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World's Greatest Athlete
It was a hot sunny afternoon and I’m sitting at a local bar drinking a beer with some friends. As always happens with guys in a bar and sports on the T.V. we begin arguing over the inevitable topics:
- Who’s the greatest running back of all time - Who the best player in the history of baseball at each position - What’s the greatest moment in sports And of course Who’s the Worlds Greatest Athlete Ever Numerous names get mentioned, and I’m sure you know them, in fact fill in your own and I’m sure they were discussed. After much discussion I finally spoke up and stated that like the title, “worlds fastest man” – going to the winner of the 100 meters, the ”Worlds Greatest Athlete” title has historically gone to the winner of the decathlon. Then that begs the question: If the winner of the decathlon is the Worlds Greatest Athlete then which of the great decathletes is the greatest of all time? |
The group breaks up and I head home. The entire drive I continue to contemplate the question. I have a quick dinner and couple more beers before bed but the question continues to nag at me – I’m not sure why…it’s not like I haven’t thought about it before.
I start watching a really bad movie on T.V. – fall asleep and the next thing I know I’m in a beautiful stadium, much like the Roman Coliseum must have been in its glory. The stands are filled with spectators and the grounds are set up for a track and field event. I’ve been so enamored with were I am I’ve failed to notice until now that I have a clipboard in my hand. I glance at the clip board and see “Registered Entries” on the top of the page and a list of names below. I scan the names at first they don’t mean much to me, but then I started to recognize the names. This list looked like this: - Paavo Yrjola - Nikolai Avilov - Akilles Jarvinen - Vasily Kuznetsov - Jim Bausch - C. K. Yang - Milt Campbell - Bill Toomey - Daley Thompson - Dan O’Brien - Bob Mathias - Rafer Johnson - Dave Johnson - Jim Thorpe - Bruce Jenner |
I still had no idea what the list was for, until I saw a group of 3 athletes walking out of a tunnel, onto the infield and start stretching. I was shocked to see a young Rafer Johnson, a young Asian who I assumed to be C. K. Yang (Rafer’s college teammate) and the legendary Jim Thorpe.
More of the athletes began walking out onto the infield and I was completely at a loss for words. Finally, after much eye rubbing and talking to myself, I worked up the nerve to approach Bruce Jenner. I said, “Bruce, why are you here?” He responded, “To run a decathlon you idiot.” I should have expected that comment, having heard about his reputation as a jerk. In stead of asking him another question I decided to move on. I came up to Dave Johnson and said, “Dave, what’s going on here?” Dave said, “We’re going to run a decathlon.” “I guessed that, but I mean, how did you all get here? I mean, more that half of these guys are….well they’re dead.” Dave scratched his head and responded, “How the Hell should I know…this is your dream.” “So this is a dream.” I say more to myself than anyone else, but Thorpe responds…”Yeah, and I’m sure the beer has something to do with it. Ain’t alcohol great!” |
OK. Now that I'm done with the campy intro (that I'll probably continue with after this post) I thought I'd update you on the dynasty.
I'm using an updated version of the old Avalon Hill game "Decathlon" to have the greatest Decathletes of all time go head to head. If you're not familiar with this game it's pretty much a dice rolling game with results weighted by the athletes abilities. There is some strategy to avoid fatigue and injury, but for the most part it's who gets the best rolls. It's a fun and easy game to play. Having 15 athletes will cause the game play to go slow however. I will introduce each competitor with some information on them so you can learn a little about when they competed and what made them great. Feel free to pull for your favorites. |
I have pictures of all these guys too, but no place to host them. If anyone would like to host them for me, I'll link them into their descriptions.
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GREAT idea!!!
Looking forward to it! -Chas |
Vasily Kuznetsov
 Height: 6' 1" Weight: 185 Birth Date: 2/7/1932 Birth Place: Kalikino, Soviet Union World Records: - 8014 points - 1958 - 8367 points - 1959 Biography For an eight year span, from 1954 to 1962, Vasily Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov was one of the greatest decathletes in the world. He won three consecutive European championships, set two world records and competed in three Olympiads. His long-standing rivalry with Rafer Johnson, set in the midst of the Cold War, brought the decathlon to international prominence. Though Olympic gold eluded him, he is considered the best all-around competitor in the sport's history. Note: All World Record scores were based on the scoring tables at the time of the record - so the numbers as they appear between competitors may not be comparing apples to apples. |
Nikolai Avilov
 Height: 6' 3" Weight: 198 Birth Date: 8/6/1948 Birth Place: Odessa, Ukraine World Records - 8454 points - 1972 Biography A contender for Kuznetsov's title as the USSR's greatest decathlete, Avilov took the Olympic gold medal at Munich after finishing 4th at Mexico City. The lanky Ukrainian broke the world record at Munich, easily triumphing over fellow Soviet Leonid Litvenyenko. Four years later, at Montreal, a showdown between Avilov and Bruce Jenner was highly anticipated, but Avilov could not keep up with the speedy American and had to settle for the bronze medal. |
Jim Bausch
 Height: 6' 2" Weight: 209 Birth Date: 3/29/1906 Birth Place: Marion Junction, South Dakota World Records - 8462 points - 1932 Biography A football, basketball, and track star at the University of Kansas, "Jarring" Jim Bausch was a late-comer to the decathlon. He won the gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932, while also breaking the world record, in what was only his third decathlon competition. Despite being in fifth place after the first day's events, he bested the heavily favored Akilles Jarvinen by winning the discus, pole vault and javelin by wide margins. Bausch was the last Olympic decathlon champion from an era when the scoring tables favored outstanding efforts in individual events. Going forward, the scoring tables were changed to reward a more well-rounded overall performance. |
Milt Campbell
 Height: 6' 3" Weight: 210 Birth Date: 12/9/1933 Birth Place: Plainfield, New Jersey World Records None Biography Campbell was the first African American Olympic decathlon champion. Like Bob Mathias, he competed n his first Olympics while still a teenager, earning a silver medal at Helsinki. Campbell was an outstanding high school athlete, excelling at track, football, swimming, and judo. After becoming U.S. decathlon champion in 1955, he captured the Olympic gold medal, surpassing then world record-holder Rafer Johnson. He is the only athlete inducted into both the National Swimming and National Track and Field Halls of Fame. |
Akilles Jarvinen
 Height: 6' 1" Weight: 184 Birth Date: NA Birth Place: Finland World Records - 8255 points - 1930 Biography Akilles Jarvinen came from an accomplished athletic family. His father and brother were both Olympic gold medalists. Unfortunately, Akilles would be frustrated in his pursuit of Olympic gold. At Amsterdam, Jarvinen lost a close competition to his fellow countryman, world record-holder Paavo Yrjola. He went into the 1932 Olympics as the decathlon favorite and new world record-holder. But he had to settle or silver again, this time being bested by American Jim Bausch. Jarvinen was truly a decathlete ahead of his time. If the scoring tables used later were in effect during the 1928 and 1932 Olympics, Jarvinen would have won gold both times. |
Bruce Jenner
 Height: 6' 2" Weight: 193 Birth Date: 10/28/1949 Birth Place: Mount Kisco, New York World Records - 8524 points - 1975 - 8538 points - 1976 - 8618 points - 1976 Biography Bruce Jenner was on such a roll in 1976 that during the Olympic competition, he broke his own world record by 74 points. It was his third world record in a row, a feat matched only by Finland's Paavo Yrjola. Bruce dominated the second day at Montreal, posting a personal best in the 1500 meters, one of his top events. It was his twelfth decathlon victory in a row. Jenner promptly retired after the Montreal Olympics and pursued a career in broadcasting. |
Dave Johnson
 Height: 6' 2" Weight: 200 Birth Date: 4/7/1963 Birth Place: Missoula, Montana World Records None Biography American decathletes returned to prominence when Dave Johnson became the world's top decathlete in 1989 and 1990 after coming in 8th at Seoul. The anticipated showdown between Johnson and Dan O'Brien at the Barcelona Olympics failed to materialize when O'Brien didn't make the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. Johnson, competing with a foot injury, earned a bronze medal. |
Rafer Johnson
 Height: 6' 3" Weight: 200 Birth Date: 8/18/1935 Birth Place: Hillsboro, Texas World Records - 7985 points - 1955 - 8302 points - 1958 - 8683 points - 1960 Biography Rafer Johnson's Olympic career began at Melbourne where, as the reigning world record holder, he earned a silver medal, losing to Milt Campbell. During the late 1950s, Johnson was at the center of a golden age of decathlon competition as he and Vasily Kuznetsov broke each others' world records several times. But the greatest moment of Johnson's career came at Rome in 1960 where he and C.K. Yang, his UCLA teammate, struggled for the gold. Johnson emerged victorious in one of the closest and most dramatic decathlons in Olympic history. |
Bob Mathias
 Height: 6' 2" Weight: 200 Birth Date: 11/17/1930 Birth Place: Tulare, California World Records - 8042 points - 1950 - 7887 points - 1952 Biography When a 17 year old Bob Mathias won the decathlon gold medal at London, he became the youngest track and field gold medalist ever. As if that weren't enough of an accomplishment, he went on to set two world records, the second while winning the decathlon gold medal at Helsinki. His win at London may have surprised the track and field world, but his victory at Helsinki, where he beat silver medal winner Milt Campbell by 912 points, was a dominating performance by a true champion. |
Dan O'Brien
 Height: 6' 2" Weight: 184 Birth Date: 7/18/1966 Birth Place: Portland, Oregon World Records - 8891 points - 1992 Biography At the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials, Dan O'Brien passed on several heights during the pole vault that he could have easily made. That decision cost him a trip to the Olympics when he failed to clear the first height he attempted, 15' 8". It didn't take Dan long to recover from that dissapointment as later in 1992 he broke the world record, setting a mark that stood for almost seven years. At Atlanta he overpowered the rest of the field, winning gold, making him the first American Olympic decathlon champion in 20 years. |
Daley Thompson
 Height: 6' 0" Weight: 189 Birth Date: 7/30/1958 Birth Place: London, England World Records - 8622 points - 1980 - 8704 points - 1982 - 8743 points - 1982 - 8798 points - 1984 Biography His two gold medals may have come during Olympics marred by boycotts, but there is no question that Daley Thompson was the greatest decathlete of the 1980s. He competed in the first of his four Olympics at Montreal, where he finished 18th. He then won gold at Moscow. At Los Angeles he won gold again, just beating his long-time rival, Jurgen Hingsen of West Germany. He almost received a third Olympic medal at Seoul, but missed out on the bronze by 22 points. He set four world records and won 12 consecutive decathlons between 1980 and 1986. |
Jim Thorpe
