Sprinters you'd like to see explore seriously the 400m?

[Alcyallen]

Who would want to run the 400 if they have talents else where? The few times I got stuck on a 4x4 leg. got sick all over, ouch!

Once upon a time,,,,

Jim Kemp was 45.2 man out of Kentucky State, so he shows up in Fresno to run the 400m, well nobody else showed up, so apparently he tlked the powers that be into letting him run the 100 yards dash ( his first in competition, I know of) yep, he won it in 9.3. Kemp was very muscular looked more like a short sprinter.

Herb McKenley the first to win an Olympic medal in both the 100 and 400. He was world ranked in all three sprints as was Henry Carr and Tommie Smith.

Cliff Wiley, Willie Smith, Forest Beatty, Atlee Mahorn, Xavier Carter,Chris Nelloms,Dennis Schultz, J'Warren Hooker, guys that you could run a 100 or 400.

Michael Johnson, Quincy Watts started out as short sprinters while Dennis Mitchell and James Sanford started out in the 400m.

Sprinters who ran sub 45.00 4x4 legs, not mentioned above...

John Regis
Justin Gatlin
Johnny Johnson
Roy Martin
Larry Black
Pat Johnson
Lorenzo Daneil
Michael Franks


There is nobody today other than Boling who needs to change anything. I talked about Boling will end up more 200/400 than 100/200 and expect to see that because that is where he belongs.

[Jaguarclaws]

Who would want to run the 400 if they have talents else where? The few times I got stuck on a 4x4 leg. got sick all over, ouch!

Once upon a time,,,,

Jim Kemp was 45.2 man out of Kentucky State, so he shows up in Fresno to run the 400m, well nobody else showed up, so apparently he tlked the powers that be into letting him run the 100 yards dash ( his first in competition, I know of) yep, he won it in 9.3. Kemp was very muscular looked more like a short sprinter.

Herb McKenley the first to win an Olympic medal in both the 100 and 400. He was world ranked in all three sprints as was Henry Carr and Tommie Smith.

Cliff Wiley, Willie Smith, Forest Beatty, Atlee Mahorn, Xavier Carter,Chris Nelloms,Dennis Schultz, J'Warren Hooker, guys that you could run a 100 or 400.

Michael Johnson, Quincy Watts started out as short sprinters while Dennis Mitchell and James Sanford started out in the 400m.

Sprinters who ran sub 45.00 4x4 legs, not mentioned above...

John Regis
Justin Gatlin
Johnny Johnson
Roy Martin
Larry Black
Pat Johnson
Lorenzo Daneil
Michael Franks


There is nobody today other than Boling who needs to change anything. I talked about Boling will end up more 200/400 than 100/200 and expect to see that because that is where he belongs.

I agree Alcy, Boling can still run 4x100 and the 100 every once in a while. John Regis. He could have been good, but he was running same time as Quincy Watts then Michael Johnson. He could have been good but too much talent around him to get a gold or even silver. Forgot about Butch Reynolds too.

[79]

There was also a formidable sprinter from the SMTC I had always wondered why he did not switch to the 4, I mean Mark Witherspoon. Long strides, tall, thin à la Danny Everett.

[Jaguarclaws]

Witherspoon should have switched . He had the Achilles year I believe. That would have been a good switch for him.

[andyjgt]

Vladimir Krylov, 10.13 1988, 20.23 1987, 45.20 1986
1985 2nd Euro Cup, 5th World Cup both at 400 (and the perpetrator of the incident involving the ugly shove by Darren Clark in the WCp relay)
1986 1st EC 200, 3rd 4x4
1987 5th WC 200, dnf 4x4, not in 4x1 team either year
1988 sf OG 100, 1st 4x1, USSR did not enter a m4x4 that year
1990 7th EC 100, 4th 4x1, not in 4x4 team that year
He ran shorter distances as he got older, he was born in 1964 so his career basically ended aged 26

[lonewolf]

Who would want to run the 400 if they have talents elsewhere?

Although I did not (always) get sick, I have had that thought in the last 100 of every 400 I have ever run.

[KDFINE]

Give me a good example of a 100/200 specialist of past couple of decades who successfully stepped up to 400m in their mid-20s or later.

With very few exceptions the event is the domain of specialists and the reasonably young.

Irina Kirzenstein-Szewinska. On the flip side, I think Steve Williams should have stuck with the 400. Maybe he would have avoided injuries, but there was the lure of being "the World's Fastest Man." I'd like to see Shamier Little run more flat 400s.

[Alcyallen]

Although I did not (always) get sick, I have had that thought in the last 100 of every 400 I have ever run.

I hated knowing all my friends were watching me looking like a drunk as I wobbled down the track trying to deal with handing off while fighting that pain, it was terrible.

[Alcyallen]

Irina Kirzenstein-Szewinska. On the flip side, I think Steve Williams should have stuck with the 400. Maybe he would have avoided injuries, but there was the lure of being "the World's Fastest Man." I'd like to see Shamier Little run more flat 400s.

I agree about Williams, do think he would have been one of the greats if he'd wanted the 400m.

Was there the night he ran his WR 9,1. Herb Washington out like a rocket with Don Quarrie on his heels, then here came Williams. Around 80ish Williams seems to shift gears and pulls away, yep....9.1. So why run the 400?

Funny thing was that San Diego State wasn't scheduled to be in Fresno, so when I saw Williams down there, yep....cool!