DuPlantis is the definition of a true number one; he shows Hocker isn't.
WTF? Do you also barge in on Jordan vs LeBron debates to say Gretzky is the definition of a true number one? When you see people debating who has the best pizza, do you say their picks can’t compare to Chick-fil-A?
It is simply pointing out that the standard being applied to deciding who is "number one" in distance running is pretty weak if a runner who loses far more often than he wins is regarded as the best.
Kiplimo fans have to reconcile that he was basically Asafa Powell on the track. Fast times, “theoretically” the best 10,000m or even 5,000m runner but in terms of championship performances just didn’t get it done. Didn’t even try to double. Now the roads allow him a different lane to avoid some of his weaknesses, but considering his consecutive losses to Sabastian Sawe we have to see if he is actually a great champion on the roads. Or just a guy who benefited from John Korir basically losing his mind.
Asafa was the WR holder in the 100m...I don't think Kiplimo is the same.
???
Kiplimo SMASHED the half marathon WR by 50 seconds.
Even if you put that time aside because of the pace car, his next best time is literally one second slower than the WR.
And he is far more dominant in the event that Asafa ever was in the 100m.
I've definitely been skeptical of Hocker in the past, and I think his DQ in Tokyo was fully justified (even in real time, it was a clear breach of the rules), but there is no doubt I'm my mind that he's the favourite for every race between 1500 and 5000 right now. It's almost impossible to drop him and his kick is as good as anyone else in the world. I'm not saying he won't lose, it can be very fine margins over that last 150 but he'll always be the there challenging
So he ran the 7th fastest mile of all time without any competition? Meanwhile Kiplimo is the 7th fastest at the Marathon, unofficially the fastest at the Half-Marathon, and the 7th/10th fastest on the 5000/10000? 3 out of the 4 are Olympic distances.
So he ran the 7th fastest mile of all time without any competition? Meanwhile Kiplimo is the 7th fastest at the Marathon, unofficially the fastest at the Half-Marathon, and the 7th/10th fastest on the 5000/10000? 3 out of the 4 are Olympic distances.
Oh right and he is the best XC runner and has been for the last few years.
He must have "peaked". Only 2.2 secs slower than Jakob, since indoors is as fast as outdoors now. But at least he's faster than Kejelcha.
I was thinking about this today and I am not completely sure. Both Jakob and Yared set indoor records that were two seconds slower than their outdoor mile PRs. With the exception of Eamonn Coghlan who specialized more in indoor competition than most and had a better indoor Mile PR, nearly all the best mile / 1500 runners have better outdoor PRs still.
Can Hocker break 3:43 IDK but I’m confident in a well paced outdoor race he can do 3:44 and likely will have a similar delta to what Jacob and Yared have in their indoor and outdoor mile PRs.
Asafa was the WR holder in the 100m...I don't think Kiplimo is the same.
???
Kiplimo SMASHED the half marathon WR by 50 seconds.
Even if you put that time aside because of the pace car, his next best time is literally one second slower than the WR.
And he is far more dominant in the event that Asafa ever was in the 100m.
100m > HM in terms of its status in the sport. Powell also holds the record for most sub-10s runs in history. Broke the WR twice. 10 DL victories etc. it is not even comparable.
And anyway, the better comparison to Asafa Powell is Lamecha Girma in the steeplechase.
I've definitely been skeptical of Hocker in the past, and I think his DQ in Tokyo was fully justified (even in real time, it was a clear breach of the rules), but there is no doubt I'm my mind that he's the favourite for every race between 1500 and 5000 right now. It's almost impossible to drop him and his kick is as good as anyone else in the world. I'm not saying he won't lose, it can be very fine margins over that last 150 but he'll always be the there challenging
I think this is well said, but the thing is...you could probably the say the same about 2-3 others right now, which is why I don't think Cole Hocker is a clear #1. Creating a body of work with a few more wins will help his cause. He also has no presence in XC.
The 2-3 others I'm talking about: Myers (undefeated this season), Laros (great last year, he can only get better), PKoech (why not?).
I'm half expecting Myers to come out and run 3:29 at Maurie Plant in Melbourne next month, which will change the conversation around Hocker.
BU is as fast as outdoors. Cope and seethe, you decrepit troll.
I thought that's what I said? So that means Hocker is still over two seconds slower than Jakob over the 1500.
You said indoors is as fast as outdoors. The view is that BU is as fast as racing outdoors, not indoors generally. The vast majority think that BU is faster than other indoor tracks. It's the only indoor track that most people here would put on par with racing outdoors.
Hocker's 3:45 wasn't at BU. It was at JDL.
Your mistake is taking an opinion about one indoor track and applying it to all indoor tracks.
100m > HM in terms of its status in the sport. Powell also holds the record for most sub-10s runs in history. Broke the WR twice. 10 DL victories etc. it is not even comparable.
And anyway, the better comparison to Asafa Powell is Lamecha Girma in the steeplechase.
I don’t think so. Girma has generally performed well in Championships (competitive silvers), he’s probably more like Tergat than Powell. He had a nasty concussion and I think last year wasn’t fully over it. Kiplimo has underperformed by any measure in track championships. And while he wasn’t as prolific as Powell is, I think that’s more because the 10K is rarely run.