Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Women's Olympic Marathon

I really have to say that I was impressed by Constantina Tomescu-Dita's win in the women's marathon. In part because the early decisive move is one that should have failed, especially considering the source. This wasn't the world champion breaking free from the crowd after that seemingly slow start, but a woman who had faded badly 4 years earlier.

It's also encouraging- when you're 43, to have a 38 year old take a gold medal- the oldest olympic marathoner to win gold ever.

Regardless of the fact that NBC seems to have drunk the kool-aid on the air-quality issue and shown a willingness to blame everything but pollution for the hazy air, the winning time was a little slow for such a flat course, however, that could at least partially be explained by the seemingly-tactical nature of the opening third of the marathon, where no one seemed willing to take the race out.

I actually liked the coverage- all things considered I felt like I got a good feel for how the race progressed and that sprint for the silver was a nice reward for sticking with it and probably meant more to the TV viewers who saw the race unfold then the people in the stadium.

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