Christophe Lemaitre "White Lightning" 9.92 and 19.80!

[freddie]

I have just carried out a quick search of internet news sites on Lemaitre's 100m performance. The news reports are dominated by the Reuters News agency report. For example Yahoo, Daily News, Universal Sports, and numerous others, simply reprint the Reuters report â€" which incidentally contained a factual error about the previous French record; and was not picked up by any of the news carriers. I could find no headline reports in any of the main US and British papers but I only checked a sample of them. BBC Sports had no report but did provide a link to the IAAF report; and the Guardian in a report about another meet did provide a final paragraph about the performance. A Canadian article ridiculed the run by making the point that he was only the 72<SUP>nd</SUP> best in the world; a Singapore report disparaged him by calling him scrawny.
The Reuters article is however, in my view, plainly unpleasant and ill-natured. Rather than just providing the facts of the event, or alternatively providing a balanced view of the young man's national title and record; the reporter attempted to undermine the achievement by only mentioning its distance from Bolt's world record and the number of years since Jim Hinds world record. No mention of the fact Hind's run was at altitude and that it took 15 years for a low altitude sub-10 to be run; no mention that Lemaitre is now one of the youngest (third youngest, I think) to run under 10 seconds or his high ranking in this year's listings. The article makes no attempt to provide a positive perspective or to mention that many previous world record holders (eg: Ben Johnson, Montgomery, Gatlin) were proven PED takers. And, finally, no mention of what is evident to any sports fan: that Lemaitre's physique, along with his flowing stride, is so different to many of the other sub-10 runner.

 

[white lightning]

Your right Freddie. I have noticed that too. Even with Wariner, they can't wait for him to retire. Alot of people in the media say he is old and washed up already. Christophe is only 20 so like it or not, the media is going to have to deal with it. What a breath of fresh air. He is such a talent and a great guy as well. Congrats on making history Christophe!
Here is the video. His form is only average, and he doesn't hug the line good on the curve but still destroys everyone. I love it! The kid is amazing. One week until Paris!

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

 

[white lightning]

I'm shocked more of you are not commenting on his 200 meters victory today. To me it was just about as impressive as yesterday. He tied the French 200 meters National Record after racing his 6th race of the weekend. Christophe did this despite all the factors against him and still obliterated his p.b. of 20.58 from earlier this year. He also had no one to push him. Like Col. Reb said, this is a paridigm shift. People are not used to white sprinters putting up these times on a consistant basis let alone doubling. The guy is incredible.

This board should be on fire similar toyesterday. Anyways, I just wanted to pointthat out. We are very lucky to be able to enjoy watching this kid run. I for one am going to enjoy this journey we are on. Hewill get stronger. His form will continue toimprove and he will run times in the coming years that many thought were not possible.

This kid will inspire people from around the world. Heis already a superstar. By the time he is 25,most people around the world will know who he is! The mediacan only hide this for so long. We have a phenom on our hands. Thank you to Christophe for making this a sporting weekend I will never forget. I only wonder if next weekend in Paris can possibly top it!

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Congrats on your new job, Reb!

Thanks 301!

 

[freddie]

Yes, White Lightening, I had forgotten the problem that Warnier has caused. A similar dilemma for the news media was caused by Jonathan Edwards the still world record holder in the triple Jump. I remember at the Sydney Olympics the national broadcaster, the CBC in Canada, gave him about 5 seconds coverage, no superlative comments, and no interview. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />
A story that may interest you: a couple of years ago I went to the Canadian National Gymnastics Championships; and even though the event was on TV as the stadium was just 20 minutes from my house I decided to see it live. What was immediately apparent to me was the homogeneity of the competitors â€" about 98% were white. This was surprising as Canada's youth are from a broad range of cultural backgrounds. At an interval about 40 young girls gave a demonstration; and out of the 40 there were only two little black girls. I was standing directly behind one of the CBC cameras so I could see exactly what the cameraman was transmitting. For every close-up shot the cameraman focused on the two little black girls! They may have been cute but I am sure some of the other 38 were equally cute!

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Christophe's performance in the 200 is amazing, especially considering all the build-up and pressurethat he had been dealing with for the 100 on the day before. the blazing time is just an added bonus, and it shows how much potential he has. he hasn't even scratched the surface of how fast he can run!

as an aside, i noticed that the only other White runner in the 200 finale took third place in a respectable time of 20.95. his name is Pierre-Alexis Pessonneaux, and he's just 23. although not at the level of his countryman Lemaitre, he might be a guy to keep an eye on, as well.Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

freddie, your observation of the tv crew is a common practice in the US, as well. i know this from experience, not only from watching numerous sporting events where the only black fans are constantly zeroed in on by cameras, but also from having run cameras at sporting events, myself. i was actually instructed to look for "minority" attendees and make sure i got good shots of them.

this artificially-created "reality" that Don so often talks about is true. and it isn't accidental.

