The narratives confuse me. Everyone seems to be on the same page that Athing Mu has lost motivation with the sport and is no longer that interested, but the same people are also postulating that she has started doping and that this article is to cover up a silent ban for missing tests or testing positive.
My question is, why would someone who won the World Championships and Olympics as a teenager and broke the American record after a full collegiate season with 1:55:04, who is *losing interest in the sport* and considering taking up modeling, suddenly start doping when she hasn't even done anything spectacular in her event this year and has been focusing on living her life? I find it quite plausible that she simply wants to take a break, however it is frustrating trying to read into these situations when Bobby won't let the athlete be transparent.
Your mistake is to be thinking that it's the same people. Some people think she's doping, other people think she has lost motivation.
I believe deep down she thinks she's too pretty / glamorous to be working this hard for the money she gets. That leads her to an ilusion that modelling career is much easier. She is yet to find out how soul-sucking working with pervs, predators and self-important wanna-bes is.
Although I don't agree with the Kersee method of barely racing, I can at least acknowledge it there's some reasoning behind it, and as long as the athletes show up when it counts and knock it out of the park, hey I can't argue too much against it.
But now they're thinking of not even showing up to Worlds?
I'm going to be honest with how I feel here: if Mu doesn't show up to worlds, she is starting to throw away her potential legacy. Everyone knows she's the heavy favorite this year, including her. It would take a lot for her to not win, and even more so not to medal. Even if she did end up with bronze or silver, it still would add to her legacy, not detract from it. But not showing up for apparently no reason at all is suspect, borderline-disrespectful, and in my mind takes away from the already amazing legacy she's built. You're a professional athlete. You're in amazing shape. You have no reason to miss this meet, yet you feel the need to.
I have spoken before how I feel about her attitude toward modeling vs. running. I don't want her to feel restricted from modeling because of running, but only being "halfway" dedicated to running rubs me the wrong way, especially such a megatalent as Mu. If she loves modelling so much, just go ahead and do that! Better to be 100% into what you love (modelling) than doing something you hate (running) and not even caring to show up to the biggest event of the year.
Or, if it's some mental health thing, just say it! No weakness is admitting something like that, and at least we know what's going on. But I still think it's worth a shot to compete this year.
I've said before I wish she would lose so maybe she could get some fire back in her for 2024. But not showing up completely circumvents that. If she doesn't show up, I'm "forgetting" about Mu, because that's how she's treating the sport. Keely is my new superstar of the 800
The narratives confuse me. Everyone seems to be on the same page that Athing Mu has lost motivation with the sport and is no longer that interested, but the same people are also postulating that she has started doping and that this article is to cover up a silent ban for missing tests or testing positive.
My question is, why would someone who won the World Championships and Olympics as a teenager and broke the American record after a full collegiate season with 1:55:04, who is *losing interest in the sport* and considering taking up modeling, suddenly start doping when she hasn't even done anything spectacular in her event this year and has been focusing on living her life? I find it quite plausible that she simply wants to take a break, however it is frustrating trying to read into these situations when Bobby won't let the athlete be transparent.
Huh? Who said that teenagers are clean? See Marion Jones for a famous example.
You are dead wrong. As a fan I have every right to be mad. I am a dad to a 15 year old girl who happens to run the 800m. She looks up to Athing. I thought she couldn't have picked A better athlete to admire. She has been looking forward to seeing her run in Hungary. We have both wondered why she has run so little this season but in my daughter's words "she'll be ready, she always is." There are so few T&F fans left. I wonder why.
Thank God for athletes like Ryan Crouser and Femke Bol
3 missed tests. 12 months out of the sport. Deal made to keep it quiet.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good juicy story like this, but I feel it's probably not the case unless you have evidence to corroborate it.
On USADA's athlete test portal, you can search for Mu's USADA test history. To my understanding (and someone can correct me if wrong), this includes some samples that were collected by other authorities, but not all of them?
Either way, in 2022 Mu was tested 10 times. So far this year, they've collected 5 samples from Mu. That would indicate they are about on track for last year's sample collection. It would seem to me, at least within this year, she hasn't missed a significant number of tests.
But, if you have evidence to prove your story, let's see it!
But apparently in the 800, she will only run when Bobby and her think she absolutely has to OR she has a near-zero chance of losing.
I think we all would have viewed Worlds as one of those "have to" moments, but apparently not, in which case it only leaves the latter.
“Has/have to” is an interesting choice of words. I wonder if Mu is perceiving the sport in this way, ie, she has to train, she has to give media interviews, she has to face the pressure. If she’s thinking this way, reframing “I have to” to “I get to” might foster some gratitude and a different way of looking at things. She could focus on reminders such as:
I get to run for a living (something many people would love to do) instead of being stuck at some 9-5 office job.
I get to represent my country and compete for world and Olympic championships.
I get to race against top notch athletes like Keely Hodgkinson and Mary Moraa who can push me to run my best because iron sharpens iron.
I get to travel the world and run in beautiful cities in front of enthusiastic fans.
I get to be a role model (even better than a fashion model!) for little kids around the world.
Some reframing along with seeing a sports psychologist as others have suggested could really help her.
The narratives confuse me. Everyone seems to be on the same page that Athing Mu has lost motivation with the sport and is no longer that interested, but the same people are also postulating that she has started doping and that this article is to cover up a silent ban for missing tests or testing positive.
My question is, why would someone who won the World Championships and Olympics as a teenager and broke the American record after a full collegiate season with 1:55:04, who is *losing interest in the sport* and considering taking up modeling, suddenly start doping when she hasn't even done anything spectacular in her event this year and has been focusing on living her life? I find it quite plausible that she simply wants to take a break, however it is frustrating trying to read into these situations when Bobby won't let the athlete be transparent.
