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Last year, David Rudisha's campaign to become world champion began in Australia and so the Kenyan superstar is hoping a return visit to Sydney and Melbourne, for the Qantas Australian Athletics Tour, will put him on the path to Olympic glory.

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Victorians Kaila McKnight and Jeff Riseley have today been added to the now 32-strong Australian Flame team bound for the 2011 IAAF world championships in Daegu (KOR) this August.

 

Bringing themselves to the attention of selectors thanks to exciting international performances in recent months, Riseley has been selected for the men’s two-lap event where he will face off with world record holder David Rudisha (KEN), while McKnight will line up in the 1500m alongside reigning world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamsal (BAH).

 

The national 1500m champion Riseley, who donned the green and gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 IAAF world championships, launched himself to third on the 800m Australian All-Time List with a blistering 1:45.02 run for victory at the OXY Meet in California (USA) in May. Currently training at home in Melbourne, he will head back to Europe next week where he will continue his push for further selection in the 1500m at the Monaco (MON) and Stockholm (SWE) instalments of the Samsung Diamond League.

 

McKnight made her international debut with a silver medal at the 2009 Summer Universiade before again representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games last year. Second placed in the 1500m at the Austrlaian Athletics Championships in April, McKnight headed to Daegu (KOR) where she ran 4:05.65, the fourth fastest time ever by and Australian.

 

Joining McKnight and Riseley on the Australian team headed to Daegu are athletes with a disability Madison De Rozario and Richard Colman.

 

Set to start in the invitational women’s wheelchair 800m and men’s wheelchair 400m respectively, 17-year-old De Rozario and T53 800m world champion Colman have already enjoyed high level international competition this year thanks to strong performances at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch (NZL) this past January.

 

In further team announcements by Athletics Australia today, five athletes havebeen added to the Australian track and field team for the Summer Universiade in Shenzhen (CHN) next month.

 

Dual Australian triple jump champion Linda Allen (triple jump) and XX Nicholas Toohey (1500m) earned individual selection, while world junior championships representative AlexanderBeck, world championships bronze medallist Tristan Thomas and West Australian Chris Troode were added to the men’s 4x400m relay team.

 

This brings the team total to 30, following the withdrawal of Brenton Rowe (1500m), Dale Stevenson(shot put), Bridey Delaney (1500m), Lara Tamsett (10000m) and Laura Cornford (javelin).

 

ENDS

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Round 4 of the Australian Athletics Tour has thrilled a crowd of almost 5000 in wet conditions at Sydney Olympic Park tonight, with Australia’s best track and field stars joining a bounty of international heavyweights in delivering an athletics showcase at the 2011 Sydney Track Classic.

 

Leading the charge on the runway was Mitchell Watt, with the world and world indoor championships bronze medallist soaring 8.38m (w: +1.5) to win and secure his first IAAF world championships qualifier.

 

Returning to the sandpit after missing much of 2010 through injury, Watt’s form has been gradually building. An 8.13m (w: +0.1) leap to win in Brisbane three weeks ago was followed by 7.98m (w: +1.2) for victory at the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic just over a fortnight ago.

 

“Four fouls across the series was strange, it just took some time to work out where my run up should have started from,” Watt said.

 

“It’s only my third competition back and some things are taking a little bit of time to get used to again but there are definitely bigger things to come”

 

Watt’s performances sits within the top 4 of the IAAF outdoor rankings, and as such the Queenslander heads home with eight points for victory and ten bonus points to take a commanding lead in the jumps division of the Australian Athletics Tour.

 

“It felt great to get out that far; 8.08m was good but to get to the world champs (sic) qualifier is great, it was a bigger jump than I won bronze with in Berlin.”

 

Rounding out the top three was Kane Brigg (second, 7.58m, w: +0.2) and Shaun Fletcher (third, 7.54m, w: +2.2).

 

Commonwealth Games silver medallist Kim Mickle also etched her name on the qualifiers list, heaving a personal best 63.82m to stamp an initial claim for selection to the IAAF world championships.

 

A mixed series that included two fouls was concluded by her monster effort in the final round of competition to take home the eight points for victory and five bonus points for a top 16 IAAF outdoor rankings performance.

 

NSWIS scholarship holder Laura Cornford (57.74m, six points) was second, with Flame athlete Kathryn Mitchell (53.48m, four points) third.

 

In other field highlights:

-          World discus champion Dani Samuels heaved 58.34m (eight points + two bonus points) to win the women’s discus throw and continue her push for the Australian Athletics Tour throws title.

-          Olympic and world champion Valerie Adams dominated the women’s shot put with a winning 20.55m best throw, two centimetres shy of her own meet record.

-          In the men’s event, it was Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Dale Stevenson who took victory with a best mark of 19.74m (eight points + two bonus points).

On the track, 800m world record holder David Rudisha stole the show by dominating a scintillating two laps to win in a time of 1:44.81.

 

Despite being unable to improve on his 1:43.88 at the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic, Rudisha’s time was a meet record and caps off an outstanding showcase by the African champion Down Under this year.

 

“My run tonight was good, the conditions here were wet and tough and a 1:44 on a night like this is satisfying, I am feeling very strong and confident” Rudisha said.

