Gutted for Leah Falland

juvie wrote:

According to her Tracksmith gives her clothing, but no other gear or compensation.

She's Boulder-based I believe? Feels like a good opportunity for Adidas.

Watch the slow motion replay after the race is over. Her left knee hits the barrier. I believe she lost focus and was paying too much attention to the screens instead of her race. She looked like she was constantly watching to see where everyone was instead of focusing on the race ahead of her and the barriers. I watched it over and over and nobody can convince me that she looked like she was going to do anything but stick with the 2 leaders til the end and qualify. Maybe im wrong and we will never know, but she looked smooth and strong. Watch her water jump just prior to falling and her exit was steady as can be. And for those saying the other 2 had PR's that were 18 seconds ahead of hers, yes you're right but thats because shes been hurt for 4 years. Being back and in shape what could she run?? The 3rd place finisher started the season with a 9:44 pr!!!! So Leah couldn't have improvements also. Think before you post

People sayhing "she's not world class", her p.r.'s are from college, since she's been injured most of the last five years. She was beating Houlihan at the mile in college. She is more talented than anyone else in that race, including Coburn. If she can stay healthy, she will end up being the best steeplechaser in the U.S.

Agree

just a regular guy in the neighborhood wrote:

This might be the most appropriate time for a "Goes Home Devastated" thread in LetsRun history.

+1

I think that she is in great shape right now and decided to go with the leaders. I think she would have held on for third had she not fallen. The steeple is a cruel event and the barriers are unforgiving. I would like to see her race for time over in Europe a couple meets as I think she could hit some good marks. Ritz has her in great shape and you can see she is capable of running faster. The women's races are insanely deep this year (Allie O ran a PB and finished in 8th. Two years ago she was in the World Championships) and unfortunately that means a number of good runners will have to be left home for the Olympics. It was a great effort, it is tough to watch someone put in that much work and come up short, but on the flip side, it was also a great race by Constien.

LibertyLane wrote:

Poor technique. Deal with it.

Seems like she's dealing with it with class and grace. Sure she made an error in going out too fast, but the result can still be devastating and sad.

I liked that in her interview afterwards she still said how happy she was for the 3 who made it, and that she's cheering them on, praised them a lot, etc.

Our loss. She is a smoke show and I would have enjoyed seeing her in that Olympic uniform. Let’s hope she does some more commentating as I found her to be enjoyable.

WinnytheBish wrote:

Also, if you're ripping her for having weak PRs...she's been injured for the better part of 4 years.

From a car accident? Escaping a house fire? Outside of a traumatic accident, if you're that injured then you're doing something wrong. Looks like REDS on the surface.

dfafdasff wrote:

People sayhing "she's not world class", her p.r.'s are from college, since she's been injured most of the last five years. She was beating Houlihan at the mile in college. She is more talented than anyone else in that race, including Coburn. If she can stay healthy, she will end up being the best steeplechaser in the U.S.

Don't get too far ahead of yourself. Yes she is talented, but Coburn is a world champion and olympic medalist. She is plenty talented. Her college PRs (about 5 seconds faster in the the 1500 and about 8 seconds faster in the steeple) are all better than Falland if that is the basis of your comparison as far as talent is concerned.

Does anyone else see the irony that someone by the name Falland missed out on the olympics because of a fall??

She fell down the stairs at Hayward field at NCAAs right before finals then ended up running on a stress fracture/ break at Olympic Trials - had many injuries stemming from that. She is a class act and incredible runner. That was tough to watch for all who’ve followed her comeback. She will be back and she will take that no 3 or even no 2 spot next year for worlds next year.

Flagpole wrote:

anti.marxist wrote:

Jump higher next time.

Did you watch the race? She didn't hit the barrier.

Did you watch it? She clearly clipped the top of the barrier with her left (trailing) knee.

sub sub elite local hobby jogger wrote:

juvie wrote:

Val Constein gave a really good post race interview. She’s very personable and well spoken. She’d represent any potential sponsor(s) really well

I can understand her not having had a sponsor to-date, having only had a 9;44 pb but hopefully she’ll get one now.

She is running for Tracksmith but not sure how much they are throwing in her direction.

Apparently jerseys only. With tracksmith's pricing, it's a significant contribution if calculated at MSRP!

petemths70 wrote:

You cannot be and could never have been a quality runner to say she wasn't close at all!! With 2 laps to go she looked in complete control. She would have hung right with Coburn, most likely would have ended up second. Don't post ridiculous statements if you are clueless to running yourself!

Completely agree. I think a lot of posters seemed to be watching a different race - I was watching thinking she could even go on and win it right up until the fall!

If she was struggling with fatigue that much (not sure how because she was only running marginally quicker than she'd cruised in the heats) then how would she have fallen over, got up and stuck with Howard and Constien (sp?) for a further 700m? She was head and shoulders better than all but two of the runners in that field and it's such a shame she won't be going to the Olympics. I wouldn't have been surprised to have seen her run around 9:05 there and be around the top 5.

I thought she had a good chance to win also. No facial strain. Relaxed. Coming out of the water just prior to falling she showed no signs of fatigue landing and exiting the pit. Unfortunate error and its devastating. Congrats to the other three, but you posters saying she was tired and shouldn't have gone with the 2 leaders?? Crazy!!!What was Billy Mills PR prior to winning the Olympics? Should we not run races because on paper other people times are faster??? and if you want to talk about PR's, Ritz's runners PR'd in 18/20 races since hes coached them!!!! Was she running over her head, hell no!!

zikes wrote:

She wasn't close at all. She was in over her head going with Coburn and Frereichs. She was out of control on every hurdle, a fall was imminent. She ran a dumb race and paid the price.

The idiocy of this post.

Going "over your head" is what Olympic Trials are all about. To paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt,

"who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

bbg95 wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

Did you watch the race? She didn't hit the barrier.

Did you watch it? She clearly clipped the top of the barrier with her left (trailing) knee.

I would hold on there. I think she didn't hit it, she landed off balance and went down. Look at around the 8:40 mark of the replay when they show the fall in slow motion and I don't see where any part of her touched the barrier. You can freeze it click by click and it looks like she cleared it. She got her trail leg down. Plus I think if she did hit it she would've gone down much harder and probably come up limping.

There are a couple of other angles later on after the race but they look inconclusive at best.

In any case I wasn't gutted. Had a good night's sleep and nice breakfast. There are worse tragedies in the world like those people in Florida.