I know its easier said than done, but had I been in her situation and money was on the line, I would've DNSed, let Jess McClain run and then gone to my agent and negotiated appearance fees into New York marathon or Boston. Would’ve been enough time to heal, address some issues privately, train and possibly secure a bigger pay day than starting an Olympic marathon.
I know its easier said than done, but had I been in her situation and money was on the line, I would've DNSed, let Jess McClain run and then gone to my agent and negotiated appearance fees into New York marathon or Boston. Would’ve been enough time to heal, address some issues privately, train and possibly secure a bigger pay day than starting an Olympic marathon.
Noble idea, though stress fractures generally don't heal in a couple months, plus she'd have to get back into shape let alone be in top shape for those races, which in a best case scenario would have been highly unlikely.
She's probably still not 100% right now, which would even make a peak performance at Boston kind of hard to do if everything went absolutely right from today until then. NY was probably not feasible.
I’m glad to see she’s addressing this injury and the underlying factors that likely contributed to it. A stress fracture in the femur is never a good sign when it comes to bone health, and to compete at a high level without further injuries will require extreme diligence with fueling and strength training. I hope she makes a strong recovery and continues to compete professionally if that’s something she wants to do, but at the end of the day we’re nothing without our health. I truly wish all of the best to O’Keeffe.
So typical of Des. Passive aggressive and never a “I was wrong”
Immense respect for Des (and really nice performance in NYC earlier this month at this point in her career) but "nice" is not an adjective I'd use to describe her.
As soon as she pulled out of the NY Mini my feeling was she wasn’t going to make it to the Olympics. I know she says that was her calf but I’m still suspicious.
I hope Puma is paying for a nutritionist for all their US distance runners….
I wish there was a way to prioritize athletes’ health in contracts AND reward performance. These young athletes trust their coaches and managers to guide them and as an outsider it looks like they didn’t use enough caution. Good coaches know to shut things down and not let a little nagging injury turn into a full blown catastrophic one. No race is worth irreparable damage. I know many folks will say this isn’t how it works and you train on the edge but why become another disposable runner as part of the carnage. The longevity of recent female runners suggest, perhaps, there is another, better way.
the pathetic thing here though - and i realize maybe fiona couldn't say it publicly- is the fact she made that sappy heroic woe is me post about dropping out or paris several months ago. now if you guys are saying she probably had to start the race to get $$$, ok i get that. we all like $$$. im curious, how much do you think she made from making sure she started the race? are we talking like $5k or like $40k. I have no grasp of runner contracts and how appearances and other fees work like that. if it's something measly like $5k, then I stand by her still being a douchebag by not doing the right thing and stepping down to let a capable athlete run in an important race representing the country. if its $40k, ok sure that changes things a bit.
but regardless, the fact fiona tried to BS this and say she thought there was a chance she could finish the race is laughable and unforgivable. her post is a blatant lie and im truly baffled at why she still has so many people supporting her. she wasn't in condition to race at the olympics and she knew it ahead of time. how can you not consciously do the right thing and let the 4th place alternate who is healthy and ready to go take your spot to represent the US as best as possible. what she did was selfish and lame. i will not be rooting for fiona anymore going forward at all. i'd respect her a bit more if she just addressed the Paris matter truthfully, but at this point she definitely won't.
Is that REALLY a post from Des Linden? I already slightly disliked her (too attention-seeking and declarative for my taste), but if she went with a “bruh” in a tweet that’s a whole step up in douchiness.
Femoral stress fractures are not a death sentence. I had one and was on crutches for 3 weeks, then ran Oly Trials marathon 3 weeks after that, did a couple minutes slower than my qualifying time. Never had another stress fracture before or in the decades since, despite being a very slight female (bmi 17ish). It wasn't a fluke I had one (had to do with new shoes and too much cement for this pounding runner) but also not a sign I was done or in terrible health.
All this thinking one can know everything from the outside and that the ladies are always doing something wrong got old a long long time ago.
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