Christophe Lemaitre "White Lightning" 9.92 and 19.80!

[greyghost]

good stuff

good performance from CL cant wait until rieti, not good conditions in zurich..:target::target::target::target::target::target::target::target:roll on the only ped free sprinter at world level...

 

[trackster]

Some of you guys are putting lipstick on a pig here. LeMaitre had a HUGE tailwind yesterday. The conditions were fine enough for Blake to jog across the finish in a 9.7. The conditions were also fine enough for every name sprinter to easily dispatch LeMaitre.

All through the indoor season, people came on and tried to justify his sub-par times. Then the outdoor season hit and he started with an unbelievable 10.4, and then the excuses really started flying. He ran awful race after awful race, and people just kept blaming the weather. Now, here it is, towards the end of the season, and people are blaming the weather even when he has a massive tailwind and none of the other runners have a problem.

There are 11.2 runners in high schools across the country who are getting more out of their natural ability than Christophe. The regression has been brutal. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he ran over 21 for the 200 next week, or simply retired to play video games. Nothing would surprise me.

 

[trackster]

I just found a French article about the race. It described LeMaitre as "poussif" (i.e. puffing, wheezing, winded) from the start. It's been that way all season. If he keeps regressing at this pace, he won't be able to walk to his mailbox without getting out of breath.

 

[LoLy]

not a professional guy

How can he take a one week vacation in august before the end of the tracl season? Whatever blake is on PED or not, he's a professional guy, training hard to reach his goal.
Even if I like Lemaitre, I feel like he's a lazzy guy. Being number one in France an in Europe might be his sub-conscious goal. As he already reached it, he doesn't think he has to train more.
Next year might be a lot more disapointing for him, as French Vicaut will run sub 10, and Netherland Martina, ran a 19.85 pb this year.

THere is nothing else to expect from this season, as he said on his Facebook page that he is satisfied with his last race.

 

[lactatking]

At Zürich CL was 0,31 sec. behind Blake. At Daegu CL was "only" 0,27 sec. (9,92 / 10,19) behind Blake.

After London CL was 12 days in holidays ... I don't understand it.

 

[white defensive back]

At Zürich CL was 0,31 sec. behind Blake. At Daegu CL was "only" 0,27 sec. (9,92 / 10,19) behind Blake.

After London CL was 12 days in holidays ... I don't understand it.

Lemaitre will never break 10.00 again. Sho' nuff.

The Shogun of Harlem

 

[white defensive back]

Lemaitre will never break 10.00 again. Sho' nuff.

The Shogun of Harlem

I hope I am wrong but he is like the Brandon Wegher of track and field. We have so little to root for against these obvious , mostly drug cheats and all Lemaitre can do is eat poorly and not run the 100 meters. I wonder how fast he could run if he was roiding?

 

[elispeedster]

I hope I am wrong but he is like the Brandon Wegher of track and field. We have so little to root for against these obvious , mostly drug cheats and all Lemaitre can do is eat poorly and not run the 100 meters. I wonder how fast he could run if he was roiding?

He could run 9.8 and 19.6 without touching a roid, but only if he were to get stronger. Every sprinter or explosive athlete that i ever come across - and im talking high school, div 3 college, amateurs, are able to lift good weight - almost all can double squat/deadlift their bodyweight. Lemaitre, from what I heard, can squat at max 220 pounds at 165 pounds of bodyweight which is beyond pathetic. Alison Felix squats at max 295.
If he were to get up to 350 range in the squat/deadlift - basic athletic strength - which is achievable in a short amount of time with hard training, , he would be running much faster - better starts and more stamina/speed maintenance at the end of a race. He will stop hufffing and puffing.

He needs motivation. its up to him. If he really wants it, he will get it, if not, he has a engineering degree to fall back on. Its just a shame that no one can motivate him and show him that he really has a special talent and can get much much better and run along side bolt and blake, I truly believe he can.

