Lopez Lomong on Salazar Screaming

You guys call that a meltdown? Man...what do you call coaches in other sports? Serial killers?

I love this Salazar guy. I just recently got back into track after the London Olympics and Rudisha and Mo Farah and those guys kicking butt...Salazar is great! It's like the WWF, which I also loved, except these are a bunch of funny-looking little skinny guys. It's hilarious. Thanks, Alberto. You've brought a fan back to US track.

Imagine if Rupp would have gotten 3rd?

howboutthem apples wrote:

Sees thelight wrote:

Actually when watching the race I did see two things.

Lomong saw Rupp trying to pass and drifted wide to push him out /keep him from passing.

Hill cut in front of Rupp breaking his stride.

Not major events but they did happen. I would say perfectly fine from a competition standpoint. A bit iffier for them all being nike athletes.

Maybe it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I mean Hill and Lomong had not chance of beating Rupp so why all the aggressive behavior...

link?

actual wisdom on LR. my mind is blown

Dr. Pepper wrote:

Imagine if Rupp would have gotten 3rd?

...a couple of body bags out there and salazar in cuffs. do they have the death penalty out there?

He went ballistic during a weekend where Rupp qualified and Cain/Moser went 1 and 2. That is a damn good weekend. Instead he chose to alienate a new group of people and only heighten the rumor mill regarding the lengths he will go to .....

From Jon Gugala's Twitter (@JonGugala):

Just spoke with Lopez Lomong. Salazar screamed at him in front of fans and a USATF merchandise tent. Direct quotes coming shortly.

Lomong: Sal was yelling a/b “Everything we are doing to jeopardize his athlete’s performance. 'You’re always doing this, and it’s bulls--.'”

“I did not touch your athlete," Lomong says he said. Then Salazar: “Of course you did. You and [Bumbalough] ."

Says there were a lot of kids around trying to get autographs. Salazar was physically restrained by other coaches “talking him down.”

Lomong: “To see the outrage in [Salazar's] eyes, he was very, very mad. I didn’t even have any contact with [Rupp] at all . . .

". . . but with [Bumbalough], it didn’t matter."

Lomong: "It was very hard to see how unprofessional, the sportsmanship."

n ABQ, when coming down from the track, there's the mixed zone: kids getting autographs, a USATF retail shop. “That’s where it happened."

L.: “I know there’s a lot of people that heard the whole thing. I was like, ‘Wow.’ I could not believe it. I can’t believe it happened."

Reiterates: no contact with Rupp. “I did not tag anybody.” Sal to Lomong: “You did. You’re trying to jeopardize my athlete’s performance.”

[Bumbalough and I], it was pretty weird to single us out like that."

That’s what really makes me sad. I came from really far. I came from a lot in my life. I want to compete as much as I can for my country."

Salazar, Nike, and USATF have all been contacted for comment on the allegations.

LetsRun Update: we have a story now out on this issue now:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/02/lopez-lomong-happy-verbally-berated-alberto-salazar-see-outrage-eyes-mad-hard-see-unprofessional-lack-spo/

up on front page now:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/02/lopez-lomong-happy-verbally-berated-alberto-salazar-see-outrage-eyes-mad-hard-see-unprofessional-lack-spo/

Al's a Hypocite wrote:

Sees thelight wrote:

Lomong saw Rupp trying to pass and drifted wide to push him out /keep him from passing.

You're right, LL did the same as Hasay when GG went to pass, i.e. drifted out, either intentionally or not, who knows, but that's racing.

One thing that helped me understand this whole Grunewald/Hasay contact or "stumble" thing was that I first watched it on a slow/choppy computer the first day. The video just kind of jumped past the spot (9:55) where Letsrun said to look at.

So I shrugged my shoulders and didn't think it must have been too big a deal. So I didn't have any idea what had really happened or whether a foul had occurred. Later, maybe on Sunday night, the issue had exploded and someone (probably from Letsrun) described the "contact" as Hasay in second, making a move on Rowbury to pass, pulling wide to do so. Almost instantly realizing that she didn't have the legs to do that, and moving back in. Grunewald was in third, hugging the rail, and right behind Hasay at this point. Hasay cuts back in and cuts Grunewald off. Hasay can't see behind her and her back foot hits Grunewald's front foot as it is extending forward.

So, with this new description, I went and watched the video for the first time for real, and it seemed that this is exactly what happened. I have no dog in this fight, don't really care who won the race, who goes to Poland, or who faded into second or 4th. i just hope the best person on that day can actually finish first.

