The Athletics Thread

[tobydawq]

Well, there are only clinic threads or tournament-specific threads for this sport on the forum. We can't have that.

Tough opening day for the Dutch women with two crashes in half an hour which cost potential gold medals (or maybe they didn't, it probably happened in both cases because they tried to do more than they could while being overtaken). Maybe inspired by Van der Poel? But Bol actually managed to drop the baton in a way that made it cross the line before the Americanss. Unfortunately, that isn't allowed so to add insult to injury, the team were disqualified and didn't even get the bronze medal. Tough luck. Impressive she didn't get a nose bleed from it, though.

She better be careful when she crosses the final obstacle in the 400m hurdles final, because if she can crash on a flat 400m it should be doable there as well.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Well, there are only clinic threads or tournament-specific threads for this sport on the forum. We can't have that.

Tough opening day for the Dutch women with two crashes in half an hour which cost potential gold medals (or maybe they didn't, it probably happened in both cases because they tried to do more than they could while being overtaken). Maybe inspired by Van der Poel? But Bol actually managed to drop the baton in a way that made it cross the line before the Americanss. Unfortunately, that isn't allowed so to add insult to injury, the team were disqualified and didn't even get the bronze medal. Tough luck. Impressive she didn't get a nose bleed from it, though.

She better be careful when she crosses the final obstacle in the 400m hurdles final, because if she can crash on a flat 400m it should be doable there as well.

I didn't really understand Hassan's tactic in the 10 K. To me it looked like she had to spend unnecessary energy, because she decided to stay at the back of the group and then had to overtake a lot more people to make it to the front in the end, but maybe she just didn't know her own strength until the last lap. If she had had a better position I think she would have won.

Bol perhaps started out too fast, but the American also did a very good leg to be fair.

If Ryan Crouser worked as a massage therapist, he would either be able to fix Roglič and Bernals back issues or kill them by accident. I'm not the forum's main expert on shot put though, so I could be wrong.

 

[titan31]

Eurosport commentator made the likes of Blythe and Kirby look good. Never heard someone at this level so ill suited to being a commentator (check out the end of the 10k if you want your ears to bleed).

For Hassan, staying at the back avoids having to deal with the crowds and jostling for position.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

For Hassan, staying at the back avoids having to deal with the crowds and jostling for position.

I know, but starting the final 450m at the back defintely wasn't advantageous, plus she also had to close small gaps throughout the race. But ok, you obviously never know if you can keep the pace up before you start the sprint nor whether someone will be able to match you.

 

[BullsFan22]

I didn't really understand Hassan's tactic in the 10 K. To me it looked like she had to spend unnecessary energy, because she decided to stay at the back of the group and then had to overtake a lot more people to make it to the front in the end, but maybe she just didn't know her own strength until the last lap. If she had had a better position I think she would have won.

Bol perhaps started out too fast, but the American also did a very good leg to be fair.

If Ryan Crouser worked as a massage therapist, he would either be able to fix Roglič and Bernals back issues or kill them by accident. I'm not the forum's main expert on shot put though, so I could be wrong.

I question Crouser’s claim that he had an injury before this. I think he came out and said it to have an excuse if were to lose. He had a narrative all prepared, and it works perfect with NBC’s ‘little engine that could’ drama and ‘oh this guy is an inspiration’ Hollywood stories.

The two crashes for the Dutch women were just about identical, though Hassan went up against tougher competition. Something about Dutch sports and kind of choking. I will say, going back to NBC’s coverage, I hope someone writes them a letter and tells them to show a little more respect to non American athletes, especially when they have fall, especially that close to the finish line, in a gold medal race at a major championship. I may need to mute the rest of the championships.

 

[RedheadDane]

If Ryan Crouser worked as a massage therapist, he would either be able to fix Roglič and Bernals back issues or kill them by accident. I'm not the forum's main expert on shot put though, so I could be wrong.

If you attempt to fix someone's back by shot putting them... you're doing it wrong, all of it!

 

[Samu Cuenca]

If you attempt to fix someone's back by shot putting them... you're doing it wrong, all of it!

Mmmh, maybe Gaudu wasn't actually getting a piggyback ride in those pictures, but was instead trying to fix Madouas' back?