Your mistake is to be thinking that it's the same people. Some people think she's doping, other people think she has lost motivation.
I believe deep down she thinks she's too pretty / glamorous to be working this hard for the money she gets. That leads her to an ilusion that modelling career is much easier. She is yet to find out how soul-sucking working with pervs, predators and self-important wanna-bes is.
That is very true about modelling. Modelling basically involves being sent to numerous castings by your agency each week, being rejected multiple times because you don't have the precise "look" they want, and then suddenly being required to fly several hours or more to a destination to either a shoot or a fashion show or event, where you may or may not be rejected again. If you do get to eventually model once there, you will sit waiting for hair and make up, possibly being shouted at in a foreign language for not being ready, then squeezed in and out of clothes which are one size only and worst of all, expected to walk in shoes that are also in one size only, which likely are either too big or too small for you. Then theres the invites to attend pervy parties or go on yachts to make small talk with pervy obese men, which your agency will put pressure on you to attend.
There are ALWAYS younger teenage models coming through from third world and eastern European countries who are prepared to do all the legwork necessary to get selected, and any slight bulges for example if you have eaten a normal size dinner, will be heavily criticised and lead to you being rejected and given a warning by your agency.
Thats how I can tell Mu doesn't have a modelling contract or has even seriously looked into getting one, but simply likes the idea of modelling non-professionally, ie doing magazine shoots based on her fame as an athlete.
NOBODY is making comments on a message board about your job performance because nobody gives a rat’s azz about how you do so STFU keyboard warrior.
Well, when us "keyboard warriors" get sponsored by Nike and have arenas filled with people who paid good money to see us, then feel free to dissect us publicly. Or do so now, as it's an anonymous website, not a mental health clinic.
You are dead wrong. As a fan I have every right to be mad. I am a dad to a 15 year old girl who happens to run the 800m. She looks up to Athing. I thought she couldn't have picked A better athlete to admire. She has been looking forward to seeing her run in Hungary. We have both wondered why she has run so little this season but in my daughter's words "she'll be ready, she always is." There are so few T&F fans left. I wonder why.
Thank God for athletes like Ryan Crouser and Femke Bol
I agree 100%, Crouser and Bol, are so much fun to root for (both humble and classy people). Mu is so much fun to root for as well, but now with this weird period many of her fans are moving on to root for other runners. After all it is hard to root for someone if they are not in the race......
I wonder what gives her an impression that she's going to make it on the runway?
From what I've seen of her, while she indeed does have long legs, she also moves pretty stiff and somewhat akward in front of camera. Just like athletes normally do.
Another good point. Successful models tend to have long upper bodies, rather than long legs, as clothes look better on elongated torsos. Mu has a relatively short sized upper body in relation to her legs (normal for athletes) and would indeed have to work on her posture. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I don't think she's a typical catwalk model so her place would likely be magazine photo shoots (there aren't that many of them) or influencer style work based on product placement.
I like my angle. Assuming she signed a contract through the end of this year and not through the end of the Olympic year. She probably spoke to syd to find out that syd probably makes $500k salary and now Athing Mu with the guidance of her coach are plotting to help her get paid even more. I could be completely wrong but it's fun to speculate. If she's tired of the pressure I get it and power to her but I'll be team Jemma Reekie going into the championships then lol 😆
Maybe she's just negotiating a higher base salary?
The timing for such a move seems right. Nike wants to be the global shoe brand number one, but outside of the US the average viewer probably can't name any runner associated with them except for Kipchoge, Rupp and Mu - and two of those are about to be tripped soon by father time.
Huh? Nike has been the global athletics and shoe brand for long time. They don't need Mu when they have Jordan, Renaldo, LeBron, Tiger, etc. T&F needs Nike a lot more than Nike needs T&F. That's why they don't have to pay track athletes much.
Key words = "has been".
Young people outside the US (and probably most of the TikTok generation inside the US too) don't know who those people are. Athletics and shoe brands are only as good as their latest success. Other shoe brands has caught up (and possibly surpassed) with Nike on the carbon plate front. But the big money is in fashion. That her team is playing up the fashion angel to max makes me more convinced that they're baiting Nike for more money.
And that doesn't have to be a bad thing for other athletes in the longer run (pun intended).
I haven't read through hte whole thread, so if this is repeating someone, sorry.
She can obviously do what she wants to do. But if she's getting any funding from the USATF or USOC and she doesn't represent the USA in a world event, when healthy, that funding should stop.
I wonder what gives her an impression that she's going to make it on the runway?
From what I've seen of her, while she indeed does have long legs, she also moves pretty stiff and somewhat akward in front of camera. Just like athletes normally do.
Another good point. Successful models tend to have long upper bodies, rather than long legs, as clothes look better on elongated torsos. Mu has a relatively short sized upper body in relation to her legs (normal for athletes) and would indeed have to work on her posture. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I don't think she's a typical catwalk model so her place would likely be magazine photo shoots (there aren't that many of them) or influencer style work based on product placement.
Give me a break with this delusional modeling career. She's not a model for any agency and doesn't pose for or walk any runways professionally. Its some kind of weird hobby she gets to participate in once in a while because of her name. She is not professional model material. This will never take off anywhere and time is ticking by. Runway modeling age is 16-21.
I like my angle. Assuming she signed a contract through the end of this year and not through the end of the Olympic year. She probably spoke to syd to find out that syd probably makes $500k salary and now Athing Mu with the guidance of her coach are plotting to help her get paid even more. I could be completely wrong but it's fun to speculate. If she's tired of the pressure I get it and power to her but I'll be team Jemma Reekie going into the championships then lol 😆
Incorrect.. with that coach, it has everything to do with avoiding drug tests. How else do you think the miracles times keep happening? Even the athletes call him a magician... come on sheeple.