We are talking about the Olympics that only comes ONCE every 4 years. It's better to cement her legend by winning back to back 400 hurdle titles and another Gold in the 4 x 400.
WHY should she try the 400m, 400 hurdles, and 4 x 400m and risk diminishing her performance in all 3 events. The 400m and 400 hurdles are two VERY tough events to try to pull off doubling in 5 CONSECUTIVE days.
You got fooled by Kersee and Sydney. They say a lot of things that have turned out not to be true. The "only the 400H" statement from them is the latest thing that is not true.
Stop believing everything that Sydney and Kersee say.
I want her to race more, than I promise I will like her.
The Olympics 400/400H double is not doable. No athlete is capable of handling that stress. You are required to race 400M on 6 days straight without any rest, with the most difficult event in all T&F. You people are outta your damn minds.
Obviously you haven't thought it through very well.
At the Olympics, the 1st rounds of both the 400 and 400H are a joke for someone like Sydney. She can almost jog them. So we're down to 4 races.
The 400H semi is also a joke to someone like Sydney. The women's 400H is a weak event once you get past the top few women. So we're down to 3 races.
So the reality is that she needs to run 3 hard races in 3 days, one race per day. That's very doable.
As a college freshman Sydney ran two 400's in one day numerous times. One time she even ran a 200, 400, and 4x400 in less than 2 hours, and she did great in all three, including setting the world U20 record in the 400! You didn't know about that meet, did you?
And you don't think that Sydney the 24 year old pro can do it with 24 hours rest in between each one of those 3 tough races? Give me a break. She can do it.
Dude - You are literally comparing competing at the Olympics to races Sydney ran as a teen. Really? Racing 400 over 6 days straight in the stress pressure cooker environment of the Olympics without rest has no comparison. It matters not whether you think it is a joke or not. Until you have run them at such a level.
Every race you compete in has a mental and physical toll on the body. Every 400M has a build up of lactic acid that is difficult to get rid of irrespective the ease of the rounds. 6 of them without rest and some days there are not 24 hours rest set you up for failure.
In all of Olympic history, only 3 athletes have ever won the 200/400 double, even when the IOC changed the schedules to make this doable. And the 200M is less gruelling than the 400. That should tell you something.
Why don't any of you demand that Rai who is a sub 44 400 runner do the double.
MJ became a star because of the WRs if the did not have both or either, he would never have been a star.
MJ got his first WR in the 200 at the 96 Trials after running the 400. He got his second 200 WR at the 96 Olympics after the 400. He didn’t break the 400 WR until 1999.
Tell me again that the world records made him a star and not the double Gold in Atlanta.
When history is writ, It will always be the WRs that make someone a transcendent star. This applies to MJ, it applies to Bolt, it applies to FLO-JO. It applies to every athlete.
Calvin Smith ended the year as the world record holder on the 100m.
Carl Lewis won 3 individual Olympic Golds, but no world record in those events.
They both got a relay Gold and relay record.
Edwin Moses had the 400 Hurdle world record AND Olympic Gold.
The bigger star was?
Why are you comparing the two most difficult events to the 100/200 double? Apples and oranges. But can you imagine of how much greater he would have been thought of if he had broken the WR at the Olympics in all three events?
But for your 100/200 double: who is the greater sprinter: Elaine Thompson-Hearah or Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce.
When history is writ, It will always be the WRs that make someone a transcendent star. This applies to MJ, it applies to Bolt, it applies to FLO-JO. It applies to every athlete.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Bannister is remembered for his time. Others are remembered for their wins. I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head what times Zatopek ran, but I know he pulled off the 5K-10K-marathon triple.
With MJ, it was both. At first, the focus was on the 200-400 double. I distinctly remember all the marketing and talk about him going into the 1996 Olympics was about the attempted double. That’s what his iconic golden shoes were about. Then he ran that incredible 19.32, and justifiably people got just as excited about his time as the double.
Hassan did 3 races in Tokyo which knocked her out of competition for a year, who cares that she did that today?
Britton Wilson tried the double at NCAA on fractured shins and failed spectacularly at both distances. What did she get out of it and who cares about it now?
