MVP & the "high profile overseas Nike athlete" for next season?

[Conor Dary]

You just hit the nail on the head.
"The Man" is trying to keep her down - won't let her run in the event she wants to - she'll overcome the odds and beat Him at his own Game! Great Story. I can see the Netflix movie now!

Of course, I agree that it's inherently unfair to females with so much less T, but there's LOTS of people who will root for her to upset the apple-cart!

It didn't work with Semenya.... who completely disappeared....Mboma will do the same.

[Merner521]

It didn't work with Semenya.... who completely disappeared....Mboma will do the same.

Yes, completely disappeared, but only after dominating her event for roughly a decade.

[NotDutra5]

Underdog? She is banned from 2 events and hopefully more soon. Semenya all over again.

In the US she'd get a lot of support and "a lot" is all Nike would need. Not a majority. Just "a lot".

[Atticus]

It didn't work with Semenya.... who completely disappeared....Mboma will do the same.

If and when they outlaw her from the 200, she could. Till then, she's HIGHLY visible.

It's the 'till then' we should focus on.

[ATK]

It didn't work with Semenya.... who completely disappeared....Mboma will do the same.

Caster Semenya was on top of the women's 800m from 2009-2018

[Conor Dary]

Caster Semenya was on top of the women's 800m from 2009-2018

Who can forget... Anyways Semenya was forced out...and disappeared.

[gh]

this is not a Semenya thread

[Trickstat]

Who can forget... Anyways Semenya was forced out...and disappeared.

To be accurate, she has disappeared from top level competitions as she cannot run world-class times at the distances she is allowed to run. Presumably realising she doesn't have the speed for 200m, she has had a go at 5000 but I don't think she's broken 16 minutes.

[TrackFanatix]

this is not a Semenya thread

Admin’s reminder.

Based on the replies so far, it seems half of us think it’s most likely Sha’Carri and the other half Mboma. Any other name would be letdown and wouldn’t be worth a news release. MVP training is scheduled to commence in October, so I guess our suspicions will be confirmed or denied soon enough.

If it’s Sha’Carri, I expect there will be a mini-riot amongst Jamaican fans which could cause a media circus that Francis won’t like. If it’s Mboma, I expect multiple National Athletics associations to file coordinated lawsuits.

[ATK]

As noted above, "high profile" is as subjective as you can get. I wouldn't be surprised at any of these names:

Quanera Hayes - Olympic Finalist, Diamond League Champion
Salwa Eid Naser - World Champion
Kaylin Whitney - Olympic Gold and Bronze medalist
Jasmine Camacho Quinn - Olympic Gold Medalist
Gabby Cunningham - Olympic finalist
Kori Carter - World Champion
Cortney Okolo - Olympic Gold Medalist

Also the article notes that " Francis has confirmed that he is considering an opportunity to condition a top international female sprinter". So could just be a fall/winter situation, if it even happens at all for that matter. He could say no and we will never know who it was (as he notes in the article he is presented opportunities all the time we dont know about).

[TrackFanatix]

As noted above, "high profile" is as subjective as you can get. I wouldn't be surprised at any of these names:

Quanera Hayes - Olympic Finalist, Diamond League Champion
Salwa Eid Naser - World Champion
Kaylin Whitney - Olympic Gold and Bronze medalist
Jasmine Camacho Quinn - Olympic Gold Medalist
Gabby Cunningham - Olympic finalist
Kori Carter - World Champion
Cortney Okolo - Olympic Gold Medalist

Salwa Eid Naser is under suspension until after next year’s WC, so it’s not her.

I don’t care how vague the term “high profile” may be, there’s no way you’re fitting Kaylin Whitney and Courtney Okolo within any reasonable definition of the term. They’re hardly even on the circuit, you might just as well describe every professional sprinter as high profile. Kori Carter hasn’t been competitive in so long, I doubt you could fit her in there either.

So as I see it, the only names on that list that make some sense are Camacho-Quinn, Hayes and Cunningham.

A partnership with Hayes makes sense from the point of view that she seems to need some help in peaking for championships. Cunningham could also be a possibility, if Nike thinks based on her progression that there is some untapped potential there.

As far Camacho-Quinn, I see no benefit to someone who just had the season of her life changing anything, so I rule her out entirely. However, the same could be said of ETH and yet…

Also the article notes that " Francis has confirmed that he is considering an opportunity to condition a top international female sprinter". So could just be a fall/winter situation, if it even happens at all for that matter. He could say no and we will never know who it was (as he notes in the article he is presented opportunities all the time we dont know about).

Yes, Stephen Francis has been presented opportunities to condition other athletes before, but this is the first time he has actually publicized such a request and it is highly unlikely that he did so without Nike’s blessing (it may have even been their idea for him to leak it).

The way news works, generally speaking, is that journalists with well-placed contacts within the industry catch wind of something considered newsworthy via a “leak”, and then go straight to the source for confirmation.

Given the reports of ETH’s imminent departure, I question the timing of this announcement. If there was no question that she was staying, would we have heard about this request at all?

[NotDutra5]

If it’s Mboma, I expect multiple National Athletics associations to file coordinated lawsuits.

Why would they file lawsuits they otherwise could do right now if this is consideration towards Mboma's apparent situation.

[Wiederganger]

Anyone that cannot understand why Nike would want to promote Mboma obviously never saw the Semenya film campaign they did, calling for acceptance. Y'all have short memories!

However, if TrackFanatix is correct, and they aren't paying her for endorsements - unless the contract is being re-negotiated - then it wouldn't be her. Which I think is a shame, purely from a technique and form perspective, as there's lots that can be improved.

I did wonder could they have poached Thomas from New Balance, who signed a contract back in 2018 that lasted "until 2022". Presumably she has a renegotiation clause in there. But the she's been with them throughout her career, so that would be a bit like biting the hand that feeds.

It just doesn't make any sense to me for it to be SCR, it really doesn't. But we'll soon see. Unless this amounts to nada, and we've been wasting our time discussing it!

[Atticus]

Unless this amounts to nada, and we've been wasting our time discussing it!

I like to think of this forum as the back-room of some pub in Leicester, where all the old drunks sit around and talk about important things like how things were better in the good-ol-days and what the local footie star is up to. They're not wasting their time - it's what they do!!

[Wiederganger]

Bump

Did anything ever come about from this?