Allyson Felix – 200 or 400m both in Berlin?

[jamaicantrackfan]

Allyson Felix – 200 or 400m both in Berlin?

Based on what she has written in a couple of journals for the IAAF website, Allyson is thinking about the possibility of running the either the 200 or 400m in Berlin.

I honestly believe that she should run both because there is a possibility of gold in both.

Allyson as we all know is a seasoned 200m runner(twice World Champion over the event and twice silver in the Olympics). She is also a very good 400m runner. Her PR in the 400m I think is 49.70. She has beaten Sanya over 400m before and has had the fastest relay leg on the US 4 x 400m team the last Olympics and World Championships. Allyson also had the fastest relay leg on the US womens 4 x 400m at the recently concluded Penn Relays.

I just reviewed the 400m/200m schedule at this upcoming World Championship and the double is definitely possible for her. Here is the schedule.


Saturday August 15 Womens 400m heats
Sunday August 16 Womens 400m semis
Tuesday August 18 Womens 400m finals

Wednesday August 19 Womens 200m heats(morning) and Womens 200m quarterfinals(evening)
Thursday August 20 Womens 200m semi
Friday August 21 Womens 200m final


Sunday, August 23 Womens 4 x 400m final


The Tuesday, Wednesday schedule will be very tight for her since on Tuesday, she will have to run all out in the 400m final and Wednesday, she has heats and quarters final races at 200m races. She should be able to run very easy on Wednesday just to get through the rounds to conserve energy.

Unlike Beijing where both she and Veronica were fresh in the 200m, here in Berlin, both her and Veronica will have already had rounds. (VC would have run 4 rounds of the 100m and Allyson 3 rounds of the 400m)

I think Allyson has nothing to loose and all to gain thus, I think she should go for the double.

Allyson could definitely be the next Marie Jose Perec with those long strides.

BTW, Allyson will be running the 400m in Doha on May 8th.

[TrackDaddy]

IMO, if she runs both she risks winning either.

If she only runs the 200 and VCB doubles, she may be the favorite.

Sanya has beaten Felix the last two times they raced in the 400m. The only time Felix beat Sanya in the 400m was by .02 and it was on a day when Sanya doubled, but Felix didn't.

As for the splits, Penn was Sanya's first time on the track this year. I believe it was Felix's 3rd meet. In Bejing they both ran 48.x and Felix ran 2nd leg, the shortest of the 4.

Felix is obviously VERY talented but Bejing proved that she will need all of her energy to beat VCB in the deuce. Felix has said her focus this season is defending her 200m title. Like you said when they both only ran the deuce, VCB was near dominant.

If Felix allows VCB to double in the 1/2 like she did in Osaka and Felix is rested then she stands a great chance of repeating her own dominant performance.

As for Perec's double, she was farther ahead of her competition. Felix may not be the favorite in either and could lose even if she didnt double. Her competition (primarily Sanya and VCB) are arguably better double or not.

You said she has nothing to lose by doubling?

I'm not so sure, although admittedly I would like to see her attempt it.

Remember...

One gold medal is better than any two that aren't.

[gh]

The 2-race Wednesday shouldn't be particularly stressful.

Using Osaka as a model, the slowest qualifier had to run only 23.96 to move on from the heats. That's a modest interval workout for Felix. In only one of the four quarters did you have to break 23 to get a top-4 spot. In the other three you could have run 23.14, 23.27 and 23.16 and still advanced. Just another good tempo run for Felix.

The good news is that as defending world champ she won't have to run the 200 in Eugene.

[guru]

Re: Allyson Felix – 200 or 400m both in Berlin?

I think Allyson has nothing to loose(sic) and all to gain thus, I think she should go for the double.

Ok, let's get this out of the way - When she's as fit as she was at the '07 Worlds, Felix is the best 400 runner in the world - perhaps ever.

Now then...

She in fact has much to lose by doubling.

Felix must win a 400 world championship, either this year or in 2011, if she is to have the sway to get the Olympic schedule arranged to allow for the double in 2012. So better to just concentrate on the 400 this year in Worlds, and allow some room for error should she lose.

[tandfman]

Re: Allyson Felix – 200 or 400m both in Berlin?

Felix must win a 400 world championship, either this year or in 2011, if she is to have the sway to get the Olympic schedule arranged to allow for the double in 2012. So better to just concentrate on the 400 this year in Worlds, and allow some room for error should she lose.

By 2011, it will be too late. The Olympic time schedule is arranged more than a year before the Olympics.

[The Atheist]

I hope she doubles.

Also, I think if VCB is healthy, Felix will have a significantly better chance of beating Sanya than she will of beating VCB. Especially now that it looks like Felix is the fast female 400m runner in the world so far this season.

So I guess really, the only thing I DON'T want her to do is to skip the 400 and only do the 200.

If she only does the 400 and skips the 200, that would be okay.

Better still, if she does the 400 AND the 200, that would be the best of all.

[Pego]

What about 4X100? Nobody has taken that into consideration.

[The Atheist]

Yea, but that's just a relay, so that's not very important. I mean, not im my opinion.

I think she should double.

[jamaicantrackfan]

Trackdaddy,

I know that Sanya is your girl, thus, you might be a bit biased on your opinion


Don't forget that Sanya is Asafa's sister(ie, runs fast all year, falters during major championships).

