My heart is flat out broken. One of my favorite athletes was just issued
a 5 year ban for drug test result tampering.

To me, Brianna Rollins McNeal is the best hurdler in the world. She is the Olympic champion. However, since winning gold in 2016, she has been connected with
several doping issues. She was banned from competition for the 2017 season for missing three drug tests within a 12 month cycle. That prevented her from competing
in the 2017 world championships.

Earlier this year she was provisionally banned while under investigation for
tampering with drug test results. The investigation was just completed, and
and she was found guilty of the tampering. She now must serve a 5 year
competition ban, which means her athletic career is over. She is 29 years old,
and will be 34 at the end of her ban.

She is appealing the decision, so she will be allowed to compete in the
US Championships, with an appeals decision to be given before the Olympic
games.

So for the upcoming Olympics:

Christian Coleman, the 100m World Champion, will not be in the Olympics
because he is currently enduring a doping ban

And now it appears that the women’s 100m hurdles 2016 Olympic champion will
not be in the Olympics because she will be enduring a doping ban.

This is why no matter who I am watching who is great in track and field,
I just hope they are clean.

I don't know if it's a good sign. Like, their enforcement is good enough to root out these top performers.

Or if it's a bad sign. Like, everyone is doping and only a couple get caught.

It is interesting though, that even in these "busts" they aren't really getting caught doping. Coleman is banned for whereabouts violations (missing surprise testing). There are others I know of that got caught up with this.
Rollins is banned for some sort of tampering.
It's been a while since I've been aware of a straight up positive test, particularly in the US

Brianna was banned in 2017 for missing 3 drug tests within a 12 month
testing cycle. The USADA allow athletes to miss up to 2 tests per cycle
without being penalized, a 3rd missed test will lead to a suspension
being issued.

You have to either be dumb or cheating to miss 3 drug tests per testing
cycle. Every USATF athlete is required to provide their whereabouts for
every day of the week, and choose a time to be available for 1 hour on
each one of those days for testing purposes. So if I’m going to be in New York
from 6am-12am everyday, and I choose to be available from 12pm-1pm
everyday, then USADA has to be able to reach me at that location and
between that time. If something comes up I have to notify them, and they understand
that things happen in life beyond someone’s control, so that is why missing
2 test per cycle is allotted.

But Brianna dodged her testers when they tried to reach her. A tester came
to her house during her 1 hour availability window. She wasn’t home. The tester
called her, and Brianna stated that she was at the airport, and that the tester
could met her there. Well, the tester goes to the airport, but Brianna wasn’t there.
The tester calls Brianna again to locate her. She tells the tester that she boarded her
flight.....Keep in mind, she had already missed 2 tests. The tester tells her that she
will be marked as a missed test, which will lead to an automatic ban.

Brianna still had dope in her system and was basically dodging the tester, and made
it worse by sending the tester on a wild chase. So now you add this tampering
offense on top of that, and you have yourself a serial violator. That’s why they issued
a 5 year ban.

Christian Coleman has a similar history with the USADA.

They do not fock around in the United States. Jamaica’s testing protocols
are more relaxed, which is insane, no way are all their athletes clean.

Athletes would rather get banned for missing tests than to get banned for testing
positive. They can always deny any wrong doing in those situations.

I think Terrence Laird of LSU is a sure shot to make Tokyo. At least get a spot on that 4x100.

Michael Norman put it down to let cats know he is still top dog in the 400. I am rooting for Van Niekirk to make this interesting. Who the hell breaks a world record, tears an ACL, and then vows to break that record again?? The fact that he was the first to do a sub 10, sub 20, and sub 44 makes him my favorite runner right now. He did this wacky 150m race in Boston and ended up pulling up at the last second. Not sure how this cat will do but I'll always root for him.

Fred Kerley is an interesting cat. Rocks out in the 400 for a few years and then recently drops a 9.9 in the 100 this year.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo is doing the most for the women's 400. looks like Bahamas is gonna take that gold in tokyo

at the age of 34. She ran 10.63!

At this point, the doping is just becoming too obvious. No one gets faster
at that old of an age. It’s one thing to stay competitive at that age, but it’s
another to damn near come close to running 10.5 at that age.

Either she is doped to the gills or the shoes have been mightily enhanced.
Sprinters don’t get faster in their 30s, and their best times are usually
produced between the ages of 22-27. So when something like this
is too good to be true, it usually is.

She’Carri Richardson’s time are more believable because of her age,
and I’m even skeptical about her speed. However, she ran extremely fast
in college, so her progression appears to be natural.

Also, I don’t necessarily trust Jamaica’s tracks or their time keeping.
It is what it is.

by 10 seconds. Her time is close to Men’s territory.

Now really sure how to process this.....right now I’m just looking at the responses
from the track community.

within a 1 year cycle. That’s a mammoth leap from 2019.
29:01? And then to break a record that blazed the previous record,
which was set just 2 days ago?

Are we really just going to sit back and accept all this?

Swimming dealt with this in the early 2000s when they allowed
swimmers to use shark suit technology. World records were dropping
like flies. They immediately banned them to preserve the integrity of
the sport.

29:01

PEDs/ pace lights/ shoe technology... a women will fock around and run
Sub 28!

He ran a 9.77 yesterday in Jamaica. I’ll take the time with a grain
of salt because of the track he ran on. But he looked really good,
and is healthy. He is definitely the favorite going into the Olympics.

He is still the greatest High School runner I’ve ever seen, and now
it is time for him to be the best sprinter in the world.

I haven't been following the college season much, but I'm most excited about seeing what NCA&T can do. They turned themselves into a sprinting powerhouse somehow.

Looks like they might threaten the 4x400m collegiate record.

That's pretty cool to watch. I knew that school cared about their track program, but didn't think they had the resources to make it this big. Must be a special group of kids.

There's a handful of kids that have beat the dogshit out of my runners over the past few years at this meet. Eric Allen Jr. just anchored the USC 4x100m team after destroying my kids five or six times a season. I wanted to buy that kid a copy of "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" or some shit when he graduated because I was so happy to see him finally move on. That USC team also features Brendon Stewart, from DeMatha, who I saw a little bit less frequently but still had to account for a few times a year.

Diego Zarate has had to deal with a bunch of injuries at Virginia Tech but it looked like he made it through to the 1500m final. He was way out in front of most fields from 800-3200m in Maryland for a few years so it's nice to see him do well.

Anyhow, no real team rooting interest in this event, but I'm here to watch some fast races and see some local kids run well.

Won her heat in 57.06. I coach at a boys school, so we didn't compete against her directly, but her school's boys team (as I mentioned above) was in our conference so we saw her a lot anyhow. She was also the subject of one of the most amazed coaching observations I'd ever heard, when a colleague mentioned that her victory in their conference 300 IMH event was "the most I've ever seen somebody win by in an event under one lap."

Nice to see her succeeding.

The world's 200m field is probably watching Joseph Fahnbulleh running sub-20 in a completely hectic, disjointed race and thinking "oh shit" at the possibility of him putting everything together.

Great drama in the 1500m too. And that guy from A&T throwing down 43.xx? Very cool.

If he cleans up his high school level start, he can be a big problem. His stride is crazy

That has the potential to be such a cool event, but it's been kind of up and down in its short history - and COVID kind of squashed that momentum anyhow.

The 4x200m world record is 1:18.xx set by Jamaica in 2014. I'd love to see the current batch of US 200m runners, with Fahnbulleh receiving the baton on the move, take a crack at that.

49.57 and split... what did they say? 48.85? She got the baton on that anchor and I was like "oh sweet, she's chasing USC so there'll be some drama." But she dropped that woman by 150m in and just did her own thing. What an astonishing runner.

edit: that third leg for A&M has to be the easiest job in this whole meet. Just get it to Athing Mu with the rest of the field, like, visible and you did your job.

Olympic Champion vs World Champion.

With all these bullshit records dropping and runners being lapped, there hasn’t
been any running battles up until now.

They went head to head, Kipyegon letting Hassan know I’m going to
be there stride for stride in a distance race ....which is unheard of.

Hassan has the distance strength...Kipyegon has the 800m kick speed.


https://youtu.be/aUxSWA7HxsE

1500m is going to be one hell of a battle in Tokyo....but I have the Kenyan
Queen defending here title.

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/06/14/shelby-houlihan-doping-ban-nandrolone-olympic-trials/

And my first thought was "she ate an offal burrito ten hours before a meet? seems risky for an entirely separate set of reasons."

Anyhow, this is a bummer. I enjoy watching her race.

and that maybe there should be more wiggle room in these instances.

I mean, she's taken and passed 100 tests since 2016? I realize you can cheat a test, but c'mon.

For the amount she tested positive for is equivalent to a high dosage
injection. Her excuse is totally implausible, which is why the suspension
stood. Her case went through sports arbitration as well...

She would have been better off skipping the test, since USADA allows
athletes to miss no more than 2 dope tests per a 12 month testing cycle.

