Mens Olympic Race

In article <[email hidden]>,

(zboy) said:

Did anyone see Hunter Kemper do the classic Ironman finishing shoot
sprint (that is, do an all-out sprint the last 25 yards for no
obivious reason but to pass one of two people for a field finish) It
is great to see people race to the end but it really doesn't matter
(in the Olympics) if you get 9th or 10th. It just seemed a little odd
on TV

Well, maybe he didn't know exactly where he was, and it DOES matter (a
little bit) whether you're 10th or 11th, since if you're tenth you get
to a "a top 10 finish in the Olympics" to your bio.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

It would matter a great deal to me, I go out to the very best I can on any
particular day. Sand bagging and finishing lower than ones potential is a
waste of time. By your reasoning, why not just quit as soon as you know you
are not on the podium.

ken

"zboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Did anyone see Hunter Kemper do the classic Ironman finishing shoot
sprint (that is, do an all-out sprint the last 25 yards for no
obivious reason but to pass one of two people for a field finish) It
is great to see people race to the end but it really doesn't matter
(in the Olympics) if you get 9th or 10th. It just seemed a little odd
on TV

"IMKen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

It would matter a great deal to me, I go out to the very best I can on any
particular day. Sand bagging and finishing lower than ones potential is a
waste of time. By your reasoning, why not just quit as soon as you know you
are not on the podium.

ken

Ken You have a good point. I guess what I am saying is that i never
liked the people I saw walking through most of an Ironman and then
come sprinting down the last 20 yards and passing a few people. Being
9th or 10th is a little different for sure. Regardless, it still
looked on TV like he pimped a few guys at the end. In the Olympics,
its either top 3 or nothing. 4th, 9th or 10th have no meaning. and
obviously no dollars.

zboy said:

"IMKen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It would matter a great deal to me, I go out to the very best I can on any
particular day. Sand bagging and finishing lower than ones potential is a
waste of time. By your reasoning, why not just quit as soon as you know you
are not on the podium.

ken

Ken You have a good point. I guess what I am saying is that i never
liked the people I saw walking through most of an Ironman and then
come sprinting down the last 20 yards and passing a few people. Being
9th or 10th is a little different for sure. Regardless, it still
looked on TV like he pimped a few guys at the end. In the Olympics,
its either top 3 or nothing. 4th, 9th or 10th have no meaning. and
obviously no dollars.

No meaning and no dollars? Well... unless of course his sponsors gave him
some kind of bonus for a top 10 finish.

OTOH, I don't know what motivates you, but money, metal, or nothing - having
"Top 10 finish, 2004 Olympics" in by bio would be pretty decent motivation
for me. It's the Olympics for god's sake. It's not like he ploughed over
an old lady to shave 3 seconds at the local YMCA 5K fun run.

John

"John Hardt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 8/30/04 10:52 PM, in article, "zboy"

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"IMKen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It would matter a great deal to me, I go out to the

very best I can on any

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

particular day. Sand bagging and finishing lower than

ones potential is
.....

Quoted message said:

OTOH, I don't know what motivates you, but money, metal,

or nothing - having

Quoted message said:

"Top 10 finish, 2004 Olympics" in by bio would be pretty

decent motivation

Quoted message said:

for me. It's the Olympics for god's sake. It's not like

he ploughed over

Quoted message said:

an old lady to shave 3 seconds at the local YMCA 5K fun

run.

Quoted message said:

John

Great point John,

I can guess there are some who would be disappointed with
not hitting the podium. Look at Pheleps who was criticized
for not winning 7 gold medals - only walking away with 5
gold and 2 bronze (or whatever). There are those like
Pheleps who are coming to prove total domination. But there
are 100's of athletes who are competing against themselves.
You can never be dissatisfied with a PR. If you're PR
happens to be the World Record - that's just extra-special.

Regarding plowing over the "Old Lady". I don't see anything
wrong with it.

