Craig Pickering

[mastermulti]

I hate to sound negative, but look at how many Brits alone are ahead of him at this point. If things don't improve even relay places are out and Craig will be doing another day job.

You say, W/L, that it was the worst start you've seen from him... geeee, he should have that starting thing licked by now. He's not new kid on the block any more.

His confidence is low, mine is low!Edited by: mastermulti

 

[white lightning]

The only bright thing is that the weather was nasty and he ran into a negative wind in the finals. Even Edgar only managed a 10.37 which is very pedestrian and he is faster than that. I will wait until after Sunday to reserve too much judgement on his form as he looked great in the 200 just a week ago. Maybe he wasn't feeling good. He did look a little under the weather. Let's just hope he had a cold. His times in training have been eye popping.

Good luck to Craig on Sunday. He needs to bounce back in a big way for his confidence going forward. Also I must wish good luck to you mastermulti. You are an inspiration on and off the track. I might just have to resume sprinting one of these days because of guys like you. I may be in good shape but I haven't had a competetive race in around 8 years. My last race I won the silver medal and hung up the spikes.

Oh if I could only run like Pepe! LIFE WOULD BE GRAND!!Edited by: white lightning

 

[white lightning]

Remember guys, we need to still support Craig. His career is far from over. He had a bad day but he races again on Sunday. This is a link to the starting lineups for the FBK Games. He has some nice competition. Good luck Craig! Time to get back on track!

http://www.fbkgames.nl/meeting/deelnemers-en/Edited by: white lightning

 

[waterbed]

he looks like Shirvingon, very good sprinter, very talented ,strong but can only manage elite sprinting for a few years,I hope im wrong.The fastest black is skinny (usain Bolt) and the fastest white too( Christophe Lemaitre)

 

[mastermulti]

"looks like Shirvo" No,that's simply not true, not yet!
This is something I posted elsewhere some time ago.
Pickering has done nothing like Shirvo at this stage. People tend to forget just how promising he was and for quite some time, considering his glandular fever which he contracted a few years into his running.
Craig hasn't finished 4th in a C'Wealth Games for a start.


"I've just jotted down Shirvo's progression in the 100metres. He did three sub 10.10s, all slightly negative wind, in 1998 alone plus a 10.11. He then did a sub 10.10 in 2003, so his career was quite a long one too. That's why I maintain he is the fastest white man yet.
No one-offs, just-legal tailwinds or hometown judges here.

200810.35-0.20Melbourne21/02/2008
200710.281.80Salamanca04/07/2007
200610.261.70Canberra26/01/2006
200510.321.10Perth22/01/2005
200410.331.30Perth10/01/2004
200310.091.20Runaway Bay12/04/03
200210.191.80Osaka11/05/2002
200110.111.90Perth04/03/2001
200010.11-0.30Sydney18/08/2000
199910.07-0.60London07/08/1999
199810.03-0.10Kuala Lumpur17/09/98
199710.291.10Sydney11/10/1997

so, injured during 02/03, and when he had glandular fever in 04/05 he STILL managed low 10.30s, better than Craig has shown this season thus far
Edited by: mastermulti

 

[white lightning]

Craig looks like crap. Today was another step backwards. He finished in dead last in the finals running in the 10.70's despite having a +3.3 wind pushing him. The weather might have been bad but it sure didn't slow down the other guys that much. Not sure what happened to him so quickly to just look like he is running in concrete. He also fell asleep in the starting blocks in both races. I have always defended Craig but it's time for him to get a new coach. He also needs to look in the mirror. Good luck to him in bouncing back but he is at an all time low. Here is the finals results.


Wind:+3.3
Rank Athlete Nation Result Reaction time
1 MARTINA, Churandy AHO
10.15

0.173
2 FORSYTHE, Mario JAM
10.25
0.193

3 KIMMONS, Trell USA
10.27
0.210
4 LAWAL-BALOGUN, Jeffrey GBR
10.43
0.193

5 MARIANO, Brian AHO
10.46
0.192
6 DOUGL
AS, Caimin NED
10.47
0.182

7 CODRINGTON, Giovanni NED
10.65
0.232

8 PICKERING, Craig GBR
10.74
0.204

LEWIS-FRANCIS, Mark GBR
DQ R 162.7


Edited by: white lightning

 

[jacknyc]

Not that I don't support Craig, but the clock doesn't lie.
It's time to move on and focus our attention on the new crop of young sprinters - Lemaitre, Guilyev, etc.
Maybe Craig will come back, but he hasn't run well since 2007, and this looks like it will be his worst season yet.
Craig needs to re-think everything he is doing - especially his coaching.

