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Originally posted by bad hammy
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You mean he's going to switch to the 50km walk? (The 110mH final in Beijing is August 21st.) -
I have a question. It seems to me that Liu relies more than most on extreme precision over the hurdles. Does his injury hurt his speed/power more or his precision?
gh made a remark about Liu moving n the blocks more than most can get away with (did I interpret that remark correctly?). Does that movement get picked up with some set of blocks (e.g., those in Eugene, which will be used for the Trials) more than others? If so, what about the blocks to be used in the Olympics, and who wil be supplying that equipment, the local committee, the IAAF, the IOC?Comment
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To clarify what I said about Liu. Said that if it were ME who were the starter, I've never seen him run (in person) where I didn't think I woulda pulled the trigger a second time no matter what the blocks are saying. Since he gets away with it in the biggest meets in the world, obviously my definition of "completely still" is more severe than the people who do it for a living.
I'm relatively certain Liu had a false start (the first one) in the test event in Beijing last month, so he can be nailed by those blocks also.Comment
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The correct answer is actually Aug. 18th (round 1). I misread the schedule.Originally posted by tandfmanComment
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Originally posted by steve
I think that's exactly what they said...after the Reebok meet.
But now it's Pre and Nike. More importantly, it's Eugene and NBC--the venue of the upcoming Trials and interntional broadcasting company of the Trials AND Games.
And I don't think Nike or anyone else believes they are risking an athlete's health...if he puts in an appearance and then bails, as happened at Pre.
As it went, Liu was in NO danger. [Just as the script read.]
So let's put Liu on the tube. Keep him from getting hurt more, but give him some extended airtime in order to give the announcers a chance to talk about all the pressure he's under so viewers will tune in later to see if he heroically overcomes injury and nerves to come back for the glorious triumph to the cheers of over 1 billion people---or gets beat by an American we can then highlight as "underdog beats champion on his home turf".
The "give the crowd (and television viewing audience) something" idea so they will tune in again. Scripted foreshadowing--don't think television does this all the time? It's a staple of the entertainment industry. It's term is a "tease"--no different than the first 3 minutes before credits that gets a viewer to come back after the bathroom break.
And the other false starts don't compare. With Liu's situation, this is high stakes drama.
As far as acting as individuals, why wouldn't Liu's teammate (be forced to) go along and play a role? Two of the biggest dictator federations in track & field today are Ethiopia and China. What happened in Eugene is no different than African teammates in the distance races boxing in opponents, etc., to give Geb, Bekele, et al the best chance to win. Only unlike the African lesser lights who are called upon to sacrifice their own best race chances, Liu's teammate still had the chance to win--actually, an even better chance with Liu out.
So as long as Liu doesn't get hurt further (as in extending himself in the latter stages of a tough race), there are some business minds who will think what happened Sunday was a bottom line "win-win" scenario (even better than Liu actually winning the race, believe it or not). Of course, a relative handful of knowledgeable people--mostly on this board--will see through it, but not so the general public; i.e, those who buy the products hawked during the commercials during The Games... a Games they may now watch to see if the "Chinese Guy wins or not."
A business mind would say, who's the loser here? No one.
Purists would say, the sport itself.
And for the record, I feel for Liu. He was probably thinking, "Why can't I just go home quietly...?"Comment
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