 Height: 6' 2" Weight: 190 Birth Date: 1887 Birth Place: Prague, Oklahoma World Records - 8412 points - 1912 Biography Jim Thorpe, a Sac-Fox Native American, is generally considered to be the greatest athlete of all time. At Stockholm he competed in the long jump, the high jump, the pentathlon, and the decathlon. He won gold in both the pentathlon and decathlon, setting a new decathlon world record. He then went on to play major league baseball and was one of the early stars of the National Football League. Thorpe provided the model for American decathletes - solid all-around athletes whose first decathlon came shortly before competing in the Olympics - that lasted until the 1960s. |
Bill Toomey
 Height: 6' 1" Weight: 195 Birth Date: 1/10/1939 Birth Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania World Records - 8417 points - 1969 Biography Bill Toomey represented a new type of decathlete, a more well-rounded performer who trained exclusively for multi-event sports like the pentathlon and the decathlon. He was a consistent performer throughout his long career, despite being hindered by a childhood injury to his right hand which severely affected his throwing ability. His triumph at Mexico City was the result of exhaustive training and preparation. After the 1968 Olympics he went on to set a new world record. |
C. K. Yang
 Height: 6' 1" Weight: 180 Birth Date: 7/1/1933 Birth Place: Taitung, Taiwan World Records - 8089 points - 1963 Biography C.K. Yang's epic struggle against Rafer Johnson at Rome is one of the most legendary in decathlon history. Yang and Johnson, UCLA teammates who trained together for the Olympics, battled for two days. Yang won six events but Johnson had the lead in points going into the grueling 1500 meters. If Yang could beat Johnson by ten seconds, the gold would be his. But Johnson turned in a courageous effort and won the competition. Yang then went on to set a new world record in 1963, making him a favorite for the gold at Tokyo. But he was hampered by injuries there and finished fifth. |
Paavo Yrjola
 Height: 5' 11" Weight: 189 Birth Date: 6/18/1902 Birth Place: Hameenkyro, Finland World Records - 7821 points - 1926 - 7995 points - 1927 - 8053 points - 1928 Biography Paavo Yrjola, the first decathlete to set multiple world records, was the product of a strong track and field tradition in the Nordic countries. (In fact, of the 15 medalists in the first five Olympic decathlons, 7 were from Finland, Norway, or Sweden.) He set two world records on his way to the Amsterdam Olympics where he set a third world record while defeating his countryman Akilles Jarvinen. Yrjola, a four time Olympian, trained on his family's farm, using a vaulting pole and hurdles he made himself. |
Those are the 15 athletes competing. The first day competition consists of
- 100 meters - Long Jump - Shot Put - High Jump - 400 meters |
First Event - 100 Meters
As I look down at my clipboard I notice the first event is the 100 meters. Wondering what to expect I start flipping through the pages attached and am surprised to find the athletes scores by event in numerous competitions. As I look at the numbers I realize we have about 3 groups in this initial event. The speadsters: - O'Brien - Toomey - Yang - Campbell - Rafer Johnson - Thompson The Middle Guys - Thorpe - Mathias - Kuznetsov The Non- Sprinters - Dave Johnson - Jenner - Jarvinen - Bausch - Avilov - Yrjola While any of the the 15 atheles are capable of having a good performance in this event - I can't help thinking that a top group performer who does poorly will have a hard time overcoming the poor score and a bottom group performer who does extremely well will put themselves in a position to medal. I realize that the individual winners of each event is irrelevent, however, I still mentally picture a finish where Thompson edges out O'Brien and Toomey. |
Because there are 15 competitors the 100 meters has been split into 2 heats:
Heat 1 Kuznetsov Mathias O'Brien Toomey Yang Yrjola Avilov Bausch When the gun went off it was obvious the sprinters were in the middle of the track. Mathias in lane 2 all the way across to Yang in lane 5 immediately started to separate from the rest of the competition. Then slowly Mathias faded back a few steps before the line. The finish of the heat was fantastic as Yang is able to just beat out Toomey and O'Brien. |
100 Meter - Heat 1 - Order of Finish
Yang - 10.35 Toomey - 10.4 O'Brien - 10.45 Mathias - 10.6 Kuznetsov - 10.75 Bausch - 11.0 Avilov - 11.15 Yrjola - 11.30 As I look at the official times it appears to me that Yang did about as good as he could have and O'Brien, Toomey, Mathias are happy with their performances. Bausch though way off the pace actually had a very good run, Avilov had hoped to do a little better. Kuznetsov isn't in bad trouble but a 10.75 isn't one of his better performances. And looking at Yrjola's body language I can tell he isn't at all please with his run. |
Heat 2
Campbell Jarvinen Jenner Johnson, D Johson, R Thompson Thorpe The gun goes off and Thorpe and Rafer jump out to an early lead. Daley Thompson is quick to close the gap, as is Campbell in lane 1. Rafer's quick jump out of the box is good enough to win the heat. Campbell's quickness allows him to beat Thompson to the line, and Thorpe, though not a true sprinter is able to stay right with the Brittish superstar. |
100 Meter - Heat 2 - Order of Finish
R Johnson - 10.35 Campbell - 10.45 Thompson - 10.55 Thorpe - 10.6 Jarvinen - 10.8 Jenner - 11.10 Johnson - 11.15 Rafer's great run tied him with Yang for the best time in the first event. Campbell and Thorpe are please. Thompson is in fine position, but he had hoped to get more points out of these events. The others are about where they expected to be with Jenner specializing in the longer runs and Dave Johnson being more of a field event specialist. |
Leaderboard after 1 Event
Yang - 1011 Johnson, R - 1011 Toomey - 999 O'Brien - 987 Campbell - 987 Thompson - 963 Thorpe - 952 Mathias - 952 Kuznetsov - 917 Jarvinen - 906 Bausch - 861 Jenner - 838 Johnson, D - 827 Avilov - 827 Yrjola - 795 |
I can host the pictures for you if you need.
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EVENT 2 - Long Jump
Each Athlete will receive 3 jumps and the best score of the 3 will be recorded. The favorites in this event will pretty much match the favorites from the 100 meters. O'Brien, Thompson, Toomey are all extremely good in this one. Thorpe has the ability to post a big number here, but he also is quite inconsistent and has been known to foul on all 3 attempts. |
FIRST JUMP
Avilov get the first jump of the competition. From watching him run down the track, it appears he's looking to get his first jump in the pit and record a score. He hits the toeboard perfectly and gets great lift. The big Russian stretchs far into the pit and lands at23' 6" Bausch is the next to go - he sprints down the track with reckless abandon trying to get a big jump, but his footwork is off and the official raises the flag indicating a foul. Campbell is well positioned heading into this event. Even though he is a great sprinter, he's never really been able to turn that speed into long jumps. He doesn't go after his initial jump, making sure to record a score and it results in a 23' 6" jump. Jarvinen disappointed in his 100 meter score flys down the track, hits the toeboard perfectly and launches himself into the pit. The tape is rolled out and his jump is measured at 25' 3". A huge jump, and about as good as he can do. I wouldn't be surprised if he saved his energy and passed his final 2 attempts. Jenner tries to make up for some of the ground he lost in the 100 meters as well, but he fouls on his first attempt. D Johnson Attempts to correct bad steps by chopping his feet at the board, but his toe still goes too far and he fouls. R Johnson not needing a big jump, Rafer takes a nice steady pace down the track, but his timing is so good he jumps about as far as he ever has recording a 24' 3" effort. Kuznetsov Has a nice steady jump that finishes at 23' 8". A good starting point for the Russian. Mathias isn't a particularly good long jumper and his 21' 5" effort on the first jump is evedence of that. He'll undoubted try to do better than that with his other two jumps. O'Brien like Rafer Johnson, he was simply looking for a good solid jump to put him on the board and take the pressure off, but he hit the toeboard perfectly and launced himself 26' 3". I doubt he'll risk injury by jumping again. Thompson follows in the footsteps of O'Brien and Rafer Johsnon to the tune of 25' 4". Thorpe fouls badly on the first attempt. Toomey gets an impressive 25' 7" on his initial jump. He can do better, so we'll have to see if he elects to jump again. Yang is capable of jumping well, but this event isn't his strong suit. However, on his first jump he records a very impressive 25' 2". That's close to a personal best for Yang so he'll probably rest through the rest of this event. Yrjola needs something big to get back in this event - he trys hard on the first jump, he gets a pretty good result 23' 3" considering his normal scores in this event, but he's still way behind the leaders. |
SECOND JUMP
Avilov - Attempting to better what is already a good jump for him Avilov fouls on his second attempt. Bausch - still looking for a big jump Bausch goes all out, but he's a little stiff on take off and has to settle for a 21' 3" attempt. Campbell - tries to better his jump but comes out with only a 22' 3" finish. Jenner - again goes for a big jump and ends up at 23' 3", which is good for him. D Johnson - still needs something big to get himself higher in the standings. His second attempt is aggressive and results in a 23' 10" finish. R Johnson - passes Kuznetsov - can't betters his first jump, coming up with a 22' 2" jump on the second try. Mathias - fouls O'Brien - passes Thompson - passes Thorpe - fouls for the second time - putting him a very difficult spot. He has to get a good jump on the 3rd attempt or he'll end any chance of winning the competition. This is a huge blow, because Thorpe is capable of jumps over 25', but he'll be forced to make a conservative run in his next attempt. Toomey - can't better his initial jump. 2nd one measures 24' 8". Yang - passes Yrjola - passes |
THIRD (and final) JUMP
Bausch - attempts to better his 21' 3" attempt, but fouls Avilov - fouls Jarvinen - passes Jenner - fouls D Johnson - fouls - settling for the 23' 10" result from round 2. R Johnson - passes Kuznetsov - can't better his 23' 8" attempt from round 1. His third jump measures 23' exactly. He leaves the pit shaking his head - disappointed he didn't manage to get any additional points. Mathias - needs to improve on his 21+' first jump or risk falling way behind the leaders. His last jump is better, but not much - 22' 6" O'Brien - passes Thompson - passes he's not happy to lose ground to O'Brien here, but he doesn't see much advantage in attempting a 3rd jump. Thorpe - must get this jump in to stay alive. He hits the board perfectly this time, but because he's going conservative with the attempt only manages to record a distance of 23' 1". A huge disappointment for an athelete that should have been at least in the top half of 15 competitors on this event. Yang - passes Yrjola - Passes - he knows he's way behind the leaders, but he also knows 23' 3" is about as good as he can do. Campbell - fouls Toomey - passes |
LONG JUMP - FINAL RESULTS
Dan O'Brien - 26' 3" - 1063 points Toomey - 25' 7" - 1015 points Thompson - 25' 4" - 997 points Jarvinen - 25' 3" - 990 points Yang - 25' 2" - 985 points Johnson, R - 24' 3" - 915 points Johnson, D - 23' 10" - 883 points Kuznetsov - 23' 8" - 871 points Campbell - 23' 6" - 859 points Avilov - 23' 6" - 859 points Yrjola - 23' 3" - 840 points Jenner - 23' 3" - 840 points Thorpe - 23' 1" - 828 points Mathias - 22' 6" - 785 points Bausch - 21' 3" - 697 points |
Ok, I need to start posting totals for you guys to follow the overall scores, but I'm not real good with the code needed to create a table. If someone wants to help out I would greatly appreciate it.
