Athletics Thread (Goonersweb)

Title: Athletics Thread

Ach - June 22, 2009 12:38 AM (GMT)

The World Championships is on this summer.

Always worth a watch.

Will be great to see if Usain Bolt can do it again.

On another note,

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...e-2012-ban.html

:lol:

Ach - July 8, 2009 10:21 PM (GMT)

The trials for the World Championships is this weekend

Do every athlete take part or just crap ones to make up the numbers?

Gary the Gooner - July 8, 2009 10:54 PM (GMT)

:tumbleweed:

Elche - July 8, 2009 11:00 PM (GMT)

:coffee: :tumbleweed:

Ach - July 8, 2009 11:02 PM (GMT)

WUMs are out in force here :coffee:

Gary the Gooner - July 8, 2009 11:03 PM (GMT)

QUOTE (Ach @ Jul 8 2009, 11:02 PM)

WUMs are out in force here :coffee:

Ach - July 8, 2009 11:23 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu has decided to run in the distance at this weekend's World Trials and UK Championships in Birmingham.

The Londoner has only competed in the 400m twice this season, including sixth place behind arch rival Sanya Richards in Saturday's Bislett Games in Oslo.

But with August's World Championships in Berlin looming, the 25-year-old has opted against preparing with the 200m.

"It's a big summer and I want to be at my best for the Worlds," said Ohuruogu.

American Richards, who was favourite to be Olympic champion but had to settle for bronze behind gold-medallist Ohuruogu, has been in impressive form since her Beijing misery.

She beat Ohuruogu in the World Athletics final in Stuttgart last September and then cruised to victory in Norway last weekend in 49.23 seconds, the best time in the world this year.

Ohuruogu, in the second Golden League meeting of the season, conceded she was disappointed with a time of 51.19 seconds, despite only recently recovering from a bug that forced her withdrawal from a recent meeting in Italy.

The Briton had been hoping to follow her successful Olympic preparations by focusing on the 200m to help improve her sprinting speed.

She ran in the 60m and the 200m at the Grand Prix in Birmingham in February and stated over the weekend she would run the half-lap at the trials.

However, Ohuruogu and coach Llloyd Cowan have changed their plans as they plot for more gold in Germany in August.

"The Aviva World Trials & UK Championships are important for me to take part in another competitive race this season," she added.

Ohuruogu's rivals in Birmingham in the 400m - the final is being run on Saturday at 1752 BST - will include defending UK champion Lee McConnell and in-form Vicky Barr, part of the silver medal-winning 4x400m quartet at the European Indoor Championships earlier this year.

Ohuruogu stated: "Running over 400m in Birmingham will be really useful to me and will undoubtedly help me keep on track with my plans in the run up to Berlin.

"As ever, it will be a strong race, which can only be a positive experience for us all."

The men's 400m will also be a fiercely competitive race, with top-ranked American-born Michael Bingham, fit-again Tim Benjamin and Olympian Rob Tobin all in action, although Martyn Rooney has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Can she win gold again?

Ach - July 8, 2009 11:24 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

Sweden's Carolina Kluft will miss next month's World Championships in Berlin and the rest of the season after suffering a hamstring injury.

Kluft, the reigning world heptathlon champion, picked up the injury in a meeting on home soil on Monday.

"This is the worst setback of my sporting career," the 26-year-old told Swedish radio.

She is expected to have surgery this week, after which she will need around six months rehabilitation.

Kluft is unbeaten in 22 heptathlon and pentathlon competitions since March 2002, winning nine consecutive gold medals in major competitions, but chose to compete in just the long jump and triple jump in last year's Olympics.

She finished ninth in the long jump but failed to qualify for the triple jump final in Beijing.

She said earlier this month that she would be concentrating on the long jump this year.

A shame.

Shes a world star and the best at her event

Oh Rocky Rocky - July 9, 2009 02:56 PM (GMT)

QUOTE (Ach @ Jul 9 2009, 12:23 AM)

QUOTE

Can she win gold again?

Ohuruogu is a championship specialist and always produces her best on the big stage.
Something allot of the Brit athletes don't do

Looking forward to seeing Farah run he has been on good form

Oh Rocky Rocky - July 9, 2009 02:57 PM (GMT)

QUOTE (Ach @ Jul 9 2009, 12:24 AM)

QUOTE

A shame.

Shes a world star and the best at her event

Quality athlete and its a shame she wont be performing, big chance for Jessica ennis to step up for Britain though

Ach - July 14, 2009 07:19 PM (GMT)

Just heard about Ennis.

