Let The Games Continue ⏱

Lap 22: Sponsored by Tracksmith

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Athing delivers on the promise 📬

It takes a lot of guts to admit when you are wrong and that’s what this blog boy is going to do. After watching Athing Mu set the collegiate record of 49.57 for 400m at NCAAs the spring, I suggested she should run that event at the Olympic Trials. Granted, she would have been the #2 seed so it’s not too crazy of a suggestion, but it would appear her team made the right call as she just won the Olympics in a dominant 1:55.21. Not that this performance requires any qualifiers, but this gold medal and American Record run was done in negative-split fashion. In my defense, as a supposed expert who is constantly making predictions — I’m going to be off sometimes. And that’s the fun of it!

Immediately after the race, the conversation turns to what is Athing going to do next. She is already discussing the potential of going after a WR and doubling in Paris. That’s part of being an athlete — constantly looking higher and towards the next big thing. But for fans, let’s just appreciate what we witnessed. This sport turns so quickly and the future is never promised. In 2016, did the world expect a then 14 year old to be at the top today? Now as Athing Mu and fellow teenager, Keely Hodgkinson, pull off the sweep for Gen Z, here is a question to ponder on your next run: Is it more impressive to run fast when young or “old?” The answer probably depends on how terrible your own body feels.

That 10th kilometer 👐

Selemon Barega was only 16 years old during the 2016 Olympics. But while Mo Farah was solidifying his legacy in London, the next great champion was making a name for himself at the U20 World Championships. Then at 17, Barega ran 12:55 for 5k and finished 5th at the World Championships. But it wasn’t until he ran 12:43 to win the 2018 Brussels Diamond League that most fans really became familiar with the name.

This is all to say, Barega is pretty good at this running stuff, and came into the men’s 10k as one of the favorites. And from the beginning of the race, Uganda employed team tactics to try to neutralize the gold medal threat from Barega with Stephen Kissa rabbiting from the front and hammering the pace, despite high temperatures and humidity. (Not exactly the Olympic experience you dream up as a kid, but he did what a patriot had to do.)

There was a big pack together still at the bell, but it was all Barega controlling the wind up with Cheptegei and Kiplimo following. After closing it down in a 53 second final-lap — and a 2:24 last 1k — he fulfilled all the expectations that are put onto the shoulders of a prodigy, and reestablished Ethiopia as the rightful heir to the 10k throne.

Surely Barega’s victory will inspire the next generation of runners just as Gebrselassie and Bekele had inspired him! Except they didn’t. Growing up, Barega knew nothing about running. He grew up in Ethiopia’s Gurage Zone, a rural, sparsely populated part of the country not traditionally known for sport. Without a TV or radio growing up, Barega knew nothing about the trailblazers before him. Luckily his talent was scouted early and thanks to his relatively newfound notoriety there should be more opportunities for the next great Gurage runner to follow in his footsteps — especially if Barega builds the area’s first track as he wants.

As an American, this was the first time during the Games that I got up and yelled at the TV. Grant Fisher’s 5th place finish is something that mainstream TV viewers won’t see the significance in. (I know that when I am watching other sports without context, anything less than a medal for the USA seems like a failure, which is obviously a bad take.) But for the Bowerman TC athlete, this was a breakthrough performance and one that will give him plenty of confidence ahead of the 5k final. Something we always say here at The Lap Count is you don’t have to finish first to win a race — Grant Fisher won his.

Intra-squad rivalry 🇯🇲

The Women’s 100m saw more action off the track this year than most races feature during them. The Sha’Carri Richardson ban; the scratch from Dina Asher-Smith; the failed drug test from Blessing Okagbare. Before the events could begin, there was even more controversy in the Olympic Village when 10 athletes from Nigeria were ruled ineligible by the Athletics Integrity Unit after their federation failed to meet the minimum testing guidelines for a “high-risk country.” Having the country’s star 100m runner test positive for HGH is a painful reminder of why these rules are in place and how many people are hurt by the ripple effect of doping.

Yet somehow, the drama around the race kept building. After losing in 2016 to Elaine Thompson-Herah, there was nothing Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce wanted more than to take back the title of World’s Fastest Woman, an honor she held after her gold medal runs in Beijing and London. Their starts were equivalently quick, but in the last quarter of the race, Thompson-Herah pulled away and opened up enough daylight to begin her celebration early. Her time of 10.61 was an Olympic Record, and given the slight head-wind she ran into, makes you wonder what’s possible in more ideal conditions. Although the race was electric, it was the celebration afterwards that made for some real entertainment. While Elaine was yelling triumphantly, which is the perfect way to celebrate her accomplishment — her Jamaican teammates and former training partner, Fraser-Pryce looked on furiously despite the podium sweep.

