As I have currently started running again, it is time to remember the back at the old days where I my pace was more often anaerobic than aerobic. My speed of today is most often 5 min pr. km, but hopefully getting closer to 4 min pr. km as I earn some more milage.

Looking back at my days of glory, where I easily did 60 sec on the 400 and every hour of training was spent with spikes, it is a bit sad to see that I have totally lacked motivation for the last 10 years.

Now it feels like something is missing if I don´t run every other day.

PBs of old:

100m: 11:21
200m: 22:41
400m: 49:25
800m: 1:56:5

There is of course a great disadvantage in beeing used to high speed; I can´t get enough of it. If my pace is not sub 5 min pr. km it feels like I have not been running, and I get disappointed in myself as my pace is currently not under 4 min pr. km in a 5 km run.

That is now. Change will come. Soon.

Following a post on a colleague’s blog debating the sporting icon of the decade - I thought it was time I stuck my oar in.

For me it is unquestionably the one and only Usain Bolt.  He has that X-Factor no other sportsperson on the planet possesses.

He has done more in the last two years than anyone else (certainly that I can think of)  has done in this decade.  No-one else has cleaned up and dominated their respective sports the way that has Bolt has in Althletics.

Also, we are talking sporting icons.  Not necessarily the best although quite clearly Bolt is, but someone who stands out above the rest for not only their abilities but simply the way they are.

Muhammad Ali is quite clearly a sporting icon and is synonymous with boxing.  Jonah Lomu and what he did in Rugby before his health problems is another.

With his charisma and confidence Usain Bolt is a sporting icon of the highest order.

Ok, Bolt only really burst on the scene in 2008 and is only in the early years of his career.  But in the last two years the 23 year old has totally blown away all competition.  Any race he is in seems to be a foregone conclusion and this is a sport where sprinters are said to peak in their early thirties.

Bolt announced himself to the athletics world in 2002 when he became the youngest gold-medal winner in the history of the Junior World Championships. At just 15-years-old he recorded a 20.61 sec 200m effort.

Then in 2008, Bolt truly hit global superstardom at the Beijing Olympics.  He became a three time Olympic Gold Medallist, winning and breaking the record in the 100m, 200m and as part of the Jamaican 4×100m.

Bolt then followed this feat up in 2009, at the Berlin World Championships, where he beat his own World Records and became the first man to hold the World and Olympic 100m and 200m titles.

He was also named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Sportsman of the year for 2009 and joins the likes of Rodger Federer, Tiger Woods, Michael Schumacher and Lance Armstrong in winning that acolade.

But it is not just Bolt’s track success.  It is the way he wins with ease, on many occasions he has jogged and show-boated the last few metres, the confidence and care freeness he exuberates before races, and of course the Usain Bolt stance.  He is not part of a team (well apart from in the 4×100m).  He is on his own, all his achievments are his not a teams.

Usain Bolt is synonymous with both Athletics and Sport, and this is why I believe he is th­­e sporting ­­­­­­­icon of the noughties and potentially our generation.

Bolt’s World Records.

Usain Bolt tribute

The other contenders:

Roger Federer

Ryan Giggs

Zinedine Zidane

Lance Armstrong

Michael Schumacher

Shane Warne

Steven Gerrard

David Beckham

To join the debate just link your blog to this or one of the other contributors sites

4 x 100m, recover 3 minutes between rounds

Then, recover as needed and run 2 miles

Post times for each 100m run and the 2 mile run in comments.

The federal government will contribute up to $200 million in infrastructure funding to Toronto, a large chunk of which will be spent on upgrades to the city’s transit system and water mains.

“These important investments will help Toronto build modern public infrastructure that will support job creation and enhance economic stability and growth not just in the city of Toronto but across the Greater Toronto Area and across Ontario,” Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Friday morning, lauding the projects for being “shovel ready.”

“Today’s announcement reaffirms our partnership with Toronto to emerge strong from these tough economic times,” he said, flanked by Transport Minister John Baird and Mayor David Miller at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.

