Will any other race have anything close to the drama of the men's 1500? If there's only one race I watch in the entire Olympics is has to be that one. Lyles somehow breaking the 200 record would be the only thing to make me even question that
Many swimming races will be heavily anticipated, starting with opening night Titmus vs McIntosh vs Ledecky at 400 freestyle. That race is guaranteed to be NBC's focus as the Games begin.
I'm sure you're right that NBC will hype up the American swimmers (esp women), but my bet for the biggest NBC pre-Paris hype is everything to do with Simone Biles. She's a gold-medal favorite (check) American (check) female (check) gymnast (check) coming back from a dramatic failure (check) of which NBC has tons of footage to use. On the NBC hype-o-meter, she only loses points for not being white.
If they are clean, it shows the insane effect money and security can have on performance, as these folks have grown up in a petro-socialist paradise.
If you look closer I think you will find that neither Jakob nor Narve Nordås come from money backgrounds. -Narve for instance has had two jobs and university studies aside of his running, and only recently acquired any sponsorship of importance…
Are you from Norway perchance? Healthcare is free. Education is free. Universal state pension fund. It's basically impossible to be poor. Never lived there myself, so what do I know, but it sounds pretty good.
For anyone wondering how, it's not because of their supreme whiteness. It's because taxes are high and the state owns industries. (but communism!) They save the oil and gas revenue and distribute. The US could do something similar. (Don't tell the oil barons, who actually receive gov't handouts, believe it or not.)
True,but i wouldnt have thought narve has what it takes to beat jakob.If jakob is injured,maybe,but i dont think theyre in the same league.
Correct. They are not in the same league. Their personal bests at 1500m are 2.33 seconds apart, at the ‘23 World Championships Jakob was .03 ahead of Nordas, and Nordas has been improving much faster than Jakob recently. But they are NOT in the same league. And yet somehow Nordas is a threat to Jakob in Paris, and Jakob knows it, Gjert knows it and Nordas knows it.
Oh well,when he runs a 12.40 5000,and a 3.27 1500,ill believe it.Until then,nope.
I wouldn't trust any of these top Norwegian athletes to be clean. Their success is highly suspicious for a tiny nation which should not be associated with producing naturally gifted (endurance) athletes. They've also had a history of blood doping and Ingebrigtsen brother/s on leaked documents as likely doping. That world beating hurdler is probably the most suspicious of them all. I'd say with conviction that they're all on the sauce--inge's, Nordas, Warholm. Easy as pie to not get popped. They are ahead of the testers and meticulous in their process/knowledge of the testing procedures.
Actually, clean or not, Norway indeed has a long history of gifted endurance athletes. But their sport of preference has always been cross country skiing, not running. They dominate the cross country skiing world and if there is any sport transferable to distance running, that is it. So the fact that some Norwegians has suddenly taken a shining to running does not mean they are doping. This has been a sporting lifestyle for a long time. I have no idea if they are doping or not but this development is NOT surprising.
I really like Narve Nodras and Josh Kerr. 2 class runners. But neither Nodras nor Kerr are worthy of even tying Jakobs laces before he goes on a practice run. They shouldn't even be running on the same tracks tbh, completely different levels.
heres my predictions , inga and nuguse if fit are too fast and talented to be beaten in a fast race (3.27) . Whiteman, kerr and nardos seem the ones most likely to beleive they can foot it with these guys and will probably see a silver or bronze as a fail . A smart racer will swamp these 3 for the bronze .... take your pick of about 20 capable of this . but if i had to bet money id go with hocker for bronze .
heres my predictions , inga and nuguse if fit are too fast and talented to be beaten in a fast race (3.27) . Whiteman, kerr and nardos seem the ones most likely to beleive they can foot it with these guys and will probably see a silver or bronze as a fail . A smart racer will swamp these 3 for the bronze .... take your pick of about 20 capable of this . but if i had to bet money id go with hocker for bronze.
