Craig Pickering

freedom1 · Jun 23, 2007

This guy's the real deal, lane 1, slow start, slow field. Put him in the middle lane and get him off to a fast start in a race with the Americans and Jamaicans, and he'll break 10.00 this season.

Being mentally strong is key. That's why Wariner is so great.

white lightning · Jun 24, 2007

What a day in England.Craig Pickering is quickly on his way to becoming one of the best sprinters in the world and Englands own Ricky Hatton defends his title to go 43-0 with a fourth round knockout.I'll bet the Pubs in England and full with people singing in joy.

If only Craig could have had a fast start,middle lane,better competition,and a +2.0 wind,we are already looking at a sub 10 today. Who cares,I'm celebrating!

Edited by: white lightning

Jimmy Chitwood · Jun 24, 2007

also, i think Tim Benjamin won the silver medal in the 400. did he not?

mastermulti · Jun 24, 2007

"Being mentally strong is key. That's why Wariner is so great." Freedom1

Yep, i see similar mental attributes... neither was told that they are
supposed to lose!

Kali · Jun 24, 2007

there is a clip[ of the race on the BBC Sport Website

This should take you there

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/6233046.stm

If the link does not work cut & paste into the web address

white lightning · Jun 24, 2007

I still have yet to see the video of the race.Oh well.Maybe sooner than later.

Pickering next races in three days on June 27th at the Ostrava Grand Prix.I'm not sure of the lineup yet but one of us should post it here before then.I'm hoping for nice weather and another possible personal best!Craig needs to prove that he can consistantly run in the 10.10 range at first to start being taken even more seriously.That is the minimum it will take to make it through the rounds to the 100 meters finals at the World Champs in August.

Any thoughts on how he will do at Ostrava?I feel a eye opening time in the 10.08 range.Good luck to Craig.

Kali · Jun 25, 2007

Start list for Ostrava

Event(*)&nbs p;First Name(*)Surname(*)& nbsp;BirthdateNat (*)Sex (*)PB& nbsp;SB

1100m Craig& nbsp;Pickering16.10.1986 GBRM&n bsp;10.15&nb sp;10.15
2100m Jason& nbsp;Gardener18.9.1975&n bsp;GBRM&nbs p;9.98 10.28
3100m Olusoji&nbsp ;Fasuba9.7.1984&nb sp;NGRM&nbsp ;9.851 0.16
4100m Joshua Ross9.2.1981 AUSM&n bsp;10.0810. 08
5100m JiÃƒÂ¸ÃƒÂ&n bsp;VojtÃƒÂk2.7.1981 CZEM&n bsp;10.3410. 36
6100m Churandy&nbs p;Martina3.7.1984& nbsp;AHOM&nb sp;10.04&nbs p;10.09
7100m M&nbsp ;

8100m Desislav&nbs p;Gunev21.1.1986&n bsp;BULM&nbs p;10.28&nbsp ;10.44

One lane empty at the moment, I think it was supposed to be Mark Lewis-Francis from the UK but it looks like he has pulled out. Could be a good race weather permitting with an interesting side race between Pickering & Ross (pity Woods is injured).

I think Pickering could go sub 10.1 after all he had no wind benefit on Saturday & after the false start he deliberately went for a safe start in order to make sure of points for the team so just with a better reaction he could be 0.05 faster.

I saw a newspaper report that had his relay leg as 9.3secs (he ran the long 2nd leg)

Angelcynn · Jun 25, 2007

Despite Pickering winning (which is obiously fantastic) I can't help but feel really disapointed because that fake Frenchman finnished 2nd. Anyway, Pickering just gets better and better, who knows what his limits are? It's so exciting!

white is right · Jun 25, 2007

Kali said:
Start list for Ostrava

Event(*)&nbs p;&nbs p; First Name(*)Surname(*) & nbsp; BirthdateNat (*)Sex (*)PB& nbsp;SB

