Once again, I find myself agreeing with Elispeedster. Anyone who thinks that Christophe has a chance this year in the 100 is going to be sadly disappointed.
Christophe needed to improve dramatically this year to compete with the Jamaicans. Dramatically. But he simply didn't. He regressed badly. He has consistently run times closer to the women's world record than to the men's. Think about that.
Race after race, people make excuses for him. It's wet. It's cold. The wind isn't pushing him like a tornado. Whatever. Enough excuses. He's run a lot of races. The times all suck.
Go back and watch all of the videos. In every race he runs, no matter how pathetically weak the "competition" (and, let's face it, Christophe's competition even in the French and European championships couldn't compete at an elite Jamaican high school meet), Christophe always finds himself behind, working like mad just to catch up and barely win at the end. Do you think Blake, Gatlin, Bolt, etc, would have to give 100% just to beat those bums? Blake could jog from start to finish, stop and sign autographs, wave to the crowd, and still win comfortably.
I can only go back to what I said at the beginning of Christophe's nightmarish season: He is squandering his talent working with a coach who makes him practice with tiny little cones all over the track, constantly worrying about where every foot strikes the ground. Maybe if there is a French version of "Dancing with the Stars," Carraz's proteges will win. But they aren't winning any Olympic medals.