Who here races the perfect race every time? Who doesn't get
a sudden boost of energy when they see the final mile
marker, or the tops of the balloons of the finish line, or
the "last corner" or the "last hill". Who doesn't look down
at the ages marked on the back of the calf to see if you
should challenge the guy next to you - or "let him go"?

If you've got the mental game down so well that you've
managed to exert every last drop of energy while maintaining
an even pace - tell me please - how do you do it?

-CF

Quoted message said:

OTOH, I don't know what motivates you, but money, metal, or nothing - having
"Top 10 finish, 2004 Olympics" in by bio would be pretty decent motivation
for me. It's the Olympics for god's sake. It's not like he ploughed over
an old lady to shave 3 seconds at the local YMCA 5K fun run.

John

I guess you can take a positive out of anything - but every athlete
that goes to the Olympics has one goal in mind, bring home a medal.
Nothing is worse to any athlete then 4th place. top ten is impressive
in any Pro triathlon race, especially in a deep field like the
Olympics.

Quoted message said:

Did anyone see Hunter Kemper do the classic Ironman finishing shoot
sprint (that is, do an all-out sprint the last 25 yards for no
obivious reason but to pass one of two people for a field finish) It
is great to see people race to the end but it really doesn't matter
(in the Olympics) if you get 9th or 10th. It just seemed a little odd
on TV

Further proof that you can't please everybody. Somebody is actually
complaining about an athlete trying their hardest to fishish the race
as best they can.

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

(zboy) said:

Did anyone see Hunter Kemper do the classic Ironman finishing shoot
sprint (that is, do an all-out sprint the last 25 yards for no
obivious reason but to pass one of two people for a field finish) It
is great to see people race to the end but it really doesn't matter
(in the Olympics) if you get 9th or 10th. It just seemed a little odd
on TV

Well, maybe he didn't know exactly where he was, and it DOES matter (a
little bit) whether you're 10th or 11th, since if you're tenth you get
to a "a top 10 finish in the Olympics" to your bio.

Furthermore, the $$$ passed on from the USOC to the NGB (in this case, USAT)
and possibly on to the athlete go deeper than just the top three (although
whether they run as deep as 10th I don't know).

Andy Coggan

In article <[email hidden]>,

(salmoneous) said:

Quoted message said:

Did anyone see Hunter Kemper do the classic Ironman finishing shoot
sprint (that is, do an all-out sprint the last 25 yards for no
obivious reason but to pass one of two people for a field finish) It
is great to see people race to the end but it really doesn't matter
(in the Olympics) if you get 9th or 10th. It just seemed a little odd
on TV

Further proof that you can't please everybody. Somebody is actually
complaining about an athlete trying their hardest to fishish the race
as best they can.

Yeah, I know what you mean. The fact that YOU don't think it's important
to get those last few places/seconds doesn't mean it's not important to
me. I picked up my pace considerably in the last half-mile of the Muncie
Endurathon half-IM this year, and did an all-out sprint the last 200
yards. According to the orriginal poster, I guess I'm a jackass.
However, I was on a mission, and broke the 6-hour barrier by 5 seconds.
No sprint and I finish a little over 6 hours. That was important to me,
even though I was like 85 out of 111 in my age group.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article

<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (salmoneous) wrote:

....

Quoted message said:

However, I was on a mission, and broke the 6-hour barrier

by 5 seconds.

Quoted message said:

No sprint and I finish a little over 6 hours. That was

important to me,

Quoted message said:

even though I was like 85 out of 111 in my age group.

--Harold Buck

Hey good job Harold. I love to hear about setting and
making time goals. Way to squeeze it in.

-CF

[email hidden] (zboy) wrote in news:f72ae2a7.0408301852.14c02aa4
@posting.google.com:

Quoted message said:

In the Olympics,
its either top 3 or nothing. 4th, 9th or 10th have no meaning.

That is a mountain of excrement. 4th place in an olympic QUALIFIER has
incredible meaning, and is something even most of the elites can't do. Last
place in the olympic tri is better than most can manage. Representing your
country in the olympics and doing the best you can has plenty of meaning.

