A 1:44.7 is worth a 44.96 400m & 48.95 400mH. So Dave Patrick was still better at his primary event than he was the 800m.
It’s a small sample because most 400m runners will never truly train for the 800m. I think the number that could run solid 800s is very high though.
So did he run sub-45 for the flat 400? If he was capable of 44-mid or low he would have been a medallist in that event in the '80's.
That you think the number of 400 runners that could run a solid 800 is high is merely your supposition. They are completely different events. That's the reason there is a small sample of those who can do both.
You are forgetting about Emmanuel Korir in the 400/800. Or Michael Johnson in the 200/400. It's not just that athletes aren't able to excel at the two distances, it's that they specialize.
Given Sydney's speed in the 400m and strength from the 400m hurdles, could she get the 800m world record? I am basing this on my performances at 50.6 400m and 1:54.4 800m. Sydney is so much better than I was, I think with 2-4 years of dedicated training she could get it.
Could she get the 800m WR? No.
You quote your 50.6 & 1:54.4 PBs.....presumably you are male, and not Pamela Jelimo or Caster Semenya, in which case you cannot extrapolate that Sydney would run a 1:54 based off your PBs. Men and women are very different.
Firstly, she will never attempt an 800m, I'm pretty sure of that. There is no point and no motivation to do it. As others have said, the majority of athletes at shorter distances rarely want to move up in distance unless their misfortunes diminish at the lower distances.
As Armstronlivs says, double the distance makes this an extremely different event. This is no longer a sprint, it's a (short) distance event. It requires a very different ability. This is why 400m runners can beat 800m runners over 500m, but when you change that to 600m, the 800m will generally win. That extra 100m is hugely significant.
As AwsiDooger says, Bol will no doubt attempt an 800m at some point. I doubt she will next season though, as the European Indoors are being held in the Netherlands, so she will be going all-out for another 400m WR and wont dabble or interfere with that preparation. But I could imagine she might do in 2026.
But Sydney is from a sprint background and primarily a sprint-based athlete. Bol is definitely more a mid-distance type and we have heard many time about her superior lactic threshold etc. I know this is a Sydney thread & we always throw these two women together, but Bol would be the more obvious choice than Sydney. Especially when you then add in their mechanics, how they run etc.
She could run a 1:53 tomorrow, if you disagree you're a hater. SML owns you.
Yep just like Warholm and Benjamin could move up and jog 2 49s to crush 1:40 right?
Obviously that’s hyperbolic, but with how high the men’s hurdles are a lot of men’s 400m hurdlers could convert to 800m runners if they for some reason wanted to, because the men’s hurdles has a more aerobic element. Benjamin, Warholm, and Dos Santos would all be interesting at the event.
Given Sydney's speed in the 400m and strength from the 400m hurdles, could she get the 800m world record? I am basing this on my performances at 50.6 400m and 1:54.4 800m. Sydney is so much better than I was, I think with 2-4 years of dedicated training she could get it.
Could she get the 800m WR? No.
You quote your 50.6 & 1:54.4 PBs.....presumably you are male, and not Pamela Jelimo or Caster Semenya, in which case you cannot extrapolate that Sydney would run a 1:54 based off your PBs. Men and women are very different.
Firstly, she will never attempt an 800m, I'm pretty sure of that. There is no point and no motivation to do it. As others have said, the majority of athletes at shorter distances rarely want to move up in distance unless their misfortunes diminish at the lower distances.
As Armstronlivs says, double the distance makes this an extremely different event. This is no longer a sprint, it's a (short) distance event. It requires a very different ability. This is why 400m runners can beat 800m runners over 500m, but when you change that to 600m, the 800m will generally win. That extra 100m is hugely significant.
As AwsiDooger says, Bol will no doubt attempt an 800m at some point. I doubt she will next season though, as the European Indoors are being held in the Netherlands, so she will be going all-out for another 400m WR and wont dabble or interfere with that preparation. But I could imagine she might do in 2026.
But Sydney is from a sprint background and primarily a sprint-based athlete. Bol is definitely more a mid-distance type and we have heard many time about her superior lactic threshold etc. I know this is a Sydney thread & we always throw these two women together, but Bol would be the more obvious choice than Sydney. Especially when you then add in their mechanics, how they run etc.
The biggest difference is the training not the ability.
So did he run sub-45 for the flat 400? If he was capable of 44-mid or low he would have been a medallist in that event in the '80's.
That you think the number of 400 runners that could run a solid 800 is high is merely your supposition. They are completely different events. That's the reason there is a small sample of those who can do both.
You are forgetting about Emmanuel Korir in the 400/800. Or Michael Johnson in the 200/400. It's not just that athletes aren't able to excel at the two distances, it's that they specialize.
I'm not disputing that there are athletes who can compete successfully over two distances. What I am suggesting is that the 400 and the 800 are unrelated events; they are not two sprint events, or two endurance events. They are very different from each other in terms of what they require from an athlete. That is why we haven't seen another Juantorena.
You quote your 50.6 & 1:54.4 PBs.....presumably you are male, and not Pamela Jelimo or Caster Semenya, in which case you cannot extrapolate that Sydney would run a 1:54 based off your PBs. Men and women are very different.
Firstly, she will never attempt an 800m, I'm pretty sure of that. There is no point and no motivation to do it. As others have said, the majority of athletes at shorter distances rarely want to move up in distance unless their misfortunes diminish at the lower distances.
As Armstronlivs says, double the distance makes this an extremely different event. This is no longer a sprint, it's a (short) distance event. It requires a very different ability. This is why 400m runners can beat 800m runners over 500m, but when you change that to 600m, the 800m will generally win. That extra 100m is hugely significant.
As AwsiDooger says, Bol will no doubt attempt an 800m at some point. I doubt she will next season though, as the European Indoors are being held in the Netherlands, so she will be going all-out for another 400m WR and wont dabble or interfere with that preparation. But I could imagine she might do in 2026.
But Sydney is from a sprint background and primarily a sprint-based athlete. Bol is definitely more a mid-distance type and we have heard many time about her superior lactic threshold etc. I know this is a Sydney thread & we always throw these two women together, but Bol would be the more obvious choice than Sydney. Especially when you then add in their mechanics, how they run etc.
The biggest difference is the training not the ability.
If you are talking about moving from the 400 to the 800, that is utterly untrue. You are forgetting that what is being suggested here is that a sprinter could become the best in the world - in history - in an endurance event. Without that specialist ability it is simply not possible - regardless of training.
Given Sydney's speed in the 400m and strength from the 400m hurdles, could she get the 800m world record? I am basing this on my performances at 50.6 400m and 1:54.4 800m. Sydney is so much better than I was, I think with 2-4 years of dedicated training she could get it.
When she was in high school in NJ many of us thought she should eventually focus on the 8. Yes, I 💯 agree she could get it.