Obviously he's realized he doesn't have a 1500 spot, but was this year his last real chance at a 5K spot?
I just don't see a scenario in which he gets on a start line with Fisher, Blanks, Young, Nur, Jacobs, Wolfe, Hocker, maybe Kincaid or Strand, and comes top 3. Especially if the race is above 13:10, which it likely will be.
I feel like this past year he could have had that Blanks/Wolfe spot, but these kids are just too fast now. Does he ever wear a USA jersey again?
Deer Cooper Teare, I write this letter to you as an avid fan of American distance running who wants the best for all American distance runners. I know you’re probably very busy with training, so I’ll keep this short and to the point: I implore you to immediately switch your primary event to the steeplechase. Here are the reasons a switch to the steeplechase is the best move for you: 1: You are naturally suited for it! With your 1500 speed, 5000 strength, and tall height, you have the same gifts that Evan Jager utilized to become an Olympic and world championship medal winner. 2: It’s your best chance to make the US Olympic team. The 1500 and 5000 are going to be barnburners at the US Olympic Trials. Those teams were already expected to be tough coming into this year, but the improvement of Hobbs Kessler and Colin Sahlman make the 1500 even tougher, and the rise of Nico Young and Graham Blanks make the 5000 even tougher. You’d have much weaker competition in the steeplechase, both now and for the next four years. 3: It’s your best chance to win an Olympic medal. The world is ridiculously stacked in the 1500 and 5000 right now. Not so much in the steeplechase. Just like Evan Jager, you could win a medal! 4: You could be the first American to break the 8:00 barrier. Wouldn’t that be cool? All the major time barriers have already been broken by Americans in the 1500, mile, and 5000. Being the first American under 8:00 in the steeplechase would be a monumental and permanent claim to fame. 5: Your country needs you. We already have medal contenders in the 1500 and 5000. What we desperately need is a contender in the steeplechase. In last year’s world championships, the top American finished only 10th. You could do so much better! As President JFK once said, “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” You can give USA distance running fans reason for hope in the steeplechase. If not for yourself, do it for your country. Please at least give the steeplechase a try. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain. Glory awaits you in the steeplechase. All the best to you. Sincerely, Someone who loves America 🇺🇸
“You’d have much weaker competition in the steeplechase, both now and for the next four years.”
That’s why he should switch to the steeple? Abandoning his best distances to avoid competition, would be un-American.
-Blanks has ran 12:59 indoors. 2 seconds off of Teare indoor PR. Also ran 7:29. Faster than Teare 3K
-Jacobs beat Teare in a 3K at Millrose
-Strand and Wolfe both have ran faster than Teare over 3K.
-Nur has proven that Teare cannot close a 5K like he can 2 years in a row at USA'S.
About 2022: Nuguse had an awful day. The rest of the field sucked. Teare won in 3:45 high. Eric Holt closed in 52.02 for 4th. Josh Thompson closed in 51.71 for 3rd.
I think there will be 8 1500 runners at USA's this year who would have beaten Teare in that 2022 race. Credit to him for capitalizing on a weak field, but it was truly really weak.
None of that changes what I said. Teare has still run faster over 5k than they have and also showed closing speed they haven’t.
I think giving up the 1500m is pretty reasonable but it feels like he should be right there in the 5k. He isn’t going to be favorite over nur, blanks, Wolfe Nico,Jacob,… but he is right there. Fisher is the only clearly better guy. Compare that to the 1500 where Hocker, Nuguse, and Kessler are clearly a step up and we then have strand,Martin, CS, and other half dozen dudes have run 3:32/3:50ish type times.
Unless your name is fisher, hocker, or nuguse it is going to be hard to make a distance team. On the other hand, he has trained with elites and knows what it takes. He has exceeded expectations in the past, but it is for sure going to be tough to make a team on the track.
It was stupid for him not to try to make indoors. That might have been his chance.
