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BlueRoads

BlueRoads

Jan 4, 2020
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The Olympic wrestlers are really close. From the ARD ticker, translated:

Aline Rotter-Focken has a close friendship with her final opponent Adeline Maria Gray (USA). The 30-year-old was even invited to Gray's wedding, but could not go because she was at the wedding of fellow wrestler Frank Stäbler at the same time.
 
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djpbaltimore

Jun 9, 2014
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Red Rick said:
Sifan Hassan wins the 5000m with some ease. First Dutch gold medal in athletics since 1996?
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That is after she won her 1500m heat earlier in the day after falling down with 1 lap to go. What she is attempting to to do with the 1500, 5k, 10k triple is unthinkable. Bol looks like a decent bet to medal in the women's 400m hurdles, but she has little chance against the US duo.

Van Niekerk out of the 400m after the semis. Even so, that one looks like one of the most competitive races 1-8. World record may be under threat there. I tend to doubt FLoJo's 200m record is reachable unless Thompson gets really pushed in the final.
 
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Red Rick

Red Rick

Moderator
Feb 20, 2012
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BlueRoads said:
Probably more will come from the same place...
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Just adding some context for how rare it is for the Dutch to excel in the athletics. Schippers won silver in Rio at the 200m, before that it had been ages since we had any real favorites anywhere.

Hassan is next level though. She could compete anywhere from 800m to half marathons.
 
tobydawq

tobydawq

Nov 16, 2013
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djpbaltimore said:
That is after she won her 1500m heat earlier in the day after falling down with 1 lap to go. What she is attempting to to do with the 1500, 5k, 10k triple is unthinkable. Bol looks like a decent bet to medal in the women's 400m hurdles, but she has little chance against the US duo.

Van Niekerk out of the 400m after the semis. Even so, that one looks like one of the most competitive races 1-8. World record may be under threat there. I tend to doubt FLoJo's 200m record is reachable unless Thompson gets really pushed in the final.
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I think Bol has looked fabulous so far and basically walked home the last 50 metres. I wouldn't rule her out.
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

Feb 20, 2010
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djpbaltimore said:
McLaughlin and Muhammed have also been coasting in without exerting themselves to their max. Bol has looked great too, but I don't think she can run sub 52. And that is probably going to be necessary for gold and silver.
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Problem is it feels like Bol had the most comfortable draw, especially with Petersen falling, she's looked absolutely imperious to date and I thought inexperience may be a factor, but she's the same age as McLaughlin. At the rate she's improving and given how much she eased up with the time she set in the semi I'm not convinced she can't run sub-52, in fact I'm pretty certain she can, but it'd need a perfect start and smoother actual hurdling than in the semi if she's to win when she's up against the American duo and whether she can pull that off under the pressure of a final is a different question.
 
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djpbaltimore

Jun 9, 2014
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Libertine Seguros said:
Problem is it feels like Bol had the most comfortable draw, especially with Petersen falling, she's looked absolutely imperious to date and I thought inexperience may be a factor, but she's the same age as McLaughlin. At the rate she's improving and given how much she eased up with the time she set in the semi I'm not convinced she can't run sub-52, in fact I'm pretty certain she can, but it'd need a perfect start and smoother actual hurdling than in the semi if she's to win when she's up against the American duo and whether she can pull that off under the pressure of a final is a different question.
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The GBR champion was felled by the first hurdle of the heats, so it is an event that can be unpredictable. I can envision Bol winning a gold medal, just not at this one. I would like to see how often a person runs 2s faster in the final in a race under 60s, because she just went under 54s in her semi. The closest recent example of that is Van Niekerk at Rio when he uncorked his WR. He was on an outside lane because his semi was pretty 'mediocre' (45.26 --> 44.45 --> 43.03). McLaughlin just looks so formidable and the lane draw for the final favors her IMO. At least this one will be televised live in the US.
 
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Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

Feb 20, 2010
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djpbaltimore said:
The GBR champion was felled by the first hurdle of the heats, so it is an event that can be unpredictable. I can envision Bol winning a gold medal, just not at this one. I would like to see how often a person runs 2s faster in the final in a race under 60s, because she just went under 54s in her semi. The closest recent example of that is Van Niekerk at Rio when he uncorked his WR. He was on an outside lane because his semi was pretty 'mediocre' (45.26 --> 44.45 --> 43.03). McLaughlin just looks so formidable and the lane draw for the final favors her IMO. At least this one will be televised live in the US.
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Sure, on her pace, but she also ran the final 75m at less than full speed and was absolutely sandbagging to the line, so I don't think the time is particularly representative (2 seconds is an enormous difference, but I don't think sub-52 is outside of her capability, just maybe not on this particular occasion). The same goes for the other major contenders in their semis, too, although it was more pronounced in my opinion with Bol. And of course the weather is another factor, if the final is in better weather conditions I'd expect them all to go a little bit faster.
 
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