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Gwen back to tri
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E1QYnPa6n8

Focused on mixed team relay

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Last edited by: stevej: Dec 13, 22 4:59
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
Gateway drug šŸ˜

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
Not going to comment on how inevitable this was, but wow is their YT channel just totally unremarkable.

To me, the way they treat their YT channel is the way she treated Tri once she quit. Disdain.
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [jkhayc] [ In reply to ]
 
Her youtube is bad. And that's being nice.

blog
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
Her lack of self-awareness has always been a strong suit. You'd think her team would do better, but as we've seen that hasn't been the case. If she has a future in tri it is not MTR or short course.

Perhaps a penance is required for how much she put down triathlon?

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
 
What does she need to do to qualify for the mixed team relay?

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Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
if the dream is simply to represent USA at the olympics again, maybe MTR is a decent (?) chance. but she'd have to get through who first? at least taylor and taylor, probably. who else would be a contender? summer? is katie z coming back? don't know enough about the american scene, but maybe she figures it's worth a gamble.

whereas if she were to try to jump into the PTO 100 distance - which feels like it could be a gooder for her - it would be a lot of graft for little glory.

i guess the benefit with the MTR thing is that it could be the 'safest' ticket to the olympics, if that is the only goal. (though ultimately you rely on some factors beyond your control.) if the goal is to be at the top of the sport again, that's tougher to do, but more within your control. hell, ash gentle's made over 200k in prize money this year - maybe gwen would be better off taking that route?

ETA: the weird thing about MTR is that for all intents and purpose it only exists on the olympic level with a federation behind you. it's not like there are many other opportunities out there to do MTR. if you were 'just' to specialize in sprints you could do superleague, french league, arena games; if you were to focus on draft-legal OD, you've got the entire WTCS circuit; at non-draft short-course all the 'classics' and PTO races, and up to 70.3 and challenge, collins cup, etc.

so it feels like saying "i'm back and i'm going after MTR" is a bit of an all-or-nothing moonshot, whereas coming back for those other goals leaves you with more flexibility.

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/
Last edited by: iron_mike: Dec 13, 22 6:08
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
Best of luck to her.

In order for her to qualify for the MTR :

a) must have a min ranking in WT which I think for Paris '24 it's top 120 in the world. That's because even though she is going for the MTR she must "qualify" within the individual portion of the event. She just has to obtain an minimum ranking to be eligible to be picked as an discretion spot (USAT will have at min 1 discrection spot seeing that the women have 3 spots almost on lock down

b) to make the 3 individual olympic spots within the women, 1 spot will again almost 100% be discretion spot.

c) so what that likely means is if she truly is doing MTR style only, she would be picked for the olympics and/or DNS the individual race to "rest" for the MTR or likely just race it to race it. She likely doesnt have the time to train up for the full olympic distance, and imo the demands of competition now are 10000% stronger than they were when she raced in Rio. The swim and bike for the women are night and day different than when she was in itu. So she likely would simply skip the individual race and no, usat can't "sub" someone in for her. If she's chosen, she's on the individual race roster as well as potentail for MTR....Obviously with 3 USAT girls likely making the olympics, 1 will not make the MTR team (Rappaport was that athlete in Tokyo who was not selected for MTR).


My take:
- I think she can likely easily obtain the min ranking to atleast be eligible. 1-2 mid pack finishes at a world cup level will atleast get her the points to obtain the min eligibility standard.
- I had heard 3 weeks ago that Jamie Turner was in Boulder "working with her" so I knew the announcement was coming.
-She mentions "USAT", and the HP staff at USAT has all been cleaned house in the last year. That's a very very important part of this story, and that's all i'll say about it.
-Best of luck to her. I think the swim and bike speeds are so strong now that she's going to struggle.
- She has very little MTR races to try and "showcase" her ability, and I would guess at the WTCS races she's not going to be a top 10 talent.
-She has a chance because imo there's only really 2 athletes who I think are the favorites to make the team- Spivey and Knibb
-Rappaport will have to likely. "earn" her way onto the team by an auto qualification (she did that in Tokyo so it's possible). She's also changed coaches to work with Knibb's squad and coach. If she gets the bike figured out, Rapp imo is an individual medal favorite. She just sucks at the bike that much that she's always shelled off and then her runs have been no longer great.
- KZ is the other wild card coming back from "motherhood". She and GJ have to basically show themselves in the next 15 months to make the team.

