Brussels Golden League

Pisco Sour

Read this from the BBC Website:

Gelete Burka of Ethiopia is set to go for the record in the rarely run 2,000m and a quartet of Kenyan men are aiming for an even quirkier record in the 4x1500m relay.

Could Sonia's 15 year old World Record be about to go? 5.25 will be a tough time to beat in fairness. That converts to 3.55 for a 1500m on those pace calculator things.

the_real_lamp

Start Lists are up too:http://www.sport.be/belgacommemorialvandamme/2009/eng/startlist/

Hession is drawn in lane four and bolt in five.

Pherekydes

I can't see Sonia's record going. According to the IAAF's points tables it's worth sub 3:54 for 1500m, 8:18 for 3000m and 14:16 for 5000m. Burka is very good, but she has to get the pacing exactly right to break it. i.e. 4:04 for 1500m and then keep going at the same pace for another 500m.

4x1500m looks interesting. Will those entered have strong teams out?

Pisco Sour

Pherekydes wrote: »

I can't see Sonia's record going. According to the IAAF's points tables it's worth sub 3:54 for 1500m, 8:18 for 3000m and 14:16 for 5000m. Burka is very good, but she has to get the pacing exactly right to break it. i.e. 4:04 for 1500m and then keep going at the same pace for another 500m.

4x1500m looks interesting. Will those entered have strong teams out?

Have you got a link to that?

McMillan Pace Calculator says that its equivalent to only 3.58

Pherekydes

04072511 wrote: »

Have you got a link to that?

McMillan Pace Calculator says that its equivalent to only 3.58

IAAF scoring tables

RoyMcC

Pherekydes wrote: »

4x1500m looks interesting. Will those entered have strong teams out?

Andy Baddeley says the Brits are going for a NR - 14:56.8 set in 1979 :eek: Don't know who's running though.

I would have thought Ireland could have put out a decent quartet.

Pisco Sour

That IAAF Table has sonia's record as 1220 points which is the same as 3.58.2 for 1500m, 4.16 for the Mile and 1.56 for 800m. So Burka would be well capable of beating it

Pherekydes

04072511 wrote: »

That IAAF Table has sonia's record as 1220 points which is the same as 3.58.2 for 1500m, 4.16 for the Mile and 1.56 for 800m. So Burka would be well capable of beating it

Yeah, I was looking up my (outdated) 2001 edition of the scoring tables. They've revised them substantially. Looks more accurate to me. Sonia's 1500m PB is 3:58.8, which matches well with 5:25.

Burka's PB is 3:58.8, so she'll have to get the pacing perfect to get the record. I still say she doesn't. :pac:

Pherekydes

This is on Eurosport at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

VR46

RoyMcC wrote: »

Andy Baddeley says the Brits are going for a NR - 14:56.8 set in 1979 :eek: Don't know who's running though.

I would have thought Ireland could have put out a decent quartet.

15minutes is only 4.45 splits!! jaysus i'd nearly do that myself:p
Still doubt we could get 4 irish lads running it though.

Rineanna

VR46 wrote: »

15minutes is only 4.45 splits!! jaysus i'd nearly do that myself:p
Still doubt we could get 4 irish lads running it though.

On paper, David Campbell/Chamney/Cragg and an in form Reale would put up a decent showing. Not near the top but not an altogether terrible team either. But obviously that's not happening for several reasons.

Pherekydes

VR46 wrote: »

15minutes is only 4.45 splits!! jaysus i'd nearly do that myself:p

3:45 splits.

Racing Flat

Some great races there.

Do the Goal quartet still hold the 4 x 1mile record?

thirtyfoot

Racing Flat wrote: »

Some great races there.

Do the Goal quartet still hold the 4 x 1mile record?

I think so. I still remember that record. I ran in a juvenile relay at the same meet. We won too but didn't set a record! Was a great team, John Treacy was on the B team that day! Coghlan, O' Sullivan, O' Mara and Flynn. Coghlan wasn't 100% at the time too so could have been faster.

I also remember they had a pursuit style cycle race on the track. Kelly vs Roche around the tartan in Belfield. Roche was hammering Kelly and well up until maybe 2/3 laps to go. Kelly turned it on and ended up closing the gap and winning easy. The speed on the tartan in those last few laps was scary.

Attending that event sold me on athletics for life I think even though I was young.

Clum

Interview with Flynn and video of the relay on runningmasters blogspot.

Pherekydes

O'Rourke 5th in 13.08

Gillick 4th in 45.73, Wariner won in 44.94.

Hession 5th, Bolt 19.57 - stunning running.

Also, Sanya Richards clocked 48.83 to thrash the rest.

The Kenyans clocked a WR 14:36.23 in the 4x1500m, an average of 3:39.06.

Racing Flat

Pherekydes wrote: »

Also, Sanya Richards clocked 48.83 to thrash the rest.

Best technical piece of running since Johnson's 19.32? She looked amazing, seemed to be constantly accelerating, at will, at ease...

Pherekydes

Here goes Burka...

...and that's a big NO. Sonia reigns supreme. At least at 2000m.

Racing Flat

Sonia the Great

Kiptanui

Sonia's record survives the Ethiopian assault!! Fair play to her, delighted the record of Irelands greatest ever sports person remains untouched!!:D

Racing Flat

Commentator said Diamond League's going to be much bigger - anyone know about it?

ChickenTikka

Racing Flat wrote: »

Commentator said Diamond League's going to be much bigger - anyone know about it?

From: http://www.iaaf.org/GLE09/news/newsid=54192.html

"The winds of change are also sweeping across the face of one-day athletics. The entirely European based IAAF Golden League which began in 1998 and which now has ÅF, the Swedish technical consulting group as its title sponsor closes its twelfth and final season in the Belgian capital tomorrow. Next year the premier rung of the international one-day circuit is reborn as the IAAF Diamond League, a 14 meet tour stretching across the globe from Asia, to America to Europe, with Brussels sharing the status as a joint Diamond League final with Zürich."

polyfusion

These one-day meets are great viewing, managed to pick it up on the free Eurosport on 19E and the RAI sport channel on 13E.

I notice from schedules that BBC 2 have a bit of coverage next Sat (6:00-7:30) and Sun (5:30-7:30), and on Eurosport just on the Sunday (5:45-7:30) for the World Athletcs Final. Is most of the action likely to be during these times, or might there be some other broadcaster with more comprehensive coverage?

RoyMcC

New WR by Kenya and a new British NR in the 4 x 1500m. From the BBC

A team from Kenya broke the world record in the rarely run 4 x 1,500m relay with a time of 14 minutes 36 seconds. The time was almost two seconds better than the previous best set by a West German team in 1977.
An England quartet of Andy Baddeley, Ricky Stevenson, Nick McCormick and Mark Draper smashed the 30-year-old UK 4x1,500m relay record in finishing fifth in 14:54.57 to erase the previous mark by two seconds.

ecoli

An interesting note Matt Tekenkamp became the second white american to break 13 in the past eight days

Rineanna

David Campbell ran the anchor leg for the mixed team that finished second behind the WR setting Kenyans!