Cooper Teare 3:32.16

I think the field has gotten better since last year with Hocker, Kessler, Sahlman, Green and Houser all looking better, whereas Teare has shown so far that he's the same guy. My guess is he's probably going to finish 4th-6th in the final, IF he even makes the final. If his results last year were any indication of his true talents, I think if he actually focuses on the 5k, he would be a sub-13 guy who can actually make teams. His natty title was such a fluke, it was weirdly slow and all the best guys were either absent or injured, and has just been a distraction.

He beat Grijalva straight up and the race was very quick…

Hocker needs more experience running in fast races. What works for him tactically in 3:35 races doesn't work in 3:29 races where he cant just put himself in the back and hawk everyone down with a 52 second last lap.

I meant his 1500 title. Thanks for supporting my point though by bringing up the race where he beat Grijalva handily, a 12:52 guy who's placed 4th at Worlds twice.

Yes! That is what I mean. The 1500m is, unlike the sprints and the marathon majors, still a very diverse field.

While everyone on the list is American, their families were of Ethiopian, South African, Sudanese, Kenyan, Mexican, Jewish-Irish-Guyanan (guess who!), African-American, and/or European heritage. That is pretty impressive, if you ask me.

p.s. I am a big fan of the 1500 (if you can't tell) and have had the good fortune to watch 9 of these 16 guys race in person over the years.

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Does a race with only two finishers even count?

This.

I vaguely recall there being a minimum number of finishers required for a time to count for Olympic qualifying (and believe it was more than 2). Can anyone confirm? A quick scan through the guidelines isn't helping, so would need someone who knows more about the rules and regulations.

The rule is 5starters/10events

and this race had 5 starters, the meet had 10 running events (plus field events)

Couldn't you have made it under 3:33.2 to include Jim Ryun? He ran that time in1967 breaking the WR by 2.5 seconds.

You saw Budapest, no?

Yes, I was there. If I recall, he was 2nd/3rd to last and boxed the entire race until 1400m. He had to swing out wide and have lanes open up the last 100m just to have placed as well as he did. He didn’t even give himself a chance.

I forgot Centro was actually that fast!

You can’t pick and choose which races you get to analyze. Same race plan in Tokyo as in Budapest- boxed and in the back. If you’re relying on passing on the inside over and over, that’s just not going to consistently work. Hocker has wheels, and it’s a shame he doesn’t seem to put himself in contention to podium when he clearly can.

Look at the 2020 Olympic Trials. I mean, if you think that was being a tactical master, then it’s probably just best to end the discussion. He only gets away with poor tactics there because he’s running against Americans.

Easy to forget because he was a master tactician, and his Olympic gold race was so slow. He ought to get together with Hocker to discuss racing strategy, as they have pretty similar body sizes and ability to change gears quickly.

Lol. Not laughing at you. Laughing with you. Mr. Ryun's performance was off the charts (pun intended).

Maybe. Some of it is being in 3:31-2 shape against a slew of guys in 3:29-30 shape. It’ll be easier to judge him this year.

So you think Tokyo 2020 was a poor race tactically for Hocker? He ran a PB, I don't think he could have run any faster that day. Plus in these races that get blown open right away by Jakob or someone else there are no tactics, you are just trying to hang on and then kicking with whatever you have left.

Absolutely. Look how far back he allowed himself to be. When the break happened, he was way off the front. You’ve got to give yourself a chance, and not allow head starts. Hanging back then finishing crazy fast like that in these new championship style races is not the way to medal. Unfortunately, I don’t see him changing that practice.