Aussies: If I told you 4 years ago that Stewart McSweyn would have the Aussie record at 1500 (3k and 10k), what would you have s

K2 wrote:vv vvve

ShilohDoesntCare wrote:

Give me a break. Bideau is one of the best coaches in the world and I can't recall a single one of his athletes getting busted or even being under suspicion. If you're a Rosa or Pineda athlete there's a clear and understandable reason why someone would find you suspicious. You see far less of that with athletes training with Colm O'Connell for instance. Someone from one of Rosa's camps is getting caught for doping multiple times per year it seems.

Lance Armstrong wasn't caught either...

Neither were his power outputs superhuman. Get off the drug fantasy train.

And that includes rojo too.

not an Aussie wrote:

K2 wrote:vv vvve

Lance Armstrong wasn't caught either...

Neither were his power outputs superhuman. Get off the drug fantasy train.

And that includes rojo too.

Sure.

Some posters have dropped 'no talent'/'King Island' claims.

Bit of a stretch - went to HS in Ballarat (country town, 100k ppl) where Rod Griffin coached him. He's a well known local coach who was relatively cautious with his development (also coached Collis Birmingham as a jnr).

Made world junior crossy with some names.

2013 Aus team also had:

Morgan McDonald

Jacob Birtwhistle (Pro triathlete)

Aus has no NCAA style system - so group's are light on after HS - gotta move from Ballarat for Uni - Bideau's group is large, training is v aerobic, so looks doable to start with in the lower rungs.

McSweyn's long stretches of no injury/high volume before his massive jump, worth noting.

rojo wrote:

Well now are you trying to make yourself look foolish? The reason why people from Australia and the US don't get accused of age cheating is they all have birth certificates.

Just letting you into a secret rojo, since you are so 'well travelled'.

Kenyans do get birth certificates when they are born

You make as if they are swinging from trees, or are some remote undiscovered tribe in Papua New Guinea.

I am Sam wrote:

Kenyans do get birth certificates when they are born

You need to do a little research my friend, Google would be a good place to start.

Kenyans can get birth certificates when they are born, many don't, even today, let alone 10/15/20/25 years ago.

A bit of research would help. wrote:

Google would be a good place to start.

, many don't,

In other words "Google helps me to form stereotypes"

No, if you know how to discern the wheat from the chaff it gives informed information, like this from a Kenyan reporter:

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2019-08-12-why-kenyans-do-not-have-birth-certificates/

or this:

"PLAN International says only about half of children born in Kenya have birth certificates."

https://www.voanews.com/africa/kenya-works-make-birth-registration-easier#:~:text=PLAN%20International%20says%20only%20about,be%20denied%20rightful%20property%20inheritance

.

Make it in to a race issue if you want, but it won't change the facts.

I could be wrong, but foolish is arguing that a news network should be banned from Twitter because of a methodologically sound analysis it posted which you happen to not like.

While African football has a problem of age fraud, confirmed cases in athletics are insignificant -- if any exist -- to justify the nonsense that often comes up here to diminish the accomplishments of East African athletes. Take the case of Kipchoge: people use his appearance today to claim he's older than his stated age, ignoring the fact that he "looked" his age in his early appearances, many of which are on YouTube. And apparently only Norwegian teenagers are teenagers, and Ugandans who have been competing [at the Olympics] since they were 15 are liars.

But I get it. It's not just an East African issue. In your country, after all, African American boys are always seen as older and treated as adults -- your police and justice system have perfected this -- so why should it be different for some African villagers?

And, an American preaching about birth certificates? Isn't that the country where a presidential aspirant's citizenship and birth certificate were a big big big issue?

They are not Australian, but I am wondering about the pay cuts Sarah Sellers and Jared Ward are taking.

Football takes age cheating far more seriously than athletics. FIFA brought in MRI scans back in 2009. Still not a sniff of it happening in athletics.

It simply is the case that birth certificates have not been above 50% in Kenya for long, if ever, that in rural areas the #'s are lower, and that agents get athletes into world juniors and world youth at higher ages as a way of making their names and getting invites. You can't treat Kenya as if it has the same kind of rigorous and universal system of creating legal documents such as birth certificates.

