It seems that a trend for emerging for athletes coached by Alberto Salazar is to announce their entrance or intention to run in a large event only to withdraw the week prior to event. The two major events like this at the forefront of my mind are obviously Dathan Ritzenhein announces to many peoples surprise that he is fully recovered from a PR at the Olympic Trials Marathon and will race the US Cross Country Championships in St. Louis only to announce earlier this week that he will not run. A similar event occurred with Galen Rupp entering the Olympic Trials Marathon only to pull out the week of as well. Now, I understand that distance running can really be a week to week or day to day sport and that sometimes it makes sense to skip a race or you need to rearrange your schedule at the last minute. What I don't understand, is why these athletes would make the announcement of their intention to run these races such a big event. It is a huge letdown for the fans and it makes it seem as if they simply want to stay in the headlines. Salazar was even quoted after Rupp's withdrawal that it didn't make much sense for him to run the race. Then why the hell would you enter him at all? It builds excitement when these top athletes are billed to race and it kills fan enthusiasm when they back out. No offense to the other athletes still racing, but without Ritz the men's race this weekend really lacks big star power. The sport is constantly looking for ways to build up its fan following and when the biggest names withdraw from events it leaves the spectator with a deflated feeling. If you must withdraw, we understand. But don't enter with the intention of pulling out the week of and give us some bullshit reason. A little consistency will go a long way in building the sports reputation and increasing the dedicated spectator's interest. Nothing against the athletes themselves, but maybe catering to the fan's interests would make us all better in the long run.
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