Apparently a big favourite for gold

Ach - July 17, 2009 05:48 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

Simeon Williamson has played down his chances of becoming only the fourth Briton to run a sub-10 second 100m at Friday night's Golden League meeting.

The 23-year-old won the 100m at the UK world trials last weekend in 10.05secs against a 1.8 metre/second headwind.

But Williamson says the Paris race, including World record-holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt, may not bring the best out of him.

"I'm someone who performs better when there are rounds," he said.

It has been claimed by statisticians that his performance in the UK trials at Birmingham would equate to a time of 9.90 seconds in calm conditions.

Linford Christie, Dwain Chambers and Jason Gardener are the only Britons to have dipped under the 10-second barrier and Williamson admitted after Saturday's victory that following them was his new aim.

But he also confessed that being Europe's fastest man is of little significance in an event dominated by American and Caribbean athletes.

Bolt heads a field for Paris that includes fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake, Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, Netherland Antilles' Martina Churandy and Antigua's Daniel Bailey - all of whom have season and career bests superior to Williamson.

"The title means nothing, particularly at world level. But I'll be looking for a good run," Williamson said.

Ach - July 23, 2009 09:15 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell says the reason British sprinters are not challenging on the track is because they are lazy.

Powell, who is due to race in the 100m at the London Grand Prix on Friday, believes athletes in his native Jamaica have a greater desire to succeed.

"I've said over the years that British sprinters are very lazy and don't really want to practise," he said

"Maybe it's comfort. In Jamaica, you have to work harder for what you want."

Commonwealth 100m champion Powell, 26, hails from Spanish Town, Jamaica and believes the economic hardship experienced there instils budding athletes with a determination to succeed that is lacking in their British counterparts.

"We have a different mindset," he said. "You have to make a living out of it because you don't get a living from anywhere else.

The ankle is in shape to go 9.7 but I'm not sure it's in shape to go below that

"You have to go out there and make something of yourself."

Britain's main hope in the 100m at Crystal Palace is 23-year-old Simeon Williamson, who comfortably beat Dwain Chambers in the UK trials with a time of 10.05 seconds.

However, this is some way off the time needed to challenge the top athletes in the event, including Powell, and the Jamaican says Williamson must be prepared to put the effort in to earn the rewards.

"Simeon came to Jamaica and from what I observed he is a bit lazy," said Powell.

"He did well though and he made a lot of improvements and if he puts in the effort and the hard work there is a lot more to come."

Powell will face off against Olympic 100m champion Usain Bolt on Friday in an eagerly anticipated 100m contest.

Bolt took world athletics by storm at the Beijing Olympics last year, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, setting new world records in each event, and will start Friday's race as favourite.

However, Powell - who has been suffering from an ankle injury - is unbeaten over the distance at Crystal Palace having run under 10 seconds in his previous three races at the venue and is predicting a spectacle.

"I'm sure a lot of people are looking forward to it," he said. "I'm excited to see what kind of shape I'm in right now. I feel in pretty good shape."

"The ankle is in shape to go 9.7 (seconds) but I'm not sure it's in shape to go below that.

"I'm in better shape than I thought I was, and maybe some of the other guys will go below 9.7 so we will wait and see."

One sprinter who will not be competing in the 100m is American triple world champion Tyson Gay, who has a persistent groin strain and decided to concentrate on the 200m.

However, Powell feels having himself, Bolt and Gay on the scene is extremely beneficial to the sport.

"At first there was really only me, and then Tyson came on board and now we have three guys who are capable of running below 9.8 seconds," he said. "It's fantastic and it has done a lot for the sport.

"Having three guys like that out there, the world record is likely to get broken."

Ach - July 24, 2009 07:59 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

Triple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt blew away the field to win the 100m in style at the London Grand Prix.

Despite racing into a strong headwind, the Jamaican recovered from a stumbling start to record a time of 9.91 seconds.

Bolt eased clear of the field after 50m and strode clear before high-stepping over the line.

Fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake came home second in 10.11 while Britain's Simeon Williamson finished in fourth with Asafa Powell back in sixth.

"I'm not invincible," Bolt told BBC Sport after the race. "Other people will have a good day when I don't, but until then I'll keep winning."

Tyrone Edgar's hopes of being selected for Britain's squad for the World Championships were hit when he was disqualified from his heat for a false start.

Williamson finished 4th ahead of Powell

Powell :pal: for calling him lazy.

Bolt is too good

Edgar :doh:

adzzzbatch - August 2, 2009 05:52 PM (GMT)

That Kerry Anne swimmer is quite nice.

