Tsegay's scared of Jessica Hull's kick and wanted to see if she could drop her right off the bat - it worked, because JH had to work way too hard with 800-600 to go to have anything left on the final 200.
And Tsegay got a second best time in history in the process - in you missed that part! ;-P
Yep. Similar to when Filbert Bayi first hit the big time. He would blast off and then hang on, many times running a very fast race even though staggering through some slow last laps. The rest of the world caught up, but only after they realized they needed to be ready to run much faster paces for the first half of the race.
Thank you--glad someone brought up filiform Filbert.
Different things work for different people and the fact is that some people gain tremendous strength from having a large lead going into the last lap. Worked for Bayi; even worked for Byers when he beat Ovett et al. at Bislett: Tom's last lap was 61.x, obviously a slowdown from his early pace but not terrible.
Its true that she won and got the second fastest mark in history, but I don't agree with this interpretation of the race. Hull did not work hard to catch up, she simply followed the pacer who was runing 4:09 - 4:10 pace, and then continued to follow the wave lights on that pace, even slightly slipping off. Tsegay simply fell back.
Tsegay could have taken the kick out of Hull by running with the pacer and then a 60 second 3rd lap.
Lastly I don't think Tsegay, who has run 1:57 for 800m is concerned with Jess Hull's kick. Jess's 800 PB is 1:58.
Tsegay has a history of running like this, this has nothing to do with Hull. Great talent.
Yes Hull isn't know for her kick, and falling off a hot pace like Nikki Hiltz or GHB
Tsegay’s husband/coach apparently asked if the pacer wanted to go out in 2:02, and she declined. Tsegay just likes running suicidal splits. It doesn’t play well in Championships because she’s tired from other events and the rounds.
I don't think she was worried about just winning the race. She knew there was only one athlete in the field with any chance of beating her. It was clear from the outset she was running for time. I think she was hoping to get as close to the WR as possible, or at least under 4:10.
A more optimally paced race might have gotten her 4:09, but she went for broke. Gudaf is not a young or inexperienced athlete. She represented Ethiopia in the Olympics in 2016 and won her first WC medal in 2019. She doesn't need to practice tactics.
But she has been easily outkicked in several races this year, including a 5000 off of WR pace. The defining issue in her career has been that no tactic has worked against Kipyegon, whom she has never beaten in any race. And now she has Chebet to deal with as well.
I don't know how she should best prepare to face those runners in Tokyo. She knows she can't outkick them so it seems like her only option is to get mentally accustomed to racing at a pace no one else can handle and hope she can somehow just diminish enough of their kick to give herself a chance.
I don't know how you watch that and come away with this reaction. That was baller. Put her nuts on the track and everyone was scared to go with it. Didn't need a fn pacer. Won the race. She won the race!
She went out at sub-4 pace, to practice running a whole mile at sub-4 pace, while finishing the race with a big win.
The woman is just seeing what it is to run the first quarter of a world class mile at sub-4 pace, and win.
It should be obvious to the discerning among us that that is a really feasible proposition as to why she would run this way, at this time, on purpose. C'mon @Rojo!
There is so much hype in WORLD TRACK AND FIELD- a Babylonian circus that we all have enjoyed yet is rife with dishonest ethics at the very top- around a woman breaking 4 that the quickest will try to experiment with pushing the limits on that, "until they get it", so to speak...
It's the middle of the season (and we are living in the last days, pray and read your Bible). They are gonna push the limits because that is the foolhardy trend of not just athletics now, but concentrated selfish endeavor for the sake of spectacle..
Her race is her preparing to try to break 4. Why is this not obvious to people?
The problem is Welteji and Kipyegon are certain to beat her if she does, and Hull and Chepchirchir seem likely too as well. She seems stuck in 2022 between her tactics and ideas that she is good enough to be tripling.
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Perhaps she did not run her race to your standards, but according to information you posted: 1) She won and got paid, 2)She set a meet record, 3)She set the World lead, and 4)She set a national record.
Person of interest, I disagree with your comment on Pre's Oly 5000 bid. If you watch the race, he's in medal position with 300 to go. He foolishly tries to sprint for the lead with 200 to go, and empties his tank. If he'd shadowed Viren to the last 100, then sprinted, he would have at least gotten a medal. He was not going to beat Viren or get a medal by hammering from the start.
As for Tsegay, she dropped Hull right away. It worked. She held it together in the last 200. Bravo! I was sure she was going to fold. Tough and strong, she is.
Tsegay's scared of Jessica Hull's kick and wanted to see if she could drop her right off the bat - it worked, because JH had to work way too hard with 800-600 to go to have anything left on the final 200.
And Tsegay got a second best time in history in the process - in you missed that part! ;-P
Tsegay might as well quit the sport if she's scared of Hull's "kick".
There were wave lights set for 4:10. How can you have wave lights and still run such an uneven race? She runs sub optimally every time she races. She never learns, she isn't experimenting. She could possibly have challenged the world record if she followed the wave lights and tried to pick it up over the last 600. Either her coach is absolutely useless tactically or she doesn't listen. It will continue to cost her medals at major championships.
The coach also coaches Haylom and is sabotaging her career as it seems to me he must be telling her to follow Tsegays every move.
Yes, he placed Haylom BETWEEN Tsegay and Hull so that Hull would be looking at Haylom's back and not immediatelly know for sure if Tsegay was pulling away ahead of Haylom even further (maybe even create insecurity about if she was really up there at all, or for some reason still behind Hull).
Good team coaching - isn't that what we always say the Ethiopians should do against Ingebrightsen in the 5000? He sacrificed one girl so that the other could win.
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Yeah, it’s a lot easier to go after the hated palefaces, despite the once in a blue moon catches like Ruth. Usually it’s someone who has aged out, is a training partner etc.
I don't think she was worried about just winning the race. She knew there was only one athlete in the field with any chance of beating her. It was clear from the outset she was running for time. I think she was hoping to get as close to the WR as possible, or at least under 4:10.
A more optimally paced race might have gotten her 4:09, but she went for broke. Gudaf is not a young or inexperienced athlete. She represented Ethiopia in the Olympics in 2016 and won her first WC medal in 2019. She doesn't need to practice tactics.
But she has been easily outkicked in several races this year, including a 5000 off of WR pace. The defining issue in her career has been that no tactic has worked against Kipyegon, whom she has never beaten in any race. And now she has Chebet to deal with as well.
I don't know how she should best prepare to face those runners in Tokyo. She knows she can't outkick them so it seems like her only option is to get mentally accustomed to racing at a pace no one else can handle and hope she can somehow just diminish enough of their kick to give herself a chance.
While reasonable, it still doesn't explain why she didn't ask for the pacer to run at 4:07 pace. Her coach and her were in complete control of what the pacer would go out in as one of the faster runners. She could have asked for 61/2:03 if she really wanted to go for it.