One of the jobs of a coach/manager in any sport is to provide perspective for an athlete who has their emotions wrapped up in their performance.
A good coach would have said "Hey, Fiona, you are clearly injured. You earned this position and you have a lot to be proud of, but you can set yourself back big-time if you try to hobble through this race. And besides, both you and I know you are talented and hard-working enough to make this happen again in 4 years."
The truth is it is unlikely anyone can come back and do it again in 4 years, and a good coach wouldn't just weave fairy tales and spin hopes. No one on the US marathon teams was a repeat from the last cycle. No one was even from the Worlds teams in 2023. Jake Riley is recovering from RED-S, Molly Seidel is dealing with her eating disorder. Every name on those U.S. teams is dealing with recovery from an injury or just aging out.
I did come back to read this thread cause I just listened to Des and Kara's podcast on it. Appreciate their candor and passion for what's going on with Fiona because I feel it's earned, unlike the majority of people commentating. It's a cold hard truth that the Olympics is the biggest deal in this sport, can make a career and in reality, what Des's coach said to her was you run what you can and you bow out as if you got injured right then and there, best way to illicit sympathies and fend off blowback. And that is reality and with all the blowback Des knows she'll be receiving, she's transparent enough to share that with us.
Get off your high horses unless you can say you gave up your Olympic spot FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY.
The truth is it is unlikely anyone can come back and do it again in 4 years, and a good coach wouldn't just weave fairy tales and spin hopes. No one on the US marathon teams was a repeat from the last cycle. No one was even from the Worlds teams in 2023. Jake Riley is recovering from RED-S, Molly Seidel is dealing with her eating disorder. Every name on those U.S. teams is dealing with recovery from an injury or just aging out.
I did come back to read this thread cause I just listened to Des and Kara's podcast on it. Appreciate their candor and passion for what's going on with Fiona because I feel it's earned, unlike the majority of people commentating. It's a cold hard truth that the Olympics is the biggest deal in this sport, can make a career and in reality, what Des's coach said to her was you run what you can and you bow out as if you got injured right then and there, best way to illicit sympathies and fend off blowback. And that is reality and with all the blowback Des knows she'll be receiving, she's transparent enough to share that with us.
Get off your high horses unless you can say you gave up your Olympic spot FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY.
Actually Des said some random coach gave her that advice, not her coach and it wasn't advice she took. I maligned her!
So you’re basically saying let’s perpetuate a system of severely restricting food intake to make the Olympics, maybe shoot your shot if you don’t have an injury and if you do, suck it up and hobble to line and never to be heard from again? Cool
Surely old news to you all, but I'm just catching up. I just read in the Fast Women newsletter that Rose Harvey was also injured (femoral stress fracture) but managed to finish. seems to praise the effort with words like "Olympic spirit, resolve, determination, grit, huge amounts of resilience." Not so sure this should be encouraged or praised considering Rose is also coached by Alistair and Amy Cragg and it's no surprise she was injured and no surprise the nature and likely cause of the injury.
Surely old news to you all, but I'm just catching up. I just read in the Fast Women newsletter that Rose Harvey was also injured (femoral stress fracture) but managed to finish. seems to praise the effort with words like "Olympic spirit, resolve, determination, grit, huge amounts of resilience." Not so sure this should be encouraged or praised considering Rose is also coached by Alistair and Amy Cragg and it's no surprise she was injured and no surprise the nature and likely cause of the injury.
Thank you for bringing this up. There is a serious situation going on in with Puma Elite and disordered eating. In addition to the 2 marathoners that showed up in Paris hurt. Natosha Rogers and Taylor Werner were both hurt for this Olympic year. There have been several others that have left for just this reason. It has become a breading ground for stress fractures. 6 months from now all will be forgot and someone will pop a great performance and Fast Women and the press will all celebrate. That is the problem. It will continue until someone dies.
Surely old news to you all, but I'm just catching up. I just read in the Fast Women newsletter that Rose Harvey was also injured (femoral stress fracture) but managed to finish. seems to praise the effort with words like "Olympic spirit, resolve, determination, grit, huge amounts of resilience." Not so sure this should be encouraged or praised considering Rose is also coached by Alistair and Amy Cragg and it's no surprise she was injured and no surprise the nature and likely cause of the injury.
Thank you for bringing this up. There is a serious situation going on in with Puma Elite and disordered eating. In addition to the 2 marathoners that showed up in Paris hurt. Natosha Rogers and Taylor Werner were both hurt for this Olympic year. There have been several others that have left for just this reason. It has become a breading ground for stress fractures. 6 months from now all will be forgot and someone will pop a great performance and Fast Women and the press will all celebrate. That is the problem. It will continue until someone dies.
For the record, Fast Women wasn't the one praising her performance, it was the BBC article, which for some reason cut off some words when I tried to hyperlink them.
Did Fast Women say anything about how unhealthy Fiona looked in February at the OT? Anyone and everyone that has been involved in the sport for longer than a minute and a half knew the situation that day. It was discussed amongst nearly every coach and athlete that saw her that day. Just turn your head and act like you don’t notice.
Did Fast Women say anything about how unhealthy Fiona looked in February at the OT? Anyone and everyone that has been involved in the sport for longer than a minute and a half knew the situation that day. It was discussed amongst nearly every coach and athlete that saw her that day. Just turn your head and act like you don’t notice.
It’s sad that turning ones head and acting like we dont notice anything is the norm. I really hope she can get the help she needs, along with the other PUMA elite athletes.
Surely old news to you all, but I'm just catching up. I just read in the Fast Women newsletter that Rose Harvey was also injured (femoral stress fracture) but managed to finish. seems to praise the effort with words like "Olympic spirit, resolve, determination, grit, huge amounts of resilience." Not so sure this should be encouraged or praised considering Rose is also coached by Alistair and Amy Cragg and it's no surprise she was injured and no surprise the nature and likely cause of the injury.
Thank you for bringing this up. There is a serious situation going on in with Puma Elite and disordered eating. In addition to the 2 marathoners that showed up in Paris hurt. Natosha Rogers and Taylor Werner were both hurt for this Olympic year. There have been several others that have left for just this reason. It has become a breading ground for stress fractures. 6 months from now all will be forgot and someone will pop a great performance and Fast Women and the press will all celebrate. That is the problem. It will continue until someone dies.
Have there been any actions taken against Alistair? Everyone is back home and we are supposed to act like all of this never happened. USATF? Puma? Safesport?
Have there been any actions taken against Alistair? Everyone is back home and we are supposed to act like all of this never happened. USATF? Puma? Safesport?
Is there clear documented or verifiable proof he pressured or forced any of those injured runners to perform when they needed medical attention or intervention?
Without that, nothing's going to happen to him.
This post was edited 20 seconds after it was posted.
Surely old news to you all, but I'm just catching up. I just read in the Fast Women newsletter that Rose Harvey was also injured (femoral stress fracture) but managed to finish. seems to praise the effort with words like "Olympic spirit, resolve, determination, grit, huge amounts of resilience." Not so sure this should be encouraged or praised considering Rose is also coached by Alistair and Amy Cragg and it's no surprise she was injured and no surprise the nature and likely cause of the injury.
