Wow: What a 1500!!!! Jenny Simpson wins it in Stockholm!!!

The reason they couldn't kick hard was the way the race went over the first 1200m. Inconsistent - too fast for the first 150m - plus there was no reason for Simpson to go by Dibaba early. If you see someone dieing, stay behind them until 50m to go to ensure the win.

This is the part of the season when Genzebe doesn't have the kick at the final lap. I'm glad she's went for it early and gave her chance to win and got 2nd place instead. Had she run with a lead pack, she probably would have outkicked and lost badly, finishing out of a medal.

She and Arregawi are not in top form. Hassan may also be tired from recent competition. But then Genzebe's strategy could also be designed to take out Hassan, who likes to hang around the back until 500-600 meters to go.

Exactly

I was trying to make the point that running 49 seconds for the last 300 meters indicates that the leaders were dying and that is likely the reason that the American won

She has always been out kicked by theses ladies at the end of her races this year. This time, she let the leaders take the kick out of themselves

I also agree that the Europeans and commonwealth games have likely taken a toll on the other athletes as well

I think they need to shift their training, to peak later. Both ran out of steam running so fast in the indoor season.

Genze has enormous talent, but she's not a superwoman. She needs to train very wisely if she wants to be a legend like her sister.

Yes, she did bury Hassan by running her kick out, but she underestimated Jenny.

Perspectivation wrote:

run w the mom wrote:

I guess if you consider leading the last 30 meters dominating you are right?

Jenny ran super strong and smart. Maybe she didn't dominate from the front, but she dominated on execution and finishing speed. Did you see the way Dibaba just seemed mindjammed after that? Dazed and confused. She is not used to getting run down like that, and it wasn't just getting nipped at the line, it was a strong pass with 30 meters to go. Jenny is one solid 1500m runner. It certainly looked like an AR performance, hard to believe it wasn't.

See, this guy gets it. Precisely why I titled this thread as such.

800 Coach wrote:

I thought Martinez was ready to go sub-4 this summer. She has been mismanaged. She over-raced early in Europe, supposedly got a little sick and now is not as strong as she was showing earlier. They have to re-look at how they manage her outdoor schedule.

I think her plan for the season was to race everything available and see how she fared. It's a non-Championship season, so why not?

Overall it was a great race, lot of excitement and unexpected result. As is often the case with the 1500 the time didn't do justice to the quality of the race.

Loot wrote:

I got goosebumps when I saw Genze take it out. I thought she was going to do something insane, like her indoor stuff, but she's not ready yet.

Indeed, kudos to Dibaba, who made this race. Whether she had the speed-endurance to sustain her surge at 800m or not, her going to the front and forging way ahead turned the race upside down for most of the other contenders, who either got caught napping or did not respond in savvy fashion. All except Simpson who played it to perfection. Martinez actually also ran smartly (perhaps keying off Jenny, not sure), but has not been herself the second half of the season and just couldn't hang with the windup over the final lap.

Agree with the earlier poster who said Dibaba has shown how to beat Hassan as well. Forcing Hassan to exert herself more from further out than 400m to go looks to take the sting out of her kick. (Although as someone else observed, she and some of the other Europeans may have been dealing with residual tiredness from the recent Euro champs.) At any rate, Hassan is going to have to be a lot more wary now in any race with Dibaba, about her previously overconfident lollygagging around way in the back the first couple of laps.

I hope Genze and her coach/manager can learn how to manage the trajectory of her seasons better so in the future she doesn't run aground early. She is a gutsy athlete not afraid to throw down the gauntlet to try and blow things open. Women's distance races from 1500m up are much more exciting to watch right now than the here-we-go-with-another-sit-and-kick men's races.

Yes, agree.

The race for 2nd was just as compelling. It looked all the way like it was the race for 1st, but Jen just waited like a snake and then stormed.

Hassan was definitely uncomfortable early and forced to jump out of her back of the pack strategy. She's feisty though, she still hung in there for a tough 3rd

It's finally nice to see the women's 1500 become a marquee event it deserves to be. It really never has been in the entire history of track. But now there are 4, maybe 5 potential stars.

Loot wrote:

agip wrote:

dude, she has two medals, incl a gold.

that said, this was a great, great race - I'm sure she'll remmeber this one forever

There was nothing close to this kind of talent in her gold run field.

in 2011 at the WC there were 14 people who had run sub 4:00 or who would run sub 4:01. And a 3:56 (jamal), a 3:57 (obiri), a 3:56 (cakir), a 3:57 (yevdokimova)

they didn't all make it to the final, but that's champ racing.

no way this diamond league race is more impressive than a wc 1500 gold medal.

nothing close? really? 14 sub 4:01

and why does everyone assume a weak field when an american woman wins something? It's some kind of psychosis.

There one 1500 left for the diamond. Aregawi is in the point lead, but she is struggling with injuries and doesn't look herself. Hassan and Jenny both have a chance to steal it. Genze will go for diamond in the 3/5K, but it would be nic e to see her in that field again.

LetsRun.com wrote:

Genzebe went for it. 62 first lap. Gapped the field but with 100 to go, it was a 3 person race!!

"I tell you what, Jenny Simpson is a real racer," said the announcer!!

The announcer should have said "Jenny Simpson is a real racer now that she has a real coach again." haha jk, but you've got to admit, she's been a hell of a lot more consistent since she switched back to Wetmore.

You could tell after the previous races that tonight was just not a fast night in stockholm. All of the times were relatively slow and we saw early leaders fade.

Dibaba maybe should have taken the hint that it was not a record day and run to win instead of going after a crazy time. It seems like Simpson did that (she definitely didn't run to chase 3:56) and got rewarded with the win. Great race by her.

"stay behind them until 50m to go to ensure the win."

I can't agree with this one ...

"I'd argue she won because she's not a racer"

elaborate

agip wrote:

Loot wrote:

There was nothing close to this kind of talent in her gold run field.

in 2011 at the WC there were 14 people who had run sub 4:00 or who would run sub 4:01. And a 3:56 (jamal), a 3:57 (obiri), a 3:56 (cakir), a 3:57 (yevdokimova)

they didn't all make it to the final, but that's champ racing.

no way this diamond league race is more impressive than a wc 1500 gold medal.

nothing close? really? 14 sub 4:01

The field in this race was of much higher quality than the 2011 World's 1500m Final. In 2011, the leading time for the season was Morgan Uceny's 4:00.06. You can't take people's personal bests from different years, especially when they came several years after the race in question. Seasonal bests are what matters. This field was LOADED and Jenny took down some all-time greats.

I kept my eyes on Simpson for every step of the race. She did everything right. Everything.

Genze is running the 2 mile on Sunday, which they have listed as a Diamond event, I guess combining it with 3K and 5K. And Brussels has the final 3K, she is in a battle with Cherono for the Diamond.

Genze got close to the 2 mile WR earlier this year. Wonder what she'll have left.

As for the 1500, she's not running next week in Zurich. But it's gonna be up for grabs for the Diamond. Aregawi is 1st with 12, Hassan has 10, Jen has 9. Hot stuff.