 

[The Master]

He should have an injury or maybe he tried to run in another way (did he use his two legs

?), it's not possible to run so slower without a good reason...

I mean regarding his potential.
Edited by: The Master

 

[jacknyc]

Maybe. But still the time he ran in his heat today was only 10.45.
Earlier in the week he ran 10.39.
These times are not showing potential.

 

[StarWars]

It's his training. There is no doubt anymore.

 

[white lightning]

It would be great if he could move to France and train with Lemaitre. He has a coach that knows what he is doing. When you look at how quickly he has fixed some of the flaws Lemaitre had, it really shows that he has a fine coach. It also shows that Christophe is a hell of a talent and he listens to his coach.

I will say this. At least Craig and his coach switched up his training style this year. I applaud that. They needed to make some changes. I'm just suprised that it is affecting his 100 meters races in a negative way. If anything, it should have helped him. I think that it has become a mental thing with Craig. Plain and simple he thinks too much and it affects his races. He needs to learn how to relax. Regardless, I hope that he can turn it around. If I were him, I would switch to a new coach at the end of this year if they cannot get things turned around. I was hoping that he would have already done it at the end of last season since the Olympics is getting so close but better late than never. Good luck Craig. Try to hang in there. Even MLF has finally starting running good times after around 4-5 years of looking like his career was over. At the end of the day, your still only 23 so it's not too late. Keep your head up. Find out what's wrong and fix it!Edited by: white lightning

 

[trackster]

Yeah, this career is over. I always did think he looked really slow in those training videos posted on YouTube this year. All those short, choppy, stubby-legged strides--sort of the antithesis of Bolt or Lemaitre. And now he can't even run a time that would win a regional high school race in California. Or a junior high meet in Jamaica. And that was with wind? True, the training described on that online log sounded absolutely awful--so little running, a few sprints a day, not even enough to keep you in shape, much less improve, while the Jamaican high school kids (dozens of whom could easily outrun him now) train hard three to five hours a day--but I suspect there's no coming back. You can't run that badly and expect anyone to pay you for it. Sad, but the career of a sprinter is a short one. I hope he's got a second career lined up.

 

[waterbed]

his first race was not so bad 10.45 + 0.7 and the weather would slow you down maybe 0.2 seconds. with the 3.3 wind in the final that would be around 10.28.But in the final he did run 10.74, the others all had clothes to keep their body warm but he not, at least not when he i swa that thewy showed him.

 

[The Master]

Less than 1 year ago 10'08 very slightly wind-assisted (+ 2,1) and now it's over ?

No, I don't think.

I think he tries something which does not work, or maybe will work later.

He is barely 24...

 

[waterbed]

but maybe he is one of tho's whites that peaks really early and for a very small time.Some people are on their best when they are 30 years old and some when they are like 20....and then became less every year.

 

[white lightning]

It was a positive wind waterbed. Not a negative wind. Huge difference so he should run far faster. He finished in last place! No excuse for that. Even the weather does not justify the result. They need to look at everything they are doing in training to try and figure out what is going on. I disagree with trackster. No disrespect to you sir but Craig should not give up on track yet! He is still a kid and he ran a nice 200 in his first race. The season has just started. I think that they should enter him in some smaller meets to get his confidence back. Also work on his starts, drive phase, stride and form.

 

[The Master]

Quoted from his thead on elitetrack :

"And so I now officially opened up, and with a PB,
20.89. Didnt run the bend as I would have liked, as MLF was past me
coming onto the straight - if I can fix that I think there is a 20.7
something there - just depends if I get another chance to do one!

(...)
<div>





Another little factoid for you:

2004 - 21.35 = 10.41

2005 - 21.32 = 10.22

2006 - 21.8 = 10.34

2007 - 21.17w = 10.14



2010 - 20.89 = ?"

