Anyone else have a gut feeling Sydney McLaughlin's career will be a complete flop like Mary Cain?

get off your high horse wrote:

NewtotheSouthSide wrote:

Give it a rest LRC. This is an overreaction. Can't we just like athletes, cheer them on, give them encouragement, celebrate good results? And not discuss their looks? Apparently not.

No.

You were prolly one of the white dudes who had hurt feelings over that Gillette commercial. It's not unreasonable to say we shouldn't comment on looks and should be more positive on this place overall.

She's exceptionally talented, very well spoken, physically attractive and overall probably the most singularly marketable track star in a generation. For that reason alone let's hope she does amazingly well for the next 10 years, as our sport dearly needs a new superstar to keep its relevance in the post-Bolt era.

Same gut feeling. There is nothing spectacular about her talent, and she competes in the weakly competitive 400m hurdles. She has a big head. The best athletes will throw down against anyone. She dodges the competition.

lolwut wrote:

get off your high horse wrote:

No.

You were prolly one of the white dudes who had hurt feelings over that Gillette commercial. It's not unreasonable to say we shouldn't comment on looks and should be more positive on this place overall.

NewtotheSouthSide, your racist posts under anonymous usernames aren't making this place "more positive."

just a gut feeling wrote:

Not sure why but it's just a gut feeling. Feel free to bump this when she wins gold in 2020 and proves me to be an idiot.

Always trust your gut, unless your gut instinct is usually wrong.

Not Ugly wrote:

She's ... very well spoken....

Way to come through with the casual racism.

TAA wrote:

Hope not. She's got it all. She'd be great for the sport.

Nope, she does not have the charisma or a likable personality.

RFFRDDRRT wrote:

I am a very big Syd fan, have watched her for 5-6 years now in NJ. She is still very beautiful, but did anyone else think her bottom half has filled out a bit ?? I've seen many college/pro coaches who get people in the weight room to much and forget that its still, running! She ran really well in HS without the extra bulk and muscle.

Thoughts

Yes, I'd say she's 10-15 percent larger down low compared to when she was in the Olympics.

Hammer to nail wrote:

Hidden fences wrote:

Hopefully Sydney's coaches won't ruin her a la Al Sal.

So young to be so burnt out.

Salazar saw nearly every runner as a potential 5000m/10000m/Marathon runner. Mary Cain was classic 800m/1500m. A sixteen year old who raced 1:59.xx 800m! Salazar made her a 1500m/5000m runner. Sydney M. won't let anyone attempt to make her an 800m runner or race longer events.

Salazar has had more misses than hits. It wasn't too long ago that Ritz was The Man, but even mighty Salazar couldn't mold his running form into the perfect specimen. Only Rupp could fill that role, making it especially ironic that Nike's perfect % shoe is exactly wrong for him. Too bad!

And now with what's-her-face-of-also-odd-running-form, Salazar no doubt wants her to be racing 26 (just like he did in 81, see how that works?), and that might not be the best of ideas. She might beat Rupp, should he ever come back.

just a gut feeling wrote:

Not sure why but it's just a gut feeling. Feel free to bump this when she wins gold in 2020 and proves me to be an idiot.

Sydney is already light years ahead of Cain. She made the Olympic Games semi-finals as a high schooler. She broke NCAA records as a freshman and World Jr. Records. Even if she never runs again, she has already surpassed Mary Cain.

SMH.......

westsouthrunner wrote:

Shut up. wrote:

Nope, not at all. She's already made an Olympic team, and Cain certainly hasn't. McLaughlin knows she has what it takes. Your gut is connected to a pisspoor head.

Cain made a World Team

Olympic Team= World Team

The same athletes are competing for both teams every year.

Thank you.

TrackFan19 wrote:

Sydney is already light years ahead of Cain. She made the Olympic Games semi-finals as a high schooler. She broke NCAA records as a freshman and World Jr. Records. Even if she never runs again, she has already surpassed Mary Cain.

SMH.......

