Australia’s official position re;sprints

[mastermulti]

I just finished listening to Athletics Australia chief Danny Corcoran
speaking on ABC radio telling of AA's position to concentrate their
energies
I. on the technical events and
2. an intensive developmental program for indigenous athletes

Our sprint program is receiving no funding this year. There are no
sprinters at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Apparently we've given up any idea that a white athlete can be found to
be OUR OWN Usain Bolt. He figures we have more untapped talent among
our Aboriginal population than among whites (who don't seem to be
competing in track much anyway).
BTW, I can testify that the really quick outside backs in our football codes
are increasingly of aboriginal descent. And of course the relative success
of Patrick Johnson would be a catalyst to forming their decision.

 

[white lightning]

I wonder what guys like Peter Norman would say. This is a bunch of garbage. To totally give up on the sprints is discouraging. It's ok to help develop some of the aboriginees but to ignore the whites is a joke. First off, Shirvo is still the best sprinter of the the last decade. How many times did he win Aussies Fastest Man. I would guess it was around 5 times and only Joshua Ross would even come close. Patrick Johnson was a flash in the pan who had one great race in Japan. Shirvo consistantly had faster times on the average. Oh well. Austarlia has disapointed me again. They might turn into another America with their treatment of the white athletes. You should get a committee together and fight this mastermulti. Think about all of the young kids who will never get a chance now. I'm very mad over this decision.

 

[white is right]

The bean counters won the battle. Terrible decision. I disagree about Johnson he had a great first half of that season, then badly fizzled out. He didn't even make a semi-final that season in the worlds.

 

[mastermulti]

yeah, well I'm hoping it works another way....

Peter Norman, Raelene Boyle et al did it the hard way because they
wanted it enough to train after work and in their own time. They had
some small allowances but that was it.

I'd love to see that work ethic return because only those who are really
hungry for it can succeed on an international level.

People like Sally McLellan will still be funded on the basis of hurdling
being a very technical event where she's proved her mettle

 

[white lightning]

Australian white girls can sprint. This 18 year old just ran a 11.33 to move into the top 10 fastest Aussie women of all time. She is just getting started. Here is a good article. Wake up Australia and support your white sprinters!
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<H2 id=story>White girls can sprint</H2>
<DL id=author ="clear">
<DD>By Mike Hurst
<CITE>November 13, 2008</CITE> </DD></DL>
<DIV id=story>


BARELY a fortnight after Athletics Australia's boss implied white girls can't sprint, Canberra schoolgirl Melissa Breen has astonished the sport with a world-class 100m.


Barely 18, Breen has matched her glamour look with a result that has qualified her for the World Championships in Berlin next year.


Her time of 11.33sec has rocketed her to the top of this year's national open rankings - eclipsing superstar Olympic silver medallist Sally McLellan's 11.41sec.


With the unblemished confidence which comes with youth, Breen revealed the secret to speed, saying: "You've just got to train hard and stay injury-free - anyone can do that, white or black."


Her time, run in a Canberra club race, ranks her 10th fastest Australian woman ever and second-fastest junior (under-20) after the great Raelene Boyle - ahead of Cathy Freeman and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor at the same age.


With no male or female competing in the individual 100m or 200m - nor a 4x100m relay - at the Beijing Olympics, Australian sprinting appeared to be heading nowhere fast.


And AA CEO Danny Corcoran announced the cash-strapped national federation would have to rationalise its already flimsy funding support for sprints and relays.


"The general feeling is that on the world stage it is a very tough event to have an individual sprinter at 100 or 200m. We haven't had an individual finalist for a long time ... there hasn't been a (good) white sprinter for a very, very long time," Corcoran said. "We are looking at competing in events where we can win medals."


At 175cm and 65kg, Breen is bigger than Boyle was (168cm/62kg) when she won her last gold medal at the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games.


Breen's time bettered the world championships B-qualifying time and is only 0.03sec slower than the A-standard, which would virtually guarantee her selection.


"It would be better for AA to get behind the junior talent - we are the future," she told The Daily Telegraph.


But with funding drying up, Breen is facing even less support as the ACT Academy of Sport scholarship program for athletics ends December 31.


Breen's next race will be at Sydney Olympic Park this Saturday when her squad competes in the annual NSW Relays Championships. The squad is coached by 2000 Olympic hurdler Matt Beckenham. He is one of the best qualified coaches in Australia, yet is still unemployed.


Then the national junior 100m champ will finish her HSC exams at MacKillop Catholic College in Canberra before racing in the Pacific School Games in December.


"That race (the 11.33) was by no means perfect," Breen said, promising to challenge for the national open title in March. "I have a wonderful coach and I know I've got so much technical improvement to make, so much more power I can put through the ground."





