Athletics Weekly

Pregnancy!

Bevone - you've addressed that to me but did you mean someone else, because I made exactly the same point as you did!

There is no obsession with UKA going to foreign coaches, The only obsession is wanting WORLD CLASSS coaches working with their best athletes, surely this is what the country's top athletes need. How many British World Class coaches are there, probably count on one hand!! Everyone moans but the fact...

Not that I agree, but there is a misguided view that when appointing a head coach/manager one requirement is for the person to already have a record of success at the top level. This almost always leads to looking abroad for candidates, as British coaches tend not to have that experience (especially...

Last summer I sent several open meet results exclusively to TPOT. Amazingly, within a couple of days, all of the performances also appeared on TOPS. I also use both along with the All Athletics site. I know that there are some really good statisticians behind TOPS but, as some people do, to claim t...

2dodgy - I prefer TPOT to TOPS for a number of reasons, but if the insinuation in your post was that TOPS use TPOT to get their stats, then you are not entirely correct. Yes, I believe TOPS have been caught out copying the odd result from TPOT, but the guys behind TOPS are part of the National Union...

I should've made clear - I was referring to Brits who've topped the all time lists for U17 or even U20. Those all time lists don't make great reading for those hoping talented youngsters will have senior success.

I agree that internationally the trend is different.

Note the top 8 in the 100/200m in the World Juniors in 2010: Williams,Pinckney,Samuel,Purvis,Gunther Pinto,Laaman, Silas, in the 100m and Kendrick, Williams,Samuel,Selvon,,Purvis,Diamond(GB), Peter, Ichikawa in the 200m. None of the above have set the world of young sprinting alight and probably wi...

I'm almost certain it's online as well as Red Button.

It better had be or I'm screwed.

Really pleased to see Gay back and running well. I've always liked him, although seeing him slapping Mullings on the back and generally being matey with him at a meet a year or two ago has always left a bitter taste in the mouth. 50.4 for CO at this time of year is extremely positive and bodes very ...

Incidentally, Hayley Tullet shared a similar view to me on 5 live's doping discussion tonight - wouldn't particularly want a gold instead of her bronze from 2003, because the bronze carries the memories from the night and she's already been robbed of her national anthem and crossing the line first m...

If fact it does. The flaw in your theory is that if Crawford doped because he believed his competitors doped than he wouldn't have given away his medal to somebody he thought was on the juice. Don't get me wrong but in the vast majority of doping cases there is a clear "must win at all costs&q...

That would be fantastic. The only way to minimize the horrible life-stealing acts of the cheats is to properly celebrate the true achievements of the honest ones. I don't agree with Exile about that aspect of it. If it were me, I'd be flippin' delighted at the recognition of my true achievement - b...

I see from reading The Mail on line that samples from lyudmila Blonska from the World Champs in Osaka (2007) are to be retested She finished the comp with the Silver Medal With Kelly Sotherton in Bronze and Jessica Ennis in 4th Im pretty sure they will find abnormalities and strip her of the Silver...

Re: British male marathon runners. Ursus writes, "I think it's simply a case of too much like hard work for the "want everything now, attention span of a gnat" generation." Knowing some of the "better" Brit distance runners personally, I'm 100% confident that they are p...

Long jumping isn't only about 100m speed, though. There are plenty of examples of "average" sprinters being much better long jumpers than faster athletes.

What was Mike Powell's 100m best? Not faster than a whole host of other long jumpers, that's for sure.

Probably no coincidence that the WCs are in Moscow this year and they're trying to ensure there aren't any scandals at the actual event. Maybe a condition of them getting the champs was that they get their own house in order or else expect WADA to do so for them?

Blatant April fools!

Interesting question. I don't believe for one second that Kathy Cook doped, but fans from abroad might suggest that this is a classic example of Brits assuming "our" athletes to be clean and "their" athletes to be dirty.

Mump - points taken, but part of the problem here is that people see cross country as track's poor relation (and you're certainly not alone in that view) and are wondering where all the track runners are and why they're not running. Cross country running is a discipline in its own right and while th...

If Bingham's in decent shape surely he makes the cut ahead of Conrad or Levine? Or even J Green?

And to reiterate - I don't think they're dodgy, I just don't think Team Sky have lived up to the high standards that they initially set themselves.

Laps - id prefer not to be lectured on what I am and am not capable of understanding, thanks. This piece sums up my issues: - http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/12357/Kimmage-disappointed-in-Wiggins-and-Team-Sky-over-transparency.aspx I'm not as cynical as Kimmage, but he raises some very valid points.

I have to say I agree with Edanielfire on this one (and Paul Kimmage, I think). I don't believe Brailsford encourages or tolerates doping within his teams. I don't believe Wiggins and the rest take drugs. But I certainly think that Team Sky haven't delivered what they promised. Getting rid of those ...

I agree that practice, practice, practice is the way forward. That said, even the most well-drilled team can either crumble under pressure or just cock up on the day and because of GB's recent history with foul-ups, the pressure is even greater. I think everyone's agreed that there's no point drilli...

Has timthemod read the thread before posting? He CAN compete for GB only every 4 years and, as I said in previous post, he'd be nuts to do anything different given his circumstances.

Laps - As far as UK Sport are concerned, UKA/BA are the NGB for athletics in this country. They are funded, as your link suggests, as a result of performances (e.g. top 8 finishes) at World Championships or Olympic Games. Performances at CWG are nothing to do with a) UKA or b) UK sport. You are writ...

Those people arguing against Delano Williams competing for GB should stop a moment and think what they would do in his situation. Why the hell should he choose to be British when he's allowed to compete for his home "country" at the World Champs? And why the hell should he decline selectio...

I never really buy the "rewards on offer elsewhere" argument. Most runners I know a) put in massive effort and b) could put similar effort into pretty much any other sporting activity and still not be as good as they are at running. It's not as if just because you're a talented runner you ...

Laps - Alex Ferguson is not selecting an athletics team though, is he? The relative merits of one footballer over another will generally be a subjective opinion, made by an experienced expert depending upon how he wants his team to play. In athletics, the merits of athletes are, in most (but not all...