World's Greatest Athlete

[Breeze]

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?

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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!”

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Chas in Cinti]

GREAT idea!!!

Looking forward to it!

-Chas

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

Those are the 15 athletes competing. The first day competition consists of

- 100 meters
- Long Jump
- Shot Put
- High Jump
- 400 meters

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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

[Radii]

I can host the pictures for you if you need.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by Radii

I can host the pictures for you if you need.

You have mail.

I emailed the pics to the address in your sig.

Thanks.

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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".

[Breeze]

Images are up - thanks again Radii

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Images are up - thanks again Radii

No problem

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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

[Breeze]

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.

[Breeze]

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.

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6' 1"

Bausch clears on his first attempt

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6' 2"

Everyone Passes

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6' 3"

Bausch clears on his first attempt

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6' 4"

Jenner annouces he'll jump

Bausch clears on his first attempt

Jenner clears on his first attempt


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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

------------------------------------------

[Breeze]

Sorry if the High Jump section was confusing - a lot of information to work in there. If you're confused feel free to ask.