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March 2005
With a population of around seven thousand, Williston is hardly one of the foremost
cities in the USA, let alone Florida. Its claim to fame is that it produced the winner
of the 1975 Kentucky Derby, 'Foolish Pleasure,' a fact that is proudly displayed on the
"Welcome to Williston" sign upon approaching the city. Lest we forget the city also stages
an annual Peanut Festival. An unmissable event, I'm sure.
Peanuts and horses aside, Williston can now lay claim to producing one of the finest athletes
in the USA; Erin Gilreath. [Continued]
Every few weeks, Athleticslinks conduct interviews
with athletes both past and present. Each time, we invite
our visitors to send in their questions for whichever athlete
is up for the next interview. The next athlete to be interviewed
will be Jamie Nieto. If you'd like to send in a question
to be included with the article, then please use the contact
form, and we'll try our best to include your question.
Below, you can see all the athletes whom we
have interviewed in the past:
March 2005
"A discipline, not a game." Almost sounds like it could be a slogan
for a major sports brand but instead, it is Pat Connolly's view of track
and field. Indeed, if track and field is a discipline, then Connolly is
undoubtedly a disciplinarian within the sport. [Continued]
February 2005
Cast your minds back to the start of July 2004. Britain's two biggest
stars, Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe were training hard in the lead-up
to Athens, unaware of the mixed fortunes that lay in store for them both.
But the story grabbing the headlines that week was the journey from the USA
to the UK being made by Malachi Davis. [Continued]
Ralph Boston
August 2004
The holder of six long jump world records and winner of a
complete set of Olympic medals, Ralph Boston is equally remembered
as the man who broke Jesse Owen's world record (which had
stood for 25 years). [Continued]
Ellen van Langen
July 2004
Not all athletes are fortunate enough to escape injuries and
enjoy a long and successful career. Ellen van Langen was one
of the more unlucky athletes to have a career curtailed because
of persistent injuries. [Continued]
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
June 2004
The title 'athlete of the month' somehow just doesn't seem
good enough for an athlete the calibre of Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Quite simply one of the best athletes of all-time, Jackie
has smashed world records, won numerous Olympic medals and
has enjoyed a long career at the top of international athletics.
[Continued]
Sandie Richards
April 2004
So often in athletics, careers can be cut short for a number
of reasons. Longevity is something that most athletes strive
for, yet only a few succeed. One such success story lies in
Sandie Richards, the Jamaican 400m legend. [Continued]
Kemel Thompson
March 2004
29-year old Kingston born 400-metre hurdler Kemel Thompson could
have been a professional footballer after being offered scholarships
in both football and track and field. Luckily for athletics fans he
chose the latter and Kemel is currently ranked world number 3 after
a series of impressive runs during 2003. [Continued]
Jonathan Edwards
January 2004
There aren't any superlatives to describe Jonathan Edwards
that haven't been used hundreds of times already. He's known
as the 'Mr. nice guy' of track and field but fundamentally,
he's one of the greatest triple jumpers the world has ever
seen. [Continued]
Angella Issajenko
November 2003
Regularly featuring in sprint finals of many of the major
championship sprint races throughout the 80's, Angella Issajenko
was very much a force to be reckoned with. Some would argue
that she is known just as much for her exploits off-track
as she is for her exploits on the track. [Continued]
Lornah Kiplagat
October 2003
She has been described as the 'heroine of road running', making
an almost unheard of transition from road running to the track.
And, it must be added, Lornah Kiplagat completed the transition
with class, culminating in a 4th-place finish at the Paris
World Championships, running the fastest ever 10,000m track
debut of all-time. [Continued]
Tom Pappas
September 2003
It has been a long time in the offing, but 2003 was the year
for Tom Pappas to prove himself as king of the most gruelling
athletics event; the decathlon. He has shown his supreme athletic
ability both indoors and out, and has beaten everyone who
has tried to come in his way. [Continued]
Stanislav Olijar
August 2004
Back in 1997, an unknown 17-year-old Latvian (known by his
friends as 'Stas') flew to Athens to compete in the World
Championships. Finishing 6th in a quarter-final of the World
Championships would be enough to dishearten most young athletes,
hungry for instant success. For Stas, however, it was a positive
experience and a fundamental building block for his future
career. [Continued]
Kostas Kenteris
July 2003
Not many athletes can claim to have won the Olympics, World
Championships and European Championships. One man, however,
currently holds all three titles in the 200m, despite the
fact that four years ago, he was relatively unknown. [Continued]
Jo Fenn
June 2003
Throughout the late 90's, female British middle-distance running
was dominated by Kelly Holmes. The new millennium saw a new
wave of British female middle distance athletes, with one
of the most exciting of them being singer-songwriter, Jo Fenn.
[Continued]
Stefan Holm
May 2003
Stefan Holm's big break-through on to the world athletics
scene came in 2000, when he finished 4th at the Sydney Olympics
with a leap of 2.32m. Although only 24 years old at the time,
Holm had been high jumping for over half of his life. [Continued]
Willie Banks
April 2003
Willie Banks achieved virtually everything possible during
his long triple jump career except capture an Olympic medal.
At the age of twenty, he came fourth in the 1976 US Olympic
Trials, just missing out on making the team. In 1980, he won
the US Trials, but was prevented from going to the Moscow
Olympic Games due to the US boycott. [Continued]
Nicolas Macrozonaris
March 2003
Pietro Mennea came close, as did Valeriy Borzov. In recent
years Matt Shirvington has flirted with it, yet none of these
world-class white male sprinters have managed to break 10
seconds in the 100m. Last year, however, a young Canadian
ran a wind-assisted 9.91seconds for the 100m, at just 22 years
old. Could Nicolas Macrozonaris be the first white man to
officially break the 10-second barrier for the 100m? [Continued]
James Beckford
February 2003
The first athlete of the month for 2003 has been a highly
respected long jumper since exploding onto the scene in 1996,
winning a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games, with only
the legend Carl Lewis beating him. Prior to 1996, he jumped
8.45m, and improved his best a year after 1996 to 8.62m. It
is, of course, James Beckford. [Continued]
Mary Onyali
December 2002
Not many athletes have a list of major Championship wins,
records, and medals as impressive as December's athlete of
the month, Mary Onyali, otherwise known as the "African
Sprint Queen." [Continued]
Helen Karagounis
November 2002
This month's athlete has progressed through the ranks as a
junior athlete, winning a gold medal at the World Junior Championships
in 2000, and successfully making a transition into senior
international athletics, representing Great Britain in the
European Cup, Commonwealth Games and European Championships.
All this, incredibly, was achieved before she was 21-years-old!
The athlete for November is none other than Helen Karagounis.
[Continued]
Natasha Mayers
October 2002
In a brand new feature to Athleticslinks.com, who better to
kick it off than one of the fastest women in the world this
year: Natasha Mayers. [Continued]
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