Sonia's Last Lap - Great documentary

Pisco Sour

I've just noticed that the whole documentary is on youtube. Very well made.

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLUr_8rZ1Qk

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9q9J3hiTG0

Part 3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNzZfQt6VWY

Part 4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVQCGHehn0

rom

Pisco Sour wrote: »

I've just noticed that the whole documentary is on youtube. Very well made.

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLUr_8rZ1Qk

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9q9J3hiTG0

Part 3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNzZfQt6VWY

Part 4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVQCGHehn0

Excellent. Has there ever been a doc done onMark Carroll ?

rom

Some more vids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lmygyLaAVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU3aFIlT3go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNjdJcyxgzA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpxhHsGzUU8

ecoli

Mod: Only catching up on this thread now (thinking it would be all nostalgia)

Speculation is prohibited and this thread has continually crossed the line big time,

<Thread closed>

Edit: Thread re-open but a zero tolerance on speculation. No warnings will be given

walshb

Sonia made it to the Athens Games and had a sub 15 qualifying time in the heat. What made her final run so poor? Mentions online she was suffering from an illness. Was this illness after the heat? I always remember that image of her being dominated and trailing so badly as something to forget.

Edit: Stomach illness 2 days pre final...

yaboya1

walshb wrote: »

Sonia made it to the Athens Games and had a sub 15 qualifying time in the heat. What made her final run so poor? Mentions online she was suffering from an illness. Was this illness after the heat? I always remember that image of her being dominated and trailing so badly as something to forget.

I think I remember it was something to do with food poisoning. Or was that another race?

walshb

yaboya1 wrote: »

I think I remember it was something to do with food poisoning. Or was that another race?

Yes, according to reports it was a stomach complaint that her hubby felt should have ruled her out of the final.

It takes a video like the one posted to really get a feel for her talent and success. Her range was awesome!

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

Yes, according to reports it was a stomach complaint that her hubby felt should have ruled her out of the final.

It takes a video like the one posted to really get a feel for her talent and success. Her range was awesome!

Yeh she was clearly sick on that day.

Paris 2003 was a very odd one though. She looked superb in the heat, MUCH better than in the heat in Athens the next year. She looked like a legit medal chance. Then in the final she runs close to a minute slower and comes last. She didn't appear ill. I have til this day, still never heard an explanation for why she ran so poorly in that World final.

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

Yeh she was clearly sick on that day.

Paris 2003 was a very odd one though. She looked superb in the heat, MUCH better than in the heat in Athens the next year. She looked like a legit medal chance. Then in the final she runs close to a minute slower and comes last. She didn't appear ill. I have til this day, still never heard an explanation for why she ran so poorly in that World final.

I didn't realize that. It is quite odd. Is it a case that elite athletes can be very fragile. The slightest incident or niggle can derail them? Did the 5k heat in 2003 juts drain her? Even though she looked ok.

The 1996 Olympics debacle was sort of glossed over. Who let Sonia down? The biggest stage of her life and just before the race she is made change out of her kit. That really was the end of her race. She went to the start line mentally broken. Surely these matters should have been dealt with by her team? Or was it a case of her digging her heels in and not taking advice on board?

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

I didn't realize that. It is quite odd. Is it a case that elite athletes can be very fragile. The slightest incident or niggle can derail them? Did the 5k heat in 2003 juts drain her? Even though she looked ok.

The 1996 Olympics debacle was sort of glossed over. Who let Sonia down? The biggest stage of her life and just before the race she is made change out of her kit. That really was the end of her race. She went to the start line mentally broken. Surely these matters should have been dealt with by her team? Or was it a case of her digging her heels in and not taking advice on board?

Nah, all that was secondary. In her book I recall her saying that she overtrained. Tried to be way better than everyone else, rather than a little bit better than everyone else. Some blame the Chinese experience in 93 for pushing her to train to the level she did in 94-96. It produced sensational results in 94-95, but seemed to catch up with her in 96. Even before Atlanta she wasn't as dominant as she had been the previous 2 years, even though she was the favourite entering the olympics.

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

Nah, all that was secondary. In her book I recall her saying that she overtrained. Tried to be way better than everyone else, rather than a little bit better than everyone else. Some blame the Chinese experience in 93 for pushing her to train to the level she did in 94-96. It produced sensational results in 94-95, but seemed to catch up with her in 96. Even before Atlanta she wasn't as dominant as she had been the previous 2 years, even though she was the favourite entering the olympics.

She won her heat in '96. Do you recall how she looked? Then the final she had a melt down. Do you believe it was more a physical issue or mental? Be interesting to hear views. Just forgot, she did have cramps. But could they have been brought on, or exacerbated by her possible fragile mental state that resulted from the kit issue? To compare it with Radcliffe in 2004, which seemed to be primarily a physical/heat issue.

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

She won her heat in '96. Do you recall how she looked? Then the final she had a melt down. Do you believe it was more a physical issue or mental? Be interesting to hear views. Just forgot, she did have cramps. But could they have been brought on, or exacerbated by her possible fragile mental state that resulted from the kit issue? To compare it with Radcliffe in 2004, which seemed to be primarily a physical/heat issue.

Read her book. She said she felt awful in her heat and that it was all an act to the media after that she felt comfortable.

walshb

I always take what sports star says after a defeat or poor performance with a pinch of salt. Not saying Sonia was telling porkies, but it's kind of natural to want to look for excuses for a real poor show. Anyway, fantastic Irish Athlete. For me the best female athlete we have ever produced.

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

I always take what sports star says after a defeat or poor performance with a pinch of salt. Not saying Sonia was telling porkies, but it's kind of natural to want to look for excuses for a real poor show. Anyway, fantastic Irish Athlete. For me the best female athlete we have ever produced.

Eh.. she said all this in her book, about 13 years later!!

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

Eh.. she said all this in her book, about 13 years later!!

The time she said it isn't relevant for me. I mentioned after a defeat. Never mentioned a time after defeat. Given the fact then that it took her 13 years to mention this, well..... As I said, I am not saying she is telling porkies. Just my own view as regards sports stars who explain why they performed poorly.

ultrapercy

walshb wrote: »

I always take what sports star says after a defeat or poor performance with a pinch of salt. Not saying Sonia was telling porkies, but it's kind of natural to want to look for excuses for a real poor show. Anyway, fantastic Irish Athlete. For me the best female athlete we have ever produced.

Id need a Siberian salt mine to read your posts.

rom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC9xOkwtioM

20 years ago 2000m WR still stands.