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [B_Doughtie] [ In reply to ]
 
B_Doughtie wrote:
- She has very little MTR races to try and "showcase" her ability, and I would guess at the WTCS races she's not going to be a top 10 talent.

i'm stuck on this line of thinking. so what's her play? i imagine that macca might be interested in letting her race superleague. that could be the best training for MTR.

doesn't do anything for her ranking, though. . .

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [iron_mike] [ In reply to ]
 
Focusing on super sprints at age 36 is a strange choice. Especially in the MTR your cycling ability is more important as the races tend to get more strung out than the big groups we see in most ITU events.

Best of luck though
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [iron_mike] [ In reply to ]
 
iron_mike wrote:
B_Doughtie wrote:
- She has very little MTR races to try and "showcase" her ability, and I would guess at the WTCS races she's not going to be a top 10 talent.


i'm stuck on this line of thinking. so what's her play? i imagine that macca might be interested in letting her race superleague. that could be the best training for MTR.

doesn't do anything for her ranking, though. . .


Personally I think this gives her another 2 years with sponsors and is just that.

Her lack of self awareness will likely be her downfall. She is returning to a sport that she treated with contempt when she left. The sport has moved on and she will have to rise to that.

I donā€™t think she will be on the start line. Taylor and Taylor, Ackerman, Katie Z and possibly Summer R will all be in the queue in front of her. Plus whoever else pops up through the development rankings. Your women are outrageously strong.

If she works with Jamie Turner after the scandal at Tri Aus she is extremely foolish.
Last edited by: SheridanTris: Dec 13, 22 6:39
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [SheridanTris] [ In reply to ]
 
SheridanTris wrote:
Personally I think this gives her another 2 years with sponsors and is just that.

honestly, there's that too. if she's ready to get back into the game and can spend someone else's money to do it, why not?

given her gold medal and role as a mom and stuff, i can imagine that at least some sponsors would be interested.

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [SheridanTris] [ In reply to ]
 
I'm guessing being Boulder based she'll train with Ian Obrian's group
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [USCoregonian] [ In reply to ]
 
USCoregonian wrote:
I'm guessing being Boulder based she'll train with Ian Obrian's group

and erin carson?

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
I love Gwen and some of her races were the most remarkable individual performances we have see in ITU.

Coming back and saying sheā€™s going to make MTR is as much of a slap in the face to other athletes as saying she was going to make the Olympic Marathon team and win.

Sheā€™s trying to recreate what she did in the sport in a sport that has gotten deeper than when she races while being 5+ years out of prime short course ability.

She should race long course and I think she would be great. But weā€™re going to miss out on how great she could be by doing something that is likely to fail again. Itā€™s beyond confusing why she keeps trying to hammer a square peg in a round hole while having the ability to be an awesome square peg in a square hole.
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [iron_mike] [ In reply to ]
 
The reality is that she needs racing experience just to get a feel for how fast the racing is these days. Like when I say itu is night and day different then when she was here, I mean it. The swim and biking ability of the front pack- they have no weakness. So if she can't showcase a front pack swim ability, imo she will not get chosen for the event.

