As a guy who was a middle distance runner and did a brief spell playing soccer at a D1 school, I cannot understand how a top-class elite runner does not want to compete. In soccer and track I always wanted more competition to raise my level. Still do despite being 40 years old. What is the deal?
I don't even have motivation to run regularly when there's no race or goal time on the horizon, it's just too much exertion. The competition and pursuit of a goal was always the reason for me and I imagine most professionals as well.
Why are these WR-level paid elites opting to not race, the most fun/exciting/compelling/challenging/fulfilling part of the sport?
Don't they WANT to race versus train alone for 12-16 months and not test themselves?
It's insane to me
How many Olympic golds, World Championship Golds, American records and World Records did you win during your career? Thanks for your input as a male in an entirely different sport for a "brief spell". It certainly helps offer an invaluable insight into what Syd and Athing are thinking!
Sydney pulls out with an injury and everybody here crucified her character. Only proves most of you hated her from the beginning. Why hide behind a fake reason?
Skipping Worlds to focus on the Olympics NEXT YEAR would be like if the Super Bowl favorite decided to tank for the #1 draft pick because their QB had to miss one regular season game.
Sydney pulls out with an injury and everybody here crucified her character. Only proves most of you hated her from the beginning. Why hide behind a fake reason?
I own this one.
I said very early on that I didn’t like her, and for that I took a severe LRC beating. Same thing with Felix, same with ScR, etc. I still don’t like any of them, for various reasons
So I’m enjoying this very much. WC’s just improved, IMO.
I did and still do like Mu, but she is someone with actual talent who just is not as into track as other things, and fair enough. She doesn’t ask to be adored by the 800m fan base.
otoh I have always loved SMU. One of the best moments in track when she dove to beat Felix!
You guys are late to the party, but welcome—just don’t flip back to the dark side. I would rather you remain butthurt than be fickle.
Skipping Worlds to focus on the Olympics NEXT YEAR would be like if the Super Bowl favorite decided to tank for the #1 draft pick because their QB had to miss one regular season game.
Ahh, yes, the inevitable Ameritard football analogy.
What’s different for Bobby Kersee now than when he was coaching Alyson Felix? Between 2005 and 2022 she won a medal in EVERY world championship except for 2013 when you got an injury in the 200m final and literally had to be carried off of the track. Felix wasn’t dodging races to prepare for the Olympics.
Sydney pulls out with an injury and everybody here crucified her character. Only proves most of you hated her from the beginning. Why hide behind a fake reason?
Would Syd and Mu avoid crucifixion if skipping Worlds has something to do with Hungary being overrun with fascists in general and Budapest becoming a safe haven for white nationalists in particular?
I think Bobby, Sydney, and Athing Mu need to take media training. Their comments make bad situations even worse. They have a tendency to:
1. Only share partial information that leads us to speculate. Why not tell us exactly what type of injury she has?
2. Frame the issue as insignificant (“minor knee issue”), which leads us to get upset that they are missing a major competition.
3. Make it seem as if the only thing that matters is getting ready for the Olympics. Yeah, we know the Olympics are most important, but that doesn’t mean you have to dump on the world championships.
So annoying!
100%. We need to know what the injury is. And I donn't want to hear crap about Hippa. If this was MLB or the NFL, we'd know what the injury is.
If she doubles next year, thought, the media will tell us how grueling and amazing she is to run 1 400 every day for a week.
Next Year's Schdule August 4, 12:35 p.m.: 400 hurdles first round August 5, 11:55 a.m.: 400 first round August 6, 7:45 p.m.: 400 hurdles semis August 7, 8:45 p.m.: 400 semis August 8, 9:05 p.m.: 400 hurdles final August 9, 8:00 p.m.: 400 final August 10, 9:20 p.m.: 4×400 relay final
Kersee is complaining about the schedule but next year's schedule is optimal for SML and NBC. They can hype her up and keep in the news for a full week.
