Ritz's 4th place a blessing in disguise?

probably someone's pointed this out, but if the 10,000 meter team is Ritz, Rupp and Solinksy, there is a solid chance of a medal - That is 3 guys who either are or should be under 27.

come at me BRO wrote:

The Lone Wolf wrote:

Ritz getting a bronze in the 10k at the Olympics? Are you out of your mind?

People would have said the same thing about Flanagan in 2008 at this time...

Yeah, Flanagan's success implies that nobody can ever say anything predictive for all time. QED and all that.

Wow Unbelievable wrote:

No it is most definitely not a blessing in disguise. It's a sad occasion for him.

Ummm...Something feeling bad at the time is pretty much a prerequisite for it to be a blessing in disguise.

Where do you people come from?

Someone who actually wants to win a medal and knows he can't go 2:03...

agip wrote:

probably someone's pointed this out, but if the 10,000 meter team is Ritz, Rupp and Solinksy, there is a solid chance of a medal - That is 3 guys who either are or should be under 27.

Has Solinsky had a good 10K since his sub 27 breakthrough?

Ritz will break American 10k record

I, for one, do see this as a blessing in disguise and hope that Ritz continues marathon-style "strength-oriented" training because of his shortened base coming into the OT and because he doesn't seem to need much of a taper as his performances in the wake of London showed. If anything, I worry about this guy getting on the track too early and getting injured. As crazy as it sounds, he could still run Boston or London (collect a nice paycheck and, who knows, start out slow and finish striong for a change?), rest, then start his specific work leading up to the Olympic track trials. He doesn't need to be at his peak until late summer obviously.

agip wrote:

probably someone's pointed this out, but if the 10,000 meter team is Ritz, Rupp and Solinksy, there is a solid chance of a medal - That is 3 guys who either are or should be under 27.

is sub 27 really enough to even consider the possibility of getting a medal? you've got Bekele at sub 26:20, then several Ethiopians and Kenyans under 26:35.

Just sayin dude wrote:

is sub 27 really enough to even consider the possibility of getting a medal? you've got Bekele at sub 26:20, then several Ethiopians and Kenyans under 26:35.

PRs from years ago coupled with not showing the kind of form anywhere near those times makes it largely irrelevant.

sentiments is nuts wrote:

My sentiments - while I do think Ritz has a very good chance of making the Olympic team at either the 10k or 5k, the bronze medalist prediction is wildly off the mark.

The challenge with the Olympic track events (10k and 5k) is that at least 5 or 6 African runners and Farah can run a 54 sec (or better) last 400. And the do so off of running 2:35 per kilo pace (or faster). No American runner can do this, although admirably Rupp has come closer than others.

This is why Ritz wanted to make the marathon squad. It is where the money is - even if American marathoners are 3-4 minutes slower than their counterparts, the top few can still command appearance fees and money. Not so with track.

The sport no longer makes economic sense, even for the great ones.

I see what you are saying, but you are exaggerating. Running 2:35 pace (or faster) until the last lap, and then running a 54 sec (or better) last lap would yield a 12:47 if they go the slowest you mention.

I don't think any runner in history could run 54.0 or faster for a last lap off of 12:55 or faster pace and end up with a 12:47.0. My opinion is supported by nobody ever actually doing it.

How many active runners do you think could do this? Indeed, five runners in all of history have run 12:47.0 or faster with any kind of last lap, care to guess how many of them finished with a last lap of 53.X?