1:48, 51 running through traffic, that's plenty of kick to me.
In the 1500 that's not a kick, that's just a crazy fast pace. That is Jakob's super power in the 1500 - being able to sustain a fast gear like that. Problem is that's about as fast in terms of speed he's going to be able to do in that distance. He gets mowed down in the end by others because they have faster raw speed. 1:48 doesn't matter when 3 runners can stick to him and outkick him.
The only time Jakob ever gets “outkicked” is when he leads the majority of the race without pacers. In almost every single Diamond League meet (where he still gets less pacing than everyone else) he is destroying the others in the last 150. Look at his finishes in Rabat, Oslo, or Lausanne last year. Look at his performances in the rounds at global/continental championships.
The people who continuously harp on his “raw speed” being a liability are morons. Take someone like Hocker who everyone agrees is a great kicker. If he led the field for 1400 meters, he would also get mowed down in the last 100.
He has way more margin for error in the 5k. He may be the fastest 1500m runner but due to the nature of championship racing and not having the best speed, he has to run an excellent tactical race to win. He can pretty much win any kind of 5k, especially how they unfold in championships.
He has way more margin for error in the 5k. He may be the fastest 1500m runner but due to the nature of championship racing and not having the best speed, he has to run an excellent tactical race to win. He can pretty much win any kind of 5k, especially how they unfold in championships.
The dude has won 3 global 5000m in a row, and he has lost 3 global 1500m in a row.
On every 5000m I think he is a genius. And on every 1500m I shout at the screen "Wtf are you doing?"
In Tokyo he was brilliant when he started hard, then followed for 1000m.
What happened since then? Does the 1500m freak him out? Does he put too much pressure on himself?
Discus.
Is it so much his genius or is it the lack of confidence and ambition of the rest of the field that allows the race to languish @ 10:52 through 4000?
It would be a whole different story if the race was pushed to ~10:12 through 4000.
20+ dudes jogging 65+/400 did nothing to sort/filter out the field. If that was run like the 10,000/1500/800 at an appropriate and honest level let’s say 61+/400, the outcome would have been different.
Jakob once again hypothesized the field [ < 13:05 Q world standard] to jog around at 13:35 pace through 4000m.
This was glaringly obvious at the outset. As soon as Tim ran well in Monaco Jakob should have solidified a plan around him.
Tim didn't separate. That was the issue. He went to the lead but barely and it wasn't obvious what his pace would be.
Jakob looked over there while circling and had to make a split second decision on what Tim was doing. Once he judged that Tim was going to be content to lead a slower pace than he wanted, Jakob surged past.
Notice that Tim really picked it up at that point. He saw it was Jakob and wasn't willing to allow a gap. But the sudden surge from Tim within a few steps demonstrated that Jakob's pace was far quicker than what Tim intended.
SWhat these 5000m runner are doing is running slow. Slow pace benefits middle distance runners. If they coulda taken that race in the pace of 1240s, Jakob could not have medaled. He could have literally had to run his personal best to medal. And with 1500m fatigue still in his legs, the pace could have taken a toll on him.
SWhat these 5000m runner are doing is running slow. Slow pace benefits middle distance runners. If they coulda taken that race in the pace of 1240s, Jakob could not have medaled. He could have literally had to run his personal best to medal. And with 1500m fatigue still in his legs, the pace could have taken a toll on him.
And who exactly would have the capacity to force Jakob to run a PB in a non paced championship race?
Tim didn't separate. That was the issue. He went to the lead but barely and it wasn't obvious what his pace would be.
Jakob looked over there while circling and had to make a split second decision on what Tim was doing. Once he judged that Tim was going to be content to lead a slower pace than he wanted, Jakob surged past.
Notice that Tim really picked it up at that point. He saw it was Jakob and wasn't willing to allow a gap. But the sudden surge from Tim within a few steps demonstrated that Jakob's pace was far quicker than what Tim intended.
He should know a 1:55 first 800m is fine for him. He doesn’t think he could run a 53/39 from that and have a better chance? I definitely think at most 1 guy beats him off that and I’m not convinced anyone actually does.
As someone kind of newish to following running, it seems kind of weird to me that he seems more likely to break the WR than winning another global title. How unusual is that?
As someone kind of newish to following running, it seems kind of weird to me that he seems more likely to break the WR than winning another global title. How unusual is that?
I think running sub 3:26 drives him hard. But I also think his fastest times in paced races have caused him to make mistakes in the last 3 global 1500m. ie He thinks he can simply outrun everyone gun to tape. Maybe he will learn from this, in spite of the interview he gave today.
He could have sat back and let the pace dawdle, in which case he's still getting outkicked by Hocker and Kerr, and potentially a few other wildcards from the pack. Maybe if he positions himself really well under these circumstances and gets the inside line, then he snags a medal, but he's not winning the race this way.
The tactic that he employed gave him the best chance of winning. Maybe it was only a 10% chance, which was reduced to 5% when he overshot the first lap. Still, a 5% chance is better than a 0% chance the other way.
Simple as he runs the 1500 with his heart, and the 5000 he runs with his head. He doesn’t realize if he won crushing the last 600 or 800 nobody would worry about the time or him winning the hard way.
Na, he's not racing guys that can close their last 400m in 50 seconds in the 5k; so in a 5k, he's the guy with the kick.
Also, positioning isn't as critical in the 5,000m as it is in the 1,500m.
Why would he race the same way in the 1500m as he would in the 5k, if the relationship he has with his competitors is completely different.
Why make it fast in the 5k when you have the best kick? Similarly, why leave it to a kick in the 1500 when at least 2 (if not more) guys can close much faster than you?