Bobby Kersee is irate about the 2028 Olympic track schedule. Will it/Should it be changed for SML?

victim narrative

No, it was feasible. She has a 3-second cushion to make the 400H finals and the hurdle heights at their current level are a minimal challenge for her. The reason she skipped the double all those years is the same reason she skips the mixed relays - it didn’t matter enough to her to attempt it. Her coach is implying it would in 2028, but you’re knowledgeable and know as well as I do that a) Bobby talks a big game b) any type of hiccup and the double isn’t happening as Bobby will quickly abandon it. Of course SML will be in LA the issue is whether she’d be expected to do the double. Given past history, I’d adopt skepticism as her coach’s track record in saying things about doubles (Mu’s relevant here) is shaky. Easier said than done, especially when a finicky Kersee is at the wheel.

Why should they change it for her? Honest question. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see her go after the double. But she has never once shown that she is willing to do that sort of thing in reality. When they changed the schedule for Michael Johnson in the 90's, he actually went out and forced them to change it. He doubled at the World Champs in '95 to put the pressure on the IOC. SML has done nothing that would convince anyone in charge that she is willing to put herself out there like that. So again...wy should they change it for her?

It doesn't really matter. The week before the Olympics he would pull her from one of the events anyways. She is never going to double. This is Bobby we are talking about.

Frankly, I'm surprised by this. With how little he has Sydney race, you'd think he'd be happy that she's limited to only one event.

One doper would be replacing another.

The event is 3 years away. The schedule will be changed. The IOC wants the viewers.

I respect your point of view, but we see this one very differently.

When thinking about attempting the 400m hurdles-flat double with the way the schedule has been in recent years, we need to consider:

• the physical toll of racing 6 days in a row - she would have been physically compromised for both finals
• the highly technical nature of the hurdles, and how switching back and forth between the flat and hurdles could throw anyone off their rhythm for the hurdles
• the desire to run hard enough in the semis to 1) earn a preferred lane for the final, and 2) prep the body for what's in store for it in the final. It's no accident she ran 48.29 in her flat semi this year and 52.13 in her hurdles semi last year.
• the quality of competition in both events - good luck beating Paulino and Naser in the flat and Bol in the hurdles on tired legs! When asked about the double, Sydney has talked about the need to respect her competitors, and she has specifically said she would need time off to rest in between the two events. I think she knows herself and her competition better than we do.
• how difficult it is just to make the US team, particularly in WC years like this one in which the US Champs had a compressed schedule and Sydney didn't have a bye for either event. Just to make the US team this year, she would have had to run 4 races in 3 days, including the 400m final at 1:03 pm and then the hurdles semifinal 15 minutes later. Are you really going to hold that against her??

Yeah, Bobby talks a big game, but he has backed it up with Sydney the past two years. Who has performed at a higher level on the track than she has at the past two global outdoor championships?

And remember, she followed through on her commitment to double at each GST meet this year.

Sydney has more than proven herself the last two years to be worthy of a schedule adjustment.

It’s clear from the pic that she was even plantbagging it.

The events are not happening the same exact time, so she can still do them. Whether it will affect performance is the question. Some folks do get second wind

Well you are ignoring that if she wanted to she could get into the Tokyo 400H field by winning the DL Final. Of course, running in DL races AND doubling hasn't mattered that much to SML. That's OK. Bobby backs it up in terms of peaking her for the big meets, no question. She's been phenomenal, and nobody doubts she will run incredibly well in the 4x4 and her primary event. Of course, doubling takes a toll physically! That's why everyone is dubious about her actually doing it. Even with a hand-picked schedule. I can spare the idea that jogging 54-55s in the 400H is a technical/physical challenge for SML, though. Or running 51pt in the 400m first round. So we are talking 4 hard races. And she overdid that 400m semi, she can get a preferred lane running 48-high, 49-low. From there it's luck of the draw. In the hurdles a 52-high would do the same. Those are somewhat taxing for her, but not crazy. There is risk and Bobby so far has shown no inclination to take ANY risk with his management of SML. Hence, our skepticism.

