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2011 Athletics World Championships


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The WORST ever Athletics WCh is over. Koreas best performance was a sixth place! Thats the WORST performance of a host nation ever. Sweden in 1995 and Canada in 2011 didn´t win medals either, but both secured a fifth place. The apartments of the athletes were too far away from the stadium, no hotel rooms,... Only at the end was a good atmosphere. I am really looking forward to Moscow in two years. The Russian will show the Koreans how to celebrate such a WCh.

I really can not understand, why Korea is bidding for such a sports event and getting the honor to host it. Same with 2018. It´s all about national pride for them.

Sorry, but the German athletes and TV and radio correspondents in Daegu had an almost completely different experience. They praised the athletes village (especially constructed just for these WCH -- a first in IAAF WCH history!) as being on an Olympic level, the audience as not very competent in terms of athletics knowledge, but as very friendly and quite enthusiastic and the venue as a very good one. The Pyeongchang 2008 Biathlon WCH were really a disaster, but Daegu actually delivered at least a very decent job. And from what I myself absorbed in front of the television screen, these WCH didn't feel as exsanguinous and artificial as the Edmonton 2001 WCH, which were really the worst ever athletics WCH in my opinion. Even Paris 2003 sometimes felt stranger than these WCH.

So, from all the IAAF WCH I thoroughly witnessed (personally or on TV), I would rank them as follows:

1. Berlin 2009

2. Helsinki 2005

3. Daegu 2011

4. Osaka 2007

5. Paris 2003

6. Edmonton 2001

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Sorry, but the German athletes and TV and radio correspondents in Daegu had an almost completely different experience. They praised the athletes village (especially constructed just for these WCH -- a first in IAAF WCH history!) as being on an Olympic level, the audience as not very competent in terms of athletics knowledge, but as very friendly and quite enthusiastic and the venue as a very good one. The Pyeongchang 2008 Biathlon WCH were really a disaster, but Daegu actually delivered at least a very decent job. And from what I myself absorbed in front of the television screen, these WCH didn't feel as exsanguinous and artificial as the Edmonton 2001 WCH, which were really the worst ever athletics WCH in my opinion. Even Paris 2003 sometimes felt stranger than these WCH.

So, from all the IAAF WCH I thoroughly witnessed (personally or on TV), I would rank them as follows:

1. Berlin 2009

2. Helsinki 2005

3. Daegu 2011

4. Osaka 2007

5. Paris 2003

6. Edmonton 2001

I would say Berlin, Paris and Helsinki are tops.

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Yeah. It all depends upon her desire. Next year, I think will be the true determinant of what she does in the future regarding if she wins the 100m.

But her status is already sealed as an all time great. Same too with Allyson Felix -- 3 time world 200m champ, Olympic 4x400m gold medallist testifies to her immense talent.

Allyson Felix is not there yet. She has not won an individual Olympic gold medal, having lost both times to Campbell-Brown. Winning one would seal her legacy. Felix has said that she would compete in one more Olympics after London, which means she'll be in Rio, where even though she'll only be 31 by Rio, she may want to retire after Rio to start up a family. She has no American woman right now who even matches her in medals.

Sanya Richards-Ross only has one world championship, an Olympic Bronze medal in the 400 meters and four relay 4 x 400 gold medals (two in the Olympics and three in the World Championships). New 100 Meter World Champion Carmelita Jeter has a pair of bronze medals, but has never made an Olympic team. New 400 Meter Hurdles World Champion Lashinda Demus has two bronze medals and a relay gold in 2009, but has not done well in the Olympics, failing to make the finals in Athens and didn't even make the squad in Beijing. Both Jeter and Demus though have a great chance to redeem themselves for London, where both will come in as the favorites.

The 2012 US Olympic Trials in Track and Field will be the last chance for many track athletes for the United States to make the national team. The list is very long.

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I would say Berlin, Paris and Helsinki are tops.

My ranking was of course purely individual. But Paris weren't good championships for me either. Maybe also due to the very bad performance of the German athletes there but also due to some other atmospheric disturbances: the weak men's 100 metres final where Kim Collins won in a time slower than 10 seconds, the ugly walking course through St. Denis (which is really not a nice surrounding) and the "WTF?" moment I had when I first heard which song they had chosen as medal ceremony music: The corny German schlager "Griechischer Wein" (Greek Wine) by Udo Jürgens. I won't ever understand why the French organisers made that choice, especially bearing in mind the great musical tradition of France. And in retrospect, the doping cases of Kelli White, Jerome Young and Dwain Chambers proved that their was a shadow on those World Championships. So I had and still have some difficulties to get warm with them.