 

“From here I will head back to Kenya and continue the build to Daegu with the Doha Diamond League my first major hit out after Australia.

 

“I love competing here, I was here last year and my results always seem to be good so I hope to be back.”

 

Local favourite and national champion Lachlan Renshaw blistered the straight to place second (1:46.06) ahead of fellow New South Welshman James Gurr (third, 1:46.62), whilst Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop (KEN) placed 5^th in a time of 1:46.80.

 

Olympic silver medallist Sally Pearson once again dominated the women’s short sprints by clocking a meet record 11.21 (w: +0.1) to win the 100m and 23.12 (w: -0.2) to take line honours in the 200m.

 

Narrowly missing the IAAF world championships qualifier of 44 seconds with her 4x100m relay team mates Melissa Breen, Laura Whaler and Charlotte Van Veenendaal, Pearson burst out of the blocks in her individual events with a point to prove.

 

“I am really, really exhausted after the treble tonight, but the 100m result really pushed me to go hard in the 200m,” Pearson said.

 

“I couldn’t have been happier with my 100m, and was rapt by my start in the 200m.

 

“Things are starting to come together, my race plans are working and hopefully strong results will continue to follow.”

 

Pearson now heads to the Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final in Perth as leader of the sprints/hurdles division with 20 points.

 

In the men’s sprints, it was American Angelo Taylor who reigned supreme.

 

Edging out up and coming sprinting sensation Nicholas Hough (second, 21.03) to win the 200m in a time of 20.71 (w: -0.1), Taylor (45.71) returned to the track for victory in the men’s 400m ahead of national champion Ben Offereins (second, 46.16) and outstanding 17-year-old Steven Solomon (third, 46.24).

 

In other track highlights:

-          Estonian Maris Magi stopped the clock at 52.21 to win a thrilling women’s 400m, with 15-time national champion Tamsyn Lewis second (52.26) and American Monica Hargrove (52.33) third.

-          Jamaican Kenia Sinclair (4:06.50) won the women’s 1500m, with the surprise performance coming from 15-year-old Anna Laman (NSW) who clocked 4:13.62 to place fourth.

-          A likely challenger to Sally Pearson in the sprints/hurdles title race, Commonwealth Games representative Lauren Boden clocked 56.41 to win the women’s 400m hurdles.

-          Clocking 3:39.03, Flame athlete Jeremy Roff took home eight points for winning the men’s 1500m, edging out American Craig Miller (second, 3:39.42) and Queenslander Nicholas Toohey (third, 3:39.87).

The Australian Athletics Tour now heads to Perth, with the West Australian capital set to play host to the Australian Athletics Tour Final on Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1.

 

With all championship events on the timetable, Australia’s best track and field stars will battle it out across four divisions (sprints/hurdles, jumps, throws, distance) with bonus points set to make the title races thrilling until the very end.

 

To view the full results of the 2011 Sydney Track Classic, please click here.

 

ENDS

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Sydney will play host to Round 4 of the Australian Athletics Tour this Saturday night as Australia’s best track and field stars take on a bounty of international heavyweights at the Sydney Track Classic from 6:00pm on March 19.

 

The penultimate round of a five-stop program that culminates with the Tour Final in Perth in two weeks, the Sydney Track Classic in recent years has been the home of great performances, with 17 athletes achieving the Commonwealth Games A-qualifying standard at the meet last year.

 

Similarly to the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic, the meet will be headlined by 800m world record holder David Rudisha (KEN), with the Australian all-comers record holder set to join Olympic 1500m gold medallist Asbel Kiprop and national champion Lachlan Renshaw on the start line for two hot laps.

 

Lowering the 800m world record twice last year to 1:41.01, 21-year-old Rudisha is the African champion. In 2011, he has his sights firmly set on the one thing currently missing from his outstanding international resume - a major championships gold medal.

 

Kiprop, who only on occasion takes to the two-lap race, at Round 1 of the Diamond League in Doha (QAT) last year only narrowly missed taking line honours from Rudisha in a sprint up the straight, whilst Renshaw will fly the Australian flag having only a fortnight ago clocked a mere 0.26 seconds outside the IAAF world championships qualifier to set his new career best mark of 1:45.66.

 

The men’s 400m start list is also mouth watering, with triple Olympic gold medallist and the 10^th fastest 400m runner in history Angelo Taylor, who will also line up in the men’s 200m, set to join Australian champion Ben Offereins, dual Commonwealth Games medallist Sean Wroe and up and coming star Steven Solomon.

 

One of the stories of the Australian Athletics Tour, 17-year-old Solomon surprised everyone by winning the event in 46.12 at the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic and only last weekend recovered from the flu to convincingly win the under 20 national title at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships.

 

Meanwhile in the women’s sprints, Commonwealth 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson will tackle the 100m, 200m and an International 4x100m Relay Challenge alongside Melissa Breen, Charlotte Van Veenendaal and Laura Whaler with the 44-second IAAF world championships qualifier in their sights.

