Athletics Athletics, Amateur Amateur, Athletics.

[Albert]

Who the Hells idea was it to allow a Thoroughbred talent like Emily Pidgeon to participate in the Steeplechase?
An event taken from another sport which was for participants that had failed to make the grade or were past their best.
Just for records?
Shergar should have been seen jumping fences before Emily.

[bekeselassie]

An event taken from another sport which was for participants that had failed to make the grade or were past their best.

Oh yeah, like that slouch Moses Kiptanui. Or that nobody Henry Rono. And Said Shaheen (Stephen Cherono)? Clearly can't run anything else.

[Albert]

Exactly! Which other sport would have such talented athletes jumping a solid barrier onto un level ground underwater whilst tiring in the later stages of the race.It's not as if they can't run something else is it?

[slowcoach]

Maybe they like running it.

The Steeple has been around for quite a while, bit late to start moaning about it.

[Albert]

Ok.Lets get back to the point.Miss Pidgeon is at the moment very much one of our hopes for the future.Open your eyes and more importantly your minds Athletics;She should not be wrapped in cotton wool,but then again she should not have things put in front of her to trip her up.
The road to London will be long enough and hard enough as it is.

Anyway I hope Emily isn't too badly injured and makes a speedy return to action.On the flat that is!

[Jon Mulkeen]

She should not be wrapped in cotton wool,but then again she should not have things put in front of her to trip her up.

Yeh, and let's take the barriers out of the 110, 100 and 400 hurdles and simply have the 110, 100 and 400 flat....

[Javelin Sam]

She should not be wrapped in cotton wool,but then again she should not have things put in front of her to trip her up.

Yeh, and let's take the barriers out of the 110, 100 and 400 hurdles and simply have the 110, 100 and 400 flat....

oh my god...i've seen the future..and the future is FLAT...

cancell all cross country runs where flat runners have to run up hills and through DANGEROUS streams and mud and jump over logs and TWIGS...

[Albert]

Horses for courses.Plenty of time later in her career to do such events.Too big a future to risk uneccessary injury at this stage.
But hey, like I said, they don't call it Amateur Athletics for nothing.
And no XC without a doubt.We ain't got that many good ones to thin out.If one steps on a stone in training look what happens.

[slowcoach]

cancell all cross country runs where flat runners have to run up hills and through DANGEROUS streams and mud and jump over logs and TWIGS...

And definitely no Javelin throwing!!

[slowcoach]

Horses for courses.Plenty of time later in her career to do such events.Too big a future to risk uneccessary injury at this stage.
But hey, like I said, they don't call it Amateur Athletics for nothing.
And no XC without a doubt.We ain't got that many good ones to thin out.If one steps on a stone in training look what happens.

Maybe she likes it, and maybe it's her best event. They are giving out Gold medals for the Women's Steeple now!

[Albert]

Maybe she will change her mind now.Fingers crossed.

[Javelin Sam]

I think you need to understand this.

She could have picked up an injury putting her socks on, walking along the street, cleaning the windows at home, driving her car, walking the dog. Because you see her get an injury doing an athletic event she does not normally do you jump all over the decision to do it.

What about all those people that tear muscles running on the flat, the bruised heels, the stress fractures... what should they be doing??

If you don't try something you will never know... it's just unfortunate that at this stage she has injured herself in the way that she has.

Sam

[Albert]

Honestly I just think it is typical of the amateur decisions made in Athletics.

I have seen Emily run from an early age and she is a rare talent and whichever event she settles on I wish her the very best.

[Jon Mulkeen]

Just to clarify what actually happened in Loughborough.... Instead of planting her foot on the barrier and then pushing from that to clear the water, Emily hurdles the water jump. In Loughborough, she slightly mis-timed it and hit her knee on the barrier, causing her to fall almost face-first into the water. She cleared the next barrier and then as she went over the next one, she landed awkwardly on the leg with the bad knee and immediately withdrew from the race. Her stomach was all red from falling into the barrier, but she handled it well - no crying or signs of anger, just discomfort and pain.

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.

[daisy]

Jon, why would her coach tell her to hurdle the water barrier? This is madness.

[sleady]

cancell all cross country runs where flat runners have to run up hills and through DANGEROUS streams and mud and jump over logs and TWIGS...

