I still can't get over the fact that he didn't do the Diamond League final last year. Incomprehensible.
It makes all the sense in hindsight. He risked getting beaten in a non-consequential race fresh off his WC gold which might have damaged his confidence and watered down his win. By skipping that, he kept riding his WC gold high and used it as a platform for a fantastic indoor season and now he has cemented some dominance in the sport. His coach is brilliant.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
Factually speaking, Kerr has raced the following athletes head-to-head in 2024: - Jakob Ingebrigtsen (W) #1 ranked in 1500 - Yared Nuguse x2 (W,W) #2 ranked - Reynold Cheruiyot (W) #3 ranked - Abel Kipsang (W) #5 ranked - Cole Hocker (W) #9 ranked - Mario Garcia Romo (W) #10 ranked - Ollie Hoare (W) - Jake Wightman (W) - Neil Gourley (W) - George Beamish (W) - Selemon Barega (W) - Grant Fisher (W)
I anticipate all the qualifiers for why these didn't really count, but I think it's disingenuous to say he's ducking anyone. He's raced everyone worth racing in the last 20 weeks.
The athletes have every right to cash in but let’s not pretend it will “grow the sport”. Triathlon is going through a similar thing with the PTO, T100 joke. A competitor circuit to Ironman with contracts and bigger prize purses all funded by hedge funds hoping for a return from broadcasting rights. Yet, the pool of racers is small, the novel distance favors a small few, the athletes under contract are not showing up to race, the race venues leave a lot to be desired, the competition is nonexistent and the broadcasting is still streamed free with very few takers willing to pay. And it’s going on three years. Grand Slam track is as silly as this and the XFL and the USFL and any other upstart thinking it can reinvent a sport.
I love Kerr's chosen words about him 'leading the 800/1500m category'. I think his current 800m world ranking is a bit lower than Leader.
I think he's a fantastic 1500m runner in every aspect but the traits that facilitate this aren't the same as those which give insightful or even consistent interview responses. I think he's not the sharpest tool in the box but then neither was El G.
Omitting any mention of the cash involved looks just weasely. I'm a Brit but I'd really love it - for the interest of the sport - if neither Kerr nor Jakob wins OG gold.
Factually speaking, Kerr has raced the following athletes head-to-head in 2024: - Jakob Ingebrigtsen (W) #1 ranked in 1500 - Yared Nuguse x2 (W,W) #2 ranked - Reynold Cheruiyot (W) #3 ranked - Abel Kipsang (W) #5 ranked - Cole Hocker (W) #9 ranked - Mario Garcia Romo (W) #10 ranked - Ollie Hoare (W) - Jake Wightman (W) - Neil Gourley (W) - George Beamish (W) - Selemon Barega (W) - Grant Fisher (W)
I anticipate all the qualifiers for why these didn't really count, but I think it's disingenuous to say he's ducking anyone. He's raced everyone worth racing in the last 20 weeks.
I don't think you need to worry about athletes showing up and not being in the best shape. I think Kerr was saying that he wants to be able to race the best in the world 4x throughout the year instead of having to put all his eggs in one basket (Olympics or WCs). If you're only focused on the Olympics, your whole season can be derailed by 1 injury in July.
I think this is the real truth. The current state of the sport is that the yearly global championship is the only competition that truly matters. The entire sport is structured around it, including all the money. The DL meets are nothing compared to the media attention and financial bonus you get for winning an Olympic gold. One global gold changes an entire career.
Having a single championship works well in team sports, where there is less variability. Sure, losing a star player hurts, but part of building a winning team is building a good bench to draw from. Individual sports are much better off when you have a series of major events every year (4 tennis majors, 6 marathon majors, 3 grand tours), allowing multiple opportunities for an athlete to make their mark. The Diamond League is supposed to do this, but it fails because there are too many of them, too little financial incentive, and too little media coverage. GST is attempting to fix this (we will see if it succeeds).
I think Kerr phrased his answers to put himself in a very positive light. He definitely dodges the competition right now in favor of focusing only on the global championship. But I also do think that's more of a response to the structure of the sport than an unwillingness to compete. He says himself "I don't race a ton right now because that's the blueprint that's been working" and "I want to enjoy being one of the best in the world and not worrying too much about going after an Olympic title or a world title." Also find it interesting that he talks about racing in the UK more (potential indication that London is one of the two international locations).
I largely agree with his position, I think he could've been a little more honest with his phrasing but I also do genuinely believe he would rather race more, he just chooses not to in order to focus on his plan for the Olympics (and I don't blame him, because it worked out perfectly in Budapest). I also don't think GST will have much impact on the global championship (tennis, marathoning, and cycling all still care about the Olympics) but I do believe the Diamond League will fall out of favor, possibly resulting in some stagnation in times (although there will always be WR time trials).
I still can't get over the fact that he didn't do the Diamond League final last year. Incomprehensible.
It makes all the sense in hindsight. He risked getting beaten in a non-consequential race fresh off his WC gold which might have damaged his confidence and watered down his win. By skipping that, he kept riding his WC gold high and used it as a platform for a fantastic indoor season and now he has cemented some dominance in the sport. His coach is brilliant.
I don´t think he dominated much at the UK 800m trials.
