Calling All Speed Demons!

Everybody loves sprinters. Whether it's the sight of Usain Bolt styling it out after destroying the field; cyclists slowly teetering around the top of the velodrome before swooping down the boards; or watching dragsters that look like a wedge of brie with tractor wheels at the back and baby carriage wheels at the front, speed demons have always captured the imagination.

Over the past few years, sprint rowing has been increasing in popularity due to the growth of high intensity interval training, and we're seeing lots of people use the indoor rower and the SkiErg to help train their fast twitch fibers. The shortest event in the Concept2 Ranking has always been 500m. Today, however, we're introducing two new ranking events for the more anaerobically inclined: 100m and one minute. So if you're quick (in at least two senses) and hop on your machine, there's a good chance of being able to boast about that time you were the fastest 100m athlete in the world in your age group. Once we have enough results in, over the next few months, we'll also be adding in national and world records for these categories.

To celebrate, we're also introducing a new one-time challenge for the Online Logbook, the Summer Super Sprints, which runs from July 12 through July 19. Now that the mercury's starting to rise, at least in the Northern hemisphere, this seems an ideal time to celebrate the fast and the furious.

To complete the challenge, you need to log both 100m and one minute on the indoor rower or SkiErg during the challenge period. If you do so, you'll appear on the honor board, as well as get a free downloadable certificate. And if you're looking for some inspiration, have a look at this video of Australian Rugby League legend Marty Taupau taking on the one-minute challenge on The Footy Show.

Good luck, and happy sprinting!