1100m& nbsp; Craig& nbsp;Pickering16.10.1986 GBR&nb sp;M&n bsp;10.15&nb sp;10.15
2100m& nbsp; Jason& nbsp;Gardener18.9.1975 &n bsp;GBRM&nbs p;9.98 10.28
3100m& nbsp; Olusoji; Fasuba9.7.1984 &nb sp;NGRM ;9.851 0.16
4100m& nbsp; JoshuaRoss&n bsp;9.2.1981 AUSM &n bsp;10.0810. 08
5100m& nbsp; JiÃƒÂ¸ÃƒÂ&n bsp;VojtÃƒÂk2.7.1981 CZEM &n bsp;10.3410. 36
6100m& nbsp; Churandy&nbs p; Martina3.7.1984 & nbsp;AHOM&nb sp;10.04&nbs p;10.09
7100m& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp; M;&nbs p;
8100m& nbsp; Desislav&nbs p; Gunev21.1.1986 &n bsp;BULM&nbs p;10.28&nbsp ;;10.44

One lane empty at the moment, I think it was supposed to be Mark Lewis-Francis from the UK but it looks like he has pulled out. Could be a good race weather permitting with an interesting side race between Pickering & Ross (pity Woods is injured).

I think Pickering could go sub 10.1 after all he had no wind benefit on Saturday & after the false start he deliberately went for a safe start in order to make sure of points for the team so just with a better reaction he could be 0.05 faster.

I saw a newspaper report that had his relay leg as 9.3secs (he ran the long 2nd leg)

Fasuba will be a good test for Pickering. He hasn't done much this season but he did a 9.8X last season. Also he is probably juiced to the gills. Rumour was that a couple of seasons ago he was asking about how to take steroids in cycles on bodybuilding boards and used his nickname. Well at least he didn't get caught with the stuff in a bag at the airport........

albinosprint · Jun 27, 2007

Pickering goes 10.16 at Ostrava with 0 wind. very impressive! this kid with the right people pushing him could go close to ten flat this year. i can't wait for the World Champs!

jacknyc · Jun 27, 2007

Furthermore, he won the race, trounced the nearest competitor by .15, and beat some major sprinters in the process.
Excellent job!

white is right · Jun 28, 2007

jacknyc said:
Furthermore, he won the race, trounced the nearest competitor by .15, and beat some major sprinters in the process.
Excellent job!

He beat some good sprinters the South American and Fabu were thought of as sprinters with deeper resumes. Pickering is probably the best white 100 prospect since Shirvo, there is no doubt now.....

white lightning · Jun 28, 2007

Another huge win for Pickering.He hasn't lost a 100 meters race all year long and I think he only lost once indoors in the 60 meters.All of this for a 20 year old kid.It's pretty amazing.People will bitch about the time not being that great but he is proving that he needs no help to run in the 10.15 range consistantly!Now he needs to get ready to take it up another notch.I thought he would run a 10.10 today but he is probably saving some for Monday in Greece.Way to go Craig!

surfsider · Jun 28, 2007

I can't help but think, if PED's were out of the picture, how good that 10.16 would look.

white is right · Jun 28, 2007

surfsider said:
I can't help but think, if PED's were out of the picture, how good that 10.16 would look.

It definately would final. I want a bunch of the obvious juicers to get caught and watch how quickly the clean sprinters shoot up the ranks....

albinosprint · Jun 28, 2007

well the "x-man" knee injury is a tell tale sign of a juicer. one down! anyone want to bet when gay & powell get caught. i see crawford hasn't been running under 10 since his training partner got caught.

Guest · Jun 28, 2007

white is right said:
Pickering is probably the best white 100 prospect since Shirvo, there is no doubt now

It looks like it. Let's hope he does not get stuck at 10.1 for the next 5 years, or get injured and never even get back to that.

mastermulti · Jun 28, 2007

And he's got a sensible head on those shoulders.
Here's a part of his post race interview after last night's win (BBC Sport).

"Pickering's performance in the 100m was the latest in a series of recent
wins, but he was keen to put his display into context.

"I ran a technically good race. My form has been improving steadily and I
feel I can run even faster in Athens next week," he said.

"I've still not achieved what the likes of Tyson Gay is capable of, so I've
still a long way to go yet.

