Craig Pickering

[white lightning]

Craig Pickering of England is a force to be reckoned with!
He ran a 10.41 last year at 17 and today ran in a race
with a new personal best.Craig ran a 10.22 today wind
legal to show he is going to be one of the guys to
watch in the UK.He is now 18 and is progressing very
fast.That is a phenomenal time for this teenager!He
just might be the best white sprinter to come out of
there in quite a long time.At this age,he has to be a
serious threat to run a sub 10 within the next couple
of years.This is really exciting.

 

[white lightning]

I am so excited about this kid.He is now the 4th fastest
junior sprinter ever in the U.K. He is improving so fast.
He also is now the 2nd fastest sprinter period this
year in England.Watch out guys,this kid is coming!A time
of 10.22 +1.1 wind in incredible.Amazing.I think you have
my point!Keep it up Craig!

 

[white lightning]

Here is a article on Craig Pickering.He wants to win the
title of the worlds fasters junior sprinter in July.I
wouldn't bet against him.I can't wait to see him start
running with the men in another year.He just might be
the best hope for not only a sub 10,but to go well
beyond that and challenge for a olympic gold medal in
2008 or 2012!To be realistic,it would take around a
time of 9.90 to win the gold.This kid is young enough
if he keeps progressing to acheive this.That is what made
Shirvo so special,he ran a 10.03 when he was a kid.

 

[SteveB]

White Lightning, you seem to be extremely knowledgeable about sprinting. Were you a sprinter in your younger years? What do you think about what causes these young guys to burst onto the scene with unbelievable times then fade away before they reach their full potential? It seems that the top sprinters reach their best times when they are around 25-27 years old (Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, Mo Greene, etc.) You would think the Shirvo would be one of the top sprinters in the world, but he has not been a factor for the past 3 or 4 years.

I ran sprints in high school back in the mid 80's and there were a number of guys in Texas high schools during that time that were running incredible times. Joe Deloach, Roy Martin, Derrick Florence, and Stanley Kerr, all of these guys were challenging each other for the national record for 100m. After high school, Deloach won the 200m gold in Seoul, but all of the other guys faded into oblivion. Kerr and Florence ran in college, but could never match their high school times. Interesting what causes some guys that are not the top sprinters in high school (ie. MJ)to progress to the pinnicle and others that actually go backwards from high school. Your thoughts?

 

[surfsider]

Good find whitelightning! I guess you probably know this but he runs for the Milton Keynes Athletic Club and can be kept track of through them. This is off topic but I just have to say it was great seeing Wariner and Rock perform so well yesterday.

 

[white lightning]

First off,yes I was a sprinter and I still love to run.
I competed in a meet just 2 years ago after a long time
off.I love speed in any sport.There is nothing like
someone just turning on the afterburners and outrunning
everyone.Craig Pickering's time is comparable with the
best sprinters ever for his age.Have you ever heard of
Ato Boldon?He went on to be in the top 3 for the most
Sub 10's along with Frankie Fredericks & Mo Greene.
Shirvo had it all as far as leg turnover.He just had
a horrible running style.He was all over his lanes and
seemed to be fighting himself out there.If he could have
left his coach alot sooner,he would have run multiple
sub 10's.He was his own worst enemy along with the fact
that the pressure on him was enormous.It is enough to
break anyone mentally.Sprinting is am much mental as it
is physical.It involves the central nervous system.
As for these kids not panning out,you have a good
point.You just never know.Mo didn't even make the
Olympics in his first try but went on to become possibly
the greaatest of all time.He has run almost 60 sub 10's
in the 100 meters.Alot of these guys that go on to
become the best were very slow starters when young.It
also makes you wonder how many were on the juice though!
Pickering has a excellent chance to be the future of
sprinting in England.With all of their top guys under
acheiving,he could become their best sprinter within the
next 3 to 4 years.Think how many other kids he would
inspire!By the way,Pickering won his race against
another Scottland Sprinter,Nick Smith who came in 2nd in
a time of 10.43.Allan Wells says that he see's the same
potential in Smith.We can only hope.

 

[SteveB]

Good point about the juice. Maybe these guys are juicing up in high school and getting off the juice in college where they are subject to drug testing. That would explain their drop in performance. Hopefully Pickering will progress as well as Boldon. I'll be watching him.

 

[white lightning]

Sorry about the confusion SteveB.Ato Boldon is a black
sprinter who is now retired.He is one of the best of
all time in the 100 and the 200 meters.I was trying to
point out that Pickering is equal to or ahead od where
Ato was at his age.It is too early to tell how he will
do long term but he has been the best junior sprinter
in the world in my opinion for 2 years now.For him to
drop a 10.22 at 18 is absolutely amazing.Craig Pickering,
and Nick Smith are both young guys to keep an eye on.
I think Pickering will be the best of the two.He is built
more powerfully and has a better sprinting style.