>She would have been better off skipping the test, since USADA
>allows
>athletes to miss no more than 2 dope tests per a 12 month
>testing cycle.
>
>

I mean, if SHE knew she was doping (obv), and she knew she could just skip a test but still took it....kinda makes her look good like "i have nothing to fear of course i'll take the test"...

...and I know they aren't court-worthy, but she passed a lie detector too.

i dunno man.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandrolone_decanoate

From researching the steroid Nandrolone, it is eliminated from the blood
in under 10 hours, if I’m reading the elimination time correctly. It stays in
the muscles between 6-12 days, and provides performance enhancing
ability up to 2-3 weeks.

Again, that’s if I’m reading the numbers correctly.

Basically, what I’m saying is that her positive test was no accident.
Her levels weren’t even close to the acceptable amount that
an athlete is allowed to have in his/her system.

Her levels, more than likely, were due to a high dosage injection.

Again, she said she traced it back to a burrito that she ate. That’s equivalent
to a student telling the teacher that the “dog ate his homework.”

my question is, if this pork has this element in it that can create a positive test, is it possible that the test was close enough to the consumption to make this happen?

i dunno. i'm not educated enough nor do i really care to be.

like i said from jump, it FEELS like this could be messed up.

because she's been taking tests for years w/ nothing going on apparently, and, from what i read, while she's very good at what she does, it's not like she's been utterly dominating the sport and now this explains her success.

just seems like, historically, she's been doing it legit and letting the chips fall where they will.

unless she was fed up and just wanted to win at all cost, it doesn't seem like there's an M.O. for the "crime."

and is easily top 5-10 in the world at 1500 and 5000m.
She owns the 1500m and 5000m AR. She’s a sub
2 min 800 min runner. Her PR at 1500m is 3:54,making her a serious
medal threat in all championship races. Keep in mind Hassan and Kipyegon
just ran 3:53 last week, so no telling where Houlihan’s speed is at the moment.


She is hands down America’s best women’s distance runner on the track.

So there is a huge possibility that her success is the result of taking
PEDs

Her defense simply has zero legitimacy due to the levels of her test result,
and her B sample also came back positive. So there was no error or inconsistency
with the testing process. Her attorney requested that the samples be sent to an
independent lab for further testing, and CAS denied the request, and rightfully so.

Athletes saying they are clean or have a history of being clean carries
zero weight in these types of situations, because history has taught us
that so called clean athletes are some of the biggest drug cheats in the
sport.

that's not a slight. i really don't follow track like THAT. especially not people who run longer distance races.

so, i'm admittedly ignorant for the most part when it comes to her "elite-ness." to me, the elites win they don't just challenge. but maybe she's just the best america can do and america can't win those races...i truly don't know.

i DEFINITELY don't understand drug tests with any clarity.

Skip as in shut the door on the testers face. Once they find you, you have to take it or you face an automatic ban.

That's why you have some folks playing Carmen San Diego when testers come around and get whereabouts violations. Those are just as shady to me and almost equal to positive tests in my mind

Skip - as in don’t make yourself available during your 1 hour window.

Brianna Rollins and Christian Coleman were masters of it.....but they took
it too far.

Also the reaction of the arbitrator (CAS) is pretty telling. They had the ability to reverse or reduce the penalty if her explanation warranted it. They've done it before.
But they are holding firm on the full penalty.

Hopefully CAS will disclose their reasoning. Right now all we here is the one sided story from her and her crew.

There's nothing intrinsically immoral about the act of taking drugs to run faster. It's immoral because it's against the rules, and in doing it you're trying to gain an advantage that other runners (ostensibly, but that's obviously bullshit) don't have.

So, track fans are left with a few options:

a)play pretend detective on the internet to figure out who's doping and who isn't and decide which performances are legitimate or not based on your own assessment

b)prefer that they permit performance enhancing drugs to eliminate any ambiguity

c)Treat it as a factual matter - using drugs is a problem because a suspension has the same results (potentially) as an injury: you miss some important meets.

I used to choose option "A" but then that got boring and hypocritical. The runners I liked? Absolutely clean. The runners I don't care about? Probably dirty. WADA? Good when they catch the latter group. Bad when they catch the former group.

But the problem with option A is that enlists fans moralizing to solve a problem that the governing institutions of track and field are unwilling or unable to solve themselves. But me pointing at Justin Gatlin and going "bad" and pointing at Christian Coleman and going "good" isn't an actual solution.

So now I choose option C, which is the Ockham-ist approach that the conclusion requiring the least assumptions is correct. Houlihan fucked up (in one way or another) and tested positive, which comes with a suspension. The women's 1500m field just got worse. These are the only things we'll ever get to truly know, so those (and the end results on the actual track) are the only things I'm going to bother caring about.

I WANT to believe her because of what she tested positive for. She tested positive for an anabolic steroid, which doesn’t make sense for a distance runner. Distance runners don’t look to put on more muscle. They look to gain more oxygen or more red blood cells, so the PEDS that are used are ones that stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells or that will expand the bronchial tubes.

Also, her hair samples didn’t show a build up of the drug in her body. Plus she has taken over 100 drug tests in her career without ever testing positive, so she has a clean track record.

(note: Lance Armstrong never tested positive, so having
a clean testing history doesn’t necessarily mean that a person is a clean athlete)

However, her reason or excuse for testing positive doesn’t quite add up. Mexican pork burritos, which are called carnitas, are made from pork shoulders and butt. Carnitas don’t consist of pork organs, which is where the steroid is formed inside of pigs.

Her levels of the steroid were very high, and she would have had to eaten 10-15 contaminated pork burritos 10 hours prior to being tested in order to have gotten those high levels from eating that particular form of food.

So I understand why the decision was upheld.

thanks for the breakdown.

They gave her ass 4 years. That’s a death sentence in track and field,
regardless of the age of the athlete. Considering this is her first time
offense , and she is white, I’m surprised she simply didn’t get 2 years.

They gave her ass 4 years, so she can’t even compete in the 2024 Olympics,
and she will not be available for the next world championships.

They made an example of her ass for a reason. It doesn’t pay to be uncooperative or
walk in denial against USADA or WADA. They will punish your black or white ass,
and any other color of ass that cheats.

And great runners of the past highly frown at cheaters, especially
those cheaters who broke their records. The purist in track and field make baseball’s
purists look like casual softball watchers.

it said she's going to appeal to another board or agency (that I assume has some ranking authority over the issue). how will that go? if the authorities have already taken a strong stance on this, would there be any chance that this appeal has a chance?

They are pretty much the final say. They denied it.

Her last chance is the Swiss Supreme Court which seems like a huge long shot. They pretty much just check if any laws/civil rights were violated

The Court of Arbitration of Sports is located in Switzerland, so her legal
team wants to take it to the Supreme Court of that country.

Castor Semenya went the same route in regards to CAS ruling that she
could no longer compete in the women’s division to ensure an even playing field.
The Swiss Tribunal upheld the judgment, and she had a real case of possible
discrimination, because it isn’t her fault that she is a mixed gender human being.
Discrimination was proven, but deemed necessary for the equality of the sport.
That decision still rattles me, because it was the right thing to do, even though
it was unfair.

But this is totally different. They don’t know anything about track and field when
it comes to drug policies. Plus this case isn’t about someone’s human rights, and
she isn’t being discriminated against. She simply wants the decision to be reversed
on her claim that she ingested a contaminated burrito. LOL

She doesn’t seems too bright to me, and her legal team aren’t doing her
any favors. If her only argument is a burrito, and she has no other items or
evidence to support her defense, her actions at this point are futile.

I would have used the accidental injection excuse, but I wouldn’t have fought
the ban. I would have accepted the first decision for a lighter punishment,
giving me some public leeway to deny it throughout my career....on some
Gary Sheffield shit.

NM

Fred Kerley's busted some pretty strong 100m races this spring, and actually claimed a couple impressive heads in the process. But I just kind of assumed he was working on his top-end speed in a VanNiekerk-ian attempt to jump the field in the 400m.

Anyhow, he's not running the 400m at the trials, declaring instead for the 100 and the 200m. Feels like a bit of a headscratcher to me. He could definitely make either/both of those teams, but it seems less likely than the 400m. He actually hasn't run very many strong 200's yet, and that 100m field is full of veterans that I trust a bit more to work through the rounds and pop something under 9.90 in the finals. Doesn't mean he can't, just that I expect three of that Gatlin, Bromell, Baker, Bracy, Lyles definitely will.

Whatever. I like watching him race, so I hope he's right about this.

Lot of scratches yesterday too, in addition to Houlihan. Evan Jager is out of the steeple. People saw that coming because he's been hurt a lot, but it was nice to dream on a medal in this event even if it meant pretending he was still at his peak. Rowbury and Huddle out, injury and, uh, oldness.

Athing Mu's been saying all year she's an 800m runner, and she wasn't joking. Though she was pushing hard for a relay spot in that NCAA post-meet conference.

He hasn't been running the 400 like he did a few years ago (43.74). The last couple of 400s he's run have been mid 44s. The US team is gonna be tough to make with a time like that. Too competitive.

