Btw - 5th ave is worth it for the publicity.. so even if they don't pay well, he gets a chance to grow his image. Eugene is a tiny little bubble and nobody will be paying attention.
You are joking right? Way more people will watch the DL finale in Eugene than 5th avenue. Way more.
Plus if Kerr did Eugene he could possibly get the British record.
Random anecdote. I asked some members of the British press members before the WC final in Budapest who was a bigger deal in the UK - Wightman who won Worlds or Kerr who won an Olympic bronze. They laughed and said, "Wightman." We'll see if that changes now that Kerr is also a world champ but they did say they thought Kerr wasn't as high profile in the UK as he's based in the states. I don't know why people woul really care where you train.
It's not to do with where he trains, Wightman trains all over, in South Africa, Flagstaff, Font Romeu. He's a bigger deal than Kerr because he races in the UK, Kerr does most of his build-up in the US. Wightman turns up at random club-level races and parkruns. He's better connected to the UK club scene than Kerr and the club scene is the hardcore of athletics
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You are joking right? Way more people will watch the DL finale in Eugene than 5th avenue. Way more.
Plus if Kerr did Eugene he could possibly get the British record.
Random anecdote. I asked some members of the British press members before the WC final in Budapest who was a bigger deal in the UK - Wightman who won Worlds or Kerr who won an Olympic bronze. They laughed and said, "Wightman." We'll see if that changes now that Kerr is also a world champ but they did say they thought Kerr wasn't as high profile in the UK as he's based in the states. I don't know why people woul really care where you train.
It's not to do with where he trains, Wightman trains all over, in South Africa, Flagstaff, Font Romeu. He's a bigger deal than Kerr because he races in the UK, Kerr does most of his build-up in the US. Wightman turns up at random club-level races and parkruns. He's better connected to the UK club scene than Kerr and the club scene is the hardcore of athletics
Wightman is British through and through. Kerr, I think he’s a permanent resident of the USA. Does he even have a green card?
Btw - 5th ave is worth it for the publicity.. so even if they don't pay well, he gets a chance to grow his image. Eugene is a tiny little bubble and nobody will be paying attention.
You are joking right? Way more people will watch the DL finale in Eugene than 5th avenue. Way more.
Plus if Kerr did Eugene he could possibly get the British record.
Random anecdote. I asked some members of the British press members before the WC final in Budapest who was a bigger deal in the UK - Wightman who won Worlds or Kerr who won an Olympic bronze. They laughed and said, "Wightman." We'll see if that changes now that Kerr is also a world champ but they did say they thought Kerr wasn't as high profile in the UK as he's based in the states. I don't know why people woul really care where you train.
There are a lot of runners in NY.. 5th ave mile is big here and gets a lot of local coverage. They are literally running on the street. DL final is for established track fans - won't net any new viewers. I agree re British record, but is he really that motivated after beating Jakob and a long season?
I could have told you Whitman - he's a real local. This doesn't surprise me. Did you know that before the world cup win, Messi was not particularly loved in Argentina? The press constantly gave him $hit about having left for Spain and some went pretty far and claimed he was no longer Argentinian. I guess when you win suddenly they care, so let's see if perception of Kerr changes.. but is he doing anything to establish his image back home?
It's not to do with where he trains, Wightman trains all over, in South Africa, Flagstaff, Font Romeu. He's a bigger deal than Kerr because he races in the UK, Kerr does most of his build-up in the US. Wightman turns up at random club-level races and parkruns. He's better connected to the UK club scene than Kerr and the club scene is the hardcore of athletics
Wightman is British through and through. Kerr, I think he’s a permanent resident of the USA. Does he even have a green card?
Kerr rooted himself in the US by going to college here. Whitman is a "real" brit.
First place in a DL Final is worth $30,000, seems pretty good for about 3.5 minutes of work. Curious to know what he's getting paid for the 5th ave mile.
Seems oddly inconsistent that he ran races he didn't want to just to qualify for the DL finals, then drop out. Or...he's just messing with everyone and will change his mind at the last minute and run the finals.
It's $30k but he loses 15% of that right off to his agent so it's already down to $25.5k, and let's assume he doesn't win because it's a paced race which suits Jakob, so Kerr may get $12k for 2nd, or $10.2k once agents fees are paid. Then he has taxes so his prize money could easily come in under $7k. Then he might have to pay travel and accommodation (I doubt it, Brooks probably stump up for that but you never know). Do you really want to travel to Eugene for a little over $5k if you've already won the biggest and most important race of the year? At least NY offers the chance of a nice vacation around the race and a chance for some beers with people he knows.
And that's why meets need to pay people appearance fees
Our sport is really a joke.. would any of us be fans if we didn't run growing up or had some direct connection to the sport? Pros really bust their a$$es to make it, but let's face it, there is no objective excitement in it relative to other sports.
