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Post by Panda on Jul 31, 2017 16:57:21 GMT 1
The 16th World Athletics Championships get underway this week and for the first time, they are taking place in the UK, at London's Olympic Stadium.
As ever, the championships will see the sports top stars competing for gold but there is added sentiment this year, with the final track appearances of Usain Bolt and Mo Farah. Bolt is retiring after the Championships, while Farah will be concentrating on road racing after this season.
GB will be hoping to match the 7 medals (including 4 golds) they won two years ago in Beijing, though Greg Rutherford is missing due to injury and Jessica Ennis-Hill has retired. However, there are some new medal hopes on the horizon, including Laura Muir who has set the middle distance running world alight, breaking Kelly Holmes' 1500m British record and winning the Diamond League title, which earned her automatic entry into the World Championships. In addition to the 1500m, she'll be attempting a rare double in the 5000m as well.
GB SQUAD (2017 world rankings in brackets)
MEN 100m: James Dasaolu, Reece Prescod, CJ Ujah 200m: Zharnel Hughes (25), Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (10), Danny Talbot (22) 400m: Dwayne Cowan (57), Matt Hudson-Smith (25), Martyn Rooney (97) 800m: Elliot Giles (23), Kyle Langford (45), Guy Learmonth (65) 1500m: Josh Kerr (50), Chris O'Hare (16), Jake Wightman (21) 5000m: Andrew Butchart (16), Mo Farah (4), Marc Scott (70) 10000m: Mo Farah (3) 110m Hurdles: David King (48), David Omoregie (23), Andrew Pozzi (8) 400m Hurdles: Jack Green (19) 3000m Steeplechase: Rob Mullett (72), Zak Seddon (75) High Jump: Robbie Grabarz (9) Triple Jump: Nathan Fox (45) Hammer: Nick Miller (13) Decathlon: Ashley Bryant (18) 20km Walk: Tom Bosworth (33), Callum Wilkinson (82) 50km Walk: Dominic King (69) Marathon: Andrew Davies (360), Callum Hawkins, Josh Griffiths (338) 4x100m Relay: Harry Aikines-Aryeety, Adam Gemili, Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Reece Prescod, Danny Talbot, CJ Ujah (1) 4x400m Relay: Cameron Chalmers, Dwayne Cowan, Jack Green, Matt Hudson-Smith, Martyn Rooney, Delano Williams, Rabah Yousif (11)
WOMEN 100m: Desiree Henry (33), Daryll Neita (44), Asha Philip (49) 200m: Dina Asher-Smith (61), Shannon Hylton (74), Bianca Williams (50) 400m: Zoey Clark (62), Emily Diamond (51), Anyika Onuora (58) 800m: Shelayna Oskan-Clarke (25), Lynsey Sharp (9), Adelle Tracey (36) 1500m: Jessica Judd (38), Sarah McDonald (46), Laura Muir (7), Laura Weightman (14) 5000m: Eilish McColgan (30), Laura Muir, Steph Twell (52) 10000m: Jessica Martin, Beth Potter (43), Charlotte Taylor (52) 100m Hurdles: Tiffany Porter (19) 400m Hurdles: Eilidh Doyle (12), Jess Turner (50) 3000m Steeplechase: Rosie Clarke (36), Lennie Waite (40) High Jump: Katarina Johnson-Thompson (10), Morgan Lake (8) Pole Vault: Holly Bradshaw (5) Long Jump: Shara Proctor (18), Jazmin Sawyers (72), Lorraine Ugen (12) Discus: Jade Lally (25) Hammer: Sophie Hitchon (10) Heptathlon: Katarina Johnson-Thompson (4) 20km Walk: Gemma Bridge (67), Bethan Davies (79) Marathon: Tracy Barlow (121), Alyson Dixon (86), Charlotte Purdue (95) 4x100m Relay: Dina Asher-Smith, Desiree Henry, Corinne Humphreys, Shannon Hylton, Daryll Neita, Asha Phillip, Bianca Williams (20) 4x400m Relay: Zoey Clark, Emily Diamond, Eilidh Doyle, Laviai Nielsen, Anyika Onuora, Perri Shakes-Drayton (6)
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ligerdog7
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hollyyyyyyyyyyyy..... ages get bak post laters
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Post by ligerdog7 on Jul 31, 2017 18:22:09 GMT 1
awsom be watching dude mo bolt ace buy 2020 + snooker footbull be epiccccccccccccccccc hollasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa yooo upppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp wufyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuyy koolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jul 31, 2017 18:52:42 GMT 1
Good to see a thread for this. I'm going on the final Saturday for the day session (surprise birthday present - my first trip to the Olympic Stadium), just hoping that the GB sprint relay team don't drop the baton...(Baton said in a Michael Johnson style).
