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Justin · Varsity Joined: 08 Oct 2001 Posts: 312 Location: London

It really was perfect...

.104 reaction
2.0 wind
Competition: vs Chambers for World #1 spot
Confidence: sub 10 into 1.3 wind to win in Zurich

Mo's 9.79 came with a 0.1 wind, his 9.80 with a 0.2 and his 9.82 into a 0.2 wind (plus injury!). With the conditiona TM had in Paris, Mo at his best would have run 9.73 or so by now. Mo knows he can run faster...does Tim? Next year could be very exciting indeed.

After the race the BBC got a quick interview with Mo but they cut him short when Tim became available for interview! He will have hated that more than losing the record. John Smith has often talked about Mo's will to win. No matter what he says, this year showed him to be a little complacent - he thought he could win at 95%, but he can't. Mo's training this winter is going to be terrifying.

BTW, Madrid is at 640m altitude...good for fast times.

Lastly, it was great to see that Chambers was really upset after the race because he lost...even though he equalled Christie's Euro record. 9.87 is a big breakthrough yet the competitor in him wanted to win. I like to see that. There are three men to watch next year (oh, and Collins, Williams, MLF.....!).

Justin

Conway · Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2002 9:25 am Post subject:

I agree that Mo's 9.79 is intrinsically superior - but didn't want to say that for fear of taking away from Tim's record ... But hadn't ven bothered to look at his 9.80 or 9.82 ...

Either way, Tim got the record ... But having run a perfect race to do it the question is what happens next ... I agree about Mo - that he thought he could still dominate at 95% ... I almost think he went home and began working out towards next year, at the break ... Because he came back very sluggish (9.89 before, couldn't get under 10.05 after) .... But this was definitely a transition year for both Tim and Dwain ...

Bottom line is the event has been rejuvenized !!!! I love how consistent Mo has been and hope he returns to that next season (will lbet that he will) ... But now he has competition !!!! And with MLF looking to be the equal of Dwain til injury, and Gatlin moving to the Graham camp with Tim, I think this will be a short lived record ... Not saying who will get it, but the competition will be there to push that down some more !!!

Finally, it seems to me that what was most important in the record was Dwain and his ability to go 9.87 ... In Mo's race he had Ato at 9.86 ... And in Mo's 9.80 and 9.82 he 2nd placers at 9.84 and 9.85 .... So it appears that if you can get more than one person at mid 9.8x that a record run is possible ...

Conway

Dan · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 7:47 am Post subject:

Good article on Montgomery:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2002-09-16-cover-montgomery_x.htm

Dan

Paul · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 11:55 am Post subject:

Great meet on TV. That was a good article, but 3/4 of it belonged in the society section.

Dan · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 12:05 pm Post subject:

Which 3/4 is that? I liked the parts describing the influence Marion has had on Tim. I had noticed much less yapping from Tim the second half of the season. I didn't know if that was just people getting tired of covering it or if he was actually learning to pipe down a bit...

Dan

Paul · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 12:49 pm Post subject:

I think you're right about TM refocusing on his own running vs what someone else is doing, and Marion seems to have been a major influence on that. That, and his statement that she is rich, but trains like she's poor says a lot about her work ethic, another positive thing that is rubbing off on him. So we may see some improvement, yet, in the future.

But when TM says he wants to be the man in this relationship and she says then you know what you have to do!! Give me a break!! I was laughing so hard, I thought I had just done a thousand situps!! Surprised

Conway · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 1:26 pm Post subject:

Conway · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 1:27 pm Post subject:

Paul · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 1:52 pm Post subject:

Does seem true. And you wonder how long a relationship can last if both parties become overly assertive. One thing about competing on such a high level is that you have to be totally self absorbed. It helps, I suppose, that they compete in literally the same event. But I don't see Marion taking a back seat to anyone. She even did most of the talking at TM's post race interview!!

Paul

Dan · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 2:03 pm Post subject:

Paul · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 2:16 pm Post subject:

I can just picture the American Express commercials, now, the two of them blasting across Europe on their honeymoon, but I'm getting quite ahead of myself!!

Conway · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2002 10:20 pm Post subject:

http://www.sportsserver.com/track_field/story/539935p-4268918c.html

Apparently Tim has learned little ... And I would say he still suffers from a severe inferiority complex ... Should this attitude remain he is very vulnerable !!!!

Conway

Dan · Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:03 am Post subject:

Tim says some pretty silly stuff, but other than the last paragraph of that article, I thought it was mostly rehashed quotes and nothing new that would reflect on his prior propensity for sticking both feet (plus Marion's spikes) in his mouth...

Conway · Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2002 8:46 am Post subject:

I listened to Tim's interview after the race with Carol Lewis ... And Tim stillhas that tone about him ... Reminds me of Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis ... Ben never got over Carl ... Always felt inferior ... Always felt overshadowed ... And ultimately THAT is what cost Ben !!!

And I think ultimately the same is going to play out in the Tim v Mo situation ... Mo will come back and Tim will continue to self destruct ... A single fast race does not make a career ... Tim still has a ways to go ... I hope he learns to not believe the hype ... I actually want him to do well as it will do the event well ... But what he doesn't realize is that he has awakened a sleeping giant !!!

Conway

Dan · Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2002 8:57 am Post subject:

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