 

[white defensive back]

He could run 9.8 and 19.6 without touching a roid, but only if he were to get stronger. Every sprinter or explosive athlete that i ever come across - and im talking high school, div 3 college, amateurs, are able to lift good weight - almost all can double squat/deadlift their bodyweight. Lemaitre, from what I heard, can squat at max 220 pounds at 165 pounds of bodyweight which is beyond pathetic. Alison Felix squats at max 295.
If he were to get up to 350 range in the squat/deadlift - basic athletic strength - which is achievable in a short amount of time with hard training, , he would be running much faster - better starts and more stamina/speed maintenance at the end of a race. He will stop hufffing and puffing.

He needs motivation. its up to him. If he really wants it, he will get it, if not, he has a engineering degree to fall back on. Its just a shame that no one can motivate him and show him that he really has a special talent and can get much much better and run along side bolt and blake, I truly believe he can.

I used to think track and field athletes never made much money but there was an article a month ago saying Yohan Blake was wearing a $ 500,000 watch at one of his races. One would think Lemaitre would do whatever it takes ie. weight lifting to get faster. He might be a head case. Thats all I am saying. What world class sprinter loses 3 pounds of muscle in a month during the Olympics. Its insane.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

CL seems unmotivated and not very competitive. He certainly lacks "killer instinct" from what I've read & seen. If he's going to compete w/ these jacked up juicers, he needs to get in the gym and work on developing power. As I've said before, he needs a world class strength and conditioning coach who'll have him cross-training and doing plyometrics. If he's going to be slack-jawed about competing, then he needs to retire.

 

[greyghost]

piggy lipstick..

love the pig with lipstick analogy....but the one thing guys are forgetting is that it looks like he is having a serious confidence crisis..mental wellbeing is essential for a sprinter..he is obviously "all over the place"...i feel that his issues are psychological, it has always been noted that he can be difficult to be around.. also at his age it is a transitional period , regardless of athletics...he needs to be told that he has the ability,,,but sometimes u gotta try a different route to get to the absolute top..... i reckon carraz has to look at employing dan pfaff for strength and conditioning or a michael khmel .. i still think carraz should stay coach but ..needs outside guidance re .strength and conditioning..CL has to understand he has to work harder...like never before...he has to begin to open his mind and begin to be flexible on how to achieve firstly short term goals ..ie a winter of absolute hamstring and glute strength ...also to work on confidence levels...sometimes just being critical doesnt help it actually begins to erode ( but WL i fully understand your frustrations)...an arm around the shoulder may be the first step in helping CL regain his drive....:tea:eace::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile:

 

[harold]

enough with the critism ,
what do you want from him ,is only possible
with roids .running 9.7 ,9.8 consistantly only possible with them ,so forget about that , be realistic.


nothing separating the rest of field besides blake
alittle over a metre from 2nd to 7th .
so okay performance regardless of conditions ,same for all .
and it is fact that he would more than likely have barely a sub
10 this season bar weather at start of summer but
not important as been there already and more than just time see ,10.02 is okay and near enough for a season that not helped with unsucessfully lifting regime .

 

[harold]

next the weightlifting and people saying he is lazy and spoilt . no chance .
looking at it the wrong way .


1.
sprinting is inherently a lazy sport , need maximum rest
for short explosive effort ,largely sitting around gym or track for majority of time , suits some more than others , so being lazy in that terms is a good thing for sprinting .


2.
in terms of on the race day , no way can you say he is
,as see the effort he puts in ,he stresses his body out to max and as result puts his breathing out and goes all erratic and into slight state of shock which goes quickly , why shouldnt ever do interview after race ,let alone in english as only be used against him ,people seeing it as a weakness when not the case .
as for why it happens ,can only assume lacking
something in biochemistry ,natural hormones ,or with adrenals . which all could go away with abit of supplementation of obvious choice .
but also if doesnt do quickly ,could burn these hormones out alot quicker than is natural progression of clean sprinter , they are usually only at top for short while before burn out somewhat or
totally . this is fact and without roids is the reality
for most sprinters .






