Paris Olympics Discussion Thread | Page 13 | The Boneyard

Paris Olympics Discussion Thread

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cancontent said:
You'd think they would have done that (practice baton handoffs) by now. :oops:
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I'm amazed at how poorly a lot of professionals do very basic skills in their chosen sports. The number of MLB players who simply can't bunt is greater than those who can.

The number of poor baton exchanges is even more baffling to me. For every dropped baton, there are probably two exchanges that lose a couple tenths of a second. With a bunt, they're trying to hit a ball coming at them maybe 85-95 mph with an initially unknown break. The baton exchange is pretty much WYSIWIG. Two ways to do it, on top or down low. Each likely pair should practice good exchanges every day for a week. First day slow, second day half-pace, last three days at 90-100% race speed. If it's beneath anyone, he doesn't run the relay. Do it till you can't get it wrong in Geno's words.
 
cancontent said:
Holy cow. Poor hand offs by the US was their downfall in the men's 4x100. Wow......Why is this an issue? This seems to happen more often than it should.

It's been almost 30 years since Canada won this relay. While, I'm happy for the athletes, it doesn't seem right that the US didn't medal.
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Death, taxes, and botched handoffs in the US men 4x1 -- it's nice to know there are some constants in life.

To be fair it was ONE botch this time and it was Bednarek on 2nd leg taking off about a week too early.

On the positive side, the women's 4x1 overcame 2 shaky handoffs with just enough speed on legs 3 and 4.

And I loved the redemption race from Rai Benjamin, finally vanquishing "the Viking" when it mattered most. Rai is so easy to root for.
 
Plebe said:
Death, taxes, and botched handoffs in the US men 4x1 -- it's nice to know there are some constants in life.

To be fair it was ONE botch this time and it was Bednarek on 2nd leg taking off about a week too early.

On the positive side, the women's 4x1 overcame 2 shaky handoffs with just enough speed on legs 3 and 4.

And I loved the redemption race from Rai Benjamin, finally vanquishing "the Viking" when it mattered most. Rai is so easy to root for.
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Most definitely.

But back to the hand-offs, imagine the times these teams would have if this was cleaned up? It seems like a logical thing to focus on.

A friend of mine mentioned that the US track officials have put their heads in the sand on the issue and that they don't want to challenge the athletes on the matter. Is that a fair statement?
 
France and Belgium going to OT.

Like I said yesterday.
Russell Crowe Gladiator GIF
 
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I didn't see anything in the Belgium/France game that should scare Team USA. If they get the ball inside early and often, they should take the crowd out of it and win by 20+. France has some good athletic forwards but not one big who can stay with A'ja or match up with BG.
 
nickp91 said:
Sandy Brondello just can't beat A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, and Chelsea Gray when it counts
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Sandy can't coach. She has to have an overwhelming talent advantage or else she gets exposed. If Rena Wakama (Nigeria) was coaching the Australian team, she may have made Cheryl sweat a bit more.

If they lose to Belgium, that should be her last game coaching the Opals.
 
Re: the baton thing... I have heard it from TV announcers for years... The main problem isn't that they don't practice. It's that they select the team very late, sometimes even AT the Games, and apparently almost strictly based on times.

So, they obviously don't get the chance to practice ENOUGH.

No idea how true this is, but maybe they should watch the other countries' relay selection processes so they can figure out how to put a solid, well-rehearsed team.
 
Dillon77 said:
As I understand it, one of the only reasons Syd ("no longer a kid") didn't try the 400 is that they overlapped. Plus, perhaps Bol's performances over the years caught her attention, thinking "hey, I've got be at my best." It's hard running a bunch of races, particularly the 400, which is one heck of a leg strainer.

Given the U.S. women's performance in the 400 thus far, I've got to think putting her in the 4x400 is a no brainer.

As for LA, when she'll be 28/29, you've got to hope the U.S. Olympic organization will have some influence/sway/power to make sure she can run both the 400 and 400 IM. If Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt can get reasonable schedules, I think Syd should, too.

How cool to see her possibly run:
  • 4 x 400 mixed relay
  • 400 IM
  • 400
  • 4 x 400 relay

For now, let's hope to see her on the tail end of the relay -- running away from whomever is next (Bol again?)
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The US women's 4× 400 better put her on the anchor position for the relay.
Some idiots suggesting they won't need her because they were 3 seconds better in qualifying.
Bol will be running for the Netherlands and not the girl who led off in 52.34 versus Bol running a 48.0.
And just like the world championships in track and field in 2022 the women are closing the show with the 4× 400 relay.
Sydney closed that with a 47.9 anchor leg running by herself for the fans.
So you give the Olympic fans the joy of watching the 6 time world record holder one more time.
 
