Christophe Lemaitre "White Lightning" 9.92 and 19.80!

white is right · May 8, 2011

If he were to specialize in the deuce you could punch his ticket to the world final if his form were to hold by August. That time translates into a sub 20 with favourable wind. Also from the photo he looks to have filled out a bit.

jacknyc · May 8, 2011

mastermulti said:
interesting article submitted by Jack Green I notice, Britain's promising young 400 metre hurdler.

Looking at photos of Danny he has very English skin so he'd want to stay out of that sun. Be good to see how he develops. He's sure had a nice start.

I've often pondered about the genetic mix as differing ancestries are fused together. Some lucky people inevitably get the best ones from both sides and the potential superathlete is born. A generalisation sure, but it's certainly been apparent with most of the great multi-eventers of the last several decades IMO.
Danny Talbot

I believe I read that Danny is 1/4 Carribean on his mother's side.
Can't remember the details or the country.

FastEuro · May 8, 2011

I think so, in 3-4 years when he peaks. He is still very young for a sprinter and not at a full adult build. 23-26 is when he will peak.

trackster · May 8, 2011

On top of the bad wind, he would have had no competition at all to push him along in that race. A very promising 200 to open the season.

mastermulti · May 9, 2011

20.33, minus 2.2, interclub.

All things considered that's incredibly fast, the conditions and meet quality where most international level sprinters would struggle to break into high 20s.
Can't wait to see this on youtube. I'd like to see if his bend running has improved

Phil · May 9, 2011

Danny Talbot looks light black.

freddie · May 9, 2011

How good was CL's run of 20.33 into a 2.2m/s wind? For the 100m I typically use an adjustment of 0.07sec for each 1.0m/s wind (positive or negative) so for 200m that would be about 0.12sec (not quite double because of the curve). In still air 20.33 is therefore equivalent to 20.07 and for a following wind of 1.8m/s (same as Mennea's 1979 run of 19.72A) it is equivalent to 19.85. However, I suspect it is even better than that based uponthe IAAF all-time Top Lists. The internet version only give data down to 20.20 but, of those listed, none have a headwind greater than -1.5 m/s and only 3 have a headwind greater than -1.0m/s.This suggests CL's run could have been one of the great runs of all-time. Note: As wind load effect is not linear (wind resistance is a squared effect) this is all very approximate.<div>This is, of course, bad news because I think we all want him to focus on the 100.<div>
</div>
</div>Edited by: freddie

Twinsen9 · May 9, 2011

Well, just a little assessment about Christophe this year :

March 5 : 6"55 (60m) ==> best time (equal)
April 23 : 10"19 (100m) ==> 10"09 at same time in 2010, best time (9,97)
May 8 : 20"33 (200m) ==> best time (20,16)

Yes, in 200m, Christophe will maybe run under 20" this year (and how many in 2012 ?).

PS : have you seen the Kingston Meeting ? Incredible...Carmelita Jeter (10''86), Yohan Blake (9''80) in 100m andNickel Ashmeed (19''95) on 200m...

I'm upset...

white lightning · May 9, 2011

It's not incredible when you know it's all in the yams. It's only obvious. The times are rediculous. They had 4 guys last year go sub 9.90! That is insane for a tiny island. Sorry guys but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to smell what is cooking.

Lemaitre is going to drop some huge times this year. It's only a matter of time and him having the right conditions to race in.

white is right · May 9, 2011

Plus Jamaica never had this kind of crazy depth. Guys like the 200 meter guy who just did a sub 20 is a relative "scrub". If there was anything legitimate going on track sprint coaches from across the globe would be running to learn some new running technique or exercise routine.

jacknyc · May 9, 2011

http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/european-leading-marks-for-frances-lemaitre-and-italys-howe.htmlEdited by: jacknyc

Twinsen9 · May 9, 2011

Same analysis than us, the 20,33 with wind is a really good time !

Twinsen9 · May 10, 2011

I can't wait !!!<div>
</div><div>Remember :</div><div>
</div><div>

22 mai
2e tour d'interclubs

26 mai
Meeting de Rome (Ligue de Diamant)
</span></div>

albinosprint · May 10, 2011

Twinsen9,

do you know what events he will be running for those 2 meets?

mastermulti · May 11, 2011

white lightning said:
It's not incredible when you know it's all in the yams. It's only obvious. The times are rediculous. They had 4 guys last year go sub 9.90! That is insane for a tiny island. Sorry guys but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to smell what is cooking.
<div>Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â </div>

in fairness though, Blake's time wasn't wind legal, it equated to a 9.95 with zero assistance. Only Mullin's 9.90 was legal and it was at the max 2mps. So they are looking good but not super special at this time. Christophe could well do 9.80s high soon with a +2.2. He'll just have to run a lot of electronic times this year to catch those conditions

Twinsen9 · May 11, 2011

You're right, the wind was strong.

But 9,80, my god...

albinosprint > I'm searching news about that...