He knows Jakob and Nuguse are unlikely to participate in the Grand Slam because the 8 and 15 are bundled together, so of course he’s going to run it. The money helps too obviously but his explanation is utter nonsense.
Kerr is a great athlete but I cannot stand the stuff he says.
The problem to me is no one is going ot care about who wins the double and it's all quite arbitrary as to who wins this mini-decathlon. If the event was 1500/3k instead of 800/1500, then Nuguse is much better as is Jakob.
I'm just not going to care much about the 100k prize. If they want to have super meets with super fields, go ahead but get rid of this made up scoring system.
But as it stands now, why do I care who wins the double. The athlete may care as they 100k but I won't. If Bryce Hoppel runs and gets third in the 800 and 1500, am I excited to annoing him the champion even though Arop won the 800 in 1:41.1 and Kerr won the 1500 in 3:27.9?
This quote and Sydney's quote a few weeks ago perfectly show my main problem with the whole league - its whole premise is built on a lie. MJ and organizers want you to think these are going to Grand Slams and really important. But Sydney already said it will be great for people to see her not in shape and work her way into shape which implies the meets aren't really important and Kerr basically admits that as well - saying he won't be too worried about how he does. He'll just enjoy himself out there and not be stressed like he is for a real championship at Worlds.
My prediction. It dilutes the diamond league, dilutes worlds and then goes bankrupt in a year or 2.
Two aspects to this - the Grand Slam Track concept and Kerrs comments
Re GST - let's be honest here really, this was a way for Michael Johnson (one of the biggest egos in the history of the sport) to be relevant again and make a ton of money because I'm sure his "salary" as CEO and founder is going to occupy a decent amount of the alleged 30. million bucks in startup. Yes, the athletes that are lucky enough to sign and compete in these meetings are also going to make great money and who can begrudge them that - nobody should, but I do agree that there is simply no way this won't dilute the DL (at the very least) and I just can't see how this ever really resonates enough to attract long term sponsorship and hence be a long term viable proposition beyond 1-2 years max.
This is for a number of reasons but the primary one being, you want to hold only 24 track races across 3 days and expect how many people to show up? (I also heard the other day the European venues are rumored to be Berlin and London so pretty big stadiums to fill for 3 days of what, 75 min of track only action per day?)
As for Kerrs comments and just his choice of words in general for his newfound fame - I don't get wound up about it. Yes, he doesn't come across well - in fact he sounds like a total twat right now but he's only 26 years old. It's a tough sport, he's trying to manufacture a persona that he thinks he needs to have to compete and sometimes when a microphone is stuck in front of you and you are asked certain things, you just play up to it. He's a kid trying to sound cool - who hasn't been there? I think we see his incredibly high competence and aptitude for running and think it must automatically apply to everything in his life like public speaking etc.
So honestly I personally take all his comments with a grain of salt. Does anyone really believe he's not going to worry about being an Olympic/World champion post Paris? I don't believe that for a second but he again, he's just trying to sound sophisticated and purposely irreverent. He's playing the "Brooks Koepka of Track and Field" role. Just a maturity thing.
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in fact he sounds like a total twat right now but he's only 26 years old.
Yes guys, he's just a 26 year old teenager. Fresh out of high school. Once he finishes college at 40 years old he'll be a different person, you'll see.
So you'd rather these professional athletes be broke just to please you and all these other crybabies? They all have bills, so they want the highest pay available. If you don't like it then get your money up and start sponsoring athletes and putting together track meets.
He knows Jakob and Nuguse are unlikely to participate in the Grand Slam because the 8 and 15 are bundled together, so of course he’s going to run it. The money helps too obviously but his explanation is utter nonsense.
Kerr is a great athlete but I cannot stand the stuff he says.
The problem to me is no one is going ot care about who wins the double and it's all quite arbitrary as to who wins this mini-decathlon. If the event was 1500/3k instead of 800/1500, then Nuguse is much better as is Jakob.
I'm just not going to care much about the 100k prize. If they want to have super meets with super fields, go ahead but get rid of this made up scoring system.
But as it stands now, why do I care who wins the double. The athlete may care as they 100k but I won't. If Bryce Hoppel runs and gets third in the 800 and 1500, am I excited to annoing him the champion even though Arop won the 800 in 1:41.1 and Kerr won the 1500 in 3:27.9?
Do we know if the currently signed GSL athletes get a say in who gets signed?
I imagine Kerr will want to compete against 800 or 1500 meter specialists since he is basically a 1500 specialist. Bringing in someone like Kessler would be terrible for Kerr. Kerr will always beat Kesller in the 1500, but Kessler is decent enough to finish well. Then Kessler will also finish well in the 800. Wheras bringing in someone like Arop or Hoppel, these guys will get smoked in the 1500, and Kerr probably does proportionally better in his weak event, the 800.
Sorry kerr that fake beardline isnt hiding that recessed chin and weak jawline. You are just sitting and kicking on jakobs career. He is out racing and entertaining while you dodge him and trip people in the 800m for mo reason
His answers to questions in that interview make sense to me.
How does it make sense when he talks about how he wants to face the best runners in the world, but says he didn't feel like running in the Euros where the current Olympic champ was running, and signed up for a competition where he can't face the best runners who run the 15/5k instead of the 8/15?
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