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avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Feb 27, 2012
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​
 

deedee1

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Joined
Nov 14, 2007
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! :yes: :)

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! :yay:
 
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Joined
Aug 16, 2009
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.
 
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skateluvr

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Joined
Oct 23, 2011
GBR gets another gold 5,000 meters and the stadium erupts for Mo FarahI i wanna be there! Wow.

I thought I said some thing about Oscar but maybe not. Anyone who thinks he has an advantage over god given limbs is I think, dead wrong. I just hope he does not damage his knees. He really is a super hero, i think, and it i so rare that a double amputee is running against the best runners with perfect limbs. Will it happen again? Was he the first? I am inspired by him a great deal. Bless him.
 
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janetfan

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May 15, 2009
Usain Bolt. What more needs to be said?

Lots more could be said unless we are content to bury our heads in the sand.

Here is the revealing interview with Usain Bolt's trainer/drug facilitator, the man who has raised drug cheating to a "science." :sarcasm:

http://www.boxingsocialist.com/profiles/blogs/the-olympic-dealer-interview-with-ngel-heredia


Jesse Owens remains the greatest of all sprinters.......he not only won more Gold medals at the '36 Olympics than Bolt ever did - he also did it without cheating.

Some are unwilling to concede the difference....which in my mind is astronomical.

I would wonder about anybody who would say something like "Bolt represents the pureness of sport. " :eek: :disagree:
Maybe if one's family is in the drug/pharmaceutical industry such naive words could feel righteous.
 
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deedee1

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Nov 14, 2007
Loved the moment when Jeter pointed out the official timer upon finish at the Women's 4x100m Relay Final. :biggrin:
Contrats to US girls for the world record!
 

snowflake

I enjoy what I like
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Nov 10, 2008
GBR gets another gold 5,000 meters and the stadium erupts for Mo FarahI i wanna be there! Wow.

Me too.. Yeah, Mo Farah again… the audience roaring :bow: A nice popular athlete also involved in social benefits. Report on him celebrating with Bolt.

Before Farah only six men in history had completed the Olympic distance double: Hannes Kolehmainen of Finland in 1912; Emil Zatopek 40 years later in Helsinki; Vladimir Kuts in 1956; Lasse Viren – the only winner to complete the double double – in 1972 and 1976; Miruts Yifter of Ethiopia in 1980; and most recently, in 2008, the great Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia – fourth over 10,000m last Saturday but absent from the 5,000m field – bridged a gap of 28 years to claim both titles.

Some other thoughts on track & field from the last days:

3 new world records:
David Rudisha, Kenya, 800 m, 1.40.91
Women's 4 x 100 m relay, US 40.82
Men's 4 x 100 m relay, Jamaica 36.84

All black, yellow and green at the 200 m medal ceremony Bolt, Blake and Weir :clap:

The medal ceremony with Felix, Campbell-Brown and Jeter a high light for me. Btw I like the US grey jackets.

I am fascinated by the technical sport javelin. To run forward and get the power from your horizontal speed up through your body and timing it out through your arm. It seems incredibly difficult to me. The women's final wasn't that exciting though. Spotakova won big 69.55. The men's best was surprisingly Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad/Tobago 84.58. Sad for my Norwegian idol, former olympic champion Thorkildsen in sixth place.

Marathon winner Stephen Kiprotich from Uganda was a surprise against the Kenyan and Ethiopian(what happened to them?) being favorites.

Bolt is awesome, but IMO he is not the best athlete in the world like many(all) says. Why should it be better to run 100 m, 800 m or marathon the fastest. Or jump the highest/longest etc? Everyone is best in their field.

I'm sure I've forgotten a lot, but who can keep track of all exciting disciplines? Who has time and split division to follow all of it? Looking forward to summaries.

Congrats to all athletes :hb:
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
.

Bolt is awesome, but IMO he is not the best athlete in the world like many(all) says. Why should it be better to run 100 m, 800 m or marathon the fastest. Or jump the highest/longest etc? Everyone is best in their field.

.:

If they gave Gold medals for cheating Bolt would be on top of the podium.

The fact that he has a personal steroid trainer - the same guy who "trained" Marion Jones say it all.

Is it really fair that Marion was stripped of her medals and sent to prison while a self-promoting jackass like Bolt is free to continue his cheating?

The morning paper where I live had an interesting article about Bolt. Apparently a reporter asked him about cheating which sent the normally cool and funny Bolt into a frenzy.

The reporter had no idea what caused the reaction from Bolt but a colleage told him "it was a good example of "steroid rage."

And this cheater wants to be a hero, role model and legend?

To me Bolt is the poster boy for cheating.
Not a great sportsman, hardly an Olympian to be admired....nothing but a cheat and fraud in a world void of all sporting values.
 

snowflake

I enjoy what I like
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Nov 10, 2008
Journalists, leaders, athletes and people in the street think Bolt is THE NUMBER ONE. Can't see how you know he is cheating.There is always mistrust of the outstanding :think:
 

janetfan

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Joined
May 15, 2009
Journalists, leaders, athletes and people in the street think Bolt is THE NUMBER ONE. Can't see how you know he is cheating.There is always mistrust of the outstanding :think:

Just read and and think and see that Bolt is using Marion's steroid trainer. This trainer, who tried working for Bolt under and assumed name after he was discredited and kicked out of USA sports found a quick home in Jamaiica.

