By far the biggest underachievers were wejo, brit Gault and rojo. Zero breaking news, getting clowned by all the athletes, etc.. Even though we expected nothing positive from the three stooges, they underpassed this.
By far the biggest underachievers were wejo, brit Gault and rojo. Zero breaking news, getting clowned by all the athletes, etc.. Even though we expected nothing positive from the three stooges, they underpassed this.
i look at letsrun as a rogue group off kilter, and weakly politically incorrect.
which means i approve.
Gault of late is getting severly annoying, with much hubris. he should stick to the script, the sonewhat informed somewhat uumble nerd.
Jakob not medaling in the 1500 was a massive underachieving and should be on the list. Or do the femboys now agree he isn't that great and shouldn't have been hyped as much as he was?
No Dr Raygun in both categories? I demand a recount!
On a more serious note, these games continued the narcisstic trend of "I am an athlete who competes under pressure, therefore I must talk openly about my mental health, as if someone who straps on a toolbelt and works on pitched roof until he is exhausted/works until he has ruined his body doesn't face the same challenges and doesn't feel exactly the same or worse without the platform." I'm looking at you, Simone Biles. Wake me when you develop a drinking problem because endorsement money won't help that roofer retire by age 30.
And add Katie Ledecky to your list of overachievers. She didn't quite reach the level of a female Mark Spitz, but had the grace to smile and pose with her bronze medal after Austrailia's best bested her on one day. She's a true American who isn't afraid to be quietly excellent, with an emphasis on the *quiet* part.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
Reason provided:
Had to make sure I was correct in my cynicism.
Jakob not medaling in the 1500 was a massive underachieving and should be on the list. Or do the femboys now agree he isn't that great and shouldn't have been hyped as much as he was?
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is one of the reasons why the men’s 1500 is the most exciting event in track & field right now - J Gault LRC
No Hassan,? beating arguably one of the best marathonfields ever, after winning 2 medals on the track. She is definitely a nummer 1 to 5 Winner of this Olympics.
The list only involves track athletes and it’s definitely a distance and US-centric list (sorry Sifan Hassan and Faith Kipyegon fans) as all but one of my winners and losers have US ties of some sort.
ut for the women’s 1500 and both 5000 teams, they basically encouraged their athletes to peak way too early in the season as they generally select the team based on season’s bests. And in terms of tactics, there are two options.
Everyone for themselves, as is the case with the other athletes.
But considering she was only a 9:36 performer in college, the fact that Constien is a two-time Olympian and is even on the disappointment list really is a compliment to her as she’s overachieved as a pro.
No. Instead, after finishing only 8th in the 10,000, Kiplimo and reigning Olympic 5000 champ Joshua Cheptegei didn’t even try to win the 5000 as they pulled out (wouldn’t it have been cool to see the WR holder Cheptegei try to defend against Ingebrigtsen?).
To make matters worse, it appears Knighton’s doping case is now caught up in the ongoing political war between the US Anti-Doping Agency and WADA as the AIU is now appealing Knighton’s doping clearance to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
He destroyed his own personal best of 1:42.77 as well as Donavan Brazier‘s American record of 1:42.34 by running 1:41.67 in the Olympic final.
At the start of 2023, Georgia Bell had a 4:16.96 1500 pb that dated to 2015. Heading into the Olympics, her story was already wild as she’d improved that to 3:56.54 and was the British champion
And Bell as a teen was a talent as she ran 2:08 at age 14 and 2:03 at age 20.
In terms of who needed it more, I’d say it was Lyles as he talked way more heading into Paris and he wants to be a mainstream star.
as I LOVE this post as its real good post as I LOVE the word as
Tebogo is the FUTURE of our sport. Not Lyles. Most fans hate Lyles.
Tebogo is obviously a beast, but the future of our sport is not coming from a small land-locked country in south-central Africa. There's just no way for him to have the mass appeal he needs.
Tebogo is the FUTURE of our sport. Not Lyles. Most fans hate Lyles.
Tebogo is obviously a beast, but the future of our sport is not coming from a small land-locked country in south-central Africa. There's just no way for him to have the mass appeal he needs.
BW (Botswana) is 50 times the size of Jamaica (JA) but both have same population 2.5 M.
