apc2003 wrote:
1. Rudisha (49.28,51.63) +2.45
2. Amos (49.66,52.07) +2.41
3. Kitum (49.92,52.61) +2.69
4. Solomon (49.88,52.94) +3.06
5. Symmonds(50.44,52.51) +2.07
6. Aman (49.52,53.68) +4.16
7. Kaki (49.43,53.89) +4.46
8. Osagie (50.18,53.59) +3.41
You're all right, Symmonds ran his race...and finished 5th. He ran one of the faster 2nd laps, had the most even splits...and finished 5th. If the other competitors cracked in the 2nd lap, then yes I'd be on here giving him complete props for his race.
He's no longer a D3 athlete, he's an Olympian and a 800m finalist so let's stop using his backstory as an excuse for him not performing better.
As for strategy, it's historically implausible to negative split a 800m; so as you have only two approaches to the 800:
1) You run hard, stay in the pack thru 1st lap, and hold on as much as you can in the 2nd lap.
2) You hold back in the 1st and try to outkick everyone in the 2nd lap.
If you're a coach, training for the 2nd strategy is tougher because you're at risk of holding too much early and being out of it. It also only works when you're running in a slow race; if you're in a very competitive race it will be very difficult to outkick anyone. Both of which, I'm sorry, was the case for Symmonds. By going out the way he did, he conceded in "hoping" others would run poorly and sneak in from behind. It "worked" against 3 competitors, but he still had to run probably his fastest 2nd lap ever to do that.
Symmonds' training has done a great job in promoting even splits, and I'm sure that was one of his goals whenever he races the 800. His popularity is being the toughest runner in the 2nd lap of any 800. As he said on Twitter, he could go to sleep knowing he did his best. He should be proud of racing a personal best. That was the fastest 800m ever raced and that will be a memory that will be with him forever.
Looking ahead, is that the best he can do? Has he peaked? He peaked at the right time for this race, but he's not done. In the next few months, when he and his coach look at the tape and discuss how to make him better in future races, I would not be surprised if they start tweaking his strategy. He ran the race of his life, and finished 5th. We'll never know what would have happened if Symmonds ran with the pack because that's not his strategy. But if he wants to know, he'll start training for it.