Can Cain make a comeback?

I don't thing she will. Teen phenom. Kind of sad she what she is trying to do.

I think she can't. If she had felt she had a legitimate shot at a pro career she wouldn't have burned the bridge so badly with Nike and become a controversial figure. There are other ways she could have tried to make changes other than going to one of the largest newspapers in America. Who wants to coach someone that after you coach in good faith comes back 5 years later and claims you abused them?

Just think ... wrote:

Just think if Al Sal were coaching Brenda Martinez. Just think what would have happened to Al Sal's jaw if he would have tried to ridicule Brenda Martinez about her weight. I'm certain Al Sal's jaw would be held together with wires and a permanent plate. Hasn't Brenda Martinez always had a higher percentage of body fat and greater mass than Mary Cain? Eight-hundred metres runners do not need to be skinny. I know most on let'sjog think sprinting speed is genetic. Not true. These 1/2 a dozen years of Mary Cain training as a 1500m/5000m athlete has killed her raw speed she had as a teenager. I doubt Cain can regain her 200m/400m speed. Cain always was an 800m runner. The problem: Salazar saw Cain as a 1500m/5000m runner.

What exactly is the benefit to having extra body fat? Zero. There are ZERO benefits.

Allbeury wrote:

Carlos Lopes probably falls into that category.

No. Lopes was still very good through his injury cycle. Plus he was almost 30 before he even got really good.

Define very good. My recollection is that his performances dropped substantially in the late '70s through early '80s.

I think she can come back. Needs to lose 5lbs and see how it goes.

Obviously, what M Cain went through to attempt to get under 17 1/2% body fat was less than productive. According to M Cain, malnutrition. Al Sal was not merely attempting to make M Cain reduce body fat. Working out like a body builder and doing 100m repeats will do that along with doing ab work outs for hours a week. Al Sal wanted to reduce M Cain's body mass.

Seyta wrote:

What runner with exceptional talent has actually had their performance collapse for 5+ years and come back from it to be better than before?

Dara Torres went from gold medals in the 2000 Olympics to silver medals in the 2008 Olympics at the age of 41, but this was in swimming instead of track.

Not unless she loses some fat.

agip wrote:

anything can happen, but most likely running at a high level just isn't fun for her anymore so a comeback won't happen...too many bad associations. Imagine doing world class training carrying all that mental baggage. When you a are a smart, educated person whose peers are starting jobs and families and you have so many other opportunities to try out adult life.

Yeah, that's what Gronk did.

So you're asking: Is Cain able?

No. She cant make a come back. She is mentally and physically weak and broken. She made a major mistake going pro at 17. This is a lesson for Katelyn Tuohy! Katelyn made a huge mistake announcing she wants to go to Olympuc trials in 2020. Shes barely raced at all XC Fall 2019!

y Knot wrote:

CainTrain wrote:

Cain's body has had time to recover from what she went through at NOP. She's only 23, could she make a comeback with the right coach? Who could bring her back to at least being competitive nationally? (I think her chances of Olympic/WC medals are over but maybe she could still make teams at least)

Why not? She is 23 and talent does not go away.

There were guys from my era such as Hulst, Bobby Thomas and Rich Kimball that overtrained to a point where they could were never healthy for more than a few months at a time. It's possible that the initial injuries created an imbalance that resulted in a never ending series of injuries.

BernieSandals wrote:

So you're asking: Is Cain able?

Nice one.

Out of control wrote:

This thread is disgusting

It is actually a tad ridiculous.

Weight matters.