Christophe Lemaitre "White Lightning" 9.92 and 19.80!

[white is right]

I missed the semi and the finals, driving on the road back!!
Anyone has a beginning of an explanation about these poor times? not just Christophe but everyone! a 10.08 gets a silver medal is kinda weird!
About the false start of Bolt, I have a feeling that it was intentional.. I hope he'll get tested anyway

The "slow times" are because they ran into a fairly strong headwind and the temperature probably wasn't hot and humid.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I'm just catching up on this today. Glad CL made the final and finished fairly well. A lower time would have been nice, but all things considered, not bad. As for Bolt being on PEDs, to me it is a given, just like probably half of those who CL was racing against.

 

[Soccer&track]

I think CL did great! He got to the final and burned a lot of fast guys to get there. I know they ran into a heavy wind but it's interesting how much slower the times were compared to what we've seen this year. Perhaps with a handful of dopers out of the mix, the times were where they "should" be! Also, does anyone think that maybe due to his taller height and slighter build, Lemaitre may have a more difficult time running into wind than some of his competitors? He seems to slow down quite a bit when running into wind, or maybe it's just a figment of my imagination.

 

[mastermulti]

that is a superb vid for analytical purposes W/L.

Christophe did not run his own race .... nerves got to him. I draw everyone's attention to the following. It's clear as a bell.

The front on shot clearly shows him spending time looking across the track and immediately losing rhythm and wobbling side to side at about the 7+ second mark (9.45 in the clip).
http://www.youtube.com/user/wiley1?feature=mhee#p/a/f/0/JV42i4v-2f4

I stick even more so now by the thought that as soon as Bolt went out CL's thoughts were "I'm in with a medal chance here". Then he dwelt on it and TRIED too hard.

Never mind. Let's watch him in the 200. They may run a good relay too.

 

[mastermulti]

I think CL did great! He got to the final and burned a lot of fast guys to get there. I know they ran into a heavy wind but it's interesting how much slower the times were compared to what we've seen this year. Perhaps with a handful of dopers out of the mix, the times were where they "should" be! Also, does anyone think that maybe due to his taller height and slighter build, Lemaitre may have a more difficult time running into wind than some of his competitors? He seems to slow down quite a bit when running into wind, or maybe it's just a figment of my imagination.

I think the latter. The best I've ever seen him run was 10.06 with about the same wind (-1.2) 28th JUly last year at the Euro semis.
He knew he had them beat before he started so no pressure. Watch the clip. He didn't even lean at the tape as is his custom. This is Christophe confidently running his own race

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6MMHZemHjQ


Taking into account he has improved a bit this year, if he ran as in that race the silver was on the cards.
Having said that ... he's still very young and the stakes wer much higher. The main challenge as I see it now is for him to learn to control his emotions.
Blake did that very well and they're virtually the same age. I guess being among all those other Jamaicans he doesn't feel he has to carry his country's hopes all on his shoulders. Christophe seems to show he feels that. The French interviewer after the race was reassuring him he'd done them proud

 

[foobar75]

Does anyone know why CL was running out of lane 8? Maybe I don't know the rules, but I thought the first 2 from each semi-heat would get the inside 6 lanes based on time, and the last 2 time-qualifiers would get 1 & 8. Even if they had the whole thing based on time, CL has the 6th fastest, which means he should've been in lane 2 or 7. How exactly are the lane assignments done?


4th place was solid all things considered, and he still has a chance to win a medal in the 200m, not to mention something in the 4x100, so looking forward to the next weekend.

I still can't believe Bolt false-started. He seemed to be in good enough form to run at least a 9.7x.

 

[LoLy]

. How exactly are the lane assignments done?

the 3 first of the 3 semi-final get 4,5,6 lane. The other got their lane randomly.

It is true that Lemaitre has been "incredibily" unluky.

It all started with the insane heat2 semi-final. I personnaly have more question about how the heat 2 was generated, than the final itself.

 

[white lightning]

From what I have heard, they changed the rules this year for the first time. Even still, Christophe should have been in lane 7 at the least according to how the races went. Someone screwed up. It's a shame but that is how it goes sometimes. You rarely see a guy out of the lanes 1 or 8 win a gold but it is possible. If I remember right, Allan Wells won his gold medal in the Olympics out of lane 8. I will double check as it was a long time ago but I think he did run out of lane 8 too. Christophe just didn't react to the gun and he was in dead last for a good deal of the race. Such a shame as he could have medaled. I wish there was a do over because he can run with Blake. Regardless, he will bounce back in the 200 and I can't wait. Here is an interview in english. Remember he is fluent in french but still learning english. I still have to say that Christophe is as classy as they come. I'm still very proud of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkb3rMq-OXA&feature=relmfu

 

[white is right]

I know in 76' Crawford won the 100 title from lane 1. In 80 Wells won from lane 8 and interestingly he beat Leonard who was in lane 1. I know at one time lanes were randomly assigned to the runners. Since they have been handicapping the lanes it's a rarity to see a champion out of the outer lanes.

