Marion and Angela Williams

[Guest]

Marion and Angela both had similar high-school careers. Five years after high school, marion became the world champion and was running 10.7x-10.8x.

Its five years since Angela left high school, and her times haven't been close to what she was posting in High school (11.04, 10.98w). She is running in 11.2s these days.

Did 4 years of NCAAs hurt her progression? Thoughts?

[tafnut]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Here's a very un-PC answer - she became more womanly. Teenaged girls are more androgynous. Some mature into very athletic bodies and some don't. My apologies for this 'sexist' view, but I see it every spring on my high school team. Some girls grow out of being athletic. Now 11.20 is still very athletic, but clearly she hasn't progressed as much as her early marks might have promised.

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

who's marion williams?

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

OK. It should have read Marion Jones and Angela Williams. I thought it would be self-explanatory for almost all track fans!

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Hello? Marion . . . Cher . . . Madonna . . . Prince . . . these people don't need last names!

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Hee-hee-hee; excuse the minor chain yank. I was just feeling a little trollish today.

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Tafnut...from a coaching standpoint your right on the money. And that is a problem with young girls who run fast at an early age, when puburty hits some girls go through a drastic physical change and they are no longer those lith and slender hipped girls who were running fast times in their frosh and soph years in h.s.
As a college coach I always wait to see how a young girl in the 10th grade looks going into her senior year ....alot of those young ladies who run fast young just fade away after puburty.

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Its five years since Angela left
>high school, and her times haven't been close to
>what she was posting in High school (11.04,
>10.98w). She is running in 11.2s these
>days.


I know I'm nitpicking, but Angela Williams ran 11.14 in High School. She did get down to 11.04 her first year at USC. Nonethless, as you stated, she has yet to raise it to the next level.

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Yeah, she has lost some ability, but I wouldn't blame it on maturity. It's possible that she could be suffering from what I'd like to call a "weakened work habit". A lot of athletes get the big head and sometimes feel they no longer have to give 100 percent and then become content without the diligence that once fueled their fire. When you're at the bottom your hunger is the driving force that catapults you to the top and lately Angela's apetite has been seemingly small. Every athlete will experience plateus and I believe she has reached her first four way stop, so blaming her slowing times on puberty may just be an excuse for her lack of effort.

Then again I could be a complete idiot and her change in hormonal balance is causing slower times. Who knows!

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

I was`nt commenting on Angela Williams specifically ...I was just commenting on female runners in general. You too might be right about Williams let down in performence...you`ve made a valid that happens to many athletes . There is so much involved when dealing with runners, especially sprinters. Like race horses, very on the edge and it`s not only about giving them the right workouts, it`s working their minds too. Good points by alot of you posters....food for thought.

[gingin]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Angela Williams is an excellent athlete and, according to all who know her, an outstanding young women. But I must say I was some what doubtful of her competitiveness on the international level from early on (having watched her in California since High school). The reason is not her competitveness or work ethic, both which seem strong. It stikes me as a simple case of her physical stature. At 5-1 she seems to simply be too small to maintain speed through a full 100. She is probably the greatest starter in the world when in shape, but the taller athletes start gaining at 40 meters and go past at about 55. This is why she is competitive indoors but struggles outside. And yes, I know Gayle Devers is also small, but even she is a few inches taller and seems to have longer and more heavily muscled legs. (and was always gained on in the latter parts of even her fastest races). I think the Athlete Angela most resembels is Nellie Coman (60m world Champion of years past) a great starter but never really a medal threat outdoors.I think Angela can still have a fine competitive career, specifically as the US lead off at 4x100, but I think her early succsess may have set unrealistic expectations.

[tafnut]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

Gail is only two inches taller and Angela's thighs look like every other woman sprinter's, large and muscular (albeit not as defined). Some great men sprinters have not been tall. Harvey Glance and Houston McTear were 5'7-5'8.

[waynehobley]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

I think that the reason Angela isn't running what she has been running is the same reason that she and her coach say. She is changing coaches for thedirst time in a decade or so and she is trying to change her form. Mo went through the same thing where he got slower but you see what happened in the later stages.

[Guest]

Re: Marion and Angela Williams

This isnt that uncommon, with regards to the height thing. Angela is on the short side, even for sprinters. Thus she was probably full grown at a younger age and mos definitely more neuromusculary developed in high school, especially compard to Marion who is 6 foot tall. So even though they were at the same point in high school Marion was left with more room for improvement. Another example of this is Dwight Ruff, running very fast times in high school and then showing a decrease in his improvement rate