UK Outdoor August 2019

[jjimbojames]

Kilty has been more vocal about his run (a more recent tweet talks about how he’s broken his PB, but not seen any result since the above).

I expected a bit more from her, to be honest - when you have the likes of Ashleigh Nelson running a 22.8 off of a slower 100m time, and given the wind she had as well as the men being rabbits, I expected at least sub-23. That said, good to see her doing a 200m!

[LoveSprints1]

Agreed.

Hunt is a special talent and has run faster than some of the most legendary sprinters in athletics history have ever run at the same age.... But that doesn't mean she is ready to take on *senior* level athletes who have run waaay faster than 22.42 in their careers and are gearing up for the World Championships.

Whoever conceived of this stupid idea should be fired from their job. Also if I was Hunt's coach I'd kindly decline the invite and have Dobbin take her place. This is totally unfair on Amy Hunt and she shouldn't have to go through this at her age. This smacks of an ill-thought out publicity stunt from UK Athletics, who believed they could make Hunt the new "face" of GB sprinting.

Idiotic.

Hunt's run faster than ANY, not just 'some of the most legendary sprinters' at the same age and she has done it all with no real opposition. This is a chance for her to test herself.

At the European Under 20's she ran sub 23 into a headwind. Her time would have been 22.5/6 otherwise. She has an Olympic and World qualifier already and with her 11th place in the world rankings has more than earned her spot at the home Diamond League. Her coach Joe is not one to put any of his athletes in a situation they cannot handle.

If someone else drops out Dobbin or the two other athletes ahead of her and behind Hunt, in the world rankings, may get a race.

I don't think Hunt will be like Linsey McDonald, who ran her fastest 400m aged 16, so why not give her the opportunity now when she is on fire?

[Ladyloz]

It's quite feasible that Dobbin declined a place. Trials are the following week so she might be prioritising that. And she did get the spot at the London DL so she's not been ignored.

There is no pressure on Amy in this race. Her main target for the season (Euro Juniors) is done so this is just a fun experience for her.

[treadwater1]

A good day in the hammer: Osian Jones improves to 73.85 and Taylor Campbell throws another PB - 74.26

[RunUnlimited]

Hunt's run faster than ANY, not just 'some of the most legendary sprinters' at the same age and she has done it all with no real opposition. This is a chance for her to test herself.

At the European Under 20's she ran sub 23 into a headwind. Her time would have been 22.5/6 otherwise. She has an Olympic and World qualifier already and with her 11th place in the world rankings has more than earned her spot at the home Diamond League. Her coach Joe is not one to put any of his athletes in a situation they cannot handle.

If someone else drops out Dobbin or the two other athletes ahead of her and behind Hunt, in the world rankings, may get a race.

I don't think Hunt will be like Linsey McDonald, who ran her fastest 400m aged 16, so why not give her the opportunity now when she is on fire?

The thing is we've seen too many "Lindsey McDonald's" and "Vernicha James'" in the last 30 years or so to not feel that thrusting Amy Hunt into the limelight like this can possibly be counter-productive.

It's not just limited to Britain either.... Where are Candace Hill and Kaylin Whitney these days? Injury and serious loss of form have seen them disappear off the athletics map almost completely, after they had been touted as been the next "Allyson Felix" and going to Diamond League events as teenagers.
Or how about Mary Cain, remember her? 3rd fastest U-18 over 800m in history with 1:59.51 (run at the Prefontaine Classic no less), 5th fastest U-18 over 1500m in history, made the US senior team over 1500m for the 2013 World Championships as a 17 year old and got all the way to the final, finishing 9th. Then a year later, she won 3000m gold at the World Juniors in Eugene.

Folks thought she was the next coming of Mary Decker-Slaney (doubts about her legitimacy notwithstanding)...

She hasn't stepped foot on an athletics track again since she turned 20 in 2016 after failing to make the US Olympic team for Rio following injury issues (possibly caused by too *much* running at such a tender age) and a loss of form.

