Dick Pound suggests Triple Jump get axed from the Olympics - Seb Coe says no way (also defends race-walk)

No fan of the triple jump here, but respect to him for sticking up for it.

The trend's been to get rid of traditional events, and replace them with extreme sports.

He's not going to back the killing of any events before he's elected (if at all). Eventually, this will have to be addressed by the sport - how many different jumps, throws, running events can there be and still allow for a modernized presentation.

Looking for cuts, the 10,000 is the low hanging fruit. Too similar to 5000 and dilutes marathon comp to boot.

Medley relay is what I'd cut from swimming.

Elections wrote:

allow for a modernized presentation.

By modernized, do you mean wait a few hours after every event and all the results are known before showing it on tv or the internet?

pick dound wrote:

It sounds to me like Dick Pound should stick to pounding dicks

1. Thats the wittiest line you could come up with? I would have gone with something like, "Why so stiff, Dick Pound?"

2. And nobody is going to address this: What were Mr and Mrs Pound thinking? Was it A Boy Named Sue logic?

I kind of like the triple jump and figure it's probably pretty popular among people who actually get into the stadium to watch it. The hammer throw is more expendable.

I actually would eliminate the walks. And if you can't totally eliminate them, cut the men's walks from two back to one.

There is absolutely no doubt that there are too many swimming events.

The hammer throw has legit roots going back hundreds of years to medieval Scotland. It's also a clever and effective way to throw a heavy object really far.

The triple jump is an invention of the modern olympics based on speculation that incredible ancient greek marks must have meant they jumped three times. And it doesn't make sense - if you can't jump over something in one jump, you can't jump over it, period. Though it is a good event for big tall athletes who somehow can't make it in football or basketball.

Really though what track needs is to quit the olympics entirely. Road racing is successful because the olympics lost control of the marathon, but it still owns track.

rojo wrote:

I always think all of the ridiculous swimming events are out of control (how many relays do they have?) but then they probably view the 47 aspects of track as absurd in similar fashion.

I respect Dick Pound for his fight against dopers but in its current format, swimming is absolutely ridiculous sport to have in the Olympics. Backstroke? Imagine having backwards running races over 100m, 200m, 400m etc .. Butterfly? Same thing except it will be a running race where you have to wave your arms around your head. Medley? 100m backwards, 100m waving your hands around your head etc ... These events do not belong in the Olympics, they belong in the Xgames/extreme sports world along with tower running, power stilts running etc.

Seriously, the IOC needs to restrict swimming to just distances and people can use whatever style they want to win the race over the distance. Once they do that then we can talk about what events should be cut from track and field. An argument could be made for race walking but this could easily be replaced with a ultra running event over 100km which is more closely in line with the philosophy of covering the distance as fast as possible.

I like No to Dick Pound's comments

get rid of all swimming except freestyle

keep - track and field, swimming, gymnastics, wrestling, weight lifting, that's about it

I would cut the following -

Race Walks

3000m Steeplechase

200m

Hammer

10,000m

Triple Jump

Listen, you have to get rid of events that guys can double (the 10K and 5K are the same athletes for 80% of the field). The IOC loves targeting "African dominated disciplines," so the Steeple must go (plus, it has no defining Olympic moment). We keep Discus, Shot, and Javelin. Lose the 200m based on the same logic as 5K/10K, same athletes dominate.

I am with Dick Pound on the TJ. Just keep the Long Jump. it's about higher, stronger, faster, and the LJ accomplishes all that, while the TJ is technical-based to a higher degree. Coe is defending the TJ because his bedfellow is the WR holder in Jonathan Edwards.

I think that's a start.

You make it sound funny putting it like that, and I'd love to agree, being an avid defender of track and field, but imagine the backlash from the swimming community!

jofl wrote:

I would cut the following -

Race Walks

3000m Steeplechase

200m

Hammer

10,000m

Triple Jump

I think that's a start.

In order of cuts:

Race walk

Triple jump

10000m (but replaced by XC)

Heptathlon (but replaced by decathlon)

I do agree that hammer should be next after that...

It pains me to watch the triple jumpers smash their feet and ankles as hard as they can into the track. Maybe I am under the wrong impression, but isn't this discipline more injury-prone than all others? Not to mention how weird the whole idea is. It's about on par with steeple chase for weirdness. (But I like watching steeple chase better.)

Not that many care about health, especially in professional sports, but can't we just drop triple jump for safety reasons?

Seems like this fella should have started going by Richard or adopted his middle name. Or is his middle name worse?

The triple jump shares its origins with the children's game hopscotch, both being derived from a military exercise performed by Roman soldiers. Additionally it has some basis (potentially) in an ancient Celtic event. I'm not sure the supposition (based on erroneous measurements) that the Greeks must have jumped three times to cover such distances created the triple jump, but that it was a preexisting event that seem to fit the anomaly.

I would be very sad to see the Triple Jump go, it's a very beautiful and athletically demanding event, and though I recognize that it is more arbitrary than the long jump I personally find it more interesting.

Bad Wigins wrote:Really though what track needs is to quit the olympics entirely. Road racing is successful because the olympics lost control of the marathon, but it still owns track.

Yes! This is 100% the correct answer. I enjoy the Olympics only because it includes some of my favorite sports, but the regular TV watcher ends up thinking that the pole vault, 1500, or shot put has equivalent importance to to some lame prep school sport like fencing, or worse yet, some of the winter Olympic disciplines!

jofl wrote:

Lose the 200m

Actually, I believe that a race of approximately 200m was included in the ancient olympics, so there is a good argument for that to stay.

At the ancient Olympics the main (and at first only) event was the Stade, which at the stadium in Athens measured roughly 190m

jofl wrote:

I would cut the following -

Race Walks

3000m Steeplechase

200m

Hammer

10,000m

Triple Jump

Listen, you have to get rid of events that guys can double (the 10K and 5K are the same athletes for 80% of the field). The IOC loves targeting "African dominated disciplines," so the Steeple must go (plus, it has no defining Olympic moment). We keep Discus, Shot, and Javelin. Lose the 200m based on the same logic as 5K/10K, same athletes dominate.

I am with Dick Pound on the TJ. Just keep the Long Jump. it's about higher, stronger, faster, and the LJ accomplishes all that, while the TJ is technical-based to a higher degree. Coe is defending the TJ because his bedfellow is the WR holder in Jonathan Edwards.

I think that's a start.

That looks like the exact same list I was going to put up.

I may even go a step farther to take out the 400 hurdles, 800 and maybe the 5000.

Just have the 10 events of the decathlon.

Then add XC but on a fast surface.

Or a 10K road finishing on the track.