The 100 field seems relatively weak. He's shown that 9.90 wasn't a fluke and if he can stay in the range at the trials, he has a decent chance of getting to the Olympics.

We're seeing the same fields and coming to opposite conclusions, which sounds about right with the way COVID's fucked with training and competition schedules. Still, I'm having a hard time imagining it - except you're right about Kerley proving it. That's a good call. Not like he just popped one.

I wonder if he's in play for 4*400m duty.

shifted to the 400. So this isn’t foreign territory.

With the times college kids ran at the NCAAs,
and throw in the top pros like Michael Norman,
WVN, etc, he knows he doesn’t have the shape to be
a medal threat.

100m isn’t a sure shot either. Bromel and Degrasse are
in fine form, and you know Gatlin is going to be there somehow,
someway. But I definitely feel he has the better chance at medaling
in the 100.

His 400 strength definitely gives him an Edge in the last 30m....could
also take part in the 4x100.

His 200 is trash though. He has never run sub 20, and just seems lost.
It’s either all out strength or all speed with him.

Apparently, Houlihan is still gonna race pending whatever court injunctions and appeals processes are left for her. That's gonna be super awkward for everybody involved, but she's fast so it'll also make a good race.

Any of you dummies wanna try and pick the Olympic team? Fields are here:

https://www.usatf.org/events/2021/2020-u-s-olympic-team-trials-track-field/status-of-entries

Here are my picks. If you disagree with them without making your own, then you're a coward and an asshole. Respect the discourse.

100m:
Women - Richardson, Hobbs, Sturgis*
Men - Bromell, Gatlin, Baker

*NCAA pop-ups are a tough pick because they've been hitting it hard since January, but it's not like it's THAT uncommon.

200m:
women - Gabby Thomas, Richardson, Brown
men - Lyles, Bednarek, Laird#

#does anybody know if Joe Fahnbulleh is a citizen? It's a common Liberian name, but he grew up here and I think he's raced for the US in some junior events. Weird that he's not entered.

400m:
women - Ellis, Irby, Felix^
men - Norman, Cherry, Deadmon

^fine, I'm sentimental.

800m:
women: Mu, Wilson, Grace
men: Brazier, Hoppel, Murphy%

%feels like two years since I've seen him race well, but whatever.

1500m:
women: Purrier, Simpson, Cranny@
men: Engels, Centrowitz, Hocker

@Houlihan should win/place but I don't really know what to do with that since she's not gonna make the team.

5000m:
women: Norris, Frazier, Schweizer**
men: Fisher, Chelimo, True

**Houlihan at the top of this list too, blargh.

10,000m:
women - Monson, Infeld, Hall
men - Klecker, Lomong, Nur

Steeple:
women: Coburn, Frerichs, Ostrander
men: Ferlic, Bor, Ali

Picking the women's high hurdles is a nightmare. That has been an incredibly good field and it keeps growing. McNeal is racing too.

So, throw a dart: Harrison, Clemons, McNeal, and a 4th because McNeal isn't headed to Tokyo probably - Nelvis.

110HH: Holloway, Roberts, Crittendon

IMs: McLaughlin, Little, Muhammad*
Benjamin, Hall, Burrell


*First IAC/ISL (the conference I coach in) entry in my memory with Masai Russell of Kentucky, running both the high and intermediate hurdles. She's seeded pretty high in the intermediate hurdles.

edit: getting a real crack at the Benjamin, Warholm, Samba matchup is really cool.

Hilarious, I guess.

have destroyed their integrity and credibility as a governing body.

USOPC stepped in and put a stop to it immediately. She is serving a ban,
and therefore she it not allowed to race. That is a court order, and WADA
had to remind USATF that they are a member federation, and by being a
member federation, they have to abide by all decisions, fillings, and rulings
that are issued by CAS.

For those who don’t know, Nike sponsors USTAF, so Nike practically runs USTAF
And Houlihan runs for the Bowerman Track Club, which is also sponsored by Nike,
so they practically run that, too.

This not only showcases the arrogance and irreverence of Shelby Houlihan,
but illustrates just how far a dirty business is willing to go to market and promote
its products and athletes. Nike feels it is above all rules and regulations.

We can’t say anything about Russia and the drug based athletic programs
that they run and sponsor.

>have destroyed their integrity and credibility as a governing
>body.

and by knuckling to nike and then not doing the right thing until they were forced to, they just made themselves look even more impotent.

I feel like I'm biased to the old names I'm familiar with. I don't recognize a lot of the names at the top of the performance lists

>
>100m:
>Women - Richardson, Sturgis, Bartoletta
>Men - Bromell, Young, Kerley


>
>200m:
>women - Pass
>men - Lyles, Laird, Bednarek
>

>
>400m:
>women - Hayes, Ellis, Felix
>men - Norman, Cherry, Ross
>

>
>800m:
>women: Mu, Wilson, Price
>men: Brazier, Hoppel, Crisp
>

>
>1500m:
>women: Simpson, St.Pierre, Osika
>men: Centrowitz, Engels, Nuguse
>

>
>5000m:
>women: pass
>men: pass

>

>
>10,000m:
>women - pass
>men - pass
>

>
>Steeple:
>women: pass
>men: pass
>

>
>100 hurdles:
>women - Marshall, Harrison, Cockrell
>men - Holloway, Allen, Cunningham

>

>
>400 hurdles
>women - McLaughlin, Little, Cockrell
>men - Benjamin, Burrell, Selmon

you got Dalilah Muhammad , who is the world champion, world record holder,
and Olympic Champion not qualifying in the 400m hurdles?

Is there any particular reason for that prediction?

Nah I just throw some upsets in the mix to keep things interesting.

Based on this year's times, she's right in the middle of the pack.
And I like rooting for the college runners.

>I feel like I'm biased to the old names I'm familiar with. I
>don't recognize a lot of the names at the top of the
>performance lists

Seems reasonable to me. It's not universally the case, but new names are new for a reason, and the format of the trials really seems to favor veterans. Doesn't mean rookies and newcomers won't make a bunch of waves, but veteran savvy at getting through the rounds with something left for finals is both a move that you learn and one you need to train for. Most of the NCAA kids in particular are backfooted because they just finished a national championship meet that their coaches have targeted with extreme specificity.

If this dynamic is real, and it can be real but not universally applicable, obviously. Then the ones I'm curious about are the kids like Mu and Hocker, who maybe began the season hoping to make it to the trials and maybe get a good foot in the door for 2024 but then proved by, like, January that they had a real shot of making the team. Did their coaches make some adjustments? Feels like Mu's 400m focus during the college season was part of that, but Hocker had an incredibly successful NCAA meet but still hasn't run as fast as he did in January.

>>
>>100m:
>>Women - Richardson, Sturgis, Bartoletta
>>Men - Bromell, Young, Kerley

Kerley! Love it. I couldn't bring myself to do it. That 100m field, to me, isn't eye-popping great but it is really deep. Rooting for the guy, though.

>>200m:
>>women - Pass
>>men - Lyles, Laird, Bednarek

This could be an incredible field for the US. Laird is really fun to watch, so he's one of the NCAA names I hope still has something in the tank. Love a wiry sprinter. Feels like an underdog to me.

Relatedly, I wish I could figure out what's up with Fahnbulleh. The ghouls at Letsrun.com seem to have narrowed it down to:

-missed the trials window because he had such a big breakthrough at NCAA
-he's permitted to run for Liberia and its an easier path to making the team

I hope it's the latter. He's crazy fun to watch and it would make the 200m field even wilder.

>>400m:
>>women - Hayes, Ellis, Felix
>>men - Norman, Cherry, Ross

It helps that she's been running well lately, but I'm pleased that I'm not the only member of the Allyson Felix nostalgia squad. She's really just polishing her Best-Ever credentials at this point, but you've got to think if she was still with a big shoe company that the One More Chance to See Allyson Felix Win an Olympic Medal campaign would be unstoppable. Weird to see somebody with her resume still running fast but simply ... not getting much hype. Shows how much influence Nike has on the sport.

>>800m:
>>women: Mu, Wilson, Price
>>men: Brazier, Hoppel, Crisp

Mu! And Vincent Crisp runs for a local track club here. I'd love to see him sneak a spot. I don't agree with all of these, but I like your list a lot more than mine.

>>1500m:
>>women: Simpson, St.Pierre, Osika
>>men: Centrowitz, Engels, Nuguse

I refuse to believe that Simpson and Centrowitz are done until they definitively prove it by not making a team. Too strong tactically in an event that reliably becomes about tactics.

>>400 hurdles
>>women - McLaughlin, Little, Cockrell
>>men - Benjamin, Burrell, Selmon

Love that you've got Cockrell making the team twice. She's got a chance to be a huge star. I couldn't bring myself to leave Muhammad off the team, but she's thirty and hasn't raced at her usual level this year. She'll be an interesting test case for how much COVID has forced folks to fly under the radar. McLaughlin didn't race a 400m hurdles until last week, so it seems more than plausible that Muhammad is just getting ready to pop when it matters. But that event is getting just as grimy for the women as it is for the men.