I think you can add Kessler to that list. Which basically means the 1500m team is set unless one of them gets injured at some point.
Obviously he's realized he doesn't have a 1500 spot, but was this year his last real chance at a 5K spot?
I just don't see a scenario in which he gets on a start line with Fisher, Blanks, Young, Nur, Jacobs, Wolfe, Hocker, maybe Kincaid or Strand, and comes top 3. Especially if the race is above 13:10, which it likely will be.
I feel like this past year he could have had that Blanks/Wolfe spot, but these kids are just too fast now. Does he ever wear a USA jersey again?
We're at a point with middle distance now where a lot of really great runners aren't going to make a team.
That's a good problem to have but hopefully there are enough opportunities for the others to make decent money.
For the 3 spots in the 5k this year, I think you've got Grant Fisher as a lock for top 3, then for the 2nd spot I have trouble seeing Cole Hocker not making the team this time. The argument against him would be he wasn't able to do it last year and it is a tough double with the 15, but he just ran 7:23 and 12:57 and has the best kick in the field, in a championship race I like his odds. After that Teare wouldn't be my pick to finish 3rd, but if I were him I'd think I have as good of a chance as anyone else. The 2nd to 5th place finishers from last year should all be back (Nur, Wolfe, Blanks and Jacobs), plus I'd add Young to that group. I think Teare is on basically the same level as those guys and it will come down to who has the best race on the day. If 100% healthy I think Nur has the best chance, but we'll see how his recovery goes. Young will definitely run the 10K too, Blanks probably will, and maybe Jacobs will, so Teare could be one of the few fresh runners in the field.
indoor results indicate Teare is on the road to PB, he;s as strong as Hocker
if training goes great, he'll be top 3 and be where "he should" be
or be blighted slightly with so so training, and the B game
personally i'd not mind that shape and talent, as a young man, go on the circuit with weekly races across europe and bag a podium or two, in some of the smaller meets and make a dent in the big meets.
from a fun perspective. if anyone knows about that angle. where you don't cry in your beer daily, saying i could have been a contenda. and other psychological poison.
There is no Cooper Teare problem. He does have to worry about Fisher, Nico & Hocker. But Kincaid maybe washed and as far as the young guys, he’s run 12:54 - significantly faster than all of them and has shown significantly better closing ability if the race is above 13:10 as you mentioned.
In 2022, Teare won the USATF 1500m title with a 51.87 last lap. No one you mentioned, including Hocker has ever closed that fast.
Yeah but come on that final statement is very misleading. That race went out in 64, 2.08 and 3.07 at 1200m. 51.87 last lap in a 3.45.8 race.
Last year Hocker ran 52.60 for the final lap of a 3.30 race and Nuguse 52.8.
Where does this closing ability in a 13.10 race basis come from? Based on the sub 52 in a 3.45 1500m? Because no disrespect, but getting to 1100m at 2.44 in a 1500m is not even in the same stratosphere as getting to 4600m in 12.15-12.20 in a 5k
Teare does have an issue - he's a really good runner but doesn't physiologically have a great anaerobic threshold or great anaerobic capacity/power. In terms of the pro ranks he's sort of middle pack at both. The 2022 trials 1500m was a strangely bad race, it just was. So he's never going to be able to grind guys down a-la Jakob over either distance and he doesn't have the wheels to make up ground/take advantage of bodies like Kessler does. The trials final last year is completely indicative of what will happen to him over 1500/5000m in any type of non-aberrative race at this level.
Sounds harsh but let me repeat this, he's a really really good runner - it's just I don't see what the path is for him anymore.
Tears ran 7:30 and 12:57 indoors. The only Americans who ran notably faster are Fisher, Hocker, and Nico. All three are likely to target other races too. Blanks, Jacobs, Wolfe, and Strand ran about the same in the 3k and slower or didn’t race a 5k. On a good day, Teare makes the team. On an average day, it’s close but he probably stays home. Only Fisher is a lock on an average day in the 5k.
