Galen Rupp Comes Up Short for USATF Title #9 - Then Blows Off The Media

I'm sure he knows all the questions will be about doping allegations and maybe 1 question about how he felt tonight.

MHS wrote:

Rupp owes us nothing. Wish he was good at interviews but he isn't and has never been.

+1

I met Rupp once during NXN at the Nike campus. I was escorting an athlete and we bumped into him and said hi. He blew us off, said we could talk to him at the pro table.

It rubbed me the wrong way, but so what? He's allowed to be cold to strangers. I still root for him.

Rupp: Just get on the roads and get it over with. Everyone knows you're done on the track, and though you've done well in your three marathons, you can't close anywhere near how the others do, and your upside is going to be maybe 2:07, when the winners go 2:03 or better.

Run XC, run everything road between 10K and the half, run a 30K or two in Japan. Chase the national hour record. Jump into Kip's next sub-2 effort. Hell, jump ship to Adidas and wear decent flats for once.

Just saying.

Throughout this thread people have called Rupp a "bitch" and a "punk." I cringed when i read those words.

As a long time reader of the forums I find this pretty disturbing and upsetting. I get that these people are trolls trying to rile people up (like me), and I guess they're being successful at what they do. But using vulgarity and hateful terms to describe a tough, talented runner with an incredible career doesn't add to any meaningful discussion, and brings down the message boards' reputation as a whole.

Hiding behind anonymity is a great way to spread hate; but you trolls would be mortified if someone close to you in your life knew you were calling a complete stranger a "bitch." Grow up; it's fine to not root for Rupp; but you have no reason to despise a man for not granting an interview after a rough race in the heat.

i agree with spencer wrote:

glad you can make excuses for poor little rupp

so when top marathon guys crush out sub 2:04's everyone on here claims they can run close the to WR in the 10k

rupp ran a 29 low and got his a$$ handed to him and YOUR excuse is he ran slow cause he peaked for the marathon? thats such weak bull$hit.

he runs 2:09 and thats 30:30 10k pace, so maybe your right. he runs a slow worthless marathon and drops 1:30 off his pace to run way faster than he has been training

^Most bitter dude ever??

I find it surprising that a long time reader of these boards 'cringed' at this thread.

Trqer wrote:

i agree with spencer wrote:

glad you can make excuses for poor little rupp

so when top marathon guys crush out sub 2:04's everyone on here claims they can run close the to WR in the 10k

rupp ran a 29 low and got his a$$ handed to him and YOUR excuse is he ran slow cause he peaked for the marathon? thats such weak bull$hit.

he runs 2:09 and thats 30:30 10k pace, so maybe your right. he runs a slow worthless marathon and drops 1:30 off his pace to run way faster than he has been training

^Most bitter dude ever??

^Most clueless response ever!

The comment you are bitter about is about people like you making excuses for Rupp. That means in minds of people like you--Rupp fans--those who ran faster than Rupp just cannot be better. Sorry, but people like you are why Rupp will never get the respect that "you" think he deserves. Believe it or not, there are other runners we can be fans of.

While it was disappointing, my thought is that Galen is basically an introvert. I've encountered him in public away from the track on the evening after he broke Steve Pre's Trials record in the 5,000. My friends and I said congratulations and he politely said thank you and went about his business. It would have been easy to compare him to Steve at that point whom I'm sure would have been more engaging. However, I didn't take it was him being snotty so much as not being comfortable with notoriety.

I'm not justifying what happened so much as trying to understand without bashing him.

This is all of it right here. Ye reap what ye sow, LR.

hot pants 108 wrote:

With how he gets treated here, who can blame him?

So who is he hugging at the end of the clip? Inquiring moms want to know.

Coaches News Network wrote:

While it was disappointing, my thought is that Galen is basically an introvert. I've encountered him in public away from the track on the evening after he broke Steve Pre's Trials record in the 5,000. My friends and I said congratulations and he politely said thank you and went about his business. It would have been easy to compare him to Steve at that point whom I'm sure would have been more engaging. However, I didn't take it was him being snotty so much as not being comfortable with notoriety.

I'm not justifying what happened so much as trying to understand without bashing him.

Ajee Wilson seems pretty introverted, and she had plenty of controversy to answer questions for. Yet she faced the media and answered questions respectfully, declining to answer what she didn't feel comfortable with (I couldn't hear what question was asked, but she said something like, that's a question for my coach at a later date).

Watching Galen succeed for years has done nothing to make me a fan of his, and his behavior last night only reinforces that. It doesn't strike me that he has a big fan base, despite all his success.

Of course I have some skepticism about Ajee's positive test, but I respect her for facing the media about it and so far give her the benefit of the doubt. (tangent, but, if this banned substance is used so commonly in the US beef supply why is she the first we've heard of testing positive for it??)

I can understand he being extremely dissapointed, but this isn't a particularly good way to act after a race. I understand it, but its not good enough. He's no kid anymore.

If you wanna see someone handling a dissapointing loss, look to Duane Solomon after his complete breakdown in the trials. He took his time, talked to media with a good spirit and behaved as a grown man. Of course he was extremely dissapointed as well.

Coaches News Network wrote:

While it was disappointing, my thought is that Galen is basically an introvert. I've encountered him in public away from the track on the evening after he broke Steve Pre's Trials record in the 5,000. My friends and I said congratulations and he politely said thank you and went about his business. It would have been easy to compare him to Steve at that point whom I'm sure would have been more engaging. However, I didn't take it was him being snotty so much as not being comfortable with notoriety.

I'm not justifying what happened so much as trying to understand without bashing him.

Thats not being an introvert (doesn't mean he isn't one), thats being shy. You can be like Steve and still be an introvert.

Pac 11.5 wrote:

This is all of it right here. Ye reap what ye sow, LR.

hot pants 108 wrote:

With how he gets treated here, who can blame him?

As has been pointed out, LR is not the only ones in the media tent.

And the fact that he gave an interview afterward to Ken Goe, basically a Nike cheerleader, shows he is scared to interact outside of the 'bubble' Al Sal has built around him.

He will go down as one of the better distance runners in US history but he will never have the respect that others have because of his own actions. Maybe he doesn't care and that is fine.

in the no wrote:

He will go down as one of the better distance runners in US history but he will never have the respect that others have because of his own actions. Maybe he doesn't care and that is fine.

Who is more respected? Ben True? LOL

I am fairly certain this means he is DONE - getting wasted by Kenyan-Americans on 'Merican soil AND blowing off the media?!? How does one survive that? You heard it here first - D O N E

Barakus Obama wrote:

I can understand he being extremely dissapointed, but this isn't a particularly good way to act after a race. I understand it, but its not good enough. He's no kid anymore.

If you wanna see someone handling a dissapointing loss, look to Duane Solomon after his complete breakdown in the trials. He took his time, talked to media with a good spirit and behaved as a grown man. Of course he was extremely dissapointed as well.

I don't consider it Rupp's responsibility to talk to the media after the race. Particularly directly after. Unless it is in his contract to do so of course. He gave a statement after he had a chance to process the loss.

What people need to understand is that athletes owe you nothing. Think of it this way: Lebron has been lashed out at by fans and media for years, and he's still the best in the league without his fans' approval. His success is his own, not because people like him.

And this is exactly why T&F will never gain popularity or grow as a sport. In other sports there is a governing body that says their athletes must make themselves available to the media. This gives people a chance to know the athlete and develop a bond with a person, team, or the sport in general.

You think Lebron doesn't have a ton of fans? You are clueless.

You don't win 8 USATF titles in a row without having a fierce competitive streak.[/quote]

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