5000m and 10000m seem so underwhelming right now with no Huddle or Rupp.
Everybody thought Chelimo was going to be that dude, nope. He has taken a step
back compared to how fast runners have gotten at those distances.

We have zero shot at winning anything at those distances. zero. So I ain’t picking
shit. Lol. Sara Hall running at 10000m? She’s a marathon runner, a decent one, but
that’s about it. That’s how weak America is right now.

With Gidey and Hassan at those distances, all of our women will get lapped....

No particular order

( Sad, I was hoping Tori Bowie would be back from injury for the trials. I miss her)

100m

Guys- Bromell-Bracy-Lyles
Gals - Richardson-White-Hobbs

200m

Guys - lyles-Norman-Bednarek
Gals- Richardson ....no one after after that really matters

400m

Guys- Norman-strother- ross
Gals - Francis-Hayes-Ellis
(Natasha Hastings fine ass is still running!)

800m

Guys- Brazier doped to gills ass- Murphy -Hoppel
Gals - field is mad deep! Wilson-Rogers-Athing

1500m

Guys- LOL
Gals -LOL

100m Hurdles

McNeal-Queen-Harrison( folds under pressure though)....wish
Nia was there....McNeal is dirty as fock, but I don’t care..because she is fine!

400m Hurdles

Muhammad-Syd-little


Overall Note: I would not be shocked if Felix qualifies ...or if Kerley gets in.

She is just too arrogant and flamboyant for me, and she has yet to win anything.
Her antics are just over the top. After she won her heat, her peers didn’t even want
to shake her hand because she was being so obnoxious.

Have some class... She makes Noah Lyles look like an introvert. These are
heats, just go out there and do your thing. The other women ran their
race, and then kept it moving.

It’s very hard to root for her.

She runs for a doping factory, and is coached by a coach who doped as
a runner, and who also coaches another doped runner.

Naw, fam, you already know how it is going to end.

Just enjoy the races

i already know the answer cuz you're from Chicago.

the hypocrisy with this guy.

just say you don't like it cuz she's "ratchet" and a woman.

Yeah, you don’t watch track and field much.

Women dominate the sport more than the men do!
Ain’t got shit to do with that. Don’t bring that sexist talk here.
It doesn’t exist in track and field. Seriously.

Her peers don’t even want to have shit to do with her, because
of how over the top she is. To go from Allyson Felix to her as
the face of women’s sprinting?

Tori Bowie- class, Felix-class, Harrison-class- Syd the kid- class
Muhammad-class..

She did all that over the top shit back in 2019, and she got her ass humbled.
Now Nike got her on super PEDs and super tech shoes, and nobody can’t
tell her shit.....but that is what happens when you hang around arrogant doped
up ass athletes.

Dina Asher Smith beat that ass a few weeks ago....She’carri was quiet than
a motherfocker....beat the top queens first and run fast outside of America,
then pop shit. That’s how it’s works.

I will continue to root for the clean, class acts.

Relaxed fit with bootcut legs and button fly

in regards to your opinions. But your comment is ban worthy to me.


To call someone a bootlicker because they disagree with the character
and behavior of someone who hasn’t won a professional title yet, who hasn’t
beaten the best yet, and who associates with drug cheats, is just completely wrong.

Get your facts straight before you pop shit about something you no nothing about.

I ran track and field in 1500/Mile as a masters athlete ( age group competition) and by being in that world and culture, it is taken seriously....and two things that are highly frowned upon:

bad character and drug cheats.

If you disagree, then simply disagree.

They only commit to two of the three spots from the trials making the team, which seems sensible to me. But they tweeted out a finished Olympic roster (https://twitter.com/athletics_kenya/status/1406206915261128707) with three 1500m runners named who are not Timothy Cheruiyot. Maybe they've already determined his injury is serious.

In any event, this opens up a spot for anybody in the world who thought they could maybe sneak a medal in the 1500m or 3000m

I guess Kipruto was a bit more obvious. That guy has bigger problems than the Olympics right now.

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/06/19/timothy-cheruiyot-conseslus-kipruto-kenya-olympic-trials-track-tokyo/

Timothy Cheruiyot, Conseslus Kipruto left off Kenya Olympic track team
By OlympicTalkJun 19, 2021, 8:05 AM EDT

World 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot and Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto were not named on Kenya’s Olympic roster after not finishing in the top three of their races at their Olympic Trials.

Cheruiyot had not finished worse than second in a 1500m in four years, and lost just three times since the start of 2018, according to Tilastopaja.org. But on Saturday in Nairobi, he was passed for third place in the final straightaway, then reportedly limped off to a medical tent.

Kipruto, the lone runner to win the same individual event at the 2016 Olympics, 2017 Worlds and 2019 Worlds, dropped out in the early laps of the steeple on Saturday, according to broadcast commentary. Kipruto has started three races since the start of 2020 and didn’t finish any of them.

In November 2019, Kipruto pled not guilty after being charged with having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl and was released on bail. Kipruto faced at least 20 years in prison if convicted, according to Kenya’s sexual offenses laws. It’s unclear where the case stands.

Athletics Kenya reportedly has discretion to pick somebody who finishes outside the top three for the third and final spot in an event. But the federation announced its Olympic team at the conclusion of Trials, printing and tweeting the roster without Cheruiyot or Kipruto.

Shit. He should have been given a bye. I think world champions should not have to
qualify for a spot. Every country has its own standards once a runner achieves
a qualifying Olympic time, but World Champions with qualifying times shouldn’t have to
compete in Olympic trials.....That should be made a rule.

This blows Tokyo wide open. It’s anybody’s race now. The two dope brothers
seriously have a chance. It makes the men’s 1500m far more interesting now,
so the US Olympic trials at that distance aren’t a waste of time after all.

first race of 2021.

His start was excellent, and he comfortably came off the bend
with good pace. It was in his last 100 meters when he started
to lose his form a bit. He has been away from racing for a long time,
so it’s going to take a few more races for him to regain his top form.

https://youtu.be/2RWDaj_jYrA

are going to Tokyo, and will represent America in the Women’s 100m.

Watch out for Oliver. She is having a hell of a year, and led for most of the
race. Richardson came on strong in the final 30m to win.

Richardson has the strongest shot at medaling in Tokyo. However, I have to
continue to watch how they all perform outside of America, and if they can hang with
Dina Asher Smith, Elaine Thompson, Shelly Anne Fraser, and the Nigerian
rocket.

The upcoming diamond league races will give us some glimpses as what to
what to expect in Tokyo in the women’s 100m....

I’m not a fan of some of those women because of their association with
drug cheats, but the women’s 100m is going to be the most anticipated race
at the Olympics....

Time: 7pm (cst)
Channel: NBC

This is her first event of the season, and tack on the stress
of appealing a doping ban, she is not in any shape or form to
qualify.

I wonder if her Nike contract is dependent on this for her to get paid.
Hopefully she looks better in the finals...running 12.50 isn’t going to
cut it.

I'm glad Haynes brought her kid out there too. I don't like how they're making Felix seem special because she had a kid. Lots of ladies come back from pregnancy to get back on top

18 WC medals
8 Olympic medals.

It’s all about her, fam. She gets a special send off. This is her last Olympic journey.

and she is CLEAN

She suffered from some really dangerous, severe complications while she was pregnant that she explicitly and really genuinely rolled into a discussion of the higher mortality rate for black women giving birth and a lot of the inequalities in pre-natal care. But the once-every-four-years sports media doesn't really have the bandwidth for that, so it's "happy baby! mom's an olympian!"

That's just a skillset thing. I don't think anybody wants Lewis Johnson talking about preeclampsia after a 400m race. So, fine. Whatever.

The slightly more aggravating thing is that Nike passively dropped her during her pregnancy. The pedants will point out that her contract just wasn't renewed, but that's Allyson fucking Felix so it's bigger than that. Nike, predictably, acted like dirtbags and papered over it with a lot of hand-wringing about reforming the way they dealt with pregnant athletes and a slightly higher volume of their (exceedingly effective) girl power commercials.

But they basically own the sport, so there's no way anybody's letting Allyson Felix air out Nike (and she seems to have graciously moved on anyhow) on a live track broadcast from Hayward Field.

So there are a couple really good reasons to talk about Allyson Felix, mom. But in the context we're watching her, which is the only context a track fan gets, we're never gonna get anything but "Allyson Felix: happy mom, happy baby!"

McNeal runs better here and qualifies, but will she win her doping appeals?

Clemons qualifies as well, and is an Olympian for the first time.

Any one of these women can win gold...America is just that deep.

More than likely, American women will sweep again in the Olympics.

These motherfockers could sweep in Tokyo!

And Bromel coming for that gold. That boy on a mission!

Gatlin dead..bye bye...I had lyles and Bracey making it, but Brace got injured,
and lyles got smoked.


I’m happy.

https://twitter.com/fkerley99/status/1406819175008399361?s=19

Man, I’m so geeked for this 100m squad.

