Lashawn 20.18 with -1.3

[eldrick]

at the veracruz meet

he can get close to 20-flat this year

[EPelle]

What does that do for his long-sprint time this season?

[eldrick]

What does that do for his long-sprint time this season?

are you asking me or rhetorically ?

all you can do is have a rough guess

i'm afraid i don't know his 200 best from last year, but maybe he was in 20.2 shape ?

if he's in 20-flat shape, then his 44.6 from last year coud be due for some serious revision

if you assume his 100 ability is unchanged, but his 200 has dropped from 20.2 to 20-flat, if all that advantage was possibly extrapolated to his 400 ( & his 200 improvement is primarily due to better endurance ), i get a rough esimate he coud drop his 400 as low as

~ 43.80

obviously this is a "perfect" scenario & not going to happen, but i do think close to 44-flat is not out of the question...

[EPelle]

Thanks for taking the time to answer that, eldrick... Do you not see Merritt faster than a 43,87 Steve Lewis? Merritt can dip under 44-flat this season, I believe -- in the neighbourhood of 43,89 to 43,94.

eldrick -- Merritt ran 20,38 (+0,3) last season.

[eldrick]

Thanks for taking the time to answer that, eldrick... Do you not see Merritt faster than a 43,87 Steve Lewis? Merritt can dip under 44-flat this season, I believe -- 43,89 to 43,94 is my guess.

steve lewis had the most magnificent body i've ever seen on a 400 guy ( i'm talking aesthetics here )

if i had a wish when i was younger, i couda only have wished for his physique

i'm biased, so i'd say, no, lashawn won't beat steve's time

[EPelle]

Sorry, see above: eldrick -- Merritt ran 20,38 (+0,3) last season.

[eldrick]

Sorry, see above: eldrick -- Merritt ran 20,38 (+0,3) last season.

i'd certainly say he was worth quicker than that last year - he already had a 20.40i prior, so i'd certainly suggest he was probably nearer 20.2 at his best

[EPelle]

Meant "sorry" that my edit didn:t get to you prior to your response. All things being considered in this case -- that Merritt could have been in 20,2 shape last season: Where is he now? What is his drop-dead limit in the 200m/400m races if his 100m remains unchanged as you indicated?

[pela2]

It's my understanding that the meet was held in the city Xalapa. (in the region/state Veracruz). Is this correct?

[eldrick]

Meant "sorry" that my edit didn:t get to you prior to your response. All things being considered in this case -- that Merritt could have been in 20,2 shape last season: Where is he now? What is his drop-dead limit in the 200m/400m races if his 100m remains unchanged as you indicated?

if his 100 is unchanged & last year he was maybe 20.2 / 44.6, then i'd get potentially:

20.15 -> ~ 44.4
20.10 -> ~ 44.2
20.05 -> ~ 44.0...

if gets close to 44.0, i'm sure he'd bite your hand off, at the offer

[EPelle]

I see why, looking at things this way based off his potential 200m times, you don:t give him a sub-44. I appreciate your opinion on Steve Lewis physique (I was in his conference for two years, and competed against him -- relay legs) his final two years of high school -- my grade-10 and grade-11 seasons). Lewis seemed to max out at 46,50 in every "fast" race in which he competed. Then he topped off his 1987 season with that 45,76. He ran 10,6/21,1 hand times leading up to that 45,76. Not a speedy guy. He broke 46 one time, and broke 46,50 only twice in high school.

Merritt strikes me as a strength runner who has speed. Watts seemed to turn into more of a strength sprinter as well. His 10,30A/20,50A as a grade-10 athlete were astonishing, but then came the injuries. The continued until he switched distances up to the 400m.

Merritt can have both tools, no? Speed and strength?

[guru]

It's my understanding that the meet was held in the city Xalapa. (in the region/state Veracruz). Is this correct?

Yes.

http://www.galabanamex.com/venue.php

[gh]

altitude a very significant (as one could have guessed from the meet results overall) 1420m (c4600ft).

[eldrick]

Merritt can have both tools, no? Speed and strength?

of-course he can !

his 100 coud improve thru getting older/stronger

just that, that scenario becomes hard to work out !