I think what you're trying to say is: It seems plausible they are holding her out to prevent a season-ending injury like Sydney's last year. But it's hard to believe that's the primary reason for the withdrawal given how mentally weak Mu seemed last year.
Your favourite last raced just about the last time Athing raced, but you never get these types of posts about him. What gives? Is she supposed to run through a sore hamstring and risk making it worse just to please a bunch of biased chatterers?
Your favourite last raced just about the last time Athing raced, but you never get these types of posts about him. What gives? Is she supposed to run through a sore hamstring and risk making it worse just to please a bunch of biased chatterers?
That's a pretty fragile athlete who never races yet gets injured. Over-training is also pretty unlikely with someone who hates the sport.
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A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good
It's starting to feel like Mu is a bit of a hostage to athletics. She doesn't seem to like it at all, she just happens to be great at it. Tough position to be in when your livelihood depends on you doing something you dislike. It does seem like she'd be happier doing something else
You know, I used to feel this way, but then I started my first (full-time) job interning last year, and I realized that's absolutely not a good enough reason.
With as good as she is, I'm sure she has to make sacrifices in her personal/social life to stay healthy and to train, but also, her job can't possibly take up more than a few hours/day for the vast majority of the year, particularly since she doesn't race, so she doesn't need to travel much.
She was 19 or 20 when she went pro. She's still very young (lots of people haven't landed their first job out of college at her age). She is the reigning Olympic champion. She undoubtedly has a massive contract. If she truly did hate running, the right thing to do would be to run a ton of races for the appearance fees. She could be WELL off her best shape and still win those races, and get the prize money that comes with that. She could also travel the world (and probably get reimbursed by Nike) while racing since there are DLs all over Europe, and they're now expanding into Asia and Africa.
She'd have gotten $10k for every DL she won, and $30k for the title which she'd definitely have won. Wouldn't be hard for her to swing $200k in prize money, on top of money she'd get from her contract, on top of the huge appearance fees that she'd be able to get since she's the Olympic champ. I know that she wouldn't see all of that, and she'd need to save for life post-running, but if she was smart with her money, she'd probably be able to retire by age 25. Maybe even earlier if she'd want to keep working in modeling or something.
If she doesn't want to run, then she should quit after the Olympics. She shouldn't waste her 20s doing something she hates when she doesn't need to. It will be a loss for athletics, but she doesn't owe us anything besides the truth, and for a long time now, it's felt like she hasn't been giving us the truth.
Your favourite last raced just about the last time Athing raced, but you never get these types of posts about him. What gives? Is she supposed to run through a sore hamstring and risk making it worse just to please a bunch of biased chatterers?
That's a pretty fragile athlete who never races yet gets injured. Over-training is also pretty unlikely with someone who hates the sport.
So you think runners only get injured during races? Or do you think she's so good that she doesn't, you know, train and stuff?
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
Feels like people have just become accustomed to hate on Mu and Sydney at this point. Sydney will have ran 2 high quality races this year before Femke opens her outdoor season (yes I know she ran indoors) and there are several other 800m athletes (both USA and elsewhere) that haven't opened yet either. Keely being one...
Bol already ran 100 and 150 outdoors, in the same meet about a half hour apart
Regarding Athing Mu I am never going to doubt a prodigy. They can break every rule. Recency means nothing.
I'll be very surprised if she doesn't wi gold in Paris.
Too bad the oddsmakers won't overreact like this forum has. Otherwise those would be some juicy odds.
She is with wrong coach plain and simple. She raced entire freshman year in college with no major issues and continued on to Olympics. Now everything is a struggle. Hopefully it all comes together in time.
I appreciate your loyalty to Mu, but your argument has some logical issues. Excusing her lack of racing due to personal struggles is more about emotion than logic. Similarly, basing her comeback on a single win at Pre doesn't provide enough evidence of her overall form. Saying you won't criticize her due to shared experiences with hamstring issues is more about sympathy than an objective assessment. Also, focusing on her lack of communication rather than her athletic performance doesn't address the main issue. I hope she recovers soon and gets back to top form.
Fandom doesn’t need to be 100% logical. By its very nature, fandom has a high degree of subjectivity, affinity, and emotion.
I don't know the reasons why she won't race or keeps pulling out of meets. Maybe she hates running? Maybe she's fragile? Maybe she doesn't know how to push pain? I don't know.
All I know is that Hodgkinson and Morra are going to beat her in the Olympics because they will have more experience racing in an event that requires you to judge your effort perfectly.
Mu and Sydney’s lack of racing makes me illogically upset and dislike them. I literally get more frustrated by the non-racing of two of our stars than something like the Shelburrito incident.
I guess because Shelby raced and that was hilarious to follow, thus providing entertainment in a way. This just makes me seethe
I feel the same way. Why do I care about something that has zero impact on my life.
I think what makes me most angry is her apparent indifference not just for the sport but her fellow competitors. Someone who wants to compete could have taken her place. It just shows how immature she is. She doesn’t care about running. she just likes attention. Maybe she would rather do something else, like model. Plenty of undeserved attention there. when she finally stops running and falls into irrelevance and realizes just how ordinary she truly is there’s gonna be some regret.
Whatever the cause her public image is quickly becoming that of irreverent, lazy, immature.
It's starting to feel like Mu is a bit of a hostage to athletics. She doesn't seem to like it at all, she just happens to be great at it. Tough position to be in when your livelihood depends on you doing something you dislike. It does seem like she'd be happier doing something else
I think it's hard for fans to believe she could be injured after how little she raced last year and almost skipped worlds. But after seeing the great form Syd is in after Kersee didn't let her run through slight injury, we could see Athing at such a high level of fitness in Paris that her tactics are irrelevant.
The unfortunate part to me, is that she doesn't realize what a gift it is to be healthy and race in this era on the 800m. Ajee Wilson, Montano, Melissa Bishop et al had their careers basically stolen from them. Everything they went through paved the way for today's middle d women's athletes to be able to compete in a fair race. And it wasn't that long ago.
You never know when the opportunities or circumstances will change. I wish she could see how much more she could help herself and inspire the world by taking full advantage of them.