2012 London Olympic Games Athletics

white lightning

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Since we are only around a week away from the start of the athletics competitions, I thought I would start a individual thread to talk about the athletes and off course the results. Can someone please copy and past the mens 100 meter starting list please? Thanks guys. My computer is acting funny and I will make sure it's back to normal soon.
 

freddie

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Can someone help me understand this, please?

The IOC said that 1001 drugs tests have been conducted since the start of the London 2012 Olympic period on July 16. The IOC President also says the crackdown on doping cheats in the run-up to the London Olympics has been a success, with testers catching more than 100 athletes using performance-enhancing drugs in recent months. Fahey, the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said they were using "random raids" and blood tests. A brief search on the internet showed only 16 have been reported by the media in the last week. In track and field the nationalities of those that failed were: Russia (3), Ukraine (2), Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Morocco and a St.Kitt's female sprinter ranked 38th this year.

So we conclude either: 1) East Europeans are by far the biggest cheats and almost everyone else is clean; 2) the media (and/or the IOC) choose what to report; 3) the IOC's random raids are a result of profiling.

Also, how can a 10% failure rate be considered a success?
Any thoughts?
 
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white lightning

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Can someone help me understand this, please?

The IOC said that 1001 drugs tests have been conducted since the start of the London 2012 Olympic period on July 16. The IOC President also says the crackdown on doping cheats in the run-up to the London Olympics has been a success, with testers catching more than 100 athletes using performance-enhancing drugs in recent months. Fahey, the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said they were using "random raids" and blood tests. A brief search on the internet showed only 16 have been reported by the media in the last week. In track and field the nationalities of those that failed were: Russia (3), Ukraine (2), Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Morocco and a St.Kitt's female sprinter ranked 38th this year.

So we conclude either: 1) East Europeans are by far the biggest cheats and almost everyone else is clean; 2) the media (and/or the IOC) choose what to report; 3) the IOC's random raids are a result of profiling.

Also, how can a 10% failure rate be considered a success?
Any thoughts?


First off yes they have caught some cheats but it's a very small number compared to the amount of athletes from all over the world doing p.e.d.s. Kenya has had some positives and just the other day, many of their athletes went home citing the training conditions as not being adequate in London so they decided to leave. No the real reason is that they don't want to have any more of their stars caught. It's obvious that alot of cheating is going on but for some reason the media seems to always focus primarily on the white athletes that are caught. I wonder why? What a joke. I would love to see the story behind the story.
 

white is right

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First off yes they have caught some cheats but it's a very small number compared to the amount of athletes from all over the world doing p.e.d.s. Kenya has had some positives and just the other day, many of their athletes went home citing the training conditions as not being adequate in London so they decided to leave. No the real reason is that they don't want to have any more of their stars caught. It's obvious that alot of cheating is going on but for some reason the media seems to always focus primarily on the white athletes that are caught. I wonder why? What a joke. I would love to see the story behind the story.
I think that most of these athletes being caught are from countries where the athletes aren't connected to the latest doping programs that will beat the drug tests. Similar to club level track people in North America that get busted. For the stars it will take a rat within the system or a break through from the testers that the cheats aren't privy to. Ps. I noticed Reuss isn't on the peliminary entry list. I hope this changes....
 
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trackster

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Here's an Olympics watch list:

100--Gemilli is the only real threat here, and I think he's a legitimate threat to make the finals, although medalling is out of the question. Would love to see PRs, at least, from Ronalds Arajs, Marek Niit (although this strikes me as the wrong event for him), R. Sakalauskas, Angel David Rodriguez, and D. Kuc. Of the latter bunch, Sakalauskas, if healthy, has the most potential. He was injured at the Euros, so we'll have to wait and see.

200--I don't think I need to tell anyone here who Christophe LeMaitre is. I've been arguing he's a 200m man for two years now, and I'm predicting silver for him. Yes, silver. There are only two people who can prevent that: Blake and Bolt, and surely at least one of them will get caught for doping before the final.

Niit stands out among the rest. Oddly, his 100 and 400 times are better than his 200, but I'm hoping that's a result of collegiate schedules. Based on the 100-400 PRs, I see no reason he can't go sub 20, although he currently isn't close, and he did finish the NCAA season on a weak note that was never explained. If he's in good form, he could advance several rounds. Hession is in, but he's awful nowadays. Pavel Maslek, the young 400 specialist, is listed. I don't know what to expect from him. There's a guy from Kazakstan, one from the Ukraine, one from Poland, etc, but their current PR's suggest they'll exit quickly.

