It's all in the start. When I saw the semifinal I knew Kerron was going to have a tough time. Shelly-Ann probably has the best start in all T&F, men or women! Kerron did great to close a 8m gap to 1/2 a meter, but...
Anyday Kerron can get a start that is half as good as Shelly-Ann, it's over!
Wow! I see a clean sweep in this event again! Sorry, Historian!!
Let's hope they can ge the gold in the relay as well. They need to protect the baton. Once they keep it, it's over!
No problem, boss. Believe me when I say that I want a “clean sweep” just as much as you do! (I still occasionally watch that Beijing Olympic Games women’s 100-meter race! In fact, the last time I watched that race was two nights ago, Saturday night right before going to sleep.)
Nevertheless, regardless of how desperately I want a clean sweep once again by our Jamaican women, conventional wisdom tells me that it is probably not likely to be repeated by any country anytime soon (lol). On the other hand, we have “clean sweep” precedents in other events, for example the USA men’s 200-meter 1-2-3-4 clean sweep at the 2005 IAAF World Championships, and more recently the USA 1-2-3 clean sweep in the men’s 400-meter race last year in Beijing.
When one considers the two examples of precedents I mentioned above, therefore, we begin to see that my argument against the possibility of another clean sweep in the women’s 100-meter dash becomes probably a somewhat weak argument. I think it’s probably best, therefore, for me not to say anything more on the subject lest I become Mosiah’s and the forum’s whipping boy after Shelly-Ann Fraser, Kerron Stewart and Veronica Campbell-Brown (in whatever order) storm past the finish line in Berlin before anybody else .
In fact, the more I think about it, the more the possibility of another clean sweep by Jamaica (not any 1-2-2, as that will NEVER happen again, but rather, a 1-2-3) becomes real in my eyes! I hope we are right!
By the way, we should be careful not to make the mistake of thinking that our only opponents are Carmelita Jeter, Muna Lee and Lauryn Williams. Great female sprinters are not limited to Jamaica and the USA .
Who else except for a drugged up Nestarenko (and retired Arron) showed anything in the last years, outside of Jam/US/Bah?
Although I must say that the likeliest spoiler in Berlin is K-A. Baptiste from TnT!!!
Yep, a NCAA-free Kelli-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad & Tobago quite possibly will spring a major surprise! I certainly will not be writing Kelli-Ann off!
Your comments about the 100-meter women’s events, with the exception of Yuliya Nesterenko, being limited over the past many years (since 1984 in fact) to women from the USA, Jamaica, the Bahamas and, in the case of Christine Arron, France, is correct as far as the Olympic Games are concerned. In addition, in looking at the 200-meter event, we can add another Frenchwoman, Jose Marie Perec, who won at the 1996 Olympic Games.
Note also that, with specific regards to the Olympic Games during this period, Yuliya Nesterenko was the only Caucasian woman to have won a 100-meter race gold medal.
You used the words “last years”, and we see that things are slightly different as far as the IAAF World Championships are concerned. You might recall that Zhanna Pintusevich-Block of the Ukraine won the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter dash just eight years ago (the 2001 IAAF World Championships), and prior to that she had won the 200-meter race gold medal at the 1997 IAAF World Championships in Athens.
If Kerron had run the 200m, perhaps a double sweep was in order too, despite Felix.
Ours girls are B_A_D!
Always remember that an athlete with “fresh legs” has an advantage over an athlete who has been through the rounds of a previous event! A case in point is Kerron Stewart last year, who entered the 200-meter race after completing seven rounds (four 100’s and three 200’s). Veronica Campbell-Brown and Allyson Felix, in comparison, had not run the 100-meter dash and so were entering the women’s 100-meter race with only three rounds of running under their belt!
Last years meant the last 10 or so. I forgot about Zhanna, but nuh Remi Korchemny coached her??? Nuh him coach Chambers?
You are correct about freshness, but I am not worried about VC this trip. She now knows what it takes.
Thanks for clarifying the “last years” reference.
Willi, I’m usually very careful about making drug accusations (I know from your posts next door that you are careful as well), but I must admit that like you, I’ve never had a reason to regard Zhanna as a drug-free athlete, and her coach (who you mentioned) is one of my reasons.
What I’m not sure of though, and maybe you can help me, is this: was her American husband Mark Block her coach during 1997 and 2001? This is a genuine question as I cannot remember exactly when Remi entered the picture.
By the way, I fully agree with your statement on a more experienced Veronica this year (although sadly, she faltered in 2005 and 2007).
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