Insightful Solinsky Article

Stache--

If you even have to ask the question: "Does getting bumped off the track by someone 30 lbs lighter than me, and landing on a surface that was intended to cushion falls, and then not getting back on the track, make me a puss?"

, the answer is obvious.

And analogies are unneeded in any case. I saw what happened. There is no excuse but a lack of character.

Solinskrap is finished. He was finished already last year.

This is the problem: you guys keep referring to "his career". How corporate. I see you guys are treating this as a job, him having a sponsor and all, and having the opportunity to perform for compensation like a trained chimp. After all, he might jeopardize his opportunity for future earnings by coming back too soon, right?

That is precisely the kind of crap I'm railing against. Sport is about participation, that is where the honor lies. If you're not participating, you don't exist.

This is BY FAR the biggest participation opportunity, and in many ways, the only one that matters. Solinskrap isn't acting like an athlete, he's acting like an employee, with an eye to future earnings, job security, and the interests of the company and his contract therewith--and that is where his only drive is aimed.

I personally don't give a crap about whatever business sponsors him, his earnings, his relationship to them, his trajectory, how he represents his sponsor...I care about running and competing.

And Solinskrap is doing NEITHER. For me he doesn't exist. He's thumbing his nose at the greatest opportunity that could ever be presented to a runner, for a couple of bucks.

Disgraceful. He has chosen to not be a participant in the world championships or in the olympics.

That's why nobody else in the world cares about him except you fanboys. It's a big world out there, and in it, Solinskrap is NOTHING.

BBD: "Again you try and compare sprinting to distance running. No comparison available that works because Gay may have a similar injury (I'm not sure so I can't say for sure) but you mention that he will participate at OT's."

It wasn't I who suggested the comparison to Gay, it was another poster (Stache I think).

BBD: "That is possible because if you can sprint fast you don't need the amount of consistent training to get fit and race ready as one needs for distance running."

Complete b.s., you assume what you set out to prove. One cannot "sprint fast" WITHOUT "the amount of consistent training to get fit and race ready" that you suggest is unnecessary.

BBD: "Solinsky has been training at far from the level needed to compete. Even if you could start training 100% today that is not enough time to be ready to get A standard fit and top 3 fit."

Really? How do you know? Anybody who runs a race competes, which Solinskrap is not.

Look, I was pissed at his attitude last year, because I KNEW that this would happen to him. I was pissed mostly for him, only secondarily for athletics in general.

My criticism came from his not taking the opportunity to compete at world's, because you can't count on having those kinds of opportunities in the future. He's doing it again. He might, MIGHT have better reasons for his decision this year, I don't know, and I don't necessarily believe anything the guy says. What I DO know is that he has evidenced that he can be a whiny quitter, and that he isn't even trying to put up a time anywhere, and that trials were months away from his announcement of his decision.

d: "Solinsky appears to have what may be a career-ending injury, the cause of which was apparently not running-related."

All the more reason for him to have gone to WC's in 2011.

Your suggestion that his "injury" is not running-related seems to conflict with your suggestion that it was related to high mileage, not sure what to make of that.

Comparing Gay to Solinskrap isn't appropriate. Gay already went to the 2008 Olympics after his traumatic hamstring injury, and TRIED. He didn't advance. Should he not have gone after he earned his spot? Should he have given it up and NOT TRIED?

Of course not. His decision didn't prevent him from the next year finishing a good second at WC's, and lowering the AR to an incredible 9.69, a mark that is likely to stand for a long time. That will, IMO, be the highlight of Gay's career, and which would never have occurred, had he not participated.

He's been to the Games, he's got the AR that is likely to be around for a long time, he silvered in the fastest race in history, all because he TRIED.

Solinskrap's record is NOTHING like Gay's. The two are not comparable.

And as of recently, Gay still plans to compete at trials.

Did he kick your dog or something, man? Why would you devote so much time to someone that you dislike? There are a lot of athletes I dislike that I just ignore. Seems like that'd be a lot easier....

Barakus: "And lets compare, we support Solinsky (among hundred others) and you support.....the two time banned sprinter Justin Gatlin. An arrogant, lying, criminal who cheats to win."

Rather than "supporting" Gatlin, I am merely impressed by his results.

But let's talk about Gatlin. Like it or not (and I don't like it), society has determined that he is eligible to compete. It is a result of respect for the the rule of law, for which you should have the utmost respect, for my own respect for the rule of law is the only thing protecting guys like you from guys like me.

