The Road to London....... Build up to World Championships mod notes #342 and #653

Djoucer

I think I speak for most of ART.

Most of us don't give a **** about comparing ART with other sports.

We don't need to validate the sport with snooker/golf/extreme frisbee.

Not least on a thread about world champs.

Joe_ Public

walshb wrote: »

I was thinking the same thing. I think he was 1/10 better when he was in his 20s, which would point to natural results/regression to his 30s. Very few hit PBs when they go past 30. Some do, of course. 35 is a little old to be hitting a PB. He is regressing as he gets older, despite winning a title.

Now, in his very early 30s he was sub 9.8. That is impressive, but not extraordinary. He has since slowed down the past 3-4 years.

I believe he is competing clean today and over the past several years.

Fair enough. Won't labour the point because folk are obviously getting bored with all the doping talk. Though will just point out that 33 is a bit nearer mid-30s than "very early 30s".

walshb

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Fair enough. Won't labour the point because folk are obviously getting bored with all the doping talk. Though will just point out that 33 is a bit nearer mid-30s than "very early 30s".

Fair enough, considering his PB (9.74) was when aged 33. So slowed down the last 2-3 years I guess, not 3-4 years.

I don't know but I think that 9.74 is the greatest time for any sprinter considering the age.....

Chivito550

800 press conference:

Bosse: I don't make love with my coach. It's not that kind of close relationship.

Kszczot: He's a liar.I don't believe that love wasn't involved.

Banterhounds.

Eyes Down Field

average_runner wrote: »

People don't have to respect cheats!

No but you must then be consistent on your vitriol for other athletes who have returned positive drug test samples. I believe everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Gatlin is a legitimate competitor who has by all accounts been running clean since his return in 2010

It's an amazing feat to come back into sprinting and not only complete at the highest level again, but to become a world champion at the age of 35

You don't have to like Gatlin but you must respect him as a champion. If not, you are simply exposing yourself as a hater.

average_runner

Chivito550 wrote: »

800 press conference:

Bosse: I don't make love with my coach. It's not that kind of close relationship.

Kszczot: He's a liar.I don't believe that love wasn't involved.

Banterhounds.

Were you at the press conference?

Joe_ Public

walshb wrote: »

Fair enough, considering his PB (9.74) was when aged 33. So slowed down the last 2-3 years I guess, not 3-4 years.

I don't know but I think that 9.74 is the greatest time for any sprinter considering the age.....

It must be right up there anyway, Christie not all that far behind him

average_runner

Eyes Down Field wrote: »

No but you must then be consistent on your vitriol for other athletes who have returned positive drug test samples. I believe everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Gatlin is a legitimate competitor who has by all accounts been running clean since his return in 2010

It's an amazing feat to come back into sprinting and not only complete at the highest level again, but to become a world champion at the age of 35

You don't have to like Gatlin but you must respect him as a champion. If not, you are simply exposing yourself as a hater.

Of course people should have a second chance, but its his third chance and he hasn't even acknowledge that

Now for someone at 35 running the same times or better when he was caught on drugs at 25, it has to raise alarm bells because of his reputation.

I am not a hater of him, but he doesn't merit respect either.

We should focus on other great runs instead, the mens 800m, 400m etc.

ultrapercy

Eyes Down Field wrote: »

average_runner wrote: »

People don't have to respect cheats!

No but you must then be consistent on your vitriol for other athletes who have returned positive drug test samples. I believe everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Gatlin is a legitimate competitor who has by all accounts been running clean since his return in 2010

It's an amazing feat to come back into sprinting and not only complete at the highest level again, but to become a world champion at the age of 35

You don't have to like Gatlin but you must respect him as a champion. If not, you are simply exposing yourself as a hater.

Must do this and must do that, you must respect my decision to disrespect Gatlin. People can think and feel whatever way suits them this obsession about respect is just more modren pc bull ****.

ultrapercy

Eyes Down Field wrote: »

average_runner wrote: »

People don't have to respect cheats!

No but you must then be consistent on your vitriol for other athletes who have returned positive drug test samples. I believe everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Gatlin is a legitimate competitor who has by all accounts been running clean since his return in 2010

It's an amazing feat to come back into sprinting and not only complete at the highest level again, but to become a world champion at the age of 35

You don't have to like Gatlin but you must respect him as a champion. If not, you are simply exposing yourself as a hater.

Must do this and must do that, you must respect my decision to disrespect Gatlin. People can think and feel whatever way suits them this obsession about respect is just more modren pc bull ****.

Erik Shin

robinph wrote: »

The point is that rugby is not a global sport that some have been trying to claim.

It is perfectly possible for any country on the planet to have someone qualify to compete in the 100m at the Olympics without needing a whole lot in the way of national sports infrastructure. It is by far the most accessible of the Olympic sports and you'll get more countries that you've never heard of and can't place on a globe potentially making it into the later rounds than for anything else.

