lke4:25 wrote:
I legitimately think he should move down to the 800 only because of how horribly bad the US mens 800 scene is. He could actually make the team.
I assume you’re being facetious, but no, he could not. I’m essentially certain he could never again break 1:46 even if it were his focus, and more importantly I think the lousy state of U.S. men’s 800 running is likely to be short lived. 2022 was an unfortunate anomaly, and even if Brazier/Hoppel/Murphy all never make it back to World-finalist form, I’m confident that some younger guys (Miller, Sumner, Flatt, any number of ~1:47 collegians) will emerge to fill the void.
To THOUGHTSLEADER regarding the 5,000: yes, he did run that 13:00 time trial 3+ years ago to finish 3rd among the BTC, but I think the miler moving up in distance thing works out less often than we like to imagine. If he’s in significant decline at 1500, he’ll be in decline as far as 5k potential too, and I think he’s been essentially a 1500 specialist with solid range at times from 800 through 5k. He probably knows he can’t compete with multiple members of the BTC at 5k and would not have made the ‘21 Olympic team at that distance if he’d tried, while he nearly won the OT that year at 1500. I think it’s wise for him to stick to his forte, even if age and injuries make his ‘24 Olympic chances rather unlikely.