World Championships

[sunshine]

The World Championships will be held in Helsinki Aug. 6-14. Pax TV station, which I believe is offered on most cable will provide an hour of coverage every late afternoon. Check local listings. An aside I heard Pax was going to be a 24-7 infomercial station soon. Sounds like fun right. Anyway hope they changed their tune. This little T&F package is neat. Nice little niche they should continue to pursue. Add some other sports and they would fill a need.


As for the World Championships it is pretty simple. Apart from the olympics this will be the most important T&F event for the next two years since they are held every two years. Next go around is 2007 the year before the olympics. So the results etc. are of great import here at caste.

 

[white lightning]

We need a few predictions for the Worlds.Will Wariner go
under 44 seconds?Will Wariner & Rock both finish in the
top 3?Will Benjamin be on the medal stand?How will the
long jump,triple & high jump turn out?How will Tobias Unger
do as he is in both the 100 & 200 Meters?Will Osovnikar,
Chyla,Macrozonaris or others pull of a suprise?Will Webb
win a gold for the US?So many questions.I can't wait.That
coverage you talked about is only $4.95 for the whole
World Champs to watch it on the internet.I will be
getting it.I will make some predictions within the next
several days.We should have a little contest for fun to
see how good we can predict some of the outcomes.

 

[SteveB]

My predictions:

1. Wariner wins 400m and breaks 44 sec.
2. Rock finishes in the medals.
3. Unger finishes in top 5 of 200m.
4. Simone Collio makes the 100m final.
5. Long jump and high jump will be won by white athletes.

 

[surfsider]

I'm glad of course that Pax is going to air some WC action but it is a far cry from the inuagural Worlds when NBC covered it wall to wall in '83. They also had extensive coverage of Rome '87. For as much Dick Enberg as that meant listening to the coverage was really good. I wish there were more American track fans but what really bugs me is that every Olympic year everyones favorite sport is track and people that don't know Jeremy Wariner from Jennifer Warnes become instant experts.

It is interesting to look at results from '83. The 100 final had 3 whites Allan Wells(4), Christian Haas(6) and Paul Narracott(7). The 200 final had 4 whites Mennea(3), Wells(4), Emmelman(5) and Simionato(7) of Italy. In the 400 final Germans were 4,5 and6.
But here is what I find really interesting, the results from the 15001 Cram Steve GBR 3:41.59
2Scott Steve USA 3:41.87
3Aouita Saïd MAR 3:42.02
4Ovett Steve GBR 3:42.34
5Abascal José Manuel ESP 3:42.47
6Délèze Pierre SUI 3:43.69
7Busse Andreas GDR 3:43.72
8Zdravkovic Dragan YUG 3:43.75
9Walker John NZL 3:44.24
10Kubista Jan TCH 3:44.30
11Becker Uwe FRG 3:45.09
12Boit Mike KEN 3:46.46
The only African is last. The results from the 5000:1Coghla n Eamonn IRL 13:28.53
2Schildhauer Werner GDR 13:30.20
3Vainio Martti FIN 13:30.34
4Dmitriyev Dmitriy URS 13:30.38
5Padilla Doug USA 13:32.08
6Wessinghage Thomas FRG 13:32.46
7Bulti Wodajo ETH 13:34.03
8Millonig Dietmar AUT 13:36.08
9Kipkoech Paul KEN 13:37.44
10Leitão António POR 13:38.55
11Abramov Valeriy URS 13:39.80
12Ryffel Markus SUI 13:39.98
13Antibo Salvatore ITA 13:40.76
14Goater Julian GBR 13:48.13
15Krokhmalyuk Anatoliy URS 14:00.27

One Ethiopian and one Kenyan both well out of the medals.

The Steeplechase which the Kenyans have owned in the most recent major championships:
1Ilg Patriz FRG 8:15.06
2Maminski Boguslaw POL 8:17.03
3Reitz Colin GBR 8:17.75
4Mahmoud Joseph FRA 8:18.32
5Hackney Roger GBR 8:19.38
6Fell Graeme GBR 8:20.01
7Korir Julius KEN 8:20.11
8Marsh Henry USA 8:20.45
9Scartezzini Mariano ITA 8:21.17
10Ramón Domingo ESP 8:21.32
11Melzer Hagen GDR 8:21.33
12Ekblom Tommy FIN 8:21.50

The Colonel has told us that Dr. Rosa went to Africa in '86. Hmmmmmm........

 

[SteveB]

Very interesting info surfsider. I read on the iaaf website today that this WC will have the most intensive drug testing in history. It will be interesting if we see some positive tests of top athletes or dramatic drops in performance from the top athletes.

 

[Colonel Callan]

A lot of the drug testing talk is lip service. WADA actually spent less to
have people go out on off season 'spot tests' this year, they and the IAAF
claiming budget problems, etc. Some cynical (rightly so) coaches and
managers say part of this was to counter the complaints in some areas
regarding the lack of out of season spot testing when it comes to some
Africans and Central and South Americans, etc. You know, the usual PC
protected suspects. The situation is much like baseball, where a
Dominican or some other Latin from outside the US (never mind American
'roid head blacks like Bonds or Sheffield) can obviously be blown up on
the juice and escape media scrutiny or may in fact be protected behind
the scenes from the powers that be, courtesy of folks like white-hating
Bud Selig.

