2019 Outdoors

[Ursus]

Yup, Holmes just let it all wash over her.....

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2002/aug/10/athletics.duncanmackay1

Kelly was simply a higher class of athlete. But Sharp was good if not top drawer. Personally I doubt she'll get back to previous levels, but a 1.57.6 PB in an Olympic final isn't too shabby.

We're in a social media age now that is completely different to when Kelly was running. Sharp is opinionated which makes life more interesting, but if you stick your head above the parapet you've got to be able to take the flack. Like Laps I have some sympathy, but there's a line where it starts to come across as self pitying and that's not generally a good one to publicly cross.

[RunUnlimited]

Yup, Holmes just let it all wash over her.....

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20....duncanmackay1

Kelly was simply a higher class of athlete. But Sharp was good if not top drawer. Personally I doubt she'll get back to previous levels, but a 1.57.6 PB in an Olympic final isn't too shabby.

We're in a social media age now that is completely different to when Kelly was running. Sharp is opinionated which makes life more interesting, but if you stick your head above the parapet you've got to be able to take the flack. Like Laps I have some sympathy, but there's a line where it starts to come across as self pitying and that's not generally a good one to publicly cross.

When Sharp ran that time in Rio, I honestly thought that she was going to crack on and get even faster. I honestly thought she could get into the 1:56's. But that just hasn't happened, which is sad because she certainly had the talent to run that fast. Will she ever get back into that 2016 form? *Shrugs* I hope so, but it's not looked great recently.

As for Holmes. Let's not forget she was struggling with injury then if I remember correctly (to be honest, which season wasn't that ever true with her?) and just didn't have it at the Euros that year. However, she wasn't exactly *wrong* about Ceplek being drug cheat though was she? (But yeah, that comment deffo looked like it was given in a bout of sour-grapes from Holmes, can't deny that.)

[larkim]

Interesting to read Moorcroft's defence of Ceplak in that article - can you imagine a UKA chief commenting so clearly on an overseas runner today?

[RunUnlimited]

Interesting to read Moorcroft's defence of Ceplak in that article - can you imagine a UKA chief commenting so clearly on an overseas runner today?

And Moorcroft's comments look especially ill-informed considered Ceplak's 2 year drugs ban she would get 5 years later.....

[Edit] Also his comments are even *more* unfortunate because of the soon-too-explode scandal of the BALCO situation the following year or so.

[drobbie]

Woo. She won that Diamond League event. (Run against the other 800m also-rans in a non-scoring event btw) Fine for her.

Too often though she has been found wanting in the 800m both internationally and on a domestic level.

Tell me, do you think Sharp, with Semenya, Niyonsaba and Wambui (possibly temporarily) out of the picture, that she'll at least make the 800m final in Doha judging by the form she's shown in the last 18 months or so? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she fail to win a medal at the Euro Champs last year, when she was one of the medal favourites along with Lamote and Pryshchepa, even Adelle Tracey.... And she ran *terribly* (along with Tracey and Oskan-Clarke) in a slow race and only came 6th.

No Semenya, Niyonsaba and Wambui there. So what was her excuse that time? As you pointed out, she was good enough to win the Brussels Diamond League race (which again I point out was a *non-scoring* Diamond League event. The main 800m Diamond League race, with all the big 800m names, was in Zurich. Sharp was not in that field for obvious reasons.) So why was she so poor in a race of her peers in the Euros?

Has she and the other athletes been unfairly treated? I'm not so sure. Semenya certainly has a case that she feels she's been discriminated against through circumstances that she had no control over.

My problem with Sharp is that she presents herself as some unofficial authority on the sanctity of the sport of athletics, like someone who has achieved big things on the track and she can snipe at her perceived enemies with impunity.

Kelly Holmes never felt the need to do that, and she ran in an era where a lot of her rivals were either doping or were once-in-a-lifetime talents of that era (Mutola). She suffered terrible injury setbacks and emotional and mental turmoil at various times in her career. And yet she rose above that all and *beat* her rivals comprehensively in Athens, including the dominant, seemingly unbeatable 800m star of that time, Maria Mutola, to win gold.

Holmes managed that without moaning about the "unfairness" of running against Mutola and a bunch of Russian dopers in the 90's and early 2000's. Unlike Sharp, she got with the hard work of training herself and bettering herself until she could beat them all. Maybe Lynsey should take some inspiration from that for a change?

semenya does not have a case, she has competed in the genetic women category for years despite not being a genetic woman, i am absolutely sick of her, the most odious athlete in sports she has gained nothing but advantages and success due to her condition which allowed her to cheat the likes of sharp and other genetic women for years

[philipo]

semenya does not have a case, she has competed in the genetic women category for years despite not being a genetic woman, i am absolutely sick of her, the most odious athlete in sports she has gained nothing but advantages and success due to her condition which allowed her to cheat the likes of sharp and other genetic women for years

Glad to hear that my own rather violent views about Semenya and the South African politicians getting away with the proverbial murder for far too long are largely reciprocated on this Forum; but, heigh ho, thats your bleeding heart liberals for you, posters.Why the Swiss Federal courts have the authority for any say whatsoever in the Semenya circus Lord only knows ; if they get short shrift on their latest attempts to keep the medal stuff goinh perhaps its the United Nations and Security Council next.
What a f*cking world is this so called liberal, tolerant, "progressive" world.Think the people who invited our newest 3/5K enthusiast to the Prefontaine deserve a good kicking.
For any of you guys who might feel sad for poor " little" Semenya, i wonder how many athletes in the past ,if any, have in the course of 18 months or so ran world class 400/800/1500m races and quite likely will not be too bad at 3k or even 5 K this year. Absurd of course.

