OT: Link to World Track/Field Championship in Oregon....July 15-24

[oldude]

Well: in the 4 by 100 relay finals

USA upsets Jamaica in the women's race for the gold.
Canada [!] upsets the USA in the men's race....USA gets silver.
USA loses due to some poor relay exchanges....especially the last one.
More than a little deja vu for the men in terms of how to get beat.

Felix comes out of a [very] short retirement to run a leg in the 4 by 400 to help the USA advance.
As of now...she says she will just watch in the finals...not run. It seems to me the proper way to send off this all-time great is to put her in the last leg of the finals and have HER break the tape for the gold...not eating wings in the stands.

We will see tonight....last day of the World Championships...it's been a great one ...especially for the USA on a home field.

One TRUTH of running a relay, particularly the 4x100, is that, “It’s not about how fast you run, but how fast you move the baton.” Credit to the US women and the Canadian men for hitting their exchanges to pull off the upsets.

 

[mudcat]

Runners like Mu do intense interval work as part of their training. Typically, that involves multiple quarter mile sprints to build up speed and endurance. An elite athlete like Mu should be able to run a hard 800, recover for an hour or so and then run a hard 400. I guess we will find out tonight whether Mu is part of the USA’s 4 x 400 team.

A hard 800m is different from a race pace 800m.

 

[oldude]

A hard 800m is different from a race pace 800m.

For sure. But competitive runners and swimmers double up at meets all the time after a short rest between events. It is not all that uncommon.

 

[baggerbob]

For sure. But competitive runners and swimmers double up at meets all the time after a short rest between events. It is not all that uncommon.

If she runs it will be the last leg, just as she did in Japan in the Olympics.

 

[Bigboote]

Easy to say as a fan, but maxing out an 800 takes a huge toll on the body.

I agree with this for normal people, but Mu is so far beyond my comprehension, I have an open mind.

My senior year of high school, in our conference meet, I ran the 100, 200, 400, and 4x400 in the conference meet. The 200 was last. After running three 100's and 3 400's in the course of about 5 hours, I took off out of the blocks thinking I was running another 400. After about 100 m, I remembered it was a 200. I upped the pace, lost my footing and had an epic wipeout, the only one I can remember having on a track. Fortunately I was so far behind me I didn't get stepped on like the Australian runner the other night.

The 400 is a brutal race, I hated it but was pretty good at it. I ran an 800 once. The 800 is in a class of its own pain-wise as far as I'm concerned. (I did the mile once, too, it's not nearly as brutal as a 400 or 800.)

 

[Bigboote]

Well: in the 4 by 100 relay finals

USA upsets Jamaica in the women's race for the gold.
Canada [!] upsets the USA in the men's race....USA gets silver.
USA loses due to some poor relay exchanges....especially the last one.
More than a little deja vu for the men in terms of how to get beat.

After the first race, the US Men's team was talking about having gone to "relay camp." (It might have been "baton camp", same difference.) They said they'd really worked hard on exchanges.

It's really not that complicated, and in that round, it was obvious they were still missing the fundamentals. You don't set up on the outer part of the lane to get the baton in your right hand. I haven't seen the final yet, but I expect it was more of the same. When you know you have problems, address them. Spend an hour earlier in the day to practice exchanges.

 

[Plebe]

I agree with this for normal people, but Mu is so far beyond my comprehension, I have an open mind.

Mu, while certainly the favorite in the 800, is not quite in the ultra-dominant form she was in one year ago. She ran it in 1:55 last year; her SB this season is 2 seconds off that pace, and she very nearly lost to Ajee Wilson at US Nationals. In all there are 4 other runners in the 800m final who have run within a second of her SB this year. She will be pushed.

The coaches have some intriguing decisions to make for the 4x4 relay. McLaughlin is really the only lock. Everyone else seems to be either off top form (Muhammad and most of the flat-400 specialists) or potentially overworked (Diggs, Steiner).

The twitter smoke signals have indicated that both Diggs and Steiner are on the team. My guess is that the 4th is Muhammad, but some online have suggested Britton Wilson.

 

[eebmg]

Sydney will anchor the 400 x 4 meters. That will be very cool/

 

[Plebe]

 

[Plebe]

Abby Steiner was a last-second replacement for Dalilah Muhammad due to an injury in warmup. It was a close race for the first two legs, but Britton Wilson in leg 3 pulled out to a comfortable lead, which Sydney McLaughlin completely blew open with a scorching 47.9 anchor leg.

The ages of the four US runners were 19, 22, 21 and 22. Three of them are just coming out of college, and the fourth has already obliterated an individual world record. The future is bright.

 

[ShmiCO]

The ages of the four US runners were 19, 22, 21 and 22. Three of them are just coming out of college, and the fourth has already obliterated an individual world record. The future is bright.

