I love Usain Bolt. In fact, many of us love Usain Bolt. However, we must remind ourselves from time to time that he won’t be running any race longer than a fifth of a kilometre.
This Olympics promises a veritable smorgasbord of other track events to feast our eyes on.
From an Australian perspective, there are slim picking, with only Jared Tallent as a legitimate medal chance. Heck, Australia will do well if any other runner makes the finals in their chosen event.
Still, it’s going to be on TV, so you may as well watch the following:
1. Women’s 100m
Timing is everything. For all the (completely understandable) hype surrounding Bolt and the potential ‘triple-triple’ he’s trying to achieve, there is another Jamaican who is out to create history and become the first person, male or female, to win three consecutive individual golds in the same track event.
Luckily for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, her 100-metre run is before Bolt’s.
Standing in the way of the undisputed queen of double-barrelled names though is an injury-affected campaign, plus a raft of younger women coming through. Her key advantage is that she was in a similar position in Beijing last year and still won.
A proven performer at the top level, so will keep the others honest right up until the finish line.
2. Men’s 800m
The London 2012 800 metres was without doubt the showpiece event of the track and field program.
All runners posted sub 1:44 times. Seven of the runners ran personal best times (the other ran a still impressive season best), and of course it was topped off by David Rudisha’s outrageous world record, becoming the only man to dip under 1:41 in history.
While it’s highly unlikely any world record will be broken this time around, Rudisha is the most outstanding 800-metre runner we’ve ever seen, and any true athletics fan will have the TV on for 102 seconds (101 if we are lucky) to see him toy with his opposition.
Rudisha will be remembered in the same breath as Bolt or Kenenisa Bekele when people are discussing the definition of ‘dominant’. Watch him and savour the moment.
3. Women’s 800m
This will be the most controversial of the entire athletics program.
Now that she’s off the testosterone blockers, Caster Semenya is the prohibitive favourite to take the gold. Can she harness her abilities and advantages and finally break the drug-tainted world record which has stood for 33 years? T
here is no doubt that her gold will split the fans. Some will say it’s marvellous, some will say her natural advantage is just not fair.
Me? Well, the more doping records that fall the better. Semenya may have a natural advantage, but she at least wins clean. That’s what counts.
4. Men’s 10,000m
I love the long-distance events, a thrilling 26 to 28 minutes. There are always two battles going on in a 10k: the footrace, and the tactical battle. It’s one of the very few events where you are both physically and mentally exhausted.
One athlete is an exception: Mo Farah. British people will long remember the 10,000 in London because of Farah, and that he won on the night of nights for British athletics.
Farah exerts complete control over tactics and the pace of a race – control to the point where you think he could do it again half an hour later.
Expect nothing less from him in Rio.
However, what I would also like to see is for him to control the race at a faster pace. For all his considerable talents and abilities, he controls a race to the point where they are really quite slow (look no further than the crawling 5000m in 2012). Races in which he does not participate are actually faster. There are four people in the race (including his training partner, Galen Rupp) who have faster PBs than Farah.
The world record is out of his reach, but I would like to see him set the pace so that an Olympic record is for the taking. He needs to do it too: while his double gold in 2012 was awesome, he’ll never be revered in the same way as Haile Gebrselassie and Bekele until he starts setting records.
Where better than an Olympic games?
5. Women’s heptathlon
Okay, so this isn’t purely track, but it is still worth keeping an eye on over its two days of competition, with three people in particular to watch.
Reigning Olympic and world champion Jessica Ennis-Hill is looking to emulate Jackie Joyner-Kersee and win consecutive golds in the heptathlon.
Brianne Theisen-Eaton is out to become one half of the first husband-wife pairing to win gold at the Olympics since the Zatopeks in 1952 (and Ashton Eaton is a near-certainty to win the decathlon). The critical differences between the Eatons and the Zatopeks are that the Eatons are doing the same event (yes, a slight technicality between hept- and dec-, but they both are still ‘–athlons’, right?) and that the Eatons are representing different countries!
