If this is true then he officially goes from "medium to spicy" on the concern "heat" scale.
And it's not just about if he makes it back for Tokyo (because he probably will), it's now that this same injury is taking to longer to heal itself in consecutive years and as with any athlete, the lifetime volume of high intensity training doesn't evaporate - it's miles on the clock.
I've always maintained this and people seem to get upset about it - this is why even the greats don't have forever to mark their marks historically (in terms of WR's etc) - they either have to scale it back in training to avoid getting hurt or they plough ahead and do get hurt. I felt that Jakob had this year and the next at best to get the 1500/5000m records - if this season is a write-off in terms of records (might not be, fingers crossed) then I really feel next year he needs to choose which one he really wants (for me it would be the 5000m no question) and get it done as soon as he can.
I also thought a month/6 weeks ago that when he got back it would still be the 1500/5000m for him in Tokyo, I'm beginning to wonder if it will be just one event in Tokyo.
I think you and TL are exaggerating this. He has been running for over a month now and probably got off the cross training 2.5 weeks ago (instagram). Why would he race with just a few weeks of 100% actual running? He is not Cole Hocker who will settle for 5th in a diamond league. When he comes back he wants to run fast and place 1st.
I find it quite odd that just because it's close to the end of the season that he cannot chase records. Could he not get Nike to set up a meet at Bislett in late late september? Seems like we are grasping at straws here.
Hmm, I'm skeptical. Jakob frequently races when unwell or not at 100% e.g Pre last year. If he was remotely fit, then he'd run London. If he's bailing on a commitment, it's because he's in trouble or the injury set him back further than expected. The one thing that we know for certain about Jakob is that if he can race, he turns up
I think you and TL are exaggerating this. He has been running for over a month now and probably got off the cross training 2.5 weeks ago (instagram). Why would he race with just a few weeks of 100% actual running? He is not Cole Hocker who will settle for 5th in a diamond league. When he comes back he wants to run fast and place 1st.
I find it quite odd that just because it's close to the end of the season that he cannot chase records. Could he not get Nike to set up a meet at Bislett in late late september? Seems like we are grasping at straws here.
I think this is the point though. I was under the impression that "actual running" was planned to have started much more than a month ago.
Hey I picked him to win the 1500 in Tokyo this season and I'm still sticking with that so I can be exaggerating too much. But I do think big picture the injury stuff which is a) becoming a consistent issue and b) the recovery time getting longer is worth a little concern, that's all.
Oh yeah definitely. The injury timeline to me seems like
Mid to late April: Injured in Sierra Nevada, flies back to Norway.
May 26: Posts his “first” alter G running session on a treadmill
June 8: Does a mini threshold session on treadmill while still cross training
June 20: Says that he is on his last cross training session
July 3: Filip says Jakob will join him at altitude.
This seems like a pretty obvious schedule for opening in Silesia or maybe later. This injury was in the other leg apparently, but it definitely took less time to rehab. He is running 100% within a month and a half which is decent and way better than his 3 month off injury last year.
How to prevent it? Well he trains to be pretty much fit year round, he would need to slow the progression down drastically and probably drop all the European XC and indoor meets he does. Seems like the only way to me. He uses that Coros training hub thing so he should have no problem slowing that loading curve down.
I think you and TL are exaggerating this. He has been running for over a month now and probably got off the cross training 2.5 weeks ago (instagram). Why would he race with just a few weeks of 100% actual running? He is not Cole Hocker who will settle for 5th in a diamond league. When he comes back he wants to run fast and place 1st.
I find it quite odd that just because it's close to the end of the season that he cannot chase records. Could he not get Nike to set up a meet at Bislett in late late september? Seems like we are grasping at straws here.
Hmm, I'm skeptical. Jakob frequently races when unwell or not at 100% e.g Pre last year. If he was remotely fit, then he'd run London. If he's bailing on a commitment, it's because he's in trouble or the injury set him back further than expected. The one thing that we know for certain about Jakob is that if he can race, he turns up
No, it’s different this time. Last year he got injured in late october/early november and didn’t start training fully with no cross training until seemingly early March or late February. A race in late may doesn’t seem completely out of the picture. This time, he get’s injured late April, right before the season is about to start. Do you seriously expect him to open up with just a few weeks of running fully? No, his achilles could flare up again easily without any faster sessions. It’s quite possibly the worst time to get injured.
I will say I’d find it incredibly lame if he opts out of the 1500 to race just the 5000. I know Nick Willis and now Mac Fleet have suggested that as what he’ll do. But he is missing a 1500m outdoor world title in his trophy case, and Paris begs for a redemptive moment.
"Incredibly lame" might be a bit harsh TL. As of today Mo Farah is the only man to win the world 5000m three times and he did those consecutively - Jakob obviously has the chance to join him in September.
