As of a few years ago, I absolutely believed Sammy Watson to be a big picture in the future of the USA Middle Distance running. Any insights on what is going on?
As of a few years ago, I absolutely believed Sammy Watson to be a big picture in the future of the USA Middle Distance running. Any insights on what is going on?
From her Instagram it just doesn’t seem like she’s in a serious training program or that she is fully committed but looks can be deceiving. May just need to take a break and figure out if she really wants to go all in. Being that good in HS it could be starting to wear off, or motivation could just be lacking. Time will tell
As of a few years ago, I absolutely believed Sammy Watson to be a big picture in the future of the USA Middle Distance running. Any insights on what is going on?
From her Instagram it just doesn’t seem like she’s in a serious training program or that she is fully committed but looks can be deceiving. May just need to take a break and figure out if she really wants to go all in. Being that good in HS it could be starting to wear off, or motivation could just be lacking. Time will tell
Her most recent instagram post talks about being excited for the trials with pictures of her at a track.
Are any of you guys really suprised. She is burned out. Way too many races in HS. Everytime i looked up she was racing somewhere somehow from mid Feb(milrose) til late June(us jr&sr) trials. And those where meets again world class 800m girls @ times. When are you all on the site (mainly distance like minded) gonna realize that all these young High School phenoms(especially HS girls) get over trained and over raced all the time. Then everyone on this site gets all GIDDY about them only to have all your dreams crushed once the get past there late teens. Too much too soon in there athletic careers. Next one to fall in this category looks like its gonna be Tuhony. I wish her all the luck in the world. But i have seen this play out many times in the past 25 plus years. Athing Mu may be the exception. I dont think she was over trainined or overraced in her teens though. I can think only a few that excelled in HS and had a great college and pro career. Emily Sisson is one but she did race in his senior year in track. Hmmm.
Not sure . She runs 205 every time out a looks very disinterested
Sammy Watson has been dealing with off the track issues since before Covid, along the lines of mental health. I hope for her sake that she is able to improve in that area.
But even when she is back to being 100% mental healthy, I don't see Watson breaking 2:00. She's talented but not Raevyn Rogers talented. In fact, since she started college in fall, 2017, she's only broken 2:02 on 2 occasions. That's not good enough for a pro runner. I'm not sure how much longer Adidas will continue to sponsor her.
Unfortunately for Watson, she dropped out of college halfway through her sophomore year, which means that she still has a long way to go to get her college degree. So Watson is kind of stuck trying to be a pro runner without a solid plan B. If she sticks with running, she won't go very far. And if she drops running, what else would she do?
This is why runners should stay in college and get their degree, unless they are one of the best in the world like Athing Mu or Sha'Carri Richardson.
On the plus side, I like seeing Sammy Watson race, because she is a smart racer who understands pacing and placement in races, and when to make a move and when not to. I have used videos of some of her races to teach an 800 runner I know how to race better.
Not sure . She runs 205 every time out a looks very disinterested
Sammy Watson has been dealing with off the track issues since before Covid, along the lines of mental health. I hope for her sake that she is able to improve in that area.
But even when she is back to being 100% mental healthy, I don't see Watson breaking 2:00. She's talented but not Raevyn Rogers talented. In fact, since she started college in fall, 2017, she's only broken 2:02 on 2 occasions. That's not good enough for a pro runner. I'm not sure how much longer Adidas will continue to sponsor her.
Unfortunately for Watson, she dropped out of college halfway through her sophomore year, which means that she still has a long way to go to get her college degree. So Watson is kind of stuck trying to be a pro runner without a solid plan B. If she sticks with running, she won't go very far. And if she drops running, what else would she do?
This is why runners should stay in college and get their degree, unless they are one of the best in the world like Athing Mu or Sha'Carri Richardson.
On the plus side, I like seeing Sammy Watson race, because she is a smart racer who understands pacing and placement in races, and when to make a move and when not to. I have used videos of some of her races to teach an 800 runner I know how to race better.
Stating opinion as fact is dangerous. She’s attending college at Temple which is fine. She is just as talented as the other young women and has better range than mu. She doesn’t even race the 400. Her 52 sec PR is from years ago. She’d be sub 50 by now with that training. I could go on. For a coach, stick to coaching. You suck at psychoanalysis and guessing what someone is doing.
Stating opinion as fact is dangerous. You said she has better range than Mu. But Mu would beat her in 100-200-400-800. Just because Watson could beat her in a distance race where neither of them are competitive, is not better range. Watson is not world class like Mu. Watson is struggling in life because she is almost good enough but not quite and she didn't have a real college experience and she doesn't have a degree.
She's run 2:02 this season with lifetime pr at 2:00. At only age 22 she still has a chance to find her top form. If she can stay healthy this season, we may see something at us meet.
Def surprising , the 202 and she was in the race for a while as well . Not sure why she suddenly turned pro after some solid but not great results in college .
