LaShawn Merrit kicks home for gold like a boss

Montesquieu wrote:

I deeply hope that Lee Evans, Larry James, Vince Matthews, Michael Johnson, and the Jet did not witness the first three legs.

Well, we can be confident that Larry James, at least, didn't see it.

You know, being dead and all...

How does the blade runner handle handoffs and running in traffic? I guess you could have him lead off, but you'd get the most out of him if you could get him a running start somehow.

It has to be said wrote:

Surprised blade runner didn't run the relay. I can't imagine all 4 on that SA relay team were better than him. Could have been the difference for gold.

Technically speaking he has SA's 2nd fastest 400m runner on the year. But they replaced him with their fastest 400m runner on the year in Van Zyl who ran 44.86 open this year. So yeah they didn't have their best-of-the-best out there, technically, but Pistorius is limiting for them in a sense. By only being able to lead off it makes changing the order tricky in order to accomodate Van Zyl while still playing to the strengths of the other relay members.

Now, the announcers (dumb volleyball guy and Dwight Stones) said that Pistorius prefers Lane 1 to be able to put more torque on his blades, but everything I heard/common sense in general seems to say that tight turns and not having an ankle joint wouldn't workout too well (like his 400 in NY when he was chasing the qualifier). So, if he does prefer Lane 1, then having Lane 8 would've put him at an extreme disadvantage. OR, they knew they were going to get either 1 or 8 and had to declare the team ahead of the lane draws and didn't want to risk the 50/50 chance of perfect conditions of piss-poor conditions

cashs wrote:

I guess you could have him lead off

He wascleared by the IAAF to compete on the relay by being the lead-off leg only

Anyone have USA's splits?

my hand timed splits

Nixon- 44.8

Jackson- 45.3

Taylor- 45.1

Merritt- 43.9

Berry ran 43.7 in the semis on the third leg

no love for Ron Freeman? bronze 44.41 (and 43.2 leg) 3 meters down to 20 meters up! fastest leg on the team.

Great race by Merritt. Love Bershawn, but his leg was a mess. He might as well have been running with his shoes untied and his uniform on backwards.

Thanks. Sorry Ms Jackson, your boy ran like crap.

nastynater wrote:

my hand timed splits

Nixon- 44.8

Jackson- 45.3

Taylor- 45.1

Merritt- 43.9

Berry ran 43.7 in the semis on the third leg

nastynater wrote:

my hand timed splits

Nixon- 44.8

Jackson- 45.3

Taylor- 45.1

Merritt- 43.9

Berry ran 43.7 in the semis on the third leg

43.7, wow! He should have taken Jackson's spot, but then Merritt wouldn't have gotten to be the hero!

This site is unbelievable

Any runners setting a fast time but who have never failed a test are dopers

But actual dopers are heroes.

ukathleticscoach wrote:

This site is unbelievable

Any runners setting a fast time but who have never failed a test are dopers

But actual dopers are heroes.

Don't be bitter. Merritt made an embarrassing mistake and paid for it. He's clean now and it took courage to come back and perform like a hero in relay.

go_merritt wrote:

Don't be bitter. Merritt made an embarrassing mistake and paid for it. He's clean now and it took courage to come back and perform like a hero in relay.

And he'll now perform like a hero in bed, too!

ukathleticscoach wrote:

This site is unbelievable

Any runners setting a fast time but who have never failed a test are dopers

But actual dopers are heroes.

He took an erection pill. It was dumb, 1) for not knowing what all was in the pill and 2) for taking an erection pill at age 23, but one he admitted freely to and served his time accordingly.

Do you look down on VCB the same way you look down on Merritt? She's a convicted drug user. If we're going to argue that all convictions are of equal weight without regard to the circumstances, then she's just as bad as the worst of them. A conviction is a conviction, right?

Or perhaps he should've gone through a piss-poor series of excuses for "missing" his scheduled testing like Ohuruogu?

Who is the coach who gets paid to go to South Korea NOT to use Michael Berry in the final? I mean, jeez....

Wonders About This Place wrote:

Who is the coach who gets paid to go to South Korea NOT to use Michael Berry in the final? I mean, jeez....

I was wondering that too... what does Berry have to say about not being included in the final? Was he Guttered?

Wonders About This Place wrote:

Who is the coach who gets paid to go to South Korea NOT to use Michael Berry in the final? I mean, jeez....

Have to believe there were politics involved in Jackson and Taylor being in the relay final after being unimpressive in the IH.

The lesson for London 4x400 could go either way:

1. Almost blew that, better make sure to have the fastest runners in the final.

or

2. Got the win; as long as there is a savior to anchor, the middle legs are fair game for playing political favors.

going backwards wrote:

Wonders About This Place wrote:

Who is the coach who gets paid to go to South Korea NOT to use Michael Berry in the final? I mean, jeez....

Have to believe there were politics involved in Jackson and Taylor being in the relay final after being unimpressive in the IH.

The lesson for London 4x400 could go either way:

1. Almost blew that, better make sure to have the fastest runners in the final.

or

2. Got the win; as long as there is a savior to anchor, the middle legs are fair game for playing political favors.

Oh man, I hope they don't go with #2. I guess I don't understand the politics... I mean what are the athletes going to do? Refuse to compete in their individual events if they aren't included in the relay?

my country 'tis of thee wrote:

ukathleticscoach wrote:

This site is unbelievable

Any runners setting a fast time but who have never failed a test are dopers

But actual dopers are heroes.

He took an erection pill. It was dumb, 1) for not knowing what all was in the pill and 2) for taking an erection pill at age 23, but one he admitted freely to and served his time accordingly.

Or perhaps he should've gone through a piss-poor series of excuses for "missing" his scheduled testing like Ohuruogu?

____________________________________

That's the excuse he used. But some erection pills are also performance enhancers.

Wow did I say that?

Yes of course he knowingly took performance enhancers.

Which brings a theme that people need to remember. All these drugs that athletes use - PEDs - are developed for something else. They aren't developed to make you run faster. They just happen to also improve athletic performance.

So when a 23 yr old claims he needs more lead in his pencil, you should be wary. Since when does a 23 year old healthy male need some of that? When I was that agfe it used to stay up for days.

I am nearly 58 years old and I have still plenty of wood. Any time I need it. (Which unfortunately doesn't correspond with when its available.)