Story here

Bolt's reaction quote

So the Jamaicans get popped for the ganga? For God's sake man, that's like Johnny Smalltown USA testing positive for Wheaties!

Hell, they should just be given an automatic TEU, or maybe a CEU (cultural use exemption ) and be done with it...

A bit annoying. GP of London this weekend, and the commentators (incl. Colin Jackson) brushing it off because it wasn't the big Jamaican stars.

Just the rest of them....

Isn't it correct that the Jamaican Olympic committee doesn't do OOCs and the big stars trained in Jamaica before the Olympics?

Four of the names are out. Marvin Anderson, Lanceford Spence, Sheri Ann Brooks and Yohan Blake who was running the London GP while the names came to public and finished second in fact.

Someone could make a lot of money off Bolt as a communications advisor on this stuff. God knows we're seasoned by now.

Repeat after me Usain: you are tranquil, and you had absolutely no idea that they were doping. You are outraged (but say it with a straight face) and happy for the sport that these cheaters were caught. However, they're 'good guys' and you will definitely give them a second chance when they are back from their suspensions. In fact, you'll keep training with them throughout - you're just that kind of stand-up guy.

Also, you have no idea what doping is and where it came from. You will then say that your sport is not anywhere near as dirty as, say, cycling.

That should do the trick. Where can I cash my cheque?

Don't forget the killer line: BTW I have never tested positive

I know this is an attempt to be funny, but it's really ridiculously stupid. You're essentially saying that stating "I have never tested positive" is actually is evidence of doping by whomever says it.

Actually, yes, it is wordplay. Following a trend. "Tranquil" is another word used to mean the same thing.

Er, you might want to check back on the history of "I've never tested positive"....Ask Marion Jones, for example. Why would anyone say "I've never tested positive" when it's much easier to say "I don't dope", especially if it's the truth - ask Contador, oh, wait, someone did in his post-Ventoux press conference:



Um, that's like saying "I've never tested positive", isn't it? Not exactly "I don't dope" is it?

Sorry, barleby, next time I hear that expression from someone who isn't a doper, I'll let you know...

"The word out of Berlin last night was that the PED of the day is SARMS (selective androgen receptor modulation). The most popular version is Ostarine which has the body building qualities of an anabolic steroid but does not touch the athlete's endocrine profile and is thereby undetectable in current tests."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/bolt...0-1225762939178

Drugs staying ahead of the testing, a familiar story...

Isn't that what you meant?

...when Canada's drug-fuelled Ben Johnson crushed Carl Lewis to win the Seoul Olympics 100m 21 years ago, he ran a time experts said seemed "too good to be true" - yet with his discredited time of 9.79sec Johnson would have finished 2m behind Bolt.

It is doubtful human genetics has advanced that much in a couple of decades, nor has the science of sprint coaching,

Dave.

Unless we are already at the point where genetics can be modified.

We should really ban those dastardly powerbars.

there was more to this interview or else there was also another interview that i can't find a transcript for:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...oryId=111966837

but the (other?) person being interviewed yesterday predicted that the current record would be shattered eventually

The Jamaicans seem to be on a good "program". First and third in the Men's 100 and first and second in the women's 100. They also won by a lot. The question in the Men's 200 is not if Bolt will break the world record but by how much.

I have also heard that the Jamaican Team does not do OOC testing. That may be just rumor.

What the results over the weekend do show in my opinion is the complete lack or sense of reality the viewing and commentating/reporting public have. If you watched the race it was a joke, the first 2 placements were so fast it makes the 100m a scientific experiment.
Nothing in genetics or training has changed since 1980’s and all the fast runners who raced on that day in 1988 at the 100m final were later found to have tested positive for banned substances. Only ONE of those runners from the 88 Olympics were required to give back their medals, some poor guy from Canada who happened to be Jamacian.


When you see results that appear just to be so fast that it can not be real ……..well it is up to the viewer to make their own mind up. My mind about runners was made up when I entered Junior College, noting to myself that it appears that NO ONE is running clean. Your mileage may vary but my weekly mileage is high.