Add Mu to the young guns list at age 20. I love it!

Splits for the women's 4x400m. The US finished almost 3 seconds ahead of second place Jamaica, and almost 5 seconds ahead of 3rd place Great Britain.

USA	3:17.79 WL
Talitha DIGGS	50.50
Abby STEINER	49.99
Britton WILSON	49.39
Sydney MCLAUGHLIN	47.91

The men deserve some shine for their 4x400, also dominant. No sloppy exchanges for this crew and another young gun on the anchor leg, Champion Allison, age 23.

 

[Blakeon18]

Sydney McLaughlin!!

UConn women fans are famous...or infamous...for looking ahead.

Sydney in an interview suggested that she might look for different mountains to climb in the future.
She climbed to the top of the 400 H mountain last year and and followed that by climbing her own mountain several times
since.

Different hills for her to consider over the next few years...heck...she is only 22!

400 meters: world record 47.60...set way back in 1985

Maybe a bit out of the box...but she is SO talented

200 meters Florence Griffith Joyner world record 21.34 set in 1988. Sherika Jackson recently coming close with 21.45.

Further outside the box

100 meters Florence Griffith Joyner...world record 10.49...in 1988. Shelley Anne Fraser coming close with 10.60
800 meters 1:53.28...set back in 1983

And even further outside the box
Mile 4:12.33 world record

I wonder if Sydney and coach would consider multiple goals over the next 6 years...given world championships/
Paris Olympics in 2024..Los Angeles Olympics in 2028...focusing on different races for the different dates?

She would have peer competition for sure...plus the ultimate WR in each event...given great health and great motivation.

Even in 2028 she will only be 28...still arguably in her prime.

Stay in the box or leap outside it Sydney will be fascinating to watch.

Uhh...back to our own lil' corner of the world with visions afar: in 2028 might Geno be coaching Jenica Lewis completing her soph year in Storrs?

 

[eebmg]

Sydney McLaughlin!!

UConn women fans are famous...or infamous...for looking ahead.

Sydney in an interview suggested that she might look for different mountains to climb in the future.
She climbed to the top of the 400 H mountain last year and and followed that by climbing her own mountain several times
since.

Different hills for her to consider over the next few years...heck...she is only 22!

400 meters: world record 47.60...set way back in 1985

Maybe a bit out of the box...but she is SO talented

200 meters Florence Griffith Joyner world record 21.34 set in 1988. Sherika Jackson recently coming close with 21.45.

Further outside the box

100 meters Florence Griffith Joyner...world record 10.49...in 1988. Shelley Anne Fraser coming close with 10.60
800 meters 1:53.28...set back in 1983

And even further outside the box
Mile 4:12.33 world record

I wonder if Sydney and coach would consider multiple goals over the next 6 years...given world championships/
Paris Olympics in 2024..Los Angeles Olympics in 2028...focusing on different races for the different dates?

She would have peer competition for sure...plus the ultimate WR in each event...given great health and great motivation.

Even in 2028 she will only be 28...still arguably in her prime.

Stay in the box or leap outside it Sydney will be fascinating to watch.

Uhh...back to our own lil' corner of the world with visions afar: in 2028 might Geno be coaching Jenica Lewis completing her soph year in Storrs?

I think before she leaves the 400m Hurdles, she goes after a sub 50 time. That is the kind of round number that excites everyone.

 

[Iluvacc2]

This was a historic world championship run for team USA. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last time Eugene hosts.

Sydney has accomplished everything you can in the 400m hurdles, I’m anxious to see what she can accomplish in the open 400. I think hurdles will be fine for USA with Britton around, however the 400 flat is definitely due for an injection of talent. I think Diggs will be ok, but the presence of Syd will definitely shakes things up.

I was jumping up and screaming like a crazy person at my tv during the womens 4x100 relay, prior to the final I didn’t think team stood a chance of winning gold, but they had good handoffs and great chemistry. Steiner will be a star, I’m in love with her. First athlete since Allyson Felix to win gold in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay.

I know things are tricky when it comes to picking relay teams, but it would behoove team to decide on a certain group and have them practice together throughout the year. They did that in 2012 and that quartet (Madison, Felix, Knight, Jeter) broke with world record at the Olympics. Jefferson, Steiner, Prandini and Terry have the same ability to break a world record.

 

[BBallF]

Live in Northern New Jersey and knew about Sydney when she was in high school at Union Catholic. I thought it was very significant that the closing event was the Women's 4x400. One of those important but seemingly expected moments the significance of which was perhaps missed by many. So how would you like to be on the line waiting for the baton as the anchor on another team and you know the Americans have the lead and you look again and she's still there? You have to beat Sydney!

I think she may be the world's greatest female track and field star if not simply the greatest. What she did in her own event was described as "Beamanesque" and that was a good description except that she will probably break her own record pretty soon.