Ovett's son off to Oregon

ghost wrote:

Other famous father son combinations:

Waldemar Cierpinski (2.09) - son - 2.18

Mike McLeod (13.20/27.39) son - 14.00

Mike Beevor (International cross) - son 8 mins (low)3k

Not many others come to mind, and the interesting part is that the champion fathers never have a son who beats their pb's

Ghost in Saudi,

http://www.kfupm.edu.sa

, apply today

Ovett's Russian son has a faster PB than his father. They are both Olympic champions at 800m.

[quote]Undercover Australian wrote:

Freddy is way overhyped and struggles under his Dad's shadow. He does have a very impressive style, but do not think he is undertrained. He was doing hour runs when he was 14, so there is no way in the off-season he runs 30m/w. I have no doubt he can run under 1.50, but he will never be elite. Additionally, his biggest problems are in his head and is not a good racer.[/quote

Are you the same guy posting this over and over, or are there actually all these Australians on LR who are intimately familiar with Freddy Ovett?

Borz never ran better than early in his career, but boasts two World Bronze medals, two World Silvers (one of them losing to now known CERA cheat Rachid Ramzi and so should be changed to gold), and one Olympic Gold medal. Nice career and a 1:42.47 early as well as a 1:42.79 in 2010. Ovett in the latest photo looks like a potential world beater. There is no reason to judge the mental outlook of a 17 year old. This should be fun, as LV took away a good deal of interest from Oregon this year.

Completely agree with this, you can judge someone's potential physical ability at that age, but certainly not mental. Training with the best and racing with the best at Oregon will only help him to become a beast, phycially and mentally.

As for training goes, whenever he's on the track training, he's running super fast, with not many reps. I am certain he does very little miles as his Dad is so intent on making him super quick before piling on the miles in his early 20's.

Give the kid a chance, let him grow physically and mentally in his first few years at O, I really think he has all the tools to be v.good.

What kind of 400 speed does he have?

I'm not certain about his best. But I did see him run a 49low out of blocks for his school relay team mid 2011.

Freddy ovett is as arrogant as they come.

I don't know what makes you say that. From the times I've spoken to him he comes across as very polite and intelligent, always asking how my athletes are coming along. My son also tells me he's got quite a sense of humour and is liked among the aussie juniors Perhaps confident is the word you're looking for, but I would still disagree with that. I know this sounds corny, but he has a very similar personality to his old man.

Name a sports star who was better than their 'star' father or mother? Does not seem to happen, which is strange, especially coming from a favorable gene pool. You would think the emulation factor would work.

Paradoxically, many children of sport stars actually turn away from the sport of their parents and become involved in other endeavours. It is like a mini 'rebellion' against their parents.

Ghost in Saudi,

www.kfupm.edu.sa

, apply today

Peyton and Eli Manning come to mind. Although I don't know if you could really call Archie Manning a "star" quarterback.

Doesn't Australia have any universities with track and XC programs? Why travel half way around the world?

No Australia does not have a proper Track or XC program.

They have a National Inter Varsity meet once a year which is a big social event with some athletes more serious about the event.

The Universities compete in a club system not a college based system. Just not enough athletes to have a worthwhile competition.

Many Aussies have come to the US collegeges over the years with not all the Colleges being a good fit.

Oregon could be a good fit for Freddie Ovett.Interesting to see how he develops.

Read more:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4382254&page=1#ixzz1iPGZ7QkQ

Buy your shoes from LetsRun and save 20% everday

http://www.letsrun.com/save

The Golden Brett comes to mind. Maybe not better than Bobby, but certainly equal to him in stardom, skill, and honours won.

ghost wrote:

Name a sports star who was better than their 'star' father or mother?

letsbereal wrote:

enough with all the dribble and lets be real.

Is this a reference to him playing basketball?

Shalane Flanagan is faster than her mother who once held the the women's marathon world record.

ghost wrote:

Name a sports star who was better than their 'star' father or mother?

Matt Centrowitz.

On the Ovett note, remember that Ovett spend his childhood years running speed. The Ovett (& Coe) 400m background changed the way that we think about and train for the middle distances. They added mileage as they matured but retained the quality.

Before Ovett was the middle distance star the world grew to know, he consistently won schoolboy 400m championships starting from the age of 14. He only started running the 800 at the age of 18 when he won Euro juniors the same year ('73).

Thought Ovett was certainly an early bloomer, the different pictures of his son show that he isn't necessarily following the same development speed, which is fine. He doesn't have to, he'll get there eventually.

If there's anyone who believes in gradual development through speed first, it's Steve Ovett. Good luck at Oregon Freddy.

Kobe Bryant is better than Joe Bryant

Ken Griffey Jr better Ken Griffey

Barry Bonds better than Bobby Bonds

Name a sports star who was better than their 'star' father or mother? Does not seem to happen, which is strange, especially coming from a favorable gene pool. You would think the emulation factor would work.

That question could probably make an interesting thread.

Equinox - Coe started as a 1500/3000m runner (3.45/8.14 as a Junior). It was only later, under the tutelage of George Gandy and a well-developed strength program at Loughborough that Coe moved down to 800m seriously, and also ran faster at 400m. Don't confuse the fact that he was a low-mileage person with his running fast over the shorter distances (like Ovett did) as a youngster. Coe isn't even in the top 20 all-time UK juniors over 800m, so his speed came later, as a result of strength improvement. Remember that Coe was small for his age (5'9" and 120lbs at 19), whereas Ovett was an early maturer relatively.

I predict two different outcomes for steve ovett's son.

1. Because he is his father's son everything comes easy to him, he will have a big head but be an all around wimp. Probably end up around 1:47-1:49.

2. He needs to prove himself, distances himself from his father as much as possible and ends up being a champion.

I hope everyone doesn't expect the kid to be a superstar right from the get go. Remember he is so young, as young as you can get in the NCAA (18 when he comes), and he is undertrained. So it will take time before he matured physically and mentally and gets some miles behind him, then he'll run well. Does everyone agree with me in not expecting too much too early when he's at O ?