That’s what fans should want, guys that know how to properly target peak performance at goal races.
i think his chances in the 15 are cooked after last year. He honestly should’ve just ran the 5k last year. Going in on the 5k is the move and he needs to just hope the cards are right for him to get top 3. He does have the standard and he ran 12:54 so you can’t say he’s done. Because he could easily get 2nd behind Fisher but he could also get 8th. That’s how much of an anomaly he is. But no one remembers that he does have a US Title which was in his first year as a pro and made the Eugene team which was not long ago.
That being said, i’m just surprised he didn’t race USA indoors in the 15 or 3k. 2 races he probably could’ve gotten top 2 in and made an indoor team. Making a US team would give me confidence in outdoor to do something special and I could say that I made a USA world championship team. It’s not like he’s a 10k guy where there’s limited opportunities. There are chances to get a 5k time and/or 15 time for Tokyo in outdoor.
I also still don’t know why he went to Bowerman Track Club. I think it was a move everyone that scratched everyone’s head's. He lost the touch and a good amount of speed and turnover he had from the Oregon days with Jerry and I’m glad he realized it. He should be a 3:29 guy right now and the focus now should be getting that turnover back
I could see him taking the Drew Hunter sort of route in the next 2-3 years and start running 10k’s tho. But he’s a top 5 guy in the 5k in the US and 12:54 is basically world class. He also beat his 3:27 training partner twice in 5ks the past couple of years. He has time
This post was edited 9 minutes after it was posted.
Literally anything can happen, that's why they hold a Trials event and don't just pick teams. His chances are definitely high for making a team though. His best chance is at the 5000, it always has been, except maybe the year he made the team in the 1500. It's time to stop chasing that high and go all in on the 5k.
There is no Cooper Teare problem. He does have to worry about Fisher, Nico & Hocker. But Kincaid maybe washed and as far as the young guys, he’s run 12:54 - significantly faster than all of them and has shown significantly better closing ability if the race is above 13:10 as you mentioned.
In 2022, Teare won the USATF 1500m title with a 51.87 last lap. No one you mentioned, including Hocker has ever closed that fast.
Yeah but come on that final statement is very misleading. That race went out in 64, 2.08 and 3.07 at 1200m. 51.87 last lap in a 3.45.8 race.
Last year Hocker ran 52.60 for the final lap of a 3.30 race and Nuguse 52.8.
Where does this closing ability in a 13.10 race basis come from? Based on the sub 52 in a 3.45 1500m? Because no disrespect, but getting to 1100m at 2.44 in a 1500m is not even in the same stratosphere as getting to 4600m in 12.15-12.20 in a 5k
Teare does have an issue - he's a really good runner but doesn't physiologically have a great anaerobic threshold or great anaerobic capacity/power. In terms of the pro ranks he's sort of middle pack at both. The 2022 trials 1500m was a strangely bad race, it just was. So he's never going to be able to grind guys down a-la Jakob over either distance and he doesn't have the wheels to make up ground/take advantage of bodies like Kessler does. The trials final last year is completely indicative of what will happen to him over 1500/5000m in any type of non-aberrative race at this level.
Sounds harsh but let me repeat this, he's a really really good runner - it's just I don't see what the path is for him anymore.
Eh, I'd like to see how he does in the 5000 final when he doesn't have 4 races in his legs first before saying he has no path.
Obviously he's realized he doesn't have a 1500 spot, but was this year his last real chance at a 5K spot?
I just don't see a scenario in which he gets on a start line with Fisher, Blanks, Young, Nur, Jacobs, Wolfe, Hocker, maybe Kincaid or Strand, and comes top 3. Especially if the race is above 13:10, which it likely will be.
I feel like this past year he could have had that Blanks/Wolfe spot, but these kids are just too fast now. Does he ever wear a USA jersey again?
