Graham Blanks headed to Paris

Really excited for Blanks. I think he has a higher ceiling than Parker. If you would have said Blanks was on the Olympic team at the beginning of the year, people would have called you crazy.

the fact he was able to rally back from injury and get into this kind of shape makes me hopeful that he’ll be in even better shape by the time the Olympics come around

What planet were you on at the beginning of the year? When Blanks won XC and ran 13:02 indoors there were tons of people on these boards speculating he could make the team.

Graham's coach and program were looking out for him and helped him get to the Olympics. Parker's, not so much. Sad for Parker, very happy for Graham.

I didn't medal at the olympic trials eithsr, can I run at paris?

I don't agree w that statement. at all.

Blanks training is risky. Sure, he ran fast times, but look at his injury.

listing McGorty in the 5000 ahead of graham

but leave it to WA to be imperfect

their interpretation of USA trials

I hate how so many people on the IG posts and message boards can't just let this go, without putting loads of 'justice for Parker', 'it should of been Wolfe', 'what about Parker' comments ffs

The qualification policy didn't change, everyone knew what the rules were (whether you agree with them or not) and Blanks' post-race interview on the topic he was a true gentlemen about it and openly advocated for Parker to go, yet now whenever he opens his phone he's just going to see loads of immature BS comments from people

first you would have needed to qualify for the trials, oops. Then you would need to have run the standard for entry, oops.

but, if you can afford a ticket, you can fly to Paris and go for a run.

Yeah idk about Blanks having a higher ceiling than Wolfe. Wolfe has shown some very impressive speed this year. More speed = high ceiling, in my mind. Especially at the global level where it takes 55 or faster in the last 400 to make a final.

Eh Parker is younger and just beat Nico Young for the NCAA title in a year Nico ran 12:57 and 26:52 and then beat Blanks in a year he ran 13:03. Not sure I agree Blanks has a higher ceiling. I see Blanks as more of a strength guy who may excel at 10,000 and higher, but more on the roads where there are terrain changes and such. Wolfe had a higher ceiling on the track, IMO, as he has proven his speed at the end of races and has strong mile times.

Yup. Everyone on here was criticizing Giddy for losing Heps. Well, look who had two athletes going to the Olympics. Meanwhile Parker's not going because I guess ACC's were more important. And they ended up finishing third anyway!

Alex _Gibby_. Yes. He cares about his athletes’ goals beyond NCAAs.

Running 13:03.78 all the way back on December, 2nd, (more than 7 months ago) on the bu sus indoor track but finishing 4th at the trials and losing to the same guy prior at ncaa; not a good look. Rules are rules; respect has been lost, but karma will prevail.

Well that’s because people are ignorant. Graham and Parker are friends.

Post-injury yeah it seemed a long shot. Don’t know about long-term ceiling though, Wolfe is younger but I’d tend to say Blanks’ NCAA win is the two highest caliber performance considering how good the field was. You could argue Blanks’ ceiling for this year might be higher with him being lighter raced, still gaining fitness and clearly possessing a huge engine. It’d be unsurprising to me if he sneaks out of the heats for him to surprise in a fast final. Not saying medal or anything but able to not get terribly dropped yes.

Graham Blanks is awesome, and I think he will run his heart out in Paris and be so exciting to watch. That being said, I think Parker's coaches at UNC really let him down. He did everything right. It seems like they should have been thinking longer term for him and given him some opportunities during the outdoor season to get the standard. He totally could have done it. I feel so bad for him. That has to be a bitter pill to swallow.

You should really figure out what you’re actually looking at before you comment on it.

I'm confused. Please help me understand this as I'm new here and don't post very much.

A few weeks ago, everyone on here had determined that Gibby was an idiot who trained all of the guys too hard with six minute flat easy days and got them injured. Now he's a genius?

And Milt is a moron even though Wolfe handily beat Blanks at both NCAAs and USAs?

Which is it? Or is this board just full of jealous coaches who think everyone sucks as they are envious that they'll never get to coach people so talented?

The reality is Milt and Gibby are both great coaches and Blanks and Wolfe are both great runners. There also are a TON of coaches who are almost as good but you'll never hear about. Look at how good Jess Hull's dad is for example.

He won XC and ran the qualifier last year. He was injured at the start of this year.