We had a good interview with Nick Symmonds after the semifinal of the 800 at us Champs which you can see embedded in our recap here: http://www.letsrun.com/news/2013/06/usatf-mens-800m-semifinals-the-favorites-advance-to-set-up-a-stellar-final/
We definitely recommend you give it a watch.
In the interview we talked to Symmonds about going for his 6th straight USATF 800m title and commented that at this point he's probably figured out how to win no matter what type of race it is. His response was great as he said:
"I always liked watching Tiger Woods play golf because they said he has more tricks in his bag with his clubs than anybody else does. He can hit a 3 iron ten different ways. And I've always wanted to be the kind of runner, in an 800 especially, that can win any way you throw it. If we go out in 24, if we go out in 28, if it's fast, if it's slow, if I'm burried, if I'm boxed or if I'm free I want to be able to win any different way. I think my Division III background gave me a lot of chance to practice those skills. I think that's one of the reasons I've been able to pull off these wins the last 5 years. I've found a way to get to the front somehow, no matter how it's played. Obviously I'm not anywhere the level that Tiger Woods is, but I aspire to have that kind of variety in my game."
When we asked if maybe he was the "Tiger Woods of US 800m runners" he said, "Maybe Tiger of the US 800m for a very brief time ... without the affairs."
Symmonds also talked about the quality of the final on Sunday and how much US 800m running has improved. He said:
"I think it's a good field. There's eight really good guys in this final. That's the way it should be. America, who put two people in the final last year at the Olympics, should always have 8 guys with the 'A' standard or 16 guys with the 'A' standard vying for a spot on the team. That's where I've been saying I want America 800m running to come. Duane stepped it up, Tyler stepped it up, all these youngsters are. We got damn good crew and we're going to send 3 really really good guys to Moscow this year."
Nick Symmonds is the "Tiger Woods of the US 800" ...without the affairs
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The 800 Semis showed a Nick Symmonds I did not know existed. This guy is pretty f****n' smart. You have got to be smart to mix it up in the 8. Moscow's got babes. No wonder he wants to go. But if he borrows any from Putin he's not coming back home alive.
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man that is a really bad analogy
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Tiger has won numerous "majors" cannot say the same for Nick. I really like him, but he is not in Tiger's league as far as success goes.
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if you watched the video nick said he wasn't nearly as good as tiger, his point was that he wants to be able to win a race in multiple fashions as tiger can hit his 3 iron 10 different ways.
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I think Symmonds said " for a very brief time"
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Hardly, he has never won anything at world level
I never got why Tiger got such grief over his 'affairs' its not exactly unusual
Mind you the hardest thing in golf is carrying the bag and they get somebody else to do that -
Not even close. Nicky has done well on the national stage and has never been a threat on the world stage. Woods has won all over the world on every sort of course.
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Yea, but; Tiger woods can beat internationals.
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The key is that he's saying he wants to be the Tiger of the US 800m. United States specifically. What Nick's saying is that he wants to be comparable on the national level to what Tiger Woods is/was to golf on the international level. Now let's stop focusing on the comparison between their relative abilities and focus on the level of wisdom this shows for Symmonds. The 500-700 surge is his tried and true race tactic and it has brought him 5 nationals. But it shows a lot of race IQ to know that he needs to be able to adapt to whatever is thrown at him to come out with the win.
