Laura Roesler. There are four heats in the women's 800m that will be run this evening for the first round. Roesler is not in any of the heats.
Could be a lot of reasons she is not there - family, injuries, sickness, etc. - but I wd guess it is injury related. If so,
(to reiterate), time to get a new coach and trainer. The current coach and trainer aren't keeping her healthy and that is part of their job.
Lots of wear and tear on that body. Think of all the training and competition for her since 7th grade, not every body can withstand that abuse for that long. She struggled with injuries in college, too, it's part of the deal to one degree or another for all elite athletes. It may be time to hang up the spikes and get on with life.
6th place for Payton, Alex missed the final placed 16th. Two Bison in the National championships, impressive.
Riley Dolezal takes 2nd in the Javelin. Toss of 82.84 meters. Winning toss was 82.85 meters. Yes, you read that right. Less than an inch difference.
Regardless of any disappointment Riley might have, the 82.84 toss is his best since he threw 83.50 in 2013. That toss may have been long enough to get him into the World Championships that he missed a couple of years ago - although I don't know for sure. The 2020 Olympic qualifying standard is 85 meters (that is a darn long ways !). The qualifying standard for the 2019 World Championships is 83 meters. Keep at it Riley, you are on the doorstep !
Retire - perhaps you are right, but I don't think it time to hang it up, but that may be wishful thinking on my part. There are plenty of world-class athletes who have had multi-year careers with minimal injuries. If I had the an Olympic dream and the talent (like she has), I would not give it up yet.
I still think there is a lot that can be done by a new and better coach and a new and better trainer that can bring the incidence of injuries down and get the unrealized potential out of her. If she is injured again (an assumption b/c I don't know), I would move on with the coach and trainer. Her current coach and trainer have been given enough time to maximize Roesler's talents on the track and keep her healthy and they have not gotten the job done.
What can be done differently: Train on grass - find a place - and do more sand training; to lessen the banging on the legs, reduce the chance of stress fractures. Do more or different stretching before running. Do more or different stretching before doing interval training. Change the diet so the right nutrients are being replenished for muscle and tendon strength and resiliency, strong bones. Do more or a different kind of warm-up in getting the muscles warmed up and loose. Warm down properly. There are many things that can be done differently. Change the training regiment before the bigger meets. Reconsider which meets to work through. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Riley Dolezal update ... per iaaf.org, a couple things.
One is that he hasn't thrown since the U.S. Championships, so he has not competed for a month now (unless he has competed and not 'reported' it).
The World Championships are about a month away (in Doha). The qualifying automatic standard is 83.00 meters, and Riley is at 82.84, so just under the standard. Besides those automatically qualified, the Worlds will take the next in line athletes until they have 32 total. That is my understanding anyway.
The day after the U.S. Championships, Riley was #26 in the world, so would go to the Worlds as one of the top 32. Today, he is at #29. There are still some significant track meets in Europe the next few weeks before Doha. Hopefully Riley's 82 meter throw will hold up, or even better, he goes to (gets invited to) another meet and makes a throw over 83 meters. Might be a nail-biter (to see if he goes).
European Meet - Hammer Throw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWVHZE1pyig
I find this interesting. This is a meet in London. At a stadium, the stadium looks full. This happens for throw competitions in many meets in Europe each year. I have seen this same thing in videos of other throw events. Amazing to me how much support there is for the athletes, and how much interest there is in 'Athletics' events. I don't think there is anything quite like this in the USA - nothing, or perhaps almost nothing, that gets the numbers of people as happens in Europe.
- Scott.
It is interesting how different European attitudes are concerning athletics compared to us Yanks. I think people here don't know what they are missing. T&F really does showcase special athletes, we just don't appreciate it. I would love to attend World's some day, perhaps 2023 in Hungary.
As a former track athlete, collegiate coach and exercise physiologist, I had a friend who used to try to get under my skin by stating that track isn’t a sport. I’d tell him that track and field is better described as a test of what the human body is physically capable of and as such, is far more relevant than some game.