Ajee' Wilson Tribute Thread

After her tainted meat accident she got a lot slower. Perhaps changed to the wrong meat supplier

She is a class act.

She never said anything bad, about Caster Semneya.

lkbc wrote:

She is a class act.

She never said anything bad, about Caster Semneya.

were there others who did? i wasn't really following the sport much during the peak semenya years.

Unless you know Ajee Wilson is hanging up her spikes and will immediately become real estate broker, mortgage broker or financial advisor, she will only be 31 next Olympics. We know 31 is older for 800m athletes, who knows. Wilson may take a few weeks off then get back to work attempting to obtain another 800m W.C. medal.

wejo wrote:

800 semis are brtual.

Once it went slow I figured she didn't have a great chance.

Ajee has been so good for so long I took her for granted and looks like she may never get to compete in an Olympic final.

Well, I know you read the predictions from the other thread which weren't far off at all - so shouldn't have been a surprise ;)

I think the Doha final was the turning point for her career. It was supposed to finally be THE moment for her - no DSD athletes to be concerned about, she was the fastest in the world that year (excluding the Semenya farewell tour), and that loss was devastating for her mindset more than anything else.

The reality is for Ajee she is limited in how she can run the 800m at this level and the way she was most successful in the past is the reason why she struggles now. She was always a front running tempo manager - she has a very passive stride not suited to changes in pace, and because of that she won races dictating the pace and essentially out-lasting people in the final 150m. She did the same in Doha, failed (could have been for a variety of reasons) and then has appeared to completely shelve the very race tactics that made her a world medalist for all those years. She has gotten older and the irony is that this reality plays into her skill set more than being a sit and kick runner.

In that semi when she made that weird acceleration after 200m, slowed down and then ran the entire curve in lane 2 it was inevitable what was going to sadly happen. In this case why would you have simply avoided the whole up and down in pace and just controlled the pace like Mu did - running to your strength? Doha.

She's been a GREAT 800m runner on the world stage, but there is too much baggage there now and the next wave of talent is here. She can continue to (possibly) make teams over the 800m and still collect $$$ on the circuit for being a mid pack 800m runner or she can move to the 1500m where she has a PR of 4.05 and almost certainly has the potential to run under 4 minutes and be a factor in major championships a-la Semenya (3rd at WC).

Joanna Jozwik got crucified for her comments about how she had a silver medal (after finishing 5th...).

Javman wrote:

She's only "good" for an American. World level, an also-ran.

This. One of the most overrated athletes of the last decade.

The most beautiful half-miler, head to toe, slower only than hormonal hybrids.

hamburger man. wrote:

high school xc coach wrote:

lol, come on. one of the fastest if not fastest times ever for a non DSD/doped to the gills runner

Um non doped?? Not so sure about that?

What's you beef?!

I heard reports that Wilson had COVID 4 weeks out from trials.

Javman wrote:

She ran sub 1:56...ONCE...4 YEARS AGO. #20 All-time performer. Bronze at best. Now, an also-ran and never-to-be.

Only 2 faster in the last 10 years - Semenya and Niyonsaba. Most of the top 20 consists of Eastern Bloc runners from 30 years ago.

oldschoollrc wrote:

Is she dead or retired? Seems a bit premature to have a tribute thread.

good GOD your right, I would expect someone like Rojo to realize that track doesn’t just happen every 4 years with the Olympics, there are a few other decent sized meets as well in between. Is she dead, dying or retiring? Olympics are overrated anyways.

musty odor wrote:

Javman wrote:

She ran sub 1:56...ONCE...4 YEARS AGO. #20 All-time performer. Bronze at best. Now, an also-ran and never-to-be.

Only 2 faster in the last 10 years - Semenya and Niyonsaba. Most of the top 20 consists of Eastern Bloc runners from 30 years ago.

Yes, the power of the beef!

Classy move wejo. She represented the country well and I hope that she has at least one more WC in her. Would be nice to see her at Paris.

Javman wrote:

Blah, blah, blah. She was only "world best" during an era of poor performances. Sorry, 1:56 doesn't make you an all-time great. She's an also-ran...just like so many other Americans.

So what do you think about Kate grace?

I've forgotten more track & field in my 40+ years in the sport than you've even dreamed about knowing.

Nice lady like Ajee, but just another 1:57 runner. Maybe she'll crack under 1:57. But major choke at the Trials doesn't bode well.

Last 10 years of women's 800m running is notable for the fact that the real women competing were all slow overall. I miss the days of regular 1:55 running & better in major finals. 800m of the last 10 years is FORGETTABLE, as well as laughable.

wejo wrote:

800 semis are brtual.

Once it went slow I figured she didn't have a great chance.

She chose to let it go slow. She could have pushed the pace and gave herself a shot. Stupid running.