And sometimes that 5 looks like an 8 and that 9 looks like a 10 depending on one’s subjective state.
You mean like if Keely’s racing?
She does help one’s subjective state. But these world championships can still be a 10 for me if the 1500, 5000 and 10000 races, for both genders, are marvelous to behold with a few upsets sprinkled in.
I think it's only Nike with the reduction clauses but I could be wrong. NB doesn't have them (that came out during the Boris Berian saga a few years back). So Sydney's base income is safe with the withdrawal, but the timing is suspect with the recent race announcement. Waiting to hear if Mu makes the trip. If she shuts down as well, definitely a reduction in base pay, but she will get a bonus for being US champ again. Either she makes it up elsewhere or is willing to earn less this year and possibly assumes a big payday next year, if everything goes right. Still sad two top Americans rarely race, train in relative secrecy, and just seem to be wasting their talent. Though I can see how one can lose their edge being a World and Olympic champ (as well as multi time WR holder in Sydney's case) at such a young age.
Thanks. If they just gave us more details, we might be understanding. They could say something like, “Sydney has ___ injury/pain to her ___ part of her knee. She’s been dealing with it for ___ weeks. We’ve tried doing ___ but it hasn’t helped. Our fear is that continuing to train and racing will result in severe damage such as ___ which would leave her unable to run for ____ months. It’s too big of a risk for us to take.”
I’d be willing to accept an explanation like that. They could even cite Kevin Durant as someone who had a “minor” calf injury, came back too soon so he could play in the NBA Finals, and then ruptured his Achilles and had to miss over a year of action. They could say they don’t want something like that happening to Sydney. That would be understandable!
I completely understand all the skepticism here, and it may be justified. We should remember though that in the NFL, for example, we often see a player getting hurt so we rarely question it. In track and field , we rarely see an injury in competition (and surely not in those who almost never compete), so it is easier to doubt it, and of course many injuries are not of the acute variety. Does this announcement appear dubious? Absolutely, although that doesn’t mean it is not legitimate.
Also, this makes me appreciate Sifan Hassan tripling. Then we have people claiming rounds of a 400 (WITHOUT HURDLES) or an 800 is too much. Jeez.
I really thought Mu was still gonna race this year and the journalism piece was just gamesmanship, now i don't think we'll see either of them there.
Just tuning into this latest news. Can the fans demand an independent medical review? Can we show Sydney a tape of Mahomes in the NFL playoffs last year to demonstrate that “champions find a way.” Can we subject Kersee to a lie detector test? No, no and no. We are stuck. Anyway, as you reference, I hope people lay off the Hassan is doping stuff and give her credit for being willing to race in every conceivable race at worlds rather than blowing off the whole thing. Last year Hassan showed up in marginal shape only to be handily defeated, and she gained my respect for not being scared to lose almost as much as she did for winning twice during the crazy triple in Tokyo.
Season schedule for most American professional T&F athletes:
- train for months, throw out a couple insta posts to maintain some semblance of fan support, sit down for a hand full of puff pieces, maybe a photo shoot or two;
- run 1, maybe 2 “tune up” races a couple weeks ahead of national championship meet;
- go back to training and hiding until it’s time for large global meet of choice (worlds, pan-ams, Olympics, world relays, whatever);
- following global meet, maybe chase a PB on the DL circuit, but no more than 2 times because it’s been “such a long season.”
- hide out and train for 8-9 more months until it’s “racing season” come June of the following year.
I feel like sponsors have turned a blind eye for a while to this. But if other athletes start sandbagging international meets to “gear up for the next Olympics,” there’s gotta be a change to the system. Hell, there’s gotta be a change right now.
Athletes clearly don’t care if fan support wanes. But if the money starts drying up, maybe then they’ll be motivated to get their arses on a starting line.
I would also add, hammer a bunch of intervals in Oct/Nov/Dec, and wonder why they're fried come the real racing season starting June the next year. The response is to think they didn't train hard enough, so hammer more intervals in Oct/Nov/Dec, and then wonder why they're fried in June. Rinse and repeat.
Victor Conte says that Jackie Joyner-Kersee tested positive for illegal drug use in advance of the 1988 Summer Olympics, but that it was covered up by the U....
How could the sport possibly grow in popularity if the only thing that matters is one meet every four years?
Of course Worlds is a big deal. So stupid for a track fan to say otherwise.
Ya, it would be like if a golfer skipped all major tournaments except a few pro-am's to focus on The Masters. People would be like WTF?
