Eric Jenkins Tell Us Who You Are: 'Just an average guy, with exceptional hair, trying to run fast.'

Funny part is that Geoghegan had even better hair AND a nice early beard.

Jenkins certainly has a decent interview style. Reminds me of Derrick.

A great comeback from Jenkins. That's indicative of how much our sport is hurting. Just a bit of spontaneous wit from ANY T & F athlete really gets our attention. 1 billion people supposedly tuned in to watch India vs. Pakistan in a cricket match today. And the Armory wasn't sold out tonight! Ugh

kmaclam wrote:

A great comeback from Jenkins. That's indicative of how much our sport is hurting. Just a bit of spontaneous wit from ANY T & F athlete really gets our attention. 1 billion people supposedly tuned in to watch India vs. Pakistan in a cricket match today. And the Armory wasn't sold out tonight! Ugh

Were you there? Seriously, no sarcasm intended.

It looked sold out- I watched it from the start on usatf.tv through NBCSN and I saw the bleachers filling up.

On usatf.tv, towards the end, they said it was a sold out Armory.

Still, not the 18,000 who used to watch it at MSG.

I was there, and I'm suprised no one is talking about Eaton going over the wall. Really scary. Many of the seats on the far turn were empty (these are horrible seats anyway, behind not one, but two 'fences'). Best bet if you can't grab one of the few decent $30 seats (80% of the seating is $95 and up!) is to go standing room and hang out trackside. All in all a great meet. Music way too loud though & it hardly let up for all 6 hours.

Agree, all of the big races were really competitive. And after walking back and looking at where Eaton fell, I am amazed he was not seriously hurt. It was all aluminum scaffolding, a maze, and a 10' fall to the surface below. Someone told me he grabbed a piece of the scaffolding, otherwise different outcome. Scary moment. Yes, those are crummy seats back there, and seemed to be 40% filled or less. Centro/Willis, Lomong, Sowinski/Andrews (nice to see a well-positioned race and quality time from him, been a while... 1000 as often said seems to be his race). Was skeptical, after 30ish years of going to MSG, that The Armory would work, but I am a big fan now, it's a great meet once again. One area for improvement... total lack of big time college programs in the relays anyway (though UO did rep pretty well).

The whole "nearly getting Galen's ACR" stuff is overblown. Ryan Hill ran 7:43 years ago... Running on a premium 200m bank is no different than flat 300. American Collegiate Record is already so specific and nichey enough, now we need an asterisk to clarify the exception of oversized tracks too? "It was an ACR for white kids with one black mole between their shoulder blades, between 5'6" and 5'7.3."" Come on guys.

That is not to take away from Jenkins' terrific run, however. This kid is exceptional and will do big things.

Two Hands 1 Foot Backwards AR wrote:

The whole "nearly getting Galen's ACR" stuff is overblown. Ryan Hill ran 7:43 years ago... Running on a premium 200m bank is no different than flat 300. American Collegiate Record is already so specific and nichey enough, now we need an asterisk to clarify the exception of oversized tracks too? "It was an ACR for white kids with one black mole between their shoulder blades, between 5'6" and 5'7.3."" Come on guys.

What do you mean "now we need"?. This isn't really a new thing.

I ran with Jenkins back in "09 in NH, my friend got edged out by him the mile with a 4:15 full mile on a blistering hot day. I think the most impressive thing about him, I was talking to him and his coach afterwards, was that he did it all on super low mileage. I mean, he was doing like 15-25 mpw and his summer runs weren't consistent. It's weird to see a guy right backdoor from you blow up on the national stage and become a leading runner.

I think this whole running experience humbled him a bit too, he use to be super cocky back in HS, i mean, he was always hanging out with girls, and he seemed like he was a cool guy who barely ran. I ran for 8 years and only got down around 4:20 mile (starting in 6th grade fun runs though), and he did in just 1-2 years, and never even got close to doing real mileage in HS. funny guy.

It's a funny response, to be sure, but it's also a reference to Eastbound and Down, where Kenny Powers describes himself in exactly the same way. (Can't be bothered to find the specific episode but I think it's somewhere in season 3.)

Know him a little. Kid is so talented and by that I completely mean mentally talented besides just your normal physical talent. You need a certain mental attitude, fortitude, and mindset to do great things in this sport and he has it. As Wetmore would say he has the "right stuff". Fully expect him to be an absolute gamer in world championship/olympic races for the next decade. Not sure who hes gonna train with after Oregon but I foresee him being the equivalent of Centro but for the 5k if you catch my drift. Overall great competitor and great talent.

Yeah, I caught that interview when I got back from the Dempsey and was watching the recordings.

First, I couldn't believe the interviewer didn't know who he was, and that he didn't ask the Oregon aid off screen to get prepared, or that the Oregon aid didn't do intro's...maybe they did and it was too loud.

Funny asssed damn response.

Great attitude.

"From this moment forward Kenny Powers is just like everyone else. Normal. Not special. No hopes. No dreams. Pretending to be happy when he’s really super sad. Just an average guy with exceptional hair. Nothing more, and nothing less." - Kenny Powers

Spontaneous wit? Huh? He was just repeating some elses schtick. No different than saying 'make my day' or 'I'm Rick James, bitch.'

Spontaneous wit is would be if HE had come up with his own funny content.

not original wrote:

Spontaneous wit? Huh? He was just repeating some elses schtick. No different than saying 'make my day' or 'I'm Rick James, bitch.'

Spontaneous wit is would be if HE had come up with his own funny content.

You mean he planned on being asked that question and had that exact response at the ready? Huh? Repeating "some else's schtick"? I'm just giving the guy credit for not calling out the interviewer (not a track fan obviously) and having a snappy comeback. What would you say in that situation? You've just won a big race at the Millrose games & the 1st question you get is "Who are you?"

NOP in the cards Mr Jenkins?

Turns out you were right, Exceptional blood.

Does it seem to anybody else that Jenkins is playing for both teams?