No new ITU thread up yet and her name has disappeared from all the threads that chat such races. But today I saw on FB that she just did a 3 day camp in Venice, a familiarity weekend to see the actual Olympic course and talk strategy. I think many of us felt her next goal was the same as the last one, get to the Olympic Games one more time. Now that they are in LA the US ladies are going to be all over this. Think she has her first race back next week after her recent surgery, and she looks good to go.
Looking at the ITU landscape, I think we can get 3 women in this time around once again, and I think her shot is actually better this time around vs the last games. Yes she is old for ITU, but she is also an exceptional generational athlete. Only question is can she stretch that generation from 10 years ago for a few more..If I could bet right now on the team, it would be Knibb, Spivey, and Gwen, with the first two on the relay and Gwen a back up. Her value suffers now that the men finish, really need top swimmers/bikers for those 1 and 3 positions to make catches and even get gaps going into the last leg.
And interesting in that post was a pick of her with Taylor Knibb, so I guess we now know what she is thinking about for 28 tooā¦
Yes anyone else on different teams and it would be a no go. But in this time and space with her ability to keep hammering out top 15ās, I think it is more than just an outside chance. An old friend of mine I think was 41/42 when he raced the games. Rob Barel was a guy that routinely could beat the Big 4 and was top European for many, many years. He held on to his 40ās and there was just no one in his country that could beat him, a sort of familiar story now with Gwen.
Her issue is that right now she is 3rd pick, unlikely to get an auto spot, so anything can still happen. Remember when Summer Rapport snagged that unlikely slot, which put Spivey out of that games who was ranked I think 3rd or so in the world..
Long burn
That drop of rain has not yet fallen in the catchment of Lake Itasca.
For a top athlete like GJ I suggest chat about her is best in the season + long ITu thread which @ajthomas will start on the 15th. Her performances and progress back from surgery towards an Olympic objective is best commented on in the context of other SC, in particular American (Knibb, Spivey, Another).
Long and Sanders merit their own threads 'cos they have a fanbase who appreciate their domestic success and āchallengesā. Jorgensen not in that category.
Best of luck with the htread @monty
Gwen actually had her own thread and it outperformed the itu thread this year. Gwen back to tri. 16 k clicks in 4 or so month
ie she is the only itu athelte that gets the Americans going on short course lol.
Just quoting you for future told you soāsā¦. (-;
Now what Iām sayin here exactly, is that I think she makes the US team in 28. Nothing more, no big wins in the big races, just a bunch of ok ones that get her ranked in the top 20 or so..I envision this thread also going in the direction of who/what/where/when of the 28 US ladies team, and figure she will feature in that discussion as long as she keeps racingā¦
I am not sure I follow this.
monty thinks she just might get the 3rd spot no more no less. and I would say she has a realistic chance there. Personally I dont think she will start in LA but she has a solid shot at it.
On her swim specifically: she was a power not finesse swimmer 10 years ago. She seemed weak in the water since her return.
And loss of power seems to be hitting her on the bike, too.
I do think she can get stronger. Not to arm chair quarterback it but geez, I wonder if sheās lifting and conditioning to a greater degree than she used to. She certainly needs to.
She has been training the bike hard, even entering some menās crit races.. but on that note.. this maybe making her work too hard to have anything for the run
At her peak she could hang in the front swim pack and to the main bike group, so as to be in a position to blast everyone in the run. It took her a lot of sacrifice and dedicated training camps to get her swim/bike to those levels and not get dropped. Iām not sure she can gain back that prowess in the first two events (since it was touch and go even at her best).
why the hate on spivey? she is always consistent in results every year, currently 4th overall. I know she comes short on full out winning big races. But at current standings, is the best USA athlete, while lets be honest, jorgenson is more on the has been side.
Spivey has made a huge leap in her running, I would say top of 2nd tier now. Both in ITU and T100, so in a nice break she is a real threat for top podium spots. And I still think other than Knibb, she is one of the very best at the MTR, all those super league races sharpened her skills there too. To be honest I hope her and Knibb are still around for that relay, it seems the one spot where the USA can outperform and get medals..
Donāt have any hate for her, more of a Federation issue that itās essentially automatic. I definitely donāt like the fact that Gwen is even in the conversation.
