Mu (if recovered enough from the 800m 75 minutes earlier)
Diggs
Steiner (48.x best case worst case 50.x)
If Mu isn't available maybe Felix (best case 50.x worst case 50.x) or Dalilah (slower than last year due to COVID and injuries best case 50.x worst case 51.x).
Allyson Felix pressed pause on her retirement plans, running the second leg of Team USA's win in their 4x400 relay heat, clinching a spot in the final and a ...
Thank goodness, the endless Allison Felix focus has to stop..everyone loves what she is done, but seriously, these ceremonial spots on relay teams, and lets face it, the constant chatter , I mean in any female event, she is mentioned four times..enough.It really is enough, I know many who are more reasonable than I, that have mentioned this .
Thank goodness, the endless Allison Felix focus has to stop..everyone loves what she is done, but seriously, these ceremonial spots on relay teams, and lets face it, the constant chatter , I mean in any female event, she is mentioned four times..enough.It really is enough, I know many who are more reasonable than I, that have mentioned this .
+1000
At some point it is over the top to parade a 51 second 400 runner out of retirement for the seemingly 10th time to attract housewives to the tv set to boost ratings. Maybe we can focus on her family in the stands during key parts of the 4 X 400 since no other athlete has a family or children.
It does gain USATF a soundbite on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc., but it really is doing nothing above alienating the majority of track fans who watch for splendid efforts and performances, not contrived feel-good stories.
She was a great runner with a super career, but it is time to quit milking it and trying to make it far more than it currently is. She may well be remembered for "she's a mom?" instead of her great sprinting.
Understandable why you feel this way, but it should be noted that she was called back from California, where she had already started her retirement in peace, to help the team in the prelims. Not sure why she was called out of retirement to run a leg in the prelims (maybe someone got injured or sick), but she wound up running the fastest split on the team. So, her inclusion was not actually for ratings or ceremony; it was because the team legitimately needed her to help them, and she answered the call.
After leading the 4x400 mixed relay to a bronze medal on Friday, American Allyson Felix was called out of retirement and helped guide the 4x400 women's relay team to the final at the world championships on Saturday.
Understandable why you feel this way, but it should be noted that she was called back from California, where she had already started her retirement in peace, to help the team in the prelims. Not sure why she was called out of retirement to run a leg in the prelims (maybe someone got injured or sick), but she wound up running the fastest split on the team. So, her inclusion was not actually for ratings or ceremony; it was because the team legitimately needed her to help them, and she answered the call.
Please don't think I am disparaging AF in any way. Yes, she could say "enough is enough" and I would have a lot of respect for that. But USATF and NBC are the culprits.
Personally I believe they "called her back," if that is accurate, because USATF thought they could boost ratings and attention. I was at the gym and every TV showed a headline that "Allison Felix will is coming out of retirement." And of course, like the façade mixed-gender relay, she added another world-level medal to her war-chest.
Called her back for a 50.8? NBC bought right in with Ato Bolden stating, "The U.S. NEEDS experience on the second leg of the 4 X 400 heats." Really? I thought they might need a 49.5. Especially in a heat in which advancement was a given without a DQ. There were plenty of BETTER 400 legs already at the meet.
Again, I value Felix's talent and contribution to the sport over her career. It is USATF that is trying to beat a now dead horse instead of grooming the next Allison Felix by getting them experience in a 4 X 400 heat.
I see your point. It would be helpful if USATF gave us an explanation so we wouldn’t have to speculate. All we can go by is who ran, and that gives some clues.
Besides Felix, the other runners were Diggs, who is our national champion, and Stepter Baynes and Whitney, who were the 7th and 8th place finishers at the US championships. This lineup suggests there may have been some desperation. Why make our national champion run the prelim, and why are the 6-8 placers from the US championships in the race? Where were/are 2-5? 2 was Ellis. Something must be wrong with her because she only ran 52.55 in the heats of the individual 400 and failed to qualify for the semifinals. That leaves 3-5: Irby, Jonathas, and Simon. Is something wrong with them, too? We know the 400 hurdlers weren’t available because they just ran their final the night before.
I see your point. It would be helpful if USATF gave us an explanation so we wouldn’t have to speculate. All we can go by is who ran, and that gives some clues.
Besides Felix, the other runners were Diggs, who is our national champion, and Stepter Baynes and Whitney, who were the 7th and 8th place finishers at the US championships. This lineup suggests there may have been some desperation.
"The U.S. NEEDS experience on the second leg of the 4 X 400 heats." Really? I thought they might need a 49.5.
I totally agree, although it's also fair to say that the U.S. has only three runners who can be trusted to run a 49.5 split tonight -- Syd (duh), Steiner, and Delilah. And maybe not even Delilah, given how she finished the 400H. Mu will be tired, while to my knowledge none of the other candidates have run a sub-50 split this year.
So while Felix would be a mediocre choice, it's not as if the alternatives are much better.
