Update on Ryan Hall and Abdi Abdirahman Dropping Out of Olympic Marathon

But, if he collected a check for showing up at the starting line without finishing, he should return it if he's as genuine as advertised...

Anyway, we should have no ill-will toward any of these people, including Uceny. They are human after all, and they all had to make tough decisions.

I hope Hall finds his way back to form, but if he doesn't, like McDougal, I'm sure he'll be well anchored.

Hall the Loser wrote:

For 15k?

Of course they both knew they weren't going to finish the marathon.

Ritz could have run.

Kip Litton would have medalled.

I suppose we could debate about his name being the most recognizable. Among marathoners I can only think of Meb rivalling him for recognizability. Maybe now he'll be most recognizable but Hall still has some drawing power.

I agree with you that he should have given up his spot if he wasn't close to 100% and knew it but athletes are not going to do that. Rodgers knew he was well below 100% in Montreal and talks about sneaking out to run hoping no coaches or officials would see him hobbling on his bad foot and take him out of the race. Of course, he did finish the race though well behind the placing he'd hoped for and was able to come back and win at New York a few weeks later so maybe Hall could and should have done that three hour race after all. But he'd still be getting hammered here if he had.

Hall is a super talent. He obviously is a hard worker to get the performances has had in the past.

I just wonder if he got together with a good coach if the input the coach provided might allow him to better maximize his talent to get better results in the future.

The class with Hall, Ritz, and Webb...I thought one of them would have earned a medal at the Olympics... It just shows how tough it is to get a medal at the Olympics. Talent alone doesn't get you one.

Randy Oldman wrote:

Kip Litton would have medalled.

This was the course and the race that the US could have used "The Ol' Kipper". Perfectly setup for him with multiple out and back sections on a multi loop course. We should have sent Kip instead of Hall.

yeah definitely! I think Hall needs to get back with a training group. I respect him for making the decision to coach himself but I think it's time to let God be God and not a marathon coach

I was taught that Sunday is the 7th day---

Dear Ryan Hall,

I'm sorry for your failure in the 2012 Olympic marathon. You need to find yourself a coach like normal elite runners and stop bothering me with your silly prayers about running. I've got other things to worry about like world peace and famines. Oh and by the way, all you anti-gay folks give it a rest. I made gay people. So it's normal to be gay. What is not normal is runners calling me their coach and suicide bombers.

Infinitely Sincere,

God

Floyd Pink wrote:

It's fascinating to see the Anti-Christian obsession play out on threads like this. Not. It's boring and predictable and says nothing about Hall and everything about the posters.

Meb is a great runner and always runs smart and comes up big. But I would wager that if he had an injury like Hall or Abdi (but we are not talking about Abdi, are we, because he is not up front about his faith) then he would have dropped out as well.

Um...

2008 Olympic Trials - Meb finishes 8th with a f-ing fractured pelvis. He had to be carried to his hotel room.

2009 Boston marathon - Meb starts with a knee problem and finishes 5th in 2:09:26 with a limp.

2012 Olympics - Meb was injured, got better and with limited training under his belt finishes 4th.

This is a clear case where USATF should have had alternates officially lined up who had agreed to be ready for a situation like this. The same is true for Davila. Once you're at the Olympics it isn't a victory lap to congratulate yourself for making it that far. It's time to actually compete. If you can't compete, then take a seat. I wish the athletes all the best, but three out of six of the American marathoners never should have toed the line.

tractormom wrote:

I was taught that Sunday is the 7th day---

Eric Liddell (of Chariots of Fire fame) DNS'd the 100 because it was on a Sunday.

Walter (of The Big Lebowski fame) didn't fuc\king roll on Shabbos.

Shoebacca wrote:

This is a clear case where USATF should have had alternates officially lined up who had agreed to be ready for a situation like this. The same is true for Davila. Once you're at the Olympics it isn't a victory lap to congratulate yourself for making it that far. It's time to actually compete. If you can't compete, then take a seat. I wish the athletes all the best, but three out of six of the American marathoners never should have toed the line.

You are 100% correct in the world of the fan. You are 100% incorrect in the world of a pro athlete. Would you have showed up and dropped out for a half million dollars? That is a true number. If you think I am wrong it shows how little you know about the sport from the athletes point of view.

in his pre race interview, Hall said god (his coach) had a plan for him and he would execute that plan. IN his post race interview he said "it just wasn't in the cards for me today"

Somewhere in that 8 miles in central London, Ryan Hall converted from a devout christian to a tarot card following satanist.

London is a scary place.

Agnostic Arthur wrote:

in his pre race interview, Hall said god (his coach) had a plan for him and he would execute that plan. IN his post race interview he said "it just wasn't in the cards for me today"

Somewhere in that 8 miles in central London, Ryan Hall converted from a devout christian to a tarot card following satanist.

London is a scary place.

Awesome! I love it!

Ryan Hall should retire at this point and become a Christian preacher, because that is all he is at this point. 1:05 half, 30 minute 10k and a DNF at the Olympics this year.

BUT he is producing a Christian movie! I wonder what the subject is going to be now that he totally bombed at the Olympics? Remember the intro to the movie? David versus Goliath. Come on Ryan, you are rich and have a Stanford degree.

TLW wrote:

Ryan Hall should retire at this point and become a Christian preacher, because that is all he is at this point. 1:05 half, 30 minute 10k and a DNF at the Olympics this year.

Hmmm... I wonder if you left anything out in that list of Ryan Hall's races this year?

ps--I realize including Houston would have rendered your point completely irrelevant, but still, that's about as lame as it gets.

Yea you are right, I left Houston out. Houston doesn't make my point irrelevant whatsoever.

He lost to a 36 year old runner who has a PR 5 (!) minutes slower if you count boston, and 3 minutes slower if you only count London.

It was a decent performance.

The rest of his performances are TERRIBLE and the DNF at the OLYMPICS only caps of what has been a terrible year.

I also don't understand how anyone can accept Hall dropping out of the Olympics. Dropping out is about the most cowardly thing you can do at the Games. He has no courage.

DHB wrote:

The disdain for Hall's faith is both ugly and intolerant.

My problem isn't with Hall's religion, it's with his arrogant and crazy notion that God is his coach and speaks to him. I despise these holy rollers that think they are chosen by God and are therefore better than others. I also loved the pre-race interview when Hall described himself as "amazing." Hall may have the fastest American time in history, but he's certainly not the best American marathoner. That would be Meb.