The question is obvious, if you aren't quite fully fit (and this doesn't just mean injury free and training, it means some period of concentrated racing), does he sacrifice winning the 5000m when winning the 1500m after a severely interrupted season (injury, emotional baggage with the family, being a young father) might simply not happen?
If it's me and I risk not winning both, I'll take the 5000m and see if I can pull a late career El G moment in Beijing in the 1500. I agree that Paris is begging for redemption (and 4 months ago he was 100% my pick to win the 1500m in Tokyo because of that) - but 4 months on from that and he's still dropping out of races and not apparently fully fit? That prediction is hanging on by a thread.
Agree with almost all of this, but I think he will be capable of doubling this summer. I think the biggest thing for him is dropping doubling at all these European Championships. I mean, in March he won 4 gold medals with a ton of heats and finals. That definitely contributed to his achilles issue. Going forward, no way he continues doubling at these lower tier championships or even running Europeans at all.
Big Jakob fan here. Hope he fully recovers and gets back to golds and WRs.
But 24 is when his two older brothers peaked. After that they were saddled with wives, kids, and constant injuries. Hope that isn't Jakob's trajectory.
From what i understand, things are going quite ok for Jakob. Filip mentioned after his last race that the plan is for Jakob to join them in st moritz in the near future. he will probably need at least 3-4 weeks at altitude to get in proper shape. So it was quite obvious that there wasnt enough time for London.
Jacob needs his B+ game to compete. and then go from there.
the last time he was injured, his first race back, he was beaten in the stretch by Kerr, and then went on to glory mostly.
same thing here it sounds like if the intelligence is correct.
he did have that great indoor base and just might be back up to speed...
Big Jakob fan here. Hope he fully recovers and gets back to golds and WRs.
But 24 is when his two older brothers peaked. After that they were saddled with wives, kids, and constant injuries. Hope that isn't Jakob's trajectory.
Jakob's trajectory diverged from his brothers' long ago.
I think you and TL are exaggerating this. He has been running for over a month now and probably got off the cross training 2.5 weeks ago (instagram). Why would he race with just a few weeks of 100% actual running? He is not Cole Hocker who will settle for 5th in a diamond league. When he comes back he wants to run fast and place 1st.
I find it quite odd that just because it's close to the end of the season that he cannot chase records. Could he not get Nike to set up a meet at Bislett in late late september? Seems like we are grasping at straws here.
Hmm, I'm skeptical. Jakob frequently races when unwell or not at 100% e.g Pre last year. If he was remotely fit, then he'd run London. If he's bailing on a commitment, it's because he's in trouble or the injury set him back further than expected. The one thing that we know for certain about Jakob is that if he can race, he turns up
I think he’s skipping London because it would disrupt his preparations for Tokyo, not because the injury is worse than we’ve been led to believe. Last year he opened in Eugene, 10 weeks before the Olympics, and that was coming directly from altitude camp in Flagstaff. This year, London is only 7 weeks before Worlds and he hasn’t been at altitude since the winter.
With how the DL is scheduled this year, he can either run London next weekend after only being back to 100% training for ~2 weeks, or put in a 4+ week block at altitude before opening in Silesia. Seems like a pretty easy decision, because even if his fitness is good right now, there’s no way he’s in racing shape.
So the big white hope is in trouble? Recall me the war they doing against Achraf Hakimi these last times. The fakers of history have created false Gods with mountains of Gold, called Messi, Ronaldo.
I think you and TL are exaggerating this. He has been running for over a month now and probably got off the cross training 2.5 weeks ago (instagram). Why would he race with just a few weeks of 100% actual running? He is not Cole Hocker who will settle for 5th in a diamond league. When he comes back he wants to run fast and place 1st.
I find it quite odd that just because it's close to the end of the season that he cannot chase records. Could he not get Nike to set up a meet at Bislett in late late september? Seems like we are grasping at straws here.
Hmm, I'm skeptical. Jakob frequently races when unwell or not at 100% e.g Pre last year. If he was remotely fit, then he'd run London. If he's bailing on a commitment, it's because he's in trouble or the injury set him back further than expected. The one thing that we know for certain about Jakob is that if he can race, he turns up
if he hasn't been at altitude in several months, and his window to do it before worlds is very narrow, that's a huge difference from any past scenarios.
"Incredibly lame" might be a bit harsh TL. As of today Mo Farah is the only man to win the world 5000m three times and he did those consecutively - Jakob obviously has the chance to join him in September.
The question is obvious, if you aren't quite fully fit (and this doesn't just mean injury free and training, it means some period of concentrated racing), does he sacrifice winning the 5000m when winning the 1500m after a severely interrupted season (injury, emotional baggage with the family, being a young father) might simply not happen?
If it's me and I risk not winning both, I'll take the 5000m and see if I can pull a late career El G moment in Beijing in the 1500. I agree that Paris is begging for redemption (and 4 months ago he was 100% my pick to win the 1500m in Tokyo because of that) - but 4 months on from that and he's still dropping out of races and not apparently fully fit? That prediction is hanging on by a thread.
