Athletics 2023

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121503230#Comment_121503230

This isn't the first time you have started shouting "sexism" in this thread, I suspect most couldn't be bothered with your latest fight.

For myself I think they picked the nominees the same way they always did, just pulled a few obvious names out of a hat and then went on with their lives.

Runster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121503368#Comment_121503368

And yourself and the other hairy aul fella knows it.mind your own business and stick to whining about Dublin marathon

Runster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495647#Comment_121495647

How do internal testicles help a runner?

Hamachi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121503856#Comment_121503856

Did they cover biology in your junior cert cycle by any chance?

Runster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121503911#Comment_121503911

You obviously didn't, testosterone would help a runner but internal testicles is reaching isn't it

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495863#Comment_121495863

Trying to explain away the unfairness of Sharp having to run against intersex athletes by referring to prior performances long before she hit her peak is.. really not the defense you think it is. And in any case, this conversation was originally about the Rio final. How do you explain that one away? In what world or circumstance is it fair or reasonable that Melissa Bishop, Lynsey Sharp and Joanna Jozwik, and indeed anyone else that Semenya, Niyonsaba and Wambui eliminated from the heats and semi-finals, were forced to run the biggest race of their lives against intersex athletes? And how is Sharp in the wrong for actually speaking out about it? The Semenya holdouts are an odd bunch, absolute stupidity of the highest order.

Musicrules

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121504953#Comment_121504953

She got knocked out in the early rounds of major championships before and after Rio. Who is she blaming for that? The intersex athletes were even banned we she failed in the 2019 World championships.

If the 3 intersex athletes weren't in Rio, it doesn't automatically mean Sharp would have won a medal. This has already been explained to you. As I said, Sharp can only blame herself if she feels she didn't get the best out of her career. Winners don't look for excuses.

Cosmo Kramer

Sharp has always been a major championship loser, with a convenient excuse to go with every failure. She's no loss at all to the sport. If she was good enough, she'd have won major global medals at some point, and then maybe we wouldn't have had to listen to her constant whinging.

Tombo2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121503230#Comment_121503230

They are 100% concious of gender balance. They can not have a situation where its 6 white guys.

Having said that though, I am guessing there is an implicit gender barrier in that the term 'personality' will support sports that are the most popular; and the most popular sports are those that have traditionally been popular with men.

Hence - England's women team gets to final of a soccer world cup; its a big deal and the goalie gets a SPOTY nomination. Englands women's team gets to final of netball world cup; media/ sporting public doesnt care and would probably never get a SPOTY nomination. In sporting terms, is it any less of an achievement? Probably not. Netball participation would not be far off womens soccer participation in the UK.

Runster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509290#Comment_121509290

Its refreshing to be able to respond to a poster who is very eloquent with their thoughts.

I think it depends on what way you look at it. For example I saw loads of men giving out about Kerr not being nominated and saying women are shite at football and its box ticking and making up numbers.

The thing is though that I actually dont follow womens football and I only really know about mens football because my dad played league of Ireland football.

But I even heard of Mary Earp since the womens team did far better than the male team have done for years and she was trending everywhere after winning goalkeeper of the tournament. So I would say she earned that nomination fair and square.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson also earned her nomination coming back from such a terrible injury the way she did.

I do agree with you that there is a certain element of balancing things out which is proper order if the athlete deserves it.

A few from every popular sport or trending sport outcome and ensuring that there is a broad range being represented.

At the end of the day its about money and visibility; if you want to make a sport more competitive, exciting and enjoyable then you need to support the players.

I still think AI and algorithms are probably feeding this info back to the panel and these algorithms are based on public perception through popular trends.

Tombo2001

Well the thing is you heard of Mary Earps because she was in the media so much.

A big part of the reason she was in the media was because of that issue around her jersey; that Nike hadnt made a Mary Earps jersey, and if it was the mens team they would have done it, and all the girls who wanted a Mary Earps jersey and couldnt get one. I dont know if these sort of stories really boost or help womens sport - too often, the sports pages will have a big article about how girls/ women are hard done by in sport, while nearly all the other articles are about mens sport. (Irish Times are divils for this).

What are the sports that are equally or more popular with girls than boys in Ireland - gymnastics, Irish dancing (which is as demanding as any sport), tennis, swimming. We dont really know the names of any athletes in these sports. They arent covered. Athletics probably the exception here, due to Ciara Mageean, Rhasidat, Fionnuala etc; and due to the regular media coverage it gets.

