Re: t-and-f: Viren article and journalism
Martin, Speaking of journalistic inaccuracy, I'm not sure whether the reference to a 5km race out in the middle of nowhere is a statement made by yourself or a quote from your local newspaper. Regardless, I would not consider a 5 K. along the harbour in downtown Victoria (Capital of B.C., population of about 350,000, host City of the 1994 Commonwealth Games) out in the middle of nowhere. Ron Bowker At 02:37 PM 9/4/2002 -0400, Martin J. Dixon wrote: I was trying not to offend anyone. It was an observation but I stand by my statement and I have made it before and I am not just talking about track. Me thinks that it hit a little too close to home. I don't think it is arrogant to try to be accurate. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast producing 100 or so pages of newsprint on a daily basis but that article had several errors in it and the 5 hour one was glaring. An endurance athlete should have known better. If I made that many mistakes on a daily basis in my business, I would lose my client base so fast it would be shocking not to mention the constant dealings that I would be having with our insurance company. Maybe that is the standard. I don't know. Very small example. Yesterday morning, I am reading in our local paper about a girl from our area that represented Canada at the Commonwealth games in the triathlon. Our firm actually sponsors her. The paper said that she won the women's division of a 5km race out in the middle of nowhere in 16:50. I'm thinking to myself that the time seemed a little quick so I started poking around. I wanted to see the other times to see if there was some problem with the course. Here is what I found in about 2 minutes: http://pih.bc.ca/results/2002/songhees5k.html Look at the 7th place time. I pointed out the problem to the sports editor and they ran a correction. He thanked me for the information and made no editorial comments about arrogance. If you make a mistake, you fix it and try to do better the next time. You don't deflect the blame. Regards, Martin Martin J. Dixon, B. Math. (Hons), C.A., Partner Millard, Rouse Rosebrugh LLP Chartered Accountants P.O. Box 367 96 Nelson Street Brantford, Ontario N3T 5N3 Direct Dial: (519) 759-3708 Ext. 231 Telephone: (519) 759-3511 Private Facsimile: (519) 759-8548 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: www.millards.com Practice Areas: www.millards.com/htm/profs/m_mjdixo.htm IMPORTANT NOTICE: This email may be confidential, may be legally privileged, and is for the intended recipient only. Access, disclosure, copying, distribution or reliance on any of it by anyone else is prohibited and may be a criminal offence. Please delete if obtained in error and email confirmation to the sender. James Tysell wrote: T F fans, I sent a couple of entries to the list about the Viren article to a journalist friend of mine, here in N. Calif. Here is his reaction: Yeah, if there's anything that makes me not want to cover track and field, it's the fact that there is so much data, coupled with some really persnickety fans. Not to say all track fans are that way, but I've been on the t-and-f list before, and it gets pretty nauseating. I don't know the guy who wrote that story, but he's a Sacramento-based freelancer who also seems to be an endurance athlete. He wrote some Tour de France stories over the summer and apparently talked to Viren when he was overseas. He's definitely not some young kid. Anyone who says anytime I read a newspaper article about which I am intimately familiar, the errors are numerous is just too arrogant for his own good. another perspective.. Jim Tysell
Re: t-and-f: ANOTHER WOMAN MARATHON WR!
I was in Oslo for the Byers ultimate rabbit stealing the race story. Tom (Byers) was signed up to rabbit the first 1200 of a World Record attempt (can't remember if it was a Mile or 1500). Anyways, it was the final, featured event in Oslo, and the field was great. I remember Walker, Wessinghage, perhaps Ovett, and several other of the World's best at that time. We had lunch with Tom that day, and he was saying his running was going very well, and to quote, if those guys aren't with me, I'm going for it. The race startedthe crowd was into it, and Tom was doing his job very well. But the racers were watching each other.no-one wanted to be the guy behind Byers, and thus the leader after Byers dropped out. So, as these guys were busy watching each other, and Tom was out front doing his job, a gap gradually opened up, and increased with each lap. So with about 300 metres to go, Tom looked around and was maybe 40 or so metres in front of the pack, and a big pack it was. Rather than step off the track, he gunned it down the backstretch, and for those of us who knew what Tom wanted to do, it was incredibly exciting. The crowd figured out very quickly what was going on, and completely forgot about the World Record attempt, and started to scream for Tom. Finally, with about 200 metres to go, the real racers figured out what was happening, and set out after Tom. He was still moving well through the corner, and they were gaining, but not that much. Then, coming out of the corner into the stretch, Tom was tiring, and about 10 guys were trying to find a lane to sprint home in.I'm sure the outside guys ended up in lane 5 or 6. With each step in the last 50 metres, the pack got closer to Tom, and the crowd was in total I'm cheering for the underdog mode. Unbelievable drama, almost like it was being played out in slow motion. About 4 guys passed Byers..unfortunately, that was in the metre or so after the finish line. One of the most exciting events I've ever seen. Ron Bowker At 12:51 PM 10/7/2001 -0400, Martin J. Dixon wrote: John Liccardo wrote: I think Paul Pilkington is the name you're searching for. John The name I was trying to remember was Bob Kampenian(sp???) I think. How about retelling the Byers tale Malmo. Regards, Martin _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp Right. Thanks. Bob had his own claim to fame. Afghanistan is being hit as I type this. Regards, Martin
