Infeld beat Huddle at the line for the bronze! incredible lean!

Here's some more gibberish for you then.

It's called the fundamental attribution error.

It's a bias towards seeing the behavior of others as reflective of their personality and internal factors.

Sound familiar?

You look at a runner who celebrates just before the line and think it must be because of self-absorption and a need to constantly celebrate no matter what.

You might be right. I can't say. But I would bet that if it had happened to you or someone you cared about you would be much more likely to attribute it to external circumstances.

If you enjoy thinking other people are inherently flawed, by all means, continue thinking this way. I just think it's a bias that's worth being aware of before you make judgments about people.

Peter Andersson wrote:

For starters 31:40 is ridiculously slow for an event where the winner usually clocks 29 high or 30 low. .

For starters, in the English language "usually" does not mean once or twice before and never in similar conditions.

And the IAAF does not permit the use of baby joggers or strollers at their events so Defar would be DQ'd

So . . . what? . . . a bunch of Psychology undergrads just get out of class and decide to come onboard, to spout back whatever blather your know-nothing (but oh-so-clever-sounding) professor happened to be on about this afternoon?

Give yourself a few years, kiddies. Real life will begin to come a bit more into focus. All people are "inherently flawed." It's just a question of what those flaws are.

In the meantime, enjoy that bubble while you can.

Looking at the video, Huddle did two things during the last 5-10 meters. She noticeably slowed her cadence and drifted to the right. Had she kept the inside lane covered or had she kept up her cadence for a few more strides, she was bronze. Infeld herself recognized this fact in her interview as she expressly acknowledged that she saw Huddle relax and let up at the very end which created the opportunity for Infeld.

It should also be said that the closely trailing runner in that context may have an advantage insofar as they have both the finish line and their competitor in view and can better gauge and time the effort for one last surge. The athlete in front only has the finish line and as in this case may not be aware of where the trailing athlete is.

Another thought occurs to me about why Molly drifted to the right and opened that inner lane for Infeld to exploit. We saw Rowbury do the outer lane drift in the 5k at US Nats while trying to keep a charging Huddle at bay. The outer lane drift is frequently resorted to in an effort to keep the hard charging chasing runner behind the frontrunner. In this case, Molly miscalculated because Infeld was not making any move to go around her and was instead totally committed to the rail approach which fortuitously opened up for Infeld at the very last moment.

Leaning otherwise wrote:

It should also be said that the closely trailing runner in that context may have an advantage insofar as they have both the finish line and their competitor in view and can better gauge and time the effort for one last surge. The athlete in front only has the finish line and as in this case may not be aware of where the trailing athlete is.

I think you're conveniently forgetting the most important thing the leading runner possesses: the lead.

It must have been quite a lecture to have also had time to talk about the dangers of absolutist thinking.

An example of absolutist thinking is saying things like: "All people are inherently flawed."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/promoting-empathy-your-teen/201109/the-problem-absolute-thinking

Here's an article written for parents to help their teenagers practice empathy. I think it could help you as well.

Pay particular attention to the paragraph describing the effects of thinking this way.

"The problem with absolute thinking is that it causes pain and suffering in the life of the person who adheres to an all-or-nothing attitude in any facet of his thought process. This is because the person is routinely exposed to contradictions to his beliefs, which creates a sense of threat to his world view."

Well, we can see your flaws now. So thanks for that.

Let me guess: You're a real man. Tough as nails. Second place is the first loser. No pain, no gain. You run quarters on the track in two feet of snow with no shirt and polar bears chasing you. You're smarter than anyone else because you haven't been coddled in life. You have "real" life experience. You came out of your mom's womb ready to run 100 mile weeks and laugh at anyone that runs less than 90. If you had a mower, it would be the push kind. But you don't because you don't have a yard. You live in a one bedroom apartment because you only have a part time job. You only have a part time job because you're chasing your running dreams. Like a real man. A man that would never be happy with second.

And I know all of this without even taking a Psychology class.

Rumour is that Huddle slowed down over the last few meters because she has the long jump in 3 days. Trainer's orders.

Just saw Molly Huddle's interview given on the track only a minute or so after the race. Molly was remarkably composed and contrary to some earlier posts carried herself in admirable manner given the profound disappointment she had to be feeling. Her statement that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity was most definitely not intended as a slight to Infeld but rather reflected a sober assessment that at the Olympics and typically at WC , the pace is blistering from the start and not strategic (implying that neither she nor Infeld would have a chance of a medal against the East Africans).

Contrary to the misconceptions, Infeld beat Huddle by about 2 feet to the finish.

The placings would have been the same regardless any premature celebration.

Great lean my A$$ Huddle gave a medal away by doing the stupidist thing you can do in the sport!

Weak-willed drama queen is a bit much. You just watched what I'm guessing was for her the most regrettable moment of her career. People aren't perfect. How would you feel if your most regrettable moment was broadcast worldwide and people judged you based on that and nothing else?

Running through the line is important, but so are humility and forgiveness. Try to show some.

Saying that she sacrificed the gift is a bit much. Honestly, you sound young, high school or college. Someday you will do something less than perfect, I assure you.

It looked like she was practicing her form for the long jump. Stride technique!

This gets it exactly right. I would add empathy to humility and forgiveness.

Great race by all three Americans. Infeld seemed genuinely upset to have won the bronze the way she did.

This is an exciting time to be a fan of American distance running.

Huddle=Class wrote:

(implying that neither she nor Infeld would have a chance of a medal against the East Africans).

While I have no problem with Huddle and generally liker her, she has no business implying anything about Infeld. It is entirely classless and rude to imply that someone other than herself has no chance at an Olympic medal. She doesn't speak for Infeld.

Extensive race recap is now up:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2015/08/agony-ecstasy-in-the-womens-10000-molly-huddle-gives-the-bronze-away-to-emily-infeld-as-vivian-cheruiyot-wins-gold-once-again/

J.R. wrote:

Contrary to the misconceptions, Infeld beat Huddle by about 2 feet to the finish.

The placings would have been the same regardless any premature celebration.

Ummmm... Watch that again. Huddle wasn't overtaken because she was out of gas or had nothing more to give. She was overtaken because she stopped running and was gonna coast it in across the line assuming, I suppose, that the Bronze was a lock. Had she kept pressing all the way, she would have beaten Infeld

What makes you think she made that implication?

Bush league move by Huddle to go into lane 2 and cut Infeld off.

Does Huddle haev a history of this? Wonder if Infeld calculated that and was why she stayed in lane 1 for the pass.

Run through the line, my friends.