In the recap of BU Valentine day 1, Jonathan Gault wrote, "Between his dramatic finishes and viral post-race interviews, Langon is quickly becoming the most exciting runner in the NCAA."
Do you agree?
I’d never heard of him. I found him utterly obnoxious like a twitch streamer that assaults people and calls it a prank after. Between him and Seth cheatinger I’ve lost all interest in NCAA track for the foreseeable future.
The comparison to Prefontaine is completely flawed. Marco has no titles yet, of course he is running way faster it's 50 years later..FIFTY. Prefontaine was an all time winner who generally backed any hype talk , and certainly NEVER even like one of these interviews, let alone, 3 really bad look ones. He IS really really gifted, no doubt.
Marco finished third place in the 5000 last year. Only two men who beat him were Brian Musau and Habtom Samuel. Did Prefontaine ever go against runners like them in the NCAA?
I said.. he has NEVER won a title, don't nuance it.. you either have or have not. No one is saying it's not harder today, but I think if you looked back , as far as Prefonataine , he might have lost 1 or 2 XC races ever, and won Three Titles in a row, by this time in same career length, he probably had 6 National titles
what are the chances he ever makes a US outdoor National team?
Its tough out there now..5K has never been better or deeper...other events now as well. You could run really really fast as PRs and not make any teams.
Its tough out there now..5K has never been better or deeper...other events now as well. You could run really really fast as PRs and not make any teams.
Not easy making any of these teams. At 5K slots probably behind:
Grant, Nico, Hocker significantly. Then I’d say Wolfe has reestablished himself a cut above.
A large group of Blanks (have to account for his lack of kick/10K fatigue), Hansen, Marco, Teare, Hunter. Kitchen looks set to join them, and it would be unsurprising if Strand/Nuguse are doubling by then.
BU drama was dumb. I just want him to be a little more levelheaded. Making US teams are basically gonna be a dice roll. Should he be looking at the 3k steeple? How hard is it to get Italian citizenship, maybe the Diadora CEO could hook him up.
what are the chances he ever makes a US outdoor National team?
Its tough out there now..5K has never been better or deeper...other events now as well. You could run really really fast as PRs and not make any teams.
Well, to make my Point, Graham Blanks won 2 NCAA XC titles, not one, two. Q'ed for an Olympics, and then later has run 12:48. Fisher and Nico are better than him..I would say as I think he can run under 13 flat ability wise now at 21, he has U.S. next level ability 3:33.x 7:30's twice..13:05 in December. Can he beat Parker Wolfe, who I think is one of the toughest guys getting the most out of his ability I have seen in a while? Not sure. But Wolfe was third at Trials and could not go. And has run 7:30, and races tough almost every time. 7th at NC's cross and is still "only 22 and 7 months. I would have liked or would like to see Marco come back from Cross, but I get it if he takes a pass. I would say based on nothing more than a guess and that his window will go past a few really great guys, that I would venture,, no sustained injuries..65/35 he makes a team. Think about 5K , Nuguase moves up..Hocker is already a factor...Lot of guys. All this recent stuff aside, he is tough , for sure and is supremely gifted 3:33.x at 20 for 5 and 10K runners does not hang on trees.
The comparison to Prefontaine is completely flawed. Marco has no titles yet, of course he is running way faster it's 50 years later..FIFTY. Prefontaine was an all time winner who generally backed any hype talk , and certainly NEVER even like one of these interviews, let alone, 3 really bad look ones. He IS really really gifted, no doubt.
Marco finished third place in the 5000 last year. Only two men who beat him were Brian Musau and Habtom Samuel. Did Prefontaine ever go against runners like them in the NCAA?
This is just stupid. Pre was 4th in the OLYMPICS while still in college. Pre was infinitely better on a WORLD level than Langon ever will be. Pre should have easily been 2nd or 3rd in those Olympics, but he risked everything for the gold and it didn't work out.
Pre was never allowed to make any money as an athlete because of Amateur rules. Langon is making a ton of money and has so many advantages over Pre.
Tens of thousands of people would go to see Pre run in person. Nobody give a S**T about Langon.
He would be more exciting if he just raced without roller derby antics. The talent is there so less drama would put the focus on his actual ability. I enjoy watching him race and hope he puts together more clean races that show what he can do.
Marco finished third place in the 5000 last year. Only two men who beat him were Brian Musau and Habtom Samuel. Did Prefontaine ever go against runners like them in the NCAA?
This is just stupid. Pre was 4th in the OLYMPICS while still in college. Pre was infinitely better on a WORLD level than Langon ever will be. Pre should have easily been 2nd or 3rd in those Olympics, but he risked everything for the gold and it didn't work out.
Pre was never allowed to make any money as an athlete because of Amateur rules. Langon is making a ton of money and has so many advantages over Pre.
Tens of thousands of people would go to see Pre run in person. Nobody give a S**T about Langon.
