World Championship Thread

[rick]

What are the possibilities of any of us linking together on a chat line, say for the marathon, M&F?

I subscbibe to Yahoo IM.

BTW. I'm 8 hrs behind BST.

What time zone is Adam in?

Helen's 1500 heat will be at 12:30 pm here in Portland. I hope to be able to listen to it via the Web during my lunch.

Other news from Oregon: Tonight Portland Timbers (football) beat Seattle 1-0 in a big grudge match. All is well, for the time being, in Timberland.

[rick]

Congratulations on qualifying for the final. Good luck tomorrow.

Chris. The times on the website are local, not BST.

Here are the last 2 days times (BST).

Saturday 13 August

1220 MEN'S MARATHON
1640 WOMEN'S SHOT PUT FINAL
1705 WOMEN'S 400m HURDLES FINAL
1730 Men's 4x400m relay heats
1745 MEN'S LONG JUMP FINAL
1810 WOMEN'S 5,000m FINAL
1840 WOMEN'S 4x100m RELAY FINAL
1905 Women's 4x400m relay heats
1940 MEN'S 4x100m RELAY FINAL

Sunday 14 August

1220 WOMEN'S MARATHON
1635 MEN'S HIGH JUMP FINAL
1725 WOMEN'S JAVELIN FINAL
1730 MEN'S 800m FINAL
1755 WOMEN'S 1500m FINAL
1820 MEN'S 5,000m FINAL
1855 WOMEN'S 4x400m RELAY FINAL
1920 MEN'S 4x400m RELAY FINAL

[guildyear]

Yes well done Helen, looked like quite a rough ride and you overcame it, get to the front 4.03 will get you a medal, you have got to be in the lead at some stage to win it thats what my old trainer of racehorses impressed upon me, if you are never in front in a race you cant win, but if you are you won't die wondering.
Come on we think you are GreaT. get amongst them. let them jockey behind you.
Best wishes

Pete

[rick]

The chances of the final being shown here are slim.

1. We are only getting 1 hr of highlights per day.
2. The US don't have a representative in the final.

Don't suppose they will show the men's 4 x 100 either. ;D

[rick]

Interesting article from the Guardian:

Radcliffe aims for happy ending to her marathon

Time slipping away in Bedford runner's quest for greatness

Duncan Mackay in Helsinki
Saturday August 13, 2005
The Guardian

It is a measure of the pressure Paula Radcliffe is under to win the marathon at the world championships here tomorrow that even some of the Bedford runner's biggest supporters have used her website to warn that failure is not an option.
"No excuses this time," wrote one fan on her website's -www.paularadcliffe.com - message board. "If you fail don't darken our shores again. You must admit that when it really counts Paula does have a habit of letting everyone - including herself - down."
Others have sprung to her defence but at 31 - with an international career stretching back 12 years - there is a definite mood in the Finnish capital that time is slipping away for her to claim a marathon gold medal at a major event.
Radcliffe has always claimed the only pressure she feels is that she puts on herself.

"Personally, I want to make sure I realise all the preparation I have done and make it all worthwhile," she said.

She enters this event in a similar situation to the 2004 Olympics: on paper she is five minutes quicker this year than her closest rival, Romania's Constantina Dita, based on her winning London Marathon time of 2hr 17min 42sec.

Radcliffe is liked internationally, and would be a hugely popular champion here.

"It would be great to see her finally win a big one," said Dr David Martin, the most respected marathon statistician and a physiologist who worked closely with Sebastian Coe during his career.

"But winning the big commercial marathons is a different proposition from winning a championship race."

Radcliffe has won all five of the big city marathon races she has run, including London on three occasions, but failed to complete the only championship event she has entered.

That was, of course, the Olympics in Athens last year when she dropped out of the race won by Japan's Mizuki Noguchi who, along with her team-mates, had prepared meticulously by regularly running the course from Marathon to Athens.

Noguchi is not here - she started her preparations too late after months of celebration in Japan following her Olympic victory - and the team here is very much a development squad.