Rugby is a global sport, it is played on every continent with over 100 ranking countries worldwide, just because you say it isn't doesn't actually make it so

dublin runner

I have just cast my eye over the last 10 or so pages of mainly drivel. Any danger of talking about the actual championships?

If you enjoy the sport, watch it. If you watch it to boo or to constantly refer to cheating and drug taking maybe avoid athletics. In fact, maybe avoid all professional sports. Simples!

ThisRegard

walshb wrote: »

He loves the sport and loves competing.

But not enough to respect it.

Eyes Down Field wrote: »

but you must respect him as a champion. If not, you are simply exposing yourself as a hater.

Such nonsense. You certainly do not have to respect him as a champion, and claiming someone who doesn't is a hater is like something my 7 year old would say in a fit of petulance.

RuMan

Erik Shin wrote: »

Rugby is a global sport, it is played on every continent with over 100 ranking countries worldwide, just because you say it isn't doesn't actually make it so

Aye we've agreed its as global as hurling and decided to concentrate on athletics mate. Who do u like in the womans 400 Alison Felix ?

Braken

walshb wrote: »

It is

It is played in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia and Africa.

7s rugby is probably more global and now that it's an Olympic sport is going to go from strength to strength...Kenya,Russia,Spain,and the USA have all superior 7s teams to their 15s

TFBubendorfer

<mod>Please stop talking about Rugby, Golf, GAA and any other sports irrelevant to the topic. After going round the block 3 times you should have grasped by now that this discussion is going nowhere. Get back on-topic, please!</mod>

RuMan

walshb wrote: »

Because he is the best.

I am kind of sick of people (not you) talking about this is the way to beat him and this isn't the way. They need to do this and they need to do that. He has shown that he can win any way.

Fook off and just enjoy the racing!

I love Mo (as does my 9 year old!). You cant but admire the way he's taken everything they have thrown at him for 5 years now and just keeps winning.

Not sure how I feel about him moving to the marathon, feels like a waste in a way. Time moves on I guess.

Hoping he'll finish on a high.

robinph

Makwala will have to run the 200m on his own to qualify for this evenings 200m semi final a couple of hours later:
https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/news/isaac-makwala-200m-london-2017

IvoryTower

Ah thats good news,hopefully he feels good and qualifies

walshb

RuMan wrote: »

I love Mo (as does my 9 year old!). You cant but admire the way he's taken everything they have thrown at him for 5 years now and just keeps winning.

Not sure how I feel about him moving to the marathon, feels like a waste in a way. Time moves on I guess.

Hoping he'll finish on a high.

Isn't it the natural way to go when athletes fade and get slower?

He's 5-2 on to win the 5k

Next favorite is 6-1.....nice odds there...Muktar Edris.

wonderfullife

robinph wrote: »

Makwala will have to run the 200m on his own to qualify for this evenings 200m semi final a couple of hours later:
https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/news/isaac-makwala-200m-london-2017

I felt really sorry for the medical officer they wheeled out to the BBC firing squad last night. Only really Michael Johnson took it easy on her, in a classic case of shooting the messenger.

As for the time trial, it's at 640pm but I'm not convinced that it's extremely fair. I don't know the regulations but what I would have advocated for is allowing the 7 fastest losers from the heats to comprise a new heat with the winner going through to the semi finals.

A time-trial is not a fair shake of the whip because the chances are he's going to run the TT flat-out as opposed to cruising to a 20.4 heat win, he's probably going to end up running 19.9/20.0 to be sure and end up taking some of the sting out of his legs by time it gets to the final.

On another note, if he wasn't from Sub-Saharan Africa I'm convinced they'd have handled it differently.

RuMan

walshb wrote: »

Isn't it the natural way to go when athletes fade and get slower?

He's 5-2 on to win the 5k

Next favorite is 6-1.....nice odds there...Muktar Edris.

Olympics is a few years away and he's never seemed too interested in chasing fast times which sadly seems to be what the marathon has become these days.

I'd be surprised if he's that interested in the Majors other then London.

robinph

wonderfullife wrote: »

robinph wrote: »

Makwala will have to run the 200m on his own to qualify for this evenings 200m semi final a couple of hours later:
https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/news/isaac-makwala-200m-london-2017

I felt really sorry for the medical officer they wheeled out to the BBC firing squad last night. Only really Michael Johnson took it easy on her, in a classic case of shooting the messenger.

As for the time trial, it's at 640pm but I'm not convinced that it's extremely fair. I don't know the regulations but what I would have advocated for is allowing the 7 fastest losers from the heats to comprise a new heat with the winner going through to the semi finals.

A time-trial is not a fair shake of the whip because the chances are he's going to run the TT flat-out as opposed to cruising to a 20.4 heat win, he's probably going to end up running 19.9/20.0 to be sure and end up taking some of the sting out of his legs by time it gets to the final.

On another note, if he wasn't from Sub-Saharan Africa I'm convinced they'd have handled it differently.

