No O'Keeffe in marathon?

Runners World has got to try and get an interview from Fiona…

its about money

All you heroes accusing O’Keefe of not being up to your moral standards as you anonymously trash an injured Olympian….

O’Keeffe has been living and training in North Carolina for the last couple of years.

no, but Jess probably less than pleased with Fiona

I do know that 20 years ago USATF gave $10K bonus for starting marathon. Not sure if that applies anymore. The intent was to keep runners from chasing $$ in the build up to Olympics. If that still applies AND the runner has a shoe bonus for "competing" in the Olympics then it could be even more $ for the athlete and coach and agent. In any case not a good look for O'Keefe. I lost respect for Linden when she knew in advance she wasn't capable of finishing in '12 yet still kept another from running.

I think with such a big gap between marathon trials and Olympics that runners should show some form in the weeks before that indicates they are healthy and fit enough to represent. If USATF can pull runners off relays, then they should replace injured marathoners.

What a lazy and ill-informed position to take. No telling how an AZ runner with a cross country background would have done in the heat and hills today. You know what’s worse than finishing 55th? Not making it 5K into a 42K race after you know you have an injury.

Dakota got 12th today and McClain was only 15 seconds behind her in the trials. For someone posting on this forum it really sounds like you don’t know what you’re talking about.

I'm not sure about the rules, but USATF might not be able to force an athlete to drop out.

I have NEVER liked or trusted Cragg. greedy, nasty weasel. you can tell Fiona has no backbone to tell him anything either. What he says goes.

As for the person saying you would do the same in her position, by god I hope not. Just against the whole point of representing TEAM Usa.

Plus, limping 10 mins in Paris doesn't some how magically make her more or less of an Olympian in my mind than DNS (she is or isn't depending on your own perception of the term but this little "run" doesn't move the needle either way imo bc it was equivalent to DNS essentially and then USA lost a spot for someone to actually give it a go in the process as well. Terrible!!!).

Not an Olympian if she does not start.

Putting Team USA above a bonus would have been the American move. Sponsor and coaches should have stepped up to protect their runner’s health and reputation instead of telling her to run and look terrible on the international stage. Fiona also recently received a generous grant from USATF Foundation (as did other marathoners).

Implying Jess McLain wouldn’t race well after she’s clearly kept up her fitness and training to be ready to step in for EITHER of the two events she was the alternate for is a TERRIBLE take.

Look at who Cragg’s mentors were John MacDonald, Jerry Schumacher; pound them till they break or breakthrough.

Was she actually the darling fan favorite of the trials? I don't remember that. I remember concerns about her health during the trials. I also remember lopsided media attention on Dakotah being this great underdog story and honestly more people were talking about McClain finishing 4th.

@Karagoucher “ Starting the race makes Fiona officially an Olympian. She earned the right to do that.”

Hobbling across a start line might make her an Olympian but it doesn’t make her a part of Team USA

Jess McClain was very gracious about the situation (that is, O’Keefe’s decision). And yet here you all are (with zero details, with zero inside info), piling on O’Keefe —

McClain would puke if she read your attacks.

Very selfish move by Fiona. There is no respect to be had for her. This was not "brave". It was egotistical and greedy. And worse than her are her coaches. Promoting an obviously very injured athlete to run with knowledge there is 0% chance to finish? Reckless at best. Not to mention Fiona is the most obvious eating disordered runner out there. Not just her appearance, but the way she speaks of food in interviews as well. Quite honestly she sucks and so do her coaches. Could have made a lot of new fans by giving up her spot but instead lost the ones she had. And same with Sinead Diver and her team.

Lets be honest, no American had any shot at a medal so it really doesn't matter. FO earned the right to get left in the dust.

Doesn’t mean that she’s not upset by it in private. She just has too much class to dump on her publicly. For me this whole thing was BS from O’Keefe and she knew it was. So it’s upsetting. If you can’t even run 5K then you should not run!!!
5k is a warm up jog. She knew this the whole week. And finishing a bit below your means or dropping at Km 30 with an injury flare I’d understand. Hobbling over the start like this has made me instantly dislike her. It’s selfish no matter how you turn it. And I’m certain it hurts like hell and is a stress fracture the way she ran. A tendon or muscle injury you can force a little bit for longer. This seemed to hurt at every step.

This didn’t age well…

cw39.com

Fiona O’Keeffe won’t stop until she crosses the finish line at the 2024 Paris Olympics

At 26, Fiona O’Keeffe is preparing to take on the world’s elite marathoners in Paris on Sunday. She’s aiming to break a decades-long drought for Team USA’s women, who haven&…

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