Now, if you had said that Hunter's sprint at the end probably meant that he
didn't run his best race the whole way, I wouldn't have any argument
whatsoever.

Tom

(zboy) said:

I guess you can take a positive out of anything - but every athlete
that goes to the Olympics has one goal in mind, bring home a medal.

Bull [censored].

99% of them know they have no chance at all. But just being there is
an achievement and something to be justifiably proud of. Performing
their best is the goal.

Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"

In article <wl8Zc.122803$Lj.48410@fed1read03>,

ChronoFish said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article

<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (salmoneous) wrote:

...

Quoted message said:

However, I was on a mission, and broke the 6-hour barrier

by 5 seconds.

Quoted message said:

No sprint and I finish a little over 6 hours. That was

important to me,

Quoted message said:

even though I was like 85 out of 111 in my age group.

--Harold Buck

Hey good job Harold. I love to hear about setting and
making time goals. Way to squeeze it in.

The big news was that not only was I under 6 hours, but I cut 50 minutes
of my half-IM PR from a year ago. And somehow I did it on limited
training: AFTER the race, I was still under 300 miles on the bike for
the year.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<wl8Zc.122803$Lj.48410@fed1read03>...

Quoted message said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article

<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (salmoneous) wrote:

...

Quoted message said:

However, I was on a mission, and broke the 6-hour barrier

by 5 seconds.

Quoted message said:

No sprint and I finish a little over 6 hours. That was

important to me,

Quoted message said:

even though I was like 85 out of 111 in my age group.

--Harold Buck

Hey good job Harold. I love to hear about setting and
making time goals. Way to squeeze it in.

-CF

Yes Harold, you are a jackass - but a under 6 hour jackass! Seriously,
those that walk most of the marathon in a ironman, only to sprint the
last 20 yards are just dumb - Seeing Kemper sprint the last 20 yards
reminded me of that - In retrospect, Kemper certainly wasn;t walking
any of the run - Bad comparison by me!

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<wl8Zc.122803$Lj.48410@fed1read03>...

Quoted message said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article

<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (salmoneous) wrote:

...

Quoted message said:

However, I was on a mission, and broke the 6-hour barrier

by 5 seconds.

Quoted message said:

No sprint and I finish a little over 6 hours. That was

important to me,

Quoted message said:

even though I was like 85 out of 111 in my age group.

--Harold Buck

Hey good job Harold. I love to hear about setting and
making time goals. Way to squeeze it in.

-CF

Yes Harold, you are a jackass - but a under 6 hour jackass! Seriously,
those that walk most of the marathon in a ironman, only to sprint the
last 20 yards are just dumb - Seeing Kemper sprint the last 20 yards
reminded me of that - In retrospect, Kemper certainly wasn;t walking
any of the run - Bad comparison by me!

On 9/1/04 12:22 PM, in article
[email hidden], "zboy"

Quoted message said:

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<wl8Zc.122803$Lj.48410@fed1read03>...

Quoted message said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article

<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (salmoneous) wrote:

...

Quoted message said:

However, I was on a mission, and broke the 6-hour barrier

by 5 seconds.

Quoted message said:

No sprint and I finish a little over 6 hours. That was

important to me,

Quoted message said:

even though I was like 85 out of 111 in my age group.

--Harold Buck

Hey good job Harold. I love to hear about setting and
making time goals. Way to squeeze it in.

-CF

Yes Harold, you are a jackass - but a under 6 hour jackass! Seriously,
those that walk most of the marathon in a ironman, only to sprint the
last 20 yards are just dumb - Seeing Kemper sprint the last 20 yards
reminded me of that - In retrospect, Kemper certainly wasn;t walking
any of the run - Bad comparison by me!

The endgame of a triathlon at amateur levels is a mini event in itself. It
can be like the zipping up finish each day of the T de F, getting ready for
your reception and the family camera. If I've been poking along at about
the same pace with anyone else, I sometimes say Hey, race ya to the finish!
We have our own fun duo drama. Even if I've walked for miles, my sense of
style compels me to pretend to be a running finisher. But granted, when a
man decades younger than me, who started before I did, does a dramatic wild
sprint around me for the last 100 yards, he looks a lot less than foolish
unless he's missing a leg or bleeding profusely from a fresh road rash.

