High 5
The Sunday Age
Sunday August 24, 2008
There is a school of thought that says sprinting over 100 metres is the purest form of sport. Given we all have to dash at some stage, here are some past world record-holders that provide inspiration.
1. Charlie Paddock SINCE the average Aussie kid is just as likely to start training for any sport on the empty block next door, where else to begin a search for sporting inspiration than with US athlete Charlie Paddock? Born in 1900, Paddock won the 100-metre event at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics and in 1921 drove the world record down to 10.4 seconds. In the process he became famous for his leaping style towards the finish line - not unlike the spring you see from Collingwood supporters when jumping to their feet and whinging for a free kick. Paddock was off his peak by the 1924 Olympics and despite the Australian mining boom, we'd probably still advise youngsters to train with the livestock (our picture shows a paddock yesterday) in preference to the rocks and pitfalls they may find if inspired by the man who ran 9.9 seconds in 1976 - Don Quarrie. 2. Jesse Owens, Eulace PeacockJESSE Owens quite rightly stands alone as an Olympic champion in an intolerant era, but if not for a dodgy hamstring perhaps Owens' US rival Eulace Peacock would be in the frame - hence our picture merging the best qualities of both. Peacock, who ran 10.3 in an Oslo race in 1934, famously defeated Owens in the 1935 National Amateur Athletic Union Outdoor Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, but his injury ruled him out of the 1936 Berlin Games where Owens went on to win four gold medals, including the 100 final. Although not known as a braggart, perhaps Peacock's legacy lives on in today's sprinters as they strut and preen during their warm-up and warm-down? And Owens? Well, despite being a great champion he fell on hard times and at one stage was seen trying to beat racehorses in exhibition sprints. Unfortunately, Owens also ended up owing. Failed business ventures and tax-evasion charges were the problem, proving that even the fastest man in the world can't run from the taxman. 3. Eddie HartNOW to matters of the heart or, more specifically, US sprinter Eddie Hart. Only Eddie could explain the sorrow of missing that one true love because of being late to the bus or a connecting flight. In 1972 Hart ran a world-record-equalling 9.9 seconds over 100 metres in the US Olympic trials, but his story reminds us we should always ensure we leave enough time to make the ferry before love sails away. Hart's story is a bit like the groom being left at the altar, except he didn't even get to keep the ring - in fact, he lost the gold as well. After being given the wrong starting times for his second heat at the Munich Olympics, Hart, along with teammate Rey Robinson, failed to make it to the track in time. Both were disqualified. Hart gained some measure of recompense when the US 4 x 100 relay team later broke the world record and Hart outran the 100 champion Valery Borzov of the USSR (pictured) on the anchor leg. So he missed his date, but found another one. Which for the lovelorn proves that the Hart is resilient.4. Ben JohnsonANYONE familiar with coming home to find the back window smashed and some bloke loping out the back door with your gold-coin jar will be familiar with how Carl Lewis must have felt watching Canadian drug cheat Ben Johnson grab the Olympic glory at Seoul in 1988. Johnson's tainted run had him lowering his own world record to 9.79 seconds, but he was strip-ped of the gold medal after he tested positive to Stanozolol. And while John-son's fall from grace may represent the seedier side of athletics, who among us hasn't enjoyed some sort of pick-me-up to get us through the more challenging moments of everyday life? Some prefer coffee, others energy drinks and that of course is where Johnson found a gap in the market to replace all those lost spon-sors. A search on YouTube reveals the sad figure of the once-was-Olympic champion advertising an energy drink called Chee-tah Power Surge. The mock interview between Johnson and the drink-maker has Johnson being asked: "Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?" To which a none-too-enthusiastic Johnson replies: "I Chee-tah all the time". There is a special hell reserved for those who steal their moment on the biggest stage of all. 5. Usain Bolt HAS there ever been a more aptly named athlete than the recently crowned Olym-pic champion and new world record-holder? Like a bolt from the blue, the Jamaican impressed everyone with his exploits at Beijing - lowering the 100 world record to 9.69 seconds while find-ing the time to skylark 10 metres from the line. Just for good measure he broke the world record in the 200 as well. For the "speed challenged" among us, the 100 sprint most used in daily life is the insane bolt. That's the one you tackle when, loaded with Christmas shopping, you run for the train, or when you dash from bed to bathroom and back in mid-winter. And for all his athleticism we're yet to be con-vinced that Bolt could hold a candle to some of the punters we've seen knock back 10 pots before a run to the kebab shop in the rain. It's time Australia's IOC delegates made a concerted move to kick the snore-fest that is Olympic tennis out of the big show in favour of the insane kebab dash - an event we could trifecta.
© 2008 The Sunday Age
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