Athletics Thread

[Woodsey]

Am I the only one that thinks there may be more to Blakes withdrawal than a hamstring injury?

Think a lot of the Jamaicans train together so they might well have been on the same supplements as powell.

[kinboshi]

"3000m Steeplechase: Eilish McColgan."

Scary how old I'm getting.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.  Watched her run for the first time about a year ago and they interviewed her and her mum after the race. No question whose daughter she is, and she even has her mum's elbows when she runs

On a similar note, a few years ago I was watching some boxing on telly. It was Steve Foster Jr fighting (can't remember who he was up against).  I turned to Lyndsey and said "I remember watching his Dad fight" - and immediately felt as though I was 65 years old.  What was worse, was that during the fight the commentators mentioned that Steve Foster Jr was coming to the end of his career!!

[Tal]

Am I the only one that thinks there may be more to Blakes withdrawal than a hamstring injury?

Think a lot of the Jamaicans train together so they might well have been on the same supplements as powell.

Playing Devil's Advocate for a moment, it could be that the past week hasn't been good for preparation and he's decided not to show up when only 80% there mentally.

He might not fancy the media either.

If he is clean now, it can't be easy for him or any other of the elite sprinters, but particularly Blake, given he's so close to those involved and his history.

[Tal]

Mo Farah, the fastest British man over what distance?

1,500m.

Faster than Cram, Coe and Ovett. Farah ran 3.28.81 to become the European record holder and the sixth fastest man ever over 1,500m.

Incredible. Just incredible.

[kinboshi]

Yeah, but he came second

[kinboshi]

He's higher in the fastest ever 1,500m best times than he is for the 5,000m and 10,000m!

[kinboshi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0371g97/Athletics_2013_Diamond_League_Monaco/

(12 minutes in)

[The Camel]

Any news on the proposed Bolt v Rudisha match race over 400m?

[DaveShoelace]

Any news on the proposed Bolt v Rudisha match race over 400m?

I keep googling it and I haven't seen anything concrete arranged. Can't think of anything more I want to see in sport this year than this.

[kinboshi]

Rudisha's not running in the 800m at the World Champs because of a knee injury, so that might also delay any chance of a 400m duel between them.

[The Camel]

Any news on the proposed Bolt v Rudisha match race over 400m?

I keep googling it and I haven't seen anything concrete arranged. Can't think of anything more I want to see in sport this year than this.

Would have been great to have at the London Olympics stadium event next week

[kinboshi]

Any news on the proposed Bolt v Rudisha match race over 400m?

I keep googling it and I haven't seen anything concrete arranged. Can't think of anything more I want to see in sport this year than this.

Would have been great to have at the London Olympics stadium event next week

If it's going to take place, I guess it will be next season (at the earliest) now.

[kinboshi]

From Auntie:

"Great Britain long-jumper Chris Tomlinson says he is "disappointed" to miss out on a place at the World Championships in Moscow.

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford was selected for next month's event instead of the 31-year-old. "Hugely disappointed that I'm not going to Moscow, especially when in better current form and 100% fit and ready," tweets Tomlinson, who won bronze at the 2010 European Championships."

[Tal]

Can't blame him.

I have long been of the view that major championships should invite the top 6-10 in the world rankings and then allocated spaces per nation. That means there might be ten eight six Jamaican men invited for the 100m heats, but I'd rather the eight people that line up for the final are the fastest in the world than having people there who realistically can't win, or having people move to other countries so that they can get into their squad.

[kinboshi]

It's a shame that neither of our jumpers reached the A standard, as if one had they would both be able to compete.

I agree that the world championships should be contested by the best athletes in the world and not restricted to an arbitrary number from each country.