You’re right. It just would stink as a fan but judging Jakob for what might be a practical decision is unfair. The 5,000 has taken a hit a bit in my eyes. I’m not sure why, it just seems few athletes have the global titles as their ultimate A event and goal. It’s a prime event on the circuit, but come Championships it’s late in the program, many of the top guns are typically missing, and the few big names are doubling. I’m wondering if they should flip the schedule to alternate it.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
So the big white hope is in trouble? Recall me the war they doing against Achraf Hakimi these last times. The fakers of history have created false Gods with mountains of Gold, called Messi, Ronaldo.
all Norwegian papers (nrk, vg etc.) are reporting that he is dropping London. According to his press advisor he needs more time to recover properly. No info on any setbacks or anything concrete about his progress
If this is true then he officially goes from "medium to spicy" on the concern "heat" scale.
And it's not just about if he makes it back for Tokyo (because he probably will), it's now that this same injury is taking to longer to heal itself in consecutive years and as with any athlete, the lifetime volume of high intensity training doesn't evaporate - it's miles on the clock.
I've always maintained this and people seem to get upset about it - this is why even the greats don't have forever to mark their marks historically (in terms of WR's etc) - they either have to scale it back in training to avoid getting hurt or they plough ahead and do get hurt. I felt that Jakob had this year and the next at best to get the 1500/5000m records - if this season is a write-off in terms of records (might not be, fingers crossed) then I really feel next year he needs to choose which one he really wants (for me it would be the 5000m no question) and get it done as soon as he can.
I also thought a month/6 weeks ago that when he got back it would still be the 1500/5000m for him in Tokyo, I'm beginning to wonder if it will be just one event in Tokyo.
This is one of the best takes here. Jakob is likely in serious trouble, and he is smart, so he knows it, and he needs excuses when it doesn’t all fall into place, and he can see that it is not likely to. His margin at 1500m, if he has one at all, stems from his ability to make the boys hurt on the 3rd lap, and he is beginning to doubt that this tool will be available to him this year. And at 5000m, he might have a chance, but Katir made him hurt, and although he is not a factor, there are some young hungry kids who can run 7:28 off a slow first 2000m and put the hurt on a man who is no longer guaranteed to be the fastest on the last lap, mostly due to an injury which, as you allude to, can no longer be dismissed as a minor nuisance.
So the big white hope is in trouble? Recall me the war they doing against Achraf Hakimi these last times. The fakers of history have created false Gods with mountains of Gold, called Messi, Ronaldo.
idk, call me a skeptic and downvote all you want, but imo he's actually healthy but feigning an injury in case he gets destroyed in Tokyo in his main event. "I lost because of an Achilles problem" sounds infinitely better than "I lost because I'm not good enough to keep up with my competitors anymore " from a marketing point of view. And the rise of Koech and Habz has been the nail in the coffin so he is doubling down and ducking Kerr.
idk, call me a skeptic and downvote all you want, but imo he's actually healthy but feigning an injury in case he gets destroyed in Tokyo in his main event. "I lost because of an Achilles problem" sounds infinitely better than "I lost because I'm not good enough to keep up with my competitors anymore " from a marketing point of view. And the rise of Koech and Habz has been the nail in the coffin so he is doubling down and ducking Kerr.
with all that being said, I hope I'm right because I don't wish any injuries on anyone.
idk, call me a skeptic and downvote all you want, but imo he's actually healthy but feigning an injury in case he gets destroyed in Tokyo in his main event. "I lost because of an Achilles problem" sounds infinitely better than "I lost because I'm not good enough to keep up with my competitors anymore " from a marketing point of view. And the rise of Koech and Habz has been the nail in the coffin so he is doubling down and ducking Kerr.
The article and press spokeman says, "Jakob still needs a little more time to heal the injury...[he]...does not want to risk anything."
My take, is that running London would disrupt his progression back to training and time at altitude. Proper progression enables better injury recovery and strength. There isn't anything there to suggest his injury breaking down again, although minor flare ups are a normal part of recovery as your body readjusts to loading. "With regard to the WC, I am not worried."
Given there is a break in the calendar after London, why would Jakob risk cutting that build up short for one race, when he could simply return properly in mid-August and hit a few races in a row.
Also, regarding race readiness, he has already raced a lot earlier this year. In fact he has won every race, and run WR's. It's not like he is coming out of the crisper, having not been on the scene since 2024.
From Eugene 2024 (where he made his return) to Monaco where he ran his PB, it was 48 days. But that was quite a whirlwind schedule flying back for Oslo days after, and then squeezing in Euro Champs before Monaco. Not an ideal build up with lots of races and travel after returning from injury, and then to run your career PB. But he did it.
This year, if he returns at Silesia, he will have 30 days until the 1500m heats start in Tokyo. And I guess about 35 days to the final. That is less time but not drastically different, and he might have a more measured race schedule and less hectic travel.