I'll gladly take a template of a table that has 12 rows (10 events plus 1st day totals and overall total) and 15 columns (each competitor). If you have a better idea I'm all ears. |
Long Jump Recap
As I look at the athletes it's pretty easy to tell who the big winners are in the Long Jump. Toomey did extremely well, but of course he needed to because he isn't as good in the second day events. Yang had a great jump, in fact it was so good it set him up for medal contention. The big winner in this event however, was O'Brien, and the smile on his face tells it all. Not only did he win the event, he was 8" better than the next closest competitor. This created a huge cushion for the decathlete that dominated he 90s. The big losers are also apparent. Mathias, though not a strong long jumper needed to do better than a 22' jump, and Bausch couldn't do better than a jump of 21' 3". But the most disappointing jump was Thorpe. A guy capable of leaps over 25' had to settle for one 2 feet shorter. This is a crushing blow to his championship hopes and possibly his ability to medal. |
LEADERBOARD - AFTER 2 EVENTS
O'Brien - 2055 Toomey - 2014 Yang - 1996 Thompson - 1960 Johnson, R - 1926 Jarvinen - 1896 Campbell - 1846 Kuznetsov - 1788 Thorpe - 1780 Mathias - 1737 Johnson, D - 1710 Avilov - 1686 Jenner - 1678 Yrjola - 1635 Bausch - 1558 |
The 3rd Event is the Shot Put, and I realize pretty quickly watching the warm ups that this event is going to create some separation in the athletes. The separation will occur because some of the competitors aren't nearly as good in the field events, plus recording a 3rd score will allow the top performers to create space between themselves and the pack (assuming they don't perform poorly - like Thorpe did in the long jump).
In warm ups it's obvious that Jenner and Toomey will have to be fortunate to record a high score. They are capable of approaching or even bettering 50 feet, but they are also just as likely to throw less than 47. This is an event where Thorpe could sneak back into contention with a big throw. This event is also one of Bausch's specialties, but he's already so far back it may not matter. |
Quote:
You have mail. I emailed the pics to the address in your sig. Thanks. |
EVENT 3 - SHOT PUT - First Throw
Kuzentsov - is the first to go, but not the first to register a score as he fouls on his opening attempt. Mathias - starts off with a very strong effort tossing the shot 53' 1" O'Brien - the leader after 2 events matches Mathias' throw exactly (53' 1"). This is again close to O'Brien's best effort, and sends a mesage that he isn't going to lose ground in this event either. Toomey - not good at the shot - he manages a throw of 46' 11". Yang - currently in the blonze medal spot, Yang explodes out of his crouch and catches his tow on the end board. He falls awkwardly into the grass and immediately grabs his ankle. He hobbles off the field and goes directly to the trainer. I'm not sure how serious this is, but even if it's minor it probably ends any hope of getting a medal. Foul on the attempt. Yrjola - A huge throw of 53' 9" gives him a great point to start from. Avilov - 49' 2" Bausch - fouls Campbell - a good throw for him at 49' Jarvinen - fouls the initial attempt Jenner - trying to make up some groud, Jenner is very aggressive with his first toss and he fouls. Johnson, D - like Jenner, Johnson is over aggressive and fouls. Johnson, R - gets a huge first throw - the put sailing 55' 1". Johnson leaves the box stairing at O'Brien - as the two continue their unbelievable run. Thompson - fouls Thorpe - fouls |
SHOT PUT - SECOND THROW
Kuznetsov - second throw lands 52' 11" Mathias - poor second effort only goes 47' 9" O'Brien - decides to pass happy with his 53' 1" initial effort. Toomey - gets 44' 2" on the second go round. Yang - talked with him before the throw and he indicated that he had wrenched his ankle. He's walking gingerly and the injury definately affects his second throw - he can't explode out of his crouch and the put goes only 44' 1". As soon as he toss he heads back to the trainer for theropy. Yrjola - a nice toss of 52' 6" but not as good as his first. Avilov - fouls Bausch - fouls on the throw, but worse - he also walked out of the pit with his hand on his hamstring. He may have tweaked it. Campbell - about half a foot shorter than his first throw - 48' 5" Jarvinen - 51' 3" and he's on the board Jenner - fouls. Now he'll be forced to throw a conservative shot in the 3rd attempt to assure he records a score. Johnson, D - fouls - see Jenner. Johnson, R - passes, knowing that he's made up ground on O'Brien. Thompson - goes conservative and gets a throw of 46'. That won't do if he expects to keep up with Johnson and O'Brien. He'll have to get in the 50' foot range with his next throw or face a difficult up hill climb in the last 7 events to catch up. Thorpe - After the poor long jump and the foul on the first shot there was obvious relief in his face when his second throw landed 54' 6". |
Images are up - thanks again Radii
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No problem :) |
FINAL THROW - SHOT PUT
Kuznetsov - 3rd throw is 52' 3" - short of the second throw by about 8" Mathias - fouls, but 53' 1" isn't bad O'Brien - passes and takes 53' 1" Toomey - fouls and is stuck with 46' 11". Yang - hobbles up to the deck and manages a toss of only 40' 11". Yrjola - Big throw - 55' on the nose Avilov - only gets 46' 5" short of his effort on the first attempt Bausch - he appears to still be hobbling a bit but he manages to throw the put 52' 2". Pretty good under the circumstances, but Bausch who is in last place really needed a big throw here - because this event is one of his strengths. Campbell - identical throw to the one in round 2 (48' 5"). Jarvinen - 48' 10" not good enough to beat throw 2. Jenner - safe throw travels only 46' 1" Johnson, D - his safe throw is a very short 40' 11" Johnson, R - passes Thompson - needed a good throw and came up with one of 50' 9". Not bad and certainly good enough to keep him within striking distance of the overall leaders. Thorpe - fouls |
EVENT 3 - FINAL RESULTS
Johnson, R - 55' 1" - 901 points Yrjola - 55' - 899 points Thorpe - 54' 6" - 890 points Mathias - 53' 1" - 863 points O'Brien - 53' 1" - 863 points Kuznetsov - 52' 11" - 860 points Bausch - 52' 2" - 846 points Jarvinen - 51' 3" - 828 points Thompson - 50' 9" - 819 points Avilov - 49' 2" - 794 points Campbell - 49' - 786 points Toomey - 46' 11" - 747 points Jenner - 46' 1" - 731 points Yang - 44' 1" - 694 points Johnson, D - 40' 11" - 636 points |
SHOT PUT RECAP
The big winners in this event are hard to determine. My lack of knowledge becomes quickly apparent when looking at the leaderboard. I expected some separation to occur, but for the most part things just tightened up. Even the low middle level athletes like Yrjola were able to creep up on those above him. However, The big losers in this event are easy to pick out - Bausch, who was already way behind was hindered by his hamstring in what is one of the 3 events he excels in. And poor C. K. Yang went from medal contention to hoping to stay in the top half of the standings. This ankle injury will most assuredly end any hope he had a finishing in the top 3. |
LEADERBOARD - AFTER 3 EVENTS
O'Brien - 2918 Johnson, R - 2827 Thompson - 2779 Toomey - 2761 Jarvinen - 2724 Yang - 2690 Thorpe - 2682 Kuznetsov - 2648 Campbell - 2632 Mathias - 2600 Yrjola - 2534 Avilov - 2480 Jenner - 2409 Bausch - 2404 Johnson, D - 2346 |
The 4th event is the high jump, and I start wondering if this is going to be the event that creates the separation I was expecting with the shot put. I look up each athlete's personal best in this event and I found that 8 of the 15 have reached or exceeded 7 feet, and 1 of the 15s best is only 6' 6".
