U.S. sprinters flub another chance
It just can't get much worse for American sprinters.
They've been whipped by the Jamaicans in every men's and women's individual 100 and 200.
Now the men are out of the 4x100 relay thanks to a dropped baton in a qualifying heat.
If the Jamaicans avoid a similar mistake, they'll cruise to the gold in this event.
They might have anyway, but I would love to have seen Tyson Gay take a run at Usain Bolt on the anchor leg in the relay finals. Gay needed a chance for redemption.
But the top U.S. sprinter, at least before these games, let the opportunity literally slip through his fingers. That's been the tale of the track for the Americans, far outclassed by Bolt and the Jamaicans..
Update: I was wrong, it could get worse ... and did. The women's 4x100 team dropped the baton, too.
On a much brighter note, our men came through strong in the 400 meters.
Comments (3)
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Doug:
I ran track as a young man (you wouldn't know it to look at me now, would you?) and love to watch it. I was, of course, very disappointed that the men's team dropped the batton (that actually happened to me once at the state championship).
The bigger point here, however, is that you have to show up and compete. It doesn't matter what you did at the prelims or if you are the world record holder, to win at the olympics or anywhere else, you have to show up and do your very best, see, e.g., Lolo Jones. I keep preaching this to my children, trying to make the point that the fact that you are seeded first or last really isn't that important; what is important is how you do at that particular competition. My youngest got a taste of this at the city swim meet when she went in seeded 12th in the butterfly, but ended up 22nd because she didn't have a good day.
In a nutshell, we should not allow ourselves to limited by what we have done in the past, and shouldn't rely too much on what we have done in the past to get them through life.
Best regards,
Paul Daniels
Posted on August 22, 2008 9:05 AM
Thanks for the comments, Paul.
The Olympics prove your point. As great as Michael Phelps is, it took extraordinary effort to win those medals -- especially in his last individual event when he had to reach with everything he had to touch a mere hundredth of a second ahead of the other guy.
Our women's softball team was supposed to be unbeatable but lost in the gold medal game. I don't know why, but I would guess the Japanese gave the performance of their lives.
Our men's basketball team, however, really showed up to play. The team has superior talent, of course, but each member has taken the competition seriously and worked hard to blend together as a team.
Our 4x100 relay teams, unfortunately, looked like they hadn't practiced together much. I'm sure all our athletes trained extremely hard to prepare for their individual events. Why wouldn't they word as hard on the team event? After all, a gold medal was at stake there, too. Now they've blown the chance to win it.
Posted on August 22, 2008 9:21 AM
Holy smoke! Bolt, Powell and Jamaican teammates obliterate Americans' 16-year-old WR in the 4x100 relay.
Hey, you guys come to Greensboro, I'll buy you all a Red Stripe.
Posted on August 22, 2008 10:41 AM