Stunned I'm first to post this - Robby Andrews hasnt declared in 800

you validate decision based on the fact that an athlete knows himself better than you? you don't have to go any further than vig and webb to see another poor decision. webb ran mile/1500 after mile/1500 all spring in less than spectacular times (i assume he was doing mile workouts) and now, at the last minute, decides he is a 5k runner? that's something they should have decided months ago.

i hope i'm wrong but i think andrews is going to have 4 years to think over this decision while he watches someone like jock or rutt nail down the 3rd 800 spot.

This is about as ill-advised and short sighted as possible from the Andrews camp.

Lets be honest Andrews is not winning the Olympic 800 or 1500 right now - in fact he's not even making the final of either.

His number one objective needs to be to simply get to London, get in the thick of a semi-final - he needs major championship experience.

Over 800 meters there is only one guy right now who is clearly better than Andrews in the US and that is Symmonds. On any given day Andrews is a better bet than KD and right on par with Charles Jock. Let's not forget above all else he is experienced at 800m finals racing (NCAA's, World Juniors etc) which is totally different to 1500m racing.

It's simply ignorant to think that just because Andrews has blazing 800m speed and traditionally a big finish that he is suited to championship 1500m running. They are two different beasts. Not only that, in the 1500 he is going to be up against some pretty experienced 1500m men including a current WC bronze medalist and WC finalist

There is also no point about thinking Rio four years from now. Four years is a long time and a lot can change. Just ask Andrew Wheating who two seasons ago was the next American MD God and is now bordering on being an afterthought. Injuries, the at times burden of just being an athlete, the ever emerging pool of talent in the US - he needs to make the most of his opportunities right now.

And right now his best opportunity of getting on the plane to London is the 800 and he's not even lining up. Real shame.

Robby can probably take jock and I'm sure as hell he ain't scared of him. 1500 is a bigger event and btter known than 800m. He cold qualify in both events but wanted to save energy for 1500.

maybe he is scared of jock, like this guy thinks...

http://www.ocregister.com/sports/jock-360186-final-running.html

"The promise of a hard pace might explain why kickers Robby Andrews, who beat Jock by four-hundredths of a second in the 2011 NCAAs, and the Oregon Track Club's Andrew Wheating have withdrawn from the 800, opting for next week's 1,500 and the likelihood of a tactical final."

that gave me a laugh!

RA for the win in 1500!

Thanks very much for setting me straight.

Post #16 in the this thread...

Cali Guy wrote:

It's obvious...

Robbie fears Charles Jock

First, he goes pro to avoid him at the NCAA's, and now he decides to contest the 1500 at the Trials.

This is a direct affront to the gathered and settled wisdom of LetsRun. Robbie knows that his sit and kick style is no match for Jock's ability to run from the front!

My guess is Robby will not be able to handle the rounds of the 1500 and does not make the team. We'll see.

No, I did not validate a decision based on the athlete knowing himself better than me, I said the fact that he and his coach (that's two people very close to him) know him better than we (and don't forget his coach has had solid success in this event with the likes of Leo) that those two components adds the validation of the decision with all the previous points I made.

Robby Andrews is a true 1500m runner. That was always going to be his best event; he was merely developing as a runner (and running some brilliant 800s along the way!)

The decision to go in the 1500m in Eugene is a sound one, and I would be surprised to see Robby outside the Top 3, despite being only a coupla months beyond his 21st birthday. 2016 will be even better for Robby, but he has the intelligence and ability to make the 2012 team too.

Wishing him good luck, and a safe trip.

yes, and your analysis is completely illogical. under your analysis, no matter how ridiculous a decision is (and there have been plenty of them made in the history of t&f), as long as it is made by the athlete and coach, then it is a sound one.

btw, his coach doesn't have a lot of success with athletes navigating through rounds in an event that he basically never has run rounds in before -- particularly when those rounds have much more experienced and faster runners. mr andrews is going to learn a painful lesson next week while he watches jock make travel arrangements to london.

so all you know-it-alls who thought it was great that andrews went with an event he has run once at an elite level need to eat a little humble pie. it really is a shame because andrews would have made the team in the 800 had he run it. now he has 4 years to think about it.

That's just like how lukas versbicus should have finished his season at Oregon.... He can hang out with Lukas Versbicus and think about it...

verzbicas has absolutely nothing to do with andrews making a terrible decision last week. do you have any more non sequitur comments?

Tri's are only third of a sport, hence the name tri's, they try to be a full sport but fall short