400--this is where it gets interesting. Karma seems to have caught up with mega-drug-cheat LaShawn Merritt. He's nursing a mild hamstring pull. If he pulls it again and can't finish a race, this event is wide open and we have a lot of possibilities, even without the aging Wariner:

the Borlees--Kevin B. recently beat Kirani James and won a massive Diamond League race. If Merrit is out, he's as much a favorite as anyone in the world.
Jonathan B--lately Kevin has an edge but it never hurts to double your chances!
Martyn Rooney--has had a real renaissance this year, running multiple sub 45's. He's also got the home crowd. Could very well be a finalist.
Pavel Maslak--very young and very good. If he's peaking he could go sub 45 for the first time. His PR is 45.17, so he's a potential finalist. Keep your fingers crossed.
Marcell Diak Nagy--also very young, but perhaps not as developed as Maslak. Still, watch out for the young Hungarian.
Steven Solomon--a personal favorite. The Aussie is the second youngest runner in the field, running ridiculous times for his age (PR of 45.54 and he just turned 19!!!). Expect that PR to fall.

800--This event would be as wide open as the 400 if only something were to happen to Rudisha (cross your fingers and wish good luck to the drug testers). As long as Rudisha runs, however, he wins. Bet your house on it. In the meanwhile, we've got a lot of great runners in the fight for the silver:

Kszczot--brilliant young Pole. Gutsy. Not afraid to take it out. Hopefully, he didn't peak too early (which happened to him during the indoor season). At his best, he can outrun anyone.
Lewandowski--the other Pole. I put him a notch below K, but not by much. He's a seasoned championship performer in his prime, and definitely in the medal hunt.
Nick Symmonds--Has a blistering kick and some excellent PR's but he needs for the race to fall into place just right. I'll be shocked if he doesn't make the finals.
Jeff Risely--may choose to run only the 1500. Solid PR's in the 1:44's, but that probably won't cut it this year. Still, the Aussie can make noise when he's at his best.
Reina--I feel like the Spaniard is getting a bit old, but he has gone into the 1:44's this year.
Borzokovsky--the wild card. His PR's this year are lousy, so he may be too far past his prime, like Wariner. But you simply count this guy out, given his past record (which includes Olympic gold).

1500--Another fun event. Honestly, I think anything can happen.
Nick Willis (NZL)--may actually be peaking at the right time. He pushed himself incredibly hard and lost a gutty Diamond League race recently. I suspect that was a test of fitness. He silvered last time, and will be in the running again, in my opinion.
Ryan Gregson--he has been up and down since last year's injuries, but the Aussie youngster is uber-talented. At his peak, he will make the final and be there at the end.
Andrew Wheating--unfortunately, he's been nursing yet another injury (plantar fascitis that nearly cost him a spot on the team), but he's the most talented of all. Tactically, he's dreadful, always running out in lanes two and three, forcing himself to run much longer races than his competitors. But if the foot allows good training, and he can finally figure out the tactics, he could make a miracle run for the gold.
Ross Murray--love the young Brit, not the least because he's hysterical and never seems to take anything seriously. He's a massive talent who is coming off years of injuries and running stunning times. His recent second place finish in the last Diamond Leage event was unreal. He smoked an incredibly stacked field. It seems hard to believe, given his youth, inexperience, and injury history, but he could well sneak into the finals. My sleeper pick and personal favorite.
Bustos--the young Spaniard is due for a PR.
Various others.

5K--Galen, Galen, Galen! He's taken American distance running to an entirely new level. One of the absolute MUST WATCH performers.
Cam Levins--his PR's don't suggest he can hang, but given his unreal NCAA senior season, you simply can't count out the Canadian.

10K--did I mention Galen, Galen, Galen?? The oft-injured Tegenkamp and Ritzenhein are also in the mix, as well as Levins. This is another MUST WATCH event. I believe the finals will be Friday (there are no heats).

Steeplechase--Jager!! That's Evan Jager, who gave up the mid distances after years of injuries, took up the steeple, and almost immediately destroyed the US record. The Kenyans are supposed to never lose this event. Well, we'll see about that. Mr. Jager may have other plans.

