Radcliffe beat one top of the line competitor at London: Catherine Ndereba. Drossin was a 2:26 marathoner coming in and finished six minutes behind Paula. Olympic champ and sub-2:20er Takashi stayed home. No other Japanese in London either. Or Okayo, Chepchumba, Kiplagat, etc. So much for the competition.
Radcliffe AOY? She ran just ONE race, the London Marathon. Mutola not only ran and won every Golden League, but also won several other major meets, such as Madrid with a 1:55 WL. Oh, yeah, there's this little thing called winning a World Championships gold medal. Where was Paula? I'll concede - and I think most other folks would too - that Paula's 2:15:25 is unquestionably the Performance of the Year. But Athlete of the Year is more about honors won and consistent winning than a world record and Mutola is a marathon ahead of Radcliffe in that regard. -----Original Message----- From: Uri Goldbourt, PhD [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 4:56 AM To: Post, Marty; '[EMAIL PROTECTED] uoregon. edu' (E-mail) Subject: RE: t-and-f: Athlete of the Year It does not, to me. I'd still vote Radcliffe. Mutola has been facing mediocre opposition all year. When Khruschelyova and Kelly Holmes are the big shots at 800 meters, and Graff is perennially injured, you get an idea what's remained of this discipline. UG -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Post, Marty Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 5:50 PM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED] uoregon. edu' (E-mail) Subject: t-and-f: Athlete of the Year Radcliffe pulling out of WC effectively kills her chances for Athlete of the Year. Never mind that her Performance of the Year 2:15 marathon was one of the greatest statistical accomplishments ever, you gotta win a gold medal in a WC year. Women's AOY should be Mutola's to lose. A win at Paris, Golden League sweep in Brussels and icing on the cake in Monaco seals the deal. Ayhan, Guevara might put up some impressive numbers in Paris, but their seasons are way more thin than Mutola. I suppose Cloete/Bergqvist might be in there if a WR in Paris and Mutola stumbles. Men's AOY should be el Guerrouj's to win if he scores the Big Double in Paris, topping an undefeated year by Sanchez and Cherono/Shaheen even if he nails a steeple WR in Brussels/Monaco.