Jamstar · May 11, 2011

white is right said:
Plus Jamaica never had this kind of crazy depth. Guys like the 200 meter guy who just did a sub 20 is a relative "scrub". If there was anything legitimate going on track sprint coaches from across the globe would be running to learn some new running technique or exercise routine.

I'm sorry but I have been reading this forum for a couple years now (to keep an eye on CL and others) and I have never had any desire to post but this post is so funny I had to respond.

If Ashmeade is a "scrub" then so is CL, if you were a true fan of the sport then you would know that both guys were pretty evenly matched at the junor level and were great rivals.

As a matter of fact I seem to remember that Ashmeade lost the 200 meter at the 2008 world junior champs to CL by less than 0.05 and by the looks of it they are still pretty close to each other (if CL had gotten the 1.4 m/s ashmeade had in his race in would have ran about 19.9flat)

BTW both Ashmeade and Mullings live in Florida and train with Lance Brauman and you ask nicely I may just give you the formula to the Jamaican success.

Observer · May 11, 2011

Welcome, Jamster!

Jamster said:
both guys were pretty evenly matched at the junor level and were great rivals.

As a matter of fact I seem to remember that Ashmeade lost the 200 meter at the 2008 world junior champs to CL by less than 0.05

But Ashmeade had plateaued years ago, even though he seems to have been pursuing the sport seriously. (Or has he had injury problems?)

Some guys, some ethnicities, some races simply mature quicker.

100 Metres
2010nothing listed on IAAF
200910.370.1Kingston (NS), JAM03/04/2009
200810.340.5Kingston, JAM14/03/2008
200710.390.9Kingston (NS), JAM23/06/2007
200 Metres
201020.63-0.8Kingston (NS), JAM01/05/2010
200920.401.4Port-of-Spain01/08/2009
200820.800.2Kingston (NS), JAM02/03/2008
200720.76-0.2Ostrava15/07/2007

FastEuro · May 11, 2011

In regards to Blake's 9.80....I mustcommendthat his form was near perfect. Right out of the blocks, in front to the finish.<div>
</div><div>Is he faster than Lemaitre? No, i thinktheirtop speed is similar. the difference (probably due to the magic yams) is thestrength. the Jamaicans, these guys have solidmusculartorso's - strong shoulders. This propels them to a top speed at about the first 35-40 meters, while Lemaitre hits top speed at about 55-60. this is the key. Lemaitre needs to build thatstrengthmore than anything, he dosent need speed training. he has more than enough natural speed. After this outdoorseason, he should forgo the indoor and train just for brutestrength.</div>
Edited by: FastEuro

white lightning · May 11, 2011

Ok you can't compare a three time european championship gold medalist to a guy who won the silver medal in the juniors several years ago. Lemaitre is at another level. We need to take the drug talk to another thread. This thread keeps going off track. I'm even guilty of it too. So please guys, back to talking about Lemaitre and we can discuss the other things in a different thread. Thanks.

white lightning · May 11, 2011

I'm not calling him a scrub. He is a talented sprinter and he still has youth on his side. I'm just stating that you cannot compare Lemaitre who has run sub 10 multiple times, run 20.16, last year and will go sub 20 this year for sure, to this guy. Ashmeade has talent. Whether he reaches the next level remains to be seen. The IAAF talks about Lemaitre quite a bit. So does Trackandfieldnews.com The point I'm making is that Lemaitre is at a step above at this point in their careers. We will see how it plays out over the next 5 to 10 years.

Now back to Lemaitre. I believe he will run right around the 20 second flat range the next time out. I also think he will run a sub 10 within his next two races. Even though he is still far from Bolt and Powels level, I can't wait to see him race them a few times this summer. It's going to be exciting to watch!

Jamstar · May 11, 2011

WL I endorse those comments, anyway this is about CL so lets get back to him.

CL seems to have done some work in the weights room so thats good to see.

For me CL needs to work on his explosive power out of the blocks, if he has not been doing it he needs to start slide training.

He also needs to work on his core and upper body strength, this will help him to maintain his form at top speed and keep him going in a straight line.

There are couple more things I think he could improve on but I dont think my presence here is too welcomed so I shall make my exit and continue to read.

Observer · May 12, 2011

white lightning, is it possible to build another thread with these last few posts?
I think if Jamstar has time and is willing, it would be possible to build a constructive discussion on what has already begun here. I find his description of the participation rates fascinating, but I also have the same thoughts as does snow about PED's being simply a kind of logical conclusion of this competitive environment.

albinosprint · May 12, 2011

thanks for your reply Jamstar. you bring up allot of good points.

albinosprint · May 12, 2011

and now, back to Lemaitre!

Christophe Lemaitre "White Lightning" 9.92 and 19.80!

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Newbie

Mentor

Master

Guru

Guru

Guru

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Guru

Guru

Mentor

Master

Guru

Newbie

Mentor

Newbie

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Newbie

Mentor

Mentor

Mentor