Aussie Results/News 2021

[El Toro]

Day 5 Evening Session Outcomes

M110H Heats

Nicholas Hough in Heat 3 needed to make the top 4 and finished 3rd in 13.57. He needed a place because he was unlikely to make the top 4 time qualifiers.

With Shubenkov a DNS, Holloway and Parchment took the top 2 spots as expected but Czykier and Takyama who both had SBs a tenth better than Hough couldn't get their act together leaving Nicholas to take the prize and Czykier taking 4th.

This is Hough's best placing in a heat in a global champs and was desperately need, as the slowest time qualifier waws 13.55. I expected him to match his previous placings of 5th, 6th and 6th but he took advantage of his circumstances to take that next step.

MPV Final

Kurtis Marschall's plight seemed hopeless but I expected him to hit an overdue PB. However, he couldn't even make his opening height despite showing some massive height over the bar. I said that, "anything can happen in PV so let's see if that happening is Marschall" and he did happen...to fuck up big time. I still expect him to hit 6m or close if he does some D League competition.

M5000 Heats

David McNeil was in Heat 1, traditionally the slowest heat, and finished 8th in 13:39.97. Even in the Doha19 furnace, only one runner ran a heat time of 13:26, so these guys really bludged it. He needed top 5 because a time qualifier was a fantasy but he did not have the kick required.

Morgan McDonald and Patrick Tiernan were down for Heat 2 with a target of sub-13:39 (at least) and top 15 to time qualify. Tiernan was a sensible DNS after his 10000 stumbles, leaving McDonald to go it alone.

McDonald did the sub-13:39 but did not meet the second requirement, finishing 11th and one frustrating place out of qualifying. The McAvaney commentating kiss of death proved fatal this time.

I said it would be a bonus if any made the final, but, curse you McAvaney.

[El Toro]

Day 6 Morning Session Preview

MDEC 0900 JST / 1000 AEST

Cedric Dubler and Ash Moloney are committed to the two day festival of mental and physical culture. The first three events, 100m, LJ and SP are in the morning session.

Both athletes have pushed the standard of AUS combined events in recent years but Ash Moloney is probably more likely to come out as top Australian.

Only two decathletes have exceeded 8000 points in the OG, Simon Shirley (8036 15th) in Seoul88 and Dubler (8024 14th) in Rio16. Unless injury or misfortune intervenes, both will comfortably exceed the AUS OG points score record by at least several hundred points.

The best OG placing of 5th by Peter Mullins in 1948 will be much, much harder to beat but never say never.


MJT Qualifying 0905/1005

No AUS.

WHEP 0935/1035

No AUS representative because the most promising combined eventer preferred being a failed relay runner and hurdler...

M110H Semi-Finals 1100/1200

Nicholas Hough (pronounced like rough) starts in Heat 1 with the slowest SB and PB. There's only 2 hurdlers with slower SBs across the three heats and only 1 hurdler with an equal PB, there are none slower.

The 110H semis are a cutthroat first 2 or fastest 2 and 13.29 was the slowest Q in Doha19 and 13.36 was the slowest time qualifier. I think you can see where I am heading with this assessment.

Australia has only ever had 4 OG finalists, with 3 up to 1952 and none until Kyle Vander-Kuyp in 1996 - that's the 4.


W400H Final 1130/1230

No AUS.

[Vault-emort]

Nicholas Hough (pronounced like rough) .

I tweeted last night that Nick 'Houghed & Puffed & Blew A Few Down'

Dave Culbert pinched it for his commentary today.

[El Toro]

I tweeted last night that Nick 'Houghed & Puffed & Blew A Few Down'

Dave Culbert pinched it for his commentary today.

Does that now make you an official media whore? Enquiring minds wanna know!!

[El Toro]

Day 6 Morning Session Outcomes

MDEC

Ash Moloney is sitting in third place behind Damian Warner (CAN) and Pierce LePage (CAN), creating an unholy Commonwealth trinity. WR Holder Kevin Mayer is in 4th.

Moloney was helped by a 10.34 PB to start the day and a solid 7.64 LJ, the third best across the field behind the two Canadalanders. His SP was a solid 14.49 but not far off his PB as was the LJ. While it's nice to see PBs, sticking close with no disasters also gets the job done.

Cedric Dubler is in 17th place after 10.89, 7.36 and a 13.35 SP, which is a new PB for him! Getting some extra distance in his always modest throws deserves an exclamation mark.

I'd refer anybody wanting a more detailed analysis of the decathlon to the appropriate thread.


