Of course their prerogative, but really fascinating that they almost don’t exist. There was that period last year where everyone was irritated they weren’t competing and now it feels as if no one cares anymore it they compete.
And we don't even know which event Sydney will run at Worlds this year. Sydney and Femke might not even run against each other.
It seems many of you are imagining Syd running in Paris. I don't think that's likely at all. We will know whether or not she's retired by day 3 or 4 of the Trials. I suspect she is.
The response from some of you may be: "She never announced retirement!" That's correct. If she did, NB and whoever makes that giant watch would stop paying her. She gets another 2 years of salary this way.
Why would anyone ever announce retirement? Did Frank Shorter? Paul Tergat certainly hasn't. It will become obvious this summer. Think about it; 2 extra years of pay.
Athletes who are officially retiring have to fill out a document and submit it to the USATF. So maybe the USATF announces it?
Of course their prerogative, but really fascinating that they almost don’t exist. There was that period last year where everyone was irritated they weren’t competing and now it feels as if no one cares anymore it they compete.
Except that you seem to care.
Much of what’s been posted is true: these women are the best of the best and given their stature and accomplishments, the only races that (might) matter to them are Olympic finals, with everything else being irrelevant except in how it might prepare them to win the former, BUT still it seems sad that two of the all time greats don’t seem to enjoy doing what they are great and gifted at doing. Other all time greats running now, like Jakob or Hassan or Lyles, seem to genuinely enjoy competing just for the joy of competing. There is absolutely nothing in it for Lyles to become the 60 m world champion other than risk of injury, yet he just seems to like being out there and mixing it up. It’s sad Syd and Athing don’t seem to derive that much joy from testing and displaying their prodigious running gifts.
That’s not true for Mu at all. Last summer was an aberration. She had a lot going on in her personal life. Usually she is all smiles on the track. That’s how she was at the Prefontaine meet.
That’s not true for Mu at all. Last summer was an aberration. She had a lot going on in her personal life. Usually she is all smiles on the track. That’s how she was at the Prefontaine meet.
It seems like racing causes her a lot of anxiety from the crushing weight of high expectations, no? She always seems exceptionally friendly and nice, but that the whole thing stresses her out. Maybe that was just last year.
Athing Mu runs a personal-best and world-leading time of 1:54.97 to win the women's 800m Diamond League Final championship at The Prefontaine Classic at Hayw...
That’s not true for Mu at all. Last summer was an aberration. She had a lot going on in her personal life. Usually she is all smiles on the track. That’s how she was at the Prefontaine meet.
It seems like racing causes her a lot of anxiety from the crushing weight of high expectations, no? She always seems exceptionally friendly and nice, but that the whole thing stresses her out. Maybe that was just last year.
You are confused.
Racing doesn't cause Athing Mu anxiety. She has always been happy go lucky in her races - high school, college, and pro. It was only for a several month stretch last year, when she had a long term relationship end, that she was grouchy on the track.
It seems many of you are imagining Syd running in Paris. I don't think that's likely at all. We will know whether or not she's retired by day 3 or 4 of the Trials. I suspect she is.
The response from some of you may be: "She never announced retirement!" That's correct. If she did, NB and whoever makes that giant watch would stop paying her. She gets another 2 years of salary this way.
Why would anyone ever announce retirement? Did Frank Shorter? Paul Tergat certainly hasn't. It will become obvious this summer. Think about it; 2 extra years of pay.
Give me a break. Yes, Sydney may end up retiring a few years earlier than most track athletes, but she isn't retiring a few months before the Olympics.
Agree. She won't retire next month. It was after the 2022 WC. So we're on the same page. Retiring 2 YEARS before the Games isn't anything unusual.
It seems many of you are imagining Syd running in Paris. I don't think that's likely at all. We will know whether or not she's retired by day 3 or 4 of the Trials. I suspect she is.
The response from some of you may be: "She never announced retirement!" That's correct. If she did, NB and whoever makes that giant watch would stop paying her. She gets another 2 years of salary this way.
Why would anyone ever announce retirement? Did Frank Shorter? Paul Tergat certainly hasn't. It will become obvious this summer. Think about it; 2 extra years of pay.
Athletes who are officially retiring have to fill out a document and submit it to the USATF. So maybe the USATF announces it?
Your comment is not inconsistent with the quoted post. She hasn't announced retirement and I can't imagine she will. Wouldn't the announcement have been made late summer of '22 when she stepped of the track for the last time?
You just fall out of the out of competition testing pool if your last race was long enough ago. Bill Rodgers hasn't been tested this year despite lack of any press conference announcing retirement. You can also just stop paying USATF dues, at which point the Federation has no authority over you.
Your comment is not inconsistent with the quoted post. She hasn't announced retirement and I can't imagine she will. Wouldn't the announcement have been made late summer of '22 when she stepped of the track for the last time?
You just fall out of the out of competition testing pool if your last race was long enough ago. Bill Rodgers hasn't been tested this year despite lack of any press conference announcing retirement. You can also just stop paying USATF dues, at which point the Federation has no authority over you.