Gatlin spent years in track purgatory--no coach, no sponsors, no events, completely ostracized. Nothing that guy has today would have been achievable without his own personal drive, his own personal will to succeed, his own personal perseverance in the face of long odds and a total lack of support.

He may indeed have gotten some lasting benefit from the drugs, but so what...a whole bunch of guys have used the drugs, so he has no benefit relative to many other competitors.

There are plenty of people who have been banned, and disappeared completely. Has there been anybody banned for as long as Gatlin, arguably during their best years, and had anything like the kind of success that he is now having? Maybe, but none have achieved anything greater.

Here's the point: Gatlin had to rely on himself for years. He was and is desperate and hungry, and had to fend for himself, and couldn't make any bullcrap excuses, because NOBODY CARED. He had to answer to himself, and to his god, if he believes in one, and that's why there were none of these crap excuses.

And that's why he's now putting up results, because he TRIED, because he had/has no alternative.

Solinskrap is a babied, pampered, simpering ninny. He acts like an accountant, not like an athlete. He relies on the luxuries that are afforded to him, and expects respect as some sort of a right.

Solinskrap is NOTHING. Gatlin is competing, participating, TRYING.

News concerning Solinskrap invariably begins with the words: "Solinsky decides", or "Solinsky tweets".

News concerning Gatlin invariably begins with the words: "Gatlin runs", "Gatlin finishes", or "Gatlin wins".

You "support" Solinskrap? That is exactly the problem.

Gatlin gets acknowledged, Solinskrap gets supported.

Same as it ever was.

suburbanxcore--

Solinskrap is but a symptom of the problem.

Other posters have made the same point here, not referring to him individually, but to American runners in general.

From another thread about Webb, by a poster other than myself:

"3:37 isn't really the kind of time that screams "medal threat". But we're talking about a guy who has run 3:30/3:46 here, so we know he's capable of more. And the things I'm hearing and seeing makes me think Vig has a master plan that might actually work. Webb is 29 and coming off injury, so it really doesn't make sense to push him too hard in April and May. Just because he's only run 3:37 doesn't mean he couldn't go faster."

Now contrast that to Solinskrap.

Nobody said that Webb should have packed it in when he ran his crappy times earlier in the year, "uncompetitive times" by everybody's standards, losing to collegiate guys.

Instead they were saying "what a hero, I hope he makes it, he will progress, I have faith because he has run incredibly fast in the past, indicating that he has more talent than his competitors, even if he doesn't make it you have to give him props for competing, blah, blah, blah..."

And they're right. I know he had/has his detractors, who don't believe he'll make the team, but I don't know anybody who is criticizing him for trying, for participating, even though he was getting his butt kicked and enduring possibly embarrassing defeats.

Webb is 10 times the man that Solinskrap is. IIRC Webb even got up and finished the race earlier in the year, in which he went down...on the track.

Go Webb.

(cue the apologists and those distinguishing Webb's "injuries" from Solinskrap's "injuries")

Sprintgeezer wrote, in part:

And Solinskrap is doing NEITHER. For me he doesn't exist.

To post so much (13 posts from you about Solinsky in this thread alone) about someone who doesn't exist is unique.

I'm not posting ABOUT Solinskrap--he's just the most convenient illustration of a larger phenomenon. He is the object, not the subject.

Wow, sprintgeezer is a bitter nobody. Probably one of those 23 min 5K hobbyjoggers. You have some problems. Get help.

Hey, Solinsky has had a bad year now, but certainly doesn't deserve this level of hate.

Yes, the troll has been busy laying more bait.

->TrollGeez: Rather than "supporting" Gatlin, I am merely impressed by his results.

But let's talk about Gatlin. Like it or not (and I don't like it), society has determined that he is eligible to compete. It is a result of respect for the the rule of law, for which you should have the utmost respect, for my own respect for the rule of law is the only thing protecting guys like you from guys like me.TrollGeez: Gatlin spent years in track purgatory--no coach, no sponsors, no events, completely ostracized. Nothing that guy has today would have been achievable without his own personal drive, his own personal will to succeed, his own personal perseverance in the face of long odds and a total lack of support.

He may indeed have gotten some lasting benefit from the drugs, but so what...a whole bunch of guys have used the drugs, so he has no benefit relative to many other competitors.TrollGeez:There are plenty of people who have been banned, and disappeared completely. Has there been anybody banned for as long as Gatlin, arguably during their best years, and had anything like the kind of success that he is now having? Maybe, but none have achieved anything greater.

