For those who haven't watched that heat, I recommend doing so. This race, more than any other, demonstrates the gap between Jakob and the rest of the 1500 meter world (with a handful of exceptions). He looks as if he is on a warmup run, yet finds himself near the lead on the final stretch. No reason to win ... but it as if he can't avoid doing so, because he can't run slowly enough not to pull away. Meanwhile, as he is cruising home in an apparent canter, the rest of the field is grimacing and sprinting toward the tape, all desperately seeking those #2 to #4 slots, yet falling further behind Jakob with each step. Jake Weightman, a 3:31 runner, collapses at the finish line. Meanwhile, Jakob appears as if he has finished his warmup and is now ready to run hard.
You are mostly correct. Jakob did not run particularly smart. It is a matter of being fitter than the rest. Jakob ran like a clown as usual, looking like the hotdog he is. He was running lane 2 for much of the latter part of the race due to his questionable tactics. People like the OP conflate fitness with tactics. And the other poster’s reference to Seb Coe is absurd. Yes they are both white. We get it. They are not like each other at all.
when you are running 10-11 seconds slower than your ability, you can run lane two and not worry about losing a second or two. much safer. much cleaner. it's smart. and jakob does have good change of gears. there a few guys who can do it better in the context of 1500 meters, but they are not in the european championships.
i am a jakob supporter, but it's easy to admit he is arrogant. if you can't see this you are blind. he is the kind of guy that if you don't really like him, he is very easy to hate.
i find his level of arrogance to be acceptable bc it is rooted in truth and is backed up. you can't be the best in the world without thinking that way. he is just the only guy saying it out loud.
This strategy is smart for the heats. I'd agree with the poster who noted it's less good for the final if a runner in there will push the pace. 3:36-3:40 with a 55 second finish is simply not a hard run for Jakob and the other elite guys. The only thing that could make it hard is having to fend off attacks, make multiple pace changes, and get physical. If Jakob has to run a little extra distance the last 400 in a 55-second lap...so be it. The clean run beforehand is worth it. For guys who don't want to rely heavily on their kicks, Jakob's tactic or leading from the front the way Mario Garcia Romo did are ways to do it. But to lead you have to be really good at gauging your effort, which we saw that Jake Heyward was decidedly not. If you're going to run in the pack, you have to be head and shoulders better than the kickers (like Tim Cheruiyot) or adept at running in packs (Jake Wightman).
Should also note that Sifan Hassan has long done this strategy in the 1500, too.
The drawback of this tactic is, that it costs quite some extra energy to overtake people later on.
Yeah I thought of this and yes there is always a cost with something like overtaking someone, however there is simply no question that passing people at an even pace on the straights (which is what he does - in finals he works himself into position usually up the home straight for the first time and heats it's usually down the back straight after 800m to position himself for the final 500) takes far less energy than even running a 13.X first 100m to get to the front, or speeding up and down multiple times in the first 300m.
And apologies for spelling his name wrong, yes it's Jakob INGEBRIGTSEN, my bad ^^
For those who haven't watched that heat, I recommend doing so. This race, more than any other, demonstrates the gap between Jakob and the rest of the 1500 meter world (with a handful of exceptions). He looks as if he is on a warmup run, yet finds himself near the lead on the final stretch. No reason to win ... but it as if he can't avoid doing so, because he can't run slowly enough not to pull away. Meanwhile, as he is cruising home in an apparent canter, the rest of the field is grimacing and sprinting toward the tape, all desperately seeking those #2 to #4 slots, yet falling further behind Jakob with each step. Jake Weightman, a 3:31 runner, collapses at the finish line. Meanwhile, Jakob appears as if he has finished his warmup and is now ready to run hard.
Totally agree - just a complete masterclass and for me it's punctuated by the opening moments of the race. All these guys are fit and sure J.I is the fittest but this was a 3.38 race and honestly the splits weren't outrageous - it wasn't like they closed the final 300 is 37 seconds it was more like 40.XX seconds. And yet as you said there were high quality runners obviously running on fumes and diving all over the place just to qualify. Meanwhile Jakob looks like he could have run another 55 on the end of it if he needed to - just clearly he is not wasting energy in these races like the others are. So efficient form and tactic wise.
he ability to shift gears allows him to do exactly this. Reminds of Coe, who perhaps was even better at that.