You need to get yourself up to date. "summer of '22 when she stepped off the track for the last time" Ha ha ha ha. C'mon man, catch up!
It seems like racing causes her a lot of anxiety from the crushing weight of high expectations, no? She always seems exceptionally friendly and nice, but that the whole thing stresses her out. Maybe that was just last year.
You are confused.
Racing doesn't cause Athing Mu anxiety. She has always been happy go lucky in her races - high school, college, and pro. It was only for a several month stretch last year, when she had a long term relationship end, that she was grouchy on the track.
She is back to normal now.
Ok, hope you are right. It seemed like after Tokyo and with her unbeaten streak every race got increasingly burdensome because it was win, American record or failure (very unfair to her of course). I think she spoke of this explicitly at USAs last year. Maybe she’s better now because her personal life is better, or maybe losing in Budapest and not having the world end broke the tension. Losing can actually help relax you when you have basically never ever lost before.
Racing doesn't cause Athing Mu anxiety. She has always been happy go lucky in her races - high school, college, and pro. It was only for a several month stretch last year, when she had a long term relationship end, that she was grouchy on the track.
She is back to normal now.
Ok, hope you are right. It seemed like after Tokyo and with her unbeaten streak every race got increasingly burdensome because it was win, American record or failure (very unfair to her of course). I think she spoke of this explicitly at USAs last year. Maybe she’s better now because her personal life is better, or maybe losing in Budapest and not having the world end broke the tension. Losing can actually help relax you when you have basically never ever lost before.
USAs was right after the breakup, so it wasn't just track on Athing's mind when she was talking about being stressed out.
Sydney is the one who has always had race anxiety problems, ever since she was young. And she will be happy to sell you a copy of her new book so you can read about about it.
It seems like racing causes her a lot of anxiety from the crushing weight of high expectations, no? She always seems exceptionally friendly and nice, but that the whole thing stresses her out. Maybe that was just last year.
You are confused.
Racing doesn't cause Athing Mu anxiety. She has always been happy go lucky in her races - high school, college, and pro. It was only for a several month stretch last year, when she had a long term relationship end, that she was grouchy on the track.
She is back to normal now.
Agree 100%. One thing I’ve noticed on Mu’s recent social media such as IG stories, she usually appears on the track doing workouts now. None of the modeling stuff like last year. Looks like she is all in for Paris.
Racing doesn't cause Athing Mu anxiety. She has always been happy go lucky in her races - high school, college, and pro. It was only for a several month stretch last year, when she had a long term relationship end, that she was grouchy on the track.
She is back to normal now.
Agree 100%. One thing I’ve noticed on Mu’s recent social media such as IG stories, she usually appears on the track doing workouts now. None of the modeling stuff like last year. Looks like she is all in for Paris.
Athing's ex, Brandon Miller, was really exited for all the LA party lifestyle stuff. Now that he is no longer around, Athing doesn't have a party partner, so I guess she is using that extra time to focus on track.
Athing should be good between now and the Olympics.
We'll have to wait and see what happens after this year's Olympics, meaning can she stay focused on track for another 4 years until LA 2028? Or will she start moving back towards to party/modelling scene?
Agree 100%. One thing I’ve noticed on Mu’s recent social media such as IG stories, she usually appears on the track doing workouts now. None of the modeling stuff like last year. Looks like she is all in for Paris.
Athing's ex, Brandon Miller, was really exited for all the LA party lifestyle stuff. Now that he is no longer around, Athing doesn't have a party partner, so I guess she is using that extra time to focus on track.
Athing should be good between now and the Olympics.
We'll have to wait and see what happens after this year's Olympics, meaning can she stay focused on track for another 4 years until LA 2028? Or will she start moving back towards to party/modelling scene?
Hopefully the party scene in the offseason LOL! I assume Athing will run the 800 and the 4x400 in Paris. In LA the 800/1500 double? That would be interesting for sure.
Athing's ex, Brandon Miller, was really exited for all the LA party lifestyle stuff. Now that he is no longer around, Athing doesn't have a party partner, so I guess she is using that extra time to focus on track.
Athing should be good between now and the Olympics.
We'll have to wait and see what happens after this year's Olympics, meaning can she stay focused on track for another 4 years until LA 2028? Or will she start moving back towards to party/modelling scene?
Hopefully the party scene in the offseason LOL! I assume Athing will run the 800 and the 4x400 in Paris. In LA the 800/1500 double? That would be interesting for sure.
I don't think that Athing can win an 800/1500 double at the 2028 Olympics. But since she has said on a number of occasions that she might retire early, if the idea of a 800/1500 double keeps her going for another 4 years, then I'm OK with that.
Hollywood Streamers pay $70M/yr for Shohei Ohtani but only pay Athing Mu & Sydney McLaughlin less than 1/100th. They have to be int Pre-Med, JAVA Certification online students, Acting classes, etc. for the future.
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.