The last woman to watch will be Katarina Johnson-Thompson, whom besides her awesome surname, will be in Rio seeking redemption. She was a podium certainty in Beijing in 2015 and blew it badly on the long jump: her pet event. Apparently, her computer desktop photo is an image of her fouling her third jump, reminding her of her failure.
She has immense abilities, but has yet never really completed a heptathlon where you would say she posted seven competitive scores in her events. If she does in Rio, she’s right up there for gold.
6. Men’s 50-kilometre walk
This is the only athletics event which will feature a reigning Olympic champion who holds an Australian passport. If Jared Tallent happens to pull off a gold-medal walk (and he would be looking at a podium place a the bare minimum) then he will have the distinction of being the only person to be awarded a gold medal across two Olympics in the space of only a few months!
He’s a top-five performer this year, and proven at big events as well. A spot on the podium should be his minimum aim.
7. Women’s 200m
In sprint events, people of West African heritage dominate. In long distance, it’s the East Africans. In hurdles, the technical aspects level the playing fields significantly, so that raw and pure pace is not a guarantee of victory.
This is the fairly accepted state of track events.
However, every once in a while we an anomaly pop up. Galen Rupp in long-distance racing is one, Jeremy Wariner another.
Dafne Schippers is the new anomaly – and what an anomaly. Make no mistake about it: this woman is quick; by far the quickest European woman to ever (legally) race. She’s the third fastest of all time – Florence Griffith Joyner and Marion Jones (the latter a cheat, the former with a seriously questionable career) are faster – and the reigning 200-metre world champion.
To prove she’s no one-trick pony, she came second in the 100 metres in 2015. She’s the holder of the world’s leading time this year, and one of just two people to run sub-22 seconds in 2016.
By no means is this in the bag, but signs are looking good.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Here's one to read. http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2009/09/14/when-someone-is-raised-female-and-the-genes-say-xy http://sportsscientists.com/2016/07/caster-semenya-debate/ As I said, the results were not officially released - out of sensitivity to Semenya. But the results are commonly known, and not denied by the UAAF, SA Athletics or Semenya herself.
jameswm
Roar Guru
They weren't officially released, but anyone in athletics knows it. If she's XY with internal testes - do you think she should ebe allowed to compete in women's events? I'll see what I can find.
spruce moose
Guest
"Semenya IS XY. That is a simple statement of fact, not an offensive allegation. This was proven in the gender testing." "I said she is XY, which she is. She has internal testes. No ovaries or female reproductive organs.” I have no idea where you get these 'facts' from. 1. The medical results of Semenya have never been published/announced. 2. it is entirely possible for someone to have elevated testosterone and still be a women. If you can provide me with verified statements from anyone on record on the gender status of Semenya, then I'll gladly retract any of my comments. As far as I could see, only the daily telegraph published 'anonymous' sources.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yeah I just read it, but I've read much more detailed ones than that. The absurd CAS decision, based on poorly worded IAAF regulations, has helped women with that conditions. Great. But what about all the other women? Who is thinking of them? CAS said there isn't enough evidence testosterone helps performance. Come again? Why is it banned, then? This is far from over, I can assure you. How would you like a sit down protest in the Olympic final by all the ther women, cause that's where we're heading. Watch the reactions after Semenya demolishes the others in a Diamond League meet. They poitely shake hands, but there is none of the friendliness you usually see between top rivals like that. They know they can't compete. I just don't see how anyone can support that and think it's fair. Have you guys watched any of the Diamond League races this year? Semenya has poor form and runs on her heels. But she is galaxies stronger and faster. I wonder why?
jameswm
Roar Guru
Offensive to you? Semenya IS XY. That is a simple statement of fact, not an offensive allegation. This was proven in the gender testing. And that fact gives her an advantage, one I think is unfair. Again, you aren't considering the other women who have to compete against Semenya. I never called her a man. That was you. I said she is XY, which she is. She has internal testes. No ovaries or female reproductive organs. If she wants to identify as a woman, then I have no problem calling hrr a woman. That is a matter for her. But I have a problem with her competing with the unfair advantage her condition gives her. If you are happy for her to compete in women's events, good on you. Most more closely involved in the sport have serious issues with it.
jameswm
Roar Guru
You're hardly impartial. I am worried about the wome who can't compete in women's sport. I have issues with people having unfair advantages. I think of the people who have to compete against others with a genetic advantage. Who is thinking of them? Not you or spruce. I have read these opinion pieces before. They miss the point too.