And Bromel ain’t here to fock around. Damn that dude is ready
and strong. Those dudes said few words in their interviews.
No antics, nothing. Straight running business.

Kerley and Bromel are there to wreck shit

Good for him, man. Thrilled to be entirely wrong about that.

He didn’t get that Hassan batch.

Seriously, he let a college kit rattle him 200m into the race.
That’s the dumbest he has ever run. He didn’t need to cover
that push out front. Murphy didn’t make a move until the last 200m,
and blazed down the stretch to a victory.

Hats off to that college kid. Brazier is so used to pushing from beginning
to end, he had no clue that he was running too fast in his chase to the front.
He blew his load, and had nothing for that last 100m.

He even admitted that he never has a plan going into a race. He either
wins from the back or the front. Keep in mind he is only 24, Murphy is 26,
so Donovan still has a lot to learn about racing.

Here is the interview.


https://youtu.be/4doFQF7P9_Q

(degrees)

*wave*

n/m

But horrific for distance runners.

Warm weather allow for muscles to be loose, which makes for
faster performances...

Sprinters will run faster in hot humid weather than in cold dry weather.

Price is steep; but im about to cop the prorder for my wife

https://sports.yahoo.com/tokyo-olympics-track-allyson-felix-new-shoe-brand-saysh-225706850.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIHutWlBqqK07bJeiV8VK9I9hGXccGBeEV7DWCRfTvxUjp3V2yaGyMNvsq95EDqYLa90fgH4OIZhU1c1luh6k5xNrc36jm5w6wroY1hpcPaukn03Udun9pqqFCb_hQyW7ax_-Sia0iHKnGNpczBDC_BxCYlVhbeq5tfygEwnqSIZ

Athing and Ajee make it looks so effortless, but both love to front run,
especially Ajee. Rodgers is the kicker, which she did so well at the 2019
World Championship. I could see Rodgers letting them duke it out upfront,
and then coming on strong in the final 100m.

Kate Grace is definitely the underdog here, and she looked surprisingly good in
the Semis.

Athing-Ajee-Rodgers should all go through.

I would love to see Ajee and Athing move up to 1500m. I think Ajee said
she is moving up after the Olympics. We need some AA women at 1500/mile.
Athing is a youngster, and is just into her career, so she will be focused on 800m.
But I hope she moves up later on down the road. Her style of running reminds me
Gidey.

It’s a shame to see Sammy Watson in this state as a young runner. She’s the
example of why going pro too soon can destroy a runner’s career. All of her
PRs at the time she turned pro were set prior to her arrival at Texas AM...That
was a glaring indication that she wasn’t very good even though she had won the
NCAA Championship at 800m. She’s only 21, basically, still a baby, so
maybe she can get better. But the division is so stacked, and her ability is
tremendously lacking right now, I just don’t see it. ....Maybe she should move up?

fractured foot.

That’s what is being reported.

Why didn’t he just say that shit during press conference ,and why
was he running on it? That will only get worse with running on it.

So he wasn’t gassed going into the final 100m....he just started to hurt.

Rai Benjamin looks like he's primed to do something ridiculous. He was coasting the first 200m and turned in the second fastest run of all time.

Holloway too. 0.01 of the WR in the semis and he looks like he's got probably another 0.10 in him.

Noah Lyles was looking pissed that Knighton is doing what he's doing. 19.88, beating Bolt's world junior record in the semis....c'mon. Hopefully he has enough in the tank to get a spot on the team today.

And Gabby Thomas. Only FloJo has ever run faster.

Looking forward to today's action. Syd is gonna doing something big in the 400m hurdles. Athing Mu is gonna dominate the 800m. Last 3 men avoiding heat stroke are going to make the 1500m team.

And ****upset alert**** I don't think Noah Lyles makes the team. NBC is going to have to shoot some new human interest stories

>Rai Benjamin looks like he's primed to do something
>ridiculous. He was coasting the first 200m and turned in the
>second fastest run of all time.

the 400m hurdle rivalry with Benjamin, Warholm, and Samba has really elevated the event over the last couple years. Really seemed ready to pop in 2020 proper. Samba's been mostly MIA, but now this Brazilian fellow, Alison dos Santos, has been turning in sub-48 times as well. That's gonna be a crazy event in Tokyo.

>Holloway too. 0.01 of the WR in the semis and he looks like
>he's got probably another 0.10 in him.

Funny thing, I don't think it was until his last year at Florida that it was totally clear that the 110s were his best event. Love watching him race.

>Noah Lyles was looking pissed that Knighton is doing what he's
>doing. 19.88, beating Bolt's world junior record in the
>semis....c'mon. Hopefully he has enough in the tank to get a
>spot on the team today.

I hope so too. He went pro last summer after popping some amazing times in AAU track, so the "it's been a long season" dynamic I try (mostly unsuccessfully) to apply to NCAA and HS kids at the trials may not be in play here. Hasn't really raced a ton, and mostly on a pro's schedule this summer. He's cleaned up his start and his stride a lot since last summer but he still looks really raw. I'm incredibly excited to see what he's capable of.

>And ****upset alert**** I don't think Noah Lyles makes the
>team. NBC is going to have to shoot some new human interest
>stories

I ... agree with the reasoning but don't have the spine to make this call. I like Lyles a lot, so I sort of hope you're wrong. But I can definitely see it.

Like his times aren't bad or anything. Something just looks off compared to prior seasons.

He doesn't look like a favorite to me. He looks like just another runner in a pack of 6 who could snag a spot.

>Like his times aren't bad or anything. Something just looks
>off compared to prior seasons.

And it's not just the trials. He's looked like this for awhile. Best case scenario is that he kind of took the trials for granted and is still in the middle of fine-tuning some stuff. But, as you point out below - the field is VERY deep. If that's the idea for Lyles (big "if") then it's only a good one if it works.

>He doesn't look like a favorite to me. He looks like just
>another runner in a pack of 6 who could snag a spot.

He is running sub 20 and that’s all that matters.

Running style, looking around, etc. It works for him, because he can kick
big time in the last 400m. And is tactically gifted.

But the Slowmo era is dead....not sure he can sneak and medal ever again.
We shall see.

He is definitely entertaining though.

And tactical races are way more watchable than runners getting lapped.

I’m sorry. Gabby is suspect to me. That massive acceleration in the last 30m looked
unreal, plus her previous wereabouts violation. She is with NB and they run a clean
program.....I hope she is clean.

And SAFP just ran sub 22 for the first time in her career at the age of 34...hmmm

Crazy.

Syd gets it by by being the first woman to run under 52.00....sets
a new WR.

But Muhammad made that race fast, and considering this event
was her first event of the season, and recovering from Covid?

Amazing

Still think she might repeat ...crazy that people said that she wasn’t even going
to qualify.

Syd is the future though.

Sydney Mclaughlin's WR was predictable looking at her form in the rounds. I wonder what her flat 400m time would be right today. Could she threaten the American record (the WT isn't real)?

The 200m: Noah Lyles won. But I stand be my earlier comment. He just looks like a typical guy in the pack right now.
Happy the kid slipped in for 3rd place.
And Kerley just missed out on making 2 teams.

800m. Mu did her thing. But I was most impressed by Ajee Wilson. By the time the camera soloed in on Mu, it looked like Wilson was in big trouble. She was stuck in the back and laboring.
I assumed she came in last. Then the results popped up and I see she got third. I don't know where she pulled that from, but I'm happy she made it.

1500m: I don't understand the qualifying rules. Does Engels have a chance to take Hocker's "spot"? What does Hocker have to do to make it to Tokyo?

the Olympics.

1. Runners must meet the Olympic time standard for the events they compete in.
It is basically a qualifying time they have to run, and they have to acquire it before
the Olympic deadline.

2. They have to finish top 3 in the olympic qualifying trials of their country.

However, if runners don’t meet the Olympic time standard, they can still get in
based on world rankings. I believe that’s how Hocker is going to get in. He has
a qualifying world ranking.

Yeah, Ajee qualified. But she is in trouble. Her running ability is based on her
controlling the race from end to end, because she isn’t a kicker. Athing appears
to have end to end unbeatable speed, and Rodgers is a kicker, so I see her
taking home another bronze...Anything can happen though, so you never know.

I’m not a big Noah fan, but at 200m he is unbeatable. He is too strong...too strong.

Funny how Engles and Brazier, former NOP guys , go their arses sent home. I guess
that Peter Julian juice isn’t as good as Salazar’s...LOl

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/06/30/salwa-eid-naser-doping-ban-400-meters/

Please keep improving and get Koch off the record books

She didn't pace this one bit. Gun went off and she just booked it the whole way lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFpaZ_D0Spo

compete from the sprint to the mile. She produces levels of
testosterone that are astronomically higher than a natural woman.

If it is too good to be true, it usually isn’t.