The money comes in response to the city’s request for stimulus funds for about 500 infrastructure projects. The city and Ottawa will now spend a total of $600 million on the projects, Flaherty said.

“I could get used to this,” said Mayor Miller, who said the federal support was coming at a time when it “is needed most” by the city.

“These investments will be used to put people in Toronto and Ontario to work, and to build the public infrastructure needed to enable future growth and prosperity.”

Miller said the infrastructure funding will help protect or create nearly 7,000 jobs over the next two years.

A total of $170 million will go toward updating Toronto’s water infrastructure, specifically for basement flooding relief, replacing lead pipes in older homes and water-main replacement projects, Miller said.

The single most expensive project is expected to be fixes to cracks in the Coxwell Sanitary Trunk Sewer, a major pipe that carries away waste from 750,000 residents on either side of the Don River. The repairs are billed at $40 million.

The TTC will receive $183 million “to upgrade system security and safety.” A number of TTC stations will be modernized, including :

Dufferin.Warden.Victoria Park.

Around $30 million will go toward resurfacing and upgrading roads, while $10 million will be spent on parks and recreation projects.

Stringent federal criteria

The federal government had earmarked about $4 billion in stimulus spending on infrastructure projects countrywide as part of the January budget.

Miller had originally requested $300 million of stimulus funding for new streetcars.

The federal government, however, said this summer that proposal did not meet eligibility criteria because the project wasn’t “shovel ready,” wouldn’t create local jobs or be completed by the deadline of 2011.

Toronto city council then approved an emergency transit-funding plan on Friday to provide an extra $417 million to secure a streetcar contract with Bombardier by deferring some capital spending projects until 2018.

Toronto ended up buying 204 streetcars from Bombardier, at a cost of $1.2 billion.

Hard times not over for Ontario municipalities: economistStimulus money solicited quietly despite disclosure rule

El tiempo esta vez acompañó

Este fin de semana se disputaba en el embalse de Verducido (Pontevedra) el Campeonato de España de Senior de Pista, prueba que pone el punto y final a las competiciones nacionales en línea.

El Club Kayak Tudense ha sido el gran protagonista dominando la competición doblando en puntos al segundo clasificado y consiguiendo un total de 15 metales. El Club Actividades Deportivas Zamora era 2º consiguiendo 12 preseas, mientras que el 3º puesto del cajón era para el Breogán de O’Grove, que se llevaba 5 medallas.

A título individual, destacar la actuación en kayak de Javier Hernanz, que conseguía el triunfo en K-1 en las distancias de 1000m y 500m, así como José Luis Bouza que hacía lo propio en C-1. En C-2 Tono Campos y José Manuel Sánchez dominaban también las 2 distancias, lo mismo que el K-4 femenino del Kayak Tudense.

Podéis ver los resultados del sábado (1000m y 500m) y del domingo (200m).

Como ya saben, no nos es posible utilizar los drivers propietarios de ATI (fglrx) en nuestro prehistórico Dell Inspiron 1501 o nuestras vetustas (?) tarjetas de video^[1], ni siquiera con la salida de los últimos drivers con soporte para Ubuntu 9.04. Por suerte, gracias al comentario que dejó Abel O’Ryan, me fue posible compilar los últimos drivers libres de ATI con una mejora nada despreciable de 600 fps (de ~200 a ~800), según leí, a algunos superó los 1000!.

Por cierto, meter manos aquí puede ser peligroso, en el sentido que no sería raro que se pudiera caer todo el servidor gráfico, por lo que si no estás acostumbrado a trabajar con la terminal para reparar el xorg.conf, te recomendaría que tuvieras cuidado. De todas formas es sólo una advertencia y realmente no tendría por qué pasar si lo haces con cuidado. Bueno, dejo de aburrirte y pongamos manos a la obra:

Entonces lo primero será revisar que tengamos los repositorios correctamente configurados para ello:

• Gestor de paquetes Synaptic > Configuración > Repositorios > Tickear “fuente”
• Recargamos los repositorios y cerramos Synaptic

Ahora vamos a instalar los paquetes necesarios para la compilación:

