monty...this is sport..... peter made a honest comment that was in perfect timing to provoque normann 2 days before the race\\\



SO you are saying peter was working for Norman last year??? Hey, I love all this smack talking, but when you smack talk and get it shoved back in your face, you have to take your lumps..That is the right of the smack talkie, who comes up with the nuts in their race.....And I'm not so sure it was an honest comment he made, I think Peter knows Norman can run...Probably stirring the pot as you said, it just seemed uncharistic of him..He was always humble and soft spoken all the times I have been around him..Could have just been a bad hair day for him....(-;

so you agree he was provoquing him???? i not sure i understand your reply with to many complicated expression for me to understand!!! but yep....it was provocation and i dont think it s lack of class.....suprising of peter of course....but the difference is that peter wasnt racing.... he would never feed a opponents like this if racing......but he wasnt.....

it s what make it fun........no?

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

Ask Paulo for a translation, he is well versed in sarcasm..And yes, it is fun once again to follow the pros and their public gaffs and stabs at each other...I expect that Youtube will be quite busy this year with triathlete comments and interviews.....

Les from ITU perhaps...

Is this for real? Photoshop? I remember hearing that Stadler did something in bad taste just after crossing the line, but if this is a real photo, I can't believe it took 5 mos to make it to ST.

John52,
You are almost right! Us Brits prefer the "two fingered salute" for the F-You (index and middle finger raised simultaneously in a 'V' with palm towards yourself , or better yet 'flicked' tauntingly). it was during the Battle of Agincourt that the French would cut off those two fingers from captured English archers so that they could never draw the strings on their bows again. Consequently it became popular amongst those never to have been captured to taunt the French by flicking those fingers at them as if saying "F**k You, I've still got my fingers"! If you are ever in an English pub and want two beers, please don't indicate with your fingers how many you want like you would in the States!
The only Brit to get away with it's public use was Churchill, but his was a V for Victory sign.

Back to Norman, it was quite evident during the NBC coverage of the finish line that he did yell F**k You! towards the crowd.

Hi guys,

whats going on? Can you see the church in the back of the photo. You can see my fist and the rest of the picture is the top of the church... but keep going and talk shit about me and other athletes! We dont care ;-)

Normann

OHMYGOD! i had to finally register so i could respond to this. its obvious straight away that its the peak from the church in the background. i cant believe u guys wasted 2 pages discussing the pros and cons of this...

good on u normann for setting them straight.

oh and btw this forum rocks

;-)

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Trek Speed Concept 9.9

I nominate this as post of the year, I can't stop laughing!!!

My sincerest apologies, seriously. Priceless.

Liam, YOU are almost right. The French threatened prior to the Battle of Agincourt that any English Bowmen captured with have their first two fingers (those that were used to draw back the bow) cut off. As the French horsemen and the infantry with their crossbows (inferior short range weapons) came over the hill the Longbowmen gave the V sign to taunt them that the finger s were there and would be put to good use. The outcome is a point proven in the history books.

Churchill never used that sign, he used the reversed V for Victory sign with the palm out. Harvey Smith most famously used the sign with the palm in.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

That is great! I can't believe that none of the poster's on here noticed that. Probably because people are bored and wanted it to be a picture of Norman flipping off the stands so that there would be something on here to talk about for the next week.

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Mat Steinmetz

51-SPEEDSHOP.com - instagram - @matsteinmetz - facebook

Just to show what a sad history geek I am:

1) The link with archery and the V sign is tenuous. Archers certainly did taunt the French with their fingers and the French certainly did main the hands of English and Welsh archers they caught, but descriptions of the sign predate Agincourt and it's not clear if it was a 'V'. Also there's doubt as to whether one could draw a full strength English Longbow with only two fingers.

2) Churchill did in fact use that sign during the early part of the war (presumably until someone pointed out that it was considered rude!)

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muuaaahhh... seeehr schön!

Axel

btw: stadler ran this weekend a 32.32/ 10k: http://www.3athlon.de/...2_minuten_achter.php

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kind regards
Kai Baumgartner

Hey Normann...I don't think they were talking about you, they were talking about some guy named Norman, with one "n" at the end. :)

Mr. 3athlon,

just for your information... we did a 22 mile run the day before! Normann cant run..;-)
See ya
Normann

1. Agincourt is the battle mostly commonly credited with the sign although naturally some instance before could have predated but not so famously.
2. Naturally one could not draw a longbow with just two fingers, the forearm, shoulder, pectorals and back muscles would also be employed. This two fingers are the contact with the bowstring and hence the primary contacts.
3.Churchill would have be only too aware of the significance of the other form of the V sign and too much of a gentleman to have employed it in such a vulgar display. Perhaps you would like to post a picutre of Churchill making a V sign as opposite to a V for victory, I should like to see that (photoshopped copies exempted).

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

Julian as a fellow Englishman it pains me to confirm that fade seems to be right:
The Churchillian gesture

Winston Churchill took up the Victory campaign enthusiastically, and made a V sign with his fingers whenever a camera was pointed at him, his palm facing in both directions. This dismayed his private secretary, John Colville. In September 1941, Colville wrote in his diary, ''The PM will give the V-sign with two fingers in spite of representations repeatedly made to him that this gesture has quite another significance.''


Churchill was eventually persuaded to use only the palm forwards gesture.

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"Are you sure we're going fast enough?" - Emil Zatopek

OK, so you didn't flip off anyone, you just stole Tiger's fist pump. Get your own freaking gesture. :)

Great race, looking forward to seeing the Normann-Macca cage match in 2007.

1) Actually the only evidence of a sympbolic gesture like this at this time comes from Froissart's Chronicles, and he died c.1405 10 years before Agincourt. The 'V sign' itself isn't attested until Rabelais in the 1500s. The common link between Agincourt is reasonable but is not supported by any sources from the time.

2) IIRC there has been some discussion as to whether the tendons of two fingers would be strong enough to pull the types of longbow found for eg on the Mary Rose, which had up to three times the pull of a modern longbow.

3) http://vietsciences.free.fr/...icians/churchill.htm (I've seen this as an illustration in historical texts)
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page121.asp (third pic down, though a little faint)

In September 1941, John Colville (Churchill's private secretary) wrote in his diary, ''The PM will give the V-sign with two fingers in spite of representations repeatedly made to him that this gesture has quite another significance.''

Icidentally, I am British (well, a mix of English, Welsh and German actually...), currently reside in Kingston upon Thames...

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It took me ages to find that quote! (All my historical materials are at home)

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Its bad enough to be a poor loser, but a poor winner it the worst of the worst. I personally have no respect for him.

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John He

Buy Locally, Race Globaly

dude, look carefully at the picture...

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You also may want to look at the posts by Napoleon...

I only see one finger, not two, its a good defense for Norman, but I am not buying it, He has a history of very bad behavior. do I need to remind you of his comments last year about the disabled athlete that was ahead of him on the German sportsman of the year list?

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John He

Buy Locally, Race Globaly