I'm also liking that picture of Anna Hall a few posts up. I've seen better pictures of Hall but still stunning. The poster said she should be on a Wheaties box. Hell, she could be on the cover of a fashion magazine.
I'd prefer my Wheeties to be non-hodgkinson. ...and Kipyegon is great, but if she was ON my Wheeties box, I wouldn't have faith that I wouldn't start imagining that the Wheeties flakes were worn skin, falling off Kipyegon's feet, hands and inner-thighs. Does everyone agree ?
I'm showing my age here, but no female distance runner today remotely approaches the star power and 'It' Girl status Mary Decker Slaney achieved after her stirring 1500 and 3000m wins at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Mary was damn talented (a teen wunderkind who became world-class from 800m to 5000m), and attractive in a wholesome girl-next-door sense (an image she lost to an extent after her controversial and much-hyped race against Zola Budd at the LA Olympics in '84). Her exploits at Helsinki earned her Sports Illustrated magazine "Sportswoman of the Year" recognition, back when SI was IT as far as serious sports journalism went (in spite of its annual swimsuit edition). By the time the LA Olympics arrived, ABC-TV had relentlessly promoted her and Carl Lewis as two of the biggest faces of the Games, back when there were still only 3 major U.S. television stations, no internet, and cable TV was still finding its way.
Interesting photo. The way back then a man in an aqua suit-jacket would stand on the track, just to freak the women out. Maybe he was handing out Ventolin.
I'm also liking that picture of Anna Hall a few posts up. I've seen better pictures of Hall but still stunning. The poster said she should be on a Wheaties box. Hell, she could be on the cover of a fashion magazine.
I'm also liking that picture of Anna Hall a few posts up. I've seen better pictures of Hall but still stunning. The poster said she should be on a Wheaties box. Hell, she could be on the cover of a fashion magazine.
I'm showing my age here, but no female distance runner today remotely approaches the star power and 'It' Girl status Mary Decker Slaney achieved after her stirring 1500 and 3000m wins at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Mary was damn talented (a teen wunderkind who became world-class from 800m to 5000m), and attractive in a wholesome girl-next-door sense (an image she lost to an extent after her controversial and much-hyped race against Zola Budd at the LA Olympics in '84). Her exploits at Helsinki earned her Sports Illustrated magazine "Sportswoman of the Year" recognition, back when SI was IT as far as serious sports journalism went (in spite of its annual swimsuit edition). By the time the LA Olympics arrived, ABC-TV had relentlessly promoted her and Carl Lewis as two of the biggest faces of the Games, back when there were still only 3 major U.S. television stations, no internet, and cable TV was still finding its way.
Roger that! Damn, remember when this country was so great that Mary was often on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine? I get chills thinking about all of this. Kenny Moore was more of a writing god among the true believers than a running god. Get his book Best Efforts if you can find it. Think about it... do we have a track athlete whose "going home devastated" could cause national news as did Mary in LA in 1984? Lots of pressure on her and she was tough as nails (which is why I like a few of the gals mentioned like Anna Hall).
I used to watch Mary at OT and USA nationals back in the day. The announcer (Bob Hersh?) would exclaim "This is Mary Decker" as she kicked ass down the homestretch. My best personal memory of her was at the start of the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta early-mid 80's. There was a small wooded area and if you were lucky enough to be "seeded" near the starting line, you could make that last minute whiz there. I had to go and here comes Mary running out of the woods! Must have been bad luck as that was the year she fell down at the start and was never in contention.
I'm showing my age here, but no female distance runner today remotely approaches the star power and 'It' Girl status Mary Decker Slaney achieved after her stirring 1500 and 3000m wins at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Mary was damn talented (a teen wunderkind who became world-class from 800m to 5000m), and attractive in a wholesome girl-next-door sense (an image she lost to an extent after her controversial and much-hyped race against Zola Budd at the LA Olympics in '84). Her exploits at Helsinki earned her Sports Illustrated magazine "Sportswoman of the Year" recognition, back when SI was IT as far as serious sports journalism went (in spite of its annual swimsuit edition). By the time the LA Olympics arrived, ABC-TV had relentlessly promoted her and Carl Lewis as two of the biggest faces of the Games, back when there were still only 3 major U.S. television stations, no internet, and cable TV was still finding its way.
Roger that! Damn, remember when this country was so great that Mary was often on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine? I get chills thinking about all of this. Kenny Moore was more of a writing god among the true believers than a running god. Get his book Best Efforts if you can find it. Think about it... do we have a track athlete whose "going home devastated" could cause national news as did Mary in LA in 1984? Lots of pressure on her and she was tough as nails (which is why I like a few of the gals mentioned like Anna Hall).
I used to watch Mary at OT and USA nationals back in the day. The announcer (Bob Hersh?) would exclaim "This is Mary Decker" as she kicked ass down the homestretch. My best personal memory of her was at the start of the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta early-mid 80's. There was a small wooded area and if you were lucky enough to be "seeded" near the starting line, you could make that last minute whiz there. I had to go and here comes Mary running out of the woods! Must have been bad luck as that was the year she fell down at the start and was never in contention.
I've said this so many times to the people who say "track will never be popular because ..."
It WAS a popular sport even in the USA at one time.
Meets and road races were on TV and people watched. Meets were well attended. I always reference the Ryan- Liquari Dream Mile in 1971- on TV and look at the crowds in the stands.
USATF is to blame- their issues are well documented here on letsrun- it's all a matter of marketing.
Roger that! Damn, remember when this country was so great that Mary was often on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine? I get chills thinking about all of this. Kenny Moore was more of a writing god among the true believers than a running god. Get his book Best Efforts if you can find it. Think about it... do we have a track athlete whose "going home devastated" could cause national news as did Mary in LA in 1984? Lots of pressure on her and she was tough as nails (which is why I like a few of the gals mentioned like Anna Hall).
I used to watch Mary at OT and USA nationals back in the day. The announcer (Bob Hersh?) would exclaim "This is Mary Decker" as she kicked ass down the homestretch. My best personal memory of her was at the start of the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta early-mid 80's. There was a small wooded area and if you were lucky enough to be "seeded" near the starting line, you could make that last minute whiz there. I had to go and here comes Mary running out of the woods! Must have been bad luck as that was the year she fell down at the start and was never in contention.
I've said this so many times to the people who say "track will never be popular because ..."
It WAS a popular sport even in the USA at one time.
Meets and road races were on TV and people watched. Meets were well attended. I always reference the Ryan- Liquari Dream Mile in 1971- on TV and look at the crowds in the stands.
USATF is to blame- their issues are well documented here on letsrun- it's all a matter of marketing.
Put Joe Douglas in charge of marketing track & field. ..."Kelvin Kiptum will be the next Michael Jackson"
which man ? ...she did have a baby...so there's that. If she is doing any cheating...she's certainly ballsy...with all the world records and so on. ...but a big part of her success and so many others, has to be those stupid shoes. ...she's beating dubious world records by doing what the old record holders did + the shoes. That's no great revelation...but I am adding my voice to those who wish the new shoes were banned.
I have to disagree about Mary Decker. She was extremely talented, but none of my peers liked her. She always came off as petulant and narcissistic. We all cheered when Ruth Wysocki beat her in the trials.
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