foobar75
Master
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2008
- Messages
- 2,332
Well, the last day ended with blacks mostly winning everything, although it was good to see the fellow from Denmark winning men's Javelin, and I believe the winner of women's 1500m was from Spain.
Overall, I'm starting to become very distanced from T&F. I'm a huge fan, (behind football and basketball), and followed the competition very closely this year. But it's hard to miss the fact that virtually all of the running events are dominated by blacks and that's really what everyone cares about.Here's my breakdown based on Beijing '08 and now Berlin '09. This covers both men's and women's, and it's quite remarkable how similar it is for both. Someone with more T&F expertise can correct me if I miss anything.
Throws
Virtually dominated by whites, and nothing changed this year. Whites own the javelin, discuss, hammer, and shot put.
Decathlon/Pentathlon
This is another traditional white powerhouse. Some mixed athletes have also succeeded here over the years. This year, of course, Trey Hardee won the gold, and Jessica Ennis of GB won the Pentathlon. Almost all the other top finishers were white both for men and women.
Jumps
The Pole Vault and High Jump are two other areas dominated by whites, and again, this did not change in Berlin.
As for the long and triple jumps, this is more of a mixed bag. Whites are well represented here, they generally have high finishers, including medal winners, all the way up to gold. But overall, blacks seem to have a bit of an upper hand. In all honesty, I'm happy with this. If only whites could represent and compete the same way in the running events, all is well in my book.
And sadly, this is where it all ends for white athletes.
Sprints (100/200/400)
Total and complete domination by blacks (of West African descent). This includes Jamaicans, Americans, T&T, Bahamas, and at one point, Canadians and the British. Note that no one from a West African country has won anything, and therefore the emphasis is on those of West African ancestory.
I know some are more hopeful that there could be a white resurgence here, but if past and present is of any guide, I don't think the status quo will change. We might as well cut the losses and move on, and admit that drugs or not, blacks will always be faster in the sprints.
This is not much different than admitting that when it comes to absolute top end power and strengh, whites will always have the clear edge. (witness the WSM competition, for instance).
Personally, while I would like nothing better than to see a white 100/200m runner come and shake up the sprinting world, I'm not too hopeful. On a final note, it wasn't long ago that on the women's side, there was some strong white European participation in the sprints, but that has slowly gone away. The picture on the men's side has been bleak for as long as I can remember.
Middle and Long Distance (800/1500/3000/5K/10K)
These events used to have some solid white presence, but over the past 10-15 years, East African runners have completely taken over and re-written the books. Kenyans and Ethiopeans absolutely own these events now, and given their slim, 100lb physiques, we can't accuse them of taking steroids, either. So, my conclusion is, there is one thing they are really good at, and it's running those middle and long distances. It's really all they have, and they are very good at it. North Africans (Morocco and Algeria) used to have a very strong presence here as well, but not anymore.
You can bet on one thing, and that is we'll never see a Kenyan shotputter.
Similar to the sprinters, we might as well concede that East Africans have a lock on these distances, and not very likely to be broken anytime soon. I don't like it, and I'd like to see more white competition here, including some medal winners, not just finalists. But I respect the East Africans for how good they are. And to the best of my knowledge, no Kenyan or Ethiopean has ever busted for anything, so their wins appear to be clean.
Well, sorry for the long post. That's my overall assessment of the state of track & field currently. It's not all doom and gloom. Whites virtually own all the infield stuff, we just need to see some better competition out on the track.
Overall, I'm starting to become very distanced from T&F. I'm a huge fan, (behind football and basketball), and followed the competition very closely this year. But it's hard to miss the fact that virtually all of the running events are dominated by blacks and that's really what everyone cares about.Here's my breakdown based on Beijing '08 and now Berlin '09. This covers both men's and women's, and it's quite remarkable how similar it is for both. Someone with more T&F expertise can correct me if I miss anything.
Throws
Virtually dominated by whites, and nothing changed this year. Whites own the javelin, discuss, hammer, and shot put.
Decathlon/Pentathlon
This is another traditional white powerhouse. Some mixed athletes have also succeeded here over the years. This year, of course, Trey Hardee won the gold, and Jessica Ennis of GB won the Pentathlon. Almost all the other top finishers were white both for men and women.
Jumps
The Pole Vault and High Jump are two other areas dominated by whites, and again, this did not change in Berlin.
As for the long and triple jumps, this is more of a mixed bag. Whites are well represented here, they generally have high finishers, including medal winners, all the way up to gold. But overall, blacks seem to have a bit of an upper hand. In all honesty, I'm happy with this. If only whites could represent and compete the same way in the running events, all is well in my book.
And sadly, this is where it all ends for white athletes.
Sprints (100/200/400)
Total and complete domination by blacks (of West African descent). This includes Jamaicans, Americans, T&T, Bahamas, and at one point, Canadians and the British. Note that no one from a West African country has won anything, and therefore the emphasis is on those of West African ancestory.
I know some are more hopeful that there could be a white resurgence here, but if past and present is of any guide, I don't think the status quo will change. We might as well cut the losses and move on, and admit that drugs or not, blacks will always be faster in the sprints.
This is not much different than admitting that when it comes to absolute top end power and strengh, whites will always have the clear edge. (witness the WSM competition, for instance).
Personally, while I would like nothing better than to see a white 100/200m runner come and shake up the sprinting world, I'm not too hopeful. On a final note, it wasn't long ago that on the women's side, there was some strong white European participation in the sprints, but that has slowly gone away. The picture on the men's side has been bleak for as long as I can remember.
Middle and Long Distance (800/1500/3000/5K/10K)
These events used to have some solid white presence, but over the past 10-15 years, East African runners have completely taken over and re-written the books. Kenyans and Ethiopeans absolutely own these events now, and given their slim, 100lb physiques, we can't accuse them of taking steroids, either. So, my conclusion is, there is one thing they are really good at, and it's running those middle and long distances. It's really all they have, and they are very good at it. North Africans (Morocco and Algeria) used to have a very strong presence here as well, but not anymore.
You can bet on one thing, and that is we'll never see a Kenyan shotputter.
Similar to the sprinters, we might as well concede that East Africans have a lock on these distances, and not very likely to be broken anytime soon. I don't like it, and I'd like to see more white competition here, including some medal winners, not just finalists. But I respect the East Africans for how good they are. And to the best of my knowledge, no Kenyan or Ethiopean has ever busted for anything, so their wins appear to be clean.
Well, sorry for the long post. That's my overall assessment of the state of track & field currently. It's not all doom and gloom. Whites virtually own all the infield stuff, we just need to see some better competition out on the track.