So yeah, forgive me for being wary of Amy Hunt being shoved onto the senior stage at this age.

[RunUnlimited]

A good day in the hammer: Osian Jones improves to 73.85 and Taylor Campbell throws another PB - 74.26

Very good news.

Great Britain is getting something right in the hammer it seems. Not sure Jones can get to the 76m Doha standard, but I think Campbell has the talent to do it.... Maybe at the Trials?

[Ursus]

A good day in the hammer: Osian Jones improves to 73.85 and Taylor Campbell throws another PB - 74.26

Excellent news. And Craig Murch improved to 73.64 yesterday.

[LoveSprints1]

The thing is we've seen too many "Lindsey McDonald's" and "Vernicha James'" in the last 30 years or so to not feel that thrusting Amy Hunt into the limelight like this can possibly be counter-productive.

It's not just limited to Britain either.... Where are Candace Hill and Kaylin Whitney these days? Injury and serious loss of form have seen them disappear off the athletics map almost completely, after they had been touted as been the next "Allyson Felix" and going to Diamond League events as teenagers.
Or how about Mary Cain, remember her? 3rd fastest U-18 over 800m in history with 1:59.51 (run at the Prefontaine Classic no less), 5th fastest U-18 over 1500m in history, made the US senior team over 1500m for the 2013 World Championships as a 17 year old and got all the way to the final, finishing 9th. Then a year later, she won 3000m gold at the World Juniors in Eugene.

Folks thought she was the next coming of Mary Decker-Slaney (doubts about her legitimacy notwithstanding)...

She hasn't stepped foot on an athletics track again since she turned 20 in 2016 after failing to make the US Olympic team for Rio following injury issues (possibly caused by too *much* running at such a tender age) and a loss of form.

So yeah, forgive me for being wary of Amy Hunt being shoved onto the senior stage at this age.

I hear you BUT this is one race and if you look at Amy's profile she is not over raced. AND if she never runs as fast over 200m again, being part of this line up is a memory she will have forever.

Not every teenage prodigy is destined for greatness. Some were over raced and not nurtured, others simply achieved their greatest performances at a young age. Let's just hope the opportunity will further inspire this young talent.

[RunUnlimited]

I hear you BUT this is one race and if you look at Amy's profile she is not over raced. AND if she never runs as fast over 200m again, being part of this line up is a memory she will have forever.

Not every teenage prodigy is destined for greatness. Some were over raced and not nurtured, others simply achieved their greatest performances at a young age. Let's just hope the opportunity will further inspire this young talent.

I want to see Hunt have a long and very successful career. I hope that she gets even *faster* than she has done so far, and that she avoids any serious injury.

If she does do this Diamond League race, then yeah, I hope she does well and is inspired by her opponents to see what is possible for her.

[RunUnlimited]

It's quite feasible that Dobbin declined a place. Trials are the following week so she might be prioritising that. And she did get the spot at the London DL so she's not been ignored.

There is no pressure on Amy in this race. Her main target for the season (Euro Juniors) is done so this is just a fun experience for her.

True... *Sigh* Well I hope she does have fun out there and is inspired by those she is running against in Birmingham.

Of course, there's always the possibility Amy does something ridiculous in the race and runs a blazing fast time against the likes of SMU, Dina and Schippers!

[Runny]

Hunt's run faster than ANY, not just 'some of the most legendary sprinters' at the same age and she has done it all with no real opposition. This is a chance for her to test herself.

At the European Under 20's she ran sub 23 into a headwind. Her time would have been 22.5/6 otherwise. She has an Olympic and World qualifier already and with her 11th place in the world rankings has more than earned her spot at the home Diamond League. Her coach Joe is not one to put any of his athletes in a situation they cannot handle.

If someone else drops out Dobbin or the two other athletes ahead of her and behind Hunt, in the world rankings, may get a race.