Bill
Guest
Great thread. Thanks. Can't wait for rudisha
malibu77
Roar Rookie
Not only does Katarina Johnson-Thompson have a great surname, but she's cleverly described herself on her Twitter account as chronically indecisive, having adopted 2 surnames and the heptathlon. One of the great features of the Foxtel coverage of London 2012 was the numerous dedicated channels and coverage of track and field events in their entirety (both live and rerun later). Alas, I'm not sure the 7 coverage will be as extensive this time around.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Very true spruce. It was indeed a brave Indian girl who got this overturned. And I am disappointed with the level the conversation on this thread has descended to. Just to give some perspective, some contributors to this thread and discussion on Semenya should read the following. Its educational and explains the issue here. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-30/indian-sprinter-dutee-chand-makes-strides-for-women/7673774
spruce moose
Guest
James It is deeply, deeply offensive and discriminatory to brand intersex people as XY. You are branding them as male. Caster Semenya is not male. Shame on you.
jameswm
Roar Guru
No it isn't. You said until "she is found to have taken drugs, she is a clean runner". By that definition FloJo was a clean runner. She is assumed to be clean, on the innocent till proven guilty. But you cannot say she IS clean. I do hope she is - like all of them. What do you mean "She’s not really XY"? She either has a Y chromosome or she doesn't. And according to the reports released, she does. End of story. She should not compete against women. When you say "let her run", you are considering only her. What about the XX women, who can't compete? You are turning it into a farce by letting her run. You have a genetic advantage that makes you more like a man, so you win. How can that be fair sport? It's not the coincidence you think it is. There have been others, but they have dropped out after a tap on the shoulder. Semenya and SA decided to fight on - and another Indian runner whose name escapes me. I can't see how anyone could be comfortable with them taking medals away from XX women. As fro Rudisha - he gets beaten more than Bolt and hasn't done it for as long, but I know his manager and hope King David does it. He is a class act, best stride in history. It'll be tough though.
spruce moose
Guest
So now it's just Africans and Westerners yeah? Just good old fashioned white and black eh? It was an Indian who over turned the rule. There are indeed more cases than the average in Africa, but to isolate comments to just one race is racist.
spruce moose
Guest
I don't need to add "in the eyes of regulation"...what I said is still 100% correct. In the more pertinent situation of Caster Semenya’s genetic advantage, it’s certainly a tricky one. She’s not really XY so it’s a bit harsh to brand her like that (her testosterone levels compared to a male are way smaller), but then of course she’s not purely XX either. I say let her run. I don’t ever envisage that nations will cynically exploit the situation and identify intersex children at a young age and train them to be championship runners. The odds of an intersex birth is extremely low, then coupled with them also being elite to be even lower. It is an extraordinary coincidence that quite a few intersex athletes have converged at the same time, but I view it as an statistical anomaly and not seismic shift. An alternate option would be to forever asterisk their performances so that intersex athletes are eligible to compete, but ineligible to set records. One may find in the future a peculiar situation where the winner is intersex and the bronze medallist breaks the world record! Rudisha is like Bolt...not a class above but will step up for the big show.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Jayzuz spruce, it's not racist. If you followed athletics, you'd know that Afircan women have a much higher incidence of mixed gender than western women. The top 3 800 runners in the world currently are Semenya, Wambui and Niyonsaba - all (supposedly) XY, and all African. Not coincidence. There is research showing this to be common (relatively speaking) in Africa compared to western countries.
jameswm
Roar Guru
You didn't say "in the eyes of the regulators". You said if no positive test, then a clean runner - which we know isn't true. And a lot of people who'd be a fool to dope dope. In any case, that is distracting from the issue with Semenya. What do you think about her competing with XX women when her Y chromosome means she has an unfair genetic advantage? If she wins, and I expect her to pump everyone, I for one will not be celebrating. I'm simply saying I disagree with something you wrote. Is that such a big deal? I would love Rudisha to win. But if you think he's been a class above this season, then you haven't been watching his races. I wouldn't expect you to name call. Poor form.