S. Coe, 1/4 Indian by dna. S. Coe a 46.xx/1:41.xx 400/800 guy. S. Coe, never broke 14 seconds for 5K. Both J.I. & S. Coe have dark hair. Both J.I. & S. Coe have lighter complex skin. That's it.
I agree this is a good plan in like 90% of races, but I think it hurt him in this years World Champs. He went right to the back and then had to work his way through the field as Kipsang was running 55.x up front and never got position on the rail until after 700m.
If the race is going out in 55 and 1:51 he should grab the rail sooner. During the heats and even 5,000m this is an optimal strategy.
Yup. The potential exposure of this tactic would be if you wind up in a race where someone goes full Gudaf Tseguy right off the gun. Don't know quite what a male equivalent would be of opening a 1500 in a 58s for women, like a 54? But if Cheruiyot or Kipsang took off at that pace and held it with say Wightman and another top tier guy following while Jakob was in last that would be a massive hill to climb and require Jakob to overtake people on the bends at high speed.
Other than that, I agree 100%. An aggressive start spikes the heart rate which will cause the body to switch anaerobic quicker (causing slightly earlier lactic acid build up). Between that and wanting to avoid aggressive shoving it makes a lot of sense.
i am a jakob supporter, but it's easy to admit he is arrogant. if you can't see this you are blind. he is the kind of guy that if you don't really like him, he is very easy to hate.
i find his level of arrogance to be acceptable bc it is rooted in truth and is backed up. you can't be the best in the world without thinking that way. he is just the only guy saying it out loud.
What’s he suppose to say? I suck, I’m a loser, I can’t win? The best have extreme confidence and that comes across as arrogant to the inferior. Michael Jordan was thought of the same way. He just knew that his talent and work ethic made him a winner. As long as it’s not specifically degrading others then it’s how athletes should think and act.
Yeah I thought of this and yes there is always a cost with something like overtaking someone, however there is simply no question that passing people at an even pace on the straights (which is what he does - in finals he works himself into position usually up the home straight for the first time and heats it's usually down the back straight after 800m to position himself for the final 500) takes far less energy than even running a 13.X first 100m to get to the front, or speeding up and down multiple times in the first 300m.
And apologies for spelling his name wrong, yes it's Jakob INGEBRIGTSEN, my bad ^^
It's also interesting to me that some guys just look like they are good starters (meaning the first 25-50) and the 13.x first 100 to take the lead doesn't seem like a strain to them but others would have to expend a lot of energy and acceleration to get to the front. For instance, Abel Kipsang I don't mind his tactic of leading/controlling after fast first 50-100 (when he doesn't go too hard the entire first lap!). Maybe owing to his 800 background and also his smaller stature he explodes at the start and glides to the front. I've rarely if ever seen him have to fight for pole position But then you can watch other runners and they have to fight like heck to get to the lead the first 150.
Interesting how so many people took my post as a comment on his tactics, when the post was clearly not a comment on his tactics. I guess that's what you guys want to write about.
I agree this is a good plan in like 90% of races, but I think it hurt him in this years World Champs. He went right to the back and then had to work his way through the field as Kipsang was running 55.x up front and never got position on the rail until after 700m.
If the race is going out in 55 and 1:51 he should grab the rail sooner. During the heats and even 5,000m this is an optimal strategy.
Yup. The potential exposure of this tactic would be if you wind up in a race where someone goes full Gudaf Tseguy right off the gun. Don't know quite what a male equivalent would be of opening a 1500 in a 58s for women, like a 54? But if Cheruiyot or Kipsang took off at that pace and held it with say Wightman and another top tier guy following while Jakob was in last that would be a massive hill to climb and require Jakob to overtake people on the bends at high speed.
