Listen to commentary by Former Olympian Steve Cram.The cheering fans at le Stade Louis II got presented with the High-Energy Excitement of the Men’s 1500m. ...
Best bet at beating Jakob would be to catch him in bad spots, like he has to close a gap, have him run wide on some corners especially when the pace picks up, have him boxed in when you make a move. No one is beating him by being fitter and running harder, they are going to have to hope he makes a mistake and capitalize on it.
The 7:54 showed them what kind of shape Jakob is in this year. Running 3:27:14 also puts him a different category altogether when it comes to speed.
I hate to break it to you, but rightly or wrongly "The Africans" are likely much less intimidated by Jakob than you seem to assume.
You imply that "they" are all looking at meet results and sweating about a 7:54 or a 3:27. Well, every Kenyan international 1500 man believes that he is one good season away from the world record, so even if they heard the result or watched the race online they are not in a panic about a 3:27.
As for 7:54, nobody on earth gives an utter crap about the two-mile. It is entirely an American thing at this point, with odd exhibitions to take take down the records that are so much weaker than the comparable metric distances. (Men's two-mile "WR" a joke compared to the 3000, and the recently broken women's one-mile also a joke compared to 1500.)
Let me put it to you gently: "The Africans" care less about times slower than someone ran the WR 25 years ago than they do about about WINNING RACES. To many, I promise that Jakob is simply not seen as a winner. He time-trials a lot of fast times but isn't anything like unbeatable in true races. Most probably remember that he was dusted by a non-African scrub in the WC 1500 last summer, though!
The only runners that "The Africans" have every been intimated by are proven champions: El G, Gebrselassie, Bekele, Mo Farah. (All African by birth, and at their peaks all head-and-shoulders above the competition in REAL RACES.) Jakob is just not on that level. Maybe if he wins in Budapest, but not yet.
What complete nonsense. Sure! The two mile is a trivial distance and the WR was weak….that doesn’t take away his time of averaging 7:21 3k pace then going for another 218 meters.
What complete nonsense. Sure! The two mile is a trivial distance and the WR was weak….that doesn’t take away his time of averaging 7:21 3k pace then going for another 218 meters.
You are correct. I would be curious though as to how many guys in the super spikes can run 7:22ish or so now. There may be about half a dozen who can do it or get close in the right race now.
What complete nonsense. Sure! The two mile is a trivial distance and the WR was weak….that doesn’t take away his time of averaging 7:21 3k pace then going for another 218 meters.
You completely missed this point of my post, which was that "The Africans" DON'T CARE.
They are not intimidated by perfectly paced times in perfect conditions. They are intimidated, though rarely, by consistent championship winners. Like the ones I named.
What complete nonsense. Sure! The two mile is a trivial distance and the WR was weak….that doesn’t take away his time of averaging 7:21 3k pace then going for another 218 meters.
Read betterer.
Let me put it to you gently: "The Africans" care less about times slower than someone ran the WR 25 years ago than they do about about WINNING RACES. To many, I promise that Jakob is simply not seen as a winner. He time-trials a lot of fast times but isn't anything like unbeatable in true races. Most probably remember that he was dusted by a non-African scrub in the WC 1500 last summer, though!
The only runners that "The Africans" have every been intimated by are proven champions: El G, Gebrselassie, Bekele, Mo Farah. (All African by birth, and at their peaks all head-and-shoulders above the competition in REAL RACES.) Jakob is just not on that level. Maybe if he wins in Budapest, but not yet.
I want to remind you all that Mo Farah, the runner from the previous generation who came the closest to having Jakob's combination of speed and strength, was outkicked twice but never dropped.
So far, Jakob has been outkicked once (albeit, in the 1500m), but not dropped.
The best miler doesn't always have the best kick, and even when they do, mayhem on the final lap sometimes allows an underdog to sneak in for the win. On the other hand, luck won't help you run away from a fitter runner, no matter what you try.
I want to remind you all that Mo Farah, the runner from the previous generation who came the closest to having Jakob's combination of speed and strength, was outkicked twice but never dropped.
