In track & field, the world championships are a VERY big deal. This isn't like the NBA where it's not really a thing. The runner the fans wanted to see most drops out of the biggest meet of the year after training all year to chase a world record that's been on the books since 1985. She didn't race much this year because the coach was only focused on having her peaking during this meet. And now she's not running... that's a big deal.
In track & field, the world championships are a VERY big deal. This isn't like the NBA where it's not really a thing. The runner the fans wanted to see most drops out of the biggest meet of the year after training all year to chase a world record that's been on the books since 1985. She didn't race much this year because the coach was only focused on having her peaking during this meet. And now she's not running... that's a big deal.
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?
Yeah I guess it’s the fact that like 48 hours before announcing this she announced her much anticipated appearance in Brussels which of course is after the world championships.
Now of course she may have a crystal ball and know that despite being hurt enough to not do Budapest she will recover in time for Brussels which is fine - it’s just the incredible “tone-deaf’ness” of bothering to announce that which simply looks terrible. Like here is an idea - withdraw from the world champs with your injury and then wait until they are over and announce you recovered enough to do Brussels.
So she’s either full of sh-t or a complete idiot with zero awareness. Or if you read any of her social media rankings you could deduce the answer is both.
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?
If a tennis player withdraws from a tournament after the draw is announced without a legitimate medical reason, they are fined by the tournament. And this has to be certified by a tour-approved doctor, not by the player's personal doctor. However, tennis tours have an additional tool to convince players to play frequently, and that's ranking points. If you don't play enough, your ranking drops, and you get lower seeding (or even no seeding), and bad draws. We need something similar in track and field.
Yeah I guess it’s the fact that like 48 hours before announcing this she announced her much anticipated appearance in Brussels which of course is after the world championships.
Kim Gevaert also confirmed on Thursday that four other world-class athletes would be competing at the King Baudouin Stadium, in addition to Belgian headliners Bashir Abdi and Nafi Thiam (heptathlon). They are Swedish pole va...
Every athlete training and racing incredibly hard is constantly dealing with “minor injuries.” Heck, I run 35 to 50 slow miles per week and I’m constantly injured. I would say if you don’t have some sort of niggle going on all the time, you’re probably not training hard enough.
Also, this makes me appreciate Sifan Hassan tripling. Then we have people claiming rounds of a 400 (WITHOUT HURDLES) or an 800 is too much. Jeez.
I really thought Mu was still gonna race this year and the journalism piece was just gamesmanship, now i don't think we'll see either of them there.
What if she is actually fighting an injury?
If it is a so-called “minor injury.” Any dedicated athlete, who cares, would be doing any rehab possible right now and heading to the meet. They would do everything they can to get to the line. Not announce withdraw eight or nine days prior to the meet—for a “minor injury.” I suspect athletes who care about the world championships would likely go out and do their warm-ups, waiting until the last second before withdrawing – if the injury is “minor.” Because it’s the f@*king world championships.
Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce has a knee injury right now that’s not fully rehabbed, she’s run a few races and is still preparing to go the line. Real champion right there.”
Sifan Hassan stopped and stretched out an injury twice during the London marathon, and then just threw caution to the wind and kept going—winning the race like the champion she is.
Thanks. If they just gave us more details, we might be understanding. They could say something like, “Sydney has ___ injury/pain to her ___ part of her knee. She’s been dealing with it for ___ weeks. We’ve tried doing ___ but it hasn’t helped. Our fear is that continuing to train and racing will result in severe damage such as ___ which would leave her unable to run for ____ months. It’s too big of a risk for us to take.”
I’d be willing to accept an explanation like that. They could even cite Kevin Durant as someone who had a “minor” calf injury, came back too soon so he could play in the NBA Finals, and then ruptured his Achilles and had to miss over a year of action. They could say they don’t want something like that happening to Sydney. That would be understandable!
Yeah it’s really not a high bar to clear. Jacob Kiplimo did it with his statement today. Just had details of when the injury occurred, how he tried to come back, all the medical stuff and now he won’t be able to train at a high level for 1-2 months. Unfortunate but I get it. Calling every injury “minor” and pretending like 2024 Paris is the sole focus is obnoxious for year-round track fans. It’s bad PR.
Annoying as hell is right? She pulled out of that meet in New York earlier this year because “Bobby saw something in warm-ups.” apparently no injury at all, just screw the fans that showed up I guess.
In track & field, the world championships are a VERY big deal. This isn't like the NBA where it's not really a thing. The runner the fans wanted to see most drops out of the biggest meet of the year after training all year to chase a world record that's been on the books since 1985. She didn't race much this year because the coach was only focused on having her peaking during this meet. And now she's not running... that's a big deal.
I agree with most of this. However, you're looking at this from an American perspective. The runner the Jamaican fans want to see the most differs from the runner the Dutch want to see the most. Those athletes differ from whom the Kenyan fans want to see the most. And the Swedes. And Norwegians. And a whole lot of other fans outside of the US who don't have either SML or AM top of mind.
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 would cut them a break if they actually stated that. But I assume they would’ve stated that along time ago. I suspect it has nothing to do with the current situation, regarding their lack of competition..
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 would cut them a break if they actually stated that. But I assume they would’ve stated that along time ago. I suspect it has nothing to do with the current situation, regarding their lack of competition..
Another person who has never spent a day in Hungary. Why are you taking a dump on Hungary? It's a freaking beautiful country with great people. I used to live there and would drive to Vienna on occasion, planning to stay for a few days, but one day in Vienna and I just wanted to go back, the Viennese always seemed cold to me. Hungarians are wonderful people, much warmer than the Germans and Austrians. I say this as a person of mostly German background.
Both SML and AM, self-proclaimed followers of Jesus, possess the opportunity to gather confidently in His name. Yet, they haven't pursued healing for SML.
This raises concerns about their faith and the testimony they provide for Christ's transformative power. If she's injured, God can work through the injury. If she wins, she can say, "you know, I was afraid that all the work I put into making this a successful season, including skipping a few meets to make sure I was at my absolute best on the day it mattered, but I got down on one knee with Athing and we prayed for God's healing. Because he says that 'where two or more are gathered in his name'..."
Lmfao, only a couple of races from her and Mu since 2022 and now they probably won't appear until summer 2024. What a complete joke. They're embarrassments.