This isn't about one or two athletes like Kipchoge. It is a systematic phenomenon.

https://nation.africa/kenya/sports/athletics/age-cheating-athletes-to-pay-the-price-warn-ak-404620%20

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/athletics/2001316541/athletics-kenya-warns-of-age-cheating-in-trials

It would sound much more crazy than saying Drew Hunter would have the American records in the 1500, 3000, and 10000 by 2020. Maybe ghost was right and don't eat junk food as a pro athlete if you want to stay healthy. McSweyn don't eat no McDonalds.

His exploits are no more awe-inspiring than Celia Sullohern's big drops in times leading up to the last Commonwealth Games

rojo wrote:

" just finished reading a Q&A that Chris Kelsall did with Stewart McSweyn of Australia. I had forgotten (or maybe didn't know) that McSweyn made his first Worlds team in 2017 in the steeple. That got me to looking at his PR progression on tilastapaja.

In 2016, McSweyn didnt even have a 1500 or mile pb listed on tilastapaja. His pbs in 2016 were 7:54, 13:41 and 28:29 (plus 8:34 in the steeple). Now he's a 3:30 NR, 27:23 NR guy who is hoping to break 13:00 soon that doesn't even steeple.

In 2015 or 2016, what was the view on the guy? If I told you' he'd go on to have the 1500 NR, would you have thought I was crazy? What was he viewed as? I mean did people even recognize him as having the talent for the NR in the 3 and 10 let alone the 1500 which he didn't even run at the time."

-------------------

objective observer wrote:

I don´t think it is very strange that Stewy has made some big jumbs after he reached his twenties. He apparently was kind af a multi sportsman well up in his teens before starting training seriously as a runner so it seems natural that his progression has been delayed.

Stewy, however, ran 14:58 in the 5000m at 16 which is not too bad for a youngster who has not yet focused solely on running. His first top time came at age 22 where he ran 13:05.

Further he ran 8:59 at he 3000m at age 15 and his first top time 7:54 at 22.

You can say it is not very impressive BUT........

It is not far from Galen Rupp´s times in his teens and early twenties:

Galen ran 14:34 at 16 in the 5000m and 13:07 at 24.

In the 3000m Galen ran 8:03 at 18 but have never ran faster outdoor than 7:43.

So if Stewy was an "also-ran" before his early twenties so was Galen at least in the 5000m.

BUT I DON´T THINK YOU WOULD PUT GALEN IN THAT CATEGORY? I think Galen has be quite hyped since his high school time.

-----------------------

There are many other examples of top runners who first went from "sub elite" to the top in their twenties some times even in their mid or late twenties.

Two years ago I thought he would be the next non African under 13 mins, take the Kincaid staged event out, it will be the case unless Gjert lets Jakob race in a decent 5,000m.

I would also like to add to the foray that his twin brother is apparently an excellent Aussie Rules Rugby player and a top-notch cricketer.

His father competed in the Commonwealth Games as a weightlifter.

So there is some all-around talent there.

Nic told me this after the interview was published, otherwise, I would have broached the subject. Nic added, "he is a machine."

So there you go. I expect a 12-something and a 26-something and you know what that could mean? Potential half-marathon and marathon records....

Deek has the marathon record at 2:07:51. Brett Robinson has the half-marathon record at 59:57.

Mono ran a wack of halfs at sub-61. Halfs weren't as popular when Deek and Mono were at their respective peaks. I am guessing the record would have been a little faster.

McSweyn could own the 5, 10, half and mara records all at the same time. That would be pretty cool. Although I think Buster really kicked ass to get that sub 13....stay tuned.

Replying to myself.

Mind, I was always curious that Collis Birmingham who I interviewed, never nailed the half record. He ran 60:56 in Muragame and took the Aussie 20K record en route at 57:38.

His 5 and 10K times were pretty darn good at 13: 09:57 and 27:29.73.

He is still only 35, so you never know.

Mottram's 2 Mile equates to a faster time than McSweyn's 3000 barely.

I think he will be even better next year and will have the Aussie Records at 1500, 3000, 5000, 10000 and certainly The Half Marathon, Marathon is a who knows as it is so different, certainly the potential is there. Australia has a good one.

yep. Hofeully Tiernan can come back and Ramsden develop nicely over the next couple of years.