 

[mastermulti]

I thought he'd run 20.30 even if he was tired, but openly thought Queneherve's 20.16 was too far away. I underestimated him.

I am happy to see him tied for now with Queneherve who switched from cycling to sprinting and nearly beat Calvin Smith when he ran his record in Rome '87. Christophe can take it any time he likes at a major meet.
Right now his name appears on the books as French record holder in both events.

Good to see his friend and training partner Pierre-Alexis Pessonneaux get a medal too

 

[swampfox]

Gentleman,
I've been out for a long time, just got home and scanned the news on the internet and did a quick search for LeMaitre and just found out about what happened yesterday. I was so happy I think I literally leaped from my seat and couldn't wait to get on here and see the posts. It's finally happened. The first story was Reuters and I was not shocked by the disparaging way they handled it. No real historical perspective, no mention of the fact that Bolts time is so far ahead of all other black competitors, no mention of the fact that only 4 men have broken 9.8 and I think 17 have broken 9.9(that's going by memory before this season started and only legally recognized times), no mention of his youth, no mention of seasons workload(very impressive by the way), no mention of his close vicintity to other top competitors this season; but it was just what I expected. No matter I an't be brought down by it; the wall fell yesterday and I can't stop smiling.

 

[white lightning]

Here is a short but descent article. I myself won't be happy until he is the fastest man in the world. He won't either. The guy is just starting his career and only God knows how fast he can run. I hope he stays focused and hungry in his pursuit of winning an olympic gold medal someday. He has the genetics and he has the drive to get there.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-1293724/Christophe-Lemaitre-fastest-white-man-history.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

[white lightning]

Another Kodak Moment. A picture worth a 1000 words. Congrats on the 200 Title.

http://translate.google.com/translate?tl=en&amp;sourceid=ie8-activity&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lequipe.fr%2FAthletisme%2Fbreves2010%2F20100710_184106_200m-rf-pour-lemaitre.html

 

[white lightning]

Here is how stupid the media is. Lemaitre is in the top 5 times in the world by any sprinter period. He is well represented on this list next to guys like Powell, Bolt, etc. The media better reckonise. This kid is for real and he is not playing around. He will run faster. This is history we are watching here. Wake up ESPN, Fox Sports and all the media around the world. Tell the story like it really is. The kid is legit! Here is the top 100 meter world times thus far.


<H3>100 Metres 2010</H3>

<DIV id=WR>

9.58 Usain Bolt (JAM) - Berlin, 16/08/2009

<DIV id=TLupdated>Updated as at:10/07/2010
< name=searchtitle =2010-07-10>
<DIV ="TLtoptable m">
<TABLE id=TLlegal =sortable>
<T>
<TR>
<TH =t10>Mark</TH>
<TH ="t5 nosort">Wind</TH>
<TH>Athlete</TH>
<TH ="t5 c">Nation</TH>
<TH ="c t10">DOB</TH>
<TH ="t5 c" colSpan=2>Pos</TH>
<TH =t20>Venue</TH>
<TH ="c t10">Date</TH>
<TR =" on">
<TD>9.82</TD>
<TD =r>0.6</TD>
<TD>Asafa Powell</TD>
<TD =l>

JAM</TD>
<TD =c>23/11/1982</TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Roma</TD>
<TD =c>10/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>9.82</TD>
<TD =r>0.5</TD>
<TD>Usain Bolt</TD>
<TD =l>

JAM</TD>
<TD =c>21/08/1986</TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Lausanne</TD>
<TD =c>08/07/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>9.83</TD>
<TD =r>-0.5</TD>
<TD>Asafa Powell</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Ostrava</TD>
<TD =c>27/05/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>9.86</TD>
<TD =r>0.1</TD>
<TD>Usain Bolt</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Daegu</TD>
<TD =c>19/05/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>9.88</TD>
<TD =r>1.2</TD>
<TD>Asafa Powell</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1h2</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Ostrava</TD>
<TD =c>27/05/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>9.95</TD>
<TD =r>0.8</TD>
<TD>Ivory Williams</TD>
<TD =l>

USA</TD>
<TD =c>02/05/1985</TD>
<TD =r>1r1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Lawrence, KS</TD>
<TD =c>17/04/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>9.96</TD>
<TD =r>0.5</TD>
<TD>Yohan Blake</TD>
<TD =l>

JAM</TD>
<TD =c>26/12/1989</TD>
<TD =r>2</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Lausanne</TD>
<TD =c>08/07/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>9.98</TD>
<TD =r>0.0</TD>
<TD>Walter Dix</TD>
<TD =l>

