Lausanne - big let-down in distance races for American fans

And.....

It's hard to pr or run well in every single meet.

Rather have them struggle than at WCs.

...and to top it off, Centrowitz with a 1:49.20.

It's the first race off the plane for most of the Americans.

Centro is terrible in every Euro Circuit opener.

Travel takes a toll on people.

I'm fine with this Euro season start. It is a long time until Beijing and I'm sure our athletes turned up the training after the USA championships. No worries here.

First Euro meet for most of the US athletes. 1,624 ft altitude not too bad but still affects performance a bit. Some of them will now remain in Switzerland for remainder of circuit, expect better times from them in coming weeks.

Jet Lag + Altitude = slow wrote:

First Euro meet for most of the US athletes. 1,624 ft altitude not too bad but still affects performance a bit. Some of them will now remain in Switzerland for remainder of circuit, expect better times from them in coming weeks.

Umm, 3,600 ft will have some effect, not 1,624.

No excuse for the jet lag. They could have planned their flights properly. That notwithstanding, all the Africans have to deal with it when they come to the US, and no excuses get made for them. For that matter, where was all the jet lag on Jager with his 8:00 American record? Where was all the jet lag on Christian Taylor today in the triple jump? Beijing is the other side of the world, they better get ready.

Altitude should affect times, but not placing. Emma and Jenny were 3rd in a race where everybody had to deal with the altitude.

sad d events wrote:

No excuse for the jet lag. They could have planned their flights properly. That notwithstanding, all the Africans have to deal with it when they come to the US, and no excuses get made for them. For that matter, where was all the jet lag on Jager with his 8:00 American record? Where was all the jet lag on Christian Taylor today in the triple jump? Beijing is the other side of the world, they better get ready.

No excuse at all.

Except that this happens every year with some athletes in the first meet.

lern the sport wrote:

No excuse at all.

Except that this happens every year with some athletes in the first meet.

In Simpson's case, this isn't her first meet-- she won in Rome with 3:59.

sad d events wrote:

That notwithstanding, all the Africans have to deal with it when they come to the US, and no excuses get made for them..

Last I checked Kenya is East of the US. There's no jet lag going from E to W.

Wrong. It's not about the direction travelled, it's about how many time zones are travelled. Jet lag still happens when travelling westward.

The world champs were a dumb idea from the start. Track is about going fast, not winning medals and not about whose country is best.

SCRAP the wc's and let's see some FAST races!

This happens every year there is WCs or the Olympics. US runners set their training to peak at USATF championships. Even for the top folks like Centro and Simpson, you never know who is going to get hot at USATF champs and they have to bring their A game. After nationals, they take it easy for a few days and lose a bit of sharpness. The first race in Europe is always a dud as the E. Africans are fresh and ready to race hard.

Simpson and Coburn have both indicated this year they would rather not bear the brunt of being at the front of races. And Jenny said she's not aiming at the AR until after World's. Emma might have the same mindset. Or their coach is of that mindset. I guess they are both trying to run "championship" style. Although neither one's strong suit is speed, and both were successful last year by ensuring there is a hard pace in the middle of the race.

sad d events wrote:

Emma Coburn: 3rd, in 9:20-ish

Jenny Simpson: 3rd, 4:03-ish

Mo Farah allowed to win in a sit-'n'-kick again, as Longosiwa & Gebrhiwet are DNS's, Ndiku falls, and Kejelcha still can't kick past Farah.

At least Gatlin (9.75) and, maybe more impressively, Christian Taylor (18.06) delivered.

Discuss.

Too windy today for Emma to be effective leading. She was screwed with the rabbit situation. One went out hard, the 2nd rabbit (supposed to go 2k) made it about 800 meters. Coburn tucked behind the 2nd rabbit and was left leading after she failed, too far behind the first rabbit. Pushed hard and broke all but two, but with that wind she had no shot after pushing that long. She'll learn from this one.

Precious Roy wrote:

After nationals, they take it easy for a few days and lose a bit of sharpness.

I find this to be a very interesting issue. One might have expected that to be the case (loss of sharpness). But then Jager blows the field apart. Follow that up with Shalane looking great at Peachtree, and one might think that these athletes really don't lose any sharpness. Then there's today's performances. So honestly, on the sharpness issue, I don't know what to think.

say what again? wrote:

Jet Lag + Altitude = slow wrote:

First Euro meet for most of the US athletes. 1,624 ft altitude not too bad but still affects performance a bit. Some of them will now remain in Switzerland for remainder of circuit, expect better times from them in coming weeks.

Umm, 3,600 ft will have some effect, not 1,624.

The city of Lausanne is on a huge slope. Altitude ranges from about 1300 feet at the lake to over 3000 feet in the hills. The track is probably at about 2500 feet. It will have an affect on times, but as another poster stated, not places.

SMNRunner wrote:

It's the first race off the plane for most of the Americans.

Centro is terrible in every Euro Circuit opener.

Travel takes a toll on people.

Yes, I know...

Regards,

Evan Jager