IAAF World Track and Field Championships running thread

I would sure love to see Alan Webb do something in the 1500m final, but i have this sad feeling he's going to blow.
He's got the fastest time in the world in the mile and 1500 and #2 at 800 right now, but he missed a meet a week or two ago with some kind of hamstring problem and his agent was talking today after his semi about him getting over a cold...

Hopefully he's good to go in the final. He's had a great year thus far.

 

Anyone see the interview with Webb after the semi? He looked scared, and really didn't have anything to say. It looked like all the confidence he's earned this summer gut flushed in one race. If I had to put money down, I'd go with Lagat. Hope Webb proves me wrong.

 

You are an oracle. Lagat wins, Webb fades badly on the final lap.

 

Why am I not surprised.


Webb never runs big in big events. He's great for one shot but he sucks when he has to go through rounds. Just doesn't have the mental toughness to do it in the big spot. Sorry.

 

Canadian Perdita Felicien wins a silver in 100 metre hurdles. I hope she is back to the form she was in before that horrific crash at the Athens Games. She could be a threat once again in Beijing if she continues to produce results like this one.

 

I watched a lot of the '04 Olympics on SRC (ah, the benefit of living in a formerly French-Canadian New England city), and Felicien's disastrous performance kind of capped off a horrible Olympics for Canada. Those were some pretty joyless broadcasts, and with good reason.

 

Canada had a really disasterous Games in Athens. The Felicien crash highlighted all those bad moments. I only hope Beijing will be a better showing for Canada.

 

Her race was, IIRC, the second Monday of the Games--the third day of track. The CBC hyped her to death for the first week. She was going to save what was clearly becoming an awful Games.

Then she fell.

It was like a bomb went off in the CBC studio. It seemed like they all just wanted to go home at that point--"what the hell are we supposed to do now?"

It wasn't quite Ben in '88, but close. Joyless doesn't do the reaction justice.

But, redemption plays big so I'm sure we will hear a lot of her in a year's time (actually the winning silver was probably better than winning gold for the CBC's purposes--it makes a better story.)

At least for Felicien, some of the hype will be directed towards Adam van Koeverden this time...and Canada's Olympics should be marginally better...

 

Yeah, I remember CBC trying to track down the Russian competitor that Felicien took out to get her reaction. CBC must have been real desperate to cover something.

 

I am staggered that not only did a British woman win a gold medal, but another came in second in the 400 meters.

We're so not used to winning, its the countries first women's world championship gold medal since 1993.

 

It appears Webb really is the second coming of Steve Scott. Ranked No. 1 in the world and finish eighth? Yeah, that sounds like Scott.

 

Savante Stringfellow, long jump, last Olympics.