I guess my post was a thread killer.

... Sorry, I actually had to do real work today...


Apparently Canadians are the brunt of doping jokes.

...there were three guys, two Jamaicans and one American...
...the first Jamaican says let's try doping...
...the American says, I have to talk to the USOC first and arranges a free pass...
...the second Jamaican says, I have to talk to my federation and get out of any OOC testing...
...the first Jamaican becomes a Canadian and says, hey I got both of you. Dick Pound has agreed to represent me at my tribunal. You know, it is rumored that he will head up some new World anti-doping thing...

Dave.

Nice turn of phrase there.

well I tried to get someone to post that the flame Carl Lewis was clean when he was in Tokyo 199??something or another. I was there and it was something to watch! Now this weekend I watched another similar track and field meet that left me with the same feeling. False racing. Anyone who tells me that it is real can go and #### off!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTM_mvA4kas

Were you the little kid beside Carl's mom waving the American flag?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq4KrymPtXY&feature=fvw

"I believe that everyone on International is using performance enhancing drugs.

Q: Majority use performance enhancing drugs?

A: Yes

...

Athletes not saying nice things were also using..."

Dave.

I am at work and can not watch your video / youtube link. I was not waiving any flags at the Track and Field World Championships in Tokyo. I probably was wearing a UST&F wind breaker / warm up and hanging around other similarly dressed folks, no flags being waived.

Well, I think that track & field has a worse reputation than cycling right now. I showed my wife (who does not follow sports at all) the 100M final, and her unprompted comment was that she couldn't get excited about it because she fully expected that we would learn later that he was on drugs.

I then showed her the women's 800m finals.............

Worse reputation?

No way.

It is all done on McNuggets and Yams. McNuggets! That is waaaay better than boring old cycling's mental tenacity and high cadence.

Usain Bolt's Secret to Being the Fastest Man: Chicken Nuggets

First, there's me. Then, there's the yams. Then, there are the other hams. Got it? Next time, though, I am gonna run the full 100 meters and try and set a real record.



Plus, this is cool...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/08...t-graphic.html#

It is like the track version of the Tour wattage chart post EPO.

Did someone say Usain has a Ferrari?

I might become a trackie fan yet!

Dave.

More controversy - though of a slightly different kind (and potentially embarrassing):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8210471.stm

Wouldn't be the first time! And the way she completely blasted that race leaves more than enough reason for doubt, imho.

Oh and lol @ chicken nuggets.

Apparently they need to watch Crocodile Dundee

"The gender verification test is an extremely complex procedure. The situation today is that we do not have any conclusive evidence that she should not be allowed to run."

You either have 'em or you don't.

If he don't, then he can run as she.

FWIW, the UCI has let former guys race as gals.

Dave.

That is a cool graphic, putting the time into perspective.

Thrilling stuff, watching him run; just like Pantani climbing.

At some point though - and maybe this point has been well passed now - everyone starts to say, something doesn't look quite right here...

I haven't been posting alot lately, but for some reason this subject drew me out of hibernation.

Is eye bleach required after administering the gender test?

As usual, a good discussion around all this on the Science of Sport blog.

Is "Caster" short for "Casterate"?

Bolt wins 200, shaving 0.11 off world record. He was 0.62 seconds in front of second place. This is like someone attacking at the base of Alpe d'Huez and winning the stage by 5-7 minutes. Incredible and way too good to be true.

Making a good analogy a little tighter.

Speaking of the twit-a-holic, and in some sort of echo to Ben Johnson being stripped in order to pass the gold to a completey dirty Carl Lewis, here is another story from Berlin. Here we have the medalling Canadian getting a surprise, last-minute doping control:

"Shortly after speaking to CBC Sports following her semifinal run, Lopes-Schliep was taken by an IAAF representative into doping control, a highly unusual development given the time span of less than three hours between the semis and the final.

