He looked good in that relay and his 200 time earlier was good for him, too. So if he has one kinda slow 400 in April, it seems weird to get bent out of shape about it.
He looked good in that relay and his 200 time earlier was good for him, too. So if he has one kinda slow 400 in April, it seems weird to get bent out of shape about it.
They're usually not a full second faster.. Is there video of the Wariner race from last weekend?
smooth wrote:
People should take a look at this before they make any claims about Wariner's early season shape:
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/248546-2012-Texas-Relays/video/626479-M-4x400-Invite-Warriner-anchors-4458-2012-Texas-RelaysI don't really care if this split is in the 45s (even though they have him at 44.58), what I care about is the way that he pulls away in the final 100 meters. He's definitely in pretty good early season form. Maybe not his best. But there's no way there should be a WTW headline that reads "Is Wariner done?"
He looks very lean and healthy in that video. He is still so smooth.
45.65 isn't to bad. He won by over 2 seconds. Had he been pushed maybe he would have run faster.
The important thing is that he is healthy and racing. He is running the 4 and 2 at Mt. Sac. If he was hurt and feeling like crap he wouldn't be racing at all.
Ultimately, "split times" don't mean squat.
However, to me, his 20.53 open 200 means a great deal, especially the way he ran it. He wasn't trying to win, he didn't panic when Spearmon went past him in the turn, and he ran through the tape to eclipse Connaughton, who is a half-decent 200m guy himself. He could have gone another 100m at that pace, I'm sure.
His first 300m aren't really in question, though--even Wariner himself acknowledged that his problem, to the extent that he has one, is in the last 100m.
400 guys, how to improve specifically the last 100 without relaxing a bit too much on the first 300?
Pls searchengine the phrase 'begs the question' before you use it incorrectly another time.We have lost the fort>fortay issue due to rampant mispronouncation. Will this expression be the next to fall to common missusage.Irony and it's correct usage is another lost cause. Even thik malmo has abandoned ship on that one.
popp wrote:
I think this begs the question, who is in bigger trouble for the Olympics at this point. Webb or Wariner? A 45.6 is going to get blown out of the water in London, so I'd say Wariner is in bad shape.
Im going to agree with Sprintgeezer here. Wariner just seems to have lost that "pop" and ability to power through that last 150m. Something is definitely amiss. I see it as doubtful for him to make the Olympic team for the open 400m, though I sincerely hope that I'm mistaken in that statement.
So Wariner is done because he ran 45.64 in April? I suppose everyone except the four or five guys that have a faster time on the year are done too? If Alan Webb had run 3:37-38 (the tough equivalent of 45.64) in the Florida Relays everyone would be saying that was a great sign.
I think Wariner's 20.53 was a positive indicator that he can run some good 400m times. He's never run any world beating 200m times, even in his days of 400m dominance.
45.6 isn't great, but he said himself that coach Hart was reasonably satisfied with that time.
No one has broken 45 yet this year. Wariner is still a legit medal contender, it's just not a forgone conclusion anymore like it used to be. He's absolutely in better shape than Alan Webb. Wariner was the top performer at this meet and ran a competitive time (considering it's April). Webb hasn't won shit this year and his times are pitiful.
I did not see the race from this past weekend so I really can't comment. I would honestly like to see the pacing for it.
Over the last decade I have noticed something about him in the 400. When he was younger he started fast for 100 and really floated the back stretch, never pressing the 2nd 100, set himself up in the 3rd 100 and finished stronger. Go back and watch every big race from 2004 NCAAs, 2004 athens, 05 helsinki, 07 osaka and the various golden league/diamond league meets in between. Not only were they the biggest races they also were his best times. If he ran a 45.xx he was probably working on something in particular open harder or work the middle harder) but when he was in the low 44s and even into the 43s he saved something for the end.
To do this he didnt start slow but he didnt hammer the entire first 200. He might keep pace with the guy on the outside or let the guy on the inside of him catch him. It depended on the other racer.
At 04 ncaas he caught williamson (a poor starter) at the gun and ran even with him. Kellie Willie, two lanes on the inside, caught them by 175 or 200 and he didnt panic. In fact his middle 150 was probably slowest in the field. Eventually he kicked in the last 100 FTW.
04 athens. Harris went after his man to the outside in the first 100. Wariner went with him initially but backed off the next 100 while harris continued to press. Eventually harris broke down (if you call a silver medal breaking down) and wariner passed him in the final 50m.
He followed this style in Helsinki, Osaka, US championships and races across the globe. Until Beijing or the 2008 US trials. He started to hammer the first 200, instead of backing off that 2nd hundred like he had been in the past. By the time he went to the home stretch he had nothing left and his form breaks down. Making him look like he is done or out of shape.
