tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post4187329101303092650..comments2024-02-17T04:06:00.805-05:00Comments on Just Not Said: El CaballoJohn Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-39156918415358071772015-03-13T17:40:46.894-04:002015-03-13T17:40:46.894-04:00Bone Daddy --
Ah, so you're a longtime track f...Bone Daddy --<br />Ah, so you're a longtime track fan, like me. Everything you say makes sense, but Cuba really didn't really have many successful athletes during that era except for Teofilo Stevenson, who never looked like a doper to me. <br /><br />I'm going to remain agnostic on Juantorena. He didn't look quite that freakish to me, and the comparison to other 800 meter runners isn't quite fair as most of them were 800/1500 guys, so were built more like distance guys. If you compare Juantorena to all of the great 400 meter runners, especially Michael Johnson, he doesn't seem overly muscular. (Of course, Johnson --like Quincy Watts and a host of others -- was unquestionably doping.) <br /><br />Cuba did have another successful 800 meter runner a little later, Ana Quirot, who might have been doping too. She was cut in the Maria Mutola mold. <br /><br />Yes, my reaction to Kratochvilova as well. I remember hearing at the time that she could bench 200 pounds, and my reaction was, is that all? She was definitely one of the toughest-looking men I've ever seen. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-46614161031648653682015-03-13T17:24:39.351-04:002015-03-13T17:24:39.351-04:00I've always assumed he was a doper--he was, af...I've always assumed he was a doper--he was, after all, a Communist Regime sprinter during the 1970s & 1980s (a time when virtually all Communist Regime athletes, esp. strength and speed athletes are presumed to have doped); he had freakish muscularity (read: combo of muscle mass and leanness; "muscle density" of his sort is seen almost exclusively among the enhanced)for an 800 meter runner; he accomplished the elusive the 400-800 double (only the lovely and feminine Jarmila Kratochvílová did likewise in recent years)while also running on the 4x400 relay team, he peaked at a relatively late age after being good-but-not-great in his early 20s...Walks like duck, etc.Bone Daddy Dawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14875466587598200902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-59611980482555932352014-12-19T20:37:21.589-05:002014-12-19T20:37:21.589-05:00I don't really know how it works. Maybe you ju...I don't really know how it works. Maybe you just need a particular bit of dna related to the muscles, like in genetic engineering when a small piece of dna can make a real difference to something. ??<br /><br />I agree. It's hard to tell if he's black at all or if he's on steds! Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-14680227786242346482014-12-19T20:18:45.684-05:002014-12-19T20:18:45.684-05:00Steven --
But the weird thing is, once he got olde...Steven --<br />But the weird thing is, once he got older, he really didn't look black at all. And even if he was, say, 1/8th, would that eighth be so dominant as to account for that muscle tone and definition? <br /><br />And it's always possible that his curly hair was more of an "Isro" than an "Afro." <br /><br />But as I said, I'm agnostic on the issue. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-43901085282751756602014-12-19T20:13:28.343-05:002014-12-19T20:13:28.343-05:00His muscle tone and definition are remarkeable but...His muscle tone and definition are remarkeable but maybe that was due to the african genes that gave him that hair. <br /><br />Those muscles, and perhaps the low body fat that reveals them, is more usual on a black man. Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.com