hersh? who cares. his name doesn't deserve to be spelled right.
I do think hersh is an ass, but I do think he has a point about KK. That was always my problem with him as well. I really don't consider him a U.S running great.
This column actually surprised me. I would have expected him to be much more sympathetic to the foreign born, major marathon winning KK.
Hersh's common theme in his columns is that he always knows what is better for world class athletes' careers, than they do.
I have never heard of this guy, but he seems to have a middling knowledge of the sport and generally poor writing skills.
Is this a guest column written by readers, or did he win a contest to get this published?
No way he regularily writes for a newspaper.
Hersh's pettiness devalued the column. Not the first time.
Hersh Dershp wrote:
Hersh's common theme in his columns is that he always knows what is better for world class athletes' careers, than they do.
He comes across as having preset ideas on what athletes' main motivation should be, and if the athletes don't meet his standards, then he says how they fall short. KK's main motivation should be to run the Olympics for the US, Ryan Hall should be satisfied only if he wins a major marathon, etc.
In the case of Khannouchi, it's a probably a no-win situation for KK. If Khannouchi were honest and said, "I have a living to make and would rather win the Chicago Marathon than take my chances in the Olympics," Hersh would have nailed him. So then KK feels compelled to say what he thinks he's supposed to, how he spends the days pining to represent the US in the Olympics, and Hersh nails him for that as well.
smd wrote:
He comes across as having preset ideas on what athletes' main motivation should be, and if the athletes don't meet his standards, then he says how they fall short. KK's main motivation should be to run the Olympics for the US, Ryan Hall should be satisfied only if he wins a major marathon, etc.
More than once, KK claimed that one of his main goals was to represent the US in the Olympics. As I recall, he skipped the 2004 Olympic trials with a vague injury then ran some road race a few weeks later.
I agree with the column.
Has this guy ever had anything positive to say about anyone? I've don't think I've ever read one positive thing from this guy. Journalism at its worst.
I don't think that's what Hersch is saying.
he saying that KK kept saying that he (KK) wanted to "repay" the US by running for them. Hersh doesn't say KK's main motivation should be running for the U.S.
However, if KK is going to say that...then keeps doing things that appear counter to that statement, it's a legitimate criticism of KK.
If KK was honest and said, "Hey I need to make a living..." at least he was being honest and I believe Hersch would have less of a problem with that (who knows because the guy clearly has some issues)
No one questioning his skill or talent here.
I like how he uses words like "vow" and "reneg" as if the plans that KK has laid out to some random running blogger constitute a sacred promise. I've changed course in my career a few times. I've told people my plans and then gone on to do something different. Who hasn't? Should I stick to a plan that I no longer wish to follow simply because some blogger will call me a quitter if I don't do what I told him I'd do?
It is a perfectly fair critique of KK. Tergat and Geb at least showed up for the 10k in 2000 and 2004. Tergat even tried to double in 04. KK could have jogged the trials in 2000 and 2004 and made the team. He would have definitely had a shot at a medal in both 2000 and 2004. Just imagine what it would have been like if the US had two medals in 2004. But KK stayed away from the olympics in order to get the WR. And in focusing on the WR, he flamed out after an epic 2002 season. KK could have been a double medal winner in the olympics and the winner of multiple major marathons had he not consumed himself with the WR.
Precious Roy wrote:
It is a perfectly fair critique of KK.
I agree, KK's public statements are fair game, and Hersh is free to criticize him for not doing what he said he would. The thing that bothered me about the article today, and also the one from 2006 that was linked to it, was the tone. Hersh seemed to be deliberately making it personal. Even the headline seemed to be unnecessarily inflammatory. I agree with the poster above who saw a similarity to Hersh's column last year about Hall- he sets himself up as someone who knows better than they do, and then is just mean-spirited and nasty when some pro athlete makes a decision he doesn't like. It's bush league. I used to think he was a pretty decent writer, but now he comes across as a bitter blowhard.
Do they have any editors left at the Chicago Tribune? Is there no one to say "simmer down now?"
smd wrote:
He comes across as having preset ideas on what athletes' main motivation should be, and if the athletes don't meet his standards, then he says how they fall short. KK's main motivation should be to run the Olympics for the US, Ryan Hall should be satisfied only if he wins a major marathon, etc.
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More than once, KK claimed that one of his main goals was to represent the US in the Olympics. As I recall, he skipped the 2004 Olympic trials with a vague injury then ran some road race a few weeks later.
I agree with the column.
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Pretty sure this happend 2 X
He clearly was more interested in chasing the $. He has every right to. But contradictory statements leave people dissapointed. I hope the avoidance of the Oly trials etc had nothing to do with testing
With newspapers dying on the vine, reporters must feel like they have to go negative to be widely read.
None of you idiots bothered to read the other thread where the brojo's clearly spelled out that injuries were as likely a cause of his not running for the Olympics (in 2000 he only got citizenship 4 days before the trials!!!) as anything else. 2004 he was likely injured - do you morons know for sure that he wasn't? 2008 he was 4th at the trials after years of injury. Given his pedigree he would have made a lot more money if he had been able to race more (meaning that he was healthy for much of the time). He is missing from many fall/spring marathons after 2002, when he was healthy he ran well, sometimes he wasn't - foot problems seem to be the culprit according to him. Of course the conspiracy theorists (like Hersh) presume that he avoided running for the US on purpose.
He had two main goals - to run fast in big money races AND to make the US team. The only legitimate miss was 2004 - please prove that he wasn't injured at the time of the trials, or at least was healthy enough to run without jeopardizing any further races which made him a living!
He had two main goals - to run fast in big money races AND to make the US team.
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How do you know that maiking the US team was his main goal? Why did he run races (Chicago) right after the trials?
Maybe Khalid was saving himself for Zurich
Hesh's article = 3/10. Pretty solid trolling attempt on its own merit, but tonal and thematic redundancy when considered in the larger Hesh body of work undercut its effectiveness.