Please make reminders on the forum about when key track races will be seen on TV. The 10,000m gold medal race and the marathon are of course the main events that I would not want to miss.
In terms of track and field you can basically ignore the Olympics until August 3rd.
Will NBC air the women's 10,000m final in prime time?
Silver for Rupp!
Exciting silver from Rupp indeed.
I am a bit behind the news, so I just learned on the eve of the women's marathon that Paula Radcliffe withdrew a week ago. I threw my arms up in amazement and blurted something incomprehensible. At this very moment my Boston Marathon street sign plummeted behind my desk and into the floor. I saw this as some sort of omen.
The women's marathon starts at 6am Sunday. I'm not sure if they're airing it live.
Consider this story the next time you're feeling tempted to take a DNF in a race.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--algerian-runner-dismissed-from-olympics-for-not-trying-hard-enough.html
Does this greatly enhance US hopes of medaling in the 1500?
Consider this story the next time you're feeling tempted to take a DNF in a race. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--algerian-runner-dismissed-from-olympics-for-not-trying-hard-enough.html Does this greatly enhance US hopes of medaling in the 1500?
It doesn't greatly enhance the US medal hopes, but it helps us. Makhloufi was not a pre-Olympic favorite, but what he had shown was that he had closing speed to win tactical races in the first two rounds of the 1500 meters. Considering there are no rabbits and because its such a big stage, the Olympics finals almost never have an aggressive pace early, Makhloufi was definitely a medal contender even if he is not considered top 5 in the world in a fast race with rabbits--because people who can close can win tactical races. Look at Jenny Simpson, she is the reigning World Champion and she probably was a borderline top 10 1500 meter runner in the world last year, but a solid closer, and the World Championships had a tactical race where she closed the best.
Hold the phone ...
http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/track/story/algerian-runner-taoufik-makhloufi-reinstated-for-1500-final-knee-injury-originally-kicked-out-for-not-trying-in-800m-080612
I am reading about the women women's 5000 meter semifinals. There were three U.S women in that race and this is how they did:
Molly Huddle: 15:02 Qualified for the Final----Huddle is the American Record holder in the 5,000 with a PR OF 14:44
Julie Culley: 15:05 Qualified for the Final -----that is a personal best for her
Kim Conley: 15:14---Failed to Qualify for the final----that is a personal best for her
Conley just hit the A standard in 15:19 (the A standard for women is 15:20) and was considered the weakest of the three so its not a huge surprise Conley didn't make. 15:14 is not a bad time, and if the semi final had gone tactical its the type time that could have got her into the final. That said if it was a tactical race and the first two miles were 7.5 seconds slower each (15 seconds total), its doubtful whether Conley would have been still able run a 15:14 with a super fast last mile. In some ways Conley might have PR'ed because it was a fairly honest race.
Sheila Reid of Villanova and running for Canada, who is one of my favorite collegiate because she always has a positive attitude, did not bring her A game and only ran a 15:27. Reid is the defending NCAA Cross Country champion, but like Conley she just made that 15:20 A standard and its not a real surprise she didn't advance. However, if you get an honest race at the Olympics, you really need to PR and she obviously didn't (her previous PR was 15:17 which would have been 11 seconds slower than the time need to qualify for the finals).
Looking towards the final if its an honest race, the only American with any chance is Molly Huddle with the American record and personal best of 14:44. Culley personal best of 15:05 which she set today is solid by American standards, but won't hold up in an honest Olympic race where you have all the top runners in the world. If its a slower tactical race, both Americans could stay in it till the end, but neither are great kickers. Honestly the chances of the either medaling are not high. If Huddle was a better kicker she'd have a shot, but she is kind in a difficult spot, she has the ability to stay with the lead pack even in a fairly honest race, but doesn't have a kick to make her competitive for a medal.
On the subject of Maryland football, senior WR Kevin Dorsey on the Vibram Five Fingers...
"A touted four-star prospect coming out of Forestville Military Academy in Prince George's County back in 2007, Kevin Dorsey was supposed to be an All-American - or at least All-ACC - by this point. But after three foot surgeries in two years, the talented senior receiver has started just 11 games since 2008."Life is about peaks and valleys," said the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Dorsey. "At first, when I looked at my career, I was disappointed, but now I feel like [the injuries are] something I had to go through. The injuries probably hurt my numbers, and I probably lost a little speed and quickness my first couple of years, but I learned from it. Now, I feel as good as ever."He can thank a new training technique for that. After recovering from a midseason foot injury that caused him to miss two games last year, Dorsey began running -- sans shoes. That's right, the guy with self-proclaimed weak feet shed the Nikes in favor of flesh . . . or something to that extent."I invested in those Vibram Five-Finger Shoes, which are those things you see with no soles and the toes sticking out," Dorsey explained. "Every day I'd put those things on and jog around campus or walk to class. At first, after walking around for a few hours, I started to feel [pain] in my calves and legs. But after awhile you get used to it."So, did it help?"Oh yeah," Dorsey said. "My feet feel a lot stronger, and I've gone from barely being able to push off to being able to go full speed all the time without worrying about nagging injuries."
Intriguing about the football player.
The USA women's 5k team is comparatively weak. I found it hard to get excited about the women's 5k and 10k this Olympics. The marathon ended up being a disappointment, too, with 1 of the 3 getting injured (Davila) and the other two not being able to go with the break. I'm hoping Uceny comes up big in the 1500 to make me feel better.
Silver for Manzano!
No Olympic medals for Lolo Jones ever. Unless there's a chance she'll achieve a late peak at age 34 in Rio?
A candidate for best blooper of the Olympics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suhwFEJIgME
Morgan Uceny's doom in the 1500m final was surely one of the most heartbreaking moments in Olympic history --- right up there with this.
After tripping, Uceny pounded the track with both palms. She stayed on her knees, devastated, as the 12 others circled the oval at Olympic Stadium. She was in that same position, about 15 meters past the finish, as they crossed the line.
She finally stood, walked off the track and left the stadium. She did not address the news media.
Its a bit weird but I think I found the U.S. Olympic Trials more captivating than Olympics. I did enjoy the Olympics but missing a lot of events and watching replays definitely takes excitement out of it. Even if I didn't know the results, knowing that this took place 8 hours ago saps a little bit of excitement out of it. Some of the races were way too tactical to be exciting. Tactical races may lead to great finishes, but they are just not near as exciting as a honest race with a close finish. For example, that 2000 Olympic Final with pretty great even though only three guys were in. Compare that with men's 5000 meter this year. It just didn't seem as monumental when you win gold by running 13:46.