Nick
Roar Guru
"It is not a level playing field and this has the potential to ruin women’s sport if it isn’t dealt with soon. Does this mean African soccer teams can be packed with XY people who identify as women?" Might try and ignore the racial undertones in that comment James? Why single out Africans in this?
Nick
Roar Guru
James, you didn't read what I said. Until you are found to have taken drugs, you are clean in the eyes of the regulators. Marion Jones, Lance Armstrong never tested positive, but it was ultimately proven beyond doubt that they doped! Until anything comes out otherwise I can absolutely state firmly that she is clean, because that is was the public record knows to be true at this point. It doesn't matter where/when you dope, Semenya has had increased scrutiny on her for a long time now. She'd be a fool to dope. You are over reacting like a child to the phrase 'toying with them". Will it placate you and your temper if I retract that comment?! Jesus wept.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Mario Jones never tested positive. Nor did Lance. FloJo never tested positive or even got busted, nor did Krachtohkvilova or Marita Koch. But you'd have to be pretty naïve to think all runners who have not tested positive are clean. Semenya might well be clean, but we don't know for sure. You can't state firmly that she is clean because she has never tested positive. They don't dope for the races spruce. They dope during base, or general prep phase, when doing the harder strength or endurance work. The drugs help their bodies recover better so they can train harder. The substances have left their bodies by the time they get to the comps, so testing there is actually pretty pointless. Ask Victor Conti. I don't get how you can be disappointed in Mo for not running a race in a way that jeopardises his chances. Front runners normally don't win big races. Rudisha managed it 4 years go, but only tried it because he thought it was his best chance of winning - and that was over 2 laps. It is the job of the others to try to run him off his feet, not for Mo to run himself off his own feet. This is a really poor argument. The only time Mo dictates the pace is in the last 2-3 laps when he takes the lead, and he runs it fast enough so that the real short sprinters have their kick taken out of them, but slow enough to save his own kick. He remembers what happened in 2011, when Jeilan ran him down in the last 100, when he took it too hard from 400-500 to go. Mo is boring? That huge, relaxed, loping stride, powering away from the others? I disagree completely with that. The only thing you can consider boring about him is how consistently good he is, and that isn't a fair criticism of anyone. Low key meets mean a lot to all top runners. They never want to be beaten. All races matter. Rudisha might well step up and showed good form about 3 weeks ago, but he will NOT be toying with them. He will go out hard and hope he can come home strong. We will know at 300 to go - whether he has that kick like last Olympics. If they're on his shoulder with 200 to go, he'll probably lose.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Excellent piece spruce. Looking forward to all of the above. I am a bit agnostic on Semenya, not really sure how i feel on the testosterone issue. But I agree with you, notwithstanding this, she is clean and has been cleared to compete so its legit. I love watching Farah run. Was in London in 2012 to see him run, and that last sprint he does time and again is just great to watch.
Nick
Roar Guru
With regards to Caster Semenya, until she is found to have taken drugs, she is a clean runner no? Personally, I think she is clean. Her genes are enough of an advantage. Considering she’s almost a given to be tested any race she’s in, I think she’d be completely stupid to try and dope. With respect to Mo Farah, I 100% agree with you, but it doesn’t alter my disappointment in him that he’s never, ever tried to really step on the afterburners. He’s a thoroughly boring runner to be quite honest. However you should re read what I wrote. He has a peculiar ability to dictate the pace of the race even when he’s not setting the pace. The others seem to allow the race to be ran at his preference. It’s odd. The London 5000m was a dreadful race and all the others should be angry with how they ran that to his advantage. Rudisha is not at his peak and is still hampered a shade by injury. However, on the big stage he should step up again. He is remarkably similar to Bolt in that low key events mean nothing to him. I’m backing him home.