Other than that, I agree 100%. An aggressive start spikes the heart rate which will cause the body to switch anaerobic quicker (causing slightly earlier lactic acid build up). Between that and wanting to avoid aggressive shoving it makes a lot of sense.
Yeah that's a totally valid pitfall but even if someone takes it out in 54, the pace is going to slow right? It's very rare to see 800m get hit in under 1.50 in fact you probably need to go back to the days of El G to see that commonplace if at all (in his WR he was 1.51.1), so in a quick race if you can get to 800m in 1.52 running 55.5/56.5 you just need to make sure you make smart decisions when and where you pass guys. The benefit is at that speed it's almost certainly single file which means you can do this efficiently. What went wrong in Eugene for him? Not sure there was anything tactics wise I could see other than maybe not driving the pace as hard in the 3rd lap as he might have wanted to (I only say that because there were guys queing up with 300 to go behind him which is rare) and I think he got caught out by the great move Wightman made with 200 to go. Plus he's only human and not like he ran poorly - he did run 3.29.4 in a world final!
i am a jakob supporter, but it's easy to admit he is arrogant. if you can't see this you are blind. he is the kind of guy that if you don't really like him, he is very easy to hate.
i find his level of arrogance to be acceptable bc it is rooted in truth and is backed up. you can't be the best in the world without thinking that way. he is just the only guy saying it out loud.
I think it would be a lot worse if he was b!llsh!tting everyone with "my focus is to have fun and see if I can get in the top 10". He may be perceived as arrogant but I think that is a cultural bias. He is honest and straight forward. Norwegians are not good at being fake-polite and fake-happy. We don't put on a fake smile while screaming "oh how are you??? So good to see yooou!!! Allright have a good dayyy" to someone we barely know. I think people should be able to appreciate that people behave a bit different based on their culture.
When you are the best in the field you can win from any number of tactics. You look brilliant simply because you are better than everyone else. Slow start only works if the field is moving much slower than your capacity.
i am a jakob supporter, but it's easy to admit he is arrogant. if you can't see this you are blind. he is the kind of guy that if you don't really like him, he is very easy to hate.
i find his level of arrogance to be acceptable bc it is rooted in truth and is backed up. you can't be the best in the world without thinking that way. he is just the only guy saying it out loud.
I think it would be a lot worse if he was b!llsh!tting everyone with "my focus is to have fun and see if I can get in the top 10". He may be perceived as arrogant but I think that is a cultural bias. He is honest and straight forward. Norwegians are not good at being fake-polite and fake-happy. We don't put on a fake smile while screaming "oh how are you??? So good to see yooou!!! Allright have a good dayyy" to someone we barely know. I think people should be able to appreciate that people behave a bit different based on their culture.
Ha! I have been to Norway, so you can't fool me. Norwegians might be direct, but they also tend to be quiet, polite, respectful, and shy. It's fine that Jakob is different, just as Warholm is different, but don't tell me that his is the Norwegian way.
I think it would be a lot worse if he was b!llsh!tting everyone with "my focus is to have fun and see if I can get in the top 10". He may be perceived as arrogant but I think that is a cultural bias. He is honest and straight forward. Norwegians are not good at being fake-polite and fake-happy. We don't put on a fake smile while screaming "oh how are you??? So good to see yooou!!! Allright have a good dayyy" to someone we barely know. I think people should be able to appreciate that people behave a bit different based on their culture.
Ha! I have been to Norway, so you can't fool me. Norwegians might be direct, but they also tend to be quiet, polite, respectful, and shy. It's fine that Jakob is different, just as Warholm is different, but don't tell me that his is the Norwegian way.
Where in Norway did you visit? The further south you get thus more polite, outgoing etc you get. Of course people are different and how you behave vary, but there are loads of people who are very honest and direct.
What is not the norwegian way is to be fake-modest. If you don't believe you will win you of-course not say that, but if you believe you will win, like Jakob, you say that. Telling lies is worse. You are right that being shy/reserved/quiet are also typically traits, but I think what is mostly overlooked when it comes to Jakob is that he doesn't seek out reporters but answers the questions he get. He is not arrogant/showboating compared to the champs in the lower distances, but somehow get more hate. But sure, he and his family is not by any means typical for the standard norwegians. When it comes to showboating check out Petter Northug, legendary skier, https://youtu.be/N1uFssbp7nE?t=38 . Brutally honest but also a showboater to boot. (2 olympic gold, olympic silver and bronze, 13 WC golds). Equally hated and loved by the Swedes, Finns and Russians.