Ruth Kazez

On 9/1/04 12:22 PM, in article
[email hidden], "zboy"

Quoted message said:

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<wl8Zc.122803$Lj.48410@fed1read03>...

Quoted message said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article

<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (salmoneous) wrote:

...

Quoted message said:

However, I was on a mission, and broke the 6-hour barrier

by 5 seconds.

Quoted message said:

No sprint and I finish a little over 6 hours. That was

important to me,

Quoted message said:

even though I was like 85 out of 111 in my age group.

--Harold Buck

Hey good job Harold. I love to hear about setting and
making time goals. Way to squeeze it in.

-CF

Yes Harold, you are a jackass - but a under 6 hour jackass! Seriously,
those that walk most of the marathon in a ironman, only to sprint the
last 20 yards are just dumb - Seeing Kemper sprint the last 20 yards
reminded me of that - In retrospect, Kemper certainly wasn;t walking
any of the run - Bad comparison by me!

The endgame of a triathlon at amateur levels is a mini event in itself. It
can be like the zipping up finish each day of the T de F, getting ready for
your reception and the family camera. If I've been poking along at about
the same pace with anyone else, I sometimes say Hey, race ya to the finish!
We have our own fun duo drama. Even if I've walked for miles, my sense of
style compels me to pretend to be a running finisher. But granted, when a
man decades younger than me, who started before I did, does a dramatic wild
sprint around me for the last 100 yards, he looks a lot less than foolish
unless he's missing a leg or bleeding profusely from a fresh road rash.

Ruth Kazez

zboy said:

Ken You have a good point. I guess what I am saying is that i never
liked the people I saw walking through most of an Ironman and then
come sprinting down the last 20 yards and passing a few people.

Am I the only one who doesn't get this?

If I "walk most of an Ironman" and then sprint past person x in the last 20
yards, the long and the short of it is that I covered the same 140.6 mile
course faster than person x did. Who are you to say that my method is
somehow inferior or that their finish is somehow inherently better?

Maybe I beat the [censored] out of them on the bike. Maybe I ran 5 minute miles
for the first 13 and then walked the rest for a 9 minute average. Who
cares? If I cross the finish line first, I beat them - period.

John

"John Hardt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

zboy said:

Ken You have a good point. I guess what I am saying is

that i never

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

liked the people I saw walking through most of an

Ironman and then

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

come sprinting down the last 20 yards and passing a few

people.

Quoted message said:

Am I the only one who doesn't get this?

If I "walk most of an Ironman" and then sprint past person

x in the last 20

Quoted message said:

yards, the long and the short of it is that I covered the

same 140.6 mile

Quoted message said:

course faster than person x did. Who are you to say that

my method is

Quoted message said:

somehow inferior or that their finish is somehow

inherently better?

Quoted message said:

Maybe I beat the [censored] out of them on the bike. Maybe I

ran 5 minute miles

Quoted message said:

for the first 13 and then walked the rest for a 9 minute

average. Who

Quoted message said:

cares? If I cross the finish line first, I beat them -

period.

Quoted message said:

John

I'm with you John. At what point is it "too late" to have a
kick? In my 12:35:03 Ironman finish I WALKED a good portion
of the marathon. Did that not give me the right to pick up
the pace on the "last lap" (which was about 5 miles). Did
my 4:48:15 slow-ass marathon not give me the right to do
7:30's for the last two miles? Did finishing along side -
or behind - a grandmother or two - suddenly mean I couldn't
pass 5 people in the last 100 yards?

Did I run the best possible race? Hell no. I ran the best
possible race I knew how to do at the time I was doing it.
The mental load is huge and to get any inspiration at any
point of time during the race - even if it's the last 30
seconds of 12 1/2 hours should be utilized. No matter how
foolish you might look.

-CF