Simeon Birnbaum, high school phenom and future Oregon Duck will be racing against some of the world’s best runners in the USATF Outdoor Championships 1500m.
Last few cycles (except for the trials) it has been won in 3:4x mid. I doubt it will be that slow this year by any means but I could see him progressing to the finals if the prelims are slower. Not saying it'll happen but he always seems to surprise us with his kick.
Last few cycles (except for the trials) it has been won in 3:4x mid. I doubt it will be that slow this year by any means but I could see him progressing to the finals if the prelims are slower. Not saying it'll happen but he always seems to surprise us with his kick.
Issue with that type of race is that the last 800 may be something like 1:49/50 if it’s that slow, or at least 600 at that pace, and Birnbaum’s PR is 1:50.
Simeon Birnbaum, high school phenom and future Oregon Duck will be racing against some of the world’s best runners in the USATF Outdoor Championships 1500m.
How do we think he will do?
The field includes guys like:
Yared Nuguse
Cole Hocker
Cooper Teare
Hobbs Kessler
I would say he is running against some of America's best runners, not some of the world's best runners.
Last few cycles (except for the trials) it has been won in 3:4x mid. I doubt it will be that slow this year by any means but I could see him progressing to the finals if the prelims are slower. Not saying it'll happen but he always seems to surprise us with his kick.
Issue with that type of race is that the last 800 may be something like 1:49/50 if it’s that slow, or at least 600 at that pace, and Birnbaum’s PR is 1:50.
Yeah, Birnbaum has a nice finishing kick against high schoolers, but is he dropping a 24-25 final 200 at the end of a 3:39-3:40 race? Pretty much every decent Mid-D guy has a good kick and we'll see that in action this week. Question for Birnbaum will be if he has the strength to kick off of what might be a PB type race. The other athletes will be holding back until 300-400 to go while he will be maxed out at 1200m.
Simeon Birnbaum, high school phenom and future Oregon Duck will be racing against some of the world’s best runners in the USATF Outdoor Championships 1500m.
How do we think he will do?
The field includes guys like:
Yared Nuguse
Cole Hocker
Cooper Teare
Hobbs Kessler
I would say he is running against some of America's best runners, not some of the world's best runners.
Its all about position and striking while the iron is hot. Hocker eliminated first round last year so anything is possible. IF he can make the final, hang on for the long drive to the finish after a dorky, typical US championship start. Can he roll a 1:21 the last 600? If he doesnt let them push him around early, Id say under normal crappy circumstances for usatf, hes got about as much a chance as anyone to be 3rd to 7th. Seneca Lassiter style.
Simeon Birnbaum, high school phenom and future Oregon Duck will be racing against some of the world’s best runners in the USATF Outdoor Championships 1500m.
How do we think he will do?
The field includes guys like:
Yared Nuguse
Cole Hocker
Cooper Teare
Hobbs Kessler
Nobody has mentioned (unless I missed it) the difference between planning to focus on the USATF meet vs. deciding to do it after a long HS racing season. Unless SB planned his training to be in optimal racing shape for first week in July, it’s possible he will have declined a bit from his best. If so, that’s not a knock on him at all, it would be understandable.
Its all about position and striking while the iron is hot. Hocker eliminated first round last year so anything is possible. IF he can make the final, hang on for the long drive to the finish after a dorky, typical US championship start. Can he roll a 1:21 the last 600? If he doesnt let them push him around early, Id say under normal crappy circumstances for usatf, hes got about as much a chance as anyone to be 3rd to 7th. Seneca Lassiter style.
Do you mean 3-7 place in a prelim heat? Surely you didn’t mean to imply he has as much chance as anyone to finish 3-7 in the final…..
The fact that it is a prelim makes it worse. Prelims are very tricky; he will likely have someone in his race who can run the back-half as fast as his 800m PR. I seriously think he should have targeted USATF U20.
The fact that it is a prelim makes it worse. Prelims are very tricky; he will likely have someone in his race who can run the back-half as fast as his 800m PR. I seriously think he should have targeted USATF U20.
His main goal is to place well in the Thursday 1500m prelim and qualify for the 1500m final on Saturday. If not he can run the U20 800m prelim on Friday and the U20 800m final on Saturday.