Last year, was either the 2nd or 3rd championship in a row whereby she has faltered(ie failed to win even though she was the favorite). Somehow, I do not believe that will change in 2009.

Felix is a big championship runner and I do expect her to do well.

What Felix needs to do to prepare herself for the double by running a couple of 400m and some 4 x 400m relays before the US Championships. Then, I think she will be prepared well to win the 400m at the trials. She should still run the 200m because she needs to simulate as much as possible what it willl be like to double in Berlin.

[TrackDaddy]

What about 4X100? Nobody has taken that into consideration.

She's gonna have trouble keeping her leg on that relay because she doesnt plan to run many 100m races (her words, not mine).

It's hard to keep your speed up without running the 100m. And she said she's going to run more 400m races this year.

With the Project 30 recommendations being used to retool the relays, the politics are supposed to be removed. I think we'll see something very close to the top 4 the final.

I think we may see Lauryn (who was great on 1st this weekend), to Muna, to Jeter to Corvette or some form of that. Of course Torri will still be a factor as will BK, Felix, Lewis, Barber and AW.

[TrackDaddy]

Trackdaddy,

I know that Sanya is your girl, thus, you might be a bit biased on your opinion


Don't forget that Sanya is Asafa's sister(ie, runs fast all year, falters during major championships).

Last year, was either the 2nd or 3rd championship in a row whereby she has faltered(ie failed to win even though she was the favorite). Somehow, I do not believe that will change in 2009.

Felix is a big championship runner and I do expect her to do well.

What Felix needs to do to prepare herself for the double by running a couple of 400m and some 4 x 400m relays before the US Championships. Then, I think she will be prepared well to win the 400m at the trials. She should still run the 200m because she needs to simulate as much as possible what it willl be like to double in Berlin.

Well you are correct that Sanya is my girl (*heart just skipped a beat, at the thought of her* :wink: ) and I believe that SHE is the best 400m runner in the world.

If not EVER.

I believe she has the most sub 50 races in history and she just turned 24.

But that had nothing to do with my post which was factual. :? 8-)

What part did you take exception with?

As for Sanya's championship performances well I think she'll be fine.

She knows how to win. She won the Golden League jackpot twice I believe and you can see from Blanka Vlasic's struggle last year that one race or jump for that kind of money is high pressure. :shock:

See I believe that if Allyson runs the 400m it will be one of the best things that could happen for Sanya.

For 4 years now Sanya has routinely won races by close to and over a whole second. She was at times so far ahead of her competition that she was running alone.

Personally, I believe that kind of domination has its pluses and minuses.

But if Felix runs the 400m it will get crowded at the finish line and it will only make Sanya better, IMO. I don't believe anyone fires Sanya up like Allyson. They've been racing since h.s. and their rivalry is legit.

Sanya has run 48.xx not once...but TWICE...all by her herself. No telling what she can do with Felix competing in the same event.

I think it will make them both better.

[jeremyp]

Anybody notice whether she's over that strange "gait" issue some of us commented on in Beijing?

[guru]

Anybody notice whether she's over that strange "gait" issue some of us commented on in Beijing?

Looked much smoother at Penn.

[EPelle]

This could possibly all be explained away, but Richards, apart from her then-PB 48,92 in Zürich four years ago, has not since sprinted fast in the month of august; her second-fastest time in the month is that 49,72 loss to a non-doubled up Felix here in Stockholm. Richards ran 49,74 in august last summer for a victory in Zürich, her third-best august time recorded in her career. Her Olympic spirit was there, but the legs may not have been on the right cycle yet; she sprints fabulously in july and september, but not in august.

Richards has run faster in september (her standing PB was set in the middle of the month), and tends to historically drop her season's best times toward the end of the year (she ran her four fastest 2007 races in 16 days in september, all within 0,09s of each other). However, she will have to find a better way to either hold her form over from the USA championships or find a better way to peak in august and hold it four additional weeks through to season's end.

That being said, I wouldn't consider Richards to be Felix's biggest rival at 400m, despite how many times she has run sub-49 or even low-49. She has yet to sprint this way in the eighth month of the year. Again, it could be coincidence, but with a maturing career, she has historically to yet win a race with a blazing time and/or a championship race during this four-week period.

[Brettboy]

Felix should go for the 400m. She has a BYE for the 200m, so can she see how she feels after the 400m final.

From what we've seen these last few years, Sanya is unable to produce her best in a 400m final. She was favoured in Helsinki and was beaten by Darling, she didnt even make Osaka and was spectacularly run down in Beijing. Admittedly she was not in her best form last year, but I dont think we'll ever see her 06 form again.

Ohuruogu, Sanders & the Williams sisters are 49.6 girls. Faster than Felix's flat PB. But they've not run a 48.0 leg like Felix has. On a given day, Felix has the ability to beat Richards & these women. The question is now whether she can do that in a championships. Doing the 400 at the nationals will be her first test and give her an indication of whether she can cope with running fast over a few races. If she wins the nationals then she should go for Berlin. If she qualifies in 2nd or 3rd it may come down to how close the race was and whether she feels she can improve enough to win in Berlin.

I could easily see Felix running a 49.0 in Berlin and blowing the opposition away though.