With Elle Purrier a close second. Heel strikers look like they are heel striking but most often you will see they end up midfoot under COG at actual landing.
Hurta-Klecker is actually a mid foot striker. Her foot starts to come down as if she was going to heel strike, but then at the last second she moves the ball of her foot downward and lands midfoot.
Ya know, I see that a lot and im staring to think its actually the most efficient (over 800m). If you run on your forefoot, it has to come down to the ground on every strike. The nice even Purrier roll off looks low impact to me.
I hate to agree, because I do like SHK. She’s tough and and gives it all when she races. But times being run these days don’t matter much. This is the third year in a row SHK has gone on a revenge tour because she can’t seem to make the USA team. Championships are not an end all be all, but a middle distance runners career is defined by it.
The problem is that the women’s 800 in the USA isn’t getting any easier. Akins, Wilson and Rogers are still firmly in their 20s. You’ve also got Rose that seems poised to go to the next level. And of course Mu. SHK has a real problem that may be insurmountable to overcome. She can’t run away from those four and she can’t outkick them. The USA women’s 1500 is no easier. That event is a killer at the moment.
Sadly, OAC has two women, SHK and JNA, that may never make a team, despite being world class. Ritz may need to get creative and push both of them way up in distance. SHK to the 5k and JNA to the 10k. Hail Mary, but if those two ever want to wear the USA vest and not just be a DL hero, it may take some thinking out of the box. Paris is 13 months away.
You’re not world class if you never make a world team.
I picked Sage H K as one of top 3 u.s. females along with A Mu and R Rogers. Not doing so going forward. No matter how fast S H K runs in DL 800m races, I will select one of the older teens or early twenties ladies next year instead.