3.
they're experimenting with with lifting this season
didnt work and wont work unless supplements .

if only he was built like gemilli , greg rutherford or
absolute natural animal that is jacko gill then lifting would be no issue but he is nae .



he was correct to lose the extra weight he gained
in august ,didnt feel right for him ,as it was slowing him down ,stressing him even more out ,breathing heavier
as the muscle gained was not very functional as just simple non explosive weights ,didnt lead to increase in power/weight ratio actually decreased it.
but in losing weight might of slightly lost some
fast twitch muscle , so needs to be gained again
this off season with heavy sarms programme .




weightlifting might not be an option for lemaitre
dont hear people complaining about a certain kim collins refusal to lift ,
leaves some athletes ,the skinier ones overtrained and heavy .
anyway with advent of sarms era , lifting has taking
a backseat for alot of them , powell or bolt never lifted big , as wasnt nessary with sarms use nowadays .as important lifting was as it was for athletes befofre sarms .



something to think about ,
so go easy on the french man .

 

[elispeedster]

next the weightlifting and people saying he is lazy and spoilt . no chance .
looking at it the wrong way .


1.
sprinting is inherently a lazy sport , need maximum rest
for short explosive effort ,largely sitting around gym or track for majority of time , suits some more than others , so being lazy in that terms is a good thing for sprinting .


2.
in terms of on the race day , no way can you say he is
,as see the effort he puts in ,he stresses his body out to max and as result puts his breathing out and goes all erratic and into slight state of shock which goes quickly , why shouldnt ever do interview after race ,let alone in english as only be used against him ,people seeing it as a weakness when not the case .
as for why it happens ,can only assume lacking
something in biochemistry ,natural hormones ,or with adrenals . which all could go away with abit of supplementation of obvious choice .
but also if doesnt do quickly ,could burn these hormones out alot quicker than is natural progression of clean sprinter , they are usually only at top for short while before burn out somewhat or
totally . this is fact and without roids is the reality
for most sprinters .






3.
they're experimenting with with lifting this season
didnt work and wont work unless supplements .

if only he was built like gemilli , greg rutherford or
absolute natural animal that is jacko gill then lifting would be no issue but he is nae .



he was correct to lose the extra weight he gained
in august ,didnt feel right for him ,as it was slowing him down ,stressing him even more out ,breathing heavier
as the muscle gained was not very functional as just simple non explosive weights ,didnt lead to increase in power/weight ratio actually decreased it.
but in losing weight might of slightly lost some
fast twitch muscle , so needs to be gained again
this off season with heavy sarms programme .




weightlifting might not be an option for lemaitre
dont hear people complaining about a certain kim collins refusal to lift ,
leaves some athletes ,the skinier ones overtrained and heavy .
anyway with advent of sarms era , lifting has taking
a backseat for alot of them , powell or bolt never lifted big , as wasnt nessary with sarms use nowadays .as important lifting was as it was for athletes befofre sarms .



something to think about ,
so go easy on the french man .

Lemaitre never took weigtht training seriously. He performed 2 sessions per week, which will not increase his strength.

You seem to not understand the true issue...Lemaitre does not need to squat 500 pounds, but he should be able to - and most explosive athletes are capable of - squat/deadlift close to double their bodyweight. This is basic athletic strength and Lemaitre does not have it, does not seriously train for it, and that is why he is seriously limiting his potential.

You mention Kim Collins, well, we are not all built the same. I can assure you that Kim Collins does a lot of functional body weight training (pullups, pushups, pistols etc), and if you would put him under a squat rack, within 1-2 weeks he will be squatting 1.5+ of his body weight. Kim Collins may be naturally stronger; I have seen people like this all the time that are just strong guys.

Lemaitre is not strong at all, and it has been confirmed. The fact he can run sub 10 and 20 with below average strength is almost mind boggling, and shows the potential he has. HE NEEDS TO LIFT 4 TIMES A WEEK AND BUILD BASIC STRENGTH.

