Bolt vs. Powell vs. Gay in Brussels

[croflash]

According to SF2 (Swiss TV), there is also a semi-official confirmation on the official site of the meet. I'm still a little skeptical if it's really going to happen as someone could always withdraw at the last minute. Get your popcorn ready nonetheless.

[ponytayne]

so, really, at this juncture, it's Bolt vs. Powell. Sad as I am to type it, I don't think Gay factors in the race. Too much lost time.

[Kevin Richardson]

I am with Ponytane on this one. I love Tyson, but his year is pretty much through. Nothing really to gain by lining up against the 'Maicans. They are just too powerful.

[Barto]

Okay, so who wins the Men's 100m in Berlin 2009?

Does Bolt live up to the hype and run 9.5?

Does 'Safa put his demons to rest and run 9.6 in a championship?

Does Gay come back from injury with a point to prove and run 9.6?

As jingoistic as it may sound from me I think #3 is the most likely.

[imaginative]

The big irony is that until his injury at the trials, there was much talk
about Gay's chances at pulling off a double in Beijing. Things can change
very quickly: Next year, unless he ups his game considerably, he may find
himself fighting for a bronze.

(Barto beat me to it...)

[Marlow]

Much as I'd like to see Gay mount a big comeback and run 9.6x . . .
Much as I'd like to see Asafa run the 9.x in a champ final . . .
The fact (IMO) is that Bolt now resides on the Mount Olympus of Sprinting and mere mortals cannot defeat him now.

[Paul Henry]

Noway will Gay ever get the better of Bolt in a major meet. This guy thrives on the crowd and his own hype. I mean, Gay is a superb athlete but I just don't see him coming close to Bolt in the 100m in Berlin. Especially given the fact that he will be training out right for a double (which was not a focus for him leading into 2008) leading into summer 2009. Have you looked at the Oly 100m final...zero wind easing up to clock 9.69 and compared to the max that a superfit Tyson expelled to run 9.77 with a tailwind!!

However, I definately see Safa and Gay battling for the 9.69 and a low 9.7 respectively (this is if Safa gets one of those Dix shades). Therefore, their winnng will be dependent on how many mistakes Bolt will make and how well they will make him pay.

[Barto]

Noway will Gay ever get the better of Bolt in a major meet. This guy thrives on the crowd and his own hype. I mean, Gay is a superb athlete but I just don't see him coming close to Bolt in the 100m in Berlin. Especially given the fact that he will be training out right for a double (which was not a focus for him leading into 2008) leading into summer 2009. Have you looked at the Oly 100m final...zero wind easing up to clock 9.69 and compared to the max that a superfit Tyson expelled to run 9.77 with a tailwind!!

However, I definately see Safa and Gay battling for the 9.69 and a low 9.7 respectively (this is if Safa gets one of those Dix shades). Therefore, their winnng will be dependent on how many mistakes Bolt will make and how well they will make him pay.

Do the names Quincy Watts or Kevin Young or Roy Martin or Houston McTear mean anything to you? There have been lots of young champions. Some of them have gone on to be old champions. Some have not.

[Paul Henry]

Noway will Gay ever get the better of Bolt in a major meet. This guy thrives on the crowd and his own hype. I mean, Gay is a superb athlete but I just don't see him coming close to Bolt in the 100m in Berlin. Especially given the fact that he will be training out right for a double (which was not a focus for him leading into 2008) leading into summer 2009. Have you looked at the Oly 100m final...zero wind easing up to clock 9.69 and compared to the max that a superfit Tyson expelled to run 9.77 with a tailwind!!

However, I definately see Safa and Gay battling for the 9.69 and a low 9.7 respectively (this is if Safa gets one of those Dix shades). Therefore, their winnng will be dependent on how many mistakes Bolt will make and how well they will make him pay.

Do the names Quincy Watts or Kevin Young or Roy Martin or Houston McTear mean anything to you? There have been lots of young champions. Some of them have gone on to be old champions. Some have not.

You are 100% right you even left out Micael Johnson, but there is no parallel to draw with Bolt in that regard. The man is statospheric and is the man of the hour, its ordained that he will be a young champion and will be a champion until he decides he doesn't want it anymore or until a next prodigy comes along (but that is like two100 year floods in one year). :wink:

[26mi235]

Paul:

Unfortunately, sprinters are a little too fragile, especially at this level, to be very sure of either four years down the road or even one year. It seems that Mo was never quite the same after his super race, where he got injured right at the end and still ran a better wind-adjusted mark than anything prior to 2006 or 07.

It was very comforting to see Bolt run well without an indication of anything more than fatigue (and little of that). It will be interesting if he still has one or two extreme marks in him (by the standards of July 08, semi-extreme by his current standards).

[Per Andersen]

Do the names Quincy Watts or Kevin Young or Roy Martin or Houston McTear mean anything to you? There have been lots of young champions. Some of them have gone on to be old champions. Some have not.

Kevin Young is a bad example. He had a long career at or near the top. Why bring up any of these guys?
None of us has seen a talent like Bolt. Let him shine!

[Paul Henry]

Paul:

Unfortunately, sprinters are a little too fragile, especially at this level, to be very sure of either four years down the road or even one year. It seems that Mo was never quite the same after his super race, where he got injured right at the end and still ran a better wind-adjusted mark than anything prior to 2006 or 07.

It was very comforting to see Bolt run well without an indication of anything more than fatigue (and little of that). It will be interesting if he still has one or two extreme marks in him (by the standards of July 08, semi-extreme by his current standards).

Well that is always a given even for distance runners. I meant to mention that in statment that: "his losing would be a function of how many mistakes he would make". So point well taken.

[26mi235]

Paul:

Unfortunately, sprinters are a little too fragile, especially at this level, to be very sure of either four years down the road or even one year. It seems that Mo was never quite the same after his super race, where he got injured right at the end and still ran a better wind-adjusted mark than anything prior to 2006 or 07.

It was very comforting to see Bolt run well without an indication of anything more than fatigue (and little of that). It will be interesting if he still has one or two extreme marks in him (by the standards of July 08, semi-extreme by his current standards).

Well that is always a given even for distance runners. I meant to mention that in statement that: "his losing would be a function of how many mistakes he would make". So point well taken.

You guys have been educating me on sprinting, especially the last 15 months, and I picking up on the little things that matter at the top.