I may be wrong about this but didn't Tom Nohilly almost make the Olympic Team in 2000 at about 34/35 running low 8:20s? If he could do that why couldn't Jager at 36?
All I see is an American steeple GOAT continuing to enjoy the sport, just at a different level. If people want to get bent out of shape over that, then that's their decision.
Jager is training through these meets. He is peaking for the US Championships. It is still within the realm of possibility he qualifies for the world championships in Tokyo.
The issue is Jager is past his prime. It doesn’t matter what event he chooses, he cannot be among the best in the US anymore. There is no shame in that. He was probably a 12:50, 7:57 steepler with today’s tech.
Actually, he was a 7:57 steepler but for one last hurdle before today’s tech.
If he’s just getting back and this was somewhat of a rust buster, I don’t understand the criticism. Yes, he is aging out, but why can’t he run 8:20 or sub-8:20 this year and still be competitive? There is zero shame in that. I could see the guy run like 8:18 still if he stays healthy.
The issue is Jager is past his prime. It doesn’t matter what event he chooses, he cannot be among the best in the US anymore. There is no shame in that. He was probably a 12:50, 7:57 steepler with today’s tech.
Actually, he was a 7:57 steepler but for one last hurdle before today’s tech.
If he’s just getting back and this was somewhat of a rust buster, I don’t understand the criticism. Yes, he is aging out, but why can’t he run 8:20 or sub-8:20 this year and still be competitive? There is zero shame in that. I could see the guy run like 8:18 still if he stays healthy.
Jager was NOT a 7:57 steepler, as getting over the hurdles and not falling is a huge part of the event. Odd that you don’t understand this. There is no criticism of Evan continuing to compete. 8:35 may be good for a 36 year old, but Evan will not be making a U.S. team, although he will likely run under 8:30 this year. That is not criticism.
Actually, he was a 7:57 steepler but for one last hurdle before today’s tech.
If he’s just getting back and this was somewhat of a rust buster, I don’t understand the criticism. Yes, he is aging out, but why can’t he run 8:20 or sub-8:20 this year and still be competitive? There is zero shame in that. I could see the guy run like 8:18 still if he stays healthy.
Jager was NOT a 7:57 steepler, as getting over the hurdles and not falling is a huge part of the event. Odd that you don’t understand this. There is no criticism of Evan continuing to compete. 8:35 may be good for a 36 year old, but Evan will not be making a U.S. team, although he will likely run under 8:30 this year. That is not criticism.
I’m making a point, good God. Yes, you have to clear all the hurdles. My point being that he certainly was capable of 7:57, but never ran it of course.
I think he goes 8:20 +/- 2 sec IF healthy. Harambe will attribute his “decline” to long COVID of course.
Jager was NOT a 7:57 steepler, as getting over the hurdles and not falling is a huge part of the event. Odd that you don’t understand this. There is no criticism of Evan continuing to compete. 8:35 may be good for a 36 year old, but Evan will not be making a U.S. team, although he will likely run under 8:30 this year. That is not criticism.
I’m making a point, good God. Yes, you have to clear all the hurdles. My point being that he certainly was capable of 7:57, but never ran it of course.
I think he goes 8:20 +/- 2 sec IF healthy. Harambe will attribute his “decline” to long COVID of course.
Yeah Jager maybe could run 8:20 this year. But somebody got upset when it was mentioned that Jager is essentially finished as an elite runner, and that his 8:35 is not a great sign for his season. That person gets emotional and then isn’t able to reason.
Jager was NOT a 7:57 steepler, as getting over the hurdles and not falling is a huge part of the event. Odd that you don’t understand this. There is no criticism of Evan continuing to compete. 8:35 may be good for a 36 year old, but Evan will not be making a U.S. team, although he will likely run under 8:30 this year. That is not criticism.
I’m making a point, good God. Yes, you have to clear all the hurdles. My point being that he certainly was capable of 7:57, but never ran it of course.
He did clear all of the hurdles. He stumbled over his own feet five meters after that last hurdle. The race was still salvageable but he just didn't pop up immediately.
I remember thinking, "lets hope this isn't his last crack at 8 minutes." You know the rest of the story.
I’m making a point, good God. Yes, you have to clear all the hurdles. My point being that he certainly was capable of 7:57, but never ran it of course.
He did clear all of the hurdles. He stumbled over his own feet five meters after that last hurdle. The race was still salvageable but he just didn't pop up immediately.
I remember thinking, "lets hope this isn't his last crack at 8 minutes." You know the rest of the story.
