Tilla - My Late Reply ('96 Olympics)

[Gamma]

as if.....

[Willi]

I have a bag of 100m races from the last 25 years recorded digitally. An Aussie dude sent it around the world for man and man to copy, like the movie, pay it forward!

Almost lost them all in the hard drive crash, but managed to restore, so i am safe.

[Jangle]

Some of these recordings can become valuable ($) some day too. Historian, you know you can do a great service by putting some of those recordings on YouTube for other like us to see.

[Historian]

Re: valuable Recordings

Some of these recordings can become valuable ($) some day too. Historian, you know you can do a great service by putting some of those recordings on YouTube for other like us to see.

I know, boss. I’m going to first get them on to DVD, and I’ll most likely make the transfer to DVD between this summer and Christmas.

I agree with you about the possibility of significant financial worth someday. The personal value of keeping these recordings now, I find, is that every once in a long while (like once every few years; lol) I can sit back and enjoy a past event.

Believe it or not, I’m still watching the Beijing Olympics. Last night before going to sleep I watched my recording of the women’s 100 and 200-meter races and 400-meter hurdles, men’s 100-meter and 200-meter races and the men’s 4x100-meter relay. I find that occasionally tears still come to my eyes when I watch the performance by Shelly-Ann Fraser in the 100-meter dash.

I cannot watch the women’s 4x100-meter relay, though.

[Jangle]

That 4 x 100m women was very painful to watch. Funny you should raise this, because I was literally just speaking with my track & field bredrin (yuh know how yuh have a specific bredrin fe each sports) who was cussing out Kerron Stewart for costing us that race. I was trying to defend her when drew for this year's Penn Relays card when she fumbled again. I had to shut up.

[Historian]

You're Right About That!

That 4 x 100m women was very painful to watch. Funny you should raise this, because I was literally just speaking with my track & field bredrin (yuh know how yuh have a specific bredrin fe each sports) who was cussing out Kerron Stewart for costing us that race. I was trying to defend her when drew for this year's Penn Relays card when she fumbled again. I had to shut up.

I certainly know what you mean by “very painful to watch,” Jangle! I try not to blame poor Kerron too much though.

Lauryn Williams innocently spoke of “voodoo dolls” in reference to the poor performance of the USA in the sprint events. That voodoo doll reference, though, seems to have been better suited to the relays for most countries and in particular the women’s sprint relay when 2004 is compared with 2008.

Here’s what I mean:

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the backstretch runner on the USA team, Marion Jones, failed to connect with curve runner Lauryn Williams, who had gone off too soon. Lead-off runner Angela Williams had given the favorites the USA (they went into the finals with the fastest qualifying time) a flying start. In Beijing four years later, the backstretch runner on the Jamaican team, Sherone Simpson, failed to connect with curve runner Kerron Stewart, who had gone off too soon. Lead-off runner Shelly-Ann Fraser had given the overwhelming favorite Jamaica a flying start.

In 2004 the members of the USA team hugged each other as they walked around and off the track. In 2008 the members of the Jamaica team hugged each other as they walked around and off the track.

Sounds like a perverse script, doesn’t it? That women’s 4x100-meter relay last year is, without question, eerily similar to what happened at the previous Olympic Games back in 2004.

[Jangle]

Good observation. I think that when it comes to the relays, the more practise a team has, the more efficient they become at getting the baton around. I am glad that our team will get the chance to practise during the pre-game camp, and that Franno and the JAAA have resolve their issues. We should be cracking this year. I know that the US athletes are chawing fyah feh try and beat we.


What is your opinion on the Bolt issue that I posted below?

[Historian]

Yep, Practise is Essential!!

Good observation. I think that when it comes to the relays, the more practise a team has, the more efficient they become at getting the baton around. I am glad that our team will get the chance to practise during the pre-game camp, and that Franno and the JAAA have resolve their issues. We should be cracking this year. I know that the US athletes are chawing fyah feh try and beat we.

What is your opinion on the Bolt issue that I posted below?

Yep, the practice is absolutely essential in relays, and the clearest case of the truth of this that I can think of is the Bahamas 4x100-meter women’s relay team during the period 1995-2002.

In 1995 those ladies placed fourth at the IAAF World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Then, after winning the silver medal at the Atlantic Olympic Games in 1996, that quintet of women (Clarke, Fynes, Sturrup, Davis and Ferguson) went on to dominate women’s sprint relay sprinting during the period 1999 to 2002.

Those ladies were able to win IAAF World Championships relay gold in 1999 (Seville), Olympic Games relay gold in 2000 (Sydney), and Commonwealth Games relay gold (in record time) in 2002 largely because there was absolutely no change in personnel prior to 2002. From 1996 (when Chandra Sturrup joined the 1995 quartet) to the end of the 2000 Olympic Games (when Clarke and Davis retired from track), that team made an impact on the world. The change began in 2002 at the Commonwealth Games when two new members (Brown and Clarke) were added and their final international relay gold medal was won.

I’ll comment on your post on Usain in a few minutes.

[MdmeX]

Karl,

Just seeing this. But as I recall, you have a lot of T&F tapes on VHS (remember I was privileged to borrow them).

I too have some, bust mostly my memories are in my head. After a while the house becomes too cluttered, with everything I hold onto. Space becomes a problem.

Just threw out a stash of Penn Relay books and tickets.

[Gamma]

pack rat eh?