 

[RedheadDane]

Mmmh, maybe Gaudu wasn't actually getting a piggyback ride in those pictures, but was instead trying to fix Madouas' back?

I don't think that's how you fix backs either...

Hey, toby. Sorry for turning your thread into the "How to (NOT!) fix back problems" thread.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Bol is kind of being expected that this is her one chance to score some gold, because no matter what she achieves anywhere ever, there's always a section of McLaughlin fans who will remind us that McLaughlin would have done it better if she ever deigned to run outside the USA. With McLaughlin having spent most of her season focusing on the flat 400 anyway, and then withdrawing from the championships as a whole, this was expected to be Bol's big chance and perhaps that got to her a little. Her running style is so relaxed it's misleading, as she looked so untroubled until very late on there even though it was clear she wasn't putting any time into the American and her fabled late kick on failed to materialise.

American commentary only following Americans in athletics is something you just gotta get used to, Bulls. They have such a strong national scene to follow and the time of the day for broadcasting of Euro events mean that the ongoing DL and Continental Tour events don't get too much screening so a lot of these athletes are only seen to those commentators as names on results sheets outside major championships.

 

[jmdirt]

Bol is kind of being expected that this is her one chance to score some gold, because no matter what she achieves anywhere ever, there's always a section of McLaughlin fans who will remind us that McLaughlin would have done it better if she ever deigned to run outside the USA. With McLaughlin having spent most of her season focusing on the flat 400 anyway, and then withdrawing from the championships as a whole, this was expected to be Bol's big chance and perhaps that got to her a little. Her running style is so relaxed it's misleading, as she looked so untroubled until very late on there even though it was clear she wasn't putting any time into the American and her fabled late kick on failed to materialise.

American commentary only following Americans in athletics is something you just gotta get used to, Bulls. They have such a strong national scene to follow and the time of the day for broadcasting of Euro events mean that the ongoing DL and Continental Tour events don't get too much screening so a lot of these athletes are only seen to those commentators as names on results sheets outside major championships.

Yah, you know that American Ato Boldon.

 

[tobydawq]

I don't think that's how you fix backs either...

Hey, toby. Sorry for turning your thread into the "How to (NOT!) fix back problems" thread.

Thanks for the apology. I will not forgive you, though.

 

[RedheadDane]

Thanks for the apology. I will not forgive you, though.

Not even if I give you a tiny little slice of cake?

 

[tobydawq]

Not even if I give you a tiny little slice of cake?

Does it have to be both tiny and little?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yah, you know that American Ato Boldon.

Michael Johnson has been part of BBC's athletics coverage for years, doesn't mean the coverage isn't British athlete-centered.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

What a finish to the women's heptathlon. I thought Johnson-Thompson would lose the gold, but she held on. Anna Hall didn't match her very best 800m time, but KJT not only destroyed her season best, but also her own personal record. Great to see her back at her best after her crash in Tokyo. Thiam vs. Hall. vs. KJT vs. Sułek could become an intense fight in Paris next year.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Richardson actually wins a big one! With her history one could actuallly feel happy for her, if she wasn't so trashy (not to mention her history of xenophobic/racist remarks about Jamaica on social media), but it's 100m sprint, so being trashy is part of the game.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Richardson actually wins a big one! With her history one could actuallly feel happy for her, if she wasn't so trashy (not to mention her history of xenophobic/racist remarks about Jamaica on social media), but it's 100m sprint, so being trashy is part of the game.

I wasn't a fan of hers a couple of years ago when she made a total ass of herself at the Pre Classic here in Eugene (she talked all kinds of smack and then finished DFL), but I think she's grown and matured since. Time will only tell how she will behave on and off the track, but for now I'm pulling for her.

 

[BullsFan22]

Richardson actually wins a big one! With her history one could actuallly feel happy for her, if she wasn't so trashy (not to mention her history of xenophobic/racist remarks about Jamaica on social media), but it's 100m sprint, so being trashy is part of the game.

The trash talk aside, her (not gonna post it in this thread because there’s another thread/topic that’s open just for that) history from a couple years ago is off putting, to say the least.

