[Vocabulary] defend an allegation

Dear all,

Can you help me understand the meaning of the highlited part in following sentence:

[It was a long-term training partnership that had mutual benefit for the two runners, though three years later, Holmes and Mutola were forced to defend allegations that they had colluded, after a gold-silver finish in the World Championships in Paris.]

Thanks a lot.

maiabulela said:

Dear all,

Can you help me understand the meaning of the highlited part in following sentence:

[It was a long-term training partnership that had mutual benefit for the two runners, though three years later, Holmes and Mutola were forced to defend allegations that they had colluded, after a gold-silver finish in the World Championships in Paris.]

Thanks a lot.

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Which part of it is unclear to you? I assume you looked up the words that are unfamiliar to you.

freezeframe said:

Which part of it is unclear to you? I assume you looked up the words that are unfamiliar to you.

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The structure. It's not about the words. "defend allegation", "finish" I don't know if they have quarreled!

maiabulela said:

Dear all,

Can you help me understand the meaning of the highlited part in following sentence:

[It was a long-term training partnership that had mutual benefit for the two runners, though three years later, Holmes and Mutola were forced to defend allegations that they had colluded, after a gold-silver finish in the World Championships in Paris.]

Thanks a lot.

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I think your difficulty arises from the fact that it's rather sloppy writing. Those two athletes were not defending an allegation; they had not made an allegation.

They were defending themselves against allegations made against them. People in the media had said that they ran as a team, to make sure that they came first and second in that race; that was the allegation, and they just said 'we didn't'.

b

BobK said:

I think your difficulty arises from the fact that it's rather sloppy writing. Those two athletes were not defending an allegation; they had not made an allegation.

They were defending themselves against allegations made against them. People in the media had said that they ran as a team, to make sure that they came first and second in that race; that was the allegation, and they just said 'we didn't'.

b

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I'm REALLY so grateful. It's crystal clear now.:up::up::up::up:

BobK said:

I think your difficulty arises from the fact that it's rather sloppy writing. Those two athletes were not defending an allegation; they had not made an allegation.

They were defending themselves against allegations made against them. People in the media had said that they ran as a team, to make sure that they came first and second in that race; that was the allegation, and they just said 'we didn't'.

b

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If they were fast enough to finish first and second, how is that some sort of collusion?

maiabulela said:

I'm REALLY so grateful. It's crystal clear now.:up::up::up::up:

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But uou know the structure is not very clear,and it need explaantion when translating.. May be I'm stupid but I found it difficult to link bet. "collusion" and their both wining gold and silver... This has nothing to do with that... you need some time to get it how people came up with that!!!!! It's very far from mind and not a traditional accusation. I think that's why it was difficult for me

SoothingDave said:

If they were fast enough to finish first and second, how is that some sort of collusion?

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I've sent my last post just a second before your wondering about the same thing,:-D

SoothingDave said:

If they were fast enough to finish first and second, how is that some sort of collusion?

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She continued her successes in the 2001 season, grabbing the world title in Edmonton and again in 2003 in Paris. It was widely felt that Mutola ran tactically during the 2003 race by setting a slow pace in order to aid her training partner Kelly Holmes.

From: [FONT=&quot]Maria Mutola - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/FONT]


Last year the pair finished first and second in the 800m at the world championships in Paris, amid allegations that Mutola, who took gold, had balked rivals to help her friend. Holmes denied there had been any collusion, and took exception to suggestions that the relationship was anything other than platonic.

From: The Guardian profile: Kelly Holmes | UK news | The Guardian

maiabulela said:

But uou know the structure is not very clear,and it need explaantion when translating.. May be I'm stupid but I found it difficult to link bet. "collusion" and their both wining gold and silver... This has nothing to do with that... you need some time to get it how people came up with that!!!!! It's very far from mind and not a traditional accusation. I think that's why it was difficult for me

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When I used the term 'running as a team', that is what the piece means by 'collusion'. On the training field they were alleged to have this sort of conversation:

MM OK, how are we going to approach this race?
KH Well, we sure want to come first and second.
MM Right. At the gun, you go off fast, to run the legs out of the rest. I'll hang back. Then, on the back straight I'll take them all; then you can have a bit of a rest, slipstreaming me for the last 300m.
KH Hmm... Why not do it the other way round? ...[etc]

Legal note: Of course I have no reason to think there was a conversation like this. It is just an example of the alleged collusion.

I'm not a middle-distance runner and don't know all the tactical possibilities, but there are lots of opportunities for tactical running so that two people get an unfair advantage in what is supposed to be a race between individuals.

b

They still give the gold to the first place finisher, and the silver to the second, right?

So this theory of "collusion" is comical. Unless one of the runners was blocking other runners like a roller derby girl, I fail to see how there is any harm done. There is no rule that any runner has to follow the pace of any other.

Maybe you do, but in international athletics there are rules about collusion - and that extends beyond things that are illegal in any case (like blocking).

b

fivejedjon said:

Last year the pair finished first and second in the 800m at the world championships in Paris, amid allegations that Mutola, who took gold, had balked rivals to help her friend. .

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BobK said:

Then, on the back straight I'll take them all; then you can have a bit of a rest, slipstreaming me for the last 300m.

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What could be a synonym of balk in this context?
What does slipstreaming mean?

balk - block/obstruct
slipstreaming - saving energy by letting the one in front undergo more wind resistance. (This, incidentally, is why geese fly in a V formation, and take it in turns to be the leading goose. You can see it in a sporting context in team cycling events, with each member of the team taking the lead for one lap of the velodrome.)

b

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Now that is some spectacular spam!! :-D