Are the young Aussie Runners better than the Young Americans

The Australians still didn't "beet" the USAnians at world cross country however...

First of all, Americans are hyped on this site because the site is based in the US and mainly populated by Americans. I always root for Aussies and Kiwis in big meets, but I don't think there's anything wrong with getting most excited about my own country's athletes.

Second, pretty much any one of those times/ages can be matched or exceeded in some way by a young American athlete. For example, Gregson is great but Fernandez is younger and has run about the equivalent of 3:37 indoors, plus he's got a 13:25 to his name. Teg and Solinsky aren't exactly old, and they'll both be in the same range for 5k as Birmingham, not to mention Rupp, who has already run 13:18 earlier this year at a younger age. Then you've got guys like Puskedra, Derrick, Mead, Centro, Bethke, etc. All young, all fast (3:36 or sub 13:30).

I do wish we still had a 3:51 miler though. Good luck to all the Aussies, I'm glad to see a bunch of young talented guys coming out of there, especially now that Mottram is MIA.

How old is Solinsky?

edumacator wrote:

Teg and Solinsky aren't exactly old, and they'll both be in the same range for 5k as Birmingham, not to mention Rupp, who has already run 13:18 earlier this year at a younger age. Then you've got guys like Puskedra, Derrick, Mead, Centro, Bethke, etc. All young, all fast (3:36 or sub 13:30).

I did not even mention McNeil or Forrest - both young and fast.

TMoney wrote:

How old is Solinsky?

25, he ran 13:12 in 2007.

Right, both very fast and in the case of Forrest, balls the size of grapefruits as well. I don't really think of this as an us vs. them type thing, I'm happy Australia's got a bunch of up and comers. I guess my main point is, as long as the US has some guys even CLOSE to the same level, they'll get more hype. Plus the US has a pretty large population advantage, so theoretically we ought to have the numbers. But then again, I'd trade one 12:55 guy for 5 13:30 guys in a heartbeat. This sport is all about the outliers.

As an American, I have to give a hat out to you Aussies for putting it out there. I think if your 12:55 guy gets back in gear -- there could actually be some decent depth between the 1500m and 5000m. With that said though - you guys will not match our (US) depth now and in the near future. We have talent coming out of every nook and cranny. I do wish you all the best, though.

... that forrest is 26 y/o

Didn't Gregson run 13:57?

Riseley is better than Webb right now.

Poor Webb......

I guess it depends which young americans you are comparing them too. Risely and Mcneill will both be 23 later this year, Birmingham will be 25. Forrest turns 26 in a week or so and Gregson turned 19 in April.

I guess that means that Gregson should be compared to Fernandez and the other freshman. Its been done many times on this board so there is no need to really cover it here. Suffice to say they are both very promising, Fernandez's recent 1500 time and World XC performance (I know that Gregson had been hurt) probably give him an advantage.

Risely and McNeill probably compare to Rupp who turned 23 in May. I think he is clearly superior to McNeil and I think his Olympic finish last year is very comprable if not better than Risely's recent Oslo run. Obviously they run different events so its hard to compare (especially since Rupp's is so African dominated). The upcoming WC's will give a chance to compare. Centro and Jager both compare favorably to Risely though they are younger (Centro is 19 and Jager is 20). Centro's 3:36 pr and Jager's 3:54 match Risely's pr's coming into this year. Jager also has a 13:22 to his name.

I think the obvious comparison for Birmingham is Solinsky who is 25 as someone above mentioned. I believe Solinsky's pr is better but you might have to give the edge to Birmingham because he has run better at 10k and competed well in World XC.

You could probably compare Forrest to Ryan Hall or Ritz who will both turn 27 later this year. They are about 8 months older than Forrest but I think they have clearly accomplished a lot more than Forrest.

This leaves out American's like Tegankamp, Webb, Manzano, Lomong, Bauhs, and Tim Nelson who have all achieved Olympic A standards. I left them out primarily because I was too lazy to deal with the slow IAAF website and look up their names.

So looking at it like that I think you have to give the edge to the US although the Aussies have certainly turned in some great performances and Risely and Gregson look particularly promising.

I believe Gregson would benefit greatly from the NCAA system. Particularly, Portland would be a great destination for the Aussie who could train with rising distance stud Trevor Dunbar. The wonderful tacos in Portland would also be a revelation to Ryan.

The Brit is right.....each year in Feb/March you get a chance to toe the line and see which country has the best distance runners at the IAAF World X-C. This year, the USA finally got its act together an fielded a stud team of Fernandez, Derrick, Pukesdra, etc and beat the Aussies hands-down.

Case and Argument closed!

'With that said though - you guys will not match our (US) depth now and in the near future'

Maybe because Australia has a population of only 21 million?

William Biwott Tanui >>>> any junior aussie or american.

It's track season not XC.

Saying that the US beat Aust at WXC has no relivance to this topic. Gregson does not even claim to have a future in XC since he is a 1500m type guy, who can do well in a tactial 5000m; not 8000m on hills.

Webb is too busy trying to beat second level Americans like Dorian Ulrey and William Lear to think about the young Aussie stars.

We will see who is better at the WCs. Whatever national team places the most runners in the finals is better.

Australia with its 21 million population is the most athletic country on the planet. Check the summer Olympic medal totals.

The U.S. leads the planet in obesity and steroid bloated baseball & football players (not to be confused with real athletes).