Leer blames Lagat

not a huge lagat fan but yes this seems pretty childish. first of all does he really think the FAT was wrong on who was 4th? and if leer wanted it to be faster he should have gotten in the front and run faster than 65's...regardless of the wind. lagat was just doing his best to maximize his chances of winning and no one else made any real moves...

What an amazingly classless performance by Leer. Does he think Lagat was singlehandedly responsible for the fact that it was a slow race? Lagat has made it very clear he wasn't going to do the 1500 at Worlds and everyone else knew what they needed to do. Seriously, this is some really shoddy stuff from Leer.

Punk azz

I have no big problems with what he said, yeah any blame directed at Lagat is way off, but it seemed like he was mainly pissed at himself, he said " I only have myself to blame" several times, interviews straight after a race like that are always going to be tough and I think most of his frustration is that Lagat has no intention of racing the event at worlds yet his presence in this race impacted massively on how it played out..

Why did Lagat's presence change the way the race was run? if everyone knew he wasn't going to run the 1500 at Worlds they could just ignore his presence really because his result doesn't matter.

Beyond that Lagat's presence should have made the pace faster because everyone knows about his kick, they should try to run it out of him.

I usually give interviewees a lot of slack. But that was an insult totally out of left field and uncalled for. The amazing thing about Centro is not just his talent, but at 21 he is apparently much smarter and mature than all these veterans. He stayed out of trouble by being at or near the front. Which at that pace still left him with plenty of gas in the tank for a finishing kick. That said, Leer is very justified to challenge his 5th place based on the video.

techwana wrote:

I have no big problems with what he said, yeah any blame directed at Lagat is way off, but it seemed like he was mainly pissed at himself, he said " I only have myself to blame" several times, interviews straight after a race like that are always going to be tough and I think most of his frustration is that Lagat has no intention of racing the event at worlds yet his presence in this race impacted massively on how it played out..

I think it's significantly more classless of Flotrack for entitling their video "Will Leer says he was fourth".

Lagat races to win of course, but in the eyes of many people that race against him, it is easy to believe that he races like a douchebag.

He consistently cuts other runners off and then slows down the pace. If you have ever been in this situation before, it is incredibly annoying.

In addition, it is quite obnoxious to go around stating that you have no intention of running the 1500 at worlds, enter yourself into the US 1500m championships, and then as stated above, race like a douchebag.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand that a narcissist like himself wants to win every race he can, but his ego is starting to bug me. Another reason why I'm glad centro smoked his ass.

I watched the race with a friend. If you slow down the finish, it actually does look like Leer crossed 4th. But obviously Wheating is a big star, very photogenic, charismatic, etc., so the USATF probably would rather he go than Leer, regardless of merit.

What are you guys talking about? Will Leer is a total class act in the video, and he's also being HONEST. He'd probably say the same thing to Lagat in person. He repeatedly said "I have no one to blame but myself"--what else do you want? He's disappointed with the race, obviously, and he's actually being honest with the interviewer, which is commendable. Too often it's "oh gosh, today wasn't my day" or "well actually I've been injured, blah blah." Will thinks he was ready to roll and is rightfully upset that the race played out the way it did. He, like many of the other guys who didn't finish in the top-3, is probably torn between the sportsmanship they enjoyed in other races, especially college (moreso for Leer, being a D3 guy) and the fact that it is, in fact, a race for a WC team and people run to win.

Like he said, there are certain 1500m runners who have MUCH less class for the kind of antics they pulled during the race--pushing, shoving, elbows. I'm surprised there weren't any flat-out-punches thrown.

This is a national championship. This isn't the Olympic Trials. I think it's important to realize that there is a certain aspect of being a double national champion that would appeal to most people, regardless of whether or not you complete the double at nationals.

