Rohan Browning 10.01

mastermulti

Master
Joined
Jan 13, 2006
Messages
2,399
Location
Sydney Australia
great post W/L. So this was maybe 1 1/2 years ago before 2020 Olympics was put on hold. He was 21 here and he did make that 10.05 qualifier.
I found it interesting the number of times he spoke about serving through leadership and doing things outside his natural environment and comfort zone.
Isn't this exactly what many of us felt Christophe Lemaitre seemed to lack in his quest for being the best he could be? Ne never wanted to train anywhere but at home around Annecy and Aix-les-Bains (quite close to the French Alps/Chamonix) and do his career training there too.

Also great to see a sprinter who can put a line of thought together and explain clearly without jargon, cliches or simple platitudes.
 
Last edited:

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,498
For all the people out there who will never understand the training and pain involved to compete with the fastest men in the world. Great in depth article dealing with what the highest level sprinters
on earth have to deal with physically, emotionally and mentally to have a chance to become the fastest man on earth! So much respect to all of these elite sprinters at the highest level of sprinting!

https://us-browse.startpage.com/av/...q4r37&ekdata=870b7832ee9b353c85bce5559a261de0


Again I must say that these guys put their bodies through unbelievable things. Throwing up happens alot as they push their bodies to that limit. Even non track guys should read this to get an idea of just how hard they work to run this fast! :)
 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,498
Sprinter Rohan Browning's path to pace, pain and perfection
BB1fJoSZ.img


Rohan Browning is fast! :)

No Australian has run faster on home soil than the time of 10.05 seconds he set in Queensland last month to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
And what does it feel like to be running faster than 11 metres every second in a blurring whirr of legs and arms in perfect synchronicity?
"It feels like pure elation, feels very smooth," he told ABC Sport.
"But the average corgi could outrun you, so, I suppose, that's a humbling sort of fact."
And if you want an insight into Browning's character, you have it right there. Fast, yes, but not as fast as a stumpy dog with little legs.
You might call it perspective. Certainly, Browning is pragmatic.
And so, when he did finally achieve a childhood dream and qualified for the Olympics, it wasn't the awe-inspiring moment of disbelief that so many athletes describe.
Instead, he described it as "ticking a box", despite earning the right to become the first Australian man to represent his country in the 100 metres at a Summer Games since Josh Ross in 2004.
"Well, I mean obviously it felt good, in terms of what it meant," he says.
"It meant that I had ticked off a goal and an ambition that I'd had since the start of the season.
"I'm not a very sentimental person by nature and I probably don't stop enough to let it all sink in."

It's only the beginning

It's not arrogance as such, it's belief. Browning always knew he could do it and so when he ran the time, it was just the start of the journey, not the end.
"I said before that running the qualifier felt like meeting an expectation, and you know I think making the final will feel a lot like meeting the sort of the minimum expectation that I've set for myself."
His qualifying time of 10.05 would have earned him a spot in the semi-finals of the 2016 Rio Games.
Three months ago, he ran even faster – 9.96 seconds — albeit with an illegal tailwind, but it means he knows he can run under the magic 10-second barrier.
And now the Sydneysider has another record in his sights.
"I'd love to break Patrick Johnson's Australian record of 9.93."
"It's a very strong national record, but you know I wouldn't be training six days a week if I didn't see myself achieving that."
On Saturday night he gets that chance on his home track in Sydney, where he'll run at the Australian Track and Field Championships.
"Well, I haven't lost a race yet this season, so I don't want to start that at the National Championships," he says.
"I'm there to win my first national title."

Having it all … in under 10 seconds

In athletics terms, Browning is still relatively young at 23 years old.
"The best sprinters in the world are often at their best around that 25 through to 29 region, so I'm still in the developmental stage of my career," he says.
"It's something that takes time, it's like a matter of getting your 10,000 hours."
Browning talks about ironing out the imperfections — running on autopilot, a state where everything clicks into place without thought.
"So, you know, for me the perfect race will feel like total automation. And I think that the clock will reflect that, starting with a nine point …"
Leaving the last two digits unspoken could mean anything, but could also put him amongst the very best in the world.
"I'm definitely impatient by nature, so I want to try and have it all now, but I just have to recognise that it takes time."
And effort.

Reaching the 'red-line'

The people at the Olympic Stadium watching Rohan Browning run will see a finely tuned athlete perform at what he calls the red-line.
"When you're out on the track you don't want it to look laboured, you want it to look smooth and fluid," he says.
What people don't see is the pain.
That speed and fluidity doesn't just happen — there's a price to pay.
He trains six days a week, sometimes twice a day for anywhere between three to five hours.
And that training can include lactic sessions, where Browning has to run multiple 300 metres at top pace until his body is screaming.
"It feels like it's pure pain, complete physical inability," he describes.
"I think it's actually a lot like being heavily inebriated. To the point of feeling ill.
"Once the lactic acid reaches a certain point in your bloodstream, it's everywhere. You get the lactic headache, you know, that's when you might have to stick a couple fingers down your throat behind a tree. That's how you deal with it."
He describes that training as "a real test of character and heart more than anything else".
"I think that the people who can do well in this sport are the ones who can find some sort of enjoyment in that you know, not in a sadistic way, but just in understanding that that's what it takes to try and improve," he says.
"I had a mate and a training partner whose dentist wasn't impressed because the enamel of his teeth was eroding because of all the lactic sessions he'd done and the number of times he'd spent, you know, bent over, throwing up.
"It's a test of pushing yourself to your own physical limit, nobody else can take you there."

