Ruxton Towers XC wrote:
The three "best" performances (in my opinion) are:
1) Sydney with the WORLD RECORD the 400m hurdles. She shuts up the haters who (correctly) point out that she never races and is hard to cheer for because of her "I don't want to be here" attitude. I don't consider myself a fan anymore b/c she rarely races, but she is the GOAT and can do whatever she wants.
2) Noah Lyles in the 100m (9.82) and 200m (19.53). He lived up to the hype, won two events, and got the OT 200m record en route. NBC was pumping him up the whole time and he didn't let the pressure get to him.
3) Grant Fisher. If you get the 5000m and 10,000m titles against solid fields, you had a good week. Like Rupp, he is not flashy and we are not posting like crazy about it, but he is a legit pro who is on a different level from the other Americans in these two events.
The worst are:
1) Athing Mu in the 800m. It was sad to see. She use to be the future of the sport and now we are left wondering. Not going to the Olympics? That is just brutal.
2) Cooper Teare. The fact that he was not even a factor in either of his races is just shocking. He might be the best/fastest runner in America who looked like he didn't have a chance. Something about his racing style or body language said, "I know I am not making the team this year despite my talent."
3) Anyone who finished top-three but doesn't have the standard and doesn't have the ranking. I don't know where the rankings are at the moment, but it sounds like a nightmare to tell me that you finished top-3 at the trials and still don't get to go to Paris. Oof. Brutal.
The most surprising:
1) Kessler in the 800m. Did you guys know he'd run 1:43 twice in this meet? Wow. Nice work.
2) Nikki Hiltz and the women's 1500m in general. I had no idea we'd have three "athletes" at 3:55. That is a new era of 1500m running for the USA. Nice work!
3) Parker Valby living up to the hype, running PRs, and honestly making the races interesting. She drove the train in both the 10 and the 5 and without her, those events would have been a lot slower and a lot less interesting. I am impressed and surprised that in both cases, after doing so much work, she hung on for excellent finishes!
Additional big surprises to me:
Hiltz 3:55 - I actually picked them to win. I refuse to count them out at this point... but 3:55? Are you serious? Insane.
Kessler 1:43 - I thought people talking about how he could go mid 1:44s were out of their minds. He obviously had more in the tank after LA but mid 1:44? No way. Imagine my shock when he put down that 1:43. Huge surprise for me and this really felt like a breakout meet for Kessler.
Fred: I didn't have him making the team. I don't think many did after what happened in New York. I was mistaken. It seems like he operates best when the world is against him, so I guess he's gonna come home from Paris with a medal.
TT: I didn't have her making the team. Honestly, I was a little surprised she even made the final.
Prandini: She hasn't looked great recently and I assumed she was on the downturn. Her performances last week convinced me otherwise.