Edited by: white lightning

 

[white lightning]

I would love to see Aaroun Rouge Serret continue to improve. He is only 19 or 20 and he already has run in the 10.30's range. He has alot of upside. Then you have Adam Miller with a personal best of 10.17 at only 24 years of age. These are just two guys off the top of my head. The bottom line is for Athletics Australia to support the men and women in all events of track and field. They have a very nice history when you look at how small a country they are compared to a US, China or Russia. Australia should be pround of their sprinters and support them. It's not always about winning medals. The youth will be the future if given the opportunity. We just need to get more of the white rugby players in the sprints that can really run.


Back to Breen. That was her first race of the year and she is already blazing. You have to love it as it sticks it in the face of the decision Australia has made. Let's hope they can reevalutate their clueless decision.

 

[albinosprint]

great find!

 

[Observer]

Yes, white lighting, a great find indeed!

But I don't think she will be a world beater. She has too many good things going for her for this to be likely. I took the time to find and read a few articles about her.

1) The Aussie sprinters do not improve dramatically as they age. The fact of the matter is that this is normal. They seem like the American sprinters of the 1950's in that sports can never be anything more that a very serious hobby. Thus, they still spend time getting an education, and don't seem to be prone to being druggies. Just curious, have there been many drug scandals amongst Australian sprinters?

2) She is a beautiful girl and seems very smart, and just has too many options. Her celebrity status will attain a monopoly on her time before her sprinting status reaches medalist quality. I think there was some of this with Matt Shirvington also.

3) The Australian track season is of course out-of-sync with the big players.

 

[Observer]

I think the USA must have ended up with all the misfits, malcontents, and runts from Europe. The USA "should" have 9 Melissa Breen's, but we don't. Not 9 Matt Shirvington's either.

 

[mastermulti]

some good observations Observer....
it seems to me a large number of our good sprinters have been academic
types who fit athletics into their typically full and vibrant lives.
Paul Narracott (beat Carl Lewis over 60m prior to L.A. Olympics and a
subsequent injury which thwarted him there) did track till he qualified as
a dentist and then "grew up" into his working life.
Jana Pittman (who gained a great university entrance mark to study
anything she pleases) used to be asked a question by her mum as she
was training and then answer it after her next run through.
A great many were just on their way to "something else" and Melissa
could well be the same.

But imagine the improved chances of a great white sprinter if you did
have 9 Shirvos, where not all would be injured at the one time, where
rivalry would be strong.....
Darren Clark won 4th place in the 400 in two Olympics and yet none of
the place getters that beat him were the same from one olympics to the
next. Simply put, one world class athlete per event puts a huge burden on
that athlete to be fit, in form and uninjured constantly. Statistically it just
can't happen.

It'll be fun to keep watch her results this coming season; I should get the
chance to see a few meets including her

 

[white lightning]

Along with Melissa Breen, here is another young Aussie kid who has the potential to be special. He broke the Austalian Youth 110 High Hurdles Record again! Here is the link. Wake up Australia and don't give up on the future generations. Just because they haven't had alot of medal in track does not translate into giving up. Look at how bad England, Germany, Poland and many other nations have done. Keep finding them young, train hard and win in the future.


http://www.athletics.com.au/kids/news/8244

 

[mastermulti]

"I think the USA must have ended up with all the misfits, malcontents, and
runts from Europe".Observer

Haha....."Give us your tired, give us your poor, give us your huddled
masses" may be a very noble sentiment but couldn't they have added "and
give us some of your sprinters and top athletic breeding stock".
We started with convicts but some of them were probably quite quick on
their feet before eventually getting nabbed by the constabulary and sent
here LOL.

Melissa won the 200 in a half second record time 23.52 and started her
100 with a 11.46 prelim time this morning taking .32 off the record
previously held by Sth African Janis Joseph.

She confirmed yesterday she'll be doing our Grand Prix circuit to take on
the "big girls" this season. Unfortunately we have no big girls anymore
unless Sally wants to concentrate on sprints this season.

In the lead up to the Sydney Olympics we had Melinda Gainsford, Cathy
Freeman, Lauren Hewitt, Tanian Van Heer and Nova Peris ALL running
11.20s and low 11.30s at the one time with several 11.50-11.60 girls on
their heels. That is a far cry from today where Melissa won the "schools"
prelim 100 by a second.

Happily we did have 2 fast 15 year old girls running legal 11.83 and
11.87 yesterday so let's hope they can come through in the next 4 or 5
years.
Some high 10 sec 15 year old boys too! The entire field in the boy's 16 /
100m ran tens (10.67 - 10.98) and 13 year old girl Maddie Pirie won the
girls 13 /100m in 11.91.
So we have plenty of young talent but getting them through to become
old talent is our problem at the momentEdited by: mastermulti

 

[mastermulti]

as I sit here lamenting the fact that so many of our talented kids just fall
off the radar I looked up this guy, Phil Chiodo.

