Wariner vs. Merritt, 2009 - and the X-Man

[Gleason]

He should done this, he should of done that....blah blah blah!!! He's gonna be fine, he doesn't need to run all them races.

I hope that Tyson and "X-Man" leave Berlin with five medals at least one gold, but "X-Man" needs to make the team first.

[Recdude]

Are Sprinters really born and not made?

With all this disccusion about how running speed is "innate" let's remember Bill Towmey. When he started as a decathlete he was not what anyone would describe as quick but he somehow made himself into not just a great decathlete but a FAST, great decathlete. His 400 meter from Mexico City is still amazing. Surely we have learned something about speed developement in the last 40 years! I would really like to know how he did it.

[knite]

I think the battle between Merritt and Wariner is going to be phenomenal, and if Xman get his feet back under him, he will be RIGHT in the thick if things.

For someoen who's had a VAREITY of injuries over the last several years, how can we discount him so much? After all, he ran very well up until his injuries...

10.00/44.70(a very easy 44.7 might I add) and made the US Trials 200m finals while running on a broke ankle or some sorts...

Injures himself in 2006 right? Didn't he come back from that injury to post a 19.92 to end the yr?

If/When he puts all this together, the kid will surely be a talent!

But the Merritt/Wariner battle will be a good one, as Merritt is coming back from 2 yrs of imporvement and looks to be on par with that so far this yr!

[ndamix]

It'll definitely be an epic battle to look for on the track if everyone is healthy. :wink:

[EPelle]

I mentioned this on another thread, but there are two measly hundredths of a second separating Merritt's (44,03 - 2008) and Wariners' (44,05 - 2007) Berlin personal bests. The fact that they are only separated by 0,16 at this point in time says a lot about what to expect from here to the march forward.

[ExCoastRanger]

I think the worry with X is various injuries punctuated by fast times suggests a young man without the world-class focus to establish a strong training base to bolster his phenomenal talent.
If you're gonna rip off sub-10s, sub-20s and sub-44s you've got to have base to back it up, or those fast-twitch fibers are going to write checks the rest of the body isn't ready to cash.

"For someoen who's had a VAREITY of injuries over the last several years, how can we discount him so much? After all, he ran very well up until his injuries...

10.00/44.70(a very easy 44.7 might I add) and made the US Trials 200m finals while running on a broke ankle or some sorts...

Injures himself in 2006 right? Didn't he come back from that injury to post a 19.92 to end the yr?

If/When he puts all this together, the kid will surely be a talent!"

[The Atheist]

It's too bad Clement isn't mixing it up with them in the open 400. Man that guy is fast.

[paulthefan]

Re: Are Sprinters really born and not made?

With all this disccusion about how running speed is "innate" let's remember Bill Towmey. When he started as a decathlete he was not what anyone would describe as quick but he somehow made himself into not just a great decathlete but a FAST, great decathlete. His 400 meter from Mexico City is still amazing. Surely we have learned something about speed developement in the last 40 years! I would really like to know how he did it.

he did it because he was the exact opposite of what you have made him out to be .. he was simply put a very very fast dude. Could have easily been a sub45 400m man in Mexico, which would have possibly gotten him into the final.

[RamGoat]

I write of JW for breaking that record this year he is not going to do it until he increases his ultimate speed ability. He has to be better than MJ in all of the phases to break the record right? and the Power and speed part is what he needs..

JW needs some more muscle.

[Gleason]

Re: Are Sprinters really born and not made?

With all this disccusion about how running speed is "innate" let's remember Bill Towmey. When he started as a decathlete he was not what anyone would describe as quick but he somehow made himself into not just a great decathlete but a FAST, great decathlete. His 400 meter from Mexico City is still amazing. Surely we have learned something about speed developement in the last 40 years! I would really like to know how he did it.

In the first four months of 1962 Bill Toomey was in graduate school at Stanford.
He trained three days/week at nearby Foothill JC with the 1:51.0/48.5r teammate of mine.

The late Vern Wolfe was our coach. He could only spend two days/week with each athlete, so we were told to train with the guys in our event on the other days on our own. Toomey had been a sprinter/long jumper. He told me that he was helped by training with the half-miler to improve his endurance. Their main workout was 220s and 330s at 26 and 40 with long walking breaks.