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/07/02/namibia-400-christine-mboma-beatrice-masilingi-testosterone/

Folks are RUNNING this year. I thought it would be Rai Benjamin that finally takes Kevin Young down.

https://youtu.be/eRDzD1UGTmk?t=160s

https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/u-s-sprinter-shacarri-richardson-reportedly-fails-drug-test-could-miss-tokyo-olympics/

i give her props though she out here smoking the comp and that pack at the same time too. Elite lung capabilities

“ out here smoking US comp”

I told you. Track and field is serious business, you and walleye know that.
So as a fan or athlete, you respect it as a sport, because it is the purest
form of human athleticism.

When certain athletes give off red flags, based on their performances
and associations, it’s just a matter of time before the truth presents itself.

“Cannabis smoking can be helpful for some activities such as extreme sports, as it improves muscle relaxation, reduces anxiety, and extincts fear memories (e.g., negative experiences) leading to enhanced performance. It is also worthwhile to note that cannabis smoking improves sleep time and recovery, which may favor performance when an athlete is facing multiple competitions in a short period of time. In light of these positive effects, one can assume cannabis is a doping substance that relaxes the mind and improves recovery “

Dumb as fock..period, and her Olympic Trial results should be disqualified.

And WADA has been gradually pulling it off the list.

She was dumb for not following the rules, but she isn't a drug cheat based on this

which is just as important, especially when it comes to
having to compete in numerous events ( consecutive heats).

And she used it DURING the Olympic trials, maybe to take the
stress off, or to relax....but that’s cheating to me. Stress and pressure
are part of the competition. So being able to relax and have focus,
especially in track and field, is highly important to compete at a high level.

If my opponent smoked a blunt or ate a weed based edible hours before
competition, and is now relaxed and focused at the starting line, and
I’m at the starting line using my own natural abilities to stay calm and focus,
then my opponent has an advantage over me. A race can be won or lost
at the starting blocks.

Also, the great Michael Phelps was suspended for smoking weed,
and he was suspended for 3 months.

Classifying marijuana as a PED due to its potential stress and relaxation properties is illogical.

Per WADA:

“Narcotics and cannabinoids
Narcotic analgesics decrease the painful sensations of serious injuries, potentially allowing athletes to continue training for competition after an injury. While some painkillers are allowed, including codeine.”


Those drugs make you mentally drowsy in addition
to relaxing muscles, slowing an athlete’s reaction and speed. They are
tranquilizers, which is why a person is not allowed to drive while on them.
No athlete in his/her right mind would take Xanax or Valium. They would
fall over in the blocks and possibly pass out.


Marijuana is not a tranquilizer. People are still able to be fully functional
mentally while getting the calm and relaxing benefits of the drug.

lil sus

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

don't know if there's a way around the suspension...seems like there isn't...but if so, i hope she gets it because A LOT of people wanted to see her race, myself included.

weed shouldn't get you banned from anything outside of driving heavy machinery - i don't care what the effects that allstah is whining about are.

>like there isn't...but if so, i hope she gets it because A LOT
>of people wanted to see her race, myself included.


Who gives a shit. This hopefully is what she needs. Her mom just passed away. Now she can properly mourn without all the pressure and anxiety the olympics would bring. She don't need to do nothing for anyone except herself.



>
>weed shouldn't get you banned from anything outside of driving
>heavy machinery - i don't care what the effects that allstah
>is whining about are.
>
>
>
>

if she wants to race, she should get to race.

I do. Line up in your natural being and compete. That’s all I ask for and that’s
all I want.

She has accepted her suspension, meaning she will miss the Olympics in her
main event. However, her suspension will be up before the 4x100 relay, so
maybe she will participate in that...that’s if she is added to the team.

Another Nike athlete bites the dust ....good.

Not only will we have a clean men’s 100m team we will now have a clean
women’s 100m team.




I’m happy as fock.

> I’m happy as fock.

You're the kind of guy who celebrates the misery of others as long as it makes you happy.

got it.

team being clean and pure, and the less involvement NIKE will
have...because it is a corrupt company.

Stop watching track and field for personal entertainment glory ...and
watch it for the spirit of the sport....watch it for all the athletes and events.

>Stop watching track and field for personal entertainment glory
>...and
>watch it for the spirit of the sport....watch it for all the
>athletes and events.
>
>

.

In fact, I think we'd all encourage it.


At the absolute minimum, you could start editing your thoughts. Lets shit on Nike all day long....but clean and pure???!? THC gives athletes an advantage??

Some of these thoughts should remain private man.

like weed is some secret to increasing speed or recovery.

All athletes are required to be drug free when lining up
at the starting line. It’s that simple.

Track and field is a world wide sport governed by IAAF, an International
Federation...America has zero jurisdiction when it comes to the rules
and regulations of the sport.They either comply or be banned as a member federation
from all IAAF governed competitions.

No special exceptions are made for any country....

This is not the NBA,NFL,MLB, or NHL. There is no special treatment
for star athletes or any other kind of athlete.

Athletes must compete in natural form biologically, chemically, and mechanically,
or they will be banned.

PERIOD.

Why dont baseball pitchers need to be clean and pure of banned substances to help them pitch?

I dont really care what your answer is. I just want to see you type your long scrappy dope response that I just get to laugh at.

That’s an equipment issue, not an ingested foreign substance. I’m against
doping in baseball.

Totally different than putting drugs in the body.

Also, foreign substances applied to baseballs allow for better griping
of the ball. A rosin bag is already allowed, and that’s a foreign substance.
It just doesn’t provide enough griping, especially when a pitcher sweats.
It’s something that started with the game, and was recently banned.

Plus baseball just wants to increase scoring by banning the substance,
so now the game is uneven, which is why the scoring is ridiculous.

Also, baseball is a man-made sport that depends on the use of equipment
in order to have a competition. It’s not a pure from of athleticism like swimming
or running. Runners use to compete barefoot before the use of running shoes.

Zola Budd ran track with no shoes in the 1980s, but runners wear shoes to PROTECT the feet and to have better traction when running ( almost similar to pitchers looking
for better griping)....That’s really what running shoes are for.


But I guess I’m a bootlicker. Smh.

shit said on OkaySports (that doesn't involve an unhealthy Lebron obsession to be fair)


This dude really said "Clean and Pure" like it was okay.

like Evelyn Ashford, Edwin Moses, Allyson Felix, etc

Sorry, if you don’t know anything about that.

But I guess that is creepy.

My favorite focking athlete in track and field is basically banned for life. Nike is
killing these athletes’ careers. They got athletes taking shit and dodging
tests, and then leaving them out to dry like a wet rag when they get caught.

https://news.yahoo.com/brianna-mcneal-olympic-100m-hurdles-142620120.html

She was suspended a few years ago for missing tests, but this violation takes the
cake.

I was trying to figure out what she did to get banned for doping protocol tampering.
Did she fock with the samples or use someone else’s samples? Nope.

When doping testers came to her home, she didn’t answer the door,
and she didn’t answer the phone when they called. She stated that she
didn’t hear the door or phone, because she was recovering from an abortion
that she had 2 days prior.

Okay, that’s some serious shit, and should be excusable.... Well, of course,
AIU( athletic integrity unit) wanted documentation of the procedure.

She submits the necessary documentation, but , there is just one huge problem.
The date of the procedure had been modified to reflect the date that she allegedly
had the procedure on. She basically tampered with evidence....You can’t make this
shit up. She did have an abortion, but it wasn’t recent. That’s why they gave
her the sports death penalty.

The fact that she tried to pull some deception or con game with
WADA/IAAF as if they were a bunch of dummies, put her up shit creek.

She would have been better off accepting the penalty for missing tests.
It would have been her second missed test offense, but it would have been
for only 2 years.

Three top USA Women track and field athletes banned from the Olympics
in one month!

https://youtu.be/j7M1Y1CKrkc

She is rounding into serious form....

They were discussing him being added to the Kenya team with the tone of "not confirmed but a strong likelihood" so I guess that's happening. Good. I like watching him race and he's the strongest bet to ensure a good, honest pace.

That, and Kate Grace's strong run in these DL meets made me think about selection processes though. I love watching the trials and the stakes of top-three-go-to-Olympics, but I'll admit its sometimes frustrating when a strong runner gets left off of the team. Or, put differently, I accept the logic of Olympic medals > US Champs medals.

Still, doubt that I would want it changed. How about you folks? As a hypothetical, how would you feel about a trials system where, like, the top two are guaranteed a slot and some selection committee (pretend its transparent enough that you can imagine won't make stupid decisions for political reasons) selects the third?

You have to do well when it counts. Running well in the DL is like playing
well during the regular season in a team sport.

We see people tear it up in the DL all time...but fold come trials and championship
time.