The one competitor that really struggles on this event is Bausch. Which won't do much to the standings because he is already sitting at the bottom (with Dave Johnson). Of the 6 other competitors that have never reached 7 feet, most have top jumps of 6' 11" or 6' 10" so they won't be too far back. The 8 competitors that have jumped 7 feet or better include: Avilov Campbell Mathias O'Brien Thompson Thorpe Yang Yrjola However of these 8, 1 really stands out...Thorpe. How good is he at this event? He won't even start jumping until all but probably 1 athlete (maybe 2) is finished. His first attempt will probably be at 7' 1" or 7' 2". Avilov and Yrjola are his biggest threats in this event - both can get a few inches above 7 feet. |
EVENT 4 - HIGH JUMP
This event starts when Bausch announces his first attempt will be at 6' 1". I talked with him briefly before his first jump and he said he usually starts at 6'3" or 4" but with his bad leg he wants to make sure he gets a score. -------------------------------------------- 6' 1" Bausch clears on his first attempt ------------------------------------------- 6' 2" Everyone Passes -------------------------------------------- 6' 3" Bausch clears on his first attempt ------------------------------------------- 6' 4" Jenner annouces he'll jump Bausch clears on his first attempt Jenner clears on his first attempt -------------------------------------------- 6' 5" Dave Johnson annouces he'll jump Bausch clears on first attempt - he is extremely happy with his performance and he told me the hamstring really hasn't affected his jumping. Dave Johnson clears on his first attempt Jenner passes ------------------------------------------------ 6' 6" Toomey announces he'll jump D. Johnson passes Bausch misses his first attempt Jenner clears on his first attempt Toomey clears on his first attempt Bausch fouls on his second attempt Bausch fouls on his third and final attempt Bausch finishes with a jump of 6' 5" and a score of 767 points ------------------------------------------------ 6' 7" Jarvinen announces he will jump Jenner passes D. Johnson passes R. Johnson annouces he will jump Thompson annouces he will jump Mathias annouces he will jump Toomey passes C. K. Yang announces he will jump Jarvinen clears on his first attempt R. Johnson clears on his first attempt Thompson clears on his first attempt Mathias clears on his first attempt Yang clears on his first attempt ------------------------------------------ 6' 8" Kuznetsov annouces he'll jump Mathias passes Toomey will jump again Yang passes Yrjola annouces he will jump Campbell annouces he will jump Jenner will jump again D Johnson will jump again R Johnson passes Thompson passes Kuznetsov clears on his first attempt Toomey clears on his first attempt Campbell clears on his first attempt Jarvinen misses on his first attempt Jenner clears on his first attempt D. Johnson misses on his first attempt Jarvinen misses on his second attempt D. Johnson clears his second attempt Jarvinen clears on his third attempt -------------------------------------------- 6' 9" O'Brien announces he will jump Yrjola annouces he will jump Campbell passes Jarvinen passes - he has decided to save his energy and go for 6' 11" D Johnson passes - he has decided to save his energy and go for 6' 10" R Johnson will jump again Kuznetsov fails on his first attempt Mathias clears his first attempt O'Brien clears his first attempt Toomey fails on his first attempt Yrjola clears his first attempt Jenner fails on his first attempt R. Johnson clears his first attempt Kuznetsov clears his second attempt Toomey clears his second attempt Jenner misses his second attempt Jenner misses his third attempt Jenner finishes with a jump of 6' 8" and 831 points --------------------------------------------- 6' 10" O'Brien passes Yrjola passes Yang will jump again Campbell will jump again D Johnson will jump again Thompson will jump again Kuznetsov clears on his first attempt Mathias fails on his first attempt Toomey fails on his first attempt Yang clears on his first attempt Campbell clears on his first attempt D Johnson fails on his first attempt R Johnson fails on his first attempt Thompson clears his first attempt Mathias fails on his second attempt Toomey fails on his second attempt D Johnson fails on his second attempt R Johnson fails on his second attempt Mathias fails on his third attempt Toomey fails on his third attempt D Johnson fails on his third attempt R Johnson clears on his third attempt D Johnson finishes will a jump of 6' 8" and 831 points Mathias finishes with a jump of 6' 9" and 859 points Toomey finishes with a jump of 6' 9" and 859 points ----------------------------------------------------- 6' 11" O'Brien announces he will jump again Yrjola announces he will jump again Jarvinen announces he will jump again Kuznetsov fails on his first attempt O'Brien fails on his first attempt Yang fails on his first attempt Yrjola clears his first attempt Campbell fails on his first attempt Jarvinen fails on his first attempt R Johnson fails on his first attempt Thompson fails on his first attempt Kuznetsov fails on his second attempt O'Brien clears his second attempt Yang fails on his second attempt - he told he me might not take his 3rd attempt because his ankle was bothering him Campbell fails his second attempt Jarvinen fails his second attempt R. Johnson clears his second attempt Thompson clears his second attempt Kuznetsov fails on his third attempt Yang clears on his third attempt - he decided to do one last jump Campbell fails on his third attempt Jarvinen fails on his third attempt Jarvinen finishes with a jump of 6' 8" and 831 points Kuznetsov finishes with a jump of 6' 10" and 878 points Campbell finishes with a jump of 6' 10" and 878 points Yang announces he's finished jumping - finishes with a jump of 6' 11" and 906 points R. Johnson has matched his personal best so he annouces he's finished jumping - finishes with a jump of 6' 11" and 906 points ------------------------------------------------- 7' O'Brien passes Avilov announces he will jump Yrjola clears on his first attempt Avilov clears on his first attempt Thompson fails on his first attempt Thompson fails on his second attempt Thompson fails on his third attempt Thompson finishes with a jump of 6' 11" and 906 points ------------------------------------------------ 7' 1" O'Brien annouces he'll jump again Avilov passes Thorpe annouces he will jump O'Brien misses his first attempt Yrjola misses his first attempt Thorpe clears his first attempt O'Brien misses his second attempt badly... Yrjola misses his second attempt O'Brien does show up for his third attempt - so I go back and look at the replay of the second jump. I discovered that his plant foot slipped on take off causing the bad jump. The slip looked very awkward and judging from the fact he's in the training room I have to assume he has injuried himself in some way. Yrjola clears his third attempt O'Brien is finished with a jump of 6' 11" and 906 points ------------------------------- 7' 2" Avilov annouces he will jump again Thorpe passes Yrjola misses his first attempt Avilov clears his first attempt Yrjola elects to pass - finishing with a jump of 7' 1" and 953 points ----------------------------------------- 7' 3" Thorpe annouces he will jump again Avilov misses his first attempt Thorpe clears his first attempt Avilov clears his second attempt Avilov annouces he's finished jumping having matched a personal best - he finishes with a jump of 7' 3" and 1002 points -------------------------------------- 7' 4" Thorpe clears on his first attempt ------------------------------------- 7' 5" Thorpe fails on his first attempt Thorpe fails on his second attempt Thorpe fails on his third attempt Thorpe finished with a jump of 7' 4" and 1031 points ------------------------------------------ |
Sorry if the High Jump section was confusing - a lot of information to work in there. If you're confused feel free to ask.
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LEADERBOARD - AFTER 4 EVENTS
O'Brien - 3824 Johnson, R - 3733 Thorpe - 3701 Thompson - 3685 Toomey - 3620 Yang - 3596 Jarvinen - 3555 Kuznetsov - 3526 Campbell - 3510 Yrjola - 3487 Avilov - 3482 Mathias - 3459 Jenner - 3240 Johnson, D - 3177 Bausch - 3171 |
HIGH JUMP RECAP
The big winner in the high jump is Thorpe. His 7'4" effort was so much better than the athletes at the top of the learderboard he was able to vault from 7th to 3rd. Avilov and Yrjola both did well, but they are so far back in the pack their effort has little affect on the standings. The big loser looks to be O'Brien. Though he cleared a pretty good height he apparently suffered some sort of injury. It's unclear if it is a strained knee or groin and O'Brien isn't talking about it, but regardless it will affect him moving forward. It will be interesting to see what happens with him, there is only one more event today - maybe he can work his way through it, a get enough treatment overnight to be competitive tomorrow. |
The 5th event is the 400 meters, and the most intriguing thing will be seeing how the injuries affect O'Brien and Yang (Bausch is so far behind that the only thing of interest will be seeing if he can stay out of the celar). O'Brien is still in first and Yang has held on to metal contention, but this event is going to be very painful for both competitors.