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Yeah - USA men's athletes generally are all about ME and very little about WE. We see it in competitions like the Ryder Cup where a less highly ranked European team has been trouncing the US team for years. We saw it in basketball where the 2004 edition of the 'Dream Team' limped home with Bronze before Coach K and USA Basketball org got serious about coaching and team building. Women really do seem to like being part of a team in a way men don't.

Every nation that has the athletes, uses 5 or 6 runners in relays between the prelims and final round, but I suspect the US men are so focused on their individual events that they blow off the coaches in terms of practice. The receiver has two jobs, don't start too early, and keep your receiving hand steady, and the passer has two jobs keep running and place the baton in the receivers hand. Receiver started too early didn't slow down soon enough and started grabbing for the baton at which point they exited the exchange zone and were DQed. Last four Olympics ... dropped baton, DQ, total train wreck pass to miss the finals on time, DQ - while fielding the fasted team on paper.

( NB - The US was expecting Lyles to be running in the final and his covid diagnosis knocked him out yesterday and the DQ exchanged happened with his replacement, but ...)
 
As for the Basketball ...
France should be a good game - USA should do well. But I do look at the younger players (guards) and see a little too much one on one. I wouldn't be surprised to find that half the non-assisted baskets for USA were shots off rebounds and most of the rest were on baskets made by Young, Copper, Ionescu, Loyd, and Plum.
 
Plebe said:
Death, taxes, and botched handoffs in the US men 4x1 -- it's nice to know there are some constants in life.

To be fair it was ONE botch this time and it was Bednarek on 2nd leg taking off about a week too early.

On the positive side, the women's 4x1 overcame 2 shaky handoffs with just enough speed on legs 3 and 4.

And I loved the redemption race from Rai Benjamin, finally vanquishing "the Viking" when it mattered most. Rai is so easy to root for.
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I can kind of give them a pass this year because Noah Lyles was supposed to be on the team and they had to make a last second change because of Noah getting COVID. So they couldn't have had any practice time at full speed, thus the new guy had to judge on the fly and messed up. Plus they reordered the lineup. The green haired guy (sorry I can't remember their names...) moves from #2 to #4 and the new guy was placed at #2 and that's the hand-off that got them disqualified.
 
baggerbob said:
The US women's 4× 400 better put her on the anchor position for the relay.
Some idiots suggesting they won't need her because they were 3 seconds better in qualifying.
Bol will be running for the Netherlands and not the girl who led off in 52.34 versus Bol running a 48.0.
And just like the world championships in track and field in 2022 the women are closing the show with the 4× 400 relay.
Sydney closed that with a 47.9 anchor leg running by herself for the fans.
So you give the Olympic fans the joy of watching the 6 time world record holder one more time.
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The only way Sydney wouldn't be the 4x4 anchor is if she's injured, and she said in her postrace yesterday that she's ready. The Dutch are the greatest threat on paper, but our depth across 4 legs should be too much for them.

The men's 4x4 heat today gave us some nervous moments. Our 16-year-old prodigy ran an opening leg that was 3 seconds slower than his times at trials, and our final 3 legs had to dig us out of a huge hole. Vernon Norwood with a 43 on 2nd leg was particularly heroic.
 
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Plebe said:
The only way Sydney wouldn't be the 4x4 anchor is if she's injured, and she said in her postrace yesterday that she's ready. The Dutch are the greatest threat on paper, but our depth across 4 legs should be too much for them.

The men's 4x4 heat today gave us some nervous moments. Our 16-year-old prodigy ran an opening leg that was 3 seconds slower than his times at trials, and our final 3 legs had to dig us out of a huge hole. Vernon Norwood with a 43 on 2nd leg was particularly heroic.
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You run your best and Sydney is the only American women currently who has run a sub 49 400, and 1 of 9 women who have run sub 48 in a relay leg.
So you go with the best runners you have.
 
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GamecockFam said:
I can kind of give them a pass this year because Noah Lyles was supposed to be on the team and they had to make a last second change because of Noah getting COVID. So they couldn't have had any practice time at full speed, thus the new guy had to judge on the fly and messed up. Plus they reordered the lineup. The green haired guy (sorry I can't remember their names...) moves from #2 to #4 and the new guy was placed at #2 and that's the hand-off that got them disqualified.
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Ahh....nah. No pass for the U.S., given that this has happened on virtually a four-year cycle. (I ran track, in high school and after college.)