We didn't have good quarter milers. Our mile relay was a hurdler, sprinter, miler and the aforementioned half miler. Toomey and our half miler did nothing special--just lots of hard work. The other guys trained with sprinters or distance runners. The elevation at Mexico may have been the most important factor in his sprint times of 10.4 and 45.6 and a long jump of 25' 9 3/4".

The Air Force had sent Russ Hodge to train with Vern for a couple of months. One day I ran with Russ for an hour in the hills. I had run a 4:36 mile, but was exhausted by Russ. He practiced high jumping while I drove home. He told me that he had run a 4:20 mile! Based on these experiences, I concluded that endurance was more important than speed for those two decathletes.

[Gleason]

[quote="ExCoastRanger"
10.00/44.70(a very easy 44.7 might I add) and made the US Trials 200m finals while running on a broke ankle or some sorts...
Injures himself in 2006 right? Didn't he come back from that injury to post a 19.92 to end the yr?

The injury was in 2007. I agree with every other part of the above.

[Half Miler]

Gleason, thanks for your sharing your memories! Adds a nice touch to this thread.

[Gleason]

Gleason, thanks for your sharing your memories! Adds a nice touch to this thread.

My pleasure. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

[Taliban]

Re: Wariner vs. Merritt, 2009 - and the X-Man

I think JW needs to develop his power/acceleration game. He's capable of going sub-20 in the 200m, maybe sub 19.90. he's talented enough for this, but needs the right mix of power, max-speed work and more aggressive acceleration phase.

the more important point is that, IMO, it's essential that JW break the 20.00 barrier this year. this will bring him much close to breaking the WR in the 400 than anything else. JW needs a slightly better speed-reserve going through the 200 mark of the 400. a better speed-reserve leaves him more in the tank at the end, then he hits his sub 43.30, then maybe MJ's record.

otherwise, Merritt is looking more and more like the man. Merritt looks great so far this year; hopefully not getting too sharp too early (i.e. sacrificing base work for early season speed).

seems to me that JW should really taper down his training load for the USA Nationals, focus on getting very speed-sharp for the 200, and blast out some quality 200's in Eugene. If he runs up to potential he makes the final and mixes it up with the 200 guys (i.e. he's in the mix, say top 4-6).

from what I know and what I've seen with JW's (Hart's) training style, it's all paced sprinting. it's all speed endurance and pace training, which is most important for the 400, but the power and max speed elements need to be developed as well in order to achieve greater comfort and relaxation "at pace" (i.e. better speed-reserve).

people agree/not agree?

Disagree! 20.19 is a long way from 19.8x....... He will need to gain a few pounds before even thing about a sub 20.

[Taliban]

Re: Wariner vs. Merritt, 2009 - and the X-Man

I think JW needs to develop his power/acceleration game. He's capable of going sub-20 in the 200m, maybe sub 19.90. he's talented enough for this, but needs the right mix of power, max-speed work and more aggressive acceleration phase.

the more important point is that, IMO, it's essential that JW break the 20.00 barrier this year. this will bring him much close to breaking the WR in the 400 than anything else. JW needs a slightly better speed-reserve going through the 200 mark of the 400. a better speed-reserve leaves him more in the tank at the end, then he hits his sub 43.30, then maybe MJ's record.

otherwise, Merritt is looking more and more like the man. Merritt looks great so far this year; hopefully not getting too sharp too early (i.e. sacrificing base work for early season speed).

seems to me that JW should really taper down his training load for the USA Nationals, focus on getting very speed-sharp for the 200, and blast out some quality 200's in Eugene. If he runs up to potential he makes the final and mixes it up with the 200 guys (i.e. he's in the mix, say top 4-6).

from what I know and what I've seen with JW's (Hart's) training style, it's all paced sprinting. it's all speed endurance and pace training, which is most important for the 400, but the power and max speed elements need to be developed as well in order to achieve greater comfort and relaxation "at pace" (i.e. better speed-reserve).

people agree/not agree?

Disagree! 20.19 is a long way from 19.8x....... He will need to gain a few pounds before even thinking about a sub 20.