Correct. They are not in the same league. Their personal bests at 1500m are 2.33 seconds apart, at the ‘23 World Championships Jakob was .03 ahead of Nordas, and Nordas has been improving much faster than Jakob recently. But they are NOT in the same league. And yet somehow Nordas is a threat to Jakob in Paris, and Jakob knows it, Gjert knows it and Nordas knows it.
Oh well,when he runs a 12.40 5000,and a 3.27 1500,I’ll believe it.Until then,nope.
Wightman and Kerr will never do either, but they were able to defeat the wunderkind. Sometimes it helps to pay attention to the 1500m results when discussing the 1500m.
Many swimming races will be heavily anticipated, starting with opening night Titmus vs McIntosh vs Ledecky at 400 freestyle. That race is guaranteed to be NBC's focus as the Games begin.
I'm sure you're right that NBC will hype up the American swimmers (esp women), but my bet for the biggest NBC pre-Paris hype is everything to do with Simone Biles. She's a gold-medal favorite (check) American (check) female (check) gymnast (check) coming back from a dramatic failure (check) of which NBC has tons of footage to use. On the NBC hype-o-meter, she only loses points for not being white.
That race has nothing to do with American swimming. Well, very little. Ledecky is obviously the most famous but it would be beyond stunning if she won that race. Ledecky is still dominant at 800 and 1500 because none of the other top women bother with those races. Female distance swimming is a wasteland. It is the equivalent of bloomers era tennis.
Ledecky has fallen well behind at 400. Titmus is the defending champion and world record holder. She had the famous victory in Tokyo in this race, with her coach Dean Boxall going berserk. That video clip is what lends to the Paris hype.
Beyond that, Summer McIntosh of Canada is considered potentially the greatest female swimmer of all time. That is probably not well known in track and field circles, and the general public is not aware. NBC will want to get atop the hype because it's like Summer will feature in the next 3 Olympiads. She is only 17. Heck, she got 4th in Tokyo in this race at 14.
McIntosh has already broken two world records. Her range is incredible. She will be expected to win multiple gold medals.
The showdown on opening night of Titmus vs McIntosh will determine if McIntosh can have a legendary Olympics, or one with "only" something like 2-3 gold and a couple of lesser medals.
NBC will be all over it. But I agree Simone Biles will be their top hype. The Tokyo issues will actually allow NBC to expand the way they focus on her situation.
If you look closer I think you will find that neither Jakob nor Narve Nordås come from money backgrounds. -Narve for instance has had two jobs and university studies aside of his running, and only recently acquired any sponsorship of importance…
Are you from Norway perchance? Healthcare is free. Education is free. Universal state pension fund. It's basically impossible to be poor. Never lived there myself, so what do I know, but it sounds pretty good.
For anyone wondering how, it's not because of their supreme whiteness. It's because taxes are high and the state owns industries. (but communism!) They save the oil and gas revenue and distribute. The US could do something similar. (Don't tell the oil barons, who actually receive gov't handouts, believe it or not.)
watching the show, they look like very solid middle class. you'd think Gjert was making something like 200-300k, but according to official sources, he makes something like 60k. And then whatever mom makes with the beauty shops. it must be very easy to live well there. or mom is making major bank with the hair salon(s)
heres my predictions , inga and nuguse if fit are too fast and talented to be beaten in a fast race (3.27) . Whiteman, kerr and nardos seem the ones most likely to beleive they can foot it with these guys and will probably see a silver or bronze as a fail . A smart racer will swamp these 3 for the bronze .... take your pick of about 20 capable of this . but if i had to bet money id go with hocker for bronze .
Nuguse and Ingy should team up to leave the rest of the field in the dust. that would make my life.
But how to divide up the first 11-1200 meters fairly....
If you look closer I think you will find that neither Jakob nor Narve Nordås come from money backgrounds. -Narve for instance has had two jobs and university studies aside of his running, and only recently acquired any sponsorship of importance…
Are you from Norway perchance? Healthcare is free. Education is free. Universal state pension fund. It's basically impossible to be poor. Never lived there myself, so what do I know, but it sounds pretty good.