2nd year in a row of the 1500 world champ getting hounded by LetsRun for not trying to race Jakob after Worlds. After the first year I could get why, but at this point Jakob should just have beat him when it counted. Even if Wightman and Kerr had beat Jakob at the DL final, this wouldn't change the fact that Jakob is a better 1500 runner than them and clearly has a weakness in championship races where he refuses to take the pace out and drop the field, which he can only blame himself for.
There are a lot of runners in NY.. 5th ave mile is big here and gets a lot of local coverage. They are literally running on the street. DL final is for established track fans - won't net any new viewers. I agree re British record, but is he really that motivated after beating Jakob and a long season?
I could have told you Whitman - he's a real local. This doesn't surprise me. Did you know that before the world cup win, Messi was not particularly loved in Argentina? The press constantly gave him $hit about having left for Spain and some went pretty far and claimed he was no longer Argentinian. I guess when you win suddenly they care, so let's see if perception of Kerr changes.. but is he doing anything to establish his image back home?
It's not just an either/or situation. Kerr could easily run both. Mills is probably his top competition in NYC along with Habz. He probably has a 1-second edge in fitness on them and could sandbag a win with a time like 3:48-9. Nobody is begrudging him running 5th Ave Mile, just strange to skip out on a huge race near where he's based after declaring it a goal.
2nd year in a row of the 1500 world champ getting hounded by LetsRun for not trying to race Jakob after Worlds. After the first year I could get why, but at this point Jakob should just have beat him when it counted. Even if Wightman and Kerr had beat Jakob at the DL final, this wouldn't change the fact that Jakob is a better 1500 runner than them and clearly has a weakness in championship races where he refuses to take the pace out and drop the field, which he can only blame himself for.
They are dying to give Jakob cover, but the self-inflicted damage is done. Jakob's ego will have to wait.
There are a lot of runners in NY.. 5th ave mile is big here and gets a lot of local coverage. They are literally running on the street. DL final is for established track fans - won't net any new viewers. I agree re British record, but is he really that motivated after beating Jakob and a long season?
I could have told you Whitman - he's a real local. This doesn't surprise me. Did you know that before the world cup win, Messi was not particularly loved in Argentina? The press constantly gave him $hit about having left for Spain and some went pretty far and claimed he was no longer Argentinian. I guess when you win suddenly they care, so let's see if perception of Kerr changes.. but is he doing anything to establish his image back home?
It's not just an either/or situation. Kerr could easily run both. Mills is probably his top competition in NYC along with Habz. He probably has a 1-second edge in fitness on them and could sandbag a win with a time like 3:48-9. Nobody is begrudging him running 5th Ave Mile, just strange to skip out on a huge race near where he's based after declaring it a goal.
He knows he is "just the next guy" AT BEST. He is shook after Jakob saying that, and then not being able to prove himself as the man in Zurich.
to be truthful, I think Kerr is the 2nd best 1500 runner in the world. But there are probably 6 guys closer to him than he is to Jakob.
Josh should play smart and avoid Jakob until Paris which , lets be honest, is the next meaningful race. He needs to stay in Jakobs head until then . Lose to him at Eugene and he loses that edge .
First place in a DL Final is worth $30,000, seems pretty good for about 3.5 minutes of work. Curious to know what he's getting paid for the 5th ave mile.
Seems oddly inconsistent that he ran races he didn't want to just to qualify for the DL finals, then drop out. Or...he's just messing with everyone and will change his mind at the last minute and run the finals.
It's $30k but he loses 15% of that right off to his agent so it's already down to $25.5k, and let's assume he doesn't win because it's a paced race which suits Jakob, so Kerr may get $12k for 2nd, or $10.2k once agents fees are paid. Then he has taxes so his prize money could easily come in under $7k. Then he might have to pay travel and accommodation (I doubt it, Brooks probably stump up for that but you never know). Do you really want to travel to Eugene for a little over $5k if you've already won the biggest and most important race of the year? At least NY offers the chance of a nice vacation around the race and a chance for some beers with people he knows.
And that's why meets need to pay people appearance fees
Good data here, thx, though the taxes and agent-cut should apply equally to 5th ave or DL.
5th Ave is a pretty weak field this year so he should get the win, but that's only $5000 plus maybe $1000@halfway. Absolutely no idea what his appearance fee might be. I'm guessing Kerr thinks he won't win DL, and not even confident of 2nd, and his fee is enough to make 5th ave a better business decision moneywise.
However I think the DL would give him more international TV exposure, running w/o heats means a better chance at records, and hey, the trophy is nicer :)
Good data here, thx, though the taxes and agent-cut should apply equally to 5th ave or DL.
5th Ave is a pretty weak field this year so he should get the win, but that's only $5000 plus maybe $1000@halfway. Absolutely no idea what his appearance fee might be. I'm guessing Kerr thinks he won't win DL, and not even confident of 2nd, and his fee is enough to make 5th ave a better business decision moneywise.
However I think the DL would give him more international TV exposure, running w/o heats means a better chance at records, and hey, the trophy is nicer :)
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