At least he's still in the fitness industry, but he ran 10.46 (minus 2.4) at
17 and 2 months then poof! gone! Never ran in seniors....what a shame

http://www.fitnesstraining.ymca.org.au/browse.asp?
section=552&id=YMCA_Staff_Profiles

(...sorry all, link is playing up sp you'd have to copy and aspte in address
box)Edited by: mastermulti

 

[white is right]

yeah, well I'm hoping it works another way....

Peter Norman, Raelene Boyle et al did it the hard way because they
wanted it enough to train after work and in their own time. They had
some small allowances but that was it.

I'd love to see that work ethic return because only those who are really
hungry for it can succeed on an international level.

People like Sally McLellan will still be funded on the basis of hurdling
being a very technical event where she's proved her mettle

Part of the problem is that a professional has huge advantage on a true amateur even if the talent gap isn't much, because of their access to masseurs, talented coaches and modern training facilities. Throw in off season training and PED usage and future Boyles and Normans will be nearly impossible to harvest at the senior level. This situation is similar to what happens to African sprinters from the extremely poor countries even if they have government support.

 

[Guest]

The entire field in the boy's 16 / 100m ran tens (10.67 - 10.98)

Those times are skewed. They really ran 10.91 to 11.23 once you factor in the 5.0 wind.

 

[mastermulti]

we also had a guy named Geddes who ran a 20.67 (by memory) and 45 lows for the 400. Chosen for the 02 Com Games, never went and never ran that fast again.Edited by: mastermulti

 

[StarWars]

I hope they sponsor Aaron Stubbs. If great white sprinters can come from Germany and South Africa, imagine a funded US or Australian program...There are somewhere out there.

 

[mastermulti]

well... some Aussie results at home this weekend are not too bad for athletes tapering between on and off seasons. It's generally hard work to compete again in the northern hemisphere season after doing the Australian summer.

Sally McLelland ran 11.40/100m, 23.29/200 and 12.92/100mH with nil wind.
She says another .25 will come off the 100 and hurdles in 6 weeks or so.

Sean Wroe did some speed work for his 400s. A 10.54/100m and 21.00/200m with nil wind.... again OK with 6 weeks to peak. He's today leaving for Europe to do his last work phase.

Mitchell Watt did a nil wind 8.12m long jump (26'8")

 

[mastermulti]

Just to inforn everyone of recent Aussie results.....

in Spain last night Fabrice Lapierre beat Godrey Mokoena (Olympic silver)and Paladino to claim a win with a gigantic 8.57 (28'1"+).

Mitchell Watt finished 4th with a mighty 8.38 (27'6"...so he's now learning to control that new found 10.37/100 speed)Edited by: mastermulti

 

[white lightning]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amazing results. I hope this continue into the world champs in Berlin. Man can these guys jump!

 

[StarWars]

My god....

Much more than even my optimistic self thought was possible. Now Tsatoumas needs to heat up. Sebastin Bayer is going for the gold.

 

[mastermulti]

Sally again showed her competitive spirit in winning the 100m H in the rain last night. She's at about 1.38.00 into the program.
Hession won the "B" 200 and Bolt did 19.59 into a headwind in the rain.
The whole program is worth a watch I think.

SallyEdited by: mastermulti

 

[albinosprint]

Sally is amazing, great race! Hession did a great job breaking down some caste barriers, then Roid Boy went all out and throw everything out the window.

 

[white lightning]

Mitchell Watt just might need his own thread. He had the 2nd longest jump in Australias History today! Wow. 2009 is an amazing year for the Aussies so far in the Long Jump. Maybe next year some of their male sprinters will step it up a notch. The females look pretty good at the moment. Here is a list of the all time longest jumps in Aussie History.


Moves to #2 on Aussie all-time list:

8.49 +0.6 Jai Taurima Sydney 28 Sep 00
8.42 +2.0 Mitchell Watt 09
8.35 +1.3 Fabrice Lapierre 09
8.30 +1.1 Peter Burge Melbourne 2 Mar 00
8.29 +0.8 Fabrice Lapierre N 171083 1 Brisbane 21 Mar 09
8.27 +1.2 Gary Honey Budapest,Hungary 20 Aug 84
8.24 +1.9 Shane Hair Seville,Spain 28 Aug 99

This jump ranks him at #5 on the world list this year!Edited by: white lightning

 

[StarWars]

We are looking so good in the long jump. Watt, Lapierre, and Rutherford are our future. We can definitely medal between all these guys and Tsatoumas, Bayer, Tomlinson, Novotny, and Winter.

Bayer and Watt may be the brightest of the bunch. The equals of Lemaitre and Guliyev.