Cain made the finals at Worlds at the age of 17. She is a US Champion indoors and would also have made a World/Oly team in 2014 if it hadn't been an off year (she finished 2nd at USAs).

Exactly. The question is not whether McLaughlin can "surpass" Cain (their accomplishments through age 18 are similar). The question is whether her career will take a similar nosedive like Cain from 19 to 20.

bobby sss wrote:

TAA wrote:

Hope not. She's got it all. She'd be great for the sport.

Nope, she does not have the charisma or a likable personality.

you are old and out of touch.

she has a huge following and young people love her.

syd will be fine

- her 500m really wasn't that awful - 2 seconds off Okolo's world record and actually a top 10 all time us women's indoor performance (yes it's not run often!)

it's really easy to blame her for things that really are not in her control

- the NB meet was a sponsor obligation, which she fulfilled with a credible performance and no incidents. she actually gave a nice candid interview response to a LR interview ? where she explained that she is not sharp, therefore selected a longer distance, and had no idea of the entry list. (Rather than - heh it was nice of an athlete to actual give some real answers in an interview , she gets beat up for her race selection)

- well now her indoor season is over - she can focus on a slow build up to what actually matters - the US trials and World's - staying healthy (again the usual critics here should be cheering that rather than burning out, she has a great plan in place to basically avoid indoor and peak intelligently for world's)

- Kentucky/turning pro/Floreal move - her decision to turn pro and Floreal's move to Texas basically happened at the same time. A lot of folks assumed she would move with him to Texas, but there was never any commitment or requirement for her to do that. If she turned pro, she would have to find a coach and a training base. If she remained at Kentucky, she would have had to get used to a new coach. In her case, obviously together with her family and advisors, she made the choice to go pro. Given her value was at a high, she had nothing to prove anymore in NCAA, and the calendar of World's '19 and Olympics '20, she 99% likely made the right decision. With that decision made, then heading to the nice climate of LA, with easy access to marketing/Hollywood and a coach she is comfortable with makes perfect sense.

- dealing with pressure - while it's apparent she stressed at Rio 2016, and now made a comfortable move to a new coach this has nothing to do with how she performs on the track. On the track in high school and at Kentucky she has always been an absolute beast in even the most competitive high stress situations. What she hates is all the hype and hoopla that goes along with it. There was never a peep that she was unhappy at Kentucky, or didn't get along with her teammates - in fact I believe it was actually just the opposite. She was happy at UK and well liked on the team. Her point was "if I am going pro, and if I get to choose a training situation - then I'll go with what is best for me. If you practice every day with elites, it can push you to new heights, but it can also tempt you to push even the easy days, just leading to injury. The proof will be how she performs on race day - at US Trials.

- personality for advertisers - Syd is still 18 I think, 19 at oldest and like most teenagers she wears her emotions on her face and posture, so it's easy to tell when she doesn't like what goes on around her. She'll grow out of that as she faces it more and simply matures. None of that changes that she is highly marketable for her sponsors and TV...as long as she keeps winning.

So no, career will not be a flop!

No, because she's older and more mature physically and probably mentally as well. When Cain was having her greatest success she still had the body of an adolescent. Her body had yet to mature. When it did, it was all over for her. McLaughlin might be derailed by other issues, but it won't be the issues that ended Cain.

Les wrote:

No, because she's older and more mature physically and probably mentally as well. When Cain was having her greatest success she still had the body of an adolescent. Her body had yet to mature. When it did, it was all over for her. McLaughlin might be derailed by other issues, but it won't be the issues that ended Cain.

She could not handle the pressure of running for Kentucky.

Way to come through with the casual trolling.

Sydney's race literally never once crossed my mind as I was posting, and I would have said the exact same thing about anyone of any race who handles themselves well when speaking publicly. It has nothing at all to do with what you're accusing me of, and on the contrary has everything to do with complimenting her grace and demeanor while speaking.

Geesh... truly no good deed goes unpunished. Can't someone simply give a compliment anymore, or must everything be about accusatory politics?

Mary is on the way back!

Big time!!!