M110H Semi-Finals

Nicholas Hough started in Heat 1 and finished down the field in 7th with 13.88, a time which put him 21st overall out of 24. The reversal of the normal morning heat/evening semi seemed to discombobulate a few hurdlers but not enough to make a difference for Hough. He made the most of his Heat, so OG semi-finalist will look much nicer on his CV than "run out in heats".

[Jshapco2]

This might sound harsh but all three of Paul Burgess vaulters chocked in the Olympics. Bet there are going to be some tough conversations there. Alex Parnov had a very different vault philosophy than Burgess and I can imagine it was a tough transition. Both women got the "yips" as Steve Hooker made famous. Very sad for them all.

[Vault-emort]

Does that now make you an official media whore?

Just a whore..

[Vault-emort]

This might sound harsh but all three of Paul Burgess vaulters chocked in the Olympics. Bet there are going to be some tough conversations there. Alex Parnov had a very different vault philosophy than Burgess and I can imagine it was a tough transition. Both women got the "yips" as Steve Hooker made famous. Very sad for them all.

Yes - I think it's a bit harsh. Mainly due to covid, none of his vaulters have had any chance of elite competition for nearly two years. Heck, they hardly had any interstate competition.

The last minute Kendricks 'covid quarantine' situation can't have helped either.

Hooker's yips came while he was being coached by Parnov, so not sure it's something unique to a coaching style.

[El Toro]

Day 6 Evening Session Preview

MDEC 1830 JST / 1930 AEDT

HJ and 400 in the final session. Is Ash Moloney in shape to run a superfast time in the 400?

W1500 Semi-Finals 1900/2000

Two heats with first 5 and next 2 fastest.

Jess Hull runs in Heat 1 and will need to position herself well to take a top 5 spot. She is definitely in the mix but there are enough quality kickers in the field where she could end up well down the order. I choose faith and see her in 5th.

Linden Hall starts in Heat 2 which is likely to be a much faster affair than the Heat 1 bludgefest that is probable. She is one of the few with a SB starting with a 3, but that is no guarantee in a championship race.

While it's likely to be faster than Heat 1, it's likely to come from a longer kick than a nicely paced race. She has the capacity to hang with the top contenders and should finish in the top 5 or at least take a time qualifier.

WHEP 1905/2005

No AUS.

W400 Semi-Finals 1930/2030

No AUS.

W3000 SC Final 2000/2100

Genevieve Gregson is our sole representative in this event. There are 10 runners with a better SB than her, so it's not likely, she will finish much higher than her 9th in Rio.

This event seems to have moved forward and is subject to big improvements by rising athletes. Gregson is 32, so it's more likely she can maintain her best than drop significant time. She's likely to finish halfway down the field of 16 with a worst outcome of 12th.

MHT Final 2015/2115

No AUS

M800 Final 2105/2205

Sudan's finest export, Peter Bol, is surrounded by hype, now that certain journos have noticed non-sprint events. Two NR, ARs in a row without looking like he was tapped out is impressive stuff.

I don't think the Final is likely to be 1:46 kickfest like Beijing15 or superfast (famous last words) like a certain OG Final, but it's almost certain he'll have to run well into the 1:43s to have a chance of a medal. It looks like he can do that, so it comes down to the luck of the 800 where one bump, shove, misstep or path blockage can take you from hero to zero in a second. All of which adds to the tension and the drama.

Whatever happens, we know jlt will be watching his mentee race on his new The Wall big screen, sitting in his 16 person executive hot tub and working his way through his last case of Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1995. I'm also sure he'll be working the phones to line up some fast races and paydays after the OG for Mr Bol.

I can't recall the last time I was excited to watch an AUS runner in an 800 - no presssure Peter!

M200 Final 2155/2255

No AUS.

[El Toro]

Yes - I think it's a bit harsh. Mainly due to covid, none of his vaulters have had any chance of elite competition for nearly two years. Heck, they hardly had any interstate competition.

The last minute Kendricks 'covid quarantine' situation can't have helped either.

Hooker's yips came while he was being coached by Parnov, so not sure it's something unique to a coaching style.

Well, exactly. He's pretty much gone from 2 1/2 years of training sessions straight into an OG Final. He even struggled at Nationals for the same reasons - see what I wrote then https://forum.trackandfieldnews.com/...29#post1685229

He hasn't jumped against anybody of note since the All Star Perche in France on 24 Feb 2019 and outdoors, nothing since the Memorial van Damme on 31 AUG 2018. That's 3 years and that's a big hill to overcome, no matter how good your training is.

Kennedy was injured after her good domestic season and Liz was never a big chance to be in the mix, unlike the other two.