[Jeremy1066]

The argument might be there for a number of the issues about Semenya's inclusion in races, but you are just vile, not violent.

[RunUnlimited]

Over at Halle, Sophie McKinna got a taste of real competition in the shot put and didn't do too badly, though she was not able to go beyond 18m, throwing a best of 17.56m in the 3rd round. Home favourite Christina Schwanitz came through with the victory, managing the only throws beyond 19m with her winning throw going out to 19.23. Fanny Roos of the Netherlands was 2nd, while Canadian Brittany Crew set a new national record of 18.69m with her opening throw.

[LuckySpikes]

The NCAA D1 Championships in Austin, Texas start on Thursday our time (early hours of the morning). Four days of competition - Days 1 & 3 are the men; Days 2 & 4 are the women. It's live on BT Sport (with repeats during the day-time also) and for those without BT I will provide links to good ESPN live streams, also with more convenient repeats.

The 12 British athletes who qualified are listed here (under 3 separate headings of England, Great Britain & Wales - US knowledge of geography is shocking!) -
http://www.ustfccca.org/wp-content/u..._finalsite.pdf .
William Paulson has dual nationality and I believe he will be trying to get in the Canadian team for Doha instead.

After 7 of the 10 favourites in the distance races were upset last year I'm going to refrain from making any predictions here this year!

[RunUnlimited]

At the Josef Odlozil meeting in Prague, Jimmy Vicaut opens his season with a defeat, beaten by Ivory Coast's Arthur Gue Cisse who ran 10.01 (+0.1 m/s) to Vicaut's 10.07

[LuckySpikes]

Anyone who intends to record/watch Day 1 of the NCAA Champs, be aware there has been a significant timetable change due to "weather" - see my EDIT note in bold at https://forum.athleticsweekly.com/fo...=2624#post2624

[Sovietvest]

RunUnlimited

As you say Sharp reached her peak in the OG Final when intersex athletes took 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I have always thought that something died with Lynsey's career at that point. CAS allowing the intersex athletes back in must have been a dreadful blow which was driven home in Rio. It would be human nature to be bitter about the unfair competition, just as Kelly Holmes was about dopers in her day. The consequences of expressing that bitterness these days is that you get a bad name. Some people can hold their opinions back, some can't. Some can plough on with their sport regardless. For the more sensitive ones it can eat away at them. Personally I don't hold Sharp in any less regard for being outspoken and letting it get the better of her. I think she would still be a cracking athlete had the circumstances been different.

I'm in Laps' camp on this.

I've never warmed to Lyndsey Sharp at all - not least because of the way she consistently, year after year, used to ignore autograph hunters at Alexander Stadium. Running past, with her nose in the air, metres from dozens of kids, was not a good look.That said, unlike 99% of people, when she expressed an opinion on the Semenya case she did so from a position of knowledge. She understood the impact it was having on other athletes - competitively and commercially - and also understood the legal situation: she wrote a dissertation on the subject whilst studying law.

I hate to read comments on here disparaging any athlete's performances. Sharp has been an outstanding athlete who deserved to win an Olympic medal in 2016. OK she hasn't maintained form since then but the vast majority of top 800m athletes only stay at the top for a few seasons. The fact she has struggled since 2016 could be indirectly linked to the DSD athletes - leading her to either train too hard or experiment unnecessarily with her training in order to close the gap.

That said, when people compare Sharp to Kelly Holmes, remember that when Kelly was the same age, 28 in 1998, she was being written off by many as an injury prone runner who would never recapture her medal winning form of 1995.

[LuckySpikes]

Strong British teams selected for the European Cup 10,000 on 6 July. As usual the Highgate night serves as the British trials for the World Championships.

If you're not familar with Sarah Inglis she's a 27yo Scot who has lived in Canada for a few years and does much of her racing there and in the US. She's having a breakout year running 15:29/32:24 on the roads and 15:35(i)/32:36 on the track.

[Sovietvest]

Apparently the Aussies tried to get into the Parliament Hill race. They were refused entry because it's a championship race. I do think however, that the organisers are missing a trick. Why not hold an international elite race for the Africans, North Americans and Antipodeans? There are plenty already on the circuit and after the awful weather in Stockholm several are still looking for WCh qualifiers. That said, there's no reason why the Aussies can't just enter the B race.

[trickstat]

I assume they though that being part of the Eurovision Song Contest created a precedent!

[LuckySpikes]

Don't the B races play some part in the European Cup too? I remember they were very European dominated.

So, maybe the C race? It would be fun to see a faster winning time in the C race than in the A race!

[RunUnlimited]

In the early stages of the NCAA Championships for athletics, Kahmari Montgomery of Houston University wins his heat of the 400m easily from teammate Obi Igbokwe, stopping the clock at 44.80 and looking like he had a lot more to give at the end.

In the final heat, Trevor Stewart of North Carolina A&T wins in a time of 44.84.