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re: Is it really that hard to hand off a baton?
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:00 pm to StrongSafety
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:00 pm to StrongSafety
The 400 is not even a contest on ease.. 
4x100 its harder than the 4x400 yea.. But its certainly not hard.. Its really the only challenge in the entire event. Hell if I can hand off to Chris Cummings going full speed and not screw that shite up, one WC athlete should be able to hand off to another WC athlete and be able to give him the baton.. Hell when two runners are close to the same speed its extremely easy. Try handing off to a guy that runs a half second faster..
4x100 its harder than the 4x400 yea.. But its certainly not hard.. Its really the only challenge in the entire event. Hell if I can hand off to Chris Cummings going full speed and not screw that shite up, one WC athlete should be able to hand off to another WC athlete and be able to give him the baton.. Hell when two runners are close to the same speed its extremely easy. Try handing off to a guy that runs a half second faster..
2
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:07 pm to DEANintheYAY
quote:
Yeah, its not as easy as one would think. Especially in the rain,
Hmmm...wondering if there is a product that could keep hands dry even in the rain?
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:08 pm to Catman88
Handoffs are cake. Once in HS I was told to jump into the 4x4. I had never run a 4 in my life and certainly never practiced an exchange. I executed a perfect no look handoff to my teammate, another 800 guy. They coaches couldnt figure out how we did it so easy and efficient. I couldnt figure out why they thought it was so hard to place a baton in someones hand.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:10 pm to wilder
4x4 really isn't hard to execute a good handoff
4x100 timing has to be perfect or it can frick you
4x100 timing has to be perfect or it can frick you
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:12 pm to BilJ
Screw you up and give you a bad time... Yes
Cause you to drop the baton and DQ in a qualifying round? Thats a bonehead move..
Cause you to drop the baton and DQ in a qualifying round? Thats a bonehead move..
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:15 pm to Dry Hands Man
Wait was this a plug??
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:17 pm to Catman88
quote:
Hell if I can hand off to Chris Cummings going full speed and not screw that shite up,
did ya'll ever practice the handoff?
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:21 pm to H-Town Tiger
I have only done this in practice. I never ran in a meet. But never had a drop.. May have had a drop or two in practice before prior but cant remember.. I generally ran 2nd leg so I was used to both exchanges.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:27 pm to Catman88
these guys are olympic athletes who train their whole lives for this. there's no excuse for them not having their shite together, especially on a baton exchange. this isn't HS track.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:28 pm to Catman88
quote:
I have only done this in practice. I never ran in a meet
That's my point, track teams, like a HS or college usually practise that handoff to get it down, the US teams are just throw together at the last minute.
Its still horrible that they dropped the baton, but I wouldn't call the handoff at full speed, "easy".
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:31 pm to TheChamp
quote:
these guys are olympic athletes who train their whole lives for this
They train to run sprints, not the baton exchange.
quote:
this isn't HS track.
I'd be more surprised if most HS teams dropped the baton because they do usually practice the exchange and usually have the same 4 runners at each meet. When I was in HS, we had meets every week in season, like 10-12 meets a year.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:35 pm to H-Town Tiger
I absolutely agree with H-Town. I assume that just like in the swim relays, there are 6-7 different runners that are mixed and matched throughout the heats. That is what would make it very difficult.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:43 pm to TheLSUriot
i ran track in high school too so I understand where you're coming from, but the probelm i have w/ our guys is that they are more concerned w/ not falling behind other teams than making a clean and safe exchange. i don't care what kind of chemistry you have or don't have, these guys have run for years and have probably made countless exchanges in their careers and they should know that the handoff takes priority over what place you're in.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 1:54 pm to TheChamp
Hey, I agree with that too! It might have been a mental lapse or it might have been lack of practice. Probably both but if Darvis Patton and Tyson Gay or Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams would be regular teammates I doubt this would happen. Either way they F'ed up bad. I just think other's suggestion that just because two people run track, a 4x1 exchange is like performing a layup is crazy.
"Gay skipped the American training camp in Dalian, China, earlier this month where the team spent two long sessions working on handoffs." - NBC olympics
"Gay skipped the American training camp in Dalian, China, earlier this month where the team spent two long sessions working on handoffs." - NBC olympics
This post was edited on 8/21/08 at 1:59 pm
Posted on 8/21/08 at 4:25 pm to TheLSUriot
quote:
That's my point, track teams, like a HS or college usually practise that handoff to get it down, the US teams are just throw together at the last minute
They are professional track athletes! I garantee they have made a few thousand baton exchanges in their lives. You are saying that a HS and College athlete should make less mistakes??
Posted on 8/21/08 at 5:53 pm to Catman88
If we are talking about a relay team that is put together just before the relay (such as is the case in the olympics) then yes that is exactly what I am saying. Even though a pro may have made a thousand or more exchanges, a HS or College runner will have made hundreds of more exchanges with the same person. Hell, you can teach a monkey to grab a baton when you holler "stick" or "hand" but getting the timing down under pressure situations takes repetion.
For example, notice how many more batons are dropped early vs. later in a regular varsity track season.
For example, notice how many more batons are dropped early vs. later in a regular varsity track season.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 7:55 pm to tylercsbn9
was that? 
Posted on 8/21/08 at 8:17 pm to Buckeye Fan 19
And again was that?
Both teams. Wow, just wow.
was that? Both teams. Wow, just wow.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 8:19 pm to TheLSUriot
quote:
"Gay skipped the American training camp in Dalian, China, earlier this month where the team spent two long sessions working on handoffs." - NBC olympics
And that's it. I ran track my whole life. It's really not that hard, and yes, comparable to a layup in BB. But like a layup, if you don't practice it, you can more easily frick it up.
Jesus, our track team is embarrassing this year.
Posted on 8/21/08 at 8:30 pm to blueboy
Tyson Gay might be the most overhyped Summer Olympics bust since the '04 Basketball team
I mean, he came to China to run and he pulled out of the 100 and never got to run the relay after dropping the baton.... definitely Gay
I mean, he came to China to run and he pulled out of the 100 and never got to run the relay after dropping the baton.... definitely Gay
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