OK, Now I'm Mad (Olympics)

Both the men's and women's 4x100 meter relay teams botched exchanges so neither team advances past the prelims.

People, it does not take any special talent to hand off a baton. There are no extraordinary genetic gifts necessary other than the talent needed to become an Olympic sprinter. All one needs is a baton and a hand.

Oh yeah. And PRACTICE.

There is no excuse. Yes it was rainy but it was raining on the other competitors too. It's not like there's never been a track meet in the rain before. All it takes is some practice to learn how quickly your teammates enter and leave the exchange zones.

I participated in many relay events in New England. Hell, we had early season meets in snowstorms. No team I ever competed on dropped a baton. I coached high school track for five years. My kids never dropped a baton. Hell, those kids placed better than their individual abilities indicated because of their ability to get the stick around the track. It was a POINT OF PRIDE for them too. They refused to let their teammates down.

It sticks in my craw when the greatest nation in the world cannot get four people to the track for adequate baton practice. Someone may say, "Well, we THOUGHT we practiced enough," but obviously not. Or it wasn't the right kind of practice. Full speed, over and over again over multiple sessions.

The US has dropped the stick many times in international competition. Evidently, it doesn't bother anyone as much as it bothers me. Well, maybe it bothers former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden who said, "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."

We as a Nation strive for individualism so team sports suffer.

Woman's beach volley ball excluded.

I was on a High School relay once in which the football team's star receiver dropped the baton exchanging it from his left to right hand.

Nothing to do with the Olympics just pointing out that it's possible to do worse.

Back in JHS I did the track thing. Amongst the things I learned were:

1. I ain't no sprinter. Cross country suited me better.
2. Handing off and being handed that damn stick is a LOT harder than it looks.

You lost me at craw.

Bryce

Nashco wrote: You lost me at craw. Bryce

Well, I can't please everybody. It's just frickin' practice. All we have to do to medal in this event is get the stick around. the flyin' feet will do the rest.

It really isn't that hard, especially since these people have exchanged batons since grade school. It takes practice and a great desire to avoid letting your teammates down.

doitover, exchanging the baton between one's own hands is a no-no. Curve guys carry in their right hands (so they don't knock it out with their own body) and straightaway guys carry in their left. Right-right exchanges result in more batons getting kicked out of hands. Were it an isolated incident, I'd chalk it up to racing luck.

If someone fell on the wet track I would feel heartbroken for the team. Sometimes those things are unavoidable. It's the avoidable stuff that gets me.

Bryce, you may be right after all. It's the responsibility of the team members to prepare properly.

Oh yeah. Now we don't get to see a USA-Jamaica showdown in the final. What a barnburner that would be.......both men's and women's.

I still don't know what the hell a craw is. I don't know how you misconstrued my comment to support/argue your comments, I just want to know what the heck "it sticks in my craw" means.

Bryce

I dont know, but it "stuck in his craw when they made him retire at 65" (Cptn Pierce)

Joey

Maybe if the batons were shaped like cellphones? sorry, bad joke.

stick in your craw to be unacceptable and therefore annoying to you. She went to prison even though she was innocent — that case has stuck in my craw ever since. Etymology: like something you cannot swallow, based on the literal meaning of craw (= the throat of a bird)

It really is a timing thing, which these guys obviously couldn't get down. when I coached HS track, we would practice the handoffs almost every day. from the beginning of indoor to the end of the outdoor season, we would practice exchanges... Because we were a team and that's what I made them do. everyday. Over 7 years, we dropped 3 sticks in championship races... one in the 4x100, one in the 4x400, and once in a 4x1600. (WTF?!?! ) But the big difference with our HS teams and the USA team is that we HAD time to practice with the people we would do exchanges with. Many of these pros have been doing exchanges all their lives, but not with the guys they are racing with in the olympics.
Some of the olympians run for UCLA, others run for Arkansas, Some train with UNC, and others run for LSU... you get my point.some of these guys don't even talk to each other until the trials, and again at the olympics to practice. That's a big difference from having the same 5 or 6 guys practice everyday for 4 years to get it right.

joey48442 wrote: I dont know, but it "stuck in his craw when they made him retire at 65" (Cptn Pierce) Joey

primus SUCKS!

AngryCorvair wrote:

joey48442 wrote: I dont know, but it "stuck in his craw when they made him retire at 65" (Cptn Pierce) Joey

primus SUCKS!

You SUCKS!

(their wiki page says that catch-phrase has gone out of use)

BBsGarage wrote: Woman's beach volley ball excluded.

Men's too.

jib

nocarbud,

When you said I lost you at "craw," I thought that meant you disagreed with everything coming after. I didn't know your issue was with the word "craw." Then I realized I really didn't know what it meant either! Thanks to doitover for the literal meaning.

