1-Hocker tried to cut inside BEFORE being fully clear of kessler. He was ahead of kessler but not clear of his stride by any means.
2-Kessler put out an arm and said NO WAY BRO, you are not in front of me (yet) and I am not slowing down to let you in. Stay outside.
3-Hocker slapped Kessler's arm down and went for the inside line.
4-Kessler slowed up, ever so slightly and let Hocker in, but Hocker was right in front of him so Hocker's trailing foot made contact with Kessler's forward foot (or Kesslers forward foot made contact with Hocker's trailing foot ...same thing).
5-Hocker stumbled and slowed and flailed to keep on his feet.
6-His flailing rear foot made another contact with Kessler and now Kessler was left with nowhere to go but to the infield. Hocker, with cat-like reflexes, somehow stayed on his feet and kept moving forward (but I think the episode decreased his chances of placing as he probably was pumping lots of adrenaline for 30 seconds after that.)
7-Kessler probably could have jumped back in at the back of the pack but the competitive aspect of his race was, in fact, over once he was knocked to the infield.
Some of the stupidest stuff I ever read on this one. And I am blaming no one here. Hocker is looking to get in where he has no room, Kessler is in a really good spot in 6th
hocker gets in
Slight rub
Kessler steps on his back foot knocked off balance steps over curb for 2 plus steps on grass
His race is over
His races is over when he gives up and quits.
Have to agree here. He gave up. Mentally not in it.
Kessler got a little tripped up and then just jumped off the track even though he EASILY could have kept running. He was perfectly fine, it wouldn't even have cost him a quarter of a second. It was a cowardly move by Kessler.
Teare, on the other hand, got tripped really badly but kept running and still managed a 3:53.
some random loser on LRC putting down on one of the biggest running talents in america for years. alrighty then 🤦🏻
Could've felt a twinge or worse. The trials are not far off. I've run some reasonable 1500's and everything happens very quickly. The decisions you make a hugely magnified. It's not like Viren tripping in the 10k at Munich. So maybe he just thought yes... no .... yes ...no and by that stage the game's over. Give him a break, he's young and still learning. Notice that Myers ran at the back.
Goodness, give him a break. He's 21 years old and just growing into professional racing. No reason this thread should be hot on letsrun or as disparaging as it is.
So sick of the excuse making for him. He made the decision to turn pro early and has been a pro for several years now. He needs to act like a pro and be held accountable like a pro. Stop babying him.
Kessler got a little tripped up and then just jumped off the track even though he EASILY could have kept running. He was perfectly fine, it wouldn't even have cost him a quarter of a second. It was a cowardly move by Kessler.
Teare, on the other hand, got tripped really badly but kept running and still managed a 3:53.
....
Getting tripped up affects athlete differently. I have had it happen to me me in which it energized me and allowed me to kick to a whole nother level and where it took everything out of me. Most likely the late is what happened to Mr. Kessler who seldomly has a bad race.
Once he lost balance and took a few steps off the track he lost a lot of momentum, if he stepped back into the race (the pack was tight) he would have impeded everyone else in the race... resulting in a DQ and screwing up everyone else's race.
I'm sure this is frustrating for Hobbs, but he made the right choice here and will live to fight another day
This race was .5 sec/lap over wr pace. He either needed to evaluate if he was injured or realized his race was done. Its not the 5 or 10 where you can spend time pulling up to the pack. If he stepped in at the back of the field, he'd just end up with a crappy race - better to save the effort for a race where he could finish better. Its just unfortunate.
While you are 100% accurate, isn’t there value to gaining some mental toughness while gutting out a tough break in a tough race? Isn’t that how some of the greats became great under all conditions? It just seems many bail at the first sign of a small challenge instead of rising to the occasion, competing with heart and being a fierce competitor. I don’t know. The kids got a massive amount of potential though and can do great things. Hopefully lesson learned.
If you watch the NBC Sports video on YouTube at 1/4 speed and 1080p, at 2:51 it is very clear that Hocker trips himself by hitting his left foot on his right calf. On the next step, Hocker's left foot hits Kessler's right shin. Kessler stumbles and is off balance toward the infield and his first step out of bounds is with his right foot.
If his step on the infield was with his left, then yes it would have been much easier to step back in. However, at that point he'd need another left on the infield and to go back in with the right. I don't think there was enough time/space to get back into the gap he was in considering how quickly everyone was moving. Then there was a big pack that he couldn't just plow his way into.