• sudo apt-get install build-essential autoconf libxmu-dev libdrm-dev x11proto-dri2-dev pkg-config libxi-dev git-core pkg-config
• sudo apt-get build-dep mesa (sí, no va “install“)

Descargamos desde el git de radeon-rewrite los últimos drivers:

• git clone git://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/mesa/mesa (este paso puede tardarse bastante, especialmente cuando aparentemente termina el conteo)
• cd mesa
• git branch radeon-rewrite origin/radeon-rewrite
• git checkout radeon-rewrite

Ahora comenzamos con la compilación:

• ./autogen.sh --prefix=/usr --with-dri-drivers=radeon,r200,r300

Aquí viene un punto que es difícil de explicar, porque la variedad de errores es enorme, básicamente se trata de ausencia de algunos paquetes. Luego de que aparezca el error, lo que tienes que hacer es buscar el lib[paquete_ausente]-dev correspondiente en Synaptic. Suena raro, pero te voy a dar un ejemplo para que puedas guiarte:

checking for GLUT... configure: error: Package requirements (x11 xmu xi) were not met:

No package 'xi' found

Entonces vía Synaptic buscas el paquete libxi-dev lo instalas y ejecutas el comando nuevamente, si todo salió bien al final debería salir:

Run 'make' to build Mesa

Y como nosotros somos muy obedientes:

• make
• sudo make install

Puesto que estás en Jaunty y con nuestra añeja tarjeta, sólo bastaría reiniciar el entorno gráfico para comenzar a probar los nuevos drivers. Para asegurarte que esté todo bien configurado lo probamos con lo mismo de siempre:

~$ glxinfo | grep render
direct rendering: Yes
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI R300 (RS400 5975) 20090101 x86/MMX+/3DNow!+/SSE2 NO-TCL

~$ glxgears

Espero que te haya resultado útil y ya sabes, cualquier duda, comentario o reclamo felicitación a los comentarios!

PD.- Me encuentro trabajando en una pequeña sorpresa por eso no he escrito .

Fuentes:

• Aceleración ATI Xpress Radeon 200M Jaunty | Vía De todo un poco
• Xpress 200M problems… again | Vía Phoronix

^[1] O cualquier tarjeta que en el lspci indique un R2x,R3x,RS4x (no sé si las R5)

Pagājušā svētdienā, 23.augustā noslēdzās 12.Pasaules čempionāts vieglatlētikā, kurš norisinājās Berlīnē un ilga deviņas dienas.  Šajā rakstā atskatīšos uz Pasaules čempionāta veiksminiekiem un neveiksminiekiem, kā arī uz Latvijas sportistu startiem.

Berlīnes Olimpiskais stadions sportistus pārsteidza ar skrejceliņa neierasto krāsu, tas nebija, kā ierasts, sarkanā, bet gan zilā krāsā. Laikapstākļi visa čempionāta laikā bija izcili labi, Spīdēja saule un gaisa temperatūra bija virs +25 °C. Izņēmums bija piektdienas, 21.augusta vakars, kad sacensības uz laiku nācās pārtraukt stiprā lietus dēļ. Organizatoriskā ziņā, šis čemionāts tika sarīkots ļoti labi, jo, ja es teiktu, ka lieliski, tad es melotu, jo, piemēram, vairākas reizes dažu disciplīnu starta laika neatbilda organizatoru izplatītajam starta laiku plānam un tika grozīti.

Neapšaubāma līderi ASV sportisti, Baltijai viena medaļa

Mazliet par Pasaules čempionāta statistiku. 1.vietā, izcīnīto medaļu skaita ziņā, neapšaubāma līdere ir ASV ar 22 medaļām, tālāk ar 13 izcīnītām medaļām seko Jamaika un Krievija, bet 4.vietā ir Kenija ar 11 medaļām. Arī pēc izcīnīto zelta medaļu skaita 1.vietā ir ASV ar 10 zelta medaļām, 2.vietā ar 7 zelta medaļām ir Jamaika, bet 3.vietu dala Kenija un Krievija, kuru sportisti izcīnījuši pa 4 zelta medaļām.

