Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

It’s been widely stated (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) in the media that the American track team had a complete meltdown in Beijing. USATF’s new CEO, Doug Logan, has even gone so far as to say our recent failures in Beijing may warrant a shakeup of the infrastructure of the organization. I mean, even when we won, it seemed we had really lost. At the close of the games, the U.S. had won 23 medals. Is this so ba
 
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I think you are leaving out the expectations of men’s mid-distance and distance athletes to both produce at least 1 medal.  We didn’t get a finalist in the 1500m which is most likely the #2 or #3 event in track and field, but probably #4 at these games.  Disappointing results in the jumps specifically on the Men’s side with Pole Vault.  The shot put was disappointing as well despite one bronze medal when a sweep of those medals was a real possibility.  3 of the top 5 decathletes and only 1 medal when 2 medals was a real possibility.  We missed out on more medal opportunities than the gained in unexpected surprise performances.  When you put the botched relays in along those events as well the women’s 400m and 800m in term of finalists it’s was a disaster.  I don’t think it has every to do with medals, but also our lack of finalists or shortage of finalists in some events.

Not to rag on lolo because she’s an outstanding human being and since the hurdles are well the hurdles, but we could have 1 more medal in that event as well.  We got lucky Liu’s injury on the men’s side otherwise it’s likely we have one less silver medal, but again the short hurdle race is a beast in fierce competition no matter the level.

A change has to occur, put national team coaches on 4 year contracts and that’s their sole responsibility and provide a better tool for championship relay performances with something other than OD relays at collegiate meets and choosing the pool from the top finalists at the OT/NC.

- Look at the wider picture -

I agree with mike’s comment about focusing on the ‘high profile’ athletes and overlooking alot of others- yeh there were some disappointments for the Americans at T&F;but you’s still had pretty good odd coming out of each event when it comes from medal possibilities.

dbandre - 27 August 2008 03:25 AM

  3 of the top 5 decathletes and only 1 medal when 2 medals was a real possibility.

1 medal out of 2 possibilities - i still class 50% as a good percentage

its the olympics and its every 4 yrs- thats a long time to wait between events which can make some people ‘pull it out on the day’ when they think of the big event.

i still think the USA team done a pretty good job and wouldn’t class it as a ‘failure’ - you’s had some medal chance disappointments but you’s also had some great upsets that went your way - we saw a lot of countries do far better well at these games that previous ones (China, the Poms) which cut the medal chances down having them do so well.

We (Australia) had some big disappointments aswel (in the pool - WR holders barely making the final and not ending up with any medal, Athens we won like 7-8 medals in track cycling and this year we won 1 silver) but we still class it as a successful Olympics due to the unexpected medal’s

http://masterstrack.com/blog/002756.html

WOW!

Azz:

You are completely right about Australian track cycling, but road cycling is not far behind either with all your good racers putting too much emphasis on Grand Tours (Rogers and Evans).  Australian Olympic selection was FUBAR this year across the board.

CFKA = new USATF High Performance Director :p

dbandre - 27 August 2008 10:58 PM

CFKA = new USATF High Performance Director :p

What makes you think CFKA isn’t one of the unmentioned?

All the unmentioned are in the High Performance Department hardly a place for CFKA.

Although he is shrouded in mystery, CFKA, is actually a prominent member (although no where near being one of the unmentionables) of USATF’s High Performance Division.

Good lord, A promotion is needed effective immediately.  Does he stand out like a sore thumb?

A blog entry from UT and Olympic head coach Bubba Thornton kinda gives an inside perspective.Bubba’s Olympic experience: Home sweet home

Hey Longhorns,

It’s been quite a ride. I’ve tried to do my best to keep you up on what we’ve been doing, but once competition started, the staff’s full attention was on the athletes. That said, this was one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life. I got to tell you about our trip over and the way people reacted to the U.S. athletes, and it really didn’t stop throughout the whole games. The fans were great not only to the Americans, but to all of the athletes, but you could feel something special about representing the United States.

The competition was fierce. One of the things about the Olympics is it is the Super Bowl for these athletes, but it only happens once every four years. So, the highs are really high, but the lows are really low. There were some amazing performances and, obviously, there were some athletes who would have liked to perform better, but that is the nature of this competition.

Despite the media highlighting some of the lower points for the American team, the event as a whole was a huge success. The men’s team led the medal count for track and field and also came away with the most gold medals. We swept the 400 meters and the 400-meter hurdles, which was really neat. There is nothing like hearing your National Anthem played and looking at the podium to see three of your countrymen on the stand. Those were two of the better moments at the Olympics for me.

I was really proud of our athletes. There was some negativity surrounding the team because of the media’s focus on some of the performances, but the group battled each time they stepped to the line. I wasn’t sure how the team as a whole would react, but they did a good job of blocking a lot of that stuff out and competing. We talk a lot about competing and beating the next person when it comes to track and field and that is what the American team did. They beat a lot of people. I’m very proud to have been a part of it and it is definitely something I’ll never forget.

By the time I left, I felt like China was home. I had been over there for so long that the newness of things kind of left and I had really gotten comfortable with the surroundings. But, I’m glad to be back in Texas and see all of the people that helped me get to the point of being the Olympic coach. Now, it is time for me to turn my attention back to The University of Texas.

While we were in Beijing, one of our assistant coaches, Jason Vigilante, took the head coaching job at Virginia. We wish him nothing but success there and hope that his experience here at Texas will serve him well as he moves forward. But, we must also move forward and I’m in the process of trying to find his replacement.

We had our first team meeting the other day and I could tell the guys were excited to get started. This time of year is really fun for a coach. You have the guys you’ve been with for a few years, who know the deal, and a bunch of fresh faces, who aren’t exactly sure what is going on. It is my job as a coach to get them settled in and ready to work, both in the classroom and on the track. I’m looking forward to seeing how this team comes together and I’m excited for another year of competition here at Texas.

The guys before them have set a high standard. Texas is the only program in the country that has finished in the Top 20 at the national meet in cross country, indoor and outdoor track over the last three years and we’re looking to continue that streak, so it should be a good year.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support of the United States team while we were over in China and for their support of the Texas program. It means a lot to us.

Hook ‘Em
Bubba

1.  I’d be on the take if only someone would let me be…

2.  Perhaps the lack of #1 is due to the fact that I have at best a loose affiliation with a number of areas HP, CE, Officialdom, etc.

3.  Dont believe everything Mike says. 
As the owner or this website, he’ll do anything for a buck. 
I actually saw a McCain for President ad in the bottom crawl. 
To paraphrase Abbie Hoffman (shut up and Google it) When I was in grade school I didnt trust anyone over 5’ 5”.  Now I dont trust anyone under 5’ 5”