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Spearmon predicts memorable Olympic sprints
EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer
August 3, 2008 7:54 AM
DALIAN, China (AP) - Now that world record holder Usain Bolt has committed to running the 100 meters and the field of sprinters is set for the Olympics, Wallace Spearmon is ready to make predictions.
The world record, of course, is 9.72, set by Bolt in May.
The Olympic record is 9.84, set by Donovan Bailey in 1996.
''I think 9.8 will be like sixth place'' this year, Spearmon said.
Spearmon isn't competing in the 100; he missed qualifying for the final by .001 seconds at Olympic trials.
But it doesn't mean he'll escape a showdown with Bolt. Spearmon's specialty is the 200, where he's the defending world bronze medalist. He'll have Bolt to contend with there, but not Gay - who pulled up with his sore hamstring during qualifying at trials.
Spearmon thinks fast times will be in store in the 200, as well.
''Definitely a sub-20 seconds wins it,'' he said. ''Probably 19.7 or lower for first place and we'll see after that. I'm definitely going to run 19. It's just a matter of 19-what.''
The world record belongs to Michael Johnson (19.32) who has said a number of times this summer that he's resigned to the reality that Bolt is going to break it. Bolt's ran his personal best (19.67) last month. ''He's out there jogging 19.7s,'' Spearmon said.
Bolt's agent, Ricky Simms, confirmed Saturday that the 100-meter world record holder will compete in the 100 and 200. There had been some hesitation in the Bolt camp to commit to both races. Bolt's specialty is the 200, but setting the world record in May in the shorter race made it almost a foregone conclusion that he'd try to win an Olympic gold medal in that event, too.
Oddsmakers like his chances.
Ladbrokes recently installed Bolt as a 5-4 favorite to win the 100. He was followed by Gay at 2-1 and Powell at 9-4.
Spearmon wasn't making picks, but he laughed at the thought of Powell, who held the record before Bolt broke it, being considered an underdog. Powell, however, does have a history of not performing well in big races.
''I definitely can't consider someone who has run a 9.74 a sleeper,'' he said. ''I don't think that's quite possible.''
---
MALL BOYS:
It's one thing to be watched, the way the American athletes will be when they compete at the Bird's Nest later this month.
It's another to be stared at, the way they were when they went on their outing to the An Sheng Shopping Center after their morning practice Sunday.
About 20 runners and throwers took advantage of the chance to leave their fancy resort and do some shopping, Chinese style.
Hurdler David Oliver and triple jumper Kenta Bell were lounging at Starbucks. Others were checking out the electronics and jewelry stores at the massive, five-story, circular shopping center.
In many ways, it felt like home.
''Starbucks and McDonald's,'' Oliver said. ''You've got to take advantage when you can.''
It seemed odd, however, to see the American athletes mingling with a few thousand Chinese on a typical weekend at the mall. Not only did they stand out physically - muscle-bound 6-footers like Bell and 5-10 discus throwers like Aretha Thurmond are bound to get their fair share of stares in this setting - but turning the athletes loose among the public was a sharp contrast to the secure environs they've been ensconced in on this trip.
Once again Sunday, their practice facility was in lockdown, heavily protected by police, even though the only ''outsiders'' who knew of the camp were the 15 reporters and cameramen who went to practice. And getting into the hotel was an ordeal; police stopped reporters' cars outside the gates, wrote down license plate numbers and didn't let them pass through for an interview session in the hotel lobby until the entire group had arrived.
''They're doing everything they can to increase our comfort level,'' sprinter Darvis Patton said. ''They're making sure we have absolutely nothing to worry about.''
---
SPEAKING HER MIND:
Sprinter Lauryn Williams prides herself as someone who tells it like it is. But before she does that on her blog at the Olympics, she's brushing up on rules handed down by the International Olympic Committee.
The only notable restriction the IOC has put in place for athlete blogs is a ban on reporting. In other words, no pictures of action, no streaming content and no injury updates or the like.
