Once upon a time Cuba had a gang of world class sprinters, Silvio Leonard the first Caribbean sprinter to run sub10.00. Was curious about what did happen to their sprinting.
We see this every time an Olympics or World Championship rolls around. Unhyped and relatively little known athletes training diligently and peaking for the big event. And then all the pundits are surprised when some of our athletes fall short. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Mena will win the 200, though that could happen. What it does mean is that we underestimate the rest of the world. Too many of our athletes get jacked up by their performances in April and May. In many other countries they don't give two phucks about what they do in April and May. It's all about peaking for the World Championships.
We see this every time an Olympics or World Championship rolls around. Unhyped and relatively little known athletes training diligently and peaking for the big event. And then all the pundits are surprised when some of our athletes fall short. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Mena will win the 200, though that could happen. What it does mean is that we underestimate the rest of the world. Too many of our athletes get jacked up by their performances in April and May. In many other countries they don't give two phucks about what they do in April and May. It's all about peaking for the World Championships.
1. Our athletes understand that the world championships is the most important competition this year.
2. As others have noted, Team USA is the toughest team to make in the world. This means our athletes are at a disadvantage because they have to gear up for both our national championships and the world championships. That’s why Joseph Fahnbulleh chooses to run for Liberia despite being born and raised in the US.
3. Despite #2, Team USA still collects the most medals at every single global championship.
4. These athletes you mention who come out of nowhere are obviously suspicious.