Not sure really what to expect for the championships. Greg Rutherford's absence is a big blow, would have been a guaranteed medal i'd have thought. Dina Asher-Smith has been the most exciting female prospect for me for the last 2-3 years but i'm not sure what shape she's in. Maybe we could do something in the mens 100m, but it's one thing running fast in the build-up and another doing it when the Championships come around. Though tbh that event will all be about Bolt, so I wouldn't notice how the Brits do in the final if any made it anyway!
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Post by Panda on Jul 31, 2017 21:56:20 GMT 1
I'm going to the Monday evening (Laura Muir and Sophie Hitchon) and Friday morning sessions and really looking forward to it. It'll be my first time inside the stadium as well though I did see it from the Docklands cable car when I went to London last year.
As for medals, obviously Farah is the main hope. Him aside, Laura Muir looks like the best chance of individual gold. Lynsey Sharp and Eilidh Doyle have medal chances and maybe Andy Pozzi could sneak something in the hurdles and if Chris O'Hare can reach the 1500m final, anything could happen. Katarina Johnson-Thompson should get a bit of a home boost and I'd expect her to get a medal though gold is probably beyond her. In the field events, Holly Bradshaw may finally get a global medal and hopefully Sophie Hitchon can repeat her Rio performance. I wouldn't rule out Nick Miller in the men's hammer either. For the sprinters, I think the men's 200m gives us more chance than the 100m, with Mitchell-Blake running well and Danny Talbot getting better all the time.
The men's sprint relay is our best chance of a relay medal but as Tom alluded to, simply getting the baton round is a big if. The women's sprint relay team were in great form last year, breaking the national record more than once but there's little form to go on this year to determine whether they can pick up another medal.
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Post by Panda on Jul 31, 2017 22:24:12 GMT 1
GB medal performance at World Championships:
(includes medals re-allocated due to doping violations)
1983 - HELSINKI 2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze Gold medals: Steve Cram (1500m) Daley Thompson (Decathlon)
1987 - ROME 1 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze Gold medal: Fatima Whitbread (Javelin)
1991 - TOKYO 2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze Gold medals: Liz McColgan (10000m) Roger Black, Derek Redmond, John Regis, Kriss Akabusi (4x400m relay)
1993 - STUTTGART 3 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze Gold medals: Linford Christie (100m) Colin Jackson (110m hurdles) Sally Gunnell (400m hurdles)
1995 - GOTHENBURG 1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze Gold medal: Jonathan Edwards (Triple jump)
1997 - ATHENS 1 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze Gold medal: Iwan Thomas, Roger Black, Jamie Baulch, Mark Richardson (4x400m relay)
1999 - SEVILLE 1 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze Gold medal: Colin Jackson (110m hurdles)
2001 - EDMONTON 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze Gold medal: Jonathan Edwards (Triple jump)
2003 - PARIS 0 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
2005 - HELSINKI 1 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze Gold medal: Paula Radcliffe (Marathon)
2007 - OSAKA 1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze Gold medal: Christine Ohuruogu (400m)
2009 - BERLIN 2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze Gold medals: Phillips Idowu (Triple jump) Jessica Ennis (Heptathlon)
2011 - DAEGU 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze Gold medals: Mo Farah (5000m) Dai Greene (400m hurdles) Jessica Ennis (Heptathlon)
2013 - MOSCOW 3 gold, 0 silver, 3 bronze Gold medals: Mo Farah (5000m) Mo Farah (10000m) Christine Ohuruogu (400m)
2015 - BEIJING 4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze Gold medals: Mo Farah (5000m) Mo Farah (10000m) Greg Rutherford (Long jump) Jessica Ennis-Hill (Heptathlon)
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 1, 2017 18:53:39 GMT 1
I'm going to the Monday evening (Laura Muir and Sophie Hitchon) and Friday morning sessions and really looking forward to it. It'll be my first time inside the stadium as well though I did see it from the Docklands cable car when I went to London last year. As for medals, obviously Farah is the main hope. Him aside, Laura Muir looks like the best chance of individual gold. Lynsey Sharp and Eilidh Doyle have medal chances and maybe Andy Pozzi could sneak something in the hurdles and if Chris O'Hare can reach the 1500m final, anything could happen. Katarina Johnson-Thompson should get a bit of a home boost and I'd expect her to get a medal though gold is probably beyond her. In the field events, Holly Bradshaw may finally get a global medal and hopefully Sophie Hitchon can repeat her Rio performance. I wouldn't rule out Nick Miller in the men's hammer either. For the sprinters, I think the men's 200m gives us more chance than the 100m, with Mitchell-Blake running well and Danny Talbot getting better all the time. The men's sprint relay is our best chance of a relay medal but as Tom alluded to, simply getting the baton round is a big if. The women's sprint relay team were in great form last year, breaking the national record more than once but there's little form to go on this year to determine whether they can pick up another medal. Interesting, thanks for this, hadn't realised there were so many medal prospects (must confess i'd forgotten about Hitchon). There's always high hopes for KJT and I've been excited about her for years, but will she cope with the pressure of competing in a home championships? Sadly I think gold will always allude her as her throwing events simply aren't good enough (hopefully in saying that i'll be proved spectacularly wrong).
