“I think everybody just expected me to give up the spot because lots of people know me and I am seen as this very nice girl,. . . But this is not just about me. This is about Bobby and the time he has invested in me. It is about my parents and the sacrifices they made. It’s about my brother and the agents working with me. “I had a conversation with Jackie (Joyner-Kersee) when everything was going on. She just looked at me and said, ‘You can’t give this up. You’ve worked too hard.’ We both deserved it. We both deserved to fight for it, and for me that was what it was all about.”
There is nothing unusual or special about that attitude, it's the norm for an athlete at this level. I never believed for one millisecond that Felix would give up her spot. Tarmoh's attitude was the antithesis of an Olympic competitor.
Fair play to Felix, she wanted it and was willing to run again to prove it. Her 200m will benefit from having run the 100m and who knows what will happen in the final. But just because Tarmoh didn't want to run off, doesn't make her less of an athlete. Its a personal decision and she's the only person who has to live with it.
marknhj wrote:There is nothing unusual or special about that attitude, it's the norm for an athlete at this level. I never believed for one millisecond that Felix would give up her spot. Tarmoh's attitude was the antithesis of an Olympic competitor.
I don't think Tarmoh would have reacted that way if the race had been called a dead-heat from the beginning. From I gather, what happened to Tarmoh was unprecedented.
jazzcyclist wrote:I don't think Tarmoh would have reacted that way if the race had been called a dead-heat from the beginning. From I gather, what happened to Tarmoh was unprecedented.
Not that different from what happened in the '02 EC m1500...
marknhj wrote:There is nothing unusual or special about that attitude, it's the norm for an athlete at this level. I never believed for one millisecond that Felix would give up her spot. Tarmoh's attitude was the antithesis of an Olympic competitor.
Tarmoh's attitude was no different to me than Olympic Champion at the '92 Olympics, Marie Jose Perec in Sydney. Unexplainable, but NOT the antithesis of an Olympic competitor. I MIGHT agree with you if she had never been called 3rd first, but when everyone told her she had been cheated (because it was Allyson Felix), I think she just felt it was unfair.
marknhj wrote:There is nothing unusual or special about that attitude, it's the norm for an athlete at this level. I never believed for one millisecond that Felix would give up her spot. Tarmoh's attitude was the antithesis of an Olympic competitor.
I don't think Tarmoh would have reacted that way if the race had been called a dead-heat from the beginning.
We don't know any such thing. The only thing we do know is she has some pretty lousy advisers.
marknhj wrote:There is nothing unusual or special about that attitude, it's the norm for an athlete at this level. I never believed for one millisecond that Felix would give up her spot. Tarmoh's attitude was the antithesis of an Olympic competitor.
I don't think Tarmoh would have reacted that way if the race had been called a dead-heat from the beginning.
We don't know any such thing. The only thing we do know is she has some pretty lousy advisers.
I agree with marknhj.
Did I use the word "know"? Of course no one knows what another person might do? For example, we don't know that Felix wouldn't have reacted the same way had the situation had been reversed? That's why I used the word "think".
Speedster wrote:Fair play to Felix, she wanted it and was willing to run again to prove it. Her 200m will benefit from having run the 100m and who knows what will happen in the final. But just because Tarmoh didn't want to run off, doesn't make her less of an athlete. Its a personal decision and she's the only person who has to live with it.
Why did Felix give up her place in the 100 at the 2007 World Championships? This isn't a criticism of Felix. I'm a big fan of Felix, but I don't understand two different choices in similar situations.
Did I use the word "know"? Of course no one knows what another person might do? For example, we don't know that Felix wouldn't have reacted the same way had the situation had been reversed? That's why I used the word "think".
Yes, it is all speculation. Except for the part of having poor advisers.
preston wrote:Tarmoh's attitude was no different to me than Olympic Champion at the '92 Olympics, Marie Jose Perec in Sydney. Unexplainable, but NOT the antithesis of an Olympic competitor. I MIGHT agree with you if she had never been called 3rd first, but when everyone told her she had been cheated (because it was Allyson Felix), I think she just felt it was unfair.
I'm guilty of a poor choice of words so let me re-phrase: Tarmoh's inexplicable decision suggests she does not have the inner steel so typical of 99.9% of Olympic competitors.
Speedster wrote:Fair play to Felix, she wanted it and was willing to run again to prove it. Her 200m will benefit from having run the 100m and who knows what will happen in the final. But just because Tarmoh didn't want to run off, doesn't make her less of an athlete. Its a personal decision and she's the only person who has to live with it.
THIS!
But I do very much admire Felix these days. She seems to have come into her own.
I predict a big win for her in the 200m! And a definite finalist in the 100m.
Speedster wrote:Fair play to Felix, she wanted it and was willing to run again to prove it. Her 200m will benefit from having run the 100m and who knows what will happen in the final. But just because Tarmoh didn't want to run off, doesn't make her less of an athlete. Its a personal decision and she's the only person who has to live with it.
Why did Felix give up her place in the 100 at the 2007 World Championships? This isn't a criticism of Felix. I'm a big fan of Felix, but I don't understand two different choices in similar situations.
I think with the Daegu double impacting negatively on her speed in the 200m and then running the 100m rounds in Eugene to come back to run 21.69, showed her that the 100m keeps her sharp and she can double up in the sprints and still PR. She'll have only three rounds in London with a soft run through the heats, but a shorter break between the two sprints.
