But you should not forget that it is a skill that needs to be aquired, you cant just subtract those seconds as it is guaranteed. Good thing he is racing the DL now, thats the only way, imo.
Watch the replay, there was some kind of incident about 1:25 into the race, he had to veer out into another lane or two- so not really a lack of skill, just luck I guess, which also is a part of racing. If he ran 0.4 sec faster he might have beat one or two more guys only. Still a good race in his comeback to best form.
Weird how those with the best skills also have lot of luck, huh? You would think they use their skill to stay out of trouble. Nah just pure coincidence.
Edit: you are not alone in thinking that, and its great for us that roots on runners that have understood that the 1500 is not (just) about a sit and a kick, but a chess game over 1500m. Keep on crossing your fingers for luck!
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
It is amazing hour vehement you guys can get. Jeez...
Hocker is trending in the right direction, ran a fast time (3:32 is still very fast), and just qualified for the US team in Budapest. Those are facts. And most US track fans are happy about all three.
Yet it is also true that Hocker's kick is not nearly good enough to move past a world class field and the medals at Worlds will be reserved for guys who can use elite tactics while running sub-3:30. Hocker can't do that (maybe next year, but not this year).
All of the above can be true at the same time. It is no reason to hate on Hocker. As a fan of him (and the sport), I just hope he does really well and keeps improving. Sorry, but any other take is probably a troll or a jerk trying to stir up debate...
It is amazing hour vehement you guys can get. Jeez...
Hocker is trending in the right direction, ran a fast time (3:32 is still very fast), and just qualified for the US team in Budapest. Those are facts. And most US track fans are happy about all three.
Yet it is also true that Hocker's kick is not nearly good enough to move past a world class field and the medals at Worlds will be reserved for guys who can use elite tactics while running sub-3:30. Hocker can't do that (maybe next year, but not this year).
All of the above can be true at the same time. It is no reason to hate on Hocker. As a fan of him (and the sport), I just hope he does really well and keeps improving. Sorry, but any other take is probably a troll or a jerk trying to stir up debate...
I agree with all of this. Coming off injury he made US team, now he's 1 second off his PR with a few weeks to go. He's not a medal threat this year, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him break 3;30 at a meet after worlds.
Hocker is not finished, nowhere near. At the same time, he's not among the top guys in the world right now. There's no way to polish his season so far. He's run 3:39, 3:35, 3:34, and now 3:32 in a race that was perfect for anyone in 3:30 shape. Last season he didn't break 3:35. The fact is that he's probably around 3:33-3:34 shape on a typical day. I see no way he can compete for a medal in Budapest, too many guys are faster and can have a better kick off a hard pace. His aim this season should be to build his fitness and experience to get ready for Paris. Nuguse did that last year and now look at him
I don’t see why you’d conclude that. I think he underperformed today and ran a tactically stupid race, hanging back in 10th through 800 at 3:36 flat pace in a field of runners just as fast as he is, and he ran 3:32.14 with the last 800 at 3:29-low pace. If he’d just run smarter and more aggressively he’d have run 3:31 and I don’t assume today was a better than typical day for him.
Easier said than done, but he runs 3:30.11 if he hugs the rail. I know that means squat for his actual time but important to run the shortest possible distance as long as you are being mindful of the rest of the field
Imagine how fast the leaders would have gone if they ran exactly 1500 meters! If Hocker has a lot to gain imagine how the actual leaders of the race could have ended up!
Imagine that the winner has run 3:29.0 this season. What are you even blabbing about at this point?
Same thing as you. If Hocker could gain a lot running exactly 1500 meters, imagine what the leaders would have run today, who only ran 3-4 meters less.
ok, who wants to do the math and figure out where hocker hypothetically would have placed if every runner went exactly 1500 meters
i didn't do any calculations, but just looking at the distances and times, I estimate he ran a faster average pace than 7 guys in front of him, putting him in 6th...He passes Spencer, Garcia, Tanner, Habz, McSweyn, Stonier, and Giles
Nuguse, Nordas Gourley, Mechaal, and Timothy hold.
It is amazing hour vehement you guys can get. Jeez...
Hocker is trending in the right direction, ran a fast time (3:32 is still very fast), and just qualified for the US team in Budapest. Those are facts. And most US track fans are happy about all three.
Yet it is also true that Hocker's kick is not nearly good enough to move past a world class field and the medals at Worlds will be reserved for guys who can use elite tactics while running sub-3:30. Hocker can't do that (maybe next year, but not this year).
All of the above can be true at the same time. It is no reason to hate on Hocker. As a fan of him (and the sport), I just hope he does really well and keeps improving. Sorry, but any other take is probably a troll or a jerk trying to stir up debate...
