Agreed, this is like the 3rd meet with Jakob in it that hes decided to skip the 1500 to run the 800m. Letsrun likes him though so you barely hear anything about him ducking, but other people would be getting killed for it.
That's probably because most of us understand that by winning the 1500 at World's, Wightman got the 1500 bye for the next World's and if he wins the Diamond League Final in the 800, he will achieve a bye for that event. Also, he stated before the World's 1500 that he would be running the 800 in at least Commonwealth's and maybe also European. The only people calling him a coward are the uninformed, which is pretty much par for the course for internet heroes.
Why would he be interested in a free slot in the 800 when he's never gonna compete in that event next worlds anyway? If he would actually switch to 800 as his main event it would've been fair eneough, but that is not gonna happen at his age. It's pretty simple:
Last year: Jakob wins olympic gold, beating Tim for the first time. He then continues to race the 1500m vs. Tim, even though he was tired and obviously not fully motivated, eventually allowing Tim to have his revenge --> Not coward
This year: Jake wins gold at worlds, beating Jakob for the first time since he turned 16. He then refrains from running the 1500 vs. Jakob for the rest of the season --> Coward
Agreed, this is like the 3rd meet with Jakob in it that hes decided to skip the 1500 to run the 800m. Letsrun likes him though so you barely hear anything about him ducking, but other people would be getting killed for it.
That's probably because most of us understand that by winning the 1500 at World's, Wightman got the 1500 bye for the next World's and if he wins the Diamond League Final in the 800, he will achieve a bye for that event. Also, he stated before the World's 1500 that he would be running the 800 in at least Commonwealth's and maybe also European. The only people calling him a coward are the uninformed, which is pretty much par for the course for internet heroes.
So many excuses my god. Zero chance he does the 800/1500 double at World's next year. No shot he is running the 800 prelims the night before his 1500 final, this schedule is not conducive to the double at all.
8/19 - 1500 prelims
8/20 - 1500 semis
8/22 - 800 prelims
8/23 - 1500m final
8/24 - 800 semis
8/26 - 800 finals
Its 100% soft and other runners would be getting killed for skipping out on competition in his main event 3x.
Has someone copied startlists for Thursday please? Because now it is not possible to view them in the results page, only startlist for Wednesday is availible.
Has someone copied startlists for Thursday please? Because now it is not possible to view them in the results page, only startlist for Wednesday is availible.
The Diamond League website is atrocious. Its a maze trying to figure out startlists/schedules every week
Au terme d’une course dominée par le champion olympique Emmanuel Korir, Djamel Sedjati s’est hissé à la deuxième position en 1 min 44 s 14, grâce à un superbe dernier 100 m.
I'd like to think I'm a well-rounded track fan so I am pretty excited for several events and storylines in Zurich. After looking at the startlists and trading this thread, here are a few takes I have/things I'll be paying attention to:
-people should not be so upset about Jake Wightman targeting the 800m. Don't all the old-timers on here miss the days of Coe and other legends doing both the 800m and 1500m? They seemed to be a dying breed but here is Jake Wightman challenging himself across multiple disciplines. People are saying there is no way he does both events at world's next year, but wouldn't that be awesome if he did? So often we criticize people for not racing enough because it's bad for the sport, which I agree with. Wightman did some indoor, has raced almost 20 times this year, and last winter he even put some focus into XC in order to build more strength for the way the 1500m is run these days (it worked). If he were to not run the DL final that would be another story but since it's been a busy year I still wouldn't fault him as I would Sydney McLaughlin, Cooper Teardrop/Hole Cocker, Bowerman Time Trial Club #notgoodforthesport. I hope Wightman wins the 800m. Other notes: how much of a factor will Bryce Hoppel be? Nothing from him since Monaco and he hasn't had a good result since winning USAs.
-we should be very excited for women's high jump. Yaroslava Mahuchikh took 3 GOOD and close attempts at the world record in Brussels. That record has stood for 35 years! The #1 and #3 all time marks are from eastern Bloc athletes in the 80s, which was the peak of state sponsored doping when all those seemingly untouchable women's world records were set. Right now these Ukrainian athletes have had to train away from home and family, moving from one place to another to avoid the war with Russia. How great would it be for a Ukrainian to beat a Soviet world record right now?