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Allyson Felix is not there yet. She has not won an individual Olympic gold medal, having lost both times to Campbell-Brown. Winning one would seal her legacy. Felix has said that she would compete in one more Olympics after London, which means she'll be in Rio, where even though she'll only be 31 by Rio, she may want to retire after Rio to start up a family. She has no American woman right now who even matches her in medals.

Sanya Richards-Ross only has one world championship, an Olympic Bronze medal in the 400 meters and four relay 4 x 400 gold medals (two in the Olympics and three in the World Championships). New 100 Meter World Champion Carmelita Jeter has a pair of bronze medals, but has never made an Olympic team. New 400 Meter Hurdles World Champion Lashinda Demus has two bronze medals and a relay gold in 2009, but has not done well in the Olympics, failing to make the finals in Athens and didn't even make the squad in Beijing. Both Jeter and Demus though have a great chance to redeem themselves for London, where both will come in as the favorites.

The 2012 US Olympic Trials in Track and Field will be the last chance for many track athletes for the United States to make the national team. The list is very long.

I think even without an individual Olympic gold medal, Allyson Felix will still be remembered as one of the greatest female 200m runners in history.I mean, Merlene Ottey didn't win an individual gold but is still a track legend.

Sanya Richards obviously hasn't achieved the medals everyone thought she would. She has ran well on the circuit, regularly churning out 49second runs but then that hasn't translated into multiple gold medals in the champs. I think her illness Behçet's disease is obviously hindering her.

Jeter has a good shot at gold but is up against the Jamaicans. Time will tell if she wins but at 32 yrs old I believe, she'll want to capitalize on her opportunity.

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I think even without an individual Olympic gold medal, Allyson Felix will still be remembered as one of the greatest female 200m runners in history.I mean, Merlene Ottey didn't win an individual gold but is still a track legend.

Sanya Richards obviously hasn't achieved the medals everyone thought she would. She has ran well on the circuit, regularly churning out 49second runs but then that hasn't translated into multiple gold medals in the champs. I think her illness Behçet's disease is obviously hindering her.

Jeter has a good shot at gold but is up against the Jamaicans. Time will tell if she wins but at 32 yrs old I believe, she'll want to capitalize on her opportunity.

While that may be true internationally, in the United States, if she never wins an individual gold medal she will be one of many who will be in the "Greatest American Track and Field Athletes to have never won an Individual Olympic Gold" category. She wins just one individual gold, she'll be up there with the likes of Jackie Joyner Kersee, Gail Devers, Michael Johnson, Dan O'Brien and Carl Lewis as an all time great in the history of USA Track and Field. I would rather see Allyson Felix as an all time great rather than being one of the all time best who have never won an individual Olympic gold medal. Sadly, I think Sanya Richards will fit into the latter category.

Among Felix's current teammates who have won the golden double have included: Dwight Phillips, Justin Gatlin, LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner. Wariner and Phillips are likely to be considered as all time greats along with the others I have mentioned. Their legacies in the sport are sealed. Right now, Felix is in the same category as Tyson Gay and Bernard Lagat (although Lagat will probably go down as the greatest distance runner in the history of USA Track and Field).

The United States has very high standards for their track and field athletes. A golden double (individual world gold and individual Olympic gold) would be it. Also the athlete needs to be clean of drugs (which Felix is). Felix has the talent, the personality (based on her interviews) and she's very attractive (I think so anyways). She does not double and focuses on the 200 meters in London, she has a shot at being an all time great.

London is Jeter's only shot at Olympic glory. She did not make the last two Olympic teams, so yeah, she needs to make the most of the opportunity. Jeter wins gold at the Olympics, I think she retires.

It's her illness that has affected Sanya Richards. If it wasn't for that, there is no doubt that she probably would end up rivaling Felix as the top American female in the sport.

Also, look out for 400 Meter Hurdles World Champion, Lashinda Demus. Her failure to make the 2008 team will probably serve as motivation for her at the Olympic Trials.

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I know Felix really wants the Olympic gold at 200m, but at this point, I think her chances are better for gold at 400m. There's such a deep field in the 200--Campbell-Brown, Jeter, Solomon, Knight, etc.--whereas the 400 was not as strong this year. I think Felix could win the 400 next year if she focused solely on that event, whereas she may not win the 200 even if she does her best. Plus, she hasn't run a "best time" in the 200 in a couple of years, whereas she improved drastically in the 400 this year. I can certainly see her focusing on the 400 post-London, but she could be throwing away her best chance for Olympic gold by not doing the event next year.