Līdzīgi kā iepriekšējā Pasaules čempionātā, arī šoreiz Baltijas valstīm jāsamierinās tikai ar vienu medaļu, kuru, tāpat kā Osakā, Igaunijai izcīnīja diska metējs Gerds Kanters, tomēr atšķirībā no Pasaules čempionāta Osakā, tā šoreiz bija tikai bronzas medaļa, nevis zelta medaļa, kā iepriekšējā Pasaules čempionātā. Gan Latvijai, gan Lietuvai augstākais sasniegums šajā čempionātā bija 4.vieta. Latvijai tā bija Vasiļevska 4.vieta šķēpmešanā, bet Lietuvai – Virgīlija Aleknas 4.vieta diska mešanā. Sakritība, vai ne, bet abi šie sportisti arī iepriekšējā Pasaules čempionātā palika goda pledastāla pakājē, t.i, 4.vietā.

Veiksminieki

Kā lielākos šī Pasaules čempionāta veiksminiekus, vēlos izcelt etiopieti Kenenisu Bekeli, amerikānieti Sanju Ričardsu, polietes Anitu Vlodarčiku, barbadosieti Raienu Bratveitu un, protams, Useinu Boltu.

Kenenise Bekele šajā pasaules čempionātā kļuva par divkartēju Pasaules čempionu. Viņš triumfēja gan savā kroņa disciplīnā 10 000 metru skrējienā, gan 5 000 metru skrējienā. Ievērības cienīgs ir fakts, ka Bekele 12 reizes ir skrējis 10 000 metrus un visos 12 skrējienos ir triumfējis.

Sanju Ričardsu vēlos izcelt, jo, lai gan viņa 400 metru distancē ir dominējusi jau pēdējās trīs sezonas, līdz Pasaules čempionātam Berlīnē viņa nebija triumfējusi nevienās lielākajās sacensībās.

Anita Vlodarčika jāizceļ tādēļ, ka viņa vesera mešanā triumfēja ar jaunu pasaules rekordu – 77,96 metri, kas bija tikai trešais uzstādītais pasaules rekords Berīnē.

Barbadosieti Bratveitu jāizceļ tādēļ, ka neviens pirms čempionāta viņu tā īsti nepieskaitīja favorītu lokam, taču 110 m/b finālā, viņš aiz sevis, ar garu degunu, atstāja divus, ļoti labi pazīstamus ASV sprinterus – Terencu Trammelu un Deividu Peinu.

Useins Bolts – ko tur vēl piebilst, jo daudz kas jau ir pateikts manā iepriekšējā rakstā par viņu. 3 zelta medaļas un 2 pasaules rekordi un visas pasaules atzinība.

Neveiksminieki

Kā lielāko šī čempionāta neveiksminieci nākas izcelt Jeļenu Isinbajevu. Par viņas neveiksmīgo startu esmu izteicies jau vienā no iepriekšējiem rakstiem, tādēļ varu tikai piebilst, ka dažreiz arī paši varenākie mēdz zaudēt, bet jācer, ka pēc lielām neveiksmēm sekos vēl lielākas uzvaras.

Turpinām gaidīt

Arī pēc Pasaules čempionāta Berlīnē Latvijai jāturpina gaidīt pirmā medaļa pasaules čempionātos vieglatlētikā, jo pēc neatkarības atgūšanas neviens Latvijas sportists vēl nav spējis izcīnīt vietu uz goda pjedastāla.

Gan pirms diviem gadiem Osakā, gan šogad, vistuvāk medaļai bija šķēpmetējs Vadims Vasiļevskis, kurš izcīnija 4.vietu, kas, protams, arī ir ļoti labs sasniegums, taču cerības tika liktas uz daudz ko vairāk. Pats Vadims pēc starta vainoja gan presi, gan treneri, gan Voldemāru Lūsi par nevajadzīgu ažiotāžas celšanu, bet, jāsaprot, ka no pašiem labākajiem ir jāprasa paši augstākie rezultāti.

