Bolt wins in world leading 9.76 (Rome)

Bolt still has a way to go, he is not yet in his peak 2008/2009 shape.

9.75 corrected, with a mediocre start and no lean means that around 9.70 was possible.

9.62 corrected is still significantly better.

And 9.69 corrected, with a crap RT, goofing, and a negative lean may be even better yet.

So he's got a way to go, but not far, maybe .10, which is incredible.

Put it this way: he has all year to get faster by .10, which should surely be doable, and then we will be back into WR-territory. Unbelievable, I hope that he doesn't get injured.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Put it this way: he has all year to get faster by .10, which should surely be doable, and then we will be back into WR-territory. Unbelievable, I hope that he doesn't get injured.

He can do it. Don't be surprised if the WR falls again. I think Glen Mills is training the $hit out of him. He even dumped his girlfriend so she wouldn't "distract" him. That, or he caved to racial pressure.

I hate to say it, but dumping his girlfriend and now getting good sleep and eating better is the absolute best thing that he could have done.

He needed to get back to his source, whatever that is.

In the meantime, check out Collins, posting a SB of 10.05 (-0.1), which is 10.04 corrected with his crap RT of .163

He is, once again, close to the best shape of his life! I predict that he will go sub-10 this year, and may set a new PR if conditions allow.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

He needed to get back to his source, whatever that is.

More like, he needed to get back in touch with his sauce source.

IQ of a yam.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Speaking of Lemaitre, I knew we would see something like this from him. He has been exactly the same runner for years now, completely stagnated in the 100m. Hopefully he will show better in the 200m.

I remember you saying this. What is going on with him? Isn't he a bit young to be stalled out?

Whaaat? wrote:

He even dumped his girlfriend so she wouldn't "distract" him. That, or he caved to racial pressure.

That, or they publicly "broke up" because of attention from people like you, and are still happily seeing each other.

Truss me.

not giving a shit about bolt wrote:

IQ of a yam.

Thanks for taking the time to post though.

from JAM wrote:

Whaaat? wrote:

He even dumped his girlfriend so she wouldn't "distract" him. That, or he caved to racial pressure.

That, or they publicly "broke up" because of attention from people like you, and are still happily seeing each other.

Truss me.

If the pumpum was slowing him down, he did the right thing. Truss mi!

First, Lemaitre's concentrating on the 200m, not the 100m, as his medal chances are better, therefore this 10.04 corrected at the end of May is a decent sign--not great, but decent. He ran 19.80 off just about that same level of 100 fitness last year.

Second, Lemaitre is a young guy who appears to be rather culturally reverential, and who likely exhibits a kind of deference to the self-appointed French cultural elites, including the sporting/coaching elites.

Lemaitre has probably been inculcated with values that lead to the conclusion that he is not great as an individual or because of his individual qualities, but that he is great as a Frenchman, and because the French culture enabled its greatness to be expressed through him. I'm not kidding. He comes from a traditional family, from an area of the country that maintains very strong cultural traditions.

Actually, more than being French, he is Savoyard, a group of people who view themselves in a very particular way...they are the mountain people, with proud traditions, and have culturally been quite insular, in part due to the geography. This is an area where certain French and some Jews hid out during WWII, because it was hard to get to, even for the Nazis, when the passes weren't navigable. It's the area of filet de perche and fondue. It's small, and VERY traditional.

For Lemaitre to turn away from his current situation would require him to repudiate this cultural heritage and tradition. He's a homey. Very honorable, indeed--that isolated cultural tradition can now lay claim to having produced the first white guy legitimately under 10.00, and national French T&F records, no small achievements. Consider that this small region has been able to accomplish what great powers like the Soviet Union, Germany, England, USA, etc. have not, in having a white guy under 10.

And make no mistake, it is his cultural heritage that defines who he is. I get the impression that he doesn't have a tremendous amount of individuality, which is fine--he is still very young, and has had his head up his ass training, and continues to have people around him who willingly give their all for his success. He IS Savoie.

So, there is no way that I can see him jumping ship to another coach or program, no way at all. The best that could happen would be that he would train with another group, but always under the direct supervision of his own coach. There will always be someone by his side.

He will never pull a Donovan Bailey and seek out Pfaff, and move to another country to train under a foreign national. Sadly for him, he is unlikely to ever experience the success of Bailey as a result. I ran against Bailey--like Lemaitre, he had a huge amount of native talent, but make no mistake, it was Pfaff who made Bailey the WC, OC, and WR-holder.

Lemaitre will never get there, UNLESS the people around him now will be willing to acknowledge their own limitations, and basically throw him out, or strongly encourage his diversification. That's not going to happen in this Olympic year, because everyone is invested in the big chance. He is, and will remain, stagnated in the 100m for this year.

If he remains stagnated in the 200 as well, that would mean 19.80 this year in London, which will likely be too slow for bronze. I hope that they have more 200 knowledge and expertise, so that he at least contends for a medal, because 19.80 is a VERY good starting point...but I'm not holding my breath.

Next year, they should do what is painful, and let him go. Immediately after the Olympics, in fact--the sooner, the better. If he fails to medal--which is likely--maybe some good will come of it, in that his current team will realize that he needs more than they can offer. They should do it for HIS sake.

But Lemaitre might have to make the decision himself. People can grab on tightly, and often don't want the ride to end. It will be tough if he has to do it, it will go against the grain of who he is. He is a good guy, a good son, a good Frenchman. I wouldn't fault him one bit if he put all that ahead of T&F, and stayed exactly where he was--of all the places in the world, culturally, socially, athletically, geographically, he's got it as good as it gets IMHO.

The upshot? Don't look for anything seriously different from him this year, than from last year.

what's with the douchey gloves on lerone clarke?!?!?!

Come on, give the guy some slack...he's Lerone Clarke!

He's not one of the heavy-hitters, why not let him have his fun.

He's becoming the Dennis Rodman of the 100m.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Very honorable, indeed--that isolated cultural tradition can now lay claim to having produced the first white guy legitimately under 10.00, and national French T&F records, no small achievements. Consider that this small region has been able to accomplish what great powers like the Soviet Union, Germany, England, USA, etc. have not, in having a white guy under 10.

An interesting post but it made me turn away from France for a moment and look at Jamaica. A virtual dot on the map, which is infinitely more impressive - even when you inject race into the argument. To have six out of nine sprinters in this race alone with two WR holders placing 1 and 2 is insane.

Consider this...

France Pop = 65,630,692

Jamaica pop = 2,889,187

I won't even bother posting the pop of the other world powers.

Actually, I was talking about Savoie in particular.

In 2006, the population of Savoie was only 403,000...and there is no particular sprinting culture, as there obviously is, and has been, in Jamaica.

This is not to take away from the fact that Jamaica's success has been more than impressive.

Lemaitre has been in University this past year, in Annecy, Haute Savoire. He's a hometown boy as you say.

http://www.ledauphine.com/haute-savoie/2011/09/08/christophe-lemaitre-fait-sa-rentree-a-annecy-le-vieux