Two Legendary Track Coaches Pass Away

^{July 21, 2025 | Edition #158}

👋 Hey, Speedsters!

Track and field had a busy weekend in London, but on the same day, America lost two of its iconic track coaches, and we’ve given them a small tribute. Meanwhile, Oblique Seville’s famous win isn’t leaving our minds either. We’ve dished out why it’s so iconic! At last, a 25-year-old just created history for New Zealand. We had to give her a shout-out out too. So hop on…

🌟 Track Stories

Remembering Two of Track’s Finest

This week has started on a mellow note! Two track and field legends, whose voices shaped decades of coaching on American tracks, passed away this week…

On July 19, Cincinnati lost its former track and field coach, Bill Schnier, at the age of 80. It's a deeply personal loss for the program because, for 33 years, starting in 1980 to 2013, Schnier took the sport at Cincinnati to great heights. He shaped 136 individual conference champions, 25 NCAA qualifiers, coached 10 All-Americans, and helped 2 reach the Olympic podium. Also, he smashed 47 school records! Heard of NBC track and field analyst Lewis Johnson? Or the 2008 Olympic silver medalists David Payne (110m hurdles) and Mary Wineberg (4x400m relay team)? Schnier coached all three!

While Schnier passed away on Saturday, another legendary coach also left us on the very same day. Coach Joe Vigil cemented his legacy as a true icon at Adams State, where he coached cross country athletes for 28 years. Under his leadership, the team won over 19 national collegiate championships and produced an incredible 425 All-Americans. That’s no small feat! In fact, Coach Vigil helped revolutionize the sport....

Back when there were no women’s athletic teams or community 5K runs, Coach Vigil encouraged women to start running groups. Soon, he led Adams State to its first men’s national cross country title in 1971 and a decade later, the first women’s title in 1981. He also coached Deena Kastor, who won the Olympic bronze medal in the marathon at the 2004 Summer Games. Haven’t seen it? Watch Kastor’s historic Olympic finish here! Needless to say, the sport will truly miss both of these remarkable legends and the impact they made.

Rest in Peace, Legends!

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📈 Trending News

The 100m World Was Not Ready For Seville!

Oblique Seville, this weekend at the London Diamond League, owned the track by clocking 9.86s! He took down a world-class 100m field featuring reigning Olympic champ Noah Lyles, the reigning 100m world silver medalist, Letsile Tebogo, South Africa's fastest 100m man, Akani Simbine, and more! Well, someone had already predicted it all....

Back in February 2025, Usain Bolt called Seville the sprinter who could break his 100m world record. “Oblique can do it!” Bolt had also mentioned that while Jamaica’s male sprinting has been struggling, he thinks “Oblique has been keeping it alive.” Well, Seville trains under Bolt’s former coach, Glen Mills, and even has the support of Bolt’s mother, Jennifer, who affectionately calls him her ‘second son’! And honestly, that trust looks worth it!

After all, Seville is the second-fastest 100m man this year and the only sprinter to have beaten Noah Lyles, the reigning World and Olympic 100m Champion since 2023, not once, but thrice. At the 2024 Racers Grand Prix by 0.03s. Watch that moment below! Then in the 2024 Paris Olympic semifinals by 0.02s, and now in London. That's no fluke!

Over the past years, Seville has shown great progress. Seville broke through in 2021 when he qualified for Tokyo. Though he missed the 100m final and settled for fourth in the 4x100m relay, his rise began. Then at the 2022 and 2023 World Champs, he reached the 100m final but narrowly missed the podium. Although in 2023, he secured his first world medal while helping Jamaica secure bronze in the 4x100m relay. Seville has now made every World's final he’s competed in. The only thing left, as Bolt says, "Get in the top three." Can he?

Well, this year, Seville is putting together a championship season. Form, consistency, podium finishes! Plus, he has already outpaced most of the competition, except Kishane Thompson and Kenny Bednarek. And if he does that at the Worlds, the gold might be his!

Watch: When Seville Was on The Podium Despite Pain!

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See what else is trending in the world of track & field - Click Here

🎖️ Beyond The Medals

This Athlete Made History For New Zealand

On Saturday, July 19, Rain left shallow puddles on the track leading up to the vault. But that didn’t dampen Olivia McTaggart’s determination at the London DL as she soared to a personal best of 4.73m at the London Stadium, winning the event ahead of reigning world champion Katie Moon. Interestingly….

Moon, Angelica Moser, and Emily Grove, along with McTaggart, cleared 4.73m, but McTaggart alone nailed it in attempt #2. With that, she made history as New Zealand’s first Diamond League women’s pole vault winner! Yes, Eliza McCartney had come closest with a runner-up finish in 2018, until now! But McTaggart changed that. Watch her soar through the air, here!

Also, this season had been a rollercoaster for McTaggart. Just four days before London, she vaulted a lifetime best of 4.71m at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meet. But in London, not only did she better that, but jumped to her second 4.70m+ mark in two years, the last being in 2023. Also, she opened her 2025 DL season with a 9th in Rabat, 10th in Paris, but in London, she finally cleared the World Champs qualifying standard! However, did you know Pole Vault wasn’t even her first passion?

Actually, she spent 10 years grinding in gymnastics, till age 14. But then injuries ended her gymnastics dream. Still, the thrill of being upside down in the air never left and took her to the pole vault runway. And now, if she medals at Worlds, it’ll be her first ever at that level. But there's still work to do as she sits just outside the top 10 on the world list this season....So buckle up, champ!

Watch: When McTaggart Had a Scary Pole Vault Accident

📊 POLL OF THE DAY

Last Poll Result: We asked you, “You Have Enjoyed Our Event Recap Editions, and Since We Have the London Diamond League Coming Up Tomorrow, What Would You Like to Read in Our Event Recap?” An enthusiastic majority of about 65% of you said, “Race Recaps.” And we delivered! In case you haven’t read our London Diamond League Race Recap yet, Click Here!

That’s it for today, folks! We’ll look to knock on your inbox soon with more interesting stories!

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