What's left to say about the 15th World Championships that hasn't been said in my 11 previous WC posts?
As if I hadn't been opinionated enough in those earlier posts!
Well, I promise you, this WILL be the LAST post ALL about this meet.
My excuse?
I started my blog on December 9, 2013.
So this was the most important OUTdoor meet held since then.
(The 2014 INdoor WC didn't really deserve this kind of treatment. Hint: That might change for the 2016 version, it being held in the US. But I'll make that decision AFTER seeing how many "super elites" will be participating!)
Anyway, let's take a look at some of the Best and Worst from Beijing, along with a few assorted other facts & figures.
Many think that the WC is a better T&F meet than the Olympic Games.
Their reasoning is that the WC is 100% T&F, whereas the OG is more a spectacle, which INCLUDES T&F--even if our sport is seen as its core!
So I decided to compare the 2, measured by how many CURRENT World Records were set in each!
This is NOT a count of how many WR's have been broken in either meet, as several WR's have been broken multiple times in each!
In the WC, MEN have 7 WR's on the books.
They are the 100, 200, 400, 4X400 Relay, LJ, TJ, and the Decathlon.
The WOMEN's WC WR's number just 2.
They are the HJ and LJ.
It's different for the OG!
The MEN have 3 WR's.
They are the 800, 400H, and the 4X100 Relay.
But the WOMEN dominate here, with 6 WR's.
They are the 200, 3000SC, 4X100 Relay, 4X400 Relay, DT, and the Heptathlon!
Overall, it's the MEN with 10, while the WOMEN have 8!
Who had the Best HAIR?
Oh, come on!
SAFP, with her garish green-braided locks!!
Beautiful!!
Best Uniforms?
Well, I've always been partial to Jamaica's!!
Wildly colorful!
(Maybe they inspired Shelly Ann's hairdo!!)
Who made the Greatest Breakthroughs?
Dafne Schippers went from 22.02 to 21.63 in the 200.
Elaine Thompson went from 22.10 to 21.66!
But Sergey Shubenkov improved his PR by 0.11 in the 110H.
That's BIG for that event!
What about the Greatest Upsets?
That's an easy one!
Start with Almaz Ayana beating Genzebe Dibaba in the 5000--circumstances of Dibaba's having already run 3 rounds of the 1500, plus a round of the 5000 notwithstanding!
Shawn Barber beating Renaud Lavillenie in the PV!
Denia Caballero is 3rd in this category, as beating Sandra Perkovic isn't unique anymore!
Usain Bolt beating Justin Gatlin--TWICE!--an upset?
Not really
And that's why I place those "upsets" behind the ones above!
The Best Series in a Field event?
Anita Wlodarczyk, easy!
Her top throw came within 9 inches of her WR.
And her 2nd best throw would have topped her old WR--the 261.1.
She also had a third throw over 260 feet!
Best Teenage Performances?
The Gold here goes to Dina Asher-Smith, who improved her PR in each round!
The 3rd of these brought her the title of Fastest EVER Teen in the 200!!
On the Men's side--despite his slowish time!--the prize goes to Ghirmay Ghebrselassie for his Marathon win over a GREAT field!
Who has the Best Name?
I just LOVE the name of that Swiss girl, Mujinga Kambundji!!
(I've even learned to type it without having to check my spelling! LOL)
Here's some NEW MOM awards.
Best New Mom prize goes to Gold Heptathlon winner Jessica Ennis-Hill.
The Worst New Mom "prize" is, sad to say, all Chaunte Lowe's, for not even being able to clear her first Qualifying height of 1.80!!
The SADDEST New Mom moment?
Again, sad to say, it's the fall of Alysia Montano, and her not being able to advance!
(Her fast opening laps were missed in that Final!!)
Speaking of SAD moments--though NOT because they're new mothers!!--let's add these:
Molly Huddle losing the Bronze in the 10K
People have been critical of her early celebration, but let's face it, she still LOST, whatever the reason!
(But kudos to Emily Infeld for doing what she needed---and was TRAINED!!--to do!!
Also sad for Jenny Simpson, losing a shoe at the WRONG time!!
Worst Performances when measured against pre-meet expectations?
This one's EASY!
The "winner" is the entire US Women's 100H squad!
A False Start, a DNF, a LAST place in the Final, and just a 4th for the "best" performance??
Jeez!
But Dibaba's 5K run wasn't what about 100% of "experts" thought it would be!
The US Men's 800 team wasn't too hot either!
Both US teams for the 1500's performed below par--although Simpson (See above!) had a valid excuse!
Finally, I have to add Marielle Hall's and Abbey D'Agostino's runs in the 5000 Heats to this list.
They'd run 15:05 or faster, but here couldn't even break 16:00!!
My "I LOVE Nick Symmonds" Award goes to 3 people.
Jenna Prandini--affiliated CLOSELY to NIKE-owned U of O--grandly announced she's turning Pro during her post-race interview!
She said she's signed with PUMA!!
Good for you, Jenna!!
I've already mentioned (in a previous post) how Emma Coburn spent 6 minutes being interviewed, all the while her long blonde hair COVERING the NIKE emblem on her jersey!
Then she made it even BETTER when she answered the question of what she'd done outside of track in Beijing!
"I visited the NEW BALANCE store!", she replied!
(She may have lost her race, but she WON here!!)
I'll add Usain Bolt as a footnote---pun intended!!
After his great 200 win over Justin Gatlin, followed by cameras every step he took, he stopped, removed his shoes, and held those self-same PUMAS up for all the world---including NIKE & USATF--to see!!
