Verzbicas?

US Olympic triathlon qualification is a tricky one. Currently the US only has 2 spots for men. If stars align, Manny Huerta of Hunter Kemper could move up the rankings enough to get the US a 3rd spot. The top two americans at the WCS race in San Diego in May will get Olympic spots if they finish in the top 9. 8 Americans will get starts in that race. For Lucas to even get a start at the WCS in San Diego would require a return to triathlon immediately followed by stellar early season results to move up high enough in the rankings to get a spot in San Diego. Failing 2 Americans in the top 9 in San Diego, the spots become discretionary picks. Those likely to be piced are Charbot, Shoemaker & Kemper (if a 3rd spot somehow becomes available)... Lucas is a very unlikely pick as he would have to move up the world rankings far enough to 1. get a spot to race these guys & 2. far enough to surpass, Charbot, Shoemaker, Kemper, Huerta, Potts, Collington and others.

Executive Summary: He is a VERY long shot for Oly's 2012

Nothing dumb, wimpy, or gutless about this decision, if it's for real, but he should do it now, get his redshirt if Vin won't release him, and train exclusively for the tri for 2012.

How does bailing on your team right before regionals and nationals look? I can think of a few not so nice terms.

Yeah that's pretty bad. You came to the school and took some scholarship money, and you can't even run for 3 more weeks? Really?

The goducks website is vague on the matter. They have an article about the Regionals and it sort of suggests he's the list to go, but it also sort of suggests there are about 15 names on that list.

I was always curious about how he would do in a real team environment. He was treated like royalty at Foot Locker and the Adidas Dream Mile, and interacted very little with the other guys, at least from what I saw looking from the outside in. He spent a lot of time with his parents. There was one particular incident the day before the Dream Mile race, when athletes were loading up on the bus after getting a chance to see the stadium. The bus had filled with pro athletes and most of the high school guys had been left standing there until another bus could arrive. LV was called to the front of the line and was given the last seat - the other guys stood there 45 more minutes until the second bus came. I could see that he might have a tough time adjusting to a college team where he was just one other guy. For sure he is a phenomenal athlete, but it would have to be a tough adjustment. I always wondered why he never competed in the world cross country championships if his running goal was to be a gold medal Olympian - that would have given him far better perspective than cleaning up at NXN and Foot Locker.

it would make sense (to me at least) that the UO staff may be vague regarding Lukas' current status if he is currently gone and they are holding out hope that they can somehow persuade him to return before regionals or maybe nationals (if they can get there without him)

By the way, its hard to believe he's struggling to be "just another guy" as Vin only cares about winning. I'd bet he was treated like King Lukas just as Rupp was when he was there.

He thinks just cause he won juniors he will just dominate the triathlon. he is a fool if he thinks it will be an easy transition. There are tons of 30 min 10k guys in the trathlon and he will need to step up his game in the water and bike to compete.

tri-me wrote:

He thinks just cause he won juniors he will just dominate the triathlon. he is a fool if he thinks it will be an easy transition. There are tons of 30 min 10k guys in the trathlon and he will need to step up his game in the water and bike to compete.

re: "There are tons of 30 min 10k guys in the trathlon"

Not sure about the "tons", I can only think of 4 or 5. As already stated, making the 2012 team would be a long shot, but if he turned pro right now, he would certainly be in the USA top 10. In a tri, Lukas could hold his own against the best in the world in the run phase; however, his run isn't good enough to make up ground from the swin/bike.

As good a runner as Lukas is, he's actually a better triathlete; winning world jrs is no joke.

Freelove wrote:

Yeah that's pretty bad. You came to the school and took some scholarship money, and you can't even run for 3 more weeks? Really?

Actually, I can see the point here, and I agree with it (unless there's some enticement from elsewhere and he fully reimburses UO). Even so, he should finish cross. Having said that, I always said the kid should've gone to CUCS to begin with and took some flak for that. He and his parents just knew he wanted to go to Oregon, he was groomed for it, he was going to put tri aside, blah, blah, blah. Funny how he may end up going from possibly the most liberal town in the US to one of the most conservative if it happens that way. Colorado is beautiful... hard to resist. Can't imagine why you'd live anywhere else given the choice.

3 "Workouts" a day.....swimming, cycling and running

Yeah that's pretty bad. You came to the school and took some scholarship money, and you can't even run for 3 more weeks? Really?

Totally agree. Where is LV's integrity? Even more puzzling, who are the adults giving him such poor advice? At least suck it up and stay through cross-country. His action is very selfish and irresponsible. He has now lost all credibility and respect. Too bad.

This boy won't find racing ITU Triathlons any easier - longer distances in his weaker sports - and deep International talent. He's going to learn some hard lessons whatever route he chooses.

Is he a dual-citizen? Could he compete for Lithuania? Because, by your standard (I'm no fanboy of the Tri), it seems like a really stupid decision. At least, if his primary goal was to compete for the U.S. for the 2012 Olympics.

e3rwerwerwerwerw wrote:

It basically says nobody knows nothing. Why would people get fired up about an article with virtually no informative insight?

The just released IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program said nothing but we see the mainstream media pretend as if it said Iran had the ability to nuke the USA and was planning on doing so.

Tony B wrote:

This boy won't find racing ITU Triathlons any easier - longer distances in his weaker sports - and deep International talent. He's going to learn some hard lessons whatever route he chooses.

Why do you assume he's looking for an easier route? Did he say something about that? Do think he assumes the ITU races will be easy?

Confirmed sighting by Lukas in Colorado Springs yesterday:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4310160

FYI - His running times and titles are of a much higher quality that his triathlon titles. His junior title in triathlon was a shorter distance that that of the professionals - where his weaker sports weren't as obvious. His switch to triathlon isn't going to be any easier and the talent will be deep and International.

He hasn't raced at ITU distances with an International Pro field. Looking at his Junior times he'd get walloped like he did in Wisconsin and PAC-10. It will be a tough route no matter what he chooses.