As Shelly-Ann stewed in disbelief and anger, it was a bit refreshing. Every athlete has a different mentality when it comes to competition and rather than faking a happy face, she chose to wear her emotions on her sleeve. You are allowed to be obsessed with winning — in fact, it’s often encouraged. When a life has been dedicated to being the very best in the world at something, it may take a few moments to recalibrate after finding out you’re “only” second best. There’s probably a correlation between that attitude and having 7 Olympic medals.

Wait, who? 🇮🇹

If you didn’t wake up to watch the prelims then you’d have been a bit surprised over a major absence in the Men’s 100m final. Trayvon Bromell, who has the number one time in the world this year, never looked like himself in Tokyo. Instead, it was Fred Kerley — the former 400m specialist, who held top honors for the United States winning the silver medal in a PB of 9.84. Given his bronze medal in Doha and 43.64 lifetime best, his decision to focus on the single straightaway was met by almost universal confusion.

Switching things up to work on speed work in an off year — yes, people do that. But in an Olympic year? Blasphemy! There were some theories floating around as to why he would move down, my own being that maybe he missed some base work early in the season. Turns out the answer is much simpler, the 100 is a sexier event! Everyone starts out wanting to be in the shortest event possible, but we are damned to keep moving up until successful enough to stop. You just hope that’s before the ultra-marathon! Kerley’s college team didn’t need anymore short sprinters — and it just so happened he was good at the 400. Kerely was merely retaking control of his destiny with this switch. After all, why run for 43 seconds when you can run for 9?

Extrapolating that mindset, why compete in an event that you’re just OK at and that destroys your knees, when you can just win the Olympic 100m instead? Enter Italy’s Marcell Jacobs. His career for the most part was that of a solid, journeyman long jumper, but leaving no real impact. Injuries inspired a pivot to an event with a bit less air time, but he entered the 2021 season with a best of 10.03 — which on the international stage is not noteworthy enough for anyone to be worried about you, let alone know your name. The only reason you’d have been familiar with him is the viral video earlier this year of him running behind a car in a wind tunnel. Well after personal bests in the prelims, semis and finals — he’s now the undisputed champ. And all he had to do was focus on nutrition, change his mindset and pick a new event!

The two best friends anyone could have 👬

Just when the Simone Biles critics were recovering from their most recent heart attack, in come Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim to raise their blood pressure back into the stratosphere. The inability to further rank two people capable of propelling their bodies 2.37m into the air is not a symptom of a softening sporting culture. (Please do not conflate what transpired in the men’s high jump with a Little League postseason pizza party where every member of a team with a losing record walks away with a participation trophy and a tummy ache.)

There is precedent here — and it happens regularly enough in the high jump. In fact, this is the tenth time in history that a medal has been shared in the high jump (if you count the standing high jump in the 1908 London Olympics). This isn’t a fight to the death, it’s a contest to see who can jump the highest. There is no merit in having a jump off to see who is better at getting over a lower bar that was already cleared.

This story gets better the more context you give it, as the flamboyant Italian is more than just a half-beard and socks with pictures of himself. Tamberi broke his ankle at Monaco in 2016 just before the Rio Olympics. The cast he wore for that injury now doubles as a lucky charm and is embroidered with the words, ‘Road to Tokyo 2̶0̶2̶0̶ 2021’. And you wouldn’t believe who he credits for encouraging him on his comeback from injury? That’s right: Mutaz Barshim. Hans Christian Anderson couldn’t write a fairytale like this. And sure, Barshim raised the bar for friendship. But after winning bronze in London and silver in Rio, Barshim would have been crazy to suggest a jump off with the gold medal and massive book deal already in his hands.

Raven’s X

The Olympic stage has the power to change a life. For Raven Saunders, that silver medal announced to the world what so many fans already knew — she is more than a thrower. When she came out rocking the two-toned hair and Joker mask, it seemed like it was just part of the show. But there is more beneath the surface than the disguise may imply. Raven Saunders can shoot an 8 lb. cannonball over 65 feet through the air, but she’s also a proudly queer black woman who has vocally struggled with her mental health. She is nothing if not transparent, and willing to touch on even the most taboo subjects — money. Before taking off for Tokyo she shared a screen shot of her bank account at its grand total of -$501.47. Since her 2nd place finish, she has since provided the world with an update — the well-deserved six-figure contract has since been secured.

