The legion of Africans never had one Ron Clarke to deal with. Think about that?
malmo -----Original Message----- From: Steve Bennett [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 11:13 PM To: 'malmo'; 't-and-f list' Subject: RE: t-and-f: Cathy Freeman retires Ron would mix it with the best like Bob Kennedy did. But he would not be able to win over the closing stages. In modern Australia this would not amount to much. He would have to win and that is what Cathy did. He did not have a legion of Africans to deal with and still did not win the major races. regards Steve Bennett www.oztrack.com www.TrackAthlete.com www.AthleticsTraining.com -----Original Message----- From: malmo [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, 17 July 2003 12:49 PM To: 'Steve Bennett'; 't-and-f list' Subject: RE: t-and-f: Cathy Freeman retires RON FREAKIN CLARKE!!! What the hell are you talking about. An Aussie, no less, and he doesn't know his history. Ron Clarke never came close to experiencing the hyper-fast tracks of today! Sub 27:00 at least. malmo -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steve Bennett Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 10:23 PM To: 't-and-f list' Subject: RE: t-and-f: Cathy Freeman retires To win at Sydney under that immense pressure - having lit the olympic flame - as an Aboriginal Australia etc. She was under far greater pressure and held the hopes of every Australian far more than almost any Australian Sportperson ever. That night was almnost the biggest sporting single event ever. Medals in the modern era in any sporting event are much harder to win than anything of the past. So that counts out Ron Clarke, Herb Ellliott etc. Maybe Donald Bradman stacks up as a better magniutde performer but even he never had to play with that sort of pressure. It is common sense to know just how many of the past heroes would stack up now. Maybe Peter Snell would make the grade I don't know about Herb Elliott or Ron Clarke would make the grade. They trained hard and well - maybe with Technology they could have done well, Clarke would not have won, Elliott may have had the kick to win against the Kenyans. Dawn Fraser did great things for womens sport but would have been well behind in the modern era. The achievement for Cathy was winning the major single event for Australians of the past 100 years. That win meant heaps to almost the entire population. That is why we can except for retirement with gratitude and wish her well with her life. She deserves it. regards Steve Bennett www.oztrack.com www.TrackAthlete.com www.AthleticsTraining.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ed & Marsha Prytherch Sent: Thursday, 17 July 2003 11:46 AM To: t-and-f list; dcw23 Subject: Re: t-and-f: Cathy Freeman retires I'm not Australian, so perhaps I am not qualified to comment on David's post, but I'm surprised that Cathy Freeman's single gold medal means more to Aussies than Dawn Fraser's gold medals in three consecutive Olympics. As an outsider, there is simply no comparison. Ed Prytherch ----- Original Message ----- From: "dcw23" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Post, Marty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED] uoregon. edu' (E-mail)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 7:40 PM Subject: Re: t-and-f: Cathy Freeman retires > Some quotes from Mike Hurst's article today. Connor is Keith Connor > the national head coach of Athletics Australia. > > " No competitor in Olympic history had ever lit the cauldron at the Opening > Ceremony and then gone on to win an individual event at the same Games until > Freeman won her gold medal on September 25, 2000, a night described as > the greatest in athletics history. Connor said: ``She has done what no > other Australian has done which is take > everything on her shoulders and deliver. > ``Others have won Wimbledon or Olympic gold medals but they didn't > have to take on the expectation of the whole nation.'' " > > > The key is those words "whole nation". I don't know if you are from > Australia? From the post below, probably not. She is probably the only > athlete we have ever had that is a household name in EVERY household. > She is > an inspiration to people who aren't involved in track and she has > inspired countless children to take to the track. > > Remember, world records are not the mark of the greatest athletes. The > greatest athletes are remembered by their greatest performances, and > no other performance will ever eclipse that gold medal in Sydney for > the majority of Australians. > > David >
