From: dcook@spam.ua.oz (David Cook)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.olympics
Subject: Re: Track & Field
Date: 26 Jul 92 09:51:34 GMT
Organization: Statistics, Pure & Applied Mathematics, University of Adelaide

In article <1992Jul24.134924.1@amherst.edu> nagordon@amherst.edu writes:
>Marc Reider writes that Doug Padilla made the US World Champs team in the 5000
>last year because he was the only finalist who had made the cut. Actually,
>there was at least one athlete who had the cut and finished in the top 3: 
>Bob Kennedy, graduate of Indiana and Westerville North High School here in
>Columbus, who went on to make the finals and then qualify for the Olympics last
>month. I got to race Kennedy once in high school, actually, although not head-
>to-head: at a relay meet he anchored the 4X1600 relay and I lead off for
>another team (they got first, we got second :-)). The only Olympian I've ever
>competed against, although I have swum at meets that Joe Hudepohl has competed
>in.
>Anyone else care to share their experiences competing against Olympians?
>
>nate

Well, almost. I'm a moderately competitive cyclist, and the Australian 
Institute of Sport cyclists (who make up almost all of our Olympic cycling
team) train in Adelaide, where I live. There are only two velodromes in
Adelaide (3 soon, thanks to our new 250m, 43 degree bank, indoor, wooden
velodrome - nearly completed), and most track racing is held on only one
of these, from October through to March, every week, mainly on Friday night,
sometimes on Saturday. Most races though, are separated into grades, so
A grade will be mostly AIS riders, and I end up in C or D grade ... But
once, the main event for the night was an '800m derby' - something like
5 or 6 person sprints. Anyway, in my heat of that, I found myself sitting
on the wheel of Robert Burns, Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the
50km Point Score ! (yes, I lost :-) I might look through my old programs,
to see if I've raced against any of the current Olympians.

Now that I think about it, it would be easy to race against them - each
year, there is a criterium held around the streets of Adelaide, and that 
often has not only a top quality Australian field, but sometimes world 
class (eg, Last year, I think, Danny Clark, one of Australia's and the 
worlds best 6-day event riders, was in it, as well at Steve McGlede, 
winner of World Championship 50km Point Score, and Gary Neiwand, one 
of the top 3 sprinters for some years now). But, because they have to 
close off city streets to run this race, they don't have time to run 
more than the junior, women's, and men's races, so there are no graded
races : therefore, if I entered it (after improving my fitness about 50%, of 
course :-), I could say I've raced against _lots_ of Olympians :-)

(I should also mention that Stuart O'Grady is a member of the same cycling
club as me (Port Adelaide District ACC) :-) Go Stuart ! Go Australia ! :)


-- 
David T Cook   e-mail: dcook@spam.adelaide.edu.au   Phone: +61 8 228 5709
Assistant Computer Manager, Stats, Pure and Applied Maths, Adelaide Uni.
"Behind the lines, a face that glimmers. Still looking for a face that shines."
       - Heartland, The Sisters of Mercy
Newsgroups: rec.sport.olympics