Why doesn't Jenny Simpson go back to the steeple?

Why?

She's a miler.

I think it's a liability issue, like why Usain Bolt wouldn't do long jump or the 400m. There is not much glory and too much injury risk, comparatively, for steeple versus Jenny Simpson's mile track glamour. Same reasons for senior XC versus the roads.

What Coach T said. I was actually surprised Jenny ran as fast as 4:01 in May.

Simpson to steeple wrote:

She's not looking like a medal contender at 1500m. Not her fault, the world's just gotten better. The steeple is improving fast, too, but I feel like she'd still have a better shot there. I know this idea's been floated before, but after today, I'm finally convinced that this is the right move.

Discus.

*Discuss

Seabizkit wrote:

Simpson to steeple wrote:

She's not looking like a medal contender at 1500m. Not her fault, the world's just gotten better. The steeple is improving fast, too, but I feel like she'd still have a better shot there. I know this idea's been floated before, but after today, I'm finally convinced that this is the right move.

Discus.

*Discuss

It's a joke on here, people say discus.

Echidna wrote:

What Coach T said. I was actually surprised Jenny ran as fast as 4:01 in May.

I know she was in college but SEVEN YEARS AGO she ran 3:59 at this meet. This should surprise no one in 2016.

Big Red wrote:

Why?

She's a miler.

She's a steepler who identifies as a miler

Señor buho wrote:

Well in that case... wrote:

Uhm, ever heard of Jordan Hasay?

who?

Slow clap...

$

I think if you are ever world champ at something you should stick with it. She is progressively getting better as the season goes on, and she (and Coburn) both did little racing early in the year with their sights set on the Olympics (unlike some who raced full indoor and outdoor seasons). Even in the steeple, people are popping some incredible times (it's not just in the 1500 where people are running world record type pace), so I am not sure your argument carries much weight. For what it is worth, she has placed higher multiple times in world championships at 1500, than she ever placed in the steeple [gold and silver in the 1500 versus 5th place at 2009 WC (third place if you eliminate confirmed dopers, second if eliminate a suspected doper)]. It's too soon to count her out for the Olympics already (especially if the testers figure out what some of these athletes are taking).

Yes, injury and financial considerations aside, I think it's rash and short-term thinking to change events based off one year's results. To successfully ping pong events to evade competition you would literally have to be a mind reader. Let's say because the quantum leap her event took last year, Simpson decided to switch back to the steeple and figured if she could run around her PR she could medal at the Olympics since last year's World Championships was won in a fast, but not out of this world 9:19. Then Jebet runs the second fastest time of all time leaving Simpson 10 seconds adrift, even more than Dibaba left her last year.

You can't predict the future. Track & field can change drastically from year to year, even month to month. Thinking the steeple competition was lesser LAST YEAR has nothing to do with the competition THIS YEAR.

rip usa running wrote:

Face it until the Africans are tested, Americans will never win another medal in any distance event. 800, 1500, steeple, 5k, 10k, marathon.

That is when white girl genetic advantage would dictate that Americans finish 1,2,3, like they damn well should be doing if it wasn't for a cheating rest of the world.

Don't forget that some of the Africans are getting in peak shape too early to try to get named to their teams. Jenny can wait as she can win the trials not peaked. She is not ready to run fast right now. She will be ready to run 3:55 by August. That will make her as medal contender - especially since there are no rabbits in the Olympics.

Les wrote:

All events are not created equal. The 1500 is much more glamorous than the steeple and likely pays better. From the attention standpoint, Coburn is one of the top American steeplers and the same for Simpson at 1500m but Simpson gets much more attention because of the event she's in. It's better to be 8th best 1500m runner in the world than 3rd best steepler. This is why Bolt runs the 100 although he's said numerous times he prefers the 200: the 100 is the more glamorous (and lucrative) event.

While I think the 1500 is more glamous than the steeple, the reason why Simpson gets more attention that Coburn is she's a better runner.

Bolt runs both the 100 and 200.

It's not like Simpson couldn't race the 1500 if she also competed in the steeple.

An Olympic medal goes a long way.