World Throws Preview at Mac Wilkins throws center

  We had a high performance meet this weekend at Mac’s Place.  Thank you Mac for holding the meet.  This was my 1st competition since USA’s, so I was pretty excited to compete.  Of course my coach has been training me pretty hard since qualifying for the World Championship team.  We had a good field of throwers, Stephanie, Summer and Gia were there  all 3 were finalist at USA’s this year.  We put on a good show and it was fun to compete.  I have made a couple of technical adjustments since USA’s and I was excited to put the form to the test.  And it held up. So now I know what I need to continue to do leading up to World Champs.  I finished 2nd with a throw of 61.14 meters.

World Throws Preview at Mac Wilkins throws center

12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics

Monte-Carlo – With just over three weeks to go until the start of the biggest global sports event of 2009, the IAAF is delighted to announce the launch of its new website for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin, Germany (15-23 Aug).There is plenty on offer to attract, inform, entertain, and illuminate the enjoyment of all the fans of our sport for what is the world’s third largest sports event after the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup.The site is already full of news and information, and when the championships begin the Broadcasting section in particular will burst into action with:VIDEO: 3-mins highlights of each SESSION; FeaturesRADIO: ‘LIVE’ commentary, comment and interviews throughout the championshipsPODCASTS: Audio interviews with the major starsIAAF Fantasy Athletics – great prizes to be wonIts game time too! With the IAAF Fantasy Athletics game which covers the one day meeting season already well underway, in the next few days a Berlin World Championships specific game will open for registration enabling fans to select a team of champion athletes from those competing in Berlin.As usual participants will score points depending on their team’s performances and be able to compare their rankings with others from all over the world. Registration is free, and there are great prizes to be won including a trip for two to an IAAF event.Regular news, information and resultsAnd of course we haven’t forgotten the core content of all previous World Championships sites:Results and Statistics,News and Features,Event Reports and Flash Interviews,“LIVE” Competition Blogs,Photo GalleryNews summary in French, German and Spanish languagesThese additional news sections as well as offering a summary of the major stories originally published in English focus on news that has a particular appeal to their specific language audience, and as such the content of each page is different.These language news summaries can be accessed from the titles situated on the top of the home page next to the SEARCH function.We very much hope you enjoy our coverage of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin, Germany (15-23 Aug). Here is the link for all the information you need about World Championships.

1st round throw at USA’s hits official on the fly

Thanks Will for the footage

2009 USA Outdoor Championships

I hope this picture says it all.  There is nothing like taking a victory lap at Hayward Field and it was more exciting taking it with my son.  He enjoyed the crowd, waving the flag and being up close to the race that was going on while we were running. Once again we had a great crowd, nice weather and a close competition.  I opened up with what I thought was a great starting throw, trying to put the pressure on the rest of the field.  I was watching the disc fly thinking I got a hold of that one.  Just when it was close to landing I saw it hit the official in the shoulder and I thought man I got shorted again.  I had a long throw taken away in 2005 when I hit official in flight and it cost me a national championship.   I tried to keep my cool and the mark came back 60.97 so I thought that will make finals and possibly the team.  It took a few rounds to refocus but I got my groove back in my final 3 throws.  And in typical Aretha fashion my last throw was my best at 62.51.  And it moved me from 3rd to 2nd place. I am very excited to have made my 4th World Championship team and I am looking forward to competing in Berlin.  I have thrown in the Olympic stadium in past in a couple of grand prix meetings it’s a really cool track, bright blue lanes and it is energetic.  I know it will be more exciting being there as an USA Team since our least team was there in 1936.Thanks again to everyone for all your support and encouragement this year and helping me make the 2009 World Championship Team!!! Thanks photo run for sending me a copy of the picture.