Athletics
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Sam Ruthe ran a PB 1500 last night running in an open men's race in OZ last night. Lachlan Kennedy beat Gout in the 200m. Kennedy played age grade rep rugby in Queensland.
Some great racing
The 1500m saw an epic effort from Cam Myers, with a bit of disdain for the pacer along the way…
The 200m was great too, took a big PB to beat GG, great for Kennedy, and will only inspire both to kick on
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Grand Slam Track: Schedule, times and start lists for first-ever event in Jamaica
World and Olympic champions including Gabby Thomas, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Cole Hocker will be in action in Jamaica
Michael Johnsons track competition starts this week in Kingston, Jamaica. It's a track only affair (no field events) and takes place in four different locales - Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia and LA in April, May and June. The 4 x Grand slam concept borrows from tennis I assume.
I havent looked at the schedule but I'm assuming the events don't conflict with the diamond league so hopefully it is well attended, well supported and gets track a higher profile. Anything could be worth a go for a sport that struggles for mainstream relevance outside of the Olympic games.
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@nonpartizan said in Athletics:
Grand Slam Track: Schedule, times and start lists for first-ever event in Jamaica
World and Olympic champions including Gabby Thomas, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Cole Hocker will be in action in Jamaica
Michael Johnsons track competition starts this week in Kingston, Jamaica. It's a track only affair (no field events) and takes place in four different locales - Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia and LA in April, May and June. The 4 x Grand slam concept borrows from tennis I assume.
I havent looked at the schedule but I'm assuming the events don't conflict with the diamond league so hopefully it is well attended, well supported and gets track a higher profile. Anything could be worth a go for a sport that struggles for mainstream relevance outside of the Olympic games.
Looks like it is avoiding the big European Diamond League meets in 2025 anyway - but I suspect it will come down to cash which events the athletes choose to attend.
In other news, NZ finally has a male sub-46 second 400m runner - Lex Revell-Lewis ran 45.88 to break a record that was over 25 years old. And it's good to have a record that is faster than the world record for 400m hurdles! He only needs to shave a couple more seconds off to start competing at the world level.
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The Diamond League seems to be very well supported in person
I watch it on BBC
Great coverage
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@MiketheSnow said in Athletics:
The Diamond League seems to be very well supported in person
I watch it on BBC
Great coverage
Yes, British fans and Europeans really come out and support athletics.
In contrast as a spectator sport it is essentially dead in the US, I would wager the average American has not a single clue who Gabby Thomas or Alexis Holmes are, it gets no publicity in the mainstream. I think Johnson wants to fix this.
Actually, part of the problem is that US athletics is headquartered in Eugene Oregon and it's really a pretty provincial place and not easily accessible to 90% of the population. I also read once that they gouge people when the US and NCAA championships are in town by massively hiking up prices for hotels.
The championships should realistically rotate between a few of the bigger cities imo but I think Nike gave US athletics a blank cheque to stay in Oregon and it's money they just cannot turn down.
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Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce ran 10.94 at the weekend in Kingston. Truthfully I have no idea how she does it at 38 and having achieved all there is to achieve in the sport. They will have to drag her off the track.
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@nonpartizan said in Athletics:
Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce ran 10.94 at the weekend in Kingston. Truthfully I have no idea how she does it at 38 and having achieved all there is to achieve in the sport. They will have to drag her off the track.
Of course her career will forever be tainted by the fact she's Jamaican, when Jamaican sprinters were doing doping on an industrial level.
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@antipodean said in Athletics:
@nonpartizan said in Athletics:
Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce ran 10.94 at the weekend in Kingston. Truthfully I have no idea how she does it at 38 and having achieved all there is to achieve in the sport. They will have to drag her off the track.
Of course her career will forever be tainted by the fact she's Jamaican, when Jamaican sprinters were doing doping on an industrial level.
Yes, she tested positive back in 2010. Not to defend it but I think athletics (like cycling) is a sport that gets a lot of attention as it pertains to doping whereas other sports also have rampant PED abuse but for some reason it gets overlooked. About 20 years ago baseball got a lot of attention on this issue and I've often thought that the NBA & NFL must have similar incentives to try PEDs but no-one has ever really made a fuss of it.
Faith Kipyegon is going to attempt to be the first woman to break the 4 minute barrier in the mile. She has the record at 4:07, taking 7 seconds off that seems a tall order.
Faith Kipyegon’s audacious bid to be first woman to run sub four-minute mile
Faith Kipyegon plans ‘to make the impossible possible’ by becoming the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile this summer
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Over 70 years
Unbelievable
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@MiketheSnow said in Athletics:
Over 70 years
Unbelievable
The interesting thing is that when Bannister broke the barrier he did so with an Aussie and I think an American from Kansas hot on his heels - they were all striving to break the barrier and were edging ever closer to it in the preceding years.
Not that I am poo pooing it but it seems inconceivable that a runner with no peer competitors is going to be able to take 7 seconds off her personal best/world record. I really hope she does it because it would be an extraordinary feat.
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@nonpartizan said in Athletics:
@MiketheSnow said in Athletics:
Over 70 years
Unbelievable
The interesting thing is that when Bannister broke the barrier he did so with an Aussie and I think an American from Kansas hot on his heels - they were all striving to break the barrier and were edging ever closer to it in the preceding years.
Not that I am poo pooing it but it seems inconceivable that a runner with no peer competitors is going to be able to take 7 seconds off her personal best/world record. I really hope she does it because it would be an extraordinary feat.
Sounds like she will be paced start to finish by men so she should certainly be able to beat her own record. Seems a big ask to knock that much time off though
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The thing in Faiths favour is that she’s never had a pacer like this before. She typically has to lead for at least the last lap, often longer.
So I think she’ll make a massive improvement, being able to shut off and be led for 1450m
Someone like Jess Hull who may also be a part of this, basically has had a pacer in Faith in every big race - so it’s hard to see an enormous improvement
I can’t see Faith getting this - but I can’t wait to see her try!
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Fred Kerley has been arrested in Miami for battery. I don't know what's going on with this because weirdly and coincidentally he was arrested in Miami a few months ago. He won't compete in the Grand Slam event this weekend.
Tbh he comes across as one of those athletes that isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but this is self destructive to say the least.
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Well, apparently Kerley got into a scuffle with his ex girlfriend hurdler Alaysha Johnson and her boyfriend.
Which seems entirely plausible since when she was introduced to the crowd pre race she looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, neither smiled nor waved and was wearing shades. If he physically assaulted her I can only assume he's gonna potentially face being ostracized from the sport, especially since he has a domestic violence charge against his name.www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/articles/c4g712yxg2no.amp
In the race itself Masai Russell set the US record (and second fastest time ever) in the 100m hurdles.
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@nonpartizan said in Athletics:
. If he physically assaulted her I can only assume he's gonna potentially face being ostracized from the sport, especially since he has a domestic violence charge against his name.
So athletics aren't like NZ Rugby then and he wont be instantly promoted to the athletics version of the All Blacks?
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@nonpartizan said in Athletics:
. If he physically assaulted her I can only assume he's gonna potentially face being ostracized from the sport, especially since he has a domestic violence charge against his name.
So athletics aren't like NZ Rugby then and he wont be instantly promoted to the athletics version of the All Blacks?
Alas, was probably delusional thinking on my part. I think the culture of impunity that surrounds professional sports people will apply here too.