 

[nordic_miler]

Nice post surfsider!

As for the World Championships....I'm definetly excited for the distance events. I hope the Americans do well. The 5000m is going to be real excting with Olympic 10k Champion and 5k Silver Medalist Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia against Craig Mottram who is white and he is from Australia. I've got my money on Bekele but I would like to see Mottram take him down...should be a close race. 1500 it would be great to see American Alan Webb medal...he has the potential as he ran to a 4th place finish at the Dream Mile in Oslo last week in a nice PR of 3:48.92(also #4 american and only 40 milers have ever broken 3:50). Olympic 1500 Champion Hicham El Gureuj of Morocco won't be running nor will Kenyan(now American) Olympic 1500m Silver medalist Bernard Lagat.

 

[white lightning]

My pick for the race is Mottram.He is absolutley fearless.
He is even talking about maybe moving to England and
racing there.Craig says that the Aussies don't appreciate
the distance runners there enough.He would have great
support in the UK just like Paula Radcliffe does.Good luck
to him,Alan Webb,Michael Eastman,Ivan Heshko & others.

 

[sunshine]

Some important results. In the heptahlete Carolina Kluft added to her olympic gold with a gold fending off Eunice Barber--who is black. Cluft has won I Ibelieve 12 straight heptathlete events which is remarkable. She was not even 100% yet still won. She is the greatest female athlete in the world and all you anti caste big shots out there should swallow that fact and take it like a man. And don't try putting one over on us . Cluft is the best raw femaleathlete in the world. Period. Have a problem with that take it up with her.

Elsewhere Swede Kajsa Bergqvist won the high jump. RussianOlympic champ pulled out due to injury. American black gal took second and another Swede Emma Green took third. Again to repeat the high jump is the only true test for leaping ability hence the greatest female leaper in the world today is Bergqvist, a Swede.

By the way Pax TVis carrying the coverage in late afternoons for an hour.

 

[sunshine]

The 100 meters(m+w) results were bad. Sad note 100-200 meter runner Ivet Lalova broke her leg very recently and will be out of action for a whilewhich iswhy she is not in Helsinki.. Bad news. She was one of the real talents. Hate when that happens.

 

[surfsider]

Kluft is amazingly talented and hands down the best female athlete on the planet. If there is anyone that could swallow that fact like a man it is hepthalon runner-up Eunice Barber! She's a scary one.

 

[white lightning]

Your comments of Kluft are 100% correct.She is as good
as they come.She is also incredibly beautiful.Congrats
to her on yet another Heptathalon Title.

 

[Don Wassall]

Carolina Kluft:

 

[sunshine]

Things are not going especially well. Bryan Clay won the decathlon. Tianna Madison,19, American won the long jump. The Russian favorite finished second. With Lauryn Williams grabbing 100 meters and rising high jumper Howard,19, bagging a silver,and a few other black Americans performing well the DNA dorks and black supremicistsmust be having wet dreams. I thought the white athletes would perform better at this point. Are they all here, many seem missing?There is still time for some positives but time is running out. Key remaining events include MW200m,MW100Hm,MLJ,MWPV,MHJ and W400m and 400Hm.Plus MTJ.

 

[Colonel Callan]

A lot of athletes are missing, just not in top form due to injuries, etc.
Seberle supposedly wasn't in top shape in the decathlon. The world's top
triple jumper, Christian Olsson is out after having surgery a few weeks
back. Holm in the HJ is coming off injury. And as usual, I'll chime in with
my usual suspicion of officials anyway. To avoid controversy, some
athletes who test positive will never have the results made public, to
avoid scandal, blah blah. Especially if they are black. It went on for years
with Carl Lewis, Javier Sotomayor, etc. Everyone needs to show tolerance,
right? These people have suffered enough, right? I couldn't believe how
much press Howard received here in L.A. for finishing second in the HJ -
but then I snapped back to reality! She's black. Of course she'll get
press. White guy from the US WINS the shot put. No mention. But black
woman finishes second, and she's on the front page of the sports section.
No media bias here folks, move along. The non-whites are encouraged
every step of the way. No doubt about it. Anything to promote, anything
to help their confidence.

The 400 will be an interesting final, with so many white guys in the field.
It's got to be killing the media folks. Maybe they'll get the CIA or Mossad
to poison the food of the white runners to make sure things go they way
they are supposed to ; ). Seriously, with the way the field has turned out,
one can only say "There goes the neighborhood".

