Or maybe there are more good athletes now than 15 years ago. I'll assume in 10 more years there will be multiple 19 year olds running under 3:55 every year.
Could be, but German's pre super shoe performance is more impressive than this current record.
People ran faster in 2024 than in 2021. People are always getting faster. When are we going to stop saying records are because of the new spikes or new road shoes? The half marathon world record keeps getting beat every year. The shoes came out in 2016, some people had prototypes (Kipchoge being one of them) in the end of 2015. It's getting old saying fast times are because of the shoes when they've been out for quite a while.
Could be, but German's pre super shoe performance is more impressive than this current record.
People ran faster in 2024 than in 2021. People are always getting faster. When are we going to stop saying records are because of the new spikes or new road shoes? The half marathon world record keeps getting beat every year. The shoes came out in 2016, some people had prototypes (Kipchoge being one of them) in the end of 2015. It's getting old saying fast times are because of the shoes when they've been out for quite a while.
Give me a break, of course the spikes help, and his record is superior.
What a talent. Imagine if he lived in this day and age......dude would have run 3:50 for the mile as a 19 year.
1:55/4:05/8:45 in two hours at SJS masters
4:10 on day one, 4:00/8:34 on day two over two hours at the state meet, no pacers, nothing
Don't forget after SJS Masters and the CIF State meet he had to hurry home for the dinner shift at Applebee's.
Thanks for that video. He was special and has beautiful efficient form.
I would agree he was the greatest talent of our time. More potential than Webb, Centro, Hocker, Nuguse, Fisher etc.
Fortunately for him not all was wasted. CA xc, Foot Locker, usa HS track champs, hs and U20 records, NCAA titles at OSU, and even a bit of pro success are all in his memory banks.
Fortunately for him not all was wasted. CA xc, Foot Locker, usa HS track champs, hs and U20 records, NCAA titles at OSU, and even a bit of pro success are all in his memory banks.
A significantly greater talent than Centro. Only difference is that Centro had daddy’s money and connections from an early age to allow him to stay healthy and be trained properly. Smh.
A significantly greater talent than Centro. Only difference is that Centro had daddy’s money and connections from an early age to allow him to stay healthy and be trained properly. Smh.
Centro > GF. Durability, mental and physical is a talent which GF never had. GF fans also were a huge liability, always with he's going to surpass Galen Rupp and go sub 13 anyday now, because he's a "metronome," always focused on and demanding short term results NOW.
A significantly greater talent than Centro. Only difference is that Centro had daddy’s money and connections from an early age to allow him to stay healthy and be trained properly. Smh.
Centro, cmon running is one of the few sports where money makes little difference. Take a look at hockey, sailing, motor racing, skiing and golf for money to matter.
Difference in talent between German and Centro is really small.
Looking at the video of German is awesome. Cranny, old Mary Decker film, G Dibaba also prett amazing to watch.
He WAS talented, for a very brief time. What does it matter? If he lived in this day and age, he would’ve run himself into the ground some other way…he was never meant for longevity.
Jeff Nelson was the first high-profile victim of Alberto Salazar's win-at-all costs pathology. Alberto saw him as a threat and crushed his spirit when he could have taken him under his wing and helped him develop into the Olympian he seemed destined to become.
In the video, which has fantastic splits for every lap and 400, as well as speed at any moment, German finishes at almost exactly 3:54 flat by the on-screen lock. I freeze-framed it showing 3:54.01 just half a step after he finishes. 3:55 then appears after as the official time. I timed the race and the stop watch reads 3:53.99. This was a 3:54 mile, not a 3:55 mile. Unless the video literally slowed down over time, it is not too surprising they'd make a mistake in a fairly low key meet like this.
Jerry was the worst possible coach for a guy like German. He makes his guys do enormous volume in track workouts and do very fast workouts as well. German could not stand either one. He needed a coach sensitive to his athletes but also able to hold them back from their own tendencies to push, something Dave wasn't able to do with him at OSU. He ran 7:47 as a young 18 year old freshman indoors while really sick and then 13:25 AJR record outdoors.
A significantly greater talent than Centro. Only difference is that Centro had daddy’s money and connections from an early age to allow him to stay healthy and be trained properly. Smh.
Centro, cmon running is one of the few sports where money makes little difference. Take a look at hockey, sailing, motor racing, skiing and golf for money to matter.
Difference in talent between German and Centro is really small.
Looking at the video of German is awesome. Cranny, old Mary Decker film, G Dibaba also prett amazing to watch.
Sure, money in those sports matter, but it can in running as well. Being able to pay for a private, personal coach for a decade before anyone else your age even starts training is a huge advantage.
And even more than that, Centro's dad with the connections was the major advantage. See Steph Curry being surrounded by NBA players via his dad from the time he was born.
Compare that to someone like Webb or Fernandez, who was born to "normal" parents, and had to train for 10+ years to even get to where Centro was when he entered college.
For anyone curious, the video below shows German's record run. No pacers, no super spikes, and no BU track. Just German and his absurd sense of pace going out and ripping. I'm also of the belief that German had a special level of talent. His engine and mechanics are things you just can't teach someone. If he had had that last piece of the talent puzzle to stay healthy, I think he could have been a Jakob level runner for the US and been an international force at 1500/5000. Also when German set this record, he had just turned 18 the previous November, so he was the age of most high school seniors.
Compare that to someone like Webb or Fernandez, who was born to "normal" parents, and had to train for 10+ years to even get to where Centro was when he entered college.
You run into kids who had advantages in all parts of life. I'm just not bitter about it. Many of those kids have become my friends over the years. Shockingly, being better off than my parents, I also try to give my kids a useful education.
Ironically, despite these enormous differences in parental support, German was already faster than Centro was as a high school senior with only 3 years of training.
I supposed you are the poster who is angry with Addie Ritzenhein for having Ritz as a dad.
Compare that to someone like Webb or Fernandez, who was born to "normal" parents, and had to train for 10+ years to even get to where Centro was when he entered college.
You run into kids who had advantages in all parts of life. I'm just not bitter about it. Many of those kids have become my friends over the years. Shockingly, being better off than my parents, I also try to give my kids a useful education.
Ironically, despite these enormous differences in parental support, German was already faster than Centro was as a high school senior with only 3 years of training.
I supposed you are the poster who is angry with Addie Ritzenhein for having Ritz as a dad.
Lol. I completely agree, you see people like this all the time. It's no secret that if you come from a supportive family who has means to provide you with opportunities not afforded to others with less, you begin life with a "leg up". That's all I meant, is that Centro had a leg up that others like Webb and Fernandez did not have.