Gjert does it again: Middling 28-year-old Jose Carlos Pinto (3:37-3:31.9 in 1 season)

He was up until this year at least? Not sure when he made the switch.

Ok, a Canadian (not American) did the jump. Good enough.

1500m: 3:34.4 (2024) to 3:34.2 (2025)

5000m: 13:16 (2024) to 13:12 (2025)

Just a start. Let’s see where this brings him. Lumb is 26 and will be 27 in a couple of weeks. So he is not “young” unfortunately.

Are we sure that Gjert coaches him? Athletics Canada web site still shows that Powell is his coach .

Gjert’s training group instagram page « Viking Athletics » has been promoting his recent results along with Pinto’s Nordas’ and Selva’s so i believe so.

He is now training together with Nordas and Pinto and has done it for some time. I know it for sure. He is also part of Viking Athletics. You will find them at Instagram.

BTW: when did he fall? How close to the lead was he?

Says nothing about his methods? Seems to me it says they're very effective.

Vikings Athletics ;)
https://www.instagram.com/_vikings_athletics_/

In the Story, you see photo of Gjert with his 3 athletes which one of them is Lumb.

I asked ChatGPT to see if there is any public info regarding Lumb switching to Gjert. It said that it could not find anything, but that there is a rumour on Letsrun (lol).

Not that it’s not true, but there does not seem to be any public info about that. You would think that there would be something.

Gjert was there coaching them. Saw it live.

Cgcgvh: Who are you gonna believe, me or your own lying eyes?

Here is my take. I am going to suspend the belief that they are doping because I want to and track is more fun that way. I coached a while in the NCAA and recruited/ coaches a lot of euros.

1. Euro training is much more organized than US training. Very methodical, very structured, science based. But also very easy (the majority of the time). No long long sessions, low volume, always focused on feeling good. You also only race when you feel ready.

2. the American system is much harder, less scientific, based around the US college training where the good coaches and athletes come from where you need 10k volume and strength to race for 10 months a year. You do the Michigan workout because it’s HARD. You run this loop hard because it’s HARD. Science? Nah HARD.

3. the Norwegian system combined the first and the second. A highly structured scientific approach but with probably double the volume of European programs.

I think that is why you see athletes go to him and excel. Very detailed and high high volume

About those six seconds...

The American College system's "do or die" pressure forces those six seconds out of the most early matured athletes already at age 20-22.

But many European athletes who don't have the same pressure at that early age still have the potential for those six seconds some years later in life.

But, yeah, it would be interesting to see if Gjert could bring Faith Kipyegon from 4:07 to 4:01 at her age - wouldn't it? ;-P

How about Jessica Hull's coach?

~7 seconds in one season, at 27?

Would be a great time to see Hobbs Kessler, who Ron Warhurst did so well with, pivot to Gjert. Ron has won the game five times over and his legacy is fully intact, and Hobbs seems like he could do with a big change…

His very famous son has accused him of abuse. Unless you think Jakob was lying that says quite a lot about Gjert's methods and how he relates to those he coaches.

Salazar was also a very successful coach. As we have seen, those successes don't compensate for their very apparent shortcomings.

I do think in the US especially in college the volume and intensity are higher younger because that is what is required. At 19 we need you running 2 10ks on grass in 8 days in under 31:00. Also you need to go out hard to not be in 200th place. Yeah 10 mile tempos are needed.

I visited a Scottish club, they were doing maybe half the volume of the US kids but were on top of strength, drills, form, health, balance. I think that is why the Euro girls have careers where our young stars crash and burn. They also meet after school and it’s dark in Europe at like 4:00pm. Coach didn’t want to send the youth kids out on the streets all the time.

I bet this guy was running 100k a week for years in his teens and 20s before going to Gert.

I remember Alberto getting Mo to join the NOP group and was shocked at how slow his easy days were and how below max he was training.

Perhaps he should consider Nordas, gone backwards since 2022. Looks less than likely to be a factor anymore