Now that you know I'm a Clint Eastwood fan, let's get on to my Sopot report.
And to tell the truth, it's much LESS than I was hoping for, or even thought would be!
For example, there were ZERO meet records broken! (I'll explain the Men's 4X400 Relay "record" in a moment!)
Out of 26 total events, there are 4 Meet Records each from 2012 and 2010 that remain on the books!
And it's not solely because Lavillenie or Bolt or Merritt (Aries or LaShawn) or Isinbayeva wasn't there.
And it's not because the meet records are too tough.
A few are, but many could be broken by the right person with a good effort.
Since this blog concerns itself with records and marks, and so measures the success or failure of a meet by how many top level marks there are, I'd say this meet was NOT one of the best championship meets!
But it was good enough.
And here's the marks that made it so.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran 6.98, giving her the Age 27 record, and making her 7th A-T World!!
Omo Osaghae's 7.45 60H win made him 14th A-T US, but missed by just 0.01 making my Top 24 World list!
Gerald Phirl's 6.52 60 makes him the Zambian National record holder.
Bingtian Su's 6.52 gives him the Chinese National record.
Pavel Maslek's 45.24 is the new Czech record.
Chris Brown TWICE set Age 35 records, his final mark breaking his heat mark!
He ran 45.84, then 45.58.
Once again, I must offer a caveat about my Relay records.
My lists are not complete yet, so these placings (on lists) might change soon.
(I should be done sometime this week!)
That said, The USA's 3:24.83 SEEMS to be 2nd best Nation All-Time.
(I believe there's a better time the US ran, so take the above with a grain of salt.....for now!)
But I AM sure that Jamaica broke its National record with its 3:26.54!
That's their women's team!
Jamaica's Men's team ALSO got their National record, running 3:03.69.
The US is # 2 team, and Jamaica is # 3 team indoors!
Now for the USA's so called World Record of 3:02.13, their winning time today.
There's a US All-Star team that ran 3:01.96 in Fayetteville in 2006
But according to reliable sources, that mark was NOT accepted as the WR because proper drug tests weren't done after the race.
But my TAFWA All-Time World Indoor List 2011 book lists it as the best time!!
There's no asterisk attached because of drug-related questions!
Thus, I'm accepting that mark as the World Record, even though others see it as the American Record, but not the World Record!
(And people wonder why T&F has a fan drought in the US!!)
Chanelle Price ran a great 800, winning in 2:00.09, for 11th A-T US.
Treniere Moser's 4:07.84 is a PR, but doesn't change her 8th A-T US position.
Nicole Sifuentes ran 4:07.61 for the Canadian National record!
Ashton Eaton missed his own WR by just 13 points in the Heptathlon!
But his 6632 tally gives him the Age 26 record.
His wife, Brianna Thiesen-Eaton, did him one better!
Her 4768 Pentathlon mark gives her the Canadian National record.
It also ties her at 24th A-T World, with 1 other.
And the Pentathlon winner, Nadine Broersen, got the Netherlands record with her total of 4830 points.
She's also now 11th A-T World!
Valerie Adams 67-9.50 is the Age 29 record.
Thomas Walsh's 69-9.25 is the new New Zealand National record!
Mutaz Barshim's 7-9.75 is the new Qatar National record.
He's 10th A-T World, but tied there with 6 others!
Andriy Protsenko's 7-8.75 ties him at 23rd A-T World, with 7 others!!
Jirina Svodorova's 15-5 PV ties her at 19th A-T World, with 3 others.
Mauro da Silva's 27-2 LJ is the Brazilian Indoor National record.
And Louis Tsatoumas's 26-8 is the Age 32 record!
And that's it!!
From the WORLD Indoor CHAMPIONSHIP meet!!!
Wait and see....the NCAA will produce more marks worthy of note, as will the High School NBIN, both next weekend!
While the marks were lacking, the excitement, thrills, the upsets, the shockers, were not!
A few of the "good, bad, and the ugly".
All those DQ's!!
