In case you-all don't follow the running world, USATF reversed their decision/Jordan Hasay withdrew her (? aka Salazar's) protest, and Gabe Grunewald is officially going to Poland. Hasay recently posted on her website. Oy. Let's hope the face of USA Track and Field will one day be interesting/mature/un-corrupt/respectable.
0 Comments
So I like to run. I consider myself a runner stalker, looking up results on various websites and through various forms of social media. I like to learn about how elites and sub-elites train, eat, sleep, and breathe running. I like to learn how successful coaches coach and what kinds of philosophies they preach/believe in. I do my best to be a student of the sport, and I hope it makes me a better runner and a better coach. (I have this thing about wanting people to live healthy, balanced, active lives.) Enough about me. There is a governing body of track and field in the US, USA Track & Field, which is "in charge" and/or the "face" of track and field and cross country in the United States. You'd think for a large company such as this one, that puts on many races and trainings and such throughout the year, that many runners would respect this organization and be thankful for them. Well, from everything that I've read and people I've talked to, people generally have mixed feelings about USATF. This weekend was the USA Indoor Championships, sponsored by USATF, in Albuquerque. There was a kerfuffle with the women's 3000m, resulting in a fishy DQ of winner, Gabe Grunewald (nee Anderson). Letsrun.com did a story on it (I look at Letsrun, but I'm wary of their message boards...) here that's pretty extensive. I watched the video of the race, and I think it looks like common race contact - nothing deliberate and nothing intentionally trying to mess up either Jordan Hasay or Shannon Rowbury. Grunewald's DQ means that Hasay gets to go to World Indoors in Poland, rather than Grunewald (they + Rowbury are the only ones with qualifying times). There are a bunch of issues here. Nike, a huge sponsor of USATF, seems to be at the foundation of this problem. Alberto Salazar coaches both Hasay and Rowbury. He seems to be the one filing the complaint/appeal/whatever. He seems to have USATF on a tight leash. I've heard he can get his athletes into big races just because he's Salazar, even if the athletes haven't qualified. Salazar also apparently got almost physical with Schumacher about the men's 3000m. (Was he on his period of something?) Lauren Fleshman asked via Twitter to Hasay why she didn't woman up and admit there was no foul play...and this is a fair question, why did either Rowbury or Hasay give their input on the situation? Gabe beat the pants off of them - running is running, if you get beat by a someone who has a better race than you, accept it and move on. It shouldn't be personal, and this situation seems like it is. The USATF has been struggling for years to get prime tv coverage and to keep fans interested, and this madness does not help their cause. It also makes Salazar look like a sneak (okay, I'm slightly biased - he may be a great coach; re: Galen Rupp, Mo Farah, Mary Cain, etc. etc. etc., but I've always thought he was a little un-hinged). Give Gabe the championship and the opportunity to go to Poland, she earned it. This should be an exciting time for American running - there are a lot of people running fast and a lot of new professional teams that are being formed and that are growing their numbers. (Go Will Leer! Bernard Lagat ANOTHER championship! Cainsainty! etc. etc.) Plus, there were a few world records BROKEN in that last month...Genzebe Dibaba is a class act and Renaud Lavillenie did amazing. So USATF, can we progress and mature? |
AuthorSee "About us." Or I'd rather you ask me a question, I like questions. Archives
August 2017
Categories
All
|