Can't win a slow race when there's a proper kicker in there, cant win a fast race.
Fails to qualify for the DL final. Letsrun members in tears.
Grand Scam Track screws Fisher twice, with a middle finger to Drew Hunter.
This is the price he paid for trusting in that scam and the money it offered. We’ll see how he performs in Tokyo and how the training was shaped for the season he planned to include those GST meets. He again, spent too much time on the rail, got tripped up a couple of times and did get lucky it opened up a little. He has to anticipate moves earlier. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome but he has to be more natural with the flow of the racing.
1. He can gap the whole field (OK, most of it) with that kick of his. 2. There likely still one or two who have a better kick and a final 1k of 2:30 won’t be enough to run it out of them. 3. He uniquely has the kick plus strength to wind up the pace much earlier… so do it.
The problem is that 3. is easier said than done, because you’ve got to get lucky or be savvy enough to find your moment to get off the rail and avoid getting boxed. (See US Champs.) Fisher needs to get out so he can make it go from a mile out. — might be wise to stretch it to go from 1800 - 2000m out.
And it’s not just Kimeli, as even if no Jakob… Don’t forget there’s Hocker
Well, no one said it would be easy, but I think this race is good news for Grant Fisher.
Jakob will be there in the 5K. it’ll be interesting
I thought Fisher made some rookie mistakes in this race. He was boxed in for quite some time. I don’t know if it would’ve changed the outcome of of this this particular race, but certainly he would’ve had the opportunity to push from 1200 out versus 450. I don’t understand how he allowed himself to get in that position. Hopefully a learning experience.
We have already told you, who fake the nature receive its answer ... its not every day you see a guy winning 115/119 or winning 4 Olympic Gold medals or winning 4 World XC straight.
I've been saying all year, that the indoor times that Grant ran earlier this year on bouncy tracks has inflated his abilities somewhat. That led into a bunch of very slow GST races with small fields, where as the superior miler, he was able to shine in. Although he was still beaten in two races.
But when he has been seriously tested this year at US trials, and then at Lausanne against a proper international field, he hasn't really shown he is the gold medal contender many believe him to be.
Fisher beat all the Ethiopians but got beat by some Belgian guy I've never heard of. Absolutely smoked in that kick.
Not sure what to make of it.
Probably that Grant will be in the hunt for the medals and it's wide open for sure if Jakob isn't there.
Make nothing of it, other than Grant is replicating what he did last year.
Heading into Paris, Grant got kicked down by Dominic Lobalu/SUI, 7:27.68 to 7:27.99. And was only 0.54 ahead of Edwin Kurgat/KEN in 3rd.
At the Oly 10,000, Grant's bronze beats Kimeli's 19th place by over a minute.
Then, in the 5,000 final, Grant passes Kimeli, Kurgat & Lobalu to go from 9th to another bronze over the final 300 meters. In fact. Lobalu expressed surprise afterwards that he was beaten by "the American" whom he had smoked in London a few weeks prior.
With no Zurich, Grant now has 24 days to begin his long taper to the Tokyo 10,000 on 9/13 where he should be the co-favorite with Kejelcha, Barega & Aregawi.
If a non-American had improved so much in a few months, we all know what LRC would have said.
Belgian by flag of convenience but the man is Kenyan born and bred
according to wiki, his mother moved to belgium when he was 4 or 5. He didn't follow for another 10 years.
So he at least has some roots established that go well beyond "moved there for purposes of running."
Correct. Moved to Belgium at age 15 and only started running afterwards. Not like Kenyans/Ethiopians who are brought to Qatar, Israel, Turkey,... specifically to deliver medals for those countries.
His first coach also mentioned in a podcast that he believed Kimeli has the speed to medal at championships, but still lacked the endurance, especially in championships with semi-finals + finals, to actually deliver (he got a new coach since the end of 2024, so maybe that will help). He also doesn't always make the best tactical decisions and appears to have trouble in the heat.
1. He can gap the whole field (OK, most of it) with that kick of his. 2. There likely still one or two who have a better kick and a final 1k of 2:30 won’t be enough to run it out of them. 3. He uniquely has the kick plus strength to wind up the pace much earlier… so do it.
The problem is that 3. is easier said than done, because you’ve got to get lucky or be savvy enough to find your moment to get off the rail and avoid getting boxed. (See US Champs.) Fisher needs to get out so he can make it go from a mile out. — might be wise to stretch it to go from 1800 - 2000m out.
And it’s not just Kimeli, as even if no Jakob… Don’t forget there’s Hocker
Well, no one said it would be easy, but I think this race is good news for Grant Fisher.
I'm not sure it's good news for Fisher. But it wasn't bad news.
1) If he sits and kicks, he'll get smoked by a Hocker/Jakob/random African born guy.
2) If he pushes, he's not so much better than everyone that he'll win (just look at USAs).
The good news for Fisher is #2 is basicaly true for everyone in the world. If you do the work, you get punished at the end. So if I'm him, I Play a game of prisoners dilemma and hope someone else takes if from at least 1k out.
The good news for Fisher is he can medal under either scenario. Also I was stunned how far back Hagos was. Hagos always makes way too big of a move too early in the race. I thought he waited more and made less of a big move and still was no where to be seen at the end.
It was stunning how far ahead the top 2 were in this race. I mean FIsher versus everyone else in the field not named Kimeli was impressive but then somehow Kimeli beat Fisher by almost a full second?
