Craig Pickering

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All in all, I`m just happy Craig Pickering is going to the Olympics.
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white lightning

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Speaking of doping, Victor Conte says that he is positive that the Caribean Nations are doping. He specifically targets Jamaica and says that it has gone on for a long time. He should know. When will the World Anti Doping Association crack down on these countries. It has to be done to help level the playing field.

Pickering will actually be racing twice in the next two weeks so hopefully we will see some fireworks. At least he has an A Qualifier with the 10.19 so he can just have fun. He knows he needs to run faster and he needs to be relaxed in order to do it. I belive we might still see a 10.10 before the olympics. I know he is capable of the easily but it sure has been a tough year. It's not how you start the year. It only matters how you finish it!
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Pickering is at such a disadvantage as a clean sprinter. I am almost certain he is clean with how strong he campaigns against roids and his build looks a little more natural than guys like Powell and Bolt.

I already believe that Asafa Powell and Bolt have slightly more natural talent than Pickering (longer legs etc.). However, I believe if they could get this steroid junk out of track for good that if Pickering trains harder than Bolt and Powell when they are all clean and gets mentally sharp as nails we could see Pickering beat these big name sprinters in some big meets including the Olympics.

I'm starting to believe that Gay's strong support and voluntary participation in the Pilot program is a front. Gay ran a 9.68, yes it was wind aided, but that is faster than any man has done before wind aided or not. And 3 former guys out of the 5 that have run sub 9.8 were juicers. I am virtually certain that the Jamaicans are juiced to the gills. It is sickening, but if they can't clean up track Pickering will never medal at the Olympics in the 100 meters. That's just the way it is. He may not even make a 100 meter finals if they can't get rid of this junk.
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American X

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ToughJ.Riggins said:
I'm starting to believe that Gay's strong support and voluntary participation in the Pilot program is a front. Gay ran a 9.68, yes it was wind aided, but that is faster than any man has done before wind aided or not. And 3 former guys out of the 5 that have run sub 9.8 were juicers. I am virtually certain that the Jamaicans are juiced to the gills. It is sickening, but if they can't clean up track Pickering will never medal at the Olympics in the 100 meters. That's just the way it is. He may not even make a 100 meter finals if they can't get rid of this junk.
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Ithink that pilot program is solid. They'reusing that initialblood drawas abase, and comparing it to random blood draws in the future,on season and off, to check for changes in a whole myriad of metrics, in addition to testing for every known drug. Even if he uses an unknown drug, they're still gonnarandomly check for changes that those unknown drugs would have on him physiologically, and comparing it to the blood draw as his base, and each other random draw as well.

Victor Conte used to do this advanced blood-testing back when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency wasonly using urinetests to try to catch cheats.Heknew the blood testing was coming, and tried to stay ahead of the curve. Now that the blood draws arerandom, someone would have to steroid-cycle 24/7/365 (andkill themselves in the process) for their physiology not to ever make considerably change.

Also,"The Cream" enhanced both testosterone and epitestosterone, and guys were getting over because the t/epi ratio remained the same despite much higher testosterone levels than average humans. Now that they know higher EPI is used to masktincreases,if either of them (t or epi)are ever considerably higher or lower during a random test in the future, in comparison to the base test, they'll have some explaining to do.
 

greyghost

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i still reckon yepishin and osovnikar will make olympic semis maybe pickering if and when he can mentally hold it together and yep white americans need more sponsoring to make it talent is there
 

white lightning

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I often wonder if Pickering was from the US, would anyone bother supporting him. At first I said to myself, no but Dallas Robinson in his brief attempt to make the US Olympic Trials on Youtube.com proved that there are alot of people who would like to see a white US 100 meter sprinter. I think there are alot of people tired of the stereotypes.

I know one thing. I belive that the United States has some of the best track coaches in the world. It's just too bad that they forget about the potential of white sprinters. They just act like they are not there. What a waste of a huge athletic pool of talent. Whites still make up almost 70% of the United States. Just imagine how many elite white male & female sprinters could be found if we ever tried to have a system set up like in other countries. Oh well. I can dream. Maybe someday. As was said in other threads, the US more than anyone needs a few white Tyson Gay types to help fight the stereotypes. The problem is the powers that control things don't want that to happen.

Shirvington should have came to the United States to live and train. He would have surely went sub 10. It's funny because 3 of the brightest talents over the last decade had the weather against them. Shirvo, and Nagel who have their summers in our winters. Also Macrozonaris who trained in the cold of Canada. It's possible but it makes is harder. It's alot easier to train in a place like California.

Canada however has produced some really good white sprinters with the latest being Jared Connaughton and Michael LeBlanc. Both of these Canucks can really run.
 