Unlike the high jump that requires very short periods of impact this one is going to pound on Yangs ankle the entire way around the track. O'Brien has a wrap around his knee so it appears the injury is a minor strain. Like Yang this event is going to aggrevate that injury. Unfortunately for O'Brien one of the athletes that is very good in this event is Rafer Johnson. Toomey also has the ability to go around the track real fast. |
EVENT 5 - 400 METERS
This event will be run in two heats: Heat 1 Campbell Jarvinen Jenner D Johnson R Johnson Thompson Thorpe Heat 2 Kuznetsov Mathias O'Brien Toomey Yang Yrjola Avilov Bausch |
HEAT 1
The runners take their mark, the gun sounds and they begin sprinting around the track. Rafer Johnson is the quickest off the mark and opens up an early lead. Thompson is second at the 100 meter mark but he's a good ways behind RJ. Jenner is third several strides behind Thompson. The rest of the field rounds out like this: Jarvinen and Thorpe are running side by side, as are Campbell and D Johnson a couple strides behind. Rafer continues his rapid pace almost equalling his 11.55 first 100 split in the second 100 meters. He is leading this heat by over half a second at the half way point. Thompson is second with Jenner running on his outside shoulder less than half a step back. Thorpe has seized 4th and Campbell has taken 5th. Jarvinen had a horrible 2nd split of 12.4 seconds and is now in the back of the pack. The 3rd split has Rafer Johnson still running quickly at 11.75 and his lead is now a full second. Thompson is still second having opened a couple step lead on Jenner. Campbell has passed Thorpe and is actually closer to Jenner than Jenner is to Thompson. Thorpe is keeping pace. Jarvinen and D Johnson round out the field. In the last split Rafer hit the wall, he still won the heat going away, but a 12.3 in the last hundred forced him to settle for a 47.2 when he was hoping to go 47 or below. Thompson holds off a valant try by Campbell who passed Jenner in the last 100. Thorpe nearly catches Jenner at the line but comes up just short. Jarvinen beats D Johnson by half a step to round out the field. Final Result Heat 1 R Johnson - 47.2 Thompson - 47.85 Campbell - 48.05 Jenner - 48.15 Thorpe - 48.2 Jarvinen - 49.1 Johnson - 49.15 |
HEAT 2
The gun sounds and Toomey is off like a rocket taking a huge lead, at the first split he logs a time of 11.6 the next closest is Avilov at 11.85. Kuznetsov, Mathias, Yrjola round out the uninjured runners. Yang managed at 12.5, O'Brien struggled to a 12.9 and poor Bausch may have to worry about being lapped in a 1 lap race - he managed a split of 14.35. In the second split Toomey was faster than he was in the intial frame - he completed 100 meters in 11.45. Avilov is 7 tenths back. The rest of the runners stay in the same order, with the exception of O'Brien who over took Yang. Toomey backed off in the 3rd 100 - he slowed back down to an 11.6. His lead is now 1.5 seconds over Kuznetsov who have a great 3rd split. Yrjola who was way back also had a great 3rd split and moved up to 4th - Behind Avilov who is right on Kuznetsov's heels. Mathias had a horrible 3rd split and is now several steps behind the pack. O'Brien has also opened a lead on Yang. Toomey kicked it in at the finished and closed with a rush. The final split was clocked at 11.3. Over 2 seconds later Kuznetsov finally crossed the finish line. Avilov and Yrjola were next followed by Mathias. O'Brien beats Yang and Bausch finishes over 10 seconds after Toomey. FINAL RESULTS Toomey - 45.95 Kuznetsov - 48 Avilov - 48.2 Yrjola - 48.4 Mathias - 49.35 O'Brien - 51.35 Yang - 52.7 Bausch - 56.15 |
EVENT 5 - 400 METER - FINAL RESULTS
Toomey - 45:95 - 1011 points Johnson, R - 47:2 - 948 points Thompson - 47.85 - 916 points Kuznetsov - 48:0 - 909 points Campbell - 48:05 - 907 points Jenner - 48:15 - 902 points Thorpe - 48:20 - 899 points Avilov - 48:20 - 899 points Yrjola - 48:40 - 889 points Jarvinen - 49:10 - 857 points Johnson D - 49:15 - 854 points Mathias - 49:35 - 845 points O'Brien - 51:35 - 754 points Yang - 52:7 - 694 points Bausch - 56:15 - 554 points |
LEADERBOARD - END OF DAY 1
R. Johnson - 4681 Toomey - 4631 Thompson - 4601 Thorpe - 4600 O'Brien - 4578 Kuznetsov - 4435 Campbell - 4417 Jarvinen - 4412 Avilov - 4381 Yrjola - 4376 Mathias - 4304 Yang - 4290 Jenner - 4142 Johnson, D - 4031 Bausch - 3725 |
DAY 1 RECAP
All the athletes have left the field heading back to….well wherever they came from, and the fans left the stadium…actually they left so quickly it was more like they disappeared, while I’m standing in the near darkness squinting to see the names and scores on my clipboard still dumbfounded by the situation I find myself in. What an amazing first day of competition – O’Brien dominates the first day, but an injury on his last high jump attempt may end up costing him a medal and almost assuredly will prevent him from winning the entire competition, Thorpe has a poor start, but roars back with a huge performance in the high jump and currently sits only 1 point away from the bronze. Rafer Johnson has done about as well as he can, but there is no breathing room for the first day leader. Toomey’s miraculous 400 meters allowed him to get within 50 points of the lead, but he isn’t a particularly good second day performer. Thompson has been steady throughout and may be perfectly positioned to steal this competition. And poor C. K. Yang, the hot start is ruined by the injury. I wonder what will happen in the second day…this is a dream after all. Will the injuries still affect the athletes or will they return whole and ready to go? Yang and O’Brien both mentioned before leaving the field they would be spending the entire evening with the trainer getting therapy on their ailments, Bausch simply said he was beyond therapy and would be getting drunk. I take a quick glace at the second half events, and the athletes results in them. I say to myself, “I can’t come to any clear determination of what to expect tomorrow.” “How could you figure it out…it involves math and you’re drunk,” says Thorpe who snuck back onto the field and was looking at the clipboard over my shoulder. He smiles and walks off as quietly as he came. I laugh at myself, knowing Thorpe is right…I can barely do math sober and awake. Still I jot a few things down: Most likely to fall back – Toomey Most likely to climb – Kuznetsov Predicted order of finish (if O’Brien is hurt): Thompson Johnson Thorpe O’Brien Kuznetsov (if O’Brien is healthy) O’Brien Thompson Johnson |
Quick Dynasty Update
I'll probably be able to start posting the second day results today, but next week I'll be in Nashville for training and I'm not sure I'll have Internet access (not sure if the company is going to give me a laptop). If I don't it will be a while before I can finish. Just wanted you to know so you don't give up on the dynasty if it's dormant for a while. |
Sorry for the delay:
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Just before the start of the second day of competition I caught up with O'Brien and Yang to see how they were doing. Both mentioned feeling much better than yesterday, but neither was willing to state they were 100%. Bausch had no comment.
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DAY 2
EVENT 6 - 110 METER HURDLES This event will be run in 2 heats: Heat 1 Kuznetsov Mathias O'Brien Toomey Yang Yrjola Avilov Bausch Heat 2 Campbell Jarvinen Jenner Johnson, D Johnson, R Thompson Thorpe |
HEAT 1
The runners enter the blocks the gun sounds and O'Brien, Yang and Mathias are quick out of the blocks. Kuznetsov is 4th. Toomey, who though very fast, isn't very good at this event is 6th behind Avilov in the 5th spot. Yrjola and Bausch are way back even at the first hurdle. At the midway point not much has changed, but Kuznetsov has begun to hit his stride and he's quickly realing in Yang. Mathias is slightly ahead of O'Brien, who is begining to find his rhythm. O'Brien has kicked it into another gear and pulls away from Mathias. Kuznetsov pulls away from Yang but can't catch Mathias. The rest of the field holds form. Final Results: O'Brien - 13.90 Mathias - 14.25 Kuznetsov - 14.45 Yang - 14.55 Avilov - 14.60 Toomey - 14.75 Yrjola - 15.50 Bausch - 15.70 |
HEAT 2
The gun sounds and the group hits the first hurdle in a much tighter fashion than heat 1. Campbell leads with Thorpe less than a half step back. Thompson, both Johnsons, Jenner, and Jarvinen are so bunched and moving so quickly it's almost impossible to tell who is leading with the naked eye. At the midway point Thorpe has taken control of the race, and unless he trips on a hurdle will win this heat walking away. Campbell is still running well, but keeping up with Thorpe has proven too much. Thompson and Dave Johnson are pulling away from the bunch and Rafer is currently in last place after clipping the 3rd hurdle. At the taps Thorpe wins by almost a half a second and Campbell who is runner up in the heat still posts a good time of 14.2. Dave Johnson nips Thompson at the line. Javinen runs a strong race but ends up 5th, and Rafer Johnson is able to regain his form and pull to a tie with Jenner for 6th in the heat. Final Results Thorpe - 13.75 Campbell - 14.20 D Johnson - 14.40 Thompson - 14.50 Jarvinen - 14.60 Jenner - 14.75 R Johnson - 14.75 |
EVENT 6 - Final Results:
Thorpe - 13.75 - 1007 points O'Brien - 13.90 - 987 points Campbell - 14.20 - 949 points Mathias - 14.25 - 942 points D Johnson - 14.40 - 924 points Kuznetsov - 14.45 - 917 points Thompson - 14.50 - 911 points Yang - 14.55 - 905 points Avilov - 14.60 - 899 points Jarvinen - 14.60 - 899 points Toomey - 14.75 - 880 points Jenner - 14.75 - 880 points R Johnson - 14.75 - 880 points Yrjola - 15.50 - 790 points Bausch - 15.70 - 767 points |
LEADERBOARD - AFTER 6 EVENTS
Thorpe - 5607 O'Brien - 5565 Johnson, R - 5561 Thompson - 5512 Toomey - 5511 Campbell - 5366 Kuznetsov - 5352 Jarvinen - 5311 Avilov - 5280 Mathias - 5246 Yang - 5195 Yrjola - 5166 Jenner - 5022 Johnson D - 4955 Bausch - 4492 |
EVENT 6 REVIEW
A gutty performance from Dan O'Brien not only puts him back in medal contention, but it puts him back in a position to win the gold. This event may allow him to hold off Thompson, Johnson and Toomey. Thorpe continues his amazing comeback after a terrible start. Rafer clipping the 3rd hurdle has cost him dearly, leading after 5 events he now finds himself in the bronze metal spot. |
Thorpe... Thorpe... Thorpe...
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Me, too. |
Really enjoying this... Was this game expandable at all? Or just have a small set of decathletes? I'm a bit of a collector of old AH games, but havent heard much of this one...
