I find it amazing that Jon Brown can find his way to not one but TWO fourth place finishes in Olympic Marathons.
He hasn't done much in the last 4 years, so this 4th place at Athens has to be seen as somewhat of a victory for him personally.
Jason
I find it amazing that Jon Brown can find his way to not one but TWO fourth place finishes in Olympic Marathons.
He hasn't done much in the last 4 years, so this 4th place at Athens has to be seen as somewhat of a victory for him personally.
Jason
except his 61 minute half marathon the past year.
OK I did not know about that one.
They treat him like crap in England as well because they have Paula Radcliffe.
I never had the chance to meet Jon Brown in person but I remember him whizzing by me, lapping me in an indoor 5000 at Iowa State in February 1991.
Jason
mud wrote:
They treat him like crap in England as well because they have Paula Radcliffe.
Word on the street is that he'll be running for Canada in the next little while.
I read that he had plenty of injuries since Sydney and almost quit running...(wasn't Paula Radcliffe the fastest person man or woman in England last year)...and also hasn't the British Federation always succeeded in treating many of their athletes bad at some time or another??? (I remember reading about all the problems that Coe, Ovett or Cram would have in getting selected for some races if they had injuries while the selection went on...I think they always leave a spot or two open besides a trial race...)
I heard about Jon Brown back in the early 90's at a 20k. road race in Holland (Alphen an der Rijn...) he went for a short run the night before the race...but got lost in the little Dutch town and got in a 2 hour run...but he took it with a smile...although I think Brown deserves to win a medal in a big marathon, then I also think it would have been sad if De Lima had placed 4th.
Jon was rejected by the Welsh selectors when he asked to run the Commonwealth games marathon, on grounds that he hadn't done the selection race. Fine, but other athletes were selected who were in the same position... A bit of a mistake if you ask me, considering his championship record.
mud wrote:
They treat him like crap in England as well because they have Paula Radcliffe.
...not entirely true! they'd love a big name male distance star in the UK. The problem with JB (IMO) is that he has little contact with the federation (because he's in canada)and is (from all acounts) not the most outgoing person.
they did go out on a limb this yr and select him for the world cross not having raced in the trials. caused a bit on a stir on this board at the time but the selection was vindicated by his run in the race (top brit).
Roger the sheep wrote:
Jon was rejected by the Welsh selectors when he asked to run the Commonwealth games marathon, on grounds that he hadn't done the selection race. Fine, but other athletes were selected who were in the same position... A bit of a mistake if you ask me, considering his championship record.
4th?
Yes 4th. In the Olympics. Twice.
It's probably not unprecedented, but poor old Eamonn Coghlan got 4th in consecutive Olymoics in two separate events - 1500 in 1976 and 5000 in 1980.
No, of course it's not unprecedented, but Jon Brown has a proven championship record. In this light, the Welsh selectors made a bit of a blunder when not selecting him for the Commonwealth games IMHO.
The number of top class marathoners coming from South Wales over the years is quite amazing for an area not even the size of Switzerland...
Check the rankings:
1.
2:07:13
Steve Jones
Newport
Chicago, USA
20:10:1985
2.
2:10:35
Steve Brace
Bridgend
Houston, USA
21:01:1996
3.
2:12:12
Dennis Fowles
Cardiff
London
13:05:1984
4.
2:12:33
Tony Simmons
Luton Utd.
Sandbach
07:05:1978
5.
2:12:34
Gordon Minty
Thames Valley
Eugene, USA
13:09:1981
6.
2:13:21
Ieuan Ellis
Newport
Beijing, China
19:10:1986
7.
2:13:41
Dale Rixon
Bridgend
Paris, France
10:11:1996
8.
2:13:48
Mike Bishop
Staffs. Moorlands
Paris, France
17:05:1987
9.
2:14:03
Adrian Leek
Cardiff
Pittsburgh, USA
13:05:1987
10.
2:14:56
Bernie Plain
Cardiff
Christchurch, NZ
31:01:1974
11.
2:15:47
Norman Wilson
Thames Valley
London
17:04:1983
12.
2:15:48
Chris Buckley
Westbury
London
21:04:1991
13.
2:15:59
Malcolm Thomas
Thames Valley
Harlow
27:10:1973
14.
2:16:21
Laurie Adams
Hillingdon
Brisbane, Australia
23:07:1983
15.