Here's the point: Gatlin had to rely on himself for years. He was and is desperate and hungry, and had to fend for himself, and couldn't make any bullcrap excuses, because NOBODY CARED. He had to answer to himself, and to his god, if he believes in one, and that's why there were none of these crap excuses.Trollgeez "And that's why he's now putting up results, because he TRIED, because he had/has no alternative.TrollGeez: Solinskrap is a babied, pampered, simpering ninny. He acts like an accountant, not like an athlete. He relies on the luxuries that are afforded to him, and expects respect as some sort of a right.

Solinskrap is NOTHING. Gatlin is competing, participating, TRYING.

News concerning Solinskrap invariably begins with the words: "Solinsky decides", or "Solinsky tweets".

News concerning Gatlin invariably begins with the words: "Gatlin runs", "Gatlin finishes", or "Gatlin wins".

You "support" Solinskrap? That is exactly the problem.

Gatlin gets acknowledged, Solinskrap gets supported.<-

Solinsky was a p*ssy once, and because of that you have laid your hate against him. Strange. There are hundreds of similar cases, yet, it is only Solinsky you care about. Mistake? Nah broh, I'll forgive Gatlin but not Solinsky, cause thats how my brain works.

Sigh. Wake up and read your own words.

News with Gatlin should only start with:

Gatlin caugh again, Gatlin admitting to cheating, Gatlin giving back medals, Gatling giving back sponsor money, Gatlin goes to jail, Gatlin hated by the world of Athletics. Gatlin not invited to any high profile event, Gatlin retires.

Solinsky has done more than Gatlin will ever do. Gatlin has done nothing. He cheated and therefore the only results of him that matters are the ones from his childhoot. Thats it. Nothing else of what he has done is worth anything.

Solinsky got a new american record in the 10k, in his first 10k. He is far from the usual runner, look at his body, and to be able to manage that time as a white american in these times, is simply amazing and unique. The fact that he is smart and not competing doesn't make him a coward. Why should he go to the trials to get lapped 3 times, possibly worsen his injury/end his career?

There is simply no good reason. None.

I support Solinsky like I support most competitive pros in America or anywhere else. I'm not a personally huge fan of him, hes done several great races and I liked those performances and thats it. Simple. This isn't football or soccer, we don't go around drooling watching pictures of athletes. Perhaps you do? "aaah gatlin, Johnson, Jones, Chambers...ahhh".

It is clear that you started hating Solinsky, and that was that. Everything you write here is a proof that you had a conclusion, and that you know are looking for things to back that conclusion. You are being as objective as a football fan.

And now its clear you are trolling.

You compare this to Webb, really. Why on earth.

Because Webb is using races as workouts, he is 10 times the man Solinsky is? He may be, but not because of that. He may be 10 times tougher, who knows, he is surely 10 times dumber, that we know. So, to assume he does all this crappy racing out of pur brilliance is hilariously naive.

"Instead they were saying "what a hero, I hope he makes it, he will progress, I have faith because he has run incredibly fast in the past, indicating that he has more talent than his competitors, even if he doesn't make it you have to give him props for competing, blah, blah, blah...""

BS. You have both sides. The guys who love him no matther what (thats an important fact) and those who actually look at what he does, and criticize it.

Webb doesn't have a injury that can destroy the rest of his career, Solinsky has. Thats really the only thing that matters in this comparison. It's impossible to compare them. If Solinsky was injury free at the same time as Webb, and had the same time to prepare as Webb, of course he would have run.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Solinskrap should absolutely TRY to run at trials, for the glory of participation. It is an honor and a privilege, second only to participation in the games themselves.

I never said he should go as hard as he can. If he could make the team with less, he should do less. If not, then yes, he should go as hard as he can--or he should at least TRY to go as hard as he can. The POS isn't even TRYING.

...

Wow. I really do appreciate reading your insights on sprinting here - we rarely get anything even resembling expert analysis on these boards.

Please don't comment on distance running again. You are way out of your depth.

Clifford Diffley wrote:

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Solinskrap should absolutely TRY to run at trials, for the glory of participation. It is an honor and a privilege, second only to participation in the games themselves.

I never said he should go as hard as he can. If he could make the team with less, he should do less. If not, then yes, he should go as hard as he can--or he should at least TRY to go as hard as he can. The POS isn't even TRYING.

...

Wow. I really do appreciate reading your insights on sprinting here - we rarely get anything even resembling expert analysis on these boards.

Please don't comment on distance running again. You are way out of your depth.

Expert analysis on sprinting? Oh please, he is nothing more than someone with an interest/passion for it.

Hes the guy that said the jamaicans would go from "meh" to "shit their pants" if Gatlin had ran 0.04 faster. 'Expert analysis'.