You can have any opinions you want....but maybe try reading a few links I posted just to give you a fair chance in this discussion.


FYI, morning papers across the USA basically were of the opinion that Bolt is a cheat and fraud.

A great post from yesterday mentioned if Lance were to be stripped it might be close to impossible to re-award the tour medals as the cheating in cycling is close to universal.

I feel the same way about the sprinters....certainly IMO few if any Jamaiicans or Americans are worthy of an Olympic medal in the sprints let alone worship from the public.

The cheating appears to be so rampant the best thing IOC could do would be to rescind most of the track medals......and impose bans and fines as that might be the only way to begin cleaning up such a dirty sport.

Bolt's personal trainer, who is only with him to administer the best doping possible says the same things.
 
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snowflake

I enjoy what I like
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Nov 10, 2008
^

So you say they have found a way to beat all tests and conrols? I should think athletes as the Jamaicans would be controled even more than average athletes.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
^

So you say they have found a way to beat all tests and conrols? I should think athletes as the Jamaicans would be controled even more than average athletes.

If you are not willing to read up on this then I don't feel a need to discuss it with you.
Nothing personal here....I like your posts....let's just call it a disagreement, OK?

Try this out for size....it is an interview with Bolt's personal drug facilitator.

http://www.boxingsocialist.com/profiles/blogs/the-olympic-dealer-interview-with-ngel-heredia
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Snowflake, I am fascinated by javelin also. I love that after all this time, there are still some sports that were inspired by the ancient Greeks' pastimes, including discus and javelin. I imagine the shot putt also came from some Greek painted vase. I also love the variety of jumping events, including the high jump, the pole vault, the long jump, and then the most unusual one, the triple jump. (Which I believe used to be called the hop, skip, and jump--I kind of wish it still had its whimsical old name.) On that subject, I imagine that it must be so mind-boggling for a decathlete to travel to competitions with all his equipment: pole for vaulting, javelin, discus, AND shot putt; wow!

The history buff in me has made me succumb to temptation. I just bought the latest edition of Wallechinsky's book, The Complete Book of the Olympics. (Of course it's missing the London games. I'll have to wait another four years for that edition--I don't think they do another one in time for the Winter games. It's the size of an urban telephone directory (if they still have such a thing) and cost a lot more than it used to, but since I don't buy an edition every four years, it evens out. (I've only bought it twice before, the last one rather long ago.) It has lots of statistics and some great commentary. Couldn't resist!
 

snowflake

I enjoy what I like
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Joined
Nov 10, 2008
If you are not willing to read up on this then I don't feel a need to discuss it with you.

All right no more discussions then. I'll try, but I find the article hard to read with white text on black background. For sure the last word is not said.

Olympia, I too find pole vault intriguing. Who invented that? Discus and shot putt, how come young athletes decide to go in for these sports. Not that glamorous :laugh:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Olympia, I too find pole vault intriguing. Who invented that?

Interesting question. According to Wikipedia pole vaulting began in mashy regions of the Netherlands and England. People would use poles to jump over water and ditches. The first pole vaulting contests were for distance rather than height.

As for throwing heavy things a long way (shot put, discus), my favorite is the Scottish sport of "Caber Throwing." You throw a big log as far as you can (hoping your kilt doesn't fly up). :)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Caber_2.jpg
 
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janetfan

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Joined
May 15, 2009
All right no more discussions then. I'll try, but I find the article hard to read with white text on black background. For sure the last word is not said.

:

This article is very easy to read:

http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/08/10/controversy-is-usain-bolt-taking-performance-enhancing-drugs/

"Earlier today, Usain Bolt just became the first Olympic athlete to repeat winning Gold in the 100m and 200m sprints. His times of 9.63s in the 100m and 19.32 in the 200m are his best times since the 2009 World Championships and after his 200m victory, he boldly declared that he is “the greatest athlete who ever lived.”

"It probably doesn’t hurt that he just happens to have “the greatest chemist who ever lived” right there in his corner."
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Interesting question. According to Wikipedia pole vaulting began in mashy regions of the Netherlands and England. People would use poles to jump over water and ditches. The first pole vaulting contests were for distance rather than height.

As for throwing heavy things a long way (shot put, discus), my favorite is the Scottish sport of "Caber Throwing." You throw a big log as far as you can (hoping your kilt doesn't fly up). :)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Caber_2.jpg

Thanks, Math.

The caber tossing is a mainstay of the Highland Games, which are held every year in Scotland. I don't know what the rest of the events are, but I'll be headed to Wiki to research them when I get a chance. The caber is huge, and I think they hold it vertically. Eeee!
 
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