by Larry EderI came to Lille to see the French hurdle and sprint corps.
And I have!
Worth the trip.
Here is my piece on the Championnats de France 110m hurdles…
Garfield Darien, photo by PhotoRun.net
The French hurdle corps is quite colorful.
At the European Indoor Champs in Prague, they swept the medals, and it was one of their finest days!
Dimitri Bascou, Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, Wilhelm Belocian, Euro Indoor Champs 2015, photo by PhotoRun.net
In the semi final 1, Pascal Martinot Lagarde won in 13.36, with his brother, Thomas Martinot-Lagarde in second in 13.66, both securing a place in the final. Bano Traore, 13.89, and Damien Broothaerts, 13.90, also moved on from the first semi final.
In the second semi final, Dimitri Bascou and Garfield Darien dueled for much of the race, with Bascou getting the nod in 13.23, and Darien Garfield in 13.31. Also qualifying for the final was Ladji Doucoure, 2005 World Champ, 13.76 and Simon Krauss, 13.80.
Pascal Martinot-Lagarde is a, well, mercurial hurdler. In the presser at the AREVA Paris, he admitted that, sometimes he is on, sometimes, he is off. Martinot-Lagarde said that, with big races, he is on.
Dmitri Bascou, photo by PhotoRun.net
RunBlogRun did a most revealing interview with Pascal(https://www.runblogrun.com/2015/07/audio-pascal-martinot-lagarde-at-diamond-league-press-conference-paris.html) at the Meeting AREVA. My belief is that that Pascal Martinot Lagarde may have a difficulty focusing on the the task at hand. When he is on, and his rhythm is on, he is dangerous to all. His 12.95 attests. The key is to know when Monsieur Martinot-Lagarde can run fast, and that, is, well, near impossible.
In the final in Lille, France, Pascal Martinot-Lagarde let his guard down.
Martinot-Lagarde got out well, battling Dimitri Bascou, who was on his right, all the way. Martinot-Lagarde won that race, in 13.27, but lost the Championnats de France elite to Garfield Darien.
As Martinot Lagarde and Bascou were knocking down hurdles, and Thomas Martinot Lagarde took a huge header mid-race, Garfield Darien was hurdling cooly and crisply, winning the Championnats de France Elite 2015 in 13.17.
And for Wilhelm Belocian, he was not here due to an injury. The level of the injury is not known at this time, but RBR will update.
My take on Championnats de France Elite 110m hurdles?
The French hurdle crew will be tough. Pascal Martinot-Lagarde is still the toughest, but Garfield Darien has my eye. He looks very dangerous, and his ability to focus, and run with rhythm while all hell broke loose around him, was quite impressive.
That, dear readers is not something that can be taught.
Monsieur Garfield Darien is instinctual in terms of his focus.
That form and speed, well, that is developed.