I don't think Hunt will be like Linsey McDonald, who ran her fastest 400m aged 16, so why not give her the opportunity now when she is on fire?

Hunt should be able to run while in her prime. Coaches held back Mark Lewis Francis and Jodie Williams at arguably the peak of their best performances. Who knows how good they could have been if they had been given the chance.

[Christy93]

Might it be that Hunt is being rewarded for her performances in Birmingham because she isnt running at Trials and won't be going to Worlds? We can be a little dramatic here in the UK. She is the 2nd fastest Brit this year and earned a spot. That's all there is to it. She is clearly well managed and not over-raced so we should trust her teams judgement.

[CAML]

Amy has run sub 23 twice. Winning the EJ's in 22.9 and running 22.4 in Germany, where everybody who ran the 200 that day set a lifetime best that they haven't come close to repeating. Now Ms Hunt is being put in a race of Olympic Final standard against athletes who have run sub 22. All we're going to be hearing from Gabby is 22.4, ad nauseam. Amy does not need that, or the sight of SMU striding away from her down the home straight.

[Ursus]

In at the deep end for Amy. I don't think she's ready for a line up of that caliber.

No she’s not, but that’s also why there’s no real harm in it.

Everyone will accept that she won’t be anywhere near the sharp end so there’s no real pressure on her. It’s not a champs, it’s a one off race on her home territory. A reward for doing well and great experience for her to see what it takes to mix with the top girls. I wouldn’t want her to be on the circuit, but as a one off, why not?

While accepting the need to be very careful with young athletes, we also need to accept that they mature at different rates and that cotton wool isn’t right for all. Daley Thompson was 17 364/365 when the Montreal OG decathlon started and he didn’t turn out too badly. Morgan Lake was an Olympic finalist at 19 and is joint 2nd in our all lists 1cm shy of the NR.

If we accept that most athletes have 6 or 7 peak years it doesn’t really matter if those are 19 - 26 or 25 - 32 provided they stay healthy and enjoy it. General principles are fine, but each athlete’s situation needs judging on its own merits.

[mattrh17]

Amy Hunt and Max Burgin are both currently down to run at the trials.

I completely understand the concerns about too much at such a young age. I also realise that so many young athletes they often run incredibly as teenagers and then get an injury and spend the rest of their careers trying to recapture it or just disappear from the sport completely. I personally am looking forward to seeing them at the trials and hope that at least 1 of them becomes the athlete that they potentially could be.

I have a lot of respect for Jodie Williams, she could have easily thrown the towel in by now but has persevered when it would have been easier to quit.

A perfect example I have noticed who has been running recently in BAL meets is Clovis Asong. 3rd on the all-time under 17 lists the year before the 2012 Olympics. I'm sure he just competes for the love of the sport now but a good example of why perhaps I feel it is okay for Amy Hunt to run in the Diamond League, it might be an opportunity she would regret if the worst happened and she turned it down.

[RunUnlimited]

Amy Hunt and Max Burgin are both currently down to run at the trials.

I completely understand the concerns about too much at such a young age. I also realise that so many young athletes they often run incredibly as teenagers and then get an injury and spend the rest of their careers trying to recapture it or just disappear from the sport completely. I personally am looking forward to seeing them at the trials and hope that at least 1 of them becomes the athlete that they potentially could be.

I have a lot of respect for Jodie Williams, she could have easily thrown the towel in by now but has persevered when it would have been easier to quit.

A perfect example I have noticed who has been running recently in BAL meets is Clovis Asong. 3rd on the all-time under 17 lists the year before the 2012 Olympics. I'm sure he just competes for the love of the sport now but a good example of why perhaps I feel it is okay for Amy Hunt to run in the Diamond League, it might be an opportunity she would regret if the worst happened and she turned it down.

Now watch as Amy Hunt runs 21.9 at the Brum DL and Burgin goes sub 1:45 in the trials and is UK #1 going into Doha....