We may be sending poor time-trialists, but we are sending our best competitors.
I'd rather send competitors than time trial runners.
We may be sending poor time-trialists, but we are sending our best competitors.
I'd rather send competitors than time trial runners.
Primo Numero Uno wrote:
[quote]coach deez nuts wrote:
The mens team is disappointing as many of the guys just aren't in form right now and missed the team due to that, although Mead did run13 low at Pre this year.
Not disagreeing, but a question -- why the heck are our guys not in form right now? How can it be that so many of them either mistimed their peaks or came down with injuries? It boggles my mind. The Olympics come around once every four years -- I was wondering earlier this summer why our guys weren't mixing it up in the Diamond League races. I still think they should have been.
Since the 5,000m and 10,000m became Olympic events in 1912, the US has won a total of five medals in the two events. If the current team fails to win any medals, it will make them just like almost every other team we've ever sent. Not sure how this would make the current team "one of the worst ever."
Fjords and sandstorms wrote:
MarEn wrote:Exactly. Besides Kennedy & Kempainen the 90s distance squads were horribly soft and not world class. The marathon teams were awful, too. The results show it. Keep in mind we're returning the silver medalist this time around. That alone makes this year's team stronger than many of the past teams.
Todd Williams had some solid results. Plaatjes and Spence won WC medals. The women (Lynn Jennings, Patti Sue Plummer, Suzy F Hamilton) were all world class. The latter being erratic.
Todw Williams was a 13:20/27:31 runner. He wasn't going to be competive with any of horde of sub 27:10 guys out there.
Spence, Eyestone, and several others guys were good runners. But 27:40+ 10k guys, 2:11 marathoners but realistically they were never going to win anything on the track. Or a major marathon (i.e. people skipped WC all the time. They showed up for olympics, boston, nYC, London,...).
The woman were a bit better on the track but a lot was crappy competition. There were minimal kenyan/ethopians and you only had to beat doped up russians/romanians:)
Fjords and sandstorms wrote:Todd Williams had some solid results. Plaatjes and Spence won WC medals. The women (Lynn Jennings, Patti Sue Plummer, Suzy F Hamilton) were all world class. The latter being erratic.
+1. 1992 was a solid year for the women's distance team. Jennings got a bronze and Plumer should have had a bronze (1st and 2nd were eastern European/former Soviet athletes, both of whom were actually caught doping in 1993).
MarEn wrote:
v6 wrote:Definitely not our worst teams ever. You must not remember how shitty our distance running was (except for Bob Kennedy, in the 90s and 2000s.
Exactly. Besides Kennedy & Kempainen the 90s distance squads were horribly soft and not world class. The marathon teams were awful, too. The results show it. Keep in mind we're returning the silver medalist this time around. That alone makes this year's team stronger than many of the past teams.
Though I dislike the "all African runners are dopers" threads and posts, I have to admit: I remember thinking when I read that Bob Kempainen was a Dartmouth grad and medical school student, Well, no Olympic medal for him -- he has a successful professional career ahead, he isn't going to fool with EPO or blood doping.
coach deez nuts wrote:
Past performances do not count, only recent fitness. These teams are god awful, it would not surprise me if we don't get anyone into the 5000m final and no one finishes better than 10th in the 10000m. If not for Rupp the marathon team would also be one of the worst ever.
I don't know how you can say that; this is actually one of our best teams.
v6 wrote:
Lagat can still close in 52 apparently, so he's a medal threat if they let the 5,000 go out slow (> 13:15 pace).
No matter how slow it goes out, just being able to close in 52 won't be enough. Someone is going to push the pace earlier than that. Rupp pulled away from Lagat with 4 laps to go running 61.64, 62.89. In Rio, if Lagat can't go with that pace, he's finished. And if he does go with it, he won't close in 52.
Okay, it was only 12 years ago but 2004 ! We were terrible. I sat watching the 5k final in Sac town and only one guy in the race had the A standard. Riley chased it down eventually but that team had Webb and not much else. A lot of guys who could maybe sneak in to the final if they were lucky or not get lapped in the 10k.Pretty sure Bekele lapped them all....
No.
v6 wrote:
Lagat can still close in 52 apparently, so he's a medal threat if they let the 5,000 go out slow (> 13:15 pace).
Rupp is a medal threat in the 10,000.
Definitely not our worst teams ever. You must not remember how shitty our distance running was (except for Bob Kennedy, in the 90s and 2000s.
To add, not taking away from Kipchirchir, Korir, Chelimo or Mead but in all honesty, if Lagat and Rupp were to medal in the 5 and 10, Kenya and Ethiopia will probably get the other two medals in each event. So I guess from a statistical standpoint, the 2nd and 3rd finishers from the US Trials (and anyone besides the top pick from any other country) probably won't medal.
YET...thats why they run the race, nothings guaranteed and anyone can surprise. I think thats pretty clear to anyone who watched the US Trials.
I assume you have never followed any Olympics prior to 2012 if you think this is the worst.