I was thinking of the men's 200m as well when I said that but wasn't sure how competitive the GB guys would be, or how strong the event was as a whole. The women's sprint relay are a team that don't really seem to have expectation on them but they've been exciting in the last few years so looking forward to seeing them.
Just noticed that we have someone in the decathlon, will look out for Ashley Bryant as the decathlon is also taking place on that Saturday. Assumed that we didn't have anyone competing so that's a bonus
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Post by raliverpool on Aug 1, 2017 22:53:25 GMT 1
If (& it is quite a big if) Mo Farah does the double double again, will he continue to be snubbed by the Great British Public at SPOTY come December?
Other questions include can Katarina Johnson-Thompson finally put together seven consecutive performances in a major Heptathlon to get a medal like we all know she is capable of, but has always lacked the consistency to do?; Can Holly Bradshaw get a medal in the Pole Vault?; Can Andy Pozzi medal in the 110M Hurdles?; Can Laura Muir defeat the African challenge in the 1500m; Can UK Athletics have a major event where none of their 4 relay teams drops the Baton/runs out of their lanes?; Will Good (Bolt) overcome drug cheat (Gatlin) yet again?; Will South African Wayde van Niekerk become the new face of Athletics (with Bolt & Farah heading off into the sunset)?
Roll on Friday evening.
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Post by LittleChristmasTurkey on Aug 2, 2017 12:59:27 GMT 1
I'm not sure I can see 7 medals, but it'll be very interesting to see how much effect he home crowd has on the athletes. Let's see what happens
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2017 14:30:43 GMT 1
I'm going on Tuesday and Sunday evenings, first time ever attending the relay sessions of any championship. The Olympic stadium has a great atmosphere and the track is fast, so everyone attending should have a great time. I'm really looking forward to seeing Wayde van Niekerk in the 400m - can he dip below 43 seconds?!? Don't think GB will do well, but it's time for a dip as we've riding a high for quite a while. And who knows what the home crowd can help produce - would be nice to see someone break out and become a big star.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 2, 2017 18:30:49 GMT 1
I'm going on Tuesday and Sunday evenings, first time ever attending the relay sessions of any championship. The Olympic stadium has a great atmosphere and the track is fast, so everyone attending should have a great time. I'm really looking forward to seeing Wayde van Niekerk in the 400m - can he dip below 43 seconds?!? Don't think GB will do well, but it's time for a dip as we've riding a high for quite a while. And who knows what the home crowd can help produce - would be nice to see someone break out and become a big star. I was thinking about the speed of the track, that's an added reason to hope for good weather.
I'm wondering if the atmosphere will be similar to how it was at Wembley after the Championship play-off final, the celebrations were deafening, never heard anything like it at Wembley before. Though obviously if it is it'll be a lot more enjoyable on a personal level than it was for me that day! Back on topic, I remember what it was like on that Super Saturday for the Olympics, and also reading some comments from people who were there. Can't really imagine the atmosphere being that great when I'm there, but if some fast times are set in the sprint relays then who knows!
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Post by Shireblogger on Aug 4, 2017 21:49:54 GMT 1
Sensational run by Mo Farah. I'm so proud that he's a British athlete.
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Post by Panda on Aug 5, 2017 21:59:04 GMT 1
Farah's win was one of the most exciting races I've ever seen.
Cheatlin's was one of the most soul-destroying.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 6, 2017 9:57:27 GMT 1
Last night was the first time I've watched (though that's still more than I saw of the athletics during the Olympics last year).