7.vietu šķēpmešanā izcīnīja Pekinas Olimpisko spēļu sudraba medaļas ieguvējs Ainārs Kovals, kurš pēc starta atzina, ka ir apmierināts ar startu Pasaules čempionātā. 13.vietu septiņcīņā izcīnīja, šīgada Eiropas U-23 čempione, Aiga Grabuste, kurai bija dots visai īss laika sprīdis, lai atgūtu spēkus pēc sezonas galvenā starta Kauņā. Vēl 20niekā iekļuva lodes grūdējs Māris Urtāns, kuram 16.vieta, Staņislavs Olijars, kuram 17.vieta 110 m/b, Igors Sokolovs, kuram 17.vieta vesera mešanā un Ieva Zunda, kurai 18.vieta 400 m/b.

19,19 sekundes – tāds ir jaunais pasaules rekords 200 metru sprinta distancē, kuru uzstādīja Useins Bolts, sev piederošo pasaules rekordu, līdzīgi kā 100 metru sprintā, labojot par 0,11 sekundēm. Viņš kārtējo reizi šokēja visu sporta pasauli, uzrādot šo fantastisko rezultātu, lai arī pirms startiem gan 100, gan 200 metru distancēs viņš bija visai piesardzīgs un nekādus skaļus paziņojumus par rekordu labojumiem neizteica. Pēc fantastiskā snieguma pagājušā gada Olimpiskajās spēlēs Pekinā, Bolts mūs jau sāk pieradināt pie tik sensacionāliem rezultātiem, ka drīz sāksim brīnīties, ja nākamajās lielajās sacensībās viņš neuzstādīs jaunu pasaules rekordu.

3 zelta medaļas un 2 pasaules rekordi – tāda ir Useina Bolta statistika 2009.gada pasaules čempionātā. Lai arī viņam neizdevās atkārtot Pekinas panākumu – 3 zelta medaļas un 3 pasaules rekordi, tomēr Berlīnē uzstādītie pasaules rekordi ir vēl fantastiskāki, kā Pekinā, bet vienīgā disciplīna, kurā netika uzstādīts pasaules rekords, bija 4×100 metru stafete. Iespējams, ja būtu saskaņotāka stafetes maiņa, jauns rekords būtu uzstādīts arī šajā disciplīnā.

Gan 100 metru, gan 200 metru distancē Bolta pārsvars jau pusdistancē bija visai ievērojams, tādēļ visu skatītāju un arī paša Bolta acis bija pievērstas tikai hronometram, kurš uzrādīja visai neticamus skaitļus – 9,58 sekundes 100 metru un 19,19 sekundes 200 metru distancē.

Rodas jautājums – cik vēl ilgi Bolts spēs uzrādīt tik apbrīnojamus rezultātus? Es, kā skatītājs un līdzjutējs, protams, vēlētos, lai viņš šādu sniegumu rādītu vēl daudzas jo daudzas sezonas, kaut arī jāatzīst, ka Bolts arī ir tikai cilvēks, lai arī dažreiz varētu likties savādāk , un viņa ķermenis mūžam nevarēs būt tik izcilā formā.

Preses konferencē pēc 2009.gada pasaules čempionāta, Bolts ir izteicies, ka drīzumā izmēģinās spēkus 400 metros un tāllēkšanā. Viņš pats uzskata, ka varētu sasniegt visai labus rezultātus šajās disciplīnās. Es viņam varu tikai piekrist un cerēt, ka nākotnē viņš spēs sasniegt tādus panākumus kā leģendārais Karls Lūiss, kurš 1984.gada Olimpiskajās spēlēs Losandželosā izcīnīja četras zelta medaļas.

Kur Useins, tur kamera. Varbūt otrādi?

