I defend Mary a lot on here. I hate when athletes do stuff like this though.
Still, it's on governing bodies to tighten the rules over who can compete for what country.
I agree with you 100%. But I don't think she will (or could) compete anymore. Ireland has legit runners. She could not make their team.
It probably has much more to do with citizenship, dual-citizenship, taxes, and options going forward. If you could have a UK or German or Swiss passport as a "back up" for the 2030s, you might be smart to take it. It doesn't have to "mean anything" and can just be a pragmatic or financial choice.
She's finished, so who cares? I don't doubt that she was mistreated by Salazar, but her career would've fizzled out at the same time, even if Salazar never entered the scene. Her body changed and she could no longer do it. Cain had no control over that; it was in her DNA. I think she was very disappointed about that physical development - understandably - but wanted to assign blame to other forces. I don't think she could comprehend how her amazing progress as a teenager could just naturally hit a screeching halt. It was nobody's fault. How many other sensational female teenager girls fail to progress into adulthood? Countless. And it's not limited to girls. I could name many guys who also hit the wall (eating disorders not an issue for guys, usually, as it is for White girls).
I agree that "bodies change" but I think the difference between what Salazar did and what a really good (female?) coach might have done is say, "Look, there is going to be a year or two of adjustment and if you try to 'fight it' by starving yourself, it is never going to pan out. You need to let your body adapt to these changes and play the long game. We need you ready to race in 2022 and 2024."
That is too "long term" though for Salazar and Nike though. They had a phenom and wanted success in that moment. And maybe the Cain family did too. But that is not how the female body works. You can't starve your way to success in the long run.
Is it for track or is she still giving triathlon a go? Ireland doesn't have a triathlete in the top-200 so maybe she's thinking she can be competitive there
Mary Cain, Ciara Mageean and Sarah Healy is a Good 1500 Combo, Can Cain beat Sonia O'sullivan's 8:21 for 3000 Record or 14:41 for 5000 or 30:47 for 10000? The 800 Irish Women's Record is 1:59.27 Cain should be able to get that, Magaeen's 1500 of 3:55.87 is what she is probably targetting for the Next few Years, Too bad she did not like the USA and decided to defect to Ireland, but Ireland is a good Country, I have been told I have ancestors from there, Joe Biden has ancestors from there as well, I hear Ireland has lots of Green Grass, and the Favorite Pasttime is going to the bars and fighting, and I heard the Term Paddywagon originated because every night in the USA Cities Irish Americans would be put into police wagons after fighting at the bars, so it was called the Paddy Wagon, I also heard most of the cops in New York were Irish, so cops instead of calling it the police wagon, Paddy is a nickname they sometimes call Irish People, Most Irish came to the USA because of the Potato Famines in the 1840's or as indentured servants in the 1600's Even Notre dames football team is called the Fighting Irish as Irish people are always getting into fights, One Explanation is the average Testosterone is between 250-1000 nl but most Irish Men have Testosterone levels of 1200-1500 by far the highest of any group.
The truth is that Salazar was just completely wrong for her. She ran her best when John Henwood of NYAC was doing the in person coaching with Salazar's workouts. The psychological dimension is absolutely key to coaching and Salazar was clueless about coaching a teen girl or at least this teen girl. Other coaches might have known how to maximize her talents without burning her out of the sport and other athletes could have handled Salazar's attitude, but he never succeeded as a coach of any American teen girls.
It probably has much more to do with citizenship, dual-citizenship, taxes, and options going forward. If you could have a UK or German or Swiss passport as a "back up" for the 2030s, you might be smart to take it. It doesn't have to "mean anything" and can just be a pragmatic or financial choice.
FWIW, I have Irish citizenship and passport (through a grandparent). World Athletics has no interest and no idea (and yes, I have a World Athletics profile, though I've been retired for over a decade). Pretty sure she must have taken a proactive step of informing World Athletics and requesting a transfer of allegiance, otherwise they wouldn't know and wouldn't care about a dual citizenship.
Is it for track or is she still giving triathlon a go? Ireland doesn't have a triathlete in the top-200 so maybe she's thinking she can be competitive there
That was my first thought, since there are lots of opportunities to represent your country internationally as a sub-elite, but I don't think World Athletics would care since it's a different governing body.
Maybe she thinks she can hit the marathon A standard someday.
There is not a single thing that ever happened to marry that isn't the fault of the person staring at her in the mirror. It despise Alberto but you can't make you have a mental illness.
The very first time shoes made uncomfortable she should have spoken up over left. And that's how I'm on everything is on her and I don't care about her or what happens to her in the future.
She's finished, so who cares? I don't doubt that she was mistreated by Salazar, but her career would've fizzled out at the same time, even if Salazar never entered the scene. Her body changed and she could no longer do it. Cain had no control over that; it was in her DNA. I think she was very disappointed about that physical development - understandably - but wanted to assign blame to other forces. I don't think she could comprehend how her amazing progress as a teenager could just naturally hit a screeching halt. It was nobody's fault. How many other sensational female teenager girls fail to progress into adulthood? Countless. And it's not limited to girls. I could name many guys who also hit the wall (eating disorders not an issue for guys, usually, as it is for White girls).
I agree that "bodies change" but I think the difference between what Salazar did and what a really good (female?) coach might have done is say, "Look, there is going to be a year or two of adjustment and if you try to 'fight it' by starving yourself, it is never going to pan out. You need to let your body adapt to these changes and play the long game. We need you ready to race in 2022 and 2024."
That is too "long term" though for Salazar and Nike though. They had a phenom and wanted success in that moment. And maybe the Cain family did too. But that is not how the female body works. You can't starve your way to success in the long run.
LOL This is the same Salazar that turned Sifan Hassan from a slightly pudgy also ran in the 800m into a lean mean greatest distance runner of all time. Also, Salazar is the guy who spent years developing Galen Rupp through a long term plan. Nothing short term about Salazar's coaching. If anyone was too focused on the short term it was Cain. She should have listened to him and she'd be dominating the world right now.
It was a terrible family decision. They gambled for glory and lost. they knew what/who Alberto was and it was to give everything. She gambled it all and lost. Life sucks. Ask the millions of truly abused girls who never got close to glory or a settlement. She lived a charmed life but the magic ended abruptly. Guess what? Millions of people have their glory years in high school. Time to stop blaming others. The Irish girls are pretty good, I doubt anything pans out there.
It probably has much more to do with citizenship, dual-citizenship, taxes, and options going forward. If you could have a UK or German or Swiss passport as a "back up" for the 2030s, you might be smart to take it. It doesn't have to "mean anything" and can just be a pragmatic or financial choice.
FWIW, I have Irish citizenship and passport (through a grandparent). World Athletics has no interest and no idea (and yes, I have a World Athletics profile, though I've been retired for over a decade). Pretty sure she must have taken a proactive step of informing World Athletics and requesting a transfer of allegiance, otherwise they wouldn't know and wouldn't care about a dual citizenship.
Tell us more about this Irish Tax system, I'm all ears
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