I lost count, but it has to be at or near double digits!!
Either bad officiating, or just a bunch of "accidents"?
The saddest DQ was probably Heather Kampf's!
She not only somehow got knocked down, but finished dead last, then got DQ'ed!!
And what about all those "false starts" in the Women's 4X400 Relay??
None of the women were at fault.
It turned out to be faulty blocks (or the wiring being loose or something), so the race was started about 4 or 5 times before it took off for real!!
All of it for the whole world to see!
As for "failures", Ajee Wilson ran so-so.
Anita Hinriksdottir ran good (a PR of 2:01.03), but got DQ'ed also!
Another sad story was that of Gabe Grunewald.
We all know what happened to her at USATF!.
Then, for whatever reason, she runs poorly in the final, finishing well back.
Shannon Rowbury didn't do much better!
Ivan Ukhov's loss to Barshim was maybe the biggest shocker.
Ukhov was supposed to try for the WR in Sopot.
Never got the chance!!
Jenn Suhr continued her below-average season!
And what about that tie for the Gold medal in the Women's HJ??
The athletes themselves chose not to have a jump-off.
Many have complained, wanting a clear winner to emerge!
Did these 2 beautiful and talented women cheat us?
Bottom line?
With no Meet records, and no World Records, and with several stars not competing, and with the distance races (1500's and 3000's) being those maddening jog-then-sprint affairs, the Sopot edition of the WIC wasn't the worst, but was nowhere near the best!!!
Coming next week, the NCAA and the NB Indoor Nationals for High Schoolers!
Should be........I said SHOULD be!!.......two great meets!!
BTW, I agree with you 100% about the ducking issue -- in the conversation you've been having on the T&FN website (where I won't post because of the way they treat you!). In T&F we don't have enough big meets anyway, where the top athletes face off against each other for a prize they really want, and are in their best condition. That's the best the sport has to offer and we rarely get it. It's hard to deny that drug busts have been the worst thing for the sport in the last couple decades, but ducking isn't far behind. While track fans and the public obsess over drug busts, we offer nothing to distract them in the form of top-flight competition. Instead it's almost always the matchup that could-have-been but didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteDucking has been extremely damaging to the sport, depriving us of all the great matchups you mentioned on that "other" site, plus many more we both could name. One source of the problem is that the athletes feel no sense of obligation to support the sport that is giving them all their opportunities. And in the case of the pros, their careers; and for the super-elite, their fortunes. Yet they act as though they owe nothing to the sport.
This is unique to track and field. It would be unimaginable for the top pros in tennis or golf to duck each other. Instead they seem to try to find as many opportunities as possible -- many times a year -- to all face-off against each other. It's what brings the most excitement and attention to the sport. The athletes support the sport and then the sport grows strong and supports the athletes.
Very few in track and field are even able to make a living as professional athletes, much less a fortune. The athletes don't support the sport, so the sport stays weak and doesn't support the athletes. They need to get out there and compete, and compete against their top competitors as much as possible. Ducking is an abomination and would not be tolerated in any respectable professional sport. Can you imagine quarterbacks refusing to play when they're up against the top defense? Or pitchers refusing to pitch against a team with great batters? That's what we have in track and field.
Cranny and Efraimson are young girls and may not have had much say in this missstep. I hope it doesn't become a habit with them. The opportunities for a really great race are very rare and to pass one up, especially while competing at the same meet, is a sad loss for everyone. It's bad for the sport, the season, the meet, and, I would argue, the competitors themselves. They don't know what the future will bring. Maybe great glory and opportunities; maybe not. Here's a chance for a peak experience, right now. Life doesn't give us many of those. Carpe Diem!
Great comment!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not saying that just because we agree!
It's a brilliant comment all by itself!
I agree it almost certainly was NOT Alexa and Elise who chose to run separate races.
Maybe they truly WANTED to run separately, because one wanted to run an 800, the other a mile.
But if that's the case, what are their goals at NBIN?
To break the records....or to win?
