Whats wrong with being cocky in athletics?
Unless he is the same way around his family and friends outside the track, more power to him.
Whats wrong with being cocky in athletics?
Unless he is the same way around his family and friends outside the track, more power to him.
excuse me nathan, but despite your achievements as a seven-time ODAC champion and despite being your co-captain, i must defect from your point of view. while those greats are all humble, i find mottram's assuredness refreshing.
to the guy who said that he's cutting down willis, where does this appear in the article? here's what mottram says:
“He’s a super-fit and talented runner, he’s very good. He’s one of the top guys in the world and we always knew it was going to be hard.”
by saying that he'll have his way with him, mottram is just expressing a confidence in his own abilities, not cutting down willis in any way. what's wrong with saying "willis is a great runner and it will be hard, but i'll be the winner?" the great thing is, he lives up to what he says he will do. in the wc's this summer, he said he would medal and he did. i love this guy.
when he said "But look at the positive side – it was good for New Zealand running"... that cracked me up. he knows he's the man in oceania, and that's awesome.
by the way, his ego is not too big for his talent level. look at what the guy has done... the fastest drug-free white man ever over 5,000 meters (excluding baumann), and the first drug-free white guy to medal in the 5k in decades. can he really be too confident?
a miler wrote:
Different personalities to be sure.
I would also speculate that distance running in Western countries needs someone of Mottram's personality much more so than one of Geb et al. There is an overwhelming belief in North America and Europe that somehow that Africans are superior, and will forever be so, regardless of what we do. Having someone like Mottram, who is very vocal about his self-confidence and how he can beat the Africans sets a good example for younger runners who might consequently be less afraid to challenge the Africans in international races. Being humble and gracious is nice, but it doesn't always inspire confidence.
THAT'S WHAT I SAID.
ok, you said it better.
obviously, i meant to say the fastest drug-free white man under 13:00 excluding baumann
I know I will probably get ripped for saying this.... but the ego(and the quotes)of Mr. Mottram pales in comparison to the late Steve Prefontaine. People today are so afraid of putting up bulletin board material for their opponents because they dont want to give the opponent extra motivation. Willis may believe that he is going to whip Mottram every time they race but he doesnt say that because he doesnt need that extra focus or motivation. Mottram is getting himself worked up and that must be how he gets focused.
Its interesting that people want to have "running in the mainstream" but when some guy is confident in his abilities (and 99% of the time has backed them up) people are quick to condemn him.
By "sucking on Mattran's draft" Willis ran 6 to 16 seconds faster than he would have if Mottran had used Willis' tatic... THAT is why Mottram said he'll kick Willis' you know what next time... Yes Craig could have used that tatic, but he wanted to get in a fast/hard mile... and he got it. Craig is very fit and as long as he stays healthy, he will beat Willis by 5+ seconds next time... As he will not set the pace (i.e. break the wind).
By "sucking on Mattran's draft" Willis ran 6 to 16 seconds faster than he would have if Mottran had used Willis' tatic... THAT is why Mottram said he'll kick Willis' you know what next time... Yes Craig could have used that tatic, but he wanted to get in a fast/hard mile... and he got it. Craig is very fit and as long as he stays healthy, he will beat Willis by 5+ seconds next time... As he will not set the pace (i.e. break the wind).
Journalists love Mottram, he always gives good quote.
He is also preparing for more important competition right now, the Commonwealth Games, in Melbourne Australia, where he takes on the Mighty Kenyans.
12:55(with a 26sec last 200m),3:48 mile, 3rd at World Champs, top-5 at World XCs...when this guy talks like he's one of the best, it's based on facts.
Ritzenhein seems to rank himself even higher in interviews but doesn't even play in the same league as Mottram, how do you call that?
12:55(with a 26sec last 200m),3:48 mile, 3rd at World Champs, top-5 at World XCs...when this guy talks like he's one of the best, it's based on facts.
Ritzenhein seems to rank himself even higher in interviews but doesn't even play in the same league as Mottram, how do you call that?
Mottram is NOT going to beat Willis by 5 seconds (~40 yards) at the Commonwealth games. That's just silly.
It aint bragging if you can do it.
Spokane Inane wrote:
By "sucking on Mattran's draft" Willis ran 6 to 16 seconds faster than he would have if Mottran had used Willis' tatic...
"6 to 16 seconds faster..."
Talk about pulling #'s out of your ass, not to mention, talking out of your ass. If you really believe that, than you are a complete moron.
"I will take him down next time." Um, that's pretty cocky. That's like saying: he got lucky today, next time, he won't get so lucky.
Take your beating like a man Mottram. I didn't hear Sihine and the other Africans saying they will "take you down" next time, even though smart $ says they will.
You all know that UHMMMM........ is a troll, right?
DR J: 6 to 16 seconds is not "Talk about pulling #'s out of your ass"... Ever hear of The Lore Of Running? On page 59 Noakes documents 2 scientific studies on "running drafting". Have you ever drafted of had someone draft on you through a race? If you don't believe the #'s, then you my friend are NO RUNNER...
Hey, Vipam, how could you omit Hicham El Guerrouj? He has been able to accomplish was Geb, Tergat and Bekele could not: a successful double GOLD at the Olympics!
Mottram is the Larry Bird of distance running. If he was Kenyan, he'd be just another good African runner.
reading the article I bet Mottram was joking around. I mean Willis called into the Jim Rome show once, he was making faces another time at the camera before a race...I bet he and Mottram joke around.
I bet Willis laughed when he read it.
Dr Dumb wrote:
DR J: 6 to 16 seconds is not "Talk about pulling #'s out of your ass"... Ever hear of The Lore Of Running? On page 59 Noakes documents 2 scientific studies on "running drafting". Have you ever drafted of had someone draft on you through a race? If you don't believe the #'s, then you my friend are NO RUNNER...
I've read the book, it doesn't say that one can run 16 seconds faster in a mile by drafting. 16 seconds is not even in the ballpark, it's not even 10 seconds.
One of the problems of this sport, alas, is that almost none of the top competitors can speak extemporaneously at length in English. Mottram can. That enhances his value.