Also, what was the field thinking in the W3000 outside of Taye!? I know leading is hard but it was a slow race, and you know N’getich is in her comfort zone squeezing it. You have to get to the front and slow it down.
Agnes raced very well today. she learned from last year, but she really was racing a B level field except for Taye and Hull. ... Also, I believe Hull was using strategy. She expected to be outkicked, but if she can do well tomorrow, then she can go home with some nice money.
Probably because they didn’t have much inventory. I waited in line after the last race and by the time I got in front, they were already out of everything in a size small and medium. Tragic.
Agnes raced very well today. she learned from last year, but she really was racing a B level field except for Taye and Hull. ... Also, I believe Hull was using strategy. She expected to be outkicked, but if she can do well tomorrow, then she can go home with some nice money.
You mean Andrews? The Womens 3k field was solid, but Andrews/Taye were the only ones whose race plan made sense to me. Andrews couldn’t pull off the pass but she’s gotta go top gear. Cranny, Gebreselama and Eisa to me just wasted energy jockeying but never hitting the front. It’s a small field, just save energy.
I had no problem with how Welteji/Hull played it in the 1500. Hiltz/Hunter-Bell are sandbaggers so the last thing you want to do is let it be slow through 800. It also eliminated the 3 800m-oriented runners.
Just got back from GST Philly. I was honestly surprised by the size of the crowd AND people were really into it. This was evidenced by the merch line was at least 80 people deep at all times at the lone tent where they were selling stuff. They probably cost themselves an easy $50k if they had 3 more tents going.
I too was there and very pleased with the crowd size and enthusiasm. I thought the loudest cheers were for Sydney, Gabby, The Goose, and Nikki Hilz.
Agnes raced very well today. she learned from last year, but she really was racing a B level field except for Taye and Hull. ... Also, I believe Hull was using strategy. She expected to be outkicked, but if she can do well tomorrow, then she can go home with some nice money.
You mean Andrews? The Womens 3k field was solid, but Andrews/Taye were the only ones whose race plan made sense to me. Andrews couldn’t pull off the pass but she’s gotta go top gear. Cranny, Gebreselama and Eisa to me just wasted energy jockeying but never hitting the front. It’s a small field, just save energy.
I had no problem with how Welteji/Hull played it in the 1500. Hiltz/Hunter-Bell are sandbaggers so the last thing you want to do is let it be slow through 800. It also eliminated the 3 800m-oriented runners.
oh man, i mixed up the races (and racers). hahaha. prob because I saw way too many races today.
Yes, that is a very self-serving comment by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone! She has been made a multi-millionaire by Grand Slam Track. She might even be the only person who has been.
I attended the meet and had a great time....the meet was really tailored to the live spectator experience. The fact that the meet was slightly under 2 hours long and had very little down time between events kept the fans engaged and interested. The fact that the athletes were all essentially introduced twice was awkward. Hocker might have been the biggest disappointment of the day IMO, ran with no urgency whatsoever!
Love how all the 1500 guys run pretty average, and no one really cares...where is the critique?! The exception to this is Nuguse who has been running every race hard since Kingston.
Amazing how negative this thread is. I was skeptical, but I actually turned up to the event and the atmosphere was great. Packed stands, lines to get beer, everyone standing…was a great place to be a track fan.
Sorry: I can't help but think that ALL these guys are using Grand Slam Track as a workout to sharpen up for the REAL track season.
The real track season? When is that? I could be wrong but I believe the season started in China more than a month ago.
And even if they are doing so, they are being handsomely compensated for my entertainment. Kudos to them. If more of them had any sense, they would compete in GST with the potential to make $100 in two days. Heck, Kenny B will bank $200K in a month for 4 races. An amount those athletes solely on the DL circuit will probably not make in 5 years.
But how sustainable is it? Take the cash while you can I guess.
A LOT of fast relay races at Franklin Field, obviously, but not many open individual events with high quality fields... HEPS is not going to produce great records, and until last year the mile record was 3:55 by Tony Waldrop. They announced onsite that like the first 7 events were facility records. Last big individual meet I can remember was the 1980 "Alternate Olympics".
Surprising... I watched Jamaica, and the coverage was horrible, with a lot of dead air and nothing on screen. I was at GS yesterday, and was impressed that they had improved the pace of events, they followed pretty much one after another, not a lot of "TV time", or so it seemed. Obviously, there was a lot of editing and commercials? going on. For a spectator, the meet had excellent pace. Oh, and as a long time (and I mean long) spectator at Franklin Field, I thought the crowd size was excellent, and the crowd was lit.