has our throwing! Crystal’s training is really improving and it’s the right time because Canadian Nationals are next weekend. This week she achieved a new lifetime training best and it was almost better than her lifetime meet best. This result is outstanding because Crystal is the athlete that gains meters from training to meet day.

When we first came to Kamloops, I remember asking Dr. B what he thought I could throw. I asked if he thought I could throw 80m, the benchmark for professional male hammer throwers. He basically shrugged of my question and said, “I don’t know, I must watch. Maybe.” But he really reiterated the “I don’t know” part. I believe that my overall talent is well above 80, so I did my best not to let that conversation get to me.

A Story of Lasting Impression…

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There is almost exactly one week remaining before my National meet in Des Moines, Iowa. Rather than bore you with numbers and thoughts about training and such, I have decided to share a story that left an impact on me personally and athletically.

The other night I finally got around to watching the English dubbed version of ‘The Throwing Pope’. I watched it initially when Martin posted it, but it was in Hungarian. But I was fascinated none the less (of course!). This video had me reminiscing about my one and only encounter with the late great coach, Pál Németh.

USAs and Bondarchuk’s Thoughts

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Hi! It’s taken me a bit longer than I planned to give you all an update, but here it is! I competed at USA Nationals in Des Moines last week and finished 2nd with a new personal best of 76.31m less than a foot behind first.Dr. B was relatively happy with my performance, but knows, “I can more” as he would say it.

Tucson Elite and 12kg video

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The Tucson Elite meet held every year is as advertised! But I knew that already. Each year, the best the USA has to offer converges on Tucson, AZ. This was my second trip, but I don’t love this meet because of how I throw (more on that), it’s the athletes that have their moments because of the environment created. It’s so awesome to watch, as many are friends of mine. I won’t even attempt to list names of PR’s and other outstanding performances, as I would undoubtedly miss a few. I suggest more athletes and coaches alike need to make the pilgrimage to dusty old Tucson for this meet in the future. A big thanks to the fun and knowledgeable official crew as well. They were huge fans just like the rest of us.

We meet again 12kg… Ugh

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It’s been a while! As I sit here in the wake of having just begun my new program, I decided to get back to blogging while my muscles and ligaments stitch themselves back together again. Dr. B decided to pull a fast one on me and give me the 12kg hammer. Ouch. Lets go back in time a couple weeks, shall we?

March Training Update and Manure

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The last few weeks before moving outside, my technique progressed very well. Everything gets easier and my special strength continues to grow. Dr. B has generally come down pretty hard on me for my entry the last few months, but more on that later. Last week in training, I set personal bests everyday. Great news.

Indoor Throwing Area

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Wanted to give you a “Cribs” style view of our indoor throwing and weight room. Check out the video below. Hope you all like it!

Out of the dungeon, into the swamp…

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We finally emerged from our indoor training room to begin training outside. Even though we could have been training outside since about the middle of January, which is around the last time we saw any snow of any kind. Winters here in Kamloops are pretty mild, but this winter turned “mild” into almost nonexistent. The great thing about being outside, is obviously actually training outside and being able to see the fruits of my labor. We are outdoor athletes after all.