Disappointing but not suspicious IMO, he pretty clearly isn't fit enough to mount an honest title defense.
For whatever it's worth, I was talking recently with a woman who ran 2:02 in the 800 and claims to have witnessed several big names doping in person, and she cited Norman as someone who she thinks is clean. Kinda makes sense if you look at him as a massive talent who's struggled with consistency and staying healthy his entire career.
FWIW, I was talking recently with this sub 10 sprinter who told me Ben Johnson was clean and was set up and subsequently brainwashed into thinking he doped, and FloJo was the squeakiest clean of them all.
I mean I can't confirm if any of what she said was true or not, but this person is very much in the "everyone is on something" camp, so I thought it was interesting that she made a point of saying that Norman is clean.
The cynical side of me wonders is it just coincidence that since Asinga got popped, we seem to be seeing a having a number of "withdrawls" from team USA due to various "reasons".
Of course that's just the cynical side of me though. Poor fella might just need a vacation like Sydney and Mu do.
Sal my man you are clearly clueless. Norman's done nothing all year and anyone surprised at him not competing in Budapest hasn't paid proper attention to the sport all year long.
Norman looks miserable every time he steps on the track. Same with Mu and SML. I just don't get it. In virtually no other professional sport would this be tolerated. They'd all be run out of the league. In the NFL, one moment of perceived weakness or lack of a commitment can end a career.
You really want to go through the absurdly high number of 1st round draft picks that showed far more than “a moment of perceived weakness” yet managed to hang around, sometimes for years…… extreme talent gets an extreme pass - in every sport.
Didn't he have to make our USA team to run at the Worlds? This is all about athletes representing their country it;s not about will he be ready for the next Olympics. So no more running until the Olympic trials?
This sucks and Norman needs to be ashamed,
Another clueless twit. Norman couldn't get out of the heats in the 100m and was a DNS at USATF.He's also not done anything at all to speak of all season long. Why would you expect him to "make" any team or show up in Budapest?
Michael Norman is a supreme talent who has had injury problems as well as personal issues (probably mostly related to the injuries) and changed coaches earlier this year, so his not running world's is not unexpected. Remember that this guy has run 9.86/19.5/43.45, one of the best ever to set foot on a track outside of championships.
I appreciate that he used an appropriate photo and description, instead of trying to dress it up as positive.
Michael Norman has far greater variance from one race to the next than virtually any other elite talent I can remember. I suspect the same applies to his day to day life and how he's feeling.
This is further evidence to me that Sebastian Coe will get rid of the byes. The high profile athletes dropping out have the bye. There is nothing for them to focus on. Instead of a reward it's turned into more contemplation than competing.
Maybe this is sledding to parents and coaches of precocious track stars. Not all of them but perhaps some can’t put up with the endless pressure to be perfect and avoid losing. Easier to do in high school and track clubs. Less so at the world stage. Going to old school John Smith though, smh
Michael has had a poor year by his standards for whatever reason, and would not be competitive. So why go embarrass himself, he is the defending world champ. Regroup!
Disappointing but not suspicious IMO, he pretty clearly isn't fit enough to mount an honest title defense.
For whatever it's worth, I was talking recently with a woman who ran 2:02 in the 800 and claims to have witnessed several big names doping in person, and she cited Norman as someone who she thinks is clean. Kinda makes sense if you look at him as a massive talent who's struggled with consistency and staying healthy his entire career.
who are the big names she has seen doping in person?
Nike's Michael Norman runs 10.31 in the 100m prelim at the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships to place eighth in the first heat.FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE US...
Michael Norman Recently moved from coach Quincy Watts at USC to professional coach John Smith. Coaching changes like these may be surprising on the surface, ...
The cynical side of me wonders is it just coincidence that since Asinga got popped, we seem to be seeing a having a number of "withdrawls" from team USA due to various "reasons".
Of course that's just the cynical side of me though. Poor fella might just need a vacation like Sydney and Mu do.
Sal my man you are clearly clueless. Norman's done nothing all year and anyone surprised at him not competing in Budapest hasn't paid proper attention to the sport all year long.
That's not why I think Norman isn't competing. I think he's not competing because he's a mental midget and these days when things do go exactly the way these kids want them to go, they don't have the resiliency to fight through the adversity and just withdraw to "focus on the next season".
Sal my man you are clearly clueless. Norman's done nothing all year and anyone surprised at him not competing in Budapest hasn't paid proper attention to the sport all year long.
That's not why I think Norman isn't competing. I think he's not competing because he's a mental midget and these days when things do go exactly the way these kids want them to go, they don't have the resiliency to fight through the adversity and just withdraw to "focus on the next season".
Michael is a World Champion. You are a royal prick.