For anyone wondering how, it's not because of their supreme whiteness. It's because taxes are high and the state owns industries. (but communism!) They save the oil and gas revenue and distribute. The US could do something similar. (Don't tell the oil barons, who actually receive gov't handouts, believe it or not.)
there are too many people in the USA who would be unwilling to work in the same situation. this type of thing only works with small, heterogeneous populations.
Are you from Norway perchance? Healthcare is free. Education is free. Universal state pension fund. It's basically impossible to be poor. Never lived there myself, so what do I know, but it sounds pretty good.
For anyone wondering how, it's not because of their supreme whiteness. It's because taxes are high and the state owns industries. (but communism!) They save the oil and gas revenue and distribute. The US could do something similar. (Don't tell the oil barons, who actually receive gov't handouts, believe it or not.)
You are off topic, and didn’t relate to my post about Jakob and Narve… But what the heck: Yes, I’m an old white Norwegian, and therefore well off. -My wife just had a major cancer surgery, and after that a heart surgery; both with no costs for us…
The problem is this: There’s a lot of poor people in Norway, and the number is rapidly increasing. This is families with small children, one parent families, people on welfare (because of chronic sickness), refugees -a huge percentage of the population. In contrast to this my generation (40+ years of age): So much money that we are being sick!
watching the show, they look like very solid middle class. you'd think Gjert was making something like 200-300k, but according to official sources, he makes something like 60k. And then whatever mom makes with the beauty shops. it must be very easy to live well there. or mom is making major bank with the hair salon(s)
Well watching the show you would also meet the Ingebrigtsen’s myth (they tell about their past): Had to collect bottles to help paying their living costs… Nowadays everything is changed of course -Tone, Gjert and Jakob being multimillionaires.
I think these sorts of comments from Nordas/Kerr are lame. Why are you conceding every race but 1 and lowering expectations before you even test your fitness? Isnt Nordas the guy who went in one year from 3:36 to 3:29 with a 52 last lap last season? He should be aiming for 3:27/28 this season and challenging Jakob throughout the season. You know Nuguse will be. The 1500 weirdly has this pedestal thing with the top guy and too much deference to the top dog. Used to be Tim, then Jakob. Feels like for 95% of the competitors the circuit races will be lost before the gun goes off. Hoping Reynold, Laros and Yared change that.
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40k in europe gives you a better life than 100k in the US
Are you from Norway perchance? Healthcare is free. Education is free. Universal state pension fund. It's basically impossible to be poor. Never lived there myself, so what do I know, but it sounds pretty good.
For anyone wondering how, it's not because of their supreme whiteness. It's because taxes are high and the state owns industries. (but communism!) They save the oil and gas revenue and distribute. The US could do something similar. (Don't tell the oil barons, who actually receive gov't handouts, believe it or not.)
watching the show, they look like very solid middle class. you'd think Gjert was making something like 200-300k, but according to official sources, he makes something like 60k. And then whatever mom makes with the beauty shops. it must be very easy to live well there. or mom is making major bank with the hair salon(s)
As a European, 60k is good money when you have free healthcare, college, a month of paid vacations, and we don’t save up for retirement because the government pays for it.
I was actually very surprised to learn lawyers etc. in the US are regularly making over 100k per year, that’s something only doctors make here.
But prices in Norway are higher than in my country so maybe it’s not exactly the same.
Jakob isn't preoccupied with Kerr. Kerr is talking alot of stuff and Jakob is ignoring him. He does not see Kerr as a threat. The person he is training hard to beat and who he sees as the main competition is Yared Nuguse. All these Brits and everyone else is ignoring Yared Nuguse. Nuguse fears no one and he will be the one that seriously will compete for the gold. Jakob will destroy Narve Nordas just to spite his father.