Also, “toughing” it out seems to be heroic in other sports. Doing it in track can wreck the rest of your season. It’s always weird coaching high school athletes who play things like soccer, rugby, … because they’re so used to ignoring their injuries because the coach will tell them to suck it up.
That seems to be the case. I just finished reading Sebastian Coe’s “Born to Run”. He and his father prepared his schedule and runs a few years in advance of the various major events. Illnesses and injuries set him back a number of times. With the Olympics in mind, do middle distant runners’ training schedules relate to those of sprinters or is there a noticeable difference in their preparation besides the obvious respective distances? And yes, thanks for the weight training insight, CF.
For success, both need the same kind of careful planning as well as recovery from unavoidable set-backs and illnesses.
Amen to that and just look where it gets most of them! So much talent is lost to injury.
Maybe it should read so much talent is lost due to stupidity.
It’s not just the coaches though…I lost out to a pretty good future in football due to my ‘specialist’ doctor not picking up on a knee problem that I was complaining about and put the pain I was getting after matches down to “growing bones”…
Back on to the Asafa issue, I would have thought a group as large as that would have an assistant or monitor to over see the work that S. Francis wouldnt have been able to see? Its a shame that some show boating in the weights room has possibly cost him Gold.
There’s also stupid coaches who will convince the stupid doctor to tell the semi-stupid (:o ) athlete that it is ok to train and compete, if a big important meet is coming up, and points are needed.
Then all three wonder how long term injuries occur.