Galen Rupp issues statement after dropping out of Boston Marathon

Ireallyhopenot wrote:

DumpsterDiver wrote:

I commented on the Instagram photo saying that he should have at least mentioned Desi's name given the historic nature of her run, and immediately had my comment deleted and was blocked :(

Did this ^ really happen?!

Unfortunately it did, yeah! Disappointed by the whole situation. I'm not a Rupp hater by any means, I really respect the way he races (he's almost always on) and don't really lean one way or the other in the doping/grey area debate. But it does bother me that the number one mens distance runner in the US can't even make a personal statement about the race or give a meaningful congratulations to Desi or Yuki.

And I'm not saying that he's obligated to make such statements, because obviously he's not. It's just sad to see

Iagmflttt wrote:

Galen just has no class. None. He waits over 72 hours to release a phony statement. What a loser.

Would you say, Steve Cram, Edwin Moses, Carl Lewis and Bob Kennedy for example, had no class...they were known not to have much to say after a bad race and even sometimes after a good race.

DumpsterDiver wrote:

Ireallyhopenot wrote:

Did this ^ really happen?!

Unfortunately it did, yeah! Disappointed by the whole situation. I'm not a Rupp hater by any means, I really respect the way he races (he's almost always on) and don't really lean one way or the other in the doping/grey area debate. But it does bother me that the number one mens distance runner in the US can't even make a personal statement about the race or give a meaningful congratulations to Desi or Yuki.

And I'm not saying that he's obligated to make such statements, because obviously he's not. It's just sad to see

It is all about character, after your running days are over and you cant run anymore (it happens to everyone, Father Time is undefeated), a person is judged by his character and how he/she treats and respects others.

Yeah this guy is a good runner, who knows if he has done anything unethical or not, that doesn't matter, what matters is that the general running community has not embraced this guy.

On the other hand Yuki Kawauchi is really easy to root for, he has been embraced by running fans everywhere. I am sure he is a huge hit in Japan where Marathon running is really respected even by the casual sports fan.

The fact that this guy did not congratulate both the Men and Woman winner shows his true colors.

I just want to add that the US Woman are really exciting to watch right now, with a half dozen or so world class performers in the Marathon. Whereas on the Mens side there is one guy, really sad.

I thought his statement was concise and well written. He touched on all of the important points in just a few sentences.

I don't like him.

I just don't like him.

Duey Oxburger wrote:

I don't like him.

I just don't like him.

This is the most reasonable and defensible critique of Rupp in this thread. Everyone else is performing wild contortions in order to try to pretend there’s a legitimate problem with his statement. There is not. As I said before, it is succinct, to the point, and contains everything it needs.

I can’t believe people are criticizing him for being “too professional”. Yes, Nike PR people probably helped with the statement. Who cares? That’s the way it goes. He’s a pro athlete. He’s not your friend, and he certainly doesn’t have to share his intimate emotions with “fans” who will spew hate at him regardless of what he says.

He probably didn’t mention Yuki or Des by name because he doesn’t have a personal relationship with either. They’re just competitors to him. Honestly, I think to mention them by name would suggest a closeness that almost certainly isn’t actually there.

Gee whiz wrote:

He probably didn’t mention Yuki or Des by name because he doesn’t have a personal relationship with either. They’re just competitors to him. Honestly, I think to mention them by name would suggest a closeness that almost certainly isn’t actually there.

Not to mention just days before Desi had slammed a former teammate of Rupp's just for having a historical connection to him.

100m wrote:

Nike gets really paltry mileage out of Rupp. I think his biggest issue is his mental weakness.

what about when he was really sick for a week, on anti-biotics, and crawled out of bed and dragged himself to an 8:07 indoor 2-mile?

is that mental weakness?

i think he just has social anxiety and no clue how to communicate comfortably. There's plenty of distance runners like that in my experience. i do agree that the statement should have been issued the same day as the race, why wait, even with the boilerplate message?!

CIA investigator wrote:

He was obviously very disappointed in the day and how it affected him, as were many others. However, he could do a lot better by facing up to it at the time. I respect Molly and Shalane for their post race interviews.

Had this been released Monday night, this would have all blown over.

Karl Hungus wrote:

Had this been released Monday night, this would have all blown over.

Does anyone outside of the boards really give a sh*t?

Iagmflttt wrote:

Galen just has no class. None. He waits over 72 hours to release a phony statement. What a loser.

He waited over 72 hours to condemn the cold and hypothermia! What is wrong with this guy? I think he must secretly be pro-bad weather.

lol

Ironically, you're also a snowflake for getting worked up over nothing.

Galen can suck my man fat.

Just looked at the instagram feed. so far one ref to the winners has been allowed to stay:

howtodowtleYou could call "the winners" by their names... ? Yuki Kawauchi and Des Linden (@des_linden).

Who cares really wrote:

Gee whiz wrote:

For crying out loud. It’s a perfectly gracious, timely, and succinct statement, yet you people are tearing him apart over it. I think some of you are actually psychotic.

On the bright side though, do you think he really cares what a few anonymous runner wannabes say on a fringe website’s message board?

First, letsrun is no fringe but the center of the competitive running cyber universe.

Second, I do think he cares what anonymous people think. Why? Because all people do.

Sport is a type of exhibitionism where people display their superiority in one respect or another. The superiority motive is a pretty good indicator that not just athletes but all people care what others think.

How on earth does anyone give a flying feck about what Rupp posts on Instawhatever? How, how, how???

Linden and Flanagan publicly discredited Rupp and Hasay and NOP after Chicago. Linden did it again right before Boston this year. Meanwhile, Rupp, Hasay and the the NOP remained gracious and respectful - never saying a thing. In fact, Hasay congratulated Flanagan on her NYC win.

The NOP owes Linden nothing. If it was Hasay and a Rupp that won Boston, Linden and her Hanson team would have called Hasay/Rupp a cheater. No doubt about that.

Everyone is allowed to have great days but for the NOP.

I want to like Rupp. Who else do we have right now for elite men marathoners? The thing about Rupp that I haven't been able to shake is that I remember a quote from Meb after a marathon they were both in (don't recall which one - maybe Olympic trials?) Meb said something like Rupp was running like it was a track race - elbowing for room & not showing respect to his fellow competitors. Someone correct me if I'm wrong & if they have the actual quote from Meb. Besides his performances, I've been looking to see something from him or his competitors that would shed a better light on him as a person, so I could have an easier time liking him.