mortac8 - 03 September 2008 07:41 AM
I think he is prepared. I don’t know how people keep questioning his preparation after he totally crapped out in the 100 then ran a searing 4x1 anchor leg. I think if the Olympics were next week the results would be about the same.
He just can’t run rounds (and may be a total head case). Hell, he couldn’t even run faster in the 2nd round at Rieti last year after he ran WR shutting down in the prelims.
Aboout Rieti, well, it seems to be the rule rather than exception. I don’t remember anyone bettering the 100m world record twice in a day. On the other hand, I’ve seen similar things like Rieti happening quite often – i.e. an easy PR in the prelims followed by a slightly “disappointing” final an hour or two later.
I don’t know how prepared Asafa was (who except he and his coach really does), but the pec tear couldn’t have helped. Obviously pure speed was in place, but perhaps not stamina or ability to run four races in two days. Obviously he tightened up quite a bit, but that could also partially be due to not feeling fresh, thus making it even more difficult to keep the race together. Everyone’s got a threshold for screwing things up mentally, but perhaps a better physical preparation could have saved him for going over his own.
It’s difficult to know exactly what happened. If you look at it from a choking standpoint, you might be right, although I’m unsure about it being the whole truth. I also find it interesting that he seems to run better after a championship meltdown a week or so later, it’s like there’s a rebound effect of some sort. He seems much better now than right before the Olympics, especially after 40 meters of running
