WC Women Finals - Another great competition!

[atlegu]

First to Altius: I wrote in a recent post

As far as I know he is coaching Fabiana Murer ! http://noticias.bol.uol.com.br/esporte/ ... ndial.jhtm

However Becca wrote

Elson is her primary coach, but they work with Petrov periodically.

And to RoosterPV25, first I meant the american boys as well as the girls, second it is not interesting whether Suhr was before Isi or not. Isi didn't go for third of fourth place. She goes for gold.

but I think maybe if they had as many appearances as Isi, I'm sure they would have

First I guess Miles should have that experience, but that did not help. However that is not an issue. With the american system you rarely let them go that many times. Just using place in the trail and not looking at the medal potential, want work when the event "is down" like US pole vaulting is this year. Based on Suhr's injuries during the trail she was just a day or two from not going to Worlds at all. For the men, the only american that have proved potential to jump 5.85 had to stay home.

All in all, I don't thin it is fair to say that Isi dont "have it anymore". She have had injuries and a difficult season, even with that she showed that the 5 meter potential is still there. The other issue is that the other girls have become better so she has to jump her best to win every time.

[rainbowgirl28]

I don't think the issue with Isi is her not having it anymore, at least not in a physical sense. I think mentally she's not 100%. She bailed on that last jump when she went up poles, and I got the impression she stayed on a too-small pole two jumps in a row. The old Isi never would have done that. You know that her next pole is not that much bigger than the one before.

If Isi can get some serious fire in her belly, I think she can still win most of the time. I don't know how many more 5+ meter jumps she has left, but she ought to be jumping 4.80+ on a bad day.

How do you get the fire back when you've accomplished almost everything possible in your sport? I would imagine that at some point, living the celebrity lifestyle becomes more appealing than training your butt off day in and day out. Maybe moving back home to Russia is a good move for her, I would imagine there are somewhat less distractions.

[rainbowgirl28]

The rumor among Russian journalists is that Isi is done competing for the season. To me that indicates she is just out of it mentally.

[Bubba PV]

I personally like her and hope she can come around for one more big wave of effort. That said, it used to bug me when she complained about her lack of competition and how long she had to wait to jump at meets. Never heard Sergey make statements like that. It may not be a fair comparison since she is not Bubka, but she has said many times she hopes to surpass his success. Bubba

[altius]

Re Murer - Vitaly with was her at Crystal Palace and she was with him at the lecture he did in Croydon the morning of the comp. I suspect her is taking a major role with her now.

Re Isinbayeva - some of you may recall that in the debate about her performances last year - before she left Vitali - that I believed her poor performance were the result of burn out -as against technical issues with her mid mark and over striding. I suspected in 2006 when I was in Formia that she was dealing with the problems of being both an elite athlete and an attractive young woman - who would like a life! That was creating issues at that time and indeed I made the point to Vitali that he needed to consider it as he looked forward. However he has one way = his way = and it verges on a fanatical commitment to winning the big meets - and the training necessary to do that - not even Bubka's wife could cope with that - hence that split.

There is no doubt in my mind that he is the best coach of any track and field event on the planet but he does require his athletes to maintain the same level of commitment that he has - not everyone can do that indefinitely.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... O7-GUGH1qA


Murer claims pole vault gold as Isinbayeva bombs
By Luke Phillips (AFP) – 2 days ago
DAEGU, South Korea — Yelena Isinbayeva pushed her gamesmanship one step too far on Tuesday and crashed out of the world women's pole vault, a competition won by Brazil's Fabiana Murer.
Murer, who was fifth at the Berlin worlds in 2009, managed a best of 4.85m, with Germany's Martina Strutz taking silver (4.80m) and Russian Svetlana Feofanova claiming bronze (4.75).
"I'm very happy," said the 30-year-old Murer. I knew I had to vault my best to get the medal. I did that today and it was enough to get me the medal.
"I've had good training and a good season and was very confident," she said, adding that she had expected a "more competitive event".
Isinbayeva had to be content with a hugely disheartening sixth placing after just one successful vault.
"I'm disappointed but I'm now focusing on next year's Olympic Games," said the two-time Olympic and double world champion who was in Daegu seeking revenge after failing to record a height in the finals of the Berlin worlds.
"The pole was really soft. You saw how high I went for again. It was just a mistake.
"I'm trying to forget everything that happened here today and I'll go to London with everything in my memory deleted."
The Russian, whose world record stands at 5.06m, denied that she had been out of form, saying: "My condition was very good. You saw how high I went for. The pole was too soft, I went for another one and another one and it was tough.
"There's still more to come," she said, denying her rivals were now better than her.
"No, they're not. My best is still 5.06m. 4.85? No."
She had looked in good form in the heats, albeit landing just one vault at 4.55m to qualify, but she overplayed her hand in the final.
The 29-year-old came in at 4.65m and sailed over. Passing at 4.70m, she then bumped the bar off at 4.75, but rather than retrying at that height went up to 4.80.
Her first attempt at 4.80 was no better, Isinbayeva brushing the bar with her stomach to leave herself screaming en route down to the mat.
A final attempt at the same height after those two failures saw the Russian not even get close to the bar and she was left to wave briefly to the crowd and exit the runway before pulling a blue cap hard down over her head.
She promptly gathered up her belongings, muttering to herself all along, turned her back on the ongoing competition and left the stadium.
After finishing only fourth in last year's world indoor championships in Doha, Isinbayeva's years of dominating the event seem well and truly over.
Her fall from grace mirrored that of Australian Steve Hooker, the Berlin champion and Olympic gold medallist who did not even make the final, crashing out in heats after failing to register a single vault.

[BruceFlorman]

Eddie would like everyone know that he dressed up for the party in his most patriotic outfit:

Looking at Eddie's photo make me thinking about how nice will be to get another kid. Then I recall that they grows up into teenagers.

Eddie is so cute. This period (0-1 yr) is the best, IMHO - they don't move . Enjoy every moment, this won't last long.

Don't worry, Becca. The teenage years don't necessarily spoil the whole experience. I've got a 22-year-old son, and 20-year-old daughter, a 17-year-old stepson, and...

Vanya!