Christophe Lemaitre "White Lightning" 9.92 and 19.80!

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FastEuro

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some bahamian guy, won in 10.5 against a 3m headwind...even if Lemaitre would have not false started, he would not have broken 10 against a 3m headwind. Rome is the day, weather permitting.<div>
</div><div>He did run a 20.56 against a 1.8m wind on the straight in the 200. That probably equates to a 20.4 or 20.3...Kid has too much pressure, even though he says not. Once he breaks 10, his times will drop considerably in the next 2 years. He still has not matured into Adult strength as of yet. His coach is very smart and is developing this kid one piece at a time. 2012 olympics he will medal in both the 100 and 200.</div>
 

white lightning

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Here is the lineup for the Diamond League Race on June 10th. It is going to be so exciting just to see Christophe racing along side guys like Powell. What an experience for him and for the fans. Glad to see Simone Collio is in the race as well so he will feel a little more comfortable. I expect an eye popping time if the weather is right. Will this be the day we have all been waiting for? I sure hope so! Also Hession in the 200 meters and Wariner in the 400! Here is the link to the preliminary starting lists.

http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/69/47/20100605053738_httppostedfile_draft_entrylist_rome_5june_web_20555.pdf
 

white lightning

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This was posted at another board. It's a little long but still worth a look. He is starting to get noticed as I said he would years ago when I started this thread.
For those of you who don't follow track and field, here's what's been going on:

No white guy has ever broken the 10 second barrier in the 100m dash. Ever.

There have been some mixed-race guys who have done it, and some completely white guys who have done it with huge, hurricane force illegal tailwinds (any run aided by a tailwind greater than 2.0 m/s is officially labelled as "wind aided" and doesn't qualify for the recordbooks), but no white guy has ever run a wind-legal sub-10 second 100m dash ever in the history of this planet. Ever. For decades and decades, several have come pretty close. But no white guy has ever actually done it, and the longer and longer white guys have tried and failed to do it, the more and more hype has built up around this now infamous "10 second white-guy-barrier".

Recently, however, all signs are pointing towards history about to be made, the barrier about to be broken:

For the past few seasons, a tall, skinny, white teenager named Christophe Lemaitre, has been improving steadily, and massively in the 100m dash with each new season.

He is still just 19 years old, and will turn 20 later this week (sprinters typically don't hit their physical prime until around age 25-28, so he will most likely continue getting faster and faster each year up until then (injuries aside that is, obv)).

To give you an idea of his meteoric progression as a 100m sprinter over the course of the past 4 years, I will show you what his fastest wind-legal 100m time of the season was for each season from 2006 till now:

2006: 10.96 with a 1.2 m/s tailwind (he had turned 16 just a month before this race)

2007: 10.53 with a 0.8 m/s tailwind (he had turned 17 just a month and a half before this race)

2008: 10.26 with a 1.8 m/s tailwind (he had turned 18 just a month and a half before this race)

2009: 10.03 with a 0.2 m/s tailwind (he had turned 19 just a month and a half before this race)

Furthermore, he went to the track and field World Championships in Berlin last year, and most likely would've gone sub-10 there, but unfortunately he f**ked up and got DQ'd for false start and thus missed the opportunity.

That said, don't get carried away and assume that his time progression with each new season is going to keep continuing at this quarter-of-a-second-improvement-per-season rate in the future on and on like this till he's running 8 second 100m dashes when he's in his mid 20's or anything, lol, it doesn't work like that, the seasonal progressions become much much smaller and smaller for the most part once you are down at/below the 10 second mark obv, you don't just keep improving by a quarter of a second each year till you are running 7 second 100m dashes when you're in your late 20's obviously, lol, but I think even the biggest track n00bs comprehend that.

Now, one other last thing you need to understand before I show what he's done so far in the 2010 season, to get a better feel for how this works, is the way sprinters get faster over the course of the season within each track and field season, due to them being at their slowest at the start of the season, since they've been sitting on their ass, not training or racing at all during the whole off-season, and thus are at their fastest at the END of the season, since they've been training and racing for many months straight by that point and are thus at their fastest, then, at the end of the season, and much faster by then than they were at the start of the season, obv.

