Olympics

[jumpkutz]

Wasn't sure which section to put this in, but it looks like Craven Cottage and Fulham F.C. were "snubbed" by the torch relay route folks. It's going by Loftus Road and the dog track, but not down Stevenage past our historic grounds. What rubbish.

http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/route/

[DCHeather]

Shame, but no biggie.

Can't wait for the track events to start. Come on Lagat!!!!

[Clevelandmo]

Shame, but no biggie.

Can't wait for the track events to start. Come on Lagat!!!!

No need to wait, USA track and field olympic trials start today, well kind of.

http://www.sbnation.com/london-olympics-2012/2012/6/21/3105982/olympic-trials-track-field-schedule-tv-what-to-watch

[DCHeather]

Thanks for the reminder Mo. I'll be anticipating the 800-10000 meter events.

[DCHeather]

Excellent performance by Galen Rupp last night.

[Clevelandmo]

world record performance by Ashton eaton in the decathalon. Finished the event by running the 1500 meters in 4min. 14 sec.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/track/story/2012-06-23/ashton-eaton-olympic-track-trials-decathlon/55783072/1

[DCHeather]

Not too shabby for a Decathlon guy. It was nice that the guy who was leading that race let him claim victory in that last event.

[DCHeather]

Amazing 5000m races last night. Rupp finally beats Lagat at the finish and breaks an Olympic Trial record that was held by the late Prefrontaine. Lagat is still my guy though, such a smooth stride.

Highlights:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/track- ... rials.html

The women's race was just as good for the finish, 3 runner's so close for that 3rd spot.

Highlights:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/track- ... 5000m.html

[Clevelandmo]

Amazing 5000m races last night. Rupp finally beats Lagat at the finish and breaks an Olympic Trial record that was held by the late Prefrontaine. Lagat is still my guy though, such a smooth stride.

Highlights:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/track- ... rials.html

The women's race was just as good for the finish, 3 runner's so close for that 3rd spot.

Highlights:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/track- ... 5000m.html

That was an incredible run by Rupp. To get passed in the final stretch like that and somehow find the power to battle back and win is really something. I've never been able to get excited by Lagat. He certainly is a heck of a runner, but I'll never be able to condone becoming a naturalized citizen of a country just so you can run in the Olympics. If you're not good enough to run for your own country except your fate. Dont move to another country and take a spot away from someone who has worked their entire lives to represent their country. I certainly could not live with myself if I did that. He could have gone to a country that didnt have enough runners making the A standard, but I believe the US did in his races.

[DCHeather]

HUH?!!! Lagat has represented Kenya in the Olympics before and he's good enough to represent them now. He became a US citizen because he wanted to be a US citizen as it is his home where he married his Canadian girlfriend he met in college (Washington State) and now has a daughter in Arizona (where he trains). Kenya does not allow dual citizens to represent their national team so he only has the opportunity to represent the US. Kenya's rules prevent him from representing his native Kenya, it's not because he's not good enough. He came in second in the last World Championship to Mo Farrah, perhaps the best 5,000 meter runner right now and the favorite to win gold at the Olympics (and he gave him quite a run).

[Clevelandmo]

He wasnt the best in Kenya. Never won a gold medal for them if I recall, I could be wrong. I remember there being something about him and team tactics against another Kenyan runner and he still couldnt win. He decided to get US citizenship for money and to become the best. Why else would he want to be a US citizen? He married a Canadian. If anything he should have become an Canadian citizen; they probably didnt have the max # of runners meeting the A standard. I'm sure US Track and Field had their hand in it. They and Lagat can paint it however they want, but it still doesnt make it right in my book. It was controversial at the time for a reason.

[DCHeather]

He wasnt the best in Kenya. Never won a gold medal for them if I recall, I could be wrong. I remember there being something about him and team tactics against another Kenyan runner and he still couldnt win. He decided to get US citizenship for money and to become the best. Why else would he want to be a US citizen? He married a Canadian. If anything he should have become an Canadian citizen; they probably didnt have the max # of runners meeting the A standard. I'm sure US Track and Field had their hand in it. They and Lagat can paint it however they want, but it still doesnt make it right in my book. It was controversial at the time for a reason.

I'll just paste the relevant info from Wikipedia here:

Lagat as a Competitor for Kenya:
Olympic Games
Silver 2004 Athens 1500 m
Bronze 2000 Sydney 1500 m
World Championships
Silver 2001 Edmonton 1500 m
World Cup
Gold 2002 Madrid 1500 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold 2004 Budapest 3000 m
Silver 2003 Birmingham 1500 m

In March 2005, Lagat announced that he had become a naturalized citizen of the United States since May 7, 2004, despite competing for Kenya in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Since Kenya does not allow dual citizenship his silver medal in the 1500 m was at stake, but in the end he was allowed to retain it. Because of this switch of nationality, Lagat served a ban from international championship events.

[AggieMatt]

Wasn't sure which section to put this in, but it looks like Craven Cottage and Fulham F.C. were "snubbed" by the torch relay route folks. It's going by Loftus Road and the dog track, but not down Stevenage past our historic grounds. What rubbish.

http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/route/

Actually, I'm pretty sure it was done as a precaution to avoid setting Plastic Michael Jackson's hair on fire.

Heated track debates at FUSA. Who knew? I'd never heard of Lagat prior to this discussion, but I find myself agreeing with Heather. If he had the opportunity where he was, I'm not so cynical as to think he pursued US Citizenship for money. Nor do I see why we'd pay for him if we already had a stable of runners who could compete with him.

[HatterDon]

here's my mandatory quadrennial statement:

I hate what the Olympics have become. I hate professionals competing. I hate the "medals table." and I hate the fact that an American who finishes second has failed and SETTLED for silver. Most of all, I hate the rampant nationalism.

I will not be watching -- except women's soccer [if they bother to broadcast it].

[AggieMatt]

Ah, heartbreak for the Aggies chasing Olympic spots. Just watched Jeneba Tarmoh fail to qualify for the Olympics in the 200m final. She had finished the 100m final last w/e in a dead heat for 3rd with Allyson Felix and it's undecided whether they'll use a coin toss or run-off to break the tie. Felix won tonight's 200m final to earn a spot for London. Here's the pic of the finish of the 100m, Tarmoh is on the inside.



The torso is used to decide the winner, thus the dead heat.

In the 10k, A&M's Natosha Rogers finished second with a personal best time but b/c she hadn't broken the A standard mark, the 4th place finisher gets the spot due to breaking the mark in a previous race. Rogers fell short by 14.21 seconds. Literally fell.

As the field of 24 runners approached the first mile with Rogers in fourth place, she was tripped. After stumbling for a couple of strides Rogers fell to the track. The whole field passed her as she got back up. Then with a burst she moved back into sixth place.

"When I fell that actually sparked me," noted Rogers. "It made me want to compete and push a little harder."

The A standard bit A&M's Sam Humphries as well. He finished 1st in the Olympic trials in javelin, but he fell short of the standard...by 14 cm.

Three very close calls, hopefully Tarmoh's works out for her. It'll be a bit of a surprise if we fail to have anyone make the track team since A&M has won the last 3 (2009-2011) NCAA Outdoor National Championships on both the men's and women's sides.