I'd look at:
  • Preparation: I think Carl Lewis and Otto Bolden have this right: the U.S. needs to go to a system where the top 6 to 8 100 meter runners. need to attempt mandatory practices for relays (otherwise, forget alternate spots).
  • Game strategy; There's no way you put someone who is not used to taking and giving a baton into the 2nd or third slots on short notice, unless they've trained together (and it was obvious they didn't).

Lyles can't make it? Just put the chosen sub into the last slot and that's that. The idea that the U.S. speed can simply make up for shoddy execution is arrogant...and wrong. What's that definition of insane? When you keep doing the same thing that doesn't work?

- Professionalism. I know Lewis had the runners' backs and put this on the system/coaching staff, but Bolden also said professional sprinters have to know/live up to being relay runners. Look at what the girls were doing pre-race: practicing handoffs (n the waiting room) and reminding each other to be on the outside of the lane so the handoff will have room (usually right hand to left). (Our #2 runner left so early, there was no way the other guy could get to him in the zone. He didn't. That's a basic skill.)

I'd think that higher-ups in the U.S. Olympic Committee have noticed these results and will weigh in heavily, with the Olympics in LA next time.
 
Henry said:
I saw Sydney on the Today show yesterday, where they gave her a bowl of gummy bears (her favorite candy). She only took one saying that she still had one more race. So she already knew she'd be in the 4 X 400 today.
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As it should be. I'm a casual track and field fan, but what I've seen of her.....just Whoa :eek::eek::eek:
 
WBBTakeover said:
Jackie Young's emergence (well, Cheryl's realization that she actually needs to play her) really makes this team unbeatable--or at least seem that way!
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That is Coach Reeve for ya. Glad that she is letting Plum and Young get a little more PT out there. Young can be a beast out there when given some minutes and those for any player really. Just gotta give them some time to go out there and play.
 
WBBTakeover said:
I didn't see anything in the Belgium/France game that should scare Team USA. If they get the ball inside early and often, they should take the crowd out of it and win by 20+. France has some good athletic forwards but not one big who can stay with A'ja or match up with BG.
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Yep. Team USA, granted you never overlook any team, but Team USA should not have too much to worry about from Team France. Just play team ball. Play as One unit out there.
 
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JellyBean said:
Yep. Team USA, granted you never overlook any team, but Team USA should not have too much to worry about from Team France. Just play team ball. Play as One unit out there.
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France lives by the press and they really don't want to try that with Stewie.
They will give up a lot of easy baskets if they don't.
People don't realize how quick Stewie is and she sees the entire floor, and A'ja is a big target.
 


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Just finished reading this and I would have to agree on the advantages streaming has offered with the Olympics. I used the main Canadian broadcaster app and man it made watching so much easier for certain events I like to check out. NBC's creativity in including Snoop, Martha Stewart and others was a great move too. The ratings increase from the Tokyo Olympics seem to indicate this too.
 
Sydney ran the second leg today--and gave the U.S. a 20-meter lead. Gabby Thomas made it 30 meters. Femke Bol closed the gap in her anchor leg, but only a little. She ran the 2nd fastest leg, but Sydney's leg was 0.91 faster. The U.S. broke their 1988 record.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Sydney ran the second leg today--and gave the U.S. a 20-meter lead. Gabby Thomas made it 30 meters. Femke Bol closed the gap in her anchor leg, but only a little. She ran the 2nd fastest leg, but Sydney's leg was 0.91 faster. The U.S. broke their 1988 record.
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Gabby Thomas had a small little stumble receiving the baton from McLaughlin. Alexis Holmes (the Hamden, CT native!) looked like she started slowing in the last few steps before the line.

Those two things don't happen, and the 4x400 world record from 1988 goes down. So close, though.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Sydney ran the second leg today--and gave the U.S. a 20-meter lead. Gabby Thomas made it 30 meters. Femke Bol closed the gap in her anchor leg, but only a little. She ran the 2nd fastest leg, but Sydney's leg was 0.91 faster. The U.S. broke their 1988 record.
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Sydney's 47.71 split was the 3rd fastest 4x400 split in history, and the fastest since the mid-80s.

Just 0.10 off the 1988 world record of the powerhouse Soviet team that held off the US team anchored by Flo-Jo that set the longstanding US record.

The men's 4x400 final was thrilling, Letsile Tebogo and the Botswanan 4x4 have been the revelation of the sprinting in this Olympics. Rai Benjamin had just barely enough to hold off Tebogo down the stretch. The Botswanans are young and they have put the world on notice.
 
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