As of tomorrow, all roads lead to Birmingham. And I can imagine some would ask, why the hell would anyone want to go there? Well, I know the answer.
Commentary doesn't help much, but the Women's 3000m at the Birmingham Indoor Worlds saw Genzebe Dibaba win her third title at the distance. She settled last early. The other two main chances Sifan Hassan and Laura Muir did their best to bring her undone.
I'm in my mid sixties and as tired as buggery if I have to tie my shoe laces. Not George Corones though, he's one hell of a bloke. He swam alone to claim what will hopefully be ratified as a world record in the 100 - 104 age group. No arm flapping in his stroke either. He's well trained. All his hard work has paid off in spades.
I'm calling foul if he's claiming a record in 100+ age group. The whippersnapper is only 99. Come back next year Georgie boy. To give his 56 secs for 50 metres some context I used to do triathlons in my 40s. I was late to swimming properly but was reasonably fit and through a bit of perseverance and practice was able to post mid pack swim times. My best for 400m (sprint distance allegedly!) was around 7 mins 30 secs. I wouldn't have wanted to race ol Aussie George in his prime. He would have lapped me.
Sir Roger Bannister has passed away aged 88. It's not very often that a sporting deed can immortalize an athlete, but on May 6, 1954, at Oxford's Iffley Road track, Roger Bannister, with the help of Chris Brasher and Christopher Chataway, etched his name in history. In breaking the 4 minute mile, he'd achieved what was though by some, to be an impossible feat.
The American 4x400m indoor World team went from fives on with a lap to go, to imploding. The Poles finished all over them with 50m to go, in world record time.
Yes, a great man, who was a celebrated neurologist in his own right too. His greatest race, probably, was in the so-called 'Miracle Mile' in Vancouver, 1954, against John Landry. A tremendous duel, I will never forget this race. One obituary report commented "Sir Roger Bannister - the last Corinthian". I would have preferred "Sir Roger Bannister and John Landry - the last Corinthians". However, I note that John Landry is still alive and kicking in Australia; I hope he is well and in good spirits. He too deserves this accolade. R.I.P. Sir Roger
Here's an interesting story on John Landry, an account of a mile race in Australia in 1956: http://athletics.com.au/About-Us/Hall-of-Fame/John-Landy
Been listening to all the hype for ages about womens football and thought I would watch some of the shebelievescup. Verdict = what a load of ****! Tell them to stop fannying around trying to be blokes and get back to the kitchen!
Highlights of Mo's half marathon. http://www.watchathletics.com/video...y-big-half-farah-battles-wanjiru-for-the-win/
A couple of days ago, Botswana's Isaac Makwala attempted to become the fourth an in history to run a sub 31 seconds for the 300m. Already Makwala is one of only 5 to have run sub 20 for 200m and sub 44 for the 400m. He's the only man to have run both in the same day.
Everyone loves seeing the old race cars trotted out and given a run in race trim. I'm not too sure when this race took place, but it was published in 2009. So there's a real chance that the car here, an XW 351 cubic inch Falcon was 40 years old at the time. These things nick named "Shakers" were absolute weapons. They had to tiptoe their way across the top of Mount Panorama, but when unleashed down Conrod straight, the sprouted wings. Watch for the little Escort towards the end of the film. No chance in a straight line, but made heaps of ground on the twisty bits. The video has an interesting conclusion.
For some reason the "Shaker" didn't get a qualifying time or had to work from a reverse grid, so had to start from last in this 2008 race. The driver put in a masterful drive. I like the driver of the yellow Charger giving the "left side pass" at 4:10 into the vid. This model, the 1970 XY GTHO, at the time, was the fastest 4 door production car in the world over the quarter mile. If what I've read is true, this car lapped the whole field in taking out the race. I've bookmarked the clip. I love the angry way it snarls and roars when asked to work. What a beast.