Well, rewatching that clip, I would agree with you, but Jager himself said he clipped the last barrier with his lead toe.
I’m making a point, good God. Yes, you have to clear all the hurdles. My point being that he certainly was capable of 7:57, but never ran it of course.
I think he goes 8:20 +/- 2 sec IF healthy. Harambe will attribute his “decline” to long COVID of course.
Yeah Jager maybe could run 8:20 this year. But somebody got upset when it was mentioned that Jager is essentially finished as an elite runner, and that his 8:35 is not a great sign for his season. That person gets emotional and then isn’t able to reason.
I take your point, but, to be fair, 8:35 is also NOT not a great sign. Appears to be a rustbuster and he could still go 8:15. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. I’d say sub-8:20 is still elite, even if not podium worthy anymore. And Jager is 36, not 26. I sincerely doubt he can run a 3:32 1500 at this age, which is limiting.
Yeah Jager maybe could run 8:20 this year. But somebody got upset when it was mentioned that Jager is essentially finished as an elite runner, and that his 8:35 is not a great sign for his season. That person gets emotional and then isn’t able to reason.
I take your point, but, to be fair, 8:35 is also NOT not a great sign. Appears to be a rustbuster and he could still go 8:15. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. I’d say sub-8:20 is still elite, even if not podium worthy anymore. And Jager is 36, not 26. I sincerely doubt he can run a 3:32 1500 at this age, which is limiting.
Yes that is what I was emphasizing. 8:35 is not a great sign. I was advocating that point. Jager ran 3:50 recently for 1500m. I doubt he can break 3:40 anymore. Maybe, but not by much.
Rewatching, Jager wasn't slowing one bit in the final 200, even after he got over the final hurdle. After he got up and collected himself, he got back to speed. It's just speculation now. Would he have accelerated into the finish? It certainly looked like he wasn't slowing down at all. If he simply maintained the lead he had, that was a 7:57. Just so unfortunate. I still enjoy watching him race. His stride is still beautiful.
If you read the next sentence I suggest it may not be about money at all. Gotta say, there are some sad, weird people out there denigrating someone for continuing to compete in their "twilight years." It's like they take personal offense to it; as if Jager not running as fast as he used to someone causes direct harm to them. Anyway, have a nice day.
Only on Letsrun will a guy who has been championed and loved (for the most part) by the majority, for over a decade, be tossed out like trash and maligned for even attempting a comeback or continued involvement in his sport, because he's not running fast enough to meet the expectations of a washed-up 16min scrub on a message board. See: Brazier, Knight, Rupp threads of late.
He did clear all of the hurdles. He stumbled over his own feet five meters after that last hurdle. The race was still salvageable but he just didn't pop up immediately.
I remember thinking, "lets hope this isn't his last crack at 8 minutes." You know the rest of the story.
Well, rewatching that clip, I would agree with you, but Jager himself said he clipped the last barrier with his lead toe.
Yeah, Jager said it, but reviewing the video at slow-motion it doesn't even show up. He simply fell over his own two feet and did not pop up immediately. He just gave up when he could have salvaged his race.
Rewatching, Jager wasn't slowing one bit in the final 200, even after he got over the final hurdle. After he got up and collected himself, he got back to speed. It's just speculation now.
He did not "collect himself" after that fall. The video is clear as day.
I've had two falls in my day. One, against Michigan, in their algae slime water pool, where I went L-7, slid five feet, and popped up immediately, James Brown style, then continued on.
The other was in the midst of a jail break (National AAU) where I hit a barrier with three laps to go. 20-25 meter lead. I didn't "brush my toelio", I hit hard with my knee, did a flip, landed on my head, rolled over, then immediately popped up and continued on another lap with my lead intact. At that point I was forced to drop (still leading) with 2+ laps to go. My knee was cut open and swollen 2x. Imagine how much it throbbed on the flight home...
Well, rewatching that clip, I would agree with you, but Jager himself said he clipped the last barrier with his lead toe.
Yeah, Jager said it, but reviewing the video at slow-motion it doesn't even show up. He simply fell over his own two feet and did not pop up immediately. He just gave up when he could have salvaged his race.
I mean, yeah I agree with you watching the tape. He doesn’t appear to clip the barrier. But I do think he got up and got going again as quickly as he could. Just wasn’t quite good enough to dip under 8:00. Sucks watching that again.
I’m not sure why people are casting Jager off as though he should never compete again. He almost made the Olympic team last year.