As far as voicing opinions - anything goes.
Williams said she'll probably make her posts mainly about her own experience, not her world view or opinions on China. Still, she promises it will be interesting.
''I'm one of those people who tells it like it is, good, bad and ugly,'' she said. ''I like to show both sides of things. For the most part, my life is lovely and all smiles and happiness in my blogs. But occasionally, an athlete has a bad day and you want to write about that, too, because you want to show all sides of that.''
Williams said she has some rough drafts ready to go, both for her Web site, www.laurynwilliams.net, and her blog on wcsn.com.
''I've pretty much got them ready, I just want to make sure they're within the parameters of what you can do when you're blogging here,'' she said.
Her friend, Wallace Spearmon, also has a Web site in the making, though it is encountering what he called ''technical difficulties'' that have made it hard to get up and running.
He said U.S. Olympic Committee officials gave athletes the go-ahead to speak their mind.
''It was pretty much, you're your own man or own woman, and if you decide to go out and do something, you have to live by the consequences,'' Spearmon said. ''So do what you want to do and if it's bad, just deal with it.''
---
TYSON WATCH:
On Day 2 of ''Where in the world is Tyson Gay?'' USA Track officials said they had heard America's top sprint star is arriving in China on Tuesday and could come to training camp by Wednesday.
But they also said the possibility was still open that he wouldn't report at all, even though members of the relay pool are normally required to come to camp.
For the second straight day, his American teammates didn't have any inside intel.
Wallace Spearmon saw Gay in Europe recently but said he had no update on his hamstring injury.
''I was out walking, I said, 'Hey Tyson, how you doing?' He said, 'Hey Wallace,' and that was it,'' Spearmon said.
Lauryn Williams said: ''I texted him and asked him if he was doing well. He said, 'Yes, I'm doing great,' and that was pretty much the end of the conversation.''
EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer
August 3, 2008 7:54 AM
DALIAN, China (AP) - Now that world record holder Usain Bolt has committed to running the 100 meters and the field of sprinters is set for the Olympics, Wallace Spearmon is ready to make predictions.
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''Those guys are talented and they've worked pretty hard this year,'' Spearmon said Sunday at U.S. training camp, speaking of Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, the headliners in the 100. ''I honestly think Bolt can run 9.6, I think Asafa can run 9.6 and a healthy Tyson can run 9.6.''The world record, of course, is 9.72, set by Bolt in May.
The Olympic record is 9.84, set by Donovan Bailey in 1996.
''I think 9.8 will be like sixth place'' this year, Spearmon said.
Spearmon isn't competing in the 100; he missed qualifying for the final by .001 seconds at Olympic trials.
But it doesn't mean he'll escape a showdown with Bolt. Spearmon's specialty is the 200, where he's the defending world bronze medalist. He'll have Bolt to contend with there, but not Gay - who pulled up with his sore hamstring during qualifying at trials.
Spearmon thinks fast times will be in store in the 200, as well.
''Definitely a sub-20 seconds wins it,'' he said. ''Probably 19.7 or lower for first place and we'll see after that. I'm definitely going to run 19. It's just a matter of 19-what.''
The world record belongs to Michael Johnson (19.32) who has said a number of times this summer that he's resigned to the reality that Bolt is going to break it. Bolt's ran his personal best (19.67) last month. ''He's out there jogging 19.7s,'' Spearmon said.
Bolt's agent, Ricky Simms, confirmed Saturday that the 100-meter world record holder will compete in the 100 and 200. There had been some hesitation in the Bolt camp to commit to both races. Bolt's specialty is the 200, but setting the world record in May in the shorter race made it almost a foregone conclusion that he'd try to win an Olympic gold medal in that event, too.
Oddsmakers like his chances.
Ladbrokes recently installed Bolt as a 5-4 favorite to win the 100. He was followed by Gay at 2-1 and Powell at 9-4.