Cinque gli ori di giornata:

Il primo è, purtroppo per noi italiani, ad appannaggio della russia. Sergey Kirdyapkin (3h 38′ 35″) vince la 50 km di marcia davanti al norvegese di lungo corso Trond Nymark (3h 41′ 16″) e allo spagnolo, ancora più esperto (40 anni), Jesús Angel García (3h 41′ 37″).
Gara strana, stranissima, con Alex Schwazer che si ritira verso metà gara, e gli altri favoriti che cedono lungo il percorso. Poco dopo l’italiano si ritira anche un certo Denis Nizhegorodov, anche lui con problemi di stomaco. Poi cedono, nell’ultimo quarto di gara, gli auetraliani Jared Tallent e Luke Adams, per molto tempo in prima e seconda posizione.
Succede così che a fare la grande gara sono due “vecchietti”. Il norvegese Nymark, 33 anni, comincia a recuperare da metà in poi fino a sembrare vicino al raggiungimento del primo posto. Jesús Angel García,40 anni, anche lui autore di una grande rimonta, si piazza terzo molto vicino al norvegese.
Belle, bellissime, le scuse di Alex Schwazer, anche se non c’era assolutamente bisogno.
Bene l’altro italiano Marco De Luca, che chiude ottavo marciando il record personale (3h 46′ 31″). Grande scuola quella russa che conquista tutti e tre gli ori mondiali della marcia.

La Jamaica perde, per la prima volta qui a Berlino, una gara di velocità. I 200 m femminili vanno all’americana Allyson Felix (22″02) di fronte alla jamaicana Veronica Campbell-Brown (22″35) e alla bahamense Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (22″41). Bellissima la corsa della Felix, partita favorita e dominatrice delle finale, con grande eleganza nel gesto atletico.
Fuori dal podia l’altra statunitense Muna Lee che sembrava, nelle semifinali, più in forma.
La f elix vince così il suo terzo oro mondiale sulla distanza dopo l’argento olimpico di Pechino dell’anno scorso e quello di Atene 2004.

Il terzo oro di giornata era, sulla carta, la sfida dei mondiali dopo quella Bolt-Gay. Sfida che c’è stata ma che in realtà è stata dominata da LaShawn Merritt (44″06), di fronte al suo amico rivale Jeremy Wariner (44″60). Wariner abdica dopo l’oro di due anni fa, ancora battuto dopo Pechino e non più in grado, quantomeno adesso, di correre come sapeva, capace di percorrere il giro di pista in 43″45.

Quarto oro quello del salto in alto, specialità un po’ rovinata dalle scelte suicide della IAAF. La progressione scelta dalla federazione mondiale fa sorridere (2,18m – 2,23m – 2,28m – 2,32m – 2,35m), forse qualche misura intermedia in più sarebbe stata opportuna, sia nella gara maschile che femminile. Si è scelto invece di velocizzare la finale a scapito dello spettacolo che tanto sarebbe piaciuto al pubblico, soprattutto tedesco, visti i due atleti in gara nelle due finali.
A spuntarla è il russo Yaroslav Rybakov che salta al primo tenativo i 2,32 m. Secondo il cipriota Kyriakos Ioannou, 2,32m al primo tentativo ma più errori a 2,28m, e terzi a pari merito due promettentissimi giovani: il tedesco Raul Spank, 2,32m alla seconda prova e il polacco Sylwester Bednarek, anche lui alla seconda prova i 2,32m, ben quattro cm sopra al suo personale.
E proprio i due giovani, terzi sul podio, hanno fatto vedere le potenzialità migliori per saltare la misura che gli avrebbe dato l’oro mondiale.

Ultimo oro di giornata quello della ventunenne australiana Dani Samuels (65,44m), di fronte alla cubana Yarelis Barrios (65,21m) e alla romena Nicoleta Grasu (65,20m). Bella la gara che si risolve agli ultimi lanci dato che dopo i primi tre a trovarsi in prima posizione era l’atleta romena. La giovene australiana lancia però al quinto lancio il record personale e vince l’oro mondiale. Anche l’argento è conquistato proprio all’ultimo lancio, con la Barrios che rischia addiritura di strappare l’oro alla Samuels.

Buone notizie per gli altri italiani. La staffetta 4×100m maschile si qualifica per la finale con un buonissimo tempo e, vista la squalifica degli americani, il podio non diventa impossibile. Con u na gara corsa al massimo il bronzo è raggiungibile.

