Sports

Bolt Blasts Away Opponents, Skeptics At Championship

Published

13 years ago

September 7, 2011

You never doubted him. Did you? Usain Bolt’s demolition of his 200m rivals at the weekend meant he left Daegu with the world gasping at a gold medal won rather than a red card received.

Had any other man in the field triumphed in such dominant fashion we would now be eulogising and jaw-dropping until flabbers could be gasted no longer.

With Bolt, as with everything he does, it’s slightly different.

For the first time in four years at a major championship he tore through the finish line without a searing “WR!” flashing up on the huge electronic clock on the in-field to his left.

It has become a ritual while watching Bolt, a beautifully familiar part of the act which has captivated us all since that humid night in Beijing three summers ago – watch him ping away from his rivals like a man on a bungee, glance at the scoreboard, roar with astonishment and disbelief.

No-one should ever feel a tinge of disappointment having watched a man run the 200m in 19.40 seconds.

But it is Bolt’s misfortune, as well as his greatest triumph, that he has turned the extraordinary into a routine occurrence, made the performance of a lifetime an annual event.

As Steve Cram remarked to me afterwards, “There isn’t much unbelievable left to do”.

Like spoilt children expecting ever more expensive gifts for Christmas, we should be grateful for what we have been given. By any standard outside Bolt’s own impossible gauge, this was a display of sprinting to savour and celebrate.

A look at the stats, and then the analysis.

This was the fourth fastest 200m ever run. Only Bolt himself and the almost equally remarkable Michael Johnson have ever gone faster.

Bolt’s margin of victory over Walter Dix was a massive 0.30 seconds. Only two men in history have finished further ahead of the man in silver in a World 200m final, Bolt with his 0.62 secs thrashing of Alonso Edward two years ago, and Johnson with 0.33 secs in Tokyo and Gothenburg.

It’s a similar story with the gap between first and third. Christophe Lemaitre ran the joint fastest time for bronze in history, shattering his personal best in the process, yet was still 0.40 secs down on the Jamaican superstar. Only twice has the margin been greater – 0.66 secs in Berlin, and Johnson’s 0.48 secs in Tokyo.

It is only Bolt who has run these sorts of times in World Championship history. The next fastest man on the list is Tyson Gay, and his 19.76 secs in Osaka is not in the same league. Even Johnson never ran faster than 19.79 secs at a Worlds.

To put Saturday’s performance into greater perspective, the average 200m gold medal-winning time at a World over the past decade is 19.87 secs. That itself is massively skewed by Bolt’s 19.19 record in Berlin. From 2001 to 2005, no man even broke 20 seconds.

Bolt conjured up this showing from a reaction-time of 0.193 secs, slower than anyone else in the field.

He has also done it in a season when his form has been comparatively weak and his times almost human; his average time over his last three 200m races before coming to Daegu was 19.97 secs, with two of those plus-20 sec showings.

“If that wasn’t unbelievable, it was still extremely impressive,” says Cram.

“No athlete can improve in every race. Look at Michael Johnson’s 19.32 secs world record from the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. No-one expected him to get close to that ever again, let alone every time he performed.

“Usain has had to contend with all the attention after the 100m, with niggling injuries over the last two years, with having changed his training routine. Despite all that he was able to put something very, very good back together, and to me that’s hugely impressive.

“What I like about him is that he saves his best performances for the big championships, not a Diamond League meeting in Zurich or Lausanne.

“He was genuinely under pressure after the 100m. Not only was that the third fastest 200m he has ever run, but he did it in a season when he’s apparently not running all that well and a week when he’s made the biggest mistake of his athletics career.”

What of the nitty-gritty of the run itself? How impressive a piece of technical sprinting was this, how close to Bolt’s physical best?

“It’s a big deal that he did that having been drawn in lane three,” says Darren Campbell, Olympic 200m silver medallist in 2000.

“Three’s a great lane, but not for Bolt. It’s too tight for him.

“That gave Dix a real opportunity in the race. If he could come off the bend in the lead, he could have put Usain under real pressure, and we haven’t seen him have to respond to something like that.

“But Bolt ran a very, very good bend. If he’d been drawn in lane six, with its more gradual curve, I honestly think he could have run 19.30 seconds.”

