Christine Arron retires

[pakillo]

Time has come but I have to say THANK YOU Christine for lasting so long and "not feeling too old" or something like that

Memorable pics http://www.lequipe.fr/Athletisme/Diapor ... istine/751

Interview in French http://www.lejdd.fr/Sport/Athletisme/Ac ... JDD-581197

[Rog]

I remember Christine's anchor leg in the 98 Euro 4x100 - truly a jaw dropping moment. From memory she took 5-6m out of Irina Privalova!

[nevetsllim]

Her anchor leg on home-soil at the World Champs in 2003 stands out for me. Just a shame she couldn't always bring that sort of mettle to individual racing. I really thought she should have won the world 100m title in 2005.

[Speedster]

The physical gifts to do anything but perhaps not the mental strength necessary. I think I remember Pierre-Jean talking about her having a psychologist with her during the warm up of her events, something I had not heard of an athlete doing before. Up and running she was one incredible.

[mump boy]

Christine is one of my top 10 of underachiving athletes. Obviously she's had some great achievements but i always felt there was so much more there, if she'd been able to work on her start and her nerves she could have dominated and brought some sanity to sprinting in the early naughties.

I also felt she under didn't compete enough in the 200m. She first came to my attention winning 200m at euro cup in 07 but then seemes to concentrate on 100m thereafter. With her weak start this was always problematic

Having said all of that she was a wonderful athelete who was majestic to watch in full flight

[preston]

Most European short sprinters don't tend to embrace the 200m like their North American counterparts so it's not a bit of a surprise that she never seemed to be a great 200m runner. However, one of her biggest knocks - that she's mentally weak...is more of Europeans expecting more from her than I think she may have been capable of. This is not a case of Ottey or Powell where someone is dominant and manages to not be ready for the big one; Arron was more of a wish and a prayer. A hope.

She is beautiful, she is a diva and that played well but the former CARIFTA champion was probably more let down more by the European expectation thing than the strength of her mind.

[mump boy]

Most European short sprinters don't tend to embrace the 200m like their North American counterparts so it's not a bit of a surprise that she never seemed to be a great 200m runner. However, one of her biggest knocks - that she's mentally weak...is more of Europeans expecting more from her than I think she may have been capable of. This is not a case of Ottey or Powell where someone is dominant and manages to not be ready for the big one; Arron was more of a wish and a prayer. A hope.

She is beautiful, she is a diva and that played well but the former CARIFTA champion was probably more let down more by the European expectation thing than the strength of her mind.

In 98 when she ran so amazingly at the Euro Champs there was obviously good reason for everyone to have high expectation of her in the future. It never materialised and she never ran at that level again. She never came within .2 of her 10.73 again but she was consistently under 11 and medals could have been expected. On many occasions she under under performed in finals compared to the rounds or the rest of the season.

[peach77]

I think she is, as was said, just about one of the biggest underachievers in the sport. I still think that 10.73 was slightly dodgy (all the times in that European 100m final were odd) but she was worth so much more than the consistent 10.9s she did. Whether or not she should have won the 2005 world title is one thing- I think she should have won the 2004 OLYMPIC crown myself. I thought she was a shoo in for the gold there if she could get over her nerves and she bombed out in the semi final.

I will miss her, I loved to watch her racing style, running everyone down (just like Ottey used to in her heyday). Majestifc...

[preston]

I hate to sound dismissive...but at Euro Champs she was sprinting against Euro Sprinters. Big fish, small pond. No known predators.

If we're going to say that Lalova is NOT a 10.77 athlete, then I don't think it's too unfair to say that Arron was NEVER a 10.73 athlete. In 1998, a NON-champs year, she ran under 11 once in May, twice in June and three times each in July and August. In 1999 she only ran under 11 one time and that was in the final. How did she choke?

In 2000 she only ran under 11 once and that was for second in Rome. NO reason to think she should medal in Sydney. After 2000 it would be another 4 years before she runs sub-11 so it can hardly be said that she was head and shoulders above her competitors during that time...in other words: not a favorite, just over-rated. In 2005, at the age of 32, not only does she return to sub-11, she does it with abandon running under 11 seven times - the type of season that Arron would have said was due to PED's had it been one of her competitors (FYI, my biggest knock against Arron is that she was quick to accuse). 2 of the sub-11's were in Helsinki and one was good for 3rd, hardly an under-performance, imo.

The only Championships year that Arron ran repeatedly under 11 was 2005 and she walked away with a bronze medal. Again, I would NOT direct criticism at Arron's "head", I would direct it at her coach; that's the only thing that I can point to in a HEALTHY athlete why they would lose so much consistency year over year.

[mump boy]

In 04 she won her

Heat (beating Gavaert) in 11.14
2nd round (beating VCB, Oyepitan and Devers) 11.10

Then slumps to 11.21 and 6th in the Semi beaten by VCB and Oyepitan and Devers on .01 behind

that's a choke whatever way you look at it

Same in Helsinki fastest in every round, beating everyone but she runs slower in the final for 3rd. This may not be a choke but it's certainly not someone with big time temperament.

Same on 03 wins her Semi in 11.01 runs slower in the final for 6th

[preston]

In 04 she won her

Heat (beating Gavaert) in 11.14
2nd round (beating VCB, Oyepitan and Devers) 11.10

Then slumps to 11.21 and 6th in the Semi beaten by VCB and Oyepitan and Devers on .01 behind

that's a choke whatever way you look at it

Same in Helsinki fastest in every round, beating everyone but she runs slower in the final for 3rd. This may not be a choke but it's certainly not someone with big time temperament.