Everyone who doesn’t understand hipaa calls it hippa. It’s the strangest thing. By the way hipaa has nothing to do with this. Other than stopping her doctor describing the injury without her permission
Sydney pulls out with an injury and everybody here crucified her character. Only proves most of you hated her from the beginning. Why hide behind a fake reason?
Would Syd and Mu avoid crucifixion if skipping Worlds has something to do with Hungary being overrun with fascists in general and Budapest becoming a safe haven for white nationalists in particular?
Have you ever spent even one minute in Hungary? It is a lovely country filled with lovely people. Easily one of the nicest places in Europe to visit. Far less fascistic than Germany. I lived in both countries for several years each. In Hungary the people were chill and welcoming, you had to do something seriously egregious to get any police attention at all. In Germany my black colleague got a $1000+ ticket for washing his car on the wrong day (a bird pooped on his black BMW and he was wiping it off with a spray bottle so his paint wouldn't get damaged).
Lord coe needs to have a conversation with Bobby Kersee and let him know he is not pleased. Coe is not without power.
Coe doesn't need to talk to anybody. He's already made up his mind. The byes will be eliminated. They were supposed to be a reward to the athletes, under the assumption those athletes could be trusted.
A few have proven untrustworthy so Coe will force everyone to line up.
Actually it would be amusing if Diamond League winners continue to receive the bye but world champions do not.
Lord coe needs to have a conversation with Bobby Kersee and let him know he is not pleased. Coe is not without power.
Actually there is little Coe can do. I mean really what do you think he can do? Tell a coach his injured athlete must participate?
Obviously he can't make her compete if she chooses not to, but I'm wondering if he could ask for objective evidence that she really is injured. Perhaps athletes that claim injury without being able to back it up could be penalized, though I'm guessing that World Athletics doesn't have that authority. If it did, athletes would just give some harder-to-verify reason (e.g., personal family matters, exhaustion) than injury to pull out, though at least such reasons might not be as face-saving as claiming injury and might motivate the athlete to compete rather than pull out.
I suppose all this is complicated by some injuries being difficult to confirm: can you objectively prove that a muscle is pulled?
Anyways, Paulino, SMU, Wilson, Kaczmarek, Adeleke, Diggs, Eid Naser is probably going to be one of the most-watch events at Budapest, even with Sydney's absence.
I'm personally wondering if the US will still be able to get the 4x4 Gold without her (I'm guessing they'll run Wilson, Diggs, Thomas, and Irby-Jackson.
I dunno, honestly. I'm actually gonna say Netherlands might win.
The Dutch can't win. Best case they'll be scrambling for 3rd through 5th. Two great legs and two weak legs. Beyond Bol and Klaver nobody has broken 51.7 all year.
The top Netherlands coach Meuwly is so desperate to fortify those two weak legs he has been moving short sprinters up to 400 in hopes that somebody pans out. Last year at this time Zoe Sedney was running 100 hurdles. Now there's a big chance she'll be on the 4 x 400 relay in Budapest.
After consulting with her doctors, she’s decided to withdraw due to a “minor knee issue” so she can be fully healthy for next year’s Olympics.
After barely racing all year, she scratches from the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS due to a “minor knee issue” so she’ll be ready for a meet 12 months in the future. Wtf.
I usually hate doping conspiracy theories but I wonder if she’s secretly fighting a violation that’s preventing her from competing at Worlds and this is her excuse in the meantime.
Didn't there used to be a break between major championships? I'm definitely not happy if both Mu and SML are out and I really hope they aren't covering up getting popped. I've been patient and tried to be a rational fan but they are looking hella suspicious right now with their timing of things. If a suspension was announced, I wouldn't be surprised with the way they are going about things. Still, its been like what will be 3 major championship years in a row at this point. Then the Olympics will make it 4. If we were on the old championship cycle, there would have a been a year off without worlds or the Olympics and this might not be such a big deal. Just a thought I had.