2016 U.S. Olympic Team TrialsJul 1, 2016 by Dennis Young
Nick Symmonds Was The Man
Nick Symmonds Was The Man
Nick Symmonds pulled out of the Olympic Trials today with a badly injured left ankle. He said that he's "not saying I've retired or anything." But his post
​​January 3 update: Six months later, Symmonds announced that he will retire after the 2017 season.
Nick Symmonds pulled out of the Olympic Trials today with a badly injured left ankle. He said that he's "not saying I've retired or anything." But his post sounds like that's on his mind, as Symmonds wrote in the past tense that he has "nothing but happiness and gratitude that my legs have held up as long as they did."
He said today that his Brooks contract is up this year, and that if Brooks (which has a company option for another year) extends him for next year, he'll keep running, but if they don't, he's ready to pursue non-running goals.
If this is the end for Symmonds, it was a brilliant career. He's run under 1:45.9 just once since September 2013, so it's easy to remember him for hawking caffeinated gum, suing USATF, filing in the Berian lawsuit, organizing protests, skipping the world championships, going on a date with Paris Hilton, being an American Ninja Warrior, auctioning off space on his skin, getting tattoos, standing up for gay rights in Russia, advocating for gun control, appearing in animal rights campaigns, and beer miling.
But in his prime, Symmonds was a spectacular athlete. In an unpredictable event, nothing was more predictable from 2006 to 2013 than Symmonds improving his time and standing in the world imperceptibly, bit by bit, until suddenly you could count on one hand the number of humans on earth who could outrace him over 800m.
Here are his season-bests from 2004 through 2013, and where he finished at Worlds or the Olympics:
Everyone fantasizes about this--going from a solid Division III athlete to the best in the world incrementally. But Symmonds actually did it. That myth is a little bit of a well, myth. He could have run for Oregon his sophomore year of college, and he was a man among boys at the DIII level, sweeping the 800m and 1500m every year except for his freshman year. But the point is broadly true. Symmonds went from a 1:53 high schooler to a 1:42 pro in front of everyone.
Johnny Gray is his only analog in the last 40 years of American 800m running, and Symmonds cannot take the GOAT status from him. Gray has an Olympic bronze medal and the American indoor and outdoor records. But Symmonds is right there. He has a world silver medal, his outdoor PR is just 0.35 seconds slower than Gray's, and both have six US outdoor titles.
And Symmonds single-handedly snapped American 800m running out of its post-Gray doldrums. From 1997 to 2008, no American man made a global 800m final. Symmonds made four straight from 2009 to 2013; Duane Solomon made finals in 2012 and 2013.
Put another way: In the last 18 years, Nick Symmonds made four global finals. The rest of the United States combined to make two.
Symmonds' biggest fights were generally unappetizing and hard to digest. The battles he fought hardest were fundamentally for professional athletes' rights, and for brands' rights to advertise. Those fights were obviously correct in principle--and Symmonds had the courage of his convictions, missing 2015 Worlds over a refusal to sign a USATF contract he perceived as unfair. But they were easy enough to ignore. The rights of brands and the wages of people who play games will always be low on the moral totem pole.
But Symmonds' sights aimed higher, too. When he was competing in Russia for the 2013 World Championships--in retrospect, the zenith of his athletic career--he initially said he would not criticize Russia's anti-gay laws while in the country. But he changed his mind after winning a medal, telling a local Russian media outlet that he was dedicating his medal to LGBTQ people. And later that year, after a shooting in Los Angeles, Symmonds wrote a column for Runner's World calling for gun control.
The best athlete of his event in a generation was also brave enough to stir the most shit. People who need a good stirring should be concerned now that Symmonds--retired or not--has a lot more free time for shit-stirring.
Nick Symmonds pulled out of the Olympic Trials today with a badly injured left ankle. He said that he's "not saying I've retired or anything." But his post sounds like that's on his mind, as Symmonds wrote in the past tense that he has "nothing but happiness and gratitude that my legs have held up as long as they did."
He said today that his Brooks contract is up this year, and that if Brooks (which has a company option for another year) extends him for next year, he'll keep running, but if they don't, he's ready to pursue non-running goals.
If this is the end for Symmonds, it was a brilliant career. He's run under 1:45.9 just once since September 2013, so it's easy to remember him for hawking caffeinated gum, suing USATF, filing in the Berian lawsuit, organizing protests, skipping the world championships, going on a date with Paris Hilton, being an American Ninja Warrior, auctioning off space on his skin, getting tattoos, standing up for gay rights in Russia, advocating for gun control, appearing in animal rights campaigns, and beer miling.
But in his prime, Symmonds was a spectacular athlete. In an unpredictable event, nothing was more predictable from 2006 to 2013 than Symmonds improving his time and standing in the world imperceptibly, bit by bit, until suddenly you could count on one hand the number of humans on earth who could outrace him over 800m.
Here are his season-bests from 2004 through 2013, and where he finished at Worlds or the Olympics:
| Year | Worlds finish | Season best |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | - | 1:50.87 |
| 2005 | - | 1:48.82 |
| 2006 | No Worlds | 1:45.83 |
| 2007 | 6th in semifinals | 1:44.54 |
| 2008 | 5th in semifinals | 1:44.10 |
| 2009 | 6th | 1:43.83 |
| 2010 | No Worlds | 1:43.76 |
| 2011 | 5th | 1:43.83 |
| 2012 | 5th | 1:42.95 |
| 2013 | 2nd | 1:43.03 |
Everyone fantasizes about this--going from a solid Division III athlete to the best in the world incrementally. But Symmonds actually did it. That myth is a little bit of a well, myth. He could have run for Oregon his sophomore year of college, and he was a man among boys at the DIII level, sweeping the 800m and 1500m every year except for his freshman year. But the point is broadly true. Symmonds went from a 1:53 high schooler to a 1:42 pro in front of everyone.
Johnny Gray is his only analog in the last 40 years of American 800m running, and Symmonds cannot take the GOAT status from him. Gray has an Olympic bronze medal and the American indoor and outdoor records. But Symmonds is right there. He has a world silver medal, his outdoor PR is just 0.35 seconds slower than Gray's, and both have six US outdoor titles.
And Symmonds single-handedly snapped American 800m running out of its post-Gray doldrums. From 1997 to 2008, no American man made a global 800m final. Symmonds made four straight from 2009 to 2013; Duane Solomon made finals in 2012 and 2013.
Put another way: In the last 18 years, Nick Symmonds made four global finals. The rest of the United States combined to make two.
Symmonds' biggest fights were generally unappetizing and hard to digest. The battles he fought hardest were fundamentally for professional athletes' rights, and for brands' rights to advertise. Those fights were obviously correct in principle--and Symmonds had the courage of his convictions, missing 2015 Worlds over a refusal to sign a USATF contract he perceived as unfair. But they were easy enough to ignore. The rights of brands and the wages of people who play games will always be low on the moral totem pole.
But Symmonds' sights aimed higher, too. When he was competing in Russia for the 2013 World Championships--in retrospect, the zenith of his athletic career--he initially said he would not criticize Russia's anti-gay laws while in the country. But he changed his mind after winning a medal, telling a local Russian media outlet that he was dedicating his medal to LGBTQ people. And later that year, after a shooting in Los Angeles, Symmonds wrote a column for Runner's World calling for gun control.
The best athlete of his event in a generation was also brave enough to stir the most shit. People who need a good stirring should be concerned now that Symmonds--retired or not--has a lot more free time for shit-stirring.