I was once on my way to my first taste of sub-4:00 goodness, hitting the bell in 3:29 and change. As I moved into the lead on the backstraight, I looked up at the video screen, only to see a string of pasty faces behind my own. Not even a bit of Latinx swarthiness to break the monotonous blockade of white privilege. Instantly my stomach sank, my legs wobbled, and I sank to the infield in a heap, eyes bawling out their grief for the centuries of oppression that led to this dismal and ignominious result. If the mile was going to be racist, at least I was not going to be the enabler. I ripped off my bib and stalked off to the concession for a double tall almond milk frappucinno in which to at least find solace in something brown, warm and reassuring.
Citius I dare you to publish this. My rates are very "affordable" ;)
I can assure you, 100%, that African and Asian and other runners overseas do not give a single rats a$$ about what America thinks about their achievements. Don't give me "they aren't recognized enough because they run the 1500" they didn't become world class athletes to impress some dumb fat American hobbyjoggers across the world, they did it to become great and live their dreams. Who cares if more of American running is in it's bubble of ignorance? The rest of the world running stage and everyone serious about running certainly admires them. I have admired El Guerrouj since I began running and so does everyone who is genuinely serious about it. This moron just needs another thing to whine and virtue signal about to fill the gaping hole of millenial insufficiency he suffers in his life, because that's what the new generations do, is ruin things to make themselves feel better. All this coming from a gen Z myself
I can assure you, 100%, that African and Asian and other runners overseas do not give a single rats a$ about what America thinks about their achievements. Don't give me "they aren't recognized enough because they run the 1500" they didn't become world class athletes to impress some dumb fat American hobbyjoggers across the world, they did it to become great and live their dreams. Who cares if more of American running is in it's bubble of ignorance? The rest of the world running stage and everyone serious about running certainly admires them. I have admired El Guerrouj since I began running and so does everyone who is genuinely serious about it. This moron just needs another thing to whine and virtue signal about to fill the gaping hole of millenial insufficiency he suffers in his life, because that's what the new generations do, is ruin things to make themselves feel better. All this coming from a gen Z myself
If you were a little more clever you'd understand that Africans and Asians root for Africans and Asians because they're African and Asian... Only lily white leftist twats think people rooting for their own country is a problem.
This is the kind of virtue signaling bulls*** that does more to hurt the actual problem than help it. Is racism an issue in America? OF COURSE. An issue in athletics? YES. Is this attention-hungry, holier than thou, sjw making up some ridiculous claim for personal gain going to help that problem? No. I would argue that it does more harm.
I don't understand the comment about Hicham El Guerrouj not being recognized because he was primarily a 1500 runner - he also holds the mile record and about seven of the top ten times in both the 1500 and mile.
Citius Mag putting out just an absolutely atrocious take:
”The 4-minute mile is a white man’s achievement. Our sub-four heroes, from Roger Bannister to Jim Ryun to Hobbs Kessler, tend to be white and are always male. As in all aspects of American culture, our historical marginalization of women and people of color, combined with our implicit biases about which athletes we choose to lionize, means that the achievements of white men receive a disproportionate amount of praise and attention. The best middle-distance runners in the world are African, but they don’t run the mile: they primarily run the 1500m. And as a result, Hicham El Guerrouj is not nearly the household name that he might otherwise be.”
Uh, only white American males care and still think running under 4 minute for a mile is anything to write home about for competitive runners. That happened in 1954. 1954! The list of sub 4 minute milers would be 10x larger if other countries ran that distance throughout history. We don't report news when someone high jumps 6'11". Stop listing breaking 4 as some astonishing performance, it isn't.
Uhhh...Yeah it is. Have you run sub 4:00?
Question: Would you consider climbing Mt. Everest an achievement and or big deal? Did you know that more people have climbed Mt. Everest than have broken 4:00 min for the mile? Go to any party, bar, event, etc...and if known you've run sub 4:00 min you're a Rockstar!
Think outside the world of elite running, it's an iconic achievement as a human being. Too bad you'll never know.
(1) Is a very weak strawman argument, followed by several even weaker strawman arguments.
I think it shows how easily they are riled by insinuations of racism..
The article is probably just poorly written and thought out. We do know that the mile is an event more highly regarded in the USA with its stubborn adherence to an archaic imperial system and we do know that it still is only recognised because of the original 4 min barrier.
The equivalent in the universally accepted metric 1,500m Olympic distance is about 3:43. Yet even outside USA, go to your next party of athletics ignoramusus and exclaim, "I have run 3:40 for the 1,500"...or would you rather pull out your 3:59 mile?
A 3:42 1500m is NOT a sub 4:00 min mile. It is NOT the same distance!
A 3:59 mile IS a sub 4:00 min mile....Dumb A^^!
I love how "Non" elite runners equate and or compare the two events. They're NOT the same. If you ever ran a sub 4:00 min mile you'd know.
The essay is dumb. I think there's a very real question you could ask, something like "Why is distance running in America so white?" It's valid and constructive. Instead we get this woke-fetishism.