I mean no disrespect to you but these are completely idiotic comparisons.
-Britton Wilson’s 400m/400h double: The finals were on the same day, 24 minutes apart. -Sifan Hassan’s triple: This was 27,500m of the longest track events; not at all comparable to a sprint triple. Sifan also won 2 golds and even a bronze in her weakest event, earning her international acclaim for her gutsiness.
A 400m/400h double (and even a leg on a relay) is entirely doable. It would cement her status as an absolute living legend, moreso than another WR in the 400h.
I mean no disrespect to you but you simply do not understand the obvious:
Britton Wilson and Sifan attempted something beyond the norm. Hassan was wiped out for a year. Wilson failed to even medal at both attempts whether it was 24 mins between events or not. Who cares about their attempts now given that they did not win? Have you people not moved on to the next thing as is wont to do. Results matter.
She has previously stated that she's doing the 400m hurdles at trials. The open 400 and 200 are merely for training purposes. Next year could be a different story though.
. .
I hope she sticks to just the 400 hurdles for the Olympics
400 hurdles and 400m Olympic schedule
04 August.....400 hurdle prelim
05 August.....400m prelim
06 August....400 hurdles semi
07 August ...400m semi
08 August ...400 hurdles FINAL
09 August ....400m FINAL
while it is doable, it's also so close together one could affect the others performance, should she not recover LESS than 24 hours for 5 STRAIGHT DAYS
Of course both finals will be affected. How could they not be? As great as she is, she is not an automaton.
We are talking about the Olympics that only comes ONCE every 4 years. It's better to cement her legend by winning back to back 400 hurdle titles and another Gold in the 4 x 400.
WHY should she try the 400m, 400 hurdles, and 4 x 400m and risk diminishing her performance in all 3 events. The 400m and 400 hurdles are two VERY tough events to try to pull off doubling in 5 CONSECUTIVE days.
When history is writ, It will always be the WRs that make someone a transcendent star. This applies to MJ, it applies to Bolt, it applies to FLO-JO. It applies to every athlete.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Bannister is remembered for his time. Others are remembered for their wins. I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head what times Zatopek ran, but I know he pulled off the 5K-10K-marathon triple.
With MJ, it was both. At first, the focus was on the 200-400 double. I distinctly remember all the marketing and talk about him going into the 1996 Olympics was about the attempted double. That’s what his iconic golden shoes were about. Then he ran that incredible 19.32, and justifiably people got just as excited about his time as the double.
OK. I can agree with this. A question for you based on two scenarios:
1. Sydney does the double and wins neither.
2. Sydney does the 400H only and sets another WR by running sub 50.
I mean no disrespect to you but these are completely idiotic comparisons.
-Britton Wilson’s 400m/400h double: The finals were on the same day, 24 minutes apart. -Sifan Hassan’s triple: This was 27,500m of the longest track events; not at all comparable to a sprint triple. Sifan also won 2 golds and even a bronze in her weakest event, earning her international acclaim for her gutsiness.
A 400m/400h double (and even a leg on a relay) is entirely doable. It would cement her status as an absolute living legend, moreso than another WR in the 400h.
I mean no disrespect to you but you simply do not understand the obvious:
Britton Wilson and Sifan attempted something beyond the norm. Hassan was wiped out for a year. Wilson failed to even medal at both attempts whether it was 24 mins between events or not. Who cares about their attempts now given that they did not win? Have you people not moved on to the next thing as is wont to do. Results matter.
A LOT of people cared about Sifan Hassan’s wins — are you oblivious? It was a huge deal when she announced it, and a huge deal when she finished her triple with 2 gold medals and a bronze.
Back-to-back 400h wins is great. Cool. But it’s nothing special in the grand scheme of athletes who have competed at the Olympics.
You want her to play it safe, I think she should be gutsy.
Why not? Everyone knows she's gonna dominate the 400h, it's become boring at this point. I wanna see her go for something legendary, 400/400h double would be incredible if she could pull it off
This ^
Id rather see her attempt the double and fail than see her "play it safe." Although winning at least one gold seems probable if she attempts a double , so why not?