2:16:53
Mike Rowland
Newport
Manchester (Maxol)
04:06:1972
16.
2:16:56
Alan Joslyn
Newport
Windsor
11:09:1976
17.
2:17:02
Mike Critchley
Cardiff
Harlow
27:10:1973
18.
2:17:11
Roger Hackney
Aldershot, F & D.
Birmingham
23:09:1989
19.
2:17:20
Greg Newhams
Bridgend
London
22:04:1990
20.
2:17:23
Alun Cole
Newport
London
17:04:1983
21.
2:17:27
Ted Turner
Aldershot, F & D
Hong Kong
22:01:1983
22.
2:17:30
Peter Williams
Swansea
St. Paul, USA
08:10:1989
23.
2:17:33
Trevor Hawes
Swansea
London
17:04:1983
24.
2:17:57
Dic Evans
Cardiff
Glasgow
21:09:1986
25.
2:17:58
Mick McGeoch
Les Croups
London
17:04:1983
26.
2:18:03
Malcolm French
Fleet & Crookham
London
21:04:1985
27.
2:18:08
Cyril Leigh
Salford
Manchester (Maxol)
04:06:1972
28.
2:18:19
John Davies
Essex Beagles
London
17:04:1983
29.
2:18:35
Rod Jones
Westbury
London
16:04:2000
30.
2:18:40
John Hooper
Cardiff
London
23:04:1989
31.
2:18:51
Jeremy Hall
Swansea
London
22:04:1990
32.
2:18:56
John Robertshaw
Newport
Sandbach
21:06:1981
33.
2:19:04
Bob Sercombe
Newport
Manchester (Maxol)
03:06:1973
34.
2:19:20
Mick Crowell
Bridgend
Glasgow
11:09:1983
35.
2:19:29
Peter Jones
Cambridge
London
13:05:1984
36.
2:19:40
Eddy Lee
Pegasus
Barcelona, Spain
15:03:1987
37.
2:19:46
Gareth Davies
Bridgend
London
17:04:1994
38.
2:19:53
Simon Axon
Swansea
London
20:04:1986
Noteworthy recent performance by Athletes with Welsh “Connections”
Time
Athlete
Club
Venue
Date
2:15:07
Jamie Lewis
Swansea
London
16:04:2000
2:16:27
Simon Pride
Swansea
London
22:04:2001
Your word is wrong. He still recieves a 40,000 a year elite strip-end from the UK. He loves training in Victoria, but he is not that stupid.
The way he is treated in Britain, I wouldn't blame him for defecting....
Christian wrote:
I read that he had plenty of injuries since Sydney and almost quit running...(wasn't Paula Radcliffe the fastest person man or woman in England last year)...and also hasn't the British Federation always succeeded in treating many of their athletes bad at some time or another??? (I remember reading about all the problems that Coe, Ovett or Cram would have in getting selected for some races if they had injuries while the selection went on...I think they always leave a spot or two open besides a trial race...)
I heard about Jon Brown back in the early 90's at a 20k. road race in Holland (Alphen an der Rijn...) he went for a short run the night before the race...but got lost in the little Dutch town and got in a 2 hour run...but he took it with a smile...although I think Brown deserves to win a medal in a big marathon, then I also think it would have been sad if De Lima had placed 4th.
Where is this "deserves" stuff come from? One of the beauties of competition especially in objective sports (as opposed to scoring that relies on the judgment of a person for a score) is that you do what you can do and let the chips fall where they may.
No one "deserves" a medal. Are there people I wish had gotten a gold medal (or any other color medal for instance), sure. Hell Ron Clarke and Bill Rodgers come to mind.
The CBC wrote:
Word on the street is that he'll be running for Canada in the next little while.
that's laughable, for Brown to make that change is like going back 10 years in time. If Canada's standard for women marathoners is 2.28, which is faster than the women's record, what is the standard for the men.
The COC ranks high up in the Argument Clinic.
I live in Vancouver where he races a lot. He says he is going to be competing for Canada as soon as that goes through. He had a big fallout with that David Bedford guy in England, but says that has nothing to do with his decision.
Why the hell did Brown want to Wales for anyway when he ran for England in the 94 Commonwealth Games?
Did anybody else think that Brown was going to deck the shit out of de Lima for his silly airplane antics; he looked pissed. Probably due to his consecutive fourths.