Chas |
Chas,
Glad you're enjoying it. Actually the original game was made with only 7 decathletes: Thorpe Rafer Johnson Campbell Kuznetsov Yang Toomey Mathias The others have been added (I assuming by someone who plays the game). The game plays like the Superstars baseball game AH put out around the same time. I have a spreadsheet with all the parts of game needed to play (though I won't vouch for the accuracy of the dice rolls built in the spreadsheet). If you would like a copy I'll email it to you (you can PM me your email address if you don't want to post it). |
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Email addy in Sig... Thanks! Chas |
One thing to note (think of this as a forewarning - because I'd hate to disappoint anyone). The game isn't as specific as it sounds here. For instance: "Rafer clips the 3rd hurdle" that's literary priviledge, Rafer scored a poor time and I added in the reason why in the write up.
Now that you know...the game is on the way. |
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Two things on this: 1) Keep it up - the "flavor" definitely adds a good deal to the dynasty thread. 2) What about injuries? When you have mentioned them before, are they actually created in-game, or is that just your explanation for poor performances as well? |
QuikSand,
Thanks, I'm glad you like the write ups. As for the injuries...they actually occur in the game, but there are no specifics associated with them - so I made up the type of injury. Once an athlete is injuried each subsequent event is performed with a handicap/penalty (except high jump and pole vault - no penalties on those - though I've played with some "house rules" on these events). The rules actually state that first day injuries are wiped clean at the start of the second day. I find that little absured, so I play with half penalties during the second day. By the way...the rules also state 2 injuries result in a withdrawal from competition. |
EVENT 7 – DISCUS – PREVIEW
This is another event that will cause a shake up in at the very least the middle of the leaderboard. Mathias and Kuznetsov are both strong in this event and could post throws over 165 feet. Bausch is extremely strong here – in fact so strong it would not surprise me to see him make a toss that will be within 10 feet of someones javelin attempt. From looking at their results Dave and Rafer Johnson are both good but inconsistent in this event, while O’Brien is solid and Thorpe is below average. |
EVENT 7 – DISCUS
Throw 1 Campbell - gets his first throw in without fouling – 141’ Jarvinen – first throw beats Campbells – 143’ Jenner – a great opening throw sails 161 feet. Now Jenner can be very aggressive knowing he’s got a good score regardless of the outcomes of his other throws. Johnson, D – his toe hits the board and the white foul flag is raised by the official Johnson, R – Rafer whips around exploding out of his crouch and lauching the discus. The form appears textbook and the disc sails through the air. The throw is long and the field judges have to move to avoid being hit. The disc finally strikes the ground 171 feet away. It’s a distinct possibility he’ll watch the rest of this event. Thompson – 149 feet Thorpe – who was hoping to hold on to his lead, knows, after seeing Rafers effort, that he’s lost it even if he matches his personal best. His toss travels 143 feet. Kuznetsov – another great throw that sails deep into the landing area. It looks like it might reach Rafers distance, but it comes up just a little short. 167’ Mathias – his throw follows Kuznetsovs in line and trajectory but it comes up several feet short. But 161’ is still a solid effort. O’Brien – manages a first toss of 159’ feet allowing him to stay in the medal aread of the leaderboard. Toomey – not one of his best events – manages 141’ Yang – another athlete that doesn’t excel in this event. 140’ Yrjola – 149’ Avilov – Only manages 140’ Bausch – going for a big throw Bausch over spins and his disc lands outside of the sidelines for a foul. |
EVENT 7 – DISCUS
Throw 2 Campbell - trying to better 141’, Campbell hits the toe board and fouls. Jarvinen – the distance on the second throw is identical to the first. 143' Jenner – As expected Bruce is extremely aggressive with his second attempt, and he fouls.Johnson, D – Dave makes sure to get a solid throw with the second attempt and manages one of 152' Johnson, R – Rafer decides to try and better his 171' foot throw, but he's off balance coming out of his spin and he only manages a toss of 144' Thompson – Fouls Thorpe – Fouls Kuznetsov – another great throw from Kuznetsov but it does him no good when it lands 7' short of his first attempt. 160' Mathias – trying to better 161' Mathias clips the toe board. Foul O’Brien – O'Brien's second throw looks just like his first, but when measured he actually gained a foot. 160' Toomey – his second toss is a foot short of his first - 140' Yang – a terrible attempt travels only 124' Yrjola – Foul Avilov – Foul Bausch – his second toss is a good one and goes 166'. |
EVENT 7 – DISCUS
Throw 3 Campbell - fouls again trying to get better than 141' Jarvinen – fouls on his final attempt and settles for 143' Jenner – still being aggressive Jenner manages a throw of 153' as he walks out of the pit he's talking to himself, something about the disc slipping out of his fingers. Johnson, D – Fouls and can't better his 152' foot 2nd throw. He's not overly pleased with his performance in this event. Johnson, R – Passes Thompson – spins hard trying to keep pace with the leaders, he's throw looks good traveling a long distance but the white Foul flag was raised for a foot fault. Leaving the pit, Dayley seemed to be grabbing his left hip, he might have tweaked something with this final effort. Thorpe – 136' - and Thorpe will lose a considerable amout of ground in this event. Kuznetsov – Foul Mathias – trying to better 161' Mathias launches his 3rd attempt...the disc flys 172'. This effort will move him up the leaderboard. O’Brien – Rather than risk aggrevating his injury O'Brien passes Toomey – Fouls Yang – Yang's final attempt is his best, just barely 141' Yrjola – Foul Avilov – 149' is his third throw distance, and his best throw of the 3. Bausch – his third toss is huge 173'. |
EVENT 7 – DISCUS – FINAL RESULTS
Bausch – 173’ – 929 points Mathias – 172’ – 923 points R. Johnson – 171’ – 916 points Kuznetsov – 167’ – 890 points Jenner – 161’ – 853 points O’Brien – 160’ – 847 points D. Johnson – 152’ – 799 points Yrjola – 149’ – 781 points Avilov – 149’ – 781 points Thompson – 149’ – 781 points Jarvinen – 143’ – 745 points Thorpe – 143’ – 745 points Campbell – 141’ – 733 points Toomey – 141’ – 733 points Yang – 141’ – 733 points |
LEADERBOARD - AFTER 7 EVENTS
Johnson R - 6477 O'Brien - 6412 Thorpe - 6352 Thompson - 6293 Toomey - 6244 Kuznetsov - 6242 Mathias - 6169 Campbell - 6099 Avilov - 6061 Jarvinen - 6056 Yrjola - 5947 Yang - 5928 Jenner - 5875 Johnson D - 5754 Baush - 5421 |
EVENT 7 – DISCUS – REVIEW
What a huge event the discus turned out to be. The biggest winner of all was Rafer Johnson. He managed to finish 3 rd in the event, but the two that finished ahead of him, Bausch and Mathias are trailing him in the standings, in fact, despite his great toss Bausch is still in last. Kuznetsov had a great throw and was able to move up to 6 th place, and he is right on Toomey’s heals for 5 th. He may have moved himself into medal contention, especially with the possible injury to Thompson. Mathias has also moved up a good bit, but I don’t think it’s enough to challenge for the bronze. The losers in this event were Thompson, who is apparently hurt now. Currently he sits in 4 th spot only 60 points away from being on the podium, but with an injury he may fall back to pack rather than challenge for a medal. Thorpe also took a dive here and may have cost himself a shot at gold. He’s still in a position to make a move, but he lost a good bit of ground here. I start assessing the situation and it appears to me that the medals may be set and it could simply come down to who gets which color. With Thompson injured I expect he’ll have a hard time cracking the top 3. Toomey is a better first day performer, so I don’t expect he’ll be able to climb into the top 3. Kuznetsov is a good second day guy, but he is almost 100 points behind Thorpe. Then the rest of the field seems to be battling for position only. I guess it will be Johnson, O’Brien and Thorpe on the medal stand, but in what order? Of course what do I know. I'm drunk and asleep for crying out loud. |
EVENT 8 - POLE VAULT - PREVIEW
The Pole Vault is coming up and I know this is a technically difficult event. It is also a very tiring one. I look up personal bests for each athlete in this event and I'm surprised to see a real bunching of results. In fact, so much bunching that I don't expect anyone to truly climb up the leaderboard here. Out of all the athletes, C. K. Yang is the best at this event, but he trails 3rd place by 400 points so his ability in the event matters little. Almost half of the contestents will score at or just over 16'. On the top end of the spectrum there isn't much separation, but there are a number of competitors who need to do real well here to keep from falling off the pace. They include: Toomey, Mathias, Campbell and Thorpe. |
EVENT 8 - POLE VAULT