 

[white lightning]

Your right about the 400 Meters Final.You have Jeremy
Wariner,Andrew Rock,Tim Benjamin,and John Stefenson.That
is 4 out of the 8 finalists & 3 have a good chance to
win the gold.I will have to stick with Wariner but because
of the weather,I think the winning time will be in the
lower 44 second range.I wouldn't mind seeing Andrew Rock
win because he is a great kid from here.I like Benjamin
too and he just got over an illness a couple of months
ago.Tim Benjamin was an excellent 100/200 guy and England
decided he wasn't cut out for those races.Personally,I
think they gave up on him too soon especially at the 200.
Tobias Unger has made the finals of the 200 meters but
he is in a very stacked field including 4 american guys.
Unger also is in a very bad lane two.It is not the worst
but is far from the preffered 4 middle lanes.He will
have to stay on W.Spearmons pace & kick it in in the
home stretch.It will be tough.He also has Usain Bolt to
his left and he is like 6'5 so it will be crowded.I wish
him all the best but it doesn't look good.Out of this
lane,I would be very happy just to see him get the bronze.Tobias Unger is one tough sprinter so he might
just shock everyone including myself.I hope so!!
I miss Olson in the triple jump but don't forger
M.Opera who has the worlds longest jump all year long.
The only one even remotely close is W.Davis of the US.
I hope he wins because he is the class of the field.

 

[white lightning]

Well,it's been a bad W.Championships.Tobias Unger finished
a horrible 7th in the finals.M.Opera who was the favorite
in the triple jump could only manage a bronze medal.Just
to show how many of our athletes are on stuff,look at
them compared to alot of sprinters from other countries.
They are just huge.Bodybuilder like.You can almost always
tell who is using.The US Sprinters swept the first four
spots in the 200 and I wouldn't doubt that they all are
on hgh & other things.Anyways,the 400 Finals is coming
up soon and that will be the highlight of the whole
championships.Hopefully Wariner will be huge!

 

[JGNYC]

You need to take a closer look at John Steffenson.

 

[jaxvid]

John Steffensen would be very welcome at an NCAAP playa's only meeting

Picture not included because he is ugly.

 

[SteveB]

You're right. Found this in an article from an Aussie paper - "Steffensen, born in Perth to South African parents".

 

[white lightning]

My bad guys.I must have been thinking of someone else.
Regardless,there is still 3 out 8 sprinters in the 400
Meters Finals with a legit chance.That is quite a step up
from some of the other events.Wariner will be ready!It's
too bad the weather has been so bad.It has effected alot
of the times.

 

[sunshine]

I think we can mostly agree that the WC's have been a disappointment apart from a few bright spots. Fotunately two Olympic stalwarts came through. Jeremy Wariner captured the 400plus Andrew Rock grabbed a silver. Not bad. And Isinbayeva won the pole vault with yet another world record. More on her in a while but at least a couple ofgolds to cheer about. .

I

 

[white lightning]

We still have a few events to go.First off,let me say
that J.Wariner is the MAN!!He won the gold in a time of
43.93.He actually eased up over the last 5-10 meters!
Andrew Rock was sensational to pulling off the silver
medal for the US.We have the two best 400 sprinters in
the world & they are both white.I believe Wariner will
break the world record by the next Olympics if not sooner.
Then we still have the long jump,high jump and the
4 x 100 Relays.In the high jump,we have several guys that
qualified for the semifinals.Tommi Evila broke a 39 year
olf Finnish Record with a jump of 8.18 meters.He is flat
out amazing and should medal along with some other Russian
guys who have a good chance to reach the podium.
The high jump is looking good so far.I want to
see S.Holm defend his title.It is simply incredible
seeing a man that short dominate the event over guys
as tall as nba basketball players.Hopefully we will
have a 1-2-3 like in Athens.
The 4 x 100 Relay saw the US get disqualified in the
opening round.This leaves it wide open for the other
teams.We shall see how in pans out.

 

[Colonel Callan]

With all the white guys in the final, it shows Wariner has had an effect on
the event. Considering the weather and the way he coasted in, the kid's
capable of mid 43's right now. Rock came through with his lifetime best,
and may crack 44 if his development continues the way it has. The US
media people wouldn't know how to handle this if they were on the air
live. Anyway, Wariner has had a positive effect here, and I truly think that
we will see more whites showing up in the other sprints - giving them a
try. The key is to get a fair number of kids giving the events a chance,
hence a larger talent pool. If Wariner drops down to run some 200s, he'll
open that event up. There should be little doubt now that if he worked on
the 200 and sharpened for the race, he's a sub 20 second runner. That
smooth form of his almost makes me jealous ; ). Oh wait, only black guys
are smooth, right? I'd love to see what's going on with US officials right
now, considering that they seem to be stuck with running two white guys
out of the four runners for the 1600 relay final. The next four to six
years will show some inroads by whites into the sprints - provided the
media don't completely bury Wariner and Rock. Rock is a great story, the
ignored mid-Westerner from a Div III school.

The US being disqualified in the relay isn't a real surprise to anyone, is it?

 

[SteveB]

Way to go Wariner and Rock!!! Awesome. Is there any way to see a replay of the race? It probably won't even make the highlights on Sportscenter.