It's a disappointment not to be able to watch a thing. :( I hoped that at least pirate versions could be found online, but haven't stambled on anything yet.
Those four looked damn good in the pictures! *drool* Well-built and tanned. Muscular enough, without the monstrosity that characterizes 100 m runners!
Couldn't find the video. HOWEVER, I found it today on Suprnova, along with the video of the Weightlifting Finals! :D
The last moments of the race were very stressful, and for a while nobody knew who had actually won. Poor Canadians realized who the winner was only after the British spectators started celebrating!
Amazed the BBC took down the footage so soon, I would have thought they'd keep it up indefinitely! I suppose it got swamped in the news about Paula Radcliffe pulling out of the marathon, and then again by Kelly Holmes' 800m win.
I believe the reason she gave up was that she was so focused in winning the GOLD, and only the gold, that when she realized her strenght had run out, she broke psychologically. And the reason her strenght ran out (in my not so humble opinion, since I've run myself some of the marathon route, participating in the 10 km "Tour of Athens" as a teenager) was that she had never run that route. Yes, she had run some parts of it, but unlike the Japanese winner, she had never run all of it. And believe me when I'm saying that the classical route is TOUGH: lots of uphills. In the entire Tour of Athens, the only place I honestly felt like giving up was such a place (yet, I didn't, because I didn't care abt a medal, I cared abt FINISHING! Like the rest of the runners who finished, even though they knew there would be no medal for them at the end).
As for the humidity comment her husband/coach made, he's a fool. Japan is humid in summer. Greece is NOT humid in summer. Although 40% is indeed more humid than usual, it definitely can't be called humid! I had to live with 90% humidity in Liverpool. It went down to 70% at its best. I have to live with the same humidity now in Japan. The man just didn't want to admit his practice programme wasn't the best - which it wasn't. Running in Spain and in France? WTF? And they wanted the gold medal? I really-really felt for Radcliffe when she broke down (I even told my colleague Tim about it - I was really moved), but after I read their comments, I thought they sounded like amateurs.
I agree that Radcliffe was probably too focused on getting the gold. The conditions were the same for everyone. She's an experienced marathon runner (she's the world record holder), but I think she may have got too caught up in the feeling that it was her destiny to win that medal. It doesn't take away from her other achievements as a marathon runner, but I don't think it served her at all well going into this race.
Yeah, I know she's the WR holder, that's why at the beginning I was so moved by her quitting and then became so strict after I heard her husband's excuses!
So much fun watching people sing the national anthem with such gusto and really, really badly.
Indeed - and extra brownie points to the totally overexcited Aussies who butchered Advance Australia well in the excitement at Grant Hackett's 1500m win. They certainly knew the words, but they were singing in a heck of a lot faster than the music. ;-) Makes me so homesick for the Sydney Olympics. I wanna be there - drinking champagne in my loungeroom at dawn just isn't quite the same.
I agree, it was very cool. The race was very exciting as well. In their defense, I reckon they'd added an extra note to the music, which is why it fell apart so much at the end.
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momijizukamori
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no subject
Date: 2004-08-21 05:35 am (UTC)Those four looked damn good in the pictures! *drool* Well-built and tanned. Muscular enough, without the monstrosity that characterizes 100 m runners!
no subject
Date: 2004-08-21 05:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-24 01:14 am (UTC)The last moments of the race were very stressful, and for a while nobody knew who had actually won. Poor Canadians realized who the winner was only after the British spectators started celebrating!
no subject
Date: 2004-08-24 01:55 am (UTC)Women's Marathon
Date: 2004-08-24 02:25 am (UTC)As for the humidity comment her husband/coach made, he's a fool. Japan is humid in summer. Greece is NOT humid in summer. Although 40% is indeed more humid than usual, it definitely can't be called humid! I had to live with 90% humidity in Liverpool. It went down to 70% at its best. I have to live with the same humidity now in Japan. The man just didn't want to admit his practice programme wasn't the best - which it wasn't. Running in Spain and in France? WTF? And they wanted the gold medal? I really-really felt for Radcliffe when she broke down (I even told my colleague Tim about it - I was really moved), but after I read their comments, I thought they sounded like amateurs.
Re: Women's Marathon
Date: 2004-08-24 02:33 am (UTC)Re: Women's Marathon
Date: 2004-08-24 04:48 am (UTC)Boo, hiss
Date: 2004-08-21 11:15 am (UTC);-)
Re: Boo, hiss
Date: 2004-08-21 11:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-21 12:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-21 11:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-22 09:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-22 11:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-22 12:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-23 12:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-21 06:30 pm (UTC)Indeed - and extra brownie points to the totally overexcited Aussies who butchered Advance Australia well in the excitement at Grant Hackett's 1500m win. They certainly knew the words, but they were singing in a heck of a lot faster than the music. ;-) Makes me so homesick for the Sydney Olympics. I wanna be there - drinking champagne in my loungeroom at dawn just isn't quite the same.
Avon
no subject
Date: 2004-08-21 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-22 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-23 12:39 am (UTC)