London 2012 results and comments only (no politics)

[AndyL]

Mo is one example of what the Dr was referring to, he trains in Oregon these days, which seems to be a hotbed of US track and field talent especially in the distance events. But if the USA is claiming credit for Mo's golds then we should get a bit of Ashton Eaton's (another Oregon athlete) decathlon gold in return, as the head elite coach of the Oregon Track Club is British!

We probably don't want to be going down that road though, or someone will bring up our German rowing coaches or Australian cycling coaches... perhaps we should just say top-level sport is an international effort these days, and wherever you live or train, it all comes down to where you call home in the end

[Tazio]

Mo is one example of what the Dr was referring to, he trains in Oregon these days, which seems to be a hotbed of US track and field talent especially in the distance events. But if the USA is claiming credit for Mo's golds then we should get a bit of Ashton Eaton's (another Oregon athlete) decathlon gold in return, as the head elite coach of the Oregon Track Club is British!

We probably don't want to be going down that road though, or someone will bring up our German rowing coaches or Australian cycling coaches... perhaps we should just say top-level sport is an international effort these days, and wherever you live or train, it all comes down to where you call home in the end

Re the weather - I don't want to know who Lord Coe did a deal with to arrange that!

Andy Mo is not one I was referring to. He competed internationally for something like 10 years before he went to the Prefontain facility to train. Bolt is also a bad example as he never attended a U.S. University. I was referring to young people that make a commitment to acquire athletic greatness, while spending formative years perusing a University degree in The USA. You need to understand that College sports (specifically American football and basketball) are multi-billion dollar business, and that College Football is the most televised sport in the US, while College Basketball is also hugely popular. That is why our universities welcome non-citizens into this experience. It has to do with out-recruiting the competition. I am certainly not saying the training they receive and the athletic scholarships are selfless acts of kindness. These students must maintain average, or above average (depending on the school) grades and the success of the athletic programs bring in television revenue and donations from Alumni that go into the schools general fund.
Here are a few examples that just happen to be (mostly) from Louisiana State University:

That is also the year in which Hylton saw LSU compete for the first time.

“I start hearing about LSU at Penn Relays, and I actually saw them,” Hylton recalled. “I saw them in their purple suits. They were looking all nice in their uniforms like they were ready to run. They looked like they were into this track thing a lot. I was like, ‘Yeah, LSU is it.’”

Despite the wishes of his coaches for Hylton to remain in Jamaica and continue his training in the wake of his stint at St. Jago, Carmen Hylton had other ideas for her son.

Knowing that her son’s talent might open a door to the American university system, she encouraged Riker to make the move to the mainland to continue his academic and athletic pursuits.

“My mother had different ideas,” Hylton laughed. “She wanted me to go to a new place, be around different people and be in a different environment. She told me to try something different, to branch out and go and do something on my own. I think she just wanted me to mature and become a man. She would say, ‘I want you to get your education.’ Going to the U.S. was a way for me to do that.”

As a way to ease into the U.S. system, Hylton elected to attend a two-year junior college before looking to join a training program at a major four-year university.

“My mother thought that if I do that, I would do better in my school work because I’m not rushing myself into the university thing,” Hylton explained. “I could see how the system works.”

With two years at Essex County College in New Jersey, Hylton would be ready to take on the NCAA.

He received attention from some of the nation’s premier programs, including Tennessee and Texas A&M, and decided to visit those most interested in his talent.

But there was something that stuck when making his visit to LSU.

Perhaps it was the academic support system that outlined the path to graduation. Perhaps it was an athletic training staff with the reputation as one of the nation’s best. Perhaps it was the honesty of a head coach on the importance of personal responsibility needed to chase his dreams.

“Coach (Dennis) Shaver explained to me that, at LSU, you can be the best you want to be,” Hylton stated. “There were people there to push me and keep me on track. I needed to be around people like that. My mother pushed me, my father pushed me. They weren’t going to be around me, so I knew the best place to be was with people like that who cared so much. Choosing LSU was a really big deal to me.”

It’s a decision that has paid big dividends for both Hylton and LSU as he has developed into a world-class 400-meter sprinter in his two seasons at the Baton Rouge-based University.

A four-time NCAA All-American, Hylton was a three-time NCAA semifinalist in the 400-meter dash and anchored LSU’s fearsome 4x400-meter relay team. He even wrapped up his collegiate career with his best relay run as a Tiger at 44.24 on the anchor leg for LSU at the NCAA Championships.

After finishing as the NCAA Outdoor silver medalists in 2011, Hylton helped the Tigers take two national championship bronze medals in the 4x400 relay as a senior in 2012.

There’s no denying Hylton’s impact on his country’s 400-meter resurgence

.
LSU?s Hylton Follows in Footsteps of Jamaican Sprint Stars > SEC > NEWS

This next bit has to do with two LSU grads two current LSU students and one Texas A&M student that all represented and medaled for Trinidad and Tobago:

LONDON - Two Trinidad & Tobago national records fell and three relay teams advanced to Friday's finals at the 2012 Olympic Games as four sprinters with ties to the LSU Track & Field program are ready to take their place on the medal podium following Thursday's qualifying action at the Olympic Stadium.

Based on their participation in qualifying, LSU alums Kelly-Ann Baptiste and Samantha Henry-Robinson and seniors Ade Alleyne-Forte and Semoy Hackett will receive Olympic medals with a top-three finish in Friday's finals whether or not they are given the opportunity to run.

