Blake 9.95 (-1.6)! Rodgers 10.04 Bledman is a fake

Blake got out great, Rodgers got out badly. That's the race.

And that with a mediocre .186 RT

Could easily have been 9.92, or 9.82 corrected with a .156 RT

I was wondering when this guy would come through this year. He was my pick last year for the next guy to go 9.7x

Maybe we'll see that at WC's this year if conditions allow.

9.85 corrected is ABSOLUTELY SMOKING, holy crap.

Powell's 9.78 (+1.0) from Lausanne is a 9.84 corrected.

They are essentially even, both ahead of Bolt. Good thing Bolt didn't run this race.

Was Powell ducking Blake?

WC's is now f'd for Powell, he will be hearing footsteps, as if he needed anything else to ruin his concentration, now he knows that Blake will be right with him...

WC's just got a hell of a lot more interesting

There's got to be more to it than that, Blake must have finished very nicely to have run that time.

Did he win going away, or were Carter and Rodgers reeling him in?

I was thinking the same thing, that was a damn quick run by young Blake and you can see that he was picking up pace towards the end. He's certainly better over 200 than 100 but he's not half bad at it.

I just saw a crappy video of the race on the web...couldn't tell anything from the video, except that, to me, it looked like the starter did an EXEMPLARY job.

Didn't hold them too long, everyone looked to be set properly and pushing well into the blocks, nobody seemed to really get left behind.

Was it really like that or is the video just not showing the start well?

If the start WAS that good, let's get this starter to Daegu!!!!

I didn't notice the starter doing anything particularly great though he definitely didn't hold them too long thankfully.

Blake won going away, and how. He looks 19.7-low for the 200 based on what I saw.

Also, even though nobody really fell asleep in the blocks, the top 3 finishers had the 3 worst RT's, in order of finish!

Maybe the top guys are holding back just a teeny bit to make sure that they don't false-start, because they know they are fast enough to be in the mix at the 100m mark?

Carter was closer than Rodgers, but there still was a gap. Rodgers was the one that appeared to be closing, but he was way too far back.

Very good time for that track. I wonder if Asafa was faking an injury to avoid going out in cold (for sprinters) that could have caused an injury.

But notice all of the top guys either out with injury (Gay, Powell??, Wariner, Spearmon) or officially recovering (Bolt):

(a) Can we actually have a WC 100m final with NONE of Bolt, Powell, or Gay winning a medal? That might be a stretch with Bolt, but he sure doesn't look like a world beater right now.

(b) The training method in vogue now--hard 400m training with overdistance plus power (hills and/or sleds) early as thegeneral prep, then real 100m training later after you've obtained the fitness of a world class 400m guy. It works, but a lot of injury problems. I tried it this year, and I got injured too. I'm wonder if the continuous very hard training places more stress than your body is capable of taking.

Wow, I would really love to see Bolt shut out of gold in both the 100 and 200, and it actually might happen.

Again, I wouldn't be surprised if Bolt either withdraws from WC's due to "injury", or if he uses "injury" as an excuse for non-winning performances in Daegu.

I'm very pleased about Blake's run. After doing well at nationals, he has seemed to have been flying under the radar...I don't know where he's been training or what he's been doing, but good for him, it looks like he's peaking at the right time.

Is he running the 200 at WC's?

Also, the Jamaican relay team is looking damn fine again this year, even with a slower Bolt--he still probably runs the best 3rd leg on the planet.

I didn't run the 400 because I sucked (except when I got roped into a relay), but how do the 400 guys manage to survive their training?

I would think that 100/200 guys would run 400's using a different mechanic than true 400 guys--a mechanic that is more forgiving on the body at top speed over, say, 100-120m, but ultimately unsustainable for 400m.

I know that my mechanic changes as soon as we go to 300's

Even later in 200 sets, it changes from a sprinting mechanic to a running mechanic.

Maybe the sprinters are trying to sprint 400m, or they are actually using a running mechanic that they are not conditioned for, which puts stress onto their bodies that they are not used to handling.

Specifically, Bolt is just too big. He will be injured no matter how careful he is, just like decathlete Mike Smith. Great talent, should have made the most of it while he could have.

Powell injured? No he isn't. There was just something about the look of the race that he didn't like. Rounds? Blake? Cold? Wind? Kink in his neck from a crappy pillow? Whatever it was, I think it was probably smart for him to not have run, he didn't really need to. He's fine.

