Triathlete3773 wrote:
Gen has qualified for Tokyo by winning the Australian national title in her best event - the steeples....
And the young girl who came in number 2 - by a handful of seconds - only started the event in the last year or so. No other female Australian has run a qualifier in that event so there’s not a lot of competition. That particular national title doesn’t necessarily equate to a lot on the world stage.
I DID think about it and ... wrote:
Think About It wrote:
Neither are particularly world class
So what defines "world class?" Do you need to win the gold? She has made two Olympic (9th in 2016) and two World Championship finals (7th in 2017, 10th in 2019). I guess the 10th best quarterback in the NFL is not a "world class" athlete, nor is the 10th best point guard in the NBA, right?
Think About It wrote:
Ryan yet to run an Olympic qualifier and Gen hasn’t run one since November 2019.
Welcome to Earth! There has been a pandemic here that dramatically affected all sports events for the past year. They even postponed the Olympics! Can you believe it?
4 amd 5 year old achievements don’t really count for a lot in most sports when discussing current relevance.
Amd as other posters have stated, plenty of runners have run fast times in 2020/21.
I think it’s commendable they’ve managed to keep their brand relevant - in Australia - without a lot of performances to back it up. Shows how important social media is to an athlete’s identity today.
It was interesting to hear their obvious disdain for field athletes winning medals on a world stage and blaming that for their own lack of financial recompense. I would think those comments wouldn’t make them too popular if they were widely spread.
Metricer wrote:
Tiger. wrote:
Correct. Hope Ryan makes it to Tokyo with a qualifier, will be hard to come up with something to knock over the others ahead of him though. Gen is there via a soft event and probably won't make the final, but being a 'look at me show pony' will no doubt cash in on it somehow and give Puma a bit of return on their investment.
She made the final in Rio in the steeple and the 5000 (or is the 5 a soft event as well?)
I think it appears pretty clear her fitness is better now than it was in 2016. What makes you think she won't make the final?
The 5k/steeple double doesn't work this time, but I predict she could go top 5-6 in the steeple if all goes to plan, and if she decides on it, put up a decent performance in the 10k as well.
But it’s not 2016 - it’s 2021.
Gen hasn’t qualified for the 5000 or 10000 yet so it isn’t up to her to “decide”. You need the performances to qualify and she doesn’t have that. In Australia you need the Olympic qualifier and then to win nationals to get an automatic spot. After that you need the qualifier and selectors discretion. So she has done neither of these in the 5000 and 10000.
She’s ranked 15th in the world for steeple and hasn’t run a good fast steeple since September 2019. I’m interested to understand your thinking as to how that places her top 5/6 at the olympics? The Australian Nationals was her chance to prove herself but I think the result fell short of where she would hope to be. 7 seconds shy of a qualifier and over 20 seconds short of her PB.
It’s nothing personal - just looking at the facts and how they would translate in a race. I’m also very interested in how social media presence can skew the perception of “world class” and “elite”.
Yep, she may be fit AF yet she's 5 years older than her last Olympic final and the rest of the field hasn't regressed or plateaued. Steeple is not an event to age gracefully in, as a rule. 10K would be a better spot for her at this point.
She's at least 100 meters behind the bets athletes in the world in the steeple. Gregson is no longer a factor domestically. What I will say is that they've had impressive longevity. They keep getting into European meets because Bideau throws his weight around.
Both showed themselves to have top 10ish ability in their specialties at their peak. Well done to them both on posting impressive performances.
Ryan ran his pb 11 years ago. He got back to around that level 5 years ago. In recent seasons he has posted solid performances but no standout.
Gen's a been struggling to get back to that peak. The less competitive W3000SC helps her profile.
Her 5000 times are not international level. Her 10000 times are a km behind the best women.
Neither is recognisable to the genpop and sponsor $ don't go far in track in Australia. 310,000,000 less people than the US. Minimal public interest in the sport. Minimal media coverage.
Hopefully they can earn enough to ply their trade a few more years to keep depth and experience in the Aussie track scene.
'mopac wrote:
Neither is recognisable to the genpop and sponsor $ don't go far in track in Australia. 310,000,000 less people than the US. Minimal public interest in the sport. Minimal media coverage.
Instagram followers
Emma Coburn 425,000
Colleen Quigley 238,000
Genevieve Lacaze Gregson 141,000
Gesa Kraus 126,000
Courtney Frerichs 48,000
Anna Emilie Moeller 10,000
Not doing too bad for recognition
Both were dropped by Nike . Both are getting slower each year . cant beat the aging process.
beer racer 321 wrote:
Jsteven2103 wrote:
Hard to say C List, They both ran a lot of Diamond League races last year. Ryan consistantly ran 3:35/3:36 week in and week out for the 1500m and I'm pretty sure he ran the 3rd fastest mile in the year last year.