Well,, you are wrong about a lot of this. First of all, American fields in every event are WAAAY deeper than when Prefontaine ran and I was in that era and a HUGE fan at 16 already. Prefontaine was way better than his competitors in cross after Lindgren left and on the track at 5/3miles and 10K/6 miles run a lot then, and was only 3.5 secs off the World record at a mile, way under his most effective distances. There was barely an African presence in 1972, the first four finishers were all white, so the depth is no where near where it is today.
I adore this Diadora this video of Marco Langon being mentored by 1988 Olympic Marathon Champion Gelindo Bordin. Marco is so respectful of Gelindo. He soaks up everything Gelindo says like a sponge.
Marco is passionate about the sport. He studies the sport's history. He desires to win and learn from the sport's winners.
In the recap of BU Valentine day 1, Jonathan Gault wrote, "Between his dramatic finishes and viral post-race interviews, Langon is quickly becoming the most exciting runner in the NCAA."
Do you agree?
Absolutely not. This young man is an embarrassment to our sport, for all the reasons which have already been stated. JG does not believe his own take. He just wrote that piece to provoke controversy because as a journalist he knows that is what promotes interest and sells. I am disappointed that Letsrun sometimes eschews valuing ethical behavior in favor of selling controversy like in this case of Langon. What is particularly alarming is that Langon appears to have some issues and probably needs some kind of positive intervention from the Villanova coach and mental health professionals. So shame on Gault for this case. He’s fine most of the time and is a great writer with a considerable amount of running knowledge and literary depth. I just disagree on his tactics to create story interest sometimes. Langon, is clearly a great talent who works hard and wants to win. I want him to succeed, but I also wish he would tone the anger down and get some help. I as a long time fan don’t want to see our sport turn into a circus.
This is just stupid. Pre was 4th in the OLYMPICS while still in college. Pre was infinitely better on a WORLD level than Langon ever will be. Pre should have easily been 2nd or 3rd in those Olympics, but he risked everything for the gold and it didn't work out.
Pre was never allowed to make any money as an athlete because of Amateur rules. Langon is making a ton of money and has so many advantages over Pre.
Tens of thousands of people would go to see Pre run in person. Nobody give a S**T about Langon.
Well,, you are wrong about a lot of this. First of all, American fields in every event are WAAAY deeper than when Prefontaine ran and I was in that era and a HUGE fan at 16 already. Prefontaine was way better than his competitors in cross after Lindgren left and on the track at 5/3miles and 10K/6 miles run a lot then, and was only 3.5 secs off the World record at a mile, way under his most effective distances. There was barely an African presence in 1972, the first four finishers were all white, so the depth is no where near where it is today.
Pre was better than everyone except 3 people in the entire world when in college. Of course he was much better than NCAA competition. Marco is nowhere near 4th in the world right now.
It's the dumbest comparison in the world to compare Marco to Pre. Marco in his whole career will NEVER reach the heights that Pre did while in college.
You can actually argue the sport of track and field was much more popular during Pre's era and more of the world's top athletes competed in it. Now everyone is doing football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, etc.
Pre didn't have super shoes or bicarb. He didn't have a pro contract. He ran in shoes that his coach made using a waffle iron. They ran on cinder tracks. No access to advanced sciences or training information. Pre would have run 12:45 in college today.
Absolutely not. This young man is an embarrassment to our sport, for all the reasons which have already been stated. JG does not believe his own take. He just wrote that piece to provoke controversy because as a journalist he knows that is what promotes interest and sells. I am disappointed that Letsrun sometimes eschews valuing ethical behavior in favor of selling controversy like in this case of Langon. What is particularly alarming is that Langon appears to have some issues and probably needs some kind of positive intervention from the Villanova coach and mental health professionals. So shame on Gault for this case. He’s fine most of the time and is a great writer with a considerable amount of running knowledge and literary depth. I just disagree on his tactics to create story interest sometimes. Langon, is clearly a great talent who works hard and wants to win. I want him to succeed, but I also wish he would tone the anger down and get some help. I as a long time fan don’t want to see our sport turn into a circus.
How dare you call Jonathan Gault a liar. This is what's wrong with society today. Someone looks at things a different way than you do, and people respond by attacking his character. Shame on YOU, Goethe.
Pre was better than everyone except 3 people in the entire world when in college. Of course he was much better than NCAA competition. Marco is nowhere near 4th in the world right now.
It's the dumbest comparison in the world to compare Marco to Pre. Marco in his whole career will NEVER reach the heights that Pre did while in college.
You can actually argue the sport of track and field was much more popular during Pre's era and more of the world's top athletes competed in it. Now everyone is doing football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, etc.
Pre didn't have super shoes or bicarb. He didn't have a pro contract. He ran in shoes that his coach made using a waffle iron. They ran on cinder tracks. No access to advanced sciences or training information. Pre would have run 12:45 in college today.
Man, what are you smoking? You think there's a whole bunch of 6 foot 7 inch basketball players who would be winning Diamond League 5000 meter races if they had done track instead? You think Josh Allen would have been on Cole Hocker's shoulder yesterday if he wasn't a quarterback? You crazy. Distance running is more competitive now than it's ever been.