To give you guys a feel for how much slower sprinters are at the start of a season than they are at the end of that same season, I'll post his season opener results for 2007, 2008, and 2009, and you can compare that to what his fastest times were (listed in the list above) for those respective seasons and see how much faster these sprinters are at the end of the season compared to the start of the season:

2007: He ran a 10.82 into a 0.6 m/s headwind for his first race of that season

2008: He ran a 10.40 with a 1.1 m/s tailwind for his first race of that season

2009: He ran a 10.26 with a 1.9 m/s tailwind for his first race of that season

So, as you can see, he was 0.29 seconds slower at the start of the 2007 season than he was at the end of it, 0.14 seconds slower at the start of the 2008 season than he was at the end of it, and 0.23 seconds slower at the start of the 2009 season than he was at the end of it. And that's not even taking wind into account. His 10.26 season opener in 2009 was with a 1.9 m/s tailwind, which converts to a 10.36 had there been no wind, whereas his 10.03 with a 0.2 m/s tailwind at the end of that season converts to a 10.04 had there been no wind, so taking wind into account, he was actually more like 0.32 seconds slower at the start of the 2009 season than he was at the end of it. Etc.

Anyway, so basically, as you can see for yourself, these guys run a lot faster towards the END of the seasons than they do at the START of the seasons. This is normal, and is how it goes for the vast majority of sprinters. It is extremely rare for a sprinter to be faster at the start of the season than he is at the end of the season, unless he gets injured. or overtrains or undertrains, or gets huge tailwinds in all the races at the start of his season and huge headwinds in all the races at the end of that season, etc.

So, now that we've covered all that, and you have a pretty good understanding of how this sh*t works more or less, here's how the start of his 2010 season has gone so far:

May 1st, 2010: 10.09 for his season opener with a 1.0 m/s tailwind (converts to 10.14 if there had been no wind, so, .22 seconds faster than the zero-wind-converted-time of his 2009 season opener since his converted time for the 2009 season opener was 10.36)

May 9th, 2010: 10.24 into a 2.2 m/s headwind (converts to a 10.09 if there had been no wind)

May 23rd, 2010: 10.03 with a 0.6 m/s tailwind (converts to a 10.06 if there had been no wind)

So, as you can see, if he doesn't get injured, he is almost certainly going to go sub-10 VERY soon, as in, THIS SEASON-soon (unless he gets super unlucky and has huge headwinds in his big, late season races in July/August/September)

Hell, he might even do it in his very next race, he's SO so close already. For example, if he would've had a 1.4 m/s tailwind in his last race he would've run a 9.99 in it instead of a 10.03, and that would've been wind-legal too, since the max tailwind you're allowed to have is 2.0 m/s. So, with a decent barely-legal tailwind he's ALREADY fast enough RIGHT NOW to go sub-10. And he's only going to get faster and faster in the following months as he gets later and later into the season (unless he gets injured obv). So it's really just a matter of time (no pun intended) and luck at this point as to when he does it, with it looking very likely it'll be THIS SEASON, and quite soon at that.

So now with Usain Bolt down with an achilles injury, and Tyson Gay down with a hamstring injury, and Jeremy Wariner sucking hardcore at the 400m now, and LaShawn Merritt banned from running the 400 since he got caught using PEDs, the only big name sprinter running right now is Asafa I-for-I-ALWAYS-Choke-At-Olympics-and-World-Championships-Finals-But-Do-Great-In-Smaller-Lower-Pressure-Races Powell. Powell is actually having a GREAT 2010 season so far, and looks like he very well might dip quite deep into the 9.6's by the end of this season, now that the pressure is off him, but even so, unless he breaks that 9.58 world record, nobody other than avid track and field fans like me is really going to care about it or even hear about it (which is pretty f**ked up btw, lol, considering what a truly mindblowing time a wind-legal 9.6-low would be if he actually ran one at the end of this season, which he really might, given how great of a start he's had so far this season), basically all the spotlights are going to be pointed at Christophe Lemaitre when he becomes the first white guy ever to break the 10 second barrier.

And what's more, Christophe Lemaitre isn't some ripped to shreds 26 year old white dude in the physical prime of his life right now or anything close to it. He's a tall, skinny, white TEENAGER with crappy form. This is the exact OPPOSITE of optimal for sprinting, so he has TONS of room for improvement since he still needs to get:

1. Older and thus closer and closer to the physical prime age for human sprinters which is around 25-28 years old, not 19 years old.

