Athletics Weekly

Further to my post yesterday I now give below a summary of the potential improvements for all the competitors in the Olympic final based on two models. Model 1 = a positive split with an exponential decay in speed Model 2 = Even pace Name…………….Olympic Actual/Model 1/Model 2 Rudisha………….100.91/99.11/...

“When you are tired of London’s 800m Olympic Final, you are tired of Athletics.” I put a specific slant on Samuel Johnson’s famous quotation as my excuse for resurrecting the subject yet again. What more can be said that hasn’t already been said I am sure you are thinking? Journalists have exhausted...

Rooney's PB goes back to 2008 - not improved for four years. Perhaps a switch to 800 will see him moving forward again.

It has been suggested in the past that it is time for Rooney to move up to 800m. I seem to recall that Jason suggested it in an editorial some time ago. What could we expect if he did? Well someone, I know not who, devised the following rule: 400m time x 1.1 = A A x 1.1 = B Expected 800m time = A + ...

musimusi from the video timeline Rudisha'a 200 split looks like 23.29 Speeding up and slowing down during the race is wasteful. The energy he put into the race, if distributed smoothly giving a split of -.46, would result in a WR of 98.02!! The 200m splits would be 24.85 then 3 x 24.39 That is my op...

I agree with jjimbojames when he says "....this was a poor run from Lynsey, but not altogether surprising" The race for Lynsey was part of a learning process that cannot be short circuited. What can she learn from it? Firstly her racing plan was suspect. In a post race interview she said h...

Taking times from the timeline of a video, the Osagie’s splits were 24.80/26.84/26.72/26.38 Average speeds 8.06/7.45/7.48/7.58 Converting the energy used to an even pace strategy my model of the 800m suggests 26.41/25.94/25.94/25.94 total 1:44.23 Average speeds 7.57/7.71/7.71/7.71 Scope for improvem...

Jessica Judd is at the age where 800m girls improve by2/3 secs per year; so we could see her dipping below 2 mins this year, maybe today?

Questions for CvC in connection with the 800m Women selection. On the BBC website Steve Cram says; It also comes as a surprise because at one point Charles made it fairly clear that those on 'B' standards wouldn't be competing in London. Question 1 Is this true? Question 2 If it is true, why have yo...

In an earlier post I suggested that that the rule that prevents selecting a mix of A’s and B’s is an ass. The UK rule could have prevented CvC picking the form horse if Marilyn had been 2nd in the trials, even in a slow time. She would have bagged a place for herself and opened up the door for two m...

[b]The law is an ass[/b]

Can anyone explain the logic behind the rule that prevents A's and B's in the same event from a country?

Decision time With the selection procedure now made clear it is decision time. The Olympic ideal of fair competition should include fair selection. The selectors have got to be strong and be prepared to defend their selections. Remember sentiment and fairness do not go hand in hand. Now for the Wome...

Thank you to Notabot and Paul for pointing out that the splits I proposed for the 800m A standard don't add up. I must have keyed in a wrong number somewhere. If the A standard is 119.90 secs then the splits would be 30.38/29.84/29.84/29.84

The finish of an 800m is often an illusion. A fast finisher is often slowing down, but less rapidly than the other competitors. I think that was the case with Lynsey from the times I have taken from the tape. Unfortunately, she was not in shot at 600m, so I have had to make an estimate. I am not try...

My suggestion for the ideal stadium would have the track markings such that the staggers are in the straights and not on the bends. This would make the work done by all athletes to negotiate the bends numerically identical in each lane and, therefore, fairer. The effort required to negotiate the cur...

I dusted off my computer model and tried to make sense of the 800m final; I think I have failed, but this is as I see it. Marilyn did not do her homework. If she had have done her homework she would have found that she was the fastest sprinter in the pack (based on 400m times - in Marilyn’s case a b...

Jessica Judd Did you notice the split for Jessica? It was -.2 The third and fourth 200m splits were 29.86 and 31.29 This fade is probably due to covering the first 200m too quickly. Is there a link anywhere to a video of the race? Does anybody know the time for the first 200m? Passing the above info...

AllanW

Is the KJ-T 800m video published anywhere?

This thought crossed my mind when I saw the new kit: would an athlete be able to opt for the cyclist’s kit? The cycling people take aerodynamics very seriously with respect to materials and fit, so could track athletes benefit? I know the relative speeds are much different and I don’t know the weigh...

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of reading about Plastic Brits and like “laps” I think it is deeply offensive. As far as I am concerned they are team members selected in accordance with the rules they do not need a separate label. The only PB’s I want to read about are those related to their ...

Based on the Daegu run I believe that Jess is capable of 128.54 indoors, but her tactics would have to change. If team Ennis is interested in how i arrived at this figure then they could contact me. I could publish the justification here, but the opposition may be watching. Anyway if I am correct, t...

Case Study – Marilyn Okoro On the UK champs message board last week I suggested that Marilyn’s Form line was 123.2 and, by implication, that her tactics were wrong at Sheffield although I did not actually say so; I did not need to, others had already challenged the wisdom of running a 7.59 positive ...

d pickup
You are quite correct when you say "Not the oldboy way" because you will never see oldboy condoning a 3.75 split as a plan.

Usedtoit Paul Trickstat Rembradt The above have had their say on Marilyn Okoro and their opinions are different. Marilyn must wonder what she has to do. Her two most recent indoor races have been run differently, but ended with the same result 124+ From previous posts you will know I have a model of...

Championships and trials are different from DL and BMC contrived races in one very significant way: the distance run by the athlete. In the contrived races it is possible to put the "favoured" in lane 8 and for him/her to break behind the pacemaker, run in a straight line to the second ben...

This week AW is full of merit ratings. Last week Jenny Meadows was expressing sympathy with Jemma Simpson who has lost the lottery funding. In the merit ratings Jemma is rated fourth which would lend support to the lottery panel’s decision. Are the same people on both panels? Have they got it right?...

A middle distance thread with a request not to mention names; that should keep us going through the winter or at least until the indoor season gets under way. Lots of advice: get the cross country miles in, ask the past masters, don’t forget the speed work, sleep in an altitude tent, etc, etc ………… N...

Thank you "sidelined" I stand corrected. I obviously was not wide awake at that moment.

Illusion? A number of people commented on the poor TV coverage. To me it seemed like a low budget affair all round. Did the BBC try and create the illusion that the commentry team was in Berlin? I certainly had the impression that the "commentary box" was in London! At one point Steve Cram...

I posted elsewhere on the message board the wish that the sports administrators should concentrate on aspects that improve the sport for spectators or athletes; better still both. Very little has been said here about the reverse 400m ran at Brussels last week other than “usedtoit33” who said he was ...