OMG. 100 meter hurdle competitor American Nia Ali (and World Champion) crashes in her first heat on last gate (while leading the heat) . and is out Hurdles can be so brutal
Athing Mu will probably not run the 4x400 because her 800-meter final is only an hour and change before the 4x400 final on Sunday.I noted that the US did not even have anyone running in the women’s 400 m final, and yet the US will be the heavy favorite in the 4 x 400 relay with McLaughlin, Mohammed, Mu and ?.
I don’t know. Even just an hour after running her 800 final, I would still want Mu on the 4x400 final.Athing Mu will probably not run the 4x400 because her 800-meter final is only an hour and change before the 4x400 final on Sunday.
It was reported that Allyson Felix was called up to run in the 4x400 preliminaries (tonight).
If Mu is deemed unavailable, probably the next-best choices for the final are Talitha Diggs (who won the US trials and just missed the 400 flat final) and 200-meter specialist Abby Steiner, who ran a sub-49 split to help Kentucky win the 4x400 in the NCAAs this year.
Easy to say as a fan, but maxing out an 800 takes a huge toll on the body.I don’t know. Even just an hour after running her 800 final, I would still want Mu on the 4x400 final.
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.Easy to say as a fan, but maxing out an 800 takes a huge toll on the body.
Both of these races were lost by messy exchanges -- Jamaica women boofed the first exchange badly; for the US men it was #3. Teamwork matters in the relays.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.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.
A hard 800m is different from a race pace 800m.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.
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.A hard 800m is different from a race pace 800m.
If she runs it will be the last leg, just as she did in Japan in the Olympics.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.
I agree with this for normal people, but Mu is so far beyond my comprehension, I have an open mind.Easy to say as a fan, but maxing out an 800 takes a huge toll on the body.
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.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.
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.I agree with this for normal people, but Mu is so far beyond my comprehension, I have an open mind.
Add Mu to the young guns list at age 20. I love it!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.
USA | 3:17.79 WL |
Talitha DIGGS | 50.50 |
Abby STEINER | 49.99 |
Britton WILSON | 49.39 |
Sydney MCLAUGHLIN | 47.91 |
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.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?