Track and Field

[deedee1]

Allyson Felix ran like a gazelle in 200 m semi finals. She is a sentimental favorite of mine

Allyson is my sentimental favorite, too!
Am also interested in Men's 200m semi-finals. But I don't think I can get up at 4am again... Lack of sleep every night gradually kills me...I hate the Olympics in Europe for that matter.
So, snowflake, please cheer for Allyson for me!

[snowflake]

Heyas, been a while

Just want to share this clip of my Olympic Experience recorded last Sunday from my iphone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TweaNn1JOnQ

Thanks os168, Who won?

Are you attending any other competitions?

deedee for sure I'm cheering for Allyson for you too

[snowflake]

And she won 21.88 finally a gold medal, I'm so happy for her. No medal for Campell-Brown. Silver Fraser-Pryce, bronze Jeter.

Lots of medals for USA. Is it true that track&field is a every 4th year sport in US? I can't believe that with so many stars. Over here t&f is big with Euros and Worlds, indoors and outdoors and Diamonds league every year.

Now another gold medal for US: Brittney Reese 7.12

[Olympia]

And she won 21.88 finally a gold medal, I'm so happy for her. No medal for Campell-Brown. Silver Fraser-Pryce, bronze Jeter.

Lots of medals for USA. Is it true that track&field is a every 4th year sport in US? I can't believe that with so many stars. Over here t&f is big with Euros and Worlds, indoors and outdoors and Diamonds league every year.

Now another gold medal for US: Brittney Reese 7.12

Yippee, yippee, yippee for all of them! I do love Fraser-Pryce as well, so I'm thrilled she won another medal. She was blazingly fast in her heat that they showed last night. I can't wait to see this race.

[os168]

You were there? You lucky duck! Thanks for sharing.

Yup yup yup. Very lucky indeed. Consider 1.3 million applied for Men's 100 m final for the 80,00 capacity stadium (not all available to the public), and we managed to get 4. When I think there were 2 billion people who watched the race live around the world (except the Americans strangely), we felt pretty special about the being there and made sure we made the biggest and loudest cheers possible for the world's fastest men & women. However, for me (like many perhaps), the whole evening was really just about whether Usain Bolt can rise to the occasion and to do what he is born to do. It was a very strong field, where everyone is ALL capable of winning.

Truly an unforgettable night, the world rejoiced as the history is made. How lucky am I to say 'I was there when it happened'.

Thanks os168, Who won?

The fastest of course

http://s789.photobucket.com/albums/y...view=slideshow

[deedee1]

And she won 21.88 finally a gold medal, I'm so happy for her.

Thank you, snowflake!

[Olympia]

It was such fun to watch.

I think it's true that a lot of people don't pay attention to track and field in the U.S., which is a pity. It's always a delightful part of the Olympic experience for me, and I wish more of it were televised. We do have some big events through the year, such as the Millrose Games, and there are centers of activity such as Eugene, Oregon. One that never fails to amaze me is the 110-meter hurdles. You watch a race, and it's almost like those fast-action silent movies--how do the athletes' legs move that quickly between the hurdles?! It was so amazing to see them dart around the track last night.

[deedee1]

I have just checked the results of Men's 4x400m Relay (Round1). only to find out that South Africa did not finish...
What happened to South Africa? I still have a mixed feeling on Oscar Pistorius. But that feeling aside, I admit that I kind of look forward to seeing him at the relay final.

[Olympia]

I think they were moved on because someone got fouled. But I'm not sure.

[deedee1]

It says South Africa and Kenya had a collision. Then Kenya did continue but S Africa could not. Idk where it happened though...

When I watched Round 2 live, I realized that in 4x400m relay, there is a point of the second runner's turn where they become 'lane-free'. It was so scary just to see it! And my guess is that was where this collision happened, maybe? Hope no one was hurt by the collision.

[Olympia]

They did apparently allow South Africa to continue, or at least they did the last I heard.

[golden411]

The 100 m final was insane. 7 runners below 10 seconds, and only Asafa Powell (who pulled up due to injury) was slower. At the 40 m mark, you couldn't tell which of five men would win (so no, not fait accompli). Truly remarkable. Usain Bolt is the greatest sprinter ever. He owns the three fastest times. Sport at it's most purely beautiful. But the race will likely go down even more legendarily than his remarkable Beijing run. I'm hoping he runs 9.5 or less one day.

Fun fact from The New York Times:

NYT Olympics Live ‏@LondonLive

Audience for 100m (20 million) was 2nd highest Oly audience ever in UK. First? Torvill and Dean's final free dance at Sarajevo '84 (23.95).
9:39 AM - 7 Aug 12

[ImaginaryPogue]

Usain Bolt. What more needs to be said?

[deedee1]

They did apparently allow South Africa to continue, or at least they did the last I heard.

After learning they indeed allowed South Africa to go advance to the final, I once again have a mixed feeling.
I can't explain my feeling well. Don't get me wrong, but I just have to wonder whether they would have allowed it if not for South Africa and/or if not with Oscar...

Anyway, I hope no such an awful collision again, and good luck to all 9 teams at the 4x400m relay final tonight!

Edited to add:
I am crossing my fingers Japan will make the 4x100m Relay final (though it seems unlikey...a girl can dream ). Best of luck to them at the semi-finals tonight!

[Olympia]

I know that a lot of people have mixed feelings about Pistorius. There's no "right" or "wrong" way to think about this. It's new, and everyone has the right to think about it and formulate a reaction. For myself, I'm pleased at the situation, especially after observing how it's playing out. But I suspect that if the prosthetics change, the IOC will revise its rules. I think Pistorius with his current prosthetics has no extra advantage, and in fact has some disadvantages.

One notable one: it's pretty evident to me that someone with his "blade" legs couldn't run in any race where the runners cluster together. I don't know if any of you remembers the collision between Mary Decker and Zola Budd in the 3000 meter race in 1984. (I just looked up the distance to be sure.) That is a race where the runners compete in a group, not in lanes, and Zola (coincidentally South African) was so unused to running in a cluster (because she was so much faster than any of her competitors in South Africa) that she somehow tangled herself up with Mary Decker, who fell and was too injured to get up. (Decker was famously injury-prone--they said she was made of glass from the knees down.) Imagine Oscar in a tight cluster like that. It would be even odds whether he injured anyone else or got upended himself.

Another thought: Oscar is unusual among amputees in that both legs are symmetrically surgically modified. Most double amputees result from accidents or battle wounds and are at different points on each leg, which makes for less precise muscle control. Also, he has both knees. So there are few other amputees at this stage of the world's technological development who could reach his level of proficiency. So I doubt that the floodgates will open for applicants any time soon. It's possible that if this happens, they will each be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Whatever the current situation, I'm sure any change in the technology will warrant a re-evaluation of the rules for entry into the Olympics. If the IOC doesn't do something, the track and field federation surely will. I mean, look how fast the ISU re-evaluated the value of the quad jump after Lysacek won the gold at Vancouver without a quad.