 

[white is right]

I think I talked about a relative of mine who was a sprinter at the grammar school level. When he was about Lemaitre's age he easily used to bench press 400 pounds and leg pressed the max on the machines. Sprinters have explosive muscles that can apply much more force than a normal person. The only difference was he wasn't running and was about 210 pounds(but not fat).

 

[TBProdigy]

Lemaitre never took weigtht training seriously. He performed 2 sessions per week, which will not increase his strength.

You seem to not understand the true issue...Lemaitre does not need to squat 500 pounds, but he should be able to - and most explosive athletes are capable of - squat/deadlift close to double their bodyweight. This is basic athletic strength and Lemaitre does not have it, does not seriously train for it, and that is why he is seriously limiting his potential.

You mention Kim Collins, well, we are not all built the same. I can assure you that Kim Collins does a lot of functional body weight training (pullups, pushups, pistols etc), and if you would put him under a squat rack, within 1-2 weeks he will be squatting 1.5+ of his body weight. Kim Collins may be naturally stronger; I have seen people like this all the time that are just strong guys.

Lemaitre is not strong at all, and it has been confirmed. The fact he can run sub 10 and 20 with below average strength is almost mind boggling, and shows the potential he has. HE NEEDS TO LIFT 4 TIMES A WEEK AND BUILD BASIC STRENGTH.

Im surprised for this board actually, some of you guys have good understandings of weight training and exercise specific training on sport.

I noticed people talking about a double body weight squat being a target for Lemaitre and I know this target was reached taking into account Lemaitre's frail physique and lack of strength. But this should be bare minimum for elite athletes participating in sports with explosive movements, especially sprinting! Ideally but more so, realistically he should be squatting 2.5-3 x BW 1RM, at least!

One final point, taking into account the fact Christophe is very soft and timid(I love his humbleness more than anybody) and his hatred for weight training, its worth considering that he may have no intensity or dedication in his workouts and is severely limiting himself to lifting weights where he feels just a little bit of uncomfortableness at the worst of times. If he has this kind of attitude, progress will be slow almost non-existent, even if he starts training 5x a week, just going to the gym and doing a bunch of exercises with a little bit of effort will take him back to square 1.




I think at the end of the day, he's a boy in a mans shoes. I don't mean that disrespectfully, i just mean he still lacks life experience and perhaps has been sheltered by himself or family. Maybe the gifts he has have ended up in the wrong persons hands. I'm sure he would be very happy living a quiet life somewhere, finishing his university degree and building a family and that sprinting brings a lot of unwanted, unnecessary attention.

 

[elispeedster]

Im surprised for this board actually, some of you guys have good understandings of weight training and exercise specific training on sport.

I noticed people talking about a double body weight squat being a target for Lemaitre and I know this target was reached taking into account Lemaitre's frail physique and lack of strength. But this should be bare minimum for elite athletes participating in sports with explosive movements, especially sprinting! Ideally but more so, realistically he should be squatting 2.5-3 x BW 1RM, at least!

One final point, taking into account the fact Christophe is very soft and timid(I love his humbleness more than anybody) and his hatred for

Christophe to make a improvement does not need to squat 3x his weight. He just needs basic strength. For an athlete with less natural speed , a 3x body weight squat may make a difference. Christophe is one of the few with natural speed and some basic strength will make him much more powerful at the start and end of a sprint. He just need some real motivation and less babying from his family and handlers who have stated they would not send him to the USA to train because he would not be able to handle the load.

 

[RCSMAN]

I'm not saying 10.07 is a great time but it was in the rain and not humid or paticularly hot. So that time in perfect conditions with humidity is a sub 10 and could potentially break his pb with decent tailwind. I actually think his 100 meter race is roughly on par with last season as he ran in better conditions last year and caught good tailwinds. This season it was cold in the early summer in Europe and he ran a soft schedule in anticipation of the Olympics. What was more disturbing to me was the lack of fitness for his seasonal speciality of the 200 and the clear regression in that event. I suspose that if team Lemaitre had a crystal ball they would have ran the 100 and dropped the deuce with times he ran this season.

I totally agree with you, except about the 200M !