 

[freddie]

BK21: the reason you think that Bolt false started on purpose is that every sprinter knows that once you have false started you play it cool. The hope being that someone else twitched, also started too soon and that it will be judged to be a faulty start. If you look at the replay CL was close behind Bolt. You do not draw attention to yourself by tearing your shirt off and looking guilty. It is basic human nature to attempt to shift the blame onto someone else. The dramatic shirt sundering routine looked planned to me.

 

[the argie]

It all started with the insane heat2 semi-final. I personnaly have more question about how the heat 2 was generated, than the final itself.

The athletes are ranked by place and time from 1 to 24.

1 6 7 12 13 18 19 24
2 5 8 11 14 17 20 23
3 4 9 10 15 16 21 22

The 7 first places are 1 to 7, the 7 second are 8 to 14, and the 7 third are 15 to 21. The last 3 are 22 to 24.

 

[mattgianone]

To be honest Lemaitre looked horrible. I dont know if daegu has a slow track but as I predicted other than Blake everyone ran very slow times despite the wind. Blake still looks like he is roiding. At least I knew Makushah and Thompson would prove no threat to Lemaitre. Lemaitre is going to have to get stronger in the upper body and see a sports psychologist if he want gold or silver in London next year. He should have beat Collins if he was on top of his game.

 

[Bk21]

BK21: the reason you think that Bolt false started on purpose is that every sprinter knows that once you have false started you play it cool. The hope being that someone else twitched, also started too soon and that it will be judged to be a faulty start. If you look at the replay CL was close behind Bolt. You do not draw attention to yourself by tearing your shirt off and looking guilty. It is basic human nature to attempt to shift the blame onto someone else. The dramatic shirt sundering routine looked planned to me.

and the medal winners are tested for sure..

 

[the argie]

Roger Bambuck, about CL:

"Quand j'ai vu certains dire: 'Il va viser le podium', j'ai trouvé ça prématuré. Il a du talent, du potentiel, mais il est quand même loin derrière les meilleurs.
"Il doit se dire qu'il a raté une occasion, mais je ne pense pas que ce soit le cas. Il a fait ce qu'il devait faire. Je l'ai vu totalement déstabilisé par la sortie de Bolt. Son regard donnait le sentiment qu'il ne savait plus ce qui se passait. Il lui faut encore deux, trois, quatre ans de progression. Ce n'est pas l'année prochaine qu'il va éclater. Il faut que Christophe apprenne encore. À Londres, s'il y a une opportunité, qu'il la saisisse, mais il faut surtout qu'il vise les Jeux de Rio en 2016, ça me semble plus raisonnable."


Traduction from Google:
"When I saw some say, 'He goes take the podium', I thought it was premature. He has talent, potential, but he is still far behind the best.
"He must say he missed an opportunity, but I do not think this is the case. He did what he should do. I saw him completely destabilized by the DQ of Bolt. His eyes gave the feeling that he did not know what was happening. He needs another two, three, four years of progress. It's not next year he will explode. Christophe must learn more. In London , if there is an opportunity he could take it, but above all there is the Games of Rio in 2016, it seems more reasonable. "

 

[frederic38]

for me lemaitre will not be the best white sprinter of all time, kenteris or borzov were better i think, because they were dominant
unfortunately, lemaitre has a psychological problem that pushes him to under-perform in the big meets
losing to 35 years old collins is a big surprise, and not a good one
lemaitre doesnt have the "eye of the tiger"
[video=youtube;VgSMxY6asoE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSMxY6asoE[/video]

and i believe nothing can be done to change that

 

[white is right]

for me lemaitre will not be the best white sprinter of all time, kenteris or borzov were better i think, because they were dominant
unfortunately, lemaitre has a psychological problem that pushes him to under-perform in the big meets
losing to 35 years old collins is a big surprise, and not a good one
lemaitre doesnt have the "eye of the tiger"
[video=youtube;VgSMxY6asoE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSMxY6asoE[/video]

and i believe nothing can be done to change that

I don't think it's fair to compare Lemaitre to seasoned veterans. This was his first realistic chance at a major medal and he is clearly not close to his physical peak. He did more than enough for me, because he will/should have plenty more opportunities to win a medal. Of course at 21 we would have said the same about the shrinking violet Powell and we have seen how he has underperformed at the World and Olympic level.

