Matic Osovnikar

[white lightning]

I am going to leave you guys a thread about a young
exciting sprinter out of the czech rebublic.His name
is Matic Osovnikar.He ran a 10.15 last year at the
Olympics and is on the verge of takeing it to the
next level.He has abdominal muscles like I could only
dream about having.Guess I have to lay off some of the
fast food.lol.Watch out for this guy in 2005 at the
Pro Level of Sprinting.Here is his website:

www.maticosovnikar.com

 

[white lightning]

Make sure you click on eng on the right so it displays
the site in english.Check out the multi media section.
There are lots of good pics of track meets.

 

[Colonel Callan]

He's not exactly overblown in terms of musculature, is he? We've gotten so used to drug bloated runners in this country it's almost strange to see sprinters who don't have more muscle than natural bodybuilders.

 

[jaxvid]

He looks pretty freakin' muscular to me.

 

[Colonel Callan]

Nah, he doesn't have the freakish size we have become used to. He looks like a guy should look who's running lots of speed / interval drills. He looks buff, but not bigger than a natural bodybuilder by any means, which is the opposite of most top sprinters these days. We're talking size along with muscularity. My arms are bigger than his, and I'm not fat at all.

 

[white lightning]

I think that Matic has a great chance to run some sub
10's in the future.I watched his first heat again in
the Athens Olympics.If he would have kept his arms a
little tighter to his body,he could have even run faster
that a 10.15. He would have easily ran anywhere from a
10.00 - 10.09.Osovnikar has a habbit of flailing his
arms a little wildly.You can't have any wasted movement
or drag while running.Especially over the last 30-40
meters.It's all about speed endurance and maintaining
your proper form.He is almost there.He is a hero in
his country and a great role model.

 

[white lightning]

Matic won his heat today in the preliminaries in a time
in the 60 of 6.62.He is on to the quarterfinals of the
European Indoor Championships.I think he has a excellent
chance to make it to the finals.

 

[white lightning]

I am excited to see what times Matic can put up this
summer.He had a incredible season last year.I would have
to say he is the best hope for a sub 10 this summer.He
ran a 10.15 and a 20.47 in Athens.Both national records!
He gets better by the year.The reason I think he has an
excellent shot is because of his speed endurance.Both
Shirvinton & Macrozonaris only run the 100 meters.Matic
runs both the 100 & 200 and because of this he has a
distinct advantage in my opinion.Running the 200 meters
gives you that extra strength needed to finish the 100
off with a bang.He hasn't raced outdoors yet but the
word is that he is training his butt off.Watch out for
him this summer.For those who haven't checked out his
website,here is the address.

www.maticosovnikar.com

 

[white lightning]

Matic will be racing in the 100 tommorow in Greece
against a stacked field including Asafa Powell.
There are several guys who could run a sub 10 and
hopefully they will help pull Matic along to a new
personal best time.With only 2 months till the World
Championships,he needs to start to get down into the
10.10-10.20 range.Good luck to Matic on Tuesday!

 

[white lightning]

Matic ran a very dissapointing 10.36 today with a
huge wind pushing him at his back.He must have gotten
a terrible start.That is horrible with a +1.9 wind.
In the race,a new world record was set in the 100 meters
by Asafa Powell of Jamaica.This kid is 22 and has went
from a 10.51 to a 9.77 in 3-4 years.I smell some
serious,very strong doses of steroids.This is the 3rd
race in a row that he has run a 9.8 or under.That is
just not physically possible.You would have to know
and understand sprinting and how it takes a toll on
your body.They don't do random testing in Jamaica so
it's easy to get away with.Oh well,from one steroid
world record holder/Tim Montgomery in court now and
may be banned for life.He had the old record of 9.78
Now a new sprinter out of nowhere who very possibly
is on something.It's just almost physically impossible
to do what he has done.I have watched hundreds of
sprinters over the years.We shall see if he ever turns
up positive at some point this year or in his career.
I guess,innocent until proven guilty but I'm shaking
my head at this!

 

[SteveB]

I too was disappointed at Matic's result, but hey it's early in the summer. That's what makes Powell's results even more suspicious. It is early in the season to be running those kind of times. During the Olympics he ran a 9.94, now he is running 0.17 sec faster at the start of the season? Very suspicious.

 

[white lightning]

Matic won a 200 meters race today in Greece in a time
of 20.75.It's a solid time and a seasons best.He is more
of a pure 100 meters runner but he competes in the
deuce to keep up his stamina.He has good speed endurance.
I just wish he could fix his running style a little.I
don't like his hand/arms movement.It seems like it
needs some work as it is too choppy.He is very talented
though.Hopefully he will get some quicker times in July
as he prepares for the World Championships in August.

 

[white lightning]

On the 2nd day of the meet,Matic won the 100 meters in
a time of 10.35 into a negative wind.He won easily by
about 3 or 4 meters.He still has a long ways to go if
he is going to have any chance at the world champs.
He needs to run some solid times for confidence and he
just seems to be stuck in neutral right now.Hopefully
he can kick it into gear soon.

 

[white lightning]

Matic won the sprint double at the Mediteranian Games
this past week.He is still trying to get his times back
to where he was last season.He races tommorow against
good competition.Maybe he can finally put up a good time.
I sure hope so with only a month to go until the World
Championships.Right now,he won't get out of the pre-lims
if he doesn't get up to speed.Time is of the essence!