Ach - August 2, 2009 08:12 PM (GMT)

QUOTE (adzzzbatch @ Aug 2 2009, 06:52 PM)

That Kerry Anne swimmer is quite nice.

Pics or GTFO tbh

adzzzbatch - August 2, 2009 11:20 PM (GMT)

QUOTE (Ach @ Aug 2 2009, 09:12 PM)

QUOTE (adzzzbatch @ Aug 2 2009, 06:52 PM)

That Kerry Anne swimmer is quite nice.

Pics or GTFO tbh

:lol:

I would post a pic if there were any decent ones around.

I was watching an interview she was giving earlier and I tought "Oh she's quite nice"

:lol:

*She does kinda look like Cameron in House.

Ach - August 3, 2009 03:15 AM (GMT)

Tyson Gay ran 9.79 in the 100m.

Close to his personal best.

The final in Berlin looks to be a cracker later this month.

Ach - August 5, 2009 10:46 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

USAIN BOLT and main rival Tyson Gay are set to clash three times in three weeks in a battle of the fastest men on the planet.

Bolt, the triple Olympic sprint champion and Gay, the 2007 double world champ first go head-to-head in Berlin at the world championships, which run from August 15-23.

The pair are already booked to race over 100m in Brussels on September 4. But now could meet in Zurich on August 28.

American ace Gay, 26, admitted: "There have been discussions.

"People really want to see a one-off race."

Ach - August 5, 2009 10:47 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

DWAIN CHAMBERS will double up in the 100 and 200 metres at next month's World Championships.

The drug cheat - who tested positive for designer steroid THG in 2003 - had been expected to be included in the 60-strong team for Berlin after running a 10.06sec in the 100m - the second fastest time in Europe this year.

But following his 200m victory at last month's European Team Championships when he was a late call-up following injuries to Marlon Devonish and Rikki Fifton, Chambers has been asked to double up again.

The move means the European 60m champion will face Olympic 100m and 200m gold medallist Usain Bolt.

And the decision to include him in the squad despite his lifetime Olympic ban was defended by UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee.

He said: "Others did not do well enough to keep him out of the team, so it's a straightforward selection. It's not controversial in that he's kept a very strong candidate out.

"Based on results this year, realistically, you wouldn't put half your salary on him getting a medal.

"In track events, especially speed, you need competition."

Ach - August 13, 2009 05:13 PM (GMT)

World Championships start on saturday.

I think the 100m heats are on the first day

Ach - August 13, 2009 06:15 PM (GMT)

QUOTE

Britain's top three athletes are aiming for World Championships glory in Berlin, starting on Saturday.

Jess Ennis, the hot favourite for heptathlon gold after missing the Olympics with a broken ankle, believes she is in the "best shape of her life".

Triple jumper Phillips Idowu says he will be "disappointed" not to win after picking up silver in Beijing last year.

Christine Ohuruogu looks to defend her 400m crown as part of a 58-strong team shorn of high jumper Germaine Mason.

The British squad's championships build-up has been far from smooth with Ohuruogu, aiming to defend her world crown, struggling for form, and injury forcing heptathlete Kelly Sotherton and 200m runner Toby Sandeman to join the withdrawal list.

Marathon world-record holder Paula Radcliffe is also battling to recover her fitness after foot surgery in March.

Ennis, 23, is Britain's bright hope in the heptathlon and is Britain's only athlete ranked world number one competing in Germany.

The Sheffield star surprised everybody with a personal best in May in her first heptathlon since fracturing her right foot and then won the 100m hurdles and high jump at the World trials last month to prove her all-round potential.

"Although I would never want an injury like that again I feel there are positives I can take from it," Ennis said before the event, which starts at 0910 BST on Saturday morning.

"It made me appreciate how good athletics is and how much I enjoy it. It's just so nice to come back from such a horrible year and I'm really looking forward to Berlin and competing on the world stage."

It is not all doom and gloom, however, for the squad being guided by UK Athletics chief Charles van Commenee.

On the men's side Idowu is confident of improving on his triple jump silver in Beijing, Dwain Chambers and Simeon Williamson have outside chances of winning medals in the 100m, and in-form Mo Farah goes in the 5,000m.

Idowu, 29, who has slipped to world ranked five with a season's best 6cm behind Portugal's Olympic champion Nelson Evora, remains upbeat, saying: "I feel good. Anything other than gold would be a disappointment."

