Sports news buffet Part 1

Introducing a new series and some sports news

Over the next few days, we'll be starting our first series of 2008 - exercise in the cold. Last year, we did a few series, most of which evolved out of news stories like the Chicago Marathon where the heat affected the race so badly. And the topic of exercise in the cold came up a few times when we did that series, and the subsequent ones on muscle cramp and dehydration. So starting probably early next week, we'll look at some of the physiology of exercising in cold conditions, its impact on performance and practical steps to take when you can't avoid it.

On that note, we've received some great ideas for future posts, things like lactate during exercise, altitude training, exercise and ageing, exercise and weight loss, more on drugs in sport, and we promise to try to get to all of them in good time!

But for today, quite a lot going on in the world of sports, with some interesting angles developing, so we have a bit of a concoction of news stories for today. I've done them in 5 separate posts, so you can jump to whichever might be most interesting and avoid those that aren't!

1. Rugby - SA's first black coach appointed
2. Cricket - the Australia-India row continues
3. Road running - Hicham el Guerrouj - a famous scalp for some runners
4. Cross-country - Bekele to race Tadese twice in Scotland
5. Athletics - verdict on Pistorius due on Saturday

Rugby - South Africa appoints its first black coach

Yesterday, South Africa, the world rugby champions, announced the successor to World Cup winning coach Jake White. It was always a race between two candidates - Heyneke Meyer (who was apparently asked specifically to apply) and Pieter de Villiers.

Eventually, the vote went to Pieter de Villiers. Reports from the SA media are saying that a vote was held to separate a dispute about which of the two should be chosen. It is reported that a split between the selection committee forced the vote, and in the end, it came down to the Inland provinces against the coastal province-representatives.

Apparently, after the decision was reached, the "the inland presidents looked distraught". Just for the record, South African rugby is run by presidents of individual provinces (states), who hold executive control through their vote. These reports suggest that there was something of a stand-off regarding who should coach.

Now that in itself is unremarkable, until you remember that this is South Africa we're dealing with, where rugby is something of a political football, kicked around by politicians and often affected by the spectre of race and history in South Africa.

And far be it from us to comment on the politics, but the following two quotes suggest just what a difficult time de Villiers will face as the coach:

First of all, Oregan Hoskins, the President of SA rugby says the following:

"I want to be honest with South Africa and say that the appointment was not entirely made for rugby reasons. We as an organisation have made the appointment and taken into account the issue of transformation very very seriously when we made it. I don't think that tarnishes Peter - I'm just being honest with our country."

This was followed up the following quote from Butana Kompela, who is famous for calling Australians typical colonial racists and for saying in the media that Jacques Kallis, one of SA's sporting heroes, typifies the racist attitudes of whites in South Africa:

“I want to make it clear that Peter de Villiers is not a transformation appointment. He has been appointed on merit. Rugby is now showing it is an agent for change and it can unite people around the Springboks.”

Well, it seems to me the least you might do is get the story right. Which is it, then? The first problem for de Villiers, rugby matters aside, is that he is clearly entering the job balanced on an unsteady perch high above two opposing parties who see the National team as their own, and wish to use for their own ends.

The second problem is that when the President of the sport says that the decision was not made for rugby reasons, then the public who follow the game immediately recognize that if the top position in rugby is awarded based on non-rugby decisions, then so too future decisions can be expected to be compromised...and therefore, they're in for a bumpy ride.

To date, de Villiers has said the right things for the sport (including that he will pick players on merit, that he's not a transformation pawn, etc.). But the quotes above don't suggest that at all, and I would predict a rough road ahead for SA rugby. Nothing to do with the quality of the coach, but just because he's the rope in a political tug of war, and that can't be good for quality.

Time will tell, let's just hope he makes use of sports science to prepare the team, and we don't revert back to the Camp Staaldrad way of doing things!

Join us next time for the series on exercise in the cold!

Ross

Cricket: Controversy continues

Sports news Part 2

Moving onto cricket, and the controversial Sydney Test match between Australia and India continues to stimulate debate, argument and the occasional slur between the nations. It's an issue that has undoubtedly simmered for a long time and needed only slight prompting to come to the surface. In this case, that prompting was provided by an alleged racial insult made by an Indian player (Harbhajan Singh) towards an Australian with West Indian heritage (Andrew Symonds).

The reports in the media have evolved (some would say devolved) into a collection of insults, allegations and threats, including the possibility that the entire Tour would be called off mid-way through! Thankfully, that has not happened, though the means by which the ICC managed to save the Tour (sacking the umpire and allowing the Indian spinner Singh to play on despite the ban that was initially issued for his alleged racial slur) sets what is politely being called a "dangerous precedent". Effectively, the governing body has bowed to pressure from the Indian Cricket Board, which is the game's economic powerhouse, and thus possibly the real "governing body" of cricket...