So his performance did not decrease, so the theory he has already reached his peak is not true according to that.
</div>
Edited by: The Master

 

[waterbed]

i did mean if his 10.45 race that was 0.7 wind would be 3.3 like in the final he would race around 10.28 tin the first race.with the 0.2 slow down i did mean the raining and the cold.

so he did race 10.45 +0.7 ( would be like 10.28 with the 3.3 wind)
and a 10.74 wind + 3.3

so his first race was 0.29 faster and he did run it with 2.6 less wind which makes a difference of like 0.17 so his first race was nearly 0.5 seconds faster with the wind included

 

[jacknyc]

I also think Craig has peaked.
It happens. Some sprinters peak in high school.
He has not been progressing for the past 2 years, and now is seriously regressing.
We have been making excuses for him and his performances, but the clock doesn't lie.
Even his 10.08 with 2.1w translates to 10.25 to 10.30 with no wind.
He should have changed coaches. This year will be a waste.
Maybe he will come back next year, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Sorry if that sounds harsh - I really like Craig, but I am also a realist.

 

[white is right]

The parallels to Ian Mackie are scary. Both semi-finaled at a major and petered out after that. Mackie had serious injuries to his hamstrings and had to eventually move up to 400 meters. After Atlanta Mackie never competed at the international level again and was only a domestic class sprinter. I hope Craig is in a funk training wise. But his indoor times were abysmal(by his standards)and he has started out poorly. Things don't look good...

 

[white lightning]

Over at the Elite Track Message Board, Craig posted this on his training blog. I feel so bad for him as he is really down. Alot of members over there are encouraging him to continue sprinting and to keep his head up. Here is what he said.

Hi Guys, unfortunately my season isnt going as well as planned - I am currently running times I could do when I was 17, which is obviously disappointing. I am lost to explain as to why, as my indoor times (with little specific prep) were pointing to at least a 10.2 clocking. I will more than likely get some tests done this week to see if there is anything wrong, which there probably wont be, but its something worth exploring. Im going to take a break from these forums whilst I get my head around what is going on, and think about some difficult decisions about my future, and whether I will carry on, as it is heartbreaking to put in so much work and get so little reward. Thanks to all the friends I have made on here, no doubt I will be back at some point. I wish you all a successful season.

We need to encourage him guys. He is far too talented to just hang up his spikes at 23! So he had a few bad races. Craig is hard enough on himself as he is some what of a perfectionist. He needs everyones support. Please stop all of the talk of him being washed up and past his prime. Let's enourage him to continue sprinting. It would be very sad to see him walk away.

So Craig if your reading this, please continue running. It is a pleasure to watch you compete and your career is not over. The Olympics is only 2 years away. You will get things worked out in the near future. Keep your head up. Take a week or two off. Then get back in your training sessions and go tear up the track. Remember that fast times inMay don't matter. It's what times you run in July and August that count.

Good luck Craig. YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[trackster]

Poor guy. I hope he is able to turn things around. Either way, he should at least be proud of all he accomplished during his career. It has been a helluva run. And, Craig, if you can get back on track, you'll still have a lot of people (including me) pulling for you.

 

[j41181]

The biggest problem with Pickering has always been his starting form. He's gotten somewhat paranoid about false starts, he needs to address that issue. My opinion is, don't worry about false starts and just focus on getting quick starts, and improve acceleration speeds around the 60-70 meter range.

I think he can still do it. He just needs to change coaches and find better ways of training, explore as many possibilities to improve.

 

[StarWars]

Allen wells was about 28 years old when he won a gold medal in Moscow. He should think more about changing his training style than quitting altogether.

Also, it's a good thing he isn't posting his training on an online forum anymore to me.

Keep trying, Craig.

 

[white lightning]

I saw a post race video interview with Andy Turner talking about his big win. The weather was some of the worst I've seen The rain was coming down like crazy, with the wind and cold clearly visable. This obviously sometimes effects some guys in different ways. All I'm saying is that it's not the end of the world to run like crap in these conditions. He ran poorly but it wasn't totally his fault. The weather played a factor as well. Especially dealing with the adverse conditions.

Again, I hope he continues to compete. It would be a huge mistake to give up at this point.