Talk about getting SPIKED!!
Most Endearing moments?
Bolt doing his usual routine!
Infeld's face after finding out she'd won Bronze!
Blanka Vlasic's---like Bolt's--usual post-make dance!
Add Christina Schwanitz's overjoyed glow at winning the SP--albeit part of that joy was probably RELIEF that Valerie Adams wasn't there!!
What were the Best Overall Events, including all the rounds in the track events, and both Qualifying and Final in the field events?
The Men's 400 wins!
Those 43.93's in the HEATS, plus that incredible Final, with 3 more going sub-44!
The Men's Sprint Relays were also good.
Several National Records.
Plus it's always a heart-jarring experience to see IF the teams---especially the US--make it through 400 meters with the baton NOT on the ground somewhere!
The Men's 10000 was good as a single round race.
For once, the times were NEAR what you'd see in a paced DL race!
On the Women's side, I'd pick the 200's.
Several NR's in the rounds, then that FINAL!!
I also like the 800, even though the times weren't super fast.
(At least not on the Record-breaking!)
But that 3rd round in the Semi's, with most of the places running faster than their counterparts in the Final!
And with 23 of 24 running 2:00.83 or faster!
The Marathon had a GREAT finish, as did the 20K Walk!
The Best Field events?
For the Men, I'd give it to the Shot Put!
There were several over 70 feet, with a great battle between David Storl and Joe Kovacs for the Gold!
For the Women, the Pole Vault!
A great field---even without Isi present, and with Demi Payne not having her best day!--plus great marks for the Top 3.
And all the finalists going 15-1 or higher!
The Worst Overall Track events?
For the Men, I'd give that Booby Prize to the 800.
The Final was SLOWWW!
And the US squad was an utter failure--after leaving the US CHAMPION home!!
The 5000 Final was also SLOWWWW!!
(Don't care much that a GREAT 1000 was part of it!!)
I'll add the Marathon to this list, even though the slow times can be PARTIALLY excused by the heat!
For the Women, the Big Prize goes to the 1500.
Dibaba's opening round in 4:02.49 gave MUCH promise for what she might do in either/or the Semi and Final.
Again, despite that fantastic final 800 by GD, this wasn't an 800!!
It was a 1500!!
The 3000SC had relatively slow times in the Heats.
Or maybe I should call them AVERAGE Heat times!!
But the Final being won in 9:19 and change?
Come on, they ran sub-3:00 for the last K.
I'd say Coburn lost that race because she didn't run sub-3:00 on both of the last TWO kilometers!!
Then there's the total MELTDOWN by the US foursome in the 100H.
Let's face it, they were SUPPOSED to SWEEP the Medals, and maybe take the top 4 spots (or at least 4 of 5, with former American Tiffany Porter sneaking in there somewhere!).
Utter FAILURE!
The Worst Field events, by gender?
For the Men, that "prize" EASILY goes to the High Jump!
Just 2.34 for the GOLD??
And 2.33 for the other medals?
Where are the days of MULTIPLE jumpers over 2.40 in one meet??
The DT was okay, with the Silver medalist getting a National Record.
But overall, pretty weak, especially considering the biggest NAMES were all there!
For the Women, I'd say the TJ.
No really great marks, and a tepid competition.
"Winning" by default might be the SP.
Yes, Schwanitz, Gong, and Carter had good marks, and should all be congratulated.
But let's face reality, folks!
An in-shape and un-injured Valerie Adams would've won Gold without breaking a sweat if she'd been there!
The Javelin Throw also should be included.
Marks were just fair, and Kara Winger wasn't near her marks from earlier this year!
The Best Multi?
You MUST ask??
(That said, if KJT's huge LJ had been a fair one, the 3-way COMPETITION might have given Mr Eaton a run for his money!)
NAHHH!!!
FINALLY, let's take a look at the Meet Records!
When WR's aren't available, MR's are ALMOST the next best thing---especially in a meet like the WC, where WR's often happen. (See the opening shot of this post!)
So here is a chart of all 15 of the World Championships so far, with the CURRENT Meet Records listed set in each meet.
The year is listed on the far left, then the Men's numbers, then the Women's numbers (followed by the TOTAL--M & W added together), then WHICH MR's on the far right.
2015 1 4 (5) 9045, 21.63, 14:26.83, 265-3, 41.07
2013 1 0 (1) 7-10.75
2011 1 3 (4) 37.04, 12.28, 69-8.25 (a tie), 236-2
2009 5 1 (6) 9.58, 19.19, 26:46.31, 8:00.43, 2:06:54, 52.42
2007 1 1 (2) 274-4, 9:06.57
2005 1 3 (4) 230-2, 2:20:57, 16-5.25, 1:25:41
2003 3 2 (5) 12:52.79, 1:17:21, 3:36:03, 3:58.52, 30:04.18
2001 2 0 (2) 19-10.25, 304-5
1999 2 1 (3) 43.18, 3:27.65, 10.70
1997 0 0 (0)
1995 1 1 (2) 60-0.25, 50-10.25
1993 3 1 (4) 12.91, 47.18, 2:54.29, 3:16.71
1991 1 0 (1) 29-4.50
1987 2 5 (7) 1:43.06, 72-11.25, 6-10.25, 24-1.75, 69-8.25 (a tie), 235-0, 7128
1983 0 2 (2) 47.99, 1:54.28
And that REALLY is a WRAP for the Beijing WC!!
See you in just a couple of days with results from Zurich!!
No comments:
Post a Comment