Many people have said they had never hear of Gabe Grunewald. Well I never had either. I HAD however, heard of Gabriele Amderson and knew that she was a 4:01 1500m runner. Mostly I took notice because her name was almost the same as Gabriela Andersen-Schiess (who collapsed in the 1984 Olympic marathon). Besides how to spell her name, I knew nothing about her.

I did also watch the interview with Rowbury and when asked about any contact or whether that played a role in the outcome of the race, she shrugged it off and said that "Gabe just runs with a big armswing" and that there was no reason that the little contact decided the race.

So, watch the race video again, on a fast computer and NOT your phone and see if you don't see the same thing I did (i.e. Hasay cutting back towards the rail after realizing that she was not going to be able to pass -- and "colliding from the front" with Grunewald's leading foot).

If you don't see it that way, no big deal. The big deal about all of this IS NOT THAT THERE WAS or WAS NOT any foul or contact. The big deal is that there was a protest that was denied and an appeal that was denied. That should have been the end of it.

It doesn't matter what the thousands of fans (me included) think of the contact, it matter that the Jury at the meet ruled that there was no violation.

agip wrote:

I would be surprised but not shocked if Al Sal takes a leave of some sort after Poland - he seems to have become unhinged this weekend.

Sort of a sociopathic break.

For his own mental health, and that of his athletes, to say nothing of Nike's reputation, I'd be shocked if he doesn't have to take some kind of leave of absence. He's gone way, way too far.

Salazar definitely has. I wanted to think the best of him before, as he just really seemed like a passionate coach who put his athletes first. After reading more and more about his antics, it is pretty clear he is a loose cannon. He is certainly a good coach in terms of the x's and o's (He had Webb running very well, really got Amy Begley running well, and Cain, Rupp, Moser, Hasay etc are currently excellent), but there are just too many disenfranchised parties and burned bridges that are coming up to think he doesn't have some issues. Where there is smoke there is fire, and to be honest, this last incident at USATF is not smoke...it is a full blown fire storm. To accost Lomong and Schumacher at the meet for no real reason they way he did is very low class. Maybe he was having a bad weekend, but this seems borderline mental.

You're sexy af for that one, Rupp has a big sack that's why he's so fast, can't believe you think Alberto is the reason. It's dbags like you who rely on social media to believe what you hear. Try being an assistant agent to Drew Suade, PAC-12 Runner of the Year 2012. I get so wmotionally overwhelmed when you piss on the NOP, then you want to go cry to your corporation saying oh Do me Farah, Do me because you're fast, get a life.

I'll just assume people aren't familiar with Treach, Vin Rock, and the cadence of the original song. This is great.

no footage of this? No one taped any of these outbursts?

If true, he's lucky this isn't going viral on the web with everyone having a handycam in their phone. Surprised such an outburst wasn't recorded by the network either. Or was it?

Galen Rupp Number on Fan wrote:

Kollege Degree wrote:

Unlike Rupp, Lomong does have a college degree in Business. Rupp does not have a college degree (business/marketing major).

"Lomong will be the standard bearer for Northern Arizona University's school of business at graduation ceremonies in Flagstaff, an honor bestowed by faculty members."

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/14/sports/la-sp-elliott-lopez-lomong-20111215

lol. Northern Arizona 'University'= clown college. Lomong can barely speak English...

Yeah, why don't you move to Sudan and see how well you can communicate with the locals.

"An old adage of mine..." What complete bullsheet. That saying about treatment of waiters has been around forever. When I was young my father told me his grandfather told him the same thing. Way to take credit for a hundred year old quip bro, you're such a wise man.

The track community is worked into a lather because somebody yelled at another person. Wow. Anybody here ever participate in a sport that doesn't diminish your testosterone to nothng?

Lighten up Francis wrote:

The track community is worked into a lather because somebody yelled at another person. Wow.

Something I agree with. Tempers happen. Ever been to a hockey game?

impartial observations wrote:

Lighten up Francis wrote:

The track community is worked into a lather because somebody yelled at another person. Wow.

Something I agree with. Tempers happen. Ever been to a hockey game?

at that hockey game with the tempers, did a coach come up to an athlete of a different team and yell at them for purposely slightly bumping their athlete? and did they go up to that athlete in a neutral area when they were just signing autographs to do this yelling?.....No, so your analogy is weak. Also I think a hockey player would be more prepared for this than a guy like Lomong.

The point is Salazar was very unprofessional and his claims were false and just dumb.