Size of the country of origin does not limit what an athlete can deliver on the world stage.
Especially if LT can consistently win Gold in both 100M and 200M.
Where BW fails is the ability to field a 4 by 100M.
This post was edited 26 seconds after it was posted.
Makes sense. But I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the 3rd fastest 800m woman this year who has crap ton of international experience didn't get out of the semis?
If Bell was overachiever, we gotta say Reekie was way under.
Tebogo is the FUTURE of our sport. Not Lyles. Most fans hate Lyles.
Tebogo is obviously a beast, but the future of our sport is not coming from a small land-locked country in south-central Africa. There's just no way for him to have the mass appeal he needs.
I totally agree. I also don't think Tebogo has the personality to be the face of the sport. He is an excellent sprinter, but.....
If Hassan isn't on the list, it isn't a serious list.
I agree that Hassan's efforts and results were heroic... but were we really surprised? Yes, she's had a sub-par year (for her), but she always pulls it out of the bag when it counts - like Degrasse, only with superior results. So while the results were amazing, I wouldn't say they were that much of an overachievement.
I was not surprised at all that she won those bronzes, but winning the marathon on legs that tired against Obiri and Assefa blew my mind, honestly. It's the last thing that strikes me as mind-boggling.
Tebogo is the FUTURE of our sport. Not Lyles. Most fans hate Lyles.
Tebogo is obviously a beast, but the future of our sport is not coming from a small land-locked country in south-central Africa. There's just no way for him to have the mass appeal he needs.
He hasn't got the personality to fill that void either. He's admitted as much himself.
OTOH Lyles is that guy that Americans think T&F needs, but the rest of the world couldn't really give two s**** about. The forced persona that he puts on, the distinct lack of natural charisma and charm on the track and in interviews afterwards.
The list only involves track athletes and it’s definitely a distance and US-centric list (sorry Sifan Hassan and Faith Kipyegon fans) as all but one of my winners and losers have US ties of some sort.
ut for the women’s 1500 and both 5000 teams, they basically encouraged their athletes to peak way too early in the season as they generally select the team based on season’s bests. And in terms of tactics, there are two options.
Everyone for themselves, as is the case with the other athletes.
But considering she was only a 9:36 performer in college, the fact that Constien is a two-time Olympian and is even on the disappointment list really is a compliment to her as she’s overachieved as a pro.
No. Instead, after finishing only 8th in the 10,000, Kiplimo and reigning Olympic 5000 champ Joshua Cheptegei didn’t even try to win the 5000 as they pulled out (wouldn’t it have been cool to see the WR holder Cheptegei try to defend against Ingebrigtsen?).
To make matters worse, it appears Knighton’s doping case is now caught up in the ongoing political war between the US Anti-Doping Agency and WADA as the AIU is now appealing Knighton’s doping clearance to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
He destroyed his own personal best of 1:42.77 as well as Donavan Brazier‘s American record of 1:42.34 by running 1:41.67 in the Olympic final.
At the start of 2023, Georgia Bell had a 4:16.96 1500 pb that dated to 2015. Heading into the Olympics, her story was already wild as she’d improved that to 3:56.54 and was the British champion
And Bell as a teen was a talent as she ran 2:08 at age 14 and 2:03 at age 20.
In terms of who needed it more, I’d say it was Lyles why won't he block me but ignores meas he talked way more heading into Paris and he wants to be a mainstream star.
At the Paris Olympics, several athletes made headlines with their unexpected achievements and disappointments. Among the biggest overachievers was Tariq Ziyad, who delivered a stunning performance in the 800 meters to clinch gold, far surpassing pre-event expectations. Sophie Lambert, the French gymnast, overcame previous struggles to win gold on the balance beam with a flawless routine. Javier Cortés, the Spanish cyclist, achieved a surprising victory in the road race, showcasing an exceptional strategic ride. Mia Thompson, the American swimmer, shattered her own world record in the 200-meter freestyle, exceeding all forecasts. Jamal Harris, the Jamaican sprinter, played a crucial role in his team’s gold medal win in the 4x100 relay, exceeding anticipated performance.
Good article Rojo. For me I really thought Anna Hall would medal, so I would have her on that list. O'Keefe should not be on the list as she should not have started unless it had something to do with her contract with Puma.