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Some parameters for the future might be for a white sprinter: to live in a warm weather climate and to live in a bad situation ( ie: a minority in an unnatural society)

we find such whites in south africa and in southern california and parts of the south united states and i bet that athletes from these geographical areas will be seen in some number in the 100m in the future.
 

Observer

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American X said:
I think that pilot program is solid.  They're using that initial blood draw as a base...Even if he uses an unknown drug, they're still gonna randomly check for changes that those unknown drugs would have on him physiologically, and comparing it to the blood draw as his base.
How would this detect a naturally-occurring hormone such as HGH that varies widely during a day or week?
 

Observer

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yuri malenkov said:
Some parameters for the future might be for a white sprinter: to live in a warm weather climate and to live in a bad situation ( ie: a minority in an unnatural society)

we find such whites in south africa and in southern california and parts of the south united states and i bet that athletes from these geographical areas will be seen in some number in the 100m in the future.
Maybe we should be careful for what we wish for.
A few white sprinters of great talent can probably arise out of the current situation in the USA; but yes, for there to be a deep pool of good white sprinters would require the economic and social situation to get really, really bad. Few opportunities --> desperation --> stake everything at a small chance at Olympic glory.
Yes, it has happened in some places, and could happen in more, unfortunately.
 

white is right

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Before Wariner the last US individual gold medalist grew up without a father and probably in tough economic circumstances(Larabee). It's not a coincidence that poorer states such as Iowa have produced more world class White sprinters than richer states such as California.
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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American X said:
ToughJ.Riggins said:
I'm starting to believe that Gay's strong support and voluntary participation in the Pilot program is a front. Gay ran a 9.68, yes it was wind aided, but that is faster than any man has done before wind aided or not. And 3 former guys out of the 5 that have run sub 9.8 were juicers. I am virtually certain that the Jamaicans are juiced to the gills. It is sickening, but if they can't clean up track Pickering will never medal at the Olympics in the 100 meters. That's just the way it is. He may not even make a 100 meter finals if they can't get rid of this junk.
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<div>I think that pilot program is solid. They're using that initial blood draw as a base, and comparing it to random blood draws in the future, on season and off, to check for changes in a whole myriad of metrics, in addition to testing for every known drug. Even if he uses an unknown drug, they're still gonna randomly check for changes that those unknown drugs would have on him physiologically, and comparing it to the blood draw as his base, and each other random draw as well.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Victor Conte used to do this advanced blood-testing back when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency was only using urine tests to try to catch cheats. He knew the blood testing was coming, and tried to stay ahead of the curve. Now that the blood draws are random, someone would have to steroid-cycle 24/7/365 (and kill themselves in the process) for their physiology not to ever make considerably change.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Also, "The Cream" enhanced both testosterone and epitestosterone, and guys were getting over because the t/epi ratio remained the same despite much higher testosterone levels than average humans. Now that they know higher EPI is used to mask t increases, if either of them (t or epi) are ever considerably higher or lower during a random test in the future, in comparison to the base test, they'll have some explaining to do.</div>

Well, I haven't done research on this topic much I admit Tech. You very well could be right that Gay isn't on steroids and that would put him up there with Carl Lewis as the most amazing track athlete of all time with the times he's running. If Gay is clean from PEDs than he would almost certainly IMO not run sub 9.85 wind legal again, certainly not sub 9.8. But Gay could still be on Human Growth Hormone. However, I do not believe that my theory of steroids working better on blacks than whites applies to the human growth hormone and human growth hormone isn't as powerful of a PED for 100 meters as steroids and other testosterone aids as far as I know.

But the international governing body has got to set up a mandatory type Pilot program for all nations and start testing other nations the way they do in Great Britain and the U.S. In Jamaica the country has not implemented any kind of reputable steroid prevention methods. Not even close. Bolt and Powell are on the juice, I am virtually certain.

If Gay is actually completely clean and it seems to be the case at least from steroids, than kudos to him for having deep conviction in a tarnished sport. If Gay really continues to be as good as he is completely clean running PBs in the mid to low 9.8s than whites truly do have a .2 second gap that we have to make up. The discouragement from whites and the strong theory that I have that steroids work better on elite blacks that use them who are running sub 9.8 than the elite whites that are using that are running low 10.0xs definitely hurts. I will throw Blacksimus a bone and say that the genetic component is a likely factor. Add to that the fact that Africans have slightly more diversity in their gene pool which can help with finding an athletic freak.
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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MY New Rant for Maximus. Maximus/ American X Please respond:

Having thrown Maximus a bone, I will once again diagram how athletic supremacy does not apply to black NFL RBs the same way as 100 meters. The tight hipped theory about whites is a myth! If ESPN can say Sam McGuffie doesn't have much wiggle you know that much of the media analysis is blatantly flawed.

