Olympics

[lovejoy]

They finish on relays including the 4 x 100 m so to run the 100 m itself the same night isn't possible.

[Somniloquism]

How come the Americans are allowed to race in their PJ's when the rest of the women have to run in their knickers?

Having checked quite a few pairs of knickers and all in ones in the last few days - I can confirm they are free to wear what they want providing it fits the rules on adverts. I could bore you with IOC rule 50 but won't.

Doyou have to check them afterwards as well? How much for a pair of Ennis's?

[TopDeck113]

Had another great day at the Olympic Park. Spain beating Croatia in the women's handball quarter final and then watching the cycling on the big screen.

Having seen handball live for the first time I have to say it's a fabulous sport: quick, skillful and physically aggressive. It's a sport that we could do well in as it lends itself perfectly to being played in school halls and sports centres all year round.

[nick harper]

How come they had the 800m semis and 1500m final on the same night? If that had been the case 32 years ago, Coe and Ovett wouldn't have been able to compete in both.

[Dave Cooper please]

2. Does Philips Idowu receive public funding? - I know he says not but UK athletics suggest he does.

He is not directly funded any more but he does recieve money from UK Athletics in appearance fees and for promoting athletics at various events.

[Meanwood Villa]

BBC commentators seemed convinced 1500 metres winner Makhloufi was doping. Either they know something we don't or they 're going to owe someone an apology.

I thought the race looked odd. He ran the middle 200m of the last lap in 25 secs and blew a field full of Kenyans away. His improvement has come from nowhere apparently which always gets suspicions up by those who look closely at these things.

They described him as "contoversial" and seemed distinctly non-plussed when he won. I thought it was a bit unprofessional really. He'd just won the Olympic final, give him a bit of credit. If he then fails a dugs test that's the time to criticise.

[NeilH]

BBC commentators seemed convinced 1500 metres winner Makhloufi was doping. Either they know something we don't or they 're going to owe someone an apology.

I thought the race looked odd. He ran the middle 200m of the last lap in 25 secs and blew a field full of Kenyans away. His improvement has come from nowhere apparently which always gets suspicions up by those who look closely at these things.

They described him as "contoversial" and seemed distinctly non-plussed when he won. I thought it was a bit unprofessional really. He'd just won the Olympic final, give him a bit of credit. If he then fails a dugs test that's the time to criticise.

1500 meters is my favourite track event and it was all a bit odd last night. There seemed a great amount of bias and dismission from Auntie Beeb after the win and Lord Coe seemed postively annoyed about it.
I don't recall the same attitude after Ben Johnson won in Seoul'88 and plenty of people in the know knew then that he was pumped full of nandralone...... Beeb were also extremely suspicious of the Chinese athlete who blitzed the swimming gold and ended up with egg on their faces. Time will tell I guess.

[Ron Manager]

What I dont understand is in the cycling Pendleton's opponent clearly elbowed her and should have lost the first leg of the final. But we didnt object......why not?

[amfy]

He was subject to a disqualification from an event the day before for "not trying" (similar to the badminton players) but managed to provide a sick note saying he was ill, then 24 hours later he runs like that? This wasn't him going a bit faster than expected (like the young swimmer), or even Ben Johnson who at that time just seemed mind blowingly fast (and also very early in our awareness of drug assisted sport), this was a bizarre series of events culminating in the most unlikely looking race I have ever seen. They did well not to suggest cheating of some description. They went more for "baffled", & "confused" to transmit their feelings on the matter without making any direct accusations.
As a previous athlete myself, my feelings on the conclusion race were actually extreme disappointment. It was a feeling that was completely undeniable. As one of my friends put it on facebook - it stunk more than a 3 day old haddock from Arbroath. I can imagine that Cram & Foster felt simply sickened by what they saw there, and I just detected that they found it impossible to fake the set of emotions that that performance should have drawn if they felt it was genuine.
Cheating often doesn't come out for years, sometimes not atall. Of course there is a possibilty this was a genuine performance, but it is harsh to expect 2 of our greatest athletes to be disingenuous enough to commentate on that victory as if it was simply spectacular rather than odd. It was, at the very least - odd! Very odd indeed. Not just fast - undeniably odd.

Of course - this is the real tragedy of drug assisted cheating - when someone does something amazing, we now have to wonder how that happened, rather than just enjoying their achievement.

[spangley1812]

What I dont understand is in the cycling Pendleton's opponent clearly elbowed her and should have lost the first leg of the final. But we didnt object......why not?

You cant object...we saw Dave Brailsford speaking to the French Judge trying to explain what happened but it is his decision and he awarded the race to Anna Meares

[NeilH]

This wasn't him going a bit faster than expected (like the young swimmer), or even Ben Johnson who at that time just seemed mind blowingly fast (and also very early in our awareness of drug assisted sport), this was a bizarre series of events culminating in the most unlikely looking race I have ever seen.

I'll admit at the time that I also thought that Johson was just fast, but then I did not know that he had struggled the entire season and indeed right up to the games. Most of those in the know, knew this of course and smelled a rat.

I agree by the way on the bizarreness of the 1500 metres last night. The guy ran the last 200 metres in around 25 seconds which is frankly ridiculous for a middle distance event. His turn of speed on the turn stank indeed like a bad day at Grimsby docks. All in all, it was the most bizarre of 1500 metre finals.

I'm sure we will find out sooner rather than later if it was legit or not. I just hope that it is indeed sooner and we don't have to spend the next 4 years wondering if one of the great events of the games was rigged, in the same way as we now look back at LA84 and just see it is the Drugs Olympics.

[Meanwood Villa]

Why does no-one suspect Bolt of drugs after what he's achieved? Or do people and I've missed it?

[AvFc4eVeR]

Why does no-one suspect Bolt of drugs after what he's achieved? Or do people and I've missed it?

The difference there is that everone has witnessed Bolt run 100m in 9.58 secs so a time of 9.63 secs is well within himself, whereas this Makhloufi character has never run this fast in 1500m before, even in this season by all accounts.

[amfy]

My Dad has been an England athletics coach and still coaches at club level. His athletes have come up for testing in the middle of a lads holiday in Majorca for example, but have never missed a test! He always knows where they are and directs the testers to them. He is angry that athletes who have missed tests are still allowed to compete because the testing regime is there to ensure a sport that we can believe in, and in his eyes there is no excuse for non-co-operation with testing, and should be no second chances for cheats.
He is routinely suspicious of top athletes.
However - he says that everyone in athletics knows that Usain Bolt has been exceptional since he was a child. He came through as a junior literally head & shoulders above everyone else, and there has been no sudden improvement, or a any particular season or training camp where he started showing exceptional form. He has improved with the steadiness you would expect with age, but has simply always been good.
Similarly, Mo Farrah has shown the steady improvement that you would expect of someone who is taking his training as seriously as he is, and has always shown that abillity/potential.

[Jon Crofts]

After throwing out the 8 badminton players earlier in the games for not trying, surely the Australian team should also all be thrown out, double standards here from the IOC.