Agreed. For Gen, making an Olympic final is A-list, not C-list. And for Ryan, being a national record holder is certainly not C list. He had a bout of injury for several years and is finally on the mend, but hasn't had the opportunities this past year due to COVID.
McSweyn took the 1500 NR from him.
Think About It wrote:
nike ope-a-gone project wrote:
Big loss for Nike, big gainz for Puma - Pewmah, if you’re Australian ;)
Is it really? Neither are particularly world class - Ryan yet to run an Olympic qualifier and Gen hasn’t run one since November 2019. Could it be possible Nike dumped Ryan and so they moved together for the marketing/publicity it gives their “brand”?
no Fact Checker needed for this post. Good job
I DID think about it and ... wrote:
'mopac wrote:
Neither is recognisable to the genpop and sponsor $ don't go far in track in Australia. 310,000,000 less people than the US. Minimal public interest in the sport. Minimal media coverage.
Instagram followers
Emma Coburn 425,000
Colleen Quigley 238,000
Genevieve Lacaze Gregson 141,000
Gesa Kraus 126,000
Courtney Frerichs 48,000
Anna Emilie Moeller 10,000
Not doing too bad for recognition
I was talking about within Australia.
Sampling her followers indicate 95 % are not Australians. The majority of those that are Aussies were athletes or involved in the sport in some way.
A lithe woman with long blonde hair will draw an inster crowd. A lot of her "followers" are young men who also follow lots of other women of similar description.
The truth is Gengen and Ryan could sit down in any pub or restaurant in Melb. Syd. or Briz. and it would be a bit of a fluke if anyone recognised either of them.
Think About It wrote:
Metricer wrote:
She made the final in Rio in the steeple and the 5000 (or is the 5 a soft event as well?)
I think it appears pretty clear her fitness is better now than it was in 2016. What makes you think she won't make the final?
The 5k/steeple double doesn't work this time, but I predict she could go top 5-6 in the steeple if all goes to plan, and if she decides on it, put up a decent performance in the 10k as well.
But it’s not 2016 - it’s 2021.
Gen hasn’t qualified for the 5000 or 10000 yet so it isn’t up to her to “decide”. You need the performances to qualify and she doesn’t have that. In Australia you need the Olympic qualifier and then to win nationals to get an automatic spot. After that you need the qualifier and selectors discretion. So she has done neither of these in the 5000 and 10000.
She’s ranked 15th in the world for steeple and hasn’t run a good fast steeple since September 2019.
You're right - it's 2021, and so far in the domestic season Gen has looked like she's running as well as, if not better, than in 2016.
She won't go for the 5k standard, because it clashes with her main event. But I'm pretty sure she's running the 10k in Hengelo, and I see no reason to suggest she isn't capable of the stanard. The fact she hasn't done either yet when the Euro season hasn't started means nothing.
MTC don't have any excuses for not running fast in 2020, apart from Gen - there was a season last year, but how many women's steeples? Only 1 if I remember correctly.
You say she ran slow at nationals, but then you also said she had no competition. I don't disagree that the competition at nationals wasn't that strong, but how can you expect her to run fast alone?
Also don't forget she had 2 1500s in her legs.
So what defines "world class?" Do you need to win the gold? She has made two Olympic (9th in 2016) and two World Championship finals (7th in 2017, 10th in 2019). I guess the 10th best quarterback in the NFL is not a "world class" athlete, nor is the 10th best point guard in the NBA, right?
The best NFL player in the USA isnt world class because the world doesn't give a sh*t about Gridiron.
If I invent a sport, beat my neighbours... am I world class?
Ryan Gregson has had a lot of shots in really fast races to run fast since he ran so well in 2010 or so, but has one 3:32 to his credit since then. Many American runners would break 3:35 if given the shot in one of those fast paced European races. It reminds me a bit of Steve Slattery constantly getting Diamond League slots when he was well off his best.
He ran 3:31.06 in 2010, along with 1:46/2:17. Since then he's run under 3:33.9 one year, the 3:32.52 in 2016. For season's bests, at least, he's run under 3:35 four years total with the 3:31, 3:32, 3:33.93, and 3:34.5 or so. He's hung on pretty well, but back in 2010, he looked like he'd go 3:28-29 in a few years.
zxcvzxcv wrote:
It reminds me a bit of Steve Slattery constantly getting Diamond League slots when he was well off his best.
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