9.88 in the 100m.

I got to watch him absolutely destroy some of my kids in the 400m when he ran for TC Williams. Opposing team notwithstanding, that was incredibly fun. And only two years ago.

On a broader note, I think it's a respectable decision for so many more seasoned pros to skip nationals. Lyles is so good that he's not taking advantage of a talent deficit there, but he *is* taking advantage of a fame/charisma gap. He's going to come out of this weekend as the most famous American track athlete and at least part of that is because of the folks who stayed home. Good for him.

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"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

Ok. There's no world championship or Olympics to qualify for this year. So what?

There's no competitive spirit to be US champion simply for the sake of being the champion?
The US is the strongest country in many events. For some events, it might as well be a World Championship race.

I just don't get it. Is it a money issue? Are they taking the whole year off from training?

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>There's no competitive spirit to be US champion simply for the
>sake of being the champion?

Totally. "I am a national championship" doesn't stop being meaningful just because it's 2018.

>I just don't get it. Is it a money issue? Are they taking the
>whole year off from training?

That's a good point. From your list of reasons, the one I think is clearest is the money issue. Which I guess makes me reduce my stance to "track doesn't really pay a lot so I sort of get it."

Biggest names seem to be Felix, Gatlin, Coleman, and Reese. Sounds like Sydney McLaughlin was entered and then dropped out. She had a long college season and just went professional. Apparently she was a bit banged up, so it seems fair not to group her with this bunch.

Felix and Gatlin are looking at the end of their careers and probably need to be pretty judicious about what they do in 2018. Coleman is a legitimate disappointment, and then that disappointment rolls upwards - as to your point about the US being so dominant in a bunch of events. A Gatlin, Coleman, Lyles 100m final scratches a lot of itches if you're a track fan.

Plus, there's some short-sightedness here on my part. I gave them a pass because track isn't lucrative and so if it comes down to getting that diamond league money or flying to Iowa for a meet, it's not hard to predict what will happen. But if this sport is going to grow here and break out of its weird, marginal territory then making meets besides the Olympics and World Championships matter is going to have to happen eventually.

So, yeah. You won me over here.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

There's nothing to gain from this meet besides pride. And pride doesn't put food on the table.
No point risking injury when there are Diamond League events coming up.

I sometimes forget that this is their jobs and how low paid even the stars are in this sport.
I wouldn't want to work for little to no money. Why should they

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One of those organizations is swimming in cash and the other one is exactly as flush as its benefactor allows it to be. The same dynamic that makes Gatlin/Coleman decide to look elsewhere means that it wouldn't be that expensive to put together a prize structure that actually gets folks to come out.

Instead, this was what I found. It's kind of a bummer.

1st place $8,000
2nd place $6,000
3rd place $4,000
4th place $3,000
5th place $2,000
6th place $1,000
7th place $1,000

I assume that basically anybody here with an endorsement contract gets a decent-sized bonus for winning as well. But I imagine Coleman and Gatlin et al. are getting substantially more than that just to show up at European races.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

These women are going to have to figure something out going forward to drop her before the final 150 because if she can see you, it's done. 58 for that last lap is really impressive.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad