Brenda Martinez represents all that is right with our sport

sad day for integrity lovers wrote:

I love Bmart. I'm still pissed about what happened. But USATF and the track world in general is pretty screwed up and unorganized so I'm not surprised that nothing will be done.Typical sh*t show.

Then in Rio we'll have all kinds of dopers winning medals again. Only to see some of them stripped away years later. This cycle of cheating and stripping medals is getting so old.

I agree with all of your comments except this..."so I'm not surprised that nothing will be done." What can be done? What can USATF do in this circumstance? It was a final, not an advancement round. The only thing that can be done is punitive, which is DQ whoever may have fouled another runner. But this doesn't help the fouled runner. It sucks, but when something like this happens in a finals race, there is no recourse. If it happens in a semi, quarters, heat, etc, then there is recourse. Namely, advancing on appeal.

The Diamond League race this year with her and flower power should be interesting.

The Diamond League race this year with her and flower power should be interesting.

After her "performance" yesterday it is doubtful any Diamond League meet directors will want her at their events.

She's awesome. Victim for sure, but in no way playing the card. True competitor...surely she's caught another's heel as many of us have. I think it's a safe bet she would have been top 3...as she's always been one of the top closers. Man...lioness needs to take hold and own 1500. Go BMart!

Trump just tweeted a call for Brenda's birth certificate. Supposedly, Trump cronies have deduced that she is an illegal who attended Riverside in Cal illegally. Making American great again starts here...track and field. This includes the Kenyan Army guys, but Trump advisors have decided to slow-play those tweets. Wait for the river...

They didn't think she was good enough coming out of college (I'm looking at you, Mammoth Track Club).

Bob Larsen's attitude changed when he became head coach at UCLA. He suddenly became some kind of elitist when it came to letting talented athletes walk onto the team. He refused walk-on requests from kids who would have definitely scored points for the team a year or two down the line. Also hard to believe a head coach is unaware of rampant doping on his team, that doesn't make him much of a head coach. The distance squad at UCLA were ordered by the the sprint coaches to take steroids. One of the more heralded middle distance guys had already been on steroids since high school and was regularly committing statutory rape (his girlfriend was 16 years old, he was 19).

info wrote:

I agree with all of your comments except this..."so I'm not surprised that nothing will be done." What can be done? What can USATF do in this circumstance? It was a final, not an advancement round. The only thing that can be done is punitive, which is DQ whoever may have fouled another runner. But this doesn't help the fouled runner. It sucks, but when something like this happens in a finals race, there is no recourse. If it happens in a semi, quarters, heat, etc, then there is recourse. Namely, advancing on appeal.

They could easily rerun the event. Nearly a week left in the trials schedule, plenty of time to rerun.

I agree that the first contact was incidental contact, no infraction, but the second and continuous contact certainly impeded BMart and likely others.

Agree. She has just won me and many others as huge fans because of her great class and wonderful attitude in the face of adversity (previously, I gave her little attention). I will now be backing her and following her with great interest in the future - I hope she does well in the 1500m and wins her rightful place in Rio.

Bmart biggest fan boy wrote:

Brenda's post race interview says it all. Great athlete. Great attitude.

University of Crippled and Lame Athletes - UCLA has the worse location for distance runners. Nothing but concrete everywhere. Larsen would have them run from campus down Santa Monica Boulevard to the beach and back. Nice, beautiful concrete and asphalt surfaces. Not to mention all the wonderful smog they inhaled. UCLA destroyed Eric Reynolds, along with a few others. Just not a good location for a distance program.

That's a lot of bad yang your talking about UCLA and Bob Larsen. You could be committing libel unless you have proof.

Elitism is a mental disorder wrote:

They didn't think she was good enough coming out of college (I'm looking at you, Mammoth Track Club).

Bob Larsen's attitude changed when he became head coach at UCLA. He suddenly became some kind of elitist when it came to letting talented athletes walk onto the team. He refused walk-on requests from kids who would have definitely scored points for the team a year or two down the line. Also hard to believe a head coach is unaware of rampant doping on his team, that doesn't make him much of a head coach. The distance squad at UCLA were ordered by the the sprint coaches to take steroids. One of the more heralded middle distance guys had already been on steroids since high school and was regularly committing statutory rape (his girlfriend was 16 years old, he was 19).

Lots of bad grammar on your part. Are you or have you ever been a sprint coach?

I don't coach.

Your welcome.

Were you a coach in the 1980s?

Blahbaba wrote:

info wrote:

I agree with all of your comments except this..."so I'm not surprised that nothing will be done." What can be done? What can USATF do in this circumstance? It was a final, not an advancement round. The only thing that can be done is punitive, which is DQ whoever may have fouled another runner. But this doesn't help the fouled runner. It sucks, but when something like this happens in a finals race, there is no recourse. If it happens in a semi, quarters, heat, etc, then there is recourse. Namely, advancing on appeal.

They could easily rerun the event. Nearly a week left in the trials schedule, plenty of time to rerun.

I agree that the first contact was incidental contact, no infraction, but the second and continuous contact certainly impeded BMart and likely others.

Didn't realize the rules state a rerun is possible. I assume it's VERY rare. Any precedents/examples? I'd assume it's reserved for acts of God, disruptions to the race, or massive pile ups/falls. Examples: crazy fan runs on to track after one lap and blocks three runners, 6 of 8 fall at 200m mark, implement lands in front of the runners... Crazy stuff like this

If it were Jordan Al Sal would be in the tent making heads roll. Remember indoors, everyone but Hasay was DQed. Shoot she would given a pass to the Olympic finals for her pain and suffering.

How is 2nd at NCAAs not good enough? That's crazy.

What did her husband do?

Kate Grace represents all that is right with our sport, not Brenda. Kate Grace never even placed top 3 before at NCAA's or any national level meet. Ivy League grad could have gotten any job she wanted out of school but keeps training hard, most likely on a tiny contract with Oiselle. Then comes out of nowhere and wins the Olympic Trials and earns a spot to Rio.

I actually put up a thread congratulating Kate but it sunk pretty fast. Oiselle hate? Her Yale backround implying privilege? Hard to say.She herself was shocked by her good fortune. If her season ends today she has won big. Not much more to say or anticipate.In any case Brenda's career is hinging heavily on her 1500, and I think that the sympathy is strongly with her, for good reason. I'm a big fan of both, not so hard to do.

you are wrong wrote:

Kate Grace represents all that is right with our sport, not Brenda. Kate Grace never even placed top 3 before at NCAA's or any national level meet. Ivy League grad could have gotten any job she wanted out of school but keeps training hard, most likely on a tiny contract with Oiselle. Then comes out of nowhere and wins the Olympic Trials and earns a spot to Rio.