Schumacher produces quasi-miraculous results because he gives his athletes extremely high volume workouts in a high quality training group, much more than any other American training group at least, not because anyone other than maybe Houlihan is on the stuff.
Btw, you really think Shelby's friends/training partners Cranny and Schweitzer were/are clean? Could have sworn that was Karissa running in the 14:20s at that infamous time trial. Clean? Schumacher's brilliant methods? These are the keystone cops of the doping world. I mean, duh. And none of the above three were even on that likely doping hacked list.
Dick Quax was a fine runner. Born in 1948 and died in 2018, he was able to run a full career. Steve Prefontaine, born in 1951, died in 1975. Pre ran 3:38 at 22, 1500m, 3:54.6 mile, also at 22 in 1973, his last mile, 2k in 5:01.4 in 1975 at 24, 7:44 3k at 21 and 7:42.6 at 23, 8:18.29 2 mile at 23, 13:21 5000m at 23 and 2 seconds slower at 24 in May 1975, shortly before his death, along with 27:43 and 28:09 in 1974-75. Quax was 2 seconds faster at 1500m (3:36), 2 seconds slower at the mile, 9 seconds slower at 2000m (5:10), 3 seconds slower at 3000m (7:45), a second faster at 2M (8:17), 9 seconds faster at 5000m and 1 second faster at 10000m.
But of course Quax didn't get himself killed in a car crash at 24, and so had the extra track years to get the faster times at 1500, 2M, 5000m, and 10000m. He ran multiple pr's at 28 and 29, whereas Pre's career ended at 24, two days after that 13:23.
Dick Quax was a fine runner. Born in 1948 and died in 2018, he was able to run a full career. Steve Prefontaine, born in 1951, died in 1975. Pre ran 3:38 at 22, 1500m, 3:54.6 mile, also at 22 in 1973, his last mile, 2k in 5:01.4 in 1975 at 24, 7:44 3k at 21 and 7:42.6 at 23, 8:18.29 2 mile at 23, 13:21 5000m at 23 and 2 seconds slower at 24 in May 1975, shortly before his death, along with 27:43 and 28:09 in 1974-75. Quax was 2 seconds faster at 1500m (3:36), 2 seconds slower at the mile, 9 seconds slower at 2000m (5:10), 3 seconds slower at 3000m (7:45), a second faster at 2M (8:17), 9 seconds faster at 5000m and 1 second faster at 10000m.
But of course Quax didn't get himself killed in a car crash at 24, and so had the extra track years to get the faster times at 1500, 2M, 5000m, and 10000m. He ran multiple pr's at 28 and 29, whereas Pre's career ended at 24, two days after that 13:23.
Firstly, versatility is not the sign of a better athlete than the specialist if the specialist achieves better results in their event. Quax was an Olympic silver medallist behind Viren. Pre had no Olympic medals. Quax was the best 5k runner in the world at one point, with the 5k wr. Pre never had a wr and was never the best. Quax also had a 1500m championship silver behind Keino, the reigning Olympic champ. Your view that Pre could have been better than he was were 'what ifs'. Had he lived he may have not been any better than he was. With what he achieved, he was nowhere near the best in the world over his best distances. Quax was. Pre's a small town hero - overrated in his own country because he held national records and titles when the US didn't have the best distance runners. Mills, Ryun, and Wottle were all in another class. They were better American runners than Pre.
Dick Quax was a fine runner. Born in 1948 and died in 2018, he was able to run a full career. Steve Prefontaine, born in 1951, died in 1975. Pre ran 3:38 at 22, 1500m, 3:54.6 mile, also at 22 in 1973, his last mile, 2k in 5:01.4 in 1975 at 24, 7:44 3k at 21 and 7:42.6 at 23, 8:18.29 2 mile at 23, 13:21 5000m at 23 and 2 seconds slower at 24 in May 1975, shortly before his death, along with 27:43 and 28:09 in 1974-75. Quax was 2 seconds faster at 1500m (3:36), 2 seconds slower at the mile, 9 seconds slower at 2000m (5:10), 3 seconds slower at 3000m (7:45), a second faster at 2M (8:17), 9 seconds faster at 5000m and 1 second faster at 10000m.
But of course Quax didn't get himself killed in a car crash at 24, and so had the extra track years to get the faster times at 1500, 2M, 5000m, and 10000m. He ran multiple pr's at 28 and 29, whereas Pre's career ended at 24, two days after that 13:23.
Firstly, versatility is not the sign of a better athlete than the specialist if the specialist achieves better results in their event. Quax was an Olympic silver medallist behind Viren. Pre had no Olympic medals. Quax was the best 5k runner in the world at one point, with the 5k wr. Pre never had a wr and was never the best. Quax also had a 1500m championship silver behind Keino, the reigning Olympic champ. Your view that Pre could have been better than he was were 'what ifs'. Had he lived he may have not been any better than he was. With what he achieved, he was nowhere near the best in the world over his best distances. Quax was. Pre's a small town hero - overrated in his own country because he held national records and titles when the US didn't have the best distance runners. Mills, Ryun, and Wottle were all in another class. They were better American runners than Pre.
This is an interesting and wrong take on Prefontaine. While it is the case that Nike marketing built the Pre legend, the fact is that he was one of the best (middle-ish) distance runners in the world -- 4th in the olympic 5000m at the age of 21. Quax was eliminated in the heats in that olympics.
And the US did have a few other good distance runners at the time. Perhaps you've heard of Marty Liquori, who also was the best 5k runner in the world at times, and Frank Shorter, who was not quite as good as Pre or Liquori at 5000m, but had some success at longer distances.
Firstly, versatility is not the sign of a better athlete than the specialist if the specialist achieves better results in their event. Quax was an Olympic silver medallist behind Viren. Pre had no Olympic medals. Quax was the best 5k runner in the world at one point, with the 5k wr. Pre never had a wr and was never the best. Quax also had a 1500m championship silver behind Keino, the reigning Olympic champ. Your view that Pre could have been better than he was were 'what ifs'. Had he lived he may have not been any better than he was. With what he achieved, he was nowhere near the best in the world over his best distances. Quax was. Pre's a small town hero - overrated in his own country because he held national records and titles when the US didn't have the best distance runners. Mills, Ryun, and Wottle were all in another class. They were better American runners than Pre.
This is an interesting and wrong take on Prefontaine. While it is the case that Nike marketing built the Pre legend, the fact is that he was one of the best (middle-ish) distance runners in the world -- 4th in the olympic 5000m at the age of 21. Quax was eliminated in the heats in that olympics.
And the US did have a few other good distance runners at the time. Perhaps you've heard of Marty Liquori, who also was the best 5k runner in the world at times, and Frank Shorter, who was not quite as good as Pre or Liquori at 5000m, but had some success at longer distances.
You judge them by their best, not by what they might have run at the same event. An Olympic silver medal and a world record always trumps no medals and no world records. Americans simply don't get that outside the US Prefontaine never featured in any discussion of the best in his era. It is as though you have put your version of Brendon Foster on a pedestal.
Liquori was also a very good American runner (as Prefontaine was) but was never amongst the best in his era. Ryun was better (even though he beat him late in Ryun's career), so was Keino, Vasala, and of course Bayi. Rod Dixon's bronze at the 1500m in Munich and the career that followed says he was better. American runners get tremendous hype at home. Internationally, with a few outstanding exceptions, they are mostly just part of the pack. That, too, was Prefontaine.