Rules being something like you must:
1) Must make the finals at the trials
2) Rank higher than the third place finisher in the world rankings
3) Rank in the top 20 in the world

Unless someone meets each of those criteria, the third place finisher goes to the Olympics

I'd leave the slot open until a couple of weeks before the Olympics start. That way people can chase (or fend off) that slot at the Diamond Leagues prior to the games

>Rules being something like you must:
>1) Must make the finals at the trials
>2) Rank higher than the third place finisher in the world
>rankings
>3) Rank in the top 20 in the world
>
>Unless someone meets each of those criteria, the third place
>finisher goes to the Olympics
>
>I'd leave the slot open until a couple of weeks before the
>Olympics start. That way people can chase (or fend off) that
>slot at the Diamond Leagues prior to the games

Latitude for a bad day at trials, or even somebody who is working their way back from an early-season injury - but it's also transparent and harder to politicize, just a different mechanism for the third pick. This is really thoughtful. I like it a lot.

I'm pretty content with the current approach too, which as I said makes the trials fun to watch due to the stakes. But I like the way that your system kind of augments the discourse wiht the "chase (or fend off)" dynamic. Honestly, one of the frustrating things about loving this sport is that there's not a lot of fun MLB or NBA-style argumentation. Things tend to get settled on the track, which I suppose is the correct answer. But anything that gives fans a chance to seize on the liminal spaces between race results (that isn't about drugs or gender, which are too important to have a lot of fun with) strikes me as a very useful side-effect of a system like this.

Cool answer. I really enjoyed that.

How many WRs have been smashed at Monaco?

Faith Kipyegon damn near broke Dibaba’s WR at 1500m.

She ran 3.51! And blasted Sifan out of the water...

My girl is going to win another gold....Shit.

Will we ever see another generation of great female 1500m runners
like we are seeing with this generation?

This shit is absurd..

Dibaba
Muir
Hassan
Kipyegon
Simpson

Muir just ran 1.56 at 800m.

Hassan did run 3.53....but she might be maxed out ..she ran 3.53 in her last
race against Faith.


Obiri taught Faith well....she races Hassan just like Obiri raced Ayana

There's been a couple of races in the last year where Hassan's kick looked mortal. Hailu* got worked by the front two in this race, but she visibly shook Hassan in an indoor 3000m back in the winter. And now Kipyegon with this one, though I think that the quality of both those performances says (as you point out with that depth, though I'd add Hailu) more about the winner than it does about Hassan. Kipyegon was just that good.

Muir's 1:56.xx fitness made me wish she had been in that 1500m though. No knock on her for running a great race and working on some faster stuff as she fine-tunes for Tokyo, but Muir, Kipyegon, Hassan, and Hailu hitting the bell lap on that would would have been an absolute all-timer.

*that was Frewenyi Hailu and not Lemlem Hailu. Explains why I was so disappointed when she didn't find another gear with 300m to go. Either way, I'd also include Tsegay in that 1500m group. She's run 3:54 a few weeks ago.

My only gripe is that she never factors in big races. But you are right she deserves to
be mentioned, because she can run a fast 1500.

However, the bar might have been raised, where sub 3:54 is the
new fast time, similar to what Ayana did to 10000m.

Faith is the Ethiopian destroyer...Did it to Dibaba at the Olympics, and now
Hassan. However, However, I feel Dibaba would have easily won had she not
run a 57 second third lap, letting Faith draft her , which allowed Faith to
have a strong kick in the last 100m....She should have saved that for the
last lap.

Stay the hell home for the Olympics.

Peace.

Pop up talent from Spain running 12:50, 3:28, and 7:27 in the last month. Last one was today in Gateshead. Sure, that's suspicious as shit, but we don't get to control the contours of that conversation so here's an alternate one:

When was the last time an Asics athlete was a factor on the DL tour or in a major international championship?

Relatedly, those Asics kits with the sleeves are really not great. This is a pretty rough year for track fashion. Nike running out those "meh" repeats, which I guess they were really invested in having that coincide with the Olympic year. And adidas went hard on ... leopard print? And the shorts with a yellow band that looks like a belt.

New Balance is okay though. They've got some fast runners too, so that helps.

and they make some of the best running flats in the world. That’s
all Japanese road runners wear. Also, on the college and high school
level, a lot of runners wear ASICS spikes and kits.

Mostly distance track and road runners wear ASICS, and ASICS , as a company,
aren’t into providing enormous monetary deals to athletes. It’s just not financially
feasible. So their not going to have a huge roster like Adidas, Nike, or NB.

Their biggest running athlete is probably Sara Hall, but they have a few pro
quality athletes on the circuit that they sponsor.


Sara Hall
Candace Hill
Emma Bates
Payton Chadwick
Kiara Parker

Those are familiar names.

I usually like the Dutch kits, even though I hate orange. So good on Asics. Their pro ones this year are still terrible. Sleeves on a distance runner? Absolute pervert shit.

My team is in Maryland, which is fully in the grips of an UnderArmour takeover - because they're local. Us included, which is boring. I really don't care for their stuff, but they struck a deal with the whole school so it's not my call. I'd say they're on the front of 95% of jerseys locally. Past that, it's a pretty even mix - though now that you mention it, I'd include Asics in that bunch. Weirdly, I think that includes my old school, who we race against once and awhile.

I haven't bought their flats in years because I got burned a couple times on radical year-to-year change within models. Lots of companies do that, but I found a pair I loved, wore it through a full XC season and, truthfully, longer into track than I should have - but when I bought the next year updated model it felt totally different in a few regards, upper, sole, the whole thing. Gotta have more consistency within models than that - or just don't bother naming them and just say "we made a shoe"

edit: I actually want to try and see if one of my dummies will try the new Metasprint this year. The whole no-spike-elements thing is really interesting, and they're trying to capture the feel (apparently) of the famous Puma brush spikes.

I doubt that the clock is accurate. Elaine jogged her heat,
and clocked in at 10.84. She was racing against B level Olympians
and they weren’t far behind. No way was she was running faster than 11.00.

It was the same for SAFP.

Tested positive for HGH on a test taken about a week ago

She ran 10.62 in Africa. It was wind aided, but it was blazing. It was huge lift
and recognition for Nigeria in women’s track and field.

Other than that, her times have been consistent, and her name has never
come up in regards to doping or any whereabout violations.

My heart is broken.

My boo! lol

Runs an Olympic record 10.60!

I know that time is somewhat questionable, but
she did her thing.

The Jamaicans sweep the Olympics..

Happy to have been wrong about that. Almost like these guys know their body and understand what direction their training is headed.

We just gonna skip over an Italian named Lamont won the 100?


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So many runners slowing up at the line and not advancing.

Bromell slowing up in the semifinal is a head scratcher.

Either he is injured and was trying to protect himself or he was trying
to conserve energy for the finals .....

Ross did the same stupid action in the 400m

Props to Fred Kerley proving the doubters wrong.

The men were historically slower while the women were
historically faster. It makes zero sense, considering that
that the track appears to be a fast track.

Is this an indication that the men are clean and the majority
of the women are doped up?

A lot of elite women were banned this year because of doping violations.

He ran 9.8x, not all that fast, even though that was a PB for him.

A 9.8x won the finals. That’s a huge drop-off compared to the
previous Olympics and the world championships. Trayvon was basically
running 9.7x prior to the Olympics.

An Italian runner won the finals. They have no history
of winning the event. That’s how slow the finals were.
.

But the women? They were jogging 10.7x in the heats
and ran 10.6x in the finals! God damn Olympic record was
set, and the previous record was doped.

That’s a huge increase in speed.

>He ran 9.8x, not all that fast, even though that was a PB for
>him.

I classify that as "rolling", I'm not used to seeing Asian guys run that fast

>A 9.8x won the finals. That’s a huge drop-off compared to
>the
>previous Olympics and the world championships. Trayvon was
>basically
>running 9.7x prior to the Olympics.
>
>An Italian runner won the finals. They have no history
>of winning the event. That’s how slow the finals were.

the "Italian" was a guy named Lamont from Texas

LOL

Su is the first Asian to run sub 10, and he is a solid sprinter. However,
he is a B level Olympian, and has never factored in any championship
events in the 100m. This Olympics was probably his best chance at winning
a medal.

China ruled the marathon back in the 60s, and the Chinese women
dominated track and field with insane world record times in the 90s. However,
they were all doped, and It was revealed that China was running state
wide doping programs...So Asians can run fast just like the rest of the
world, and they have doped up athletes, too

As far as Jacobs, he is an Italian citizen. That’s his nationality.
He is a black Italian. And up until now, he was never thought
about or mentioned.

>As far as Jacobs, he is an Italian citizen. That’s his
>nationality.
>He is a black Italian. And up until now, he was never thought
>about or mentioned.

that doesn't make anything I said untrue

It’s cool. Whether he is perceived as a true Italian or not, he wasn’t expected
to win a medal.

Odds on him winning were like + 5000 or something like that.

Going into the Olympics it was all about Bromell, Baker, Kerley, Degrasse,
and Blake.....

Gabby Thomas seems to have lost her Olympic Trials form. It's hard to see her up in mix based on the rounds.

Elaine Thompson is looking like she's in WR shape.

But then there is also the Namibian runners (Mboma in particular) who also look like they could get gold and a WR. That would end up being quite the shitshow. Folks got all kinds of hot takes queued up and ready to go for that result.

I really hope that’s not the case, but it’s starting to appear that way.