[Vault-emort]

I can't recall the last time I was excited to watch an AUS runner in an 800

Did you only have a radio in Mexico 68?

[El Toro]

Did you only have a radio in Mexico 68?

Yes, actually, and I wasn't interested in athletics at all.

[Vault-emort]

Yes, actually, and I wasn't interested in athletics at all.

The foolishness of youth

[El Toro]

Day 6 Evening Session Outcomes

MDEC

Comparison of Ashley Moloney, currently in 2nd place after Day 1, to his NR in December last year. He remains part of the evil CWTH triumvirate of Warner, Moloney and LePage. I don't think that has ever happened before at global champs, but I'm too lazy to confirm.

https://forum.trackandfieldnews.com/forum/-2019-world-championships-men-closed/1708784-2021-mog-decathlon?p=1714243#post1714243

W1500 Semi-Finals

Jess Hull in Heat 1 finished 4th just to humiliate me and my prediction of 5th place. To top it off, she ran a new NR of 3:58.81 just to rub it in about my comment that Heat 1 would be bludgefest. OK, women are different than men. The Saffa neighbours have already kicked the door down and beaten me with sjambocks as punishment for my temerity. No more please...

Linden Hall in Heat 2 finished 3rd in 4:01.37. She needed to go for a time after the first heat but nobody was interested, so she made her own time, leading for much of the race. When I said a longer kick, I didn't meant that! However, she fought off most of the field in the final 150 to finish in the top 5 as I predicted. The neighbours still gave me a beating, anyway. I'm starting to think they just don't like me...

W3000 SC Final

Genevieve Gregson crashed out flat on her face at the final water jump, so was a DNF. Before that she was down in the field, as expected, with a sore achilles. However, according to TV commentary, she ruptured the non-injured achilles, so that's a double ouch.

It's not uncommon to wreck the other side of your body as you compensate for an injury but it's really sad that it happened so late in the game. As I said in the preview, Gregson is 32, so can she come back to elite level from such such significant injury?

M800 Final

Peter Bol got a bit of the deluded Browning-type TV hype tonight, but he didn't disappoint me with his 4th place 1:45.92. In OG and WC finals, that places him only behind Flack (1896) and Doubell (1968) in terms of places. Let's just ignore Flack's 2:11 and say 2nd behind Australia's best OG champion who wouldn't have been champion under today's closer fitness inspections.

Despite his easy rounds performances setting NR and ARs at will, the cumulative effort clearly affected him tonight. He placed himself well, pushed the pace, did everything right but it was not to be. In the end, he still kicked the arse of Tuka, Amos and Murphy, so he, JR and jlt should be happy as.

[El Toro]

Day 7 Morning Session Preview

MDEC 0900 JST / 1000 AEST

With Ash Moloney in 2nd place after Day 1, some will get super excited. However, those in the know will expect significant pressure from Day 2 performers like WR holder Mayer. How well can Moloney hang on and are there PBs lurking in the PV? Tune in tomorrow to the Decathlon thread and find out!!!

Cedric Dubler is down in 15th place and could claw back some placings but he's not really in the hunt for any top place as he's had hamstring troubles.

WHJ Qualification 0910/1010

Nicola McDermott jumps in Group A, needing to hit 1.95 or be top 12. She didn't make the final in Doha19, only jumping 1.89 vs the 1.92 that qualified but she's a different jumper now. Given she's the fresh AUS NR holder at 2.01 and 3rd on the annual list behind only U-20 WR holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) and Vashti Cunningham (USA), you've got to agree she'll get through.

Eleanor Patterson in Group B, took a HJ sabbatical after only a couple of years of quality jumping but campe back to set a NR at 1.99 18 months ago. She's been injured in 2020 and her NR has been surpassed twice by McDermott but has made a solid return this year with mid-1.90s in Europe.

Hopefully, she healthy and peaking, ready to push up to 2m in the final. However, like most jumpers in a morning session, the autoQ will not be reached. She's sitting =9th on the world list, so it would be surprising if she didn't make through.

W4x100 Heats 1000/1100

The AUS women graciously stepped back to allow other countries to rage at their countrywomen's inability to pass the baton effectively.

MTJ Final 1100/1200

No AUS. In the morning? WTF?

MSP Final 1105/1205

No AUS. In the morning AND on Day7? WTF?

M4x100 1130/1230

No AUS. (and the men weren't even gracious about it)

M110H Final 1155/1255

No AUS. ANOTHER morning final tempting disaster. Gotta lock up those WA/IOC larks for sanity's sake.