Also, Lagat isn't running at worlds, so what he did today really doesn't factor in to anything. No one has the A standard yet, so Leer should focus his energy into getting that. Quite honestly, Manzano hasn't been racing well this year. Centro hasn't shown he can go 3:35 yet because he has won all of his races in a kick (though I suspect he can). There is still lots of room on the worlds team for Leer is he mans up and runs the qualifier.

What a total douche.

A 3:26 guy whose just ran a 5k last night

A 3:26 guy? Lagat is not a 3:26 guy anymore. And as far as his beef with Lagat running the 1500 despite not planning on running it at worlds...IT'S A U.S. F***ING CHAMPIONSHIP! Deal with it.

While it is annoying to get dipped, the finish line photo does not lie. Also, you said that track is a gentleman's game, and your comments were as far from being a gentleman as possible. Those defending saying he said he has no one else to blame, than why are you talking about what everyone else was doing. Also, if Lagat does keep slowing it down, than keep picking it up. Get yourself up front and don't let him get by you. Its called racing, and sometimes its tough. Wanna be a great runner, than beat a great runner.

I don't really agree with him, but I appreciate that he at least says what's on his mind. I'm tired of the same boring cliche answers in every single T&F interview.

That was a stupid thing to say by Leer. The guy is frustrated for missing out on worlds or Olympics for about the 8th time. I also wondered why Lagat decided to run both races even though he never was going to race the 1500 at worlds. Like somebody said, he probably wanted the double national champ title, which is nice to have.

I'd like to see the photo finish. I did think Leer clearly finished 4th when I watched the race. Can anybody find a picture of the finish?

I can only blame myself for not achieving more as a runner. Your an asshole asfdsdaf. But again, I can only blame myself. I'm just trying be honest humble person in this crazy world. This is awesome. I can say anything I want to anyone. I just have to bracket my remarks by saying "I blame myself".

lagat said in his interview that he only entered the 1500 just to have something to fall back on, on the off chance he did not make it in the 5000. "i didnt wanna put all my eggs in one basket"

Phenom Man wrote:

Also, Lagat isn't running at worlds, so what he did today really doesn't factor in to anything. No one has the A standard yet, so Leer should focus his energy into getting that. Quite honestly, Manzano hasn't been racing well this year. Centro hasn't shown he can go 3:35 yet because he has won all of his races in a kick (though I suspect he can). There is still lots of room on the worlds team for Leer is he mans up and runs the qualifier.

I could be wrong, but as I read the selection process, only the first four finishers in the U.S. Championships are eligible for the team, even if the guy in fifth is the only one who gets an A standard time. So the issue of who finished fourth and who finished fifth would seem to make a difference. Right now, assuming that the finishing order stands (and I agree that there seemed to be legitimate grounds for review), Wheating is on the team, subject to being bumped by Centro and Manzano.

But all of that is really beside the point of the thread, which I think is a good one. In my view, Leer's statements about Lagat were childish, unsportsmanlike, wrongheaded, and just plain rude. He seemed to be suggesting that it was somehow unfair for a 3:26 1500 guy to run a tactical race with a bunch of "3:35" guys (which actually exaggerates the quality of the field, since most of those "3:35" guys, including Leer himself, have never run 3:35, and Lagat isn't likely to get anywhere near 3:26 ever again). I also didn't see anything that Lagat did to interfere with anyone else. It seemed that a number of those purported "3:35" guys were simply afraid to assert themselves in a championship race with a bona fide world-class runner. So instead, they ran most of the race slower than Christin Wurth Thomas did in the women's race, giving Centro a golden opportunity to steal the race (and possibly the only U.S. entry in the world championships) with a fast finish.

1) I understand that he's disappointed right after the race

2) I appreciate his honesty although I think he's wrong

3) I don't like that he says that he's 4th. He's 5th as of now.

4) He shows poor sportsmanship

5) Why doesn't he run in the front and SET THE DAMN PACE?

... Speaking of sportsmanship, I don't think it's okay for a guy to hurl himself vertically across the line to get a shoulder in the accutrack. This is the only way Wheating could have possibly nabbed 4th place.