19.19 a few days ago in the 200m makes it two golds and two world records for Usain Bolt at the World Champs.

There have been some interesting comments come out since the race from a German sprinter clearly suggesting Bolt is a drug cheat. What, and no one else in the final was too? Why pick on him? It seems to me the answer is obvious: Because he is winning and breaking world records by so much.  So is some of the real annoyance in the quality and undetectability of the drug that he is taking?

In my cynical mind I have accepted that many of the top track and field athletes are on some kind of illegal performance enhancer. When I think about it, it bothers me….but I try not to think about it – kind of like the once happy animal that I often eat.

For me wasting energy on the drug debate is redundant simply because ‘trying to rid track and field of drugs’ is a aim right up there with achieving ‘world peace’ and ‘food and shelter for everyone’. That is to say honorable, desirable, legitimate cause that I fully support, but unfortunately totally and utterly unachievable.

by Hydro033

Jeremy Wariner (left) and Lashawn Merritt (right) are the two best 400m sprinters in the world.

LaShawn Merritt took down Jeremy Wariner again, just like last year’s Beijing Olympics. Today, Merritt won the men’s 400m gold at the 2009 IAAF World Track & Field Championships. Wariner led the race with 100m to go, but Merritt’s quicker finishing speed overtook his US teammate. Both US men finished on the podium still winding up in spots #1 & #2. Merritt finished in a world leading time of 44.06s while Wariner finished in 44.60s. Renny Quow of Trinidad & Tobago finished almost a full second behind Merritt and almost a half second behind Wariner in a time of 45.02s. The US is very dominant in the 400m in both the women’s and the men’s competitions.

Allyson Felix

Allyson Felix won the women’s 200m again over Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown. Felix finished in 22.02s while Campbell-Brown finished in 22.35s. Muna Lee, also of the US, finished in the dreadful fourth position in a time of 22.48s, just 0.07s behind Bahama’s Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, who took third.

Dani Sumuels of Austrailia took the women’s discus with a heave of 65.44m.

Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia won the men’s high jump with a jump of 2.32m.

]]> http://ukmgalz.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/usain_bolt_on_track_to_becoming_a_legend/ Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:47:20 +0000 taylineo http://ukmgalz.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/usain_bolt_on_track_to_becoming_a_legend/

On 16th August 2009, Bolt did this…..

Then on 20th August 2009, he did this….

He suits his nickname well…..LIGHTNING BOLT….

Usain Bolt leaves the rest of the world in his wake on his way to securing his fifth individual World Record (Getty Images)

In his own words “I’m on my way to being a legend” (The Star, August 22 2009).

I was fortunate to see him with my own eyes when I was in Lausanne.  He also mentioned of being a legend then and I think he is definitely on the right path to becoming one.

Assuming that he didn’t false start, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Usain Bolt would win the 200m gold medal at the World Championships in Berlin. What no one, including the Jamaican himself or Michael Johnson whose record Bolt broke at the Beijing Olympics, was quite prepared for was what happened when the starter’s gun went off.

19.19 seconds later, Usain Bolt had broken his own record, just like he had done in the 100m two days earlier, and one is now left to wonder what this incredible Jamaican is capable of.

“This guy is Superman II” said Michael Johnson after the race.

Bronze medal winner, Wallace Spearmon, who had resigned himself to second place or worse, said, “‘Insane’ Bolt. I mean the guy is crazy. He runs crazy times and he makes it look so easy … even if I run the best turn of my life, I’m still going to be behind.”

Shawn Crawford, the gold medalist in the 200 in the 2004 Olympics, second in Beijing, and fourth in Berlin, calls Bolt a “gift” and a “blessing to the track world,” adding, “Anything that great is a blessing …. any time there’s a blessing in the vicinity, you’re close to being blessed yourself.”

Bolt has never been the best when it comes to blasting off the starting blocks, but his long stride has helped him burn up the track at a blistering pace. Running in Lane 5 in the 200m finals, he caught up with Alonso Edward in Lane 6, and Shawn Crawford in Lane 8, coming out of the bend. And the gap when he crossed the finish line was close on 6 metres – that’s huge.

