Afraid to lose. She's not on drugs IMO. You don't need drugs when you're already breaking national records at age 16. But ppl's "mental health" is so screwed up nowadays, and instead of dealing with it society basically tells ppl to lean into and exagerate their mental health issues and be more "open" aobut them. Quitting is now celebrated.
In fact, wouldn't be surprised if she gets glowing coverage in the New York Times for sitting out the championships as some necessary act of "self-care" or defiance of white male's expectations. If you don't see that coming already you heard it here first.
The last thing I can think of is it's a publicity stunt to get the world of track talking about My. Like she is so big she almost skipped worlds, like no one there could possibly challenge her.
That's what Nick Symmonds did at the end of his career. Skipped worlds. His excuse was just a front for him being a money whore (not that there's anything wrong with that unless screwing them over). Obviously he was a businessman compeled to the money and clout.
Afraid to lose. She's not on drugs IMO. You don't need drugs when you're already breaking national records at age 16. But ppl's "mental health" is so screwed up nowadays, and instead of dealing with it society basically tells ppl to lean into and exagerate their mental health issues and be more "open" aobut them. Quitting is now celebrated.
What happens when you're not breaking records though. You're training harder than ever, then suddenly you're 2 secs slow, or even more. Every lap you do is slower than the last couple years. That is when athletes often turn to drugs - they see it as there is no other way back to "where they should be". This is just speculation on possible scenarios, I'm not saying I think Mu is or isn't taking peds.
No question it is fear of failure. Mu showed up at Eugene last year knowing she wasn't as sharp as Tokyo. She didn't think it would matter. After all, she gapped Keely in Tokyo.
That race in Eugene stunned her. You could see it in her reaction immediately after the race. Athing Mu doesn't expect to be fighting over every centimeter for the final 125 meters.
The bye enabled her to essentially take the year off. She has other interests. Throughout 2023 she rationalized she'll get around to it. But in recent months the motivation has not been there. It's pretend mode while her two chief rivals are full blast. I think Mu knows she can run 1:56 or 1:57. She doesn't know if that will be enough. Two weeks to decide.
IMO, this Athing Mu situation will be one of the primary reasons that Sebastian Coe soon gets rid of byes. Coe is never difficult to read. When he makes a comment about looking into matters that means he already has made up his mind and merely needs the formality of a full conference to stamp as official.
The sport cannot afford byes when it means some of the premier talents use it as excuse to screw around and not compete. Coe made a reference a few days ago to a few track stars who do compete all year and still manage to be ready for world championships.
No question it is fear of failure. Mu showed up at Eugene last year knowing she wasn't as sharp as Tokyo. She didn't think it would matter. After all, she gapped Keely in Tokyo.
That race in Eugene stunned her. You could see it in her reaction immediately after the race. Athing Mu doesn't expect to be fighting over every centimeter for the final 125 meters.
The bye enabled her to essentially take the year off. She has other interests. Throughout 2023 she rationalized she'll get around to it. But in recent months the motivation has not been there. It's pretend mode while her two chief rivals are full blast. I think Mu knows she can run 1:56 or 1:57. She doesn't know if that will be enough. Two weeks to decide.
IMO, this Athing Mu situation will be one of the primary reasons that Sebastian Coe soon gets rid of byes. Coe is never difficult to read. When he makes a comment about looking into matters that means he already has made up his mind and merely needs the formality of a full conference to stamp as official.
The sport cannot afford byes when it means some of the premier talents use it as excuse to screw around and not compete. Coe made a reference a few days ago to a few track stars who do compete all year and still manage to be ready for world championships.
Sort of reminds me of the north korean world champion marathon runner back in 1999.Her name was jong song-ok.She didnt compete in the sydney olympics a year later because either she,or her government,feared failure.Apparently the president was worried she wouldnt win at the olympics,so she was told not to run there.She continued running marathons for a few more years,mostly at home,and in china,but never represented north korea again.
will be really disappointing if she doesn’t race. I’m a little surprised after her 4:03 at USAs and not being afraid to lead against 3:58 runners I thought she’d have gained a lot of her confidence back.
I think she already decided at the start of this season she was going to treat 2023 as on off year to take a break before the consecutive 24/25 championship seasons. She already has the coveted pair of gold medals so she can afford to do that. I don’t think she trained for a championship run this season they just made us believe otherwise for sponsorship/monetary reasons. Tbf, Athing has ran a LOT of races in the last 6-7 years prior to 2021 and she BARELY made it in 2022, they were already signs of her burnout and she said it herself. I just wish she announced the break or even faked an injury lol to say she was sitting out this year.