I don't see anyone, in either race, who's able to push them.
Maddy Berkson is the best in the 800, but her PR is just 2:08.
If Cranny seeks to run 2:01, it would really help to have either a rabbit (No rabbits at NBIN, right??) or someone like Efraimson to push her.
And ditto for Alexa.
If she wants to go 4:30, or even beat Cain's 4:28, it would help to have a 4:15 1500 girl like Elise to push her.
BTW, as an aside, check out this comparison between Efraimson and Cain.
In 2013 indoors, Cain was a 16 year old HS junior.
In 2014, Efraimson is a 16 year old (When is her birthday?) HS junior.
In 2013, Cain's first 2 races were an OT 3000 in 9:02 and her 4:32.78 mile.
In 2014, Efraimson's first two races were her 9:00 3K on an OT, and hert Millrose mile in....4:32.15!!
In 2013, Cain then ran her 2 mile in 9:38 and her 4:28.25 mile!
Efraimson is surely capable of those latter two times......this year!!
Yet she (or her coach?) chooses to run without the best person capable to push her to that 4:28??
Doesn't make sense!!
Anyway, I fully agree about the "ducking" issue.
(And, like I said, I doubt.....or at least HOPE......it wasn't the girls who made these choices!
Worst yet, IMO, is that both of them aren't running the 5000.
Remember last year's NBIN girls 5000?
Finn blasting 9:33 for her 1st 3000 (15:55 pace), then fading, and being passed (barely!!!!) at the tape by 0.01 seconds by Frazier!!
Imagine what those two could do to Frazier's record!!
Efraimson and Cranny were great in XC, and surely could go well under 16:00 on the track!
Yet neither of them are ntered in the 5K.
Or even the two mile!
(And yes, it's the full 2 miles, not the 3200, at NBIN!!)
That race has a good field, with Debalsi and Barrett and Alcorta in there.
Imagine adding Cranny and Efraimson!!
Alone, Debalsi MIGHT crack 10:00....but with Elise and Alexa up front, all 5 might go under 10!! (Or come very close!!)
As I said on the MB, missed opportunities!!
Thanks again for the wonderful comment!
I'll be having a post up PRIOR to the two big meets (NBIN and NCAA).
No formal predictions---just some observations.
Watch for it!
Yes, I do remember the girls 5K at NBIN last year. I remember it because of the incredible record-breaking duel between Finn and Frazier, especially the finish! It was one of the most exciting and memorable HS races of the year. But imagine that instead these fine athletes had run in separate races. It's unlikely I would even remember their names.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, that's what we're getting this year with Cranny and Efraimson in separate races. I hope they will both at least make very serious record attempts. Otherwise, what's the point? What's the fun of traveling to a big meet only in order to chalk up an easy win against no serious competition?
To put it another way -- as an old man I know something these girls don't know yet. Life is short and even a relatively long competitive career (may they be so fortunate as to have this!) is over when you're still young. I competed in a lot of high school meets. I don't really have any clear memory of all the meets I won by huge margins. They were more like glorified practice sessions. I was very oriented towards records, and always going for them, but somehow it worked out that I only set records in meets where I had real competition. The few meets where I went up against serious competitors who could really push, or even beat me, are the meets I still remember to this day, a half century later.
Unless one or both of them set a big record, this meet is not going to be memorable for Cranny or Efraimson. Later in life they'll hardly remember it. But if they ran against each other, no matter what the outcome, it will be a race they remember the rest of their lives.
Some people felt that Mary Cain was pushed too hard last year. Too much, too young, she'll burn out, they said. I don't think so, but even if it works out that way, she did the right thing. No matter what she ever accomplishes during the rest of her career, even if she reaches the highest levels of the sport and wins major titles and sets world records, she will NEVER EVER forget her amazing 2013 breakout season. It will remain as one of the high points of her life no matter how long she lives and no matter what else she accomplishes on or off the track. She DID "seize the day" and what a day it was!
Yep! Yep! And yep! LOL
ReplyDelete