She's run 2:02 this season with lifetime pr at 2:00. At only age 22 she still has a chance to find her top form. If she can stay healthy this season, we may see something at us meet.
she always stuck out to me as having the perfect build for a middle distance runner. i see she ran a 4:25 1500 this march.
she ran a 9:50 3000 back in 2017 when she was 17 1/2 yrs old. can't imagine she was putting in many miles even then. really a phenomenal time when you consider what her training was like.
she also ran that 9:50 3000 2 months before what is still her 800m pr of 2:00.65 in july of 2017. 2nd and 3rd were 9:52 and 9:55, so prob just sat on and then kicked ftw?
to me, Sammy Watson is like Sifan Hasan thinking/training like she's a 400/800m specialist. not a perfect analogy of course, but hopefully get the gist of what i'm saying.
anybody know what her training looks like of late?
would love to see her move up given her body type and the fact her 800m times have been essentially stagnant for 8! seasons in a row now.
She's run 2:02 this season with lifetime pr at 2:00. At only age 22 she still has a chance to find her top form. If she can stay healthy this season, we may see something at us meet.
Her physical health isn't the problem, it's her mental health. She lets too many things bother her.
And being mentally tough is key if you expect to successfully compete against the dozen or so women in the US who can run sub 2.
Not sure why she suddenly turned pro after some solid but not great results in college .
Sammy Watson didn't get along with some of the people on the Texas A&M team, so she bailed the week before her indoor conference meet her sophomore year, instead of trying to work out the issues.
Watson is unusual, in that she has a good sense of humor but she can also be very prickly. She's not the easiest person to get along with.
to me, Sammy Watson is like Sifan Hasan thinking/training like she's a 400/800m specialist. not a perfect analogy of course, but hopefully get the gist of what i'm saying.
anybody know what her training looks like of late?
would love to see her move up given her body type and the fact her 800m times have been essentially stagnant for 8! seasons in a row now.
feels like it's time to move up or move on.
Sammy Watson is still training like a 400/800 specialist, for now with Jebreh Harris at USC.
It's funny that Sammy Watson left Texas A&M and eventually ended up with Coach Jebreh Harris, while Avi'Tal Wilson-Perteete left Coach Jebreh Harris and eventually ended up at Texas A&M. They are going in opposite directions. But what they have in common is that neither one is as fast now as they were several years ago.
At least Wilson-Perteete got her degree already, and is now working on a Masters. Watson graduated high school in 2017 and still doesn't have her degree. I hope she is taking some college classes in the LA area and gets her degree soon, because her running career isn't progressing at all.
Def surprising , the 202 and she was in the race for a while as well . Not sure why she suddenly turned pro after some solid but not great results in college .
She was the 2018 NCAA outdoor 800m champ - pretty great college result.
Def surprising , the 202 and she was in the race for a while as well . Not sure why she suddenly turned pro after some solid but not great results in college .
She was the 2018 NCAA outdoor 800m champ - pretty great college result.
Her freshman year Sammy Watson won the 2018 outdoor championships in 2:04.21, which isn't exactly a fast time. And she never was able to break 2:02 in college after running 2:00 in high school.
So her progression went like this:
2:00 - high school senior
2:02 - college freshman
2:06 - college sophomore
Her times were going in the wrong direction. Which is why everyone was shocked when she suddenly turned pro.
Sammy Watson is now running 2:02. There are 3 high school girls that are faster than that, not to mention a whole slew of college women and professional women.
Watson needs to either get quicker or get her degree and move on to another career.
to me, Sammy Watson is like Sifan Hasan thinking/training like she's a 400/800m specialist. not a perfect analogy of course, but hopefully get the gist of what i'm saying.
Sammy Watson is still training like a 400/800 specialist, for now with Jebreh Harris at USC.
sorry wasn't very clear with my wording.
imagine if sifan hasan thought she was a 400m/800m specialist and only trained with those races in mind. to me, that is what sammy watson is doing.
she ran some excellent xc times in hs and was close to qualifying for NXN as an individual coming out of NY.
how many 400m/800m runners are nearly qualifying for NXN in high school?
how many 400m/800m runners throw down a 9:50 3000 or ~10:30 3200?
she is obviously a very talented 800m runner, but her results from hs (both her 400 and 800 lifetime prs were in hs) indicate she is in fact not a 400/800 specialist and is wasting her time training like one.
Sammy Watson is still training like a 400/800 specialist, for now with Jebreh Harris at USC.
sorry wasn't very clear with my wording.
imagine if sifan hasan thought she was a 400m/800m specialist and only trained with those races in mind. to me, that is what sammy watson is doing.
she ran some excellent xc times in hs and was close to qualifying for NXN as an individual coming out of NY.
how many 400m/800m runners are nearly qualifying for NXN in high school?
how many 400m/800m runners throw down a 9:50 3000 or ~10:30 3200?
she is obviously a very talented 800m runner, but her results from hs (both her 400 and 800 lifetime prs were in hs) indicate she is in fact not a 400/800 specialist and is wasting her time training like one.
So you are saying Watson should stop training like a 400/800 runner and start training like a 800/1500 runner?
Her current coach, Jebreh Harris, specializes in training 400/800 runners so Watson would have to move to a different coach. Watson is sponsored by Adidas and there is an Adidas 800/1500 coach 100 miles south of where she is in Los Angeles (Terrance Mahon). Watson is obviously aware of him but maybe she doesn't like the idea of running more miles per week.
I'm curious as to what her training was like in high school, since her race times were better back then.