>From: "Mcewen, Brian T" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>Obea Moore? Brendan Christian? Bill Miller?
>The 400m? The vault?
>
>You guys know better. For Chrissakes David, YOU ARE a distance runner!
>
>Saying that lots of legitimate 16-year-olds or 19-year-olds were able >to
>run XX.XX or jump XX.XX in a 400m or a jump has no bearing on distance
>running.
>
>Kebba, last time I looked into it, the 100/200 and Steeple were >different
>events with different physical requirements. You might >want to check this
>out.
Of course they're different events with different requirements. this doesn't
meant that we should have different expectations.
>
>Can a sprinter or jumper put up national class (or
>flirting-with-world-class) times while still well under 20?
>
>Of course.
>
>Distance running and sprinting are different sports, not just >different
>events. Check the historical average of distance record >holders and
>sprint rec. holders ... then check the same for Major >Championship
>winners. Late-20's for the skinny guys, early 20's for >the fast guys.
There are plenty of 19-25 yr old running really fast in events for 800m all
the way up to 10k. Look on the world list. The trend has been increasing in
the last decade and shows very few signs of slowing.
>I'll shut up about bogus Kenyan Juniors .. but please give me >something
>better than; "7:58 could be legit, because Americans run >fast sprint
>times at 16."
okay, i'll give you something bettter. maybe it's that they're just better
than us, want it more than us, and expect success more than us, and train
smarter/harder than us. when national pride is dependnant on whether or not
you medal the expectations go way up. In 1992, 1995, and 96 it was announced
and seen as a damn near travesty when we couldn't bust a grape in the men's
100m. How do you think Kenyan steeplers feel right now. We expect our junior
men and women sprinter to be extremely competetive. we get excited when they
come close to WJR or times that would take them very far (e.g., semifinals)
in international competitions. We expect our senior men and women sprinters
and hurdlers to dominate the yearly lists and win medals at
major meets.
On the other hand, it's a big deal when a distance runner is merely
competitive in an international final or makes a "good effort." No one cut
Dennis Mitchell or Burrell any slack in 92 when they got 3rd and 5th in
Barcelona. If we set the standard for sending people to international teams
to people who have PR's of 3:32 or better you'll see a diff. When our 5k,
Steeple, and 10k folks can be internationally competetive in shorter events
(See Szabo, Kiptinui, Said, Jacobs, O Sullivan, Komen, Slaney, Haile, etc)
we'll stand a chance. Until then forget about it.
When we stop whining and making excuses talking about EPO, over-ages
Kenyans, Morrocans, Ethiopians and do a better job of talent ID, talent
development, and training the parameters needed for top flight performances
in the distances then we'll stand a chance.
>
>/Brian McEwen
>
>P.S. Now we not only have women's WRs that will never be broken, but
> >Junior records as well.
Junior records can and do get broken. Had it not been for a broken
wind-gauge the WJR in 100m would've been broken in Edmonton. Records are
records because they're outstanding performances not because they're soft or
easy. If you want something it takes a ton of talent, and often a ton of
reasonably-well guided work. 100 miles a week is not the answer. altitude
training is not the answer.
think of it this way - at most major Div I universities if football and
basketball coahces have 2-4 bad yrs in a row heads roll. In Kenya and
Ethiopia if medals aren't brought back from major competitions s**t hits the
fan, people are pissed, etc. If Kenneedy, Holman, McMullen, Meb, Suzy, or
Khannouci bomb out it's really no big deal because no one expected much to
begin with. If a kid blows a baton pass more than once in a major meet they
can kiss their future relay chances goodbye (I've seen it happen). If we
told our distance folks that they had to hit the "A" standard in order to
receive/maintain their funding (like they do in some countries) we'd see a
diff.
--Kebba
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