In that record-mangling run in Berlin, Bolt’s physical effort had been written all over his face, the gliding and smiling left behind in the 100m.

Here it was the same, a grimace on his face and his arms driving hard all the way through the line.

“You could see him glance to his right to see where Dix was, but when he saw he was clear he visibly exhaled and let his stride pattern do the rest,” says Campbell, who was in Korea as an expert for BBC Radio 5 live.

“He was working hard down the straight, but more because he wanted to put on a show for the crowd than because he had to to take gold.

“Usain uses the crowd to the absolute maximum, and then controls and feeds off the energy he generates. It’s why he threw his spikes to the crowd after the semi-final on Friday night, to get them going for the final.

“How good was this? Judge a champion by how they deal with adversity.

“There is nobody in Daegu who has been under more scrutiny than Usain Bolt, yet he comes out and does that. You tell me if he’s a true champion.”

One final question lingered in the mind as Bolt finally left the stadium in the early hours of Sunday morning, hundreds of reporters still beseeching him for an interview and dizzy spectators screaming like giddy schoolgirls.

That 19.19 was possibly the most remarkable world record ever recorded. It beat a mark in Johnson’s that was itself a staggering improvement on anything that had been seen before. Can Bolt – older, inestimably wealthier, under even more pressure – ever bring the record yet lower?

“If he does, it will only happen in London next summer,” says Campbell.

“I’m not sure how much longer he’ll go on for if he wins a second Olympic title, but there’s a bigger reason, the support he’ll get in London will be better than anything else he will ever have experienced.

“The crowd in Berlin was amazing, and that’s why he performed the way he did, but the one in London will be even better, so knowledgeable, so enthusiastic, so many Jamaicans. It will also be a long time since he’s run in the UK.

“If he draws his energy from the crowd, and it’s the best crowd he’s ever had, would you put it past him?”

Foryce writes for BBC Sports

Tom Fordyce

Sports

Barcelona Open: Nadal’s Comeback Ended By World No 11

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

The Tide

Rafael Nadal’s injury comeback was ended by Alex de Minaur as the 12-time champion waved goodbye to the Barcelona Open for possibly the final time. Nadal, 37, returned to court on Tuesday after a three-month absence, making light work of 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli in a straight-set win.
A day later, Nadal lost 7-5 6-1 to world number 11 De Minaur in round two.
Nadal, a 22-time major winner, has indicated he plans to retire in 2024 if he is unable to compete regularly.
The former world number one, now ranked 644th, has only played five matches since January 2023 because of hip and abdominal injuries.
Nadal is hoping to be fit enough to make a return to the French Open, where he won a record 14 men’s singles titles, next month.
Facing a player of De Minaur’s pedigree was always likely to be a considerable step up, and a truer test of his level than his comeback outing against 62nd-ranked Cobolli.
The 25-year-old Australian tried to test Nadal’s movement by using drop shots early in the match, an effective tactic which helped him move 2-0 in front and tee up another break point for 3-0.
But Nadal survived to hold and improved his level, producing a number of explosive cross-court backhand winners as he fought back to lead 4-3.
Another backhand winner, this time down the line, even drew a clap of the strings from De Minaur and teed up another break point for Nadal.
Taking the chance would have left Nadal serving for the set, but De Minaur recovered and won 19 of the next 24 points to win an opener lasting more than an hour.
After so long out, and with playing on consecutive days, Nadal’s endurance was always going to be tested, particularly against an opponent known for his athleticism.
De Minaur played smartly in a one-sided second set and broke Nadal’s serve three times, silencing the Barcelona crowd in the process, to secure an impressive victory.
Nadal left the court bearing his name – for what could be the final time – to a standing ovation and rapturous send-off.
Meanwhile, British men’s number two Jack Draper reached his 10th ATP Tour quarter-finals at the BMW Open in Munich.
Draper, 22, fought back after a rain delay to earn a 4-6 6-1 6-1 win over
German world number 179 Rudolf Molleker at the clay-court event.

