2021 Euro Indoor Champs

[Alan Shank]

Mihmabo was having shocking technical difficulties. Apparently it is because for her training and competitions prior to Torun she has been using a shortened run up, so when she reverted back to her normal run-up she was off. But she has enough time to fix that before Tokyo, and this shows that she is jumping further than the others..

Thanks for that clarification, Wiederganger. Did you see her 6.88 jump? If she got on the board OK on that jump, one would expect she had it "fixed" and wouldn't be even farther off in that last, critical jump.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA, USA

[KevinR]

[QUOTE=Grazerite;n1679484]

All 3 Dutch men into the 400m final, surely a couple of medals there for them?
The Dutch men WON all three semis! But not the final....

And their bronze medalist has a candidate for cool names in the sport, Liemarvin Bonavecito. Cat Ballou, anyone?

[Powell]

And how about Patryk Dobek winning the 800 against a great field less than a month after his senior debut at the distance? He ran one 800 as a 15-year old back in 2009, then none until this winter.

[Atticus]

Mihmabo was having shocking technical difficulties. Apparently it is because for her training and competitions prior to Torun she has been using a shortened run up, so when she reverted back to her normal run-up she was off.

That, and Gittens' LJ woes at SEC Pent are . . . unforgivable at this level. I can't remember a single athlete of mine in 25 years having that bad a problem at Championship time. Early season, new event? Absolutely.

[Powell]

[QUOTE=KevinR;n1679553]

And their bronze medalist has a candidate for cool names in the sport, Liemarvin Bonavecito. Cat Ballou, anyone?

His name is Bonevacia

[Powell]

The Dutch women beat POL, 3rd, by a whopping 2.79 seconds, very doubtful whether even the inclusion of Swiety would have made a difference, although she no doubt would have beaten GBR to silver.

The Poles would not have won by substituting Gaworska with Święty. But with Święty in there instead of Lesiewicz, it could have been close. Also, the Polish team was pretty much a B squad - Baumgart, Wyciszkiewicz and Kiełbasińska were all absent, for various reasons, whereas the Dutch had the best lineup they have.

Interestingly, the Dutch indoor 4x4 record is now just 0.17 slower than the outdoor NR. I'm sure this won't last long, the outdoor record is bound to be smashed by a large margin this year.

[Wiederganger]

whereas the Dutch had the best lineup they have.

Interestingly, the Dutch indoor 4x4 record is now just 0.17 slower than the outdoor NR. I'm sure this won't last long, the outdoor record is bound to be smashed by a large margin this year.

It was the best line up they have right now, but I think that team will change come summer and Dopheide won't be in the final line-up. She peaked well at the nationals to place 3rd behind Bol & Klaver to earn her spot in the team, ahead of Bouma and Saarlberg. However, Bouma & Saarlberg had beaten her earlier in the season, and are much younger - Dopheide is 31, Bouma is 21 & Saarlberg 22. Dopheide has been around for over a decade as a 100/200 runner and only moved to the 400 a couple of years ago. I guess she could carry her form outdoors and improve, but I have a feeling one of the younger women will improve more outdoors, and Saarlberg is now part of Meuwly's group (since end of 2019)

The good thing for the team is the candidates for that 4th spot know there is potentially a medal chance, and I think it will lift them. I still think that if she got back into 22.0 form or below, they should consider drafting Schippers in, especially if the three 4th spots are all 53+ because surely Schippers could run faster than that? GBR & POL wont have a 53 runner in their 4th spot. But Meuwly just isn't keen unless he sees her run a 400m first, and Bennema has basically said she wont run one!

The running order was also interesting for the final. I would not have put my weakest on 2nd like the Dutch did, I would have put her on 3rd, because, as we saw, straight away you lose the lead you gained by running your 2nd fastest on the first leg. I thought the Brits made a couple of mistakes, Williams on leg 2 not going hard enough soon enough, and Pipi sitting behind too long, and then allowing the German to box her in. They wouldn't have won, but it would have been faster for them. At one point I thought your 3rd leg runner was not going to make the end of the race!

[Wiederganger]

Oh, and just to add for fun, the Dutch 4x4 women are staying true to the belief that the Dutch are one of the tallest groups of people. Not only are Bol & Klaver over 6ft, but Dopheide is just over 5'10 (1.79) and the young Saalberg is also 5'10 (1.78). They make taller than average Lisanne De witte, at 5'7 / 1.75, look small, but she isn't.
In the BBC footage of the call room prior to the 4x400m you could see how much taller Bol & Klaver were compared to the other women. It does make you wonder how much their height contributes to part of their natural talent

[KevinR]

[QUOTE=Powell;n1679568]

His name is Bonevacia

Mea Culpa. I was working from a rather iffy memory. Don't I get some credit for the obscure Lee Marvin movie reference?

[Atticus]

Liemarvin Bonavecito. Cat Ballou, anyone?

Don't I get some credit for the obscure Lee Marvin movie reference?

[quiet courtesy clap]

[ZazaShoya]

And how about Patryk Dobek winning the 800 against a great field less than a month after his senior debut at the distance? He ran one 800 as a 15-year old back in 2009, then none until this winter.

Really impressive. Does he plan on returning to the hurdles this summer or staying in an event where he is almost invincible as of now ?

[Jacksf]

It was the best line up they have right now, but I think that team will change come summer and Dopheide won't be in the final line-up. She peaked well at the nationals to place 3rd behind Bol & Klaver to earn her spot in the team, ahead of Bouma and Saarlberg. However, Bouma & Saarlberg had beaten her earlier in the season, and are much younger - Dopheide is 31, Bouma is 21 & Saarlberg 22. Dopheide has been around for over a decade as a 100/200 runner and only moved to the 400 a couple of years ago. I guess she could carry her form outdoors and improve, but I have a feeling one of the younger women will improve more outdoors, and Saarlberg is now part of Meuwly's group (since end of 2019)

The good thing for the team is the candidates for that 4th spot know there is potentially a medal chance, and I think it will lift them. I still think that if she got back into 22.0 form or below, they should consider drafting Schippers in, especially if the three 4th spots are all 53+ because surely Schippers could run faster than that? GBR & POL wont have a 53 runner in their 4th spot. But Meuwly just isn't keen unless he sees her run a 400m first, and Bennema has basically said she wont run one!

Isn't Lisanne De Witte still a possibility for the Dutch relay team?

[Wiederganger]

Isn't Lisanne De Witte still a possibility for the Dutch relay team?

Do you mean Lisanne or her sister Laura? Lisanne, the 3rd eg runner in Torun, will be in the relay, its the 4th spot that's up for grabs. At the moment the main 3 battling for that place are Dopheide, Saalberg & Bouma. Then after that it's Eva Hovenkamp & Laura De Witte, and then Baak (who ran in Doha but who's form has dropped since).

[Powell]

Really impressive. Does he plan on returning to the hurdles this summer or staying in an event where he is almost invincible as of now ?

At the nationals he said he still intended to stick with the hurdles. In an interview after the EIC gold he was no longer so sure - said he will make the decision with his coach.

[Atticus]

At the nationals he said he still intended to stick with the hurdles. In an interview after the EIC gold he was no longer so sure - said he will make the decision with his coach.

Kicking well to a 1:46.8 is not the same as running 1:43 at any pace.
Not that he has a prayer in the 400H either (not to be snarky!), but his 48.40 PR speaks louder.