Those are the events I know best. Perhaps someone else can do the hurdles, jumps, and women's events.
 

whiteathlete33

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Nice list Trackster! I too am hoping Lemaitre gets the silver or even bronze in the 200m. I tend to agree with your assessment, maybe Christophe really is a 200m guy. Everyone on this board keeps saying he needs to improve his start and hit the weights but I'm sure he knows that already. His start may always be a handicap for him and maybe he needs to focus on the 200m where he can use his incredible top end speed. Maybe he's what they call a "hardgainer" and has trouble putting on lean muscle. Who knows. If he can set a record in the 200 then we should all be happy.
 

GiovaniMarcon

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I think America's gradual fade from distances greater than 400 meters might be because track and field in general isn't as popular as it once was in America. At least, that's the way it comes off to me.

I'll look at pictures of old track meets from the 60s and 70s, and it seems like all the kids in the colleges liked to attend and watch their friends.

Nowadays, you often don't even have to pay to attend a track meet, and you have your pick of where to sit, even at a lot of major meets.

The sprints seem to have remained popular because of the short attention span required.

As far as White athletes in particular disappearing from sprints, I believe part of the reason might be that it's become more and more "professional" and the likely financial benefits too few, unless you are either immensely talented right away, or are willing to take HGH or whatever.

I don't feel too badly if Americans can't defeat Kenyans or Ethiopians at 5k or 10k on a regular basis. It's like their national sport over there and meanwhile our guys probably only take it up in a piddling sense in ninth grade, and only get really serious in college.
 

mastermulti

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"The sprints seem to have remained popular because of the short attention span required.

As far as White athletes in particular disappearing from sprints, I believe part of the reason might be that it's become more and more "professional" and the likely financial benefits too few, unless you are either immensely talented right away, or are willing to take HGH or whatever."


lol - I still love 5 day test cricket with its intricacies, twists and turns (it's like several battles in a war). The youngun's, though, love their 20/20 version of the game which takes 3 hours max.

Most good white athletes I recall in Aussie athletic history did their track while studying to do a grownup's job. A different mindset to today where track is a living in itself.

Lemaitre is ready now to break Mennea's Euro record as far as I'm concerned. The pity is wet,damp sea level London isn't conducive to fast times (his 19.91 is the 4th fastest time ever run in Britain)
If he runs in a warm Switzerland in 3 or 4 weeks time that may just be the time
 

elispeedster

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Nice list Trackster! I too am hoping Lemaitre gets the silver or even bronze in the 200m. I tend to agree with your assessment, maybe Christophe really is a 200m guy. Everyone on this board keeps saying he needs to improve his start and hit the weights but I'm sure he knows that already. His start may always be a handicap for him and maybe he needs to focus on the 200m where he can use his incredible top end speed. Maybe he's what they call a "hardgainer" and has trouble putting on lean muscle. Who knows. If he can set a record in the 200 then we should all be happy.


Its not that he is a just a 200 meter guy...anyone that runs 9.92 to 9.98 is a 100 meter guy...he is not a hard gainer, he said himself he lifts weights twice a week, does not go heavy, and does not like it....to get stronger you need more than 2 weekly weight sessions; 2 sessions a week is for strength maintenance. Christophe can get the 100 meter European record very easily if he gets stronger. He needs more weight room motivation and not be afraid to lift heavy.
 

trackster

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WOW!!!!!!!!

Why, oh why, did I sleep through the 400 heats????????????????

I just woke up to see miracles across the screen.

LaShawn Merritt unable to keep his heavily drugged body healthy, pulls up lame--he's OUT!
Jermaine Gonzalez, the best from Jamaica--OUT.
Renny Quow--OUT.
Nery Brenes--OUT
Deon Lendore--OUT
Daundre Barnaby--OUT
Rusheen McDonald--another Jamaican OUT

In the meanwhile, Oscar Pistorius runs a surprisingly good time, second in his heat--still IN.
The Borlees DOMINATE--each wins a heat. Jonathan's time (44.43) is WAY faster than anyone else's in any heat.
Pavlek Maslek--goes SUB 45 for the first time (finishing second only to a Borlee)
Steven Solomon--who's still young enough to be in high school--WON HIS HEAT with a splendidn 45.18.
Martyn Rooney--second only to a Borlee
Some Russian ran a 45.00.

