Lukas V. wasn't wrong, he was just unlucky, but he'd been fully committed to running, he'd probably have surpassed Ritz's career, maybe he'd been as successful or more than Galen Rupp.
Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
Lukas fans like to imagine what he could have achieved as a pro if he had stuck with running, based on his physical talent. They overlook the mental strength and toughness that is required to succeed as a pro, which Lukas clearly lacked.
It’s easy to succeed at the high school level when you’re more talented than everyone else. At the collegiate and pro levels, one can’t rely solely on talent. One has to have the grit and resilience to overcome the inevitable disappointments and injuries that every runner at those levels will experience. Ritz demonstrated he had that mental toughness. He made a career out of bouncing back from injuries and disappointments. In contrast, Lukas’ reaction to his disappointing performances his freshman year at Oregon was to quit. In so doing, he showed us he was mentally weak. There’s no way he would have made it as a pro with such mental weakness.
Even today, his alignment with Qanon is evidence that he is not mentally fit.
LV nearly crippled himself in his bike accident. IIRC, it wasn't clear whether he was ever going to be able to run normally again, or even walk. There was even video of him taking his first steps during recovery, and it was rough to watch.
After that, he came back to the point where he was a 25 minute 8k runner. He was never going to be a world class athlete after that point, but he showed that he was absolute nails.
LV nearly crippled himself in his bike accident. IIRC, it wasn't clear whether he was ever going to be able to run normally again, or even walk. There was even video of him taking his first steps during recovery, and it was rough to watch.
After that, he came back to the point where he was a 25 minute 8k runner. He was never going to be a world class athlete after that point, but he showed that he was absolute nails.
Here's an article to add to this. For that guy to say Lukas clearly lacked mental strength is beyond absurd.
Carlsbad, CA — While always a fun race to watch before the professionals take off, the men’s 20-29 age-group competition at this year’s Carlsbad 5000 was even more compelling than usua…
Good article. I suppose there are different types of mental strength. He had the mental strength to regain his mobility but not the mental strength to handle losing races in college.
Good article. I suppose there are different types of mental strength. He had the mental strength to regain his mobility but not the mental strength to handle losing races in college.
Well, since you're going so low, why didn't Ritz have the mental strength to resist cheating? Since he admitted cheating under Salazar, why should we assume he wasn't doping early, as far back as highschool?
Why do you think it’s going low to point out the fact that he quit in college as a result of being demoralized by his losses?
Because that isn't a "fact" that's your assuming you know his thinking and motivations, he could easily been underperforming because he didn't want to bother with the NCAA anymore at that point, when he could be pro at tri and making money already, but felt roped in and not winning immediately just gave the final incentive.
Actually it is indeed a fact. Here is a direct quote from him after he finished 62nd in his first college race, more than 90 seconds behind the winner:
"Even if the opening pace wasn't that fast, I felt I was running someone else's race. This made me uncomfortable, as I've never been in the position of being up front and feeling the need to keep pushing just to hold on. Then it became drastically demoralizing and went downhill after that."
Wasn’t LV like 19 yo as a sophomore? Not to mention had Soviet athlete parents from an unsavory doping era.
Also, how do you make a list comparing times across years and use a conversion for GL but say nothing about the super shoes that give a 7-8 second advantage in a 2 mile?
Only other acceptable answer is Jim Ryun who with super shoes, on super tracks, with twilight super meets, would have run 3:42 in high school. Questionable if he could have beaten Rupp tho…
Did Verzbicas win Foot Locker by 20 seconds like Ritz did? No.
Did Verzbicas win a medal at the world junior cross country championships like Ritz did? No.
Did Verzbicas run a 5K in 13:44 like Ritz did? No.
Ritz was better.
Did Ritz win 3 national XC championships? No.
Did Ritz win gold in WJR triathalon? No.
Did Ritz break 4:00/8:30? No.
Verzbicas was better.
LOL, as if the triathlon win matters. We’ve already established that Ritz’ cross country wins were much more impressive than Verzbicas’. Please read the whole thread before responding.
That’s incorrect. Ritz won his world junior cross country championship medal in March of his senior year in high school. That single accomplishment is superior to anything that Verzbicas did while in high school.
Not sure why you brought up Verzbicas’ injury. I was only talking about things they did during the calendar year that they finished high school.
The accomplishment might be ranked higher than LV’s. But it doesn’t make him better. LV didn’t run WJXC so there is no apples to apples.
Zero chance Ritz beats LV in a 2 mile. Ritz might not be top 10 in a hypothetical all time 2 mile race.
1. Webb probably wins 3:53 mile
2. GF or LV 8:34 solo windy / 8:29 record
3. GF or LV see above
4. Hobbs Kessler 8:39 basically jogging; 25s last 200
5. Gerry Lindgren 8:40 indoors
6. Sahlman 8:33 3200m
7. Nico Young 7:56 3k
8. Rupp 13:37 5k
9. Drew Hunter 7:57 3k
10. Lex Young 7:57 3k / 13:43 5k
11. Jeff Nelson 8:36
12. Centro 8:41 with 2:00 last 800m
13. Pre 8:41
14. Chez 8:39 indoor
At a minimum, I’d bet on all these guys to beat Ritz in a 2 mile. Most of them comfortably.
This list is worthless without Craig Virgin. And I'd take him over Ritz in XC.
But maybe the user several years back knew more? The pink and drag is very stereotypical gay also running is kind of gay compared to basketball or football..