 

The winner on every occasion she has taken to the track in 2011 and the current leader of the Australian Athletics Tour sprints/hurdles division (19 points), Pearson’s challenge in the short sprints comes from 2007 world championships gold medallist Mikele ‘Miki’ Barber (USA). Renowned for her pace out of the blocks, it is hoped that her presence could push Pearson to the 100m (11.14, w: +1.9) and 200m (22.23, w: +0.8) Australian records currently held by Melinda Gainsford-Taylor.

 

Flame athlete Lauren Boden is a likely challenger to Pearson in the sprints/hurdles title race and also one to watch in the women’s 400m hurdles. Fourth placed at the Commonwealth Games in October, Boden is edging towards the IAAF world championships qualifier of 55.40 with the mild and relatively still conditions forecast for Saturday night further sign of a possible great performance.

 

Centre stage on the in field will be local favourite Dani Samuels in the women’s discus throw.

 

The youngest world discus champion ever, Samuels achieved her career best performance of 65.84m at the Sydney Track Classic last year and, as current leader of the Australian Athletics Tour throws race (21 points), will be looking to break through the 62.00m IAAF world championships qualifier to secure solid bonus points heading into the Tour Final.

 

Looking to spoil Samuels’ party will be Becky Breisch (USA) as she begins her campaign for selection to her fourth U.S world championships team. The American discus champion, Breisch last July heaved 66.52m in California to record the fourth best throw of 2010.

 

On the runway, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Alana Boyd will dual in the women’s pole vault with American Chelsea Johnson and world and world indoor championships bronze medallist Mitchell Watt will have top billing in the men’s long jump.

 

The 2009 Berlin world championships silver medallist, Johnson boasts a personal best of 4.73m, whilst Boyd cleared 4.60m two weeks ago to improve her career best for the second time in as many weeks and launch herself to second on the Australian All-Time list alongside former world record holder Emma George.

 

Watt missed much of 2010 as a result of injury but his return to the sand pit in recent weeks has seen the Queenslander leap 8.13m (w: +0.1) and 7.98m (w: +1.2) for victory in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively.

 

A five-stop national tour, the 2011 Australian Athletics Tour boasts four divisions (sprints/hurdles, distance, throws, jumps) with male and female athletes in different events pitted against each other in the race for the largest prize purse in Australian athletics history.

 

The Sydney Track Classic is the fourth round, with domestic athletes on the hunt for not only a victory but bonus points to ensure their best possible ladder position before the Tour Final decider in Perth in two weeks.

 

To download the timetable and current entry lists please click here.

 

To view and download current leader boards of the Australian Athletics Tour, please click here.

 

2011 Australian Athletics Tour
Round 4: Sydney Track Classic – Saturday March 19, 2011
Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final Perth: Thursday March 31 – Friday April 1, 2011

 

Sydney Track Classic
Sydney Olympic Park
6:00pm - Saturday, March 19 2011

 

Tickets are now on sale via the event website – www.sydneytrackclassic.com

 

In a first for Australian athletics, the Sydney Track Classic and upcoming Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final in Perth will be streamed live on www.wcsn.com.au

 

ENDS

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The 400m at the Melbourne Track Classic was hot, teen prodigy Steven Solomon storming home to grab 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sean Wroe on the line to record the most notable win of his developing career.

 

In Sydney on March 19 though, one-lap racing will be even hotter with the addition of American triple Olympic gold medallist Angelo Taylor to the start list at the fourth leg of the Australian Athletics Tour.

 

The descriptor “jack of all trades” is usually followed by the let-down of “master of none”. It hardly applies to Taylor, one of the best combination 400m and 400m hurdlers of all-time.

 

Statistically, his 47.25 in the hurdles makes him the ninth-fastest man in history, while his 44.05 over the flat journey has him tenth on the all-time list.

 

Turning to the ‘honours won’ department, Taylor’s curriculum vitae is equally imposing. Olympic gold medallist in the 400m hurdles in Sydney in 2000 and again in Beijing, where he ran his personal best of 47.25. He is one of only three men – the legendary Edwin Moses (USA) and Glenn Davis (USA) the others – to have won the event twice.

 

Taylor also ran the second leg on the USA 4x400m relay which took the gold medal in Beijing in Olympic record time. Australia finished sixth in that final with Wroe, one of Taylor’s confirmed opponents for Sydney, running the first leg.

 

Taylor is also a bronze medallist in the individual 400m from the 2007 Osaka world championships, so he represents a formidable obstacle for Australia’s top men.

 

The 32-year-old American hails from Decatur, Georgia and attended Georgia Tech University.

 

He must have a soft spot for Sydney – he took the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles at the 1996 world junior championships and then won his first Olympic title there four years later at just 21 years of age.

 

Also set to run the 200m, Taylor will ensure Australia’s best short sprinters have their work cut out for them too.

 

L

isted at 15^th on the 2010 IAAF Top Lists for the event, Taylor clocked a season best 20.23 (w: +0.6) at the Rieti (ITA) instalment of the IAAF World Challenge last year. Improving his personal best in the process, Taylor’s performance confirmed his ranking within the top 20 internationally for three events (200m, 400m, 400m hurdles) in the same year.

 

Solomon, who does not turn 18 until May 16, has been one of the revelations of the Australian Athletics Tour. He won the under 18 title at the Australian All School Championships in Melbourne last December in 46.44, a then personal best, until his upset win in 46.12 in Melbourne.

