Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

[Alan Shank]

http://www.rusathletics.com/nov/news.10315.htm

I've been pulling articles off of Russian Websites to brush up on the language. The above link is to an interview with Pavel Trenikhin, who ran the 3rd leg on Russia's 4X4, which missed the bronze medal by .12. In the interview, he claims that the American runners inhibited him and anchorman Denis Alekseyev, which probably cost them the medal. Here it is, in Russian:


– ???? ???-?? ??????????? ??????? ????????? ????????, ?? ????? ???? ????????, ???, ????? ?? ??????? ????? ? ??????? ???????, ?? ????????? ?? ????? ?????????? ? ??????? ??????????? ???? ???????. ??? ???????, ??? ?? ?????????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? – ??????, ???? ?? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????. ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ??????. ??????? ?????????? ???????? ????? ??????. ????? ??? ?? ? ????? ????? ? ?????, ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???????, ??????? ????? ? ???? ?? ?????? ?????????.
???? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ??????: ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????????? ? ?????????, ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ? ??????? ?? ?????????.
??? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????, ??? ? ???. ??? ? ???????, ??? ? ??????? 0,2 ???????, ????? ??????? ??. ????? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ?????????? ???????. ???????, ????? ???? ?? ?????? ???????. ??, ?????, ??? ??????????? – ????????? ? ??????????? ????? ?????? – ????? ?? ?? ???????. ????????, ??? ? ???????? ??????, ?? ?? ??-???????????.

Here is my (rough) translation:

One of them was the unsportsmanlike behavior on the track of the American
athletes. I never like them, and now I like them even less.

Q Are you talking about the final? Tell us what happened.
A If anyone watched the relay final closely, it was noticeable that when
on the third lap I received the baton, I bumped against the back of the
American and lost precious fractions of a second. It seems to me that he
intentionally ran into our lane -- to the right, although the rules say to
move left. In that time the three leaders already got away from me. Because
of that I had to start very fast. I began not in my own rhythm and style. I
dashed off headlong to catch up to the leaders, and therefore didn't finish
well.

The whole lap was a rough, contact battle; on the first curve I had to
jostle with a Brit, then a Kenyan practically pushed me off the track.

At the baton exchange to Denis (Alekseyev), the American also inhibited
our athlete, like me. It turns out that I lost .2 of a second, Denis as
much. That amount of time would have been enough to win the medal. Of course,
we could have protested. But I don't think the Americans -- the favorites and winners
of the race -- no one would punish. Perhaps, this was within the rules, but
not sportsmanlike.

Well, I will have to go back and watch the race again with special attention to those passes.
You find some interesting stuff out there!
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA, USA

[Alan Shank]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

OK, I found the race on my DVR and watched it, slo-mo, frame-by-frame, etc. Here's what i saw:

Trenikhin was bumped at the exchange from 2 to 3, but it was the Belgian, not Bershawn. On the last exchange, Alekseyev did have to go around Taylor to get to the pole. I did not see the Kenyan shove Trenikhin, but they were very close together. The camera was concentrating on the three leaders, so you can't' see everything. Trenikhin ran a creditable 44.80.

On these exchanges (except the first, of course), it is always a big mess, because the runners are spread out over the track and are then trying to get inside as soon as possible. There is always going to be heavy traffic. That's why it's so advantageous to get out front before the end of the second leg, which the US women did but the men didn't, thanks to the relatively poor legs by Bershawn Jackson and Angelo Taylor. Jamaal Torrance and Michael Berry ran extremely well in the heats, which were two days before the final. But that's been covered, ad nauseum, anyway.

Alekseyev ran an excellent anchor leg (44.41) and almost caught Jamaica's Leford Green (45.53), but I don't think there was any intentional foul play. Somebody should tell Trenikhin that it was Antoine Gillet of Belgium that bumped him.

It appears that South Africa's Ofentse Mogawane had the race's fastest split (44.0 per TN), followed by Kevin Borlee (44.11), Martyn Rooney (44.12) and LaShawn (44.17). The fastest legs were actually in the heats, 43.95 for Berry, 43.97 for Mogawane and an estimated 43.9 for Torrance.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA, USA

[PCSExponent]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

43.95 for Berry
43.9 for Torrance.

Yes, yes, it HAS been rehashed ad nauseum, but who the hell was the idiot who replaced them for the final, especially with an athlete on crutches??!?! The US simply don't deserve to win any relay medal, ever. They just do everything within the realm of possibility to lose.