Their preparations have still been as scrupulous as ever, including several visits to prepare on the course. The shoe company sponsoring the Japanese have even produced two pairs of special hand-made shoes for their five runners in the race - one in case it is wet - based on details the team have provided on the road surface.

"It's an integral part of their preparation," said Brendan Reilly, the president of Boulder Wave, a company working closely with the Japanese federation.

"Every little attention to detail matters. All these details accumulate and that's what makes the difference. It's the same approach as used by Lance Armstrong."

Radcliffe, in contrast, has been based at UK Athletics' training base two hours away in Turku. She has only been driven briefly over the course, which is made up of a 10km loop the runners will cover four times.

"I'm aware they [the Japanese] have been preparing thoroughly, have been here and will have been training on the course," said Radcliffe.

"But it's about what works for each individual. People prepare in different ways, I have never done that before for any of my marathons, I probably only ran the last 300m of New York [last November] and it didn't do me any harm then and I don't think it will now.

"I have driven around it in a car. I prefer to do that as I take it in better that way. I thought the course was nice, testing in places, but nothing bad. The road surface is good with only one area of cobbled stones."

Reilly has studied the course extensively and knows it intimately. He believes it could suit Radcliffe's style of trying to break away early.

"If you get away at the start there are so many twists and turns you might never be caught," he said. "It's a good course to escape on."

Even with Noguchi absent, this event is one of the strongest at the championships. Besides the Japanese, Kenya also has a strong team. It is led by the Olympic silver medallist Catherine Ndereba, who will be defending the title she won in Paris in 2003, and the former world record holder Tegla Loroupe.

"The work ahead will not be easy but we shall try," said Ndereba, who arrived here on Thursday from a training base in Philadelphia.

Radcliffe will also renew a rivalry with Derartu Tulu dating back more than 10 years. The Ethiopian has had the measure of Radcliffe on the track and in cross-country, but was comfortably beaten by the Briton when they met in the 2003 London Marathon.

When these championships were held here in 1983 the winner was Grete Waitz, a Norwegian, who like Radcliffe had until then been lacking the major global title to validate her greatness.

Back then, though, the women's event was still in its evolutionary stage and did not have the depth it does now.

"The winner could be somebody unexpected," predicted Tulu. "Someone who will surprise everyone."

[guildyear]

What an absolute bag of waz.

Listening to people who can't run for a bus daring to doubt such a great person as well as a great Athlete as Paulas judgement is crass. Last Saturday I said that she is the best judge of how she is feeling and how to prepare. I have been listening to a complete jerk like Jonathon Edwards even doubting her mental and physical state. He would be better finding a sand pit somewhere to bury his head. By his own admission he never had the aerobic capacity to run more than 60 metres. I backed Paulas and my judgement by putting my money where her and my mouths were £200 at 5/2 and I ran to the betting shop 600 metres. The last laugh is on a great (Dame) Paula Come on Helen, get amongst them.

Best wishes

Pete

[rick]

guildyear said:

What an absolute bag of waz.

Congratulations Paula! She finally ran the opposition into the ground when it mattered.

Back to the thread:
Did you read past the 1st paragraph? I thought the article asked a few pertinent questions. I don't think it was knocking her.

Sorry you have to put up with Johnathon Edwards. He was probably basing his assessment of her mental state on her Athens performance.

Glad to hear you managed take money off the bookies. I hope it goes some way to offset the the financial hammering you have no doubt taken by backing her in the past.

Did you back her to win, or both ways?

Cheers.
Rick

[rick]

Here's today's offering:

Finally, joyful Radcliffe ends her marathon quest for gold

Duncan Mackay in Helsinki
Monday August 15, 2005
The Guardian

Another edge-of-the-seat ride ended with Paula Radcliffe finally taking her place in the sport's history alongside its greats when she won the marathon on the final day of the world championships here yesterday.
Her victory also ensured that Britain avoided returning home from a major championship without an individual medal for the first time in history - extending a record that dates back to the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.