Christophe ran 19.91 with bad condition to Crystal Palace, and the BRONZE medal was in 19.84 to London.

Christophe could run sub 19.80 this season but he does not have manages to confirm it unfortunately ! maybe in BRUSSELS !

there are a lot of immature person on this forum, when Christophe is successful it is a genius and when he is A LITTLE less successful, it is a lazy person with a stupid trainer.

What comments stupid !

 

[harold]

again agreed and agreed .

he could lift alot heavier , but then it is obvious
would be alot slower .
sprinting is what needs to improve and not his ability to lift big
and if that gets in way of speed then has to go , pretty simple.
could squad 350 kg and run 10.5 secs but what good is that .

he is not even lifting too big but still for whatever reason is getting in way of his speed ,
so until figure it out ,has to be limited .





agreed kim collins could lift alot if concentrated on it in very short time like your average gymnast or most top sprinters but doesnt and have to ask why .
as for lemaitre is unique in this case that dont think would if did also which is strange .
and why is on sarms and be just a 10.40 sprinter without them
just like gemilli , his progression is suspect and will be confirmed
when gains .1-.2 in 100m in off season .
would love to see them get into hands of rutherford

 

[foobar75]

I think at the end of the day, he's a boy in a mans shoes. I don't mean that disrespectfully, i just mean he still lacks life experience and perhaps has been sheltered by himself or family. Maybe the gifts he has have ended up in the wrong persons hands. I'm sure he would be very happy living a quiet life somewhere, finishing his university degree and building a family and that sprinting brings a lot of unwanted, unnecessary attention.

In this thread with hundreds upon hundreds of comments, TBProdigy has made quite possibly the best comment of all. Knowing what we know now, I agree with you 100%.

It's too bad that this incredible gift has been given to a man who is just not comfortable with the whole thing, and would rather live a nice, quite life in the beautiful Alpine town of Aix-Les-Bains. Training within a world-class diet and exercise regimen, with a fire and determination to take on the Jamaicans and Americans is not who he is or what he wants to do. You can tell a lot by body language, and every time I've seen Christophe on the starting blocks this year, he has such a look of discomfort on his face, like this is the last place he wants to be.

It wasn't like that last year, so something has happened. Maybe the relatively good showing in Daegu increased expectations, and he couldn't handle the pressure, I don't know. I just wish all this talent wouldn't go to waste, and maybe ended up with someone who had the mental strength and willpower to train every single day with the goal of beating the black sprinters and becoming a champion.

 

[white is right]

In this thread with hundreds upon hundreds of comments, TBProdigy has made quite possibly the best comment of all. Knowing what we know now, I agree with you 100%.

It's too bad that this incredible gift has been given to a man who is just not comfortable with the whole thing, and would rather live a nice, quite life in the beautiful Alpine town of Aix-Les-Bains. Training within a world-class diet and exercise regimen, with a fire and determination to take on the Jamaicans and Americans is not who he is or what he wants to do. You can tell a lot by body language, and every time I've seen Christophe on the starting blocks this year, he has such a look of discomfort on his face, like this is the last place he wants to be.

It wasn't like that last year, so something has happened. Maybe the relatively good showing in Daegu increased expectations, and he couldn't handle the pressure, I don't know. I just wish all this talent wouldn't go to waste, and maybe ended up with someone who had the mental strength and willpower to train every single day with the goal of beating the black sprinters and becoming a champion.

This why Wells won gold. He had a strong will to win. Talent wise he might be the least talented sprinter to win the 100 meter title in the post WWII era(everything is relative). But nobody was going to be given a win against him, they had to beat him. Mennea's nickname of the "Beast" is probably the best compliment Wells could have from an opponent.

