At one point this was true, prior to the 2021 Olympic Games, but he was required to get the vaccination prior to the Fall 2021 term at Oregon. They were requiring it of all students at that point, and he returned to Oregon for school that fall but signed a pro contract and did not compete for the team.
While technically not wrong, this is exactly the narrative that played out in 2021 ("he's just a 3:35 guy until he runs faster") and to absolutely no one's surprise he ran 3:31 the first chance he got.
Knowing you're in sub 3:30 shape with a world-class (perhaps, galactic-class) kick is like having a million in the bank, you're just not worried about anything. Some folks are going to be upset after tonight.
World class kick? 🤣🤣
Have you ever checked the last 4 or 800 when he's raced the big boys?
Sits off the back and still closes slower than those ahead of him.
You guys have been calling him sub 3:30 for the past 2 years.
He's still not sub a 3:30 guy. You know when he'll be a sub 3:30 guy..... when he goes under 3:30.
While technically not wrong, this is exactly the narrative that played out in 2021 ("he's just a 3:35 guy until he runs faster") and to absolutely no one's surprise he ran 3:31 the first chance he got.
I believe, after he was pulled to a 3:31 all of you yahoos started calling him a 3:28 guy.
He never became the 3:28 guy you claimed he was.
His time has improved exactly 0.70 seconds in the 2 years since Tokyo.
Nuguse has no gravitas, therefore he cannot win. Kessler looks nervous a lot of time but I think he may, in time, develop ample gravitas. Discuss.
Cole may have gravitas, or he may be shy/introverted/weird/on the spectrum. I honestly don't know, but I've always thought that he came off as weird. I think he's learning to handle himself OK in interviews.
As for Goose, I think he is serious about his running. You don't train to improve as he has over the past three years without being serious. It just isn't his personality to bother putting on a game face. The easy going demeanor may well be a calculated tactic which, in itself, would suggest he is serious about the business of running.
Only here can a 23-year-old win his second Olympic trials in a record 3.30 vs a 3:43 miler and still have people coming after him. Re likability— I saw Hocker talking with fans at Millrose and everyone looked pretty psyched to be hanging with him. In fact, a great portion of US track stars are friendly/likable — much more so than the *fans*.
This post was edited 15 minutes after it was posted.
Reason provided:
Clarity.
The last time he beat Nuguse was 2021, and Nuguse has beaten him 9 straight times in the interim.
Oh, good DL participation trophies and a couple of I finished higher than you in a world champs year Nuguse racked up. 9 straight wins that didn't lead to Paris? Yawn. Cole handled him in Eugene, the times that actually mattered. 2021 and 2024, back-to-back Olympic years.