 

Solomon continues a long list of NSW one-lappers to show outstanding potential at a young age. Foremost among them would be Darren Clark, who ran 45.05 to win the English Amateur Athletics Association’s championship just over a month short of his 18^th birthday in 1983, and led the Olympic final into the straight less than a year later in Los Angeles.

 

Miles Murphy won the world junior championship in 1986, Steve Perry was a silver medallist two years later and Paul Greene went to a world indoor and world outdoor championships at the age of 19.

 

Solomon may have snuck under Wroe’s guard in Melbourne. The Commonwealth silver medallist looked to have the race won and may have been paying more attention to national champion Ben Offereins in the middle of the field than to Solomon flying home on the inside. If so, he has been warned.

 

Offereins also has something to prove. He returned to the track with a vengeance across the 2010 Australian domestic season, running a personal best 44.86 at the Sydney Track Classic last year and then winning the national title in Perth.

 

A five-stop national tour, the 2011 Australian Athletics Tour boasts four divisions (sprints/hurdles, distance, throws, distance) with male and female athletes in different events pitted against each other in the race for the largest prize purse in Australian athletics history.

 

The Sydney Track Classic is the last leg of the tour before the Tour Final in Perth, with domestic athletes on the hunt for strong point scores lining up alongside a bounty of international talent that includes 800m world record holder David Rudisha (KEN), America’s number one discus thrower inBecky Briesch and Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop (KEN).

 

2011 Australian Athletics Tour

 

Round 4: Sydney Track Classic – Saturday March 19, 2011
Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final Perth: Thursday March 31 – Friday April 1, 2011

 

Sydney Track Classic

 

Sydney Olympic Park
6:00pm - Saturday, March 19 2011

 

Tickets are now on sale via the event website – www.sydneytrackclassic.com

 

In a first for Australian athletics, the Sydney Track Classic and upcoming Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final in Perth will be streamed live on www.wcsn.com.au

 

With thanks to Len Johnson

 

ENDS

“Let the debates begin”, writes Bryan Green, an invitation most of us can’t resist.

So I might kick things along by saying I have no idea who would win a fantasy 800 between the past three world record holders – Sebastian Coe, Wilson Kipketer and David Rudisha.

That said, I have a strong view on who would not win, and that’s Sebastian Coe. I’d back him against pretty well anyone in history at 1500 but the case against Coe at 800 can be summarised _ a little unfairly, I’ll admit _ in three words: Hans-Peter Ferner.

Hans-Peter Ferner was the largely undistinguished German middle-distance runner who upset Coe in the 800 at the 1982 European championships in Athens. The comparison is not entirely fair to Coe, as he had missed a lot of the 1982 season ill.

“I’ve taken a lot out of a shallow well,” he said in attempting to explain the inexplicable.

The loss to Ferner, however, did serve to underline the fact that for all his greatness at 800, Coe struggled to win a major title at the event. In the 1978 European championships, he was third, passed by Steve Ovett in the final metres before both were swamped by East Germany’s Olaf Beyer. At the Moscow Olympic Games, the two great British rivals famously ‘swapped’ specialties, Ovett winning the 800, Coe redeeming his career with his win in the 1500.

After two years of illness and injury, Coe was again at peak strength for the 1984 Olympics. He successfully defended his 1500 crown, but only after finishing second in the 800 to Brazil’s Joaquim Cruz.

Indeed, not until the 1986 Europeans _ by which time he had been the world record holder for seven years _ did Coe finally land an 800 gold medal. He beat Tom McKean and Steve Cram in a British clean-sweep. Then, in an outcome eerily reminiscent of Moscow 1980, he lost the 1500 to Cram.

Cram had earlier won the Commonwealth 800-1500 double, taking the 800 in 1:43.22 from McKean. Coe, who was ill, did not take his place in the final.

So, over eight years from 1978 to 1986, Coe lost two fast championship 800s (1978, when he went out in 49.3, and 1984, when Cruz won in 1:43.00), two tactical races (1980 and 1982) and didn’t get to the line for a race Cram won in 1:43.22.

Coe was obviously a great 800 runner, but the evidence suggests he was vulnerable in head-to-head races against the very few men who could be regarded as his peers.

Kipketer won four world championships but likewise failed to win an Olympic gold medal. He missed his best chance in 1996 when he was ineligible, a few months short of becoming a naturalised citizen for his adopted Denmark. It’s hard to see how Kipketer would not have won then.

Rudisha, of course, has no medal at all at senior global championship level, his one attempt ending in the semi-finals in Berlin last year. That bitter experience sparked the sequence of fast times which included the world record 1:41.09 in the same Berlin stadium a week ago.

Rudisha’s current status raises another point of debate in 800 running: all things being equal, will a good big man always beat a good little man?

Peter Fortune, Cathy Freeman’s coach, observed of Rudisha that “he’s not only big; he runs magnificently and he’s quick.” Of course, as well as one of Rudisha’s  1:43 performances in Melbourne, Australians also saw evidence of his speed when he ran a 45.50 400 in Sydney earlier this year.

On whether good big men always beat good little men, Fortune was not so sure, but he says: “When they’re tired, big men remain strong.”