That 100m final was the worst result possible, absolutely shocking for Bolt to only come 3rd and Gatlin winning. I knew about halfway through that Bolt had left himself too much to do to win. If that's the future then it doesn't bode well at all, I was actually wondering if it was even worth watching (and given that the 100m is one of my favourite sporting events given that I was interested in it before I really cared about sport that's hard to take). Where have all the fast times gone, there was a time when everyone in a final was running sub 10 seconds. Now you only get a few doing it, and the record times look a long way off (not that i expect them to ever be beaten anyway). The only glimmers of hope are that Gatlin is 35 and surely hasn't got many championships left, and Prescod looks like he could be challenging for medals in years to come.
KJT 4th after the first day 67 points off a medal, half expecting her to get the bronze from that position with the events she's got left. Think it might be disappointing if she doesn't get it.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 6, 2017 21:32:50 GMT 1
Didn't see any of the heptathlon field events today but I suspected that 240 points was too big a gap to make up and I was proved right KJT finished 5th on 6558,bronze was 6636. Disappointing, with each championship that goes by I wonder why I was so excited in the 2013 world championships when I thought she might well be a gold medal contender in Rio.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 7, 2017 19:54:55 GMT 1
Looks like the men's 200 is going to be exciting, but I can't help feel that if Gemili is fully fit it's a shame he's not there instead of Zharnel Hughes. Can understand his frustration at being overlooked. He's fit enough to compete in the relay after all...
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Post by Panda on Aug 8, 2017 13:14:46 GMT 1
Great night last night despite the disappointments from a GB perspective.
What struck me is how much the stadium experience is set up to be like watching on TV - Iwan Thomas as MC, Rob Walker and John Rawling doing commentary and bizarrely, money-saving expert Martin Lewis as a "superfan" roving reporter.
The atmosphere was great and the roar as Laura Muir was coming down the home straight in the 1500m was incredible.
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Post by raliverpool on Aug 8, 2017 18:16:44 GMT 1
Didn't see any of the heptathlon field events today but I suspected that 240 points was too big a gap to make up and I was proved right KJT finished 5th on 6558,bronze was 6636. Disappointing, with each championship that goes by I wonder why I was so excited in the 2013 world championships when I thought she might well be a gold medal contender in Rio. I can tell my grand children (if I ever have any!) I was there for the Saturday morning session; and watched KJT monumentally mess up her best event (the High Jump) dropping 218 points below (her PB); and ultimately costing her a guaranteed first major Heptathlon medal. Whilst the Woman's Triple jump qualifying was pretty impressive to watch. I have to say it was an amazing atmosphere, much more refreshing than going to a Premier League football match.
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Post by rubcale on Aug 8, 2017 19:16:42 GMT 1
I hope Laura Muir isn't going to be the new Lisa Dobriskey.
I thought she ran a bad race. I was wondering last night if I had been watching the same one as the TV commentators. At first it seemed they were going to pull her on the second lap but then suddenly veered from saying anything critical and started bemoning her "bad luck" and how she did everything she could.
Then this morning on Five Live Steve Backley called it exactly as I had.
It wasn't that the second lap was too slow in itself but rather Laura's positioning she got boxed in on the kerb a la Dobriskey then took a bit of a bashing having to fight her way out and used up extra energy to maintain contact with the two at the front.
This is why she lcked that staying power at the finish.
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Post by raliverpool on Aug 8, 2017 20:32:58 GMT 1
IAAF President Seb Coe must be hitting his head against a brick wall right now over Isaac Makwala being turned away for "Elf & Safety" reasons.
Take banned drugs twice & you're welcome to come and compete and win Gold. Vomit and Security will block you at the door!
This is just disastrous PR for World Athletics.
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Post by Shireblogger on Aug 9, 2017 11:44:14 GMT 1
I've been lucky enough to attend 4 sessions, with 1 to come. I think the atmosphere was better than when I was in the same stadium for the Olympics (albeit I wasn't there for any of the British medals). The din for Laura Muir on Monday night, and Kyle Langford last night, was phenomenal. A brilliant adrenalin rush.
The crowd has also responded very well to many of the unknown foreign athletes who've shown their understandable joy at winning medals. Hammer throwers, pole vaulters and triple jumpers have been accorded rapturous standing ovations whenever they've gone wild at winning bronze medals (or better), which is wonderful.
I think I've enjoyed some of the field events more than the straight races. The mounting tension and escalating skill level in the pole vault has been especially thrilling.
From a spectator perspective it has been brilliantly organised. Desperate shame that the IAAF is still an organisation that makes indefensible and stupidly self-interested decisions.
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