While opening up about financial insecurity provides a rousing insight into the reality of being a professional athlete, discussing her battle with depression and suicidal thoughts could save lives. The post-competition twerking and the TikTok trend dances are her on the other side of a tumultuous journey. So when she rightfully earns her place on the podium and throws up an X with her arms, it is not a protest. It’s just a signal to let other people who are oppressed and struggling know that if she can make it there, so can they. Of course the IOC had to launch an investigation to make sure this innocuous gesture was compliant. But even the most crotchety of organizations agreed — this was worth smiling about.

(We’d like to extend our deepest condolences to Raven and the whole Saunders family as her mother, Clarissa, tragically passed away this week.)

The greatest (400mH) of all-time! 🇳🇴🇺🇸

45.94 — This is perfection. For Karsten Warholm to drop a couple tenths at this level is superb, but to shed an additional 0.93 seconds this year after already being the best in the world is jaw dropping. Rai Benjamin probably thought running 46.17 — well below the old World Record — would guarantee him a gold medal this year, but competition brings out the best in all of us. The debate is on: Is this the greatest race in Olympic history? 1x World Record, 2x Area Records, and 3x National Records. The other side in the discussion is the 2012 London Olympic 800m, which saw David Rudisha go wire-to-wire in a WR of his own, with 6 athletes running personal bests behind him. While we wish Warholm and Benjamin raced each other more often, most fans are probably willing to wait if these are the questions we’ll be asking afterwards.

51.46 — Not to be outdone, Sydney McLaughlin broke her own World Record coming off the 10th hurdle with more fire power than the 2016 Olympic Champion, Dalilah Muhammad, who also broke the previous record. Although she didn’t rip her shirt off and yell something Norwegian into the camera, the results speak for themselves. There were unbelievable expectations on this race, but she was unperturbed by the pressure. The difference between this race and the men’s is it felt like we saw this one already at the Olympic Trials. And without the head-to-head battle between foreign nations (we knew an American would win, and I honestly didn’t care which), there was less nationalistic pride on the line. But enter Femke Bol, the Dutch 21 year old and now bronze medalist whose 52.03 would have been the WR anytime before June of this year. Bol is still new to the event having run just 55.32 two years ago. If having two people vying for World Records produces races like this, imagine what three could do!

Interested in supporting athletes? Subscribe to our premium newsletter, The Victory Lap to read exclusive interviews with elites to put more money in their pocket! On Friday morning we will be publishing a conversation with the former Villanova standout, Angel Piccirillo. Now training with Oiselle in Bend, OR, she shares with us her journey since college, training alongside the world’s best and running for a female coach. There are plenty bits of wisdom for you to enjoy!

The Olympics aren’t that serious Belarus 🇧🇾

You should be allowed to disagree with your coach without having to find a new home. Kryscina Tsimanouskaya competed in the 100m in the first round at the Olympics and was supposed to double back in the 200m before calling it a meet. However, due to the Belarusian federation’s inability to complete the out-of-competition testing for some athletes, she was informed that she would be expected to triple back in the 4x400. However, she’s not much of a 400m runner. In fact, according to her World Athletics profile, she has never run one. So rightfully so, she complained — taking to the internet to publicly voice her dissatisfaction with the coaches and the country’s national committee for putting her in such a position.

What happened next only really makes sense if you have a halfway decent understanding of Eastern European geopolitics. You see, Belarus, for all intents and purposes is Europe’s last dictatorship. And although they participate alongside — doesn’t play by all the same humanitarian rules as its neighbors in athletic endeavors. Hopefully writing on this topic doesn’t bar me from any future vacations there, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope. This is the same country that forced a passenger Ryanair flight that was headed from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk in order to arrest a journalist.

Based on these patterns alone, it’s not surprising — although it is horrible — that for criticizing a track-side decision, Tsimanouskaya was essentially kidnapped by her own government. Now Bealrus’s star athlete isn’t representing the country in the 200m and is instead seeking asylum in Poland. Is this what the Olympics is about? No offense, Belarus, but you weren’t going to win a medal in the 4x400 no matter who got bullied onto the team. And threatening your athletes with veiled threats of murder isn’t the best way to grow the sport domestically. It’s hard to see many little girls rushing to sign up for their local track team with those incentives in front of them!

