Flashes of Panic

Things get interesting at the Olympics tomorrow. NBC (Never Bought a Clue) claims they will be broadcasting the men’s 10,000m final live. The event is scheduled to start at 10:50 PM local time in Athens, which is… what, here on the east coast? 2:50 PM? 3:50 PM? The difference is crucial; either we see the whole event, or we see the first ten minutes before rushing to the web.

I wouldn’t put it past NBC to only show us the first ten minutes; after all, they missed the boat on the Sydney 2000 final, which has been called one of the most exciting 10,000m finals ever. Damn near sleepless at that point from following things live from Pennsylvania, I caught a bus to New York and joined a small party of co-workers and like-minded fanatics at a sports bar in Manhattan at 6:00 AM to watch the CBC broadcast live. I still can’t figure out how CBC could do it and NBC couldn’t.

Still, I’ve actually heard TV critics (say, on NPR) arguing that this time they’re showing too much event and not enough explanation of what’s going on—that they heard all the criticism and went too far in the other direction. I’m not sure about that; I haven’t seen any of it yet.

I won’t be seeing the 10,000m this year; I’ll be At Work along with most people. It could be an interesting race, but odds are it will be a blow-out. Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set world records in both the 5,000m and 10,000m earlier this year, and even though his countryman and two-time defending champion Haile Gebrselassie is running (obligatory photo of me with famous runner) Bekele is nearly unbeatable. The first half of his world-championship 10,000m last year in Paris was faster than the American Record for the 5,000m, and he still had a closing kick. He’s won the short-course/long-course double at the World Cross-Country championships three times in a row.

There are three Americans in the field, and that’s an achievement in itself. Let’s see, one of them has a stress fracture, one is doubling back to run the marathon on the 29th, so let’s pin our hopes on the third. But he’s not even our best at the distance; the Trials winner and AR holder opted for the marathon. Which makes sense, in a way; marathons are hugely unpredictable events in which nearly anything can go wrong for anyone. In the marathon, an American with 2:10 speed can reasonably hope for lightning to strike. Luck happens in the marathon, if you’re ready for it.

Bekele happens in the 10,000m, and there’s not much you can do but try not to be too humiliated.

There are twenty-five people on the start list for the 10,000m, which will be busy but not intolerable. Seventeen of them are African born: Four Ethiopians (one of whom will not start,) three Kenyans, two Ugandans, two Eritreans and two Tanzanians, plus one each from Rwanda and Morocco and a Somalian-born American; the French entry, Ismail Sghyr, is almost certainly North African. Two Mexicans, one Japanese, and five “Europeans,” those being two Americans, a Dutchman, a Kiwi and a Spaniard. Any questions about genetic and/or cultural predisposition to long-distance running?

Update: JM points out The World Time Server, which confirms my fears: NBC will only show the first ten minutes of the 10,000m. That should give the message boards something to froth about.

Update: The Athens 2004 page has been updated to show a start time of 10:35 PM—as Samo notes, just enough time for us to miss the last lap and a half (or so) of the race. They’ve also trimmed the extra Ethiopian to give twenty-four starters.

Now playing: The Bell And The Butterfly from Wonderland by The Charlatans