The US women are the best in the world at the 800 so which US star will go home devastated? And who wins the tasty matchup in the 1500 – Simpson, Rowbury or Grace?
We break down the 800 , 1500 and steeple for you below.
Wev'e updated the 1500 with a few quotes from Drew Wartenburg on Kate Grace's decision to run the 1500 and not the 800.
Kate Grace - the 28-year old Yale grad who ran 1:58.28 last year and made the Olympic final at 800 - surprised some by moving to the 1500 this year. However, Kate has run faster than anyone in the field this year at 1500 and this team is actually easier for her to make than the 800 where the US is even more loaded. Plus with hyperandrogenism (Semenya, Wambui and Niyonsaba) dominating the 800, her medal chances are better in the 1500 than the 800.
"The podium is closed, or seemingly, I should say, closed at the global level (in the 800). We could do another interview or a symposium on the intricacies of that," said Grace's coach Drew Wartenburg of the NorCal Distance Project. "I think the fact that it’s a more open podium in the 15 at the global level is something that she took into consideration for sure. But history has borne out, the last couple cycles, the best American in the 15 can be on the podium. Kate by no means has any right to that, but there’s some promise that if I can win my national meet, I can medal in this country. Any woman should be thinking that. We are relevant on the 1500 stage as a nation and I think that’s exciting."'
The fact that the 1500 is a new challenge for Grace this year - and maybe through 2020 - was also appealing according to Wartenburg.
"For her, it was to some degree that idea or notion that there was proficiency or potential proficiency in that event. Also the challenge of moving up, but the realization that she may be better-suited to that distance if not for now, then for this Olympic cycle," said Wartenburg.