It has been financially rewarding, too. His haul from the Berlin championships now stands at US$320,000 – winners of an event earn US$60,000, while world records carry a US$100,000 bonus.

“There was the space age and the computer age; now we have the ‘Bolt Age’,” wrote Elias Makorip, a reporter for the Daily Nation newspaper.

Couldn’t have put it better.

Usain Bolt is one of my favorite athletes to watch. He is probably the fastest human on the planet and he is only 22 years old. He is from the great country of Jamaica and represents himself well.  His antic’s which can seem cocky to some but to me are very entertaining. I was very happy he won the prestigious IAAF Male Athlete of the year over Michael Phelps. After you see Usain Bolt run it is almost shocking that someone could possibly run that fast. Early this week he broke the 100m record and pasted a time of  9.58 which to track and field experts is beyond amazing. Thursday he did it again breaking the 200m record which he owned him self clocking in at a time of 19.19.

Here is the 200m record run.

Para alguém que sonha ser uma lenda, 19s19 são suficientes. Usain Bolt mais uma vez desafiou o relógio e brincou com o tempo. Nesta quinta-feira, véspera de seu aniversário, o jamaicano de 22 anos repetiu um feito do passado e eternizou seu nome para as gerações futuras. O campeão olímpico agora é campeão do Mundial de Atletismo. Em dobro. Depois do ouro e do recorde nos 100m, o ouro e recorde nos 200m em Berlim. Apagou os 19s30 – estabelecidos por ele nas Olimpíadas de Pequim, em 2008 – e reescreveu, com tinta dourada, a nova melhor marca do planeta.

- Sempre há limites. Eu não conheço os meus – disse Bolt.

O atleta já faturou US$ 100 mil para cada um dos recordes mundiais (9s58 nos 100m, domingo, e 19s19 hoje, nos 200m), e outros 60 mil em cada triunfo.

Lo rivedi e continui a non capire, ancora una volta velocissimo.

E allora ti interroghi sulle cause, perché questa volta era forse ancora più difficile. Tyson Gay non era in gara, e poteva rappresentare quella motivazione ad avere una maggiore cattiveria agonistica, quella motivazione che ti spinge a dare di più, ad essere competitivo nel midollo e a spingere fino all’ultimo metro in modo da demolire il record del mondo.

E invece non fa niente, è il più forte e lo sa, lo vedi arrivare sui blocchi di partenza deciso, concentrato, e capisci subito quello che deve fare.

E lo fa con una semplicità e una facilità mostruosa. Questa volta non corre bene, stilisticamente non perfetto, soprattutto di braccia e di busto, ma una facilità di corsa incredibile, mostruosa. Parte come un fulmine e corre quei 200m in 19,19 s. Record, il suo record, battuto di 11 centesimi di secondo. E questo forse era ancora più assurdo, perché il secondo arriva con 19,81 s. Pochi anni fa si vinceva con un tempo soto ai 20 secondi, e il record del grandissimo Micchael Johnson sembrava imbattibile, assurdo. Adesso sembra tutto così semplice per lui correre in tempi assurdi, in tempi che difficilmente saranno battuti da altri, probabilmente non succederà mai.

E allora rimani senza parole ancora una volta, ti sfugge un gemito dalla bocca quando il cronometro si ferma su quei due 19, parte un risolino di sbigottimento e ti senti appagato, ti senti strano per aver visto una cosa così, ti senti bene pensando che anche te corri, anche se lo fai amatorialmente e su altre distanze. Vedendo quel tempo ti viene tutto più facile da pensare, e pensi che forse, un giorno, una garetta anche se di provincia, la vincerai anche te. Intanto in serata vai a sudare e faticare, poi si vedrà.

Amazing, soon after Usain Bolt of Jamaica beat the world record just last Sunday for the 100m sprint in 9.58 seconds, he also beat the 200m race on Thursday

The 22-year-old ran the 200m in 19.19 seconds. Who had the last world record for the 200m? Usain, himself, which was last set in Beijing Olympics last year.

Read the full article about the 200m race here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/8213036.stm