Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

Respect for this gentleman and great champion
who recently welcomed one of the French judges
who wanted him to leave the stadium just after
his famous "false-start".
A long article about this rendez-vous in the
French magazine from L'Equipe last week-end
showing a very warm and facetious Jon Drummond,
without any resentment towards his tormentor.
That is why cannot refrain from wishing him
a brilliant 2004 season,
and from forgiving him his rebellious behaviour.

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

"showing a very warm and facetious Jon Drummond"

I'm guessing English is your 3rd language? :-)

[stevehj197]

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

As Alexander Pope said,

"To err is human, to forgive, divine."

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

Then God can forgive him! Just kidding - you're right!

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

...Franglisly or warmfooly?
My first language is track and field.

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

nobly said, sir!

[michael lewis]

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

Go look it up if you like, but Japlish is in the Oxford dictionary!! But not Chinglish, that's just in motherboard manuals.

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

I believe forgiveness if ALWAYS a good thing...we leave judgement to God, who knows all and loves completely. I also hope Jon Drummond has a great 2004.

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

I meant to write is ALWAYS a good thing, not if...L.C.

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

showing a very warm and facetious
>Jon Drummond,

not surprising...if you know jon........

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

Despite what people may think of Jon Drummond in light of what occurred at the World Championships in Paris, those of us who have been around him realize Jon has a public persona as well as a private one.

I recently witnessed the private persona at the USATF Convention in Greensboro, NC. Jon came to one of the general sessions for USATF officials and offered his explanation of what occurred in Paris. After offering a behind the scene look of what occurred (which many media outlets ignored), Jon took questions from those assembled at the meeting.

Although a few of the questioners took Jon to task for the way he acted on the track, I have to admit that his answers provided a glimpse into the realities athletes face when they're on the field of play. All too often, we forget that these athletes we see performing are human, containing the same emotions, thoughts, and feelings as the rest of us. Jon's explanation to what happened in Paris afforded many of us an opportunity to step in his shoes.

As he adamantly stated, he trained 364 days for that 9 - 10 second race in Paris. He was not going to let the opportunity go if he didn't commit an infraction (which turns out he didn't). He also indicated that the starter actually came to his home and talked with him about the race while showing him video validating his statement that he did not false start.

Whether you like him or not, Jon Drummond is a class act who is willing to set the record straight by talking to any and everyone about what happened. That's the true mark of an athlete. If he was a spoiled baby, then he wouldn't have done what he did at the convention.

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

As immature as Jon seemed at Paris, the reality is that NO ONE can feel the loss that he felt at the moment, as he was being CHEATED out of the opportunity to do the one thing his entire life had been devoted to for a full year. He knew he had not jumped, yet the official was telling him to leave. Judge not, lest etc.

[ZZrunZZ]

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

If his immature behavior was limited to Paris 2003 that would be one thing, but I cannot erase from my mind the image of him and the other bozos on the 4x100 in Sydney. Talk about a freakin embarassment! In this day and age of "spin" I take most things that public figures say with a huge grain of salt and question their motives.

Call me old school, but the biggest thrill I get from sports is watching athletes perform incredible feats on the field without ridiculous grandstanding and "look at me" demonstrations after the fact. A lack of class always ruins the performance.

[Pego]

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

<If his immature behavior was limited to Paris 2003 that would be one thing, but I cannot erase from my mind the image of him and the other bozos on the 4x100 in Sydney. Talk about a freakin embarassment! In this day and age of "spin" I take most things that public figures say with a huge grain of salt and question their motives.

Call me old school, but the biggest thrill I get from sports is watching athletes perform incredible feats on the field without ridiculous grandstanding and "look at me" demonstrations after the fact. A lack of class always ruins the performance.>

Right on!

Re: Jon DRUMMOND the gentleman...

Yes, but all you have to do is look at the NFL or the NBA to see guys much more outrageous, and the fans LOVE it. That's the role models our track guys are emulating. When everyone came down on the 4x1 team, especially B Williams for his posturing, he had to be thinking, "Wait a minute, the Rock does this and he's a hero - I do it and I'm a jerk?" I'm not saying it's right, but you have to admit that, at present, the US public not only condones this sort of behavior in their sports icons, they encourage it. Michael Jordan's tongue-wagging finger-waving is a prime example.