I think she already decided at the start of this season she was going to treat 2023 as on off year to take a break before the consecutive 24/25 championship seasons. She already has the coveted pair of gold medals so she can afford to do that. I don’t think she trained for a championship run this season they just made us believe otherwise for sponsorship/monetary reasons. Tbf, Athing has ran a LOT of races in the last 6-7 years prior to 2021 and she BARELY made it in 2022, they were already signs of her burnout and she said it herself. I just wish she announced the break or even faked an injury lol to say she was sitting out this year.
What's the difference between 23/24 or 24/25 consecutive seasons?
I think she already decided at the start of this season she was going to treat 2023 as on off year to take a break before the consecutive 24/25 championship seasons. She already has the coveted pair of gold medals so she can afford to do that. I don’t think she trained for a championship run this season they just made us believe otherwise for sponsorship/monetary reasons. Tbf, Athing has ran a LOT of races in the last 6-7 years prior to 2021 and she BARELY made it in 2022, they were already signs of her burnout and she said it herself. I just wish she announced the break or even faked an injury lol to say she was sitting out this year.
What's the difference between 23/24 or 24/25 consecutive seasons?
Simple. If she runs all out in 2023 and 2024, that's 4 tough championships years in a row. Plus then 2025 will make it 5 in a row.
If she takes it easy in 2023, then it's 2 tough championships seasons, then an easy year as a break, then 2 tough championship seasons, then an easy year in 2026.
After reading yesterdays article about Athing Mu's decision about not running the World Championships had me wondering about what she is thinking.
Theory 1- burnout
She has been running at such a high level whether its been youth,high school,college, and pro levels for over a decade maybe she is just burned out and the desire to be the best is not there.
Theory 2- afraid to lose. She has had such a successful career over the past decade that she has only lost a handful of races and doesnt want to put herself in a race at Worlds that she is not the clear favorite.
Theory 1- discussion
I dont how much burnout she has had over the past 3 seasons. While she was at Texas A&M Athing run a limited number of races and didnt really even run the 800m more than a few times(4 to 5) during her freshman year. Im sure she ran more races from the ages 15 to 18 than she did from 19 to her current age of 21or 22.
Theory 2- discussion
Its ok if she loses at Worlds to Keely or Mary . Heck Athing lost an NCAA championship indoors to Kaeilin Roberts or Bailey Leer of USC not for sure who it was). Nonetheless she survived that loss and it didnt hurt her chances of getting a substanial contract with Nike after she dominated the outdoor season at NCAA's,USA's,and the Olympics.
Possible solutions
1. Add her to the mixed relay pool and let her run a couple 400's five or six days before the 800m heats. What a great addition to the relay pool as well as getting a solid workout before the 800m heats. I dont think running a couple quality 400's almost a week before her 800m heats is a bad idea prior to her 800m defense. Running on relays can help lower the stress level prior to ber 800m and will help Team USA bring a gold back where it belongs in an Event that the USA should always dominate.
I think rather than burnout it might be more that her heart is just not really in it. Some athletes are born to run through a huge amount of natural talent, combined with training. Other athletes who are less talented are born from years of hard training and sheer determination. Athing is a super talent and possibly doesn’t get as much satisfaction from competing and winning because it comes a bit easier for her than for other athletes. It also sounds like she has some other opportunities outside of running coming along such as a modelling career.
Her ego can't cope with the prospect of losing. Her modeling career seems to be built off her athletics fame so it'll probably tank if she quits the sport.
What's the difference between 23/24 or 24/25 consecutive seasons?
Simple. If she runs all out in 2023 and 2024, that's 4 tough championships years in a row. Plus then 2025 will make it 5 in a row.
If she takes it easy in 2023, then it's 2 tough championships seasons, then an easy year as a break, then 2 tough championship seasons, then an easy year in 2026.
Are you serious, how about doing physical labor 5 days a week for 30-40 years. Being a T&F athlete is a cake walk....they need a break??????
Since we're covering pretty much every possible scenario now, how about a new one? Has anyone here known any attractive females who moved to LA and tried to get involved in the whole scene out there? It's cliche but the stories I've heard make it out to be a vapid, hedonistic place where everyone preys on new arrivals.
She strikes me as a very wholesome person and hopefully isn't falling victim to LA nonsense. But--she must be seeing what the B-list models have and what they do with their time and thinks to herself "why am I going to spend the next 2-3 years of my life chasing a doped world record and having no fun, while whenever I do go to parties all people ever ask me is if I know Sha'Carri and if I play basketball?"
Surely Athing Mu can be a very good model! Maybe even a top tier model! Since I listened to that interview where she talked about how interested she was, I've pondered that maybe it isn't just about modeling, maybe it's more about harnessing femininity to gain access to that slice of life synonymous with the Hollywood class. There exists a route that involves no physical pain, but quite a bit of anguish for those who have been following her career for so many years now.
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