VALBYMANIA GOES HOME DEVSTATED

Misleading finish, she was in way over her head. There are dozens of runners not even in the final who would've been able to run that pace, then get 16 seconds put on them over the last 2 laps. Even Schweitzer and Kelati put 8-10 seconds on her. Not that impressive.

There was a profound difference between the women's race and the men's race. Had the women, relative to their world record, run as fast as the men, Valby wouldn't have ever been in the camera shot except when being lapped by Chebet. The women's race was slow and tactical, which meant the US women (all of whom had no shot at medaling - and I root for both Kulati and Karissa) were able to hang in there longer. Nico really did run an exceptionally good race. To match Nico Valby would have had to run under 30 minutes. On the positive side, I hope she had a great experience.

Because this 21 yr old is the greatest distance runner to come out of the NCAA, winning five titles in a single year. She has been plagued with injuries, and has an unconventional approach to training, putting a lot of weekly hours on an Arc Trainer.

And this board is American based, and distance focused primarily.

well that and the fact is she has run times in college - both in XC and 5000/10000 that noone else did before her wile leading races quite often from the gun.

Uhhhhhhh... She's really good looking and she's really good for a young American. All that other stuff is just fodder, cuz you can't keep saying damn you're kind of smokin

And relative to the best Americans, being 27yrs and 28yrs old, that have raced professionally for years, she was only a few seconds behind them. Valby is very raw, needing much work, but showing much potential.

You really think she shows a lot of potential? And the glaring lack of foot speed isn't an issue?

I mean I hope she proves me wrong but you basically got to be sub 355 1500 to compete on the track right now in women's running

Like someone else said there was quite a gap put on her and also her form looks a little shaky, but hey I hope she proves otherwise

The conditions were much more humid and warm, compared to her Bryan Clay race.

Valby probably spent too much time bouncing around in the pack, rather than just chilling on the rail, but this experience was huge.

Realistically, I don’t think the Olympics, certainly in the 10000m, was even on her radar until a few months ago, after NCAA Indoors, after The Ten, after Monson got injured.

She can move up but speed is quite helpful in the marathon, as well. She'll get much faster, or struggle, at whatever distance.

Of course her form looks shaky. The media reports she heavily cross-trains because of past foot injury issues.

So there is obviously huge possibility, but also unknown. The possibility is that now that the Olympics have come and gone, and this whirlwind year has come to a close, they can devote more time to what may be extensive PT work to rise above the injury issues, which can then lead to improvements in her speed and form.

When she pulled to the front with about 5 laps to go, didn't the commentator say that she loves running under pressure?

I was waiting for her act. She got swallowed up almost immediately.

maybe we are just trying to balance out the over the top worshipping

Obviously, with asymmetry in her stride, she will not be competitive with the very best in the world. What is behind the asymmetry? Is it past foot issues? Can they be fixed?

If so, then with that big stride, she may end up doing unprecedented things. But I have trouble thinking that will be possible if her mechanics (and thus speed) never get fixed.

But she is only 21yrs old, an age when the body is still highly adaptable. Now is the time to really do the deep dive and work on these issues.

The ultimate potential of her career hinges on this unknown, which adds to her intrigue.

No one deserves to be mocked, but Nico broke the old Olympic record. The pacing was a bit different in the women's race.

No she did not. She ran 10 seconds slower than her PR in the biggest race of her life. Why would you say she ran a great race?

Why do you feel the need to do that?

BTW, this is the perspective of an American fan. I have yet to see Valby ever make excuses with regard to it, or even discuss it. Part of that is due to the fact that her rise over the past year, starting with the Nuttycombe cross-country race last fall, when she rose up and absolutely crushed Katelyn Tuohy, has been phenomenal, and even more potential, with work, looms.

This performance obviously exceeded her Bryan Clay race PB. That race was more evenly paced, in much cooler conditions.

No way. Here she was perfectly tapered and on a massive stage. Just a choke job and couldn't handle the moment.