of course we cannot address these groups without figuring out what to do with australia
“they” call it a continent.
but it sure looks like an island….
and if we can deplanetize pluto,
why cant we decontinentalize australia?
even if we didn’t throw australia into the mix,
the big islands are a powerful contingent.
australia comes in seeded second.
led by phil gore (102 yards)
australia has 4 more runners besides phil with more than three days;
rob parsons (84), ryan crawford (75), aaron young (75) and james blanton (72)
as we have learned in the backyard,
the key for australia is not what position 1-5 do.
they can run with anyone in the world.
the key is what happens in 10-15!
saturday begins the chance for someone to play the hero.
every team with world championship ambitions is counting on a strong showing in the bottom half of their field.
those are the guys that can make it happen.
without them,
the best efforts of the top end will be in vain.
japan is seeded 4th.
incredibly, considering the calibre of runners they have lost going in,
the top 3 runners in japan will not be in the field come saturday,
or else they might have grabbed the top seed.
but depth is still their strong suit.
led by the venerable star yukinori yoshida (85) and up and coming akihiro maeda (83),
the japanese team features 3 more athletes who have already gone long;
tokimasa hirata (74), mikitara mizuno (70), and tetsuro kiso (70).
japan still has depth,
and what we call in the US the “next man up” attitude.
when a star player has to be replaced,
the standard does not change.
the heart of the japanese team came from their prefecture championships,
and a lot of the team is getting their first shot at running a race with strong athletes from top to bottom.
they are set up for some new faces to explode on the backyard scene.
new zealand comes in with the number 8 seed.
the team is anchored by another giant; sam harvey (101).
on paper there is a big dropoff from there,
but (as has been mentioned before) the satellite championships will not be contested on paper.
there has been a lot of backyard activity in new zealand the last couple of years,
and the kiwis have been ominously quiet leading up to the big race.
they might be saving their talk for after the event!
once again, this will be the first time their best backyarders have all been gathered in one place.
breakthrough performances are almost certain.
if they start getting good performances from the bottom end of the order,
they have the experience to lead the front end into triple digits.
it would be a good idea to keep an eye on new zealand!
great britain comes in with the 12th seed.
the brit team is led by john stocker.
john qualified with a mere 74,
but he was one of the first backyarders to go over 80,
and once held the world record.
there was a day when the competition on the british isles dominated the world.
and it is hard to not believe they would like to return to that position.
there is only a 9 yard difference between the 2 and the 15 from great britain,
so depth is their strength.
and depth is the most important thing in the team championships.
last among the big islands is ireland.
seeded 18th, ireland is led by the ageless peter cromie (50).
to give you an idea how deep peter’s roots go,
he was one of the first to backyarders to reach the 36 hour mark.
it has not been that long since ireland was a power in the backyard.
and if nothing else,
i happen to know they would love to knock great britain down a peg!
so the big island competition ought to be something to watch.
and it is quite possible that winning the big islands would be enough to win the whole shooting match!
and now for the small islands.
the small islands are the coolest,
and the most unlikely
contestants in the satellite championships.
most of them would be seen more as tourist destinations
than the homes of athletic teams.
and none of them would be cooler (or more unlikely) than the small island favorite, iceland.
but iceland isnt asking anyone to take it easy on them,
they are seeded 19th.
and to make it even more amazing,
team iceland has 8 women and only 7 men.
they are led by a pair of women;
mari jaersk (57) and elisa kristinsdottir (56)
team iceland also has depth,
with their top men,
andri gudmundsson (52) and thorleifur thorleifsson (50) both over two days.
(that is really good considering, you know, they are just men)
the icelanders are very likely to cement their position in the top 20,
despite having the smallest population in the field.
iceland probably will have the most fans of anyone in the race.
we will all be pulling for our own team…
and iceland.
everyone loves the underdogs
(even if they dont think of themselves as underdogs!)
.
the closest small island challengers for iceland would be the philippines,
led by ryan baldovino (30)
and malta
mark bezzina (30)
other competitors in the small island division include bermuda, brunei, singapore (not technically an island), mauritius, cyprus, and taipei
it is going to be fun to see how these teams fare.
bragging rights are still on the line…
and with a strong performance,
a place at big’s.