Too late for that JS! It's already been done, only it's called the World Cross Country Champs!

[ronnie rhino]

Daisy,

possibly because that's what many of the Africans do

[daisy]

Daisy,
possibly because that's what many of the Africans do

Are we talking about male or female here. Do they do that on their first race?

[slowcoach]

Do they do that on their first race?

Pidgeon has already run five 2k steeples! That's 25 water jumps! And she's the UK junior record holder. For Gawd sakes, people, she had an accident, give it a rest. And wish her a speedy recovery.

[daisy]

Do they do that on their first race?

Pidgeon has already run five 2k steeples! That's 25 water jumps! And she's the UK junior record holder. For Gawd sakes, people, she had an accident, give it a rest. And wish her a speedy recovery.

Ah, excuse my ignorance. i thought it was her first race over the barriers, although i still doubt the wisdom or hurdling the barrier. Do women steeplers regularly hurdle the water jump. Or is she going to be a monster in the event? (again, excuse my ignorance but I have never seen a womans steeplechase).

[Albert]

Do they do that on their first race?

Pidgeon has already run five 2k steeples! That's 25 water jumps! And she's the UK junior record holder. For Gawd sakes, people, she had an accident, give it a rest. And wish her a speedy recovery.

Pidgeon?,,,, Pidgeon?,,,not Emily then? Not Miss Pidgeon ? Just Pidgeon!

Need I say anymore? Sir!! No Sir!! Yes Sir!!

[daisy]

Need I say anymore? Sir!! No Sir!! Yes Sir!!

???? What is the problem, it seems like standard message board stuff to me. Are you implying slowcoach is trying to be offensive?

[bekeselassie]

An event taken from another sport which was for participants that had failed to make the grade or were past their best.

Oh yeah, like that slouch Moses Kiptanui. Or that nobody Henry Rono. And Said Shaheen (Stephen Cherono)? Clearly can't run anything else.

Albert's response to this post makes me think he missed my point. The steeplechase is a legitimate event for the world's best to contest. Kiptanui and Rono were running the steeple while setting world records in other events. Shaheen is a 12:48 (so far) 5K runner and obviously the best steepler in the world.

And then there's some guy who's won 10 world XC titles recently and has been better than average on the track at the same time.

I guess if Albert were a receiver (American football) he'd never go across the middle, huh?

[slowcoach]

Pidgeon?,,,, Pidgeon?,,,not Emily then? Not Miss Pidgeon ? Just Pidgeon!

Need I say anymore? Sir!! No Sir!! Yes Sir!!

Be consistent:

Gatlin WR 9.76. Go on spoil it I dare you!

and


which woodwork were you hiding in with your sport destroying whinging when Jackson and Edwards ruled the world.

[Albert]

Fair cop Slowcoach, apologies.It just does not sit right with me to risk such a talent at such an early age.

Bekeselassie; Unfortunately it's not A reciever it's THE reciever so no I would not risk her getting crunched.

[Jon Mulkeen]

Do they do that on their first race?

Pidgeon has already run five 2k steeples!

Ah, excuse my ignorance. i thought it was her first race over the barriers.

She has also run a fair few 3000m steeples before - she is 4th on the UK all-time senior lists (10:06). So far as I know, this is her first bad fall in a steeplechase.

[Albert]

Not good odds then eh?

[Albert]

In fact records show that prior to this she had only run in five steeples.

Shocking ratio to what could have been a very serious injury.

Rankings? come on they hardly have to run heats for steeples.

No disrespect to ADULTS who do it by the way.

[mikewats]

why she even doing steeple chase, why doesnt she just do 5k and race sian edwards, dave farrow always does this moves his athletes to easier events as soon as they are challenged. Davenport lost a 400 race at english schools 2002 and then decided to move to the hurdles, he was still the fastest in his age group, but because he has one bad race he moves to hurdles where the competition just isnt their untill seniors.

Last year emily pidgeon ran the euro juniors when she could have gone to world youths, she won euro juniors but would she have won world youths probably not, she is shying away from competition and just going for the easy route to success. Shes got to race the kenyans and ethiopians sooner or later, also she has another chance at euro juniors, she should have definately done world youths, bad attitude or selfish coach in my opinion.

[Albert]

Got there in the end didn't we.Teamwork thats all it is.
Nail,Hit and Head, well done mikewats.