Re: t-and-f: Zatopek's greatest record
Ron Clarke told this story about Zatopek, and referred to it as the "epitomy of fame". Clarke paid a visit to Zatopek in Prague, many years after Zatopek had retired. Zatopek took Clarke for a run in the forest he used to train in, and Clarke said Zatopek was still very fit, that he ran through the forest "like a madman". Then they went shopping for some crystal the area is famous for. Zatopek drove down the street, took a U-turn, parked in a no-parking zone, and got out of the car to go shopping. A policeman ran down the street blowing his whistle and shouting at the violators until he got close enough to recognize Zatopekat which point, he exclaimed "Emil!!!", burst into a smile, asked for an autograph, and told Zatopek and Clarke to enjoy their shopping. After a considerable time in the crystal shop, they emerged, and Zatopek's car wasn't in front of the shop. Zatopek first looked left and then right, where he spotted his car well down the street. So he signalled and whistled, and the original police officer drove the car back up the street, opened the doors for Clarke and Zatopek, shook their hands and wished them well, and off they drove. Clarke told the story to illustrate the tremendous fame and respect that Zatopek had in his country, even many years after his athletic feats. Ron Bowker At 12:25 PM 11/22/2000 EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The best thing the amazing Emil Zatopek ever did was to give one of his Olympic 5,000-meter gold medals to the legendary Ron Clarke. From all I've heard and read, Zapopek was an absolutely terrific man. He will be missed. Steve Lurie
RE: t-and-f: Trivia: why not much improvement?
What a shame for someone to only have this memory or knowledge of Henry Rono. Does anyone have the NCAA results from Eugene circa 1977 or '78. The results alone won't tell the story, but Rono was magnificent. In the 5000 (I don't recall whether heats or final, because he was running everything fast), I remember the following. Rono and a team-mate taking the first Mile out in sub 4:10, and then Rono doing a workout the rest of the way on his own.accelerating the straights, and running easily on the corners, and finishing without any apparent effort in a time of about 13:21. He looked like he could have run those straights and corners like that for ever. Sad what happened later, but one of the best distance runners ever, in my opinion. Ron Bowker I don't see many of today's top Kenyans drinking a six-pack every night and showing up to races 15 pounds overweight. sideshow
Re: t-and-f: Henry Rono / Trivia...
Hey Drew, I've heard the stories, but I wasn't commenting on his personal lifejust how he was on the track when he was at his best. Did he underachieve relative to what he might have accomplished??? No doubt about it. Ron Bowker This is NOT Dan's 'knowledge' of Henry. Sorry, Ron, but obviously Henry never lived with you. He lived with me for about two years. There was a LOT of excessiive drinking, LOTS of fines to be paid (by me), LOTS of time getting him out of jail and LOTS of time spent in unecessary stuations all because of drinking, drinking and more drinking. We all know he was among the greatest ever, but that doesn't erase the fact that he was probably also among the biggest underachievers ever. /Drew
Re: t-and-f: John Walker memories
How's this for a (true) John Walker story? In about 1973, we hosted a Meet in Victoria, B.C., Canada. This Meet was the wrap-up for a series of Meets across Canada which occurred after the Pacific Conference Games, and included teams from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. There were about 20 entries for the Men's Mile, and as the Meet Director, I had the task of separating into A B Sections. The cutoff came at 4:06 something, and there were two listed at that level --- an American who I can't recall, and a Kiwi named John Walker. Yes, John was a 4:06 miler at this point, but the N.Z. press kit was calling him as a future Peter Snell. At the Technical Meeting, I asked the Coaches who should go into the A and B sections of the Mile. The American Coach said to put "his boy" into the fast section as he was really ready to go, and the N.Z. coach said that John was improving but that the B section would be fine for him. Well, the A section was won in about 3:58.5 by Crouch of Australia, with Rod Dixon second in (I'm trying to remember here) around 3:59, with the American nowhere in sight. The B section was won by John Walker in about 3:58.8, not only his first sub-four, but a PB of around 6 1/2 seconds. At the Pub after the Meet, Walker was prowling around looking for the guy who had put him in the B section. I said to him then, and have reminded him since, that if he wasn't so pissed at being placed in the B section, he might never have run 4 minutes for the Mile. He laughed and we shared a brew. Shortly after this, John moved into the World Elite in the 1500 and the Mile. True story!! Ron Bowker
