The George Mills Fall

Mills trying to block Kerr's move with that much track left in the race was very bizarre. Again, just very poor instincts from him.

will be interesting to see if Mills is invited back next year. I know it's his home soil. Otherwise I think he definitely doesn't get the invite.

he moves a step to the outside and then a step back to the inside over the course of 100m; it is hardly unexpected for his competitors that he might move to the inside to take the shortest route round the bend. he's within his rights to take a step to the inside, he never cuts anyone up or barges anyone, he's clearly ahead and moves in. you might not like it, but it's perfectly fair to step out and in over 100m.

asserting that what he did was not "legal" is puerile. when has someone been found guilty of "moving a bit to the inside on the back straight"?

kerr is 2m ahead of him when he is clipped, his contact is with myers. do you mean wightman? wightman is close to him at the time, but it's myers.

genuinely annoyed each time i've watched it, i want to see the rest of the field be able to finish their race and see how it all goes down.

i can see both sides. I don't think he did anything egregious, but he definitely has bad instincts that caused for more movement than is typical on that part of the track, which threw everything off. I don't think it's coincidental and it will likely happen to him and those around him again.

Is it just me, or does George Mills seem to fall down more than anyone else?

Yawn, I wonder this commentary would be said if the with replaced mills for any us runner, hmm let me think, no. Don’t be bias and just look at the objective, big field naive running and racing not jog and run

Millsy rapidly becoming the Pat Scammell of today.

Yeah and look, I get it - the broadcast footage view doesn't provide enough evidence of what went on. From that hard-cam view it just seems as if Myers clips him, even though it's obviously weird to get passed simultaneously on the in and outside. It's only after seeing this other view, shot by someone in the stands, that you can clearly see his movement across lane 1 and back. And if you pause it at 1200, 1250 and 1300m you clearly see the problem.

End of the day this isn't anything personal against Mills which I think people defending him are missing. This isn't even a dirty/deliberate piece of running (even though some might question why you would try and force someone wide down the back straight of all places) but even that doesn't even bother me that much. But you just can't run diagonally across lanes, even if it's within a lane, at this level because guys are looking to and will take the chances they are given. Like passing space on the rail, which we know was there because Koech took it. And honestly Myers didn't even accelerate he just was holding his form and speed.

He's just got to be more careful and aware.

Not when it is impedes someones progress - dude what are you missing here? He freely gave up the rail down the back straight. "Being slightly ahead" doesn't afford him any extra leeway there? Don't forget this salient fact - Myers is running in a consistent straight line against the rail - he's not moving! It's either Mills fault or it's Myers - how can it possibly be the guy running in a straight line not deviating? Yeah you can step "out and in" over 100m - not if the stepping "in" means stepping in front of someone that causes mass disruption of the race!

And in case you didn't notice you are basically one of like 3 people commenting on this that don't see what the vast majority are - does that not tell you something?

came here to say this. Although mills has had a good season, I always tend to see this guy ending up in a fall, causing someone else to fall or stumble, or some other result from poor racing tactics/awareness. If he wants any chance at really competing at the highest stage, he needs to learn to race

Yeah the contact I meant was after the double-surge past him…Kerr and him make marginal contact. I don’t think his move was completely unexpected to Myers who it looks to me was braking. It’s hard to get inside their heads, but I think Myers expected Mills to take a look which would give him a heads up to pull the reins even further. He was aware but didn’t anticipate Mills going further inside without looking at all.

mills doesnt have great spatial awareness but giles is just really aggressive

LoL get over it. You've got yourself in Stitches.

Falls happen all the time whether Mills is in the race or not, and are usually caused by a series of moves involving multiple runners in race conditions. Unlucky for everyone involved, especially Mills, but please move on.

There ought to be an opening at a university in San Antonio.

wrong Post

If Myers could have avoided it by being a tad cautious then it's at least partially his fault for putting himself in a position that could ruin is race unless the risk was worth it.

It's too hard to tell from the footage.

Hmm, not sure about your first point. Jakob did that three times to Tim Cheruiyot in the 2022 final and no one seemed to think it was egregious (other than costing him the race). If you're ahead, you have every right to defend the position no matter the point of the race.

It's hard to give Mills the benefit of the doubt because of his history but I also think what he done was just instinct. In fact, we could have seen Jakob do the exact same thing to Hocker in the Olympic final if Hocker had been a fraction closer. In both cases, Mills and Jakob were trying to cover a move on the outside and then try to prevent moves down the inside. These guys instinctively try to get back to the rail. Inside passes are difficult, especially heading into the curve, and if you're going to attempt one, then you need to do what Koech did and properly surge. Myers wanted the inside pass but he didn't want to start his kick. It's an accident, but Myers' tentative racing is as much the reason as Mills' poor awareness

not missing anything, we just disagree, which is fine! to my mind, mills was within his rights to step in towards the inside as they came towards the bend so he could take the shortest line. people have done this to me many times in races when i've been looking to sneak through on the inside and i've never cried foul.

no, i don't care what the majority or minority opinion is, i'm happy enough to use my own eyes and experience. no problem with you conceiving of track etiquette/rules differently to me.

Your quote:
to my mind, mills was within his rights to step in towards the inside as they came towards the bend so he could take the shortest line.

You are correct. Every person has free will and agency. It was within Mills’ right to step inside at any time during the race, no matter who he collided with, impeded, or tripped.

The problem is, Mills misjudged his spacing and when stepping in, which cause he and Myers to get entangled.

So to recap:

1. Completely within Mills’ rights as a human

2. He caused the fall.