Sorry for this rambling, I kind of wrote as I though about the subject.
For those who haven't watched that heat, I recommend doing so. This race, more than any other, demonstrates the gap between Jakob and the rest of the 1500 meter world (with a handful of exceptions). He looks as if he is on a warmup run, yet finds himself near the lead on the final stretch. No reason to win ... but it as if he can't avoid doing so, because he can't run slowly enough not to pull away. Meanwhile, as he is cruising home in an apparent canter, the rest of the field is grimacing and sprinting toward the tape, all desperately seeking those #2 to #4 slots, yet falling further behind Jakob with each step. Jake Weightman, a 3:31 runner, collapses at the finish line. Meanwhile, Jakob appears as if he has finished his warmup and is now ready to run hard.
That would be Jake Heyward (3:31.08 pr). Jake Wightman (World champ and 3:29.23 pr) is sitting out the 1500m to focus on the 800m.
Jakob is going to have to make it fast enough to take out the sting of Rozmys's kick, because the latter showed major gear change in closing easily in 26, taking multiple seconds out of the field in the second heat. Jakob had trouble dealing with Rozmys's compatriot, Marcin Lewandowski, in slow, sit and kick races before. In this race, Jakob appeared to miscount laps and almost lost it at the line to Lewandowski, who left it too late but did beat him indoors later.
it was clear that Jakob Ingebrigtsen was fully in control at the 2018 European Athletics Championships, delivering splits of 1:51.27 and 53.64 for his final ...
When you are the best in the field you can win from any number of tactics. You look brilliant simply because you are better than everyone else. Slow start only works if the field is moving much slower than your capacity.
No it's not that simple, sorry.
Case in point the heats of the 1500 just the other night. Jake Heyward has run 3.31.08 and the first lap of that heat was 60.55 which is much slower than his capacity. So is 2.01.57 for 800m. Yes you expect the Olympic champ who has run 3.28 to come through as he did, but I personally don't expect to see him do it as easily as he did when there are a clutch of low 3.30 runners behind him diving for the line and/or visibly at their maximums in a 3.38 race. There is too big of a difference there to just pin on pure ability.
When Ben Jipcho ran in the ITA pro tour '74 - '75, he'd always let the entire field go in front at the start. There would only about six guys in the race, but it was the same principle. I'm pretty sure he won every race he ran in the ITA. Maybe someone can prove me wrong.
I'm not sure if he employed this tactic in his last full year as an "amateur", 1973. Jipcho was Track & Field News Athlete of the year in 1973.
I show once again that I am an old guy. I was 15 back then, I'd just broke 5:00 for the mile, and for a little while Ben Jipcho replaced Ryun & Keino as my heroes.
I honestly can't tell if the OP is being sarcastic or not. It seems so hyperbolic that I find it hard to believe. If this incredible tactic of Jakob is such genius, why doesnt he do it in all his 1500's? Outside of European championship heats where he is so superior to everyone around him, he never does it. In Tokyo, he was in the lead 150m into the race, in all his diamond leagues, he's been either hanging off the shoulder of Tim or Stewey or in the lead by 700/800. He can only win one way when up against World Class 1500 guys and that's in a fast race where he gets to the front.
If he pulled the same move he did today in a race at the Olympics/World final, he would get smoked. It has nothing to do with genius tactics, he's just fitter than everyone and was showing off. Dissecting the tactics of a European championship heat an Olympic Champion who is so much better than everyone else in it is absurd, he could've cruised that heat from the front too while controlling the pace too and maybe even saved more energy, he could've won that heat by slightly upping the tempo at 800, he could literally have won it anyway he wanted because he's just better than everyone there in fitness and by such a wide margin that it doesn't really matter what way he runs the race.