In this event each athlete will continue to jump until he has 3 consecutive misses. The bar is raised in 4" increments. The event opens up at 13' wehn Yrjola annouces he'll make his first attempt. ------------------------------------------------------------ 13' Yrjola clears ------------------------------------------------------------ 13' 4" Yrjola misses his first attempt Yrjola clears on his second attempt ------------------------------------------------------------ 13' 8" Toomey annouces he will attempt this height Campbell announces he will attempt this height Yrjola clears on his first attempt Toomey misses his initial attempt Campbell misses his initial attempt Toomey clears on his second attempt Campbell clears on his second attempt ------------------------------------------------------------ 14' Avilov annouces he will attempt this height Campbell annouces he will pass Yrjola misses his first attempt Toomey Clears his first attempt Avilov clears his first attempt Yrjola misses his second attempt Yrjola makes his 3rd attempt Yrjola has decided to accept this height and conserve his energy for the final two events. He finishes with a height of 14' and 699 points ------------------------------------------------------------- 14' 4" Avilov annouces he will pass at this height Campbell annouces he will vault again Toomey clears on his first attempt Campbell clears on his first attempt --------------------------------------------------------------- 14' 8" Mathias annouces he will attempt this height Avilov annouces he will vault again Jarvinen annouces he will attempt this height Jenner annouces he will attept this height R Johnson annouces he will attempt this height Mathias misses on his first attempt Toomey misses on his first attempt Avilov clears on his first attempt Campbell misses on his first attempt Jarvinen clears his first attempt Jenner misses his first attempt R Johnson clears his first attempt Mathias clears on his second attempt Toomey misses on his second attempt Campbell misses on his second attempt Jenner clears on his second attempt Toomey clears on his third attempt Campbell misses on his third attempt Campbell finishes with a height of 14' 4" and a score of 733 points Toomey annouces he will not attempt any more vaults. He finishes with a height of 14' 8" and a score of 757 points ------------------------------------------------------------- 15' Kuznetsov annouces he will attempt this height Avilov annouces he will pass at this height Mathias annouces he will pass at this height Thorpe annouces he will attempt this height Jarvinen annouces he will pass at this height R Johnson annouces he will pass at this height Jenner annouces he will pass at this height Kuznetsov clears on his first attempt Thorpe clears on his first attempt -------------------------------------------------------------- 15' 4" Mathias annouces he will vault again Kuznetsov annouces he will pass O'Brien annouces he will attempt this height Avilov annouces he will vault again Jarvinen annouces he willvault again Jenner annouces he will vault again D Johnson annouces he will attempt this height R Johnson annouces he will vault again Thompson annouces he will attempt this height Mathias misses on his first attempt O'Brien clears on his first attempt Avilov clears on his first attempt Jarvinen misses on his first attempt Jenner clears on his first attempt D Johnson clears on his first attempt R Johnson misses on his first attempt Thompson clears on his first attempt Thorpe clears on his first attempt Mathias clears on his second attempt Jarvinen misses on his second attempt R Johnson clears on his second attempt Jarvinen misses on his third attempt Jarvinen finishes with a height of 14' 8" and 757 points --------------------------------------------------------- 15' 8" Kuznetsov annouces he will vault again D Johnson annouces he will pass Thompson annouces he will pass Kuznetsov misses his first attempt Mathias misses his first attempt O'Brien clears his first attempt Avilov misses his first attempt Jenner misses his first attempt R Johnson clears his first attempt Thorpe misses his first attempt Mathias misses his second attempt Avilov misses his second attempt Jenner clears his second attempt Thorpe misses his second attempt Mathias misses his third attempt Avilov clears his third attempt Thorpe misses his third attempt Mathias finishes with a height of 15' 4" and a score of 816 Thorpe finishes with a height of 15' 4" and a score of 816 Avilov annouces he will not attempt another vault and finishes with a height of 15' 8" and a score of 846 points ------------------------------------------------------------------ 16' D Johnson annouces he will vault again C K Yang annouces he will attempt this height Bausch annouces he will attempt this height Thompson annouces he will vault again Kuznetsov misses his first attempt O'Brien misses his first attempt Yang clears his first attempt Bausch clears his first attempt Jenner misses his first attempt D Johnson clears his first attempt R Johnson misses his first attempt Thompson misses his first attempt Kuznetsov clears his second attempt O'Brien clears his second attempt Jenner clears his second attempt Thompson misses his second attempt Thompson misses his third attempt Thompson finishes with a height of 15' 4" and a score of 816 points ------------------------------------------------------ 16' 4" Bausch annouces he will pass Kuznetsov misses his first attempt O'Brien clears his first attempt Yang misses his first attempt Jenner misses his first attempt D Johnson clears his first attempt R Johnson misses his first attempt Kuznetsov misses his second attempt Yang clears his second attempt Jenner annouces he will not make another attempt and finishes with a height of 16' and 832 points R Johnson annouces he will not make another attempt and finishes with a height of 16' and 832 points Kuznetsov annouces he will not make another attempt and finishes with a height of 16' and 832 points ---------------------------------------------- 16' 8" Bausch annouces he will vault again O'Brien misses his first attempt Yang misses his first attempt D Johnson misses his first attempt Bausch starts his run, plants the pole, but rather than position himself for the jump, he spins around the pole and comes right back down on his feet. He walks over to the stack of poles, drops his and starts walking towards me. It's at this point I notice he's really favoring the right leg he tweaked on day 1 during the shot put. He gets to me and before I can ask what happened he says "You got a beer for me?" "A beer?" I answer completely confused. He continues to stair at me, then he says, "Fine I'll just take this one." and he grabs a beer from my hand that I didn't realize I was holding. "It's cold and full and looks like you haven't even had a sip." "I haven't...I didn't even realize it was there," I mumbled. "I retweaked my hamstring," he said to me anticipating my upcoming question. "I'm going to pack it in. Hell I'm in last, now I'm really hurting and this beer tastes great. You got another?" I shake my head no, but look in my hand and see one. I slowly hand it to him and scratch my head in disbelief. Bausch laughs and asks, "Why do you look so confused? This is a dream for crying out loud. While you're at it, why not conjure up some nice thick ribeyes for us." "Where were we?" I ask to noone, in an attempt to recapture my composure. "I think it's O'Brien's turn again" Bausch answers, and I look up to see O'Brien signal he's passing out his remaining attempts. O'Brien annouces he will not attempt another vault and finishes with a height of 16' 4" and a score of 907. Yang clears on his second attempt D Johnson misses on his second attempt D Johnson misses on his third attempt D Johnson finishes with a height of 16' 4" and 907 points Bausch retires from the event due to injury. ----------------------------------------------------- 17' Yang misses his first attempt Yang misses his second attempt Yang misses his third attempt Yang finishes with a height of 16' 8" and a score of 938 points -------------------------------------------------------- |
LEADERBOARD AFTER 8 EVENTS
Johnson R - 7354 O'Brien - 7319 Thorpe - 7168 Kuznetsov - 7119 Thompson - 7109 Toomey - 7001 Mathias - 6985 Avilov - 6907 Yang - 6866 Campbell - 6827 Jarvinen - 6813 Jenner - 6752 Johnson D - 6661 Yrjola - 6646 Bausch - RETIRED |
EVENT 8 - POLE VAULT - REVIEW
I looked a the score board and asked myself, "Well what did I learn?" "I don't know about you, but learned you sure can dream up a damn good beer," Bausch interrupted. "Jim please shut up, I'm trying to think." "Sheesh, you'd think this was some serious competition the way you're acting. Just think me up another beer and I'll be fine." While handing a beer to Bausch, I start thinking about the results vs. the players personal bests and I realize the performance in this event wasn't all that great. Noone reached 17' and serveral are capable of getting that high. Yang can get up to 18' so he really performed poorly. Thompson needed to do well here, and he didn't. His poor performance coupled with the injury and I'd be surprised to see him finish in the top 5 now. Kuznetsov continues to climb and is within striking distance of a medal now. Toomey as I expected has started sliding back and Thorpe, who was leading after 6 events is now barely holding on to 3rd. "Well only two more events to go," I inadvertantly say out loud, and I cringe knowing a response is coming. "That's plenty of time to kill off a couple 6 packs. Heck why not save time and dream up a case." Bausch answers. I dream up a keg, and Bausch began drinking straight from the tap. |
EVENT 9 – JAVELIN – PREVIEW
Now that we are starting the 9 th event, it becomes obvious that my projection of Rafer, O’Brien and Thorpe having the medals locked up was way off. Kuznetsov is hot on Thorpe's tail and this is another event where Thorpe is below average and way below Kuznetsov in ability. Pretty much everyone with the exception of Campbell and Thorpe should be over 200’. Dave Johnson is real good in this event, so is Kuznetsov. Many others are capable of big throws, but they aren’t as consistent as the two mentioned above. |
EVENT 9 - JAVELIN - First Throw
Kuznetsov - fouls Mathias - fouls O'Brien - fouls "Man these guys are really looking for a big throw, they obviously realize a good score here can make all the difference." Toomey - foul Bausch, "Come'on - somebody get one in there. You guys suck...." "Weren't all these guys beating you when you stopped competing?" I ask. "Well...yeah...but" "If they suck, but they were beating you then what does that make you?" I egg him on. "A spectator," he grins, "and this heckling is FUN!" I shake my head, grin and watch Yang's first attempt Yang - fouls Yrjola - stays a decent distance behind the line so he won't foul and he really launches his toss. It finally comes down stickin in the earth 225' away. Avilov - toss is good, but only 202' Campbell - throws 181'. He now has a score, but he'll need to do better to stop the slide he's been on since early in the first day. Jarvinen - 206' Jenner - 217' Johnson, D - foul Johnson, R - fouls - again it looks like he's going for a big throw to gain separation on the competition. Thompson - 205' Thorpe - 187' - he's never done much better than this, but I'm sure he'll be trying hard on his next 2 throws. |
EVENT 9 - JAVELIN - Second Throw
