I like that:D A great philosophical note!
Asafa probably has greater activation of the Amygdala ( mid center of the temporal lobe, region of brain active in memory and emotions) during major comps when compared to smaller meets.
There are obvious flaws in his preparation but at the same time to deny the neurophysiological phenomena that occurs with elite athletes is like burying your head in the sand.
The argument that Asafa chokes assumes that the psychological phenomena of “ choking “ does not have a physical basis, however all mental activity has a neurophysiological basis. We only need to consider the brain chemistry of those who are more predisposed to mental disorders.
Lets assume the Asafa has the brain chemistry/structure that predisposes him to choking under pressure. How is this resolved?
Improve his preparation. Anxiety and mood states under pressure directly correlate to how confidently the athlete believes in their preparation.
Some athletes are just clutch, the others just need to prepare that little bit more.
As an addition to already provided information Asafa’s recent comment;
“If I execute and make sure that my technique is all right and everything goes well then it’s going to be a fast race. Every year I normally run sub-10 pretty easily, so I don’t see there being a problem going under 10 seconds in New York.”
The result he ran in the final [9.95] would fit “pretty easily” in this category.
In my opinion that explains quite a bit.
So when he says;
“I think it was a physical problem because of all the injuries that I got last year and set me back big-time. I was confident going into the Games. I started to feel a bit tired going through the rounds because I didn’t get to do much background strength work in.”
This statement contradicts his “pretty easily” running.
Someone in his camp should teach him a bit of “diplomacy talk” 
this is a pretty good description of the situation.
He gives way too much information to his opponants
I agree. Way too much information. They all now play mind games with him because they know he’s a little unstable (confidence wise). He doesn’t have the swagger of a man who knows he is going to or could win.
lobotomy? Or join Phelps at the Bong Bong races
Let’s get back to what coaches can control and leave the brain surgery to brain surgeons (or the local head shop). The whole group seems to be in trouble so far this year. What can be said about that- on this forum.
I wonder, is his camp trying to keep up with Usain’s group and doing more of what They do, instead of keeping focus on what has succeeded with their own group each yr?
Mind you, Asafa has been around sub 10 for some time now - is it starting to take a toll on his body - and others in the group that have been performing for some time as well? Perhaps?
some were brand new last year. I highly doubt they are copying different workouts now.
What we do know is that Asafa has run PR’s in the 300 and 400m and a 10.23 into the wind and a 10.1 with it. Last year he hardly finished the 400 yet opened in 10.0x. One would think that he just needs more exposure to speed but that doesn’t account for his mediocre acceleration which should be in place if the workouts posted are legitimate.
The other possibility is that the ankle injury affected his prep more than he let on.
Many have noted that he looked much bigger than usual, given the supposed improvements over longer distances, would it make sense that the additional mass is a result of having to emphasize the weights during the injury period? Given the improvements over 400m it would seem like he would come in smaller than usual rather than adding additional mass.
The whole group seems to be in trouble so far this year. What can be said about that- on this forum.
Charlie, well noticed. I was expecting this to happen for some time now.
If I speak my mind [out loud] it could be negatively interpreted by many on this forum. Admittedly it would be my own speculation based on my close monitoring and research of MVP training methodology/performances/ SF seminars/interviews held in Australia and general media write ups. So no, I do not have rock solid facts for a public discussion on this issue but will say that MVP is much bigger to be successfully managed with kind of performances that would match the work Francis/Powell have done whilst being a much smaller band.
So, yes, coaching could be an issue here.
It’s always important to look at whole groups to get an idea if something is going amiss.
While things have gotten out of control at times- such as the bench issue last year, the group was always large, but never the size of 2008 (09 also?)
This is why I brought it up in the other thread. Maybe now SF believes that running 400s and having endurance because thats what Usain did will get them medals, rather than keeping to what has made them fast in the fast in the past. Why mess with success.