That last collegiate system really did a number on her. I know she was going for great things but I truly believe her coaches should have protected her from herself. She could've walked away with 2 individual NCAA titles (indoor 400m, outdoor 400mH) and started her pro career healthy and instead crashed out with 0 titles outdoors and hasn't been healthy since. Whilst the Arkansas program is indubitably excellent, I wonder if this is something potential transferrees might need to consider in the future.
For as much praise as Chris Johnson at Arkansas is getting now for coaching their 3:17 women's 4x4, he deserves 10x more SHAME for ruining Britton Wilson's pro career.
She is one of the most talented USA athletes ever and he ABUSED her by overtraining and overracing just for NCAA team points.
She could have been the world champion in the 400m last year.
That program got Kaylin Brown to 49.13 as a freshman. And they ran 3:17... I think whatever he's doing is working.
The good far outweighs the bad here.
What, was he holding a gun to her head forcing her to double the 400/400h?
The coaches didn't ask her to double, she wanted to do it and they supported her. That's why I said they should've protected her from herself. Sure, she might have been upset but I'm sure she would've been in a better position now.
That program got Kaylin Brown to 49.13 as a freshman. And they ran 3:17... I think whatever he's doing is working.
The good far outweighs the bad here.
What, was he holding a gun to her head forcing her to double the 400/400h?
No amount of good can ever outweigh DESTROYING an athlete's health so badly.
She would have won gold medals on the 4x4 last year. She would have been an Olympian this year and she would have been winning OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS on the relays.
That program got Kaylin Brown to 49.13 as a freshman. And they ran 3:17... I think whatever he's doing is working.
The good far outweighs the bad here.
What, was he holding a gun to her head forcing her to double the 400/400h?
The coaches didn't ask her to double, she wanted to do it and they supported her. That's why I said they should've protected her from herself. Sure, she might have been upset but I'm sure she would've been in a better position now.
It's their job to support her when going for stuff like this, ESPECIALLY at the collegiate level. Going for crazy doubles like the one she wanted to attempt is what moves this sport forward. It's what creates history. It's what creates stars. It's what gets you big contracts.
Plus, where is all this concern over longevity suddenly coming from? Why no complaints about Valby trying a double in an Olympic year? Or Mckenzie Long? Why did no one say anything when Wilson did the same double at SECs 2 years ago? I know that no one said anything. I was on this board and social media when all of that happened.
The simple truth is that hindsight is always 20/20.
That said, this announcement isn't exactly surprising. Truthfully I was expecting it going into this year, and I knew it was gonna happen after she stopped racing early this year and went silent. It's gonna take more than a year, perhaps 2, to recover from an a grade 3 stress fracture in one leg and a grade 4 in another - which is one of the most devastating running injuries i've ever heard of. It was no wonder she had to get wheeled off the track in Budapest.
The coaches didn't ask her to double, she wanted to do it and they supported her. That's why I said they should've protected her from herself. Sure, she might have been upset but I'm sure she would've been in a better position now.
It's their job to support her when going for stuff like this, ESPECIALLY at the collegiate level. Going for crazy doubles like the one she wanted to attempt is what moves this sport forward. It's what creates history. It's what creates stars. It's what gets you big contracts.
Plus, where is all this concern over longevity suddenly coming from? Why no complaints about Valby trying a double in an Olympic year? Or Mckenzie Long? Why did no one say anything when Wilson did the same double at SECs 2 years ago? I know that no one said anything. I was on this board and social media when all of that happened.
The simple truth is that hindsight is always 20/20.
That said, this announcement isn't exactly surprising. Truthfully I was expecting it going into this year, and I knew it was gonna happen after she stopped racing early this year and went silent. It's gonna take more than a year, perhaps 2, to recover from an a grade 3 stress fracture in one leg and a grade 4 in another - which is one of the most devastating running injuries i've ever heard of. It was no wonder she had to get wheeled off the track in Budapest.
- People were telling her not to double *before* NCAAs because the gap between events was like 15 minutes and she already had shin splints. When she did it at SECs the break was far longer and there weren't multiple rounds. The 100m 200m double is very common and has more rest time in addition to not being 2 400m races.
- Parker Valby hasn't even qualified for the Olympics yet, Britton Wilson was showing potential of being able to WIN the world championships last year.
- Hindsight is indeed 20/20 but I think if you go back intime many people were cautious of the NCAA 400/400H 15 minute break double. I suppose neither her nor her coaches thought the resulting injuries would keep her out for over a year.
- Regarding care for longevity - I come from a country without an NCAA system and we often observe NCAA athletes never match their college PB so being concerned about longevity isn't really new either. Although injuries aren't the only factor there, some people merely are in their prime in their early 20s, and also the amount of support you get on a full scholarship is much more than being a fringe athlete with a minor contract, etc.
Let me get this straight, she ran 53's both of her first 2 years in college at Tennessee.
Then she transferred to Arkansas and dropped to 50 flat the first season, and then progressed to 49.1 the next year. And in that time became good enough to make it onto to US 4x4 A squad where she became a world champion in the 4x4, but Chris Johnson deserves 10X more shame for what "he did" to to Britton Wilson than he deserves praise for 3:17. Make that make sense.
Chris, if you're reading this, you're such a jerk from transforming a 53 girl into a 49 girl (kind of like your 4 others) and now she has to carry around that dang heavy 4x4 world champion gold medal for the rest of her life. Shame on you, Chris, shame on you.
Let me get this straight, she ran 53's both of her first 2 years in college at Tennessee.
Then she transferred to Arkansas and dropped to 50 flat the first season, and then progressed to 49.1 the next year. And in that time became good enough to make it onto to US 4x4 A squad where she became a world champion in the 4x4, but Chris Johnson deserves 10X more shame for what "he did" to to Britton Wilson than he deserves praise for 3:17. Make that make sense.
Chris, if you're reading this, you're such a jerk from transforming a 53 girl into a 49 girl (kind of like your 4 others) and now she has to carry around that dang heavy 4x4 world champion gold medal for the rest of her life. Shame on you, Chris, shame on you.
They KNEW she had stress fractures before NCAAs and still made her race.
She was a collegiate record holder at ARKANSAS who has every resource imaginable for track athletes. You think they never got her an X-Ray when she was limping around, wearing calf sleeves 24-7, and was describing pain that is textbook for stress fractures? OF COURSE THEY GOT AN XRAY, OF COURSE THEY KNEW, AND THEY MADE HER RACE ANYWAY.
If he's a super genius coach like you claim then he should know better than to have someone hurdling with stress fractures the size of canyons in their bones.
He risked SEVERE, and even PERMANENT injuries for the sake of his own damn pride and some team points. If her leg breaks in half she has to get surgery to place a rod in her leg and she's never running sub 52 again.
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