 

[elispeedster]

again agreed and agreed .

he could lift alot heavier , but then it is obvious
would be alot slower .
sprinting is what needs to improve and not his ability to lift big
and if that gets in way of speed then has to go , pretty simple.
could squad 350 kg and run 10.5 secs but what good is that .

he is not even lifting too big but still for whatever reason is getting in way of his speed ,
so until figure it out ,has to be limited .





agreed kim collins could lift alot if concentrated on it in very short time like your average gymnast or most top sprinters but doesnt and have to ask why .
as for lemaitre is unique in this case that dont think would if did also which is strange .
and why is on sarms and be just a 10.40 sprinter without them
just like gemilli , his progression is suspect and will be confirmed
when gains .1-.2 in 100m in off season .
would love to see them get into hands of rutherford

His sprinting needs no improvement. He is a sub 10 and sub 20 runner. Again, it is getting lost in translation. ANY EXPLOSIVE ATHLETE SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIFT DOUBLE THIER BODYWEIGHT IN POWER MOVEMENTS SUCH AS SQUATS AND DEADLIFTS. THIS IS BASIC.

Strength complements speed. Take the average person, time him in the 50 yard dash and test his strength lifts... I can asure you in about 3 months of basic strength training, he will run faster just based on strength increase and a higher strength to bodyweigth ratio.... Among elite athletes it will be a longer process. Chrisotophe is unique in the fact he has average strength yet with world class speed. I have never met a weak sprinter or jumper. Ever.


There is strong correlation in power output in the 1st 10-20 meters of a race in regards to strength to bodyweight ratio. This is a reason - and proven -that Olympic weightlifters and some powerlifters are as fast as sprinters in the 1st 10-20 meters. It is all relative - Power to bodyweight ratio. Christophe's weakness is the start....

... and good strength in his shoulder/ torso area will help him run a balanced bend in the 200 without breaking down. Clyde Hart had Michael Johnson do tons of shoulder work because the shoulders provide stability at full speed in the bend and also helped with speed maintenance.

I do agree with you that He will lose speed in a heavy weight program, but once his strength to bodyweight ratio goes up, come his technique and speed training sessions, his newfound power will blend with his natural speed and make him much faster. Its a cycling process.

 

[Bk21]

Anyone has a schedule for his next races plz?

 

[harold]

hey cheers espeedster ,
put it in better terms than i could .

hopefully just a long transitional period that might take alot longer for more naturally enclined athlete .
and take maybe afew more seasons and until then speed and endurance might well suffer but at end will have a better start that we all want for him .
and have all the necessary tools to take on the top bracket , including maturity ,different attitude and what really wants .

guess just alittle impatient ,as want him to do well now due to such a void in top class white sprinters .




also did look alittle annoyed at start in zurich race , understandable as frustrated with way season as gone .
as for wishing that someone else has the talent he has with totally different attitude and approach ,dont have to wish with sarms .
ask gemilli ,vicaut so far in europe and alot more to come ,that young tall well built stud of sprinter in germany who'es name escapes me ,would be perfect example.

 

[elispeedster]

hey cheers espeedster ,
put it in better terms than i could .

hopefully just a long transitional period that might take alot longer for more naturally enclined athlete .
and take maybe afew more seasons and until then speed and endurance might well suffer but at end will have a better start that we all want for him .
and have all the necessary tools to take on the top bracket , including maturity ,different attitude and what really wants .

guess just alittle impatient ,as want him to do well now due to such a void in top class white sprinters .




also did look alittle annoyed at start in zurich race , understandable as frustrated with way season as gone .
as for wishing that someone else has the talent he has with totally different attitude and approach ,dont have to wish with sarms .
ask gemilli ,vicaut so far in europe and alot more to come ,that young tall well built stud of sprinter in germany who'es name escapes me ,would be perfect example.

Interview with Christophe..vey encouraging...

says he will continue to run both events, and will sit with his trainers to asses and fix his issues. Interviewer also asks if he will follow the Americans and Jamaicans training, and Christophe says he will give it some thought (could come to the USA to train)...Also says, the corner on the 200 is not really a problem... so it is not technique or speed, but obviously, he must know that he has to get stronger. I hope he really puts some effort to get much stronger beacuse he can really do amazing things.

http://www.nicematin.com/autres-sports/christophe-lemaitre-les-jeux-toujours-en-berne.982658.html

Christophe will run the 100 in Rieti