Go back and take a look at this 44.50 relay split from the other day. He went out hard the first 100, guys behind him caught him, continued to press, while he backed off and with 200 to go it was over.
It's only April the real track season has not even started yet and nor would I imagine has his speed training
Has anyone considered that possbily he used to dope? And simply doesn't anymore?
Wariner is definitely not done, an early season 44.6 relay split, 20.5 200m and a 45:64 open shows that he is still a very serviceable sprinter. However, I said several years ago that Wariner was on the backside of his career; it was obvious to me. (Starting in 2007, there have been too many excuses and somewhat questionable injuries, which is usually a sign of age.)
The 400 is a yong man's game, the top guys are usually in their early to mid-20s and usually only have one Olympic cycle at the top of their game. Most of Wariner's contemporaries like Adam Steel, Darold Williamson, Otis Harris, Mitch Poter, Chris Rock, Derrick Brew, David Neville and the Xman have retired or are MIA. There a few old guys like Alleyne Francique Grenada, Chris Brown Bahamas and Gary Kikaya Congo who are still around, but things are different if you want to wear USA on your chest and maintain sponsorship. Chris Brown is actually stll ruuning pretty fast, so is Angelo Taylor; Michael Johnson ran fast into his early 30s, but they are outliers.
The USA along has about a half dozen guys capable of running sub-45, therefore, I don't see indiviudal success for Warienr this year, but I hope he makes the relay team, either way, his place in history as one of the greatest 400m sprinters is secure.
Your last sentence pretty much nailed it. He's done as far as being "da man". Can he make the 4x4 team...absolutely!
Who cares, American dominance in the 400 continues, with or without Wariner
TrackCoach wrote:
He will make the team , he will individual medal. Coach Hart knows his athlete and will have him ready. He will sub 45 @ Sac.
Wariner is definitely not done, an early season 44.6 relay split, 20.5 200m and a 45:64 open shows that he is still a very serviceable sprinter. However, I said several years ago that Wariner was on the backside of his career; it was obvious to me. (Starting in 2007, there have been too many excuses and somewhat questionable injuries, which is usually a sign of age.)
The 400 is a yong man's game, the top guys are usually in their early to mid-20s and usually only have one Olympic cycle at the top of their game. Most of Wariner's contemporaries like Adam Steel, Darold Williamson, Otis Harris, Mitch Poter, Chris Rock, Derrick Brew, David Neville and the Xman have retired or are MIA. There a few old guys like Alleyne Francique Grenada, Chris Brown Bahamas and Gary Kikaya Congo who are still around, but things are different if you want to wear USA on your chest and maintain sponsorship. Chris Brown is actually stll ruuning pretty fast, so is Angelo Taylor; Michael Johnson ran fast into his early 30s, but they are outliers.
The USA along has about a half dozen guys capable of running sub-45, therefore, I don't see indiviudal success for Warienr this year, but I hope he makes the relay team, either way, his place in history as one of the greatest 400m sprinters is secure.
shabangarang wrote:
Has anyone considered that possbily he used to dope? And simply doesn't anymore?
Why stop now?
I agree with oldcoachman's analysis.
I even commented that he got a good start and seemed to be driving at the beginning of his recent 200m--if he is driving like that at the opening of a 400, that might be using up too much energy that would be better spent in the last 100.
I also remember him floating down the backstretch, it was one of the things I liked most about his running.
Maybe he has gotten an exaggerated sense of urgency, having realized that he is now vulnerable, and is going out too hard.
Or maybe he's just getting older, and doesn't have it in the last 100 no matter what he does, so he figures that he will front-load his 400 and then try to hang on in the home straight as best he can.
I agree that the 400 is a young man's game. That MJ continued into his early 30's and went WR late in his career tells you all you need to know about him.
If I'm Wariner, the thing I'm concentrating on most is........sleep.
That great night's sleep. Waking up feeling ready to go. WANTING to jump out of bed, having energy enough to hammer the last 100 of a fast 400.
Whatever it takes, he needs to get that sleep.
For many athletes, there are 2 periods of life--the first period, where you have to work to hold yourself back so that you don't burn out from your normally high level of arousal and activity, and the second period, where you have to work to get yourself to a high level of arousal and activity, from a normally low idle.
It looks to me like he's transitioned from the first to the second phase, and I don't think he yet knows how to deal with it. Hopefully he figures it out soon.
The guy ran 44.13 after opening up not much faster in 2010. He ran 44.89 last season while injured. If he's healthy, he should be fine.
WHOA.. I just realized that the dude won the race by 1.6 seconds. This is meaningless because of that.
When does Merritt run an open four? Do they race each other head to head?