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Comments
Unlike some easily offended posters, I see the fact Matthew has things he can do to get faster as a plus. If his form was perfect and he was still running the times he did as a high school senior, it wouldn't bode well. Get stronger, refine his mechanics, his times will get better. I think he's a long way from where he can get in the 200.
Agree. I see relaxation as one of the things he can work on. I also agree the longer sprints may be more his forte as time goes on.
The top 3 100M sprinters at the trials were:
Trayvon Bromell - 25 years old, 9.8sec
Ronnie Baker - 27 years old, 9.85sec
Fred Kerley - 26 years old, 9.86sec
Boling is still very young compared to the elite level guys. It's like comparing a college kid to a seasoned NFL All-Pro.
Looking at the results of the NCAA outdoor championships, none of the 100M spriters would have qualified for the Olympic team. The winner ran a 10.05, which would have been 7th place at the trials.
I was thinking Jordan Davis, but maybe Zirkel can use some running technique refinement so he can better run fake punts?
Who knows when we'll need that skill in another title game, it cost us at least once before.
I wouldn't be quick to judge Bolling's future based on his recent performances. This is his first full year running track at the collegiate level, and he's had to face the best competition there is in the SEC championships, the NCAA championships and the Olympic trials in SEVERAL events after a long track season. At this point, Bolling appears fatigued and could use some much-needed rest. Perhaps being off for several days will help him be at his best when he runs in the 200m on Friday at the Olympic trials.
Part of my guess about the optimal age of sprinters a bit earlier in this thread was based, in part, on the notion that older runners don't have to compete as often as college kids....they can train/rest/recover more and fresher for their major races. He may well have experienced a good bit of cumulative fatigue from indoor and outdoor seasons. That type of fatigue doesn't go away easily - takes a good amount of time off to recuperate. I hope you are right about rest (after the Trials) to get back closer to "normal".
@DaddyDawg @donmedeiros
My guess is both of you guys are 100% right. He's young. He's tired. He has some things to work on. And he still has an incredibly bright future.
I think it's more that he's competing against grown men. Not one single person in the NCAA 100M championships would have qualified for the US Olympic team. None. It's like college football players vs. veteran NFL All-Pros at that level. Give Boling 4-5 years and he'll might be competitive with the top sprinters. Right now he's just some college kid.
His times aren't improving though, that is an isolated measurment from the level of competition. I agree it doesn't mean he won't have a breakthrough, but it does reflect a lack of progress since high school. DV this all you please, he runs with tension in his body and his mechanics could be better.
Your contention might have some validity. Bolt worked professionally from the beginning, his best times came when he was 23 while Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson peaked at around 30 years old. If you're correct it suggests our best sprinters should bypass college and work in Olympic focused programs.
I don't know how you say Bolling isn't improving since high school when he won the NCAA indoor championship at 200 meters at 20.19 seconds, defeating Terence Laird of LSU who won the 100 meter outdoor NCAA championship! On an outdoor track, once could expect Bolling to run under 20 seconds w/o the narrow turns of an inside track...a world class time. The problem Boling is experiencing now is UGA has used him often, due to lack of depth among sprinters, to the point that Bolling has worn down over a long track season. Bolling has competed regularly in the 100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100m relay and even the 4x400m relay! When you factor in numerous qualifying heats for each of these events in successive championships in short order, such as the SEC championships, NCAA championships and now the Olympic trials, it should be obvious that all of this has caught up with Bolling. Even the NBC sports announcers for the Olympic trials, such as Otto Bolden, has mentioned that the college sprinters are having a lackluster performance at the Olympic trials due to performance fatigue. In contrast, the professionals have been able to train w/o the pressure of having to compete in championship events, like the college sprinters, leading up to the Olympic trials. In this regard, note that NCAA 100m champ Terence Laird of LSU dropped out of competing in the 100m at the Olympic trials, choosing to concentrate solely on the 200m. Just too many races to be competitive in all of them. Bolling, on the other hand, has run at every opportunity for his team, and that has caught up to him at the end of a very long track season...
Matthew's best outdoor non-wind aided times in the 100 and 200 in high school was what, 10.11 in the 100 and 20.36 in the 200 ? Has he improved on those times? You seem to be agreeing that he might improve more with more singular goal focused training.
It's hard to improve during the outdoor season after running so many events indoor and then attempting to run the same incredible number of events during the outdoor season (but expanding the 60 m to 100m). Bolling's times are actually getting slower, compared with what he was running earlier in the season, demonstrating the fatigue factor. I don't know of any other college sprinter in his first full year of running college track trying to compete in so many events for his team t/o the year and then hope to compete at his best at the Olympic trials. Laird at LSU didn't even try to compete in the 100m at the Olympic trials, and he was the NCAA champion in the event. Bolling has competed at every opportunity: his best days are ahead of him...
Boling's best times probably are ahead of him. If he lowers his times by much I believe it will be more about cleaning up his mechanics and his body maturing than other factors. I have no info on how our change in track head coach played out, but I would think working with our best prospects in their best events is an important consideration. I've said before I think Matthew's best sprint distance will end up being 200 meters.