Gatlin, Carter, Rodgers, and Collins in Doha 2013 100m

Well, now that we have seen Bolt in his 10.09 (+0.3) in Cayman, are other guys smelling blood?

Maybe. They know things we don't--however, I still think the Cayman race was a scam.

At the same time, however, I think that would be a realistic clean time for Bolt at this time of the year.

I think that Gay might be considered out-of-reach this year, if he remains healthy. Even with no start, he is capable of going 9.77, which is good enough to beat anybody except Bolt and Blake--and he never has a crappy race.

With KBC going 10.09, there are a bunch of guys piling up at 10.0x this year, with nobody clearly emerging from the pack yet, other than Gay.

I love the fact that Powell is a big unknown, and that he lives under the radar.

I actually think that we could see some decent times in this race, from Gatlin, Rodgers, and Carter--and possibly even Collins. It is a good enough race to want to win, which might push some guys to faster times.

Whatever happens, it will almost definitely be a better event than the recent Cayman "race".

Always love to see your posts on the sprints, Sprint. Please keep them coming!

The 100m "B" race figures to be pretty interesting:

Al Nashiri, Yasir

Rogers, Jason

Demps, Jeff

Warner, Justyn

Ross, Joshua

Gray, Cordero

Salaam, Mookie

Lewis-Francis, Mark

This is going to be an awesome race, with a bunch of guys of apparently similar ability going at it.

Who the heck is going to win this? I have no idea. I was hoping that Salaam was going to be good this year, but then I saw his start at JII--absolutely horrible. He stood up out of the blocks, and then tried to run. Fail.

Neither Warner nor Demps are looking as fast as they were last year, but it is early. To me they are similar sprinters, with Warner having a better early race and Demps having a better late race.

Almost anybody could win, if they have a good race. I love seeing races like this, with well-matched athletes. Although this is currently a "B" race, there is really nothing "B" about it, considering who's running.

The race goes in about 1:10 from now, and wouldn't you know it, I have a meeting and won't be able to watch live. I can't even complain, because it was I who scheduled the meeting.

Sprintgeezer wrote:Gatlin will also be in there by 50m

idiot

the guy has run 6.45i when just a ~ 10-flat guy & split 6.39 in his 9.77

he shouda got his start back by now & he's had enough time

he'll be leading by 50m

Supposedly it's very windy, so the times will be off.

Wind (+1.2)

Gatlin 9.97

Rodgers 9.99

Carter 9.99

Collins 10.04

Francis 10.08

Atkins 10.14

Harvey 10.17

Young 10.21

Uhhh, ALL season's bests (SB). Is that a red flag? I don't think so, since it is early, people are improving, the conditions were great, and the times were all believable.

My feed crapped out on me just during the race so I didn't see how it went down.

Gatlin's 9.97 (+1.2) is a 10.03 basic, so I was off by .06, even though I had the top 4 nailed. (SUCK ON THAT, GALLAGHER)

I did think my 9.97 basic prediction was a bit fast, which was why I said I thought it would be a smoking time. Clearly, right now, there is Tyson Gay, and everybody else.

We didn't see anybody emerge from the pack in this race, so Gay's supremacy is secure for the moment.

COLLINS! 10.04 for a close 4th place, that is awesome. Even those who can't stand him have to hand it to him. He is ALWAYS in there, and makes races exciting. If this is any indication, he could go under 10 this year, which at his age is remarkable. I can't wait to see the vid and find out what happened.

In the "B" race, Salaam apparently got a decent-enough start to win in a windy 10.06 or something like that, with Demps and Warner tied behind him at 10.16 I didn't see that race, either, but I can't wait to see the vid.

These races represent very nice progression for the athletes. Check out Atkins, he continues his re-emergence.

Choosing a winner was a tough call for me, since those 3 guys are so close this year, and since I can't really stand any of them, but I chose on ability. I thought that Rodgers might pull an upset, and I still think he will PR this year excluding his bogus Eugene time.

Nice that there are no injuries yet reported.

Conclusion?

POWELL! POWELL! POWELL!

Vid is up! Thanks to poster "elitepromo"

http://linkupvideos.com/justin-gatlin-wins-100m-men-doha-diamond-league-2013-video_53e60ce69.html

Carter and Collins battling to 50m, Rodgers is equal, Gatlin in there...

Rodgers surges, looking like he's going to win, then Gatlin's stride kicks in and shoots him past Rodgers, just like it shot him past Powell last year to finish in 9.87

Collins looked great! Was it just the angle, or was he actually eating up some ground at the end, against Carter and Rodgers?