I get your point about guys coming from everywhere and jelling for one race. The Jamaicans came from everywhere too. Matter of fact, the Jamaica Gleaner (the island newspaper I kid you not) reported one agent representing some of their top flight people refused to allow his clients to practice baton exchanges because it would disrupt their individual training schedules. That problem was nipped in the bud when the outcry from Jamaicans everywhere threatened to make that agent a pariah and hold him personally responsible for any failure. Regardless, the Jamaicans practiced and got around the track, A little shaky perhaps, but they're in the final.

I can't remember my relay teams being exactly the same every time. People graduate and freshman must be indoctrinated. I use that word because the upperclassmen let them know stick dropping would not be tolerated. It was part of the team culture that perpetuated itself with very little prodding from me. US relay teams must imbue those values and pass them along to the next generation.

We won the relay event 15 times in past Olympics. Most of our losses involve dropped batons. We are outrun rarely, though the 2007 World Championships springs to mind. There is no shame in being outrun. The other guys were just better that day. We need more pride regarding our execution in this event. That's all we lack.

The 4x1600? WTF is right. High school kids are a riot. Coaching them is a blast.

I was talking to one of our bus drivers once and joked with him that coaching high school kids was the best form of birth control ever... and he looked at me and said, try driving the bus!

I lost a HS relay event doing exactly this, a memory I was happy to forget.. You sure know how to hurt a guy.

In fairness to me, I was a sprinter who had never relayed. A no-show for the 4 man relay team meant we'd loose a state championship we deserved to win. So I was thrown on the team at the last minute.

No one told me how to pass.

I was the third leg of a 4 x 100. Everyone knew we had the best 4th man in the state. Unfortunately, the first 2 didn't produce much.

I received the handoff in last place by over 2 yards. I knew how important it was, and I gave it my all. I was in first when the time came to handoff.

I didn't get the timing right. The baton hit the ground, our star closer was humiliated, and I was the school scapegoat. Never competed again.

SVreX,

It ain't the same thing, bro. If I were your teammate, I'd have more issues with the guy who didn't show up. It better be a family emergency and someone better be dying.

Without you, your team had NO chance. You put them on the track and gave them an opportunity. Ask yourself this: Knowing you had no practice and never even passed a baton before and knowing your anchor was "the best 4th man in the state," why didn't he accelerate conservatively to ensure the pass? It's more his fault than yours. You're the new guy with no practice. With a conservative pass, the "best 4th man in the state" could run the other teams down. Maybe he wouldn't win but the team would still place well. Instead, his nerves got the best of him. You rose to the occasion. He fell. Who cares about his "humiliation?" Your school sounds like it was full of idiots. Where was your coach? Why wasn't he COACHING????

Don't waste another minute thinking about this gross stupidity. You did your best. Nobody else came close to doing theirs.

If anyone else needs bad track & field memories purged, my rate is $120.00 per hour. The doctor is in.

BBsGarage wrote: We as a Nation strive for individualism so team sports suffer. Woman's beach volley ball excluded.

Aquatic relays did fairly well.

Jerry From LA wrote: SVreX, It ain't the same thing, bro. If I were your teammate, I'd have more issues with the guy who didn't show up. It better be a family emergency and someone better be dying. Without you, your team had NO chance. You put them on the track and gave them an opportunity. Ask yourself this: Knowing you had no practice and never even passed a baton before and knowing your anchor was "the best 4th man in the state," why didn't he accelerate conservatively to ensure the pass? It's more his fault than yours. You're the new guy with no practice. With a conservative pass, the "best 4th man in the state" could run the other teams down. Maybe he wouldn't win but the team would still place well. Instead, his nerves got the best of him. You rose to the occasion. He fell. Who cares about his "humiliation?" Your school sounds like it was full of idiots. Where was your coach? Why wasn't he COACHING???? Don't waste another minute thinking about this gross stupidity. You did your best. Nobody else came close to doing theirs. If anyone else needs bad track & field memories purged, my rate is $120.00 per hour. The doctor is in.

Appreciate it, Jerry.

I got over this a long time ago, and as a mature adult, I've come to the same conclusion. I now consider myself a hero in that particular moment.

Unfortunately, though the anchor was fast, he was an ass. A very popular ass. All it took was him to start blaming me, and the whole school took up the mantra.

Kids can be pretty rough.

All the more reason we need to keep repeating it!

I started to like Primus in about 93. Once, only once, did I misunderstand the meaning of Primus Sucks...

I got all defensive, and then another fan filled me in.

Ah, to be 14 again...

Joey

4x400 relays seemed to go a little smoother.

Indeed. Both men"s and women's teams passed the sticks as though there were snipers trained on them.

jg

Most teams don't blind pass in the 4x400 relay so there's little likelihood of a drop. If it does happen, there's time in a whole 400 meter leg (or three) to make up for it. Our 400 meter guys are so good, we could drop the baton and still win.

By the way, Jeremy Wariner's relay split was 43.2. I think he can beat the Yugo entries in the Challenge. The concours judging would be interesting, though....