The Athletics Thread (... but predominantly about Bolt)

[MrMichael]

Just unbelievable.

I remember watching Johnson in '96, thinking no-one would come close to that time possibly in my lifetime...

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTjk770KoR0"]YouTube - Michael Johnson's 200M WR 19.32 in 1996 Atlanta Olympics[/nomedia]


But not only did Bolt just beat that time last year but he annihilated it last night without even looking fresh.

If he concentrates on the 200 in a coming season and gets everything right in a race he can run under 19 flat. That's just staggering. I wonder if he will ever have a tilt at the 400 sometime too.....

[Darkon]

Just unbelievable.

I remember watching Johnson in '96, thinking no-one would come close to that time possibly in my lifetime...

YouTube - Michael Johnson's 200M WR 19.32 in 1996 Atlanta Olympics


But not only did Bolt just beat that time last year but he annihilated it last night without even looking fresh.

If he concentrates on the 200 in a coming season and gets everything right in a race he can run under 19 flat. That's just staggering. I wonder if he will ever have a tilt at the 400 sometime too.....

I heard some athletic expert last night saying that he would be perfect for the 400m, and could probably set an even more staggering world record at that distance.

Would love to see him give that a try.

[Helios Creed]

I heard some athletic expert last night saying that he would be perfect for the 400m, and could probably set an even more staggering world record at that distance.

Would love to see him give that a try.

He did 400m originally apparently and moved down to the shorter events

[Rich]

He doesn't like the extra training that 400m requires - although I reckon at somepoint he'll go for it.

[Helios Creed]

Some ****ing runner this guy is, unbeaulivable, never seen anything like it! He is a bit arrogant like but **** it, he's cool too a real showman.

I do feel sorry for the other runners mind, he may as well just run the race on his own FFS, it's a waste of time the other guys running.

surely he's cocky at most, not arrogant and even then in an endearing way?

Arrogant, for me, is a dangerous word that seems to be thrown at certain groups of people just because they get successful (not by you, I hasten to add), whereas before they won, they were just cocky or confident or in this case Jamaican (there are more big-headed taxi drivers in JA than him, let alone 5 time Gold medal winners).

IMO arrogance is the US sprint team who have been shell-shocked out of their elitist, world-dominating mindset for the first time in decades. Previously they been able to shrug off challenges to their dominance, but not this time...

Also, judging from other athletes opinions, he is a breath of fresh air as he loves running and entertaining and doen't take himself as seriously as the rest of the elite athletes and he spent two hours signing autographs today - he's the best thing that's happened to athletics for years, just hope the pressure of always being expected to break a record doesn't get to him.

[Helios Creed]

He doesn't like the extra training that 400m requires - although I reckon at somepoint he'll go for it.

too right - there's not much of a challenge for him at 100m/200m...

[Assassin]

He did 400m originally apparently and moved down to the shorter events

He doesn't like the extra training that 400m requires - although I reckon at somepoint he'll go for it.

He was on Top Gear and he said he gave 400 metres as it was too much training. I think he said it was 6 hours a day, whereas 100 and 200 metres training was 2 to 3 hours a day so it gave him plenty of time to chill

[Helios Creed]

He was on Top Gear and he said he gave 400 metres as it was too much training. I think he said it was 6 hours a day, whereas 100 and 200 metres training was 2 to 3 hours a day so it gave him plenty of time to chill

That's where I saw it too. I think he'll get bored of the 100/200 and move up - can't wait. Might as well have a crack at 800 at some point.

[Deano]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8204505.stm

Nah, not having that - The photographer at the one minute mark looks a lot faster than bolt !

[joyno]

just gone off him, the man is a scum fan.

[Shaggy]

Jamaica's Usain Bolt followed last week's record-breaking exploits at the World Championships with another blisteringly fast 100m in Zurich.

The world and Olympic champion, who set a world best of 9.58 seconds in Berlin, came from behind to beat compatriot Asafa Powell in a time of 9.81.

Powell finished in 9.88, followed by Americans Darvis Patton (9.95) and Michael Rodgers in 9.98.

Bolt was not entirely happy with his form despite setting one of the fastest times in history.

"I would say this was a shaky race," he said. "My body was sitting at the start, I was a little bit tired through the race.

"All things considered, the time is not bad. I needed to pick up my speed as my body did not respond well to the race."

Powell, the bronze medallist in Berlin, said: "I have 9.6 in my legs and at my next meet I'm going to put it on the track. Everyone has to go out with that in mind, that they can beat Usain.

"He's way ahead of the crowd right now but we're really playing catch-up. We'll get there somehow. Usain is taking the sport to a whole different level and we are going up there to join him."

[Rich]

Caught that race, he looked like another runner i.e. not a world apart, like he was at the Worlds.

[DannyMan2006]

Caught that race, he looked like another runner i.e. not a world apart, like he was at the Worlds.

I saw it. He got a very poor start, but in the middle of the race he just went up a couple of gears and cruised past Powell. I've never known any sprinter ever have that ability. It's like watching a distance runner kick in with a sprint at the end. Looked like he had plenty left in the tank, but he may be tired.

I think whilst the Golden League series is the ideal time to break records, due to no pressure, I think Bolt may lack the motivation to go for it. It's very telling that he has broken the records when it really mattered.

[Chris]

His comeback in the relay was good aswell

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njjLxhbJzVA"]YouTube - Usain Bolt dá mais um show nas pistas[/ame]

[Shaggy]

Haha that's brilliant, proper socked it to the Yank