Neeraj Chopra of India, the Olympic Gold medalist in the javelin who just won a silver today, is the most popular track athlete in the world currently competing.
Countries you don't really see at World Championships
Pro News/Info/Results
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korean american distance runner wrote:
ill tell you why Korea doesn't really have any good athletes (besides woo sanghyeok)
the korean way of developing athletes is just toxic. athletes with any kind of potential start training seriously from elementary school, and almost train like pros (even at that kind of age). they are moved out from normal schools, and get to attend specialized sports schools where you learn the bare minimum. coaches have them do insane workouts, and give them an insane workload. in many cases, coaches physically (and sometimes, sexually) abuse, not to mention the psychological pressure that could even put alberto salazar to shame.
by the time these athletes are out of high school, theyre done with this kind of life. their bodies and minds are cooked; years and years of hard training burns them out. the few that continue into adulthood are overworked, and quite honestly, do too much. 3 tough workouts in a week, with 2 of them back to back. theres not much recovering happening...
my colleges' records are better than most korean national records.
contrast that with what I do in college, its completely different. we have 2 days of working out, and the rest are just easy runs. its all very simple. workouts are tough, but leaves you fresh enough to get out the next day. all this, while balancing a full load of coursework (were d3, so no shortcuts)
Here in Eastern Europe, we had the same routine as Koreans. Used to work for us in the past.
Now we actually have a more relaxed approach to training and our athletes get less medals compared to when we had "work till death" mentallity.
So im not sure thats the issue.
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underperformers wrote:
Neither of the two largest countries in Europe (Germany and France) has won a medal, yet Ukraine has won 2, as has Belgium and Lithuania.
Italy now sucking it just as hard as Germany, with a bronze each.
The kids are interested in other things.
Does Germany subsidize its athletics to such a degree that this is some sort of great failure?
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prorunner123 wrote:
korean american distance runner wrote:
ill tell you why Korea doesn't really have any good athletes (besides woo sanghyeok)
the korean way of developing athletes is just toxic. athletes with any kind of potential start training seriously from elementary school, and almost train like pros (even at that kind of age). they are moved out from normal schools, and get to attend specialized sports schools where you learn the bare minimum. coaches have them do insane workouts, and give them an insane workload. in many cases, coaches physically (and sometimes, sexually) abuse, not to mention the psychological pressure that could even put alberto salazar to shame.
by the time these athletes are out of high school, theyre done with this kind of life. their bodies and minds are cooked; years and years of hard training burns them out. the few that continue into adulthood are overworked, and quite honestly, do too much. 3 tough workouts in a week, with 2 of them back to back. theres not much recovering happening...
my colleges' records are better than most korean national records.
contrast that with what I do in college, its completely different. we have 2 days of working out, and the rest are just easy runs. its all very simple. workouts are tough, but leaves you fresh enough to get out the next day. all this, while balancing a full load of coursework (were d3, so no shortcuts)
Here in Eastern Europe, we had the same routine as Koreans. Used to work for us in the past.
Now we actually have a more relaxed approach to training and our athletes get less medals compared to when we had "work till death" mentallity.
So im not sure thats the issue.
The trick is to begin "vitamin supplementation" very early.
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The guy who finished last in the second heat of the 5000 m (16:00 +) comes from the country of Aruba, small island.
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Aruba actually has some pretty decent track and field records but I’m guessing a lot of the records were established by people of Aruban descent who migrated to other countries. Example, the guy who ran a 2:13:00 marathon I doubt trained for a marathon at that level on the island of Aruba.
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It would be more interesting to talk only about "running" disciplines not technical disciplines.
You have: Iran and Israel
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People from Aruba automatically possess Dutch citizenship which is a great benefit because obviously if they cannot find work on the island, population 120,000 people, they can migrate to the Netherlands which has good infrastructure and work opportunities for most people. In fact, the marathon record holder with two hours 13 minutes obtained all his performances in the Netherlands so I assumed he was permanently residing in the country but ran for the country of Aruba for other benefits.
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L'innoculateur wrote:
It would be more interesting to talk only about "running" disciplines not technical disciplines.
You have: Iran and Israel
Track and field are not popular sports in either Iran or Israel, and the sport which draws the most fanatics in both of those countries is basketball and in Asia Iran is a perennial favorite to take the Asian championships. Iran also possesses very good world-class volleyball players, and wrestlers. In Israel these days the Ethiopian Jewish diaspora is producing good results in long-distance running from 10,000 m to the marathon.
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bong hits for rojo wrote:
Finland a larger country?
It has a population of 5.5 million, less than Minnesota and 1.7% of the US population.
Letsrun has some very weird posters, like they never went to school (or flunked out) but think that they are super smart.
Trump voters
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Malarkey wrote:
bong hits for rojo wrote:
Finland a larger country?
It has a population of 5.5 million, less than Minnesota and 1.7% of the US population.
Letsrun has some very weird posters, like they never went to school (or flunked out) but think that they are super smart.
Trump voters
Wow.
As if the Biden admin has not been even worse
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I am from India originally. But I grew up in Canada. We have had this discussion so many times.
The reason India sucks are sports is simple to explain:
Because the parents hate sports.
In my life, I always heard it from my parents that running is a waste of time and that I should become a doctor. I actually did become a doctor but I quit after 9 years of working.
I have been a runner since age 14 and now I am 47 and will be a lifelong runner.Another reason why India sucks are sports is because of corruption. The funding is either non-existent or if it is provided by the government, it is mis-managed or pocketed by the officials of the track organization.
India DOES have a lot of talented athletes, trust me I know. I sponsored two of them with my company from 2015-2018:
Lalita Babar - who qualified for the Olympics in 2016 and made the final in the 3000m Steeple.
Beant Singh - Ran 1:51 for 800m at age 15, now has a PB of 1:46. Won multiple medals in Asia.The talent is there. But the country is so religious, backward and corrupt that the athletes seldom get the opportunity they deserve.
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L'innoculateur wrote:
It would be more interesting to talk only about "running" disciplines not technical disciplines.
You have: Iran and Israel
Did you check who won the bronze in women's marathon? Does that count as a running discipline?
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