There was a cyclist who ignored all the other races to exclusively focus on TDF. And many people thought he as an inspirational hero.... until he wasn't.
Thanks. If they just gave us more details, we might be understanding. They could say something like, “Sydney has ___ injury/pain to her ___ part of her knee. She’s been dealing with it for ___ weeks. We’ve tried doing ___ but it hasn’t helped. Our fear is that continuing to train and racing will result in severe damage such as ___ which would leave her unable to run for ____ months. It’s too big of a risk for us to take.”
I’d be willing to accept an explanation like that. They could even cite Kevin Durant as someone who had a “minor” calf injury, came back too soon so he could play in the NBA Finals, and then ruptured his Achilles and had to miss over a year of action. They could say they don’t want something like that happening to Sydney. That would be understandable!
That would be nice. Of course, in the case of Durant or any true professional athlete we know a) the player WANTS to play, b) the coach and teammates want the player to play, c) the owner or whoever is paying the bills wants the player to play, d) there is an elite medical team who is doing everything possible for the player to play. How many of these factors apply to Sydney?
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Thanks. If they just gave us more details, we might be understanding. They could say something like, “Sydney has ___ injury/pain to her ___ part of her knee. She’s been dealing with it for ___ weeks. We’ve tried doing ___ but it hasn’t helped. Our fear is that continuing to train and racing will result in severe damage such as ___ which would leave her unable to run for ____ months. It’s too big of a risk for us to take.”
I’d be willing to accept an explanation like that. They could even cite Kevin Durant as someone who had a “minor” calf injury, came back too soon so he could play in the NBA Finals, and then ruptured his Achilles and had to miss over a year of action. They could say they don’t want something like that happening to Sydney. That would be understandable!
Yeah it’s really not a high bar to clear. Jacob Kiplimo did it with his statement today. Just had details of when the injury occurred, how he tried to come back, all the medical stuff and now he won’t be able to train at a high level for 1-2 months. Unfortunate but I get it. Calling every injury “minor” and pretending like 2024 Paris is the sole focus is obnoxious for year-round track fans. It’s bad PR.
Also, this makes me appreciate Sifan Hassan tripling. Then we have people claiming rounds of a 400 (WITHOUT HURDLES) or an 800 is too much. Jeez.
I really thought Mu was still gonna race this year and the journalism piece was just gamesmanship, now i don't think we'll see either of them there.
What if she is actually fighting an injury?
As Gault said in his tweet, if true, it would be a major injury, people don't sit out world champs for minor injuries. Suspicious AF to sit it out for a "minor injury" like two weeks after a thing mu got obliterated online for saying she might not compete because she doesn't feel like it or whatever.
Bobby Kersee could not have possibly engineered a plan that would cause more people to think his camp is doped to the gills than the past 3 weeks.
Thanks. If they just gave us more details, we might be understanding. They could say something like, “Sydney has ___ injury/pain to her ___ part of her knee. She’s been dealing with it for ___ weeks. We’ve tried doing ___ but it hasn’t helped. Our fear is that continuing to train and racing will result in severe damage such as ___ which would leave her unable to run for ____ months. It’s too big of a risk for us to take.”
I’d be willing to accept an explanation like that. They could even cite Kevin Durant as someone who had a “minor” calf injury, came back too soon so he could play in the NBA Finals, and then ruptured his Achilles and had to miss over a year of action. They could say they don’t want something like that happening to Sydney. That would be understandable!
Yeah it’s really not a high bar to clear. Jacob Kiplimo did it with his statement today. Just had details of when the injury occurred, how he tried to come back, all the medical stuff and now he won’t be able to train at a high level for 1-2 months. Unfortunate but I get it. Calling every injury “minor” and pretending like 2024 Paris is the sole focus is obnoxious for year-round track fans. It’s bad PR.
It’s all about context. If Jakob said he had to withdraw because of injury would anybody doubt him? No, because we know he races every chance he gets and he’s motivated to win these global medals as much as anybody in history. We would assume his leg must be falling off if he scratches. Syd and Mu, every bit as talented, or more than Jakob, not so much.
The basketball WC is a big deal, unless you’re an NBA player getting paid the GDP of a small nation. It’s a big deal for foreigners, especially if they’re not the first overall pick signaling that he is committed to his new NBA team. If Syd and Mu skip Budapest, they should be open to all sort of speculation based on their disdain for partaking in their own sport. Clearly they’re not being reduced for the number of races they compete in or missing WC.