-it is not a crazy hot take to pick someone who got 2nd in their last DL race to win at the same discipline. Grant Fisher is objectively having a great season, and as someone else pointed out, he has beaten almost everyone in the field. I see him as a contender in the 5k, Alicia Monsoon a little more of a longshot.
-other field event things: bummer that Woo isn't in high jump but with Tamberi and Barshim hopefully it will still be hype. Would love to see Kara Winger win a DL final this late in her career after PRing last week. Is Mondo vulnerable again? I hope last week's result was just what he needed and he pops off. Similar thing with Ryan Crouser but his competitors are overall closer to him than the PV field is to Mondo. Might be a hot take but sometimes I also think total dominance of an event is just as exciting as rivalry and competition. Speaking of, Yulimar Rojas and Valarie Allman are always electric, I hope they crush everyone.
-amped for the men's 200m. American sweep possibly? Seems like Knighton has underperformed a little every time he's against Lyles. Would love to see them both in sub 19.50 form, idk if 2 have ever done that in the same race.
-not crazy excited for the men's or women's 400m, it feels like it has been weak this year and on both sides the best 400m runners aren't in the event.
-high hurdles should be pretty exciting and tight on both sides but no matter what happens I'll be left wishing Devon Allen was there. Hopefully he's back in the sport soon. In the meantime I hope Holloway can rebound from some inconsistent results on his Europe circuit and get the W.
-can Sage Hurta and Olivia Baker stick their noses in and PR again in the 800m? I imagine it'll be all Moraa and Hodgkinson up front with perhaps some pacing by Goule but would love to see the two Americans hang on for a fast time.
-I think the 1500m on both sides is more wide open than most people think.
-in the steeple I hope Emma Coburn is back to feeling like herself and finishes the season well with a fast time. But even if she runs fast or PRs I think there is sadly little to no chance of her winning. Kenyans and Ethiopians will dominate despite their horrible hurdle technique. Getachew really should finally win one of these if she doesn't leave it too late. Men's side looks boring, all El B.
So excited to watch this, especially as a fan living in the United States, a global track powerhouse with a lot of athletes competing in Zurich! Oh wait, I can't because the only US coverage seems to be NBC Sports, which is not airing it until Saturday. Are you kidding me? If I am wrong and there is another way for Americans to watch live, please correct me.only US coverage seems to be NBC Sports, which is not airing it until Saturday. Are you kidding me? If I am wrong and there is another way for Americans to watch live, please correct me.
I was assuming you are kidding, but it is not on Peacock yet and the meet is tomorrow. This is absurd if we have to wait until Saturday when NBC Sports owns the rights. Seb Coe should be horrified by this and ream out NBC executives.
Has someone copied startlists for Thursday please? Because now it is not possible to view them in the results page, only startlist for Wednesday is availible.
This is a joke.
1) We can't preview the meet as they website has gone to live mode and the start lists are gone
2) As someone point out, we have no idea if it's on tv here in the US tmw.
We are getting ready to record the podcast and Jonathan Gault is going crazy. I wish I taped it.
-it is not a crazy hot take to pick someone who got 2nd in their last DL race to win at the same discipline. Grant Fisher is objectively having a great season, and as someone else pointed out, he has beaten almost everyone in the field. I see him as a contender in the 5k, Alicia Monsoon a little more of a longshot.
He has beaten everyone else in the field at distances from 3k to 10k at some time this season.
Aregawi - WC 10k
Barega - WC 10k, WC 5k
Haile Bekele - WC 5k h1, Monaco 3k
Kejelcha - WC 5k, Brussels 5k (Kejelcha DNF)
Kemboi - Brussels 5k
Kipkorir - WC 5k, Monaco 3k, Brussels 5k
Krop - Monaco 3k
Lobalu - Monaco 3k, Brussels 5k
Ndikumwenayo - Brussels 5k
Thorwirth (pacer) - WC 5k h1
The only guys here who have beaten Fisher this season are Aregawi (Monaco 3k), Ndikumwenayo (Monaco 3k) and Krop (WC 5k, Brussels 5k).