Gatlin's transition isn't killer so far this season, like it was last season, and that missing turbo around 35m probably accounts for .05 slower this year, and less top-end fitness due to less work in that region accounts for maybe another .05

I thought Gatlin was wiggling a bit more than usual in the middle part of the race, he needs to clean that up, and he will be back to where he was last year, or very close.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

I'm calling Gatlin for the win in 9.97 basic, which would be a smoking time IMO

Give this man a raise!!!

Ah guess I didn't know what "basic" meant til now... well, it looked like a good prediction anyways.

Here's the youtube version that you can stop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d_8Alm3GrE

It wasn't just transition. His reaction appeared to be ok, but his drive sucked. Clearly behind at 5m. Rodgers and Carter just ran away from him. Gatlin was still behind at 70, not 50 (Vent full of you-know-what as usual), and then he really had to get on his horse to win. There's a point in the 3.0 to 5.0 second area into the race, where it looked like he tripped.

I don't know...rust?, just a bad race, maybe the time change, he didn't like the food? Did a shoelace come untied? But Justin clearly didn't have his usual first 30. But if you look clearly, his top end and SE are there. Maybe they were assuming his start didn't need any work, and it does?

Don't think Gatlin had his A game today.

For comparison, this is Doha last year (Gatlin over Powell):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fM9gpkKSyE

Gatlin did the same shit last year, but faster. Maybe they work on SE after indoors, and concentrate on drive phase more close to championship season.

d--

It's hard to see anything in detail on those vids, none of them are great.

I wouldn't say that his drive "sucked". Carter is always great, and Rodgers has been excellent this year--I would say that for Gatlin, it was OK. I always thought that where he really excelled was from 25-45m

I can't see where it looks like he trips, but he does look like he is off-balance for most of the race, wandering around in his lane. You know what that's from? Too much hang time. I'm always going off about him swinging too much, and this is an associated phenomenon. He isn't snapping his leg to the ground fast enough, he's getting hang time instead, which is I think why his drive/transition weren't there, because his damn foot wasn't on the ground enough to apply the required force.

Also, that is why he looks twisty--because he is lengthening out his stride too much throughout the race. He is always a bit like that, but this was too much.

I would bet that if a better video appears, you will be able to compare and contrast the early part of this race (especially if there is a head-on view) with certain of his races from last year, also where there is a head-on view and slow-mo available on youtube.

It's only after 70, like you said, where he tightens it up, brings it in, and gets on track. Lucky for him that it wasn't too late.

I still think he will end up this year the same as last year. Last year, he ran essentially the same race on 4 or 5 different occasions. This year, he's easing into that race.

Demps with a 10.16 for 2nd in the B race.

http://www.diamondleague-doha.com/Live-StartlistsResults/Overview1/100m-Men-B/

Last year's race was similar, but he was more solid throughout. Not as twisty, not as much hang time, and dialed-in by 40m, after which he leaves Carter in the dust.

Stronger.

Anybody find a vid for the "B" race?

Too bad Blake wasn't there. His having trailed Collins before bailing, when Collins ran about .10 slower than he did here, means that he would have been right in the thick of things had he been in that sort of shape in Doha. It would have been a real dogfight between him and Gatlin, I think.

Hats off to Rodgers, he's having a great year so far, and has been a consistently good performer. He's an all-purpose, utility 100m man.

No B, but Felix-Montsho in the womens 400. World lead, 49.88 in the first race of the season, very tight race by those two as usual (When's Allyson going to sit on Montsho rather than the other way around?):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4No0E1aTCQc

And Lolo got crushed into 5th place in the hurdles, won by Harper in 12.60, who looked very good IMHO. Porter looked great, especially to the first hurdle, very aggressive and positive, and only lost 2nd by a lean, spots 2/3/4 separated by .01

But let's get back to the important thing...

...Asafa Powell. What the heck is he doing, and where is he? Will we see him before nationals? He's surely got to get SOME race experience, no? At least one meaningful race?

This guy is the year's dark horse in the 100m. Mark my words, he will come out of nowhere to qualify for Moscow, and will look like a real challenger to the throne...until the chips are down, of course, at which time he will fold like a cheap lawn chair.

That's Asafa Injured Powell you are talking about. What part of this surprises you?

But if I was Tyson, I'd be smiling a lot these days (couldn't happen to a more deserving guy in my opinion).