British Athletics

[Craig]

At my school they picked the Athletics team from the compulsory carnivals so the people that finished top 3 in an event would end up having to do aths on top of another sport. I'm like a greyhound, I need the rabbit (or pigs hide as the case maybe) to chase around. I can't get motivated to just run in straight lines.

Sounds like me.

In my final year of high school I lined up for 5000m final, yet I only had one other person to compete against, and sure enough he couldn't be stuffed (apart from getting out of class perhaps) so I jogged it and ran in a very slow time of 26 minutes something.

So because of my "win" I got sent along to the regional athletics carnival and had to do it in the pouring freezing rain. At least it got me out of school for the day.

 

[Matteh]

Welcome to the world of professional cycling then. It is exactly that.

I find the whole thing funny, Lance Armstrong gets accused of taking drugs, and he has never been proven to have done so, yet Jacques Anquetil (first gut to the win Tour de France 5 times in the 50s and 60s)) openly admitted to taking drugs in his career, and nobody seemed to care, yet an American wins and he is suddenly a doper. Even Richard Virenque was and still is a national hero and he got busted as well.

Interesting comment by David Millar after he won the TT on the Vuelta. He said it felt so much better to win without the drugs. Also shows he didn't need them in the first place. Whereas Landis obviously couldn't face defeat...

 

[steds]

How many kids in your school Stedsy?

Approximately 300 per year. More girls than lads in my year, so that's about a third of the boys in my year - only about 8 of whom could actually play decently - fighting for 13 places, with the rest being football fans, emos, bagheads or me.

 

[KennyD]

Sounds like me.

In my final year of high school I lined up for 5000m final, yet I only had one other person to compete against, and sure enough he couldn't be stuffed (apart from getting out of class perhaps) so I jogged it and ran in a very slow time of 26 minutes something.

So because of my "win" I got sent along to the regional athletics carnival and had to do it in the pouring freezing rain. At least it got me out of school for the day.

And then was racing kids who were running it in about 15:30.

What school did you go to Craigos?

 

[BoyBrumby]

The drugs do work....

....allegedly.

Britain's very own Christine Ohuruogu*, recently returned from a one year ban for missing three out-of-competition dope tests, has won the 400m gold in the World Athletics championships with her team-mate, Nicola Sanders taking the silver! Trebled our medal tally at a stroke! From the BBC.

*I'd just like to add, for legal reasons, that there's no suggestion that Ms Ohuruogu actually took drugs of any shape or form.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Some tongue-twister, that name.

(and call me naive, but I'm more likely to believe Sanders is on drugs. After all, she lacks the genetics to become a good runner. )

 

[aussie]

It was just an example. I can't see Athletics being as popular as football in the cities.

Word, but your race and background would play a part too i think. Hardly any white people take running seriously these days they are more for football, cricket & Union. Athletic interest is found more in African/Mixed raced people like myself who probably have a West Indian or African background.

 

[Matteh]

Thought you had an Australian background too?

 

[Scaly piscine]

Thought you had an Australian background too?

Yea, he pretty much has a background to cover every top nationality in each sport, plus an English background for when he gets bored of cheering on the winners.

 

[Matteh]

Haha, i set it up, you smashed it out the park.

 

[Johnners]

Some tongue-twister, that name.

(and call me naive, but I'm more likely to believe Sanders is on drugs. After all, she lacks the genetics to become a good runner. )

Hahaha, you make a fair point though

Hopefully Jana Rawlingson can put even more doubt into your mind tonight when she goes for Gold in the hurdles

 

[Scaly piscine]

Anyway getting back to the original rant in this thread, still some serious attitude problems with our lot. Like Chris Tomlinson who thought he could take it easy and didn't bother to qualify and some runner who thought that she deserved to be in the final after she didn't run quick enough.

They should be waving goodbye to their funding til they earn it back. It also irritates me when athletes go on about how they've had a good season when they've just flopped at the one event that people give a toss about.

 

[steds]

Nicola Sanders rox me sox. Needs to go see an orthodontist, though.

 

[Bronte]

Same here. At my school it was football, Union, cricket and then athletics in order of popularity.

IMO in England a sport becomes popular immediately an Englishman (or woman) begins to excell at this sport,ie Formula 1 is rapidly shooting up the scale due to the success of Hamilton, and Rowing is on the rise because of recent results,as is cycling...I also remember Cricket wasquite down in the dumps until you won the 2005 ashes,suddenly it was as popular as football (for16 months) until the 2007 tests

 

[steds]

Rowing is on the rise because of recent results,as is cycling

Hahaha. Are they hell.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Hahaha. Are they hell.

Yeah, quite. Unless one's actually lived in England it's pretty hard to articulate the dominance of football (the association kind) in our sports coverage.

Like today for instance. It's England's first game in the union world cup & we play the decider of an ODI tournament, but the first 7 pages of The Guardian's sports section are still dedicated to football (although Los Pumas win gets a mention and pic on page 1).

Rowing (just after world champs) & cycling don't rate any coverage at all.

 

[aussie]

Thought you had an Australian background too?

yep, a bit or japanese n turkish too. I'm full of surprises yo

Yea, he pretty much has a background to cover every top nationality in each sport, plus an English background for when he gets bored of cheering on the winners.

give it a rest nigga..

 

[Pup Clarke]

nigga

 

[Perm]

Lol @ aussie. Gangsta ****.

 

[Pup Clarke]

And it's appropriate?