Is Mo Farah the GREATEST RUNNING TACTICIAN?

I think the best tactician is Bernard Lagat, but more so once he moved up to 1500/5k and later just 5k. Lagat didn't have the raw ability that Farah had, but he was able to win medals and always be a factor because of his tactics. Farah had superior fitness to Lagat, so he didn't have to rely on his tactics as much, Farah had more wiggle room to work with (more room for error).

Mo farah is clearly one of the best tacticians ever. He was not the fastest every time he raced but he won a majority of his races regardless. He was so good that other competitors would always try different tactics on him during the races and they would still not work. He now even manages to win marathons with a pr that is not as fast as the others.

you might want to consider their head to head - this covers track races only, I don't do road or cross country.

event / first person / score1 / score2 / second person

1 mile Mohamed Farah 0-1 Bernard Lagat

3000m Mohamed Farah 1-4 Bernard Lagat

2 miles Mohamed Farah 1-0 Bernard Lagat

5000m Mohamed Farah 8-1 Bernard Lagat

if you look at this in terms of time, Lagat tended to win the earlier races while Farah has won the later races. the last time Bernard beat Mo on the track was March 2012 over 3000m in Istanbul. the last time they raced was the Rio Olympic 5000m final where Mo won and Bernard was 5th.

cheers.

Indeed, he's probably one of the greatest tacticians of all sports. His skill is pretty much unsurpassed, it's a sobering thought that he's actually a greater athlete than any US athlete in history. Michael Johnson is a close second, but he's pretty much a cabbage nowadays, so that highlights his obvious PED use during his hayday.

I think America has a lot to learn in terms of what makes a great athlete, I look at the praise pored on Galen, who's a mid-pack runner, and it actaully highlights quite clearly why there is so much hostility towards athletes of all other nationalities from Americans. Jealousy is a terrible thing, and so is envy and that deep rooted inmovable feeling of utter usefulness in 98% of sports.

Mo is the distance runner GOAT. Period.

robert678 wrote:

I think the best tactician is Bernard Lagat, but more so once he moved up to 1500/5k and later just 5k. Lagat didn't have the raw ability that Farah had, but he was able to win medals and always be a factor because of his tactics. Farah had superior fitness to Lagat, so he didn't have to rely on his tactics as much, Farah had more wiggle room to work with (more room for error).

lagat failed a drugs test

alsal wrote:

robert678 wrote:

I think the best tactician is Bernard Lagat, but more so once he moved up to 1500/5k and later just 5k. Lagat didn't have the raw ability that Farah had, but he was able to win medals and always be a factor because of his tactics. Farah had superior fitness to Lagat, so he didn't have to rely on his tactics as much, Farah had more wiggle room to work with (more room for error).

lagat failed a drugs test

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/3078642.stm

And Farah fails the sniff test.

Roosey Project wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAzuAD6FGto

Let us know what ya'll think about all of the topics, especially on if Sir Mo is the greatest tactician. It is questionable to say he is the greatest distance runner but I think when we are talking about tactician/gamer in running there is definitely an argument to be made.

I agree he is up there...It always annoyed me though when watching as it was the same tactic a lot of times and i'm sure the other runners knew what was coming

with that said, Bekele tactics in 2013 great north run one-upped Mo where he 1) stayed back at a faster pace mile and 2) maybe knowing he can't wait till the kick, put in the surge over a mile to go

I think the greatest tactician surely is someone who wins whatever the race is like, whatevery they throw at him. NOT someone who wins each race exactly the same.

Ovett? same tactic each race

El Gerruj? same each race

Farah? same each race

Best tactician ever was John Ngugi as you never knew what he was going to do next, except that it would probably be mad.

It's Centro, man.

Mo is a phenomenal tactician, but his talent level was at least comparable to the guys he beat.

Centro routinely beat runners out of his league with tactics. His gold medal race was a tactical masterpiece.

Viren was a good tactician.

To which pack are you referring? The 2012 Men's Olympic 10,000 meter medalists? The 2016 Men's Olympic Marathon Top 5 finishers? 2017 Chicago Marathon champion (very small pack), 2018 Chicago Marathon Top 10?

The correctness Man wrote:

Indeed, he's probably one of the greatest tacticians of all sports. His skill is pretty much unsurpassed, it's a sobering thought that he's actually a greater athlete than any US athlete in history. Michael Johnson is a close second, but he's pretty much a cabbage nowadays, so that highlights his obvious PED use during his hayday.

I think America has a lot to learn in terms of what makes a great athlete, I look at the praise pored on Galen, who's a mid-pack runner, and it actaully highlights quite clearly why there is so much hostility towards athletes of all other nationalities from Americans. Jealousy is a terrible thing, and so is envy and that deep rooted inmovable feeling of utter usefulness in 98% of sports.

Mo is the distance runner GOAT. Period.

Bolt

Mo easily the goat at tactical running! Eff outta here with saying "El G" or "Lagat". El G needed teammates or friends to take the pace out in championship races to ensure he had the upper hand! Lagat lost too many races due to poor position whether it is running outside on the curve, getting boxed in, going too early, or even securing the inside lane going into the last 400! Farah is a master at conserving energy and placing himself in the right place at the right time which is why you know when he has the lead going into the last 400 its good game from there! GOAT!

he is a winner

+ 1

answer is mo his best 5k and 10k times are 33rd and 16th respectively but still managed to beat people above him. also if you think you can win by using the same tactic and it works, it makes no sense to change it.

robert678 wrote:

Lagat didn't have the raw ability that Farah had

I hope you're kidding.

MurderDub wrote:

Bolt

I think Usain Bolt is actually a great pick for the greatest tactical runner ever. Now I know it is hard to ague a sprinter since in these races there are not a lot of moves to be made and it seems just like one burst of energy to the finish line to most people. In actuality though there is a lot more that comes with that with their form and how to to run the perfect race, and Usain Bolt so happens to be the best at ever doing this. Also when look back at about every single 100m race that he has won he as never been the first person out of the blocks always having to stragize his way though those 9.58 seconds. A short time but to be able to even think that fast may just make him an even better tactician. Although I can make the argument that he has won every single major world championship or Olympics from 2008 to 2016 (besides that year he got DQed) that makes him the greatest tactician, we can also look at the prelims and the semifinals where he is often not losing either. He was constantly winning his off-race, 100m, even in his old age because of the strategy and the mid set he had going into the event. He's simply the GOAT!!

Rosie Ruiz, for heavens sake. And it’s not even close.