Kincaid is phasing out. Blanks, Strand and Wolfe will require adjusting. Young is more 10,000m. Teare needs to realize that maybe Hocker's training is not for him. Teare should have bought into the Bowerman system to get strong, like Fisher, always having his 1500 wheels. Then moving on. But he has jumped around, has not added to his arsenal, and now seems stuck. There is always the steeple as has been suggested on this forum multiple times.
This is why running and track are dead sports you have a top 10 USA guy who can do nothing. In cycling he could have an amazing career targeting certain style of races, doing continental events, being a strong respected domestique.... And so on.
Strand still has something to prove in 5k. But Blanks is already an olympian at the distance, and Wolfe would have been if he had the time qualifier. Not saying Teare couldn't beat them, but I don't think we need to account for any "adjustment period."
Eh, I'd like to see how he does in the 5000 final when he doesn't have 4 races in his legs first before saying he has no path.
Like in 2023 when he got bounced in the heats of the 1500m as the defending champ and then finished 5th in the 5000m 3 days later getting beaten by guys like McGorty and Klecker in a 13.25 race that should have perfectly suited his "1500m pedigree"?
If he even was able to replicate that 5th place finish again moving forwards it would be an absolute miracle. Maybe if the race got to 4600 on 13.45 pace and he was well positioned on the rail and a bunch of guys lost their minds in the final 250m he might get lucky.
Look you can still be very good in this sport and only have a short window at the top where you can make teams or get lucky enough to make teams. That's not even a controversial or critical statement to make - even recent history is littered with names of very good and talented athletes this applies to. Don't be mad, it's not personal.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Eh, I'd like to see how he does in the 5000 final when he doesn't have 4 races in his legs first before saying he has no path.
Like in 2023 when he got bounced in the heats of the 1500m as the defending champ and then finished 5th in the 5000m 3 days later getting beaten by guys like McGorty and Klecker in a 13.25 race that should have perfectly suited his "1500m pedigree"?
If he even was able to replicate that 5th place finish again moving forwards it would be an absolute miracle. Maybe if the race got to 4600 on 13.45 pace and he was well positioned on the rail and a bunch of guys lost their minds in the final 250m he might get lucky.
Look you can still be very good in this sport and only have a short window at the top where you can make teams or get lucky enough to make teams. That's not even a controversial or critical statement to make - even recent history is littered with names of very good and talented athletes this applies to. Don't be mad, it's not personal.
This is the main reason not to like Teare's chances compared to guys like Nur, Wolfe, Blanks and Jacobs. Although Teare's 2 indoor races show at the moment he's in just as good of shape as them, he doesn't have a good history at the US champs except for his one 1500 win in a relatively weak year. I was just reading Kessler's T&FN interview about getting in as many high pressure races as possible to get ready for the pressure of the olympic trials last year - it seems like that's an approach that could be helpful for Teare and why it would've been nice to see him racing at US indoors and maybe world indoors this year.
Made this pitch last year prior to the trials but he should at least get in the sound 10k to see if he can get the standard
if he can get that how many guys would he realistically have to beat at USAs? Fisher, Young and presumably Blanks? Does anyone else have the standard?
Woody ran 26:57.57 at The Ten last year, and that's within the window. There's a longer window for the 10 than for the shorter events. It opened on Feb 25, 2024, and The Ten was March 16, 2024. Emphasis mine in the quote below:
WA qualifying doc wrote:
Qualification period valid for Entry Standards and World Rankings – For the Marathon: 18 months from 5 November 2023 to midnight 4 May 2025 (regardless of the time zone). – For the 10,000m, 35km Race Walk, 20km Race Walk, Combined Events and Relays: 18 months from 25 February 2024 to midnight 24 August 2025 (regardless of the time zone). – For all other events: Entry Standards can be achieved from 1 August 2024 to midnight 24 August 2025 (regardless of the time zone). Current event ranking rules and period will apply for World Ranking. Results achieved during Olympic Games Paris 24 will also be considered valid for World Ranking even if outside of the one-year period.