Britain's women include Olympic champion Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders in the 400m, the gold and silver medallists from the last World Championships in Osaka in 2007, Lisa Dobriskey, fourth in Beijing, in the 1500m and javelin star Goldie Sayers, hoping to bag a medal after narrowly missing out at the Games.

The sprints are the most anticipated event of any athletics meet and this year's Worlds are no exception. The 100m final is on Saturday evening and the 200m final on Thursday, 20 August.

Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt will go head-to-head for the first time this season against Tyson Gay, the quickest man this year in both sprints (9.77 seconds for the 100m, 19.58 for the 200m).

Bolt, looking to take the focus away from five Jamaican team-mates who recently failed drug tests but were later cleared, looks favourite for the 100m crown after crushing victories this summer and stated last month that Gay could not beat him.

However, the American seems to have overcome his groin problems and after clocking 9.79 in Stockholm two weeks ago and winning the 200m at the London Grand Prix, he is in bullish mood.

"Everyone knows last year the big match-up didn't happen. I'm really looking forward to it this year," the 26-year-old said recently. "I've always felt in my mind that I could challenge Bolt."

Other international stars to look out for in Berlin are Russian Yelena Isinbayeva in the pole vault, US triple world sprint champion Allyson Felix, while Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele is going for his fourth consecutive 10,000m title to follow his long-distance double in Beijing.

The 67,000-capacity Olympic Stadium is hosting its biggest athletics event since the 1936 Olympics, when American Jesse Owens won four golds and became an icon of racial tolerance at a time of Nazi power in Germany.

The heptathlon gets going at 0910 BST on Saturday, 15 August, with the Olympic Stadium hosting the opening ceremony from 1645 BST and the first round of the men's 100m following soon after.

The championships will wrap up with the men's 400m relay on Sunday, 23 August, when South Korean city Daegu can start preparing for the 2011 event

Ach - August 15, 2009 09:21 AM (GMT)

Jessica Ennis wins her 100m hurdles with ease and is top with over 1000 points.

Ach - August 15, 2009 09:30 AM (GMT)

Men 100m heats in 10 mins

Ach - August 15, 2009 09:41 AM (GMT)

Michael Frater wins the first heat. Hes one of the Jamaican lot. Will see him in the relays as well. He won the silver 4 years ago

Dwain Chambers goes in the 4th heat

Ach - August 15, 2009 09:50 AM (GMT)

Darvis Patton wins the 2nd heat.

Asafa Powell up next

Ach - August 15, 2009 09:57 AM (GMT)

Asafa Powell :doh:

Finishes 3rd just so qualifies but the idiot was miles ahead but slowed down so much.

Rors - August 15, 2009 10:00 AM (GMT)

Just switched it on now(Germany: World Cup Stories was on ESPN Classic :scarf: )

Names rather than numbers?

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:00 AM (GMT)

Brits going rather well in the heptathlon.

Jessica Ennis is the favourite for gold and Louise Hazell did well in the hurdles as well as the High Jump

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:04 AM (GMT)

Dwain Chambers wins his heat.

Fastest of the morning so far.

10.18 seconds.

Getting to the final would be good for him.

No chance of a medal

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:06 AM (GMT)

Jessica Ennis makes her first jump in the High Jump of 1.71m with ease.

Rors - August 15, 2009 10:08 AM (GMT)

Powell :doh: Bolt can do that, you can't matey!

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:09 AM (GMT)

Bailey wins the 5th heat.

A medal challenger maybe.

Trains with Bolt so might have picked something up

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:11 AM (GMT)

Frankie Fredericks in the stands :bow:

Rors - August 15, 2009 10:15 AM (GMT)

QUOTE (Ach @ Aug 15 2009, 11:11 AM)

Frankie Fredericks in the stands :bow:

Namibia's finest :respect: Remember that great gold in the 1993 Worlds. Probably the best World Champs yet that one, although just thinking about it Tokyo '91 would have something to say about that

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:17 AM (GMT)

Some young frenchman wins the 6th heat.

Marc Burns was in this one. Finished 2nd. Finalist in the last 2 World Championships and in Beijing.

Simeon Williamson next i think

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:21 AM (GMT)

From next year, no false starts allowed :popcorn:

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:24 AM (GMT)

Williamson through in 2nd place.

Close race that one

Rors - August 15, 2009 10:32 AM (GMT)

Bolt up next :bow:

He should do this heat in a sack. Or at least carrying an egg and spoon....

Ach - August 15, 2009 10:32 AM (GMT)

8th heat over and done with.

The guy who finished 4th in Beijing was in that one. Hes through.

9th heat is due.

Usain Bolt is in this

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