billy2shots Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 You don't have to be an athletics fan to appreciate this years event. We will be saying goodbye to two special athletes at these championships. Mo Farah claimed the 10,000 Gold last night but the final event of his career will be the 5,000m. Opinion has always been split on Mo with him training away from the UK and links to a coaching setup under a drug cloud. What is undeniable is that the man himself has always passed the required doping tests and the fact that he is our greatest ever track athlete. Speaking of great, you may of heard of a bloke that's pretty swift from Jamaica. Usain St Leo Bolt. Whilst Mo might be Britains best ever track athlete, Bolt is undeniably the sports best ever competitor. At a time when Athletics was at its darkest with doping reaching epidemic proportions, one man made the sport more popular than ever. The 100m is the only individual event that Usain will run on his farewell to the sport. He is aging and is no longer the current fastest runner on the planet as many different competitors have run quicker than him this year. Only once this year has the the legend run under 10 seconds. To put that into perspective one of his rivals has achieved that milestone 10 times so far. So old and out of form then...... I wouldn't bet on anyone else! Don't miss the chance to see an icon finish his amazing career whether you like Athletics or not. Times Mens 100m semi Saturday 5th (today!) 7pm. Mens 100m Final (bye bye Bolt) Saturday (today) 9.45pm Mens 5000m heat (Mo) Wednesday 9th 8pm. Men's 5000m Final (Bye Bye Mo) Saturday 12th August 8.20pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M8CKN Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 I watched Mo last night. Im not particularly an athletics fan, but I was shouting at the tv. Great race and the way he always manages to pull away in the last 100m is astonishing. Top man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy2shots Posted August 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 They tried to run his legs off and nullify his sprint finish. They failed! The 5000m could be interesting because most of the top competitors have a good 'kick'. If they take him on in a fast race it could be close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 Check out the ladies 10k right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy2shots Posted August 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 Quality running right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 They went out hard in Rio and she kept it up when the others faded and broke the world record. This time they jogged the first 3k and she just decided not to play tactics and destroyed them. Stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 An amazing sight. After finishing she could sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy the rest of the race. It must be soul destroying being lapped like that when you're trying your best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 Of course, Twitter is now convinced she's doping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 Inevitable I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted August 5, 2017 Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 Somebody forgot to read the script Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy2shots Posted August 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 10 hours ago, Cuprabob said: Somebody forgot to read the script Not the way most of us wanted it to end. Not winning is one thing, losing to Gatlin brings a darker cloud over the whole thing. I went to bed feeling quite sad but then I thought about it. Seeing Bolt run like he has this year proves like the song says 'I'm only human after all'. In my mind it makes all his other achievements even more special. He could have decided not to run and finish before the Championship but in typical Bolt fashion he wanted to finish at a big show and who could blame him. I would love to see him run down the yanks on the final leg of the relay! One of the commentators (cram I think) summed it up brilliantly. 'For years, time has been Bolt's opponent not the other runners. Time unfortunately catches up with us all'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted August 6, 2017 Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 If Bolt did all his prep and then gave it his all then I doubt this will trouble him. It will win him fans as we've seen him as a winner and now a good loser. If he didn't train to his normal levels then he may be kicking himself for a while. He still went out of the sport as a world championship medalist. Gatlin : for him personally it would have been huge. Imagine having a nemesis over a decade and finally beating him. However for must of us he's tarnished. I don't get the rules about allowing cheats back in. I know they are the rules in place but the cheating helped him up his game. In my mind he'll always be a smidge better than he would have been if always clean. As we saw it only takes a smidge of difference between winning and being third. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted August 6, 2017 Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 The exciting race now for the next few years is the 200 and 400 with Wade whatshischops. Bit nervous about the 5k this week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted August 6, 2017 Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 Absolutely no need to worry about the 5K. I have it on good authority that Sir Mo is still on the Quorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted August 6, 2017 Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 I have it on better authority he ****ing hates the stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted August 9, 2017 Report Share Posted August 9, 2017 On 06/08/2017 at 9:18 AM, Scotty said: If Bolt did all his prep and then gave it his all then I doubt this will trouble him. It will win him fans as we've seen him as a winner and now a good loser. If he didn't train to his normal levels then he may be kicking himself for a while. He still went out of the sport as a world championship medalist. Gatlin : for him personally it would have been huge. Imagine having a nemesis over a decade and finally beating him. However for must of us he's tarnished. I don't get the rules about allowing cheats back in. I know they are the rules in place but the cheating helped him up his game. In my mind he'll always be a smidge better than he would have been if always clean. As we saw it only takes a smidge of difference between winning and being third. And because of this, no one talks about the man who came second. In my mind, Gatlin is tarnished. As if a bank would re-employ someone who robbed them TWICE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted August 9, 2017 Report Share Posted August 9, 2017 (edited) 3 minutes ago, cruiser647 said: As if a bank would re-employ someone who robbed them TWICE? No, they would make him / her the CEO Edited August 9, 2017 by Cuprabob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy2shots Posted August 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2017 The sprint times at this years games are interesting. With drug testing at an all time high the finishing times have gotten a lot slower. The London track is a notoriously quick track but the speedsters have really struggled. The men's 100m was pedestrian compared to many recent finals and last nights winning 200m time in the men's event was the slowest in 14 years. A direct correlation between increased drug testing and slower times? What's your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted August 11, 2017 Report Share Posted August 11, 2017 We have been spolit by the likes of Bolt setting blistering times. Just remember Bolt at his prime was 10m+ in front of his rivals. Wayde broke the WR recently. I think it is just a bit of a lull until the next superstar emerges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted August 11, 2017 Report Share Posted August 11, 2017 I don't think it has anything to do with doping. In most of the sprints, the track conditions have been either very wet or they've been running whilst is has been raining. No track is fast when the weather is against you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy2shots Posted August 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 9 hours ago, NewNiceMrMe said: I don't think it has anything to do with doping. In most of the sprints, the track conditions have been either very wet or they've been running whilst is has been raining. No track is fast when the weather is against you. 10 hours ago, Andrew said: We have been spolit by the likes of Bolt setting blistering times. Just remember Bolt at his prime was 10m+ in front of his rivals. Wayde broke the WR recently. I think it is just a bit of a lull until the next superstar emerges. Both legitimate statements. I'm just going to throw another one into the mix that may change your thinking. Out of the 50 fastest 100m times in history. 41 have since been found to have happened whilst the athlete was on performance enhancing drugs. The other 9 belong to Bolt. (That was the official fact, the link below might be a couple out) Factor in that Bolt announced himself to the world in Beijing 2008, which means present times are still slower than 5 years befor Bolt. The link below makes for some uncomfortable reading http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m_100ok.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 3 hours ago, billy2shots said: Out of the 50 fastest 100m times in history. 41 have since been found to have happened whilst the athlete was on performance enhancing drugs. Incorrect. This may sound like splitting hairs but it's important. 41 of those times were posted by athletes who have served a drugs related suspension at some point in their career, at least some of which were for relatively minor or technical infringements. Unless they failed a drugs test at/around the time of the event there is no evidence that they were on performance enhancing drugs when they posted those times. Of course there's always the suspicion that when an athlete returns from a ban and runs clean they may have some residual benefit of historic doping, but that is no more than a suspicion. I just think the track has been running slow, mainly due to temperatures and weather. The men's 100m final was the only one run in decent conditions, but I think there are many reasons for that being as slow as it was. Bolt and Gatlin were both past their peak, the US kid is just that, a kid, Blake has been way off the sort of form he showed 2 or 3 years ago. Based on form going into the final I'd have been surprised by anything sub 9.9. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 Yes, there is an important point in what Garcon says. Bolt and Gatlin, the two fastest runners of the last decade, are both past it - that is now obvious. However, they've been so good (or at least Bolt has), that it makes everyone else look slow. Their age slows them to the speed of the other runners and, before you know it, we're back to the 9.90-9.99 times that we had prior to them. I think Bolt has left a legacy that spoils us to a degree. We expect earth shattering records every time. Michael Johnson was similar in his prime. It took forever for someone to break his record. The same could be said of Coe's record and the triple jump of Jonathan Edwards. One took decades to beat, the other still stands after over 20 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 Again, someone didn't read the script 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 (edited) Great run by the British relay team. 3rd fastest time of all time Sad to see Bolt's career ending in that way. Edited August 12, 2017 by Cuprabob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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