It's similar to what they did for the USA 4x100 team in Rio when they dropped the batton though.

velo.2010

robinph wrote: »

Makwala will have to run the 200m on his own to qualify for this evenings 200m semi final a couple of hours later:
https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/news/isaac-makwala-200m-london-2017

Sure let him run a 400m on his own and see if he is faster than Van Niekirk's winning time.:D

Seriously though, this is just plain bizarre. The new theory doing the rounds is that the IAAF called Makwala's bluff in that he feigned sickness to drop the 200m and concentrate on the 400m. The IAAF copped on and strictly enforced the 48hr quarantine.

Whatever the true story, I don't think anyone will come out of this well. Although very genuine, it feels like even Van Niekirk is having to go out of his way to eulogise Makawala, seemingly to dampen down some of the more OTT conspiracy theories out there.

v6e5qzawyrc3jn

This post has been deleted.

S.L.F.

Testosterscone wrote: »

Just for point of reference javelin has had recent champions from Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago and medalists from Egypt, Cuba and even Japan

Likewise high jump two of the top high jumpers in the world are Qatari (home grown not bought) and China

Long and triple jumpers have have south africans, columbians, cubans

If you actually watch the events these are actuallu alot more diverse than most of the running events to be honest.

To be honest I've seen enough field events over the years to not be patronised by your comment. But I would really have to be at a loose end to watch the qualifiers of most of these events take their turns which is where I'm assuming you're getting your diversity from ??
There's never really much focus on these events for a good reason, they're boring a lot of the time unless you have a personal vested interest in them.

But here are some facts you may have missed out on regarding countries who win the most medals and as I said you'd be hard pressed to find Africans in the running a lot of the time. Where athletics is concerned they're chasing the money.

The Chinese for their mass population should be dominating the sport if there was any real interest from them as well. There's a couple recently and that's about it really

Everyone knows the Cubans like their long jumps nothing new there...

The field events particularly the throwing have always been dominated by eastern Europeans and may be missing recent medals due to country bans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Championships_in_Athletics_medalists_(men)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Championships_in_Athletics_medalists_(women)#Field

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_athletics_(men)#High_jump

Djoucer

Bizarre turn of events.

But great to see the support for him and press ups at the end.

May be an element of truth in iaaf calling his bluff

Eyes Down Field

tunguska wrote: »

The funny thing is I was watching the video from the london 2012 100m final the other night. Gatlin was introduced and received a massive cheer, even though his circumstances where identical to what they are now i.e. he'd served 2 bans. That was completely down to how the media portrayed him, so the same people who cheered him in 2012 booed him in 2017. He was literally in the lions den the other night, held his nerve and became world champion. That takes a lot of character and strength. I wonder how many of those people who booed him the other night would have that kind of will and courage........ Renaud Lavillenie was booed in Rio and subsequently fell apart, he was literally in tears during and after the competition. Gatlin didnt cry, he didnt fall apart, he held his nerve in the most antagonistic of environments, even Lord Coe himself jumped in there with the studs and took a pop at him. Any man who can endure that kind of hostility and still come out champion has my respect. We're all sinners, and I venture to guess that in his life, Lord Coe himself has done disgraceful things. Ditto for the booers the other night.

Well said. There is a huge over demonization of Gatlin. His original ban in the early 00's was extremely harsh. There was something in the medication he had been talking since childhood for ADHD. Nobody talked about it until the positive test for testosterone years later, which is far from the worst PED. It's simply a hormone that naturally occurs in the male body. Many Athletes have done far worse and they don't have to put up with half as much crap.

Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.
Nobody is perfect, we all have our faults. And we would all like a chance to redeem ourselves when we make mistakes in life. Mr Gatlin has worked hard to get back, Where most would have given up, He prevailed, dispite the odds and everyone against him.

S.L.F.

Eyes Down Field wrote: »

Well said. There is a huge over demonization of Gatlin. His original ban in the early 00's was extremely harsh. There was something in the medication he had been talking since childhood for ADHD. Nobody talked about it until the positive test for testosterone years later, which is far from the worst PED. It's simply a hormone that naturally occurs in the male body. Many Athletes have done far worse and they don't have to put up with half as much crap.

Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.
Nobody is perfect, we all have our faults. And we would all like a chance to redeem ourselves when we make mistakes in life. Mr Gatlin has worked hard to get back, Where most would have given up, He prevailed, dispite the odds and everyone against him.

Well in fairness you'd want to have a neck like a Jockeys Boll... to get banned and then take a risk with a banned substance after this knowing that if you're caught the world will judge you and your livelihood is at risk.

I think hes a very personable character but hes so well known by even novice spectators that he was bound to get the flack plus he beat the golden boy of athletics. It was to be expected.

Last year he was being booed as well at a race and was playing up to the camera using his fingers as horns and making devil faces. He knows whats going to happen.

velo.2010

Today, Eurosport have rejigged their player and not to everyone's liking. The ability to go back 2 hours is gone and so has the handy in-vision schedule. One upside though, it looks like their bringing back the smart TV app which I missed watching.