Barakus: "Because Webb is using races as workouts, he is 10 times the man Solinsky is?"

Yes.

"to assume he does all this crappy racing out of pure brilliance"

I never assumed that. I assume he does it out of guts, something now foreign to Solinskrap.

"You have both sides. The guys who love him no matter what (thats an important fact) and those who actually look at what he does, and criticize it."

Exactly--and nobody in either group has criticized Webb for competing.

Mar 03--runs a 13:10 5000m

Jun 04--drops out of Prefontaine 10,000m complaining of hamstring

July 22--in a fast 5000m, he is running with the leaders with 2 laps to go, in 11:00--even with a mediocre-for-him 2:00 final 800, he would have run 13:00, which would have put him in the top 10 for 2011; he quits the race

Aug 19/20--decides to drop out of worlds, claiming he "strained his hamstring during a speed session"

Sept 16--undergoes "surgery", claims that "3 of the 4 hamstring muscles had detached from the pelvis"

Q: when did he first say that he tripped over his dog on some stairs, and felt something "pop" in his leg?

Was it due to a speed session or not?

How could somebody run a top-10 time on a failing hamstring?

And if that were in fact possible, why not then run at WC's, because anybody who can run that kind of a time would have a chance, since the best of the year was only a few seconds faster.

If he dropped out of WC's before he came up with his dog and stairs story, he is either a complete loser or a fake.

If he came up with his dog and stairs story the same time as his speed session story, he has a story that he can't get straight.

Even if his ham was bad but not horrible in Monaco, and then he injured it further in a speed session and decided to call it quits, that makes him a loser for quitting the Monaco race.

For me, his story doesn't add up...and if it does, it indicates that he is a quitter and a loser.

Yes, I understand that some think that I'm unfairly isolating his 2011 season and ignoring his previous seasons. Fair enough. I understand that he is heroic to some letsrun posters.

All I know are the events of 2011. IMO he should have gone to 2011 WC's because it is a big meet and you never know what can happen--like a subsequent trip over a dog on some stairs, knocking you out of the Olympics that you thought you could run after rehabbing. For him to not recognize that indicates a lack of will to compete, as does his bailing from the 10k race, and his absolute quitting of the 5k race.

"It's a judgment call", you say? That's right, and your judgment is informed by your character. IF his general story is to be believed, his character is conservative, possibly privileged--NOT the character of a true competitor.

I have no love for this guy. I'm all about redemption, though, and I hope that he will show us something more worthwhile in the coming years.

In the meantime, GO WEBB.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

All I know are the events of 2011. IMO he should have gone to 2011 WC's because it is a big meet and you never know what can happen

I'm probably an idiot for responding to someone with a clear, malicious obsession with Solinsky, and a steadfast refusal to have an open mind. But....

In 2011, Solinsky's leg took several days to recover from any race-effort running. There was a sustained pattern. Going to Daegu and hoping -- despite what his body had been telling him with 100% repeatability all summer -- that he might somehow recover from the prelim in time to run hard in the final... that wouldn't have been gutsy or the mark of a competitor -- it would have been selfish, and a completely pointless, valueless exercise in vanity.

But I am really very sorry Chris missed you in the crowd that one time and didn't sign your t-shirt.

The focus here is on the trials, suddenly you stopped talking about them? Strange.

You want him to run injured/in terrible shape in the trials.

That is not smart, and if its an injury that has been a problem for the last two seasons, no pro runner would take a chance on destroying the rest of their career just to be lapped and get last at the trials, for the 'honor'.

"Exactly--and nobody in either group has criticized Webb for competing."

Yes they do. Are you f*cking retarded? Its clear you have no clue about running. None.

Anyone with some knowledge of running (and middle distance) would very rarely advice competing the way Webb has done to get in shape. "Competition is the best training". BS. It is not. Competition takes a toll on your body, makes you have more recovery days and overall gives you weeks/months with less training. It is not ideal. It seems more like a desperate move from Webb and his coach. Had you been reading anything else than the HS kids "I love Webb" threads you would have known this.

Secondly, nobody runs fast in sprint because of "guts". Have you ever competed at all?

A runner can get far with an injury, when it suddenly can become a huge problem. For example late in a race. I don't know why I'm explaining these things, you are obviously trolling or have less knowledge of running than a little girl at 5.

Reading your stupid sh*t is like hearing someone say this:

"Basketball is easy man, you just avoid the guy in front of you, do a few tricks and dunk the ball. Or just shoot 3 pointers all the time, easy win!"