Most 800-metre races are run slowing down. I saw some ‘stats’ this week that indicated 18 of the 21 improvements of the world record/world best (a couple were not ratified) featured a slower second lap. Most of this slowdown comes in the last 200. In both Kipketer’s previous record of 1:41.11 and Rudisha’s 1:41.09, the slowest 200 was the last 200.

Intuitively, physical strength must play a role here. Intuitively again, big men are stronger than smaller men and stocky men stronger than lean rivals.

This issue got a really good working over back in the days when Alberto Juantorena ruled the roost. Juantorena (nick-name El Caballo, the horse) won the 400/800 double at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and remains the only man to do so. He set world records both in winning at the Games (1:43.50) and the following year (1:43.44).

In Montreal, Juantorena destroyed his smaller US opponent Rick Wohlhuter, who had set two world records in the run-up to the Games, in the final straight.

Mike Boit of Kenya missed that race as the African nations boycotted Montreal in protest at New Zealand’s rugby ties with South Africa. Tall, but lean, Boit took Juantorena on in a classic race at the World Cup in Dusseldorf in 1977. The pair engaged in a side-by-side battle up the last straight before Boit fell into his opponent’s giant stride pattern and lost narrowly, 1:44.04 to 1:44.14.

Coe’s championship losses to Beyer-Ovett and Cruz also fall into the big man/small man category.

Anyway if you want to make your own judgement, you can see the 1976 Olympic final here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBTG-QwbNsE&feature=related) and the 1977 World Cup race here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9C2CDZvOOY).

Finally, as Rudisha contemplates his championships aims for the next two years, it’s sobering to think that the last man to win an Olympic gold while also holding the world record was Dave Wottle back in 1972 in Munich.

Let the debates continue!

By Bryan Green

We've seen a lot of records fall this season, and a number of other fast times.  David Rudisha just took down Wilson Kipketer's 800m world record, Ryan Gregson surpassed Simon Doyle's old 1500m Australian record, and Chris Solinsky and Bernard Lagat set new American Records in the 10000m and 5000m, respectively.  And we've seen Wheating and Manzano put up surprising personal bests in the 1500m and 800m, respectively.



Where records fall, debates rise up to take their place.  Is Rudisha's 2010 season better than Kipketer's 1997 campaign?  How does Gregson compare to Doyle?  Who had the better season, Solinsky or Lagat?  Who is the best middle distance runner in the US, Wheating or Manzano?  The great thing about all of these questions is that there's no easy answer.  Depending on the athlete, some arguments are stronger and others weaker.  And some are just plain dumb.

By my count, there are 12 arguments people make when debating runners' seasons and/or careers.  A good message board thread will usually have all of these come up at some point:

The Hardware Argument:  How many championships did they win?  The basis of this argument is that there is only one thing that matters, and that's winning.  In track, this argument is usually diluted to include the top three, but only when it can't be settled by gold medals.  

In perhaps the greatest debate settling race I can remember, Hicham El Guerrouj outkicks Kenenisa Bekele for gold medal #2 in Athens, earning major Hardware and Scoreboard points in the debate for "greatest distance runner of their era".

 
The Record Books Argument:  Where do they rank all-time?  This argument assumes the best put up the best marks.  Faster, farther and higher = superior.  For young runners, this argument is often modified to be relative to age.  This is the one argument that tends to hold some weight against the Hardware Argument.  Especially when somebody is still the reigning record holder.

The Scoreboard Argument:  How did they fare head-to-head with other athletes?  It don't mean a thing unless it came at the other guy's expense.  This is similar to the Hardware Argument, except that it pertains to all races, not just championships.  Unfortunately, this argument can only be used between two athletes in the same era.

The Dominance Argument:  How much better were they than their competition?  This is related to the Scoreboard Argument, only it measures the quality of the victories.  Winning big is superior to just winning.  The scale ranges from Haile G outkicking Tergat "barely dominant" to Usain Bolt celebrating his 100m victory and winning by two strides "completely dominant".  And yes, this argument can be applied to careers by looking at winning streaks.

The "You had to be there" Argument:  How can you appreciate something that can't be captured in statistics?  You see this more in other sports than in running, but it often comes up when you debate with old people about "who would have won head-to-head" between athletes from two different eras.  If your family was anything like mine, your dad probably used this to end the discussion when you tried to tell him how great your favorite player is.

The Historian Argument:  How good was the person given the historical context of the period in which he ran?  This argument can be spun in many ways.  It can be used to include Paavo Nurmi and Emil Zatopek in the same discussion with Haile G and Kenenisa Bekele.  It's also used to argue that champions from "fast" eras were better than those from "slow" eras.  Some people even extrapolate this to argue that if runners from previous eras were given our present-day knowledge and training methods they would (or would not) be just as fast.  The Historian Argument can get quite creative.

The Socio-economic Argument:  How many advantages or disadvantages did the person face?  This is an argument that gets abused way too much.  Many people want to give bonus points to athletes who ran themselves out of poverty or deduct credit for those who had "excessive" resources at their disposal (i.e. Alter-G treadmills).  Maybe...maybe...it can be used as a tie-breaker when two athletes seem relatively equal, but it's usually just someone confusing the issue in an effort to be PC.  

