Not doing well enough at 800m for you?? He may want to stay where he is for a while.
This.
Why do these threads always occur? When a generational talent emerges, there's always a group saying, "Hey, they should race another event!"
Mu was (note the past tense) a generational talent. The 800m WR that has stood for, what, 40 plus years? was within her reach... and then Kersee moved her up to the mile. Granted, Mu was (is) a head case, but when you have an athlete with WR potential, moving them up (or down) especially when one of the races is the 800m, has more risk than reward. The training is just too different.l
It's the classic Letsrun "move up" fallacy where people perceive longer events to be less competitive and they think that someone with "raw speed" can simply hone their aerobic development and dominate any event of their choosing.
Not doing well enough at 800m for you?? He may want to stay where he is for a while.
This.
Why do these threads always occur? When a generational talent emerges, there's always a group saying, "Hey, they should race another event!"
Mu was (note the past tense) a generational talent. The 800m WR that has stood for, what, 40 plus years? was within her reach... and then Kersee moved her up to the mile. Granted, Mu was (is) a head case, but when you have an athlete with WR potential, moving them up (or down) especially when one of the races is the 800m, has more risk than reward. The training is just too different.l
There’s no other way he can train, than to maximize his 800m ability. He can’t swap a few seconds from his 800m time to run faster in the mile. He’s always going to be closer to being a 400/800m guy than 800/1500m.
He should move down to the 400 for the rest of high school and race Wilson
Looks like he's run about 46 seconds this year. In all seriousness, and who knows for sure, he might have quite a bit more potential at 400 than it appears, especially given that he's only 16 and is likely mainly doing 800 workouts. A season devoted to sprint workouts could probably get him into low 45 territory easily, maybe even a tad under 45.
In a few years at 19, assuming he stays healthy and continues to develop, we could be witnessing the next coming of Juantorena. He's that good. No way he's reached his potential on pure speed. His 200m PR is only 22ish, but some focus and some explosive work out of the blocks can get him into 21xx and 45 low pretty easily by the time he is out of HS. So, he could perceivably match Wilson, even though I am aware that you are joking.
The sky is the limit with this kid right now. It would be crazy if we had someone in the modern era who could run 43 and 1:40 and could conceivably win both races at the Olympics in three years. That would be astonishing.
Why do these threads always occur? When a generational talent emerges, there's always a group saying, "Hey, they should race another event!"
Mu was (note the past tense) a generational talent. The 800m WR that has stood for, what, 40 plus years? was within her reach... and then Kersee moved her up to the mile. Granted, Mu was (is) a head case, but when you have an athlete with WR potential, moving them up (or down) especially when one of the races is the 800m, has more risk than reward. The training is just too different.l
It's the classic Letsrun "move up" fallacy where people perceive longer events to be less competitive and they think that someone with "raw speed" can simply hone their aerobic development and dominate any event of their choosing.
I agree. It's hardly ever the case that the speed freaks flat out dominate even when they do successfully move up in distance. There are too many physiological differences to consider. It is the case that they almost always have a faster kick, but they never go out and just obliterate WRs.
Maybe in like 7 years he can move up to the 800/1500 double instead of being more of a 400/800 guy. It's best to develop his speed now, keep running the 400 and have 800 as main event. His 800m equivalent is like 3:29 for 1500m, which he's not running that anytime too soon.
With raw speed like that imagine what a few years of aerobic development would do. This is the next hicham
I think you are only joking, but at this point we really have no idea what this kid's potential is in either distance direction, sprints or distance. He's that much of an outlier. There's never been anybody like him before, so it's difficult to make any kind of predictions or assessments in terms of his potential.
I think right now, it's not crazy to say he is more of a 400/800 guy than a mid-distance guy. Yes, I am aware that he ran a 4:06 sophomore record, but one could make the case that is actually under-performing considering that he just ran 1:42 for 800m. To be historical, Rudisha and Kipketer both maxed out at about 1000 meters. Rudisha has no 1500m listed and Kipketer only ran about 3:41, but even the two greatest ever probably are not the best cause for an analogy, because there is something about Cooper that is just black swan, non-bell curve, outlier, off the charts talented. He could run 43, 1:39, and 3:24 for all we know at this point. I think over the next few years we will have to wait and see how he develops. My thinking is will likely see him as the second coming of Juantorena, but I could be totally wrong.
Maybe in like 7 years he can move up to the 800/1500 double instead of being more of a 400/800 guy. It's best to develop his speed now, keep running the 400 and have 800 as main event. His 800m equivalent is like 3:29 for 1500m, which he's not running that anytime too soon.
He could run 1:55 in the marathon with that raw speed. Or 7:40 in the steeplechase. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Imagine that kind of raw speed in Leadville. Thinner air too so there is less air resistance for him at peak velocity. We could see truly remarkable things down the homestretch.
Jim Walmart and David Joggins could never hold off a sub-25 final 200m in a tactical race.
Maybe in like 7 years he can move up to the 800/1500 double instead of being more of a 400/800 guy. It's best to develop his speed now, keep running the 400 and have 800 as main event. His 800m equivalent is like 3:29 for 1500m, which he's not running that anytime too soon.
Someone should have told Mu this….😭
Kersee would sooner put her in a 5k than let her run a 400.
I honestly don't know how this kid isn't sub-4 yet. I feel like he'll be able to threaten the high school records from 400m to mile before he graduates
I can see him break Alan Webb’s high school mile record within the next two years. Could Lutkenhaus run a sub 3:50 mile right now? Even if he is capable of doing that, he would probably still be a better 800m runner than a 1500m/mile runner.
With raw speed like that imagine what a few years of aerobic development would do. This is the next hicham
16 Year old runs the 17th Fastest time ever (For any age) and there is a Thread Saying he should switch his best distance to something he is Unproven at, He is a 4:06 Miler very good High School time Especially for a high Schooler, but he could not Qualify for The NCAA Regionals that 4:06 Mile = about 3:50 for 1500, that is good but that time is a Dime a Dozen in the NCAA and would not make some schools 4 x 1500 or 4 x mile Relay, He would likely have to be a walk on at Top Schools, At the 800 He is faster than the NCAA Record, He Should stick wit the 800 as his best event, he should run some 400 and 1500 races, for under and over distance, But 800 is his bread and butter and he should stay with it for the seeable/near future about 7 years or more.