Dapper Dan wrote:
Bolt runs a 45.28 in the 400, I don't think Farah's gonna have the pure speed to pull this off.
Well the race is 600, not 400.
We had a couple of 46.x 400 guys at my college (30 years ago). They thought they could run a good 800 for a relay, but to ensure it they ran a dual meet 800. I was a 1500 guy with a best 400 or about 53 (probably could've run51-52, but my actual best was 53). They went out in 53 and looked relaxed. I went out in 58 and was far behind.
They started struggling a bit on the back straight, and I was slowly closing the gap. The final turn they were visibly tiring and I was gaining fast. I flew by them right off the final curve to win in 1:55 (yes, I negative split). They ran 2:00 and 2:04. They never wanted to try that again.
For 600 they would have beat me, but they were 400 guys, not 100/200 guys, and I was far from fast - a 3:50 1500 guy, not 3:28.
The fast Bolt goes out, the sooner he will hit the wall, and that wall can really slow you down.