The 100 meter advantage has to do with blacks having "slightly" longer legs on average for their body proportions and "maybe slightly" stronger calf muscles on average. The sense I get from 100 meter races I watch, is that white sprinters seem to power a little more with their quads than black ones which causes them to tense up more in the last 50 meters of a race where the blacks run more relaxed and "springy" with a little more calf power.

Slightly stronger quads on average, as evidenced by whites outperforming blacks in the squat lift exercise, helps with 10 yard burst which is also "very important" to a RB. It also helps with breaking tackles. Add to that the work ethic of a lot of whites to become a natural with their vision for the cutback lane, the huge pool of white talent in this country etc. etc. and you can clearly see that whites are discriminated against at RB!

There is no reason that the NFL can't find a white RB who could be a better starter than Lendale White or Ron Dayne who started a few games last year.

I looked at the position of strong safety, which there are actually enough whites to get a fair assessment of who aren't made to beef up like white RBs. I discovered that the median white SS at the NFL combine runs a better short shuttle and 3 cone time than the median black at that position =short area burst and redirecting momentum ability.

The disparity in the 40 yard dash between white SSs and black SSs (I actually don't recall for sure b/c I lost my research sheet) was .04 seconds in favor of the blacks over the 40 yard dash. This is peanuts and amounts to about a 1-2 foot difference over that distance. However, whites had a "small" advantage over the first 10 yards of the 40, which IMO is also very important. Clearly whites measure up in the 40 yard dash better than in the 100 meters. But I'm sure Maximus believes that the NFL RB position should legitimately be 100% black at HB.

To Maximus I'm guessing Rivals isn't nuts for having Sam McGuffie behind Cameron Saddler and not in the Rivals 250. And Tre Smith and Jesse Lumsden who are dominating the CFL don't deserve to be in the NFL. And Danny Woodhead wasn't "snubbed" by Division I, Jacob Hester is less talented than Marcus Thomas etc. etc. Anyone who can take Rivals seriously which I hope blacksimus doesn't has to be nuts. Rivals now has a mere 11 whites in the top 100 and only 1 is a position other than QB or offensive line. Rivals doesn't even have white DT Johnny Simon in the top 100 any more and every other service I've seen has him in the top 50, most in the top 25. They are black power fundamentalists full of bovine excrement! Even the NFL and the drunken white fans might begin to laugh at Rivals credibility if they really thought about it.

No white LBs in the Rivals 100 a second year in a row after Yahooligans (who are donators to the United Negro college fund btw) bought them. To top that off Sam McGuffie was actually ranked #1 best in space and #2 Home run threat up until the end of January of this year, but not in the Rivals 250.

Then Sam McGuffie "magically" lost his rating in both categories. He "magically" dropped from #1 best in Space to out of the top 5. And from #2 Home-run threat to #5. Rivals must have realized that they were looking like Elephant dung to have a player rated that high on top of two important statistical categories not in the 250.

I guess they wanted 5'6.5 165 lbs Cameron Saddler and his 5.3 YPC against weak western Pennsylvania football and 28 inch vertical and other black retreads to look better than McGuffie. So when is Jerry Yang and David Filo's next appointment with the United Negro College Fund? I'm just curious!
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Sam McGuffie Jr Yr.: 3,200+ yards, 8.7 YPC, 43 TDs.
Cameron Saddler: 1000+ yards, 5.3 YPC 12 TDs

Sam McGuffie Sr. Yr. (while hurt): 1700+ yards, 8.3 YPC, 24 TDs
Cameron Saddler Sr. Yr.: 1700+ yards, 7.2 YPC, 22 TDs

Athletic Measurement comparison: McGuffie wins in a landslide.

Size comparison: McGuffie wins in a landslide.

Level of competition comparison: McGuffie wins in a landslide.

Highlight Comparison: McGuffie wins by a significant margin.

Cockiness comparison: McGuffie wins in a landslide...oh well.
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white lightning

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I'm getting ready for the big showdown at the Crystal Palace. This will be the biggest track meet in England outside of the UK Trials and it is probably the last tune up for the olympics.

I'm really worried about Pickering and his up and down form this season. He could still be having hamstring and back problems but he will have to just try and run regardless. The olympics only come once every four years and you never know when you may or may not make the team.

Craig needs to run some fast times to get his swagger back. Like I said up a few posts ago, not having to deal with Chambers should help him. He has to get back to last seasons form and do it in a hurry. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Craig Pickering we know will show up this weekend. Good luck and fast times to him.
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Don Wassall

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ToughJ.Riggins said:
I guess they wanted 5'6.5 165 lbs Cameron Saddler and his 5.3 YPC against weak western Pennsylvania football and 28 inch vertical and other black retreads to look better than McGuffie.