Even at 35, Lagat is still the best in the world when he's on.

The Longevity Argument:  How long was the person good?  There is something to be said for success over a long period of time.  It's amazing when someone can retain their abilities despite advancing in age.  With that said, this argument never usually comes out until a younger runner achieves something the older runner never did.

The Consistency Argument:  How predictable was the athlete's performance?  Some athletes range from very bad to brilliant, whereas others seem to always be very good.  People making this argument often approach the debate from a "who would I pick on my team if I were the team captain?" approach.  There's value to knowing what you're going to get.

The Peak Argument:  How good were they when they were at their best?  This is the obvious counter-argument to the Longevity Argument.  Who cares how long someone kept competing, tell me how good they were for their best 3 or 5 years.  This argument assumes that motivation to keep going isn't relevant to a discussion of greatness.

The "If Only..." Argument (aka The Prefontaine Argument):  What would have happened if only {whatever happened} hadn't actually happened?  This argument always gets used when discussing careers cut short due to death, illness, injury, or even early retirement, as in the case of Herb Elliott (surely he would have kept winning had he kept running, no?).  A lot of people like to give athletes bonus points for what they wanted them to achieve.

The Trendsetter Argument (aka The Fosbury Argument):  How much did the person do for their sport/event?  This argument gives a high amount of credit to anyone who changed the way the sport/event was played.  It could be explicit, like being the first to flop a certain way or implicit, like racing with a certain style or approach.  This argument is particularly common when debating coaches.

And a couple you see way too much from anonymous trolls on message boards:

Troll #1: The "What have you done for me lately?" Argument:  How fast did the person run their last race?  You hear this occasionally when a person gets injured or runs a bad race and some hoser declares that they suck.  I've honestly never heard this argument made in a real life conversation before, but it's the first weapon in a message board troll's arsenal.

Troll #2: The "Must Be Drugs" Argument:  How likely is it that the person's marks are the result of PEDs or other extenuating circumstances?  This is the cynic's anti-argument.  It allows the debator to avoid acknowledging the arguments of the other side, by casting suspicion on them entirely.  BALCO made this argument much more common (and more plausible, sadly), but it's been around for ages (Lasse Viren comes to mind).

Let the Debates Begin

It's possible I missed a few, and if so I hope you'll tell me in the comments.  And since I'm talking about debates, I thought I'd make some observations about some of the accomplishments I noted at the top.  Note: I don't feel qualified to debate Gregson vs Doyle, however, so I'm going to leave that for someone with a little more expertise on the subject, perhaps you, in the comments.

Rudisha vs Kipketer:  Two years ago, Kaki looked poised to dominate the 800m for the foreseeable future.  Today, he's the clear #2 behind David Rudisha.  That debate seems settled.  It also seems premature to compare Rudisha's career with Kipketer's, as the latter competed for many years and Rudisha is just getting started.  Will he match Kipketer's three World Championship golds or win the elusive Olympic gold that neither Coe nor Kipketer could attain?

What we can debate, however, is whether Rudisha's 2010 is superior to Kipketer's 1997. In 1997, Kipketer tied Seb Coe's world record in July, and then broke it twice in August.  All three times continue to rank 2nd, 3rd, and T-5th all-time.  Oh yeah, he also won both the Indoor and Outdoor World Championship titles.  That's some major Hardware.

Rudisha has had an amazing year, and it's not necessarily over.  Even if he doesn't compete again, though, he's broken the world record and run the 1st, 4th, and 10th fastest times ever.  Even if we take away Kipketer's Hardware on the basis that Rudisha didn't compete in any WC meets, the nod to "greatest 800m season ever" still has to go to Kipketer, albeit barely.  It's too bad Rudisha didn't run World Indoors this year...

Lagat is 6-0 lifetime against Solinsky, and 1-0 this year.  But Solinsky is getting closer and closer.

Solinsky vs Lagat:  These two athletes rewrote the US record books this season by breaking the 10k and 5k records, respectively.  But who had the better season?  

Let's start with Solinsky.  First he blew everyone away by smashing Meb's 10k AR.  He then proceeded to run three of the top five times ever by an American at 5k.  His worst race, a 13:08 at Pre, would have ranked him 6th all-time on the US list.  And yet.

And yet Bernard Lagat has had another Lagatian season.  He won the World Indoors 3000m and the USA 5000m title (a meet Solinsky skipped).  He then set the AR for 5000m both indoor (13:11.50) and outdoor (12:54.12) and ran 3:32 and 7:32 in various European races.  In their one head-to-head race, Lagat beat Solinsky (his AR 5000m performance).

Given the advantage in Hardware, Record Books and Scoreboard arguments, Lagat has had the better season.  But it isn't over, and I believe Solinsky has a chance to make up some ground.  That's because he's been as consistent as any athlete in the world up to this point.  His three European 5000m races have all been between 12:55.5 and 12:56.6.

To me, that's a clear sign that there's more left in the tank.  Someone can run a perfect race once, and maybe even twice.  But there's no way he's run three perfect races this season.  What this means is that 12:56 is more in the range of "very good" for Solinsky, and if he can pop a great race, that time could come down quite a bit.  