Much more importantly, it brought closure for Radcliffe after what happened in the Greek capital at last year's Olympics when, crippled by injury and illness, she dropped out of the marathon.
The cheer that reverberated around the Olympic Stadium as the Bedford runner entered to complete the final few metres of the 26.2-mile course showed how popular this victory was.

In retrospect once everyone had uncrossed fingers it was never in doubt from the moment she assumed the lead from the gun, although after what happened last year the hundreds of British supporters scattered around the four-lap loop course remained anxious until she crossed the line.

The Romanian Constantina Tomescu-Dita had offered a spirited challenge before her resistance was finally sapped in the last eight miles and Kenya's Catherine Ndereba, the defending champion and Olympic silver medallist, had Radcliffe in sight for much of the race until she, too, was sapped by the Briton's relentless pace.

Ndereba passed Tomescu-Dita in the closing stages to claim the silver but was still 64 seconds adrift of Radcliffe as she won in 2hr 20min 57sec, a new championship record.

But perhaps the most revealing statistic was that Radcliffe's time was more than two minutes faster than Emil Zatopek's when he won the men's Olympic title in the Finnish capital in 1952.

Women's distance running has, of course, evolved so much in such a short period of time but, to those who revere the Czech as the greatest distance runner in history, it is a staggering thought that Radcliffe would have left him nearly half a mile behind.

Despite Radcliffe's world record-breaking performances and string of world titles in cross-country and half marathon events, the 31-year-old's career would have had a massive void if it did not include a title from either a world championships or an Olympics.

Among those cheering Radcliffe on were David Bedford, Sebastian Coe, Alan Pascoe and Jeffrey and Mary Archer, all guests at a bar the London Marathon had hired along the route. Her name had also been painted on the road, Tour de France style. Her popularity in Europe is nearly as great as it in Britain.

"I think it's fantastic that the world's greatest marathon runner, the world record holder, has finally got a championship gold medal," said David Moorcroft, the chief executive of UK Athletics, who himself never won a world or Olympic title despite setting a world record in the 5,000 metres.

"No one deserves it more than she does. No one is tougher or harder than Paula and she fully deserves that gold medal. It's been a long time coming but well worth waiting for."

Athens is a scar Radcliffe's critics will always mention but now it should surely be consigned to the past. Yesterday's performance was shadowed by the memory of Southend's Jim Peters who, at the Olympics here in 1952, had lined up like Radcliffe as the world record holder and favourite, only to drop out.

"The problem last year was that I knew things were falling apart in the last two weeks before the marathon," Radcliffe said. "This year I knew everything had gone well and it was just a case of getting out there and executing it. I felt so different. I felt strong and normal this time. I knew it wasn't going to be like Athens.

"I executed my race plan. It worked really well. I knew that, if I went out hard, then everyone would have to work really hard to stay with that."

It also justified Radcliffe's decision to run the 10,000m on the opening day of these championships, a move criticised by many former top distance runners as unwise after she finished ninth. "The only thing I had to make sure was that I came out of it fit and healthy," she said.

The first to congratulate Radcliffe was Gary Lough, her husband. After she finished fourth in the 10,000m at these championships in Edmonton in 2003 he had berated her at the side of the track, earning an unfair reputation he has been unable to shake off.

"He's just happy," said Radcliffe. "Everybody is just relieved. It's a victory for all of us. It was really emotional on the lap of honour. Halfway round it suddenly hit me."

There was an added bonus when the British team claimed third spot in the World Cup, held in conjunction with this world championship, behind Kenya and Japan with Mara Yamauchi and Hayley Haining in 18th and 25th respectively. "I am just really happy and happy the team took bronze," said Radcliffe. "Very happy and very relieved. It was important. I knew I was in good shape and it was important to show that.

"It pretty much went according to plan. If somebody had been with me at the end I think I could have pushed it up a bit more. The idea was to go out at a pace that was decent but comfortable. I was feeling good on the hills and enjoyed them. They were not big hills, so I felt very comfortable."

Bedford, the former world record holder for the 10,000m and now director of the London Marathon, rated the run as one of the finest of Radcliffe's career.