Ballerina, you must have seen her 💃

When Valarie Allman finishes a throw her spin rivals the elegance of a pirouette you’d see at the end of The Nutcracker. With a background in ballet, her athleticism, power, and grace were put on display at the world’s biggest stage from within the confines of the discus ring. Add in a mid-competition monsoon that made for extra slippery conditions and you have a recipe for the United States’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics. Allman is a truly dynamic athlete, and while she’s now the world’s best at her chosen event, it’s not hard to imagine her excelling in any number of other disciplines. This is why it’s so important for high school coaches to poach the studs from other sports — great athletes win medals. (And yeah, I just called ballet a sport!)

All aboard the Rojas hype train 🚂🇻🇪

(The following section is written by writer/personality and host of the Run Your Mouth Podcast, David Melly.)

Anyone who has even casually followed the women’s triple jump since the Rio Olympics knew that the WR in the event was living on borrowed time. Since taking silver in 2016, Yulimar Rojas has been the unquestioned GOAT of the triple jump, winning 3 world titles, jumping multiple world-leading marks and setting the indoor WR in 2020 with a mark of 15.43m, which was then the second-best jump of all time.

After five years of looking of its shoulder, the old WR finally met its maker this week. During the first round of the final in Tokyo, Rojas leapt 15.41 meters to easily secure the gold. She then kept us on the edge of our seats, attempt after attempt, until taking flight in the final jump of the competition to break the WR by an astonishing 17 centimeters. The always-boisterous Rojas went wild, hugging her competitors, waving to the fans, and sprinting over to the high jumpers who had just finished their own final.

Yet outside the T&F world, the fan and media reaction to one of the most astonishing achievements of the entire Olympics was surprisingly muted. The coverage of Rojas, who is openly queer, paled in comparison to the veritable media frenzy over British diver Tom Daley winning his first gold.

Why isn’t Rojas getting her due? It could be because the TJ is a relatively niche event (although no more niche than synchronized diving). It could be because she is Venezuelan or because English is not her first language. It could be because NBC has chosen to showcase another impressive queer athlete in Raven Saunders. It could be because our sports media is biased toward showcasing athletes and events that are primarily dominated by straight white men.

Whatever the reason, it’s not because she’s boring. Rojas sported bubblegum-pink hair for most of the Diamond League circuit this year and is a vibrant, vocal, watchable athlete on every attempt. She is physically striking at 6 foot 4 inches tall and at 25 years old, has many years of success ahead of her. Whether or not she gets her due in the press, Rojas deserves every ounce of our love.

Oh you want to watch the Olympics? 🦚

With an extra year to prepare for the 48 ring circus, NBC did not drop the barrier to entry. Even for those who actively want to watch T&F, it has been a challenge. With races being found across Peacock, USA, CNBC, NBCSN, NBC and the NBC Sports App — it’s confusing! (Who else thought USA was just a vehicle to air Law & Order reruns?) Combine that with the fact that the majority of track finals happen during the morning session — for American viewers, at least — and there is an information gap between the diehards and the general population. While us nerds are watching the best 10 minutes in Italian Athletics history unfold live over morning espressos, the noise doesn’t reverberate outside our echo chamber. It isn’t until the primetime slot that our friends and family catch up on the news we’ve already lost our minds over, and they’re experiencing the same events in an entirely different fashion from us on delay.

Surely I am not the only one wondering where Kara Goucher and Leigh Diffey have been at this Olympics? I haven’t heard their voices once, which is a shame. If there are going to be two different products presented depending on your enthusiasm, then this seems like a missed opportunity to have an elevated broadcast for the more enthusiastic faction. Let’s utilize the live coverage to speak to the true fans! Learning about athletes’s stories is fantastic — arguably one of the easiest ways to improve the sport is to do a better job with that. But 200m to go in a race is not the appropriate time for it. We have seen the graphics, but they’re used inconsistently and not integrated into the broadcast. It’s all so close! The ingredients are all there, they just need to be put together.

And finally, NBC needs to relax the social media sharing restrictions. We saw the success that the NBA had with enabling content creators to share and modify its content. The problem is NBC has no real vested interest in the long term growth of the sport. If Elaine Thompson, the two-time double Olympic Champion in the 100m/200m can’t share video of her own accomplishments without getting banned from Instagram, then it’s hurting the athletes.