 

[BullsFan22]

Bol is kind of being expected that this is her one chance to score some gold, because no matter what she achieves anywhere ever, there's always a section of McLaughlin fans who will remind us that McLaughlin would have done it better if she ever deigned to run outside the USA. With McLaughlin having spent most of her season focusing on the flat 400 anyway, and then withdrawing from the championships as a whole, this was expected to be Bol's big chance and perhaps that got to her a little. Her running style is so relaxed it's misleading, as she looked so untroubled until very late on there even though it was clear she wasn't putting any time into the American and her fabled late kick on failed to materialise.

American commentary only following Americans in athletics is something you just gotta get used to, Bulls. They have such a strong national scene to follow and the time of the day for broadcasting of Euro events mean that the ongoing DL and Continental Tour events don't get too much screening so a lot of these athletes are only seen to those commentators as names on results sheets outside major championships.

Oh I am well aware of that, it’s been going on for many years. Endless, stupid commercials take up most of the time and when they do show the actual races they show only Americans. They couldn’t stop talking about Crouser and Lyles, as if they are the only two competing. I live in the US, this is par for the course. I don’t know why I keep hoping that some day this will change and we’ll see normal coverage of the entire event. I will not be watching NBC come the Olympics next year.

 

[BullsFan22]

Yah, you know that American Ato Boldon.

It’s irrelevant, he still has to cover American sprinters.

 

[Mayomaniac]

The trash talk aside, her (not gonna post it in this thread because there’s another thread/topic that’s open just for that) history from a couple years ago is off putting, to say the least.

Then again, it's track and field sprinting, so you kinda expect everyone to be kinda trashy. Oh well, at least on the women's side you have way less of the forced wannabe Bolt showmanship that you have on the men's side.

Back to the race, how good his Richardson's cornering technique? Cause with her topspeed she should dominate the 200m.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

If she could sort out her start without sacrificing any of that top speed, she could be as impactful on women's sprinting as Bolt was on men's. The media pretty much universally loved Bolt though, and they had a ready-made pantomime villain to set him against in Gatlin, whereas Richardson is both very divisive in and of herself, and some of her current opposition are media darlings themselves, like Fraser-Pryce and Asher-Smith, so I think she'll carry an air of controversy due to her past for a few years to come. She makes for easy copy for the media though, so I'm sure they'll come round to her, just whether they posit her as the star or as the one to be gunned for remains to be seen.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Oh I am well aware of that, it’s been going on for many years. Endless, stupid commercials take up most of the time and when they do show the actual races they show only Americans. They couldn’t stop talking about Crouser and Lyles, as if they are the only two competing. I live in the US, this is par for the course. I don’t know why I keep hoping that some day this will change and we’ll see normal coverage of the entire event. I will not be watching NBC come the Olympics next year.

I loathe having to watch international competitions where American media only covers and shows interest in American athletes, unfortunately it's par for the course and has been since forever. (When I was much younger I did actually enjoy watching all those feel-good stories about athletes, took a while for me to realize those stories were only about American athletes.)

 

[BullsFan22]

I loathe having to watch international competitions where American media only covers and shows interest in American athletes, unfortunately it's par for the course and has been since forever. (When I was much younger I did actually enjoy watching all those feel-good stories about athletes, took a while for me to realize those stories were only about American athletes.)

It’s disappointing. NBC has all this money, resources, and manpower, yet they cover it like it’s the national champs.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It’s disappointing. NBC has all this money, resources, and manpower, yet they cover it like it’s the national champs.

I literally saw a video praising Femke Bol becoming the first person to win both the 400m flat and hurdles in the European Championships last year, and people going on in the comments that she only won the races because Sydney McLaughlin didn't turn up and McLaughlin would have won that same double if she wanted to and Bol is actually not really very good cos McLaughlin is faster than her and Muhammad beat her at the Olympics (notwithstanding that Bol is a decade younger than Muhammad and has beaten her pretty much every time they've met since).

Somebody pointed out that while McLaughlin might be a better runner, she would also not have been able to win that double if she wanted to since it was a unique achievement in the history of the European Championships. The poster even doubled down and had to be reminded that McLaughlin's PBs or form were irrelevant simply because the USA is kind of not in Europe.