3000m Steeplechase. Fam's act is getting old

Just a curious question- why does everyone assume that the same people who bash Rupp for being too conservative are bashing Fam for being too aggressive? There's enough people on here where one fringe can bitch about being conservative, and the other can bitch about being too aggressive. Its not that letsrunners are fickle, its that you get enough people together and you have vocal people (some rather uninformed) on both sides. Usually best to ignore them both.

I have to agree with those that respect him for going after the slim hope of a medal, even though he had to know the odds were high that he would get this result.

dd wrote:I have to agree with those that respect him for going after the slim hope of a medal, even though he had to know the odds were high that he would get this result.

This is a false dichotomy. Why assume that taking the lead in a doomed effort to run away from the field was "going for a medal"? Didn't the Frenchman "go for a medal" by staying near the front (but out of the lead) and maximizing his chances of running a strong last lap? Fact is, whatever tactic Famlighetti ran, he had at best a slim chance at medaling, and you could easily argue that taking the lead when he did actually made those chances slimmer. It's just not the case that there is an easy dichotomy: Leading = slim chance at medaling but at high risk of disaster; Not leading = no chance at medaling but at less risk of disaster.

Look at the Americans who have finished surprisingly high in recent Olympics/World Championships. They didn't get there by trying to punish a more accomplished field from the front. Did Tegenkamp not "go for a medal" in Osaka? Did Shalane Flanagan not go for a medal in Beijing? Should Kara Goucher have taken the lead in Osaka to "go for a medal"?

Maybe taking the lead was a logical and reasonable way to take a stab at medaling--Famlighetti is certainly a more accomplished runner than me and he knows himself. But that's not what it looked like to me. It looked like a mistake.

Homeboy is 13th in the world, and made the olympic final.

I'd say that is a good day.

Most of you are either washed up or were never any good anyway.

Have fun at the local turkey trot.

LOL.

Fam ran the prlims stupidly. He exerted way too much energy. 8:17 prelim ---8:33 final. His stategey ran the legs off himself...no one else.

I was waiting for Fam to look at the camera- I swear I *almost* saw it....

He was channeling Marc Davis

Perfect! wrote:

The FAM is getting exactly what he wanted out of the Olympic experience...maximu exposure and publicity for mediocre results.

The below guys never talked shit and produced better results....lesson learned!

1984 - Brian Diemer 3rd in 1984 - 8:14 after two rounds

1992 - Brian Diemer 7th in 1992 - 8:19 after two rounds

1996 - Mark Croghan 5th in 1996 - 8:17 after two rounds

Diemer ran 8:13 in LA, Marsh was 4th in 8:14.

I would like to commend Fam on making the OLYMPIC final in such a tough event. It was a valiant effort in the final, but he was surely tired from his strong prelim run and clearly over-extended. I would also like to personally THANK HIM for making my morning much more exciting! Way to show some balls Fam.

By the way, I would saw the OPPOSITE of "balls" is to hide behind an anonymous screen name, typing away on your mom's computer, trying to rip into one of our more successful US distance runners at this Olympics.

Go USA!

-Mark

famished wrote:

Fam ran the prlims stupidly. He exerted way too much energy. 8:17 prelim ---8:33 final. His stategey ran the legs off himself...no one else.

1 6 1682 JARSO Yakob 8:16.88 Q PB

2 8 1777 MEKHISSI-B. Mahiedine 8:16.95 Q SB +0.07

3 13 3166 FAMIGLIETTI Anthony 8:17.34 Q PB +0.46

4 5 2244 KEMBOI Ezekiel 8:17.55 Q +0.67

5 1 2959 MOHAMED Mustafa 8:17.80 q +0.92

6 2 1062 ABDI Youcef 8:17.97 q PB +1.09

7 10 2429 LUCHIANOV Ion 8:18.97 q NR +2.09

8 14 2874 BUC Bostjan 8:21.24 DQ +4.36

9 9 2399 TALEB Brahim 8:23.09 +6.21

If Fam ran 2 seconds slower, he would not have made the finals. So if he ran a 8:18.96 would that have been "exerting too much energy" too? Was it "stupid" that he wasted energy to make the finals? I'm sure he is now thinking, "man, if I just slowed down in the prelims and hadn't made the finals I would be SO much more rested right now."

8:14.06 check link above

So far Fam is the best performing American distance runner at the Olympics, and that is kind of sad if you think about it.

One could indeed argue that he hurt his chances by taking the lead, and in hindsight clearly a lot of other strategies would have been better. But when you ask "why assume that taking the lead in a doomed effort to run away from the field was 'going for a medal,'" I sort of wonder what your point is. I assume everyone in the final is going for a medal- that's the whole point. If you're trying to say that it was not the greatest plan- pretty clearly now we can say you're right. But at the time he thought keeping the pace faster was better for him- and he decided to do something about it. I respect that. I also respect races where people move up the field to nip 3rd, like Flanagan did. In the end, only one person in each race has the perfect plan, doesn't mean we can't respect the rest for doing what they thought would work.

If Fam ran 2 seconds slower, he would not have made the finals. So if he ran a 8:18.96 would that have been "exerting too much energy" too? Was it "stupid" that he wasted energy to make the finals?

Thank you, in a few short sentences you have rendered most of these whiners useless. How many people this year tried to play it too smart and save themself for the final, only not to make it?

I don't really care but the "act" that he may be suggesting is this whole counter culture thing/free spirit. In the audio during the prelims he said something to the effect of the american dream is to be succesfull so you can lead a comfortable life but running is all about pushing hard and sacrifice. I don't remember the exact words but it was soemthing like that.

Or maybe it's the "look at me I have long hair, eat organic food and walk around in my bare feet where most people with common sense would wear shoes" ;) Kinda like Gabe before him and that trail runner that gets all the press.

Perfect! wrote:

http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=695/index.html

8:14.06 check link above

Thanks, I was going off of memory. Always thought that the 8:13 in LA.

8:17.00 2 OT Los Angeles CA 23 Jun

8:25.92 1h1 OG Los Angeles CA 6 Aug

8:18.36 3s2 OG Los Angeles CA 8 Aug

8:14.06 3 OG Los Angeles CA 10 Aug

8:17.77 4 Bruxelles 24 Aug

8:13.16 PB (4) 2 Koblenz 29 Aug

masters fattie wrote:

with people bitching that Rupp didn't stick his nose into it and just followed, why then bash Fam for trying?

Agree 100%

Stop crying already. Same kid posting over and over bringing up this thread. Fam is one of the most normal down to earth people in any sport. Whatever "act" you're talking about is a media fabrication by assholes like Amby Burfoot calling him nuts. Fam's training and strategy were very well thought out and executed. His legs weren't there, period. He is a great American runner who runs wit pure guts.

Pay attention to this interview and you will shut the fck up

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234057-2008-beijing-olympics/72382-fam

or do you not have an attention span?