 

[white lightning]

Matic finished 4th today in the 100 in a time of 10.39.
He also ran in the 200 but was also a non factor.He just
doesn't seem to have that extra gear he had last year.It
is very dissapointing to see a young sprinter fall as
quickly as he has.He was ran a 10.15 last year and now is
stuck in the 10.4 range.Oh well,maybe next year he will
get back to form.

 

[white lightning]

Matic won the Czech National Championships last week with
his best races of the year.He won the gold in the 100 with
a time of 10.24.He then went on to win the 200 meters in
a time of 20.80.Matic is slowly getting his form back but
will it be in time?The World Championships are only 5 days
away.He was in far better shape/condition heading into the
Olympics last year as his 10.15 P.B. there showed!

 

[Colonel Callan]

I was told Osovnikar was injured in the off season and is slowly trying to
shake off the effects of inactivity. It makes sense given how listless his
performances have been this season. Unger seems to be rounding into
form, he just needs to stick with it - and the coaches to stick with him.
Many times white sprinters/runners take longer to develop as they
physically mature at a slower rate than blacks. This is one fact that many
people overlook. If Wariner can continue his success (no reason why he
shouldn't) this will encourage other white youth, not only in the US but in
Europe. Andy Rock has proven himself more than a one hit wonder also,
he is in the individual 400 at the Worlds and in the 1600 relay also -
where he grabbed a gold at last year's Olympics. I think Wariner is having
some effect already, having seen more white kids this past season
running well in the sprints in CA high schools. It will take a few years,and
some tough minds to counter the media, to get more white faces in the
sprints, but it is happening.

Just a thought; Anyone think that the US officials will do all they can to
try and make sure Rock and Wariner do NOT run together in the 1600
meter relay final? They did finish 1 - 3 at the Nationals, and the first 4
are usually the 4 used for the "A" relay team. But my naturally suspicious
nature makes me think it's likely they'll come up with some excuse, or say
they're "mixing it up" to confuse opponents or some other bs. Hopefully,
I'm way off, but we saw the treatment Potter and Steele received a couple
of years ago.

 

[white lightning]

If they deny the two of them it will be a crime.Both of
these guys & Williamson are the cream of the crop and
all of them deserve to be 3 out of the 4 based on their
performances all season long.Wariner should anchor the
relay too.They should win easily as long as they don't
screw up on the baton passes.

 

[white lightning]

Matic will open his outdoor season on Tuesday May 30th, in his homeland at Prague.It's hard to guage exactly where he is at although he was quite impressive indoors equaling his p.b. in the 60 meters and finishing 4th in the world indoor championships.

I was a little dissapointed with his form for the most part last season with the exception of 1 or 2 races.I fully expect him to return to his Athens Form where he ran his p.b. of 10.15 in the 100!He trains as hard as anyone in the world.He has the mental & the physical tools needed to run a sub 10.He will just need the perfect race under the perfect conditions.I see him at the very least running in the 10.00 - 10.10 range by years end.Good luck to Matic in his chase for his first sub 10!

 

[white lightning]

Matic finished 3rd in the finals today.He won his qualifying heat and ran a 10.28 in the final.The time was wind legal.Considering it is early June,that is not a bad time.Especially since it wasn't just one race.I look for him to go sub 10.20 soon and hopefully get down alot lower than that by August.I have a good feeling that this will be a return to form and he will win quite a few races this season.If he can just find that little bit extra.Osovnikar is very consistant but just needs to get a little faster.Good luck to him this summer.

 

[jacknyc]

Matic may be coming back to life.
He ran a 10.25 yesterday with zero wind.
If he can run these type of times consistently, then perhaps he can also get under 10.20 when he's in top form.
Let's hope so.

 

[white lightning]

Matic will be running in the 200 meters tommorow in Laussane.I'm suprised to see him in that event against a quality field since he doesn't run the deuce as much as he used to.He is a far better 100 meter sprinter than over the longer distance.I would rather see him in the shorter event with guys like A.Powell,X.Carter and many others that could have possibly helped pull him to a new personal best.Oh well,I wish him the best of luck.

 

[albinosprint]

does any one know if the Lausanne meet will be on TV in the US? or of any other sources for watching it?

 

[white lightning]

Matic finished in last place although his time was respectable.He ran a 20.73 but there were 4 sprinters who went sub 20 and a 5th who came close.As I said in another post,he should stick to the 100 unless he is in the smaller meets.He will never be more than an average 200 guy but he still has some potential in the 100.I want to see him get down around 10 flat and it is still not too late for him.Matic has about 2 good years left in him in my opinion.

 

[white lightning]

Matic had a double win today in Europe.He won the 100 meters in a time of 10.12!This would have been a new personal best except for the wind was a +2.2 This sucks so bad.If the wind had been 2 mph or below,the time would have stood!Oh well.He followed it up with a good victory in the deuce in a time of 20.63!He races a 100 this Sat. and a 200 on Sunday.He also will be in Helsinki next weekend to race another 100 meters.He could be about to break off a huge time.So close but yet so far.Keep it up Matic!!