Bolt aiming for four gold medals in 2012

[Kermit]

Usain Bolt wants 4x400m relay spot in bid for four golds at London Olympics http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/no ... m-olympics

[usedtoit33]

Usain Bolt wants 4x400m relay spot in bid for four golds at London Olympics http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/no ... m-olympics

I think the Americans really would have struggled to win in Daegu if Bolt had been on the long relay team. But then, only Merritt ran well in the final. If the Jams are all in form could we see a repeat of 91, only with the Jams instead of us? When was the last time the US lost an Olympic men's 4x4 title?

Actually, I just checked. It was 1972 when Kenya won, if you don't count Moscow when they weren't there.

[d pickup]

Usain Bolt wants 4x400m relay spot in bid for four golds at London Olympics http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/no ... m-olympics

I think the Americans really would have struggled to win in Daegu if Bolt had been on the long relay team. But then, only Merritt ran well in the final. If the Jams are all in form could we see a repeat of 91, only with the Jams instead of us? When was the last time the US lost an Olympic men's 4x4 title?

Actually, I just checked. It was 1972 when Kenya won, if you don't count Moscow when they weren't there.

isedtoit33
I'd guess USA will be in better form in '12 than in '11

Top 400 '11
USA 44.35, 44.68, 44.82, 44.88
JAM 44.69, 45.30, 45.42, 45.46

But Bolt doing a flying 43.00 ...

Might be a little bit hard for JAM

[trickstat]

Usain Bolt wants 4x400m relay spot in bid for four golds at London Olympics http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/no ... m-olympics

I think the Americans really would have struggled to win in Daegu if Bolt had been on the long relay team. But then, only Merritt ran well in the final. If the Jams are all in form could we see a repeat of 91, only with the Jams instead of us? When was the last time the US lost an Olympic men's 4x4 title?

Actually, I just checked. It was 1972 when Kenya won, if you don't count Moscow when they weren't there.

It is worth mentioning that in 1972, due to suspensions and injuries the US didn't have 4 eligible athletes so were unable to compete. The last time they were actually beaten in the Olympics was in Helsinki 1952 by.........Jamaica!

[usedtoit33]

Thanks for the info Trickstat. I wondered whether there was, in fact a US team in 72, as they weren't in the medals. So discounting 72 and 80 it will be 60 years since they've lost a 4x4. I have to admit, even with Bolt running a 43 flat they'd struggle. A fully fit Merritt, Wariner, Taylor + A N Other (pick from half a dozen) is a very formidable team.

[TheRealSub10]

You never know. You might see some fantastic 400m performances from Jam in 2012... watch this space.

[Geoff]

Not strictly related to Bolt but....

Beyond Usain Bolt: can the world's fast men get faster still? How many more barriers can sprinters break and is there a human speed limit?

...........So what about changing our muscle fibre composition to upgrade to more fast- twitch fibres? Or, as one scientist put it, just splice some hummingbird genes into our own DNA? "It would certainly make us radically faster," says SMU's Peter Weyand. "If somebody manages the technical trick of having really fast animal fibres introduced, then all bets are off. Really crazy things would happen."

Another possibility is that our own DNA could be manipulated to code for the fast-type muscle fibres, and the science for that, say the experts, is already in place – experiments have taken place in southern California and proved that it works. "That's the whole gene doping scenario," says Weyand, "and that's probably not very far away."

So at the Olympic Games of 2036 – 100 years after Jesse Owens – we could be witnessing some extraordinary times if the scientists get their way. It may sound like a bad plot for a kids' cartoon but if the history of the fastest men on earth has taught us anything, then it's always to expect the unexpected.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/no ... nters-100m

[jambob]

Michael Johnson's views on Bolt going for a gold in the 4 x 400.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/15724218.stm

[mump boy]

I'd love to see him do this but if he does i see a Flo Jo outcome

[merito]

No way is Usain Bolt going to wear that dodgy gear that Flo Jo used to run in.
I take it that's what you meant?

[Geoff]

It's certainly feasable for Bolt to run a very good 4x400 leg especially if he's in world record 200m shape. He wouldn't run the heats of either relay and only has three rounds of the 100m (?). One problem is the 4x400 is before the 4x100. So I think he can do it but four golds depends on his team mates rasing their game as well. We all remember John Regis doing something similar.