But one thing that I have found interesting is the allegations that are made about the spirit in which Australia plays the game. The Indians alleged that the Aussies are cheats and don't play in the right spirit. Some Australian media and ex-players have even climbed into their own time, others have defended the team. But in doing some reading, I came across this excellent post on a forum (it's the very top post), which I think more accurately than any other captures the reason why teams who win must remain absolutely, utterly beyond reproach when it comes to their behaviour, both on and off the field.

Now, I agree with most of what the posters says - forums often tend to become platforms for people to write uncensored nonsense, but this is a great piece, well put together. I will however say that while I agree with the poster Beatnik, I also think that the Australians have not helped themselves with their off-field behaviour and some of the quotes. For example, now is probably not the time to be suggesting that Australia will not change their attitude towards the game, as the current players have done. They probably shouldn't, I agree, but there's a lot to be said for diplomacy, and even silence sometimes...

As I said, the only thing that can be guaranteed is that when you win, people will attack you, and so leaving the door even a crack open is enough for the masses to charge it down. But let's hope that now that cricket will continue, the situation can be resolved and the game can emerge with minimal scarring. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that is the naieve optimist in me speaking...

Road running: El Guerrouj 10km race

Sports news part 3

Imagine you're lining up in a local 10km race and a couple of athletes to your right stands one of the finest middle distance runners in history! And imagine your surprise, when, after about 7 km, you see that same vest coming back towards you as you catch up to him, pass him and then beat him to the line in a 10km race! OK, you probably, in your moment of reality check, should realise that he's not racing you and is out for a fun run, but, hey, at least you'd be able to tell someone that you beat the great Hicham el Guerrouj in a 10km race!

That's what happened this past weekend in Nice, France, where the great Moroccan ran perhaps his first race since retiring from the sport after his double gold in Athens in 2004. According to reports, el Guerrouj took to the start line with about 4500 runners, stayed with the leaders for a short while, but then dropped back, giving plenty of runners a chance to pass a world record holder, Olympic champion and a man who has run 12:50 for 5km!

el Guerrouj, for his part, seems to be enjoying the fun run approach, saying "People were overtaking me and I could see they were pleased, surprised. I could hear some of them say ‘well, I can say I have beaten Hicham at least once!".

On the note of el Guerrouj, it's interesting to note and observe the trends in the 1500m event since his retirement after the last Olympic Games. In my lifetime, the 1500m event has always been dominated by stars, and usually, they hunt in pairs. We had Coe and Ovett, and later Cram joined the fray. Then Aouita, followed by Noureddine Morceli, and then el Guerrouj. But at the moment, no huge name stands out. Last year was the first year in many, many seasons where 3:30 was not broken and the event certainly could be won by anyone - the euphemism for this is that the 1500m event has "great depth", which, translated, OFTEN means no stand out performer. Ok, that's a little harsh, because current world champ Bernard Lagat is a double world champ and big name, but not the sort of presence of an el Guerrouj, Morceli or Coe/Ovett/Cram.

So we have a vacant throne - any takers come Beijing, perhaps?

Bekele vs Tadese X-Country

Sports news part 4

But speaking of exercise in the cold, good news for Cross-Country lovers is that Kenenisa Bekele, five-times world champion (but deposed by Zersenay Tadese last year in the heat in Mombasa) will run in this year's World X-Country Champs in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 30 March this year.

The relevance of the reference to the cold is of course that Bekele came unstuck in incredibly hot and humid conditions in Kenya last year. In fact, in a news article about his decision to run in the World Champs in Edinburgh, he said:

"Winning for a sixth time means very much to me and I feel the conditions in Edinburgh will suit me much more than they did last year."

So a rematch of the race in Mombasa is on the cards, where Tadese became Eritrea's first ever world champion. I'm a fan of Tadese's, so I look forward to this clash.

But the even better news for Cross-country lovers is that we won't even have to wait until the end of March to see these two clash - they are actually racing one another this weekend, in the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country run. Conditions will be even colder now than in March later this year, and so Bekele will certainly have nothing to fear - from the weather, anyway!

What is interesting, however, is that in this Olympic year, with all the talk about the heat and humidity in Beijing, Bekele is clearly not enamoured of running in the heat. He didn't enjoy Osaka last year, and obviously didn't enjoy Mombasa. Beijing threatens to be worse than Osaka, and so his preparations, and possibly his approach to the race are going to have to be more positive than what seems to the case. Obviously, he'll know this and should prepare accordingly, but I have seen quotes from Tadese where he says he is happy in the heat - the above quote from Bekele suggests he is not. He may yet find enjoyment in Beijing, but it will be a great race. As will the two previews we'll get over the country earlier this year...we'll bring you that result on the weekend!