Alleyne-Forte kicked off relay qualifying by running the third leg for Trinidad & Tobago's foursome that advanced to the Olympic final in the men's 4x400-meter relay.

After Olympic 400-meter bronze medalist Lalonde Gordon and Jarrin Solomon put the team in position to win the heat with two strong legs, Alleyne-Forte passed the baton to Texas A&M freshman Deon Lendore on the anchor leg as Trinidad & Tobago joined Cuba and Great Britain in a sprint to the finish line.

Sprinters Advance to Olympics Relay Finals - LSUsports.net - The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics

I haven't even gotten to the Southern California Colleges that provide the highest number of Olympians, but their percentage of homegrown talent is much higher due to population density, and very mild weather conditions that allow year round training in this region

[ioan]

It's always helpful as the host's in succeeding in the competition. Congratulations on providing the all around best venues I have seen in the Olympics and I've been watching since the 1960's The US clearly the best 2012 Summer Olympic athletes in the world period.

We can all look forward to The US getting their azzes kicked in the Winter Olympics by
Germany
Russia
Canada
Norway
Finland
Sweden
Italy
France
Switzerland
Liechtenstein (well maybe not Liechtenstein )
And apologies to anyone I left out. :

As for now we rule mokin:

Yeah you kinda forgot Austria who managed not to get any medal in the 2012 Olympic Games.

[ioan]

A big WELL DONE to all the athletes who participated in the 2012 Olympic Games!

[ioan]

Then today they are serving for match in Volleyball up 2 sets to zero, and then not only lose the set, but lose two more straight to lose the match.

A rather strange occurrence.

[D-Type]

Regarding the training issue.

When Kenyan athletes started winning, people put it down to training [and perhaps growing up] at altitude. Several athletes then went and trained in Kenya - and guess what? - the Kenyans still won. So it wasn't just the altitude.

The US college scene has a culture that believes that the standard of education a college offers somehow depends on the performances on the sports field To achieve this end, many colleges import talent from all over the world. The US can expect to see some of these US-trained and US-nurtured athletes beating the home-grown product. And that is not grounds for criticising those athletyes who take advantage of what's on offer.

Whilst in Olympic sour grapes mode, you could consider that possibly, because of the abundance of talent, it is more difficult for an athlete to win, and hold on to, a place in the US team than for athletes from other countries. Does this mean that some have to 'peak' twice - once for the selection trials and again for the Olympics leading to the effective Olympic 'peak' being lower

[Tazio]

Britain will never be on a par with the US simply because the government don't invest as much into it.

Football alone supports the entire athletic department's activities, and Basketball is pure profit for the vast majority of U.S. Universities that have athletic departments,
not all do. The money (obscene amounts) comes from TV not the government

[Tazio]

Regarding the training issue.

When Kenyan athletes started winning, people put it down to training [and perhaps growing up] at altitude. Several athletes then went and trained in Kenya - and guess what? - the Kenyans still won. So it wasn't just the altitude.

The US college scene has a culture that believes that the standard of education a college offers somehow depends on the performances on the sports field To achieve this end, many colleges import talent from all over the world. The US can expect to see some of these US-trained and US-nurtured athletes beating the home-grown product. And that is not grounds for criticising those athletyes who take advantage of what's on offer.

Whilst in Olympic sour grapes mode, you could consider that possibly, because of the abundance of talent, it is more difficult for an athlete to win, and hold on to, a place in the US team than for athletes from other countries. Does this mean that some have to 'peak' twice - once for the selection trials and again for the Olympics leading to the effective Olympic 'peak' being lower

The part I Italicized is very naive. The Americans I know believe that the standard of education a college offers depends on the reputation of academic excellence in their field of study. They are also supporters of their schools teams. These are not mutually exclusive attitudes.

The part I emboldened is beside any point I was making. I'm proud to see a foreign citizen that attends and competes in NCAA events win a medal, and as for outperforming home-grown talent? The best is, or should win that is how international competitions are supposed to work.
These athletes don't affect the quality of the Olympians the US sends to the games as only US citizens are considered when they are having the US Olympic trials, which coincide with the NCAA track and field championships to assuage any concerns you might have about peaking one time too many

[Tazio]

Then today they are serving for match in Volleyball up 2 sets to zero, and then not only lose the set, but lose two more straight to lose the match.

A rather strange occurrence.

It's what is sometimes referred to as an epic choke

[D-Type]

The part I Italicized is very naive. The Americans I know believe that the standard of education a college offers depends on the reputation of academic excellence in their field of study. They are also supporters of their schools teams. These are not mutually exclusive attitudes.

The part I emboldened is beside any point I was making. I'm proud to see a foreign citizen that attends and competes in NCAA events win a medal, and as for outperforming home-grown talent? The best is, or should win that is how international competitions are supposed to work.
These athletes don't affect the quality of the Olympians the US sends to the games as only US citizens are considered when they are having the US Olympic trials, which coincide with the NCAA track and field championships to assuage any concerns you might have about peaking one time too many

Sorry, I should have said "... beating the home-grown product in the Olympics." That was what I meant, as that seemed to be what some Americans were complaining about.
My point about the US trials was intended to be a totally separate one, suggesting a possible part-explanation for the disappointing performances of some US athletes.