The quote comes from a piece from David Melly (I added the link to the first post as there was no attribution)- whom I coached at Cornell for a year. I used to really enjoy talking to him at practice as he was into politcs and ideas. The fact that he had very different conclusions than me wasn't really an issue. After he graduated, I bought him a book explaining how it was imperative that liberals turn away from identity politics.
The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics
From one of the country’s most admired political thinkers, an urgent wake-up call to American liberals to turn from the divisive politics of identity and develop a vision of our future that can persuade all citizens that they share a common destiny.
Is this column confirmation that he never read it? I should text him and find out.
If he did, I guess he didn't learn from it. It blows my mind that the average liberal doesn't realize their constant virtue signaling and ridiculous takes like this are what led to Trump.
I hope he reads the book or just listens to 10 seconds from Morgan Freeman.
Melly is an absolute clown as is this piece. I’ve watched this guy for the past year spout this and that about “equality” while he constantly tears down the achievements and performances of other runners (who are clearly more talented than him).
Ironically enough, all his supporters are those with pronouns as headlines who don’t realize their hero is a keyboard bully compensating for something that is clearly missing in his life: ATTENTION.
I know people who specifically will not buy Tracksmith gear because they’re associated with this bully. Only he could turn breaking the 4-minute mile into racist act. Disgusting.
Well he sure got the attention he craves. Rojo wasn’t was this kids major at Cornell?
I think it shows how easily they are riled by insinuations of racism..
The article is probably just poorly written and thought out. We do know that the mile is an event more highly regarded in the USA with its stubborn adherence to an archaic imperial system and we do know that it still is only recognised because of the original 4 min barrier.
The equivalent in the universally accepted metric 1,500m Olympic distance is about 3:43. Yet even outside USA, go to your next party of athletics ignoramusus and exclaim, "I have run 3:40 for the 1,500"...or would you rather pull out your 3:59 mile?
A 3:42 1500m is NOT a sub 4:00 min mile. It is NOT the same distance!
A 3:59 mile IS a sub 4:00 min mile....Dumb A^^!
I love how "Non" elite runners equate and or compare the two events. They're NOT the same. If you ever ran a sub 4:00 min mile you'd know.
JFC!!
High schoolers can run sub 4:00 mile so is it really that hard? 13 just in America.
People have claimed stupid and provocative things solely for attention for centuries, if not longer.
This is the kind of hot take you put out when your click-rate and unique visits has been dropping for months and advertisers are starting to bail.
Exactly and this is why the media loves their race baiting. They deliberately race bait because they're convinced it gives them better ratings/more revenue. And you know what, in a lot of instances this is true. The media attacks and hammers the aspects which make them revenue. They are a business, they're not here to help society at all like some Liberals are convinced they do. In fact, the reality is quite the opposite as the medias influence sets society back and causes division.
"they are a business, they are not here to help society at all like some liberals are convinced they do." No, liberals pretty much know that the media is a business and operates under the same capitalist rules as everyone else, leading to sensationalism, clickbait etc. What conservatives sometimes fail to understand, is that the media is a business, they are not part of some liberal conspiracy to damage society and push a liberal agenda in accordance with their politician overlords. They are just a business.
Sometimes that leads to garbage journalism like this one. If you'll notice from the upvotes, despite most of your posts and opinions getting downvoted into oblivion, the upvotes on this thread overwhelmingly agree that this is the most garbage, race baiting piece of journalism we've seen in a while. That is what it is like to think critically on every issue.
I think it shows how easily they are riled by insinuations of racism..
The article is probably just poorly written and thought out. We do know that the mile is an event more highly regarded in the USA with its stubborn adherence to an archaic imperial system and we do know that it still is only recognised because of the original 4 min barrier.
The equivalent in the universally accepted metric 1,500m Olympic distance is about 3:43. Yet even outside USA, go to your next party of athletics ignoramusus and exclaim, "I have run 3:40 for the 1,500"...or would you rather pull out your 3:59 mile?
A 3:42 1500m is NOT a sub 4:00 min mile. It is NOT the same distance!
A 3:59 mile IS a sub 4:00 min mile....Dumb A^^!
I love how "Non" elite runners equate and or compare the two events. They're NOT the same. If you ever ran a sub 4:00 min mile you'd know.
JFC!!
Your a deadset friggin dropkick to not know that the 1,500m is the 'metric' mile, that is the whole reason for its existence.
A 3:42 1500m is NOT a sub 4:00 min mile. It is NOT the same distance!
A 3:59 mile IS a sub 4:00 min mile....Dumb A^^!
I love how "Non" elite runners equate and or compare the two events. They're NOT the same. If you ever ran a sub 4:00 min mile you'd know.
JFC!!
High schoolers can run sub 4:00 mile so is it really that hard? 13 just in America.
Yes, and they can also play in the EPL etc, but the point I made is that your average Joe blow sees a sub 4 as a big achievement vs a 3:43 1,500m, irrespective of how hard it was for the athlete
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