Remember here is the thing with the MTR. It's not just YOU that is getting chosen. It's how YOU impact the other 3 on the team. Take McElroy, he's atleast 1 of 4 guys who can race the MTR, but he has the weakest swim ability of the likely guys who are in the running for it. Pearson is 100% locked in unless he injuries himself, so the other male will be either Rider / McElroy / McDowell. Of those 3 McElroy's swim is the weakest but his run is the best. Rider and mcD have front pack swim abilty but not the greatest runs. So then you start to figure out the puzzle of putting a team together, etc. IMO Gwen won't be the anchor, so she is going to be 2nd leg. So at the 2nd leg, the race may still be together (obviously the poor MTR teams will be off the back already). But if USA is to stay in contention, they have to have someone who can hold feet and wheels for the 2nd leg.

Also the USA is at min a "medal threat" (Yes usa has sucked in the MTR the last year), and so this isn't one of those federations that can just pick her because she's there and be happy to race and finish 9th in the MTR. Like you gotta tell me how you are going to push off Knibb Spivey and/or KZ (again. GJ and KZ are the "wildcards" coming back into the sport, they may or may not show world class ability in the next 15 months).

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [USCoregonian] [ In reply to ]
 
Jamie Turner is in Boulder now. (her former coach)

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [B_Doughtie] [ In reply to ]
 
B_Doughtie wrote:
Jamie Turner is in Boulder now. (her former coach)

Interesting. I honestly didn't even know he was still coaching.
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
I know she certainly didn't have the success she was hoping for in running - still pretty close to 15 minutes in the 5k isn't bad! If she can bring that speed back into triathlon, where she seemed to be able to run close to her 'open' running when on form, good things could happen. Has she been swimming and riding regularly? I guess she has 4-5 months to get that fitness back before the WTCS season starts in the spring. I'm interested to see how she fares. There have been lots of moms who have come back even stronger - look at Chelsea Sodaro and Keira D'Amato as examples - so there is precedent. It will be fun to see, if she can make it back.

Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
Fascinating.

I wish her the best, but as others have said here: 1) It's an odd choice for an "older" athlete. 2) The sport has changed a lot since she walked away. 3) There are some VERY strong women she will have to compete with to get a spot on the MTR Team - nothing is a given.

Personally - I think her sweet spot for racing distance would be in the 70.3 or PTO-100 range. She can swim at our near the front - or did so in the past. Ride controlled and not let the race get too far away from her - but if Gwen did have a weakness before it was the bike. Assuming she's close to the front, unleash what by triathlon standards would be the best running form and fitness in most races, and go for the win or a podium place with a strong run!


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [USCoregonian] [ In reply to ]
 
Let me rephrase- Turner is now in Boulder to coach GJ (he was back home when she called him for a "in person chat")

ETA: Turner and GJ had an awesome coach/athlete relationship. Whatever happened to him with the Aus federation, is what it is. But the relationship between GJ and Tuner was/is rock solid.

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
Last edited by: B_Doughtie: Dec 13, 22 6:52
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [stevej] [ In reply to ]
 
<insert popcorn gif>

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [B_Doughtie] [ In reply to ]
 
B_Doughtie wrote:
Let me rephrase- Turner is now in Boulder to coach GJ (he was back home when she called him for a "in person chat")

ETA: Turner and GJ had an awesome coach/athlete relationship. Whatever happened to him with the Aus federation, is what it is. But the relationship between GJ and Tuner was/is rock solid.

Well, this will be interesting.
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [Fleck] [ In reply to ]
 
I wish her the best, but I have serious doubts about her ability to qualify for the MTR team because it requires a high top end. And the US girls are so fast. But Iā€™ll be pulling for her.
 
Re: Gwen back to tri [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
 
TheStroBro wrote:
Her lack of self-awareness has always been a strong suit. You'd think her team would do better, but as we've seen that hasn't been the case. If she has a future in tri it is not MTR or short course.

Perhaps a penance is required for how much she put down triathlon?

A few people mentioned that she was disdainful toward triathlon when she made the switch to running. I don't know much about the story. I went back and read a few interviews from around the time she left triathlon, but didn't find anything. Can anyone explain what she said/ did?
 

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