Molly Huddle Interference? Should Huddle have been DQd for flailing her arms out at United Airlines NYC Half?

I like Molly but that was a bad move for sure. it was probably a subconscious PTSD maneuver from worlds.

D9 monti and his minions would never DQ a star american. she "won" and broke a "record." they love the media attention way too much to enforce a "rule." end o' story.

Call me a cynic, but I don't believe anyone at the top level could cope without drugs, so be it American or Kenyan, they are equally suspicious in my eyes when it comes to doping.

I like Huddle too, but I too agree it was a cheap shot.

And I doubt it was the subconscious thing. Back in 2014 after Shannon just attempted to cut her off at the USA 5k champs, Huddle mentioned in an interview that she would probably have done the same, had she been in the same position.

Lot of room wrote:

It's a road race. The Kenyan didn't need to be on Molly's shoulder. Too much is being made of this. When runners break the tape they spread their arms. I've seen this done many times. I would agree with potential poor sportsmanship only if she had spread her arms prior to breaking the tape. So IMO no interference occurred.

Take off your rose colored glasses. I watched the video 5 times, although I only needed to watch it once to see that Molly intentionally interfered with the Kenyan athlete.

Really ? wrote:

Runners do this all the time during track races.

It will hence be known as getting Molly Huddled.

lardogbeck wrote:

. At normal speed it looks like her arm was swinging back and got hung up on Chepkirui's body.

My thoughts exactly. it must have gotten caught on some sticky adhesive Chepkirui had on her jersey. In the process of freeing herself she actually propelled Chepkerui forward. If anything the Kenyan should have been disqualified.

"The Huddle Halt"

If the Kenyan had succeeded in passing Huddle in the path she had chose Huddle would have been knocked down or sent careening off to the side.

OK I just watched the video.

Those who cry foul are probably the first to criticize CHRISTIANO RONALDO when he dives in the box.

What I see here is the AMERICAN runner simply STANDING HER GROUND. Why would that be considered illegal? She came over from Kenya, she had 13 miles to beat Huddle on the course, why would she have to revert to SNEAKY finish straight tactics? See the hypocrisy here?

In the end, this is a victory for bold running and for the freedom in NYC and AMERICA.

pick a lane wrote:

turbodiesel wrote:

HAVE YOU EVER RUN A RACE?

NO, you cannot "defend" space that is BESIDE YOU by PUTTING YOUR ARM INTO THAT SPACE.

What you CAN do is RUN IN A STRAIGHT LINE. The most "defense" you are entitled to is that you can (and should) hold your own line.

Why does someone with your knowledge feel compelled to make up a response? This is like reading YouTube commenters on Bolt's false start.

Yes and I have won many as well. The Kenyan is running in Huddle's arm apace. That counts.

Maybe one day you'll be up there contending for the win. Do not run into someone's elbow..

Why does a non-winner like yourself speculate on close finishes? That's like Mike Rossi talking about how tough the end of a marathon is.

Looks like I'm faster than you and know the rules better, too.

Has anyone pulled the "race card" on this yet?

Run-me-good wrote:

"The Huddle Halt"

The Milky Huddle Halt

Consider this.... wrote:

Has anyone pulled the "race card" on this yet?

I don't think this is that much about race but rather about nationality. Of course NYRR would rather have an American winner than a Kenyan.

They always supported Meb, Lagat etc...

This is a horrible analogy, and if you can't see that I'm not going to explain why.

The fact remains that just because you feel something wrong happened early in the race doesn't mean you can cheat at the finish. Someone cuts the course to pass you at mile 12 so you cut the final turn? I don't think so.

"The Kenyan" (Chepkirui) actually did have a clear line to the finish. Huddle drifted into that path, which is cheap and may have been subconscious and certainly not a DQ. Huddle then threw a rigid arm out to the left, below horizontal and not swinging.

All the Huddle fanboys whining that Chepkirui (that's her name) "cut Molly off" don't seem to see how stupidly hypocritical they are, since their finish-line argument relies on a suggestion that the leader can not only choose their line but put an arm into someone else's. Did Chepkirui arm-bar Huddle around every turn? No.

Clearly not worthy of a DQ. It is racing so let them race and do not allow a little incidental contact determine who wins the race. The road was wide enough that the Kenyan didn't need need to try to bulldoze Molly right at the finish line. If you try a pass like that right at the finish line there is really good chance of contact, especially from the arm.

One of the dumbest comments on these boards in a while. The "it's part of the sport--let them compete" attitude is usually the purview of contact sports, along the lines of You shouldn't call penalties in overtime and It's only cheating if you get caught. If holding your arm out to impede another runner "is racing" where do you draw the line? Can you tug on another runner's pony tail, saying it swung into your arm's line and your hand got tangled?Molly sensed Chepkirui coming up on her side, so she moved to the left to try to block her and then, when she could tell Chepkirui was still coming on, she put her left arm out at the last moment, to try to prevent Chepkirui from overtaking her. It's not "racing," it's bad sportsmanship and should be a DQ.

watched the video wrote:

Clearly not worthy of a DQ. It is racing so let them race and do not allow a little incidental contact determine who wins the race. The road was wide enough that the Kenyan didn't need need to try to bulldoze Molly right at the finish line. If you try a pass like that right at the finish line there is really good chance of contact, especially from the arm.

watched the video wrote:

Clearly not worthy of a DQ. It is racing so let them race and do not allow a little incidental contact determine who wins the race. The road was wide enough that the Kenyan didn't need need to try to bulldoze Molly right at the finish line. If you try a pass like that right at the finish line there is really good chance of contact, especially from the arm.

Look again. "The Kenyan" (name is Chepkirui) had a clear line. Not bulldozing.

try harderer wrote:

watched the video wrote:

the Kenyan didn't need need to try to bulldoze Molly

Look again. "The Kenyan" (name is Chepkirui) had a clear line. Not bulldozing.

Then again, fanboy here is apparently on a first-name basis with "Molly" and can't even bother with "The Kenyan"'s name. His conclusion is no surprise.

If the tables were turned and Molly ran up beside someone (which she does a lot, coming closer than this, see XC vids above) and got arm-barred by The Kenyan, fanboy would be calling for a DQ.

She tried to do the same to Infeld at WC, pointlessly drifting into lane 2 (trying to block and overshooting), and got burned. Now she added the arm-bar to the drift. Seems like a theme here. Maybe she should work on just finishing.

oldlegs wrote:

I got up and watched the race live this morning....the other girl should have been DQ-ed for cutting Molly off about 5 times prior. And when sprinting to the finish in a road race, why run at Molly's back?....someone tries to run up my inside on a track, I move over and block them. Molly was clear in front. If the girl wanted to pass, go wide...I recall Bekele doing this to Mo Farah at the Great North Run, and there was no complaint.

No way this is a DQ.

Now that would have been something. Both get DQd!! That's basically what your post calls for.

I've seenseveral poeople say something along the lines of "wh run at Molly's back?" That question is irrelevant. You don't have the right to throw your arms out and block someone from passing you simply because they are very close to you.