llort wrote:
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden will be the exception to what we'll see as the Grand Slam Slump. Hard races in April/May, DLs, and a world championship in Mid-September is just too long of a season.
Grant looked like he didn't have the last gear. Jess Hull almost had to walk to the line in the DL final. Kenny had to settle for 4th after looking like a world beater in May. Yared couldn't get it done to make the starting line. The Big 3 in the 400 hurdles is looking more like a Big 2 with Dos Santos on the outside looking in. Arop hasn't been able to figure out how to get in the top 3 mix. I love all these athletes, and I was definitely happy to watch GST when it was happening, but it's hard to not see the trend.
The verdict is still out on Cole, Josh, and Sydney. Syd's competition may be equally cooked by early races, and her talent level is just on another level. And Cole/Josh may yet benefit from the Koech fall and snag a medal I wouldn't write them off yet, but I think Syd might be the only one wearing gold when it's all done.
I hope if GST comes back, or something similar, it learns a lesson from this. I think athletes would be better off with meets that draw big competition in North America that compete with the DL. Plenty of US-based athletes put up duds after being jetlagged upon arrival in Europe. Get enough incentive to draw big fields, but do it in the lead up to USAs.
As a US fan, the big excitement of GST weas the reality of meets i could actually attend with top-tier talent. Let's get some big summer meets in the US. That's all we need.
I can appreciate the optimism bro but GST ain’t coming back. Not in any way, shape or form. Not only does it have the money issues, we are now seeing the effects of the very long season. I agree with almost your entire statement and examples. Majority of people who ran GST and are still running now, are missing out on podiums and faster times when it counts, per se. I also love and cheer on the majority of athletes you listed but I agree that we are seeing negative trends in placements and times. Grant being a big one here, even if his GST times were pedestrian by word class standards - he is still feeling the effects of the racing earlier in the season. MJW is the exception and I hate to say it this way but…. It’s 100 meters. Probably easier to recover from over the course of April - September than 10k / 5k doubles. But I digress because Kenny hasn’t exactly proven himself noteworthy after GST either tho. Lyles didn’t partake in GST and podiumed when it mattered.