A place for the discussion of all things not closely related to the sport and its competitive side. (Locked down several times a year during the major championships)
Hyleas Fountain wrote:Hello everyone. Today starts a new adventure for me. God has opened a door and I am walking in with 100% confidence. I am heading to NY to tryout or the USA Bobsled Team. It's something I have wanted to do for some time but the timing was never right until now. Keep me in ur prayers that I make the Team at the end of October. Oh and by the way yes I am still doing Track and Field. I will keep everyone posted on now I am doing and put up pictures.
And that's what makes it a bad link ... Thanks for posting the information, though.
I realize not everyone does Facebook, which is why I quoted her full post. However, that doesn't make it a "bad" link. If you have a Facebook account, you can access the link.
guru wrote: If you have a Facebook account, you can access the link.
Not so. I just tried the link, it got me to Facebook, which recognized me (my name and picture were at the top of the screen on the right), but in the middle of the screen had this message:
guru wrote:Ah, ok. She must have her privacy settings set so only her "friends" can see her posts.
Which means this thread should be deleted, unless she has publicly announced the same information elsewhere.
No need to delete the whole thread, I think. The basic info is quoted in the first post. And the rest of the post is harmless and, perhaps to some facebook neophytes, informative.
Yes, but Madison was a Long Jumper and is now more of a sprinter and I expect her to look more like a sprinter as the advantages of being light apply to the LJ but not the 100.
Madison is much leaner now than she was as a long jumper. I have no doubt that's why she made such great strides in the sprints this year. Not such a positive for pushing a 500-pound sled.
beebee wrote:Hyleas Fountain is a quitter...she has done it time and time again...to me she has no heart.
Based on her history, she will probably quit the bobsled when things get tough.
First: Can you please give some examples to your claim (so that you don't look like a petty jerk with an axe to grind)?
Second; She is not the only elite T&F athlete at the Lake Placid bobsled camp. Tianna Madison and Lolo Jones are also there right now.
Check out Fountain's heptathlon finishes in major championships since the 2008 Olympics...
Jerk.
Do your homework before responding to me...thank you.
MY homework? You aren't a newcomer to this message board, but I feel I need to remind you that this is a respectable message board and when you make negative claims against an Olympic medalist, you really need to back them up. She withdrew from Daegu in 2011. Other than that, I'm not sure what you mean about her quitting "time and time again". She set her lifetime heptathlon PR in 2010. She set her lifetime pentathlon PR in 2010. Hyleas is an Olympic medalist. You are an anonymous message board poster. Either qualify yourself or back up your statements please. Thanks!
I seem to recall a heptatlete abut 20 years ago, (Gia?Gina? Johnson, red and gold uniform either AZ St or SoCal) who beefed up, went bobsled pusher, appeared on Leon showing off guns, got busted for PEDs.. i remember this because she was a difficult athlete to work with during competition and the only athlete in 40 years I called a time foul on in the HJ. (NCAAs at Duke)
lonewolf wrote:I seem to recall a heptatlete abut 20 years ago, (Gia?Gina? Johnson, red and gold uniform either AZ St or SoCal) who beefed up, went bobsled pusher, appeared on Leon showing off guns, got busted for PEDs.. i remember this because she was a difficult athlete to work with during competition and the only athlete in 40 years I called a time foul on in the HJ. (NCAAs at Duke)
Her name was Gea Johnson. It was indeed AZ St. And she's available for speaking engagements.
The two women who won the Bobsled Silver Medal in Vancouver were both former track athletes in college: Shelly Ann Brown (Nebraska) and Helen Upperton (Texas).
Let's not also forget Vonetta Flowers, who won gold for the United States in Salt Lake City in 2002, the first for any Black person.
They also said that former Cal sprinter Cherelle Garrett finished third and that former USCB Athlete Maureen Ajoku finished tied with Lolo for seventh.
Six former track athletes finished in the top ten.
decafan wrote: Second; She is not the only elite T&F athlete at the Lake Placid bobsled camp. Tianna Madison and Lolo Jones are also there right now.
All due respect to Mses. Madison and Jones, but they're a bit on the thin side for that job, especially Jones. It's not just about speed.
Actually, come to think of it Jones doesn't have alot speed either. But hey, she's Lolo...
guru, according to the coach they weren't there to make the team...just have a little fun and share their Olympic experiences. And, if Madison finishes anywhere else than 1st then it says that there must be another component other than sheer speed.
Women's bobsled head coach Todd Hays invited track and field medalists Hyleas Fountain, Tianna Madison and Lolo Jones to Lake Placid to participate in the drills and tests with the women's team. ...
"I invited these ladies to attend this week's events as special guests so they could share their Olympic experiences with our athletes and to help boost team morale before heading into our competitive season," Hays said. "It's great to see talented athletes like this give back to their USA teammates. And it's of course a great opportunity for a coach like me to test his recruitment skills by trying to get these athletes to commit to our sports. I'm not successful yet, but we'll see if we can entice them to give it a try."
guru wrote:All due respect to Mses. Madison and Jones, but they're a bit on the thin side for that job, especially Jones. It's not just about speed.
Actually, come to think of it Jones doesn't have alot speed either. But hey, she's Lolo...
guru, according to the coach they weren't there to make the team...just have a little fun and share their Olympic experiences. And, if Madison finishes anywhere else than 1st then it says that there must be another component other than sheer speed.
Being fast in track is all about power-to-weight ratio, while it would seem that the bobsled is about sheer power. It reminds of climbing vs time trialing in the sport of cycling.
jazzcyclist wrote:Being fast in track is all about power-to-weight ratio, while it would seem that the bobsled is about sheer power. It reminds of climbing vs time trialing in the sport of cycling.
Guess an additional aspect, at least in the beginning, is the different running style. With the bobsled start, you never get to run upright; and you keep pushing the sled, so you don't have the arm movement.
jazzcyclist wrote:Being fast in track is all about power-to-weight ratio, while it would seem that the bobsled is about sheer power. It reminds of climbing vs time trialing in the sport of cycling.
There is another element to it: plain old bodyweight.
There is a maximum weight limit for the combination of the bobsledders and the sled. Heavier bobsledders means they can use a lighter sled for the same total weight, so it's easier to push.
Of course, beyond a certain point the athlete's own weight will slow them down, and they still have to fit within the overall weight limit, so you won't see many 300-pounders at the Olympic level.
jazzcyclist wrote:Being fast in track is all about power-to-weight ratio, while it would seem that the bobsled is about sheer power. It reminds of climbing vs time trialing in the sport of cycling.
There is another element to it: plain old bodyweight.
There is a maximum weight limit for the combination of the bobsledders and the sled. Heavier bobsledders means they can use a lighter sled for the same total weight, so it's easier to push.
Of course, beyond a certain point the athlete's own weight will slow them down, and they still have to fit within the overall weight limit, so you won't see many 300-pounders at the Olympic level.
Assuming the bobsledders are equally lean, I would think that you would go for the heaviest bobsledders you find that will get you under the weight limit and fit in the sled, because the heavier bobsledders will produce more power. Is there a limit to how light the sled can be like there is for how light the bike can be in cycling?
jazzcyclist wrote:Assuming the bobsledders are equally lean, I would think that you would go for the heaviest bobsledders you find that will get you under the weight limit and fit in the sled, because the heavier bobsledders will produce more power. Is there a limit to how light the sled can be like there is for how light the bike can be in cycling?
Yes, there is a minimum weight for an empty sled as well as a maximum for an occupied sled.