Same on 03 wins her Semi in 11.01 runs slower in the final for 6th

Just because an athlete of Arron's ability can run sub-11 doesn't mean she's a sub-11 athlete. In 2004 she wasn't a sub-11 athlete like she was in '98; in 2004 she was an athlete who had run under 11 ... once. Once (ode to "Johnny Dangerously")! She "blew her wad" precisely because she wasn't the type of athlete capable of running fast multiple times; she was no better than a comparative journeyman - that's why she goes from 11.10 to 11.24: she was spent. You can call her 11.10 in the 2nd round a "PB of sorts", she wasn't capable of repeating THAT in 2004. She wasn't the same athlete! She was no different than any other athlete who runs a "PB" in the heats and can't reproduce. What you call a "slump" is obvious to athletes/trainers etc as not fully fit.

My point is this: if in the '03 and '04 seasons Arron had been running sub-11's in May and June and July and then showed up at a Champs in August and couldn't repeat then I would say she choked; but she didn't, she was barely breaking 11 going into champs in those years. Her ability was being overstated BECAUSE she had once run a 10.73 with some extraordinary wind. In 2005 she ran multiple sub-11's but 2 were in SEPTEMBER, only one was before the Championships. This to me is a training flaw. Athletes and coaches TEND TO mimic their seasons so if they normally get off to a great start then all their seasons are that way; if they get off to a slow start then their seasons follow that pattern.

[pakillo]

I hate to sound dismissive...but at Euro Champs she was sprinting against Euro Sprinters. Big fish, small pond. No known predators.

Objection. I wouldn't use term small pond for (female)Euro Sprinters in 1998 nor in the 90s.

[preston]

I hate to sound dismissive...but at Euro Champs she was sprinting against Euro Sprinters. Big fish, small pond. No known predators.

Objection. I wouldn't use term small pond for (female)Euro Sprinters in 1998 nor in the 90s.

Fair objection. I was out of bounds. The excuse making present in European sprinting now wasn't nearly as audible in the '90's.

That said, I've never been a fan of athletes who self-righteously point the finger for PED's at their competitors (Paula Radcliffe, Carl Lewis, Gwen Torrence, Kelly Sotherton...) so I never was a fan of Ms. Arron. She moved from 11.03 to 10.73 in one year - a year in which she ran under 11 as many times as nearly any athlete ever - including most who were eventually busted for PED's. She howled at others when her own performances could be called into question. I just don't like her and have no reason to defend her, but I think that none of her seasons ever compared to '98 and it clouded peoples belief of how good she could have been. She had ONE excellent season and was merely good enough in previous and subsequent seasons. Hardly enough to grant her medals not won.

[peach77]

The thing is, whether you like athletes who accuse others of drug use or not, in Arron's case, given the time she was sprinting in, she wasn't ENTIRELY wrong, now was she?

And her dramatic progression to 10.73 was, as I said above, was possibly slightly dodgy timing somewhere along the line, which leaves her, for the most part, a fairly consistent athlete for the rest of her career...

[mump boy]

God forbit a clean athlete should speak out against cheats

Much better to keep your mouth shut or even better, why not join in ?

[18.99s]

The thing is, whether you like athletes who accuse others of drug use or not, in Arron's case, given the time she was sprinting in, she wasn't ENTIRELY wrong, now was she?

And her dramatic progression to 10.73 was, as I said above, was possibly slightly dodgy timing somewhere along the line, which leaves her, for the most part, a fairly consistent athlete for the rest of her career...

I think that was a genuine 10.73 (considering the 2.0 wind), nothing dodgy in the timing. Watch the race for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMrPomguKk

She was dominant in that 1998 season; it wasn't just that one race. She just happens to be one of the many athletes in history who have one brilliant season and never replicate it.

[preston]

The thing is, whether you like athletes who accuse others of drug use or not, in Arron's case, given the time she was sprinting in, she wasn't ENTIRELY wrong, now was she?

And her dramatic progression to 10.73 was, as I said above, was possibly slightly dodgy timing somewhere along the line, which leaves her, for the most part, a fairly consistent athlete for the rest of her career...

I think that was a genuine 10.73 (considering the 2.0 wind), nothing dodgy in the timing. Watch the race for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMrPomguKk

She was dominant in that 1998 season; it wasn't just that one race. She just happens to be one of the many athletes in history who have one brilliant season and never replicate it.

Amen! How people couldn't see that she was NEVER the same athlete after '98 is because they don't want to see it; it's like they think Jade Johnson was going to win the Olympics (another drugs whiner!) or that Christine Ohurougu wasn't a drug cheat (gh, says missers count as cheats so don't even address it!) or that Paula Radcliffe was going to win the Olympic Marathon

Arron was definitely wrong to accuse*! If she really believed she was 10.73 ability and that everyone was stealing her shine, then all she had to do was run that again and she would have won gold nearly every time, regardless of who was on drugs or not. In fact, had she run the 10.81 she ran in the semi's of '98 EC's she would have won gold in nearly every champs she ever entered, but she didn't. She didn't win because others were on drugs, she didn't win because she was never in that type of shape again. It's HER, or her coach's fault.

As for her being consistent the rest of her career...she was consistent as an 11.xx sprinter when it took sub-11 to win. In short: she didn't underachieve.

*Most of those athletes passed the same tests that Arron passed.

God forbit a clean athlete should speak out against cheats

Much better to keep your mouth shut or even better, why not join in ?

That might work for social-grappling superfans, but athletes should be held to a higher standard. Plus, that whole athlete's pledge at the beginning of champs applies to sore losers, imo.

[gh]

and with that....