"This must rank as one of her top three performances," he said. "That was a slow course and she ran brilliantly. This was one of her last opportunities to win a global title because in Osaka [for the 2007 world championships] and Beijing [for the 2008 Olympics] she would need to be on top of her game to win. She was here."

[guildyear]

Carl,

Please tell us a bit of detail regarding your international call up. I know that most athletes don't like to talk about their achievements but I an assure you, Helen. Chris Livesey Adam Sutton etc that we do want to know what you are up to because we are proud of you all. If any of you tell me what you are doing I will embroider an article for you under my name. Everybody in the club should be knowing about your great achievements and plans for the future so please let us /me know. We have a great product, they are called athletes, lets not keep you to ourselves, tell the world.

Best wishes

Pet

[Carl]

Right basically, i got called up to run in the home international under 23 meeting (im nineteen) for my favoured 200 and the relay.

Unfortunately it was a late call up (after training on the tuesday night) which gave me only one training session to prepare, as I was building up to the Northern Inter Counties match the following week. I ran an average race to come second in the 200 against quite a high quality field and stiff headwind.

Incidentally, the work put in for the Northern Inter Counties was a reflection of my time in the 200 in comparison, 22.18 (home international) 21.76 easing down at the Inter Counties. I peaked earlier in the season around May/June to take the Northern Junior (100, 200) and Senior 200 title (21.17 in the final there).

I was quite frustrated by what I saw at the Sheffield Grand Prix meeting. The junior 100metre race was tough to watch, and while the commentators blabbed on about how good these guys are, i sat there thinking im white just over 10 stone and ive cained half of these over 200. Infact the winner of that race is one of the scalps I have taken. But I think that is the case completely these days, if two or even one of them make it BIG time, I'll be suprised. Does anyone remember everyone banging on about Gerald Phiri in the indoor season (the next big thing), was he in that race? Times change............. We currently have the world junior 100 (first and second)and 200 champion, as well as the top three under 20 100 metres in Europe. It's a tall order for people like me to compete with these guys, but i get virtually no support from UK: Athletics. They are plowing all the money to the guys from London who apparently are the future of British Sprinting, when really they are the future of arrogance in this country, e.g. in the AAA Outdoor Junior 200m final, I was the only white guy in the final and as i walked into the final call room and sat down, the two lads who were sat on that side as well stood up and went to the otherside. It was like I was diseased.

Also I am sick to death of 60+ year old officials. Lining up for the 200 metres they read all our names out and got to Eldridge Phiri's name and read him out as North of England Champion (for a split second I was gobsmacked).

Sorry, needed to get that off my chest. ;D

Anyway it's the end of the season for me now really, I have rejected the chance to run in the Under 20 Inter Area Match (North, Midlands and South) instead deciding to concentrate on winter training.

[bobshepherd]

Congratulations Carl on your selection, & your performance at such short notice.
You mention it's end of season now. How do you fancy joining some 60+'s on the fells for some winter training?
Re the other stuff about the fell section web site.......Rick & Pete rushed to speak up for me in my absence, for which I am grateful! But the fell lads are different from the rest............they are mad!
The fell website had to be started, yes to ease the pressure on Chris Livesey, who has been most helpful to me, but also because I kept breaking the main website! (Honestly), you could ask Chris...... Anyway apologies if I upset you, there was no intention of that.
I have tried to bring the "kids with no names issue" to a head in the next Harrier, I hope it will be settled soon. Read all about it, maybe next week!

[helen c]

hi carl
you stick to your guns and you will go far. Dont let the system bring you down. Your results will speak for themselves. just look at Wariner in the 400m he is a skinny white guy and he is amazing. at the end of the day you are competing against people who have 2 arms and legs just like you. Keep up the hard work if you run the times they cannot ignore you. Us northerners have it tougher thats for sure!!! Helen

[Carl]

Thankyou very much Bob and Helen!Well done for your performance at the World Champs. I will be keeping to my guns!

[Donna]

carl is 10 stone and white! erm...