Kuznetsov - the 2nd day star lauches he second throw and again the white foul flag is raised. "Wow that's going to put Kuz (you don't think I actually pernounce that whole name do you) in a tough spot. He's in a position to medal, but he also has to get a safe throw in or he'll be out of the running all together." "He'll get the next throw in...not sure if it will be worth a damn, but he'll get a score here. He can't throw his entire shot away...he's a good 400 meter runner, even if he does poorly here - he can still medal with a good run," Bausch answers. Mathias - a nice second throw of 212' gives him decent points and one shot to go all out. O'Brien - needs a good throw to catch Johnson and his second toss is 205'. "Not bad, but he can do better," Baush informs me. Toomey - 215' Yang - fouls - one last shot to get points for C. K. Yrjola - doesn't improve on his nice 225' initial throw - only getting 208' on the second go round. Avilov - fouls Campbell - fouls Jarvinen - fouls Jenner - second toss is just under 200' at 199', it doesn't improve on his first toss Johnson, D - 227' Johnson, R - Rafer starts his approach, begins the long strides for the toss, plants and lets fly... Less than a second after Johnson lets go, I look at the trajectory and the speed of the javelin and I think to myself 'Oh my God!" Baush jumping to his feet yells, "Holy Shi...." I interrupt, "Jim...I have 3 little kids" He looks at me rolls his eyes and says, "You're sleeping they can't hear me." I look away sheepishly realizing I might need therapy after this dream...I watch the javellin stick and I begin to calculate the distance. It appears, from the markers on the field, that the throw is about 20' further than Daves impressive effort just moments before. The final result is announced and Rafer is credited with a distance of 242'. I am in total shock...I want to ask Bausch if that just won him the goal medal, but can't quite form sentences right now. Thompson - possibly intimidated by Johnson's effort and needing a big one of his own, fouls. Thorpe - fouls |
EVENT 9 - JAVELIN - THIRD THROW
Kuznetsov - steps up to the start line for his final attempt. He has to get a successful throw, or I'll be hanging out and dreaming up beers for him just like I am for Bausch. Kuznetsov, starts his approach, plants and lauches well behind the foul line. the throw looks good: "That is clutch," Bausch interjects even before the javelin spears the ground. The toss is long, and the measurement ends up being 223'. A tremendous turn of events. This throw puts him at the top of the event board with Rafer's ridiculous effort, and Dave Johnson and Yrjola who are non-factors in the overall standings. Mathias - can't better his second attempt - 197' O'Brien - fouls - so he has to settle for his 205' effort. This will create huge separation between Johnson and O'Brien on the leaderboard. Toomey - fouls Yang - having to get it in - he manages a 202' toss Yrjola - fouls Avilov - his 3rd toss betters his first by 14 feet - 216' Campbell - fouls Jarvinen - 203' not as good as his initial attempt Jenner - fouls D Johnson - fouls Rafer - PASSES (and he has a big smile on his face when he does) "He thinks he's won," Bausch states. "I think, I think so too." I reply, "You think you think?" "Give me a break, I'm asleep and drunk as you have pointed out before." Thompson - fouls Thorpe - fouls |
EVENT 9 - JAVELIN - FINAL RESULTS
R Johnson - 242' - 947 points D Johnson - 227' - 878 points Yrjola - 225' - 869 points Kuznetsov - 223' - 859 points Jenner - 217' - 832 points Avilov - 216' - 827 points Toomey - 215' - 823 points Mathias - 212' - 808 points Jarvinen - 206' - 780 points Thompson - 205' - 776 points O'Brien - 205' - 776 points Yang - 202' - 761 points Thorpe - 187' - 693 points Campbell - 181' - 665 points |
LEADERBOARD - AFTER 9 EVENTS
Johnson R - 8301 O'Brien - 8095 Kuznetsov - 7978 Thompson - 7885 Thorpe - 7861 Toomey - 7824 Mathias - 7793 Avilov - 7734 Yang - 7627 Jarvinen - 7593 Jenner - 7584 Johnson D - 7539 Yrjola - 7515 Campbell - 7492 Bausch - RETIRED |
Hey Breeze, is there any way that you can let us put points into categories and do an interactive decathlon? I mean, while people are dreamin', they might as well dream big, right? :)
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Quote:
Actually, I've been thinking about doing that, but I'll have to come up with some matrix to match those numbers against the scoresheets then come up with a range of outcomes and weights for each. It will take a while but I can do it if the interest is there: I also thought about allowing some people to draft the existing players and act as a track coach. So for instance, we could have 5 teams of 3 or 3 teams of 5 or some (other breakdown depending on interest), and the players could choose the athletes they would like - draft style. Then choose which athletes participate in which events setting up restrictions on every athlete must be used X number of times, we could keep 2 of 3 scores or 3 of 5 or however the FOFC members decided to set the rules. (ok I've probably confused everyone on this and noone will be interested now). :rolleyes: I'm open for suggestions on either type of dynasty...especially open if someone wants to help with the matrix on the intial option. |
EVENT 9 – REVIEW
The leaderboard all of a sudden looks lopsided. Rafer’s ridiculous throw has put him 200 points up on the competition. I still can’t believe he was 15’ better than the closest competitor and more importantly 37’ better than O’Brien and 55’ feet better than Thorpe. Thorpe's 187’ foot effort continues his backwards slide – this makes the 3 straight event he has been at the bottom half of the event results board and it’s caused him to freefall in the standings – he’s now all the way down in 5th place. Kuznetsov has continued his meteoric rise – as he now is positioned to take home a metal. Thompson and Toomey are hanging tough, and the rest are simply jockeying for position. |
EVENT 10 – 1500 Meters – PREVIEW
“I guess this contest is over…Rafer’s got it won.” I said to Bausch. “You think so?” he answers. “Don’t you…his Javelin and Discus Throws won it for him. He won both those events and really created separation from the field.” “So you think he has it won?” Bausch asks again. “Yeah…don’t you?” “Rafer is a lousy 1500 meter runner – in fact, he might be the worst of all the people here.” “Worse than you?” I jabbed. “Ha, Ha, very funny…yes worse than me. I beat him routinely at this event.” “Yeah, but he has a 200 point lead. What would it take to over come that? “35 seconds.” “What?” I ask as my eyes get wide. “Only 35 seconds, and Rafer is terrible at this event. He doesn’t have this thing locked up then.” “Yeah if O’Brien were to beat Johnson by 35 seconds he could still win this event, but there is 1 problem.” Bausch explains “What’s that?” “O’Brien isn’t particularly strong in this event either, and he’s got an injury he’s battling. And I don’t care how well you tape it up, or how many aspirin you take, it’s going to hurt while you run this event,” Bausch explains. “Hell everything hurts while you run this event” he adds in a mumbled voice. “So what does that mean, exactly?” Bausch sighs and says, “I don’t think O’Brien can beat Johnson by 35 seconds. Maybe, but I doubt it.” “So Rafer’s won?” I state again. “Kuznetsov is good in this event, and Thorpe is great at it” Jim points out. “Good enough to overcome 300 plus points?” “I don’t know…” Bausch hedges. “How many seconds would it take for Thorpe or Kuznetsov to pass Johnson?” “I don’t know, but I’d guess a full minute or a little more.” “Rafer’s won,” I sigh. “It’s not that I don’t like Rafer, but I was so hoping for an exciting ending. Well at least I still have second and third up in the air.” Bausch urges, “Don’t give up on an exciting ending just yet…stranger things have happened.” |
EVENT 10 – 1500 METERS
All 14 of the decathletes line up, and the gun sounds. The mass of arms and legs bunch up quickly, trying to get to the inside lane to reduce the distance. The bunching is so great early it’s almost impossible to tell who is where. Except that Thorpe is out front and Yang, O’Brien and Rafer are in the back. I continue to watch the event while chatting with Bausch, and by the time the runners crossed the finish line on the second lap there was some definitive separation. Thorpe is out in front, Jenner, Avilov and Toomey were next, but Jenner was attacking, Avilov appeared to be maintaining and Toomey looked like he was hurting a bit. Rafer was still leading O’Brien at this point, so Dan’s chances of catching Johnson for gold were slipping quickly. Kuznetsov was on the heals of the second group. Thorpe continued to lead the race but Jenner has closed up on his heals. Avilov, and Kuznetsov were several paces back in the second grouping. Yrjola and Dave Johnson were next, but Dave was looking rough and I’m guessing he’ll start to fall back. As for the stragglers…O’Brien finally overtook Rafer, but Johnson was staying on his heels. At this point I estimate Thorpe’s lead on Johnson to be about 40 seconds, Kuznetsov is about 35 up and O’Brien has him by about 3 seconds. That means Thorpe will probably beat Rafer by just under 50 seconds, and Kuznetsov will get him by about 40. However, rounding the turn for the last lap, Rafer begins to limp. I look at Bausch and his eyes are huge. “He’s cramping up!” Bausch yells as he jumps to his feet. “This isn’t over yet!” Sure enough Rafer’s speed dropped way off, but O’Brien’s injury began to hamper him as well and he was unable to initially create much separation on Rafer. Thorpe continued to charge hard and Jenner pulled up to run with him stride for stride. Yrjola, Avilov, Jarvinen, Kuznetsov, Toomey and Daley Thompson, who started out slowly but was now charging up on the leaders despite his injury, were next. Thorpe and Jenner cross the line simultaneously at 4:16 Yrjola gets in at 4:24 Avilov crosses at 4:26 Jarvinen crosses at 4:28 Kuznetsov, Thompson and Toomey trade places numerous time coming down the final stretch but as it turns out all 3 are credited with a time of 4:34 Dave Johnson hobbles in at 4:40 Now we have a wait. O’Brien, Campbell (who also appears to be cramping), Rafer, Yang, and Mathias are way off the pace. Mathias leads the also rans, and O’Brien is working hard on separating from Rafer, and he appears to be up by about 12 seconds with a little less than half a lap left. Campbell is pushing O’Brien and Yang and Johnson are trying to hang on. Mathias finished at 4:56 O’Brien crosses at 5:03, with Campbell a half a step behind at 5:04 Now we wait to see how long it takes for Rafer. He and Yang are coming into the final straight and the clock is ticking. Thing seem to slip into slow motion – Rafer, hobble running and the clock slowing ticking by. Johnson crosses the line a half a step in front of Yang and is credited with a time of 5:22, Yang gets around the 1500 meters in 5:23. |
If Rafer ends up losing, it's a rather spectacular implosion on his part.
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EVENT 10 - 1500 METERS - FINAL RESULT
Thorpe - 4:16 - 839 points Jenner - 4:16 - 839 points Yrjola - 4:24 - 784 points Avilov - 4:26 - 771 points Jarvinen - 4:28 - 758 points Kuznetsov - 4:34 - 719 points Thompson - 4:34 - 719 points Toomey - 4:34 - 719 points Johnson, D - 4:40 - 680 points Mathias - 4:56 - 583 points O'Brien - 5:03 - 543 points Campbell - 5:04 - 537 points Johnson R - 5:22 - 440 points Yang - 5:23 - 435 points |
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