"I said on the way to the warmup track, 'Listen, I have a race to prepare for and I know you are doing your job but I am here to race,'" said Lopes-Schliep. "The girl didn't understand. There was as bit of a language barrier. I was a little angry but I got it done and I got a silver."

Lopes-Schliep was tested ten minutes before the race start. Apparently, she must be the token Canadian in the field. Yet, virtually no national outcry. No strumpeting Hombrecitas. Just part of the sport.

Had this happened to the tweety-monster we would never hear the end of it.

Dave.

Or maybe like winning the final stage of the TDF by multiple bike lengths?

http://www.slate.com/id/2225866/

More in line with the interactive maps on the NYTimes article above, what would be the equivalent performance in the Men's Sprint on the track? Or the Kilo?

This graph, also from the 2008 Summer Olympics coverage, has Bos's 2006 record of 9.772. Given the physics of it all, what would a cycling Bolt improve that too?

What's amazing to me about the 19.19 is that both of his 100m splits in that race would have been world record 100m times just a week ago-- he held his speed over double the distance.

Edit: I think that Sireau went 9.650 in Moscow, so we'll reset the benchmark there.

If you look at the replay of the 100, Bolt was out of the block as fast or faster than everyone else. For a man that large to be out of the blocks that fast is simply remarkable. It makes sense that he excels at the 200 because he has lots more time for those long legs to eat up ground. He might be a top-heavy minivan, but he's got better "fuel" than most. I would like to see him do a 400.

Me too. In one of the qualifying heats of the 200 he ran something like 20.70 hardly even breaking a sweat. That time would put him well in the lead of any 400m race, then all he would have to do is hold his lead to the end.

People have argued that Phelps has an unfair advantage in being a swimmer, because more medals are open to athletes in that than in most other Olympic events. In most events, even the most talented individual could not even compete for eight medals. But if Bolt won the 100, 200 and 400, plus was a winning member of the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays, you could make the argument that those five gold medals would be just as extraordinary as the eight won by Phelps. To be the best in the world at both the 100 and 400 is just as much evidence of all-around excellence as being the best in both the fly and freestyle. They are very different races. Michael Johnson got a lot of publicity just for doing the 200-400 double.

I think, though, that the current setup makes it very difficult to compete in both the 400 and 100. I think their qualifying heats conflict, or at least make recovery difficult, particularly when the 200 is also being run.

Personally, I'd take Jesse Owens' 4-gold performance in '36 or Carl Lewis' 4-gold performance in '84. Running is running. Owens and Lewis proved to be dominant not only running, but jumping, and while jumping is driven by human performance characteristics, there's also a measure of skill involved. Whereas running is running is running.

For that matter, there's something to be said for "skill" sports as opposed to pure human performance sports. That's anathema to some cycling fans, of course, as they like to use the terms interchangeably, when they're not. If we're talking about bike-handling, we're talking about skill. If we're talking about ITT performance on a relatively straightaway course, the winner doesn't have "more skill," he has a bigger engine. I have greater respect for the guy who is a superior bike handler, than I do for a guy who was simply born genetically superior and therefore can go faster.

Speaking of Phelps, while the point is generally valid, I think it's worth a tip of the cap to note that he swims four different disciplines in the IM, and wins individual events in 2 of the 4 disciplines. And I think it's worth pointing out there's a bunch more skill involved in even a single 1 of the swim strokes than there is in running. True, running events aren't always won by the guy with the pure physiological superiority. Mechanics matter. But they matter a whole lot more in the pool.

Are you trying to bait me?

You are correct about the pool and the skill involved. I took up swimming seriously along with my running. The swim took and is taking so much time master.

That's what makes cyclocross the perfect cycling discipline-- the aerobic requirements of TT/Crit/Circuit Racing + the skill of MTB + running + jumping. Through in the occasional iron cross race, and you get the endurance too. Thankfully, it is almost Fall and the real racing can begin.

