I have to say that this 1500m/mile season has been the least exciting one (the Bowerman mile was an exception, that was a GREAT race) in recent years (in my opinon at least.) The main reasons being:
1. Jakob's absence. Every race with Jakob as a part of the field is always an exciting one. His absence this season has been really noticeable.
2. Shady runners among the top guys. I consider both Koech and Habz to be really shady. And that spoils part of the fun. I might have to eat my words, but I know I'm not alone in feeling this way. Koech running 3:27 in his second ever 1500m, while allegedly only being 18, seems way too good to be true. And I could by Habz running 3:29 at 29/30 (like he did in Oslo 2023), but 3:27 at 31/32 seems way too good to be true. I don't consider many of the top guys in the 1500m (or other events sus), I usually give most athletes the benefit of the doubt, but certain athletes are hard to ignore. I did not like it when Katir entered the scene from seemingly nowhere, and started dominating several distances. I had my suspicions, and I turned out to be right. Him getting banned did not surprise me at all.
3. Many of the top guys have competed very little this season. If we look at 4 of the top 5 guys from Paris 2024 (the ones besides Jakob ofc) they haven't been that active in the DL circuit. Yes, most of them competed in GSL, which was fine, but that was 3 competitions from April to June. Since then, Kerr only competed in the London DL. Nuguse only competed in Eugene DL, same with Hocker and Kessler (I'm talking 1500m/mile races, and international competitions) Some of the guys seem to dodge each other, that's not fun. Idk why Kerr wasn't present in Eugene, and I don't know why any of the Americans weren't present in London, but I find it a bit lame. Also, none of the guys mentioned were present in Rome, Oslo, Stockholm (Hocker actually competed there, albeit in the 5000m, I'll give him some points for that), Paris or Ostrava. It is a bit underwhelming. I hope we get to see most of these guys present in Silesia, Zurich, Lausanne and Brussels. If we expand to the top 6 guys from Paris 2024, Laros is also one I would've liked to see more in the DL circuit, he's always fun to watch. I know he has had some injuries, so that's really unfortunate. He has mostly focused on 800m and 5000m, but he was at least present in Eugene (where he won with a fantastic performance)
I hope next season (as well as the remainder of this one) gets better.