Drew MF Hunter just made Team USA for WC!!

Tin man needs to pay attention to Salazar: you must have a fast kick to compete! Tinmans team needs to work on speed more than anything. If a race is slow, you can be certain that the last lap will be blazing.

Hunter just had to finish no worse than 3rd man across with the standard. He didn't need to win against Chelimo here, and he definitely didn't need to beat Lomong who was still 3 seconds off the WCS. Just qualify, baby, survive and advance.

I think he could shave a few and run faster. Get that Woody Kincaid bod. That dude's got a Kenyan physique. That's why he's so good.

The Power of Prayer!

Drew Hunter and Tinman Elite won simply simply because they cared more and loved each other!

Way to go Drew and Tinman Elite!

DC Wonk wrote:

Tin man needs to pay attention to Salazar: you must have a fast kick to compete! Tinmans team needs to work on speed more than anything. If a race is slow, you can be certain that the last lap will be blazing.

No, you just need to be strong enough so you're not taxed when it's time to kick. Hunter is just a couple years away but his time at the top is looming.

Just a quick reminder that an 18 years, 7 month old German Fernandez ran 13:25 to finish 5th after his freshman year at OSU. Drew is almost 22 now, and really struggled the last 200m.

Yes, yes, I know GF didn't pan out over the years, but what a talent. And yes, I love him. LOL

WinnytheBish wrote:

DC Wonk wrote:

Tin man needs to pay attention to Salazar: you must have a fast kick to compete! Tinmans team needs to work on speed more than anything. If a race is slow, you can be certain that the last lap will be blazing.

No, you just need to be strong enough so you're not taxed when it's time to kick. Hunter is just a couple years away but his time at the top is looming.

Right?? People seem to forget he would be a senior in college this year.

Wait, we are supposed to be excited he made the team after finishing 5th at USAs? This just pisses me off and reminds me how many mistakes USATF makes.

1) USATF should have had the meet 2-3 weeks later.

2) If they were going to have the meet this early, they should have allowed you to chase the standard.

I really thought that this would be the year for Drew to break through. He's been a professional now for what 3 years? Maybe his fourth year? It takes time to catch up to those who have 3-4 years of work on you. He didn't look great w/ 200 meters to go, but that's coming.

Also, it's been really awesome following Tinman on social media. Those guys make it fun and actually share quite a bit of what they do. Very cool to follow along and awesome to see Drew in Doha this fall.

optional wrote:

I really thought that this would be the year for Drew to break through. He's been a professional now for what 3 years? Maybe his fourth year? It takes time to catch up to those who have 3-4 years of work on you.

Exactly. Every season that goes by, he's been slowly drifting back toward the typical NCAA champion level performances. For some reason people here try to act like he's still in high school, but he'll be 22 in like a month, right?

That 13:25 by Fernandez to finish 5th at USATF as an 18 year old is insane. Imagine Hunter running faster than he did today.....three years ago.

rojo wrote:

Wait, we are supposed to be excited he made the team after finishing 5th at USAs? This just pisses me off and reminds me how many mistakes USATF makes.

1) USATF should have had the meet 2-3 weeks later.

2) If they were going to have the meet this early, they should have allowed you to chase the standard.

They just play the game w/ the rules that they are given. It's not on Drew to decide how he makes the team; his job is to simply make the team.

Same w/ Josh Thompson in the men's 1500 meters. He didn't have the standard...finishing top-3 is pointless w/out the standard. Why sit back and allow a 2:09 first 800-meters if you don't have the standard!?!?!

Good on Drew for making the team...regardless of how he made it.

racerback wrote:

optional wrote:

I really thought that this would be the year for Drew to break through. He's been a professional now for what 3 years? Maybe his fourth year? It takes time to catch up to those who have 3-4 years of work on you.

Exactly. Every season that goes by, he's been slowly drifting back toward the typical NCAA champion level performances. For some reason people here try to act like he's still in high school, but he'll be 22 in like a month, right?

That 13:25 by Fernandez to finish 5th at USATF as an 18 year old is insane. Imagine Hunter running faster than he did today.....three years ago.

He’s already run faster than he did today and faster than German ever did and has made more WCh teams than German ever did.

Glad to see Drew is learning how to race well in a 5K. He hasn’t raced a 5 since Payton Jordan if I’m remembering correctly, so this is encouraging. Here’s hoping this’ll begin his dive into the longer distances!

yawntown wrote:

racerback wrote:

Exactly. Every season that goes by, he's been slowly drifting back toward the typical NCAA champion level performances. For some reason people here try to act like he's still in high school, but he'll be 22 in like a month, right?

That 13:25 by Fernandez to finish 5th at USATF as an 18 year old is insane. Imagine Hunter running faster than he did today.....three years ago.

He’s already run faster than he did today and faster than German ever did and has made more WCh teams than German ever did.

Yup.

I love when people get pissed off at USATF or WADA who have done nothing to put themselves in a position to do jacksh!t about it. All the sound and fury signifying nothing… ?

optional wrote:

They just play the game w/ the rules that they are given. It's not on Drew to decide how he makes the team; his job is to simply make the team.

...Good on Drew for making the team...regardless of how he made it.

SON OF A B!! I watched the race but wasn't attuned to the fact that Lopez L. and Woody K. didn't have the WC standard. I ached when Drew failed to nab 3rd or even 4th down the stretch, and with darkness an issue, I headed out for my run...THINKING DREW HAD NOT MADE THE TEAM! I didn't have the sound on during the race, so I don't know if it was said that even in 5th place he'd made the team. Well, I'm overjoyed for the kid. DREW: WAY TO GO! All those Tinman haters must be churning up some stomach acid right about now. You didn't make the rules, and, with existing guidelines know to all competitors, you...did...it!

It's like winning the indoor national championship from Heat 2 last winter -- you didn't make the rules, but you...did...it!

Hauwei wrote:

Glad to see Drew is learning how to race well in a 5K. He hasn’t raced a 5 since Payton Jordan if I’m remembering correctly, so this is encouraging. Here’s hoping this’ll begin his dive into the longer distances!

Ah yes- the "he's still learning" mantra. He's almost 22! Like he's never run a race over 1500m before. This isn't Brazier we're talking about. LOL

Put it this way, in terms of recent "US distance saviors"- he's now solidly behind where Rupp was *at his age* over 3000-5000m, with Webb, Ritz, Solinsky, Goucher, Teg, etc, within arguable range. This is without the convenience of the "professional runner" schedule. Coming out of high school three years ago, Hunter was head and shoulders above. Age for age he's losing ground.

Just be honest with yourselves- For a professional runner of three years, after being one of the best high school milers ever, today he ran an average race against solid runners (certainly not a strong field compared to what we've seen over the last 10-15 years) and got dusted over the last 170m to finish 5th. 13:29 without a blazing final 200m is NOT an impressive performance for Hunter. Stop acting like everything he does is incredible.

Agreed, he's certainly been taking advantage of a weak year for US 3k-5k running., along with some questionable USATF rules (not being able to chase the standard after USAs even though the deadline isn't for another few weeks, winning from the B heat at USA indoors using Tinman pacers while not even running an indoor race beforehand). Not his fault, but hard to get excited about.