did anyone see Rupp absolutely lose it when hassan clipped his heal with 4 to go?

I do not think there is an archived version available anywhere. The tape is locked under heavy guard at NBC's fortress of solitude never to see the light of day again.

light_em_up wrote:

I do not think there is an archived version available anywhere. The tape is locked under heavy guard at NBC's fortress of solitude never to see the light of day again.

That's lame, but I did notice that all of the London 2012 Olympic videos are now up on Youtube. Not sure when that happened, but for a time they were all being taken down due to copyright violations, but now there is an official "Olympics" channel with hi-res videos of all the races, including the full 10k and 5k. Not sure who should get credit--the Olympics or NBC?--but that's pretty cool

way to go big guy wrote:

It was Mead's foot that clipped Rupps leg. However, Mead was in his regular stride and Rupp had cut in too soon. If you watch the replay you will see that Rupp cuts in as Mead is coming forward with his foot. Rupp's leg side swiped Mead's foot.

It was a ridiculous reaction from Rupp. He was the reason he got clipped. He cut in too early and caused the contact and then gets pissed about it. Petty.

This is exactly what I saw.

What I wonder is this:

Say Rupp actually fell from the clipping and as a result, Ben True reacted by making his big move a little bit earlier. Assume Rupp loses what, 4-6 seconds? They'd still have closed at sub 4:00 (most likely 3:58 or lower) meaning Rupp would have to have closed in 3:54 at the SLOWEST to make the team which I doubt he could have done.

They ran 59 and 59 before the bell. Call it 60 and 60 if the move is made a tiny bit earlier Rupp would have to run 58s just to catch up. Would he have been able to make up that ground and still kick in ~55 to make the team? I don't think so. We almost witnessed a huge upset.

What was interesting was that True was trying to break out of the box while Rupp was having his little pantomime in front, then busted out like a bat out of hell shortly thereafter. It was like he was saying with his actions "Get me the hell away from this *(@# nonsense!!"

light_em_up wrote:

It seemed like he kind of overreacted.

Had this been a world record attempt or even an honestly paced race, I might've felt sympathy for him. But given what an appalling sham of a race it was, with a pace so slow my dad's high school varsity could've kept up with them, I think Rupp came off like a whiny little b*tch.

light_em_up wrote:

It seemed like he kind of overreacted.

And to put it into perspective, just look at all the elbows and shoving that was going on in the last lap of the '64 Tokyo 10k. Poor Billy Mills got pushed out to lane three. But you know what? Mills manned up and dealt with it, and look what it got him.

Brianruns10 wrote:

light_em_up wrote:

It seemed like he kind of overreacted.

Had this been a world record attempt or even an honestly paced race, I might've felt sympathy for him. But given what an appalling sham of a race it was, with a pace so slow my dad's high school varsity could've kept up with them, I think Rupp came off like a whiny little b*tch.

while i agree, this was still a u.s. champs race. tensions are high and the slow pace only makes them higher. by itself i dont think it shows character flaws. mostly just a heat of the moment reaction

Are you people kidding me? Have any of you ever been in a high-pressure, championship race???

And then on top of that run most of the race at an anxiously slow pace??

Rupp is a champion and a fighter. And in a high pressure race he's got a hair trigger. He reacted like any other professional athlete would in his situation.

Quit being a bunch of sub-hobby fan-boys. This is professional athletics.

trance dance turn in shawowski wrote:

Are you people kidding me? Have any of you ever been in a high-pressure, championship race???

And then on top of that run most of the race at an anxiously slow pace??

Rupp is a champion and a fighter. And in a high pressure race he's got a hair trigger. He reacted like any other professional athlete would in his situation.

Quit being a bunch of sub-hobby fan-boys. This is professional athletics.

If he was such a pro, why would he allow himself to be taken out of the game mentally, to distract himself by turn behind and giving the stink eye to the fellow behind him, for a good three or four seconds. He was acting like he was in a movie theater chding the patron behind him. He came off as rather a dick, and he looked archly foolish given he was concentrating on running effing 75 second laps in a CHAMPIONSHIP RACE.

You and the rest of your type come off as fcking morons, these athletes go on instinct, and I've seen 100's of athletes react the same way in races where too much contact is going on.

If your pansy sensitivities can't handle it, I suggest you cover your eyes.

A Duck wrote: ...I suggest you cover your eyes.

A Duck, you are the one with your head in the sand. You are not an ostrich, remember that.

Brianruns10 wrote:

If he was such a pro, why would he allow himself to be taken out of the game mentally, to distract himself by turn behind and giving the stink eye to the fellow behind him, for a good three or four seconds. He was acting like he was in a movie theater chding the patron behind him. He came off as rather a dick, and he looked archly foolish given he was concentrating on running effing 75 second laps in a CHAMPIONSHIP RACE.

100% true.

Rupp started out jogging in the back of the field, then advanced the whole way up front. That's a risky affair and he was almost taken down for it.

When he finally went into the lead, you could see he was straining whereas Lagat seemed to have a swell time running behind him. And when Rupp was passed he almost instantly gave up. He even looked twice backwards to check out the other opponents. He was lucky to get the second place.

All in all it was nothing but an arrogant prick who was taught a lesson.

Earlier in the race, Rupp extended his arm to push on a competitor's lower back in order to keep balance.

This was a tight pack at an awkward pace. There may be some incidental contact. I'm going to try not to judge him for a few seconds during an important race, but if he was concerned about staying out of trouble, perhaps sticking with the slow pace wasn't most prudent thing to do.

Actually, Rupp might be lucky that True increased the pace when he did. the longer that slow pace kept on, the bigger risk to the class of the field (rupp and lagat).

I know people have told you this before, but your obsession with Rupp is just...bizarre.

rupp-certified saladbar wrote:

Here's my question: Would Rupp react this way is the same thing happened with Kiprop in the Rio 5000? I doubt he'd have the gonads. This is a man who acts really big around his "lessers."

I would have spiked the st out of that cheating doped chicken chested elf looking punk.

He's a complete TOOL. How about leading a little bit there Galen? You were 7th in the entire WORLD last year, yet you want to dawdle around at 15 minute pace?

Tell me more about how none of you would be pissed if you got clipped, regardless of if it is your fault or not, while trying to double qualify for worlds...

the toolbox wrote:

He's a complete TOOL. How about leading a little bit there Galen? You were 7th in the entire WORLD last year, yet you want to dawdle around at 15 minute pace?

Why does 7th in the world require Rupp to lead in a 9 person race where he was almost assured of qualifying? This is after he ran the 10k. If anything Rupp and Lagat (who seems to get a free pace despite not really pushing the pace either) are the two guys with the least motivation to push the pace.

Regarding the reaction to getting clipped, it was clearly an overreaction, but some of these posts suggesting Rupp owes some kind of public apology are ridiculous. You see similar reactions in Diamond League races from time to time. In the heat of a race, tension is high, and overreactions sometimes happen. While it was an overreaction, in the grand scheme of things it is a non-issue. If NBA, NFL, MLB players were required to make a public apology for any similar incident, we'd need a new ESPN channel to keep up with the press conferences.