Agreed, this is like the 3rd meet with Jakob in it that hes decided to skip the 1500 to run the 800m. Letsrun likes him though so you barely hear anything about him ducking, but other people would be getting killed for it.
You people are seriously dense. He already had his schedule made before he won Worlds in the 1500, and why should he change that to accomodate someone who didn't beat him when it mattered most? He could not care less about people thinking Jakob is better than him, and is getting on with his original schedule as he should in an attempt to get an 800m bye.
I would have liked to see Jakob run the 5000m last week and the 1500m this week. This will actually be tough for Grant Fisher and Krop to run the 5 again this week so soon after such a high quality 5000m.
Agreed, this is like the 3rd meet with Jakob in it that hes decided to skip the 1500 to run the 800m. Letsrun likes him though so you barely hear anything about him ducking, but other people would be getting killed for it.
You people are seriously dense. He already had his schedule made before he won Worlds in the 1500, and why should he change that to accomodate someone who didn't beat him when it mattered most? He could not care less about people thinking Jakob is better than him, and is getting on with his original schedule as he should in an attempt to get an 800m bye.
This same logic doesn't get applied to other runners. Fisher got crushed on here for going after the 10K AR after his 12:53i instead of World Indoors even though that was never part of his schedule. LRC likes Wightman though so they'll make up every excuse in the book for why the World 1500m champ is ducking competition to run an off event he will never run at World Champs. Have some consistency. And give me a break with "already had his schedule made", acting like everything is set in stone months ahead of time.
Well Wightman isn’t time-trialing at 800, he’s racing Diamond Leagues. Yes the 1,000 he ran was set up really well but these last 2 are strong fields (for this era). He’s also racing the 5th Ave Mile, which Jakob is perfectly capable of doing too if he’s hell-bent on getting vengeance.
We have seen a monumental denseness in a long thread dedicated to Keely Hodkinson after the WC final. There were a lot of threads like this. A runner can always change his schedule and I'm not even sure if Jake Wightman planned before a 800m in Zurich.
I'd like to think I'm a well-rounded track fan so I am pretty excited for several events and storylines in Zurich. After looking at the startlists and trading this thread, here are a few takes I have/things I'll be paying attention to:
-people should not be so upset about Jake Wightman targeting the 800m. Don't all the old-timers on here miss the days of Coe and other legends doing both the 800m and 1500m? They seemed to be a dying breed but here is Jake Wightman challenging himself across multiple disciplines. People are saying there is no way he does both events at world's next year, but wouldn't that be awesome if he did? So often we criticize people for not racing enough because it's bad for the sport, which I agree with. Wightman did some indoor, has raced almost 20 times this year, and last winter he even put some focus into XC in order to build more strength for the way the 1500m is run these days (it worked). If he were to not run the DL final that would be another story but since it's been a busy year I still wouldn't fault him as I would Sydney McLaughlin, Cooper Teardrop/Hole Cocker, Bowerman Time Trial Club #notgoodforthesport. I hope Wightman wins the 800m. Other notes: how much of a factor will Bryce Hoppel be? Nothing from him since Monaco and he hasn't had a good result since winning USAs.
Jake Wightman is one of the few 1500m runners of the last 30 years to have the balls to compete in the 800m. After his disappointment in Tokyo, he only ran 800m to the end of the season, as was his plan - win or lose. Just as it was his plan again this season, win or lose. Why should he change his plans just to give Jakob a chance of revenge?
I was assuming you are kidding, but it is not on Peacock yet and the meet is tomorrow. This is absurd if we have to wait until Saturday when NBC Sports owns the rights. Seb Coe should be horrified by this and ream out NBC executives.
Noooooo! If we have to wait until Saturday we'll have to ignore all track news so that we won't know who has won the events until we watch the highly condensed full of commercials NBC version. Not only that, we'll probably get the usual suspects for presenters. And will it be available for replay?
The prize money in the Diamond League is so little the athletes still need their parents to pay for their expenses. Decades ago the former IAAF Golden League paid $1,000,000 to the season winner or split if more than one winner. Now that money goes to pay the $300/nite H+ Hotel rooms for hundreds of dignitaries and in-turn for reciprocal favoritism to other visiting meet directors.