Would it be enough to tip the scales in his season's favor?  That's hard to say.  It probably depends on whether Bernard Lagat is still crossing the line while Solinsky is celebrating.

Wheating vs Manzano:  If you had told me earlier this summer that Wheating's 1500m time would be faster than Manzano's, but Manzano would equal Wheating's 800m time, I would have scoffed at you.  Yet that's where we find ourselves now.  Both Manzano and Wheating have run 1:44.56 for 800m, and Wheating's smokin' 3:30.90 is much faster than Manzano's 3:33.51 1500m or 3:50.64 mile.

Wheating is leading the head-to-head matchup 2-1, having run his two best races (Pre and Monaco) when Manzano ran his two biggest stinkers (and they were indeed stinkers).  But Manzano beat Wheating at his own event at the Stockholm 800m. 

And there's still time for Lopez Lomong to reinsert himself in the discussion.  He was the USA Outdoor champ over Manzano--in a race Wheating skipped--and ran 3:32.20 earlier in the season.  He was behind Wheating in both of his best races, however, and hasn't shown much range outside the mile.  I never would have thought it going into the spring but based on his Consistency, his Scoreboard, and his amazing times, Andrew Wheating is now the best middle distance runner in the US.

By Len Johnson.

As I write this, Oslo’ Bislett Games are only a few hours away.

Meeting three in the IAAF Diamond League series, the Bislett Games scarcely need association with the new track and field showcase for credibility. Rather the reverse, I would think, given Bislett history.

One of the goals the Diamond League aims is to offer more head-to-head competition, so it’s hardly surprising that one of the featured events was the men’s 800 metres in which rising young guns David Rudisha and Abubaker Kaki were to clash.

As much by accident as design, 21-year-old Rudisha and 20-year-old Kaki find themselves at the top of an event which has stagnated since the retirement of world record holder Wilson Kipketer. Neither has achieved his potential as a senior: Kaki is world indoor champion but bombed out at both the Beijing Olympics and the Berlin world championships; Rudisha was run out in the semis in Berlin.

Rather it is the thought of what they might do that excites. Rudisha bounced back from his world championships disappointment with a string of fast times, culminating in a 1:42.01 in Rieti last September which left him behind only Kipketer, Sebastian Coe and Joaquim Cruz _ middle-distance royalty all _ on the all-time list.

Kaki has had extenuating circumstances for his two major championship blow-outs _ sick in Beijing, coming back from a hamstring injury (incurred, ironically, at last year’s Bislett) in Berlin. He looked imperious in taking the world indoor title in Doha, as did Rudisha in wins in Melbourne, Doha and Ostrava this year.

So if neither yet has the status of a Coe or a Steve Ovett, each appears capable of attaining it and it might be a canny thing for the Diamond League to get in early on what could be the next great middle-distance rivalry.

Sport thrives on great rivalries. So often great performers come along in pairs _ Nadaland Federer or Borg and McEnroe in tennis; Bannister and Landy in pursuit of the four-minute mile; Zola Budd and Mary Decker. Sometimes it’s more than two _ Joan Benoit, Grete Waitz and Ingrid Kristiansen in the women’s marathon in the mid-1980s, with Rosa Mota and Lisa Ondieki coming along in the second half of that decade; Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay currently in the sprints; Ron Clarke, Kip Keino and Michel Jazy in the 5000 in the 1960s.

And, of course, there was Coe and Ovett in the 800 and 1500 in the late 1970s _ a rivalry given sharper piquancy by the fact they rarely raced against each other.

Coe and Ovett are also an example of how great rivalries do not always play out the way expected. Only at the 1980 Moscow Olympics _ where, ironically, each man won what was regarded as the other’s specialty event _ did the two clash at both 800 and 1500 in peak condition. The scarcity of their meetings led to a series of races, immediately dubbed ‘The Covett Series’, being planned over 3000, 800 and 1500 metres in 1982.

Announced with great hoopla at the end of 1981, the series was a fizzer. Within days, Ovett seriously injured himself when he ran into some iron railings on a training run. He recovered in time to run the 3000 only of the scheduled three races; Coe fell ill in 1982 and missed all three.

Fortunately, in an athletics sense if not commercially, the first race of the ill-fated series saw the emergence of a British saviour in the form of Dave Moorcroft. A fine athlete who won the 1978 Commonwealth 1500 and 1982 Commonwealth 5000 metres titles, Moorcroft chose 1982 for his year of years. He broke Henry Rono’s world record for 5000 metres _ and almost 13 minutes _ in running 13:00.41 in Oslo (Bislett again!) and won the ‘Covett’ 3000 in 7:32.79, a few tenths outside another Rono world record.

Another rivalry which confounded expectations was that between Rob de Castella and Alberto Salazar in the marathon. Salazar ‘broke’ Derek Clayton’s long-standing world record with 2:08:13 in New York in 1981 on a course which turned out to be around 150 metres short, then defeated fellow-American Dick Beardsley in an epic duel in Boston in 1982. ‘Deek’ ran 2:08:18 in Fukuoka in 1981 then won the Commonwealth Games marathon in Brisbane.