You know I hate dopers. But if Elaine is doped up, I don’t give a fock!

LOL

Seriously, they built a fast ass track and she is taking advantage
of it.

I see it. They are going to be a problem in the next WC and Olympics.

Their athletic association has a new direction, and it is starting to show on the track.
Wang Chunyu looked strong as hell, and is the first Chinese woman to qualify
for the Olympic 800m finals, and she has a solid chance at winning a medal.

Incredibly worth the wait to have an additional year of improvement from Warholm and Benjamin, plus Dos Santos' comeup. Sub 46? Bananas.

That was that was the most insane race I've ever seen. Used to be Rudisha in the 800 Olympics.

Dude ran under 46 seconds....over some damn hurdles! 45.94? Cmon
And Benjamin destroyed the old WR too. 46.17 sheesh.

And did 3rd place near the wr too? I think he might have

>That was that was the most insane race I've ever seen. Used
>to be Rudisha in the 800 Olympics.
>
>Dude ran under 46 seconds....over some damn hurdles! 45.94?
>Cmon
>And Benjamin destroyed the old WR too. 46.17 sheesh.
>
>And did 3rd place near the wr too? I think he might have

3rd place was 46.72. OR was 46.78 and WR was 46.70.

warholm BODIED the world record, and benjamin did, too. he just wasn't tapped as deeply into the speedforce, apparently.

wtf.

that was something else.


peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

Elaine Thompson gotta run 20.5 to top that.

Mondo Duplantis is gonna have to pole vault to the top of Mt. Fuji.

Just watched Rai Benjamin's and it was heartbreaking. Lewis just keeps needling him when it's obvious dude is devastated.

And there was the interview after the US mixed relay debacle. Lewis was scolding them like first graders. Talking about 'watch this video and tell me what you did wrong'.

They need to give folks time to process a loss. Do a press conference afterwards, not this out of breath gotcha stuff

How do they have all those sub 10s runners on the squad and lose out to Germany and Ghana?

First and third exchange weren't particularly good, but the second one was really unprofessional looking. It feels weird watching such a bad race by such fast runners and being completely unsurprised by the result too. Feels like it's time to re-think a whole lot of stuff about the way they deal with relays at major world competitions. Between the terrible recent results and the depth of US sprinting, feels like the amount of options that would lead to simply "better" are pretty numerous.

and the preparation of that team. It is a recurring theme with how bad
the US men’s track team is with running relays, and it just continues
to get worse with no indication that it is going to improve.

Running relays is more that just running fast, or having the fastest
runners on the track. There is a skill to it, and that skill is based
on discipline, preparation, and working collectively as a team
to see the race through with out any errors from start to finish.

Even the US women have regressed with running relays properly, and have
looked out of sorts in some of their races, so it’s not just a men’s problem.

The US men and women need to get back to the fundamentals, because
not only is Jamaica far superior in sprinting, but other countries have made
giant strides to surpass us as well.

in the women’s 4x100. They won the silver medal, and the future COULD be
bright for them. Gabby Thomas is a quality sprinter, and she is only
24. I just hope that she is clean, and Daniels is going to get better as well.
Unfortunately, they were going up against a powerful Jamaican team.

I believe with Shecarri they can be a huge threat to the Jamaican women’s
team. She just needs to get her shit together, and focus on her sport
and ability. You want to smoke weed or run with the gods? She can’t have both.

Shecarri in the 100
Prandini/Thomas in the 200
McLaughlin in the 400 Hurdles.
Athing/Rogers in the 800
Hopefully, Wilson will move up to the 1500
And we have some descent distance runners.

So there is a lot to look forward to in regards to the
US women’s team.

As far as the men? Not so so much.

The only distance I feel confident about is 200m. I dislike
Lyles, but he is still the world champion and he will be okay.
And Knight is going to be a beast.

I can’t trust Christian Coleman. Bromell’s Achilles issues are
worrisome. And Norman is overrated as hell. There isn’t a lot to look forward to,
or much promise when it comes to the men. Well, at least the Jamaican men’s
team is in the same boat.

Second overall if you add in Crouser in shot put.

Was this the worst Olympics ever for US mens track? Is there hope for the future?

yikes

since all the jamaicans been active since Olympic trials...ya know...in the actual Olympics, and we have no idea how Richardson kept up with her training (I'm sure she wasn't as race-ready as she'd have been had she been in Japan), but that is definitely a large slice of humble pie to have to eat.

SheCarri should be in shape with tons of energy, because she doesn’t
have a lot of racing in her legs. This is the end of the season, where runners
have peaked already, and are now running on fumes.

Those runners have been through intense racing heats, their training has pulled
back some, so SheCarri had the advantage. She came in with the fresher
legs, and she was on home soil.

To come in last place, and not factor at all as a so called top sprinter, simply
means she is not on that level.

Keep in mind she got smoked against Dinah Asher Smith before the Olympics,
who is another elite sprinter.

I’m inclined to say that Gabby Thomas and T. Daniels are the best that we have to
offer at 100 and 200m

overrated, and got the wrong people in her corner. She is talented, but she hasn’t
won anything.

You either want to smoke weed or run with the queens, can’t do both. Top sprinters don’t Fock around and don’t care about social media or entertainment.

She came in dead last which is embarrassing...dead last. She was nowhere
in the picture and clearly she isn’t training properly or taking care of her body. A top
sprinter stays in shape and is always ready.

Her block start was horrible and she misstepped several times....
She looked like an absolute rookie out there.

And her post interview was classless.

>And her post interview was classless.

not based on her athletic performance (that was bad too tho lol), but the way she has conducted herself on social media and the shit she lets leave her mouth/fingers.

people fell in love with the version of her they wanted us to see. cuz shes clearly someone else whenever shes given a chance to reveal a little bit of whats on the inside.

what a clown.

https://mobile.twitter.com/UnoOutReverse/status/1429188263630319620

i’m dying.

like ‘bitch you thought…’

The media / NBC is trash. Their coverage of track and field over these last few years have been absolute garbage. From their spoiling youtube titles all the way down to their interviews. There was a time when networks and reporters would interview the winner of a race no matter what nation they represented. PERIOD.

In their efforts to keep the sensationalism going, they bypass ALL of the Jamaican sweepers to interview a chick who came in dead last. Even bypassed the fastest american to push a microphone in front of Richardson's face. Why? Because they knew Sha'Carri was gonna say some off top wild shit. How the fuck is she gonna get more press time than the most decorated track Olympian of all time this year?

It's bad enough that Track and Field has little or no popularity in the USA anymore (if it aint the olympics). Fuck NBC and they should lose their coverage contract.

And she could use a bit of media training. You can talk your sh*t when you win, but when you dead last? GOtta fall back a bit

https://youtu.be/vuLZBDvO48c?t=124

.

ok

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

for even bypassing the winners to push a microphone in front of Sha'carri's face. It aint like them Jamaican girls can't speak english or need an interpreter.

and I am 100% biased in my interests, but at the same time, I didn't fully get the clowning that was thrown her way online. She gave praise to the Jamaican women on twitter when Jamaica got Gold, Silver, and Bronze in the Olympics. Also, she is young, so hopefully with some maturity to use this horrible L has motivation to get better along with some good coaching, she should be able to rebound from this and get better results in future events.

Like I said in the beginning of my response, I will always root for Jamaica, but I have to think she'll do better in the future.

https://www.facebook.com/BigBoi/videos/1087294375134924

https://twitter.com/dilemmv/status/1430550731589828611

https://twitter.com/hatefulgemini/status/1430563493598613509/photo/1

seems she's not listening or needs some new folks in her corner.

I was never really high on her, but the way she looks now is atrocious,
and being out from racing for 1 month does not take away the ability to run.
The training and practice races don’t stop, so the form is maintained.

Her 200m race today look like she was running in mud.

Makes one think that she tested positive for a real PED, but it was
covered up as marijuana to protect her image and the Nike brand,
because here presence brings interest to the sport in America.

She just looks abnormally slow. The leg lift wasn’t there, and her turnover
was very lethargic. It was a huge struggle for her just to finish in 4th place
ahead of the B level runners.

and run the fast women's 100 this year while doing it.

She seems like she's overcome some demons.

She even looks different not that her looks should ever have mattered, though for some people they did.

some consistency.

The track and field community and black community came down hard on her,
and rightfully so. The way she was carrying herself, her toxic antics, the being
banned from track and field, and not taking track and field seriously were not
going to be tolerated.

She appears healthy and focused, and seems to be more mature

As far her looks, that was a problem because of the STRIPPER like track
attire she was wearing. Young teenage and grade school girls participate and
follow track and field, and you can’t have them being negatively influenced by that
stuff. That wasn’t going to be tolerated by the track and field community.

Even though it’s just a diamond league race and the beginning of the season, it was a
good run from her. Hopefully, she can keep it up and also perform at a similar level when
championship time comes.

Allison Felix was a class act on the field and off the field. She is retired now, so American
track and field needs a new face for the sport, so hopefully she can fill those shoes