Spearmon wasn't making picks, but he laughed at the thought of Powell, who held the record before Bolt broke it, being considered an underdog. Powell, however, does have a history of not performing well in big races.
''I definitely can't consider someone who has run a 9.74 a sleeper,'' he said. ''I don't think that's quite possible.''
---
MALL BOYS:
It's one thing to be watched, the way the American athletes will be when they compete at the Bird's Nest later this month.
It's another to be stared at, the way they were when they went on their outing to the An Sheng Shopping Center after their morning practice Sunday.
About 20 runners and throwers took advantage of the chance to leave their fancy resort and do some shopping, Chinese style.
Hurdler David Oliver and triple jumper Kenta Bell were lounging at Starbucks. Others were checking out the electronics and jewelry stores at the massive, five-story, circular shopping center.
In many ways, it felt like home.
''Starbucks and McDonald's,'' Oliver said. ''You've got to take advantage when you can.''
It seemed odd, however, to see the American athletes mingling with a few thousand Chinese on a typical weekend at the mall. Not only did they stand out physically - muscle-bound 6-footers like Bell and 5-10 discus throwers like Aretha Thurmond are bound to get their fair share of stares in this setting - but turning the athletes loose among the public was a sharp contrast to the secure environs they've been ensconced in on this trip.
Once again Sunday, their practice facility was in lockdown, heavily protected by police, even though the only ''outsiders'' who knew of the camp were the 15 reporters and cameramen who went to practice. And getting into the hotel was an ordeal; police stopped reporters' cars outside the gates, wrote down license plate numbers and didn't let them pass through for an interview session in the hotel lobby until the entire group had arrived.
''They're doing everything they can to increase our comfort level,'' sprinter Darvis Patton said. ''They're making sure we have absolutely nothing to worry about.''
---
SPEAKING HER MIND:
Sprinter Lauryn Williams prides herself as someone who tells it like it is. But before she does that on her blog at the Olympics, she's brushing up on rules handed down by the International Olympic Committee.
The only notable restriction the IOC has put in place for athlete blogs is a ban on reporting. In other words, no pictures of action, no streaming content and no injury updates or the like.
As far as voicing opinions - anything goes.
Williams said she'll probably make her posts mainly about her own experience, not her world view or opinions on China. Still, she promises it will be interesting.
''I'm one of those people who tells it like it is, good, bad and ugly,'' she said. ''I like to show both sides of things. For the most part, my life is lovely and all smiles and happiness in my blogs. But occasionally, an athlete has a bad day and you want to write about that, too, because you want to show all sides of that.''
Williams said she has some rough drafts ready to go, both for her Web site, www.laurynwilliams.net, and her blog on wcsn.com.
''I've pretty much got them ready, I just want to make sure they're within the parameters of what you can do when you're blogging here,'' she said.
Her friend, Wallace Spearmon, also has a Web site in the making, though it is encountering what he called ''technical difficulties'' that have made it hard to get up and running.
He said U.S. Olympic Committee officials gave athletes the go-ahead to speak their mind.
''It was pretty much, you're your own man or own woman, and if you decide to go out and do something, you have to live by the consequences,'' Spearmon said. ''So do what you want to do and if it's bad, just deal with it.''
---
TYSON WATCH:
On Day 2 of ''Where in the world is Tyson Gay?'' USA Track officials said they had heard America's top sprint star is arriving in China on Tuesday and could come to training camp by Wednesday.
But they also said the possibility was still open that he wouldn't report at all, even though members of the relay pool are normally required to come to camp.
For the second straight day, his American teammates didn't have any inside intel.
Wallace Spearmon saw Gay in Europe recently but said he had no update on his hamstring injury.
''I was out walking, I said, 'Hey Tyson, how you doing?' He said, 'Hey Wallace,' and that was it,'' Spearmon said.
Lauryn Williams said: ''I texted him and asked him if he was doing well. He said, 'Yes, I'm doing great,' and that was pretty much the end of the conversation.''
