Lolo Jones: Winner

Posted on August 20, 2008 by threlkeld

Watching Lolo Jones tumbling over the penultimate hurdle in the 100m hurdle final was the only Olympic moment so far that actually brought me to tears. Sure, there have been some other failures and losses so far, but this was the most spectacular; “the agony of defeat” writ large.

Lolo held up like a trooper in the post-race interview, but lost it right afterwards, sobbing and so terribly alone in a corridor just off the track — a spectacle, which, thanks to NBC’s voyeurism, the entire nation witnessed.

She’s a class act, though, as evidenced by this great video from AP, which shows that she has enough perspective and resilience to avoid equating herself with one really bad race — and is taking it in stride, as it were. Rather than wallow in self pity, to be followed by a downward spiral into post-Olympic maladjustment, you just know she’ll pick herself up, get back to work, and be back for 2012. What a champion.

Go, Lolo!

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NBC is redeemed. For now.

Posted on August 17, 2008 by threlkeld

NBC redeemed themselves from their sin of shortchanging the women’s 10,000m final with pretty much horn-to-tape coverage of the women’s marathon. And what an interesting race it was. But there are plenty of other people who can give better analysis than I can.

I just got in from a 24 mile training run in Central Park this morning. Make that a brutal 24 mile training run. I. Am. Pooped.

Filed under: central park, olympics, training | 3 Comments »

How to watch the Olympics live

Posted on August 16, 2008 by threlkeld

I give up on NBC for track and field. So can you!

Here’s how to watch a live stream of Olympic action from Denmark:
http://www.racingsnailclub.com/

There’s also information about how to get the BBC stream and highlight video. One thing (warning? tip?): There’s hardcore porn just one menu item away on the Danish site. 😉 Ah, Europe.

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Track and field coverage has started. Let the outrage begin.

Posted on August 16, 2008 by threlkeld

I just watched eight minutes of the women’s 10,000m final: The first five minutes and the final three minutes. NBC cut out over 20 minutes of the race for commercials and shotput. And now, I’m watching coverage of the men’s racewalking event, to which NBC is devoting more broadcast time. That’s right: racewalking.

What the hell is wrong with NBC? Can even the most dedicated T&F fan name one champion racewalker?

Since I didn’t actually get to see the 10,000m event, I have no idea what happened between minute 6 and minute 30. I couldn’t even tell if runners like Goucher, Kiplagat, Wangui and Smith were still running, or where anyone was in terms of laps by the time they cut back to the race.

This really steams my rice. I’m dreading the marathon coverage; we’ll probably get 10 minutes tops.

Here’s what’s wrong with most coverage of middle and long distance track and field events: The emphasis is always on the finish. Broadcasters don’t understand that the real drama is oftentimes not played out exclusively (if at all) at the end; it happens sometime earlier in the race, often much earlier. It’s bad enough that broadcasters are obsessed with sprint events, willing to show every 10 minute delay due to false starts. But to make things worse, they apply the same sensibility to the longer events, calling them like horse races and failing to present the whole story from a wider perspective.

If anyone knows of a video feed that shows the entire event (and other Olympic running events, for that matter), please comment.

Grr.

Anyway, I’m glad Flanagan won the Bronze. She’s in good (and extremely limited) company with the great Lynn Jennings. And, like Tirunesh Dibaba, she’s only getting faster. Maybe I need to get food poisoning more often.

Filed under: elites, olympics | 4 Comments »

New York Times’ Olympics Tracker

Posted on August 14, 2008 by threlkeld

The NYTimes has put out a snazzy little interactive Olympic events calendar. You can use it online or download it as an application to your Windows or Mac desktop. Whether you’re into dressage, Greco-Roman wrestling or hurdling, you’ll know exactly when your favorite events are on. Get it here.

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Olympic announcers announced

Posted on August 10, 2008 by threlkeld

Perhaps more important than the athletic start lists: The Olympic announcers list. Unless you can tap into the Canadian broadcast, these are the people who will determine the quality of your Olympic viewing experience in the coming two weeks.

The bad news is that Al Trautwig is back. The good news is that we’ll be spared Larry Rawson’s rambling incoherence and occasional racist or sexist howlers.

And do they really need three people to cover racewalking? The entire Tour de France only needed two guys.

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Olympiagasm!

Posted on August 9, 2008 by threlkeld

Holy fucking shit. I’m watching the opening ceremony for the Beijing games.

There are people running upside down around a giant globe right now. The world’s largest LED screen painted itself with dancers, then peeled up and flew into the sky. Human beings performed perfectly synchronized squats to render undulating waves of printing blocks.

This is breathtaking. Jawdropping. Demented.

Yes, this makes Cirque du Soleil look like an afternoon at the DMV.

Zhang Yimou will always have work after this. And Canada and the UK are wondering how they’ll top this in a few years…

And the best part? This lavish extravaganza is was probably covered by a week or so’s worth of interest on our enormous national debt, $500 billion of which is owned by China.

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What not to wear

Posted on August 8, 2008 by threlkeld

More from preracejitters on countries’ Olympic uniforms.

Let’s see: The Germany uniforms look like stylish athletic uniforms. Check. The Australians look like a bunch of flight attendants. Check. New Zealand’s uniforms look like what I grab out of my running clothes drawer (or maybe even the laundry bag) in the dark at 5:30 in the morning. Check. And..wait a minute…who knew Canadians could be so ballsy?!

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Radcliffe’s a scrapper

Posted on August 6, 2008 by threlkeld

The world’s fastest woman in the marathon distance has recently dealt with:

  • A stress fracture
  • A toe injury
  • Hip troubles
  • A nasty spider bite

But she’s still going to run.

But can she win?

It’s the Olympics. Anything can happen.

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A man and his dog

Posted on August 1, 2008 by threlkeld

Bernard Lagat is about the only guy in the world who could bring his dog along for track work and not annoy me. Also note that she’s actually faster than her master. And she sticks to her own lane, which makes her smarter than the people I share the Bronxville track with.

Meet Ms. Piggy

Filed under: elites, olympics, westchester | 1 Comment »

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