Gay's injury is, I think, due to the fact that he doesn't look like he knows how to go anything but 100%. That turnover is crazy. I bet that even when he's doing tempo he is turning over quickly and just taking shorter strides. His type of running needs very careful management if you're not going to use heavy doses of drugs to compensate, and is a recipe for certain injury, which can be managed successfully with careful race scheduling.

Plus, nobody seems to do stretching anymore. Not that I know if it ever worked at all, but from what I hear it is not popular among 100m elites--which is too bad if true, and might contribute to more injury.

The starter was good, some of the starts were not. It's a bit early for sprinters to set up the peak, so some of these guys are probably in hard training period. Thus, some of the times could deceive you--people doing a lot of racing may just be setting up a peak, and those doing just a race or two might be at a peak (Kirani James?).

You really can't judge at this point, except for a guy like Bolt who just doesn't look ready all year.

Plus, if Bolt finishes the races, he will medal in both the 100 and 200.

It just might not be gold, though.

In the 200 in particular, it is inconceivable that he would be shut out of the medals if he completes the race.

Also, even though Powell is a choker, he will medal in the 100. Who else is there? Blake and Bolt.

There is just no way that, even if Powell flames, some guy like Lemaitre or Rodgers or Gatlin is going to beat him.

You're right about a bit too early to peak, but nobody should be in a hard training period unless it is some short overdistance stuff like 120's.

You're right, too, about not really being able to judge even at this point...but we DO know that this was a smoking run by Blake, and that he seems to have had a forgiving race schedule this year, suggesting that he might have been focussing on nationals and WC's rather than on the circuit.

You do know that Bolt is kicking Blake ass in training?

Bolt shut out???

Laughable!!!

This board is full of jokers.

I personally don't know how those guys can avoid stretching and not damage something. I can't do much of anything without a proper stretch and warm-up first.

But if it works for them, so be it. One of Bolt's most recent interviews mentioned he's distancing himself from strength training and working on technique right now but if sprinting is anything like some other sports, some of the best ways to build strength and stamina are not through weights but exercises that actually use the muscle groups involved in the act.

Meh... I should probably try sprinting out myself, doubt I'd suck at it anyway.

Weight training**

[quote]Sprint Geezer wrote:

Wow, I would really love to see Bolt shut out of gold in both the 100 and 200, and it actually might happen.

Bolt, don't care what the F*** you like A** hold.

I'm very pleased about Blake's run. After doing well at nationals, he has seemed to have been flying under the radar...I don't know where he's been training or what he's been doing, but good for him, it looks like he's peaking at the right time.

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

Trains under Glen Mills with Bolt, Daniel Bailey, Jermaine Gonzales, and some other guys and gals:

http://www.racerstrackclub.com/athletes.php

Video is up on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUw9gsAPB0k&NR=1

Blake looked awesome.

Good start, excellent turnover, smooth acceleration, nicely stretched-out finish.

Carter got off to his usual excellent start, but the guy just doesn't have that extra gear at full speed that the very best have.

Rodgers' start wasn't as good as Carter's, but was OK for Rodgers, I think. This race shows what I believe to be the maximum of Rodgers' capability.

But BLAKE! I was blowing this guy's horn a long time ago, I really believed him to be the next great...but then he kept to a low simmer, and I wasn't sure what had happened.

But now, HOLY CRAP! That was a beautiful run. Out of the blocks, he was just OK...but from 20-50m, he was the man. He lost a bit of ground in his transition to top speed, as you can see even Carter gain on him just a bit after the halfway mark...but then he opens it up, and starts pulling away again after 70m until he eases up before the finish, after 90m.

His "start" is very conservative, and he leaves .05 on the table right there, coming out of the blocks.

I can't wait until WC's. It's hard to pick a winner between Blake, Bolt, and Powell. Blake is young, coming on strong, and a real competitor. Powell looks fantastic but is a choker. Bolt looks like crap but still has some of the best times of the year, and has historically been a big-meet performer.

Impossible to pick, anything can happen..

I REALLY hope that none of them false-starts.

I don't know that Blake will survive rounds as well as either Powell or Bolt, he seems to put more effort into his running than do those other guys.

Powell is great at easing up, as he will have the rounds under control by the halfway point.

Same with Bolt, he can use only 80% effort at top speed, and still be going slightly faster than will be the field in the heats, and come from behind to win.

The semi's will be more of a challenge, and it will be interesting to see if they will be on the same day as the final...