2. Buffer/stronger, instead of totally skinny and non-buff like he is right now.

3. Good running form, instead of having sh*tty running form like he does right now.

So, while being the first white guy to break the 10 second barrier will be what he'll be most known for in the immediate future, I strongly doubt it'll be the pinnacle of his career by any means. This guy looks like he has the potential to be VERY very fast in the years down the road, and not just "for a white guy" but even for a world class sprinter. Barring catastrophic injury, he looks like he will be capable of making it to the finals in the 2012 Olympics, and then when he's in his physical prime as a 26 year old in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, he could have a very real shot of not just making it to the finals, but also of winning a medal in it.
 

white lightning

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White man against the 9-century
<DIV ="articleIngress">Black skater turns white knight.It has "always" been in athletics. But a French 20-year old can do something about it.This year will be Christophe Lemaitre first white run under 10.00.
<DIV ="Main article">
<DIV ="articleByline withByWho">AV ARNE HOLE BY ARNE HOLE
<DIV ="article">


71 men have run under the previous ten blank so magical limit of 100 meters. All are colored.For white runners is 10.00 still a magic limit.But France has given up a magical sprinter.Unless hisligaments wereto snap, and the wind must blow him constantly in the face unless Christophe Lemaitre (turns 20 years Friday) will see 9's this season.


After 10.04 at age 19 in the Junior Championship last year, Lemaitre was named "rising star" - also with our own Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal. This year he started the season with 10.03 in the French championship for club teams. The only 0.6 sec / m tailwind.In other words: Did the langlemmede teenager had max luck and got 2.0 in the wind, he would have already been to 9's.
<H2>Mental barrier. </H2>


Sprint coach Leif Olav Alnes does not 10.00 as a natural limit where it would stop for white athletes. There have only been like that.


â€"«Don't run hard, run fast», "Do not run hard, run fast," said the sprint - and it's a lot there. In many settings you will be wise to run hard.How many are there who have run fast in the semi-finals, and then they take a little extra in the final.It's like bowling with the players start to think about points after five striker, or the golfer who begins to count the strokes.It locks up, "said Alnes.


So it's a mental thing that white athletes has stopped by 10 blank?


"There is certainly no natural limit there.But the 10 blank may have had an intimidating effect, "Now I am close, now I have to take a little more." One of the best advice I give to my athletes is: Try not to think.


"But now thinking Lemaitre, of course, that he may become the first white sprinter in nine century?


It is not obvious that he will do it, but chances are pretty high, admits Alnes.
<H2>Tough for the Jays. </H2>


Optimistic Norwegians have already collected two medals for Jaysuma Saidy Ndure in the European Championships in Barcelona.But it need not be gold - at least not in the 100 meters.In addition to Lemaitre, the former doping condemned Britain's Dwain Chambers ran 10.11 in the year, while the Jays have 10.09 as approved time (9.98 in 2.6 sec / m tailwind).


Lemaitre was detected as a 15-year-old when he participated in a school festival.Since there has been only one way.He was junior world champion in the 200 meters in 2008, and has perhaps even greater future in the distance.The 1.89-long (74 kg) has great talent because the ending as his front.


Enthusiastic French men have already begun to talk about Lemaitre as a competitor to Usain Bolt in the London Olympics 2012.Well, he is currently a bit behind the phantom from Jamaica.Bolt won the championship in the 200 meters as a 15-year-old (!) And ran the 9.76 in his first real attempt in the 100 meters at age 20 in 2007.


But Lemaitre shows the way for white youngsters.


It is possible to run fast without having African genes.Edited by: white lightning
 

white lightning

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I give him alot of credit for working on his english. It is a very hard language to learn as an adult. He also is very busy with school, and training for track. He has very little time and then he has places he needs to go for endorsements not to mention seeing family, friends and girls. I think he knows that as he becomes a worldwide star in track, english will help to open even more door for him. What a fine young man he is.

Here is to history in two more days. Viva Lemaitre. Viva Le France!
 

freedom1

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Diamond League: Asafa Powell targets sub-9.80 100 meters in Rome
Jamaica's former 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell says he intends to run the sprint in less than 9.80sec in the fourth leg of the Diamond League at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.

By Telegraph staff and agencies
Published: 8:42PM BST 09 Jun 2010

Yellow peril: former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell has been on fire so far this season Photo: GETTY IMAGES The Olympic bronze medallist has the form to back up his ambitions.

He recorded the best 100m time of the year by running 9.83sec in cold, rainy conditions in Ostrava on May 27 and followed that up with a run of 9.72sec in Oslo last Friday, but with an illegally strong 2.1 metres/second tailwind.

Powell also tends to run better in the absence of his compatriot Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history with a 100m time of 9.58sec, and America's Tyson Gay, although Powell admits that "with them, there's obviously more glamour".

Powell's sparkling start to the season could help French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre become the first white athlete to break 10 seconds for 100 metres at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome on Thursday.

