Athletics Thread

[Tal]

Everyone keeps letting Farah run his race. Much harder to do in practice of course, but running an even pace and letting him get inside and to the front for the last 600 is only ending one way.

There need to be tactics, even working in groups to attack like in the TdF. Someone does a 57second lap with six to go and suddenly slows it down to 64 for the next. Something to make it harder for him to win the race.

You should be looking to do not what you want to do most, but what your opponent wants you to do least.

[redarmi]

Can anyone explain to me how the USA don't get dq'ed in the Mens 4x100m relay?

[Ironside]

Can anyone explain to me how the USA don't get dq'ed in the Mens 4x100m relay?

no one lodged a complaint more to the point gave gb kept theres?

[redarmi]

Spoke too soon....

[kinboshi]

Missed all this as I'm currently drinking loads of beer in a field with loads of hippies listening to great music.

Saw Mo did the double, bloody immigrants coming over here and being brilliant. Shame that Bekele isn't the force he was, then we'd have some truly great races with Mo.

What happened with the relays? Also, Gemili came 5th in the 200m? He's going to be one of GB's greatest ever sprinters in he carries on as he's started.

[Alverton]

Missed all this as I'm currently drinking loads of beer in a field with loads of hippies listening to great music.

Huh?  Instead of the World Champs!

Saw Mo did the double, bloody immigrants coming over here and being brilliant. Shame that Bekele isn't the force he was, then we'd have some truly great races with Mo.

Mo is great, haven't cheered for anybody or anything in sport like I have for him.  However, not taking anything away from the triple World and double Olympic Gold medallist, he is fortunate (yet taken full advantage) to have peaked during a tiny little bit of a lull in the competition.

What happened with the relays? Also, Gemili came 5th in the 200m? He's going to be one of GB's greatest ever sprinters in he carries on as he's started.

Men's were a comfortable 3rd then rightly got disqualified.  Women's were sitting 2nd after the final change over after every other team apart from Jamaica screwed up there changes, but they couldn't hold on and finished 4th.  France then got disqualified and the women were promoted to 3rd.

Amazing what Gemili has done in 18 months, will hopefully keep on improving and go under 10secs by the end of the season.  Much more reliable than Dasaolu who I assume will always struggle to go through the rounds and will fall over after a breeze of wind.

[MintTrav]

Saw Mo did the double, bloody immigrants coming over here and being brilliant..

He came when he was a child, but he's not the only one. There were a couple of American accents among the British medalists, who switched when they couldn't make the US team. We are ok with this? Some of the UK athletes definitely aren't happy about it.

[Sheriff Fatman]

When was the last time GB actually got through a major championship mens 4x100 without a baton fuck up?  I honestly can't remember.

[MintTrav]

When was the last time GB actually got through a major championship mens 4x100 without a baton fuck up?  I honestly can't remember.

You're not exaggerating at all. I just checked and, though I knew it had happened a lot, I didn't realize it was so many times. They didn't get the baton round seven times in the last five years - 2008 Olympics, 2010 Europeans, 2011 Worlds, 2012 Europeans, 2012 Olympics, 2013 Anniversary Games and 2013 Worlds. Plus others in the past - 1996 Olympics, 2000 Olympics. Definitely cost themselves a few medals in that lot.

In contrast, the Women's team made some cracking handovers today.

[kinboshi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/24086124

What a corking race this could be.  Three legends of the sport, and hope all three are fully fit and ready for this distance.

[kinboshi]

    Mo Farah (Great Britain)
    Two Olympic golds (5,000m & 10,000m at London 2012)
    Three world titles (5,000m at Daegu 2011, 5,000m & 10,000m at Moscow 2013)

    Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia)
    Three Olympic golds (10,000m at Athens 2004, 5,000m & 10,000m at Beijing 2008)
    Five world titles (10,000m at Paris 2003, Helsinki 2005, Osaka 2007, 5,000m & 10,000m at Berlin 2009)
    World record holder at 5,000m and 10,000m

    Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)
    Two Olympic golds (10,000m at Atlanta 1996 & Sydney 2000)
    Four world titles (10,000m at Stuttgart 1993, Gothenburg 1995, Athens 1997, Seville 1999)
    World record holder at 20,000m and one-hour race

Pretty impressive.  Gebrselassie was also the Marathon world record holder, until Makau beat it by 20 seconds in 2011.

[kinboshi]

New marathon world-record:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/24322574

[Tal]

Well, this is huge news:

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/26208821

http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKBREA1E0QO20140215?irpc=932

[MintTrav]

It's certainly massive news - though we'll never know what height Bubka was capable of. There were many times when he cleared with a lot to spare and refused to go higher, so it is pretty much a certainty that he could have set figures well above the new record. It's difficult for us, though, to say that someone in his situation was wrong to put money first.

[kinboshi]

21 years. Blimey.