Lining up against the best

Where it takes Browning is the Tokyo Olympics and a chance to test himself against the fastest men in the world.
Because of COVID-19, his family and friends won't be there. The stadium could yet be empty, but Browning isn't bothered.
"Well, I have no preconceptions about what an Olympics should look or feel like and I think that's an advantage for me," he says.
"You know, for veterans who were going to go to the Olympics with potentially no fans or certainly no international fans, I think that will, that'll be damaging for people — I think mentally that will take a toll."
It will be a very unusual Olympic games — athletes will only arrive five days before they compete and leave two days after.
The normal fun and frolics of life in the Olympic Village are out of bounds, which leaves Browning with one regret.
"I've heard the parties are great," he laughs.
"I don't know, maybe it'd be more problematic for the swimmers than the rest of us.
"It would be nice to be able to spend a bit of time in Tokyo afterwards and just unwind after many years of strenuous training, but you know, I can always come back to Sydney and just enjoy it with my mates and my family.
"Ultimately you have to make a performance-based outcome and, you know, that's just part of being professional."
Just another box to tick.




 

mastermulti

Master
Joined
Jan 13, 2006
Messages
2,399
Location
Sydney Australia
I missed this in yesterday's paper. Thanks W/L for posting. He's obviously a thinker (a lot of winning guys, you know exactly the grunts and thoughtless cliches you're going to see in the post race interview).

This was his 7th sub 10.10 (3 legal and 2 just above the limit) so I live in hope of that consistent extra 1/10th ....... I like to one day say "this was his 7th sub 10"
 
Last edited:

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,498
I missed this in yesterday's paper. Thanks W/L for posting. He's obviously a thinker (a lot of winning guys, you know exactly the grunts you're going to see in the post race interview).

This was his 7th sub 10.10 (3 legal and 2 just above the limit) so I live in hope of that consistent extra 1/10th ....... I like to one day say "this was his 7th sub 10"

Anytime mate. I hope you got to read both stories. I enjoyed them myself and love to share them with everyone here. He has what it takes to go legal sub 10 and not just once. I have no doubt that Rohan Browning will have
many sub 10's in his stellar career as long as he stays healthy. Then when he is done and has become the best Male Sprinter in the history of Australia! Afterwards the young lad will probably become the best lawyer in the land down under!
 

mastermulti

Master
Joined
Jan 13, 2006
Messages
2,399
Location
Sydney Australia
Anytime mate. I hope you got to read both stories. I enjoyed them myself and love to share them with everyone here. He has what it takes to go legal sub 10 and not just once. I have no doubt that Rohan Browning will have
many sub 10's in his stellar career as long as he stays healthy. Then when he is done and has become the best Male Sprinter in the history of Australia! Afterwards the young lad will probably become the best lawyer in the land down under!

Ihave to admit to not comprehending what he and his coach had planned when going overseas to race not an option, bit I trust they had "running rounds" as an ingredient
 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,498
I agree that being able to handle the rounds is the key. Many guys can run fast for one race but to do it 3 times is not easy for any sprinter. Especially against the worlds best just to try & qualify for a final.

The first article I posted is just so interesting. I hope many people here read it. To think we could have lost another guy to Rugby. The coach's wife talked him into sprinting fulltime as a way to get girls. :)

https://www.couriermail.com.au/spor...t/news-story/8019059dac282c052d006832d3067dbf
 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,498
This is Rohan Browning last race in a warmup for the Tokyo Summer Olympics. He ran a 10.08 and then a 10.15 later on that day.

 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,498
Here is a better angle of Rohan Browning winning his Olympic Heat in a new personal best time of 10.01.
2692.jpg
 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,498
Tokyo Olympic Games 100 meters Semi Final Heat 2:

Rohan finishes in 5th place running a time of 10.09! The start was what did him in. He made up some ground but just didn't have
enough time. He has nothing to be ashamed of. I'm bummed as he had the talent to make the final but needed a great start which
he usually is capable of. His start wasn't horrible but in an elite field it all had to go perfect. I know he is gonna be depressed thinking
about what could have been but hold your head high Rohan. You still made us all proud. The fastest Australian Time ever run in
the Olympics by any Australian Sprinter ever! Personally I hope he races once or twice more in Europe. I want that sub 10 so bad for
him! No doubt he is in shape to get it done.
 
Last edited:

mastermulti

Master
Joined
Jan 13, 2006
Messages
2,399
Location
Sydney Australia
at world indoors many may still not know who he is - but those that do their homework will. Rohan will research every potential competitor
 
Top