I'm as big a critic as anyone of Tirunesh Dibaba's follow-the-leader tactics, and Asafa Powell's shutdownitis. Their greatness is indisputable, but I've always appreciated greatness more when it comes with a little panache. Can anyone imagine Steve Prefontaine ever winning a race the way Dibaba does? What about Mo Greene shutting down before the finish line when a stadium or meet record was on the line? I don't think so. I can't tell you how disappointed I was for Elvan Abeylegesse when she got outkicked in the Olympics last summer, because she made that race. I guess at the end of the day, winning is winning, but I appreciate a win much more when the runner takes the bull by the horn the way Kenenisa Bekele did in the Olympic 5000. And that brings us to Lolo Jones, who thankfully, agrees with me.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/40342252.html
Did Jones go out too fast in hoping to break the Olympic record? Could she have backed off a bit?
Not an option.
Sure, her semifinal performance — a personal-best 12.43 seconds — would’ve easily won the gold medal, but she was looking for more. Jones didn’t want to win gold so much as win gold in spectacular fashion.
“I was trying to give my all and my best,” Jones said. “I wasn’t just trying to get an ‘A’ on a paper, I was trying to have the best paper ever written in history.”
Not an option.
Sure, her semifinal performance — a personal-best 12.43 seconds — would’ve easily won the gold medal, but she was looking for more. Jones didn’t want to win gold so much as win gold in spectacular fashion.
“I was trying to give my all and my best,” Jones said. “I wasn’t just trying to get an ‘A’ on a paper, I was trying to have the best paper ever written in history.”
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