So far, Jakob has been outkicked once (albeit, in the 1500m), but not dropped.
The best miler doesn't always have the best kick, and even when they do, mayhem on the final lap sometimes allows an underdog to sneak in for the win. On the other hand, luck won't help you run away from a fitter runner, no matter what you try.
I tried to explain this to these folks but you probably did it better and more thoroughly.
What complete nonsense. Sure! The two mile is a trivial distance and the WR was weak….that doesn’t take away his time of averaging 7:21 3k pace then going for another 218 meters.
You completely missed this point of my post, which was that "The Africans" DON'T CARE.
They are not intimidated by perfectly paced times in perfect conditions. They are intimidated, though rarely, by consistent championship winners. Like the ones I named.
Jakob just isn't in that category.
Lol . U R Dumb. [ mostly]
I agree that they [ the E. Africans] are mostly " not intimidated" [ they have a lot of self belief] by Jakob. But....
1] they know that his 2 mile is worth at least 7:19 3k. They fully understand how impressive that is. They know none of their all time greats past and present have touched that. They are not stupid.
2] He has destroyed their best at 1500m. They are aware and impressed.
3] They know Jakob crushed all their best at 5k in last years WC. With ease.
They know he is the favorite. They know it will take their absolute A+ game to beat him.
If they don't know that.... they have no chance.
I personally think one of them will pull it off. Simply because so many of them are running great this season, and I do think Jakob is human. If he is even slightly off, and 1 or 2 of the Africans has the race of his life [ and race is won in low 12:40's], Jakob will not grab gold. That is what I think will happen.
The 7:54 showed them what kind of shape Jakob is in this year. Running 3:27:14 also puts him a different category altogether when it comes to speed.
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As for 7:54, nobody on earth gives an utter crap about the two-mile. It is entirely an American thing at this point, with odd exhibitions to take take down the records that are so much weaker than the comparable metric distances. (Men's two-mile "WR" a joke compared to the 3000, and the recently broken women's one-mile also a joke compared to 1500.)
Let me put it to you gently: "The Africans" care less about times slower than someone ran the WR 25 years ago than they do about about WINNING RACES. To many, I promise that Jakob is simply not seen as a winner. He time-trials a lot of fast times but isn't anything like unbeatable in true races. Most probably remember that he was dusted by a non-African scrub in the WC 1500 last summer, though!
The only runners that "The Africans" have every been intimated by are proven champions: El G, Gebrselassie, Bekele, Mo Farah. (All African by birth, and at their peaks all head-and-shoulders above the competition in REAL RACES.) Jakob is just not on that level. Maybe if he wins in Budapest, but not yet.
Again.... this is soooooo stupid.
"No one gives utter crap about 2 mile" but yet Komen went for the historic double sub 4 mile on 2 different occasions?? And Geb tried to break it MULTIPLE times? Ooookay. Apparently THEY cared!
And as far as "Men's two-mile "WR" a joke compared to the 3000", ummm not anymore bub! Ji's 2 mile is superior to 3k now. Do you even keep up on these things?? Geesh.
And then you use El G as example of proven winner of championship races? He failed in the Olympics twice! He got beat in first 5k champs by 19 y.o. Yes he had other big victories but was not unveatable in Champs races.
C'mon, your points are not well thought out. The Africans better have a healthy fear of Jakob or they are toast! Healthy fear brings out one's best.
Since Jakob is faster at 1500m and roughly the same 3k, I would expect him to be a few seconds slower.
I could see him charting to like 3:27-7:20-12:42.
His faster 1500 time and same 3k time would actually give him MORE ability in the 5000. How many 3k's has he even run? He is better than 12:39 ability right now.
Since Jakob is faster at 1500m and roughly the same 3k, I would expect him to be a few seconds slower.
I could see him charting to like 3:27-7:20-12:42.
His faster 1500 time and same 3k time would actually give him MORE ability in the 5000. How many 3k's has he even run? He is better than 12:39 ability right now.