Except that running a sprint is not the same as running distance. As you note, twice in Olympic history the LJ has been won by the same guy who won the 100 and 200m sprints. Has anyone ever won the 100 and the 400? Not to my knowledge (I think Chariots of Fire was about someone who might have, but in those days, it was easier to be a generalist). Michael Johnson, the only man to win the 200 and 400, would have been competitive in the 100m, but very doubtful he could have won it (when he raced the 100m Gold Medalist Donovan Bailey in a special 150m race, he lost handily, though he pulled up lame before the end of the race).

Same thing in swimming. There have been several swimmers who have simultaneously held the WR in both a fly and freestyle distance, e.g., Mark Spitz, Michael Gross, Matt Biondi, besides Phelps. Phelps has come close to WR times in the backstroke, which is really phenomenal. But even he is no threat to break the WR in the 100 free. No one to my knowledge has ever held the WR in that and a distance as long as the 400, at least not since the Johnny Weismuller days when there was less specialization. It isn’t just about skill, which after all can be learned. It’s about different kinds of muscles.

You can even see it cycling. There are great bike handlers in the peloton, guys who are threats to win the GC and who can also descend and ride technically with the best. Some of these guys, after all, were former mountain bikers. Not common, but they exist. But has there been anyone since Merckx who could win a sprint and a GC, a green jersey and a yellow one? Valverde and Cunego are among the very few riders who can sprint well and also challenge for a GC, but neither is a world-class sprinter, and Cunego isn't even a GC threat any more.

Amazingly enough, MJ never broke 10secs for the 100m.

...and, if you're racing in Portland, swimming skills as well.

Yes, there has...maybe not as talented and successful as Merckx...but Bepe Saronni and Freddy Maertens were two that quickly come to mind...solid GC riders and climbers who could also roll it. At his peak, in fact, I thought Saronni could win just about any race he chose to enter...
I think Maertens won 50+ races one year...is that right?

Here is a brief blurb from Wikipedia:

In Italy in 1976, he won the world champtionship in front of Italians Francesco Moser and Tino Conti. In Prague in 1981, he beat Italian Giuseppe Saronni and France's Bernard Hinault. He was also second in the 1973 world championship.

Maertens also won the 1977 Vuelta a España, taking more than half the stages; 13 in total, and took the spinters' maillot vert in the Tour de France three times (1976, 1978 and 1981). In 1976 he won a record-equalling eight stages of the Tour de France; the following year (1977), he took seven stages in the Giro d'Italia.

Outside the Grand Tours, his stage race victories included Paris-Nice (1977), the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (1973, 1975, 1976 and 1978), the Tour of Andalucia (1974, 1975), Tour of Belgium (1974, 1975), Tour de Luxembourg (1975), Tour of Sardinia (1977) and Vuelta y Catalunya (1977).

ahh the old age cycling fan shows up to give us a good guage! In the 80's I thought the age of the 70's were for ####.....after much reflection and getting my head out of my ass I realize what great days the 60's-80's were!

shout out to ya you old cowboy!

His final 100 split might go under 8s at this rate.

Dave.

Oh well ... evolution and all that stuff.

Bolt revolutionised worldwide athletics. +1 million for that, dude. I can't remember getting so involved in the worlds for a number of years (since the embarrasing Ali vs the pole vault debacle).

It's all good.

Sean Kelly??

First of all, it seems that for the long jump, a fast runner could learn the body positions required for the LJ much easier than, say, the high jump or pole vault - much more technical events.

Second, I think that Carl Lewis' performances have been thoroughly discredited by now, have they not? Certainly anything done in 1984 is not credible, and then there were all the failed drug tests which were covered up and have since come to light, along with the USOC's complicity in that era.

Yes but I think your missing the point of his post. In my opinion he was comparing apples to apples / doper to doper. In my opinion if 84 is questioned and then we know about the failed drug tests etc. then what in the HELL is going on now?

The High Jump and the pole vault are nothing more than carnival / circus events in my opinion, skill be dammed those events are as much about the freak show as the 100meters in the world championship.