Ato Boldon has talked about doubling helping some athletes and hindering others and based on Eugene its clear that Felix thinks it will help her. She has a decent chance at getting to the 100m final, but its the sharpness that she wants the 100m to help her with.
^^You realise that - whilst everything you wrote makes perfect sense - you completely answered a different question?
Felix is being praised for not dropping out of the chance to gain an Olympic place, when she in fact dropped out of a guaranteed WC place in 2007 - she can't have her cake and eat it, was the point.
A better answer would be the fact she has matured as an athlete and person in the last five years, and one can only hope Tarmoh will do the same with time
preston wrote:Tarmoh's attitude was no different to me than Olympic Champion at the '92 Olympics, Marie Jose Perec in Sydney. Unexplainable, but NOT the antithesis of an Olympic competitor. I MIGHT agree with you if she had never been called 3rd first, but when everyone told her she had been cheated (because it was Allyson Felix), I think she just felt it was unfair.
I'm guilty of a poor choice of words so let me re-phrase: Tarmoh's inexplicable decision suggests she does not have the inner steel so typical of 99.9% of Olympic competitors.
I pretty much agree. If it was indeed her decision, it is inexplicable. So inexplicable in fact that I keep wondering how much there is to the statement that she felt "coerced" or words to that effect.
jjimbojames wrote:Felix is being praised for not dropping out of the chance to gain an Olympic place, when she in fact dropped out of a guaranteed WC place in 2007 - she can't have her cake and eat it, was the point.
?! Completely different situation. She CHOSE to drop it for a fundamentally sound reason: her 100 simply wasn't there yet.
gh wrote:I pretty much agree. If it was indeed her decision, it is inexplicable. So inexplicable in fact that I keep wondering how much there is to the statement that she felt "coerced" or words to that effect.
"Coerced" by who? This doesn't seem logical in light of the fact she agreed to a runoff and then changed her mind. Who could put that much pressure on her so that USATF, Nike, and NBC misses out on a golden opportunity to promote the sport? Also, the way that Tarmoh has thrown various people under the bus, I think she would have identified the individual or group that "coerced" her to change her mind.
jjimbojames wrote:Felix is being praised for not dropping out of the chance to gain an Olympic place, when she in fact dropped out of a guaranteed WC place in 2007 - she can't have her cake and eat it, was the point.
?! Completely different situation. She CHOSE to drop it for a fundamentally sound reason: her 100 simply wasn't there yet.
Did you read my whole post - I was pointing out that that was the question being asked by another poster and suggested a reason why Felix might have decided to do both now
jjimbojames wrote:Felix is being praised for not dropping out of the chance to gain an Olympic place, when she in fact dropped out of a guaranteed WC place in 2007 - she can't have her cake and eat it, was the point.
?! Completely different situation. She CHOSE to drop it for a fundamentally sound reason: her 100 simply wasn't there yet.
Did you read my whole post - I was pointing out that that was the question being asked by another poster and suggested a reason why Felix might have decided to do both now
Rereading it i wasnt clear. I think it's all about how good Allyson felt at trials running both events and wanting to replicate that feeling in London. She said she'd prepared for both and it worked, with what I think she felt as a better outcome than Daegu. I dare say she thought that the double in Eugene kept her sharp, something she felt she missed in Daegu, that sharpness, and she was willing to run off to get that Eugene feeling again.
Speedster wrote:Fair play to Felix, she wanted it and was willing to run again to prove it. Her 200m will benefit from having run the 100m and who knows what will happen in the final. But just because Tarmoh didn't want to run off, doesn't make her less of an athlete. Its a personal decision and she's the only person who has to live with it.
Why did Felix give up her place in the 100 at the 2007 World Championships? This isn't a criticism of Felix. I'm a big fan of Felix, but I don't understand two different choices in similar situations.
I think with the Daegu double impacting negatively on her speed in the 200m and then running the 100m rounds in Eugene to come back to run 21.69, showed her that the 100m keeps her sharp and she can double up in the sprints and still PR. She'll have only three rounds in London with a soft run through the heats, but a shorter break between the two sprints.
Ato Boldon has talked about doubling helping some athletes and hindering others and based on Eugene its clear that Felix thinks it will help her. She has a decent chance at getting to the 100m final, but its the sharpness that she wants the 100m to help her with.
"Sharp" is a valid concept, but again I see an inconsistency. After she had proven her ablity to run rounds at USAT&F Felix went to "Bobby's Boot Camp" for more endurance. She ran only one race while Jeter ran five races then. I assume that running two 100s and three 200s would have sharpened her as it sharpened Jeter. After all, Felix's 200 best in 2011 was her slowest since her sophomore year in high school.
jjimbojames wrote:Felix is being praised for not dropping out of the chance to gain an Olympic place, when she in fact dropped out of a guaranteed WC place in 2007 - she can't have her cake and eat it, was the point.
?! Completely different situation. She CHOSE to drop it for a fundamentally sound reason: her 100 simply wasn't there yet.
If Felix was "there" in 2012 nationals why was she 0.15 sec behind Jeter yet she was only .08 sec behind Jeter at the 2007 nationals? Edwards won that race by 0.23 sec over Felix. This seems to be a distinction without a difference.
