Erik has an outside chance. Definitely thought it was impressive what he did this past weekend in NYC. He looked like he was waiting for Sumner to go and just got stuck on the rail. I thought he looked like he had at least a second still in the tank which puts him right there in PR shape considering the pacing before.
Who wouldn't want to see Erik make the team!? Will be cheering for him at USAs!
Q: Will Erik Sowinski make the 800m world team at USAs?
ChatGPT: 10 years after making his first outdoor worlds team, Erik Sowinski drops Thor's hammer the last 200m passing 1 running to finish 3rd punching his ticket to Hungary in a PB of 1:44.24.
Right now, Hoppel looks like the only lock. He's been consistently the strongest through rounds since his days at KU.
Sumner got smoked last week- if he can recover and then recover some of his speed, I wouldn't count him out. However, collegians have had a tough time in world/olympic meets (just ask Hoppel).
Sowinski would be a great story, but I wonder if the rounds won't get him. He's a pacer, and the GOAT of pacing, but does he have the sharpness to race multiple rounds in different race scenarios? To be seen
He is a great pacer. Wavelight is the the world's BEST pacer. Get it right.
Nah. Erik can nail the pace and can also make adjustments on the fly as the race develops. The way he glances back over his shoulder when the competitors lag pretty much goads them into getting back up to him. Wavelight will never be able to do that.
With a minor upgrade someone could control the pace of the lights from a computer. Provided they had a good view of the lights from a video broadcast, they could adjust the lights on the fly depending upon what was going on out on the track. The only problem would be when the critical part of the race came up and they suddenly had to watch a high jumper scratch his nuts for a minute while Dwight Stones made an inane comment.
Nah. Erik can nail the pace and can also make adjustments on the fly as the race develops. The way he glances back over his shoulder when the competitors lag pretty much goads them into getting back up to him. Wavelight will never be able to do that.
With a minor upgrade someone could control the pace of the lights from a computer. Provided they had a good view of the lights from a video broadcast, they could adjust the lights on the fly depending upon what was going on out on the track. The only problem would be when the critical part of the race came up and they suddenly had to watch a high jumper scratch his nuts for a minute while Dwight Stones made an inane comment.
There’s a reason they still use rabbits even with pace lights. You still want a body in front of you to make it easier mentally and break the wind physically.
Right now, Hoppel looks like the only lock. He's been consistently the strongest through rounds since his days at KU.
Sumner got smoked last week- if he can recover and then recover some of his speed, I wouldn't count him out. However, collegians have had a tough time in world/olympic meets (just ask Hoppel).
Sowinski would be a great story, but I wonder if the rounds won't get him. He's a pacer, and the GOAT of pacing, but does he have the sharpness to race multiple rounds in different race scenarios? To be seen
Not exactly true.
...Clayton Murphy took his 2016 NCAA 800 & 1500 titles and went on to a 800 Bronze medal in Rio Olympics
I wouldn't put money on it, but the 800 does seem fairly wide open. Who is a lock?
I don't think any American is currently a lock for the 800 right now. Hoppel seems to be in the best form of anyone, but I'm still putting him at 75% to make the team. There's just so many other smaller fish who could sneak up on him, and he hasn't shown any sign he's head and shoulders above the rest right now. It is very possible he doesn't make it.
The 800 right now in America (excluding Brazier) is an event with a bunch of average to slightly-above-average athletes, all at around the same ability level. Some have shown signs of greatness, but are not consistent enough to rely on as a medal lock or even a team lock. At any moment some newcomer can jump in and knock out last year's top runner. It makes the event interesting to watch at USAs, but disappointing to follow at worlds because I can't count on any of them to perform against the world's best.
I love Erik, but I think people are overestimating the time jump he'd make without pacing 40 minutes earlier. A 1:55 800 pace job isn't going to wreck him, and 40 minutes is more than enough to get the heart rate back down. He can probably run 1:45 mid in a nice paced race, but too many other people can run 1:45 mid in a nice paced race. And I don't think he has the kick to hang with the younger legs in slower paced races. I'm pretty sure he wasn't top 3 Americans in the race in New York over the weekend, and that was one subset of US 800 runners. It would be a win to make another US final and be top 8. Maybe the stars could align and he gets 3rd in a 1:44.99 but I don't think that's very likely at all.
If there is any scenario that even LR posters couldn't hate, it would be Sowinski sitting and kicking to make the team.
Agreed! Also, if I had to rank likelihood to make the team right now (without a lot of research) I'd say:
Hoppel, Murphy, Jewitt, Sumner, Harris, and...? No offense to those names, but each come with a bit of a question mark to some degree. And, I could switch the names around fairly easily without needing much convincing.
Seems a far cry from just a few years ago when Brazier and Murphy seemed like they could be a formidible one two punch for the US for years to come.
Right now, Hoppel looks like the only lock. He's been consistently the strongest through rounds since his days at KU.
Sumner got smoked last week- if he can recover and then recover some of his speed, I wouldn't count him out. However, collegians have had a tough time in world/olympic meets (just ask Hoppel).
Sowinski would be a great story, but I wonder if the rounds won't get him. He's a pacer, and the GOAT of pacing, but does he have the sharpness to race multiple rounds in different race scenarios? To be seen
Not exactly true.
...Clayton Murphy took his 2016 NCAA 800 & 1500 titles and went on to a 800 Bronze medal in Rio Olympics
It makes no sense to say “just ask Hoppel” either. Hoppel’s best international result by far was 4th in Doha 2019, after winning NCAAs that year. Jewett had bad luck in the Tokyo semifinal after he won NCAAs, but making it that far was a lot better than anything he’s done since. Way back in 2011 Centrowitz first gained MF status when he won World Championship bronze after winning the NCAA 1500. There’s definitely a precedent for riding NCAA success to a magical summer.
...Clayton Murphy took his 2016 NCAA 800 & 1500 titles and went on to a 800 Bronze medal in Rio Olympics
It makes no sense to say “just ask Hoppel” either. Hoppel’s best international result by far was 4th in Doha 2019, after winning NCAAs that year. Jewett had bad luck in the Tokyo semifinal after he won NCAAs, but making it that far was a lot better than anything he’s done since. Way back in 2011 Centrowitz first gained MF status when he won World Championship bronze after winning the NCAA 1500. There’s definitely a precedent for riding NCAA success to a magical summer.
On the women’s side, Athing Mu won the Olympics after a long collegiate season.
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