Sports

Leverkusen Chief Backs Alonso To Join Madrid

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

The Tide

Bayer Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro has claimed that Xabi Alonso will coach Real Madrid, while also lending fresh hope to Liverpool.
Alonso’s remarkable success at Leverkusen, who clinched their first-ever Bundesliga crown at the weekend, has positioned him as one of the most sought-after managers in Europe, with Liverpool and Bayern Munich previously leading the chase. Despite the interest, the 42-year-old Spaniard has affirmed his commitment to remain at the helm of the Bundesliga outfit for at least one more season.
However, Leverkusen’s leadership acknowledges the challenge of retaining Alonso over the long term, given his burgeoning reputation and the inevitable interest from top clubs across Europe. Among the potential destinations for Alonso, Real Madrid stands out prominently as Carro expressed his belief that Alonso could eventually return to the Spanish capital, where he enjoyed a distinguished playing career.
Speaking to Tidesports source, Carro also suggested Liverpool still have a chance of striking a deal for Alonso one day, as he stated: “I have no doubt that Xabi Alonso will coach Real Madrid at some point. What I am not clear about is when, but that he will end up at Real Madrid I have no doubt, as it is also possible that he trains Liverpool or Bayern.
There are a lot of clubs interested, that’s how it is, which doesn’t mean that in the future he can’t coach some of the clubs mentioned, especially his former teams as a player. But he feels comfortable here, otherwise he wouldn’t continue. We will maintain our ambition to play in the Champions League next year.”
Despite Real Madrid’s current managerial stability under Carlo Ancelotti, whose contract is due to run until 2026, reports suggest that the club’s hierarchy views Alonso as the ideal candidate to succeed Ancelotti when his tenure concludes. The backing of Real Madrid’s board, including club president Florentino Perez, further solidifies Alonso’s prospects of potentially assuming the managerial reins at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2026. Allegedly aware of the esteem in which the club’s leadership holds him, Alonso has opted to remain at Leverkusen, biding his time for a potential return to Real Madrid.
Alonso is focused on preparing Leverkusen for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final against West Ham at London Stadium on April 18, following their 2-0 victory in the first leg at BayArena.

Sports

Barca Blame Referee, Panic For Loss To PSG

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

The Tide

Barcelona had a two-goal aggregate lead and were seemingly in control of their UEFA Champions League quarter final second leg match against Paris St- Germain in Spain until it all turned to chaos.
A disaster performance from the referee, panic from Barcelona’s players and an unnecessary expulsion, according to Barca sources, were all blamed on a dramatic Tuesday evening at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys as PSG ran out 4-1 winners.
Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo’s sending off turned the tide in their Champions League quarter-final as PSG came from 3-2 down in the first leg to win the tie 6-4 on aggregate.
A double from Kylian Mbappe, a long-range strike from Vitinha and an Ousmane Dembele goal against his former club sent Barcelona spiralling out of control – and out of the competition.
As Barcelona turned in a performance riddled with mistakes, referee Istvan Kovacs had a busy evening. The Romanian showed three red cards to the hosts – manager Xavi’s frustrations getting the better of him, before a member of his coaching staff was dismissed for dissent. That only compounded the damage done by Araujo’s red-card inducing challenge on Bradley Barcola early in the first half.
“The referee was really bad. I told him his performance was a disaster. I don’t like to talk about referees, but it had a clear impact in the season and it has to be said,” Xavi told news men.
“We are very upset and angry because the red card was the decisive factor in the match. With 11, we were in a good position, playing well and in command.
“It’s too much to flash a red card in a game like this. There was another game after that… It is a pity that the work of the season was ruined by an unnecessary expulsion.”
Araujo’s early exit allowed PSG to build momentum. The goals flowed; Barcelona collapsed. Joao Cancelo needlessly brought down Dembele in the box, allowing Mbappe to score the first of his two goals from the penalty spot.
“You can’t make mistakes in the Champions League,” former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry said after the game.
“If you make mistakes, you pay the price straight away and that’s why it is so hard to win that competition because you cannot make one mistake.”
Having left Paris with a 3-2 victory, Barcelona got off to the perfect start in their second leg when Raphinha deflected in teenager Lamine Yamal’s cross.
But Barcelona’s lead did not last long and PSG took control in the second half as the cards came from Kovacs.