I don't know how you can watch this interview and remain a fan of Galen Rupp

LordEric44 wrote:

As opposed to the Gault , Jenny Simpson question.

Gault's question to Jenny put her into media lock down . You won't hear anything from her till indoor season.

Wait please tell me more

It's interesting to see the significant number of Americans that can't tell when someone is blatantly lying.

Just from watching him, you can see that he has something to hide. His answers are repetitive and shallow. He's defensive form the very start of the interview, and gives incomplete answers even when they're just asking him about his buildup for Chicago.

"When was the last time you had contact with Alberto?" @ 2:19. This is a very cringeworthy moment. "What?", he says. The interviewer (Gault, I think?) has to repeat the question so Galen has more time to think about his answer. Galen was 2 feet away- he obviously heard him correctly. And Galen's answer: "I've had no professional contact" and his repetition of this when asked if he's had personal contact, speaks volumes. He clearly has something to hide.

His answers at 4:43, 5:06 are scripted, shallow, and deflective. Gault's question and Galen's answer at 5:47 is *extremeley* deflective- he does not answer it at all. Given his postion as America's top distance runner and his coach, it should be obvious to Galen that he owes us answers. But when the questions about his situation with Alberto and the status of NOP keep coming, he keeps deflecting them, and repeating that he just wants to talk about the race. But this is not what people want to hear. He ignores all of the pressure and pretends that it doesn't exist.

You can see it in his body language- his poised smile, the tension he holds in his face and shoulders, and occasional expression he gives as if to say, "Please stop asking me questions. I don't want to be here." He gives a ton of headnods and "ya know"s every 5-10 seconds, as if he's is trying to force the interviewers to accept his answers and not ask anything further. He's a liar and a deflector.

It is SO CLEAR that we are seeing an athlete who is corrupt. His persona is one of falsity and lies- not honesty.

If he cared about his reputation and clearing his name, he would come to these competition interviews with an attitude of, "I'm here to tell you the truth and tell you what you want to know so that we can move past this." But he CAN'T do that because he is lying and hiding the truth! The house of cards is falling and he's hanging on for dear life!

And what's with his answer @6:48? What's a "dong run", Galen?

A strong Lance Armstrong-type reply or set of replies would have been preferable to this painfully awkward hemming and hawing.

I don't get why he could not have said, off the bat, that due to the ongoing legal process he will defer any questions on this matter, etc. etc. That would have looked less guilty (of something) than this.

Fair assessment, good post.

qw wrote:

What didn't you like? He replied to all the questions including the stupid ones. What's wrong with you LRCers?

I agree with this point. I DO think it's likely that Rupp and other NOP athletes did some form of illegal doping, but, he was professional and fair in the way he answered those questions.

Fair questions to ask, but he was fair in how he answered them.

older runner wrote:

you people are kind of sick on this site. you are celebrating the death of distance running in usa. hope you are all happy and willing to bet on what is left.

Most of us applaud the death of distance running programs in the USA and everywhere else where they depend on questionable use of drugs and banned medical procedures.

I certainly don't care if USA gets more gold medals than another country if another country has athletes and coaches with more integrity.

To be honest, what keeps distance running in the U.S. alive and well for me is the ability for me, my kids, and our friends to run and compete on a level playing field with athletes we can look up to.

That was a crucifixion.

Too bad he ain't like John McEnroe, would have loved too see him sending Gault to hell, after yelling at him "are you f-ing deaf or what?" throwing the mike on the floor and storming out.