"I've still have not run 10.10secs. I've still got several steps to take."

white lightning · Jun 28, 2007

That post is exactly right mastermulti! Craig wants to first run a sub 10.Then he wants to run them on a consistant basis.Next he wants the medals in the finals at the World Championships and Olympics.Finally he wants to break the world record.CRAIG PICKERING BELIVES HE CAN RUN 9.75 SOMEDAY! Who are we to doubt him.He has all of the potential in the world.In my opinion,he will have to first get his 60 times in the next several years down into the 6.40-6.45 range.Morne Nagel ran seveal 6.48's,6.49.and 6.50 times.If Nagel can do it at his size,Pickering will get there.

I have always believed in this kid.He is the real deal and will change the way people look at white sprinters.Wouldn't it be great if Craig could set the 100 world record someday and for Wariner to break the 400 world record?That would be sweet.What I want to know is if Craig wins the gold at the olympics someday,will Sports Illustrated dare put a white boy on the cover as the fastest man in the world?If he does that,he will be so popular that they will have no choice!Keep up the hard training Craig.We support you here at Castefootball.us

white lightning · Jun 28, 2007

Here is an interview with Craig where he talks about his goals for the future.He wants to run like Tyson Gay and has his goals set very high.I love his attitude!

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/11543/Craig's+two-year+p lan+is+running

ToughJ.Riggins · Jun 29, 2007

I am not as much of a track guru as some here, but IMO I really don't see Craig ever running a 9.75 if at 20 his best time is 10.15. I just don't see him improving that much until he peaks in his mid to late twenties. I mean we saw Shirvo and Nic Macrozonanis run in the low 10.0's in their early twenties and never top that. Pickering's closing speed isn't as good as Maurice Greene or Ato Bolden. He also "currently" doesn't quite have the explosiveness out of the blocks of fellow white man 60 meter sensation Morne Nagel (the quickest white man of all time), although I think he has a little better closing kick. I think if he can work out the kinks in his start to get more consistent with it and train harder than anyone that he will go sub 10 though.

My prediction is that he will peak in his mid to late twenties with a PB in the mid 9.9's. I would still be happy with that. I think if Track and field can start catching the cheaters regularly with better testing methods, that Craig could grab a surprise gold in the mid 9.9 range with the race of his life in 2012. I think winning times in the Olympics would be around no faster than 9.9 flat in the 100 meter without cheating, just my theory. I don't think Craig cheats. I really don't think the Brits cheat as much as the Americans do, actually nobody does as such.Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

white is right · Jun 29, 2007

I dont think Americans cheat more than the Eastern Bloc did. It's just that now American cheats(and those that have access to Balco type drugs) are on an unequal playing field from the rest of the cheaters. Most of the rest of the countries that can turn out Balco type drugs don't because of better ethics and less of an economic incentive. When Balco cheated with Montgomery, Bonds and others it was for money so that they could market their placebo type drugs to guys that post on boards like this. Do you think drug cheats like Zakari who was busted last year and was a two time Olympic 100 meters finalist had access to a Balco type drug plan?Edited by: white is right

ToughJ.Riggins · Jun 29, 2007

True, the Communist Bloc definitely cheated in the late 70's and 80's, but I was meaning in more recent times. I am very convinced Michael Johnson cheated. I read on Wikepedia about how his best time in the 200m was a WR 19.66 early in the summer of 1996. Then he runs a 19.32 at the 1996 Olympics doing double work on the 400 and 200. Thats a big difference in time between 2nd and 1st Personal bests in the 200. He ran his WR 43.18 in the 400 at around 32 years old after being injured early in the season. His previous best was 43.49.Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

Guest · Jun 29, 2007

Even Tim Dwight went 10.1. Pickering has not even gone 10.0. Let's see him do that first. Then it's time to start getting excited.

albinosprint · Jun 30, 2007

i do belive we will see pickering break 10 over the next 2-3 years, maybe sooner. i also belive that we wont see him in the 9.7 range without some major tail wind. its been said by many people in track, ben johnson being one of them, that to run 9.7 you have to be on roids. there is a limit to the human body.

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