USA</TD>
<TD =c>31/01/1986</TD>
<TD =r>1r2</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Tallahassee, FL</TD>
<TD =c>08/05/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>9.98</TD>
<TD =r>1.3</TD>
<TD>Christophe Lemaître</TD>
<TD =l>

FRA</TD>
<TD =c>11/06/1990</TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Valence</TD>
<TD =c>09/07/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>9.99</TD>
<TD =r>1.1</TD>
<TD>Dwain Chambers</TD>
<TD =l>

GBR</TD>
<TD =c>05/04/1978</TD>
<TD =r>1r1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Bergen</TD>
<TD =c>19/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>10.00</TD>
<TD =r>1.4</TD>
<TD>Monzavous Edwards</TD>
<TD =l>

USA</TD>
<TD =c>07/05/1981</TD>
<TD =r>1r2</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>New York City, NY</TD>
<TD =c>12/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>10.00</TD>
<TD =r>-0.1</TD>
<TD>Daniel Bailey</TD>
<TD =l>

ANT</TD>
<TD =c>09/09/1986</TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l>=</TD>
<TD>Reims</TD>
<TD =c>30/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>10.00</TD>
<TD =r>-0.1</TD>
<TD>Yohan Blake</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l>=</TD>
<TD>Reims</TD>
<TD =c>30/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>10.01</TD>
<TD =r>1.4</TD>
<TD>Keston Bledman</TD>
<TD =l>

TRI</TD>
<TD =c>08/03/1988</TD>
<TD =r>2r2</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>New York City, NY</TD>
<TD =c>12/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>10.01</TD>
<TD =r>1.7</TD>
<TD>Richard Thompson</TD>
<TD =l>

TRI</TD>
<TD =c>07/06/1985</TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Port-of-Spain</TD>
<TD =c>26/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>10.02</TD>
<TD =r>1.1</TD>
<TD>Christophe Lemaître</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>2r1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Bergen</TD>
<TD =c>19/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>10.03 A</TD>
<TD =r>1.6</TD>
<TD>Churandy Martina</TD>
<TD =l>

AHO</TD>
<TD =c>03/07/1984</TD>
<TD =r>1r1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>El Paso, TX</TD>
<TD =c>10/04/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>10.03</TD>
<TD =r>0.6</TD>
<TD>Christophe Lemaître</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1r1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Franconville</TD>
<TD =c>23/05/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>10.03</TD>
<TD =r>1.7</TD>
<TD>Keston Bledman</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>2</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Port-of-Spain</TD>
<TD =c>26/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>10.04</TD>
<TD =r>-1.5</TD>
<TD>Walter Dix</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Des Moines, IA</TD>
<TD =c>25/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =" on">
<TD>10.05</TD>
<TD =r>1.2</TD>
<TD>Asafa Powell</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1h2</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Oslo (Bislett)</TD>
<TD =c>04/06/2010</TD></TR>
<TR =off>
<TD>10.05</TD>
<TD =r>0.0</TD>
<TD>Christophe Lemaître</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD =c></TD>
<TD =r>1sf1</TD>
<TD =l></TD>
<TD>Valence</TD>
<TD =c>08/07/2010</TD></TR></T></TABLE>

 

[JReb1]

Congratulations on your 200 victory Christophe, I'm so happy for and proud of you! I truly believe that CL will medal (gold) in the next Olympics and hopefully in a world record time. That would be a bitter pill to swallow for the cultural marxists and DWFs.

 

[nash99]

Honestly, if you had to guess who would be the first white man to break 10 seconds would you have guessed a Frechman? No way! Not after watching their soccer team...France is a Caste Nation. I would have guessed an Eastern European would break 10 seconds.....the fact is there are fast white guys out there but you just have to find them....As far as the Caste media is concerned...of course this accomplishment will be mocked. They mention Jim Hynes ran 9.95 at Mexico City.....they should have mentioned Petro Meanna (a white guy) broke the 200m world record there and held the record for a decade or so....Sub 10 seconds 100M didn't start until the mid 80's which is when PEDs took over track and when the Eastern Bloc countries fell apart so there were no more white sprinters being developed

 

[white lightning]

Here is a interview about him making history. Can someone translate this please. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETA-A6WTOWo&amp;feature=player_embeddedEdited by: white lightning

 

[green fire317]

I am glad he did it before an asian. I remember there was a debate at CF some time ago as to whether a white or yellow would break 10 seconds first. Also, this will wake up some of the DWFs as speed translates to almost all sports. This may even help white runningbacks and cornerbacks.Edited by: green fire317

 

[nash99]

I always think its funny how the MSM denigrates the white man's athletic accomplishments. I don't see the asians, latinos, arabs or indians doing better and when you look at the whole universe of sports the white man is far more successful than the black man as well.