Sports management company IMG, which represented both athletes, was desperate to arrange a ‘match race’. Of course, there was the world championships coming up in Helsinki, but the athletes would get nothing to run that and 25 percent of nothing is – nothing. After several possibilities fell through, Rotterdam 1983 saw the meeting of the big two.

It was a magnificent race, won by de Castella in a time only 20 seconds outside his world record after a last-man standing duel with his closest rival over the last five kilometres. Only problem was, his closest rival was not Salazar, but Carlos Lopes. Salazar was fifth; Lopes went on to become Olympic champion the following year and then world record holder the year after that.

Other rivalries, of course, produce great race after great race. Even the invincible Herb Elliott had Merv Lincoln dogging his heels throughout most of his career. One mile race between them was so close that both were given the same time; crucially, Elliott was given the win by an official margin of “inches”; Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat at 10,000 metres; Sonia O’Sullivan and Gabriela Szabo at 5000 (and other distances); Kenenisa Bekele and Zersenay Tadese at 10,000 are others that come to mind.

Come to think of it, by the time this is posted, the result of the Rudisha-Kaki clash will be known. Which of them won? Or did someone upstage them both? Are we on the way to a new grand rivalry? Stand by.

The morning got underway with the mens 200m heats. Gay, Chambers and original Olympic silver medal winner Churandy Martina had withdrawn due to injury, with Gay hoping to recover for the relay on the weekend. Bolt did his usual morning job to run 20.70 and win his heat; Shawn Crawford also looked good in winning his heat; and although Wallace Spearmon qualified, he was in a bit of trouble coming into the straight, and had to work hard to get second. But with no Tyson Gay, one would think Bolt has a clear run to the gold medal.

Next up was the mens 400m heats. Australia had three very capable runners lining up - John Steffensen, Joel Milburn, and Sean Wroe - with Wroe being the standout performer so far this season. First up was Milburn, who dominated his heat from the outside lane, looking very strong. He finished third in a blanket finish, clocking 45.56.

Then came Steffensen, who ran a blinder of a race, taking it out to Olympic Champ LaShawn Merritt on his outside, and running a very strong race - the Steff of old is back, and he's focused on running well. "I've got a game plan, but when you're out on the track you're just got to run hard," he said. "I've made the final before, and I should have made it in 2007, so yeah, hopefully."

Last up was Wroe, who also ran strongly all the way to run the fastest time of the Aussies, 45.31, to be the sixth fastest qualifier overall. Wroe held on well in the final straight, and looks set for a PB run tomorrow night. Wariner and Merritt also made it through easily.

Milburn: "It was fantastic, probably the best race to do a seasons best at. I've been training really well over the last month, and I know it's there, I just need to get out there and do it. [Lane eight] is normally the best lane for me to be in, I just run my own race."

Wroe: "I took it out hard in lane eight, and kind of coasted it for the later half of the race, but I guess it eventually turned out to be a fast race, but I guess I feel comfortable running at that pace now, so it doesn't feel like it's taken much out of the tank, so I'm ready to recover and get ready tomorrow."

Merritt: "It was a great first round. I stayed relaxed, made my moves and finished up. My body is feeling good. I have been feeling a little rocky, I have not been running too good this seaso because the agenda was not there, no pressure."

In the womens high jump, Aussie Petrina Price got off to a brilliant start, looking full of confidence. She had first attempt clearances at 1.80m, 1.85m, and 1.89m; but then struggled at the 1.92m mark, having a couple of close attempts, but ultimately missing out on the clearance. Blanca Vlasic qualified easily, as did home town hero Ariane Friedrich, who only needed one jump to qualify, at the automatic mark of 1.95m.

Price: "I was so excited to be out there and jumping again, unfortunately 1.92m didn't stay on, so I'll be upset if 1.92m gets into the final [depending on past misses, it did] considering I jumped 1.94m a week and a half ago, but I'll come away from these championships with my head held high, I did a PB a week and a half ago, and this is the second comp in five years, that I've competed at internationally."

Then came the womens 1500m heats, which got off to a bang when the USA's Shannon Rowbury fell 200m into the first heat. An appeal is pending. The heat was won by Maryam Yusuf Jamal, who looked comfortable all the way. Second heat was again won comfortbly, this time by Gelete Burka, with Lisa Dobriskey running strongly for third, and Anna Willard for fifth. Kenya's Irene Jelagat was the victim of another fall at around halfway, and struggled home at the back of the field. Olympic Champ Nancy Langat qualified in the third heat, where Steph Twell fell off the back and didn't manage to hang on. But the one sliding under the radar was third place Kalkidan Gezahegne for Ethiopia, who looked very strong in coming third, and looked to have a mean turn of speed. She's my tip for a value bet, highly underrated.

Jamal: "It was tactical, we had to push a little bit, but on the whole it was really easy. My competitions this season were good although at the beginning it was a little tough. At the start of the season, when I'm doing my training, it sometimes takes me two or three competitions to get race-sharp."

Burka: "The race was very nice, so I'm happy. At the Olympics I didn't qualify, so now I'm satisfied. I will see how the others run, and I hope I will qualify again."

For Willard quotes, check out our separate interview (ed: on the way). See you tonight!

 

 

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