[Alan Shank]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

43.95 for Berry
43.9 for Torrance.

Yes, yes, it HAS been rehashed ad nauseum, but who the hell was the idiot who replaced them for the final, especially with an athlete on crutches??!?! The US simply don't deserve to win any relay medal, ever. They just do everything within the realm of possibility to lose.

OTOH, they won, didn't they?
This reminds me of the 1964 Olympics. A member of one of the other teams said to one of the US runners, "You have nothing but Hayes", to which he replied, "That's all we need, baby!"

All they needed was LaShawn Merritt on the anchor.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA, USA

[uakari]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

well, i just re-watched the final, and the camera doesn't really dwell on the exchanges, but i'd say much worse has happened in terms of obstruction, and no foul being called. remember in osaka the incoming polish runner just sort of saunters on the track after handoff, and the german runner, kamghe, pretty much flattens him, but the collision of course costs them valuable time. so not sure what the russian runner is complaining about.

[26mi235]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

They do not run 4x400s very often and are probably neither practiced at it nor good at the strategy and thus upset at the bumping. The NCAAs are a great crucible for mixing it up -- if James can get two more teammates his tumbles at NCAAs will give him valuable experience.

[az2004]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

people presume berry and torrance replicate their sub44 in thefinals

who knows..

this is all 2nd guessing, drummond went with the veterans and got gold

given the closeness, maybe berry or torrance pull a 46 out of their hat

then everyone bitches why the hurdlers weren't used

get ready for teh russians in 2013...they'll get their home cooking their

[Alan Shank]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

people presume berry and torrance replicate their sub44 in thefinals

who knows..

this is all 2nd guessing, drummond went with the veterans and got gold

given the closeness, maybe berry or torrance pull a 46 out of their hat

then everyone bitches why the hurdlers weren't used

Of course, Drummond couldn't KNOW how Torrance, Berry, Jackson or Taylor would perform. However, he knew that Jackson and Taylor each had three races on their legs, the most recent being the 400H final on 9/1, in which neither ran well, both fading in the closing stages. He knew that Torrance also had three races, the most recent the semi on 9/1, in which he ran 43.9r or so. He knew that Taylor was hurting. He knew that Berry did not contest the flat 400, so had just the one race, 9/1, 43.95r.

It seems to me that those facts clearly point to using Torrance and Berry, not Jackson and Taylor.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA, USA

[az2004]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

i was expecting berry to run in place of torrance

usa women with richards, felix frontloading, the first 2 legs, get a lead, and front run from there

the problem is only merritt to go with a richards and and felix

so the 4 becomes jackson, merritt, berry?? then taylor


or is berry the mccrory??

[Riff80]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

people presume berry and torrance replicate their sub44 in thefinals

who knows..

this is all 2nd guessing, drummond went with the veterans and got gold

given the closeness, maybe berry or torrance pull a 46 out of their hat

then everyone bitches why the hurdlers weren't used

Of course, Drummond couldn't KNOW how Torrance, Berry, Jackson or Taylor would perform. However, he knew that Jackson and Taylor each had three races on their legs, the most recent being the 400H final on 9/1, in which neither ran well, both fading in the closing stages. He knew that Torrance also had three races, the most recent the semi on 9/1, in which he ran 43.9r or so. He knew that Taylor was hurting. He knew that Berry did not contest the flat 400, so had just the one race, 9/1, 43.95r.

It seems to me that those facts clearly point to using Torrance and Berry, not Jackson and Taylor.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA, USA

Alan, I think you hit on it perfect. If Jackson and Taylor had run 47's and finished well in the 400h, nobody would have complained if they just happen to run bad legs on the relay. It seems as though decisions had been made very early as to how to use each runner and regardless of how they performed during the championships nothing would change.

[26mi235]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

i was expecting berry to run in place of torrance

usa women with richards, felix frontloading, the first 2 legs, get a lead, and front run from there

the problem is only merritt to go with a richards and and felix

so the 4 becomes jackson, merritt, berry?? then taylor


or is berry the mccrory??

Well, at the current moment (unless there is a decision I have not yet heard) Merritt is not available for the Games, although he can run for 2013

[unclezadok]

Re: Russian complaint in M 4X4, Daegu

The Russians get the Whining Award of the year for this one.