It was even closer in 1984 in the women’s 400m hurdles:
RANK FINAL TIME
1. Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR) 54.61
2. Judi Brown (USA) 55.20
3. Cristieana Cojocaru (ROU) 55.41
4. P. T. Usha (IND) 55.42
5. Ann-Louise Skoglund (SWE) 55.43
6. Debbie Flintoff (AUS) 56.21
7. Tuija Helander (FIN) 56.55
8. Sandra Farmer (JAM) 57.15
The guy should have been DQ’d for turning his back on the throw.
Which rule says that?
He has an excellent coach. Google is your friend .
chopchopchopra wrote:
Which rule says that?
It’s the rule that says the athlete is prohibited from turning completely around such that his back faces the direction of throw.
Not quite true, a number of Indian women got medals this Olympics and the field hockey team had some big upset wins. In America, among Indian- Americans you are also seeing more on d1 cross country and track teams. The tide is changing...
Congrats to India. Great to see another country win its first T&F gold medal. Can only help the popularity of the sport. (Would have been epic to see them and Pakistan duke it out).
As for US javelin potential, either they are all trying to be baseball pitchers or QBs; whether in HS or college. If I am not mistaken, Terry Bradshaw held his states spear record for a while. The jav is my favorite throws event, I love watching it sail through the air.
What Else wrote:
That is just the rich Indian immigrants we get here in the states.
I live in a community with large Indian (probably include Pakistan and Bangladesh) immigrant population. Based on my observations, youth sports participation is not great beyond about 12 years of age (many of the younger kids do play soccer and participate in gymnastics), but the adults exercise much more than the established Americans. Walking and playing tennis seem to be the most popular forms of exercise for the Indians. Whether this is entirely cultural, or a result of many of the immigrants being employed in healthcare and thus having a greater appreciation for exercise, I do not know.
Bravo, good to see India be part of the Olympic spirit and gold medal glory!
mar828 wrote:
Norman Pritchard from 1900 says "Don't forget about me!"
That brit won medals for the british raj, not India. Jai Hind!
LIrunnr wrote:
If I am not mistaken, Terry Bradshaw held his states spear record for a while.
Bradshaw held the national high record in the jav.
oldguy536 wrote:
LIrunnr wrote:
If I am not mistaken, Terry Bradshaw held his states spear record for a while.
Bradshaw held the national high record in the jav.
edit: national high school
800 critic wrote:
What a weird javelin final.
I tuned in ready for Vetter vs Rohler and got a bunch of guys I mostly never heard of.
Solid throw for the Indian though. Well done.
Rohler? Rohler? He pulled out of the Olympics due to injury. Sounds like you don't follow the sport.
WeiL614 wrote:
What happened with Johannes Vetter and DeAnna Price? Both reached history No.2 this season, but bombed at the Olympics.
I think Deanna was actually number one. Anyway, the other two 90m Germans didn’t heal In Time from surgery (Hofman, Rohler). No Yego. No Keshorn. Anderson couldn’t get it together. Many of the throws were lackluster. Chopra was putting up great numbers last year. It was only a matter of time. If the Olympics were last year, these rosters would be waaaaay different.
T&F utility man (200-3000)m wrote:
Javelin world record holder competed at 6'1" 192 pounds. The fella who just won is 5'11 1/2" 180 pounds. U.S. is a nation with millions of potential gold medal javelin throwers. U.S. could take over javelin throw sooner than U.S. can fix the other events.
Far more lucrative to play quarterback or pitcher.
jav surprise wrote:
jav surprise wrote:
So surprised to see this result. For a big country, India doesn't win a lot of medals. Only Indias second individual gold. Great to see diversity in this event. With the Trinidad thrower winning before. And the Kenyan winning worlds, I think. And a Pakistani in 5th as well.
I suppose if I had been paying attention, it wouldn't be that surprising. He's had good results. World Junior Champion and WJR.
Been following Vetter and Chopra the last few years. Chopra was definitely expected to medal, but most thought Vetter was a shoe-in for gold. Vetter threw 96m in May. Chopra’s best was 88m in March.
Kudos to Chopra, because he had the weight of an entire nation’s expectations on his shoulders. Serious mental fortitude to deliver like he did.
Mr. Dopkemboi Kipcheater wrote:
SuprisedByThat wrote:
1+ billion people. Given the number of track and field events I am surprised this is India's first medal of any kind.
I am not surprised at all. The mean male height in India is about 165 cm. They have a very large population, but a very small athletic potential. In fact, I would rather expect some Indians in long distances or in the marathon. Certainly not in the javelin throw.
Until the average Indian eats decent portions of meat, the size of the average Indian will stay stunted.
As long as the Hindu religion is fervently followed I don't expect a generation of muscle men to emerge from there, less a few outliers.
This is ridiculously ignorant - most Indians do eat meat, including the Hindus.
Vetter even trash talked Neeraj beforehand, saying that it will be so easy for him to throw over 90m, how we will dominate, etc. Funny to see Neeraj completely upstage him.
Belly up to an Indian buffet at your local restaurant. Then go try and run a fast 400m or so around the track. You'll understand why they're no good in track and field.