Still he has never backed it up in terms of doubling, which has been the plan since at least 2022. I'm not holding it against Sydney, I'm holding it against Bobby. He wants them to make a schedule adjustment on the notion that she would double in 2028. I'm not sure why they would unless he provides some proof he's preparing it and will execute it. He has 2027 to do so, and if she does the double there then everyone will buy into it and pressure the schedule change.

I agree with that. The chances that she does both at the Olympic Games without even first doing both at a World Championships are slim to none. So let's see it next year in Beijing and then we can complain about LA.

Kersee is just a crazy old attention seeker who still believes that his "shock and dismay" move the needle. The only reason this is news is because it's SML but it feels more like one of his little "relevance" dopamine rushes more than anything legit.

If it was feasible schedule-wise for athletes to do both, I imagine there’s a decent chance other 400m hurdlers, particularly those from smaller countries, might entertain attempting the double, not just SML.

I don't think it's fair to say doubling doesn't matter to Sydney when, in her mind (and others'), the double hasn't been feasible due to the constraints of the schedule. Again, she knows her capabilities and her competition better than we do.

It's also not accurate to say Sydney and Bobby haven't taken "ANY" risk when taking on the 400m flat was a risk in and of itself. Sydney could have very easily decided to continue racking up dominant wins in the hurdles, but she wasn't satisfied with that. She wanted to push herself even further by trying an unfamiliar event and seeing if she could be successful at it. She did exactly that.

Whether you're targeting Bobby or Sydney, the effect is the same: not being in favor of a schedule adjustment which has been made for others who've shown greatness in two overlapping events.

When the adjustment was made for Michael Johnson to attempt the double in 1996, he hadn't attempted an overlapping 200/400 double before that. At the 1995 WC, he was able to contest the entirety of the 400m before the first round of the 200m. He didn't have to go back and forth switching between the two events on consecutive days without any break.

It's an unfair double standard to expect Sydney to prove herself worthy of a schedule adjustment by attempting something other famous doublers/triplers in the modern era have never had to do.

• Johnson and Pérec 1996: got to run all rounds of the 400 before starting the 200; each had a day off in between the 400 final and the first round of the 200
• El Guerrouj 2003 and 2004: got to complete the 1500m before taking on the 5k; had multiple days off along the way
• Bolt (many years): got to complete the 100 before starting the 200; had a day off in between the 100 final and start of the 200
• Brisco-Hooks 1984: got to complete the 400 before taking on the 200; had a day off in between the 400 final and start of the 200
• Hassan 2021: had one day of overlap, but had 4 days off interspersed in her attempt at the triple
• Hassan 2024: no overlap, had 6 days off interspersed in her attempt at the triple
• Coe 1980 and 1984: no overlap, had 3 days off in between the 800 final and the start of the 1500 in 1980 and 2 days off in between those events in 1984
• Bekele and Farah: no overlap in the 5k and 10k, always had days off
• ETH, SAFP, and MJW: no overlap in the 100 and 200, had at least one day off in between events

Not a single one of those phenomenal athletes had to repeatedly switch back and forth between events without any days off. Why expect Sydney to do something that those legends didn't?

By running 50.37 and 47.78, Sydney has proven herself worthy of a schedule adjustment.

Yeah the most tragic thing to come out of that 800m final was how with little shot at making the team anyway because of her fitness, she blew up the race for a number of the field (most notably SHK).

Anyways Kersee can say what he wants, I don't know who would take him overly serious these days anyway.

Where we are differing is over when this schedule change should happen. I say in 2027 World Athletics should call Bobby's bluff (if he's still making a stink about this) and provide a WC schedule completely favorable to the 400/400H double with no overlap. Then and only then if she *actually* attempts the double you adjust the Olympics schedule. If Bobby cites travel, some vague thing he saw in warmup, or it not being the Olympics as excuses to only do one event you have your answer.

She has doubled at every major she has been in.

On first blush, this is an rediculous decision; but then you have to remember how unreliable she (or her coach is) following through on her plans. Imagine her pulling out of one of the event at the US Trials or, worse, on the eve of the Games when tickets had been sold and allowances made.