 

[SteveB]

I knew what you meant. I was saying if Pickering does as well as Boldon, he could be one of the top 3 sprinters of all time. The juice comment was directed more at the U.S. high school guys out there that are running 10.2.

 

[white lightning]

No problem SteveB.Please post as often as you like.With
summer here,the track season is heating up and the World
Championships are in Helsinki in August.We need to get
this track thread going.You seem to be quite knowledgable
yourself.Any info on any white sprinters,please feel free
to post or give the links to articles.Thanks again.

 

[white lightning]

Here is a pic of Craig winning the race.Notice how young
he looks.Pickering could be the local paper boy.At least
it would always be there early.lol.Congrats again to
Pickering on a incredible race.I hope he stays focused!

http://www.ukathletics.net/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/ 0,10869,4854-130891-19728-20273-173201-9466-4787-layout53-13 2199-news-item,00.html

 

[Joe Don Looney]

Craig Pickering winning the 100 meters in 10.22s



Loughborough International meet 22 May 2005

 

[right winger]

Nice pic of the kid, JDL. And great user name!

 

[white lightning]

Craig Pickering will be running a race in England on
Sunday June,12th 2005.This will be his first race since
blazing a 10.22 time.Remember guys,this kid is only 18
and has amazing talent.He will be up against a strong
field including gold medal relay man,Darren Cambell.It
should be a good race.Hopefully he can win and continue
to set new personal bests.Good luck to him.

 

[white lightning]

Well,he won again taking 1st today in England.The race
was ugly because of 4 false starts and bad weather.Even
still,Pickering won going away.Here is a link.

http://sport.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4680690

 

[SteveB]

Way to go Craig! Keep up the good work. I'm rooting for you.

 

[white lightning]

He is actually the number one ranked junior sprinter in
all of England now and the 3rd ranked sprinter among all
the U.K. sprinters.Not too bad for a 18 year old kid.He
will be competing in the England juniors nationals
competition next weekend and then it will be on the the
World Junior Championships.He took the bronze last time
but has a great chance to win the gold as the fastest
teenager in the world.This kid has such a bright future
ahead of him if he just works hard and stays focused!I
am rooting for him to be the next Allan Wells but only
better as far as the times go.

 

[bigman]

how tall is Craig Pickering?

 

[white lightning]

I checked the IAAF web site but they didn't have his
height or weight.I will try to find out as soon as I
can.Here is another link about his record breaking race
a few weeks ago.

http://www.eis2win.com/gen/news_pickeringsmahsesPB260505.asp x?page=2198&folder=14&

 

[white lightning]

Another great article on Craig Pickering.He wants to win
the olympics gold medal by 2012 if not sooner.He says
that he wants to be the first go break 10 seconds in
the 100 meters and see's it happening.He is very
confident and is 100% against steroids.He says that he
is very proud to be drug free.This kid is gonna be a
big star!I can just see it.Here is the link.Check this
article out guys.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7713-1652084,00.html

 

[surfsider]

Good job on finding that article WL. He has the confidence that a sprinter needs but without the jarring abrasiveness that so many *******y sprinters exhibit. He also has his eyes wide open and knows what he is up against. Man, this kid has me really excited about the 100.

 

[white lightning]

This is an excellent track and field site with up and
coming young sprinters.They have a bio on Craig Pickering
here.There is some good pics and videos too.They even
have a video of his 10.22 race.Check it out guys.

http://www.international-ap.com/homepage.htm

 

[white lightning]

I just wanted to remind you guys that Craig will be
running in the World Junior Championships in July.He
is one of the favorites to be the fastest teenager in
the world.We need to pull for him.This will probably be
his last year at the junior level as he wants to start
running with the big boys full time next year.He has his
mind set on getting the gold medal.I think that he will
do it and it will set him up great for next season!
Good luck to him.

 

[white lightning]

Here is another great article on Pickering.

http://www.international-ap.com/homepage.htm

 

[white lightning]

Craig Pickering finished 2nd today in the UK Under 20
Championships in a time of 10.27.He got a bad start and
was in lane 2 which is a disadvantage.Craig still damn
near won it with the winner running a 10.24.The 3rd
place finisher was another white guy with a 10.34.
Pickering qualified for the World Junior Championships
and is headed there shortly.This kid just might be the
best white sprinter that I have seen in many,many years.
He has all the tools.Good start,great strength,good
form and a strong finish.The sky is the limit.For him to
run back to back races in the 10.2's is incredible.
Remember,he is only 18!I would have to put him as the
favorite to go sub 10 within the next few years.Not only
that,but he should eventually be able to get down into
the 9.8 - 9.9 range which could make him the gold
medalist at the Olympics.He is that good.He just needs
to keep working his ass off and the times will come.Let's
all get behind this kid and support him.He will be the
Wariner of the 100 meters!