People were talking at one point in her career about her running 1:53; we just saw her run 2:03.44. She looks miserable out there, like someone who would rather be anywhere else in the world but on a track. I would bet every dollar I have she never gets near another US team again, unfortunately. She achieved some amazing things in her too-short career, but the problem is, when the fire is gone, it's gone, and there is no hiding it.
And in those interviews she has to overly express how much she loves and trusts Bobby Kersee. It’s like she’s paid each time she mentions his name and how she trusts his process… it’s truly pathetic. Both of them should be downright embarrassed. He’s ruined her career and she willingly allows it to happen.
Mu ruined her own career. There's nothing Kersee, or any other coach, can do to help an athlete that isn't trying anymore.
There's a reason he didn't want Mu training with Syd....BECAUSE MU HAS A SH*TTY ATTITUDE. He didn't want Mu to bring down Syd.
Thing is, she's such a massive talent that she could put the work in and drop 5+ seconds in the next 2.5 months and still come away with a world's podium. And she may ultimately do just that; we will see.
Mu wasn’t even fast enough to pace the 1500 through 800.
Maybe running the 1500 is the ultimate goal in Kersee's process, and this was just another race to get her comfortable running in a pack again/do some pace work.
I think it's crazy people are shocked that Mu didn't run sub 2 in her first 800m since forever, but somehow think it's totally normal for the defending World champion in the 800m to finish just before an out of shape Mu while also not running sub 2 ...
Mu wasn’t even fast enough to pace the 1500 through 800.
Maybe running the 1500 is the ultimate goal in Kersee's process, and this was just another race to get her comfortable running in a pack again/do some pace work.
Comfortable running on a pack? I think you eliminate all the runners from the race and you would see her running the entire race on the outside of lane 2. Even when there was actually nobody within 5 meters of her. She should run 400, that's the only way she runs the same distance as her competitors.
Her last 100m split was 18.5 according to the DL website, which is slower than Chepngetichs marathon WR average pace to put into context just how horrific this was for her.
Her last 100m split was 18.5 according to the DL website, which is slower than Chepngetichs marathon WR average pace to put into context just how horrific this was for her.
In all fairness that is a little faster than I can run 100m.
Of course I was never world class plus I am 71 years old.
Kersee isn't perfect but nobody can make Mu care about the sport anymore. She is doing the bare minimum to keep her contract. She just doesn't want to run anymore.
Training environment makes a huge difference. I don’t think Kersee’s training environment is right for her. He said he has her doing workouts by herself. She would be much better off with training partners and with a coach who specializes in the 800.
Wouldn't be surprised if that's it for her and she just retires.
Are you serious? Do you realize how much money she can make if she's on?
That was horrible. Bobby had better turn it around in the next month or she may be looking for a new coach.
She said she loves running. That's the key.
NO, she NEVER said she loves running. Your reading comprehension of that recent article is very bad. She said that she wanted to rediscover a love for running, NOT that she had ALREADY rediscovered the love for running.
You invented the whole "she said she loves running" in your own mind because you were hoping that it was true. Please learn how to read better.
Mu wasn’t even fast enough to pace the 1500 through 800.
Maybe running the 1500 is the ultimate goal in Kersee's process, and this was just another race to get her comfortable running in a pack again/do some pace work.
Trying to make her into a 1500m is the issue.
She’s a 400/800 runner. This whole “I don’t want to see my athletes compete against each other” anxiety that Kersee has is what’s holding Mu back.
Because btwn the 2 athletes who are strong at similar distances, he’s clearly chosen SML.
rojo wrote: "Are you serious? Do you realize how much money she can make if she's on?"
AMN herself probably realizes this, and since it apparently doesn't motivate her, spreading the gospel here may not add much.
rojo wrote: "Bobby had better turn it around in the next month or she may be looking for a new coach."
Given AMN's statements both today and in the past, she has never had confidence in Bobby Kersee.
rojo wrote: "She said she loves running. That's the key."
What's the key, the fact that she loves running or the fact that she says she does?
AMN referred to USAs as an obstacle in her postrace comments. I'm trying to imagine Yared Neguse or Nikki Hiltz referring to an upcoming national championship with open dread, even accounting for a minutes-old major disappointment. Maybe it's a woman thing? (No, because Shelby Houlihan was looking forward so much to the 2021 Olympic Trials that she entered them despite being banned from the entire sport! Still admiring that chutzpah along with her positive attitude today.)
AMN may just not have the fire or the appetite for the whole scene. That would hardly be a strike against her character, even if, in an ideal world for sports fans, maximal talent would always be coupled to maximal competitive drive.
rojo wrote: "THe thing with the 800 is you normally need A LOT of reps. 1500 fitness and 800 sharpness are not the same."
"Normally"? What about other scenarios that occasionally arise -- say, "unusual" or "abnormal" ones? AMN is clearly not a normal athletic specimen.
Training is a second-tier consideration anyway. What you should be asking is, "Was she happy to run whatever reps she did?" That's the key. Someone should also be reminding her after each lap how rich this could all make her (probably her coach, as money is the only reason he's coaching).
rojo wrote: "I can't believe i picked her to win this on the podcast."
I can't believe anyone besides you is surprised at your choice, assuming anyone actually is. No offense intended, but you may well pick AMN to win the 2025 Pre Classic race on next week's pod, too! But I do wonder if you would have made the same choice had, say, $10,000 been at stake and some level of common logic would have stubbornly made its way into your analysis.