The marathon is the only event where athletes feel "entitled" to start. Multiple events had replacements due to injury or illness but Miss Thing thought it was her destiny to be on the start line. She embarrassed herself and her county.
USATF tried, her coach forced this. Those having to watch it all week were concerned and knew she was severely injured.
There’s one big way we can share our feedback with her team about this: our wallets.
Can we get a boycott of Puma going to send the message that this is not what Americans want?
I think the outrage here is misguided. The true issue isn't that she toed the line knowing that she was injured, the issue is that she has a very dangerous ED and no one is doing anything about it. If you want to boycott Puma, do it to force them to do to Fiona what Brooks did to Allie, and that is require treatment as a condition of her contract. Look what it did for Allie.
This isn't speculation anymore, it's obvious and everyone around her knows it.
It’s unfortunate if she started the race because of a sponsor bonus when she knew she wouldn’t be able to run very long . The decent thing to do would have been to let Jess McClain run , especially since Jess was in Paris and ready to run .
The Craig’s are bad people and Pascal Dobert is one of the biggest scum bags in Track & Field. I’m not surprised this happened. This Puma group is a cancer
I would love for this to be the solution, but then would athletes make even more misguided decisions to try and push through an injury to the finish line and cause even greater damage?
Why doesn’t everyone STF up until we hear from Fiona? To speculate she did it for a bonus is just that, speculation. The facts will come out. Hold your judgement until then and even then, respect the health and rights of the athlete.
Team GB seemingly had this problem with all three of our women. Charlotte Purdue dropped out last week so Clara Evans got a late call-up and ran well (2:33, 45th-ish place). But Calli Thackery didn't make it much beyond halfway. Rose Harvey finished in 2:51, but she was clearly injured. Respect to her for gutting it out. The thing is, in all cases, it was clear months ago that they were all struggling for fitness. They all ran half marathons that were well off their best but were written off as "training through" races. I guess it's difficult to give up that title of Olympian if this is likely to be your only chance but still, it feels like an opportunity lost for someone else
Puma should not be the target of your ire or a boycott. The issue is an athlete that needs help and the coaches/agents that have not done their duty to protect their athlete. If you want to do something about this, then:
1. Contact USATF and demand that the Long Distance Committee draft new rules at the convention in December regarding injured athletes at international championships. USATF should have the ultimate GO/NO GO decision when a fit alternate is available.
2. Request that Puma step in and either insist that O'Keefe is either put into a treatment program or that they pull funding from The Craggs (not the athletes) for enabling/encouraging dangerous behaviors with a Puma athlete.
3. Whether via World Athletics or USATF, asking for new rules that limit financial incentives for athletes that encourage the choices seen here. For example, an athlete should get bonuses for making a national team and for defined performance at major championships. No bonus should be paid for merely suiting up, taking the field, or starting an event.
4. This is a personal thing for fans. We need to change the culture and the definition of "Olympian". There are Olympians on teams and in relay pools that don't perform a moment of competition during The Games yet, should still be considered Olympians by virtue of earning their spot. At some point, we decided that you needed to line up or take the field to earn that honor. That is what leads to poor decisions like the one made by O'Keefe. If she had to log a DNS, I would still consider her an Olympian and would feel some sympathy for her. The third string keeper on the USWNT is an Olympian despite never stepping on the pitch in Paris. Why not a runner that couldn't go due to injury/illness? Calling yourself "Olympian" is not a huge deal in reality much like a uniformed paper shuffler at The Pentagon and a SEAL Team 6 member are both "military" despite one facing much more danger.
I don't understand how these accusations are permitted. What eating disorder does she have? There are 170 million American women and she is one of the 3 fastest. That sounds very unhealthy. Sure. In the twilight zone.
The marathon is the only event where athletes feel "entitled" to start. Multiple events had replacements due to injury or illness but Miss Thing thought it was her destiny to be on the start line. She embarrassed herself and her county.
I don't understand how these accusations are permitted. What eating disorder does she have? There are 170 million American women and she is one of the 3 fastest. That sounds very unhealthy. Sure. In the twilight zone.
She clearly has an eating disorder and has the residual injuries to prove it. That said, I hope she gets help very soon.
I also hope Jess McClain had a great time in Paris despite not being able to run the marathon after all.