If successful, Lemaitre, who will be 20 on Friday and has a personal best of 10.03 secs, would join 71 non-white athletes who have produced 461 such performances since American Jim Hines clocked the first 'sub-10' 42 years ago.

"To be under 10 - this is not a barrier, just another tape," said the Frenchman. "I would like to go faster in the future and if I run under 10 I know it would be just a step forward.

"I know it's possible for me to beat and for every sprinter it's a dream."

Although the teenager and his fellow highly-talented countryman Martial Mbandjock are unlikely to threaten Powell's current purple patch of victories, the former world record holder will show them respect.

Powell said: "The two French guys are very young - it's always good to see what they have to offer when they are running against the big guns.

"I'll wait and see what they have to offer.

"Hopefully they can get a personal best and I think when the white guys break the barrier they won't stop.

"You'll have a lot more to come and, definitely, it's possible tomorrow with the weather conditions and a very fast track."
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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9.83 in the cold, the rain, and the wind ... nope, nothing suspicious about that at all. i wonder, does Powell eat the Jamaican yams, too?
smiley2.gif
 

white lightning

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Hey guys. The Rome Meet will start at 2PM eastern time. You can order this and all of the Diamond League Meets for the whole summer for 19.99 at universalsports.com They do a great job with the meets and it's worth the money.

On a side note, Don Wassall needs some donations here too. Don't forget guys that running this site is very expensive and Don puts not only his money but also alot of his time in here. Please donate to the site. We need to keep this site rocking and rolling!

As for Lemaitre. Well gentleman, I believe we are going to be witnessing history in the making tommorow afternoon. I will predict a time of 9.98 for Lemaitre with him finishing either 2nd or 3rd. This would make me a very happy man. The key will be for him to get a very strong start and just run his race. I'm hoping the nerves don't get to him. Christophe needs to just pretend it is just another race.

Good luck to PepeLeFlew. The Pride of France. The Pride of Castefootball.

Time for "The Master" to do his thing and let the whole world see what "White Lightning" looks like!Edited by: white lightning
 

white lightning

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I can tell you guys one thing for sure. I'm not going to get much sleep tonight. I feel like a caged tiger prancing back and forth with nervous energy as I'm sure Lemaitre is a thousand times worse. So ready for this moment. It will be special beyond belief if it happens.

Time to smash the barrier. Time for KING LEMAITRE TO DESTROY THIS MAGICAL BARRIER. Then it will be just another stop on a long jouney towards greatness. It is just one more hurdle in the race for the ultimate prize. To be the FASTEST MAN IN THE WORLD!
 

mastermulti

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here's a link to his disqualification in the 100 and running the 200 the other night. He only moved his shoulders to DQ.
Poor little bugger probably couldn't be bothered much with English lessons at school... but at this rate he'll have to learn it quickly.
Listen to the journalist putting the hard question (pressure) on him... will you be the first white man to break 10 seconds.
Gee, it annoys me when stupid people don't think of the consequences of what they are saying!

Lemaitre
 

white lightning

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Be honest mastermulti. How long have we waited for this moment if it happens? For at least a few decades. I'm so excited. So pumped up! Just don't want to jinx it but I'm like a little kid in a candy store. I can feel it! Can you? Edited by: white lightning
 

white lightning

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We are only 1 hour away from the start of the meet! Good luck to Christophe Lemaitre. Show the world what your made of. Time to shine Pepe!
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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good luck, Christophe!
 

Flash

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i'm well excited, come on christophe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

whiteathlete33

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white lightning said:
We are only 1 hour away from the start of the meet! Good luck to Christophe Lemaitre. Show the world what your made of. Time to shine Pepe!

Is it possible to watch it online?
 

Flash

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christophe came 2nd, very good result. The plank forgot to bring his spikes to the comp though so they had to hunt around and buy him a pair that wasnt in the right size apparently! LOL. He definetly did not have a good start to the race atall, hes gonna have to do better there. His last portion of race was fekking awesome though. 10.09.. He still needs to get stronger, i honestly think that would make him a consistent sub 10 performer.
 

trackster

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Didn't make it. Maybe next time. It's tough. In a race where success is measured by 100th's of seconds, you have to be having your best day. He'll get there. I guess we'll just need to be patient. In this race, I wouldn't say he was left in the blocks, but he just never got it going really, although he did finish second (10.09) in a classy field. I didn't see where Collio finished.

A reminder that he's a very young man: he forgot to bring his spike to the race, and had to buy new ones that didn't fit!
 
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