Why maybe next year but not this year? There are races remaining, most people can only hold a peak for so long. If he keeps trending in the right direction, he might do exactly what he is capable of this year (~6th more or less going by past results... hope for, sure, but no reason to expect medals). You could just as well say, Hocker might be able to do it this year, but less likely next year because how often do you get to be trending in the right direction later in the season?
Your link proves that a good amount of the field ran 1510+ meters, not just Cole. The fairy tale is over.
It actually proves nothing, just an unsupported claim. These guys have trouble spotting line infractions, yet they are precisely measuring everyone's line of running to the tenth of a meter? Nope.
Anyhow if you go 14 extra meters it means you stayed in lane 2 for the entire race. Slow AND stupid.
the bump and dodge was at the end of the turn and didn't add much distance. Going back from an outer lane to lane 1 on a straight adds only a few centimeters. That's why 800 stagger is very close to 200 stagger, even in lane 8
ok, who wants to do the math and figure out where hocker hypothetically would have placed if every runner went exactly 1500 meters
i didn't do any calculations, but just looking at the distances and times, I estimate he ran a faster average pace than 7 guys in front of him, putting him in 6th...He passes Spencer, Garcia, Tanner, Habz, McSweyn, Stonier, and Giles
Nuguse, Nordas Gourley, Mechaal, and Timothy hold.
Hocker is not finished, nowhere near. At the same time, he's not among the top guys in the world right now. There's no way to polish his season so far. He's run 3:39, 3:35, 3:34, and now 3:32 in a race that was perfect for anyone in 3:30 shape. Last season he didn't break 3:35. The fact is that he's probably around 3:33-3:34 shape on a typical day. I see no way he can compete for a medal in Budapest, too many guys are faster and can have a better kick off a hard pace. His aim this season should be to build his fitness and experience to get ready for Paris. Nuguse did that last year and now look at him
I don’t see why you’d conclude that. I think he underperformed today and ran a tactically stupid race, hanging back in 10th through 800 at 3:36 flat pace in a field of runners just as fast as he is, and he ran 3:32.14 with the last 800 at 3:29-low pace. If he’d just run smarter and more aggressively he’d have run 3:31 and I don’t assume today was a better than typical day for him.
I'd conclude that based on his performances this season. He ran 3:32 yesterday, no amount of hypothetical scenarios will make that a faster time. Maybe he gets faster in Budapest, or mire likely, he regresses to his mean for the season. Don't be surprised if he doesn't make the final. He was 13th here and some top guys weren't even in the race (Jakob, Kerr, Hoare, Kipsang, R. Cheruiyot, Katir, Nader). Even after that run, he's still only the 26th fastest guy in the world this year
Guess what? You run less meters when you are good enough to race in the front. Hocker races like a high schooler, sitting back and expecting to outkick everyone.
Most of the Americans who post here have a middle school/high school impression of middle distance. Somehow they got mesmerized by meaningless late rallies and think it's supposed to apply all the way up the ladder. That's why we have the laughable fixation on closing splits.
Hocker was worshipped in 2021 even though it was blatantly obvious he was just another guy who made sure he would never be within the camera lens. I emphasized immediately after the Tokyo final that Hocker was so irrelevant the NBC commentator never mentioned him after the opening stages of the race.
Americans will matter when they emulate the Ethiopians
ok, who wants to do the math and figure out where hocker hypothetically would have placed if every runner went exactly 1500 meters
i didn't do any calculations, but just looking at the distances and times, I estimate he ran a faster average pace than 7 guys in front of him, putting him in 6th...He passes Spencer, Garcia, Tanner, Habz, McSweyn, Stonier, and Giles
Nuguse, Nordas Gourley, Mechaal, and Timothy hold.
This is some of the highest level of cope that I've ever seen. Nice work. Just to clarify, this isn't Parkrun, you don't get an age-grading or any other time adjustment. It's gun to tape.
He was 13th in the race and is the 26th fastest guy in the world this year. Those are your facts.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Hocker has to avoid to trip because he wasn't good enough to run in the front and avoid it
I mean Cheruiyot also had to run wide to avoid the trip. Stewy was in first place running from the front and almost got tripped. I don't think Hocker is good enough right now to contend for the win, I was just saying 3:32 while running into lane 4 is a really good sign for him. Shows that he's getting back into his 2021/early 2022 shape. Doing it at the right time too :)
But the problem is currently there is way more depth in the 1500 m then there was during the last two seasons. So returning to his previous times might not be good enough anymore to even make the WC final.
Those horizontal stripes and baggy top are not doing anything for his puny figure. The starting line at London looked like a dweeb convention. Sadly, it is looking like Cole and Cooper are not the finished product and left the nest too early.
