Mo Aman joins OTC Elite

holy shit. I'm really surprised, he is at such a higher level than all the other athletes there

Great landing spot for him to spend his golden years ;--)

I bet Nick regrets going over to Brooks right about now... Would have been great for him to have a training partner like Mo, now he's stuck with a bunch of 1:46/3:38 guys.

Dewey_Runner wrote:

I bet Nick regrets going over to Brooks right about now... Would have been great for him to have a training partner like Mo, now he's stuck with a bunch of 1:46/3:38 guys.

In what way is he stuck with a bunch of 1:46 / 3:38 guys?

Damn! I didn't even click on this link at first b/c I thought it was a joke until I saw Flotrack post it on Facebook. Damn. Well good for them, that's pretty cool!

I went to a clinic in California in january where he and most of the mid-distance guys from OTC and Rowland answered questions and taught drills. That was the first I'd heard of it and I was shocked, but he's been with them since at least Christmas. They haven't been advertising it or anything, but they weren't really keeping it under wraps.

Bring a fast guy named Mo from overseas. Blatant copycats of NOP

cool kid wrote:

holy shit. I'm really surprised, he is at such a higher level than all the other athletes there

He is also at a higher level than all the athletes in Ethiopia... He is the first Ethiopian under 1:45, ever

When I first saw this headline I thought it was a joke. When I realized it was real, my first thought was "Why???" Aman is damn good already doing whatever it is he has been doing ... why move to the US (I assume he's based in Ethiopia or elsewhere) to join the OTC?

And what is the OTC's motivation to help an Ethiopian who's already beating US athletes out for medals? I know the same could be said of Mo Farah and NOP, but he wasn't a podium runner until he joined Salazar. Aman is already a world beater.

This would be an even more interesting situation if Nick Symmonds was still part of OTC. Yes, as someone else mentioned he would gain a valuable training partner, but how do you think he would feel about the guy coaching him also coaching the one man who beat him at 2013 Worlds? Everything Rowland did to benefit Aman would in turn, hurt Symmonds' medal chances.

(I know the same dynamic does exist with Rupp/Farah and I always wondered how Rupp truly felt about Salazar helping Mo become an Olympic champion. At the same time, you could argue without Farha as a training partner, maybe Rupp wouldn't have gotten to the level he did and silver in 2012 wouldn't have happened. ... a lot of hypotheticals.)

I'd guess that he wants 1) improved facilities and 2) a guaranteed contract. A multi-year contract is good insurance against injuries, and I bet the OTC weightlifting/therapeutic facilities are a big step up.

This seems like a longterm win/win. NOP learns about Aman's previous training and physique that make him a world beater. He pulls a few other 800 runners there to better performances. Maybe he has future goals at distances greater than 800. In exchange NOP makes sure he has a stable training environment and all his blood levels are ideal.

shoebacco: if you're going to spout drivel, at least have your aim correct. he's going to the otc, not nop. second, aman has been doing some us based training each year for the past 5 years. he even spent a bit of time with leo and his bunch in the past.

Maybe it's all about Mo AMan helping OTC athletes

It will be interesting to see how he handles the transition to grey area/tue

So this basically means he'll show up at all the US meets (collegiate and PRO) and kick all of the US runner's asses on a consistent basis. LOL.

Wonder if this will lure Rudisha to state-side more often.

This should increase his visibility in the US...making him more marketable...and should add to his contract

HardLoper wrote:

Bring a fast guy named Mo from overseas. Blatant copycats of NOP

I know.

Aman has been based in Texas for at least a year.

B-Sample wrote:

Aman has been based in Texas for at least a year.

This. Aman was with Austin Track Club for a bit. He seems very Americanized compared to other Ethiopians.