Track and Field
Track and field is not a popular sport in American Samoa, but it hit the limelight when they sent a 130kg sprinter, (Sogelau Tuvalu) to compete in the men's 100m of the IAAF World Championships at Daegu, South Korea, in August 2011. The 17-year-old finished last in his preliminary rounds but clocked a personal best 15.66 seconds despite running into a headwind of -0.9, surprisingly not the slowest time in the world championships history as the time is faster than 21.73 seconds set in 1997 by an injured Kim Collins who became the world champion six years later. Tuvalu was actually a shot putter but did not qualify for the shotput event so instead competed in the 100m. He was said to have trained for 4 months for the 100m, though did not wear spikes, and instead wore shot putters smooth bottom shoes.
Read more about this topic: American Samoa, Culture, Sports
Famous quotes containing the words track and/or field:
“Water. Its sunny track in the plain; its splashing in the garden canal, the sound it makes when in its course it meets the mane of the grass; the diluted reflection of the sky together with the fleeting sight of the reeds; the Negresses fill their dripping gourds and their red clay containers; the song of the washerwomen; the gorged fields the tall crops ripening.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“Because mothers and daughters can affirm and enjoy their commonalities more readily, they are more likely to see how they might advance their individual interests in tandem, without one having to be sacrificed for the other.”
—Mary Field Belenky (20th century)