This was a great result for Hocker, all things considered. SB in his first Diamon League of the season. He is at his best all season, on an other continent and in a contest with a lot of pressure.
A great result? 13th place and losing spots in the final straight?
he may take some positives away from this, but finishing in the back is never a good thing.
The New Gen guys like to hype up their boys, who are no doubt tremendously talented, but they’re closer to being Eric Holt, Drew Hunter, and Sam Prakel than they are to being as good as Centro was.
I hate to break it to you, but on LRC these days, comparing someone to Holt is considered a compliment -- a BIG compliment.
These poor kids today have no idea what it is like to watch Americans win medals and contest DL races.
He and Cooper still haven’t beaten any of Centro’s PRs two years after that 3:50 indoor mile. That’s with super shoes and more fast races than Centro had.
Not to mention Centro got bronze at worlds when he was younger than Hocker is now. He also had a world silver, bronze, and Olympic 4th place finish when he was Cooper’s age.
These are all just facts. The New Gen guys like to hype up their boys, who are no doubt tremendously talented, but they’re closer to being Eric Holt, Drew Hunter, and Sam Prakel than they are to being as good as Centro was.
No Hocker is closer to being Leo Manzano (of course doesn’t have the one medal) let’s say. He’s 2/2 on making teams when healthy and can hit the standards. The 3 guys you mentioned can’t make an outdoor team via top 3 or hit a standard. Teare is more in the Ryan Hill/Ben True range for now.
Manzano had an Olympic silver and a faster PR than Teare/Hocker without super shoes. Not comparable
This was a great result for Hocker, all things considered.
Let's be real. He's qualified for Budapest yes, so getting in some races is a good idea. This was not a good result. He ran a SB, but that's damning with faint praise.
If he manages to make the WC finals, that would be a good result for his current fitness.
Nuguse, on the other hand, looks like a legit medal threat.