Gotta correct you on that, TJR. Western Pennsylvania football isamong the best in the country and Saddler played at Gateway High School, which playsin Class AAAA, the highest level of high school football in Pennsylvania, at least based on school size. (Billy Bair, who there's a thread about in the HS Football forum, played for Mars High School, which is Class AAA, a level below that of Gateway. Speed burner Brad Mueller also went to Mars.)Edited by: Don Wassall
 

white lightning

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I don't really want to give an honest opinion until after this weekend but as you probably know, it doesn't look good. He has not even come close to last years form and we are only 2.5 weeks away from the olympics. I want to see how he handles the rounds this weekend.

If I had to give a prediction right this moment, I would say that Craig would make it only to the semi finals. However, he still has a few weeks and he was outstanding in the race 2 weeks ago. I'm just not as optomistic as usual. I will say this though. Craig Pickering is as big a competitor as you will find. He will do everything in his power to go as far as possible. Let's watch this weekend in Crystal Palace and see how he does.
 

waterbed

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Did race a 10.25 (-1.0) was number 5 in his head with the 3 fastest and 2 time fastest to the final.The second head was with -0.2 but number 4 and 5 were slower than Craig Pickering so he is to the final.This race I think of craig was not good not bad ,he had a great start on the first 50 meters he was leading or nearly the first but his top speed was not good this race.Hopefully in the final he fix his top speed and have good wind and runs a PB.
 

white lightning

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Well it wasn't a good final for Pickering. He finished in 8th place running a 10.21 for dead last! It's very sad to see him struggle like this with it being so close to the olympics. The weird thing for me is that Craigs biggest strength over the years has been his strong finishes. He seems to do good for 50-60 meters and then he just dies out. I don't think he is relaxing either like last year. Craig is just pressing so hard and it is causing him to tighten up bad and that slows him down even more.

On the bright side, he is running consistant 10.20's for the most part and both races today were into a negative wind. If I were his coach, I would put him in another race or two before they leave for China. He just has to get his confidence and form back if possible very quickly. Let's hope he can still find a way to turn it around soon. No matter what happens, I will remain as one of his biggest fans in the world. I just see so much talent and potential! Good luck to Craig. Keep your head up bro!
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Edited by: white lightning
 
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10.0 is miles away. That's still what his goal should be.

He runs 10.0, he gets to the final in Beijing.
 

albinosprint

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definitely a let down today. he just doesn't have that closing speed like he used to. he still might be working out the kinks of the injury. a few more races in before the Olympics would help big time! Michael Johnson said how he doesn't think the British athletes run enough races and spend to much tiime training. I have to agree with him on that. Craig needs to get his legs used to running race day speeds and he needs to get used to the pressure. what Craig has to do is dip below 10.2 before the Olympics to get his head right. then I think he will get his old form back. all though he didn't race all that great today, he still ran allot faster then the Americans & British sprinters. and when you factor out the fact that half the final was on PEDs, he didn't so bad. I still think he our best shot at a sub 10, I just don't think it will happen this year. if he is right for the Olympics, a 10.10 would be a great accomplishment. once he starts going below that we will see him drop a sub 10.
 

white lightning

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I have to admit that I'm not sure about Craig going sub 10 this year. While I'm still hopeful, he has not shown anywhere near the form required. I thought that by this point if he was injury free, he would have had a p.b. of around 10.05 to 10.10 but I was wrong. He is capable without a doubt! Will it happen this year? I don't know anymore. You guys can go ahead and give me a hard time because I guaranted it. I will take the criticism like a man. I'm a sprint fanatic and I 100% believed in my prediction or I wouldn't have said it. It's still possible but unlikley due to alot of factors.

I still see him going sub 10 but like many others on this board, it may be next year or in a couple of years. It's so sad that everytime we get a Shirvo type sprinter, the injurys or pressure usually gets to them before they can accomplish their goals. Craig will go sub 10 but it probably won't happen this year. It hurts to say that but I don't see it happening until next season at the earliest. I SINCERELY HOPE I'M WRONG!!!!!Edited by: white lightning
 

spectator

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white lightning said:
It's so sad that everytime we get a Shirvo type sprinter, the injurys or pressure usually gets to them before they can accomplish their goals.

I predict another contender to come out of Australia within the next 18 months.
 

white lightning

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Who would that be? I've been waiting and hoping that Adam Miller would progress but I don't know if that is going to happen. I hear that alot of kids go into Rugby and some have exceptional speed.

Give us some names of prospects please. I always like to see who the kids are that have potential from around the world. One more thing. Welcome to the board spectator.
 
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