 

[frederic38]

I don't think it's fair to compare Lemaitre to seasoned veterans. This was his first realistic chance at a major medal and he is clearly not close to his physical peak. He did more than enough for me, because he will/should have plenty more opportunities to win a medal. Of course at 21 we would have said the same about the shrinking violet Powell and we have seen how he has underperformed at the World and Olympic level.

yes, lemaitre is still very young, but from my experience, age is not important for this kind of issues
you have it, or you don't have it
i still hope that lemaitre proves me wrong
and he will always be the first white to run under 10 sec, and i think he will run even below 9.90, but....

 

[mattgianone]

I think you are wrong Federic. Mentally people can change. Lemaitre will be a better sprinter next year unfortunately it wont be in the 9.7 range but more like 9.88 a couple of times. He will reach his peack after that. in one year.

 

[greyghost]

doping

I think you are wrong Federic. Mentally people can change. Lemaitre will be a better sprinter next year unfortunately it wont be in the 9.7 range but more like 9.88 a couple of times. He will reach his peack after that. in one year.

, guaranteed that collins is doping, its just too bloody obvious :dizzy::dizzy:, he has got to be juicing regardless of lemaitres performance

 

[greyghost]

learning curve

cl, will learn from this race , roll on the 200, he still has a good chance of a medal

 

[Soccer&track]

Ok I think you guys are WAY over thinking this. CL went out, beat a whole bunch of very fast guys, many of whom we think are dopers, and finished 4th place in the world! He will get faster and his starts will get better. Give him time to grow! I've played sports my whole life and for me, I was more confidant at age 25 then I was at age 20. Everyone is different and grows at different rates. As for Blake, well I do think he is doping, but I have to say I also think he is currently a bit faster than CL....but, I don't think this will be the case much longer. I think CL has more potential right now than any other sprinter out there because of how he finishes. Let's just sit back, watch and enjoy watching him!

 

[mattgianone]

I just dont see how Blake could run a fast time like that against heavy wind for his personal best of the season while everyone else ran slightly slower than expected. I hope he gave a blood sample. This smells fishy but I give it 15 percent creedence. Good luck CHristophe in the 200 meters. The silver is yours. I guarantee it.

 

[white lightning]

Did Christophe have a average race? Yes. Does he deserve this much harsh criticism? No. The kid is still a student of the sport. Many if not most sprinters start running from a early age. Many people forget how Christophe just came to this sport around 5 -6 years ago. He has so much to learn and his coach is not exactly world class. Despite all of this, he has acheived things we could only dream about. Trust me when I say that the best is yet to come. Let's stay behind this kid. He will not peak until 2016 or beyond. If he continues to improve, he will be the number one sprinter on earth by that time. Give the kid a break. If he can't get love here then something is wrong.

He will be ready for the deuce and he will break his national record. Christophe needs to realise though that you should only run fast enough to qualify. He doesn't need to win his heats. Just run fast enough to qualify and conserve your energy. This is a whole nother level up from the Euro Champs. In my opinion, he is growing by leaps and bounds all the time. He is shy and introverted but he is gettting better. This kid will be a force to be reckoned with for the next decade. We need to be patient and just support him Imagine if any of us were the only white sprinter on earth trying to change stereotypes at the highest levels. It has to be one of the hardest things for anyone to do let alone a shy 21 year old kid. I'm very proud of Christophe!

 

[mattgianone]

Come on Whit Lightning. He blew a great opportunity against 2 sprinters he should usually beat. The fact that Bolt, Gay Rodgers and Mullings not being there should have helped and he still blew it. He isint going to get much faster in the upcoming years. I love Lemaitre but he better bulk up next year or he will still be known as a middling sprinter at best.

 

[frederic38]

well lemaitre said it himself, he didn't run like he had to
he said in an interview that he was not feeling tired after his semi final, when they asked him why he under performed
he said that being in the lane 8 is very difficult for him, since he likes to battle with the other competitors
he said he was totally un-focused, maybe because he had fun with vicaut before the race
he said that at one point, he surprised himself looking to his left and he told himself "what are you doing? just run!"