RossiCheated wrote:
European Championships:
Straight to the back at the gun. Second from last at 300 meters. Over less than 300 meters he moves all the way up.
Into the lead at about 550 meters.
I wrote above that I could see him in the front with as many as 700 meters to go. In this race he is in front even earlier than that.
Finished in 3:31.96 and was pulling away down the stretch.
Obviously the European Championships isn't the Olympics, but does this race strategy indicate anything about what he has learned, what he wants to avoid, how he wants to dictate a race, etc.?
A long drive for home is his best tactic. In this race, which wasn't particularly fast for the first 700m, he began his push 2 laps from the finish. He basically ran the legs off the field behind him. The question is whether he can do the same in an Olympic final. It will of course be much harder. He cannot afford a slow race or have the likes of Kerr on his shoulder entering the straight as Jakob doesn't have a higher gear - Kerr does (and so does Wightman).