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I know Felix really wants the Olympic gold at 200m, but at this point, I think her chances are better for gold at 400m. There's such a deep field in the 200--Campbell-Brown, Jeter, Solomon, Knight, etc.--whereas the 400 was not as strong this year. I think Felix could win the 400 next year if she focused solely on that event, whereas she may not win the 200 even if she does her best. Plus, she hasn't run a "best time" in the 200 in a couple of years, whereas she improved drastically in the 400 this year. I can certainly see her focusing on the 400 post-London, but she could be throwing away her best chance for Olympic gold by not doing the event next year.

400 does seem to be a better event for her for next year, however, if Felix decides to focus on the 200 meters, one of Carmelita Jeter, Sholanda Solomon and Bianca Knight will be left off the team and it probably won't be Jeter. Knight not making the initial team out of USA Nationals sparked a bit of controversy back in June. Had Jeter withdrawn to only focus on the 100, Knight would have been on the team. I think she (Knight) may be left out if Felix goes for the 200 meters as there are only three spots per event for the United States. Knight's chances increase though if Felix decides to go for only the 400 meters and Jeter only goes after the 100 meters. The only consolation for Knight was that she won a relay gold medal.

And I'd expect Felix to probably be in both relays next year, with probably the same women's team as this year. Felix and Sanya Richards will be the only ones returning from the 2008 4 x 400 relay gold medal team from Beijing. Mary Wineberg, who was a part of that team hasn't really returned to her 2007-2008 form where she made two national teams. Granted, she missed 2009 due to pregnancy, but she's going to have a hard time making it back to the Olympics next year. She's also 31 and age will be a factor. The fourth member of that team, Monique Henderson has not competed in track and field since that 4 x 400 relay in Beijing and there really hasn't been much news about what she's been doing the last few years.

This year's Women's 4 x 400 meter squad initially had Debbie Dunn and Lashinda Demus in the relay pool. Dunn had to withdraw due to injury. Demus withdrew due to the fact that she already had her gold medal and was anxious to return home to see her twins.

Again, the 2012 Olympic Trials are a last chance for many Americans.

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I'd be curious to see how the Russians react to Usain Bolt as the 2013 World Championship are in Moscow and well, Russia hasn't been all that friendly towards anyone of Black African descent.

Everyone can appreciate greatness. Even Jesse Owens was popular in 1936 Berlin.

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I'd be curious to see how the Russians react to Usain Bolt as the 2013 World Championship are in Moscow and well, Russia hasn't been all that friendly towards anyone of Black African descent.

He'll get cheered on because he will be producing spectacular results (if he's fit).I think there will be a general appreciation for a great performance.

400 does seem to be a better event for her for next year, however, if Felix decides to focus on the 200 meters, one of Carmelita Jeter, Sholanda Solomon and Bianca Knight will be left off the team and it probably won't be Jeter. Knight not making the initial team out of USA Nationals sparked a bit of controversy back in June. Had Jeter withdrawn to only focus on the 100, Knight would have been on the team. I think she (Knight) may be left out if Felix goes for the 200 meters as there are only three spots per event for the United States. Knight's chances increase though if Felix decides to go for only the 400 meters and Jeter only goes after the 100 meters. The only consolation for Knight was that she won a relay gold medal.

And I'd expect Felix to probably be in both relays next year, with probably the same women's team as this year. Felix and Sanya Richards will be the only ones returning from the 2008 4 x 400 relay gold medal team from Beijing. Mary Wineberg, who was a part of that team hasn't really returned to her 2007-2008 form where she made two national teams. Granted, she missed 2009 due to pregnancy, but she's going to have a hard time making it back to the Olympics next year. She's also 31 and age will be a factor. The fourth member of that team, Monique Henderson has not competed in track and field since that 4 x 400 relay in Beijing and there really hasn't been much news about what she's been doing the last few years.

This year's Women's 4 x 400 meter squad initially had Debbie Dunn and Lashinda Demus in the relay pool. Dunn had to withdraw due to injury. Demus withdrew due to the fact that she already had her gold medal and was anxious to return home to see her twins.

Again, the 2012 Olympic Trials are a last chance for many Americans.

I suspect Felix will just go for the 200m next year in London. I believe the timetable makes it even more difficult to complete the 200m/400m double.

Also, she desperately wants to win the 200m as its her event. And I wouldn't bet against her doing it -- her fastest year for the 200m was 2007 when she ran 21.81 and I think she'll need to think about getting beneath that time for next year to win. Campbell can go faster than that and who can discount Jeter or even Fraser-Pryce if they decide ro go for it too?

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Thot for the day:

Contrary to the idiotic thinking of Tulsa and the so-so crowds at the recently concluded Daegu meet, if it weren't for the South Korean cities, China and Doha would be winning ALL the other premier Sports Meets. So, I for one, am thankful that at least So. Korea is there to prevent that from happening.

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