These are unreal results folks. Better than my wildest dreams. My only fear is that the Borlees, Maslek, and Solomon, may have exhausted themselves in the heats.

Let's hope they still have something for the later rounds. This is almost too good to be true.
 

GiovaniMarcon

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Awesome update, Thrashen!

The idea of that buttface Merritt being out is just major LOLage.

It's sort of a consolation in that, if Wariner can't even be in the Olympics, at least Merritt's out, too. That would be great if Lemaitre could final or even medal in the 200, and some White dude finals or medals in the 400, also.

Next up on my wish-list: for Bolt or that other Jamaican to suddenly "pull up lame" when they see the drug-sniffing dogs in the stands.

Sayanora, Merritt. You should have faked your injury at home, then at least you could have saved whoever paid for your ticket and hotel some nice coin.
 

jacknyc

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Jonathan Borlee ran a NR 44.43 in the heats. Super fast! I am only worried that he wasted too much energy in a heat and won't have it for later...
Meanwhile in the 100m, Gemili qualified for the semis, along with a Japanese and a Chinese sprinter. That's it. Let's hope any of them can get through to the finals, especially Gemili.
 

jacknyc

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Greg Rutherford is currently 1st in the LJ and Mitchell Watt 2nd.
I think there's only one round left.
Need another guy to jump into 3rd!
 

the argie

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Galen Rupp, silver in 10000
 

GiovaniMarcon

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It's always nice to see White guys do well in long distance runs.

It just goes to show you that Whites are perfectly capable of competing at the highest levels, but I don't think kids are taking up the long distance running as much as they used to maybe forty years ago.

I ran distance myself (of course, never that well) and it's a bit thankless; just pain, followed by the rush of finishing a race after having done your best.
 

foobar75

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Just posted about Rupp's incredible silver in the main Olympics thread. I'm one happy man right now. Who said T & F was going to be an all-black affair? Gold and Silver in the shot put and LJ, and now this. Rupp is a stud, and I can't to see what he can do in the 5000m.
 

jacknyc

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Rupp was awesome!!! and he showed that white guys can run with AND beat Africans in the long distance races. Amazing performance.
He may have been able to get the gold if he was a little closer to the lead at the last lap. But no matter. I think his confidence must be sky high now, and hoping there are more medals for him at the 5000m.
 

jacknyc

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I'm pretty happy so far - Rutherford and Watt, gold and silver in the LJ; Rupp, a ground-breaking silver medal in the 10,000m; drug cheat LaShawn Merritt out with an injury: Jonathan Borlee, the leading time in the 400m; Carmelita Jeter not winning the gold. (if an average non T&F fan saw her and had to guess her sport, they would definitely say body building/weight lifting).

Let's hope it continues tomorrow. One of the Russian women has the leading time in the 400m. I'm hoping she can win or medal.
 

freddie

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Galen Rupp, silver in 10000
Did you notice that the NBC commentators cheered for Ferah in the final straight and not for Rupp. The Canadian commentators also. Neither could be bothered to show the long jump live. The Canadian channel showed a 5 second clip of Rutherford running through his last attempt after he had won; and then they called him Tomlinson. No interest at all in the competition.
 

white lightning

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Very true Freddy. Imagine the horror if they had to deal with Christophe winning the gold in a couple of days? Haha. I would love that. They would probably pretend they had network difficulties.

Watt and Rutherford showed incredible athleticism. I love these guys. They both would make descent sprinters as well. Rutherford has been time in the low 10.30's with very little training in the 100! What incredible athletes these guys are.

Galen Rupp is amazing. He is simply incredible and he is doing it as a age that defies the critics. He will only get better from here. I hope he inspires many other youngsters around the globe! What a natural.
 

The Hock

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The Rupp kid ran a beautiful race. He ran smart a real smart race and then had the position to contend for the win. He seemed very happy with a silver. They said he's the first American to medal in the 10,000 since Billy Mills.

I do have to add though that I've never seen a guy so happy to lose a race.
 
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trackster

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Beautiful race is right, Hock. Like many people I think Rupp could have won the gold (he finished way faster than anyone), but there's the question of why he didn't kick as soon as his best friend/training parter Farah, and some think he allowed Farah to win in front of his "home" crowd.

At any rate, even the silver was magnificent. Maybe I'll start a new thread to explain the importance of the achievement.
 
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