"I threw my little hissy fit and didn't finish Monaco"-- Solinsky

I always thought that it was kind of ridiculous. It is a race and if you are not prepared to get bumped you should not be in the race. Merga was just being competitive and track is a cut throat sport.

he got knocked off the track twice and blew up at the wrong moment, knowing that he'd not stand a chance against guys who were equal to better at his best. one moment's mistake and he never lives it down? this is one of our best ever and we should support someone whose problems are that he works too hard and cares too much.

Someone from the Rupp camp must have started this. I don't understand why there's so much hate between Solinsky and Rupp both being with Nike

Did he really say that or is it a paraphrase? Too lazy to watch the video myself.

And for once, all the LetsRun haters are vindicated. Feels good, doesn't it?

This is so great! I love talking about the time that 90lb Ethiopian (Phantom) pushed Solinsky off the track!

kjskljshjd wrote:

I'm a lazy-a$$ puss who can't be bothered to watch 15 seconds of a video and then I ask everyone to do it for me

This is why people hate Rupp, because Rupp people come on here and bash ANY American that isn't Oregon or Rupp.

The rest of America hates it, and hate Oregon as a result.

If the Oregon people would just shut up, there would be a lot less of this BS going around.

Solinsky is just insanely talented and he was the first white man to break 27. He's also not ugly and he didn't go to Oregon. So contrary to popular belief you don't need to go to Oregon to be successful or fast.

Uh, have you watched the video that the OP provided a link to? Solinsky admitted to the "hissy fit" and that's a direct quote from him. I think it's great and kind of funny that he's embracing it and calling himself out on it. More power to him.

I leld wrote:

This is why people hate Rupp, because Rupp people come on here and bash ANY American that isn't Oregon or Rupp.

The rest of America hates it, and hate Oregon as a result.

If the Oregon people would just shut up, there would be a lot less of this BS going around.

Solinsky is just insanely talented and he was the first white man to break 27. He's also not ugly and he didn't go to Oregon. So contrary to popular belief you don't need to go to Oregon to be successful or fast.

Am I to understand that he recognizes the krap nature of some of his actions?

If that is the case (I haven't watched the vid) then hats off to him. He still has a way to go to be completely rehabilitated in my book, but this little bit goes a LONG way. The revealing of a general attitude toward things is more important than the recognition of the character of a particular action, and this is an attitude that I can get down with.

I don't much care how krap somebody has been in the past (except for child molesters and other serious offenses, where there are real victims who suffer directly through no fault of their own), but what I think is important is recognizing the krap, putting it to bed, and moving on.

The only thing left for him to do now is to put his words into action, and then his rehab will be complete IMO. Opportunities for action abound, and with the games out, I think that even hard training should be accepted as evidence that he is sincere in this new attitude.

If what I'm understanding him to have said is correct, then hats off to this guy. It takes a bigger man to admit having made a mistake, than it takes to not make a mistake in the first place.

I'm flattered!

Thank-you. But really, you shouldn't have...

I don't know about you, SprintGeezer, but I've had plenty of "hissy fit" moments in my life which is behavior I'm not particularly proud of. With geezer age comes wisdom. You should know that none of us is perfect and that we are all screwed up on some level.

I'm not particularly religious but I keep thinking of the new testament story "let he who is without sin, cast the first stone". Who are you in that story Sprintgeezer? The prostitute, the pharisees, or Jesus?

For starters most people don't hate Rupp. Whatever problems you have keep to yourself. Hate Rupp, fine, keep it stuffed, hate yourself, fine, keep it stuffed etc etc.

It was not a single act, it was a pattern of behavior and decision-making.

I know that none of us is perfect and that we are all screwed up on some level. I also know that people should be made aware of what other people think are serious deficiencies.

By the same token, I also know that people should be made aware of what other people think are meritorious acts, like his recent comment and self-evaluation.

Forget about the new testament story--like I said before, think more current, think MLK. His explicit statement, which has been adopted wholesale by official America, acknowledged the propriety of judging people according to the content of their character.

Solinsky was on a downward trajectory. The first act was excusable, the subsequent ones not so much, the last one deplorable. It was appropriate to comment at the time.

As it is now appropriate to comment that he is evidencing an honorable character.

Things can change--hopefully he will continue to provide evidence that he has changed for the better.

I'm sure it's a huge relief to Solinsky that some internet loser poster thinks he's partially rehabilitated (from what - WTF?). Do you even notice the big L on your forehead?

On one hand I'm glad solinsky is starting to admit the truth, but on the other hand I hope he continues to disappoint because nothing is better on this site than sprintgeezer talking about solinskrap and bantering with all his enemies.

Sanctimonious sh!t.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Just for your information - both solinsky and rupp and 3rd stringers. When the US gets a first stringer then this conversation will be worth listening to.

big fish in small pond comes to mind (yes US distance running is a small pond)

The #16 and #40 (after you throw out drug cheat Mourhit) performers of all time are third-stringers? Not to mention that Solinsky ran that in his only try at 10,000m, closing in 1:56. And how many of those ahead of Rupp are going to be in London? Make no mistake, Rupp is a first-stringer.

US distance running, in terms of depth, is better than everywhere but Kenya and Ethiopia. In this case, no other country has had more than one runner under 27 minutes -- Qatar's bought Kenyans don't count for them, so it's 29 Kenyans, 7 Ethiopians, 2 Americans, one each Moroccan, Eritrean, Ugandan, Brit/Somali depending how you count Farah.