Other than that, the most well known female sportstars here tend to be the ones that are big in things like football, gaa, boxing obviously - the ones that are traditionally male dominated. Because thats what the press writes about.

A big part of this however is that women dont 'consume' sport; they dont attend sporting events as spectators, and in particular they dont attend female teams/ sports. Not nearly to the same extent as men.

Runster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121509923#Comment_121509923

No, I didnt hear of Earp because of the jersey episode. I heard of her because she was trending in the British media due to England progressing through the heats and I happen to tune into British media more so than irish. I did however hear about the jersey episode as well. I would read sports sections and gossip columns.

With regards to the game attendance that fits in with what I said earlier. If theres more money put into the sport and the players then the game becomes more competitive and then more popular. Male league of Ireland is even an example of that.

Things are progressing though traditional sports that are unpopular now will never become popular. They'll just have their niche.

Runster

Mary Earps wins Spoty.

Hamachi

Laura Muir ran 8:34 over 3000m in Cardiff last weekend. She had a rabbit for the first km and soloed the final two.

This secured qualification for the world indoors in the spring. She is planning a ‘short and sharp’ indoor season, culminating in Glasgow.

8:34 is a very impressive time to churn out before Christmas. I have no doubt she will medal at world indoors and looks to be very sharp going into Olympic year. Ciara Mageean will need to keep an eye on her for sure.

Runster

This is an interesting video on Sifan with more to follow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDzE0TFIQLU

Lazare

Ciara just ran a parkrun WR (15:11) at Belfast Victoria 🔥

Jakey Rolling

I was there, just passing through, must admit I didn't that clock that it was her passed me out half way round the 2nd lap. Strong headwind on the outward section (corresponding tailwind on the finishing straight) she did well to manage a PB in that.

Jakey Rolling

^ well, she did have a phalanx of lads with her,would have helped lessen the impact of headwind somewhat.

Runster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121530060#Comment_121530060

Ah now Ciaras a tall lass, most Irish lads are only about 5'4" and skinny at that.

Hamachi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121528982#Comment_121528982

That is a promising result. It demonstrates unprecedented endurance.

Hopefully, she attacks Mary Cullen’s indoor 3000m national record this winter/spring. It’s well within her capability to significantly lower it down to the 8:3x range.

Ceepo

Great to see Sean Tobin hitting form again. He was only one second of his National 4 mile record today in Clonmel running 17.46. With Peter Lynch hot in his heals in 17.59.

The women's race was also a cracker with Shona Heaslip and Annmarie McGlynn both give the same time of 20.46 which was a new course record

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121505405#Comment_121505405

Only just saw this post now. Curiously, you avoided my question, so I'll try again. How can it be deemed fair or reasonable that Sharp, Bishop, Jozwik and Kate Grace were forced to run the biggest race of their lives (an opportunity that none of them got again for various reasons) against people with male levels of testosterone? And how is Sharp in the wrong for calling out the farcical situation for what it was? Can you clarify how you deem that situation fair or reasonable?

Again, referring to prior performances before she hit her peak is irrelevant. She peaked at Rio 2016 - at the Olympic games - yet had had no chance to medal due to the ludicrous situation that she and the other athletes found themselves in. It doesn't matter if an athlete peaks for a couple of years early in their career, later in their career or enjoys a long successful period for most of their career, everyone should get to the start line with an equal shot. Lynsey Sharp, amongst others, did not have this in Rio. What's not clear about this?

Yes we know that she wasn't guaranteed a medal if the three intersex weren't on the start line. However, she ran 1:57 and finished 3rd of the 5 biological women on the start line, even managing to outrun the Belarusian doper. So yes she wasn't guaranteed a medal, but using the evidence we do have it's a high probability she would have won one, and thus she was rightfully aggrieved when she ultimately had no chance due to the unequal playing field. All things considered, how is it Lynsey Sharp, one of the many women who was wronged in this situation, who's in the wrong for speaking out? Really didn't think that seven years later anyone, bar maybe some patriotic South African's, could still be in such denial about the situation, but here we are.

yerwanthere123

New thread for 2024!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058329017/athletics-2024

Ceepo

Another world record falls on the last day of 2023. Beatrice Chebet broke the 5k road record in Barcelona running 14.13, taking 6 seconds of the previous record. Former record holder Ejegayehu Taye finished 2nd in 14.21.