 

[Alpha Male]

Awesome. Inspiring. The mythical barrier is broken. I wonder how long the MSM can keep this under wrap? My guess is as long as possible. Yahoo news is pushing cheesy stories about Ronny Seikly and of course the Godly one, Lebron James. There is absoultely no mention of this first time acheivement by a whie man.

 

[GiovaniMarcon]

This is a serious question: do you guys think the media will try to plant speculation in DWFs that Christophe LeMaitre might be a drug cheat?

I'm sure they'd love for that to be true. And if it WERE true (it isn't), the MSM would suddenly make CLM front page material instead of page six box score material.

And if Uswain Bolt were discovered to be a cheat, it would never leave the press office. Only White athletes can be mocked, in the same way that only Black athletes are ever given unqualified praise.

 

[The Master]

Teddy Tamgho, the specialist of the triple jump, refused to consider, in Valencia, the record of France of Christophe Lemaitre ( 9.98 ) as an exploit for the simple reason that this last one is "white". " I do not really understand the fact that we made so much on a distinction of color. Why the Whites would not run fast? They did not pass under 10 seconds because they do not make track ? It is everything ", asserted Tamgho.
" 9.98 it is not exceptional and he knows it. It was predictable. It is just a step, which he(it) is fast going to cross(spend). 9.80 it is very well and this lad is capable of making 9.80. Now he(it) integrates(joins) the world rank. Everything is going to release itself. He knows how to make. He(it) is going to have to come back to earth and leave(restart) in the work ", pursued Tamgho whereas both men(people) will be the favourites(whiskers) for the European title in Barcelona (in August 27th July - 1er).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmgPGNU5kCw

 

[The Master]

Here is a interview about him making history. Can someone translate this please. Thanks.
<div></div>
<div>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETA-A6WTOWo&amp;feature=player_embedded</div>

He said that :

"Inevitably, I can not do anything about that, I'm the first white who did that. That's historic for me because my record has now 3 digits. I was focused on the title because it was the title the most important, and I knew the time would be good after. I was very focused and it worked. I knew it would go fast because of Martial and Ronald, that is what he missed me for passing this barrier, a competition, a championship, and it was important because of Barcelona, so I had all the conditions for this time. I can now focus on my main objective Barcelona and I think it will go better."

 

[mastermulti]

This is a serious question: do you guys think the media will try to plant speculation in DWFs that Christophe LeMaitre might be a drug cheat?

I'm sure they'd love for that to be true. And if it WERE true (it isn't), the MSM would suddenly make CLM front page material instead of page six box score material.

And if Uswain Bolt were discovered to be a cheat, it would never leave the press office. Only White athletes can be mocked, in the same way that only Black athletes are ever given unqualified praise.

To your serious question... no, I don't think so...... and as to your other two paragraphs, what utter tripe. If Usain is found to be a cheat it will headline in every newspaper. Shelley-Ann Fraser just headlined for using a NON performance enhancer that provided pain relief.
Edited by: mastermulti

 

[white lightning]

By far the best video yet. Thanks to the Master.

We have to give credit to his teammates. Like mastermulti and a few others have said, they support him. Pickering and many others have never had supportive teammates to encourage each other. I take my hat off to Pognon,Mbandjock ,Pessonneaux and Tamgho. These guys are very gracious and nice. They treat Christophe with respect and that shows alot. This can only help him as he continues his assault on the 9.90 and 9.80 barriers! They need to get Pickering on their team.Edited by: white lightning

 

[mastermulti]

I respect the views of most contributors on this board but a small number of people are just over the top, seeming to carry resentment and disillusionment on their sleeve like an armband.

Can I point out this site is ideally to encourage and applaud good performances by white athletes, not to denegrate others. It should be an uplifting site that we log out from feeling good.
I applaud 9.58s etc no matter who does them and can't see any positives in impugning those who achieve them. If they cheat it'll come out.

 

[GiovaniMarcon]

Mastermulti, I appreciate and respect your views both because you've been posting longer than I have, and also because you always have intelligent things to say. However I don't believe that my opinions posted above are too far out of line with the spirit and nature of many of the posts both within the track forum in general, this thread specifically, and globally throughout all discussion forums on this website.

I believe that the idea suggesting many Black athletes are not only dishonest, but sheltered from having this dishonesty exposed -- and hyped beyond their true abilities -- is neither new to this discussion, nor limited to a small number of CF posters. In fact, I believe that this very resentment and disillusionment as you call it might have been a motivator in this site's creation in the first place.

Your example citing Shelley-Ann Fraser is indeed appropriate, however in my view (I may be wrong), the scrutiny toward White athletes if shenanigans are suspected is infinitely more stringent that that toward Blacks. Conversely, praise toward Whites seems to be more qualified ("He's good, but...") compared to praise given to Blacks.

Again, I don't think this view is over the top or out of line with the general tone of the messageboard. If I'm wrong, I apologize for this and will tone it down, and try to write less "tripe".