4X1 HISTORY

[olympian139]

CHARLIE GREEN
JESSE OWENS
MAURICE GREEN
CARL LEWIS

[hj197steve]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

Is this "Jeopardy" ?

[Jefferson Buffalo]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

No. On Jeopardy, they spell the answers correctly.

[Rob]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

..

[satch400]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

would assume this would be your dream relay team.IF so, bag C.G. AND ANCHOR with Bob HAYES.

[Rob]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

..

[gh]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

I think my team has to have Tommie Smith on it (and Carlos is a good call too). In the wake of all the recordsetting stuff at Echo Summit and Mexico City, few remember a meet in Victoria between the OT and the OG in which the gold-team-to-be (Greene, Pender, Smith, Hines) ran against Charley Mays, Larry Questad, Carlos and Smith. "Ronnie Ray took the baton with a healthy lead over Carlos but Carlos gobbled it up and Tommie beat Hines on the last leg."

200m guys almost never get their due in the 4x1. Indeed, I'm not sure that the third leg shouldn't be handled by Michael Johnson.

[tandfman]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

You wouldn't go too far wrong with Smith or Johnson, but I think I'd still choose Carlos. The length of the leg is, after all, 100m, and Carlos at his best was the best in the world at that distance; neither Smith nor Johnson ever were.

[gh]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

But running the relay (particularly the third leg) isn't about how well you can run 100m. It's how well you can run 100m on a curve with a running start. Smith's long legs meant he had a tough time being competitive out of the blocks; remove that impediment and.....

[tandfman]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

Yes, but Carlos wasn't exactly short. He did what he did at 100m in spite of his long legs. We'll never be able to prove this, of course, but I think Carlos could have beaten Smith at 100m around a curve with a running start.

(One of the reasons this is so unprovable is that it's purely theoretical. We're talking about the 1966-1968 Smith vs. the 1969-1970 Carlos.)

[Per Andersen]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

I tend to agree with Tandfman about Carlos being a better turn runner than Smith. For me that means that Tommie only runs if we take out either Hayes or Lewis and that is impossible.

[mike renfro]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

I think that Calvin Smith may have been the perfect 3rd leg. He ran a very good curve, and his stick work was great.

[rhymans]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

Carlos was ahead of Smith in both the FOT and OG in '68 at the 100m mark. Smith being inside Carlos was a hindrance, but it was on the straight that Smith was at his best. I think Calvin Smith was the best 3rd leg man I've seen. You have so many wonderful athletes to choose from in the US on a fantasy selection like this. I think I'd take Greene (Maurice) - Lewis - Hayes - T.Smith (and I suspect the top British squad might not beat them)

[jhc68]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

I've been a Tommie Smith believer for 40 years now. Smith, with a running start, the finish line in front of him and a relay win at stake, in his prime, seems unbeatable. Tommie's stride was so long that his speed was deceptive but I really think his top end velocity was as fast as anyone, ever.

[eldrick]

Re: 4X1 HISTORY

>I've been a Tommie Smith believer for 40 years now. Smith, with a running
>start, the finish line in front of him and a relay win at stake, in his prime,
>seems unbeatable. Tommie's stride was so long that his speed was deceptive but
>I really think his top end velocity was as fast as anyone, ever.

are you suggesting putting smith ahead of either lewis or hayes on anchor !?!?

for any position, anyone argues for smith, you could substitute a faster guy, i.e. MJ, who ran 10.12 around the curve (nearly a full 1 tenth faster than anyone else has ever run a curve - & smith didn't run the curve fast) & as for straight line speed, no one has ever come within 2 tenths of 9.20 !

if you've got MJ,lewis & hayes, you'd still want 1 quick guy like mo/burrell/cason/monty or even riddick or a steve williams - you reckon smith would rundown ALL of these guys in a flying 100 ???