Not a big deal. Fisher planned to stalk and finish. He thought he had cleared the field and only had to deal with the one guy in front of him, and perhaps a token burst from the outside that he could also handle.
Instead he was caught off guard by cannon fire from an unexpected source. It happened so fast it was already over. You could sense Fisher thinking where the hell did that come from?
He was well beaten but to Fisher's credit he mentally regrouped and sprinted to finish as intended.
It reminded me of a horse race in which two principals are so preoccupied with each other on the rail they totally miss the deep closer on the far outside. That was the only way Alydar only defeated Affirmed, twice as 2 year olds.
Fisher deserves his new status but he's still vulnerable to many other guys, given ideal scenarios for them.
Off the Track & Field context, but I think Alydar v Affirmed turned out to be equine psychology.
When not racing Affirmed, Alydar shaped like he was the more naturally talented horse, but once they got a way into their career, I think when the got head to head, Affirmed would just back Alydar down (a herd dynamic kicking in). That's why, Alydar could only beat him by coming wide. Their final meeting, the Travers looked like it could have been interesting until Affirmed cut Alydar off earning a dq.
Funnily enough, Alydar's son, Easy Goer often gave the appearance of being a more talented individual than his personal nemesis, Sunday Silence. That was more a question of Sunday Silence having sharper acceleration though...
I thought Fisher made some rookie mistakes in this race. He was boxed in for quite some time. I don’t know if it would’ve changed the outcome of of this this particular race, but certainly he would’ve had the opportunity to push from 1200 out versus 450. I don’t understand how he allowed himself to get in that position. Hopefully a learning experience.
So many runners are criticized on LR for running in the second lane, so maybe it’s not so easy to execute a stay on the rail, but don’t get boxed in, strategy.
1. Did anyone actually watch the race?! It was pouring with rain and Fisher could barely see. Seemed to be having a harder time with the conditions than anyone else. At one point he even rubbed his eyes/face so he could see.
2. I honestly think the whole Grand Slam mess has negatively impacted his preparation for this season.
3. Finally, Fisher keeps saying he gets boxed in races. He needs to figure that out otherwise it will keep happening.
All that said, Fisher is a fantastic runner. Instead of running harder, he just needs to run smarter. Hoping he can pull it all together for the upcoming races that really matter.
This post was edited 39 seconds after it was posted.
1. He can gap the whole field (OK, most of it) with that kick of his. 2. There likely still one or two who have a better kick and a final 1k of 2:30 won’t be enough to run it out of them. 3. He uniquely has the kick plus strength to wind up the pace much earlier… so do it.
The problem is that 3. is easier said than done, because you’ve got to get lucky or be savvy enough to find your moment to get off the rail and avoid getting boxed. (See US Champs.) Fisher needs to get out so he can make it go from a mile out. — might be wise to stretch it to go from 1800 - 2000m out.
And it’s not just Kimeli, as even if no Jakob… Don’t forget there’s Hocker
Well, no one said it would be easy, but I think this race is good news for Grant Fisher.
I'm not sure it's good news for Fisher. But it wasn't bad news.
1) If he sits and kicks, he'll get smoked by a Hocker/Jakob/random African born guy.
2) If he pushes, he's not so much better than everyone that he'll win (just look at USAs).
The good news for Fisher is #2 is basicaly true for everyone in the world. If you do the work, you get punished at theF end. So if I'm him, I Play a game of prisoners dilemma and hope someone else takes if from at least 1k out.
The good news for Fisher is he can medal under either scenario. Also I was stunned how far back Hagos was. Hagos always makes way too big of a move too early in the race. I thought he waited more and made less of a big move and still was no where to be seen at the end.
It was stunning how far ahead the top 2 were in this race. I mean FIsher versus everyone else in the field not named Kimeli was impressive but then somehow Kimeli beat Fisher by almost a full second?
Fisher closed very well in this one, and there is a chance he is still finishing his final training block and plans to sharpen.
He got caught off guard with that sudden Johnny on the spot, every dog has their day, 100m surge, which put on the meters in no time.
Being regularly on the podium, that is quite something also.
In the 5k, the champs Africans routinely and moronically run a 12.50 type setup pace and kicking off that brings a 124low, to those that can kick.
In this case Fisher can sit and kick, where he may be sharper, I'd expect so and in the hunt as at the Olympics.
And Hocker will be very challenged to hand in there, but he certainly has a shot, no gimee what so ever.
Fisher closed very well in this one, and there is a chance he is still finishing his final training block and plans to sharpen.
He got caught off guard with that sudden Johnny on the spot, every dog has their day, 100m surge, which put on the meters in no time.
Being regularly on the podium, that is quite something also.
In the 5k, the champs Africans routinely and moronically run a 12.50 type setup pace and kicking off that brings a 124low, to those that can kick.
In this case Fisher can sit and kick, where he may be sharper, I'd expect so and in the hunt as at the Olympics.
And Hocker will be very challenged to hand in there, but he certainly has a shot, no gimee what so ever.
Fisher is very on track.
Yes, he is.
Even stated post-race he was pleased with his tactics -- just got jumped w/150 to go -- so apparently had no plans for a long, hard grind from 4/5 laps out or a shorter, faster drive from 1k out.
And, as posted above, we could still see Grant in Zurich if the DL powers-to-be grant him a bye due to his indoor WRs and overall cache in the distance running world.
